Lots Of Pics.......so Post #1

Almost a month....since my last post...again!  *Sigh.......  I have a lot of pictures so will break them up into two posts.  :)

First off, I survived Mothers Day!!  I didn't cry or feel bad too much...I didn't allow myself to feel too crappy.  My girls and I went for lunch on Saturday before our pedicures.  Oh I love a good pedicure....that massage!!!!!!  Heaven!!!!

Of course I thought about my Mom........and I did miss her but honestly, she would kick my a$$ if she knew my day was ruined because of me missing her to the point of extreme sadness......so I held it together.....this year.  On May long, Son1 and Jenna gave me a card with a $50 gift card to Michaels.  Last Thursday their decor items were on sale for 50% off...one day only....so I bought the HOME sign and red metal chalkboard.  When I cleaned I felt it was time to change up the mantle.  Again, pretty sparse but I like it.  :)

Son1 and Son2 got the deck done!  I'm sure it is being enjoyed!  

The furniture we had in our basement had been destroyed by Daughter2s cats.  Every time I walked by them it made me so mad!  I follow several buy and sell sites on Facebook and happened upon a sectional for $150.  Well, I went for it!  LOL  It's not perfect and it needed a good clean but it's comfortable and Daughter2 and her cats now have the old furniture!  (except the couch that wouldn't fit in her condo.....someone else is enjoying that!)

I need new curtains but I'll find some in time.  :)

Oh hey.....I found my sewing mojo!  More in Post #2!!

The Month of May

Here we are approaching Mothers Day 2016.  I have vowed not to be down in the dumps this year....we have tomorrow off from work so we have a three day weekend.  Tomorrow Daughter1, Lyla and I will go and see Daughter2s new place; Saturday I booked pedicures for the three of us girls (Lyla not included....but one day!!) and Sunday I plan on spending the day sewing.  IF I start feeling glum, I will go out and maybe do some shopping.....who knows.  I WILL have a nice day!

We have another spray in our lake.....it's been three years since the flood and one day I looked out and saw this!  Oh I was sooooo happy.......I did chuckle though because the last time I posted about the spray it wasn't long after and we had the flood.  I'm confident that won't be happening this year!  This one is different....shorter, wider (just like me!!) and it is supposed to have lights although these ones are only on for a couple of hours in the middle of the afternoon.....hopefully that gets fixed one day but it doesn't really matter.  The other end of the lake has the same spray although its a different shape (more symmetrical) and the lights are on all day.  It turns on at 8 am and turns off at 10 pm.

I had nice mail again today....my CottonCrates box came and I think these fabrics will come in handy:

Love the extra treats thrown in.  :)

My Dad was here this past weekend and we took the opportunity to have a quick 4 generations photo.  Very casual and not very fancy......

Taken in Lyla's bedroom as her Mommy said it has the best lighting.  hahahaha!!!!  Hubby was taking the pics and finally we had Lyla's daddy take it....first take!

I have one of my all time favourite scented candles burning right now.....gosh, I've had these candles for years and found this brand new one in my candle cupboard.  It was the perfect day to burn it as it was gloomy..but no real rain.  

Son1 and Son2 are building at deck at Son1's house.  Nice to see them working together....Jenna said they aren't even fighting!!  hahaha!  The old one was getting pretty rotten in places and they use it a lot.  Glad the weather is holding out for them to get it done!  

Before I close I have to say how I am thinking of the residents of Fort McMurray and know how they are feeling and what they are going through.  We had water which most of us were able to clean up and renovate from...but fire is a different ball game.  Knowing they are glued to news broadcasts and social media posts looking for any information that will give them even a small clue as to what condition their homes may be in.  Not sleeping because they are remembering all the things they have or may have lost.  Having people tell them "it's only stuff/things" and them trying to convince themselves of that too even though they want to scream "but its OUR stuff!"  I pray for rain and the fire to be put out so these poor people can have answers and know what they are up against and what they need to do to move forward.  I pray this happens soon and they are allowed back in shortly after so they don't have to sit in a camp or hotel or in a relatives home and be frustrated because all you want to do is go home....I will be donating money to the Red Cross as I have heard the federal government will match it and the provincial government will match it so the end result is threefold. My heart aches for these people....

Now so I don't end on a sad note, here are pics of my fur babies, Lyla and her fur babies:

Rain...Will It Happen?

"They" are predicting rain for this weekend and continuing into next week.  I wonder if it will happen?  We need it!  We drove by a grass fire being put out on the way to Calgary this afternoon.  The rain will make for a lovely sewing weekend.........that's my plan!

These beauties are in full force and I swear they are bigger this year.  I LOVE the colour of them.  I had to take a picture on my way to work one morning because unfortunately they don't last very long.  

One of my little guys had this stuffy attached to his belt loop the other day.....it had a hole and he wanted tape!  LOL  Well, I found a (big fat) needle and some thread in the office and stitched it back up.  The things we don't do for our students!  hahaha!  

Well our Lyla is three months old today.......already!!!  She's smiling a lot, cooing (<3)!!!!  

