Across The Miles.......

We had such fun on our families Women's Day this past July that we women decided to do a little something once a month, together. We are spread across the United States, but, with skype and cell phones, it has been possible to successfully join up and have fun together across the miles.

In August, we took our Women's Day photo from July and did a little something special with it.

We worked on our projects as we talked and chatted....across the miles.

Each of us had picked a favorite piece of fabric from The Ice House Quilt shop while we were up north on vacation.

Then the creating and cutting began.


Working and working, and talking and visiting...enjoying each others company near and far.



Got to love a glue gun.

And, what fun results......one--- ...two--

....three-----

Done and fun! Great memories for each of us to have and enjoy for the months and year ahead...until we can all meet up in person again.

Its possible to close down those road miles between us all, and come together.

Ta-duh!

And, hopefully, we can catch a picture of Jenna's framed picture. She used gorgeous fabric and pages from a book to frame her picture. J...tell your computer to hurry and get fixed. Been a super long repair job.

Oh---September our Women's Day group read a most inspiring article on womanhood, by Julie B. Beck entitled...."And Upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit"... that Jenna suggested. Great discussion and contribution of thoughts from everyone. Was another great evening.

This month for our Women's Day group... fall apples. We will be putting on our aprons and making something yummy with apples.....and i do believe we will be able to smell the deliciousness across the miles, as we gather in 4 different locations....to bake, to visit, to laugh, to enjoy each others company, as we carry on our this new and wonderful tradition. xo

Yummy FALL!

Mmmm....do you love these fall pillowcases as much as I do?

How about this spooky-licious fabric? Can't see it very well, but their are silver sparkles all over this fabric.......which means my children literally woke-up with silver sparkles on their faces. Ha! Yes, I did pre-wash the fabric.


Back of pillowcases!! Got to love orange with dots!



My neighbors soy field.

Colorful changes---on my way home from town!

A farmer taking down his soy field.

Back road drives are so gorgeous these days!

Such a classic picture...of how to take a picture....ha!

Friends and family at our churches weekend General Conference meeting! We had such a good time together.

Our sweet friends, the Schulte's, and us!

Yes, their was loads of laughter and fun...especially when these two boys get together.

More of the same....ha!

My daughter, hubby and myself----under a shade tree...lots of spotty light filtering through the tree leaves.

Look at these faces...two with regular poses and two with silly poses. Love these kids to pieces!

Then, the weekend was over. Memories made. Time to drive one of my daughter's back up to school. We found this little treasure along the way.

Oh, the beauty of a strong tree...standing in the middle of a soy field.

Hope you all are enjoying the spectacular beauty of this fall season and all the activities that accompany this time of year. We have already been making pumpkin pies....just for ourselves to enjoy. I mean pumpkin is a squash. It is good for you, right? Just keep the sugar low or completely out of your recipe. The ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon make up for the deleted sugar. Last night we had pork chops, green salad with loads of veggies, home applesauce, with a slice of pie...not on the side, right on our dinner plates. Worked out well. Today...making pumpkin muffins. Can you smell them baking? Divine. xo

Loving a Saturday Morning Baby Shower!!!

Have you ever, ever, ever seen anything so delightful and delicious for a wee little babe?

Little crocheted baby sandals with a little sweet button on the strap. Can you see the button? My dear friend Genevieve made these. I will have to tell you more about Genevieve and her sister, Amanda a little bit later. Stay tuned. Every baby girl needs a sweet little hat.


And, a blanket to keep her nice and cozy and loved.

Such sweet fabric.

New baby delights. Ready for the party.

I reuse gift bags...doesn't everyone?Maybe not? Anyway, easy to make your own little gift tag with pretty paper, a hole punch and yarn. Off to the baby shower.

Lovely and simple tables. Felt like spring. I do love lavender and African Violets.

Snagged this picture before the festivities began. This fruit salad was so colorful and my favorite food at the shower brunch. Yum! Their was also breakfast casserole and a marvelous triple layer white cake, with layers of lemon curd....all homemade. Hello!!!!! I love lemon curd.

More growing things, so bright and green--these helped dress-up the brunch table.

Ooh! The gathering of gifts!

We played this really fun "matching" memory game. The really fun part was the small gift of sweets that went with each match. For example, if you happened to match the pictures of the baby girls, you received a 'Baby Ruth' bar. If you matched the chubby-babies, you received a 'Chunky Bar'. I matched umbilical cord and received a package of 'Rope Licorice'. All so fun and funny.

