Baby Quilts

Yes, it's come to this - no crafting of any sort from me, so I'll post a picture of somebody else's work instead! Saturday we went to a shower for the first baby of my cousin's son and his wife. Mom, grandma, brother and his wife were in town for it and mom made this quilt for the baby. The hearts are paper pieced and she used Warm and Natural batting. Isn't it lovely?

We had a really nice time at the shower and got to see the twin boys, who are just starting to eat solid foods now. They are such beautiful babies and seemingly didn't mind the crowd of people or the being passed around at all!

The nine patch quilts were also made by mom - one for each of the twins. When my cousin opened them she immediately put them on the floor and had the boys on them! Mom also used her embroidery machien on these quilts and put the boys' name on the back of each one.

~ Elizabeth

Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart! - Psalm 32:11

Boba Tea Party!

Last night I met some friends at Color Fat Straws for drinks, quasi-knitting and laughter. Pictured is my drink, a Passion Fruit Iced Tea with "boba" at the bottom (tapioca balls). VERY strange feeling to drink these as they have a texture along the lines of a gummy bear. It did get pointed out to me, after I had a wonderfully ladylike coughing fit when I tried to breathe in a boba, that you are NOT supposed to just drink them straight down without chewing them first - LOL! Not sure if I would order this again, but I did have a sample of a friend's smoothie that was yummy!

Barely visible in the background to the left is Lise's Fetching glove that was oh so pretty. And behind my cup is the pair of 1776 socks that Ronda made that caused me to sigh and want to pull my yarn out of the closet and actually get it on the needles! Ah well, all in good time.

The quasi-knitting was me, sitting with the left arm in a sling, knitting vicariously through the others. It was still fun to be with them and watch and laugh and talk, but it made my fingers itch to be stiching!

And since the boba tea place was so close to James and Loni's house I followed them after work and we went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant first and had a really nice time. The weather is so beautifully fall right now and we were able to sit out on the patio and truly enjoy it. Then of course a quick stop by there house to love on my grandpuppy and out the door to meet my friends.

An evening I'd like to do again and again.

Crafting Willy Nilly

Once again I'm going to be flitting to and from my crafts. I keep telling myself that there are just so many things that I enjoy doing! This time (here comes the justifying) there's a reason though: I'll be having shoulder surgery in two weeks! The MRI showed that I had torn the rotator cuff and a possible tear of the bicep muscle, so I'll be having arthroscopic surgery. The surgeon said that I will not be able to move my left arm at all except for specific exercises for awhile, so that leaves knitting out. Then I remembered counted cross stitch and how I would only use my left arm to hold the fabric and no movement required! Yesterday during my lunch hour I went to the local needlework store and had a ball. It's been quite some time since I've been and there are so many beautiful things to choose from. I purchased for a project - picture to follow - and am eager to begin.

Which led me to pulling down my cross stitch box last night and going through it. So many beautiful things, unfinished of course. ;) I guess we'll see if maybe that's what I'll be working on for the next little while.

Say Hi!

This is Joe's newest trick! At the "say hi" command he sits up in a "beg", then wave his arms around and it's just too cute.

Coming off an absolutely awesome weekend. Friday night of course was dinner out for Lynne's 21st birthday. Always love being with my family and when there's an event it's even better.

Then Saturday, bright and early, Lynne' and I left the house, went to get Loni and off the three of us went for a day of garage sales / flea markets / antique shops and of course lunch at a hardware store in small town. It was a wonderful day!

Cherry Tree Hill Yarn

When I returned from Arkansas I had a wonderful package waiting for me in the mail - my order of Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn! I've heard about these yarns for ages but have never had the opportunity to pet them or see them. Some of my enabler knit friends pointed me in the direction of an online sale and really, what's a woman to do? Not only am I not disappointed, I am simply delighted in the feel and the color and am anxious to cast on another pair of socks with one of these.

And when we had the garage sale in Arkansas it was an absolutely stunning day. The morning started off quite chilly, so I pulled out my hand knit socks and clogs to wear that day. Silly as it might sound, I truly did have happy feet all day long! There's something intensely satisfying about knitting your own socks and each time I would slip my feet out of my clogs and wiggle my toes it would give me a smile on my face.

