Blogging from the phone again

Whew! I am not a tech savvy person. My computer is freezing up and I can barely read blogs from there. My iPhone won't send pics to my email and I can no longer check my email from my computer. I would love to throw it all out and start over, but I don't know how.  Did I mention my camera is broken too???  The blogger app no longer works, but I was smart enough to find my way back to blogger by doing a google search. Whew!!!!

Christmas is almost here. Are you ready? I think I am.

I have some pictures to share, but blogger is not finding pics from my phone. Oh my!!! I will keep trying. Maybe soon...

Geez! Louise! I loaded one pic... took me over an hour???

Merry Christmas to you all! 🌲 🌲 🌲

Fall 2016 ... already??

I just cannot believe that summer has come and gone already.  Even though it's still pretty warm here, I can definitely sense that fall is in the air.



This is a hodgepodge of old fall things with a new pumpkin  that I bought this year.  The stand is a ceramic piece I found at a local Goodwill recently.  The lady who made it, has her name etched in the bottom of the stand.  Yes, I'll take this!  I love that her name is on the bottom, I think it is Louise.   The little pillow and candles came from a blogging friend from a few years back, but I can't remember who.  Thank you again, if you recognize your things... I still love them!

Here's a little piece of thrift store 'art' that makes me smile.   Something I created on my own.....

Fancy, huh?  I have always liked seeing angel wings in the décor of others.  I had this set of wings that I bought from JoAnn's a couple years ago.  They were bright and shiny and I never really did anything  with them.  (I think it was a Christmas item bought at the end of the season)   I found the frame at Goodwill, with the tan and black background paper was already inside.  I used paint to darken the dots along the frame edge and used the same black craft paint to 'glaze' those shiny wings.   One, two, three...  and I sat them on the iron candle holders that were also found at Goodwill.    (nothing is attached, so I can always disassemble and change it up....lol)

Doesn't take much to make me happy..........

Which is a very good thing!  Because I ALMOST went back to work a couple weeks ago.  I had been hired to work as a private duty RN for a child who lives in our town and I was planning to work a couple days a week. 

But then......

I came to my senses!!!  I do not want to go back to work!!!

I have always dreamed of retiring and being able to sew, sew, sew....... so I figured I had better get to sewing. 

The days I dreamed about for so long are actually here!!  I could get so much more done if I didn't think I had to read the whole internet every single day!!!  Does anyone else have that problem?

So, there.....

Life is good!

A Week With Our Boys

Our sweet little grandsons, Avery and Chandler, came to spend a week with us last month.  It was a fun filled week and such a pleasure to see how grown up our boys have become.  They are ages 6 and 4 ... and Grandma had forgotten just how much energy little boys can have!!

Avery and Chandler

a fun day of fishing

My daddy has a sweet pond, where the fish are ALWAYS biting!

Avery, Great Granddaddy, Papa, and Chandler

It was a fun week.  Little sister, Brinley, cried because she could not come along for this trip.  Next time, sweet baby girl, I promise!!!

 



Baby Kinley Quilt

My niece had a baby girl a couple months ago and Aunt Penpen finished up her baby quilt last night.

I finished it up just in time to watch little Kinley for a couple hours today while her mommy went for a doctor's appointment.

Can you tell she just loves her new quilt???  :-)

I hope she has many years of love and comfort from this little quilt.

If you think you've seen this quilt before, you're not going crazy.  It is a lot like my granddaughter, Annabelle's baby quilt. 

 

This is the back of Kinley's quilt:  made with vintage 1980's little girl fabric.

 

A close up of the backing fabric.  I hope she doesn't find it too creepy... I just adore all the little girls. 

 

 

I did not place a label on the back of the quilt, but  may add one later.  I found it so 'freeing' not to worry about a label.  I think I'm going to order some premade labels to attach to most of my quilts, making it easier to move on to the next project. 