Here's pretty, Mary. Due in two weeks, and, I am "on-call" to tend her 3 boys, if baby decides to arrive before Mary's mom arrives. This dress was so sweet....a little spring dress to wear after Mary and her family move to Atlanta this summer.
We will miss them so much!

And, her name will be......CLARA! My friend Kathy has a machine that did this beautiful embroidery work. I just love this blanket, don't you?

And Kathy's daughter made this gorgeous sweater. Kristi said she worked on it each evening when her children were in bed....for a week. Only a week! I was amazed.

We are so excited to meet and welcome Clara, and soon. It was a wonderful baby shower and a great way to start off the weekend. Hope your weekend was a good one. Do tell what adventures you had this weekend!

P.S. I will post more about the baby sandals next time round. They are so irresistible...plus, I have other goodies to show and tell. xo

Vacation...on the Porch!

I really should be sewing these little pretties into receiving blankets, as planned! But...

...something else is happening-----the snow is melting with our super warm temps. Good-bye beautiful snow. See you next time round! Drip, drip, drip! The sound of ice and snow sliding off the roof is loud and very exciting, to say the least. So, on such an occasion, I decided to take a little time off from my busy day and take a mini vacation on my front porch.

I tried out this new sugar free gum, which was surprisingly, very good. Mint Chocolate Chip gum sounded somewhat better than Cookie Dough or Strawberry Cheesecake gum. And as I chewed my gum, basked in the sun, I was swept away with all the beauty I found in my Seed catalog.

How i love growing vegetables! Look how bright and festive! If you are a gardener, give Armenian Cucumbers a try this summer. If I am remembering correctly, the first time I had Armenian Cucumbers was when I lived in Elk Grove, CA...or was it Linden, CA? No matter. I love cucumbers and these are at the top of the list of "best cucumbers" from the garden.
And, then I felt a little hungry, as I basked in the sun on the porch. I could not resist a little outdoor snack of vanilla yogurt, fresh strawberries, blueberries and one of my all time favorites...blackberries. As a child, my family use to pick bucket loads of wild blackberries. I remembering wading in the creeks to reach the berries, all the while-keeping an eye out for rattlesnakes and water snakes, and anxious to pick our fill, so that we could then swim and play in the water. Those California days were hot, hot, hot and the mountain creek water was always so cold, cold, cold!

Question...has anyone started their winter into spring cleaning? I began last week and am so glad I did because the more warm days we have, the harder it is to stay inside. Or, to sit myself down and do my sewing. We will be 10 or so degree's warmer tomorrow than we were today. HELP! I think I already hear my porch calling me. Guess I will be moving my sewing to my porch tomorrow. xo

Hello February!!

Loving this new picture on my calendar for the month of February! I love the start of a new month. How about you?

Thanks to my fab friend, Denise---who helped me do some fabric shopping. She has a great eye for beauty and creativity.

This is one of my favorite patterns. I have made 9 skirts using this pattern, so, I feel like I can truthfully say this is a good pattern. So, I got busy and sewed up a storm while watching The Australian Open last week.

Ooh-la-la! Got these little beauties done in no time. They are for my daughter who is serving a mission for our church. I think she will be very glad to see them and will enjoy having something new to wear or share, after being out a little more than a year on her mission.

More of the same.....I must confess, after sewing these skirts, I did make one for myself! HA! I have already worn it and loved it.

Moving on...hello? Who has come to visit today (actually yesterday) and in broad daylight? The snow has been on the ground for so long that animals are having a hard time finding food. Before Mr. Opossum stopped by to visit the cat food dish, I noticed a large blue jay eating the cat food.

And, what a difference a day can make. We are having a huge snowstorm and happy for it. No school...hubby working from home today. We have cocoa being made in the cocoa machine, a cozy fire in the wood burning stove, great music playing...the makings of a terrific day.

A little peek out of the back door. Still expecting a few more inches. So, we will wait before we go out and play and shovel and drag the driveway. I guess my February "word" of CALM on the calendar was right. It is very calm and peaceful outside.

Well, wherever you are today, hope you all have a great day. And by the way, it is Groundhog Day! No shadows will be seen here today. How about where you live? Are you up to your eyeballs in snow? Sunshine? Rain? Mother Nature....she is a clever one! xo