Communication Sherwood Be Good

We were eating lunch yesterday and the phone rang. Jerry answered it. I heard him giving someone directions to our house. When he hung up, I asked him who it was that needed to know how to get here. Here's how the conversation went:

Jerry: "It was Sherwood Forrest. They need to make a delivery."
(Note: Sherwood Forrest is a miniature golf course here in town.)

Me: "What kind of a delivery would Sherwood Forrest be making? Are they bringing you a new putter?"

Jerry: "I don't know."

Me: "You didn't ask what they were delivering?"

Jerry: "No."

So a short time later there was a knock at the door. He answered, I heard him say "Thank you" and then he came in...with a funny look on his face and a flower arrangement in his hands.

Ooooohhhhhh....Sherwood FLORIST! It was a beautiful spring arrangement from my cousins who were here last week! And my kitchen looks bright and sunny with them sitting on the table, even though it's raining outside and soaking the roots of all the spring flowers in the yard. Thanks, Cathe and Melissa! It Sherwood be fun to get together again soon!!

For the Cause

My quilt guild, the Cotton Boll Quilters, does a lot of charity work of which I am very proud. One of their on-going ministries is called "Journey of Hope". Guild members make quilts for children of all ages and we try to keep a stash on hand so that if we hear of a child who is suffering an illness, has lost a home due to fire or some other tragedy, has lost a parent, etc. we can hand them a quilt of their own and offer them comfort in a very tangible way.


Our stash is low and so we've all been reminded and encouraged to "make quilts for Journey of Hope!" I made a top last week that I hope will be the first of several. I was inspired by one I saw hanging up at Sweet Home Quilt Co. It was quick and easy...and in bright colors that I hope will cheer a child who needs it. I mostly hand quilt, but that is very time consuming. A friend volunteered to machine quilt some if I would put the tops together. So let's hope this is just the start of a productive collaboration.


P.S. If you click on the picture, it should enlarge and you can see these fun fabrics better.

Wednesdays with Nanny

Since the first of the year, it's become our habit that on Wednesday mornings, after BSF bible study, I either bring the grandkids back to my house or take them back home...depending on what Jodi has going on. Many times they'll come back here, and last Wednesday was one of those days.

The weather has been wonderful and we had a good long time together because Jodi was trying to get some things done in the office. We started by having their favorite...a "living room picnic" lunch of yogurt and goldfish crackers in front of the TV (Tom and Jerry cartoons come on at noon). Then we had to do some more surgery on Emery's beloved - and increasingly tattered - "blankie". While we were in the sewing room, Savannah decided to finish her second quilt. One she started a while back for her little pink lamb, Bubble Gum. When I say "she" finished it, I'm speaking in very broad terms. But she did pick out the fabrics and did a little more of the work on this one than she did on the first. Baby steps.

Then it was too beautiful outside to stay in the basement, so after they had played for a while we took a quilt and some books outside to read for a while. Grandpa came by with his lawn tractor and cart and they were off to get rides. After he drove them around for a while, he let Emery drive. Then Savannah got a turn to drive, too. They loved it and didn't want to stop.

By now it was getting to be supper time. So we checked with mommy and she said she was almost done and would have time to eat with us when she came to get them. She offered to pick up something on her way. But Savannah and I decided to go to the store and get Boboli pizza crusts and the toppings. Savannah likes to make pizza and eats that particular kind better than any other. We all eat a bunch whenever we make that.

So there you have it....an afternoon with the grandkids. It doesn't get any better than that.

Childhood Friends

When you're growing up, you tend to think of your life and all its situations as "normal". So I thought it was normal that everybody had a lot of cousins. It wasn't until later in my life that I realize what a blessing it was to have grown up with such a large extended family. My mother came from a large family, so on her side alone I had 42 first cousins! All but 11 of them lived in the same town that we did, and two others were close by.

We would see each other regularly throughout the year and the annual family picnic was something we all looked forward to. But I especially remember that 3 or 4 of the families (ours was one) would get together frequently for birthdays. With that many people, somebody was always having a birthday. The two cousins I played with most were Melissa and Cathe. They were really more like friends than family.

