I Blinked....

...and it's October already! What a summer!

Here's how my summer flew by:

1. Spent lots of time getting darling daughter ready to go to college. She finally decided on University of Wisconsin - River Falls. She's majoring in Elementary Education with a focus on Early Childhood Education. She likes the itty bitty ones. It totally blew me away how much it cost just to get her ready to live in a dorm room.

2. Son Matt spent a couple days in the hospital with food poisoning. Stay away from the jalapenos.

3. We lost our beloved black lab, Sam, to (we believe) stomach cancer. He passed peacefully at the vet's after a couple of weeks of suffering. We were sorry to see him go. He was only seven years old.

4. Someone dropped off a cat in our yard. She was pregnant and had kittens in an old silo on our property. She brought them to us (three) and we spent several weeks looking for homes for them. They are finally off with new owners, including "Mama".

5. We got a beagle puppy named Tucker who is a ball of fire and energy. He has a great personality but he's going through the "terrible twos". LOL

6. We moved Leslie into college. She's doing well, although it's four hours away and she's been home almost every weekend because she's homesick. I figure this will last till after Christmas break before she is really comfortable with college life.

7. Two weeks after Leslie went off to school, Darling Son moved back in. So much for empty nest. LOL

8. Darling Husband's painting business picked up again, but after the rough winter we had last year, he was hesitant to quit his job at the yacht company. So he spent the summer working two jobs while teaching son Matt the ropes of running the business. We are waiting to see how this winter goes. It would be wonderful if the two of them could make the business take off permanently.

9. Working at the quilt shop, teaching classes and quilting at home have kept me busy when I'm not taking care of the house, dog, etc.

10. Harvested the garden and canned veggies, salsa, pickles, etc.

11. Helped organize and set up my town's first ever quilt show. We had a great turn out. Over 200 entries!!!

12. Went on a quilting retreat that totally rocked. I put the final borders on my Women's Voices quilt and I can't wait to get it quilted and on my bed. This is it, but it's huge so couldn't get the whole thing in the picture.

I'm sure that's not all, but it makes my head spin just thinking about it.
Hope everyone had a great summer. I think I did but I can't remember.

piecin' love,

Terri

I'm Still Here!

Hey there. Did you miss me? I know it's been a while but it seems like I just don't ever have time to catch my breath lately. I'm still here but things around my house have been on the verge of frantic.

DD Leslie (pic is from the powder puff football game during homecoming week) is graduating from high school on Memorial Day weekend. I've got all the functions to attend (such as Senior Tea, Senior Banquet, Senior Picnic) as well as the scholarship banquet and the senior awards ceremony. Plus family coming in from out of town, a party to plan, and college stuff to do. She's an honor roll graduate and will be attending the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay for a degree in Early Childhood Education.

DH Mark recently got a new job. You may remember he owns a painting business. Well, the housing business is sucking air and with fuel and everything else going up in price, no one is spending money on painting their house. We struggled through a really long hard winter and finally he made the decision to go work for someone else. Anyway, he was hired by a yacht company as a supervisor in the painting department. Surprisingly, the yacht industry is going strong. Go figure. LOL
He seems to be very happy there, although it's only been two weeks, and the pay and benefits are great! We are adjusting to him working second shift, but so far so good. I adjusted my hours for quilting at home so that we could spend time together in the morning and get stuff done around the house before he goes to work. It's hard to get any quilting done when he's home anyway, so it works out for both of us.

As for me, I'm still longarm quilting while working at the local quilt shop, teaching classes, and doing all the afore mentioned "stuff". My latest "favorite thing" is quilted totes. I'll take some pictures and post them. At the quilt shop, we're doing monthly "bag lady" classes and are we ever having fun!

Here's a couple of pics of our bluebird couple who returned this year. They were building a nest in an old cut off tree trunk but it only took a few days for some really obnoxious birds to come and chase them off. The trunk they chose was just too exposed for safety. Hopefully, they hadn't laid eggs in there yet. We still see them around but they haven't "shown" us their new nest yet.

