Better Late than Never!

While catching up with my blogging, I discovered this photo of Chloe, one of my grandnieces. Too much wedding, I guess. I was delighted to see that her mom captured several other moments at the wedding that we missed, including a picture of my sister (the MOB) and her hubby. If you're interested, you can check out Jill's blog. She has lots of other cute photos there of her two little ones.

I've been meaning to show this pattern and fabric which I received from last year's OPAM (See sidebar). Poor Kris had to send it twice which is why I am so late with the photo. Surely these items are among the most well-traveled objects in our house!

While we were gone, I received this award:


Thank you ,Charlene! It was sweet of you to think of me.
These are the rules I was given:

1. Thank the person who nominated you. √
2. Paste the award to your blog. √
3. Link to the person who nominated you. √
4. Tell 7 (6) unique things about yourself. √
5. Nominate 7 blogs and post links. √
6. Leave a comment on your nominated blogs to let them know. √

Seven Things You Might Not Know about Me:
1) I was born in Oklahoma, raised in Wisconsin, taught school in Colorado and California.
2) We have lived in this same house since 1977!
3) I love music and sing alto in our church choir.
4) I have way too many books and too much fabric and yarn.
5) I buy Girl Scout cookies every year.
6) I was an AmeriCorps member in 1994-95.
7) One of my grandmas lived to be 102!

In my blog travels, I have noticed that this award is making the rounds of cyberspace, so I am not going to nominate anyone. Rather, if you feel so inclined, accept it and fill us in on your secrets!

Mystery Solved

Recently our little garden fountain has been in total disarray. Every morning the spigot was lopsided and the stones were strewn every which way. I would carefully restore order only to find the same thing the next morning. Well, this morning the artful disarranger was caught in the act:


We used to have a birdbath, but it couldn't withstand these acrobatics. OK, I promise to fill "your" waterdish if you just please stay off my fountain!

On another note, Sharon gave me this award which I am supposed to pass on to five friends. This is always a difficult task, one with which I can't comply because I consider all of my visitors my friends. So if you wish to claim this award, feel free. Meanwhile, thank you, Sharon, for thinking of me. I hope we can soon meet in person!
Thank You, Sharon

Signs of Spring?

We've been seeing some interesting birds in our yard lately like this varied thrush. They are very shy and like to hide in the bushes, so Dick was lucky to get this shot.
Varied Thrush
Yesterday the bunnies were lined up, I think, waiting their turn to gnaw on the tulips. Today Dick put up a fence around the hostas which are just beginning to poke their heads out from beneath the dirt.
You're supposed to be decorating eggs, not eating tulips!
And then there was this guy (gal?) Beautiful they are, but oh so destructive! They can do amazing damage to your siding in no time at all. That beak must be two inches long. And yes, it's a member of the woodpecker family, a flicker.
Did you notice my feet?
On another note, Kris sent me these awards the other afternoon. Thanks so much. I enjoy following her blog, so you might want to check it out. I'm supposed to pass this on to 10 bloggers but find this a difficult task. So, if you're reading this consider yourself tagged, and pass it on if you wish.

Thanks again, Kris, you're a sweetie!

My new header is forsythia that I brought in the house and forced to bloom....spring, one way or another!

Two Awards and a MeMe

Yesterday I received the Proximity Award from Cheryl, a blogging friend from Wisconsin.

Here are the guidelines for this award:'This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers' aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes for self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!' So, with thanks to Cheryl, I am going to pass this along to the following people in far away places whose blogs I enjoy reading. Even though we're separated by many miles and we've never met face to face, we are blogging friends.
Kathy in Pennsylvania
Kris in Australia
Linda in England
Barbara in Germany and sometimes Sweden

In response to the same post I received the "Spreader of Love" award from Kathy. Thank you so much, Kathy!


As you may remember, she made me a beautiful Christmas pillow, and is herself quite a good "love-spreader!" There are a couple of people I'd like to pass this award on to as they have done special things for me that have brightened my days:
Susan, who introduced me to CQ and blogging
Pat, who shared Snowman Soup with David
Susan, who got me hooked on knitting mitts and loves to make handmade gifts
Cheryl, who lives in my home state

Way back in early December, Pat tagged me with this MeMe. Being a procrastinator at heart, and also deep in last minute holiday projects, I've waited till now to do this little task: 1. Link your blog to the person who tagged you. 2. Mention the rules. 3. Tell six quirky yet not boring, unspectacular details about yourself. 4. Tag five other bloggers by linking your blog to them, and lastly 5. Go to each person's blog and leave a comment for them. So here goes on the details and hopefully you'll not fall asleep reading them:
1. I spent seven summers in the woods as a Girl Scout camp counselor.
2. I love music and used to play the violin and piano; now I sing in our church choir.
3. Volunteering is another thing I enjoy. I was an AmeriCorp volunteer in 1994-95 and used my stipend to earn a UW certificate in Distant Learning Design and Development.
4. In addition to needlework, I am interested in genealogy.
5. I was born in Oklahoma, grew up in Wisconsin, lived in Colorado, and California but have lived here in Washinton state for over 30 years.
6. I LOVE cats.
Since this MeMe has made the rounds, I'm not going to tag anyone. However, if you read this post and are so inspired, you can do it, too. Have fun!

Bookworm Award

Kathy gave me a Bookworm award and guessed that the closest book to my computer would either be a knitting book or a children's book. Well.....it just so happened that she was almost correct. The mail, which I was opening, had just arrived and in it was a new (to me) Maggie Sefton knitting MYSTERY, A Killer Stitch, part of a newly discovered series I've been reading lately. As an added bonus, each book includes a knitting pattern and a recipe! As for the fifth sentence on page 56, it is: "Curt rested one leg on his knee." And he continues to say, "Kelly, I've decided to proceed with the same plan, only go a little slower. There's no need for us to sell what's left of the herd right away." To find out what in the world this has to do with knitting or a mystery, I guess you'll just have to take the plunge and read the book, too! And if you feel like participating in this challenge, go right ahead and grab the nearest book, check out page 56, and post the 5th sentence and a few of the following ones on YOUR blog.

And while you're doing that, I'm going to add a crazy photo we took last summer at Yellowstone. I'll bet you didn't know about this alien sighting!
Alien Sighting

Premio Award from Jane

Yesterday I received this award from Jane and am supposed to pass it on to seven people.

That's a tough decision, but here are the links of the folks I've chosen:
Crazy Quilting for Fun
Sewing Southpaw
Eles Kleine Wunderwelt
Kitty and Me Designs
Kathy's Crazy Moments
Allie's in Stitches
Wandering Rose

This is a small way to let you know how much I appreciate your blogs. It's a lot of fun as well as informative to have cyber-friends! Don't feel pressured, but if you wish, pass this award on to someone whose blog you enjoy reading.

The rules for receiving this award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.

Thanks again, Jane, for thinking of me; I really enjoy your blog, too!