Melissa and I are the same age. She lived about 7 or 8 blocks north of my house. In the summer, I would ride my bike over to her house. We would play on the monkey bars in the back yard while her mom and dad would sit in the screened-in porch behind the garage. When I went home, I would borrow a few Nancy Drew books (Melissa had the WHOLE set!) and put them in my bike basket. I so clearly remember a couple of the neatest things about her house: it had a laundry chute down to the basement and her mom had a small table and chairs in the kitchen that were just our size. This is a picture of Melissa (on the right) and me in our first communion dresses.


Cathe is a year younger than us, but a good friend as well. She lived about 10 or 11 blocks to the south. When I went to her house, I would load my bike basket up with Sears, Penney's, or Montgomery Ward catalogs and my favorite scissors. We would play cut-out dolls on her living room floor. Cathe was my idol. She could tell by the feel of the paper dress which catalog it came from! Her mom was neat and would sometimes play with us. I was also amazed at her mom because she had a sewing machine and she would make Barbie Doll clothes. She is one of the two people from my childhood that made me interested in sewing. In the picture here, Cathe is the one on the left...coloring Easter eggs with me and my sister.

I'm sharing all this with you because I am so excited. Melissa and Cathe are coming to visit at the end of this month! Yea! We are doing the grown-up version of getting on our bikes and coming to play. We all grew up in Streator, Illinois and they both now live in Rockford, Illinois. We've been saying, "We should get together some time". Well, now it's actually going to happen and I am really looking forward to it. Cathe and I have been e-mailing old family photos back and forth for a while now and so we're going to work on some family history scrapbooks and fill in some blanks for each other. We'll also do some touristy things since she's never been to Atlanta. Melissa isn't much into scrapbooking, but she also has some neat old family photos to share and plans to pretty much hang out, as she says, "On the veranda sipping mint juleps". That's her idea of spending time in the south and it sounds good to me.

It's a Woman Thing

Tomorrow (Friday) is the World Day of Prayer. "What is the World Day of Prayer?" you may ask. It is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year, and who, in many countries, have a continuing relationship in prayer and service. Through World Day of Prayer, women around the world affirm their faith in Jesus Christ and share their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, their opportunities and needs. Through World Day of Prayer, women affirm that prayer and action are inseparable and that both have immeasurable influence in the world.

Don't know what to pray about? Then let me offer a few suggestions. Our world right now is suffering from the ripple effects of the consequences of the sins of greed, corruption, self-centeredness and irresponsibility that have gone on for a long time. Even though most of you reading this are not personally responsible for the collapse of a large corporation and have not taken a huge bonus at the cost of others, we all need to seek God's forgiveness for these sins of our society and beg for His mercy and blessings. We need to pray for the leaders of this country and others. We need to fervently seek His favor and ask for His guidance.

If you can't think of an individual who might need your prayers, consider those on my side bar listed in the "Special Prayers for Special People" column. If your name is NOT listed, then you are blessed. For special consideration from that list right now is a young father (of four) named Eric. He got the devastating news the week before last that he has stage 4 cancer in several places in his body. He is on his way to the Houston cancer clinic today to find out some options. He and his family are steadfast Christians and they are praying boldly for Eric's healing. Wouldn't you like to be in on that "action"? Join in prayers for Eric.

But if you think about it, every person you know or come into contact with needs your prayer support. Every person on this earthly journey has a need and/or a burden. If you get into the habit of praying for others you'll find yourself caring more about others. And...in my humble opinion...that is what we are all on this earth for.

Waiting to Brag

I've been waiting quite a while to make this post. McCall's told me that early this year...they were hoping for some time in January...they were going to start up a new web site. Featured on this new site would be my spring quilt called "Bunnies and Baskets". So I've been watching and waiting. A few weeks ago they said they were pretty sure it would be up and running the following week. Well...you know how temperamental computers -- and their systems -- can be. So the other day they e-mailed me their apologies and said they had posted a link to it on their regular web site.

If you look on my right-hand side bar...under the green part where it says, "about me"...there is a white part. The first link under "Check this out" is McCall's. Click on that link and scroll down under the picture of the March/April issue of the magazine. There are several links underlined in blue. The last one is: SPECIAL ONLINE-ONLY KIT OFFER. Click on that and you will see the quilt and me getting credit for the design and my friend, Ardis, getting credit for the machine quilting. Also an offer to get the kit (everything you need to make it) from Sweet Home Quilt Company which is my friend, Melisa's, quilt shop.

It's fun to see my designs photographed by someone else and fun to share it with my friends. And the link from my side bar under the McCall's one is for Melisa's shop. Take time to check it out -- often.