~ Elizabeth

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. - Proverbs 31:13

She's 21 Today!

Today is my baby girl's 21st birthday! When the alarm went off this morning I looked at Keith and said "Good morning old man". He looked puzzled and asked "what???" since this isn't normally a term of endearment that I use with him. I pointed out that when your youngest child turns 21 I think it means that you're officially old now. We both just laughed.

When her alarm went off she came into the bedroom with us with a grin from ear to ear. She said "Well, I'm officially an adult today." Keith asked her how that made her feel and she paused a moment before saying "tired". I couldn't help but think to myself baby girl, it's only just begun - LOL! ;)

Arkansas Report

Back from Arkansas and actually I got back late Sunday night. Have you ever been so tired though that when you sit in a quiet room you can almost hear the buzzing in your head? That was me all day Monday. Yesterday was running around and now today almost feels like I’m living my life again.

The trip was actually rather surreal. Going through my grandmother’s things and then selling them wasn’t exactly pleasant. But it did put the kernel of the idea in my head that I need to get rid of an awful lot of my own “stuff” after doing this. Grandma’s house was always neat as a pin, so it wasn’t that at all. It’s just that I now know that there will be somebody that has to go through absolutely each and every little thing, up to and including opening each piece of paper to determine what to do with it, and I hate to do that to my kids! :)

As the photo shows, the theme of the four days seemed to be coffee, in all shapes and forms. When Danette (my cousin) picked me up on Thursday our very first stop was the Starbucks drive-thru near my house. And amazingly we turned the four hour drive into a seven hour drive with all our stops! We stopped once at a casino on the way and she taught me how to work the machines. Of course I didn’t win anything, but she did and was kind enough to treat us both to Starbucks inside the casino (she also taught me how to order regular coffee there – who knew?) – and then on the road we went again. Shortly thereafter we spied a really nice Goodwill store so we swung in there. It really was nice, but I didn’t find any treasures.

In the midst of all the tears this weekend, I also came away with some phenomenal memories. Some of the things make me laugh every single time I think of them, which is way cool:

• Hearing Danette’s 3 year old granddaughter Mackenzie through the cell phone saying “Hello MeMe!” and watching Danette’s entire face light up with joy.
• The two of us laughing each time we’d let Grandma’s back screen door slam, simply because it sent us back in time to when we were much younger and did the same thing.
• Going to dinner one night in a nearby town in a barn that the guy had converted to a restaurant – awesome comfort food! On the way there Judy (my aunt), Danette and I were sitting in the backseat and we broke out into Cher’s song “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” as we rode round the “mountain”.
• Saturday night the four of us (two aunts, two cousins) got into our pj’s and climbed up on Judy’s bed to look through really old photos and hear stories of days gone by. Slumber Party! :)
• Discovering just how alike Danette and I are – even down to how we fix our coffee! We really are “sistah cousins”!!!

State Fair of Texas

Well I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but we really had a nice time yesterday. Keith and I both took off work to spend the day at the fair. The weather was really nice, hardly what you would call a crowd and of course the Fletcher's Corny Dogs! This year we were able to see the creative arts building and look at the prize winning quilts and canned goods. Keith enjoyed seeing the Lego entries - who knew there were Lego entries??? And for the first time we rode the Texas Star - ferris wheel - , reputed to be the tallest ride in the Western Hemisphere. Pretty cool and since the gondolas were like little cages instead of open seats it really wasn't frightening at all.

Now this morning I'm sitting at home enjoying the beautiful fall weather that arrived last night. I dearly love the cooler temperatures and cool breezes and apparently Joe and Meeko do as well since they keep rotating around the open windows in the house with their little noses pressed up against the screens.

My cousin from Houston should be arriving shortly and we will be hitting the road towards Arkansas to stay with my aunt and help go through my grandparents' house and prepare to close it up. Definitely a bittersweet feel to the trip and yet I'm looking forward to it more than I could possibly have imagined. I love that I'll have car time alone with my cousin because I'm certain we'll solve all the world's problems and I am eagerly anticipating the two of us spending time with my aunt. I love these two ladies so very much and time together is just very special.

