What's in a Name?

These days Matthew is all about calling his parents by their first names - Audrey and Joseph. When I ask him why he doesn't call them Mommy and Daddy, he tells me that their real names are Audrey and Joseph. We have had a running conversation about this all week.

Trish was over this afternoon and the three of us were having a name discussion. After Matthew went through all the full names of his family members, he asked me what my middle name is. I told him "Marie."

There was a pause, then he told me he knew my whole name: G'ma Marie Diane.

Not bad for a four year old who only ever calls me g'ma. I told him the correct order was G'ma Diane Marie. I bet he never gets that one wrong again.

Quote of the Day

Four grandchildren here today. Madeleine was wearing a blue and brown dress with polka-dots.

Matthew said, to no one in particular: "See the polka-dots? That's Madeleine."

It was a grand afternoon with Matthew and Elizabeth, Madeleine and Diane all playing and wreaking havoc in my family room. We missed Rachel and Austin.

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

This is the third Flavia de Luce Novel.  They're fun and diverting.

Flavia is incredibly precocious for an eleven year old, but suspend belief about that and the books are very enjoyable. Personally I have no problem suspending my belief in that regard.

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language by Deborah Fallows

In light of my upcoming trip to China (more on that later), a friend recommended this book.

Deborah Fallows has a PhD in linguistics, and recently spent three years living in Shanghai and Beijing. She talks about the difficulty of learning Chinese (Mandarin), and weaves in and around her language growth some of the life experiences she had while living there.

It's a short book, and gives some interesting insights into the Chinese people and culture. I'm glad I read it. I think it will enhance my experience while I'm there.

I've read several books on China over the years - Wild Swans by Jung Chang, Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng, Mao's Last Dancer by Cunxin Li, Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, Pearl of China by Anchee Min, Gail Tsukiyama's books, to name a few. And of course The Good Earth by Pearl Buck.

Those books have all given me a small view into the vast country and culture that is and has been China. This book gave me a little glimpse of very current China in Shanghai and Beijing. It will be fun to see it in person.

This One's for Laura

My niece Laura is having a baby in a couple of weeks. She lived with us for a year right before we moved here, so we've had some fun times together. Here's the quilt I made for her new baby (a girl):

Finished: March 2, 2011
Size: 46 inches by 58 inches
Pattern: Double Dutch by Roxanne Carter
The pattern was so easy! It went together like a dream.

My Very First Quilt

When I was in high school, a friend of mine was making a Cathedral Windows quilt - all stitched by hand. I was intrigued, and she showed me how to do it. I determined to make one, and give it to my mom. I did make it, although I became very tired of the hand sewing, and settled on a size that could be put on the back of the couch, and made a matching pillow to go with it. These days it would be considered a table runner. 

I found it at my parents' house when I was packing them up, and brought it home. I washed it for the first time ever (over 35 years since I made it). It shrank a bit, but cleaned right up. It now measures 23 inches by 46 inches.

The fabrics in the "windows" were in our family's fabric stash way back when, lots of them from clothing items I had made. Most of them are pretty faded now, but are still recognizable. They are probably all mostly polyester, too! The background was 100% cotton muslin.

The blue print in the center, and the plaid print on the upper right are from two of my favorite shirts I made way back in the early 70's. 

The pillow case

That's when the quilting bug bit me. I'm still infected!

What Goes Around...

 When my children were in ninth grade, they were required to do a CAPstone project during the year. This Citizen Action Project was a service project to benefit the community in some way. Each student did their own project, and most projects took much of the school year to complete, from submitted proposal to finished project.

Beth chose to make dolls to donate to the Seattle Children's Hospital. These dolls were made of muslin, and had no features. The idea was that a child in the hospital could draw their own face on the doll, and how they felt about being in the hospital (happy, sad, relieved, mad, etc.)

2002 - Beth sewing her dolls

Beth with one of the finished dolls.

Dolls on display at home before taking them to Children's Hospital

Last week Beth was at her local hospital with her daughter Rachel (age 2). Rachel was getting tubes put in her ears (9 ear infections in two years). Guess what they gave Rachel? That's right, a muslin doll. Plus a bonus: a little hospital gown to go with it.

Rachel's new baby

Beth drew in features like Rachel's - green eyes, and a delightful smile. Especially now that she has her tubes in. Rachel loves her new baby.

Our thanks to the volunteer who made this baby. It really helped Rachel, and I know other children have been helped by these dolls also.

Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy

Just what the doctor ordered: light, engaging, fun.

Book four in the White House Chef Mystery series.