What Happened?

There was a time when I could do so much with less time. I was divorced, had three children, worked and I was going to school. There was enough time to care for the children, keep up with the housework, do homework, laundry and go to work. Organization was the key. I'd drop off the kids at school and daycare and head for work. My lunch hour gave me the time to get in a load of laundry, vacuum a room and get the evening meal started. I'd eat an apple on the way back to work. After work, I'd pick up the kids, put dinner in the oven and start homework. Dinner dishes waited until the kids were bathed and in bed. Then it was my time to prepare for the next day, finish housework or laundry and study.

As the kids grew I added an extra job to make sure that their social needs were met. Movies with friends, football games, dances and of course proms and money for dates. Not to mention the extras: cheerleading uniforms, clothes, shoes and hair products. Still there was time to get it all done.

Retirement should be a carefree time. With time to do all the things you missed out on. Well that is not happening in my home. I still have laundry and housework that takes me longer to do. There just never seems to any time to spend in my sewing room. What a crying shame. Where did the time go and how do I get it back.  It would be so nice to leave the housework or laundry but I love a clean, sparkling home so I spend the time cleaning. Am I cleaning more than I need?

Perhaps tomorrow will yield the time for me to play. There is a little dress in my head that I'd like to make. A little pink one is calling. I need to sew. Shall I go play in my room?

Beautiful dress

Every once in a great while something will stop me dead in my tracks. Such was the dress in the window of Lily Lu. Incredible, I just had to go in and look at the details of this little dress. Imagine what Scarlet O'Hara might have worn as a little girl. Creamy, off white fabric, with 7 rows of pleats 3" above the hem line, above these were the sweetest ribbon roses, embroidered stems, creating a bouquet. At the waist was the finest ribbon tie, to make the most beautiful of bows. The bodice had an oval frame with a cameo stitched in pale varigated pink thread, such dainty stitches made her almost life like. The puff sleeves had the civil war touch, big puffs with a tight band and ecru lace along the edge of the cuff. As for the back of the dress, the bow was exqusite with 10 perfect pearl buttons going up the back. I could not tear myself away from the detail of the dress. If only I had a little girl in my life, she would be wearing this for Christmas. This is one little dress that will never be erased from my memory.

Lily Lu is the boutique that I have dreamed of owning all my life. Dainty baby gowns, little silk booties, embroidered and smocked dresses, little day gowns for infants. Nothing was above a size 6. Every item was unique, perfect and meant for some little girl to own. The shoes alone would start a little girl on a shoe fettish once she is grown. Everything in the store was different and classy, right down to the way dresses were displayed. It was like walking into my dream.

The two with me were not into this so I literally had to tear myself away from the beauties within and walk away. Had I been alone, there is no telling how long I could have spent looking at all the treasures within the walls of this one perfect boutique for little girls. I will return to see what else I missed only next time I'll be on my own.

Is it possible to dream of something and then walk right into it? Yes, it is.

Snow

Serenity. Pure white, shimmering snow adorns the trees. Deer tracks are the only visible signs that something besides silence is outside. Clumps of snow fall from the pine trees every time the wind comes by. No sound just the puff of white mist as it falls to the ground. Inside the noise is deafening, the outside beckons me, shall I go?  Off into the silence I go, hat, gloves, snow boots and coat keep me warm. The crunch of the snow always makes me smile. The hill is slick, each step takes me higher and I like that. Each breath is crisp and cold and makes my nose stick together. What a funny feeling that is. No place to sit, just standing there looking down on my home. My redwood house with the green door, green shingle roof and a whisp of smoke curling its way up to heaven.  Time for a prayer for those inside my home, my son, my daughter, my husband and the 8 dogs we have chosen to care for. All of them I love with my whole soul, heart and being. My son in Kuwait, how I wish he would come home. Family each person is so important and loved dearly. I wonder if they know how much? Do I tell them enough? I wonder. Somone is calling, shall I answer or just go in?

Oh No!

