Wedding accomplished!

I just wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures from the wedding of our son, Paul, and his new bride, Kim.  They were married Monday and, as you can see, they're very happy.  We all are.

Eva, age 14y

Eva's Feast...

This is Evabeth and she's 14y.  Where does the time go?  She was six months old when we moved into this old farm house and now she is a young lady.  Eva is very friendly.  If she doesn't know you, she will as soon as she claps eyes on you!  I love watching her when she processes- "Hey, this is someone new..." and then the inevitable, "Hi!  I'm Eva!"  Never knew a stranger and she is just one of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. She is an amazing artist, truly gifted when it comes to a piece of paper and a pencil.  She draws beautiful fairies and gruesome beasts.  She loves reading her Kindle that her big brother and sister-in-law recently bought for her.  She is also a budding author.  Bekah loves to hear her stories when they go to bed.  She is a sweet and loving sister and tries her best to please her brothers and sister.  And that's not always an easy task.  She works harder than any kid her age I know. She's emotional and sensitive- and because she is so sweet, her brothers freak out when she cries- they start consoling/scolding her - anything to make her stop! John even did her chore for her the other night.  She stresses and then she stresses about stressing. It's amazing how hard a good person works to be "gooder."  She's a blessing to all who meet her.  She's absolutely precious and for those of you who don't know her, personally, I really hope that some day you will.

She had a "book" theme for her feast.  Eva does love her books.  She set her table with stacks of old books and put candles in clear glass punch cups and tissue paper wrapped stemware.  We were running a bit late for her feast... yeah, she was stressing.  It wasn't a big deal.  She got her appetizers of different filled puff pastry- spinach, garlic butter, pimento cheese and orange marmalade- cooked up and sent out early to pacify the hungry guests.  The puff pastry is kinda like thin sheets of paper, right?  Books.  Get it?  She set "wocky" sticks on their plates because they were like pencils... Her main course was stir fry with angel hair pasta, BBQ chicken, and plain chicken.  She made coffee punch for her beverage.  Jacob said that the combination of food was a bit unexpected but contrasted rather nicely.  Her dessert was a holiday favorite of chocolate mousse or peach crepes.  As her gifts, she bought different books for all of her guests from the thrift shop.  Each book was chosen with care to suit the one receiving it.  As Abe said of his book, "The Call of the Wild"- "This stuff is intense!"

Silly Eva

We finished up by being typically rowdy.  John has a large mouth- it's a fact.  And so he accepted the challenge of fitting the rim of one of the stemware into his mouth.  Turns out, you can't do that while laughing.  And if you get most of the rim into your mouth and under your lips, blowing a big puff of air out will allow your lips to stretch even further and fit around the cup... Such a silly activity, but hilariously funny.  By the way, Jacob was able to accomplish that feat, also- although with a slightly smaller glass.  Our friend, Gary, tried and I realized that his mouth is really, really small and my boys' are really, really large!  And then there was the whole trying to break a glass by screaming at it- good thing we live a half mile from the nearest neighbor.  And we're not even gonna talk about the crepe food fight...Eva's feast was just a blast!     

Coffee Punch: 2 cups sugar, 2 cups water, 2-3 Tablespoons of instant coffee crystals- cook and stir until sugar melts and begins to thicken. Cool. 30 minutes before serving, in a punch bowl mix coffee syrup, 1/2 gallon of milk, 1/2 gallon of chocolate ice cream and 1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream. Serve.

Picture taken by son, Daniel, in his hometown of Boston, MA

Feast days!!!

(Sorry I'm a little late in posting this friends!  I won't bore you with my sob story of trying to break into my own blog-  a feat worthy of the most adept hacker, I'm thinking. (different IP address and a forgotten password- not a good combination.)  But, suddenly, the tides turned and I'm back in business!  Wish I could say what I did, but like with most technology, it's still a mystery! 


The moment we've all been waiting for has arrived.  How thrilling!  For those of you who may not be familiar with our feast day tradition...

Quite a few years ago we decided that the season was filled with too much "Give me, Give me!"  So we came up with the Feast Days as a way to encourage the "Serve you, serve you!" that needs to be in all our hearts.  We drew upon the example of Queen Ester and how, by serving meals to her King and also her enemy, she changed the fate of an entire nation.

