Gardening

Since Mark retired we have been discovering what our new normal is. One of the things we do is garden. Mark does most of the hard outside work. He built it, he plants and weeds it, and he harvests it. I cook the bounty. This year we harvested mint, oregano, thyme, chives, lemon balm, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeños, kale, rainbow chard, green beans and okra. 

Ira loves helping Papa in the garden. He will go outside and harvest veggies all by himself when we aren't looking. I didn't get photo of the garden in its prime. That space was totally filled. Out tomatoes have done well. We canned spaghetti  sauce and salsa. We bought a small freezer this summer. I have made and frozen minestrone soup, kale soup, lasagna roll up with chard, chicken gumbo, okra gumbo, shrimp gumbo, and chili. All of these have at least one element from our garden. Our freezer is full. I am looking forward to enjoying these meals in the dead of winter.

Quilting

Recently, as I was working on a baby quilt I began to reminisce. I thought back to when I first began to quilt. The very first quilt I sewed wasn't actually quilted. I tied it. I made it out of scrap squares. At the time I was pretty tickled with it but looking back it was nothing special. When Katie and Grace were still little I decided to try real quilting. The first quilt I made was a tumbling block pattern. I  traced the pieces using a cardboard template I made. I cut the pieces out with scissors. I stitched the quilt together by hand and also hand quilted it. I gave it to Grace. It was on her bed when she was little. I was pleased with that quilt and it was what piqued my interest in quilting.

About 30 years ago I made a quilt for my bed using a somewhat complicated design. Again I cut the pieces out using cardboard templates and scissors and stitched it together entirely by hand. It could have been beautiful but I have never really loved it. I bought the fabric at Ben Franklin, a five and dime store. I bought pieces that had flaws so I could get it cheaper. Back in the 80s dusty rose and light blue were popular and I was going for sort of a country look. I didn't pull it off very well. I still have that quilt stored away. Since then I made a few things here and there but nothing very impressive. I went to work for LPS and for the most part set aside my sewing.

Jump forward to the present. I retired from school and decided to pick up sewing again. Only now, I felt as though I was very out of touch with all the new methods. Several years ago I made a rag quilt for Gail when she was going through chemo. During that time my mom's machine stopped working and since they no longer make its parts I had to replace it. Now I have a new fangled machine which I am still learning how to use. I have graduated and am using a rotary cutter which was a scary transition for me. I've also found some wonderful places on line where I can buy fabric. I am greatly challenged when it comes to choosing fabrics that go together. Now I can shop on line and know that if I stay within a certain collection my colors will all match. 

I realize this may not be the most interesting post. My main purpose in writing this blog is document my thoughts and memories for my girls.

Life Gets in the Way

Life gets in the way; that's an understatement if there ever was one. The last couple years have been a blur. It has been a season of darkness and sadness. I have floundered and at times I have wanted to give up.  There are days when I drive myself crazy trying to understand why life has unfolded the way it has. And there are days when my mind is consumed with trying to figure out all the answers. The hardest lesson I have learned is that I cannot change or fix any of it. 


I wrote that paragraph several years ago. Wow! Since then Mark and I have both retired and are learning a new way of life. It's not without its ups and downs but I can honestly say I think we have come out of the season of darkness. As for me, I'm diving into things I used to love but had put aside. I'm sewing again. Recently I finished a couple of rag quilts, a quilt for Ira, a baby quilt for his "new baby cousin", and tried my hand at teaching Audrey how to sew. Between the two of us we made a pair of pajama pants and two skirts, one for her and one for her best friend; they wore them on picture day.

Mark and I have also been gardening. Mark does the lion's share of the work. I have some flowers I tend.Our garden has been pretty prolific.  This photo was taken early in the summer. Since then we harvested green beans, kale, rainbow chard, mint, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, okra, bell pepper, jalapeños, and tomatoes.

That's a snapshot into our lives. Perhaps now that I have begun again I will keep up with this blog as a way to document our family life. Until next time.

Goodbye Old Friend

When I was a little girl Grandma Doris made almost all of my clothes. She was a self taught seamstress. She sewed on a Pfaff sewing machine that was purchased in Germany when my dad, who was in the USAF, was stationed there. When Dawn and I were little girls we wore dresses to school. Everyone did. We weren't allowed to wear pants to school until I was in the 10th grade. If it was cold we could wear pants under our dresses. Thankfully, the winters in San Antonio were fairly mild, especially by Nebraska (where we now reside)  standards.

