Saturday Evening

Playing croquet on a sunny afternoon at our house. Nathan and Andrew prepare for a match.

Nathan checking with his 'coach' (grandpa) for his next move.

Megan showing her confidence as she prepares for her next move.

Baby Matthew watching the game with his mommy.

 

At 9 1/2 weeks old, Matthew weighs 10 lb. 1 oz. and is 24" long.

Here he is with his pretty Mommy, Shannon.

The next three pictures are of Andrew showing off for me.  He's such a character!

 

 

 

We had a fun afternoon.  The kids played outside with the croquet set, they watched Toy Story, and played with blocks, legos and went for a walk with their grandpa. 

I found out that Bryan's business opportunity is in Maui not Oahu.  I guess Maui is nicer than Oahu so I suppose that's good news.  I've never been to Hawaii so I don't have any idea.  We should know by June 14 if they will be moving.  I'm just going to take a day at a time until we find out one way or the other.

Friday

 

I like the new color choices we have for our journal fonts.  I also like how we can add photos to the body of our journal now.  Much easier.  I wish we could still add a caption but wouldn't want to go back to the old way of doing things. 

I had a nice day today.  My sister, mom and I went to Sips and had coffee with Cari and then went fabric shopping.  My sister makes handbags, over night bags, and purses so when she comes down we usually go to a fabric shop near my home where she stocks up on tapestry, velvet, and other rich fabrics for her projects.  Today, she bought fabric for a duvet cover she is making for a friend in the most gorgeous black and burgundy combination.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.  She also bought at least 25 one to two yard remnants to use to make her bags and purses.  She's going to be very busy. 

I found a gorgeous tapestry fabric and bought enough to make myself a jacket.  I have seen tapestry jackets in the stores for as much as $250 and I will be able to make one for less than $50.  Not bad.  I'll post a photo when I'm finished with it.

Tomorrow, Bryan, Shannon and the kids are coming over for the afternoon and evening.  We're going to have a barbecue and spend the day with my mom and sister.  My mom is going to my brother's on Sunday and then back to Wyoming on Monday so it will be the last time my son, DIL, & grandchildren will be able to see her until Christmas.  She spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights at their house.  I guess they had a great time!  Thursday was Nathan's kindergarten graduation so my sister, Dennis and I went to that and then brought my mom home with us after the celebration.

On June 8, Bryan and his family are flying to Oahu, Hawaii to check into the possibility of buying a business and moving there.  He has been looking into this deal for about 3 months and it has now reached the point where the family is going to fly over to look at housing, schools, and he will meet with the attorney/CPA that is coordinating the deal to look at all the final financial figures before making up his mind and either signing the deal or walking away from it.  The housing market here is just getting worse and 2 of his biggest builders are near bankruptcy.  If they fail, in 6 months he may not be able to support his family in Southern California.  As it stands now, it takes them 3 months to pay him.  He just cannot keep his business going with such a snag in his cash flow. 

It breaks my heart into tiny pieces to think of my grandchildren moving so far away.  I can't think about it without crying.  Our bond is so strong and they mean everything to me.  To think I would go from seeing them at least two or three times a month to three times a year is more than I can take.  I understand why Bryan has to check out this opportunity and that he has to take it if it is the right thing for him and his family.  I will support him all the way.  Somehow I will get through this and will make the very best of the situation.  Just right now, I'm really upset and hurting about it.  Having just lost my Dad, it just doesn't seem right that I'm facing another huge loss so soon. 

Quilts and Baby Blanket

A few entries ago, Jan of Serendipity mentioned that she would enjoy seeing some of my Mom's quilts and one of her baby blankets with the embroidered edge.  Here are some pictures of her creations:

One of Mom's baby blankets with embroidered edge.

Quilt Mom' made for my Dad a few years ago.

Bird Wall Hanging made about 5 years ago.

This quilt was started in the 1930's by my Dad's mother and grandmother.  They put together about 12 of the Sunbonnet Sue's.  My Dad asked my Mom if she could finish the other's which had been cut out but never sewn together.  She did 11 of them and then Cari and I did 3 each so this quilt was made by five generations of women from our family.  Some of the fabrics are newer that the 30's.  A few were rotten and Mom had to throw them away and she needed to add a few extra to make the quilt queen size so she found reproductions of 30's prints to finish the project. The bright spot in the upper left is from the sun coming in an upper window.

This is a wall hanging that Mom made for me for Christmas a few years ago.  It hangs in the entry of my home.

I shot a few tulips and a couple daffodils

I ran some errands and stopped by Marilyn Morgan's around noon today so get some pictures of her garden.  Her tulips and daffodils are so pretty.  Hope you enjoy seeing these pictures.  P.S.  There's a surprise at the end.  Hugs!

