HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MADDIE!!

 WOW ... I can't believe you are 6 years old tomorrow, Maddie !  You were such a pretty little baby and are growing up into such a beautiful little girl !

Nana and Poppa miss you very much, darling !!

This is the wallhanging that I made for Maddie.  His name is Dakota and he measures 4' x 4'.  I hope she likes him !! ;-)

More Fun at Nana's House

After we got home from Auntie Pam's house, we enjoyed a lovely dinner that Poppa had cooked.  After dinner, the girls started painting their Christmas tree ornaments that Nana had bought for them.

And what happens after lots of painting ... well, a nice warm bath!

Another fun Thursday with our little girls - except this time, we got to enjoy them sleeping overnight !

Who Doesn't Love a Fluffy Kitten???

My friend Pam is looking after a litter of 4 fluffly 6 week old kittens until they can be adopted out by LAPS.  Pam, knowing I pick up Emmy and Lauryn from school on Thursdays, invited us to go over to have a little cuddle with them.  They are so darn cute as these photos will show .... Thank goodness for people like you, Pam, who love all creatures big and small !!!!

Happy Halloween!!

Well today is the day!  We are armed with loads of candies and chocolate bars and ready for the onslaught of kiddies trick or treating !  We generally see about 150 kiddies ... gosh, some of these kids are so big - I swear I saw one huge boy last year sporting what looked like the beginnings of a beard!! LOL

A Fun Night Out !

A few of us gals and 2 token hubbies enjoyed a wonderful evening out this past Tuesday.  First we met for dinner and then went on to the Surrey Arts Theatre to see a live performance of The Buddy Holly Story.  It was FABULOUS!  The music was so wonderful and brought back so many memories ... we had a blast!

Skating Lessons

Emmy and Lauryn had their first skating lessons last Monday and did so well ... they are eagerly awaiting going back again next week.  I was amazed at how quickly these little kiddies could pick this up - they just walked onto the ice and started moving.  What fun!

Emmy

Lauryn

First we have to learn how to walk in skates!

No fear!

Look at the concentration!

After our skating lesson, we headed back home to Emmy and Lauryn's home for a wonderful dinner.

What a little ham!

A cuppa tea with Nana always finishes off dinner nicely!

The girls love their tea with Nana!

Cheeky cheeks!

Our Retreat was a Blast!

Last weekend was our annual guilters' guild retreat and what a retreat it was !  You can only socialize so much at a monthly guild meeting, but there at a weekend retreat one can really let their hair down and have some laughs.  This year the theme was Western ... here are some of the funny photos from our weekend together ...

Me, acting the fool ! LOL

Our wonderful class taught by Maureen

What a hold up???

Trying to steal our fat quarters!

Our 2011 Langley Quilters' Guild Retreat Attendees

A little square dancin'

Strip Poker (with 2 1/2" fabric strips, of course!)

Another Busy Week Ahead

Gerry and I enjoyed a very lovely peaceful weekend at home.  I even managed to play in my quilt studio on both days for a bit.  I am working on a wallhanging for my little granddaughter Maddie who will be turning 6 on November 1st.  I will post a photo when I am finished.

I have a very busy week ahead with two guild-related meetings, our little quilting group, and getting ready for our upcoming retreat next weekend.  Next week is not looking much better either!  LOL

Oh well, as "they" say ... what doesn't kill ya, makes ya stronger!!! LOL

Fall is definitely here ... I just love all of these beautiful colours!  It's leaf-crunching time - I must do that on Thursday when I pick up Emmy and Lauryn from school !!  What fun!

Look at that Sunshine!

What a gorgeous day it is outside today!!!  The sun is shining brilliantly, the sky is blue with just a few fluffy clouds passing slowly by!  Beautiful !

Today is Thursday and Nana's day to pick up two of her little angels from school and home for dinner.  I am taking Emmy and Lauryn to buy their very first pair of skates this afternoon.  They are so excited and start their skating lessons on Monday, October 24th.

