July 31, 20016

How do you mourn someone you've never met, but had a direct impact and changed the direction and history of your family in a profound way?  In your own grief, you gave us life.  I realize your life was not ideal or easy, it was full of problems in which any typical person would have given up long ago.  But I want to say to you, thank you for choosing life.  Thank you for helping to choose Kevin and myself.  We are always open with our kids, and we talked to our son about your passing today.  This most personal moment will be with him forever... though I know he isn't sure how to feel. And while we will always be here to answer what we can, we also know that this abrupt end will be more difficult when adulthood hits.


I have all the gifts that were left for him to join his new life... a stuffed dog and a baby boy outfit, infant shoes. We came across the box I had carefully stored it in this past spring, and when I talked to him about it, and asked what he'd like me to do with it... he hesitated giving it away and I suggested we keep them safe, he can keep it forever. He will always have this physical part of you. Someday he may want to talk more, to ask more questions, but today he is grieving in his own 9yo way, though for us it looks like watching youtube or playing video games--he is a thinker and we will be ready.


Please know he will know more about you when he asks.  We'll always be around to lift him up when he isn't sure how to be or feel.

I am grieving the loss of you even though we never met.  We share something I had hoped in time you could be a part of.  I pray that your soul is at peace alongside your mom and in Jesus' embrace.  Someday we will get the chance to meet, until then, know that your children are loved well.

Flower Garden Progress

In the only recent sewing I have done in a month.... this afternoon I finally finished sewing my fourth row to my flower garden quilt.  I did some math and so far I have sewn 998 hexagons together into the quilt top.  Unless I decide to add more that the single grey side border (top of the pic), I will end up with 2233 hexagons to make up the quilt.  I am nearly to the halfway point!

I did take the part that I was working on with me to California when we were cleaning up my inlaws' home to put on the market, but I ended up only making a little bit of progress.  Since then I have wavering between not feeling well and not wanting to sew, to sewing a little bit.  I did work on one block from The Splendid Sampler, but I am currently 7 blocks behind in that project too.  I just haven't felt like sitting at my machine.  I have a feeling that springtime allergies is what's draining me.


My sister in law found this fun quilt (she tried to give it to me, but I told her to keep it since it is by her grandmother).  It was hard to get the correct color for the red, but the back was a lot of fun to look at.  Taking a peek behind some popped seams, it has a blanket as batting.








I think it's a variation on the Churn Dash.  There are fabrics from the 40's through I think the early 60's, including some feedsack prints.  It is full of scrappy goodness!

Cub Scout Blue and Gold Cake Auction

Tonight is the Cub Scout Blue and Gold dinner and with that we started adding the cake auction instead of an actual auction that was done in years' past.  The regular silent auction took a lot more time than what the benefits would show.  When our pack merged with another, we added their tradition of the cake auction a few years ago and it has been popular.  I wasn't planning to take part in it this year, but decided to go ahead and do it yesterday.  Darrin had a half day at school, so we baked a Mississippi Mud Cake (from my grandma's recipes, but I see it online all over now).  Browsing pinterest, I saw this idea and went with it.  The best part?  No need for globs of frosting!



Our sandy dirt is ground up Girl Scout Trefoils because our graham crackers have a nasty flavor to them.  Did anyone know that they really taste gross when they are beyond their best buy date?  The smell from the packaging alone might be the worst part.  I am wondering if packaging plays a role because I had a sleeve of Saltine crackers end up with that same chemically pungent smell.  Anyway...


Sandy Trefoils and the worm dirt is ground up Oreos.  We went to Big 5 and picked out some bobbers and fishing lures.  Overall it was a fun project to do with Darrin, and he did at least half of the work (he told me to make sure that I don't take full credit for the creation--I told him of course not!  I was thrilled he wanted to make it!).

This is how I will feel after tonight if we end up with cake....
I will need a belly lift :)

Lefse!

I have nothing quilty to show right now, I need to move the wrapping paper stuff later today so I can work on clue 4 of the mystery.... however!  I finished up the lefse making for our Christmas dinner.  There are several different types of recipes of lefse, and I am sure depending on where in Norway it is made there are regional differences as well.  I want to make Hardanger lefse next--a recipe I found in my "Notes From a Scandinavian Kitchen" book.  It included brown sugar in the recipe.... yum!  The recipe I used is kind of a more bland one with just a bit of butter, salt, and milk.  I want to step it up next time :)



Our tradition for Christmas was along with all the food was a pan of lefse.  The night before my mom (and later me) would spread butter onto a sheet of lefse and sprinkle sugar on top.  It would be rolled up, usually cut in half to fit the pan and baked long enough for the butter to melt along with the sugar.  We were left with a tasty, and sometimes sticky treat to eat with the dinner.