When it is bad it is very bad. Gathering fabric for a full skirt can be trying at times. On this particular work day I was just about finished when the thread broke. Oh No,no, no,no was all I could manage to say as I watched this most perfect little skirt fall apart. Back to the beginning, iron the fabric and stitch two rows and start to gather. Not a problem, wrong. My foot is pressing on the pedal, the needle starts to move and then I heard this awful clicking, grinding, crunching sort of sound. Okay, now what? The bobbin has a tangled mess of thread, not to worry just clean it up. So I begin to sew again and the sound is still there I immediately stop sewing. My heart is racing and this very sick feeling comes over me. My Janome 10001 is sick. The first instinct is to call Lilly, my faithful Janome Dealer, her voice did not sound comforting at all as she suggested I bring in my machine.

It took a few minutes to unplug my machine, pack it, get in the car and head for Big Timber. The drive west is always nice and a very good time to listen to great music. Neil Diamond, Tina Tuner, Barbara Strisand are favorites, cranking up the sound, singing along, getting in the zone and then you notice just how fast you are driving. Slow down and be careful you have a lot more sewing to do and you are definitely not finished with life.

Lily meets me at the door and helps me in. She takes my machine and puts it on her work bench. Why did I think I could just wait and bring it home? That is never the case. Here I am in a fabric store, should I just leave? Hell No are you crazy??? Just look around, what harm can there be in that? Oh my there is the greatest display of Dr. Suess Fabric... I bought enough for one dress.

Hopefully I will be posting some pictures of the dress that is in progress next week. That is if I have my machine back by then. I sure hope nothing serious is wrong.

Have a great day!

Missing Turkeys

The last few days have been oddly quiet around here. Usually I'll watch the turkeys hurl themselves from the tops of the trees and fly to the clearing just in front of the house. After getting a drink of water they resume thier journey. Well last week, Cooper came down from the hill with a mouth full of feathers. Something had  happened. I asked Matt to go and check, so he followed Cooper up the hill and found the area where a turkey had been killed. The next day the same thing happened. Now my pets are kept close to home and I don't walk the property right now. The deer are missing as well.

The lady, I get my eggs from, said she had seen a bobcat at the bottom of my road. Matt has seen it as well. So we believe that the bobcat has scared the wild life away for a bit. Maybe he'll move on to better hunting grounds. With all the small children in the area I worry for thier safety.

There is a little dress waiting to be made. I'm heading down to my sewing room in a few minutes and I'm spending the day there. Last night my dreams were full of little girls  twirling in full skirt dresses. I wanted to join them.

My granddaughter Sherri wants a quilt for Christmas. I'm not sure I'll have the time to get one made.

In the still of the morning

Very quietly I make my way down the steps to the kitchen and put the kettle on the fire. Waiting on the counter is a tea bag and my favorite mickey mouse cup I won't let the kettle whistle as I don't want the morning spoiled by the howling of the dog downstairs. As quickly as I can I make my tea and make my way back upstairs to the office. From here I can sip my tea and watch the animals make thier way down the hill to the river. Sometimes it feels as if they know that I have a camera close by and they pose for me or they look up at the window and say a quick hello with a nod. I can honestly say that a true relationship between the deer and myself is happening.  Such beautiful animals surround me all the day long.

The morning is calling me as is the pile of split wood waiting to be stacked. So hurry up and finish your tea. Once outside the fragrance of the wet ground and grass is so refreshing, the air is so crisp it pinches my cheeks and the sound of wings pushing the wind can be heard. Isn't that the most amazing thing, that in the still of the morning you can actually hear the birds as they fly past? The first time I heard this sound was on a cold, crisp day after the snow had fallen and an eagle flew over head. It wasn't until his shadow passed over me that I realized what the sound was. Amazing!

Martha Pullen is one of my favorite people. She is a seamstress that has taken her skill and now teaches people to sew like her. I've had the good fortune to attend her school twice. Each time I come away knowing more than I did before and wishing the week of classes would not end. Lucky for me I get to go again! This time I'm going to the Smocking and Construction school, how cool is that???? This is one technique that I've wanted to learn for quite some time. Matt has given me the most perfect Valentine early. He'll never be able to top this one! I can't wait!

We'll be in Huntsville, Alabama for an entire week. 6 days of learning this sewing skill and one day we'll spend touring the area. Shiloh Battlefield is one place we plan to visit. I can't wait to see what else Matt discovers for us to see.