 

Great Aunt Penny really enjoyed making this little quilt and just loved watching her and her big brother for a little while today.  

Around the house at Penpen's

Summer is upon us and it is hot in eastern NC.  Our garden was pretty much a flop this year, although we did eat squash 3 times.  We've learned that the garden must be planted away from the dogs.  Sweet Pea helped herself to our cucumbers and the few tomatoes that she could reach.  We are already planning for next year's garden.

One of the good things about not having a job, is being able to visit thrift stores on a regular basis.  I've been finding some really cute things to decorate our new house. 

Here's a look at our foyer area.  The table is our former tv table, which will do for now.  Of course,  I'm on the lookout for just the right piece to go there.  The little dogs are vintage figurines that my parents gifted to my grandparents many years ago.  It makes me happy to have them at my house now.  The tree, the white angel arch, and the crochet balls are more thrifting goodness.

These are future projects.  I just love the cow with the tiny head.

This entire grouping came from thrift stores.  The magnetic strip is a knife holder that the former owners left here.  We couldn't figure how to take it down.  Hopefully there will be tile on the backsplash soon.

I managed to complete little Raegan's quilt just in time for her first birthday.

The front of her little quilt.

The back side; I just love the feminine floral fabric. 

The label handwritten and embroidered by me.  :)

I wanted to share with you my beautiful Mother's Day gift from Will and Ashley.  This is my mama's handwriting from a note she had written to me years ago.  I smile when I remember how much she loved us.  It's been almost a year since my sweet mama left us for her Heavenly home.  I miss her each and every day, but I know I will see her again very soon! 

Still home and loving it!

I have been unemployed (by choice) since early March.  Can I tell you that I love, love, love being home??  I've been extremely busy unpacking and setting up our new home, but thankfully, all that seems to be slowing down.

 

Today on my dining room table is a long over due quilt top for baby Raegan.  Raegan is my nephew's daughter and she will be celebrating her FIRST birthday next month.   Better late, than never.  Right?

 

Can you see the pretty sunflower quilt on the wall?  Click on the picture to enlarge.  This little quilt was gifted to me by Sunny at Quilting Dreams.  I just love it!

 

Just perfect in my dining room

 

I've been trying to stock my pantry.  I decided to check the expiration dates on my canned goods and found two cans of tomato soup that were out of date.  I could throw them out ...... or be brave and eat them.  I ate one can today (exp in 2014) and it was great!  If I go missing , you'll know the soup killed me. 

 

 

My latest thrift store craze:  looking for thin spatulas that will flip an egg without bursting the yolk.  Does anyone know what I mean?  The newer spatulas seem to have a thick edge on them, making it difficult to turn the egg.  Since we moved back home, my daddy has kept us supplied with wonderful farm fresh eggs!  These aren't pretty, but  they work so good!! 

 

 

 



A Sweet Visit to Tennessee

April, Annabelle, and my Daddy

I kidnapped my daddy and my three year old grandson, Chandler, and we took a trip to Tennessee.

It was so much fun!  My daddy had never  been to Tennessee and I couldn't believe I convinced him to leave his home for a few days.  We had not seen Annabelle since before Christmas and it was wonderful to get our hands on her again.  She was such a sweet and funny baby, who welcomed us into her home and entertained us to no end.  Chandler was a great travel buddy and he and Annabelle became fast friends. 

Brinley and her daddy, Will

Before we made our trip to TN, we stopped in High Point to celebrate this sweet girl's birthday.  Brinley turned two!  She is one sweet baby and cried big crocodile tears when we took her brother with us, and she didn't get to go, too.  :(  Grandma wants a Brinley-Grandma day soon!

**this is another post from my phone, but I did find my camera charger!! woo hoo!  Hopefully, my posts will be better soon**
 

Barn Quilt

I finally made myself a barn quilt. It's not actually finished in this photo, as I am still cleaning up the edges and adding more paint.  I hope to display on our lil barn this week. 😜

I'm struggling with blogging right now because I really don't know how to do a proper post from my phone.  I have located my camera since moving into the new house, but I cannot find the charging cord.  Oh brother!!  Slowly, but surely, I hope to get it all together soon!

