Quote, Memory

"The angels are always near to those who are grieving, to whisper to them that their loved ones are safe in the hand of God." ~Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994

In memory of Todd Satterfield, my best friend's son.  May he rest in peace.

Memorial Day celebration, quote, quilts

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood


Memorial Day is a very special day for me.  From childhood to the present, I love the roar of the race cars at the Indy 500.   The pre-race ceremonies always include the celebration of freedom due to the honor and bravery by our service men and women.   And the race itself is an Indiana tradition.  Whether I attend in person, listen on the radio or watch the race on TV, I always get goosebumps of enjoyment throughout the day. 

This year I completed a couple of quilted wall-hangings which I display in our home during the month of May.

I wish you and yours a wonderful Memorial Day celebration and hope you will join me in celebrating
the freedom we enjoy as Americans because of the sacrifices by our service men and women.

Quote, Amy's graduation, Purdue quilt

I hope your dreams take you to the corners of your smiles, to the highest of your hopes, to the windows of your opportunities, and to the most special places your heart has ever known.  ~Author Unknown

 

 

May 11th we were honored to celebrate our granddaughter Amy's graduation from Purdue University.

 

We are so proud of her and excited knowing that she will definately make a difference in this world.

Congratulations Amy!

Quote, Knitted baby sweater

The simplest toy, one which even the youngest child can operate, is called a grandparent.  ~Sam Levenson

Recently, my friend became a grandmother for the first time.  This is the sweater I made for her new granddaughter.   I can remember the thrill of becoming a grandmother for the first time.  Now, 14 grandchildren later, the thrill is still there!  Grandchildren are wonderful and I love them all.

Memories

Not the end of the world yet, so time to keep living and enjoying life!  Thought this cartoon was cute.

As I grow older (which is not bad, when you consider the alternative), I have given thought to "stuff" that never occurred to me years ago.

One thought which I hope never happens is that I would be confined to a nursing home (or what ever the politically correct name - assisted living, etc.), what I would like people to know if for some reason I cannot communicate anymore.

As a child, I loved dolls and paper dolls.  My Mother apparently loved dolls as well because she always made sure I received lots of dolls for Christmas, birthdays, etc.   My uncle even made me a "doll closet" from an old TV cabinet one Christmas.  It was one of my all time favorite gifts.  It also qualified me for the "biggest" present that year.  My brother and I always seemed to take pleasure in receiving the "biggest" gift and he usually won, but that year won out with that doll closet.  As I grew older, my dolls disappeared and it became my shoe closet.  With shoes put in shoe boxes and nicely stacked within the closet.  Hmmm - now for the life of me, I don't know what happened to that closet.

Paper dolls were a pleasure to me as well.  I didn't play with them as much as I liked to cut them out.  Perhaps that pleasure led me to my love of rubber stamping and card making as well as quilting today. 

Back to my original thought:  I need to tell those I love that if for some reason I cannot communicate and you wonder what will make me happy.  Just buy me some scissors and keep me supplied with paper dolls to cut out.  I will neatly cut them out and put them in a box and be as happy as one can be in those circumstances.

As a reader of Pinterest I've been delighted to find lots of links to paper dolls which bring back those wonderful childhood memories.

This is a paper doll I recently found on Pinterest.  I don't remember ever seeing this one.  It is called the "Lucky Strike doll".  I'm surprised I didn't have this one as both my parents were smokers.  Of course this could not be on the market today because of anti-smoking laws, which is a good thing.  But I found it interesting.

Pie recipe, quote

Quote of the day...."Love your parents. We are all so busy growing up, that we forget their aging too. Don't take the days for granted and make each moment count."

When Bob and I were first married our house had a concord grape vine in the back yard.  My wonderful Mother-in-law not only helped me make and can grape jelly each year, she also introduced me to "grape pie".  The recipe was in an old edition of a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and I try to make at least one pie each year; not only because it tastes so good, but it also brings back memories of my Mother-in-law.   I've discovered that most people look at me quizzically when I mention grape pie, and they always wonder how I get rid of all those seeds!                I encourage you to try one -  it is delicious.

