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!

Life is STILL good.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

A lot has changed since my mom passed away in July.  Hubby and I packed up the house and moved the 3 hours away to be near my dad.  (and other family) 

We both got new jobs and we both love our jobs!  My new job is so much more relaxed than my nursing home job.  I have decided that nursing home jobs are the hardest....those people work hard!!

Daddy is doing well and we are happy that we are all together again.  We are living 7 miles from him and I see him almost every day.  He misses Mama a lot, but he is adapting well to life without her.  My heart is so full.

The grandbabies are growing up:

Chandler(3) Avery (5) Brinley (1)

 

I miss being able to see them anytime I want, but so far, we have all done well with the transition.  We are still traveling back and forth to get our home ready to sell, and we are  visiting regularly. 



Annabelle

Annabelle is 8 months old now (this pic is older).  Her mom sent me a message that she stood and took three steps yesterday towards her daddy.  She is a strong little girl and has been moving along for awhile now.  She's really growing up so quickly!

A more recent photo of Annabelle

I lost one of my 'best friends' shortly after my mama died.  This is my Gene Gene:

Gene and Butterbean

 

Gene was one of my special friends from the nursing home where I worked for almost 12 years.  We bonded right away after he was admitted years ago and he was like family to me.  He loved my doggies, especially Butterbean.  He called Butterbean 'MY dog'. 

Heaven got a whole LOT sweeter for me this year:  I have my Mama and my Gene Gene waiting for me there. 

On this Thanksgiving 2015, I am still very thankful.... we have so much to be thankful for.  One of the greatest things on my heart today is being thankful ..... not only did my parents care about my earthly life, but they have always cared about my SOUL.  Loving my life here, but longing for Heaven....

Happy Thanksgiving!

** Mama **

My sweet mama passed away on July 27, 2015.

She had a blog here:  Ancient One's Place

I started this blog for my mom, years ago, when we lived so far away from each other.  Then she started her blog for me.  We have both met so many wonderful blogging friends and enjoyed our time here.

I will miss her so much, but I KNOW I will see her again soon... just on the other side. 

Please pray for my sweet daddy as he transitions into a life without her.

Love to all!

Missing the Good 'Ole Days...

Do you miss the good ole days?  I do.  What do you consider to have been the good ole days? 

*I miss 'pre' technology days.  Don't get me wrong, I love the conveniences of computers, smart phones, kindle readers , etc.  But when is enough, enough?  I feel totally overwhelmed most of the time, having this urgent need to "check" my phone for messages, "check" my facebook for messages or "likes", "check" my instagram to see the latest pretty pictures, "check" my email to see if there is anything important there...... grrrr..... I hate the sense of urgency I feel because of these devices! 

Remember when we waited for the mail carrier's daily run?  We would wait in anticipation,  happily retrieving the mail, to see what goodies were in the box each day.  Maybe a new magazine, ( I currently have no magazine subscriptions), maybe a letter from someone special... a letter to read and reread again and again..., maybe pictures from that roll of film that we sent off a week or so ago, to be developed into prints.  We would look at those pictures over and over and over again, being so pleased with the one or two 'great' shots we happened to take on the 'ole 35mm camera.  (Now I may go days without even checking my mailbox)

Again, I love having a digital camera and having instant gratification with the picture taking.  We can repeat the picture over and over again until we get it just right.  Not to mention how we can edit our own photo's now, to make them so perfect!  It's a great thing.  But I seldom print any pictures these days.  I always have to go to my computer to find them again.  Click, click, click....

Pinterest!  Oh my.... it's a lovely thing.  Click, click, click.... for hours.... pinning beautiful things.  But guess what?  To see them again, I must turn on my computer.... click, click, click..... hey ! let me check this thing out over here.... another hour or two on the computer...  Shut down the computer a few hours later and I can hardly remember what I've seen! 

So, the other night at work, I had four empty beds and I had a slow night at work.  No personal technology allowed at work, so I grabbed a couple of magazines to flip through, while my patients were sleeping.  Country Living.... oh how I have missed you!  I looked through the magazines several times each, paying close attention to the details in the pictures, ooh'ing and ah'ing over the beautiful rooms.   Thinking to myself, I would love to copy this room.... it would be so easy, keep this picture handy for reference, and go for it.  This is so much easier to do with a paper magazine picture than something from my computer.  Yes, I could print the picture, keep it as reference on my phone, in my pinterest account, etc... but it's just not the same. 

I realized how much I missed the afternoons of resting on the couch, no click, click, click involved.... slowly thumbing through magazine pages, making mental notes of what I loved about each picture, reading through the articles, deciding which recipes I wanted to try.... and maybe even trying them!  Oh I miss the good ole days.

My brain is so overwhelmed with technology... so many images, so many facebook posts that are such a waste of good time... Yes, I can even read my Bible on the computer.... but it's just not the same.  A digital note in the side bar cannot compare to a hand written one, one to ponder each and every time we see that handwritten note again. 

Is anyone with me here?  I don't see that giving up technology is in my near future, because I would truly miss what we have... instant connectivity to friends, family, and even strangers.... strangers that we love to follow.   And that feeling of urgency to 'check' my devices for important messages.    That feeling that if I am not 'connected' , I am not in the loop and no one will think of me. 

I don't even know where this post is going... my intention was to post about this book I found at a consignment store yesterday:

I paid $1 for this book and spent my afternoon and evening reading yesterday.  Flipping through its pages, underlining the words that spoke to me, wondering who this Regina Franklin author was, and learning a LOT about how worldly we have become with our looks!  (To my mom, this author's dad grew up in Vanceboro NC.... how cool?)

