Hooray! Mission Accomplished....Well, Sort Of!

Well, we are in the wild, wild west!  We made it to our destination in our allotted three days with not one square inch of space to spare in our car. 

And I completed all of my unfinished quilt projects PLUS I made two new quilts.  Pictures will have to wait until I get home for the most part.  I finished a Monkey in the Middle quilt that I started when we moved back to Florida in 2009.  I took a class but never finished the project - sound familiar, all you crafters out there?  During the completion of this particular quilt I found many opportunities for some creative expressions of dismay but finally finished the thing.  It is HUGE and may just be the perfect quilt for a friend of mine.  We'll see!  I finished the binding on two quilts, completed the applique for my July wall hanging, finished a baby quilt and another one that was just so boring to sew!  Yay, me!  Now, if you could only see the things that came with me to our sweet mountain cabin!

The reason my mission wasn't totally accomplished was the exercise portion of this challenge.  While I did spend lots of days in the water, I fell down on the bicycle-riding activities.  I must do better at exercising!  Should I pull out my old Richard Simmons DVD when I get home?

This place is beautiful.  While driving through Texas we thought we would never see another state....miles and miles of brown land, oil pumpers, and state patrol officers (one of whom was kind enough to give me a warning instead of an actual ticket as I was cruising along the long, lonesome highway).  When we left Roswell and the interesting aliens who live there we slowly made our way over rolling hills that turned into mountain vistas.  The sky was breathtaking yesterday!

Stay tuned for our New Mexico adventure!

It's Working!

My desire to finish five projects before we leave for New Mexico is actually working!  I have finished 3 1/2 plus I have made a new quilt that wasn't on the list....just because I HAD TO!!  Any crafter will understand! 

Now I'm going through things trying to decide what to take on our journey.  With the understanding that we have to fit clothes and other nonsense into the car I'm trying to be smart about my selections.  Every time I begin to go through things I hear my inner self saying, "Oh!  I forgot about this fabric...project...pattern...!"  How many things can I reasonably complete in a month?  What can I take that will help prevent boredom from setting in?  I can't work on one thing at a time so that presents a problem as well.

Today is a day that I will finish the other half of project 3 1/2.  Can't ask more than that of a Sunday - day of rest!

Hope you are enjoying your week-end and that you have a hobby that fills your free time with fun and creativity!

Little Girls

There is something special about a little girl!  I remember when my neice, Melissa, was little and we had so much fun being "girls" together.  Not that the little boys weren't fun - they definitely were.  But I have been thinking all things girl the past few weeks.  We have had some extra time to visit family and to keep our granddaughter, Abby.  The fun clothes, the "smart" toys, the great sense of humor that these girls are encouraged to enjoy.

I love that little girls are encouraged to be more independent and assertive than when I was young a million years ago.  You know, the days when a girl was to become a teacher, a secretary, a nurse, or (the most glamorous of all!) a stewardess.  When we tried out for junior high band in sixth grade my back-door neighbor, Linda, told the band director that she wanted to play the drums.  I though he would fall over in a faint!  He told her that girls just don't have strong hands to play the drums and for her to pick out a more appropriate instrument.  Hmmmm....guess he didn't know about the strength of a woman's hands.  Dr. Linda Deere, MD still uses those weak hands to practice cardiology.  She got that degree nearly 40 years ago when some of us were dreaming about flying the friendly skies as a flight attendant!

Talking to young women today I get the sense that they are proud of their roles in life - whatever they may be.  Maybe it is because of the options that are open to them now.  I watched for the 38 years that I worked in a school setting changes in attitudes toward girls in school.  It may have started around the time that Marlo Thomas published "Free to Be...You and Me!"  What a ray of sunshine that was!  I have watched women become more free and happier about being females as time has passed.

I look at our 2 1/2 year old Abby and think about the possibilities that are open for her.  I never want her to feel that she is limited in her choices.  Today at the pool Abby met a precious little boy who is five years old.  She watched him as he swam underwater like a fish - something she has never attempted - and I could see the wheels turning in that little head. "If he can do it, I can do it."  She walked up to the most shallow part of the pool, took a breath, and dove under the water...not once, but twice!  She came up pretty full of water but none the worse for wear with a huge smile on her face and a look that said, "Just had to do it!"  Go, Abby!  Welcome to the world of girls!

Setting Goals and other Amusing Ideas

My friend Gale is in the process of a 13-week goal-following project.  She recently retired and is doing a fine job of using her time in a worthwhile fashion.  If my mother were still here she would just smile quietly and shake her head at the thought of me sticking to a schedule.  I have so many projects started that I can't count them.  It has always been soooo hard for me to complete anything directly from A to Z! 

We are leaving for New Mexico to spend a month in a lovely cabin near John's mom and stepdad.  We have 20 days before we hit the road.  What can I do in the next 20 days that will fulfill my need for goal-setting satisfaction?  Hmm....