When I started making my lefse today I forgot about adding enough flour to the mashed potatoes.  I ended up having it break in pieces when I tried to transfer from the pastry board to the griddle... back to square one!  There are two other things that are a must when making lefse; 1. rice the potatoes.  No lumps! 2. make sure the potatoes are cold.  Making mashed potatoes the night before is the best method.  Oh wait, three things: make sure your pastry cloth and rolling pin sock are well floured.  Once they get sticky, you will have issues.


A lump!! This is why ricing the potatoes is best. Unfortunately I had a couple of lumps fall back into my riced potatoes.  It's hard to roll out the dough thin if you have lumps.

Kevin likes to use the stick after I roll out the lefse to transfer it... he usually takes over after I get going.  I will admit that it is kind of satisfying to use it to roll the dough onto the griddle, it's almost magical :)


An in-motion pic.  Too bad it didn't turn out well...  Remember, when using the stick that the pretty side is up--it is rounded while the bottom is flattened to be able to run it along the the pastry cloth easily.


And the finished deliciousness!

I plan to put butter and sugar on these for Christmas and think of my mom and all the wonderful memories and traditions that she has given to me.

Bitty Blocks

I am almost caught up with my Bitty Blocks.  I have October left to do and I have already started cutting for it.  Maybe tomorrow I will have all available 11 months complete.  For the picture I put them in order (except for November, I didn't want to leave a placeholder space for October).  I like how they look together--reminds me a little of a Nordic sweater. 3 and 4" blocks:


BTW, yes, I did purposely turn around some blocks... I was irritated after reading about a friend who was publicly called out for missing a point on a block, and this is my way of saying--who cares? Enjoy the process because if you don't then the joy is missing.  Quilting then becomes a chore and that's really the last thing I want to do in my creative endeavors.

And because I cannot get enough of this goofball...











Loki is now a year old, and one huge cat!  His size right now is very close to what the mama cat's size was.  He still likes to lay on his stomach in a "superman" pose with his back legs out, and when he collapses into a laying position he lets out a chirpy "oof" sound :)  Lately he's decided that he wants to be an outdoor cat and will race out the front door if given a slight window of opportunity.  Because the neighborhood coyotes are becoming more open about showing themselves, Loki will remain an indoor cat.

However, I did have a good laugh when I saw this coyote vest.  I wonder if I could make up something for Loki? LOL!

Fair Results!

There are some great quilts at the fair this year, I don't know what I'll do next year to compete... I'll come up with something!  We were going to go tomorrow, but we are supposed to have a very rainy weekend this weekend (THANK YOU LORD!), so we decided to go this evening.  I hadn't seen any results yet, but I had a dream last night that my quilt ended up with a third place ribbon overall.  I was sad (they do the Dutch judging system based on standards, and also American for the top).  What a dream... the funny part though was the rosette ribbon (for third!) had a push button in the center and it played a song :)  Can you even imagine? LOL!

I was a Class winner again this year!!  I was very excited.  This year my quilt wasn't fully displayed like my Jane quilt was last year, but they placed it near another Orca Bay!  So cool to see the differences.  I changed my layout regarding the dark and light Ohio Stars (the other orca bay shows the layout that Bonnie Hunter wrote up in her pattern).

I loved this bench, made by the Stanwood FFA group:

Go WSU Cougs!

And then we put the boys in hamster balls into a pool and laughed :)



We had fun, and now my feet hurt.  I've been using a fitbit since July and right now my goal is 7000 steps a day.  I've been able to make that goal usually, and in a couple of weeks I plan to up it by another 1000.  Today I surpassed that to over 10,000.  If standing and waiting counted with the steps, that'd be awesome since we did a lot of that!   I'm scheduled to do a goal challenge with my friend Julie tomorrow, I hope I make it :)

I'd love a foot massage right now.

Made it through March!

Whew... so far the first quarter of the year has flown by.  We've spent 2/3's of it being sick or getting over being sick, another part in California when Kevin's dad passed away, and now it looks like the calendar for April is pretty packed with appointments and whatnots as well.  Hopefully no illness or funerals.

I am looking forward to seeing what QM's Bitty Block pattern will be for April too!  I'm hoping it will be divulged tomorrow :)

I have been trying so hard to work on my hexagons.  I am really close to being finished with my 75 flower blocks, only 7.5 to go.  I have been working on them more in the evenings, but my eyes aren't what they once were I am finding.  I've never needed glasses before, but I do have reading glasses that probably need to be upgraded (I think I got that prescription 5 yrs ago).