Have a great day!

piecin' love,

Terri

Just a Quick Check-in...

I've been sick for three weeks now with severe bronchitis and sinus infection. Twice (so far) to the doctor, one scary trip to the ER, three rounds of antibiotics, two rounds of prednisone.....I think I'm finally getting better. I lost my voice but the coughing is almost done, the breathing is no longer labored, and I'm finally up to a venture into the quiting studio. Just thought I'd check in and let you know I'm still here. I've got lots of catching up to do, but I'll be back!

Spring can come any time now.
piecin' love,
Terri

Robert J. Petasek, June 3, 1928 - Feb.15, 2008

Mark's father passed away at 12:43a.m. this morning. He was a wonderful man and I will miss him terribly.

Thank you all for your prayers and kindness over the last few weeks.

piecin' love,

Terri

Quick Update

Mark's mom was sent home from the hospital. All her testing revealed she has an ulcer but no heart problems. We had lunch with them on Sunday and they were in good spirits....tired but doing ok, considering. Mark's dad is suffering the effects of prolonged narcotic (pain killer) use...memory loss, confusion, little spurts of energy that he doesn't know how to handle and then profound tiredness. Hospice has started coming in to help Mom with Dad. And we are going to be setting up an extra sleeping space so we can take turns spending the night once in a while to allow Mom to get a full night's sleep. (Dad doesn't sleep through the night anymore).
Please keep them in your prayers.
The antique quilt is quilted. The customer chose Daisy Swirl pantograph by Jodi Beamish. It worked well with the quilt and is dense enough to secure all seams. Now I just have to get it binded. Thanks to Kathy K for your help and willingness to barter. :)
Still have to take those pictures!
piecin' love,
Terri

Prayer Requests, Antique Quilts and "Ear Candy"

We've survived the trauma of my daughter's accident. Leslie's whiplash is better now. Silly girl went snowmobiling a week after the accident which put her back to square one in the healing process. The car is gone, having been "totalled" and hauled away by the insurance company. Now we're just waiting for the check to come so we can buy a different car. Thanks for your well wishes and prayers for Leslie.
Today, I have a couple of prayer requests.
First: My husband Mark's father has widespread cancer and they've started hospice to help his mom take care of him. They've upped his medication several times over the last couple of weeks. Right now they are just trying to keep ahead of the pain. My prayers for him are that he'll be comfortable for the time he has left.
Second: Mark is, as I write this, at the hospital with his mom. She was having chest pains so they took her to the emergency room. Initial testing, including EKG, didn't find anything, so they've decided to keep her overnight for stress testing. My prayer for her is that it will be something simple (anxiety, stress) that can be relieved with medication and she'll be able to go home tomorrow. I know she is under a lot of stress, taking care of Mark's dad and all, but she has had two operations in the last couple years to put stints in her heart. I am praying it isn't anything so serious this time. Mark's dad is stressed as well, from pain and worrying about her health.
Their names are Bob & Carol. If you could include them in your prayers, I would be so grateful.

