It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... The lists are getting longer!

We had a visitor on the rail this week.  And, NO! We do NOT feed the gulls!  But it wasn't convinced of that.  I was baking and there it landed - when I went to the sink to wash dishes - it walked around the corner of the deck so it could see me!  It took 3 days to convince it we had a 'don't feed the birds' policy!  I love it when they open their beak and let it wail while it's looking right at you!  "Yes, I'm talking to YOU!"

There are many 'challenges' to living in a small space.  Granted I'm not talking Tiny Houses here.  They lost me when a person living in one said, "You don't really need a closet ..."  Oh, I think we do!! 

Our apartment isn't huge - it has very usable space - and it does pay to be pretty organized and to know what needs to be closed to public viewing!!  Yes, we're definitely talking sewing room.

A plus - you can get it company-ready quickly - and its fun to decorate for holidays.

As you know, we have a Stas Gallery Wall (available on Amazon) that I love to change out.  

My favorite Christmas Wall Quilts and our "Papa" and "Nana" Stockings that travel with us to 'Christmas'.  Also our 5 grandchildren's stockings. Festive! Right?

I 'lost' my space for the Santa Hat when we moved.  So new spot:  I get a little giggle every time I walk in and see it.  After all, you don't know who will drop in unexpectedly for a snack!  

Did you see that Christmas "Drinking or Cookie" game?  You hang a Santa hat on a upper corner of your big screen TV.  Every time someone on screen is wearing it ... drink or eat a bite of cookie!!  You can do both, you know you want to!!

If you have Netflix - here's the favorite Christmas Movies:  some are new* and some are older but worth another viewing.

Santa Chronicles                *Love Hard (not porn, I promise! Charming)

HoliDate                            *The Noel Diary

The Holiday Calendar        *A Storm for Christmas (mini series)

                     

I miss Prairie Schooler stitching designs.  I was absolutely hooked on the yearly Santa patterns.  I changed this 'poinsettia' Santa to Sunflowers.  It was the year of the Sunflowers, showing up everywhere in any media!!

Snowman box doubles as a winter storage box.  I store all the fabric decorations in the house.  Our humidity is so high even storage boxes in the garage get saturated.  Mold - not festive!!

I put off making Lobster fisherman Santa.  Living in the Midwest - just didn't know about yellow fisherman coats!  I do now!!

I love Santa riding the reindeer!  The little sleigh was ugly, it got 'lost' in the move?!  This is much cuter!

This hanging Santa was gift from a friend.  She thought I'd like it and by golly, she learned how to make one!  She had a saw and she learned how to use it!!  I love getting it out every year!  Since we've moved to the coast (13 years???) we haven't had a Christmas Tree!  I never thought I would ever say that - but you learn to tuck your favorites around and it works!  

The lower left corner of the shelves in front of the Gallery Wall:

  That little house wall hanging was made many times.  "All Hearts Come Home for Christmas".  So true!  And the alphabet they used was purposely very primitive.  I actually marked it and sewed it from the back!  Probably good for my brain - had to keep track of the stitches you DIDN'T see - they made the letters!

This week has been filled with baking cookies and making 'candy'.  And we've been having trouble with taste-testing.  It's no longer taste-testing after the first cookie!  We're honestly not sure if we are sleeping better or in a sugar coma!!

Wishing you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Talk again soon!

Christmas Cards - Yay or Nay??

 It's that most wonderful time of the year ...  snow might be falling and the To-Do list is building up higher and higher!  AND it's 2 weeks to Christmas!!  Arrrrgh!

Let me admit, I LOVE Christmas cards.  Back in the day ... I sent 50 out every year, and we don't own a small business!  Over the last years, I've been switching correspondents to email greetings.  At first I thought I was cheating, but now it's a bonus!  More verbiage; more photo space; no stamps and cards to buy - what is the disadvantage?

I do miss getting actual mail.  But we live in Brookings OR.  It's a very small town on the edge of the Pacific.  Our mail comes/leaves once a day at 11 am.  That slows everything down to begin with.  Trust me - overnight Amazon used to be 3 days!  You don't want to know what it is now!!!

And have you looked at boxed Christmas cards this year!  Yikes!  12 basic cards are $20!  Yes, I broke down and bought some.  Not a huge selection in our town this year.  But, I'm offering to exchange e-cards next year with people on my list.

Here is my Christmas letter that's going out.

    

                                          Happy Holidays from the Boyds

 

It’s been a busy year, visits for sports and theatre productions.  Busy families and grateful Grandparents enjoying the chaos!! 