And while putting on my makeup earlier I realized that the left side of my face got a little more than its fair share of product. Rather than either take some off or add some to the right I just shrugged my shoulders and decided that it worked out well since my cousin will be driving and will be able to see the pretty side - LOL!

~ Elizabeth

Children can withstand a lot of pressure and trial from the outside if the home inside is held steady by parents whose character is steady. - Stuart Briscoe

No More Evil Knievel For Me

Last Thursday I decided I should get a second opinion on my arm since it's still hurting so much. I was so tickled by the nurse's assistant at the facility. She asked about the accident and I told her about riding the motorcycle offroad. This young girl's eyes lit up and she told me that she and her boyfriend had recently gone bungee jumping and had we tried that yet? LOL - umm....methinks you have the wrong idea about me! She told me that she is 23 and she hopes that when she is my age that she is still doing fun things like riding motorcycles! So during the short conversation with this young lady I learned that a) I am old and b) she thinks I'm a daredevil!

The doctor x-rayed my arm and it's not broken, but he did recommend I get an MRI to further check things out. He told me that I would be heading to the imaging center that does the Dallas Cowboys and I do think that I disappointed him with my lack of being impressed. However, Monday afternoon I went to the training center and stopped at the guard shack while he checked my name on the list. I have to admit that I told the young guard that I must be really important to be coming here! He laughed and showed me where to park. I honestly think this place rivals Disneyworld in cleanliness - not even a leaf would dare to fall on the grass and mar the perfect beauty!

This afternoon I heard the results and I have a torn rotator cuff. I suppose this means I need to start acting my age now instead of running amuck all the time! Perhaps this means I will settle down now. ~ sigh ~ Or maybe it just means that I will again reflect upon the enormous blessing it is to have health insurance!

Coincidence - I Think Not!

This morning about halfway to work it started raining, then by the time I got closer there was an honest to goodness storm. I was so happy watching that water come from the sky and glanced at my rearview mirror and discovered it was only 65 degrees! Fall is a wonderful time of year, bringing hope after the horrid heat of the summer. And ironically enough Dallas County announced water restrictions again yesterday due to the drought, so the rain was especially great.

But what made this storm especially meaningful to me was a brief flash in time. The radio was playing the song "Holy Is The Lord" by Chris Tomlin - Holy is the Lord, God Almighty - and right as the next line was being sung there was a HUGE flash of lightning - The earth is filled with His glory!!!!! How cool is that??? The earth truly is filled with His glory and it was awesome to see the emphasis with the lightning.

Tiger Joe

Saturday I went to lunch with friends and next door to the restaurant was a thrift shop, so what's a girl to do? Since Halloween is coming up there were quite a few costumes and I managed to snag two headbands for Joe. This picture was taken at the park on Sunday and doesn't he look happy?

The funniest thing about the headbands though is that when he tried this on Saturday and went in to show Meeko (!), the cat was scared to death. Smacked his ears down on his head and started howling and hissing. All we can figure is that Joe must have appeared to be the biggest cat he'd ever seen! If it wasn't so pitiful it would be even funnier. ;)

And I love to put headbands like this on Joe because he must honestly believe me when I tell him how handsome he is. He struts around the house and shows everybody and it just really tickles me.

~ Elizabeth

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting--a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sunday Lunch

I am a firm believer that even the most simple lunch can be fun if you eat outside on a blanket. And so for lunch Sunday, once we saw how awesome the weather was outside, we decided to run through the McD drive-thru and head to the park. We haven't eaten McD in a long time and sitting outside like this made it taste like a feast. Joe had a grand time watching all the pockets of people playing on the playground, playing basketball, riding bicycles, etc. When we finished eating Lynne' took hold of his leash and went running with him, although with his girth he did tire very quickly. These are truly the best of times.

~ Elizabeth

"A memory is a photograph taken by the heart to make a special moment last forever. And of all the memory-pictures that happy times can bring, the best are those that families make together." - Unknown

Dallas Stars!