At the end of each November, the children draw a number from a bowl to determine the order of their feast- we have about two feasts per week leading up to Christmas.  Each child meets with me, individually, and we secretly plan a special meal to serve to the family.  They give special attention in choosing foods they know the other children love. On the day prior to their feast, the two of us go out for lunch together and then shop for their feast ingredients.  They choose simple, inexpensive gifts and decorations- spending no more than $12, usually. Everything is hidden and, on their big day, the kitchen and dining room is curtained off and the cooking and decorating begins.  (The children tend to choose a theme for their feast to simplify the meal planning and the decorating.)  When all is ready, they invite their guests into the feast with great ceremony.  Will reads some scripture and after a prayer, the child goes around serving each person the meal. Clean-up is their responsibility, also.  It's a real treat for all of us. So without more ado...

Bekah, age 12y

Bekah's Feast...

This is Bekah and she's 12 years old.  Isn't she beautiful?  As my children hit the age of about 12, I find that describing them becomes more of a challenge. That might have something to do with them figuring out who they are, who they want to be and all that, I don't know. She's an unusual child.  A mixture of conflicting behavior.  She's shy but I don't think that bothers her.  She is content to not know you. She picks who she wants to know after a time of observation. She's very smart.  Very creative.  She hates housework, but likes to cook and is one of the most efficient cooks I know.  She can multi-task in there like a pro. She needs a good cuddle at least once a day, will say so and then tell you how much she enjoyed that kiss on her forehead.  She loves to sleep in and read.  She gets a inordinate amount of pleasure from her flannel jammie pants. She is a fun kid to spend time with- a child and a grown-up all rolled into one. LOVE that girl!

Bekah loves the movie, "Tangled."  Her brother, Paul, has spoiled her with a life-size cut out of Rapunzel, and a comforter and several posters.  She designed her feast around the movie and every detail was considered carefully.  Seeing as how an iron skillet was Rapunzel's weapon of choice, she set her table with a large collection of iron skillets(of which, I had more than I thought!) and filled them with lots of little candles.  In the words of Abe, "Who knew iron skillets could look so romantic?"  Purple table cloth.  But the true genius came in the lanterns hanging from the ceiling- she used two Styrofoam plates joined by a sheet of tissue paper with a little battery operated candle inside.  They looked amazing... 

Iron skillet candles and floating lanterns

She also painted some pictures like those in Rapunzel's tower.  Her appetizers were adorable stacks of fruit. 

pineapple, orange, apples, kiwi, banana, grape

Her main course was a savory venison stew served in a cast iron Dutch oven along with rustic artisan bread which had everyone groaning in pleasure.  Her beverage was root beer served over frozen root beer in chilled tankards- a tribute to the ruffians in the movie.  Her dessert was a peach (iron)skillet cake and vanilla ice cream.  Bekah's gifts for her guests were little hair-bedecked head bands.  So funny to see the guys wear them as beards. 

L-R Mr. Jim, Mary, Jacob, Bekah, Abe, Eva, Rapunzel, John, William

We had such a good time.


Iron Skillet Cake: Place a 9" iron skillet in oven and preheat to 375*.  Melt 6 Tablespoons of butter in hot skillet.  In a bowl, mix: 1 cup self-rising flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk.  Pour batter into hot skillet.  Do not stir.  Place 1 large can of drained, sliced peaches evenly on top of batter.  Do not stir.   Bake for 35-45 minutes until dark brown around edges.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

time...

I found something to do! 

 

And I'm having a good time.  The kids have been good sports and are right there with me!  We're tearing the covers off of old books- nothing of any value, I assure you.  No, not all books are worth keeping for posterity. We're using the covers for "canvases."  Works like a charm.  Then we tear into just about anything we can get our hands on: paint, varnish, paper, stamps, tissue, burlap, cardboard, tape, sandpaper... really, there's no end of possibilities.  We even use straws and toothpicks.  I love to see what the kids are coming up with, too.  All so different. All of my paintings have collections of words on them.  I flip through the books that are de-nuded of their covers and cut out any words that I like the sound of or grab my attention and they all go into a box.  When I'm done with the picture, I pull them all out and make a single thought out of some of them.  No plan, just whatever strikes my fancy at the time.  It's a stress-free activity- I mean, the more distressed it looks the more I tend to like it.  That's just me, maybe.  And there's nothing "realistic" about the girls- so accuracy isn't an issue. My arm doesn't mind the light exercise.  It's all good. Four more weeks of physical therapy and maybe I'll be out there sewing again.  I keep seeing quilts I want to make.  