Yesterday felt almost like the good ole days..... I went to several thrift stores, I encountered real live people and had a couple of conversations, I read a REAL book, ... but all along, I felt the need to 'check' my devices.... just in case something important was going on that I needed to know about.  How can we stop the madness?   My brain is always on overload.... not to mention how my housework is declining.  Why can't I stop this??? 

Remember when we looked forward to going to church to see our friends and family?  Now that need is not  so strong, as we can click a few clicks on the computer , and see what they are up to.... if they are behaving, if they are being naughty, if they are living right (throw in being judgmental here).  No need to go to church..... everyone is fake.  (for real!!! I have these thoughts!!)

Does anyone else feel this way?  What are we to do?   I sure do miss the good ole days.   I would love to hear your thoughts on this.  Is it just me???

May post

Hello out there! My world is much busier these days since I have returned to work. I have a goal in mind and hope this full time work will be short lived. 😛

I'm blogging from my phone this morning, and I don't quite know how to do the picture thing. So here are a few random photos since I last posted.

Sweet Annabelle is growing quickly

More mornings on the patio

Sweet Brinley Kate just turned a year old

We took the kids for ice cream yesterday

I've managed to pin a quilt sandwich together

And I've joined weight watchers again... lord help me! 9# down so far.

And life goes on...

My busy world

Papa and I made a trip to TN to meet our newest granddaughter:  Annabelle.  Can I just say that she is beautiful????  Grandma was sick with a yucky sinus issue the whole time we visited, so I wouldn't kiss on her.  I'm hoping to go back very soon for our 'first kiss'. 

Grandma also made a difficult decision to go back to work last month.  I have gone from working every other weekend to now working 30 hours a week.... for insurance.   Insurance stinks!  Something we all need, but has gotten outrageously expensive for me. 

On a positive note, I am not feeling as lazy since I've gone back to work.  My days off are spent doing things that must be done.  I had spent too many years just lying around the house, on and off the computer all day, putting off chores that could wait just another day, getting little to no exercise... I can already tell I have more energy than before.  Don't get me wrong, this ole girl is tired at the end of a shift, but it's a good tired.  I hope I can keep this up for awhile.

On a negative note, working is cutting into my sewing time.  I have two projects that need to be done soon and I haven't found the time to work on them yet.  I'll figure it out.... there's nothing like working under pressure, right?

I hope all is well in your world!

Welcome Baby Annabelle

She is here!!

Our 4th grandchild.... our daughter's first baby.... Annabelle Morgan Osborne.

She was born early Saturday morning, weighing 7 lbs 8 oz.  Her mommy is so in love!  My heart melts when I see the pictures of my baby holding HER baby.  (I think baby has mommy's mouth, but otherwise looks a lot like her daddy)


Hubby and I plan to visit her later this week.  I can hardly wait to kiss on our newest addition. 

Quilt in the snow

I completed the binding for baby Maverick's quilt last night.

This is the first quilt I've been able to photograph in a snow.  Our part of NC got 5-6 inches of pretty snow last night.

The back had to be pieced together because I realized my fabric wasn't 45" wide.  (it was only 42") Note to self:  watch out for that when using this pattern again!

Baby M. is due to arrive within the next couple of weeks.  I plan to embroider and attach the quilt label today.  I just love babies!!

Winter 2015

It's been an icy and snowy week in our part of NC this week.

click to enlarge to see those sweet faces

Our grandchildren enjoyed time outside with their parents. 

click to enlarge

A sled full of sweetness!

Yesterday we had a surprise "blizzard" that lasted approx. 15 minutes.  Everything was so pretty.

I'll take the 15 minute blizzard any day, over what our northern friends have experienced this winter. 

We are now looking forward to spring!!

She worketh willingly with her hands..

Another 2015 UFO finish for me:

I'm determined to finish up old projects before starting new ones and   I'll probably be at it all year.   I'm not sure if I will have this framed or whether I'll make it into a quilted piece.  So, technically, I guess I'm not really finished, huh?

More Baby Sewing

I spent my Saturday finishing up burp cloths for Annabelle.

These are from  'leftover' fabrics  that had been used to make cloths for cousins.

And then I made seven more, made from fabrics  picked out just for Annabelle. 

Long story:  my daughter lives 8 hours away and will not be able to come home for a family baby shower.  Instead, we are trying to help her put her nursery together, via long distance.  It's been fun, but I surely do wish we lived closer.  I'm planning to make a trip to TN in two weeks to help her 'nest'.  *sigh*  She will have a smallish shower in TN next weekend.  After that, we can get serious about finishing up her nursery and making sure she has what she needs.  Truth is:  it doesn't take that much to prepare for bringing a new baby home.  However, baby magazines and the big box baby stores make people think they 'need' all kinds of expensive gadgets!  Thankfully, our daughter is a simple kind of girl, who realizes these things.  :)

Annabelle Quilt

 

First finish of 2015:  Our Sweet Annabelle's Quilt.    Annabelle Morgan is due to arrive in March and I can't wait to meet her!  This is our daughter's first baby and she is planning her nursery in vintage pastels.

The back of Annabelle's quilt.  (quilt pic taken upside down, label in corner).  I quilted this one by machine, using  the walking foot for the entire process.  This was a very relaxing way to quilt and no muscle soreness, like when I attempt free motion quilting.

An embroidered corner label:   This is the first time I've used the corner label and I like the way it looks on the quilt.   This quilt was made entirely from fabric and batting I already had on hand.  It is very satisfying to see the stash being used. 

I have this quilt in the washer now and will pack it up for my trip to TN next month.  I'm planning to go out and help my daughter 'nest' a little before Annabelle arrives.  AND she has promised to take me to Paducah KY for a day trip to see Quilt City USA.  I'm looking forward to our little time together.