Jeremy's gift

Jeremy's gift
Originally uploaded by IdahoQuilter

My grandson brought me narcissus bulbs for a hostess gift at Thanksgiving. The directions were easy, plant, then place them in a cool dark place for 2 weeks , bring them out and watch them grow. Looks like I will have Narcissus blooms for Christmas.

Thanks Jeremy.



Not so sure about the Christmas cactus. Its trying but so far only two blooms.

christmas cactus
Originally uploaded by IdahoQuilter

Remember Pearl Harbor! December 7, 1941

Making something out of nothing.

After my sewing room disaster the day before Thanksgiving: (ie: emptying the closet where all my fabric stash was stored, so the electrician could get his fat self at the fuse box.)

I really needed to take a look at what
I had stored in there.
Beginning with a container of scraps
that I have been stepping around to even get to the closet.

I dumped this out on the cutting table and started sorting strips
I will turn these




into this:










Well it's a start!!!!

A favorite quilt

Does anyone know the name of this quilt pattern?

I purchased this quilt for $5. at a Salvation Army store in 1993. What a steal huh?
The 8" blocks are made of wool, gabardine, velvet, and silk. Each circle is embroidered around, with a ladder stitch, each block is tied in the center of each diamond and each corner with red wool yarn .
The backing is a light weight wool.

Unknown
Originally uploaded by IdahoQuilter

I really enjoy displaying this quilt, it is quite a charmer.

Need to get back to Quilting

Applique
Originally uploaded by IdahoQuilter

December is upon us, another year almost used up.

A time for review.

I did manage to grow enough pole beans to feed me and the neighbors. I was even successful at growing birdhouse gourds, now to figure out how to get them dry. I am hoping nature will give me the solution, I have left them on the vine.

Stawberries were a different story, 2 years ago I had a bumper (farmers language) crop. This year the birds had a breakfast every morning in my strawberry patch. There were only enough to feed a few birds so I let them have at it.

This applique wall hanging has been in my UFO pile for at least 3 years. It is now finished, all it needed was a border and binding. This project was from a class I took on needle turn applique.

I am now determinded to get my sewing room back in order and finish other UFO's.

Post Thanksgiving

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.



As we say in my family we are making memories. This Thanksgiving holiday we certainly did that.

(It even beats the time Glenn dropped the half gallon of Tequlia on his big toe.)

The Good:

Dinner was at my house with 9 family members, all traveling 400 to 900 miles to get here. They all arrived safely without incident. My kids arrived on Tue., from Portland, Jeremy on Wed, from Denver. As of last night they wereall back home again, safe, what more could you ask for.

We had a wonderful traditional meal, thanks to every ones help.

The best part of the whole holiday was getting to meet my Grandson Jeremy.
Jeremy is the newest member of our family, we were all anxious to welcome him. I hope we succeeded in making him feel welcome, I believe we did.


You see, Jeremy has been lost to us for 24 of his 25 years, he found us August 1, 2006.
You would think locating someone today would be easy with the Internet, but he found me the old fashion way, he called directory assistance. I speak for the whole family when I say I am glad he did.
Wonderful memories made.

The Bad:
The day before Thanksgiving, my kitchen, dinning, & bathroom lights went out.

Flipping the breaker only sent sparks flying, scared the crap out of me.

I called my handyman cousin, Stan, to the rescue. He suggested a new breaker, easy fix, right? No such luck. Blew that breaker too.

Next, check the dinning room light fixture, where I had previous trouble. Not that easy this time, everything was in tact there.

Next solution , call a electrician, at $76 bucks an hour. Three hours later he found the problem under the house, after pulling everything out away from the walls to check every plug-in. Emptying my closet was the worst part, (breaker box located there)I felt like like my house was being torn apart right before my very eyes. Looking back now it was time to clean out that closet anyway. (Do that next week)

In the middle of the disaster, (I found out latter it was only a disaster to me) Jeremy arrives. Certainly not what I had planned for our first meeting. But he got to see, right off the bat, his raving loony grandma in action.