Oh what fun we had Saturday night! We finally splurged and bought tickets to the Dallas Stars hockey game. It just so happened that Saturday night was opening night at home, so that was especially fun. And they were playing the New Jersey Devils, so of course we expected a good game and we were not disappointed. Our seats were great and it really was just a fun evening together. When we parked downtown and were walking the many blocks to the arena we passed several sports bars that were filled to overflowing with people watching the Red River Rivalry football game. As it turns out, Texas did not disappoint there either!

Now lest anybody think I'm bragging about Texas sports teams, Keith, Lynne' and I just finished watching the end of the Dallas Cowboys game and let's just say it wasn't a stellar performance there. ;)

Happy Blogiversary!

One year ago I made the first post on this blog! I wish I would've realized it earlier so that I could've made a cake or something.

It's hard to believe that it's been a year. And it's really true what they say about time flies when you're having fun. :)

Season Premiere!

WooHoo - I know what we'll be doing tonight!

10-4 Good Buddy!

Get it....10-4....October 4??? OK, I can't take full credit for this clever bit as I heard it on the radio this morning.

This photo shows the dinner Lynne' and I had last night. When we went grocery shopping at Super Target we saw the cutest containers of different kinds of rice. Cute packaging pulls me in very quickly, so we took a second look and were very intrigued with Bamboo Rice and decided to give it a try. You can see it in the bowl at the top of the picture and let me just say that it didn't really taste any better than it looks! It wasn't BAD, just wasn't something we feel the need to have again. We did discover that if we poured a lot of soy sauce over the top it wasn't nearly as bad.

~ Elizabeth

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. - Romans 12:14

Joe the Wonder Dog

LOL - this dog just totally cracks me up! One of his tricks is to "stay" and Keith will balance either a treat or one of his toys on his head. He doesn't love it though and keeps moving his eyes over at me like "please do something mom"!

Speaking of his tricks, when I got home from scrapbooking on Saturday Keith said he'd taught Joe a new trick that day! He is now able to "shake" hands. Seems funny to us that we never taught that one to him. But here is what he does know:

1. sit

2. stay

3. lay down

4. let go (when we play fetch and he thinks he'd rather keep the toy than give it back)

5. dead dog

6. twirl

7. spin

8. beg

9. speak

10. growl (This turned out to not be a good trick to teach him. It started out he'd lay on the bed with us and we'd play "growlies" with him where he'd growl for us to pet him, then when we'd stop he'd growl again, etc. We think it's adorable that he'll growl on demand and it looks silly to see him growl while wagging his tail. But what we didn't think of is that when he goes to the vet or boarding and he's sitting in a crate and growls to get attention it ends up with the exact opposite result of what he's wanting! People that don't know him are not going to run over and pet a 100 pound growling dog!)

11. dry off (This one cracks me up totally and probably was the longest time to teach him. He will now do that full body shake that dogs do to dry off when they get wet! The funniest part of it is that if he's not totally in the mood he'll just do a little shimmy of his hind end and it looks quite silly.)

12. get the ball (or whatever toy we say)

13. and now shake hands

Pretty impressive I think!

12 Hour Crop

This is a picture of my workspace after cropping for almost 12 hours on Saturday! And as I gaze upon this photo it hits me that it's really no wonder that I get so little done at crops! I still contend that the most important part of a crop to me is the fellowshipping and laughing - and if I'm honest with myself I'd add the "eating, Starbucks and Sonic runs" as well. ;)

When I got home late Saturday night and was telling Keith animated stories about the day he just shook his head at me. Among the stories was another chapter of "and we have to move up there when we retire honey because I just love the area and people so much"! Of course I'd have to keep our current home as well so that I could still play with my friends here. It really presents quite a pickle, which is probably why he just shakes his head and pretty much ignores me on the subject.

My arm is still very sore and I had to baby it quite a bit on Saturday with the sling - except for when I threw that baby off and did the YMCA like a crazy woman! The problem with doing things like the YMCA when you're my age is that after the "performance" was over I sat in my chair panting for quite some time. Hard lesson to learn about yourself, but really I'm just not as young as I used to be! The bright side though is that I'm no longer as inhibited either. When I was younger I would never have done the YMCA in front of a group of people - LOL!