Marilyn's side yard with tulips, daffodils and ever green ground cover

This is my favorite picture

This is on the corner of Marilyn's yard.

 

 

Oh, and I cannot resist  showing you the latest picture of Matthew.  I took this the day before I left ~ March 7th.  He was 6 weeks old and weighs a strapping 8 1/2 pounds. He's a sweet baby.  This is your surprise!

Friday Already

The time has flown by!  Mom and are are heading back to Denver on Sunday and flying back to California on Monday.  In one way, I feel like I've been away from home a week and when I think of all that we have done, it feels like I've been gone much longer than 10 days.  We have made each minute count, that's for sure.

Last night, my Mom's friends, Marilyn and Terry Morgan invited us to dinner.  Terry worked in Italy for 18 months on a project for the railway system there.  He lived in Florence  and got to know the beautiful city very well.  Marilyn visited 3 times for 2 weeks each time.  We had a wonderful time talking about Italy and especially Florence.  Terry is making up a list of his favorite restaurants, shops, and his list of 'Must See' spots that are not on most of the tourist maps.  Mom will meet with them again when she gets home from California and get his list.  I thought that was so nice of them to spend several hours sharing their experiences - all positive - with us.

Mom is at her exercise class right now.  It gives me a little over an hour to check mail and make a quick entry.  This afternoon, she is going to make some baby blankets.  She sews them together and then passes them to her sister, Ruth, who embroiders a fancy trim on each one.  They then put them away to sell at their church bazaar in December.  All the money they make is donated to special projects that their Women's group does throughout the year.  After I finish this, I have promised to iron 5 yard lengths of flannel so when she gets back, she can cut them and put the blankets together.

She will sew today and I will run errands.  One of the things I want to do is to take pictures of the tulips and other bulb flowers that are in bloom around town.  We can't grow tulips very successfully in Riverside.  It's just too warm.  I have been amazed and have fallen in love with the beautiful flowers.  The other thing that is in bloom, not in Laramie yet, but in Cheyenne and Denver are the lilacs.  Oh, my goodness.  They are gorgeous and the aroma is heavenly.  We walkedto dinner one night and walked past a few lilac bushes.  Mom had to drag me away.  I would have put my whole head in that bush to soak up the aroma of those flowers.  It's my very favorite floral smell.  I was plotting how I could find some in Denver, cut a few big bunches and take them home.  They are very fragile and would not travel well so I've given up on the idea.  I was actually going to go to a flower shop and buy a flower box and some of those glass tubes that they put water in to keep corsages fresh.  When I shared my plan with my Mom, she just looked and shook her head.  "If that's what you want to do, go for it."  I will be posting my pictures as soon as I can.

On our way to Cheyenne the other day, we saw about 12 antelope grazing near a ranch just 100 feet off the road.  They are so tiny and graceful. I saw a beautiful emerald-headed mallard duck in Denver and a pretty brown female duck in the side yard at Mom's yesterday.  That's about all the wild life for this trip so far.  We still have the drive to Denver on Sunday so I have hope for more.  I haven't seen the robins or the finches again but I have my camera on the counter ready to get a picture if they come back.

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone early next week.  I miss all of you and want to know what is going on in your lives.  Hope all of you are well and most of all, happy!

Hugs for now.

Hi from Laramie, Wyoming

Good morning!  I hope all the mothers had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday.  Mom and I went to church.  Afterwards, we visited with Lillian Hubbard who is the mother of my mom's best friend from her childhood.  Lillian is 102 years old and still plays bridge twice a week.  She is sharp, alert and still lives alone in the home she has occupied for the past 70 years.  What a sweet woman!

Mom and I had a good time in Denver.  Her tests went well and everything looks good.   We visited with her sister, Helen a few times which was very nice.  I got to see three of my cousins and their husbands.  Mom and I even got to go to a Colorado Rocky's baseball game at Coor's stadium with my cousin, Vicki's husband, Jim.  He's an avid baseball fan so it was a delightful evening in summer like weather.

The weather has been GREAT.  Warm ~ in the upper 70's - low 80's.  In Laramie, we have had late afternoon thunderstorms but the temperatures have been in the 70's.  Much better than the last 3 times I've visited when it hasn't been over 25 degrees and there has been snow and lots of cold wind.  I much prefer this! 

There are a pair of Robins nesting in a tree behind Mom's house and a pair of red headed finches nesting in front.  I hope to get pictures before I leave.  They are beautiful birds.  We don't see them in California.

I can't access journals other than my own from here so I will catch up with all of you when I get home.  I hope you are all well.  I miss you!

Hugs.

 

  Tomorrow is the day I leave for Mom's.  I'll be home on May 21st.  I don't know if I'll be able to access journals while I'm away so I don't know if I'll be posting or reading until I get back.  Y'all take care, now, ya hear?  I'll miss you if I can't check in.

Hugs.