Halu-Halo

I didn't mean to do that...

...disappear, that is.  I meant to come back to report on the fabulous meeting we had here at my house for the NOVA Modern Quilt Guild, when I drank a couple of mimosas and talked quilting with some wonderful ladies.  I was so giddy that I didn't take a picture - who does that?

But the minutes ran well ahead of me and before I knew it, we were on our roadtrip vacation to upstate New York, to Lake George.  Where the ice cream ran a-plenty along with the magnificent lake views.  It rained for most of the time we were there, so while we didn't get to hit the beach, we marveled at the glorious mist covered lake and the aura it created.  Magical.

And since Hubby is a historian both by education and interest we, of course, were not lacking in our sightseeing.  I can't recall a trip where the kids haven't climbed on top of a canon, or explored the woods.  Upstate New York didn't disappoint.

And yes, we ate.

 

A lot.

But mostly we played.  

Do you love road trips as much as we do?  We have never had a DVD system in our vehicle, so it is always conversation heaven in our van.  I absolutely am convinced that the kids' vocabularies increase by a hundred fold from all of the reading they do during road trips, in addition to our games of "Name a word that starts with the letter __"

But yes, I am glad to be home, to sleep in my own bed and to cook in my own kitchen.

And to top off such a wonderful week, I was greeted by a package when I got home - a mug rug from Dani, who sent it as part of a swap we are doing at Ravelry.  

She spoiled me!  Thank you *so* much Dani for everything!  I was so thrilled to find out that she, too, is in Virginia!  I'm so tickled to know of another kindred crafty soul.

And this is a peek of the back, what cute fabric.  

I think the mug is my new favorite :)

I hope that you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  And that you have all sent good vibes, sweet wishes, or thoughtful prayers to all of our service men and women, past and present, for freedom is never free.

Have a great night, dear friends.

 

Why I love my girlfriends

I received a package yesterday from one of my BFFs.  When I opened it, a flurry of pink tissue paper greeted me. I tossed them all out in a hurry and soon I was again like a little girl on her birthday, sitting criss-cross-applesause half buried in tissue.

S sent me a handmade card with a picture of her eating one of those massive turkey legs at Disney world.  Her mouth gaping wide wide open, though not barely even covering half of the top part of the drumstick.  Her caption, "Soon girl, you will be eating turkey legs! Get well, soon!"

And in the box, among other things...

I was immediately reduced to a blubbering mess.  

She is genius really, because the other day, I had complained/whined/neuroticized (that's *so* not a word, I know) that I would never get the feeling back in my lips and won't be able to feel the glass I was drinking out of.

After crying half a river out of gratitude for having psudo-sisters, I jumped up and washed my new cup and by golly I brought it ever with me everywhere.  I think I drank more water and juice yesterday than I have in the last couple of weeks.  This morning I don't feel quite as parched, and even a little topped off.

Did she know that all of that pink paper that covered half my kitchen floor was like a big hug from hundreds of miles away.  It was like a fleeting memory of she and I eating pastries in the German village we lived in, strolling our first born children.

I don't have sisters. My girlfriends are like my sisters.  My BFFs - my lifeline.  They bring great humor to the mundane, to the absolute ridiculous. They get past the serious when they know I need it.  The call a spade a heart because they know I can tell the difference. 

I will call her today to thank her since she wasn't home yesterday.  I hope I will be able to tell her how grateful I am to have her.  

Have a wonderful day everyone, and give your BFF a call today!  

 

I need a heart

Or even four or five

...

My windows are open, and the fan has been on for a couple of days.  In between getting together with friends, managing the revolving backyard door, and the, seemingly, never ending baking I have been doing, I have been going through our drawers, sorting through papers and dusting in the nether regions of this townhouse.

And so the spring lists begin: "Things to do for the summer." "Quilt and Knit Projects" "Writing Goals" "Home Improvement".  As if I need any more lists floating around this house, on scrap pieces of paper, on the backs of the kids old homework pages, and in my handy dandy green notebook.   But, I am a list maker, through thick and thin.

The first on the Home Improvement list is to get a Heart.

If you come upon a military family's home, you may find hanging on their walls a wooden decor, proudly displaying the many places they have called home.  Ours was given to us by my dear friend S, at our first duty station. It came with only a few hearts; at the time I was getting out of the Army, and Hubby was unsure as to how long he wanted to stay in.

But 9/11 happened.  The Country called, and we stayed on.

Many years later, we are still in, and proudly so. And now, we have run out of hearts.

We are already two hearts behind, and need maybe two or three more.  We don't have wood working equipment, and don't know anyone nearby that has the ability or capability.  

Can you help me? Do you woodwork? Can I send you dimensions for a wooden heart, for you to make and add a hook onto the top?  I am a great paying customer :) .  

