Retirement, Oh Sweet Retirement!

It was a huge decision. I'm sure it is for most folks as they decide to retire. My husband retired on September 30 from John Deere. After 38 years with the company,

it still came as a difficult decision.

As he says, "The stars all lined up", so he took the plunge.

2 weeks later, we hit the road to celebrate. We wanted to follow old Route 66 to see the sites. We had watched several episodes of the old Route 66 series to "get us in the mood" and bought a few books to help us choose what sights to see along the way.

We backtracked a bit and started on Route 66 in Springfield, Illinois. Our stopping point would be Santa Fe, New Mexico.

We'd been to Santa Fe before, and we were looking

forward to another stay.

All together, we traveled over 3000 miles...

all with Miss Sophie in the back seat!

(Or on a lap.)

Following are some fun photos we took along the way. Enjoy!

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard in St. Louis, Missouri

Crap Duster in SW Missouri

Old Route 66  in SW Missouri (our Jeep in photo)

1898 Round Barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma

Stroud, Oklahoma...this made us laugh!

Somewhere along the way

Texas-sized waffles in Armadillo

Las Vegas, New Mexico...lost in time

Traveling is very tiring!

*Day 21 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

Practicing FMQ

I have great admiration for those who are skilled FMQers.

I have tried. Then tried some more.

It's far from what I'd like it to be.

Above is my practice "quilt" that I've tried out different stitches and designs. It ain't all pretty!

It's a simple sandwich using muslin on top and bottom and a sheet of felt in between. I just sewed along all 4 sides to keep the layers together.  I'm not sure of the size, but it's very easy to handle and can hold a lot of "testing".

 

I don't think I'll ever attempt the classic FMQ "feathers".

I can barely handle the simple meandering design!

I'd rather meander through a fabric shop, or even along the beach. I find it stressful...the FMQ kind.

Miss Sophie doesn't give a hoot about Free Motion Quilting.

I need to be more like her and just relax.

*Day 20 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

Heartbreak

My heart is broken for a dear friend. Yesterday, she received news that her daughter, her son-in-law and their 3 children were in a car accident. The car they were driving hit a patch of ice and was not able to stop at a stop sign. The car continued on into the path of a semi-truck. The two youngest children were killed. They were only 7 and 8 years old. The mother, my friend's daughter, is in critical condition, the father has many broken bones and the oldest child is now in stable condition.

My friend is a wonderful 5th grade teacher and she is one of the most faithful Christians I have ever met. She will be leaning on God for quite a while to get through this, as she adored those children. I will be covering her class the rest of this week as a substitute teacher. Being in her class to help is the only thing I can do for her right now. Along with sending prayers.

If you feel moved to pray for this family, please know that they will be very much appreciated.



Hug the ones you love and share your love!

Picture This! Sunday

I finished my Scrappy Picnic Plaid Quilt yesterday.
All it needs is a label and gift wrap.
And a kid wrapped in it.
A big kid! 

We bundled up for a photo shoot today in -2 degree weather. A fresh snow cover provided a great base! 

See those small blue squares here and there in the quilt?
They are cut from my son's favorite shirt that he gave me over the summer.
His dog thought it was a chew toy.
My son thought maybe I "could make something with it".
So I used one sleeve.

It's not perfect. No zooming in allowed.

Extra blocks were used on the back.


Just 3 strips of the colored fabric was added to the binding for extra pizzazz. Who doesn't like pizzazz?

Seeing the backing fabric from a distance really gives it a different look.

My husband is such a good egg. He deserves to warm up with a pretty quilt!

Linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal December Finish

*Day 18 of the 31 Day Blogging Challenge

Binding Day

Today was all about the binding for the Scrappy Picnic Plaid Quilt. This was the last day to post photos of the finished quilt on Instagram for the challenge. Sure, I could drag it out and finish it later, but it still had to be wrapped for Christmas for a special kid of mine.

I like a scrappy binding, especially on a scrappy quilt. I wanted to use just 3 colored fabrics with a white piece to separate them. The majority would be the same as the backing--the black/gray/white.

Binding is so pretty all rolled up, isn't it?

Reminds me of a sushi roll.

Only I don't like sushi rolls.

I was sweating this job out trying to get it done!

No laundry, no cooking, no chasing the dog today. I had to get this crossed off my list!

I've machine-stitched binding onto the back before, but haven't been real happy with it.

This time, I parked myself in front of the fireplace and TV

to sew this baby on. Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers kept me

                                                        entertained...such funny movies!

I like to cut my binding strips 3" wide. That gives me plenty of room to play with and fold over.

Enjoying the fire and a good movie on a snowy, cold December day.

Stay tuned for photos tomorrow of the finished quilt! Yahoo!

*Day 17 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge

One Wish

A few of my friends posted this on facebook this week.
I don't believe it is original to any of them. Maybe you've seen it on your fb feed too.

This is just so touching and so beautiful.
It's worth sharing.

"My children ask me the same question each year. After thinking about it, I decided I'd give them my real answer:

What do I want for Christmas? I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to bring your kids around, I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries, your kids, your fur babies. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don't care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.

I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how, and I'm not bragging, but I did a pretty darn good job. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work, I'm pretty proud of it.
Raid my refrigerator, help yourself, I really don't mind. In fact, I wouldn't want it any other way.
I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family, I have all the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Christmas, I say "nothing" because you've already been giving me my gift all year. I want you."

This could have been written by any mother, anywhere!

Beautiful, isn't it?

*Day 16 of the 31 Days of Blogging Challenge....officially over-the-hump!

Are You a No-Reply Blogger? Let's Fix That!

As you may know, last week this blog was one of many  who were involved with the Sew Mama Sew giveaways. (Debbie M. was the lucky winner.)

As I read every comment, I would then click on the name to see if that person had an email listed.

I wish I had kept track, but LOTS of folks didn't!!

A few years ago, I won a prize on a blog, but unknowingly, I was one of the no-reply bloggers.

The wonderful woman who hosted the giveaway tracked me down on Google+

and wrote a message to me. I looked around on the we for a tutorial to fix it.

I've never had a problem since! (See links below)

• What is a No-Reply Blogger?

A no-reply blogger is someone that writes a comment on a blog, but doesn't have their email address linked to their account. It doesn't even matter if you don't have a blog, but the term stays the same.

• How do I know if I'm a No-Reply Blogger?

Click and follow the links below to find out. If you're still confused, comment here, include your email and I will check for you through your name on the comment. Easy peasy!

• Why does it matter...who cares?

It may not matter if you don't care to have the blogger respond to you personally. It may matter more if you want to win a prize because you DO WANT to be responded to personally!

• OK, so how can this be fixed?

I fixed my problem by following this tutorial:

Fix for No-Reply Bloggers on *Blogger* by Erin at Sew At Home Mummy

Erin has given me permission to link back to her blog. Check around there and find great ideas!

If you have Google+, this is another great tutorial:

3 Fixes for No-Reply Bloggers by Venus Trapped in Mars

Any questions, ask away! I don't want anyone missing out on any future prizes or comments!


*Day 15 of 31 Days of Blogging Challenge