When Kevin and Daniel got home on Sunday from camping, it was time to celebrate my birthday. We didn't have anything really planned, it was a laid back day that involved mattress window shopping :) Doesn't everyone do that for their birthday? We did pick up a carrot cake (my favorite!) and Kevin even added some decorations:


Poor Mr Loki is having his "operation" next Thursday.  I'm hoping he'll mellow out even more, but I'm thinking I shouldn't count on it.  Yesterday I was in the living room when I heard something fall on the ground in the kitchen.  I was imagining the roses Kevin bought me for my birthday on the ground and water all over...  oh no, not that... instead he knocked over a planter that had three cactus in it.  That was not fun.


So I tried shooing him out the kitchen twice, and he still came back.  The cat does not scare off at all!  After sweeping up the soil, this was the pose I found him in:


Both back legs were straight out on either side of his tail like this, Superman pose! ugh. And that look on his face too: "That looks like fun to race in Mom! Just leave the dirt!"  He is a pretty funny cat, somewhat mellow, does not scare at all, and will give you a look like "what the heck?" if you squirt him to get off tables.  I've never had a cat quite like him, he definitely fits right in.  He's not quite 6 months old yet, and he is already a big kitty.  I'm looking forward to seeing how much he weighs next week--he's not a light cat!

I'm thinking this ends the potpourri post to end March.  I'm hoping I'll have stuff to blog about that is interesting as the next month moves forward :) I've noticed my goal of finishing one UFO a month hasn't been happening, maybe this will be a notice to myself to get busy on that goal.  Finished quilts, regardless of perfection are always best!  Time to get to it.

God Jul!

A Savior was born!  I hope everyone has had a nice Christmas, whether filled with family, friends, children, or not.  Enjoy the holiday especially to those who are finding the new normal as life changes.


I have had a difficult time with the changes following my parents' deaths 11 and 12 years ago, so many changing traditions.  While getting ready to prepare our Christmas Eve dinner--which our new tradition has become a rib roast we save from our 1/2 beef we purchase every summer--I was remembering all the holidays with my mom and feeling pretty sad.  Kevin came in and we talked about the changes and how I am still trying to find "it".  Holidays can evoke such emotions that are strong because I assume so many of us don't have that Hallmark movie ideal, so we believe we are missing out.  Kevin and I talked about how the new traditions need to start again with us, and we are finding that way now.  We do have traditions now that we've started with the kids (finding an annual ornament together with the boys--which involves at least an hour pressing buttons at the Hallmark Store in order to find the "right" one), prime rib of course, Christmas cookies, and the first Christmas gift by Dad on Christmas eve.  I think sitting around in jammies all day is also a great tradition :)


Anyway, however you celebrate or not, please remember that you are cared for by the Father.  If you are sad, feel free to message/email me and I'd be happy to chat with you.  In one more week we will be celebrating a new year, may it be even better than 2014!

Halloween

Darrin and I looked through amazon's costume section to see what sort of costume he might want.  He decided (after I nixed horror stuff, Halloween already isn't a favorite holiday, the boys know I have my limit and that is it) that he wanted to be a soldier.

I found a few military costumes, but they seemed sort of cheesey... and then I found a company that makes smaller BDU's for kids!  Perfect!  It also came with some patches that could be sewn on, very cool!



It arrived, and Kevin decided to pull out his old Army jacket and offered up his patches for Darrin.  So cool!  Darrin loves his BDU's and I think he looks adorable.  He also wants a helmet that Kevin has, but it's a bit big for his head so that won't be happening :)


Two shoulder patches which came with the uniform.


Hell on Wheels: 2nd Armor Division, dates back to WWII.  From Kevin's jacket.


Cheese!

Happy Halloween, enjoy some Snickers :)

Saying Goodbye

She came into our home on December 26, 2003.  She departed our earthly home on September 13, 2014.  Gracie would have been 11yrs old on October 23rd but her poor body started growing intestinal cancer.  She had been throwing up hairballs and some food, but honestly with cats that is to be expected (though the frequency had grown over the spring/summer).  When she stopped eating and drinking, we knew it was time.  Her last few days were painful to watch, but she never stopped purring for family that loved on her.

She seemed to perk up a bit last week, but she needed to be checked out, Gracie just did not look like she felt well.  Then the vet found a lumpy mass in a place that I wouldn't have found.

Gracie as a kitten and again in 2007 when we brought Darrin home.



And checking out the new puppy in November 2011 (likely telling Dad that dogs belong on the floor!)

I brought Gracie home just two months after my mom died, and two months after having to put down one of my other cats due to her body shutting down.  We never were able to get answers as to what happened to that kitty, but that was a rough year (especially since the year prior to that, my dad passed away).   I lost my Bonnie dog three years ago to Hemangiosarcoma (we had the lumps removed twice until it affected her too much).  Before Bonnie was Bose our black lab who died from just old age about a year before Bonnie passed.  I feel like we've had to say so many goodbyes to family members over the past 12yrs, that my heart just hurts.  It is all a part of life, but it is never easy.  Three parents, a last living grandparent, two uncles, and five loved pets.  Enough already.



