This month we are focused on pastels for our Rainbow Scrap Challenge. I'm a little thin with pastel colors but I did manage to scrape together three Grandma's Jewels. I'm doing this using the English Paper Pieced method.
Three Pastel Grandma's Jewels for June
Pastel Orange
Pale Yellow
Mint
This week has been a busy one. Mom turned 93 on Thursday, June 18th. At Physical Therapy on Wednesday, they surprised Mom with a birthday banner, a couple balloons, cake, and a bottle of wine! Mom was delighted with the thoughtfulness and surprise of it all.
Mom's Birthday Cake & Wine
I made "Party Cookies" for Mom with the intent to pass them out to the neighbors. Unfortunately we are in a younger neighborhood with everyone working so only one plate got passed out and then we've been too busy to distribute any more. We will try to do more this weekend. After all, it's not everyday that someone turns 93 so it's definitely worth the effort.
Mom's Birthday Cookies Chocolate Chip Cookies with Party Sprinkles!
On Thursday we took her to dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse where we met with Fred's sister Betty. We had good conversation with our dinner and didn't get home until after 9:00. Unfortunately we missed several "birthday calls" from the family.
Fridays are always busy for Mom because it's her standing appointment day for getting her hair done. This time I also got a trim so we were gone a little longer than normal. When we got home she got one big phone call from my brother's house -- two of his kids with spouses were there for Father's Day Weekend! So much to catch up on with all of them!!
In the meantime we're getting our deck replaced. The old deck was giving me some safety concerns.
Looking Down Where the Railing is Pulling Away from the Deck Floor
Showing How Far the Railing has Pulled Away
Rotting Wood Under the Stairs
The old deck has been demolished and the framing for the new has been completed.
Old Deck All Gone Shed in Background will be Removed Too
Deck Demolition
Framing Completed
Deck Frame From the Ground Level
Completion is expected by next weekend. So looking forward to enjoying the new deck!
That about wraps up the old and the new around here. Please feel free to join the other RSC bloggers HERE to see what scrap-happiness they've gotten up to lately!
This week as I waited at Mom's podiatrist appointment, hair appointment, and PT appointments, I managed to sew a bit on Grandma's Jewels. I'm using pastels since that is the color(s) Angela chose for us in the Rainbow Scrap Challenge for June.
Jewels in the Works
One Pastel Jewel Completed
While Mom was at one of her PT appointments, I ran to my library to pick up a book they were holding for me. While there, I chatted with the librarian about the puzzle handouts they had at the counter. She explained that they were available for free. Since I noticed there were quite a few Word Search puzzles in the mix, I picked them up for Mom thinking they may be a welcomed distraction from her TV viewing.
Mom Hard at Work on a Word Search
We had some "big doin's" in the neighborhood this week. The neighbor had a tree taken out of their backyard since it was hanging over their pool and Florida room. It was fun to watch the machinery go up & over their 2-story house to do the job!
I finished this cross-stitch piece this week. All that had been left to do was complete my initials and date. Can you find them?
I belong to The Applique Society (TAS) local and national chapters. The local chapter has challenged us to finish up a few of our UFOs. You may remember I recently finished a Christmas table runner.
Finished!
Now to choose another project that needs to be finished. I decided to work on Eye of the Beholder by Margaret Willingham. She was a Zoom class instructor through the national chapter. I took the class in Oct 2022. I think I should get this one done.
The Pattern
Where I Currently Am
Her technique was different from anything I'd done previously -- sort of -- kind of a cross between back-basting and Hawaiian applique. I'm loving working on it again so I think I'll be making steady progress. I ran into a couple of problems in 2022 which I've mentally worked out. Hopefully my thought-process will be successful!
Our old deck and back shed are scheduled for demolition this week and a new deck installed. I'll be sticking around the house as much as possible to watch the process. I hope to get a lot of sewing accomplished this week!
Please drop by SoScrappy to check in on my blogging friends' scrap progress. Thank you, Angela, for keeping us on track with our scrappy quilts!
It's been a while (again) since my last post. Many things have gone in that have kept me away from the blog. My fingers have remained pretty busy though.
As April ended, Angela announced that May's Rainbow Scrap color would be orange. I quickly dug out my orange scraps, my English paper pieces, and my EPP caddy. I knew it would be just the thing to take on our upcoming trip to Wilmington NC. The last of my brother's kids was getting married on May 2.
So, working in the car along the way, working more in the hotel in between wedding events, and then working along the way home from my brother's house in Lexington NC, I cut, glued, and stitched. I ended up getting almost all of the Grandmother's Jewels completed by the time we got home and then I did finish them up.
One week later .... Now where was I? Ah, Grandmother's Orange Jewels!
My Favorite Jewel
Five Orange Jewels
I also finished up the jewels for Pink Rainbow Scrap Challenge.
Quite a Stack of Jewels
As I began earlier in this post, we went to Wilmington NC for my niece's wedding. We had a wonderful trip and I saw "long-lost" cousins, I enjoyed quiet one-on-one breakfasts with my daughter, and I loved spending time with friends & family.
We finally met face-to-face Mom's great-granddaughter Everleigh, my niece's daughter. She was born the end of November and is at the great age of 5 months -- aware of her surroundings, you don't have to be too careful holding her, full of life and personality!
Since we were here for a wedding, let's see a few pictures from the wedding weekend.
The Bride Preparing with Her Twin Sister
Mom Seeing Her Granddaughter Before the Ceremony
Exchange of Vows
My Brother's Three Girls! His 2 Daughters and His 1st Grandbaby (Everleigh)
The Bride & Groom Let's Party!!!