I Sing Because I'm Happy...

I sing because I'm free....

            His eye is on the sparrow, so I know He watches me!

Portion of my dining room

It's amazing where life can take us and how things fall into place.  Hubby and I listed our home for sale and had two offers within 24 hours of listing.  God is so good.  We moved into our new home last month and life is so sweet again.

Will's family
Will, Ashley, Brinley, Avery, Chandler
 

Even though we moved three hours away from our son's family, we are able to keep in touch.  They came for a quick visit during Easter break and I was able to get lots of sweet loving.  (and lots of laughs!) 

Annabelle is ONE
 

 This little sweetie turned one year old last month!  (she lives 12 hours from me!)  The princess props crack me up, because she is all tomboy so far!  She has started to love on her baby doll a little these days, but she loves to climb and she loves her animals.... Lucy (dog) and Roscoe (cat) and an old neighborhood dog, that has started sleeping on their back porch.  She definitely has her mommy's love of animals!

 

Hubby shot his first turkey, ever, last week.  Hubby is a retired game warden and had never been turkey hunting before.  He is enjoying being back home near his uncle, who is an avid outdoorsman.  I cooked the turkey breast and it was delicious.  I was able to put two more packages in the freezer for later.  I have never seen as many wild turkeys as I have seen since we've moved back home.

Penny's goat











I live near one of my best friends now and she invited me to a paint party.  I had the most fun and as you can see, I painted a goat for my daddy.  I told him to hang it in his 'man cave' and that is where he now resides.  I would definitely do this again.... just what I need, another hobby!

 

Letters from Mama







As I was unpacking boxes, I ran across these letters from my mama.  We moved away from "home" back in 1997.  These are letters she wrote to me in 97-98, before she bought herself a computer.  In the letters, she is trying to decide if she wants a computer or not, and I had been convincing her that she needed to buy one so that we could email, and not have to wait on 'snail mail.'  I'm so glad she didn't have a computer that year, or I would not have these treasures from her now.  I sat down and read them all before I went to bed one night.  I giggled a lot, cried a little, and thoroughly enjoyed my 'visit' with Mama through her letters.  I don't have ANY of our emails, but I do have a lot of messages from Facebook.  Letters are precious.  And the sticky note is one that was inside one of my letters... I love her handwriting.

 

 









And another reason I'm so happy, is that not only did we move back 'home', but I am HOME again! I had left my full time job for a little part time job, but hubby and I decided it just isn't necessary.  So I am truly HOME again.  I love Monday mornings.... my slow time, to blog, to clean up from the weekend, to do things on MY schedule.  I am so truly thankful and feel that God has blessed me tremendously.  Not only do I have a new home, but I can now enjoy being home.  There is still so much unpacking to do, but I am looking forward to getting into my new sewing room soon.  I have  one baby quilt to make that is long over due... Sweet little Rae is 10 months old now.  We have another sweet girl on the way (my niece, Holly's), so she will need a quilt very soon.   I am so excited to know that I will get to it soon!  More pic's of the sewing room next post!









Ma's Quilt

Sometime back in the 1990's, my grandmother, Marjorie, mentioned to my mom, that she believed she could make a quilt, if someone would pre- cut the pieces out for her.

I was so excited to know this, because it was a perfect Christmas gift for the lady I never knew what gift to buy for Christmas.  I cut out, with scissors, every strip  using a template from Georgia Bonesteel's Lap Quilting book... my very first quilting book.  I pencil drew a design of the block on an index card, so she would know how to sew the blocks.

