Lilacs

My first lilacs from the yard!

There are a bazillion out there.

They planted 6 bushes....and WOW!

I have mucho lilacs. 

I remember my mom sending me out to cut lilacs from our backyard. 

She would fill a glass vase of my grandmothers with them and place them in the dining room. 

I do not recall them being quite as fragrant, though.

I have 2 vase-fulls.  

Maybe that's why....

My whole house smells just lovely!

I'm cutting more tomorrow. 

Golf

I just don't get the fascination. 

I've gone out on the links 3 times.. 

I like to walk the course leisurely and take in all the sights. 

I like to take my time getting to my ball. 

I like to listen for birds. 

And the chipmunks are so cute. 

I like the exercise of walking. 

If I have a few bad holes, I take one or two off and try again after I've regrouped. 

This irritates them. 

They want to ride in a cart, dashing to the ball and missing all the scenery. 

They like to take out their computer thing and see how far it is to the pin. 

They want to keep score. 

They want to tell me what I'm doing wrong and 'fix me'. 

They keep saying I could be good at it.

I should take lessons, they suggest. 

I want to slap them. 

But I can't slap them. 

That would be rude. 

Worst of all, they are always trying to beat each other. 

I thought golf was a game you played against yourself. 

Not in their world. 

Although they say that's what they're doing. 

But, they're not. 

It's all about who wins. 

This is not my kind of fun.

I guess I just don't like the same things as the fellas in my family

I'm sorry I agreed to these new clubs for Mothers Day.  

I thought it would be nice spending time together. 

I'd rather meet them for a drink after they've finished. 

Sadly, it's just not for me. 

If they ask, first I shall try to think of an excuse to decline. 

Perhaps I will sit at the pool,or stay home and sew. 

If my attempts at avoidance are unsuccessful, I shall go. 

And I will try to enjoy myself.

I will resist complaining (I suspect I will fail at this)

But, I will never ask to go.

Never. 

Because, it's just dumb. 

Happy Memorial Day

For all who have died fighting for our country, I will never forget your sacrifice. 

Today, I promise always remember to show my gratitude to the brave men and women in the armed forces & their families.

God Bless America!

Wednesday Words...Gotta ❤ Mama T

Kind words can be short and easy to speak. 

But their echoes can be endless. 

Mother Teresa

😝I wrote this out Wednesday....and never posted it til Thursday!

Home again

My baby is home from university. 

Finals are over. 

Dorm cleaned out. 

His freshman year is done. 

Yikes!

I picked him up at 7 this morning. 

From the looks of him, i suspect there may have been a post exam bar crawl last night. 

He was waiting for me, but I cant say he was bright eyed and bushy tailed. 

His eyes were glassy and red, and he had a green tint to him. 

But he hauled all his belongings down to the car without complaint. 

We just barely fit it all in the CRV. 

He made pleasant conversation on the ride back.

Even emptied out my truck before crashing. 

I will spend the next days nagging him to organize and eliminate things. 

But today, I will just sit here and enjoy the fact that he is home again, comatose in his bed. 

Where I can see him.

And hug him. 

I think he's happy to be home. 

One thing's for sure.....I'm happy he's here. 

Quilting in Outer Space?

Breaking news....

Astronaut Karen Nyberg is a quilter!

And she brought fabric and sewing supplies to the international space station. 

She is going to make something up there. 

I hope she enters it in Paducah!

Here's the linky...

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/14/18254269-first-quilter-in-space-nasa-astronaut-plans-to-turn-orbital-rags-to-stitches?lite

Ann's Blue & Yellow

Ann sent this happy quilt to me to finish for her. 

She made it for a friend. 

I did a loose meander, rainbows over magna glide white. 

She used a yellow sheet for backing. 

My first using a sheet for anything but practice. 

It worked fine. 

For my kids....

Dear K, J & J,

You are my precious babies, and these are my hopes for you. 

I wish for you to be a decent human being. 

I wish for you to be yourself. 

This does not mean you can be an asshole. 

I want you to work hard, putting forward your best effort in everything you do and using your many talents every chance you get. 

Life is too short to live with regret. 

I want you to be able to take care of yourself. 

Cook, clean, laundry, bills. 

I wish for you to be financially responsible and live within your means. 

Frivolous things are just distractions and don't make people happy. 

Save your money and spend your time finding true happiness.  

I hope you will honor and respect your wonderful body. 

Eat right, sleep well, practice moderation, see the dentist and doctor regularly. 

I wish for you to be tolerant of others and try not to judge. 