My Beautiful Cousin and Her Debonair Husband Came in From New York
My Handsome Cousin and His Lovely Wife Came in From Connecticut
So many old memories shared and new ones made. We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to reconnect. Mom was beside herself!
After the wedding weekend, my son & his family joined us for an extra couple of days at my brother's house in Lexington NC. We had so much fun there too. We loved feeding the chickens!
Three of the Five Young Ones
Mom Feeding a Leghorn
Jacob, my Grandson, Feeding Chickens Notice the Dog Keeping Watch!
Chicken Frenzy!
Both Grandsons Enjoying the Chickens
The Quilt Fred & I Slept Under My Sister-in-Law's Great-Grandmother's Quilt
Close-Up of One of the Blocks Hand-Pieced and Hand-Quilted
John & Karen recently bought a couple of jet skis to go with their house on High Rock Lake. My son & daughter-in-law learned how to run them and off they went!
Jared
Amanda
What about the boys? Want to go for a ride too?
Jared & Brody
Amanda & Jacob
When we got home, I managed to have a UFO finished just in time for the monthly TAS (The Applique Society) meeting. Meet Daphne, a table runner made in a class by Katrina Hadjimichael from Austrailia!
I think that pretty much catches us up on where I've been, things I've sewn, and happy to be home again. Our trip was full of memories to last a life-time!
If you've stayed with me this long, please join Angela at SoScrappy to see what others have shared with their orange scraps. I'm sure they've been more productive than me!
Let's dig right into the Rainbow Scrap Challenge, shall we? Our fearless leader at So Scrappy has chosen pink for our focus this month. Out came my pink scraps for Grandmother's Jewels. There are 5 sets prepped for sewing now. So pretty!
I did want to let you know that the red jewels are 100% done for March now too.
Next up is my cross-stitch progress. You may remember I'm working on this ...
And I was this far along ....
Currently this is where I am. Coming right along, eh?
Sure Hoping the Bottom Meets Perfectly with the Right Side! Lol!
The rest of this post is about our trip to Texas so you can take a pass if you like. Just remember: You've been warned! Hahaha! If passing, just go to the next set of asterisks which indicate the end of "family business".
We left for TX on a Wednesday and arrived on Thursday. We're old and can't take being in the car too long or driving after dark. Early Saturday morning, Mom got misplaced a bit and thought she was returning to her bedroom but instead ended up in the living room. She thought she was getting back into her bed but, since the bed wasn't there, she ended up on the floor. That's where I found her around 6am. I couldn't move her without causing her pain so I roused Fred. He determined that we would need to call 9-1-1. Long story short, Mom got her very first ride in an ambulance and it only took her almost 93 years!
The EMTs were wonderful, the Emergency Room was wonderful, the nurse was wonderful, the doctor on duty was wonderful (and very tall Mom noticed), the Xray tech was wonderful, the registration lady was wonderful. All in all, it was not too bad an experience and I would recommend the Texoma Medical Center if you have a medical emergency and are in the area! Lol! Per my phone, from calling the EMTs to getting Mom home, the whole experience lasted less than 2.5 hours.
The Xray confirmed Mom broke her collar bone and she was sent back to my sister's in a sling with some pain medicine.
Later that day, my sister and I wanted to go to Costco and Mom also wanted to go. What a trooper! She walked all over the store holding on to the cart and eating samples right along with us. That night and the next day (Sunday), we all laid low from exhaustion! Hahaha!
Monday we decided to explore and Mom again wanted to go with us. We decided to make it an "Ike Tour" since President Eisenhower was born about 10 minutes from my sister's in Denison TX.
President Eisenhower was Born Here Denison TX
Mom & Me by President Eisenhower's Statue
Take 1 on a Selfie I Need More Practice! Lol!
There! That's better! Us Three Girls!
Plaque at the Base of the Statue I Loved the Wording
Then it was off to the President's bust that overlooks the Highway 75. Officially it's called the Eisenhower Veteran Monument. Here's a little AI-generated history on it:
The Eisenhower Veterans Monument in Denison, TX, features a massive 16-foot bust of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, created by artist David Adickes. Located at the entrance to Loy Lake Park, this landmark honors the 34th President and5-star general, who was born in Denison in 1890. It is surrounded by engraved bricks and five 35-foot flagpoles.
Key Details About the Monument:
Location: Loy Lake Park entrance (off Highway 75), Denison, TX.
Artist: Renowned Texas sculptor David Adickes.
Structure: A 16-foot tall bust atop a 5-foot stone pedestal, flanked by flags for each military branch.
Dedication: Dedicated in 2011 to honor Eisenhower’s service as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe and as president.
Features: The monument is surrounded by inscribed paving bricks that can be purchased for veterans.
We did end up checking out Loy Lake Park and talked with the museum's greeter. The museum was closing soon so we didn't get to wander through but she had lots of information. We would like to check the museum out next time we visit. There are a lot of old quilts in there!!!
We left for home the following day (Tuesday) and arrived in beautiful Troy IL on Wednesday. Thursday was a full day as Mom had an already planned appointment that day with the podiatrist and we added a visit with her PCM who wanted to check Mom's collar bone out. He ordered up another Xray to be taken around the 2-week mark and another follow-up appointment at the 3-week mark to keep track of how she's healing. We accomplished the Xray yesterday after her weekly hair appointment.
If you managed to stick with me to the end, congratulations! Next Friday Mom's house goes on the market and the house-flipper (Joel) has invited us for a special tour on Thursday after the house gets staged. We are so excited because the house is already looking so good! We hope he makes lots of money on it because he has put in so much work on it. I'll share pictures next week!