Right now, I am very much enjoying the task of "restoring" an antique quilt made in the 30's. It's made with scraps of clothing and feedsack materials. All hand-sewn. It's a beautiful charm quilt made with trapezoid shapes. The lady who brought it to me said it was made by her grandmother. Apparently, sometime since it was made, the batting and backing were replaced. It came to me tied with yellow yarn and the backing is a sheet printed with yellow roses. The back was brought to the front and machine sewn down to make a wide border. I had to make some repairs to the front where fabrics raveled and seams came undone. She originally wanted me to quilt it as it was with an overall pantograph design to keep the seams secure and preserve it further for future generations. However, there were puckers in the back and the back was much looser than the front. I convinced her to let me take it apart, quilt it and use the extra fabric from the wide border to make a binding. I want to find a pantograph pattern that looks old-fashioned. I'll post pictures when I get a chance.
I just finished listening to a great audiobook. ("ear candy" LOL) It's called "The Undomestic Goddess" by Sophie Kinsella. Here's what's on the back cover: Workaholic attorney Samantha Sweeting has just done the unthinkable. She's made a mistake so huge, it'll wreck any chance of a partnership. Going into utter meltdown, she walks out of her London office, gets on a train, and ends up in the middle of nowhere. Asking for directions at a big, beautiful house, she's mistaken for an interviewee and finds herself being offered a job as housekeeper. Her employers have no idea they've hired a lawyer--and Samantha has no idea how to work the oven. She can't sew on a button, bake a potato, or get the #@%# ironing board to open. How she takes a deep breath and begins to cope--and finds love--is a story as delicious as the bread she learns to bake.But will her old life ever catch up with her? And if it does...will she want it back?
It's really a fun book. And Renee Zellwegger popped into my mind while I was listening. I think it would make a great movie. :o)
Everyone have a great weekend!
piecin' love,
Terri

I Need A Break!

What a week!
It all started with my daughter's car accident last Thursday. Before I go further, SHE'S OK! Thankfully, she was wearing her seatbelt and only suffered a neck muscle strain.
The snow storm was forecasted a week in advance. Snowstorm Emily or something like that. Seven to nine inches of snow expected between Thursday morning and midnight. Did school cancel? No. They gave an early release during the heaviest portion of the storm. What happens? 400 teenage drivers (plus school buses) leave school in 5 inches of snow and whiteout conditions. The plows have barely touched the accumulation. Five blocks from school, one of those drivers decides to make a quick left with no turn signal. An SUV has to slam on her brakes. Darling daughter slams on HER brakes and slides her little Alero 20 feet into the back of the SUV. Both airbags deploy. The front end is smashed. The SUV? not a scratch. The SUV driver (a teacher) had some lower back pain which she went to the hospital for. And of course, any time you rear end someone, no matter the cause, you are the one found negligent. So far the insurance company has been very good about everything. They've covered the medical bills and they totaled out Les's car. The estimate to fix was more than it's worth. ($1500 per Airbag, plus seatbelts and the front end). So now we wait for a check so we can get another car. And for our premium to skyrocket!
And the week just got "better" from there. Sigh.
I'm thinking it's time for a hot bath, glass of wine, a good book and the peace and quiet to enjoy it.
On a positive note, we watched an awesome movie last night! I have to tell you, this is the best movie I've seen in a LONG time! It's on my list to buy for my very own! Here's the trailer. Enjoy.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I can't believe another year has passed! I know....sounds so "cliche", doesn't it? But it's true. It really doesn't seem like it's been that long since I filed my income taxes. LOL

I have to get my taxes done early this year. No waiting until April to start on them. I gotta get them done so we can file the financial aid application for darling daughter to go to college. Nothing like a little incentive to light that fire under you know where!

Speaking of the new year, how did you celebrate? Hubby and I were home alone....no big surprise there. We've been "practicing" all year for the empty nest. Or, I should say, Leslie has "allowed" us to practice. ROFL Anyway....we had a little bonfire in the backyard. Here's a picture of Mark and our dog, Sam. Doesn't it look Frosty? It was actually pretty warm by the fire but even so, this transplanted southerner didn't last long! My tootsies were frozen! Here's a closeup of those trees you see off in the distance:
We cooked steaks over the fire, made some steamed shrimp and green bean casserole to go along with it, ate like pigs, and fell asleep on the couch before 10pm. How's that for a celebration???

I hope you all had a great Christmas and I wish you the best of the best in 2008!

piecin' love,
Terri

p.s. here's another (better) picture of the Women's Voices Quilt from my previous post. It was taken the weekend of the retreat when I finished it. That's Sandy on the left, me on the right. Everyone else was taking pictures and cheering (they were as happy as I was to see it finally finished!). :o)