My interview with Midlife Guru

Just in case you missed it, I was interviewed over on Midlife Guru. Check it out!

A few of my Halloween friends found the interview fascinating. (Or maybe a bit scary?)

See what you think. 

Make it wonderful day!

36-Block 4 Patch, Times Two

It's been a busy few months! My daughter and her husband had twins. I spent 3 weeks with them and their big brother in NYC. And then they all came home with us for a month. And then we went back to NYC for a week.

Can I just tell you, in case you were wondering, twins are awesome!! Oh, and a ton of work. Add a just-turned-two-year-old to the mix and you know we were kept entertained.  I loved being with them.

I made the babies quilts that coordinated- two color ways of a Kaffe print and solids I had on hand.

Baby Girl's quilt is backed with the big floral, Baby Boy got polka dots.

Just wish they didn't live so far away. They're already 11 weeks old today. Time flies. Really!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Happy Halloween

Make it a Wonderful Day!

City Onesies

Kate and Jed live in New York City, so Beckham's a City Baby.

 

Some friends decorated onesies with ironed-on designs. 

Not wanting to assume his political leanings, he has both elephant and donkey logos...

Here are a few more, all on a variety of sizes.  

 When one of the husbands arrived after the get-together, he said he wanted to make one too. He's a scientist, so came up with the bubbling flask.

 Kate was 4 days overdue, so while we were waiting, we stitched every piece to make sure it was secure.
 It was a fun way to pass the time together. Oh, and the other thing we did was eat cake. Four pieces for the two of us at a cake shop called Lady M. Yes, we ate all four pieces. They asked if we were planning a party or something. We said  "um....no, we just couldn't decide which ones to get, they all looked so good!"

YUM...

signature12 layer crepe cake, mocha ganache cake

.

Beckham agreed to pose in the laundry basket with the quilt I made for him. Kate says I can't leave the city without making a label for his quilt. Maybe this afternoon...if I can put him down long enough to sew a few stitches.

Make it a Wonderful Day!

My New Grandboy!

I'd like to introduce Beckham Sanders Cowley, born July 2, 2012. He weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces and was 21 inches long. My daughter and her husband couldn't be happier, and I was honored to be present for his birth. I know babies are born every day. Lots of them. An everyday miracle. And this one's mine. I'm his grandma and he's my new grandboy!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Help Make A Wonderful Movie

UPDATE: Yahoooooo!!! Here's the latest!! 235 backers, $13, 045 raised!!! THANK YOU to everyone who will make this project possible!!

I love strong women!!

My daughter Kate and my son-in-law Jed are teaming up to make a movie. Shale is Jed's thesis project at Columbia University and is the story of a woman named Sheila who finally stands up to her domineering husband, John.

Since tuition doesn't cover the cost of the film, students must raise money for their movies on their own. Jed and Kate have been saving up so they can fund a large portion of the film out of their own pockets. But they need some help making up the difference.

So far, 180 generous individuals have contributed a total of $10,729 to Shale through their Kickstarter fundraising campaign. On their site, you can see interviews with both Jed and Kate about why this project is so important to them.

They need to reach their goal of $12,000 by Monday or they lose all that's been pledged, and it's returned to donors.. That means they have 5 days to raise $1,271 or they get $0.

Contribute to Shale and you'll get some fun rewards! They are outlined on the right hand column of their fundraising page, but they include getting a link to the finished film ($10), getting your name in the movie's credits ($40), and even tickets to the film's premiere ($500).

If you would like to help make Shale wonderful, CLICK HERE

Jed's already had a film shown at Sundance, and he's won awards from HBO and Panivision to help get this movie produced. But they would LOVE to have YOU be part of movie-making history. Thanks so much.

Make it a Wonderful Day!

PS. If you make a dontation, I'll make sure you get a thank you gift from me too!! :D

Eye Candy in the Big Apple

I think NYC is in the details... and these are just a few from two shops.....

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Memorial Day

We had a Memorial Day Breakfast at church this morning. So many families attended we had to set up lots of extra tables. Pancakes. Scrambled Eggs. Fruit. Sausage. A Flag Ceremony by the Boy Scouts. A program and patriotic songs. Visiting with Veterans.

We honored those who have given their lives for our country and our freedoms.Yet I think we best honor those who died in that service by working for Peace.

