Celebrating my Hubby!!!

Hubby and I in Brussels last summer!

I should have probably slept in, but knowing I had spent most of yesterday enjoying myself in my sewing room I knew I had lots to do.  So before the sun had even thought about waking up, I got up and savored my first cup of coffee of the day, it wouldn't be the last.  Most of the house is tidy now, just the kitchen to finish up on after I finish cooking and then it's time to celebrate!

It's James' birthday!!!  For some reason he wanted a party, he doesn't pick the usual ones to celebrate. Milestone birthday's are far too mundane for him.  We had his last big party when he turned 51, so it only stands to reason that we would pick 61 for the next.  We've invited close friends and family, people that make both of us smile.  Most of the kids will be here including a boyfriend or two.

Probably not gonna make weight watchers lists, but YUM!

He's been cooking since yesterday.  A huge pan of BBQ pork steaks is simmering on the stove, I am not a BBQ cook at all, I don't even pretend to be and his are great!  I don't even like BBQ, but I sure do enjoy his.  They just fall apart.  Now if you want some grilled salmon and veggies, I would be your girl.  So even though he is the birthday boy, he was slaving over a hot BBQ grill yesterday.

BBQ anyone??

We also had to mourn the passing of his beloved Weber Kettle.  He's had it for 30 plus years and it has served him well.  He's made tons of wonderful dishes on it, but it is now time to let the poor thing rest in peace, or pieces if you will.   He's cooked BBQ for the neighborhood when his brother had his jazz festivals in the back yard.  His Daddy used to say he was afraid he would serve him BBQ eggs if he could figure out how.  And after his Daddy and Brother had passed away, he would BBQ pork steaks for his Momma, putting them in individual freezer bags so dinner was always just a microwave ding away as she had more and more trouble getting around.

Is there a market for Weber crutches?

Ten years ago we bought that Weber all new parts and she was doing great!  But yesterday mid-steaks it started sliding slowly to one side, at first it was barely noticeable then suddenly it looked like a scene from the Titanic tipping sharply to one side.  But Hubby is nothing if not resourceful, I've been told that during his stint in Vietnam he was a lot like Radar O'Reily from M.A.S.H.! He quickly sprung into action calling me upstairs carrying various cordless tools as he went.  Ultimately, it ended up looking like a scene from "Trailerhood".  And I am sure it was not OSHA approved. But the old girl had it in her to make it one last time.  Perfect that it was for Hubby's birthday party!

The sun is starting to make its appearance, gracefully lighting up the sky with a beautiful orange and gold paint brush.  It is promising to be an extraordinary day.  Thank goodness!  The rain is supposed to roll in later tonight, but the day is supposed to be beautiful.  A beautiful day, to celebrate a beautiful soul's 61st year on this earth, what could be better?

The teller of goofy jokes, the willing hand, the heart of gold sometimes hidden in a lion's roar, the friend to all, the giver of groceries to friends that are down, the drier of tears, the bestower of teddy bear hugs and belly laughs.  The dream maker, the lover of puppies of all ages, the possessor of unconditional love, the gentle soul that hides behind bluster when insecure, the doting father and grandfather.  Today we are celebrating my own personal gift from God. 

Happiest of Days my dearest James!  I love you!! Time to get ready for your next 30 years!!

I love quilting chaos!

two boxes full of memories

My sewing room is a wreck!!  And I am so excited about it.  It's been a bit of time since I have been this engrossed in a project, far too long.

After I made my dad a memory quilt, my sister asked me to make one for my nephew.  I agreed, I was concerned.  Dad's quilt is really the first one I had made since having surgery on both of my hands.  I put together a few baby quilts, but those don't take much time and I didn't choose anything really taxing to my hands. I have been a little protective of them for a long time, too long. Was I ready to tackle a full quilt again?

prep time

all the leftovers waiting to be made into t-shirt yarn

I have been slowly starting to do all the prep work for just over a week. Trimming off the extra fabric, ironing on the almost 20 yards of fusible interfacing. This morning I went downstairs with my coffee and piles t-shirts and started cutting.  Cutting, cutting and cutting, it took 4 hours to trim them all to the size I needed to get started.  And staring at the piles I was a bit intimidated.

these scraps are headed to the compost pile

My sister had included a stack of the most beautiful shorts, I prepped them to be included also.  The quilt will have a bit of NASCAR also, as my sister also included a set of curtains from when he was younger. It has bits and pieces from when he was very young all the way to his upcoming graduation.