How many days until Sunday, February 6th?

It's Monday

Very few things in life bother me. When things run smoothly, work as they should and I like it just the way it is it can and often is very hard for me to change.  Ugghhhh...... I have to pick out a new phone due to AT&T taking over Altell. I finally had a red phone, with a slide out keyboard, I knew how to operate the camera and I finally began texting my daughter and granddaughters. My cell phone life was complete! For some unknown reason, I simply assumed that I could get the exact same phone  set to AT&/T specifications. Imagine my disappointment. Guess what? There are two red phones that I could choose from but neither has the slide out keyboard and are much smaller than what I had. You guessed it I don't like them. So my new phone will be blue, is named eternity, has a camera and has a touch screen. It looks pretty and now I have to get used to a new way of doing things. So if I accidently hang up or put someone on hold, just know that I'm having an issue and will get back to you if I can.

Earlier in the day I had the lovely chore of grocery shopping. Every two weeks this adventure comes around. The dogs, cats, birds & humans run out of food. The eldest female human is granted this task. It starts the night before organizing store  lists, gathering coupons and making a daily meal plan. The following day a 45 mile drive to Billings and then she starts. Wally World is first, this is one place she tries to hurry through. Then to Target & JoAnn Fabric (they are in the same strip mall so how can she not go there), next comes Albertsons and Costco is last. It is a full day and the car is loaded, once home she is met by the other three humas and the unloading begins. She smiles when she hears "oh good, I like this" or "Good choice of beer" or "Can you make this for dinner tomorrow". She now knows that her very long and tiring day has been well worth it.

Is there anything better in life than taking care of your family? (Besides buying fabric...)

Class time

Oh what a cold morning it was. My instinct was to stay in bed and keep warm, then reality set in and I dared myself to move. For several days I've procrastinated getting my things together for the quilt class I'm taking today. There are no more tomorrows to put off. Well long story short I made it to may class with time to spare.

Nancy C was the class instructor. She is very good and very patient with us newbies. Yes, I consider myself a newbie due to the fact that I've yet to get any points to turn out right and that I seem to lack the patience to be a true quilter. Now, give me a pattern, for a little girl dress and I'm right as rain. I decided that I just need to get over my fear of perfect points, seams that line up like toy soldiers and just do it. Guess what???? I'm so excited! Can you tell? My squares came out about as perfect as you can get. Holy Cow, I've think I've got it!

Does it matter if you have the tools to use to make everything match up? In case you are wondering we worked on the Day and Night Quilt that Eleanor Burns designed. Nancy C. spent a week in California taking classes from her. She had the time of her life. As for me, well, I'm very glad that she did and came back excited to teach.

Today the sky was filled with dark, fluffy clouds the kind that bring rain or snow. I just wonder what is in store for tomorrow. No rain today but I can feel the temperature is falling.

Good Morning

Ever so gently the sun peeked inside my bedroom. Soft rays of light played with my eyelids and tickled me awake. Cooper, my tiny poodle, is nestled in the small of my back sleeping soundly. Outside the trees are bending from the force of the wind. No birds in the sky this morning. No real thoughts in my brain just the wonder of what God has blessed me with.

My Montana home is cradled by ponderosa pine trees, very big and tall. I feel so small at times. If you stand at the base and look up your neck stretch back to it's furthest point before you can see the very top of the tree. My friends come by early each day to drink from the little pond out back. The deer, a doe and her twins and a little buck along with other members of the herd. Wild turkeys fly from the trees and waddle down to the Yellowstone River. Come evening they'll all pass by again on their way up the mountain.

My life is good, I am loved and I have the privilage of loving My Matt.

Dad

My dad's smile was the first thing I remembered this morning. When he smiled his eyes would have the most wonderful twinkle. What prank was behind that twinkle or what question did he have for me? As a little girl I would play this game with my dad. "What's Important?". He would lay out the situation and I have to solve it by indicating what was important about the issue. What a wonderful teaching tool he had. I miss my Dad very much. So what is important today? Cleaning house or working on a little dress?