You never know someone else's story.  

I want you to be charitable with your time and money. 

Everyone needs a hand sometimes. 

If the circumstances allow, offer your hand. 

I want you to be charitable with youself.  

Accept your flaws as integral parts of the extraordinary person you are. 

There is no one else like you. 

I wish for you to respect each person's right to be themselves. 

Encourage others in their individuality. 

I wish for you to love hard. 

Even if a broken heart scares you. 

I wish for you to be kind to everyone you meet. 

You can change the world with small acts of kindness. 

I want you to sometimes think of others before yourself. 

I wish for you curiosity so you will always be inquiring and excited about learning. 

I wish for you the bravery needed to face your life head on and live it full out. 

Travel.  

The world is immense and fascinating.   

See as much of it as you can. 

I want you to find something you are passionate about. 

Whether it's as shining as a noble cause, or a simple hobby, feed your soul by doing something you love to do.

I want you to know that sometimes life is hard.  

I want you to know that sometimes bad things happen to good people. 

No one deserves the bad, and no one earns the good. 

Don't let hard times harden you. 

Please watch your words. 

Once someone is hurt by you, it can't be undone. 

Listen twice as much as you speak. 

Listening is an important and underrated skill. 

When you are hurt, and you will be hurt, I hope you will choose forgiveness. 

Don't allow anyone to steal your sweetness and make you bitter. 

I wish for you occasional guilt-free relaxation. 

I hope that you will show gratitude to God, whoever you perceive Him to be, for all the many blessings in your life. 

I hope you will never forget how lucky you are to be living freely in this great country. 

I wish for you to keep our family strong by staying connected to each other. 

Celebrate with each other, support each other, cry with each other, talk to each other.  

And, more than any other thing, you must remember how much I love you.

You are my precious babies, my everything.  

I know you are remarkable people. 

Make it your mission to show the world what I already know. 

Mom

XO

  

Happy Mothers Day

Today, I celebrate my mom.

Even though she isn't here physically anymore, I know she's with me. 

I miss her everyday, and today is no different. 

She was an imperfectly, perfect mom to me. 

A loving example of all things mom. 

My first home. 

A cheerleader, a nurse, a soft place to land. 

A friend. 

And, most important, a hoot!

I love you mom, wherever you are. 

New golf clubs.

Murray would like me to golf with him after work during the week. 

These are my new clubs. 

Lord, give me strength. 

I picked this set cause the bag has quilty designs on it. 

At the very least, my bag should be pleasing to the eye. 

Barb's fall quilt

This is Barbs quilt. 

It's backed in flannel. 

I didn't want it to weight a ton, so I did a loose loopy meander with freehand pumpkins. 

I thought it was appropriate for the fall themed fabrics.. 

I really wanted to quilt each fabric with a different fill, maybe altering scale for a modern look. 

Oh well, I'm a chicken with my friends flimsies. 

I used glide military gold thread on top and magna glide tan bobbins. 

Kelly's bridal shower

some pics from her big day...

she was surprised, which is hard to do  

A broken hip

Sunday night at 11:30 the phone rang. 

It was Phil's mom, telling us his dad had fallen & broken his hip. 

Tony had surgery yesterday afternoon.

They used a rod & pin and said the break wasn't as bad as they thought. 

He came through it fine, weak heart and all. 

Phil left this morning to go see him. 

I'm so glad he went.  

The statistics for this surgery at his age are not encouraging. 

 

This brings back so many memories for me. 

Of my dad, and his end of life struggles. 

I'm praying that Tony doesn't have to suffer like that. 

 

The End

He's done.
My baby has decided that he will play college soccer no more.
This decision has been a long time coming.
After being riddled with many minor and a major injury, it's his opinion that its just not worth it.
And, I have to agree.
His heart hasn't been in it for some time.
And I'm so grateful I got see him play in a few spring games.
He looked good.
Selfishly, I shall miss the excuse to go take him to dinner after matches.
So, he's now just a regular college kid.
Good for him!

I love this kid so...all I want is his happiness.

Wednesday Words

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."
Henry Ford

Spring Clean-Up

I spent yesterday with my number 1 son, Herman.
He's between jobs right now.
For one week, he is off.
Monday he will start back to work at his new/old, close to home job.
We raked and bagged leaves.
26 bags worth, which doesn't even equal half of his backyard.
He loves those trees in the hot summer when his house stays cool.
In the spring and fall, not so much.
Working with him brought back many memories for me.
He was always my helper growing up.
I was happy to return the favor.