When Briggy and the girls arrived here on Monday for dinner, I had made a tea party for us and had their places set at the table with a plate of cookies and their own cup and saucer.  They were allowed to pour their own tea and put their sugar and milk in too.  They felt very grown up indeed.  The only person who spilled the tea was their Mommy ... go figure!! LOL

Supper is all ready to pop in the oven and another little tea party awaits my angels when they get home here this afternoon.  After supper I have a guild executive committee meeting to attend this evening.  I can't believe how many meetings I have attended in the last little while ... this is like a part-time job! LOL

God Bless the Children !

On Thursday evening I was most fortunate to join several other wonderful ladies from our guild - and accompanied by my little granddaughter, Lissy - and travel to Children's Hospital in Vancouver to present our quilts to the Kourageous Kids.  What a lovely evening!  I must admit there were moments when I felt quite choked with emotion - especially seeing the little kiddies - so young - battling this insidious disease - all with a smile on their faces though!  It was painful also to watch the parents and siblings of children who had passed away accepting the quilts on behalf of their child!

I am so proud of our ladies who organize this every year and all of our members who show such support by making these lovely works of art for the kiddies.

God Bless the Children!!

I'm Confused ... and saddened!

Three of my grandchildren - 2 boys age 11 and 1 girl age 12 - are enrolled in hockey.  This is THE year kids playing hockey can hit and use physical means to get the puck or I guess to stop an opposing team's player who has the misfortune of getting in the way!

One of my grandsons has not had a lot of experience playing hockey and is a little smaller than some of the other children.  He has such determination to play hockey and to be the best he can be.  I heard from my daughter this morning that my dear little boy took quite a beating last night during his hockey game and ended up being hurt and bleeding at the hands of an opposing team member!  Credit to him, he has not lost his determination to play hockey.

What I don't understand is why we spend so much time and effort and money on having people come into our schools to speak on the topic of bullying!  I think bullying is appalling and efforts to help curtail this in schools and workplaces etc. should be in full force.

I just don't get it ... how is it that when children are in school they face strict consequences when bullying takes place - yet, when they come home from school they strap those skates on and hit the ice to play hockey with physical contact in mind and having been given a license that says "I can now hit!"

I'm confused ... what does this do to a child?

Reminds me of that "joke" - 'I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out!'

I just don't get it!!!!!!!!!

Bless the Kourageous Kids!

Today is a very special day!

I am joining a group of ladies from our quilters' guild and we are travelling into Children's Hospital, Oncology Ward to present some pretty special kids with quilts with have made for them.  These children are super special as they have had or still are battling cancer.

The kiddies (ages all over the map and from little wee ones to 18 years of age) paint pictures.  Children's Hospital prints them up and turns them into calendars to raise money for research.  Our guild goes one step further and take the photos and turn them into art quilts and something the children can treasure.  Tonight we will be presenting our quilts to these dear kiddies.

This is my finished artwork.  The young lady whose name I chose loves to paint, so instead of making an actual quilt, I decided to turn Chelsey's picture into a piece of artwork from fabric that she can hang on her wall.  I hope she likes it.

I know it will be a very emotional evening and I have told myself that if these precious little ones can hold their head high and walk with a smile on their faces, that this lady can do at least that for them!

What will make this evening extra special for me is that my darling little granddaughter Lissy (age 12) will be coming with me.

We will top off our wonderful outing together with Lissy sleeping over at Nana and Poppa's house tonight and, of course, getting into some mischief in the quilt studio tomorrow before I have to take her back home.

God Bless these dear children!

Quiltin' With the Nine Patchers

I spent another fun and relaxing day yesterday with our little quilting group of ladies.  We actually do more yakking and eating than we do sewing!! LOL

I managed to get block 8 and 9 cut out for my Henrietta series from Bunny Hill.  I took all of the blocks in to show the gals yesterday and some of them want to start making it too.

I popped into Costco on the way home and bought Bill Bryson's latest book "At Home:  A Short History of Private Life"  I started to read it last night, and as with all of his wonderful books, it is hilarious!  This is the review given by the Washington Post with claims of it being the "best book of the year!"