 A and family did some camping and road trips!!  This Fall everyone changed schools!  D is in Middle School, K in Elementary.  E is going to a Bilingual Kindergarten where Mom works.  

E’s school started a week later than the boys.  So, she got to come over to Brookings for Camp Nana/Papa.  D called on his new phone - once she figured out who was calling, she ratted us out – “I got a LOT of screen time, but don’t tell Mom.”  Which they immediately did!

 The Portland Gang was busier than usual.  P, (Freshman) played Varsity Tennis and now City Volleyball!  M is still playing baseball, he was Honorary Captain at the end of the season.  

But the highlight of 2022 was their Epic trip back to Nebraska and Chicago!  So-o much fun!  They’re still talking about it. Thanks to all for the great time!  L works from home for the Tennis Program, with their 3 dogs supervising.  J just switched jobs to work with At-Risk High School students just down the hill from their home.  He loves the job AND not missing the kids’ games, practices and events.

 R and I enjoy overlooking the Port and keeping track of all the hullabaloo going on down there.  Golfing and Quilting are still our favorite hobbies.  R  makes a mean Martini - Lemon Drop and Manhattan weekly!  We’re celebrating our 50^th Wedding Anniversary this year!!  Holy Cow – that went fast!!  We hope the weather cooperates so we can gather the gang and celebrate in Portland after Christmas. 

 Wishing You the Best in 2023

More on Christmas and Big Anniversaries later.  Ho, Ho, Ho! until next time!

Thanksgiving and keeping track of what we are doing, making, remembering!

 All in all, we probably don't Give Thanks often enough.  That's where a Gratitude Journal comes in handy.  I don't have an official journal, but this should do!!

The first journaling I did was a Quilt Journal of all the projects I made.  I started quilting in 1974 So - there's a lot!  The projects I made multiple times were shown once or in a pile!  I've made hundreds of Christmas stockings!!  Always a favorite!

I started my quilt journal because I thought I was losing my mind (not completely wrong!) and I wanted to remember the stories of my quilts when I was in the Rest Home!  I love looking at it.  Updating it when quilts are 'released into the wild!'  I highly recommend keeping one.  So easy nowadays, on the computer (in Word) - Voila!! A copy for anyone who wants one!

I don't like any of the commercial Quilt Diaries.  They get too specific in my view.  I'm a scrappy quilter - don't know the 'designers' names'.  I try to take a picture; year it was made, measure it and then write about why it was made, if someone said something about it ... things in my life. 

Best Buds

2012
22 x 18

 I started with a photograph of Miss P and Mr M, 2 of my (5) grandchildren. LuAnn put it in Photoshop, she reduced it to lines and printed it on cotton fabric. During our class we colored the picture with fabric crayons, fabric markers and then painted fabric medium on it and picked border fabric. I have to admit, it was a year before I was brave enough to machine quilt it. I'm pleased with how it came out. Now for the next 3 grandchildren!!

Then I've started making email letters for family birthdays.  I love looking thru all the photos and reading old Blog posts.  It's so easy to take it for granted.

It all started when our DS, A turned 40.  40 memories (in no particular order).  They are not easy, but once you get started you end up with more than '40' memories.

12. On Folsom street you played "bye-bye" with Grandpa McGrew by climbing into the living room bookcase; waving bye-bye to him and shutting the sliding panel on yourself!!

Then to my DH for our 36th anniversary!  Remember to make it "G Rated" other family members will see it!

16.  Husker games, I have to admit, I'm a fair-weather fan, seriously!  Did you know I bribed the kids to go to the games in bad weather???  Oops, I thought you knew! Never mind!

Then my DD, L.  They all got a numbered list of my memories - it made for some "That's not how it happened!"  And "How did you know about that?" conversations

Some kids are 4-legged

Then, during COVID it was so hard to stay 'connected with our GKs'.  Email was our friend.  I started taking close-up pictures and sending them to the GKs to guess what it was.  They even sent some back!  I posted them on this blog and quite a few followers and friends played along.  But it did go longer than expected ... both COVID and the game.  After weeks and weeks, P turned to her mom complaining, "Nana sent me a picture of the dining room chair!"  Yes, but it was artistic!!

 

For guessing                  PS Always take solution picture at same time!

Even on a Mom's Day long ago, I gave my daughter a card for me!  Told her I wanted to hear from the kids 'why I quilted'!  The kids were a little young to write it themselves, so their mom 'took dictation'.  I'll never forget DGS, M's response:  "Who knows why Nana does anything!!"

Then I made Mom's Day and Dad's Day e-letters to send.

Other duties as assigned!