During this 3 hour period while we were trying to cook a ham, the electrician was turning power off & on all over the house. Somehow it all got done and we managed to put together a meal that night. I don't even remember eating.
More memories made.

The Ugly:

After Thanksgiving dinner, Jessica,



my soccer playing granddaughter ask if anyone wanted to go kick the ball around with her. No napping around here. We all went out and pretended we "The Kennedy's", only with a soccer ball instead of a football.

Grandma wasn't to be out done, I could still kick a ball. After all I have been working out lately. I was on Jeremy, & Eli's side.

I did OK for awhile, chasing that ball. Then big chance to score, I wound up for the big kick then fell flat on my face. Luckily Marty had just removed a big pile of dog crap from that area.

More memories made.

While I sat out the remainder of the game.

The girls won, playing off with sudden death....

All in all I am sure it will be one of the most memorable Thanksgivings our family has ever had.

The only thing to make it better, would have been having Tom & Rhonda here.

Almost Thanksgiving

A time to be thankful for all we have.




Thanksgiving 2006





This Thanksgiving I will be meeting my grandson, Jeremy, for the first time.
Jeremy is 25, lives in Denver. He will be travelling here for Thanksgiving, arriving on Wed.

Marty, Diane, Jessica, Sandra, Glenn, Eli, will be arriving on Tues.
They will be staying here so we can all be together. I am borrowing a travel trailer from my cousin Stanley to park here, for extra beds.

I may even have to borrow dishes, since I have been alone for the last 5 years, cooking for 1, I have narrowed down my kitchen supplies.

I am borrowing a large crock pot from Peggy for the mash potatoes. When I always had Thanksgiving at my house I had a large harvest size table I could easily put 12 to 16 people around. This year we will put two small tables together.

Thanksgiving 1996


None of that matters, we will be together.
I am looking forward to having the kids home again.

A few of the places I have lived

I have intended to post this for awhile. No time like the present.

When I was sorting pictures for the Summer of 1950 post, I started separating pictures of houses or towns I have lived in, here are just a few.
I'm sure I will be adding more as I find them.

Raymond Wa. Spring 1942

Aloha Or. Fall 1942 til 1945

Peninsula Rd. Priest River Id. 1945 til 1950


"Townhouse" Priest River Id. Summer 1950


2910 S. E. 8th, Portland Or. 1951 til 1953

Spent the Summer of 1953 at my Grandma & Grampa Moores, Wilder Id.


N. Kellogg St. St. Johns Portland Or. 1956 til 1957


Fall of 1957 moved with parents to Halfway Or. til May of 1958
Still searching for picture of Halfway Or.




Commercial St. Baker Or. 1958
















Bellvue Wa. 1985

Nov 4 set the time back.

Sunday Morning Musing


November is here, another year soon to be a part of the past. The nights are getting cold the days are getting shorter, just as it should be.

As I am changing the time on clocks this morning, I wonder why they ,(whoever they is) decided to stretch it out by 1 week this year.

Is it really going to save electricity? Would someone mind explaining how that could be.

My Mother always said it was so they could have more time to play golf after work. I am more apt to believe that.
But while they were getting in an extra hour of golf, the kids were catching the school bus in the dark.

Speaking of my Mother she had a birthday last Sunday Oct 28, she would have been 94. She has been gone for 14 years.

This is the time of the year when you are suppose to change smoke detector batteries too.

I changed my batteries in the middle of the night about 2 weeks ago.

I have five, one of them decided the battery was low at 3 A:M: from my bedroom it sounded like the one in the hall. Of course I can't reach it, so I drag a chair from the dinning room, take the battery out, go back to bed.

Again with damn, beep-- beep-- beep.

So it must be the one in the utility room, repeat, dragging the chair, removing the battery, this time I wait. No beep----beep, back to bed.

Again with the damn beeping . This time I take all the remaining batteries out. Back to bed, quiet at last.

Then I begin to worry, no active smoke detectors, @@#$.
This requires digging in the junk drawer to find a battery. No batteries, so I take a battery out of the kitchen clock, problem solved.

