I'll miss you Judy!

Today has been a long day.  I had to say goodbye to my dear, dear friend, Judith Ann Palmer.  I can hear her bubbly laughter, see her plug her ears and sing "Lalalala" if someone was trying to gossip.  I can hear her say, "Dahling, You looook maaah-veee-lous!" Judy wore shorts as often as possible and drove a convertible with her trusty Charlie Dog sitting beside her.

Friday I got to spend the entire day with her, sewing, laughing and admiring her new jewels....she'd discovered Brighton jewelry. Saturday I saw her for a few minutes and this morning she never woke up.  I am devastated!  Judy's dear husband has been ill and in and our of the hospital of late and she had just picked him up from his latest hospital stay last night.  When we heard the sirens we thought they had come for Warren.  Mr. Scottie Dog, Liz and I spent most of the day doing what little we could for the family and Bill is spending the night with Warren.  Her daughter Bonnie will arrive from Hawaii on Tuesday and we'll know the details of the memorial service then.

Judy loved life.  She loved Sydney as her own "Precious" and Syd adored her "Doo-Dee" as she called her years ago...now updated to Jude-Dude.  She never said an unkind word about anybody, she loved dogs (especially her Charlie Dog).....when she worked at the store, she knew each customer by their dog's name! She adored the ocean, Alaska and never met a Batik fabric she didn't love.  Her sewing machines were encrusted with Bling...crystals and stickers and sparkle. 

Judy loved tea parties and we attended several.  Here we are all dressed up with our gloves and pearls at the Eureka Inn a couple of years ago.  She collected Tea Cup fabrics for a few years in order to make a quilt....she had so much fabric she made several full sized quilts, wall hangings, table runners and more.  Just this past Spring she sewed a bunch of table runners and helped hold a Tea Party for the women at the Rescue Mission and then served them tea.

She had a huge heart and loved doing for others.  We had so much fun together.  Judy I miss you so much already.  What am I going to do without you?  You promised to come visit me in Minnesota!!!!  My heart is aching.

Since we last met......................

Since I last blogged many things have happened.

My cousin Glenn and his lovely wife Rosalyn visited here in Eureka.  Glenn's mom, Hazel was my mom's sister.  We were raised in So. CA and most of our Christmas, New Year's and Easters were spent together.

 Glenn, Rosalyn, me, Mr. Scottie Dog and Liz (guess what?  8 year old Sydney took this photo!).

 Liz celebrated her birthday...don't ask me how old she is...I keep goofing and she delights in it!  On her birthday I took her 3 GIANT donuts from a local bakery.  Can't begin to tell you how many people they fed!

A day later we took the trailer up to Gold Beach, OR for a few days.  Liz and Steve stayed in the hotel and we parked in the adjacent RV Park....great view of the ocean.  We had bonfires on the beach, marshmallows and a huge sandcastle building event.

This lighthouse was right at the trail to the beach.  You could climb the circular stairs to the viewing porch on top.  Bill took a bit of the romance out when he informed me that this was the sewage lift station for the RV Park....the pump to move the sewage up to the street and sewer system is housed in the lower part of the lighthouse.  I'm just happy it doesn't look like a huge pump!

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

For breakfast one morning Liz made us bacon pancakes.  They were good, but personally I think I like my bacon and pancakes separate.



I've been in a canning mode for the past couple of weekends.  Mr. Scottie Dog has been bringing me 5 gallon buckets full of pears...not one, not two, but four buckets one weekend and two the next.  I've made pear jam, spiced pear jam, pear tarts, pear butter and more.  This weekend I needed something different.  I saw a recipe for Pear Chutney.  I don't think I've ever had chutney but you certainly hear about it often.  I knew I liked everything in the Pear Chutney.  One blogger said she liked to put it on cream cheese spread on crackers.  That sounded pretty good!  Emeril said it was good on chicken or pork.  So I decided to can up a batch of Pear Chutney.  I gathered up my ingredients: apple cider vinegar, mustard seed, pears, onions, crystallized ginger, the zest of two oranges and one lemon, golden raisins, crazins, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, apples....oh so much goodness.  I made so much I had to process the canner twice.

