It is pronounced: Paff-ee-oh-ped-di-lum.  And that is also posted here for practice.

Orchids.  :)   This one is also known as Lady Slipper.   My plant has 4 HUGE blooms this year.  The book says they’ll last about 3 months.  They are as fresh & shiny as day 1.  They bloomed just after New Year’s.   The leaves are about 1″ wide… these blooms are about 4″ across.

This is one of the 3 plants that Phil’s uncle gave me for Christmas 2010.  I feel a tad “accomplished” that I got this one to bloom all by myself.  However, I do admit to two non-blooming plants.  :\

Paff-ee-oh-ped-di-lum.  Practice.  I need more.

So… I talked with the other local daughter-in-law (Kris) and we planned a joint birthday party for them.  Both wives had told me that neither one wanted a party! Well, Kris & I figured we didn’t always have to listen to them anymore.  :)    I had a wrong number for her so the planning had a late start.

But once I called the center back for rental space, the date that was open worked well for another sibling coming from a few hours away so all was fine.   Phil’s sister wasn’t able to make the long trip and neither was one of the sons from the other family.   We missed them and others asked about them but we totally understood!

I put this in the local paper for advertising.  We also sent invites to their churches.

It is times like this I really wish there were digital cameras back 80 years ago and we had photos of them playing together!

They attended the one-room school near here together.  Their family farms are just 1 mile apart, the way a crow flies.  As adults, they helped each other with farming back & forth.  They were in each other’s weddings.  And then they even had their heart surgeries 6 months apart!  They each needed different help but the buddy was a great chauffeur in those first few weeks of lots of check-ups and therapies.   Now they are walking buddies keeping each other in good health.  They live on the same road so have a system of meeting up and walking together.   Their friendship is quite cute and we thought it fitting that they commiserate over their birthdays together as well!

(We all think it helped the other swallow the party idea, knowing the buddy would be there too!)

I don’t have a number of how many showed up midst cold wind & drizzle but it had the men greeting visitors constantly for the whole 2 hours.  They loved it!!  :)

(I was busy keeping the food table stocked but got in a bit of visiting as well.   But only this one photo during the party!)

Of course, I’m always happy for another photo of my kids!  K was just home for a bit that day but we all were so thrilled she had come.  And then I was glad to get a family photo by Phil’s cousin.

I’m excited to have this done!  The piecing got a bit tedious and boring so I took this to our sewing days in October, November, and December!  Whew!!  Now if we get a non-snowy weekend yet this month, I can start a new project!!  ;)

Monday night I helped with the guild program on how to take your quilt to your long-arm quilter.   I didn’t have anyone there to be my photographer but I do have some photos from show & tell.  (The guts of the program will be in my brochure and on my business site…. later.  :)   Those were my thoughts to include there but I just hadn’t stopped to write it out!)  I feel like I made some good contacts as well.

I missed the whole story to this 1930′s quilt but somehow (easily) she got the top and then finished it.

Lynda had finished her Round Robin and I had helped on this one so it was great to see!

Ann completed these lovely trees!

The committee showed the group the completed raffle quilt so now the ticket committee can get to work!  Yeah – they loved it!!  :)

IRL, I finished a customer quilt and the tshirt quilt is loaded.  I hope to get a lot of the quilting done on that this weekend.  We are forecast to get a LOAD of snow tomorrow so at least one day (probably Saturday too) will be good days at home.

I’m only this far –

I have this bottom corner to go yet and so far only have one partial seam!  :)

In between Christmas & New Year’s we had new bedroom windows put in.  During part of that cleaning process (yes, Mom there IS carpet in my room!!  I found it!    ), I found some of those 3′ sparklers hiding.   With our mild January days, JP lit them outside a few nights.  They’ve lost some umpf but are OK on a boring night.  Especially if you are a fire-bug.

Yesterday I brought home my machine from its spa days.  I was helping Phil carry it down to the studio and missed a step or stumbled or something.  :(   The machine is just fine as it was packed in the 3′ box with 6″ of molded styrofoam on every side.   Me, not so packed.

My right ankle turned and I sort of just crumbled with the machine in the middle and steps on the bottom.    Even my ears hurt last night.

I’m just home from the chiropractor this morning and even though it is only 18′ F outside, I have an ice pack on my back.  :\   Rest & ice and a return appointment on Saturday were the instructions.

So much for getting that quilt finished and loaded.  I’ll probably get in some more piecing later.

