All Decked Out: June 2011

Life's a Beach

Sunday, June 26, 2011 2 Comments »

My sister has a lovely vacation home on Ocean Isle Beach, NC. She rents it out during the summer, but makes it available to family members in the off-season. She gifted a week to my daughter and son-in-law in early June; they, in turn, asked if hubby and I would like to join them.

I’m not a beach person, I have issues with my skin and the sun, so frying on the sand isn’t a good thing for me. The opportunity to spend all day, every day with Kate, Paul and beautiful baby Alma, however, could not be missed, so off to NC we went. I took “Baby” (my featherweight), and a bunch of project packs to keep me busy while everyone else went to the beach. It turns out that Alma just loves to chill in her swing while her GG (Gorgeous Grandmom) sews. We had a lot of meaningful conversations, we sang “Sew, sew sew your quilt, merrily at the beach” for hours on end, and Alma kept GG from muttering those bad words when it was time to unsew. Again. Am I smitten? You bet!

A pea in her pod

I was amazed by how wonderful it is to be totally wrapped up in a little person. Not quite 4 month old Alma is at a very interactive stage: she pulls you to her with her eyes; she has “conversations”; she's discovered her feet; she reaches for things and grabs them; she watches everything. She especially loved the water and the beach.

Wish they had these Bumbos
when my kids were little!

One of her favorite activities was to sit in her Bumbo on the kitchen counter or on the dining room table so that she was smack in the middle of all the household action. I was also blown away by what wonderful parents Kate and Paul are. It is obvious that they are equal partners in raising this beautiful child. Spending the week with them was such a lovely gift -- we are all so blessed!

Where the heck have I been???

Saturday, June 25, 2011 0 Comments »

Answer: in a state of confusion, on planet neglectful.

Actually, I’ve just been lazy. Call it the summer doldrums if you will, the fact of the matter is that I succumbed to the “read & lurk, but don’t post” syndrome. I’ll try to do better.

So, what’s been happening? I went to North Carolina for a week, I had a wonderful Saturday sew-in with some dear quilting friends, I attended my first guild meeting, I joined a guild for the first time, and I found out that I am expecting my 5th grandchild in mid December.

All of those events will be chronicled shortly, but right now I need some help identifying fabric.

It’s from a charm pack I purchased over a year ago, and which I promptly cut up into a Schnibbles project pack, throwing away any identifying paperwork. I’m short some fabric to finish the project, and would love to find a match. Of course I can’t find a match if I don’t know the name of the fabric line, the designer or even the manufacturer. Do any of you recognize it?

Next post: Life’s a Beach

Getting it off my (ample) chest

Saturday, June 25, 2011 3 Comments »

I have so many friends with divergent political opinions that I try to remain neutral as far as politics are concerned. Their friendships are far dearer to me than voting history or who grazes on what side of the political fence. The brouhaha over Sarah Palin's supposed Paul Revere gaffe bothered me though, especially when juxtaposed to the news that same week of other politicians behaving lewdly and immorally. Can you spell "media frenzy"?

I'm not a fan of Ms. Palin as a candidate for national office, but for the media to be so quick to ridicule when they don't necessarily have their facts straight is of great concern. The iconic poem, on which their "facts" were based, is a work of embellished history itself. It was never intended to be historically accurate, but rather to raise patriotic spirit and lift an American hero to loftier heights.

Many news sources corrected the error quietly, however those sources could be considered by some to be lightening rods for liberals or conservatives, depending on which side you personally favor. Perhaps NPR's interview will be the most acceptable to all in setting the record straight.

Was Ms. Palin correct because of her in-depth knowledge of history , was she just lucky, or both? Who knows. But if we are going to make a cause celebre about a specific issue, let's make sure we are on firm factual ground. To do otherwise is to undermine the value of our legitimate issues, no matter what side we're on.

My chest is no smaller, but I feel better. Back to quilty things in the next post!