Home again, Home again...Jiggity Jig

I'm home from Minnesota. Six weeks of playing with the grandbabies, hugging my newest grand: Anastacia Hope and helping out Beka & Jason. I got to go to Classical Converstions each week with Jakob. He is home schooled but once a week he joins a large group of kids for Classical Instruction. Then for the rest of the week he learns with Mom at home. At 5 he's learning science, reading (he reads EVERYTHING!), art, Latin, English grammar, history and math. I was highly impressed with Classical Conversations as well as how Beka teaches at home. They also join a group twice a month for a PE class and another Science class.

We went to Emma Krumbees Apple Orchard when Anastacia was a week old.

For five days in the middle of my visit I met Liz in Houston for Quilt Market. We took classes, checked out the trends in fabrics and mingled with the famous. Liz didn't know who Ty Pennington was, but I did!He was quite charming! Then walking down the aisle was someone even more famous than Ty!My grands were more impressed with the cat! But I brought home something from Quilt Market this time Just For Me. I haven't really done that before, but Blue Hill had fat quarter bundles of their Civil War prints. Ten (yes, 10!) bundles came home with me.

And I'm now home and Mr. Scottie Dog is glad I am!

She's Here!

I came to Minnesota on September 29 to help my baby daughter Beka in the last days of her pregnancy. I got to go along on the very busy lives of a young family with three active children. Jakob is 5 1/2. He is all boy, running, jumping, reading everything he can get his hands on, learning Latin verbs, bones and muscular systems of the body and the capitals of the Eastern Seaboard States. Mercedes is 3 1/2 with sparkling eyes, a ready smile, a love for song and dance and curiosity about everything. Shiloh is 20 months old with a smile that is contagious. She shares a joy with everyone she meets. The were happy to see Grammy and spend time with me.

Yesterday Beka labored hard. She danced a labor-of-love dance on her feet, swaying with the forces within her body to birth her child. Jason, my son-in-law danced and supported Beka with tenderness and a depth of love throughout the afternoon and into the early evening. It is a most beautiful dance, lyrical and spiritual. In most labors there is a time when it seems as if it will never end, the pains will continue to crest like waves on a rugged coastal beach. That is a good sign...when you want to give up, labor (actually Labor with a capital L) is nearly over. The end is near, the prize nearly there. The midwives were pleased with how it was all going. After several gut-wrenching pushes my baby girl gave birth to her newest baby girl. Anastacia Hope Hache was born Thursday, October 6, 6:50 pm. 8 lbs. 13 oz and 21" long.Anastacia is a beautiful, snugly bundle of joy. She entered the world with a lusty cry and snorts and sniffles due to all the vernix on her body. She was covered with the stuff. A few splotches on her face, an ear plastered to her head and limbs that wouldn't straighten out right away due to her previous cramped quarters. After weighing, the nurse handed her to Daddy. He snuggled her, kissed her head and then handled her over to me....Grammy. Oh, how sweet she smelled. She molded right to my arms, opened an eye, sighed and went back to sleep. Delightful little lips, a tiny nose (the same nose I have, my mother had and my grandma Pontious had) and dark hair with an undertone of sandy blond. Reminds me of her brother Jakob's hair at birth.

I came back home so I could take care of the grands asleep at home with a sitter. In the morning I told them of the new baby sister and we ate breakfast, dressed and took off for the hospital. Lots of photos taken, big brother and big sisters all had a turn holding Anastacia and then were kept busy with snacks and a movie Mom had brought from home. Beka fed the baby and then Grammy got another snuggle. Today her color was smoothly perfectly pink, her head had come back to normal (it's a tight squeeze coming down the birth canal!) and she was, of course, the most beautiful baby in the world. We're keeping her....she's ours. I wish my mom had lived to see her great-grandchildren. My dad passed the evening Shiloh was born. The generations are marching on. As they should. I'm happy to be here for another few weeks. Thanks to my sweet hubby, Mr. Scottie Dog for allowing me this time and thanks to my daughter Liz who is keeping our store open while I am away.

We went to Minnesota

We arrived home from our trip to Minneapolis via Southern CA about an hour ago. Tired from multiple planes and a 1 1/2 day drive from Redlands, I'll just blog a tad from our trip today and finish up more tomorrow.