Next day I bought 12 batteries at the $ store. All smoke detectors and clocks have new batteries.

No more damn beeping until next spring, unless of course I leave a pan on the stove while I just go check my email.

Working on the list previous list dated June

5 out of 13 scratched off


1. Lose ten pounds.
2. Visit Montana again, especially Madison Valley.
3. Ride in a hot air balloon.
4. Lose 15 pounds.
5. Live long enough to draw my ex's social security.
6. Finish my flooring.
7. Paint my living room.
8. Be able to dance again.
9. See my old friend Larry.
10.See my old friend Pam.
11.Go to the Oregon coast for a vacation.
12.Go to a Nascar race.
13.Lose 16 pounds.




I have accomplished 5 out of 13 and getting close to scratching off 1 more.
Thirteen things I want to do.

#1. I have lost 10 lb, Yipppeeee

#2. Haven't been back to Montana yet, still something I am looking forward to.

#3. I haven't ridden in a hot air balloon, but my son and his wife have. Rhonda gave Tom the balloon ride for his birthday. They went up at the crack of dawn over the Willamette Valley, they said it was wonderful.

#4. And more importantly than # 1. I have lost 15 lbs, that is a Bigger YIPPPPEEEE
NO photos yet.

#5. Collecting Bill's S. S. I don't think that will be a problem, just a matter of time. That is what I get for marrying a younger man. He is just turning 60 next month. Oh well, I can wait.

#6. My flooring that needed finished was the utility room, It is finished.

Wasn't on the list but:




In addition I have new carpet in 3 rooms and the hall. That is a huge YIPEEE too, something I have wanted for 2 yrs.

#7. Was paint my living room, not yet. I should have done that before I got new carpet. I think I will just remove it from the list. Delete, its gone!

#8. Be able to dance again? I must have been having hip problems when I wrote that.. All better now, I dance around the house all the time....

#9. See my high school friend, Larry. I can knock off 2 from the list next summer, #9 & # 11. Visit the Oregon coast. We plan on meeting next summer in Lincoln City.

#10. See my old friend Pam. Hadn't seen Pam in over 30 years, since she moved away to Las Vegas. Pam now lives about 4 hours away in Pocatella Id. She came to Nampa in July for a family reunion, we had a reunion too. She spent the week-end with me, we reminisced for hours.

#11. See # 9 above.
#12. Go to a Nascar Race, not happening. Not sure now I would even want to, television coverage is so good.. But I wouldn't turn down the opportunity

#13. Was lose 16 lbs, hopefully I can mark that off next week.

Accomplishments make me feel good.

Been awhile since I posted

Yes, it has been awhile since I have posted.

Summer was here with a vengeance, July was the worst I ever remember. I felt like a prisoner in my A/C'ed home the whole month. When the day starts at nearly 90 it only can go up from there. My pretty spring garden suffered right along with me. I quit posting photos, no one wants to see pictures of weeds. Except maybe the local extension office.

My granddaughter came to visit for 10 days at the end of June, it reached 100 a few times while she was here, but we still managed to get out and do a few things. She met a few cousins she didn't know she had.

We went to a baseball game, a outdoor concert, (Rodney Atkins) and the movies, we went to the Saturday market, where she purchased a neck wrap, the kind that stays wet and cool for hours.....we just had to figure out how to make them.

Mission accomplished, between the two of us we made about 2 dozen for gifts. I gave one to everyone at the 4th of July picnic I attended. They were a big hit, that was the beginning of our heat wave. I used mine the whole month of July.

One day the two of us fixed a picnic lunch of bagels and cream cheese and went to the lake where her dad use go swimming.

While she was here I taught her to knit, the basics anyway. She enjoyed it and picked it up everytime she sat down.

Her visit here was very enjoyable for me I loved having her and hope we can do again next year.



I was just looking at my last post in June and realized I have checked off several of the things I had on that list, and accomplished a few extra.

I also have an update post about Gordon and David.

I will do an update tomorrow.....