Birthday month

Our "son" Jess had a b'day

January 20th was our son-in-law, Jess's, 39th birthday.
Har and I picked up the birthday boy and his Joylynn and took them out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse.

YUM! Bloomin' Onion :0)

I brought candles to put on his dessert.

Next year we'll have to PARTY hardy for his fortieth.

The kids were anxious for him to get home so he could share some of the cookies and goodies he got for his birthday. They had party horns that Gramma provided for the celebration to continue ;0)

My sweet sister, Kelly, had a b'day too

On January 23, 1965 Mom and Dad gave me a sister!

This year she celebrated her 49th birthday!

Apparently she inherited all of the youth genes in the family. Though our baby sister, Kara, is midway through her thirties and still looks 21.  This blooming jasmine, I photographed on Kel's birthday, reminded me of the Edelweiss song "Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever..." Kelly is moving back home so she'll likely see lots of snow but few blossoms.

Here is what it actually looked like in her area of Virginia. Alyssa took this picture from her porch this past week.Next year unless Kelly decides to travel to warm climates for her 50th, she'll be enjoying a bit more snow than this at her Michigan home.

"Our" Lalita had a birthday!

 This is the Lalita I remember. The one that made her way into our family and our hearts. Many crazy home videos were made and fun memories as well during these teen years.

 Today at 30 she is a beautiful woman, wife and mother. (I swiped these photos from her FB page. Thank you Posy Quarterman for the lovely photograph of Simon and his mom.)  She is working at a job, friendships and keeping on top of her own health challenges and her son's special needs. We are so blessed to have this lovely lady in our lives.

Her friend spearheaded a project to make her a quilt for her birthday. Other friends contributed fabrics

and it turned out great. All textiles and all relationships are woven in various patterns and textures. They  however come together in a beautiful way when you step back and appreciate the whole!

Mother had a birthday this month as well

Mom celebrated her 76th birthday this past Tuesday and was  snowed in at her home. It's appropriate since her mother couldn't get home or to the hospital on the day she was born so Mom made her debut at her grandmother's home in Tapiola. I'm glad that this year the postman delivered her gifts on time. She got the new quilt that I sewed for her to keep her toasty warm on her birthday..

Here in Portland that same day, my first daffodil opened up. All of the others are either in tight bud or barely popped out of the ground. 

Seasons come and go and we know that spring is coming! 

It just might take a little longer to show up in some areas so hang in there guys.

and

Happy Birthday Jess, Kel, Lalita and Mom!

Happy hour reinstated

It's been a foggy few days

I have no trees and mountain meadows nearby so I end up marveling at the loveliness of construction sites in the fog. 

We had a happy hour date :0)

I'm sure this poster was encouraging an alcoholic beverage but hydrating is a great first when you need to "pull yourself together". I found I was in need of hydration and some time with my favorite guy so I phoned him at work and told him where he could find me at quittin' time.

The tall building in the center of the construction photo was our view from the table at Stanford's. 

It has been years since we've been to Stanford's for HH. They have great burgers and things make me a happy camper too.

The bread pudding wasn't something to write home about but Har enjoyed it and I enjoyed my date with him.

Updating their look and logo

I wanted to buy these off of the display at Macy's. I think I'm going to have to get something like it when I eventually get a sewing room. 

Trying out a new breakfast place

We've been wanting to try out the breakfast at Bob's Red Mill down in Milwaukee for years. Harlan had to run down to Lowe's so I schemed to drive and took him out for b'fast before we went to pick up his building stuff.

I loved the atmosphere!
They are remodeling their kitchen to be able to serve Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner starting sometime in February.
This is as close as we in the NW get to a Cracker Barrel ;0)
Fun place...but I spent way too much $$$ in their store!!!
Bird watching

I sat in the truck while Har went into Lowe's and was treated to huge flocks of geese flying by. There were easily several hundred over the time I was waiting.

FaceTime and Skype are some of my favorite things to do

Garrett loves to call me on his mom's iPod via FaceTime. I mainly see his forehead  or the ceiling or the dog or ... but he loves it and we make funny faces at each other.

The other night a FaceTime episode with Danika had me talking a melting down gal through a lesson in braiding her own hair for bed. That little sweet smile and dried tears says it all.

Love these precious times!

But there isn't much that beats in person snuggles ;0)

or having them spend time with the Aunties or the Uncles.
Goofy kids.

My recent projects

An inspirational photo

A friend "liked" this photo on Facebook. It's a rag quilt with some fancy borders. I thought to myself, "I can do that!" So I've been experimenting a bit.

I made a queen sized quilt for Har and me

These fabrics were ones I bought to make a Christmas quilt for myself. I had a bolt of the green flannel that I had picked up last year that I used for the back. I had the green and grey flannel in my stash too. I'm loving the effect so much I've made a couple lap sized ones using the same technique.

                       What do you think?

I made a striped border out of strips of the various fabrics I bought to make a quilt for our newest grandson, who is due to arrive soon. The stripes go around the perimeter of the back of the quilt. 

Fun hey?

 I finished three double sided flannels for baby Quinn too. They are washed and ready to go when we get the message to head to the Tri-cities.

One more thing for Quinn

I found a cut an sew fabric book to make for the baby.

Given their choice of vehicles these days, I think it's going to be the perfect first book for that boy.

Not a quilt, but this print would make a cool one.

However, I'm not ambitious enough to figure out how to create it.

 I love how bright and colorful this is.

It makes me happy to look at it when there seems there's just not enough coffee to get through the day.