The Loves of my Life

My grandsons Owen and Ayden…someone captured this wonderful pic at a recent wedding they attended. This is so like them….Ayden in awe and Owen …well that’s just Owen!

The Joys of Motherhood

So in the spring Dear Hubby and I upgraded our phones to I Phones. After much a-do about costs, a few arguments, and Dear Hubby's final comment " I'm the only guy at hockey who has an archaic phone held together by duck tape!" I gave in.
It seems that we were entitled to a free upgrade and the costs ended up just about the same. After all that hula baloo ....I absolutely love my phone.
It was not without a few trials and tribulations though as you can see from our son's post to facebook.

I had to get my daughter to send me a copy of this as the little darling bastard  has us blocked on Facebook!

So this is what retirement looks like?

You would never know that I'm supposedly retired. I reviewed the listing of the upcoming classes I'm teaching at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. for the spring session....OMG. I worked full time for a financial institution for 33 years and retired about 4 years ago. I've been teaching a few classes in the evenings periodically for the last few years at the local quilt store, more for the social aspect, than anything else. in reality it was to escape from Dear Hubby who is also retired. 

Look at the projects that I am working on getting samples completed for _*(@_*!_$*!_($+! and that's only the ones I don't have samples for. No wonder I fall into bed exhausted each night. 

Speaking of each night....I give Dear mom a call each evening...we joke that it's just to make sure she is still breathing. Truth be it, it's not a joke, it's the reality...she's 88 and I'm checking in to make sure all's good. So tonight I call and we get on the subject of Christmas and how wonderful everything, and everyone was. She asks me about the gift card that Dear daughter had given her and she doesn't know what the card is for? She says it says JC on it and she's never heard of that. 

In my mind I'm thinking..JC JC JC...."mom what else does the card say on it" ..."it says this gift card is not a credit or debit card but constitutes a prepayment on the cost of purchases at participating stores, No cash back for unused balance. Card balance will be printed on your receipt at each use. Or ask at customer service desk or by calling 1-866-443-8422. Receipt required for returns of purchases made with card. Redeemable for anything at participating stores. Card cannot be used at third party businesses in participating stores or prohibited by law. Void if altered, damaged or defaced"....OMG "No Mom, what does it look like, what's on the front"....."well there's a picture of cookies and it says A Gift for you and that JC thing"......then it hits me....it's not JC it's PC.....President's Choice! *)_)*_)&!*+!*$+!)($..."OK Mom it's to PC, you know Presidents Choice, the Superstore"...."Oh, now I see it's PC...can I use it at Sobey's"...._(!_$(|_(+|(@!+$(!+($+!_(@+$(!+@_($+!(+ 

God help me!

In the next breath she tells me that they had big boxes of teabags on for 4.99 a box. She picked up 2 as that's a really good deal. She kept her receipt and she checked it when she got home to find the girls charged her $4.99 for one and $10.99 for the other. She says she always checks her receipt as they are always overcharging. She checked the flyer and it doesn't say that there is a limit as to how many you can buy at 4.99, so tomorrow she's taking the receipt, the flyer and the 2 boxes of teabags back to have them fix it! 

I have a feeling somebody's getting an ass kicking tomorrow!

Bless her heart.

Special Wedding Video

I thought I would share Dear Hubby's special Father Daughter Dance with Dear Eldest Daughter. They practised for hours and it was kept under wraps from everyone including the groom until they performed it. Wonderful memories to look back on over the years.
You can find the link here
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-di3eV24qj4
Enjoy.

Ghostly cute!

My Son in law’s sister just had a little girl and I made a few things for the new addition, Macy. I had this little ghostly trick or treat applique  in my stash for …forever. I found  a super cute black onesie and the cutest black polka dot leggings to go with it. Just a simple iron on applique and it’s the cutest outfit ever….Gosh I wish I had grand-daughters.

Retirement eh?