The oven calls, and Baby J is pulling at my shirt, so I must run! I hope you all have a great day!  And for those who celebrate the religious aspect of Easter - have a peaceful and reflective Good Friday. 

 

Julia, you took me away! Again!

I finally have been able to catch up with our mail and opening packages.  In as much as mail is usually my guilty pleasure, it seems all that's been filling it these days are wasteful advertisements.  I don't need to be sent 3 sets of pizza and hamburger fast food restaurant coupons, really.   And the never-ending mortgage restructuring paraphernalia? Enough already.  

But look what came in the mail!

 

Cotton Rounds......ah.....take me away!!!

These are magic little creations.  Made by my friend Julia .  Spa in a cotton round?...that would be this. You will want to replace your clear glass containers of cotton balls with them.  They are so wonderfully soft, but it doesn't fall apart while applying your toner.  And it washes up quickly and dries overnight. 

How did she know that I would love it?

Because we were RA's once...and young.

My senior year of college I decided to become an RA.  As if ROTC wasn't enough.  Or being a nursing student. Or working part time at the student store.  I heard the calling, I suppose, that I could help guide and shape the minds of young freshman girls.  That, and of course having a single room at the dorms.  

Julia was paired to be my partner in crime on the 2nd floor.  She and I rocked the floor. (I believed)  We were loved. (I hope)  But, truly, it was all her.  I was a fleeting senior; I stopped fights when I saw them, and corralled the craziness when it happened, but she was the staying solid sweetness of the 2nd floor.  I don't remember if I even contributed anything after I got married (Thanksgiving weekend my Senior Year). Or if I was even lucid after all of the studying/cadet-ing/student nurse-ing I was doing.   All I know is that my residents remained happy and content, and most likely because of Julia.

 

So, Julia, you saved me again!  How did you know that these little things could give me such relief since I've had some crazy sleepless nights with my babe.  Thank you!

Just remember, folks, I knew (and lived with her)  first!

On this third day of the week

1.  I welcome Freida back into the mix.  I have neglected her since we moved, and she is finally out from under her cover.  Sweet Freida, she still purrs like a kitten, not a bump or glitch in her stitches.  I perched her on our formal dining room table.  And there she will stay, where I can sew and still keep an eye on the kidlets on the main floor.  

As you can see, thread is everywhere already. :)  Home sweet home.

2.  A project is in its beginnings: Sedum.  Ah, and it will be for me.

  

My arms smell sheep-ly from this Cascade Eco.  Why, you might ask?  Well, I don't have a swift so I wrap the yarn around my arms while I get one of my awesome children to turn the crank on this ballwinder. 

My firstborn son, he is so sweet and patient...it took us 40 minutes to wind 2 hanks of yarn into 6 large balls.  He earned his dessert today!  

I know, so pretty. (and worth it!) I did, however, promise to gift myself with a swift as soon as I finish another large project.  You'd better believe I'm diving into Sedum in hopes I make it out alive, fitting into the cardi, and shopping online for a swift.

3.  I am admiring this

A gift from one of my friends, Mindy, for my sweet Baby J.  

I can't stop looking at it!  Great super soft yarn, and of course just a beautiful delicate pattern perfect for a loved babe.  The buttons on these booties are *tiny*.  This set is definitely going into her forever treasure chest after she wears it this fall.  

I've been really blessed have such wonderful girlfriends.  That in all of my travels, I have been able to bring the memories of these adopted sisters wherever I go.  I am thrilled that this time around, I am able to see some of these sisters again, and Mindy is one of them.  Thank you friend!!!  I love it!

Happy Hump Day everyone!  

From The Campfollower herself.

I, ahem, Baby J, got something pretty awesome in the mail today.

 

I'll let you look a little closer at the phenomenal quilting, and you will know in an instant who it's from.  I haven't seen quilting like this from anyone else.  This style of hers describes her to a tee: whimsical, carefree, slightly rebellious.

Yes, it's from Tia...The Campfollower herself, the maker of Hero Bags and Quilts.  But way back when, in a country far away, I knew her as Tia...The Army Nurse.  And we were are friends.

Long ago, we were kids without kids together.  Then all of a sudden we both had little ducklings of our own. We were there for each other at our first child's baby shower.  I remember her showing me her first go at piecing...I think they were hexagons.  My obsession at the time was cardmaking, I think...or was it crocheting?  

I digress...

That was over a decade ago.  And somehow even before facebook and the internet we kept in touch. We managed a phone call about every 6 months, to kind of keep track on how many children we'd had and where we were in the world.  And each time we'd gotten off the phone I always had a smile on my face, because Tia had never changed.  She remained whimsical, carefree, and slightly rebellious.

 

Most of all, she has remained a kindred spirit; despite our different personalities, we have been able to walk a similar path.  We went from being an Army Nurse, to an Army Spouse, to being a Mom to many and to finding both love and meaning in craft.  I feel that we are closer now living away from one another than we were when we worked side by side with one another.  

