45 Years Later

Cheryl and Diane

Diane and Cheryl

I remember the top picture hanging in our home, straight ahead as you walked in our front door. It's an 11 X 14, and seemed like a very large picture to me. My mom noted on the back that it's either 1960 or 1961 (another reminder to label photos).  In 1960 Cheryl was barely one year old at the beginning of the year, but turned two in December. I would guess the date should be sometime in 1961. I'll have to compare it to other photos taken around that same time.

In the top photo we are wearing dresses that Mom made. Cheryl's was a very pale pink, and mine was orange--about the same color orange that those candy hearts with sayings like "Be Mine" are. They are probably Easter dresses, which further convinces me it's more likely 1961.  My mom curled my hair. I remember pin curls all over my head. It was the only way to get my straight hair to have any curl at all. One time I remarked to Mom that it must have taken a long time to put all those pin curls in both my hair and Cheryl's hair. She just looked at me and said, "hers is all natural curl.I didn't have to do a thing with it."

Flash forward 45 years. The bottom photo is one taken at my daughter Debra's wedding in 2006. Oh my, we have a good time together! 

2015

And we're off to a brand new year. I love January - the month of my birthday, and the start of new goals. Some of which I'll accomplish fully, others partially, and some not at all. But it's all good.

No monthly reports this year - I did like doing them, but I don't want to feel pressure to get them done on time.

Briefly, here's what I hope to improve on this year:

1. Become a more spiritual person. This is a life-long goal.

2. Eat better, exercise more, and in general be in better health one year from now.

3. Work on family history. This entails many possibilities: organize and label family photos; do genealogical research; take care of, file, and scan family history paraphernalia that I already have; keep a journal (which this is part of).

4. Make time for doing things I enjoy, and spending time with people I love.

Two words I want to keep in mind this year:
Purposeful
Deliberate

I want to make my choices in life count. So I want my choices and decisions to be purposeful and deliberate. I want to spend less time staring into space, or staring at some useless information on my computer.

That's it! Hopefully I'll remember at the end of December and report back on how I've done.

Happy New Year!

Additions and Improvements to My Sewing Room

I haven't completed any quilt projects lately. I'm a little bogged down by some intricate quilting I'm doing on a quilt for my daughter. I know I just have to power through, but sometimes I need to take a break.

Meanwhile I've done some other projects to help organize my sewing area. Last October I saw this post on Sister's Choice Quilts. Nicole inspired me, and I ordered some comic book boards from Amazon right away. Fast forward to February, and I finally reorganized my stash. My sister-in-law Orva came over and we put all my stash on comic book boards.  I pinned a note to each fabric with the length of the fabric piece written on it. The fat quarters and fat eighths are in a box on their own. My pre-cuts are also in their own box. Then my daughter Audrey worked her magic and organized it all in color order. I've really tried to use my stash over the last several years, and I feel like it's a much more manageable size now. Looks nice, doesn't it?

These bins (they have lids that are not shown here) are made by Iris, and I found them in packs of three at Costco. They are the perfect size, and they stack nicely.

My measly fat quarters (the row along the bottom) and fat eighths (the few on the top).

My precuts. Actually there is more in the bin now that I've continued to find a few things stashed here and there.

Can you tell I have a thing for red fabric? 

I also have a bin that has projects in it. That's my real goal: get all those projects done. 

This organization is all fine and good (actually wonderful), but the best thing that happened is Ray made me a new sewing table. A few months ago I got a new Bernina 710, which I adore. However, it did not fit in the nice sewing cabinet that I already owned. So we sold the cabinet with one of my older Berninas (my 180 artista) and Ray said he'd make me a table. 

Ray is an excellent craftsman. He's made me many beautiful items and pieces of furniture over the years so I knew that whatever he made would be wonderful. We had many hours of discussion over what I wanted, and how I wanted things to work. The table is so simple that it is deceiving. Much planning went into it to make sure everything was precisely where I wanted it, and would fit my new machine exactly. I ordered an insert from Dream World Northwest (makers of Sew Steady tables). They were wonderful to work with and the insert fits perfectly. 