 

Gotta run!  String beans to pick!  (The kids are a huge help with all the lifting that canning involves.  I wash jars, help pick, snap and pack jars.  They move beans, and lift pots.  A real team effort.)

 

 

 

 

Local artisans at work.  My kids and nieces.

      

 

 

 

 

Don't be afraid- she now has a rooster on the fence by her.

hidden

Hiya!!

That's hillbilly for "How are you?"  Go ahead and say it fast, you'll see. 

Here's a little baby quilt I gifted away, last week.  I had the top done, but Will had to quilt it for me as I was... incapacitated.  No, silly, not decapitated.  Incapacitated. Not necessarily the same- although I suppose if you're decapitated, being incapacitated is a given.  But the reverse may not be absolute.  At any rate, the pattern is Bonnie Hunter's Pineapple Blossom. The fabrics are 1930's reproductions. Binding it is the sum total of the sewing I've done... oh wait, I serged some receiving blankets and spit-up towels.  But other than that, that's that.  No, I'm not still on pain meds.  Too bad I can't blame my mental wanderings on narcotics. It's just me.

I took my shoulder in for some maintenance work, a few weeks ago.  Wouldn't it be cool if you could just drop it off at the shop like you would your sewing machine?  Pick it up a couple weeks later all spruced and fluffed. Start sewing with it right away- working better than before.  I should have bought the extended warranty on this shoulder...  It's doing good.  I'm doing good.  Looks like I'll be out of the game and sitting on the bench for a couple months.  

I try not to whine about being bored.  I taught my kids to never say that out loud- I could always find some work for them to do. But who's going to find something for me to do?  Even work would be OK.  Oddly, to me, is the concept that a bone being sawed off in one part of your body, makes the remaining body feel absolutely ill. Doesn't it make sense to you that if the left shoulder is injured, weeding the flower beds with the right shoulder should be no big deal?  Amazingly, no.  The right arm doesn't hurt, but still you end up getting sick.  That's just weird.  And so I sit.  Walk a little. A lot of movies, books.  Typing is even still uncomfortable. Physical therapy is helping.  Not fun, but helping.

My sweet nieces will be visiting for the next couple weeks so I have a very nice diversion.  Talking doesn't hurt- though, I can't guarantee the coherency of the conversation- which is ever the case. Catch ya on the flip side!

hand dyed medallion

 Summer afternoon...

I just thought I'd pop in and say, "Hello!"  Hoping everyone is having a good summer.  Our kids are living in the pool- can you imagine anything more fun on a hot morning, afternoon and evening?  They're all getting as brown as little nuts.  Unfortunately, there are some not so fun side-effects.  Their toes are raw and poor Abe has a sore diaphragm and taking a deep breath is painful.  With some one else working the garden, my time is more my own than most summers.  And then the kids have camps- two each for the oldest two, John and Eva.  The two younger ones are planning a couple fishing jaunts with their daddy and a free movie at the library. There should be some perks to being left behind.  Their cousins have come back to Indiana for a month this summer so they are frequent visitors.  I came home last night to find that the combined crowd had eaten a raw lasagna... Didn't they notice the noodles were a bit crunchy and the cheese not melted?  Didn't keep them from eating the whole thing! Well, you know how hungry swimming can make ya.  At least I made two trays so maybe they'll give me a chance to bake this one.

This song is pretty much my aspiration...

 

 

 

I have a MRI scheduled, tomorrow, for my shoulder and then a follow up appointment with the surgeon for next week.  I sure hope they can fix me up so "I don't hurt any more."

leaders/enders

I think I need a new storage box for my 2" leader/enders, whatcha think?  That's actually quite a bit of sewing when you figure I only make one at the beginning and end of other things I sew... 

Start for coffee shop

 A wall hanging for Mary and Jacob has begun.  Jacob loves all things coffee and they've decorated their kitchen like a coffee house.  The wall hanging has some words appliqued on it- cafe, espresso, cappuccino, etc... I'll have to pace myself on all that applique- seems like I've been doing more of that, lately.  But it's a great way to thin out the scrap basket.



blue enhancement

  Speaking of scraps... I've got some new blues.  A very good thing as I just don't gravitate towards blues at the fabric stores.  How can I buy blues when there's nice warm oranges, greens, browns or reds just pining to go home with me? Oh, I notice that there's a couple things on the back of the sewing counter- of course there is.  If you have a young son or grandson, I know they'll love this book, "Sir Kevin of Devon."  I know I've recommended it, before, but here it is, again.  It's out of print but you can find a used copy on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_10?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=sir+kevin+of+devon&sprefix=Sir+Kevin+%2Cstripbooks%2C287  There's the link. The girl in the picture is me when I won the pig tail contest that the newspaper sponsored- only in West Virginia.  Not sure how old I was. My hair was half way down my thighs so it made some fairly long pigtails.

