the undiscovered country . . .

Did the title of my post cause you to scratch your head or raise your eyebrow? Let me just say that my darling hubby is a bit of a Trekkie.  'Nuff said.

I have to admit ... it's not been terribly hard to stay away from blog writing.  Is that a shameful secret I should have kept to myself?!  But when something that doesn't pay the bills starts to feel like a burden or a "have to" or starts to impede upon other areas of life, it's definitely time to step back.  And we've been so busy! Todd now has just THREE more shifts.  He's only working the full twenty-four hours on TWO of them and taking off the full twenty-four hours of the last one! That means he has two more days to work and then we're DONE! It's a very happy, exciting time!  We're charting off into our own undiscovered country!  :)

Well.  It's been happy and exciting EXCEPT for the time I've been down with strep throat and a sinus infection. That hasn't been happy time.  LOL!  Luckily, though, it's only been since Thursday.  I felt so bad I missed a guild meeting. That should tell you something! I'm feeling better -- about sixty percent -- today. And since I hope to take Sawyer to dinner at the fire station tomorrow -- it'll be his last time to see Paw-paw in action as a fireman -- I hope to be at least up to eighty-five percent tomorrow!

We've been busy, especially in the Camp.  Spring and fall are our biggest camp usage seasons and we've had visitors most every weekend.  I love it!  And of course, I've also had fun doing some quilty, sewy, crafty things, too.  I continue to work on Joc's Wedding Quilt.  And I finished up the little Cardinals in Clover piece I'd EQ'd:

And of course I've been reading (though not doing a lot of commenting) my favorite blogs!

Speaking of which, I'd won a little giveaway over at A Little of This and a Little of Pat.  

It was this darling "Gobble Till You Wobble" pattern.  That is so totally me! Darling that she is, she also tucked in a little children's fabric she'd found that she thought I could put to good use . . .

Wasn't that sweet?  The space rockets are totally Buzz "Sawyer" Lightyear!  And I loved the cars and fire trucks and planes, too.  But the paper dollies made me *swoon*!  Totally darling!  And believe it or not, it's the ONLY fabric I've acquired over the past twenty-one days.  Of course, since I'm headed to Paducah, KY and the AQS show next weekend, that's all subject to change!  But, because I do want to keep up with this (for my own sake) I'm going to go ahead and report:

Used/donated this month: 0.75 yards

Used/donated year-to-date: 12.75 yards

Purchased/added this month: 3.75 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 42.50 yards

Net used/donated for 2013: -29.75 yards

I also participated in a fun thread swap with my StitchMAP group. (Good thing I'm not doing a thread/floss stash report!) We were to exchange two skeins of specialty threads/floss in colors that represented Spring to us.  I opted to swap with three folks, so I send off six skeins and got six in return.

The two I sent off were the green and sparkly purple on the left (yes, I bought two for me, also!).  Then in my swap package were the sparkly skeins of DMC metallics, the two skeins of Italian silk floss in a very earthy pink and a pretty blue, and finally some gorgeous silk floss in a very earthy green and a cream.  It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I participated!  

I also managed to score a couple of samples of tea from Royal Tea of Kenya. There was a terrific write-up about this company in the January/February issue of Tea Time Magazine, so I was thrilled when I was offered the opportunity to try it.  

The company is based out of Nashville and run by Joy (who I had a lovely chat with on Friday).  Joy's grandfather is the oldest living (at 109+) tea producer in the world.  Pretty cool, huh?  

I haven't tried it yet, but do believe that brewing a pot is on the agenda for this afternoon, along with enjoying some appropriate reading material!

The arrival of Spring also brings with it the arrival of birds and critters we don't see during the winter.  For example, the grosbeaks have put in an appearance this week (aren't these striking birds???) . . . 

As have the indigo buntings (which I adore) . . .

And the goldfinches, which do winter here, have returned to their summer yellow (instead of the drab olive they wear in the winter) . . . 

We've also seen our first salamander (Todd captured this picture):

And our first skink of the season (he did NOT want his picture taken!):

And of course, since it's flip-flop (or Yellowbox, as I prefer) weather again, the toes have to be painted!