I took a quick break to fix us a nice little brunch.  Some brotchen, Nuremberg sausages and a fried egg.  It seemed a bit pricey when I ordered them.  But tasting Germany in my own kitchen, made it a bargain and then some.

Back to work I went.  Carefully trimming, cutting and measuring and trimming some more.  It took a bit of time for me to decide how big the blocks were going to be, but I decided to go with 13 x 17.  An odd size I admit, but it was the size of the biggest block that had nothing added to it.  The pile started to grow and the more I made, the more excited I got.  I kept telling myself one more block, one more, then I will stop.  Well one more, led to another, another and before I knew it 37 blocks were finished. 

a nice, neat stack of blocks waiting to be laid out

I should have had an idea that it was getting late, I don't have big windows in my sewing room, but I could see the purple haze of evening through the little ones I do have.  I was still very shocked to realize it was almost eight at night.  I had managed to work for almost 12 straight hours on the quilt, my back is reassuring me I did, I wish I had been able to keep going.

True I want to see what my creation looks like, but I think a bigger piece of it is that I want to quilt it!  I cannot wait!!

I might get a block or two done tomorrow, I'm not sure.  It's sweet hubby's birthday and we are throwing him a big birthday party!  And Monday and Tuesday I have to go to a retreat for work... hmmm maybe Wednesday... We will see...

How did you spend your day?  Did you get a chance to do what you wanted to no matter the cost?  Because I did!  My house is still cluttered, dishes need washed. My spirit needed to create, so I did!

where is the snooze button?

Uggghhhh!!  I simply do not know how I used to work the early shift every day!  It's been almost a year since I opened every day and I am not sure how I managed it for almost six months!

I am a morning person... rarely do I ever sleep past 5:00 am.  I love mornings, but I do not consider 3:30 am to be morning I consider that to be the middle of the night.  I am so grateful for my opener!!! He is so awesome that I've  had the luxury of forgetting what that time of the day felt like and I am honestly pretty happy to be able to work for him today.

It was nice to see all the early morning guys, didn't realize how much I have missed them. Those guys that make it to work out at 5:30 am no matter how far they have to drive are a unique kind of crazy!  And it really made me smile and laugh to talk and banter with them again.  Just like old times. 

Will has them well trained, let me tell you!  I was laughing this morning at how funny they were, I made the coffee before they got here and they were upset that I stole their jobs.  How sweet is that? I got to catch up with each of them.  Had the chance to learn of all the changes the year has brought to them and all their aches and pains. 

The morning group is fun!  And despite the fact that I am still half asleep almost six hours later, I am glad I am here!  I have loved being told how great Will is. To know that a member of your staff is so  awesome that when they take a day off (after a year) they are truly missed.  When they realize you are the supervisor and take the time to tell you how awesome that person is... that is priceless!

I had forgotten how much of my work I was able to accomplish in the mornings when it's quiet and the phones aren't ringing off the hook.  I am almost completely caught up with the odd things on my to do list, and almost ready to celebrate the fact that it is Friday.

The sun is just beginning to shine down on us with it's full brilliance.  The forecast calls for an amazing weekend!  I am so excited about that, hard to believe the largest snow in years happened only two short weekends ago. And this weekend it looks like we will have mild spring temperatures, there is a rumor that we might even see the low 70's!  And no rain predicted until well after the party on Sunday!

So maybe I didn't hit the snooze button this morning, and maybe I will need a few extra cups of coffee today, but I am glad to have been able to visit and enjoy some of my morning members and catch up on some projects that my office is often too chaotic to allow me to focus clearly on. And my sweet hubby even got up early to drive me in, so I didn't have to come into the city alone so early... Life is good!

