Thanksgiving is over and you know what that means: Happy Holidays!

I HAVE to get my cards out early this season - because we moved this year and hardly anyone has the new address! Yes, we're still on PO forwarding - but that doesn't really get the address to those sending us cards!! So today I 'bit the bullet' and worked on our Christmas letter and decorated the condo! We don't have our artificial tree here. It's at A's - 3 hours and a mountain pass away!! Just in case the weather doesn't cooperate ... I think I can live without it. BUT if we can get over there, all the decorations are in one box - and it's on top!!

Here's our card. I've gone with nicknames here on the web!
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!!



Happy Holidays from the Boyds
This year went so fast – we moved to Brookings Oregon – our favorite place during vacations from Nebraska. And although it does seem a little far from kids [6 hrs or 3 hrs & a mountain range!] we love it down here. We have a wonderful view of the ocean just 200 feet below us. We can sit in front of the window or out on the balcony for hours and be totally entertained watching the ‘show’. Especially when whales are hanging around!

When we can tear ourselves away from the view, we also stay busy golfing (DH), quilting (Doni) and walking the Pacific Coast Trail together. Who knew retirement could be this busy!! And fun!

July 2010 was A and J2’s wedding. It was a great party! Whether you just chatted on the deck or danced the night away. Wonderful – and the weather was summer-y (not always the case on the coast!) Miss P was a hit as one of the flower girls. A good time was had by all! Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us!

Wishing you and yours the best in 2011

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the blustery great NorthWest!

We drove up the coast in SNOW yesterday! Yep, it snowed at sea-level. At times, it was snowing very heavily! We had a mini 'white-out' at one point. And they were Big, Beautiful, wet flakes!

When we went past the Port Orford school - the kids were outside for recess and were running across the playground with their tongues out, catching the snow! Of course, they weren't in proper coats! They probably don't own snow gear! It was fun seeing them, because we did the same thing - didn't you??

Farther north, at Bob's Creek Viewpoint, a van of college-age students had stopped and were having a giant, riotous snowball fight!! We were hurrying to Newport to be in time for a doctor's appointment, but R wanted to stop and join in!! Now he says I owe him a snowball fight. Rats! He used to pitch for the HS team and he's way too good to play snowball fights with. I can't throw with beans and he tags me 20 to 1 of my pitiful throws. The best part of any snowball fight is to go back inside and have hot chocolate!

We headed inland via Hway 20. It was like driving thru a magical winter wonderland. Every tree, branch and plant was coated with the snow. They must not have had any wind or sun yesterday for it to stay all day. The road was clear and we loved the view all the way to Philomath!

Mr M seemed to like his new quilt. He smiled when he opened it. We laid it out on his bed and called him in - he squealed when he saw it!! A man of few words, so far! I'll post a picture of him with the quilt later.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Busy week!!

Hooray - Mr M's big boy bed quilt is done! Number 1 is done, at any rate [darn bunk beds]

It all started with a kit I bought 3 years ago on a shop-hop. I was saving it for the 'big boy bed quilt' I knew was coming. But when I got it out - it was too small for a twin. Hmmm, now what? I couldn't find another panel to add to it, that UFO aging process worked against me. So I redesigned it - cutting the kids border into alternate blocks. And of course, buying a new border. Don't you love the fireflies?! I don't collect brights so I tried buying just enough ... I'm hoping I have enough bits and pieces to finish the second quilt!!



I also made my first pair of pillow cases to go with it[them]. The large animals on white was supposed to be the back of the quilt. I had just enough to make two pillowcases.



My DD asked me to make 'initial' post card type things to mark cubbies they now have. I didn't think they needed to be that big - and I had some strips that were just 3 1/2 inch so I made 3 1/2 inch squares. I love them - and would love to figure out a way to use them as luggage tags - but they're too flimsy to stand up to the wear and tear!

We're heading up to Portland for Thanksgiving Tuesday. I have a doctor's appointment in Newport on the way up. A & J2 are joining us on Thursday - it will be fun to have everyone together for the day! Happy turkey day to all!

Told you I'd get back on schedule!!

First - this is a picture I took from our balcony after watching an airplane do this silly maneuver! I title it "what the heck was he doing!! The doe-see-doe??"

Today is busy! Brookings is having their annual Holiday Fair. And I'm sitting with the raffle quilt this afternoon. The raffle quilt is gorgeous so that should help, but our guild has been loosing money and tough times on the coast doesn't help. We are boosting raffle quilt donations by having a special: Buy $10 worth of tickets and pick a free gift; $15 and you get two! The 4patch wine glass coaster is the majority of gifts; but some of my sweatshop pin cushions are available too. Hopefully, it will help boost sales. It would be just too sad to have the guild fold when I move here!!