Sunday night I opened a jar and had it with a perfectly grilled pork chop (Mr. Scottie Dog is a master griller!).  YUM, double yum!  I ate a couple of spoon fulls right out of the jar!  I'm going to a fun sewing day on Friday and I'm taking a jar of Pear Chutney, cream cheese and crackers.  I might share.

A new member of our family!!!!!

I've been silent for awhile....I was in Minnesota to welcome our newest grandchild, Korban Jason Hache!  He made his way into this world quickly (although he was 1 1/2 weeks late) on August 8, weighing 10 lbs. even and 22" long.  Here I am with Korban and his big brother, Jakob at two days old.

Again, I was so privileged to be there when Korban was born.  Beka was Wonder Woman!

We had so much fun while I was there...4 weeks of just playing, barbeques, long walks around the lake and to the park.  We went to Cleary Lake when Korban was only 5 days old....he REALLY liked it....You can see by this picture that Anastacia was more excited than he was.

 We went to the Scott County Fair! We watched the magician, ate fair food, the kids won some ribbons and rode some rides.  Here's Shiloh on the Carousel.

A trip to the Minnesota Zoo is always fun.  We were able to go on the Dinosaur Trail...I think it's now closed.  We saw about 15 different animatronic Dinos, some with sound and lots of mist swirling around.  I had to laugh as we entered the trail and they were playing the music from Jurassic Park over hidden speakers.

Here's Shiloh, Jakob and Mercedes being totally Photo Bombed by two critters.  Why are these kids wearing bathing suits?  There is a fun Splash Pad in the center of the zoo and running to and fro among the fountains is fun and refreshing on a hot day.  It was quite warm and midway through the Dinosaur Trail were some shower/misters.  Off came the clothes to run around in the mist.

 They had a place where you could feed the giraffes!  Look close for that PURPLE tongue...about 15" long...as Anastacia offers up a "giraffe chow" cracker (totally looked like Rye Krisp to me!).

 At the "Barnyard" I found some nice looking chickens!

I spotted a  bunch of wild coyotes as we left.

 The church had two after service Barbeques while I was there.  Anastacia ate all her watermelon and smeared her face with catsup....probably getting ready for her hot dog.

 Mercedes, on the other hand, proves that one can be glamorous whilst picnicking.

Shiloh just looks cute most of the time.

 

One of the fun things we got to do on Saturdays was go to soccer games.  Sades and Jakob were on different teams and both came home with medals.  Sades  wore hers to Church the next day.

 This picture is from after I left, but Beka took the entire crew back to the zoo.  Korban's first visit to the zoo the other day at 3 weeks old.

I'm back home now in Eureka.  Busy, busy busy.

Quilt Camp 2013

We wrapped up Quilt Camp 2013 this afternoon.  It's always fun....a marathon of sewing, laughing, giggling (sometimes singing is involved), new friends and old friends (but none of us admit to being old, you understand!), good food and so very much more!

We started out on Friday at 3 pm with a nice "S'mores" kit at each place...these are the microwave kind because we didn't have an open fire.  

Dawn and TJ got right to work!  We had a project called "Pandora" but several people were working on finishing up other projects..... 

Donna was working on her stunning version of "Origami Stars."

Not sure how to turn this photo....It WAS correct until Blogger got a hold of it.  If anyone knows how to turn photos in blogger, I'd love to know.  There were many good natured groans when Linda showed her finished Camp Project..."Pandora."  How could she finish up so quickly they wanted to know?  I just say, "Lovely!"

I got a kick out of seeing all the different pincushions...this was a colorful felt cutie!

 Look at this Alaskan hunter pincushion.  That's real fur!

Someone brought this bread...have you ever had any?  CHOCOLATE bread!  Yum. It was from the Lolita Bakery.

I worked on several projects and here's one, a raggy Flag.  Just in time for 4th of July!

So many things I didn't get photos of: The yummy Pot Luck on Friday night, Sydney playing on her IPad and giving us all "cool" names (  Judy got to be Jude-Dude....me, I'm The GRAANNND Canyon...since I'm Grandma.  I don't know if I'm insulted or impressed?!?), walking to Rita's Taqueria and having dinner on Saturday night (I had the Shrimp Burrito).  So much fun!!! Wish you had come too.