My SS girls were particularly impressed with my 'rainbow toes' this morning.  I aim to please.  Haha!

And look at this:

My little kitchen herb garden is sprouting up!!  I'm still having to bring it inside (we had frost warnings for the past two nights) but I think after this weekend, we'll be good to go!  I can't wait until I've got my fresh sweet basil and chives and parsley!

Okay, enough of this; I could probably write on and on and blah blah blah.  I'm headed to get that tea brewing!  But before I go ... is anyone taking a trip to Paducah this coming week -- particularly on Saturday??  I'm headed there with my guild and will be there from 10 until 6. I cannot wait!!  If anyone else is going to be there, let me know!!!! 

Auf Wiedersehn!

:)

timing is everything . . .

Right?  I hesitated about posting this post this morning because it *is* April Fool's Day.  But it is what it is, and I'm forging ahead!

Today I'll be sending an e-mailout from our ministry (which, if you've got any interest in being on that mailing list, just let me know) sharing that Todd has officially put in his paperwork with the City of Huntsville and will be retired as of May 1, 2013!  We're so excited!  

Todd's Rookie Class - 1988

With the crew at Station #6 - 2011
Interestingly enough, four of the guys pictured here are also in the 1988 picture--considering the City's fire department has 18 stations, 3 shifts and over 300 men and women manning those stations, that's quite a feat!

My sweet husband, who has faithfully served the residents and business owners of Huntsville for twenty-five years, is ecstatic -- he's so anxious to move into full time ministry!  Not that it doesn't come with a little anxiety . . . but we're stepping out in faith, truly believing this is the direction God's placed before us.

All that to say, I'm putting the blog on hiatus. For a bit.  Probably not forever ... maybe not longer than a week or two.  But I'm shifting priorities and the blog falls low on the list for now. While it saddens me ... because I dearly love the true friends I've made in the blogosphere, I also know it's the right move, because it's a relief.  Of course, I'll still be around -- I'll read and keep up with y'all and your antics -- just mostly as a dreaded *lurker*.  LOL!  And when I do get back to blogging, it will be more sporadically and a blog less about quilting (hahaha -- I don't know that this particular blog can get less about quilting!) and more about life and mostly aimed at those who care about my life (and kids and grandkids especially).  

Speaking of which, we had a marvelous weekend coloring Easter eggs, hunting them, and celebrating Resurrection Day with family.  I made the mistake of not taking my camera (and not having my phone handy) for pics yesterday, so I'll have to wait on the son and son-in-law to see those pictures.  But I can share these:

Ellie with Mommy and Neesey at Dublin Park.

Sawyer took his egg dyeing responsibilities very seriously.

He had fun finding eggs, too!

But really, why look for eggs when there are perfectly good sticks just lying around??!

Enjoying the spoils of the hunt!
Sawyer won second place for most eggs found in the pre-school division!

Ellie enjoyed her first Easter egg hunt!

She's very serious about her finds.

She was a little less serious about her first Jello Easter egg!

Kudos to Todd and Kim for snapping shots of June yesterday!  Isn't she darling in her little Easter dress?  She desperately wanted to be a part of all the action!  (She's a feisty little thing!)

Had to toss this in -- a New York style cheesecake -- baked in a water bath and everything.  The recipe was a winner -- you can find it at Food For A Hungry Soul.

And if you're were seriously looking for a clever April Fool's Day joke, may I make a suggestion?  Try THIS one--compliments of The Quilt Show--on for size!

:)

finishes and fire stations . . .

Whew ... what a whirlwind the past couple of days have been!  Monday morning I got my stitches out -- easy-breezy -- and I had a long enough wait that I was able to finish quilting my mini-hexie top, write and address several note cards, and finish my grocery list.  Aye-yi-yi.  From there it was errands and grocery shopping, and by the time I got home, it was after two-thirty!  (I left at seven-thirty!)

I had a guild board meeting ... there was lots of discussion and it gave me the opportunity to finish up stitching together my other hexie project . . . 

Yay!  Mr. Owlie in the Burning Ring of Fire is ready to put together and quilt!

I've told y'all I'm a magazine addict, right?  These were some of the issues at the meeting that were 'free to a good home':

I'll go through them and carry them back to the December meeting (or send 'em out upon request). There were some cute things that caught my eye.