I'm thinking that I need to complete some of those unfinished projects before we leave.  Can I complete FIVE  quilts before we leave for NM?  I have some that just need finishing touches - such as a precious bug quilt that I'm making for one of those adorable grandbabies.  Some just need binding or borders.  Some just need to be put together.  Yes, that will be a good challenge for me because those aren't my favorite things to do.  The planning and beginning is always more fun than the finishing

Can I get 30 minutes of exercise for 15 of those 20 days - without fail?  I think maybe I can do this one!  I have a great bike that needs to be used more and a lovely pool right up the street that our sweet Abby enjoys  as much as I do.  Everyone can find 30 minutes a day, right?

Thank you, Gale, for the inspiration.  Okay....here we go!  Wish me luck!

Visiting Old Friends

We are visiting some of my friends from years ago.  You know, the kind of friends that you don't see forever and don't even call that often - but the kind of friends that seem like you just talked to them a couple of days ago.  We are catching up on gossip and eating quite a bit.  John and I drove down to the house where I used to live on the beach and I became surprisingly nostalgic.  Lots of stuff happened in my life while I lived in that house.  I  had a boat at my disposal and learned about baiting traps for blue crabs.  I caught and ate blue crabs until I thought I would turn into one!  I learned a lot about some things in life that aren't so pleasant but that clarify who you really are and the path that you truly need to take in the future.  I probably rocked a thousand miles in the rocking chairs on the back porch of that house.  Rock and think, rock and think, check out the dolphin swimming by (!), rock and think....

My friends are older now.  We met in 1982 and that seems like so long ago.  Our lives have changed but we really haven't.  I think I understand where the expression "touching base" came from.  I am touching base with Bob and Margaret.  I can't stay here - don't want to - but I can check in on them and they can catch up on my happenings, and we can all feel good about it.  Great memories and new adventures!  Home run!

Camelias and RosaLee

It's spring!  Spring brings flowers and all green things growing in Florida!  Every year in early spring I get the urge to buy lots of new plants and flowers and put them everywhere.  Then we travel during the summer and the beautiful green things become scraggly brown things.  This year I plan to be thoughtful about my plantings....let's see how that works!

My late and wonderful friend, RosaLee, who passed away in 2008 after a very brave battle with cancer absolutely loved camelias.  This spring I would love to plant three camelias in memory of RosaLee.  Past, present, and future - the future that she won't be seeing.  However, wouldn't it be nice if little Abby helps me plant these camelias?  She will be so excited, I think.  She loves being outside and what child doesn't love to play in the dirt and watch living things grow? 

I don't know when I have laughed as much as I did with RL.  Those are the best kinds of friends, don't you think?

Twin Day!

All of you who know me are aware that I love children.  I spent my professional life with children - tons of them.  However, I have never had children of my own.  I have never known the joy of seeing my very own newborn brought to me seconds after being born.  I just haven't been able to understand all the hoopla!

Today I took Erica to her doctor's appointment in Jacksonville - a very early appointment but it's better that way because we don't usually have to wait as long for her to see the doc.  Since it was getting close to the arrival of our two little grandsons it is better that she not go alone.  Uneventful visit - mention of some small contractions but no big deal.  We decided to go on to Gymboree to exchange some items and then have lunch at Ruby Tuesday at the mall.  As we walked to the car Erica said, "You know....I feel like I'm leaking."  WHAT???  Eeeek!  Okay, stay calm, this is not a big deal....

We drove around Jacksonville the looooooong way to avoid the traffic from a terrible accident on I95.  I only called John about 6 times to get directions. Seriously. We made it to the hospital about 2 p.m.  I dropped her off, parked the car, took a very deep breath, and found the right elevator to the third floor.

Erica was taken immediately back to something they call "triage."  Sounds like something from ER to me and made me think of highway pile-ups or tornado victims arriving by the dozens at a hospital while George Clooney scrubbed for surgery. I was told to wait in an area where a sign read "Mothers Only - Visitors Must Wait in the Family Waiting Area."  Okay.

John, Jr. arrived and they hustled him back to Erica.  What seemed like a short time later several official-looking medical folks in scrubs came scurrying by and I overheard the words "twins" and "operating room" in the same sentence.  I jumped up like a shot - not an easy feat, by the way - and went back to the admissions lady.  Luckily for me, she was a nice admissions lady and found out that Erica was in the operating room. She sent me down a very empty hallway to wait and said someone would tell me when anything happened.  A nurse came by and took me down the hallway even further.  She said, "Wait here!  They will come by here."  At that moment I heard a baby cry - so loud!  I said to the nurse, "That is a really loud baby!"  She said, "Honey, that is YOUR baby!" 

Well, I can't tell you the feeling that came over me at that moment.  Standing in that empty hallway, knowing that a precious little boy that belongs to our family had just entered the world - our world - was just overwhelming. 

Shortly after that, Baby B was born. Yep, I heard him as well. Double joy! 

In what seemed like hours - maybe 20 minutes - the big double doors opened and John was there in his pretty green outfit.  Two thumbs up and "Everyone's doing great!" brought tears to my eyes. 

Later, when John and I stood glued to the nursery window we watched as the nurses did their important jobs with those precious little boys.  So this is what it is all about, I thought. 

Happy birthday, Trevor and Zachary!  We love you already!