"With his signature wit, charm, and seemingly limitless knowledge, Bill Bryson takes us on a room-by-room tour through his own house, using each room as a jumping off point into the vast history of the domestic artifacts we take for granted. As he takes us through the history of our modern comforts, Bryson demonstrates that whatever happens in the world eventually ends up in our home, in the paint, the pipes, the pillows, and every item of furniture. Bryson has one of the liveliest, most inquisitive minds on the planet, and his sheer prose fluency makes At Home one of the most entertaining books ever written about private life."

I popped over to daughter Jen's home after my trip to Costco and enjoyed a nice cup of tea and some very special loving from Mason, our little 1 1/2 year old grandson.  Such wonderful times!!  

Love that Costco but wonder if anyone has ever gone in there and just bought what they went in for?  I even bought our Christmas cards yesterday!!!! LOL

Another great day! :-)

Love is .........

I have just finished reading one of the most endearing and touching love stories of all times.

"Raising Susan" is about a man, a woman and their love for the creatures they chose to spend their life with ... birds.  Cecil Hyndman and his wife Adele lived a life no one else has ever attempted - in intimate contact with the creatures they so loved.  One bird in particular,- a golden eagle, stole their hearts and lived with them for 24 years.  What follows in this story is nothing short of amazing.  What makes this even more fascinating to read is that it takes place on our doorstep in beautiful British Columbia!

I stand in awe of people such as Cecil and Adele Hyndman who give so selflessly of themselves and live their lives with such passion for a cause!

There is nothing more important in life ... love is life itself - and this is a story about the deepest love one can feel for each other and these beautiful creatures we share this earth with.

This is a magnificent book.  It is called "Raising Susan - A Man, A Woman, and a Golden Eagle" and is written by Bill Burns.

A Great Day with A Great Friend

Spent today with my buddy, Joanne.  I felt like she gave me my own private little quilt show by showing me all of her wonderful quilts and embroidery.  What a talented lady - and what an inspiration she is!!!  I look forward to  sharing many more days like today with her.

Good friends are such a blessing! ;-)

A Nice Relaxing Sunday!

Today has been another awesome day!

This morning Gerry and I worked outside in the front garden blowing leaves and saying goodbye to all the beautiful flowers that graced the front of our house throughout the entire summer months.  We filled two huge garden waste bags.  There are at least another trillion leaves to come down off the trees outside yet, so this was the first of many leaf blowing days I am sure!

I spent the rest of the day in my quilt studio putting the finishing touches to a couple of near completed projects I had on the go.   I am never as relaxed as when I am playing in my studio ... well, unless it is playing with the grandkiddies, of course! ;-)

I have such a busy week ahead with Friday as the only day at home!  I'm not complaining as they are all fun things I have chosen to do with friends and family.  Tomorrow I am heading over to a dear friend's home for tea and a tour of her quilt studio.

I must get my mind around what project(s) I will be taking to our retreat ... I always have the best of intentions in working on my projects while at the retreat, but confess that there is so much laughter and fun around us all the time, that I never really come home having accomplished much except a tummy that hurts from laughing and fond memories of yet another wonderful retreat!

Life is grand !!!!!

What a Great Workshop!

Today I attended an all day workshop put on by our guild and taught by a fabulous quilt artist by the name of Donna Bray-Zakreski!  http://donnabrayzakreski.com/2008.html

WOW ... I learned so many new and wonderful techniques using paint, crayons and ink on fabric.  My head is swimming with information and I just want to run into my quilt studio and play, play, play!

There were 14 of us there and we had so much fun that we have decided to all meet again to play and share and show off what we are doing with our newly-found talents.  Now - the hard part trying to find a day that works well for everyone!! ;-)

When I arrived home, Gerry was cooking dinner ... thank goodness, because I feel pooped from laughing and just plain goofing around all day.  Don't get me wrong, I worked as hard as I played and learned so much from this workshop.  All of us at the workshop know each other and it was very relaxed and a wonderful day!

Tomorrow is Sunday and a whole day for me to play in my quilt studio which I am so looking forward to ... oh happy days!!