Tuesday, November 29, 2011

 
I hit the jackpot on buttons at Savers the other day, $1.99 a bag! Each bag had about a dozen or so smaller bags full of buttons, sorted by color and stapled shut. My daughter and I sorted through them all, both of us taking what we liked best. (I’m going to add a bunch to the stash of things we’ve been gathering for a future give-away on Craft Discoveries.)

My daughters and I used to sort through stuff with my mom, like bags of jewelry she’d find at yard sales or thrift stores (the good ol’ days of great finds), or go through one of her many jewelry boxes filled with the same. Sometimes she’d have us fetch a box of glassware she hadn’t seen in eons, and we’d unwrap each piece, oooh and ahhh, maybe set aside a piece or two for this person or that person, then wrap them back up and put away the box.

If you don’t collect anything, that might sound kind of crazy, but if you do, you understand the fun and conversation that ensues once the seal on a box full of finds is broken or buttons are poured from an old tin…a little bit of heaven right there.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

 
Tonight Dawn made mini bagel pizzas!


Last night Valerie made brussel sprouts (I didn’t even know I liked them, everyone else found out they didn’t), rice and chicken. Neither one of them cook, so I’m beside myself with munchie joy!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

 
"Velma's Sheets" quilt, made with love by my friend Sherry

The other day was, mmmm, long. In the middle of it, though, sitting there in the doctor’s office (not for myself), waiting, I got a text from my friend Sherry telling me she and her husband were passing through town that very minute. They live down south a few hours away and were on their way to a funeral up north, and had spent the night in Monterey. We rarely have the opportunity to see one another, so we tried to meet up for lunch earlier, but it just wasn’t in the stars. So when she texted me, it made me a little sad to think they were so close yet so far. A couple of minutes later, I look up and happened to catch a glimpse of her husband at the wheel, pulling into the tiny parking lot of the doctor’s office! They said they couldn’t just drive by without at least stopping long enough to give me a hug. A few of those and “you’re so awesome, you guys” later, they were gone.

Close-up of one of the squares, look at those lovely, even stitches!

When I got home my daughters brought me a quilt my friend had dropped off at the house on their way out of town. She made it out of tiny squares cut from vintage sheets that were her Aunt Velma's, a long-time friend of mine, whom we lost a few years ago to cancer (and momma to Patches, our dog we put to sleep this week). When I wondered why she would go to the trouble of bringing it to my house instead of giving it to me when she saw me, my daughter said, “Because she wanted you to open it when you were home where you could enjoy it and be happy.”

I have no words that describe such a gift as this.


P.S. Sherry very cleverly names all of her quilts and dubbed this one “Velma’s Sheets.” I did a crappy job of scratching out edited out our last names, not so much for my privacy, but for my friend’s.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Patches


Well, as if yesterday’s news about Gibbs (my daughter's dog but my baby boy) wasn’t sad enough; we just got home from putting Patches to sleep. :-(

We inherited Patches from a friend who passed away a few years ago, and she quickly became enamored with my husband and he with her. She was his baby. A rescue, she lived a long (about 18 years), happy life and left this world very peacefully. We’ll miss her silly sneezes, her insistent talking about how we should give her a treat NOW, and her adorable fluffy ears. Rest in peace, Punkin’ Patchy.

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UPDATE 11-28-2011: We brought Patches home today