She's cooing in this picture her Mommy said!  Those lips!!!!!!  <3

Life is good......Hubby is home Monday night and Son2 might be home soon.  Now if we can get a few days of nice rain.....ahhhh perfect!  And baby cuddles.........uninterrupted sewing time........

Twenty Eight Years

Yesterday Hubby and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary.....well, we didn't really celebrate it as he is up north working but we would have if he was home.  :)  Twenty eight years....where has that time gone?  I guess it was made up of having kids, raising kids, great times, not so great times, crappy economy, family members passing, moving, renovating, moving again, surviving natural disasters, and currently enjoying the first grand baby.  Those things would make the time fly past quickly I suppose.  I think of young married couples today and the struggles they have, not unlike what we have gone through.  There will always be arguments....about money, about kids, kids' drama, money again.....but I think if you care enough and can get through it all, it's worth it.  When I was dating Hubby I didn't think I could love him anymore than I did at that time....boy was I wrong!  When you grow with a man who you see as a great dad, wonderful provider and loving husband...well, THAT is love!  It seems easy these days to separate and divorce.  We didn't struggle with infidelity or abuse.  I'm not sure how those things would have been to get through.......so I suppose in some cases there is no choice but to end a marriage.  But financial struggles, jobs, and kids are pretty much the norm, for us anyway.  We made it through.....and I'm sure there will always be arguments but they are fewer and farther between now.  There will always be struggles but we have proven that we are strong enough to survive them.  I'm hoping we can continue to grow old together..........

Hey I spent most of the day in my sewing room yesterday!  I had full intentions of starting an OLD project I had tucked away.....involved piecing, embroidery......but ended up starting something entirely different!  I'm making a table runner using a charm pack I bought at Lori's Country Cottage a couple of weekends ago.  Here is a picture of things all laid out on the linen background.  I have since pinned things down and have managed to sew one dresden plate to the background with my machine.  

The colours in the picture are not accurate.  The centre circles are wool....I figure this will never be washed being on linen so the wool was the easiest to stitch down!  I am still not sure how I will finish it....backing? quilting?  But it's a start.  Did I find my mojo?  Not sure really.....but I sure was enjoying the music I was playing while sewing!  Good thing my windows are quite high!  LOL!!!!  It did feel good to be productive.....but now I have to finish it!  Daughter2 and I are going to look for fabric for her today....she wants to cover some canvasses....Fabricland has a 40% off sale right now but we are popping into a quilt shop first.  ;)  Best go get ready for the day!!

April Showers....Are Needed!

Good day!  I'm still here and alive!  I survived my busy Easter week off.  The visit with my brother and sister-in-law was awesome despite my bad cold (see I knew it was a nasty one!).  Nothing Buckley's couldn't take care of most of the time!  They got to meet Lyla and we just had a good time catching up.

They arrived Friday night and left Tuesday around noon.  After they left I cleaned the house and washed bedding.  Wednesday I met a friend for coffee and a visit up town and just relaxed.  Thursday afternoon Daughter2 and I were off north for her hockey tournament.  They did well, winning Bronze, but that meant we weren't home until late Sunday night.....work the next day and Hubby was home Monday night.  We have today off for a PD day and I am babysitting!!  It seemed like a long short week!  

After cuddles today my plan is to try really hard to get any interest back in spending time in my sewing room as I have another baby quilt to make from a kit I bought at Lori's Country Cottage in Sherwood Park.  I'm worried......I truly cannot get into sewing again.  My instagram is full of quilty pictures of quilters I follow.....nothing.  I follow so many quilty blogs and people are making adorable things....nothing.  Any of you quilters out there have any suggestions on what I can do to get my mojo back??????????  I need my bff Kim here to have a sewing weekend!  Wish we weren't so far away....she would get me motivated again and we would have some GOOD laughs too!!!!!!!  *sigh*  Oh well.  Maybe if I rearrange and do more purging.........hahaha....I have threatened to get rid of everything......well, only I would be threatened by that! 

I have signed up to receive fat quarters every month (why?????) from Cotton Crates. www.cottoncrates.com

The first ones I received are so not my style.....you don't know what line of fabric they are going to send each month and I was hoping I was still in soon enough to get Lori Holt's new line but that was the previous month.  With this membership you also get about 5 free patterns throughout the month.  We will see how long I stayed signed up........;)

Work is going well.....it's a busy year for me this year.  I'm honoured they think I can handle two kids at once and it sure makes the days goes quickly....but it poops me out!  I'm no spring chicken and if I dropped even 20 lbs it would help.  I have to start working on that too.  But it's kind of the countdown to the end of June....which is also the countdown the the new grand baby!  Yikes!!!  and Yippee all at once!

Dandelions are out, perennials are coming up and everything is turning green!  Saw this little girl on the playground this week.....she's been busy!!  We sure do need rain though....but I am careful what I wish for around here....Monsoon June is just around the corner and I'll be wishing for it to stop!

Well, little Lyla Bean is down for a nap so I'm off to get some laundry done.  I'll leave you with a couple of pictures so you can see how blessed I am.  :o)

Spring Break!!!!