I never heard another word about the quilt.  ( my grandma and I were not very close).  But after she died, my mom found the box tucked away somewhere.... inside were all the pieces , with approx. half of the blocks sewn together!!!  Mama gave the box to me and I knew I had to finish the quilt.

I laughed at myself while sewing the blocks together, as I figured out why she probably didn't finish the quilt.  The strips were cut so WONKY; some longer than others, some fatter than others.  I had to trim blocks.... trim....and then trim again!  She probably was so frustrated, she had no desire to complete it.

I added the hexie flowers, leftover from another project that I had made back in the 1990's, just to give the quilt a little more 'something'.   Here's part of the pieced backing.  I quilted it along the seams of the strips on the front side, hoping to  make the quilt more durable.   (yep, I have a few wrinkles on the back)

 



 

The fabric had several yellowish stains on it and it smelled kind of funny.  I wouldn't wash it until it was all sewn together, as I didn't know what might happen to the fabric.  I used Spray and Wash on the stains, washed it on gentle cycle, and it came out beautifully... and smells so good. 

I had planned to gift this to my mom for Mother's Day last year, but had not finished it on time.  She did see the completed quilt without its binding, as I took it to her house on Mother's Day for her to see.  Sadly, she passed away in July, and never received the quilt.

Today I will be delivering the quilt to her sister, my Aunt Carol, who was my mama's best friend forever!  They talked EVERY day on the phone and I'm sure my aunt misses her terribly.  I hope she will enjoy having her mom, Marjorie's, completed quilt.... and somehow feel a connection to my mom and Marjorie "Ma", through this quilt.  It was truly stitched with lots of love from my heart.  <3 p="">

Hello again blog!

It's been three months and I really do want to keep my blog going.  I cherish going through my mom's blog :  Ancient One's Place .  Her posts really make me smile and tug at my heart strings, especially now that she is gone.  I hope that someone will enjoy my blog one day too.

Mama has several posts featuring my daddy's goats on her blog.  Curt's  mama goats recently delivered their babies over the past couple of weeks (during the coldest weather we have had here in NC).  He has spent a lot of time in the goat pen, helping along his mama's and their babies.  He lost a few, but now has 14 new baby goats that are thriving and doing well.  I read somewhere that winter baby goats are stronger than spring baby goats; so these should be some pretty healthy goats, for sure.  Daddy says he doesn't want to have them bred as early next time; he prefers spring goats. 

This is my daddy with one of his new baby goats.  He is such a good care taker and has impressed me, the nurse, with his skills.  He knows how to put a tube into their stomach and give them extra milk if needed.  I told him that I had to attend nursing school to learn that.  He said he learned from Alex, his old goat friend, who has passed away now. 

We had been away from home for 18 years before Mama died.  It's bittersweet to be back now, wishing we had done so sooner.  But it has been a pleasure to 'get to know' my daddy all over again.  Now that I am older, I can see so much of my own personality in his personality... it's downright scary.  ha ha   And our feet.... we have matching feet... something I didn't realize until my daughter pointed it out to me.  Bless us, we have short toes... I call them 'toelets'. 

I had been extremely busy since Mama got sick and passed away.  I think I finally hit the wall a few weeks ago.  I really miss my mama.  I'm slowing down again; going into semi retirement again; we will be moving into , what we think is, our forever home in a few weeks.  I hope to get back to the things I love; sewing, quilting, homemaking, grandchildren, family, church, our doggies, etc.  And chickens... we plan to get us a few chickens at our new house.  Daddy has spoiled us with fresh eggs since we've been back home.  Once you've had fresh eggs, those pale yellow yolks from the grocery store just don't satisfy.  :)

I am going to try to sign into my mom's blog soon and make a final post for her.  She had several friends there who probably wonder where she is these days.  She was very private and didn't even want her family to know how sick she really was.  I just wish we had realized sooner.  But it was all in God's hands and there is nothing to change it now.  The biggest lesson for all of us:  Get your routine colonoscopy as recommended.  Love to you all!