However, “Phil’s dog” (aka Nina) puked on the basement landing just before I headed to the chiro and he is not here to clean it up RIGHT. NOW.  This means the trip to the basement has lost a bit of appeal for the time being.   There is a newspaper cover in place.

Snow started about 6:30 a.m. (according to JP; I was still in bed!).  It is fine and light.  It is only sticking to the roads from the rest area on to the east.  How odd is that?  I’m staying in!

Today I pieced squares into strips and attached to the tshirts.  This is starting at the upper left corner.  There is another section that goes right below this of 4 shirts that I’m going to do next.  After a nap.  ;)

See the small x fabric across the top, 3rd from the left?  That will be the outer border fabric.  And there is extra pink fabric if a narrow border is needed first.

Don’t forget to NOT let your iron touch these gooey designs.  :D

ETA:

A 1/2 hr nap + 45 mins of sewing =

Last week I sorted, interfaced, and trimmed shirts.  I found fabric I wanted to use online in lieu of an hour each way trip to peruse 4 “local” quilt shops.

Now I wish I would have taken a photo of the around 30 shirts in a BIG pile just taking up space and not being enjoyed.  You imagine that in your mind.

This collage shows some of the steps I take in getting the design to a size I can work with.

I make a master list of shirt designs (on some shirts I can use front and back and/or sleeve designs) with a color reference, the size and orientation of the final design, and a number.    I cut little templates and then glue them to a new page for how I’ll lay them out in the quilt.

Even tho I check my templates twice, I still laid the shirts out on the floor in about the same layout and checked that everything was oriented the correct way.

My favorite shirt of hers in this is the white VBS shirt.  It is signed by a lot of church friends, including JP.  So fun to save those memories!

The fill-in fabrics arrived on Tuesday instead of the estimated Thursday!  :)  When does that ever happen?!

I HIGHLY recommend the pattern by Yellow Creek Quilt Designs if you want to make your own quilt.  Or if you don’t, you know you can contact me getting the quilt made.  :)

Phil & his sister

Every year their mom gives them an antique something and attaches the related story. This year - oil lamps.

Sorry this is a bit blurry but I loved that I caught all of them in such laughter!

I just have to show you the shirt K gave to JP for Christmas! He wore it for work this day and his boss loved showing customers as they were there to fix something. Quite appropriate!!

Part of my gifts included a big box of feedsack fabrics from MIL!!  WooHoo!!