P and I have been active in the Quilting Sweatshop lately.  I put together the Monkey Business quilt top and handed it in for the Hospice.  When asked whether I wanted to bind it, I said I would so I could get a picture of it finished for my Quilt Journal.  SO now, I've been volunteered to show it and encourage quilters to keep track somehow!  (As my Mom always said, "No good deed goes unpunished!")

I had my QJ all up to date when I was "Honorary Guild Member" at the show in 2018.  Sadly, I haven't kept up, so this will be a good excuse to bring it up to date again.  How? You wonder:

Well, I'm a list - maker.  So each year in a designated notebook I write down all my finished projects and the size.  I always (I hope) take a picture of the project, with the recipient if possible.  Then when I have time (oh, sure!) I start the description page with what I remember.  Sometimes it's long, sometimes, short.  But it usually grows as I think on it.  Wish me luck!  AND if you don't have a journal in your life ... it's time to save those memories!!

We're BACK!

 But first I must show you the article I saw:

To be honest, it went on to give some really weird Jello salads to make.  None sounded good to me - but my cranberry salad is WAY BETTER than canned cranberries.  Just saying!

I was at the Bandon Quilt Retreat and had a blast!  With the Bayshore Babes anything is possible!!  The food is delicious and most days we had a 'chocolate smorgasbord' of assorted chocolates to keep up our energy and spirits!!

J kept bringing delicious snacks over telling me our room wasn't eating enough!  I almost always snuck them back and put them in front of her machine!  On the very first night R, for some reason, put Dawn Liquid dish soap in the dishwasher.  Its a good thing to do if you want to clean the floor at the same time!!  R has a great sense of humor and always helps clean up any mess.  Did you know that Dollar Tree stores have 5 different color mini bottles of Dawn?  It was truly meant to be - the next day when R left (finally) her sewing space we 'dolled' it up with 3 Dawns!  We all laughed about it all week!

P and I were pretty 'nose to the grindstone' when we were there.  Here's the selection of projects I worked on - on my design board.

Now don't get excited about how much I got done!  It was a 5 day retreat; we were cramped in the Subaru we were driving so I packed UFOs - almost all these blocks were already made.

Starting in upper left corner:  

Japanese Boro with fabrics and silk screens from Japan when P & I were there in January 2020.  I've been wanting to design this for years ...  add a triangular border or not?  You'll be the first to know!  

Across the top is a part of a kit that I got in a class at Portland Block Party in 2008(?)  I like the colors but not enough to make a quilt!  But I think it will look fabulous on my green dining room table!  I got the 3 blocks that were made together with the first of many borders.  Unfortunately, I thought the second border needed some pink in it - but didn't have any.  

Stripe Me Lucky is a pattern from Jen Kingwell's Posse - young designers that she sponsors!  I made this quilt last year for D, my grandson, one of the family quilts  to replace quilts that burned in the Almeda Fire while they were in Panama.  P and I loved it so much we cut and made blocks for each of us too!  Still love it and want to make a 70 x 90 couch quilt.

Along the right side:  Bonnie Hunter's Monkey Business.  It looks like a churn dash but isn't.  It's based on a 5 patch (not 9 patch like churn dash)  The corner blocks are twice as big as the middle rows are.  I loved BH's quilt but was not that happy with my fabric choices.  So I made it for our Hospice Charity quilts.  Ta-Da - just need to find a back and turn it in Tuesday to our chairwoman. Done-done.

Across the bottom almost "Annabelle's Quilt" pattern.  I tweaked it quite a bit! Very old UFO too.  I have all the blocks done and was sashing them together. And ran out of the beige-ings sashing.  Now I have bins and bins of "beige-ings" and wasn't going to buy any.  So - cut more sashings and Get 'R Dun!! is on my ToDo list!

The reason I hung them at home was - we left the day after we got home - and I didn't want to let them to be forgotten!!  Because DH whisked me away to Palm Springs for a week!  This year is our 50th wedding anniversary!! And a little get-away was needed after Covid, right?

We started with DD in Portland for 2 days.  Direct flight from there to PS!

We had a great time - especially at Sherman's Deli five out of the six days!!  It's our favorite, what can I say?    For Breakfast I recommend the Greek Omelette.  Lunch:  Pastrami sandwiches is always a must.  I swear there is a pound of meat on that sandwich!  

My second lunch was with my Newport friend who lives in the area now.  I ordered Stuffed Tomato with Chicken Salad.  And there was cups full of fresh fruit around the perimeter of the dish!  Cantaloupe, Musk Melon, Pineapple, Strawberries and Blueberries! Generally, I'm not a melon fan but I am now!!  Other customers even asked me what I ordered!!  It looked as good as it tasted!