Spring break has officially started and I really feel the need for some relaxation!!!  I had some around-the-house plans but then my sister in law text me Wednesday and they are coming down for a visit.  She has never been here and my brother had only popped in one time while doing some lessons for his pilots license.  They haven't met their great niece yet either so we are looking forward to their visit.  I have caught a cold that has the potential to turn nasty (a person can always tell right?) but I hope I am wrong about that!  Daughter2 has a hockey tournament outside of Edmonton next weekend so I need to be healthy!  The purging will likely have to wait until summer holidays as we don't get another break now before then.

Weird, weird weather late yesterday afternoon......I heard thunder and saw dark clouds to the west.  They seemed to be going south and east and it looked as though they were missing us.  Then I heard thunder again and it started hailing! Then more thunder and snow....strange with a capital 'S'!  We have white on the ground but it's to be +6 today so it won't stick around long.  We do need the moisture!

I haven't stitched on the 4 blocks I had prepared while Hubby was home last week for the Lori Holt Bloom quilt and now another one was out on Monday.  Maybe next week that is something I can accomplish!

Baby Lyla is growing like a weed and will smile at Grandma!!!!  My daughter took a 2 Month photo and you can sure tell she's filled out in a month.  Not the most flattering picture.....lol.....but I'll post a couple more. ;-)

Auntie J getting some snuggles!

Grandpa babysat while Mommy and I went to have our nails done.

Daughter2 and the Titans fought hard but lost to the Fort Saskatchewan Flury this past weekend.  They won Saturday which made Easter supper plans change as they had to play Sunday afternoon.  It was a good game but they lost in the end.

And I'll end this post with a picture of my little Leprechaun.  I had the hat to wear to school and hadn't put it away....next thing I know I am called around the corner to see this!

Oh this man makes me laugh!!

Spring......forward

Hello to my blog peeps!  Do I have any left!!  Not doing a very good job of keeping you up to date!  As per usual, when I don't post regularly, when I do it's loaded with pictures!  Here we go!!

Now, because some of my followers are quilters, I will start off with my current project progress.  I have been in a sewing/quilting funk....I had lost my mojo!!  I'm not sure it's found its way completely back but I have started on Lori Holts' Bloom blocks.  They are on week 8....I just finished week 4.  This picture is very non-professional...gotta love my thread covered design wall....and you can't see the yummy Prairie fabric line by corey yoder of Little Miss Shabby.  I'm hoping the layer cake I have will be enough for the blocks....each block is to have a scrappy border around it but I am going to wait until the end to see if I have enough fabric or if I will just buy yardage for that.  I am hand stitching the appliqué down which is the part I like the most!

I am also thinking of doing the Splendid Sampler blocks that Pat Sloan is doing but I'm behind there too and I do have several other projects to get done!  Including a baby boy quilt for this fella behind this baby bump!!

22 Weeks along in this picture!  Oh I can't tell you how blessed I am feeling this year!!!!!!!  He is due to make his arrival the end of June!  

Before I bombard you will a million pictures of the grand baby who is here already, I have to talk about the weather.  We really have yet to have much of a winter....we did have snow but haven't for quite some time.  The official first day of spring is still over a week away but it has felt like spring for a long time!  A couple of days ago we had really strong winds but it was warm......the ice on the lake is melting rapidly!  Two geese were here yesterday walking on the ice but theres enough water for them now.

This was taken a week or so ago.  Its been a great winter for walking to work!!

Daughter2's team won their playoff round against Lethbridge and are South Division Champions!!!  They head up to Fort Saskatchewan today for the start of a best of 5 series.  Ft Sask will be tough to beat but I know the Titans will sure try!!!!  Go Titans Go!!!!!!  I am not going...one word "dogs" but will be ready with the tunes for next weekend!  And we are having an early Easter so all the kids will be here!!!!  (can't wait to see the baby bump in person!!)  Titans will have a good cheering section! 

Okay....here we go with grand baby pics!

Very awkward 1 month old pic!!  LOL  She's on the quilt I made her though!  She is now 7 weeks old....good gravy!

Grandpa got spit upon...first of many I'm sure!!!  LOL!!

Look I'm standing already!!!  (not really...can you see Daddy's arm on the left?)

Aunty love!! (with Mommy close by but only for the picture)

My Diva picture!!!!

Ms Morgan came by to meet Miss Lyla!

Can you see a sleeping position pattern here?  hahaha!

Grandma reading her a story....which she doesn't seem to be enjoying!!  You WILL love my stories one day....and just because I was reading about the Pout Pout Fish doesn't mean you have to act it out!  hahahahahahahahaha!  

Oh I love that little munchkin!  I will be putting on a lot of miles this summer when the other grand baby arrives!  I hope Son1 and Jenna don't mind the intrusions!  (and I wonder if I will have to fight her mom for the spare bed??  LOLOL!!  I will sleep on the couch if I have to!)

So there is my life in a nutshell.......spring break is coming up so another week off in two weeks.  I am really ready again...we have been bombarded with therapists coming for assessments and the kids have spring fever I am sure!  Gotta love those munchkins though!!!!

Happy Spring!