Quilted wallhanging, quote

Family is not an important thing, it's everything.
Michael J. Fox

This year my brother celebrated a milestone birthday, so I made a wall hanging for him:

It was a simple project as it was a printed panel, all I did was add the four borders around the edge, but it turned out beautifully.  The colors are so vibrant.

 

Fun photo, fun zentangle, fun quote





 "Today was good.  Today was fun.  Tomorrow is another one."   - Dr. Seuss

Last weekend, Bob and I attended our nephew's wedding.  At the reception they had a photo booth, masks, etc.   The bride and groom wanted us all to take fun photos in the booth as a memento of the day .

Bob needed a little persuasion, but finally he put on the mask and I quickly grabbed a mask for me.  As you can see, he's very photogenic even in a mask and my photos are always awful even in a mask!  But it was fun.

Dr. Seuss Christmas

Dr. Seuss


And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?

I knitted both my girls Christmas stockings and as they were growing up filled them with all kinds of treats and small gifts.  I really enjoyed shopping and making gifts for their stockings and it was fun watching them dump them out with such enthusiasm!

Another Christmas tradition is to purchase or make them a new Christmas ornament each year.  As adults, they still look forward to their new ornament.  One Christmas a few years ago when I'd had a hectic and financially difficult year, I told them that I thought I'd discontinue the tradition of Christmas Ornaments.
Both girls exclaimed that it wouldn't be Christmas without an ornament from me.  So, the tradition continues and I must admit, I'm so glad it does.  

Both these traditions are special memories for us.  But the memories are not so much the ornaments as much as it's the tradition of showing love by creating a tradition which bonds us together. 

The Nutcracker ballet

My mother said, Don't worry abot what people think now. Think about whether your children and grandchildren will think you've done well.
Lord Mountbatten

Can you believe the fact that I had never seen the Nutcracker Ballet until yesterday?
Our granddaughter Corey danced in the Nutcracker performance at Ft. Wayne.  It was wonderful and she was beautiful!

Veterans Day thank you

"Courage is fear holding on a mninute longer."  - George S. Patton

My personal thank you to all the Veterans who are serving and have served to protect our freedoms.

Special thanks go out to our Grandson Cameron, currently in the Army; our grandson Neill, currently in the Marines;  and my brother Larry who served in the Army.  Also, in memory of Bob's Dad who served in the Army; and my Dad who served in the Air Force. 

Quote of the day - "Home"

"Where we love is our home - home that our feet may leave but not our hearts."  -Oliver Wendell Holmes

This card is one I'm sending our to our Grandson and his new wife.  They are moving into their first new home.   When you think of "home" what or where comes to mind?  A lot of us think of our childhood and where we grew up.  Some of us think of our current home and/or relationship; or perhaps our memories include several "homes".   I am blessed and greatful for our home together and love the fact the our grandchildren love visiting us. 

Travel, quote of the day

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."   -Yogi Berra

Having just traveled from Indiana to Virginia for our grandson's wedding, I reflect on the many sights and memories of the trip. 

Memories, quote, card

"The older we get, the swifter time seems to pass and the quicker memories seem to fade."

- Brian Sibley, writer

Today is my brother's birday and this is the card I made for him. The cat clock is a replica of the one we had on our bedroom wall when we were kids. Yes, we shared a bedroom. We had trundle beds and I slept on the top bed and Larry slept on the lower bed. The clock was really noisy, but comforting in some ways. It also would drown out the sound of the outside since we didn't have central air. I can also remember that sometimes we would put our beds on the opposite side of the bedroom and put a rope down the center of the room so each of us had our own space. His side was always the messy side!

In Memory

Today is the memorial service for my friend, Janet Lovell.  She and several other of my friends are quilting buddies, calling ourselves "The Committee".  When Janet was first hospitalized last year,
The Committee got together and made this quilt for her:

Janet, may you rest in peace.  We will always remember you.