"You're Not My Best Friend"

We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of Miss Makenzie tomorrow (oh, and her dad, too) I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since she looked up at me…. her little feet dangling from her car seat…. looked me seriously in the eye and said…. “you’re not my best friend”.... I still laugh when I think of that sweet little voice and her little sassy demeanor. Tyler said I lost her when I tried to talk her into letting me comb her hair into piggy tales that morning…. She also looked so adorable in her “fancy smancy” blue boots that Auntie Jana gave her. The California sun was blazing down but she didn’t take them off the entire week. She was the perfect two year old.

I wonder how I’ll fare this year? Will I be the fun Grandma Niece, that helps her make cookies, and plays with her at her favorite “house” park… basically catering to her every whim? Heaven forbid, I won’t offer to do her hair. I’m a slow learner, but I won’t make that same mistake twice. Anyway I can’t wait for another chance to spoil (and bribe) my way into her friendship circle.
My favorite Mackenzie photo - Taken Nov. 2006

Sneak Preview

I just picked up a quilt from Kim Peterson (link to her website is on the right side) and I was so excited I had to post a few pictures before I even put the binding on. Kim donated her machine quilting and it is absolutely stunning. She is so gifted and her quilting turns it into a work of art. The back is even more beautiful than the front (click on pictures to see a better close up view)

This quilt (I did the piecing, and Quik Quilts donated the fabric) is queen sized and will be used to raise money for breast cancer awareness and to benefit some of those experiencing it's challenges..... sponsored by For Every Body (the company Ken works for)

http://www.foreverybody.com/new_site/index.php .......is the link to their company website .... click on I think pink and then click on LEARN, to read more about what they are doing. (or follow the I Think Pink link under my websites listed on the side)

I'll post details soon on how you can win a chance to own this quilt.

Drum roll, please......

Day Seven

It was so exciting to see some of our little seeds pop their heads up. However, they look so spindly and fragile, it is hard to imagine they will be hardy plants out growing in the yard. But, hey, that's how I used to feel about all the kids.... how will they ever manage to live on their own, out flourishing in the world?.... and look at them now.... strong and independent.... all living with integrity.... some of them wondering how their own fledglings will survive it all... If I had it to do all over again.... I would enjoy more and worry less..... have more faith in the life process that takes us from innocent infants to creators of our own destiny.

With Heart and Hands, A Quilting Journey

This is a blog I have recently started following. Today she had an interesting post about quilts being made for sick children at Primary Children's hospital. Read about it at:

With Heart and Hands, A Quilting Journey: NBC, Delta Airlines and a Quilt for Every Sick Child's Bed

She is right.... quilts have special magical healing properties.

The Knotts Group

This week, on Wed.- Fri. our quilt group, the Knotts, is having a quilt retreat. We are meeting at Shirley’s house and we are a sea of sewing machines, fabric and voices. Each day we are making a different project and learning new techniques.

There are 19 active members and we range in ages from 32 to 83. Some of us have been quilting for a lifetime and others, like me, for just a couple of years. But it isn’t our differences that bind us.. it is our spirit of creativity, we each bring unique talents to the group…. our love of families…. dedication to living life well and giving back to the world we live in through various donations to charities and sharing our skills with each other…. respect for each other’s differences… and a collective good humor. I feel so lucky to be a part of it all.

Those who know me well, know the previous 7 years have been almost more than I could endure. My challenges have tried the strength of my soul. Finding this group and something I love doing…..that I look forward to….. something that challenges my creativity and fulfills a need for what I do to have a purpose is my reward for having survived it. I am deeply indebted to the people in my world who love and encourage me.

I can honestly say now, life is good.

Happy Birthday, Jana!!

You've come a long way, baby!! But you're still carrying along that same smile and your same cheery self. Hope you're having a wonderful day...

Day One

So no posts for a week and then 3 in a day..... that's the way it is with me..... either all or nothing. Since perennials are so expensive we decided to try growing some from seed. Now it is like waiting for the baby chick to hatch. We'll keep you posted on our babies progress....

Baby Bird

This morning Ken found a baby woodpecker asleep in the tree. We love our new yard. I think we'll go get a bird bath and some hummingbird feeders. Some of the flowers we planted are supposed to attract butterflies.

May Flowers

I've been told I have been neglecting my blog updates. (As well as everything else in my life.) I have been on a sewing binge. I have finished two more quilts for cancer, a quilt for Melissa's mother-in-law, (Melissa is the owner of Quik Quilts.... the store I sew displays for), one for a display of a class Melissa is teaching, and three displays for the store. That is alot of sewing!

So yesterday, I took a break and Ken and I worked in the yard. Ken cleaned the koi pond (all of the fish made it through the winter) and we planted flowers. We put impatiens in the front and all of the cute flowers we liked at the nursery in the back. We have no idea what will bloom when, or come up again next year so it will be interesting to see what it will look like when the plants begin to grow.