Old Age (Sorta)

     So, I am writing today to complain about my ridiculous body! 2 weeks ago, I could hardly walk (we're talking riding on those carts at the grocery store!) because of the plantar fasciitis in my left foot that occasionally flares up.  I was limping around, wishing for a handicapped placard so I could park as close as possible to my errands.  Then, last week, my right knee swelled right up for no apparent reason!!! (But my plantar fasciitis went away), then, my knee has been gradually getting better and two days ago my sciatic nerve started giving me fits!  Keeping me up at night, making it hard to sit, there was no comfortable position!  Bleck! The jacuzzi helped some, along with some nifty stretching exercises I saw on YouTube, so I am getting some relief there. My thumb has arthritis in it, so it hurts when I even try to zip up a ziplock baggie - grrr!  And the hot flashes are what are really driving me bonkers! I am so tired of waking up sweating multiple times each night and wanting to divest myself of my clothing several times a day!  It's cool weather here now, but I am dreading summer, when I cannot just zip outside for a breath of fresh air!
     Now, I am not a marathoner, but I am not a total couch potato either! I hit the gym 3-5 days per week, but since my body started seriously falling apart, it's all I can do to take a little mosey around the block with the dog!  I am still 6 months away from the big 5-0!  What's coming in a few more years? Total paralysis? Anyway, that's my rant for the day, and if I have already ranted about it, I have forgotten, my Alzheimer's may have kicked in too...

Finally Some Finished Quilt Pictures

Okay, here are some recent quilty finishes:
This first one I made with "Quilt Smart" which made the fun petals very do-able:

 This simple, cuddly quilt is for my niece, Hannah Banana:

 I have been working on this quilt for 3 years! It is handquilted and it is done! (for the condo)

 Here is a quilt for Doug & Tricia's new baby girl, hope they don't curse my name later, it has soft, white Minkey on the back:

This one was a panel challenge our bee did:

 Here is a bit of the fabric sorting I've been doing for the new studio, these clear bins will be going on the shelves in my new cabinets and pull out like drawers. I have nearly 3 full, but some empties, just in case my fabric grows...

Here is a better picture of my temporary sewing studio:

 Notice the pins up on the windowsill where little hands cannot reach them.

 

 

 

And, still agonizing over colors...

The Dusty Basement

Well, we are soldiering along here in remodel-land:

 

There is going to be plenty of lights for quilting and I am going to have my very own real laundry room - hooray! I will have lighting over every task - ironing, sewing, quilting, cutting, design-wall and cupboards. The only problem with all of my lovely lights is that there are so many and my house is so old, we have to use low voltage energy lightbulbs (or upgrade our electrical service - not happening).  We are presently tracking drywall dust everywhere and waiting for cabinets.

 I have my little sewing area upstairs, and it works, but is a little frustrating traipsing up and down the stairs looking for random sewing necessities - searching the guestrooms where everything is piled up!  BUT, better than no sewing for weeks! Hope to have more progress soon!

Winter

     February has nearly slipped past me!  Good news, the basement/quilt studio remodel has begun!!! I will post pictures as soon as there is something more interesting than holes in the wall and studs to frame in my unfinished laundry room.  When the hole was cut for my built in bookshelves, Mr. Handsome kept muttering about maybe he should just fit a (huge) TV in there, it would be perfect - maybe we should make the shelves removable, so it would be easy to slip one in later. Um... NO!  Shane thinks it would be a great snack bar, he wants me to bring my popcorn machine down and get a cotton candy maker, etc. Um...NO!  But good try, guys!
     I am so excited! My back is a bit sore from moving heavy objects into the two bedrooms down there to get them out of the way for the excitement.  My ironing table is very heavy! I also had to clean out much of the unfinished part of the basement, as that is where the cupboards and bookshelves are going to bump out into.  So, lots of dust already, but it will be totally worth it!!! I am also in love with the fact that I only need to go to the basement a couple of times a week to do laundry, and we don't "live" down there, AND there is an outside entrance, so hopefully this remodel will be much less painful than the kitchen/ bathroom remodels we've already done here.
     I have moved my SewEZ table upstairs and my trusty old Bernina and set up a rather unsightly sewing area up here in the family room.  I have my little portable table top ironing board and a couple of projects to keep me busy while the studio is reborn. Now to keep those cute grandsons from running off with my scissors and pins! I also have 3 quilts to hand sew down the binding on, so there is some more sewing I can do outside of the studio. (I will post pics as soon as they are done).
    I am currently agonizing over paint colors, I had been planning on painting the walls lime green, since it is the basement and there is not much natural light, but I'm kind of tired of it already, so I think I've switched to an aqua blue.  The laundry room - maybe a sunny yellow - but not too bright - ack, I am not good at picking paint colors!  I am really excited that I can get a cute laundry room sign for my new room! I've never had a real laundry room to decorate, yippee skippy!
     I am currently taking a fun interior design class through the community education program and so I feel some pressure to make it "perfect" (deep breaths here).  For the very most part, feeling extremely blessed!!!
     Brooke and Ben have decided not to find out what kind of baby they are having for this number 4 child, so I will have to get creative with a quilt design/color, but it should be a fun challenge. 
     Winter is finally waning and spring is around the corner... Happy Quilting!