Here are a few pictures of various stages of construction. The weather was terrible, and my family room downstairs was turned into a wood shop. Ray cleaned it all up, and it was worth the temporary dust and debris. 

 

 

The table measures 42 inches by 80 inches. It's the size of my dining room table with one of the leaves in. The legs are from IKEA, and are adjustable for height. 

I couldn't be happier!

Seattle Trip ~ February 2014

Here comes a ton of pictures, and a little bit of narration.

Ray and I went to Seattle for President's Day weekend. The King's Singers had a concert there, and we'll take any excuse we can to see Debby and Randy and the kids.

We arrived on Thursday, greeted by this happy boy. What a joy he is to be around! Jonathan came right to us--always so nice for grandparents who live far away.

Jonathan

Jonathan and Diane

Jonathan and Ray

We had dinner and played cards with our dear friends Scott and Karen that night--a delicious meal prepared by them. Silly me, I didn't get any pictures of us together, just a picture of my terrible Rook hand.

Friday was Valentine's Day (and incidentally our 34th wedding anniversary). In the morning Debby and I walked Madeleine to school and helped at her kindergarten Valentine's Day party.

Madeleine

Madeleine playing Valentine's Bingo

Madeleine and Debra

 We celebrated Valentine's Day with our other dear Seattle friends that evening. We went to Ivar's Restaurant in Mukilteo. It's right on the water, next to the ferry dock. We had a great time together. We miss these guys!

Diane and Marsha Porter

Diane, Marsha Porter, Tamara Badger, Gayle Mackenzie

Saturday was the big day. My sister Cheryl came over to watch the kids. Silly me again. I didn't get a picture with her, either.

We started the evening by going to dinner at Palisade restaurant. If you know Seattle, it's over on Magnolia, and it looks back across the water to the skyline. So pretty. Because it was Valentine's Day weekend, the restaurant was booked solid for the night. It's perhaps the best food we've had in Seattle over the years, and it's always a special treat to go there.

Randy and Debra

Ray and Diane

Right after we finished our entrees, while we were waiting for dessert, the power went out in the restaurant. It never came back on. A transformer had blown, and their back-up generator apparently needs to be replaced. It was early in the evening and I can't imagine what a nightmare it was for the rest of the evening, turning away all their customers with reservations (and basically nowhere else for them to go--every place like Palisade would be booked solid). Lucky for us, we'd eaten. Off we went to our concert.

Waiting for the power to come back on. Notice how dark the restaurant is.

Seattle skyline viewed from inside Palisade Restaurant.

We love the King's Singers. Ray discovered them in the late 70's when he was on his mission in Germany. Since then we've attended every concert they've held within 200 miles of our home (and twice now at concerts more than 800 miles from our home). This concert was great. And so much more fun because of the great company we had.

Our last day, just before heading to the airport. Diane is a fiend with puzzles. She also didn't want to have her picture taken. Or go with us to the airport. Oh well. Good thing she's so good to us otherwise!

Diane and Diane

Madeleine and Ray

Jonathan and Ray

Sadly, we had to return home. Our visits are always too short. I can't wait to go back.

November Report

Wow. This autumn has flown by. October was gone in a blur of grandchildren and worry. November was just the blink of an eye, although it felt much calmer and less anxiety-ridden. Things are settling down with Katherine, and thus with all of our emotions. She is not out of the woods yet, but things will be fine.

Audrey and family have been and will be here very often - probably at least a couple of days a week. I'm finding a balance between "normal life" (actually I'm convinced there is no such thing), and life with extra loved ones here. As my mother would say, "variety is the spice of life." So true.

November in a nutshell:

1. First Things First: I am managing to hold my own on these goals for the most part. I really want to make these happen first, before anything else (hence the name of the goal). Obviously I need to constantly pay attention to this or I wouldn't have to always have it as my goal. I think it's a lifer as far as goals go.

2. Photo Organization/Scanning: although I've gotten quite a bit of scanning done this year, and a have a large pile I want to get done in December, I feel like 2013 was a lost year for organizing photos. Maybe next year!