Last night, middle of the night, 2:30am,  I hear Dear Hubby up for a bathroom break. Usually he is right back to bed, however not this night, I hear him doing the shuffle. Into the  living room, to look out the window, down the hall, to check the room for evidence and back into the kitchen, to contemplate. I know exactly what he's doing, he's done it with all our kids, he's checking. Checking to make sure they are nestled all snug in their beds. I know one of them is not... as he is not back in bed. I get up. He's in front of the computer and getting ready to send an e-mail, when I say...
"Don't send it that way, he won't answer that. I'll send a text on my phone." They are more likely to respond to me than their dad, it's just the way it is. Dear Hubby is a retired police officer so keeping tabs on kids and worrying more than normal is just his second nature, regardless that he is retired. When I nag about his nagging the kids, his first response is always, ..."if you'd seen the things that I've seen".
I haven't, so I can't quite comprehend his thought process.
"I've sent it, he'll answer, come back to bed." So we're back in bed, the room is dark, except for the glow from my IPhone. We are listening and waiting. Now I'm starting to worry, thinking all the worst case scenario tragedies. Dear Eldest son has a motorcycle, a parent's worst nightmare. He is a very responsible 26 year old, a good head on his shoulder, bought the bike to save money during the summer months driving to work. I remember when he bought the bike, I hit the roof. I yelled told him..."Oh that's going to be a nice way for dad and I to spend our retirement, visiting you at the nursing home and feeding our vegetable every lunchtime." I can get nasty when I need to...maybe it was a little extreme.
As I am imagining horrid things, I hear a noise, then another. I nudge Dear Hubby "did you hear that?"... "Ya, he's home".
I roll over and proceed to finish my restful sleep. After what seems like about 10 minutes, I still hear noises and nudge Dear Hubby again. " Are you sure that was him?".... "Yes I saw the car".... " The car?, I thought he took his bike?".... "It's Nick".... "Nick ....  )(*_!*#!)*#_*&_$&_)"
Here I thought it was the Dear Eldest Son, MIA when it's the Sweet Youngest Son causing havoc with our sleep patterns! He's 20, he's was driving my car! He's dead meat!  3 AM! Plus I sent a weird text to the oldest son in error! Just wait til I get up in the morning!
So now I'm laying there, wide awake. Dear Hubby is already gone and snoring as usual and the dog, at the bottom of the bed, is proceeding with a doggie nightmare. Both of them are back and forth...a snore, a whimper, a louder snore, a soft doggie bark, then all hell breaks loose and it's like I'm in an opera house listening to Beethoven's 5th with full orchestra. The dog is quietly barking in his sleep and Dear hubby is in full snore mode. The both reach a climactic crescendo at the same time and the whole room quietens.
As I lay there, wondering how the hell I got here, unable to doze off, a few thoughts come to mind.....

Do you know that 80% of women whose husbands snore, consider assisted suicide For their spouses.

Dearest Sweet Youngest son is getting THE talk tomorrow...The keep your pecker in your pants talk. The one that stresses condoms, safe sex, and the burden of children. We haven't had that talk in a while, so timing seems perfect. Why else would he be out til 3 in the morning, he's the good child that only does work, the Y, and school. Obviously there is a female involved at 3 in the morning. I usually add in a few extras about sexually transmitted diseases that cause the male important parts to swell up, shrivel down and then fall off...just for the visual, scare the hell out of him talk. Then I go on to the touch the heart saga..."Nice girls wait until marriage and you want to make sure you bring a nice girl home to meet your Mom."  Plus I add in that I don't want any more grandchildren ever in the near future, we want to enjoy just the 2 we have. Which is sort of the truth. 

Which brings me to thoughts of grandkids, God bless their little holy terror hearts. They are coming tomorrow for 3 days, including overnights, as Dear Youngest daughter is on shift and we  I agreed to help out .
I'm envisioning how I might  get even a little quilting done with a 2 and 4 year old in the house. There are no nap times as the littlest holy terror  one will be up til 11 at night if he naps...trust me, we've been witness to the exorcism. I would rather not lay him down in the afternoon than go through what transpires in the evenings. So, no nappie, but 7 o'clock bedtime...awesome. More random thoughts are going through my head as to how I could steal away a few minutes to get in front of the sewing machine, but I envision the 4 year old blabbing to his mother when she picks them up that he didn't like Nana's game, of being tied up and gagged. The younger hellion  one would be no problem as you can't quite understand what he is saying yet. Oh...bad Nana, bad Nana...sounds like banana. Works for me.

My thoughts wander to Mmmmm. What about supper. I think that recipe for the Greek meatloaf will be quite tasty tomorrow night....served in Gyro's with tzatziki sauce. I love to try new things and it looked so delicious in the book. I can imagine how impressed Dear Hubby will be...he loves lamb and Greek food...When I ask he'll probably say something like...."It was OK, but don't make it again" ...translation to English...Stick to your regulars and don't make that _ _ _ _ again. 

So this is what retirement looks like, I really can't see anything, it's pitch black in the room....no wonder I have difficulty carving out time to quilt....2 of 4 kids still at home, sleep deprivation, meal planning 101, sex therapy discussions, time management issues, nanny daycare and the list goes on and on....I'm so tired

Then there is the text that was sent at 3 in the morning....I'm trying to think of a good explanation as to what the text "R U OK" at 3 in the morning to Dear Eldest Son means when he asks....I think I can get away with ..."Son, it was just a random thought I wanted to share with you. It's an acronym for 
retirement... useless... overrated, kiddo."  