Fun, Busy, Cold Month

In January, we left the cold here in Utah:

And headed to much warmer California!

Brooke and her kids came from Missouri. Doug, Tricia & Beckham came, Amanda & Sydnee came, Becca & Brian came too! Jeff lives down there, so we were quite a group! We were warmly welcomed by my great parents and wonderful sisters!

First, we hit Knott's Berry Farm with 4 of the grandkids (we came to California in 'waves', so we were only all there at once for a day or two.)  It was a perfect day, the kids loved it! Camp Snoopy had lots of rides for our little kids to ride.  We ended it by going on "Bigfoot Rapids" and getting soaked to the bone, after going through twice. Stacy didn't get too wet the first go round, but the second time he was drenched! Brooke and I nearly wet our pants laughing when he let go a choice word. 

This was followed by a day at Legoland.  Another great day, but a little chillier. There were 15 of us (2 big SUV's full) We made quite a group and had a wonderful time together. We chose Legoland for Shaun, who LOVES Legos.  We had three babies with us, and at one point they were all napping in their strollers. Thank goodness Heidi came too and helped with the babies and little kids.  Heidi was quite a sport, since that morning, before we left on the hour+ long ride to Carlsbad, Shaun threw up all over the kitchen floor.  We couldn't bear to leave him, so we all headed out. He actually did fine, but I tell you, I am surprised Heidi didn't suddenly remember an appointment or something when that happened!

We took the "big kids" to the beach one day, we rode the ferry to Balboa Island and then went on down to Corona del Mar, where we climbed on the rocks and then let them get their feet wet in the water. Austin & Shuan ended up in the water to their necks, clothes & all!!!  It was a beautiful day at the beach, not too warm, but sunny with no wind. I should have realized they would get all the way in, even though it was January! They had to ride home in their underwear and jackets!

Here is little Sydnee who was just a trooper (and the youngest on the trip), she just had a good time and enjoyed being loved up by everyone. 

On Sunday, we took Austin (who was not throwing up), Amanda and Sydnee to our old stomping grounds in Corona and attended church and saw lots of old, dear friends! We had a great time and even stopped at Tommy's, our favorite Chili Hamburger place. 
On Monday, we dropped Amanda & Sydnee off at one airport, then loaded up Brooke and her kids to take them to LAX. Since they flew on quite the cheap airline, they were charged even to carry on bags, so Brooke had those babies loaded down like Sherpas!

We then headed back to my fabulous parents' and finished doing a little more straightening up.  We had ended up driving, since we generally fly standby, but some flights were canceled, so all the other flights filled up.  We had not driven in 3 years! It was actually pretty fun, we stopped at the condo on the way there and back.  We drove our big car, and we brought home all sorts of things! Like a new pack & play (Shane & Becca), a couch (Jeremy & Amanda), a car seat, various items our Utah kids couldn't fit in their suitcases, and 5 BOXES of lemons to mention a few items!  So, now, here in the cold, we are enjoying fresh squeezed lemonade that tastes like sunshine and reminds us of the wonderful memories we made with our family!!  I have had a great, busy month, but now that I'm finally all caught up at work after being gone for so long, I am back to quilting! Brenda

2012 is Winding Down

     I have just been perusing my new "Blog Book" that I ordered from "Cutest Blog on the Block", I am quite impressed - and not just with myself! It is 308 pages, hardbound and contains all of my posts and pictures since I started my blog in 2008.  It is really fun to look through and remember lots of fun times with my family and friends.  I highly recommend it! (It cost $140.00)
     We've had a wonderful Christmas, and even though Brooke and her family were not able to join us, we "face timed" with them lots and lots!  Jeff just went back to sunny San Diego, but he certainly enjoyed snowboarding with Doug while he was here.  We had a beautiful, snowy Christmas, even though we failed again at making a snow man, I did make a snow angel - my first one! 
     Feeling grateful for all of my blessings, we are heading to Cali for a few days with ALL of the kids and grandbabies (I'm sure Shane will bop down for a day or so!), except poor Ben, who will be hard at work and school still.  Hopefully my family will survive our visit!
     Here's to a wonderful 2013!!!

Christmas Time

It's December and that means lots of fun and lots of busy!  It's trying to snow around here, which would be very beautiful, but it's a bit chilly!  I am still dreaming of a fireplace, but this is what I make due with around here - it's Netflix.  Funny, when I lived in California, we always one, if not two fireplaces in our homes, but here where it really is cold, none!

I finished my sewing machine cover (no, it's not a tea cozy), I sewed up some jelly roll strips (Thanks - Steve & Jen), quilted it up and sewed up a quick cover to keep the dust out.  I love the bright colors and it will match my new color scheme come next month!

We do finally have our little Charlie Brown Christmas tree up, yes it's on a table, we just keep getting smaller ones each year. There are no gifts under it because we have too many toddlers around here for them to be safe.

I do so enjoy looking at other's amazing blogs with their fantastic Christmas decorations and trees, but I am basically pretty lazy when it comes to all the fuss, but I love it when I don't have to do it!  Toodles!  -Brenda