Oh yes, 34 feedsacks.  Many are still sewn as sacks and most have at least 2 in the set.  You can see the pile of orange & blue stripes and turquoise stripes!  I think it was a family of boys!!  They are laiden with the fragrance of moth balls so I either need to wash or air out before I use them much.  First project is using some for a border on a bow-tie quilt made of what I think are feedsack fabrics.   And do you think every room in my house should have turquoise striped curtains?  hahaha!

~~~

I sure liked the Sunday holidays once I knew Miss K would get those Mondays off!  What fun to have her here 2 weekends in a row for 2 days.  :)    (After having a female presence in the home all those years, except for 16 – 18 , it is hard just living with men all the time.  It is so delightful when she is home with me!)

On her way home Saturday night, we coordinated times for pizza ordering.  I called and ordered and she picked it up on her way.  :)  After supper and letting her catch her breath as well as K getting to open her Christmas presents from Phil’s side, we went to Phil’s parents as his sister & family were leaving in the morning.  JP was at church drumming for the weekend.

We just chatted a bit; no more photos.  No one stayed up until midnight for the new year.  K was exhausted from work and her cold, JP had to be up early for church the next day, and Phil  & I just headed to bed before midnight as usual on any other night.

On Sunday, we headed to church for late service.  Afterwards, we met up with JP and all went to have dinner at the local Mexican restaurant.  It was good… until it processed on Monday.  But I’ll probably try it again.  Why can’t American restaurants address me “ma’am” as nicely as the Mexican restaurant addresses me as “senora”?

The kids rode home together and Phil & I drove through car lots as his work truck just rolled over and d i e d  the other day.  :(  No warning.  He was told by our 2 trusted mechanics to “go shopping”.

On Monday, after both kids got to sleep-in on their day off  :) , K  & I had cooking day again!!  It is fun to work together and she gets meals for the week (and more).   This week we made Chicken Tortilla Soup, Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Stuffed Hamburgers, and Stuffed Mushrooms.   Nice theme there, K!  The mushrooms were an afternoon snack in lieu of New Year’s Eve snack since no one had the energy to cook that night.

After naps (or a nap attempt by me), we finished and packaged her food.  I embroidered a label quickly for one of her hats.  Thankfully, she isn’t picky and easily pleased in that realm.

She headed back just after 5 and I worked on loading a quilt and keeping the couch company.  :yawn:  I think I got a small nap in finally!

The official name & recipe:

Green Bean Dish

1 1/2 pounds french-style green beans

8 slices bacon

1 cup sweet onion (OK to use green onions = less sugars)

2/3 c heavy cream

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp pepper

4 heaping tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (the real stuff!!)

2 tablespoons butter

Bring a pot of water to boil, add beans, and simmer until just barely tender.  Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.

Fry bacon until browned.  Set aside to drain on paper towels.  When bacon is cooled, break up into half-inch pieces.  Saute onions in bacon grease until tender and then drain off grease.

Put beans along with onions and bacon in a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.  Add spices to cream and pour over bean mixture.  Top with parmesan cheese and dot with butter.  Bake at 350′ F until lightly browned, about 20 – 25 minutes.

My notes:

• I cut the raw bacon up with scissors and cook it ahead of time.  Then I just put in a few handfuls or whatever looks good at the moment.  Then I saute the onions in some olive oil so they are ready to use.
• The onions are optional but we like them.   Bacon is not optional in this house!  ;)
• I’d suggest mixing the beans, onions, bacon, seasonings, and cream in a bowl so the seasonings get well mixed.  Then pour into a casserole dish, sprinkle with cheese and dot with butter.  You can also stir all that into the bowl together.
• This works to assemble the day ahead and bake when you are ready.

Once I was home mid-afternoon on Thursday (from swim & errands), I cleaned the house to the point that we’d only need to do quick swipes on the weekend.  Friday was my side dishes cooking day (mashed pots, butternut squash, green bean dish (no carb casserole), and marinated vegetables) and Saturday was my dessert & breads cooking day (homemade crescent rolls, cinnamon rolls, peach berry pie, and apple pie). Both days worked well!!  :)

I was THRILLED when K called at 1:40 on Saturday that she was nearing the toll road for home!  The business was open until 4 but in a Christmas miracle (from the Jewish boss) she was allowed to leave that early.  JOY!!  She was home at 4, we unloaded her, and then all of us together went to church.  I don’t know when it was that the 4 of us rode together someplace.  JP was off of music duty for the weekend.

Sunday was leisurely (joy of adult kids).  I got the turkey in the oven and then we opened gifts.

K got an assortment of small gifts: hat blocks, I-tunes card, design & inspiration books while JP got a joystick for his IPod Touch and a very cool leather motorcycle jacket!!  (Nina got a new rope with balls attached.  She likes it but only if someone plays with her.)

Phil chose a new TV antenna and I picked out the AccuQuilt cutting system.  We both added other surprise gifts for each other.

Dinner was scheduled for 1:00 with Phil’s parents, his maternal uncle & aunt, cousin, wife, and 2 toddlers.  What fun we had!  K was in charge of decorating the tables and she knocked it out of the ball park!  I was thrilled and have the leftovers to still enjoy.     We had a buffet table in the kitchen that was also decorated.  (of course, it was even better with the candles lit)

After eating, Phil brought a 2-day old pig up for the cousins to see.

And then the 3 yr old (older one) entertained us with an on-the-spot story about his new pirate ship.   What a gem!!

I’m a newbie at videos so I’m sorry you have to tilt your head.  :D

Phil’s uncle is the orchid expert and brought me a new variety to add to my collection.  I now have 4 different kinds!!  :)  They all bloom at different times so that spreads the fun over nearly the whole year now.

From looking in the gigantic orchid book they also brought me, I think the new plant is Oncidium Alliance but there are a few others that look sort of like it too.   This is the end of its blooming time and I didn’t get a photo of the blooms first. The plant had 3 large sprays of mini blooms in light lavender w/ yellow centers.   Each bloom was only like the tip of my pinky finger.  Mini!

Again thankful that K had Monday off, we enjoyed us being here Sunday evening.  K & I made 3 kinds of soup on Monday and froze most of it in flat bags for her to take home.  We made Wisconsin Cheddar, French Onion, and Cream of Zucchini.  All were so yummy!!

I’ve spent this inbetween week finishing some quilts, continuing on others, and starting some others!  I’ll keep you posted!  For now, it is time for  another wonderful weekend with both kids.  ♥