After our 'light lunch' we walked around downtown and window shopped.  The Art Museum had some outdoor permanent displays.

  

Palm Springs' 28 foot Marilyn.  We saw a biker gang stopping by for selfies!!  And I was glad I did my toe nails before the trip - even the statues have painted toe nails!

Of course we did eat at other places too!  PF Chang's; a PD Mexican Restaurant and Castillo's.  Chang's is always good, the Mexican restaurant was so busy and loud - it was impossible to have a conversation.  And I have to admit, our food wasn't very good or hot!  

Oh, but, Castillo's was fabulous!  And old Italian restaurant with pictures of famous guests on the wall.  Just in our little corner we spotted Bob Hope, Florence Henderson, and a very young Joe Biden!  There was a piano bar that we could faintly hear.  They make their own Limoncello!  The food was out of this world!  We love Italian and on special occasions we almost always celebrate with Italian food.  Castillo's was a Top 10 restaurant and meal!!  And we've been doing this over 50 years!!!  I had Lobster Ravioli (oh my!)  and DH had Chilean Sea Bass with a side dish of very delicious grilled veggies.  

Our time was very low key - most afternoons were laying by the pool and reading.  I finished 4 books!!  It was marvelous!  And if you ever have a chance to fly into Palm Springs Airport - its a gem! Most of it is outdoors with Palm Trees welcoming you.

A sunset from our balcony in Palm Desert.

We are back home now - just in time to start a 7 day storm!  Sigh, but still good to be home!

It's Fall!

 I was at the grocery store a few days ago, walked around the corner in produce and  Lo, and Behold --- there were fresh cranberries!!!  Seems early but maybe I don't usually start looking until November.

I know there is canned cranberries and I like them,  BUT there's nothing like fresh cranberry chutney!  Add apples and oranges - delish!

Here's how a Nebraska Girl makes cranberry salad -  don't judge me until you try it!!

                                 

Mom's Cranberry Salad

1 small bag of cranberries.  Washed and picked thru - dispose of the mushy ones! 

When washing I put handle a dozen at a time, put the washed fruit into a small mixing bowl with pouring spout.  Ready for the Cuisinart - pour any excess water out before adding berries to Cuisinart.  Cupping my hands around the mixing bowl helps cranberries to funnel into the Cuisinart.

2 apples.  Washed and sectioned (to drop into Cuisinart) Put each fruit into a large mixing bowl after food processor. If you want bigger pieces, pour in little batches and use Pulse button. Stop when they are the right size.

                          

2 oranges.  I peel them and cut them up manually - they tend to 'juice' when put thru the Cuisinart.

                       

1/4 of one orange rind.  Put thru the Cuisinart

After all the fruit is ready in large mixing bowl, add 1/2 cup of sugar, blend, cover and set in fridge for about 1 hour.

Now here comes the "midwestern" part.  Prepare a family box of Raspberry or Cranberry Jello with 1 1/2 cups of boiling water.  Stir well.  Pour into glass casserole dish.   Cool by adding 3 ice cubes.  (fish out the unmelted cubes)

Add in chutney, blend together gently and add 1/4 bag of mini-marshmallows!! Let jell for a few hours.

I know it sounds over sweet and not wonderful - but it isn't!!  We eat small portions and I keep making it until I can't find fresh cranberries.

I was all ready to brag about being in the 'Western Cranberry State" and then I looked at my Ocean Spray cranberry bag and it said "Washington"  I wanted to say the cranberries came from Bandon Oregon - just up the road for us. But apparently not!  Well, Washington State is just a little farther up the road!

Hmm, Hmm, Good!!

Headed to the Bayshore retreat this weekend.  I'm so mentally ready to get away with like-minded friends.  Physically, still sorting thru projects to take!  

Have a good fall, try fresh cranberries!  I'll be back!

A friend came to visit last week ... no time to post

 C is one of those friends where there is no awkward silences, we simply start where we left off.  And she is my favorite project consultant, we reviewed many projects and mapped out the way to continue.  There is hope for my (I want to change the pattern) Wool around the Garden languishing project.  Now to get to it!

 

We immediately took down the September 'gallery' and put up the Halloween display.  I found out I have two fall quilts that have the same plaid border ... guess they've never been hung this close together before.  Oh well!  One will come down after Halloween, the other will stay up for Thanksgiving.