3. Household Organization: my goal for this month should have been hang on for dear life and hope to keep the house in order. That is for sure my goal for December.

4. Projects: luckily I was able to go to a quilt retreat for three days at the beginning of November. I finished the tops of two large quilts while I was there. Then I came home and finished one of them completely--quilted and bound. I also finished Katherine's quilt. So I am quite satisfied on that front.

I hope to have a relaxed December. We have some good friends coming to visit next weekend, and some fun evenings planned this month. I'd like to do some Christmas related activities that require more participation than preparation and enjoy the season. Whatever I get done, I get done. That's how I want to finish out the year. (Then I'll make plans for next year.)

Seattle Trip ~ September 2013

I arrived on Saturday morning. Debra and the children were there to pick me up at the airport. The talking and fun started right then, and didn't end until I left. 

I always have a food agenda when I go to Seattle, and I managed to squeeze in a couple of favorites while I was there. We did King Charley's the same day I got there. I just love their burgers. The best in Washington.

My friends were kind enough to accommodate my craving for a beef gyro at Pizza Bank and joined me there with a fun evening of cards afterward. And when Ray arrived in town we hit Spud's Fish and Chips one night. 

I had such a fun time with everyone--so much fun I didn't take enough pictures. But I did get a few.

Jonathan and Diane

Diane

While I was there, Madeleine had her first day of school--kindergarten. It was such a thrill for me to share that with her. I always loved school and I'm ever hopeful that my grandchildren will too. 

Madeleine and Diane

Madeleine, Randy, and Diane

Madeleine and Debra

My girl and her girl

The walk to and from school looks like this.

That pretty much wraps up the week. We walked Madeleine to and from school every day, and Debra and I worked on a few projects. Mostly the family digital photo album.

I can't wait to go back!

Sisters 2 ~ 2013

Oh, how we love our Sisters weekend! My girls and I had a wonderful time in May spending the weekend just basking in our time together.

We: talked, played cards, ate, talked, played more cards, talked, ate, spent time together, talked, played cards, ate. You get the idea. It was wonderful. 

Debra brought Jonathan. He took a couple of days to warm up to all of us, then he was the life of the party. Here he is, turned front-facing in his car seat for the very first time.

Beth, Audrey, Jonathan, Debra (Cafe Rio - some of our good eats)

Audrey, Diane, Debra, Beth

August Report

1. First things first: still doing okay on this one. I'm ramping up for another eight week concentration on all these things beginning September 7.

2. Photo labelling and scanning: I helped Orva with her slides on one of our workdays. I haven't done any of my own, and I've got a big pile just waiting for me.  All in good time.

3. Household organization: I worked on the yard quite a bit. I worked on the house a little. I did get my bathroom closets all done, and last week Audrey was here and we organized my entire sewing room. It feels great. Okay, I guess I did more than just a little in the house.

4. Projects: I printed my dad and mom's autobiographies (thanks to my sister-in-law Bonnie for formatting them and helping to edit them). Then I took them and had them bound. Hardback. They look so nice! That was a nice one to get done. My dad is so happy.  I also finished two quilts.

Not too bad. Really what I need to do is catch up on all the blog posts I haven't gotten done yet. Here's hoping that happens in September. Stay tuned.

June Report

Oops! June ended and here it is already the 4th of July. Here's how I fared in June:

1. First Things First: I'm trying to step up the exercise and eat fairly clean this summer. We'll see how it goes. Meanwhile this is a "just keep plugging away and trying to be better" category of life.

2. Photo Labeling and Scanning: I have a pile of photos to scan. They've been there for quite a while. They'll be done in the next two weeks.

3. Household organization: I work on this in my head all the time. Somehow that makes me feel like I'm actually doing it, then I look around and realize no, still just in my head. I have kept up on the weeds in my vegetable garden. I organized my downstairs bathroom closet. We had a lot of company coming and going - that's my excuse.