It just goes to show that fabric and yarn (and coffee) will always bring people closer together.  :)

So, I am honored to have this quilt in our home.  Not just because The Campfollower made it, but because a dear dear friend did.

Thank you sweet Tia, both J and I love it!

Regalo : (n) Gift

There is no doubt that we are still enjoying the high of our reunion, that everything about this Christmas is even more exciting and momentous.   From being adequately on time to Mass so that we could get a seat (which is hard on Christmas and Easter), to a super early morning of ruckus opening the regalo that were under the tree...it was a day of absolute Thanksgiving.

And indeed, I received wonderful presents this year!  I love to give but am very bashful to receive...I am very much a gift dodger, and I never know what I want when asked.  I don't usually like the attention my birthday brings for example; I'm easily embarrased by it.

One of the presents I received were my very first two pieces of Fiestaware, which thrilled me beyond belief.  I have been collecting Polish Pottery since our days in Germany, amassing small pieces here and there when I could, and not paying attention to my daily dishware.  

This year, I found myself only having a limited amount of everyday dishware, resulting from all of the breakage that has occurred from our six moves in this Army lifetime.  I had mentioned to a dear friend that I was going to start picking up a few pieces here and there to augment my dishware and she suprised me!

Aren't they pretty?  That's it, I'm hooked.  I've used both pieces at each and every meal, to include Christmas Breakfast!  Such a wonderful regalo!  

What's that crazy stuff on the blue dish you ask?  They are swedish pancakes - Hubby's favorite pancakes. They are crepe-like and super sweet.  I cook on a griddle, hence the crazy shapes, but they are easy to make.  Hubby thinks they are a regalo in their own right....so here is the recipe.

This is from a magazine published in 2000.  I only have the page, but it didn't have the name of the magazine on it!  I usually double the recipe to satiate my fam of 5.

--------------

Swedish Pancakes

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

3 tbs melted butter

2 tsp sugar

1/8 tsp salt

Combine the first two ingredients slowly, and then add rest and mix thoroughly.  Brush your skillet with butter and pour a little less than 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.  These cook quickly!  Top with powdered sugar, or roll your favorite preserves in them - for Christmas Breakfast we had cranberry sauce! (but a little nutella doesn't hurt either!)

------------

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Sharing is for Grown-ups too

It's been three days since school has started, and I still don't know quite know what to do with myself.  It is really strange for me to be alone for so long without at least one of my children with me.  I vaccilate between inundating myself with a project and then sitting around for minutes just reveling in ---> silence.

This is a strange transition indeed.  Now, I don't have a reason not to get the weeds pulled, or all the laundry folded...nor should I have stacks of paper bills to be filed away...or (oh no) I can get all of my craft projects in gear.  I am a little intimidated with all of this pressure.  I swear I will be productive, I swear!!!

So, to break the ice, here are a couple of blocks I sent in to the Quilt 12 Together Group (a quilting bee from Ravelry).  This is going to Dawn in New York!

 

And a swap quilt I received from a Doll Quilt swap on Ravelry as well.  

 

Don't you love it!?  It is just perfect on this wall.

How life as opened up with the Internets...I can't imagine not having so many cafty folks to share quilt blocks with, to read about, and to admire what they've made...and I don't have to look too far.  

I'm off to eat bon bons, clean out my car.  I hope you have a great day!

It's the smallest (handmade things) that make them happy

When I was 5, I had a pretty blue skirt that I loved to bits.  It was Tiffany blue and extended down to my knees.  At the waistband there were two metal rings that were used to cinch the waist tight.  And it twirled high at a slight turn of the hip.

I loved it so much that I wore it often.  I took my pretend iron to it, plugging in the pretend plug in between the mattresses on my bed, to press the kinks out of it.  When I wore it I imagined my life in a castle, with a dark haired prince and a white steed.  I was a princess.

   

I twirled for minutes on end, and enjoyed the skirt as it rose and blossomed.  I became dizzy but didn't care, and I thought and whispered my wishes as I spun.  The skirt had magical powers, and now I know that it was that it made me smile and content at the very least.  

It's really the smallest things I remember that made and what still makes me happy.  I don't remember the day I graduated from college, or the day I was commissioned.  Sometimes I forget how old I am and how many homes I've lived in.  I've forgotten the name of the teacher that influenced me most, though I remember her face.

But I do remember that skirt.

And when Teri from The Enchanted Nursery offered this skirt in her shop for sale, I knew, that in fact, it was for my daughter.  

She's worn it everyday since we've received it, paired with her ballerina shoes.  And although she feels under the weather, she forces herself up to twirl, and then to probably imagine and whisper her own wishes.

It's really the smallest things, isn't it?