I Need Help Here!

Week after next my small stitching group, Nimble Thimbles, will be meeting at my house. Oh how I love these women! They are funny, loving, giving, compassionate, sharing, and every other good thing I can think of. Once a month we meet in each other's homes for stitching, talking, and eating. No business! Just fun! Counting me there are 8 of us. Needless to say all are good cooks though none of us try to be fancy. (I wasn't counting me in the good cooks part because you know I burned the beans!) Anyway, I'm thinking I'd like to make something new and wonderful so I'm looking for ideas here. If you were fixing lunch for 8 women who aren't company but are definitely family of the heart what would you fix? Just put your menu in the comments and I'll pick one to fix for my friends because that way I don't have to dream this up myself and you'll be doing the dreaming for me. :) But beware, if it's something I don't normally make I'll be e-mailing you for the recipe!

Giveaways and Tags

Kim at Simple Needs is having a wonderful giveaway - go see her!

And so is Char at The Pickled Pepper Patch. Awesome gift!

Jacquie at The Middle of Eleven tagged me with a request to do the following:

1. Open your Pictures folder.
2. Go to the sixth folder.
3. Open the sixth picture.
4. Import into your blog and tell the story

This was taken March 23, 2003 when my children were all at my house for supper. This is one of my daughters with her one of her sons. The one with his back turned is my son.

Lost and Found?

Now I admit to not being the best housekeeper in the world. Or the best grandmother. But if you found this under the edge of a chair when you finally got around to moving furniture to vacuum what would you think? A gift from a grandchild? And no, I have no pets who might have brought it to me. Just grandchildren. He's not "fresh" if you know what I mean. He's dried. Skeletonized. (Is that a word?) He's been there a while. There is always the option that he snuck in and couldn't get back out. But I prefer to think a grandchild brought him in and then forgot about him to thinking he could have opened the door and walked in when I wasn't looking. Wouldn't you?

Sunday Star

Earlier in the week I told you about my husband's class reunion that we attended last weekend. I mentioned two dancing couples but only told you about one. Now, here's the rest of the story. I was what I consider a lucky kid. I was very shy and changing schools would have been traumatizing to me. But I never had to do that. I went to the same grammar school from grade 1 to grade 6, changed with all my classmates to a junior high, and then on to high school. In high school there were new kids that came in from another junior high but since all my friends were with me it was ok. In grammar school with me, but one grade ahead, was a guy I'll call M. M was sort of like me, quiet and shy. He was really, really smart, not very big and not very athletic. But at that time in our society that was ok. It was nice to be athletic but not everyone was expected to be. I knew who he was then but he was older than me and a boy...well you know in grammar school you didn't really talk to boys much, especially an older one!

M went on to college and further and became a professional - a field I won't name because I don't want to in any way identify him since he doesn't know I'm writing this. :) But it's a profession any of us would be proud for our children to aspire to. In other words, he's been very successful in life. At other reunions he's been present but still quiet and reserved. He married a really sweet girl after college and they had two sons.

At this reunion when we ran into him again he was a completely different person. I think he had more fun than anyone there! He visited with everyone multiple times, he laughed and talked and laughed some more. And when the music started he and his wife danced every dance. Now I can't honestly say he's a great dancer but what he lacked in skill he made up in enthusiasm. We couldn't help but smile when we watched them - they were both so full of joy. At a break in the music I was talking with his wife and she shared with me that M had cancer several years ago, and a recurrence two years after that, but that he'd been clear for nearly 10 years now. She had just told me that when the music started again and her sweet husband grabbed her hand and said, "Let's go!"

Photo by Flickr

Today M is my Sunday Star. I applaud his decision, and mark my words it is a decision, to live life to the fullest every single day. He faced death and this time it passed him by. Instead of living with caution, watching every little ache and pain and wondering if "it" was back, he chooses to dance. He inspires me. He lifts my spirits. He gives me hope. All because he chooses to dance.

Finished by Friday - Just a Little

I thought I'd show you Frank after I put the orange border on him. It's hard to see in this picture but the border has black spiders and spider webs on it. I put magnets on the back and he's guarding my refrigerator. If you remember I machine appliqued him onto a black plaid tea towel so there's no backing or quilting to this. The border I sewed on the front, flipped over and sewed onto the back. It's a simple piece but the grandkids will like him.

This is a free redwork pattern from Lynette Anderson. She has a lot of free designs that are really cute and I've done a couple of them now. She's doing a Noah's Ark Block of the Month that I love and hope to do at some point. I made a small wallhanging with this piece and plan to hang it on my bathroom door. I use the glue and iron method of sewing binding on that Sharon Schamber demonstrates on Youtube and did a demo on that at my guild meeting this month.

I made progress on a couple of other things this week but no other finishes. I'm hoping to really get into the sewing room next week though so watch out! If have a couple of things that just need a little done so maybe I'll have more to show you then.

My Heart Sings

Since I gave you a few things yesterday that sort of make me angry, just a little angry because you know I'm so sweet and mild mannered and easy going (quit laughing and get up off the floor!) I thought I'd also share with you what makes my heart sing. Just my heart, not my mouth because if it was my mouth it would hurt your ears. But not God's ears because my songs magically morph into opera quality melodies before they reach Heaven. I know they do because He told me in His book. I digress.




This made my heart sing: One night this week my telephone rang as I was sitting and stitching and watching television. When I answered this sweet little voice said, "Hi Grandma!" My seven year old granddaughter was on the other end and even though I couldn't see her I could hear her jumping up and down with excitement. I said, "Hi sweetheart, what are you doing?" Her quick reply, "Grandma, I can say all the books of the New Testament without looking!" Oh my goodness, be still my heart. "Oh I'd love to hear you do that!" And she did. Right straight through with no hesitation and no faltering. Naturally I praised her and asked her if her mother, my sweet daughter-in-law had been helping her practice. She said, "No, my Daddy helped me." Did you hear that? Her Daddy. My son. Helped her learn the books of The New Testament. Is there any mother/grandmother out there who wouldn't have smiled for hours after that? The next day I sent her a congratulations card (yes with a little money tucked inside) to remind her how special I thought that was.

Proverbs 22:6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Photo by Flickr