It's a good day!  How do you fill those crazy extra hours you sometimes find in a day??

a walk down memory lane...

A non-extraordinary day sure ended wonderfully!  This morning was nothing spectacular, I woke up in a funk and I was sure the day was only going to continue downhill.  But the sunshine worked it's magic.  And a beautiful gift of a day emerged.

Hubby's birthday is Sunday, and I ordered his birthday present from German Deli.  I have never ordered from them before, I was afraid to be disappointed.  I placed the order Friday, and I sure was hoping it would make it by Sunday.  I was pleasantly surprised and a bit concerned when it arrived today.  How on earth do you hide a HUGE box with the words German Deli written on it sitting on the front porch when you drive up?

I grew up in Germany, it makes me happy.  Hubby finally got to visit it last year.  He fell in love!  And for almost a year I have listened to him miss the food. He keeps reminding me what I have been telling him for years, you get close with American food and ingredients, but it's always just close.  Never the same, but you can get close.

Tonight for dinner he had the genuine article.  Fresh from the oven brotchen, German sauerkraut, perogies and Nuremberg sausages all washed down with an icy cold Erdinger Heffeweisen.  Our oldest and our grand baby joined us.  The boy is away at college, the youngest two are busy with their lives, so... the four of us enjoyed a wonderful German dinner.  Hubby could not stop smiling, I knew that I had managed to bring his memories to life. 

I love to see him smile, to make him as happy as he makes me.  And now that I know that I will get high quality from German Deli, I will be ordering from them again, often! It's pretty amazing to be able to bring a memory to life... now if I could have put the alps in the backyard that easily!

Juggling?? Not very successfully!

even Gator is sticking his tongue out at my grumpies!

As I sit here I keep thinking I need to add a dozen or so hours to my day.  I used to be so good at juggling my life.  I had time to do all the things I wanted, raise my kids, volunteer and work.  Now it feels that I simply have time to work.  My house is a wreck most days, it takes me months to finish a project and I am always chasing my tail. 

I often find myself envious of others.  I hate that.  I am not an envious person.  I am usually so content in my life, who I am and what I can accomplish.  I don't waste the time on feeling envious.  It doesn't change anything.  But lately... it is something that creeps in.  And then I feel angry.

I hate that today in order to make arrangements for my husband's birthday party this weekend I will have to go into work late.  I am okay with going in late, trust me I work plenty of hours.  It's just that I always feel like I am juggling things to make the world work.

I don't know when I lost the ability to juggle things.  When did my tipping point change dramatically?  I feel like I am always one step behind in a rat race.  And those darn rats are getting HUGE!

I get more frustrated when others who work far less by choice, complain because it isn't fair they can't have what they want.  Seriously?  I don't like working as much as I do, but I also was raised to believe you get what you work for and I don't want others to have to provide for me or my family. I completely support being a stay at home mom or only working part time.  Trust me, if I could, I would be home every day working on my house, garden, creating and cooking for my sweet hubby.

I would be strictly a housewife.  I would love on my boys and take care of those around me.  Sadly that doesn't pay the bills nor provide for our wants. So do you have your wants or do you have your time, it's a tradeoff.  When I hear someone say it isn't fair that I have something or am able to help my children do something, I want to scream, I work hard to have the things I want and want to do.  I have made a choice that leads me to the point I am at right now.  So why should you have what I work hard for just because you want it and don't want to sacrifice anything for it?

Somehow I need to relearn my juggling skills.  I need to face that green eyed monster and tell it to go away!  That I am in control of how I see the world and how I react to it.  I need to remember that I made the choices and now I must learn to balance it all. 

Maybe I am just longing for a chance to walk away from some of it. Maybe it is the springtime air that is pleading with me to come outside and enjoy the awakening.  Maybe it is simply that I have new things I want to do and explore and the everyday hum-drums are keeping me from doing it.  Maybe I simply need to learn from Gator how to savor the sunshine and kick back for even a few minutes. 