Our saga began on Sat. May 15 when Liz flew to Minnesota. Sunday morning early Sydney, Mr. Scottie Dog and I drove to Lost Hill, CA (North of Los Angeles) and spent the night. Sydney is a veteran traveler so it went well. She especially enjoyed the restaurant we chose that evening....she ordered mac & cheese and a bowl of red grapes. Monday it was on to Redlands to spend 3/4 of the day with Great-grandma Willie. My dear childhood friend, Maralee joined us all for dinner. Next morning we left for Ontario Airport for our Minnesota jaunt. We thought it a good omen that instead of 3 planes, United changed us to only two! Yahoo. We had enough time in Denver to get ice cream....always a good thing when you are traveling with a 5 year old. About 6:30 pm we boarded our plane to Minneapolis. We got on, prepared for take-off when the announcement came that we would be delayed for about 10 minutes due to a storm nearby. Five minutes later rain began to fall and 15 minutes later it was pelting the plane. Another announcement..."about a 20 minute delay until the storm passed by." The sky quickly darkened and over the loud speaker, "Leave everything behind and exit the plane as quickly as possible, a tornado is bearing down on the airport." We stood and waited to exit. We were about half-way back in the plane and some people were pulling their luggage out of the racks and nobody we could see had begun to move down the aisle yet. Then the flight attendants began to scream...."Get OFF the plane NOW!" "Run" "RUUNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!" The panic in their voices finally got people moving...I handed Sydney over to Mr. Scottie Dog and we first moved slowly down the aisle then we could run and we ran off the plane, down the skyway, into the terminal. People were running from all directions and uniformed workers were screaming and pointing towards the restrooms which were labeled "Tornado Shelter." As I ran down past the gates I looked at the greenish/black clouds outside saw constant lightening and the thunder boomed. Mr. Dog had gotten ahead of me with Sydney and gone into a Men's Restroom. I stood outside the Ladies' as it was full, but with the option of cramming into it if the glass began to break. A 20-something young woman stood beside me sobbing and texting on her phone. I patted her arm and told her it would be all right. I was probably telling myself the same message!

After about 20 minutes they told us we could go back and sit at the gate before boarding the plane. Whew! What excitement....give me an earthquake any time! We got into Minneapolis about 1:30 am...1 1/2 hours late.

Next morning I got to play with the grandbabies. Liz had bought a "SlippySlide" as the kids called it. They couldn't understand how to slide...but did it on their knees. Look at Jakob (4) here! (Sadies (2) in the background).

Shiloh is 3 months old now, with Mercedes and Jakob. Did I tell you it was hot while we were there? One of the things Sydney really wanted to do was hold her baby cousin. Shiloh seemed to enjoy all the attention.
I'll give a report on Quilt Market tomorrow.

The bedroom is coming along!

My very talented husband, Mr. Scottie Dog can do most anything....from hemming his pants, painting signs, cooking (tonight we had his famous shrimp & cheese stuffed chicken breasts with Dijon. Umm, umm), building and more. He can make anything, he's the original MaGyver. Bill's spent many months making our house more beautiful, finishing remodel projects and trying his very best to cater to my (sometimes strange) decorating ideas. Here was our bedroom not so many weeks ago.

This first picture is after he did his demolition and realigned the entire ceiling joist system to make the ceiling higher.
After all the sheetrock went up, he painted the ceiling with "vanilla ice cream."

Then the wall color was sprayed on....this picture hasn't really captured the shade of green, but you get the idea.
Isn't this the most beautiful light fixture? I really like it. All the lights are in, the cover plates on. Just the woodwork on the windows and around the doors to do. We are waiting for the carpet to be delivered this week and I changed my mind on the wide wooden shades and got some wonderful sheer fabric (looks like silk!) and a richly textured red/gold/green plaid fabric for cornice boards that will be above the windows. I may be able to get that done this week.

But Saturday night while out to dinner, I told Mr. Scottied Dog how much I missed my Minn. grandbabies. I feel such a calling to be a grandma....deep in my gut I knew I NEEDED to see them and they NEEDED to have Grandma there. Who would have thought that Sunday morning I would have tickets for Minnesota in just a week! I am leaving Tuesday May 12 and will stay until May 28. Yahoo! I'll miss Sydney (Bill too!) but I'll come back. Thanks Mr. Scottie Dog for recognizing what I needed and making it happen.

A New Bathroom

As you know, Mr. Scottie Dog has been building me a beautiful new bathroom in Eureka. The 13" tiles are slowly making their way up the walls of the new showers (one large room with two showering "stations," one for me and one for him). But now that we are in Minnesota visiting Beka, Jason and the grandbabies he is busy building a new bathroom in their basement. First came the demo work (as in demolition). Beka and Jason helped cut the rug and pull up the rug and padding and scrape off the adhesive. Then the ceiling came down, the sheetrock off one wall and more. Lots of dirt, dust, trash and man/woman power. Here's a picture of me holding Sadie as Jakob hands the broom to Mr. Scottie Dog aka, Gandpa. This was yesterday. Today where I am standing is a bathtub/shower unit and the walls are going up. Bill's been busy with the plumbing and electrical and waiting for the inspector.
Jakob and I made brownies today. He loves to crack the eggs. Oh, and lick the spoon. He's great at that!