Merry Christmas 2009

On Christmas Eve day, we had all the family here (except the Provo kids). Jamie is hiding her belly, I think, and we are all eating easy, fun foods. We had a good day, and then on Christmas Day we went to visit at Jamie's house, and at Adrienne's house, watching all the kids play with new toys.
We enjoyed having Laura and Nick stay home for a few days. Laura brought matching earrings for us! And Santa DID find us.........

Autumn is the Best!

Greg thought he was pretty clever, driving the four-wheeler out into the spud field, and gathering so many wonderful potatoes.
Of course, it isn't as many a usual, since there are only the two of us. Plenty, though.
I was so happy when Dawn showed up with my Christmas quilt all quilted. I had it all pieced a year ago, and now it is all done! Anyone want to borrow it for a day or two to encourage visions of sugar plums? THANKS, DAWN.
I also finished this little baby quilt, which Adrienne has spoken for. Her boy is due in a couple of months, so I am ahead of the game. Two more boy quilts to go......

Not for the Faint of Heart

Happy Birthday to Greg!
I wanted to cut up the watermelon, and oops, the knife somehow got out of control. I knew it was deep, excessive blood being an issue, so I drove myself to the medical center in Shelley and they fixed me up with 6 stitches. (My ring is soaking right now).
But not to worry, I can still move my finger, which they say is an important thing. It is really swollen now, and when the numbness wears off, it may just throb...........I will tell Greg about it sometime, I am sure.

Fair Week

I went to look at the quilts at the fair, and lo, and behold, my little mini was a Best of Show.
It is just above my head to the left. The fair worker was worried that I posed under the rope, but all was well when I was done. I won a few other ribbons, and enjoyed seeing my friends quilts and ribbons.
Jamie's boys spent the night at my house on Friday a week ago, and here is Weston, sound asleep, but evidently deep in thought at the same time!
And Casey slept here all night, it is his "favorite bed".

Just Three More

The is the popular front deck of the houseboat, and where the kabobs were grilled!
Can you believe it? Greg actually played two different games!
He also had a nap on a cool morning. We'd love to go back!

Because You Asked.........

One of my many readers (Kallie) wanted more pictures, so here are a few more. This is the top deck of the houseboat where we all slept under the stars in our own little tents.
Greg and three of the other men brought harmonicas and gave concerts on a daily basis.

More rocks...the rope is one of the boat anchors......
A view of the eating tables, kitchen and couches. There was plenty of room, it never felt crowded.
This is looking across the very deep channel from the boat. We would swim over to the other side, and find little lizards looking at us.

Lake Powell Trip, WOW

Greg and I spent a week relaxing on this 70 foot house boat. There were seven couples, and it was a lovely time. We ate, played games, swam, and rode jet skiis.
It was glorious scenery, and wonderful company. We would do it again!
My swimming buddies.......................

Two Quilts Finished

I just finished binding this quilt...it is LARGE. The center squares were exchange blocks that I won at quilt guild. I had it machine quilted, and I like the way it turned out.

This baby quilt is made from soft flannel, and I big-stitched it. Do you think it will do well at the fair?

Summer Birthday Fun

Just let me tell you, Rhya LOVES peas from the garden. She will eat them as long as someone helps her, in this case, grandpa.
I have spent most of the last two weeks celebrating my birthday. We love an excuse for parties, lunch with friends (several lunches!), and family times. Kallie and Ryan even came for the weekend, and here is my birthday present from them. A full pedicure, one of my favorite things to get! I was spoiled for days by my husband, kids, and grandkids!
The finale was a yummy family dinner, birthday cake and all, at Adrienne's house with everyone attending. I guess it's finally all over until next year.

Red and Green

Just thought I'd show you the first of the garden harvest. This is the last of the spinach and the first of the peas, zucchini and raspberries. Yum...........

Vacation time: Wallowa Lake and Washington

We had a great reunion in Oregon. Here are
some of my favorite pictures. Weston was happy as long as no one bothered him while he was eating his cake.



Braden and Avery loved the beads that
Aunt Valerie provided, and Braden is
the "KING" and
Avery "the Princess".

The "adults" (I think that means "old people")
all went to dinner one night while we were in
Washington. It is amazing to me that we are
all looking so old! You can tell that JR took the picture,
because it is from way up there.





































The kids loved the water that ran just behind the cabins.







The quilt is the one I made for the reunion raffle, and it was won by little Clara. It has all 71 names of the current family of Leon and Mary. Each generation is represented by a different color.

Quilting Time

Oops, I guess I didn't get anything posted in April. I was busy sewing.......

The leaf quilt is an original design, hand quilted. It won a ribbon at our SRVQGuild show. (Only because it was by hand, and most quilts these days are by machine, so not many quilts in that category!)




The flower pots quilt is the one that I have entered into HMQS,
to be held in Utah this weekend. I get to go, and look at it hanging in the show among the many other quilts! It will be a fun weekend, seeing quilts and Kallie!

The third quilt is a Heartstrings, just bound, to be donated to Quilts of Valor, for returned soldiers.
It has been a fun sewing this month, but now it will be time to work outside, and do other things. Alas.....

Annie Oakley

Adrienne's kids were here for the day, and sweet little Rhya girl decided she wanted to be a cowgirl, since the boys had all the stuff out. She put on the hat, and then insisted I help her with the scarf, belt and boots. She found a stick and actually made a "shooting" noise while aiming it. It was a fun day!

Laura Dawn's Birthday

We had a family gathering at Adrie's house, and she generously fixed lunch for us as we celebrated Laura's birthday. This was my contribution, a cake that is supposed to look like "smores". At least it tasted good, probably because of the ganache filling inside!

It's Warmer in Provo!

Because Ryan was out of town on business, Kallie invited me to spend a few days with her. It was so warm, (compared to here!) that we hardly needed jackets. Max, recently turned one, learned to like me, and Avery, turning three, was sad when I left.

Avery has learned lots of songs, and has been well trained. She had a hard time letting me out of her sight. Even when I was in the bathroom, she would peek under the door and say, "I see your shoes, Grandma!" And then once she yelled., "YOU ARE USING TOO MUCH TOILET PAPER, YOU ARE USING TOO MUCH TOILET PAPER!"

Library Quilt Show #10

We just spent two full days putting on the 10th annual quilt show at the library. It all started when I was on the library board, long story. So this one was bigger and better than ever.














We had some new things this year. Besides having 150 quilts from community members to show, we had a block contest with good participation. Donna C. was helping with that. Also, anyone who donated a charity quilt top entered their name into a drawing for a gift basket. There were 170 quilt tops and/or backs donated! Way beyond expectations!! The classes were all well attended, and it turned out very well. Jamie was there as a vendor, so she got two days off from being a "mom". Now to finish and donate all those charity quilts............

Some Things Finished

I haven't kept my quilt journal very well this year. So I rounded up the quilts that were finished last year, and took some pictures. Here are a few of them.

The tractor quilt is for Weston's third birthday in a couple of days. I made it last week, and Dawn was able to quilt it for me. I hope he likes it!


I also got to use my Christmas tree skirt this year, since I finished it last spring.


The embroidered flowers were a gift from Dawn, and so I made them into this sweet wall hanging.