We laughed and giggled, attended a "Woolies" meeting (group giggling!), watched TV while we sewed, gathered rocks on the beach, Stacked them, walked thru the Redwood groves, and ate fairly healthy if you don't count the ice cream breaks! (We never count those!)

The weather started out so well, an 80 degree day for our beach walk, 70s for the Woolies meeting.  Then Fall Fog rolled in and, well, we got a lot of consulting done!  Can't complain about that.

Here's 'my' stack of rocks and my surprise 'sewing is cheaper than therapy ... I think' present.  Both sitting in front of my sampler corner!

A married couple that I know is moving out of our area.  They know I quilt (everyone who knows me knows that!!) and asked me to help re-home some antique table linens and 50s quilts.  C and I consulted on those.  I'm happy to report that Latimer Textile Museum will except any donated textiles.  If they don't incorporate the items into their archives, they share with their members or sell / auction them off keeping the proceeds for the museum.  Sounds like a win/win!  I see some Newport quilters next week and hope to hand these off to be taken to Tillamook.  

Our new Guild year has started.  P and I are in charge of the BOM program and we decided we're doing 9patches - all the different figurations of 9 patch.  September - the year's 1st meeting - we showed a traditional 9patch made with fabric squares.  Easy peasey!  In October we're presenting Double 9patch using strip sets.  

So many guild members have 'written off' 9p because it's so elementary.  We hope to show interesting possibilities.  A 'new' member posted her 'first 9p' on IG.  She pieced fabrics to construct the dark squares - EXACTLY what we hoped for!!  Someone trying something new and making it their own!  Happy Dances all around!

The new President introduced a new EPP project exchange.  Halloween fabric coffins!  A Dresden Plate pattern with the points cut off.  AND she commissioned a local shop with a 3D printer to make us a 2 piece template.  And it is GREAT!  Taken apart you have a window template to line up your motifs for cutting (the green cats) 

Warning:  It is addictive!  C cut out the card stock papers and then started gluing the fabric onto it with my new Glue Pen!  We were a team!  I cut out 10 piece sets out of 6 fabrics now bagged and ready to exchange!  It's going to be cute!!

                        

The Whimsical Griffin, he made the template, is willing to sell it to anyone wanting one from his Etsy shop.  Here's the link.  Whimsical Griffin   He's charging the same he charged us to walk in and buy it.  He thinks postage will be $3.  

I'll keep you informed of our progress.  We hand in sets this month, but don't get the exchanged shapes back until next month.

THREE! I'm going for a new "Month's record"

 If you know me, you know I love to read.  Every day, my favorite time is to read an hour (or more) before bed and you can go thru a LOT of books - even more if they are so good you must read past bed time!!

AND I keep track of what I read!  Since 1985!! On an excel sheet!  Before you click me off because I'm crazy - I started keeping track because I rate them 1 - 5 and every year I look back at my 5* books and see if their author has written more. Don't worry - I'm a library girl.  Thank goodness!  I love our Brookings library.  They are the best!

Of course, now-a-days all you have to do is Google an author and you will get notices of all their books and anyone else they consider is like them!  Back then, not so much.  

Favorite books lately:

• Anything by Brad Parks   Interference; The Girl Next Door
• The Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel
• The Mother In Law by Sally Hepworth
• French Braid by Anne Tyler

You can always look back on this blog to the January entries.  I usually have 2 year's summaries and always include the best books that year.

If it's not too foggy - salmon season is full speed ahead.  Every day there is 20 -30 little boats at a time in the mouth of the harbor getting those salmon headed up stream.  There have even been some tuna (mixed up apparently) caught.  It's very exciting when our commercial boats are headed out.  Horns - get out of our way!!  You talking to me???  People who fish in little boats are crazy!

Here is the September gallery hanging in our living room.  And yes, I did clean the top of the bins to get to avoid a junky picture!  C, a good friend from the MidWest is coming this week.  She'll recognize all of these wall quilts.  She's the one that made me add "DS" to the schoolhouse.  We laughed and laughed at the smoke rings behind the school.

And C started the invasion of the Sunflower Quilts in Lincoln NE. Every quilter that saw her quilt, made one!  G made the same design in reds for a poinsettia - gorgeous!  I also have a sunflower king size quilt - this wall quilt is a remake of the king-size pillow sham. (It looked like a coffin cover!!!)

We saw this Red Wagon quilt and loved it.  But we both lamented that the applique or the piecing was too hard ... so I did the piecing for both quilts and C did the applique for both of us.  One of my favorites!

                            

So after C sees these, we will put up the Halloween quilts.  In fact, I have a whole list of what we should do!  Visit and walk the beaches is on the top!

More information next time.