Mama always had her machine serviced at Grome's  Sewing Machine Co. in San Antonio.

When I was a girl I did not fully appreciate my mother's talent. There were times when I longed for store bought clothes. Now, as a mom and grandmother, I truly admire what she was able to teach herself. She never graduated from high school. It wasn't even until she was in her 40s that she got her GED. Yet, she was able to teach herself how to sew and use a complicated machine. For its time (late 1950s), her machine was pretty fancy. It had the ability to embroider designs. She figured out how to use it on her own. I stand amazed at the clothes she made for Dawn and me. Looking back, I wish I would have appreciated her more.

Mama made sure that I learned how to sew. It started with Homemaking classes in Junior high school. That's where I learned the fundamentals. From there I went on to make many of my own clothes, including my own wedding dress, as well as clothes for my own daughters. Somewhere along the way I stopped. Perhaps because I couldn't find time but more likely because my skills couldn't keep up with the newer patterns.  I had a very basic machine. That machine hasn't worked for years. So when I decided to start sewing again I got out mama's machine; the machine she used to teach me. The last thing I sewed on this machine was a lap quilt for Aunt Gail when she was going through treatment for breast cancer.

The old Pfaff stop working in the middle of this quilt. I had to finish it on Natalie's machine. Sadly, when I took the old girl to the shop I was told that her parts were no longer being made. They put her back together and I brought her home and set her on a shelf in my secret room where I can look at her and remember...

New Year's Resolution

The thought of a new year reminds me of one my favorite quotes from Ann of Green Gables, 

“Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it...well with no mistakes in it yet."

― Angelica M. Stacy

I love the idea of the new year being fresh with no mistakes in it ... yet. And, I love the idea of making it my own. This year, especially, the new year brings a freshness that I have not know in long time. I have retired from my job at LPS and am reentering the world of being a stay at home mom/grandmother. I was a stay at home mom for 18 years before becoming a special education para. I only ever worked part time yet the job afforded us the opportunity to send our girls to college without incurring any lasting debt. Since our youngest daughter graduated from the University of Nebraska a few weeks ago I decided to retire.

I am going to post a list, in no particular order, of New Year's/retirement resolutions that I hope to accomplish this year. 

1. I am looking forward to rekindling my love of sewing, especially quilting. I want to explore the idea of sewing clothes for my grandchildren. I used to sew many clothes for my daughters when they were little but I am out of practice and I fear technology has far surpassed what I used to do with my old Pfaff sewing machine. 
2. I am going to participate in SSMT. My first verse is Ephesians 4:31 "Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice."
3. I am going to keep up with this blog. After all, I started it to leave a legacy of sorts for my daughters so if I want that to happen I need to get after it.
4. I am going to read more. I have a long list of books I want to read.
5. I am going to spend time each morning studying the Word. I just started a study on the book of Ephesians.
6. I want to be more intentional about the time I spend with my grandchildren; perhaps even do a few sewing projects with them. 
7. I am going to make a menu every week and stick to it. We had gotten into the habit of eating out too much. Now that I am at home I plan to cook and bake more.
8. I received a fitbit for Christmas. I plan to do my best to walk 10,000 steps every day. 
9. I am going to be a better listener. I am learning that I don't need to always  have a response at the ready. Sometimes all that is needed a willingness to listen.
10. I am going to declutter the basement. I have a tendency to hang onto things. My mother never kept anything. I think that is why her home was neat. I am very sentimental. I am going to be brutal about getting rid of stuff. If I can preserve a memory with a photograph then I will. (Time will tell if I will really be able to do this.)
11. I am going to organize our family photos, a very daunting task. I have tried and failed before; out of sight, out of mind has become my motto. That is sad for one as sentimental as I.
12. I am going to grow a vegetable and flower garden this year.
13. I am going to travel with Mark. We will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary this year. We are going to plan an anniversary trip; perhaps to Yellowstone National Park.
14. I am going to learn more about how to use my camera and take more photos.
15. I am going to plan a vacation for our family.

There you have it. I don't usually make resolutions but I think that 2015 is a good place to start. Check back here to see how I am doing. I wish you all a very blessed new year filled with love, happiness, laughter, and all the things that make your heart flutter.