Happy Memorial Day!

Blogger Problems.....

I've been trying for two days now to post some new photos from our quilt group....but Blogger won't let me! I keep getting a reject/ error message.... Anybody have any ideas? (The only thing I came across in HELP was to switch to Word Press!!!)

Make it a Wonderful Day!

The Art of Engineering

We went to the Kennedy Space Center for the launch of Discovery.

The launch was postponed. And then delayed. And then rescheduled. It's now supposed to happen on November 30th. Florida is a long way from Washington...so we don't get to see it.  

But we did get to tour the Space Center.

There are so many things I'd like to understand better. Like how do people figure out how to get rockets and astronauts out into space and back again? I think it's amazing. I love that there are people who can figure out stuff like that. I love that we have different skills and talents, brains that can think about big ideas and solve big problems and puzzles. And that teams of really smart people figure how to work together. 

Curiosity. Creativity. Imagination. And then a whole lot of work. I love that combination!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

Squirrels

They are so cute.

But not when they get in your attic. And your crawl space.

It's costing us a bundle to put out the "NO VACANCY" sign- cleaning out and sealing up.

Not to mention relocation. Our local rules allow these furry friends to be moved.... so peanut butter in the live trap, and then a car ride to some open forest far away. I feel bad not letting them stay, but as a friend said, they are like rats with furry tails- and they can do a lot of damage to roofs and wiring and insulation. So they have to move out. For good! (Sorry little guys....)

Make it a Wonderful Day!

1968

I came across this issue of LIFE Magazine while I was going through a few things in the cedar chest. It's dated December 27, 1968. So I was 14 when this was published- a special two-in-one issue for 60 Cents. Boy, do I feel old...

 I was already pretty sure what I liked. I was planning on studying art, and my parents were supportive of that. I know we didn't subscribe to LIFE, but a neighbor must have, and I'm sure my mom thought I'd like to read this issue. And I've kept it all these years, along with another double issue about the Bible. It's also filled with artwork. (It's from 1964, and it only cost 50cents!)

As much as I loved seeing the art and reading about the artist, now it's the advertising I find so interesting! This one's a fold-out ad for Campbells Soup... 

...But once folded out, the copy promoting the bowls calls them "Pop Art Bowls". Guess Andy had already made his soup can paintings by then!

And I love this ad promoting sugar as a way to control your appetite!

Here's another ad that was a sign of the times...

And check out this one for a Singer Sewing Machine contest...Love her outfit!

Oh, an ice cream truck is just driving by! The perfect soundtrack for my little trip down Memory Lane!

Make it a Wonderful Day!

For Sale

(Happy Anniversary Kate!
Hope you don't mind that I parted with your reception centerpieces on your 7th anniversary!)

It's been quite a summer. As you may have noticed, my posts have been few and far between! Life has been BUSY!

One of this summer's accomplishments was holding a garage sale with my sister last weekend. Friday & Saturday, hot weather, a sore knee, fun visiting with sis and the shoppers, but too much work!! Next time, we'll just box everything up and donate it to charity (and take the tax write off!).

My work is on the school schedule, so summer is when I  try to get caught up on all the things I don't get done when I'm teaching. And I try to get creative too.  But with moving and remodeling, I haven't had time for either! (Does changing my mind THREE times about paint color for an accent wall in the family room, after the wall was painted, count as creative, or just silly? I know creativity is often not a straight line, but really....and I won't tell you about the other rooms that got more than two coats of paint 'cuz I changed my mind..)
And can I just say it's hard to part with STUFF when you can ALWAYS come up with a creative use for whatever it is you're saving??

I even had a hard time parting with the old encyclopedia...so many memoires of family dinners, when one of the kids would ask a casual question that needed an answer. I'd grab a volume, and we'd read what the World Book had to say... (now when we're together, someone just grabs their phone and we Google it.)

And even if I never used these gilded books as a reference again, I considered keeping them to use the pages in some art piece. (There is an artist whose name I can't remember who glues the books together and then carves them...one piece I recall was an encyclopedia carved into the Grand Canyon, with all of the pages looking like the layers of rock...very beautiful and yet disturbing on a certain level too.)

But a friend who doesn't have a computer was glad to take the set off my hands, and my price of FREE made us both very happy!

Make it a Wonderful Day!