 

 

Being without a plan can be liberating

I started this quilt ages ago and I sew up a little 9" sampler block every now and then to throw into the box.  I don't have any kind of plan- wouldn't that be just too easy?  The fabrics are all from my hand dyed stash.  I suppose the large thingy in the middle will be a medallion, but whether it will end up on point or straight... if there will be sashing or alternate blocks... how many blocks it would take to make a queen size... See?  No plan.

 

 

Here's hoping that you remember to sit out in the warm summer air and watch the butterflies and bees dance from bloom to bloom and listen to the birds sing a sweet song, setting aside all the chores and work that are waiting... they won't go anywhere.  I promise.  But the days of summer will race away and we'll be huddled in the cold, drab days of winter dreaming of all the bright, sweet scented ones we didn't savor when we had the chance.  Live today. Much love and God bless! ~nines

Thank you, Sylvia!!

Birthday Loot!

I got home from Oregon in time for my birthday.  And look at what I got in the mail!  Sylvia sent me the sweetest package of orange batiks!  And can you see that small wool penny on a paper clip on top of the card? How fun!  Of course, the first thing I had to sew upon my return from Oregon was a block from them. I have enough to make five more blocks and I think with some sashing, borders and such, it'll be enough for a throw-sized quilt.  I just love the fabrics, Sylvia- It was beyond thoughtful and kind and good of you to bless my day!


My other birthday gifts:

so me...

The sewing machine(which needs a functioning foot pedal- no problem, I have plenty,) a vintage Ransburg hand painted pottery cookie jar and tin breadbox are from my sweet William and the pool float is from my dear sis-in-law, Rebecca.  I raked it in.  We had a movie night and ate cake. I had an amazing day.  God has been so good to bless me with friends and family who are so easily lovable and, for some unfathomable reason, love me.  

 Fabric purchase from Oregon...


Well, yeah, they're orange.  And they were on clearance.  There was a great quilt shop in Canby, Oregon.  I'm sorry I don't remember the name... but it's the only one there, so it shouldn't be hard to find.

Find of the decade...

Rotary blades for a dollar, each.  This little pack of two rotary blades runs $2 at Harbor Freight!  They are called "Carpet Cutter Blades" but they are the same ones we quilters use- they're sharp and stay sharp and with the price of rotary cutter blades- they are about $5 per blade, here- you can't beat this deal and we can afford to stock up.  So hit that store, friends!

Problem child...

Weird child.  Just plain ugly child... What can I say?  Not every quilt turns out to be... well, I'd settle for tolerable. I was using up these little bits of bleach resist fabric we made up a few years ago.  It sat in a bin for a few more years(time flies!)  I figured I could always cut the hideous thing into nubbin' blocks, but then... Truthfully, I think son #5 will dig it.  It's quite masculine, dontcha think?  OK, don't comment on this little foible. I quilted and bound it and I hung this small wall hanging(about 18" square) by his bed while he's working with his dad, this morning.  Hope he likes it when he gets home or else... well I haven't an idea of what else.

problem child...

 

 

Kelli's back yard

Home again, home again...

Jiggety jog! I sure did enjoy my vacation in Oregon these past two weeks. We spent every evening sitting on the back patio- until the mosquitoes came out- though, to be honest, Oregon mosquitoes are tame, indeed.

West Virginia carnivorous misquitoes

(Indiana mosquitoes are monster big and leave a goose egg size knot, but West Virginia mosquitoes are tiny little creatures, but don't let that fool ya- they'll nibble you to death and leave you itchy for weeks. I digress...Where was I? Oh, Oregon.) There's not enough room here to say what all we did- Krav Maga, kick boxing, hand gun training- I was merely a spectator- Kelli is the one you don't want to rile. We shopped, and ate at "plant-based" restaurants. I'm thinking our town could use a place like that. We went to the beach and ate Nepalese food- yummo!- and taffy. It was cold and windy, but beautifully sunny. Just plain ole had a wonderful, relaxing time.

Depoe Beach

Nines, Kelli, Ashlee