There's a baby coming!

In five or six weeks we're going to have a new grandson.  I've been working on a quilt for this new Prince but it's not ready to be shown yet.  This week I've been working on burp cloths.  Every baby needs burp cloths....to, well, to burp on.  And to wipe up urp from the couch, from Mom's shoulder, the floor or table.  They are useful to keep baby's chest a little warmer when a cool breeze comes up and to keep the sun from the little one's head.  They can double up as a diaper in a pinch or a blankie if needed. Way too many uses to write here.  I've actually made six of them for this little guy.  His older siblings all had burp clothes from Grammy and a few of them will still be floating around but every baby needs new ones too.  They are made of flannel and a few of them are good 'ole Sock Monkey.  The red is redder in real life than this photo shows and the orange is richer too.  Thought you'd like to see them.



Baby is coming in five or six weeks, Grammy will be there in four weeks.....can't wait to welcome a new member of our family.

Strawberry Pie!

Mr. Scottie Dog is putting the finishing touches on the remodel of our rental house in Fortuna, CA.  Just a few more hours inside and then a little clean-up outside and he'll be done.  That meant I was alone today at the house.

I sewed the blocks for our store's Summer Mystery Quilt.  Love the way it goes together!  No picture...it's a mystery.

I watched an episode of "Lark Rise to Candleford," on Amazon Prime. I'm trying out a free month long trial.  I've seen this series before and it's worth a second viewing.  It is an English series taking place in the mid 1800's.   Lark Rise is a "hamlet" (which I've learned is a small town of 50 or less inhabitants) and Candleford is a "market town."  I imagine it has about 200 living there.  

Then I did a load of laundry and cleaned up the kitchen.  Sounds industrious, I know, but then I proceeded to muss it up by making potato salad for a bar-b-que tomorrow and a fresh strawberry pie for Mr. Scottie Dog.  I figured he worked harder than I did and should have something special.

He said it was good and I should post a picture.

Fruit Loops

Today I'm working on a new class sample.  We're going to begin a new "Tool of the Month Club" at Redwood Sewing Center.  This is the beginning of  a baby quilt/wall hanging/small tablecloth.  Or I suppose one could make a nice pillow.  The ruler/template we'll be using is so cute.  In this class we'll learn to use the "tool," how to insure perfect curved seams and invisible machine applique. I was amazed at how easy the template was to use and simple straight stitching made my circles lay flat.

Oh, yes....I'm calling the quilt: FRUIT LOOPS!

Father's Day and a Birthday

Father's Day this year fell on Mr. Scottie Dog's birthday.  The long weekend also began on Liz and Steve's 10th wedding anniversary.  So Mr. Dog and I packed up the trailer, drove about 35 miles south east to one of our favorite campgrounds: Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park.  We swam in the creek, made new friends, saw a lot of wildlife.  Sydney and I made a berry cobbler for Mr. Scottie Dog's birthday (how old is he?  He'll be signing up for MediCare before the year is out!), we roasted marshmallows, went on hikes, read books and.....rested.  

Even the fallen trees are big!

 

Sydney and the birthday boy.

A deer in the middle of the campground.  He didn't know he should be afraid of people yet.

Yep, in Northern California the trees grow tall!

Hiking in the Redwood Forest.

Here's our trailer nestled between the giants.  Notice that we don't really rough it.  Some people call it "glamping"! That's short for Glamour Camping. I'm just happy for a shower.

While Sydney and Grandpa were off on their own one day, I had a big thrill.  I heard what I thought was a bunch of people wading/running in the creek below our camp site.  Since it was an area quite far removed from the swimming area I got up to look.  I saw a family of at least 8 otter swimming and playing in the creek.  I was able to watch them and hear them chatter for about 10 minutes before they swam back upstream.

It was a grand time.  Now we're back home and back to work, grateful for a bit of "re"-creation time in the beautiful country we live in.

My sewing room is safe!