Am I the only one that is dropping the balls while juggling my life? 

And so it begins...

Practice makes perfect... RIGHT????

It is going to be really hard to get motivated to go to work today!  Hubby and I finished assembling my quilting frame and I have my practice fabrics loaded and have been playing.  I have waited and dreamed for so long, and it being down there just sitting without me is tough... really tough.

Not even done and it is that overwhelmingly huge!

It will take some adjusting, I don't do well in crowded and confined spaces.  It is huge!  We had considered putting it in one of the two rooms upstairs, but unless that room happens to be the living room it is not even remotely an option.  As I opted for the King size and yes I could make it smaller, but what a pain in the bum, it takes up a good 12 feet of space.  And it's at least 3 feet wide.  Makes my sewing/laundry room a bit small and way to cozy. 

Loading up the practice fabric and batting

Over time I will change things up a bit and give myself more space, I just needed to get it set up and learn to use it.  I have a quilt for my nephew that I need to make and I sure didn't want to quilt that on my poor little Pfaff, after ten years we might have broken up over that kind of nightmarish experience.  I simply don't have time or hands to have hand quilted it.

The last one I made that I quilted on the Pfaff... almost a tragic end for both of us

It is so exciting to know it is sitting down there, waiting for me.  I had Hubby playing with it for a bit yesterday, he is really quite good at it, so needless to say I will be putting him to work as I develop my dreams.  Silly guy, always trying to make my dreams come true without thinking about the fact that I am going to drag him into my insanity. 

Over all , it was an amazingly productive weekend, still so much to do, cramming all my wanna's around work gets seriously challenging.  For now, work is not an option, it is simply a must do.  Hubby found time this weekend to almost finish the vanity for Ava, her momma is working on the knobs and then we simply need to find a mirror and chair and it is complete. 

Gonna need some serious love!

The vanity is almost finished, hard to believe isn't it?

 Tonight after work I will dedicate an hour or so to working on the quilt, maybe I will find time to put another one of my quilts on the frame and start it, I have a great many that never managed to get quilted.  And all will be right with the world... although I might have to stop cooking and cleaning to make it all happen... yeah, I don't think Hubby would be okay with that.

Also managed to make 4 batches of soaps this weekend

I serve a Risen Savior!

And on the third day he rose again, He is Risen!  I have always cherished Easter.  It is always a joyous day, full of hope and promise.  He is Risen!! So that whosoever shall believe in him shall have life everlasting!

I am a Christian, to me that is very important to who I am, to my beliefs.  This year I have been blessed to have watched the entire mini-series "The Bible".  Mark Burnett and Roma Downey have retold this story for our time, it is emotional and moving.  Too real for words and hopefully will bring Christians back together.

I always loved Easter when the kids were little.  I still love it, but it's different now.  Now I simply love it for the reason.  It was just a day like most days for hubby and I.  No colored eggs, no baskets brimming with gifts, just us and our boys. 

I was so proud of my daughter today, with the changes in her life, she wasn't with baby girl this morning, but she sprung into action when she got the call that every mother dreads.  Her baby girl was disappointed and crushed.  While I fumed and got upset for her, she set about making the day perfect for that little angel.

Her pure love showed in all she did today.  She is an amazing, love filled mother.  Sure she has a moment or two of frustration, who doesn't.  But the love that she gives so unselfishly, is something too few have or share in this silly world. 

It is odd to not have the things that used to be part of the holiday.  It is crazy for us to hide eggs for just us, and the boys simply don't get the concept.  Dinner was just the two of us, and while strange, it was good.  We watched the reruns of The Bible, to get ready for tonight's finale for the Resurrection of Christ. 

Different? Yes.  Bad? No.  I am sure there will be years to come where it is not so chaotic and so much going on in everyone's lives.  That we will have egg hunts and goodie baskets for our children and grand children.   But for now... We will rejoice in the fact that He is Risen!