View from the Deck

Seeing mama deer with her little fawn brought me right out of the blue funk my morning was turning into after finding yet another present one of the Cats had left me on the carpet.

My day was fast going to the toilet, my fuse short, but when I saw Mama and baby, I ran to the fridge, cut up an apple, grabbed the camera and out to the deck I went. My mood instantly disappeared and the whole day looked brighter.

Wedding and the Quilt

The bride was beautiful, the groom nervous, the attendants wore flip flops. This was without a doubt the strangest wedding I've ever attended. Maybe the younger generation or the fact the wedding was held in a park beside the Sacramento River had something to do with it.

DH and I arrived a good hour before the ceremony to find my son, the father of the groom holding down the fort watching over the area. We chatted while wedding guests arrived in very cool casual apparel, not what I would have expected for a wedding. Shorts, jeans, flip flops you name it. I dressed as my generation would. By the time it hit a good 95 degrees, I finally trotted over to the car, stripped off my nylons and got comfortable. Nobody introduced either my DH or me to any of the brides family or other guests. I felt like a tourist at my grandsons wedding. The only people I knew were my EX, his wife, his father, his sister and his neice.

After the ceremony the photographer had the whole wedding party/family sans me or my DH running all over the park taking pictures for the better part of 2 hours, leaving me trying to catch a few for myself. We finally left and headed back to the motel and pool.




My eldest son Jerry and his family.












My 3 Grandsons and Me. Kody is 6'7" and his mom cut the top of his head off the picture. Fine boys.







Mike, father of the groom and my GGD Reese one of three flower girls. And yes that is a Mohawk haircut per the Brides request.

The quilt is almost finished, just 3 sides to stitch down the binding. The LAer called the day I got back from the wedding to tell me it was finished.

Close up of quilting pattern. I had it quilted in a varagated blue thread.

My GD will be here mid July for our family picnic and will take it back to her brother and SIL.

It's been a week since I got back home and I still feel insulted. Would you believe my DIL called "thank you for coming to my son's wedding, I appreciated it" as if I were just another guest on the list and not his grandmother. Yes it was the bride and groom's day but there's no excuse for lack of courtesy on the part of my Son and DIL and I let them know how my feelings were hurt.

No stitching here

I've not been stitching since the wedding quilt went to the LAer. Been too busy trying to control the yard and lot. I spent 7 hours on Sunday manning the weed eater and lawn mower. Why anybody would want an electric mower to trip over the cord constantly is beyond me...but....DH decided we ... did he really mean we as he very seldom is ever home when the grass is butt high and needing to be mowed, but electric mower we got and I cuss it out everytime the grass needs mowing. To my way of thinking a goat woud be a better investment. The grass is down, the lawn and lot looks good. Also grabbed up a paint brush and coated the propane surround a lovely shade of green. One less "honey do" project for his time off the ship. I've got a 5' rattan giraffe sitting by the garage to park in the lot. It will be a fun piece with a trailing plant. My friend got tired of it sitting on her deck so it moved over here. I wonder what my deer friends will think of it. Will they see it as a funny looking deer or...."VBG".

Tomorrow is laundry day getting all my hot weather duds ready for my trip to Redding CA for GS's wedding. I'm getting anxious and wanting to leave. Why is it we plan for a trip and the last few days take weeks to pass? I'm so looking forward to seeing my two eldest sons, their families and my precious GGD.

The wedding will be held outdoors in the park and I finally after much aggitation now have something to wear. I shopped till I almost dropped and managed to get myself in a very bad mood not finding a thing to wear. Everything in the stores, from Macy's to Walmart have something funky for the teeny boppers or something for the very, very aged. Not to be insulting here, but I'm just not ready for either of those age groups and where the heck are the inbetween clothing. My good friend came to the rescue with a long linen skirt she was never able to wear, too big and too long which fits me fine. A purchase of tank top, a pair of sandles and I'm now ready to appear in something other than my favorite Levis and T-shirt. And yes, I really would have dressed that casual. I'm not the ruffles and fluff type person and feel so uncomfortable in something other than my favorite pair of levis and a t-shirt.