4. Projects: I cleaned out a bunch of files. I did not get the other items done on my list.

Here's my feeling about my June lists: oh well. I was busy with a lot of things, not much of which can easily be cataloged. That's okay! It was a good month for people, which is all important to me. So overall I feel great about things.

May Report

Wow! Where in the world did this month go? My reading time diminished drastically, yet there is not much to show for any time spent elsewhere.  Well, that's not quite true. I spent time with my kids and grandkids--the best use of time ever. However, that sure didn't last for a whole 31 days. Oh well, that's just the way it goes some months.

1. First Things First: I've spent a lot of mental time in this area lately, trying to figure out the best way to make all of this the highest priority for myself. After all, I call it first things first for a reason. My tentative goal: no obligations before noon if at all possible. Obviously there are times that can't happen, but I'm going to do my best to dedicate my mornings for taking care of myself (and my house).

2. Photo Labeling and Scanning: Ha!

3. Household Organization: I did not work on the living room/dining room area. I did, however, start my herculean summer effort of trying to keep up on the weeds in our yard, and get our vegetable garden planted. I'm hoping the vegetable garden goes better than last year. I don't think there's any way it could go worse.

4. Projects: I was going to organize my password list. That would have been a very short project. It didn't get done. I'll let it carry over into next month.

Hopes for June accomplishment: downstairs bathrooms/ organize motorcycle travel basics/ some quilting

February 2013 Report

So far this year has not fallen into place like I thought it would, but even so I'm kind of doing okay on getting things done. Let's just say I've gotten a lot done whether or not it was what I planned on doing.

1. First things first: This will be a life long effort. I did not get as much exercise in as I'd like. I sacrificed that to get some other things done. I'm hoping to hit a happy medium in this arena. I did pretty well eating. I cut back on sweets, and tried to eat more fruits and vegetables. Once again, a long term goal. I did pretty well with reading my scriptures and saying my prayers.

2. Photo labeling/scanning: Over 200 photos or pages of photos scanned this month. I will count that as a success.

3. Household organization: I chose the Master bedroom and bathroom. Does it count if I laid in bed every night and morning and thought about all the things I should be doing to get those rooms in order and clean? I think I'll start devoting some 30-30-30 time to working on household organization.

4. Project list: This month I wanted to get a binder put together with emergency information for my own family as well as my parents. I have the binder. I have most of the papers that need to go into it. It is not assembled.  I'll keep working on that next month.

Positive additions: I finished two quilt projects that I've had hanging around for a couple of years. This year Ray's sister Orva and I are trying to spend two days a month working together. One day on her projects, and one day on mine. This month we cleaned out my game closet. It was a disaster from my adorable grandchildren loving to play games but not loving to put them away properly. (I wonder where they get that from?) Orva and I took out every game (there are a lot) and sorted all the pieces and cards and put them in their proper games. Then we checked the contents of each game and noted if any pieces were missing. It took all day, but at the end of the day, all the games are still playable, even if they are missing a couple of things. That was good news! Last weekend the grandkids played some of  the games--one game at a time, and all pieces properly stowed away when done. Let's hope we can keep that up. I'm optimistic we can do it!

Oh! One more thing. About 17 years ago Ray went to Portugal on a business trip. He brought back a couple of beautiful fruit bowls for me that I never use because they scratch up my counter. Last week I popped into Bed, Bath, & Beyond and asked if they had any of those protective felt things you can put on something like that. They did. I found exactly what I wanted (even better than felt), paid $3.99 + tax, and walked out the door in less than five minutes. It only took 17 years to get it done. But it is sure nice to have it done now!

Happy Anniversary and Happy Valentines Day

Today is our 33rd wedding anniversary. I'm going to indulge myself and post a few pictures from over the years. And a couple from last year.

We started dating in 1975, got married in 1980, and we're still happiest in each other's company now in 2013. I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

 

1975

1978

Our wedding day. February 14, 1980

1983

1991

mid 1990's

1997

2006

2007

2012

Our whole family, 2012

Ray and Diane and the grands. (AKA the circus)

2012

Sweethearts forever. What more could a girl want?