Needles and Pens

... was a busy one! And since I've lapsed on my blogging once again, here's a little recap in pictures: My husband and I celebrated 25 years in June... Here we are, cutting the cake... Our daughters singing for us... Our parents... Our wedding party... And our own little family... The anniversary party was just the beginning. From there, it was a non-stop, go-go-go summer. There was Tim's piano recital... A trip to the zoo... A "new" car... "New" bikes, too... And a new puppy for Aaron... We watched the flowers bloom... Went tubing down the river... Watched a parade or two (that's Tim on the unicycle)... Took in some music (that's Emily on the stage)... And still found time for some good, old-fashioned summertime favorites, like popsicles... And the tire swing... Here's the one bit of sewing I did (a project almost too easy to count), some new window...

I woke up this morning with the overwhelming feeling that I have SO much to do in the next few weeks, how will I ever get it all done? It's a panicky feeling that just hits me every so often, generally first thing in the morning, and the only thing that calms me is to make a list and get all of those nasty little details out of my head and onto paper. So I did. And it helped. After all, I'm here writing, aren't I? The one thing I keep telling myself I have no time to do! Yesterday was my daughter's 19th birthday, and also marked the end of her 33rd week of pregnancy. I can hardly believe there are only seven more weeks until her due date. Of course, to her, time seems to be standing still. (Note the intensely forced smile that was preceded by, "Mom, stop taking pictures of me. I feel enormous!") She's nesting, which is hard to do when you don't have a home of your own. Much of my own to-do list involves helping her create a nest within a nest, in our p...

Second year, the clematis is thriving... A profusion of lilies... Purple Coneflowers... and the view from the chaise lounge... "All of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." ~ Dale Carnegie

...where I regain my sanity...

...now that this doggone grad quilt is done! And with a week to spare, too. ;o) One less thing on my mind today, and I can feel the relief. Whew! Nice to finally come up for air. I have one more quilt on my must-do list now, and it's in the planning stages -- a wedding gift for my niece's July wedding. Between now and then there's graduation, a grad party to throw, several more to attend, and a long-overdue family vacation scheduled. Better get going on that quilt... One of these days I may have time to blog again!

... until school's out for summer. I think we're down to 14 more days (excluding weekends), and I'm still racing to get my latest quilting projects finished up in time. Last night I put the final touches on this wallhanging for my youngest's fourth grade teacher: She is not only a wonderful teacher, but also the first to have taught all four of our kids, so I really wanted to do something special to say thank you from all of us. Hopefully, the kids will all be available on the last day of school to go and give it to her in person. Here's a photo of the label on the back, signed by each of the kids: Just about three weeks now until my daughter's graduation, and I have one more project to finish by then, her graduation quilt. She chose the fabrics for it two years ago, and I don't think she believes I'll actually get it done. lol But today I washed and ironed the fabrics and I'm all set to start cutting. I think I can, I think I can... etc., etc. Here...

This week's Photo Hunt theme is "party," and since my daughter will be graduating this year, I've had "graduation party" on my mind. There's so much planning and stress involved in planning a grad party, but when the day finally arrives, it's all worthwhile. Right about now, I need a reminder of that! This group is my son (in the middle) and some of his friends playing bocce ball at his grad party in 2006: Family and friends on the deck, enjoying the beautiful, sunny day: The younger crowd had a blast on the trampoline: A great time was had by all -- and yes, we can do it again!

When I heard that this week's Photo Hunt theme was " free ," these photos immediately came to mind. This is my son, several years ago, on a visit to my brother's and his wife's home in Illinois. They had an awesome setup with a platform to climb, a rope to swing on, and a huge pond for landing. It was big-time fun on a hot day! First, you had to work up the nerve to jump: But once you did let go, you never felt so free : Join the Photo Hunt !