Especially these two titles, which I'd never seen before.  Since the one on the right is published in France, that explains that one!

Yesterday I spent the daytime with Ellie ... I can't believe how she's practically growing up before my eyes!  She's crawling and pulling herself up, and walks very competently (frontwards *and* backwards) when she's got a finger or two to hold onto to.

Needless to say, I had my hands happily full with her -- she's such a darling delight -- and I didn't snap a single picture.  I remember lamenting about this when Sawyer was this age, too!  The above is compliments of Jocelyn.  :)

I finished up the binding on the mini-hexie project while Ellie was napping:

Yay!  The binding is so dark it just blends into the background -- but it *is* purple!

Yesterday afternoon I picked up Sawyer and we headed to the Fire Station to have dinner with Paw-paw!  He was ready to GO when I got to his house ... Kim said he'd pretty much talked about it the whole day long!  He sure did talk about it the whole drive over there!

Sitting in Ladder #6 with Paw-paw!

Ready to drive off in Rescue #6!

Strapped in and ready to go!  That helmet is so heavy,
he's having a hard time holding his little head up! 

In his Paw-paw's turnouts!  You'll notice Todd's holding him up?
When he'd let go, Sawyer would fall over (he's wearing the coat,
boots, *and* pants)! 

In the driver's seat of Ladder #6 with the lights flashing!

He really had a marvelous, marvelous time -- and talked about it all the way home!

I spent a little time at the house when I dropped Sawyer off ... I got in a little June time, too!

Yup, I'd say it was a day well spent!

Gotta get busy today ... lots of cooking to do!  I hope your day is filled with happiness and marvelous smells from the kitchen!

:)

stash report #5 and an a milestone . . .

Well, not in the (necessarily) normal sense of a milestone.  But it *was* one nonetheless . . . both for me AND for Sawyer.  Yesterday was his first visit to the fire station!  Oh MY but we had a good time!!

He was jauntily dressed for the adventure, too!

He was excited to be off in the car with me and even more excited that it was Paw-paw we were driving to see.  He wasn't quite sure of what to make of the station, when we pulled up, except that across the street there was a big school bus parked, quite a number of tractors, and a plane.  The garage doors were closed so he couldn't see the fire trucks ... yet.

We went in and he clung to his Paw-paw.  All these strangers greeting him and talking to him like they knew him!  It must have been a little overwhelming (which isn't a bad thing for a rambunctious nearly two-year-old, if you know what I mean).  Todd took him around to see the station and introduced him to the crew.  Sawyer wouldn't say much (except, Paw-paw and Neesey), but he did give all the guys a fist bump.  He's cool like that.

Then we went into the truck room . . . talk about your two-year-old shock and awe!  I heard that breathless little, "Whoa!" quite a number of times as they explored the trucks and turned on lights and opened "secret" compartments.  It was such a sweet evening.  And Sawyer ate like a fire fighter, too.  Grilled chicken, baked beans, potato salad and rolls.  And don't you know that boy cleaned his plate and ate off mine, too!  

 

 

It was a milestone for me too . . . my first outing with him since the surgery!  Whoohoo!!  I've been getting along pretty nicely without crutches or the roller and just the boot for about the last four-five days.  I was supposed to be working on being full-weight bearing in the boot by ... TOMORROW!  I did it!  I go back to the doctor's tomorrow morning for more x-rays and we'll see where I am.  Whew.

Stash this week?  It stayed the same.  I must say that's getting rather boring.  I've not purchased a single bit of fabric so far this year and it's chafing me a bit.  I do see a purchase in the very near future, because I'm working on a project that is just *begging* for something I do NOT have in my stash.  What's a quilter to do?  Shop, of course!!  Anyway, here are the numbers:

Used/donated this week: 0.0 yards
Used/donated year-to-date: 3.25 yards
Purchased/added this week: 0.0 yards
Purchased/added year-to-date: 4.0 yards
Net used/donated for 2012: -0.75 yards

As usual, I'm linking up with Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times.  Head on over to check out how everyone else fared this week!

This is the day that the LORD hath made; I will rejoice and be GLAD in it!!

:)