Yahoo! My sewing area is safe from the clean-up police!  I found my camera in a tote bag I took to work.....whew!

Just thought you'd like to know!






PS. If you are completely in the dark as to what this post is about, you should read yesterday's post  HERE.

Dropped off the Face of the Earth?

 Hi all!
Did you think I dropped off the face of the earth?  No, I have misplaced my camera here at home.  I suppose that means in my sewing area.  I've looked a few times, spending about 10 minutes each time but with no success.  Now, don't rag on me about how you are picturing my sewing space....yes, it is a tad chaotic, perhaps some might call it m.e.s.s.y.  But I call it a lovely creative space!  Never mind that I can't find my camera (or my Purple Thang...if you don't know what that is....well, suffice it to say that it is something I use for quilting). I LIKE my sewing space...spread out, I like my things, fabric, books, patters and what have you...available for my perusal at any time the creative bug bites.

I have lots of photos in my camera I wanted to share here on the blog.  Photos of Quilt Market, of current projects I'm designing or working on, a table runner I made for a trade with the nicest woman in upstate NY. (I have no idea where that is exactly, but I've always thought it sounded cool.  I live in Upstate California...doesn't sound the same.  Where I live in NORTHERN CA makes San Francisco in CENTRAL CA!).

I have photos in my camera of the Kinetic Sculpture Race, of the beautiful sunshine on my rhododendrons, of my granddaughter at her end-of-the-year honors assembly at school last week...and so on and so on.

I guess I REALLY need to clean this up. 






PS...going camping with Sydney tomorrow.  Hope my house sitters have fun (but don't you dare mess up my sewing space!).

Mother's Day

My mom, Marcella Mae Pontious McNally was born in 1918.  Here she is in 1944.  Big smile, fancy hairdo of the times.   She looks like fun.  And she WAS fun!

My mom did so much for us as we were growing up.  The family finances were such that vacations were camping/fishing trips to the rivers, forests and mountains from CA to Yellowstone Park.  I'm certain she would have loved to have stayed at the resort....being served her meals instead of pumping up the Coleman gas stove and fixing us three squares a day.  She made life around the campsite fun.  We would go on scavenger hunt hikes, fish in streams, play with the worms (!), look at all the wildflowers and feed peanuts to the squirrels.  There are family pictures of myself and my two younger brothers...some in diapers.....those were cloth diaper days and our campsites boasted a family-sized canvas tent, a fire ring and a wooden table.  Down the road somewhere there was an outhouse and a cold water spigot.  Mom did the laundry, cooked the meals, tended to the diapers, bandaged up the scrapes, cleaned the fish AND had us bathe in the tent each evening before we went to bed.  And I think I rough it with a 30' trailer complete with microwave, air conditioning and a nice shower!

 

Mom was a whiz at cards. Pinochle, Gin Rummy, Bridge, Shanghai, Spite and Malice.  Oh, my, was she good at cards.  Here eyes would light up and she'd hear all the news, get you to bare your soul while she played cards.  She could to the Sunday New York Times Crossword puzzle in INK. She also loved jigsaw puzzles.

 

Mom was involved in our activities...Camp Fire, Little League, Room Mother, you name it...she participated.  She was a good cook.  Not a gourmand, but she cooked good, solid food well.  Growing up we loved her Tamale Pie, Chili-mac, Jello Poke Cake.  She made marshmallows!

 

She excelled at being a grandma....I learned so much from her in my life: how to live honestly, to be kind and a good friend to others, to serve those less fortunate.  How to be a good mother and wife.  I miss her each and every day.



 

In 1992 Bill and I began a tradition of yearly visits to Maui with my parents. We cherished those 2 weeks in Paradise with my folks.  Mom and I had so much fun visiting with each other, sharing family news, trips to the Farmer's Market to get whatever was fresh and cook it  up.  We'd eat on the lanai, on the beach, wherever.  Dad and Bill snorkeled and explored as guys will do.  They did do the barbecuing.  I think we were able to make 7 or 8 trips together. 

 

Mom---you enriched my life in so many ways.....I am who I am because of you and I hope I made you proud.