I need to get myself in gear. Mr M turns 2 next week - we'll celebrate on Thanksgiving - and his big boy quilt is not done. I've been playing with an adaptation of a F&P Eric Carle quilt in Sept. 2010's issue for the 2nd quilt. [Why, oh why, did they buy bunk beds????] But I'm not happy with it. So put number 2 out of my mind and got the final border on number 1 and the back ready to baste.

Hope to have our beautiful weather [66 Friday!] continue over the weekend so I can get it framed and spray basted outside. Our condo is WAY TOO SMALL to frame a twin quilt inside!

Then I finally got busy on the round robin quilt that's due MONDAY!! We had one less week this month between meetings because of Thanksgiving in two weeks - and I SWORE I was not going to wait til the last minute on these ... yeah, that's the way MOST of my resolutions go!! LOL!

The middle block of this one [there are 5 participants in our group] is a silk-screened lighthouse, I'm the first round, I 'paper-less paper-pieced' a 'ice cream cone' border around it. Happy with the 3 sides I have done. But afraid I have to hit the quilt store today for some varigated thread to machine quilt Mr M's quilt and some pinkish-red batik for the round robin. Blue batiks came in the kit but we could add other colors. I think adding colors should start in the first border ... but I only have a few batiks in my stash and all are blue!! No help here!

I'm happy to say my 2nd new pair of glasses arrived Friday. Got new glasses in September and couldn't see a thing in them!! Of course, I got them up in Portland - we're there so often and there isn't much choice down here! And what could go wrong?? LOL!

Picked them up - are they going to work?? 'Madam [really???] - there is a breaking-in period!' Ick - back twice in three days - adjustments - but then I had to come home.

Three weeks later - yea, these aren't working!! Dizzy all the time, can't see to sew. So back up to Portland. After HOURS between the eye doctor and retail area at LensCrafter(!?) it was decided I needed to have them remade. So for the last 3 weeks I've been making do with old glasses or reading glasses - headaches every day! [I don't know what happened to the ones I was replacing - they look like they'd been drop-kicked off the balconey and kept falling off my face every time I looked down!!]

The new-new ones arrived yesterday, I gingerly put the them on - wowza! was our computer screen that crooked before?? ... but I got used to that and I could see to sew again!!

All day - without a headache!! Happy Days are here again!!


Over the last 3 years ... R has been perplexed why I can't get an over-king-sized quilt made to his very particular specs done [men!!!] But this fall, I did it!! LOL! Right there in Pottery Barn was exactly what he'd been talking about!! So I ordered it, it looks great and he's no longer crabby about it!! I refuse to feel guilty about it!! You too can have this awesome quilt!!!

Yikes!! It's been over a month!

Sorry! Time is speeding by this year and especially this fall. I'm sorry to say that I dropped my camera after taking the picture of the fabric postcard group. Bummer - so it had to go to the 'doctor' this month. Luckily for me, it was just a lens mounting bracket that needed replacement ... of course, it was on backorder. But it's back now.

Last week I was traveling for 5 days. Went up to Portland to pick up the camera lens; take back the new glasses that make me dizzy and see the kids. It had been three weeks! I got to Portland Nov 1st so was able to hear all about trick and treating.




We listened in when Miss P told Beachpapa about Halloween:
BPapa: "How was Halloween?"
Miss P: in very soft voice, "I was saared." [scared]
BPapa: "What?"
Miss P: in slightly louder voice, "I was saared."
BPapa: "what?"
Miss P: in very loud voice, "All right, I freaked out!"

At the 8th house they went to - 5:30 in afternoon, man answered the door in a very scary mask! Miss P screamed and ran with Mr M - the elephant - trying to run too.

He took off the mask and offered her 10 candy bars if she would come back. NOPE! She went home and enjoyed opening the door for their T&T-ers. But she's already planning what she will be next year! So I don't think anyone was permanently saared!!

Wednesday I headed for Newport and a visit with S - a quilting friend. We'd seen the Crabapple Hill pattern "Over the river and thru the woods" and loved it. S does marvelous hand embroidery but didn't want to do the piecing. So-o she did the embroidery for both quilts and I am doing the piecing for both. We didn't stick with the original browns and blacks - S has fresh red and green and I went with scrappy.[no surprise here!] I had done this type of exchange years ago and didn't realize that getting both parts done at the same time was so special! Thanks C for your wonderful applique!




I had S's blocks done and she had just my embroidery done ... so nothing to put together yet!! But I'm working on my blocks and hope to get the top together yet this year. I'll keep you posted!

That's all the news today - I'll save some so I can report in on the weekend and get back on schedule!