So I am saying goodbye to my lap warmer, my quilting friend, my fly and spider chaser, my companion.  She rarely hissed--maybe once (hard to believe! but typical with Ragdolls), she always greeted people and wanted to know what was going on.  Gracie always had a purr for you, and endured a puppy and kids with a lot of joy.  She was very loving and lived to be with everyone in the middle of whatever was going on.





Good bye sweet girl.

Family Camping: old post 8/15/2013

***Note, this is from my first blog which got overtaken by a spam virus, and I ended up shutting it down.  While reading through Feedly (where I read my blogs), I discovered when clicking on my old blog (I never unsubscribed my old blog) I could pull up old posts.  I am thrilled because now I can place certain posts here and save them.  I will have this note on top of any post that is from my old blog****

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This year we had planned to spend a few days camping at Lake Easton. It’s one of those places that you just drive past while on I-90 heading east towards Ellensburg, Spokane, Pullman, Idaho…. It’s just off the freeway, but for me, I usually am waiting impatiently for the Indian John Hill rest stop to show up that I am just ignoring signs for Lake Easton. Anyway, we changed our minds and cancelled the camping reservation. I was thinking about heading to Vantage to see the horses but with the Colockum Tarps fire burning, the skies had been pretty thick with smoke. There were a few other places we were going to check out as well while staying there, and then we were thinking about heading north and taking the North Cascades loop back home. Good thing we changed our travel plans because due to the huge thunderstorm and rain that happened last week, mudslides have occurred at the northern part of the loop between mile post 147 and 157. That would have been a long drive back after finding out about the closure. Instead, we made reservations at Coho Campground at Wynoochee Lake in the Olympic National Forest. This is a lake that was created around 1972, and the dam was finished around 1994. I don’t really know the stages that took place in the creation of this place, but it was a good and well-maintained campground. No showers however, and port-a-potties due to the bathrooms being stopped up. The nice thing however was that we had two potties all to ourselves for the most part. We only had one other nearby neighbor. It wasn’t packed most likely due to the off-the-grid nature of the location (along with no stores, gas, etc…. you have to plan for this trip). We had a great time. I was concerned that we were going to get rained on as the weather forecast was calling for rain Sunday-Wednesday. Instead, we had SUNSHINE the entire time. Some low clouds in the morning, but those burnt off before 11 each day. Also, there is a state-wide burn ban in place. We tried to find information on that before we left but it was very confusing as to where campfires were banned. I was very happy to see campers with campfires going when we pulled in the campground. I’m so happy Kevin packed the firewood! The whole place was just beautiful. I’ve already posted a lot of pictures at facebook, so I’ll post a few that haven’t been uploaded there. If I was in full photographer mode, I would have taken my time to find correct settings, what I have to show are just point and shoot. Just above the lake: First night’s dinner: Elk backstrap foil packet dinner. It was so good and I am kicking myself for not taking a picture of the finished product!! I had planned to! At home I cut strips from the backstrap, marinaded in Kikkoman Garlic and Green Onionteriyaki, later stir fried, cooked brown rice, some frozen mixed veggies. We let the boys create their own dinners, added a little bit more Kikkoman and froze them to save for the first night dinner. I can’t wait to make this again… I just need to bug my brother for his source of venison! Gratuitous bacon and coffee shot: The second night we had a chicken caccitore. I wish I had used my slow roasted tomatoes for this recipe–it would have made it perfect. This was another easy meal, this time in a dutch oven. We browned the chicken at home and then froze them. More frozen veggies, bottle of beer, canned tomatoes, some seasonings, cook up some pasta, and about 45mins later you have dinner. We added cheese since we had extra due to my forgeting the hashbrowns for the mountain man breakfast Kev was going to make on the first morning. The chicken was very good. Sauce was so-so. We did a lot of walking, checking out geocaches, walking on trails and basically exploring. My feet are tired, and tonight I will sleep well in my own bed. Here is a peek-a-boo shot of the lake while on a trail: On the third day the boys went fishing. Nothing was caught except a few bullheads but in those two hours I was able to get about 1.5 flowers finished for my Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt. This was just before the boys went off fishing, leaving me some quiet time: Started in 2001 and drug to many camping trips, hospital visits, retreats, etc. I should be done by now… For 1″ hexagons, this bead box is perfect. It fits the hexi groups just right, and I have room to put my thread and scissors. I can also close it with a partially finished flower in it. Great for taking along anywhere. I think that is it for our Devin Family Camp Out 2013 Edition. Next up is back to school shopping! Oy…