It's now 4am...I might as well get up and quilt!

Hope

Hope…that’s what I’m hanging on to. My niece Tammy is struggling with cancer and you have to hang onto something to get you through.

I sewed this little pre-printed block into a decorator pillow and sent it off to my niece to brighten her spirits.

Hope, prayers and thoughts…all the time Tammy.

Domesticated Diva

Ok, What just happened!……she went from this to this in 6 short weeks…OMG…where’s my daughter and what have you done with her. I knew she was flying the coop…but this is ridiculous.

I thought it was sweet that her fiancé ‘s gift to his bride on the wedding day was a chicken coup and a gift certificate for 5 chickens…he had mentioned free eggs, so I was all ears.  I didn’t realize that it would be at the expense of my daughter’s diva-ness. First he buys her a house in the country on 3 acres, then the chicken coup and the chicks, today we were there for dinner and she mentions a goat…
I said I was a vegetarian, she said not for dinner, for cheese. She says she’ll get a female as she read that the males are more hostile. Where the hell do you read this kind of stuff, surely not on the Kindle I bought you for Christmas. Her favourite books used to be along the lines of 50 Shades of Grey….now the only thing that resembles that is color of my hair. Good lord! The highlight of her evening was showing us the chicks!

Plus she has them all named…..Chicken Nugget, Minnie Mouse, Twinkie, Georgia, Marg, and Little Jerry Seinfeld is the rooster. These aren't chickens...these are pets!
I don’t mean to be a mother hen, and to say something would be like walking on eggshells, but  what just happened here.
We were promptly asked to l leave when Dear Hubby suggested that they have us over for chicken wings in a few weeks.

Little Distractions

Of mammoth proportions…
Vintage Tin Cans

Reception Table Display including blackboard frame, escort cards on shutter display and typewriter thank you note.

Card suitcase, and Mr. and Mrs. display.

Reception table display with guest book alternative using vintage postcards.

Did I mention we had a candy table, complete with tractor. Dear new son in law made the display to resemble a farm cart that would be pulled behind a tractor…..too cute!

Their signature drink was a hypnotica martini, and we shared wedding photos of parents and grandparents.

Thank you for your patience while I took a hiatus…looking back it’s a wonder I even returned!

Distraction with a capital D

And the saga continues….now you're getting the picture of why there were no blog posts….I barely had time for sleep let alone sharing in blog land.

The cake was my favourite creations…. Dear Eldest daughter wanted vintage so she got vintage. Four tiers all iced with royal icing, complete with a bird cage and white porcelain doves. Something  to tweet about for sure.

How about adding 200 customized wedding menu cards, and 200 crafted chocolate filled (sour cream shaped) containers thanking guests for coming. These little cuties were filled with a single Baci love note chocolate…how appropriate.  Every detail was perfect for the perfect couple.

Driven to Distraction

You can quickly see why nothing got done over the past few months….

I worked for months on creating the perfect vintage table displays for the wedding. Vases trimmed in antique lace filled with spring bouquets, antiqued books, and vintage dollies.
Do you know how long it takes to collect enough props for 23 tables….Forever!

There were about 70 books that I specifically searched for in the colors of grey, aqua and cream. Then they were sanded down, then antiqued using ink pads. Three were tied together with ribbon, then a vintage tag and skeleton key added.

Then I had the brainy idea to do the floral arrangements myself as well…..80 boxes of fresh cut flowers arrived the day before the wedding. I had a ton of help from my wonderful family…Dear Old Mom cleaned the greenery and cut the hydrangea to size, Dear Youngest Daughter cleaned the thorns and leaves off  hundreds of roses, a very pregnant niece, helped arrange the displays and Dear Hubby asked what was for lunch_)(!#(#&_!(#_*##).

Further Distractions

Did I mention I made my daughter’s bouquet?

Dear Eldest Daughter requested a brooch bouquet. We collected her favourite pieces for months on end and then paired them with off white silk peonies. We had her favourites….a K for Kyle, a blue Eiffel tower(as she needed something blue), a classic high heeled shoe, and her favourite…her westie. I even hand sewed bling letters onto the handle which spelled  “I DO”.

The wedding invitations were crafted from the bride and groom’s suggestions and the church programs included their engagement picture.  If I see another paper cutter, it will be too soon.

Dear Eldest Daughter looked amazing in her classic, traditional wedding gown. She was adamant that she did not want a strapless and her choice looked stunning on her.  We had a beautiful sunny day, even after days of threatening weather.

I love this picture of her just about to leave for the church…angelic, which I can guarantee you she is not…remember the church pew bows story!…..they look no worse for wear.