The Kats willl be in good hands while I'm gone. My friend has been coming over every morning to give Lady her insulin shot, she feels comfortable with it as I feel comfortable leaving Lady in her care. The Vet has been notified should any problem arise my friend can take her in. I'm monitoring her Blood Sugar like a good mom should to make sure her levels remain good while my friend gives her injection.

When I return it's time to start on the Mariners Compass for GD's wedding come fall time. I want to hand quilt this one so an early start is in order.

Each morning as I wake to the birds singing I am grateful

I have another day on this here earth.
For my dear friend Rexene, who came to my rescue yet again.
For each time I look out at my back yard habitat and see yet another new bird
For the deer who frequent my yard looking for handouts.
For my 91 year old MOM's continued good heath.
For my DH who treats me like a queen and has always been the sun in my sky.
For all my friends here at Mavericks.
.

Happy Birthday Reese

I can't believe my GGD is 6 years old already. It seems like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms, a teeny tiny little bundle of joy.

Family

When I moved back to my home town after being gone for 30 years where the wind blew me, I thought my cousin was my best friend, like a sister as well as family. We were close to the same age and had a history of sorts. I thought I could confide in her during all the ups and downs in my life which were many. I no longer thought of the things she'd done to me in the past, they were old business, nothing to linger over, what was done was done. We shopped, had lunch, spent hours at each others homes. I dropped everything and was at her side the night her husband passed away. I gave comfort, support and let her know I would be there if she needed me. We were family. When her brother passed away three months later I was there. She was mean to me and her sister-in-law but I chalked it up to loss of her brother.

I've learned a lesson during these past 6 months. While my cousin is family she certainly isn't my friend or sister and anything I confided to her in the years since I've been home has been gossiped around. I've heard she's "always hated me". For what I don't know, I've never said a bad thing about her other than she gets more like her mother everyday. Her mother, my Auntie, my Mom's sister wasn't a very nice person. Maybe she recognizes herself.

I have 6 siblings, 5 sisters and 2 brothers. We all don't get along all the time. This is normal for a family this size. We have our ups and downs. This family reunion and raffle quilt has changed how I think about my siblings. During all this upheaval over this quilt I have come to realize, my cousin while she might be family isn't my friend or my sister. My sisters will stand beside me, present a united front and know me for who I am. They will be there if I need them, all I have to do is call.

In all my years of traveling, I never thought much about family. I traveled the road that took us from here to there always on my own agenda. When my Dad passed away, home was forgotten. I came home for the occasional wedding, funeral or vacation. Home wasn't on my horizon, home was where I happened to be. I've grown up, gotten older and have realized that home is everything for without family what are we. Family is everything.

Hide and Seek

Going through some pictures the other day for DH, I found this one of a challenge small quilt I had made. The requirments didn't seem difficult at first thought until I wondered what I could do with shades of black and white that had to be 75% of the small quilt we were to make. Only one other color could be used. Hiding in the far corner of my sewing room was one of those "What was I thinking" pieces of fabric. A mother board in shades of black and white. With toungue in cheek, I marked it, added some bright green eyes, black nose and started quilting. On the day it was to be turned in, I handed it over knowing it wouldn't be received very well. It was different, not a block or applique to be seen, just those two bright green eyes, black nose, quilting and questions of what's it supposed to be. Much to my amazement a friend wanted it and asked to trade her entry for it. I did and she later told me she promptly hung it in her hallway and everytime she passed the kitty she could feel those eyes. This challenge was something for me to play with and I had fun doing it.

What a great time I had with you all catching up on everyone's blogs for the month of May, traveling to places I'll never go in a lifetime, visiting beautiful backyards, spending time with you at quilt shows, classes and quilt market. Going to graduations, birthday parties. and family doings. Seeing all your beautiful, gorgeous quilts, new as well as antique.

Lauri Ann in answer to your question. "Shakespeare in the Park" is the name of the pattern and it's from "The Creative Pattern Book" by Judy Martin http://www.judymartin.com