BOOK GIVEAWAY

I love books and Molly is giving away a great sounding book on her Molly's A Bookworm site. Go to her site for all the information and her book review.

You have until May 31 to get your name in.

Happy Mother's Day

Mothers: Every Year is Their Year

author unknown (adapted by various persons)

This blessing is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

This blessing is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they may never see. And the mothers who took those babies -- forever to be their own children.

This blessing is for all the mothers who attended ball games, recitals, rehearsals, etc., etc. and who said "I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and meant it.

This blessing is for all the mothers of Kosovo who fled in the night and can't find their children or can't feed their children.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Firmness? A soft lap?

 Or is mothering what is in her heart?

Is it the ache she feels when she watches her child disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2a.m., to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she hears news of a school shooting, a fire, a car accident, a baby dying?

Yes it is so.

So this blessing is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to but just couldn't.

This blessing is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store with frustration and despair.

This blessing is for the mothers who show up at work with milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

This blessing is for all mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to speak up with pride.

This blessing is for mothers who put pinwheels, teddy bears, or flowers on their children's graves.

This blessing is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who haven't the words to reach them, and yet have never put them from their heart.

This blessing is for new mothers stumbling through diaer changes and sleep depriviation. And mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. And women who became mom's by the choice of children who were lost, or by virtue of accident or being in the right place at the right time. And for grandmothers, great grandmothers, wise elders and matriarchs.

And this blessing is for all of us who will move beyond sentiment into actions which support mothers and mothering persons in all their life-giving and life-nurturing roles.

Gifts of Grace Block 3

When I first saw this I thought it would be my least favorite but now that it's done I believe it is my favorite so far. Maybe it's the colours. I didn't do the beads this time. I think I'll wait til the end. I have other hand stitching projects I'm working on so limited time.

The bazzar on Saturday was great. We did a booming buisiness with the coffee and muffins and with hot dogs. I think it will become a staple of our bazaars. We could have used more help. I was exhausted by the time I got home and actually missed Church on Sunday morning. I get so tired it's really annoying. They also had a hit the minister in the face with a wet sponge event and raised $62 *LOL*

I usually go to the bazaars but don't get so personally involved. It surprised and gladened me to see so many members just come and hang out for the day and drink coffee and visit. At $1 for a bottemless cup of coffee it was the best deal in town. It was fun having friends around all day.

I've had these odd things growing in my deck planters all winter. I thought they looked like Snap Dragons but that's not possible is it? Survive over the winter? Well, guess what?

They ARE snapdragons. The only thing I can think of is it has been a mild enough winter aside from the cold winds, but these were behind the barbeque out of the wind and next to the wall where the fireplace is so maybe it was sheltered and warm enough of them to survive. I've had a few seed themselves before but they usually don't appear until the weather warms up more the end of May.

Have a great day everyone.

Muffins Anyone?

And now for something completely different. I seem to have suffered a Nintendo injury. I sat on the couch with my feet under me too long yesterday and I strained a muscle in my side trying to outwit those stupid blocks that were trying to crush me. I tend to get my whole body into these things.

So this morning I woke up with a sharp pain in my left side. It's kind of like the time I went to my chiropractor and he asked how my neck got so out of whack. I told him it was a reading injury.  If I get reading a good book I can be there for hours with my neck is in the same position and it stains it. Chiropractors are great, he did solve some long standing back issues but I no longer go to one cause at my age my bones are getting brittle and I really don't want anyone adjusting them. They're find and dandy right where they are.

Anyway, so what else can I do today. I have housework and yardwork that needs doing but nah.. don't feel like doing that. Then I thought I could make muffins, that's easy. I promised to take some to the Spring Bazaar on Saturday. I made one batch and realized I was out of eggs. When I went to get eggs I saw muffin mixes that are pretty cheap and all you add is water so the bazaar is getting packaged muffin mix and husband can have his regular carrot muffins.

These muffins are like nothing you've ever tasted. I find carrot cake dry. This recipe was one of 4 one-pan cake recipes in Woman's Day or something back in the early 1980's. So I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

The recipe is for carrot cake but I mix it in a bowl and use it to make muffins. If making a cake you can mix the whole thing with a fork right in a 9" cake pan.

Mix Well:

1 1/2c flour

1 1/4c sugar

1 1/2tsp baking powder

1 1/2tsp cinnamon

Then add and mix briskly until thoroughly blended

9 oz. strained carrots (baby food)

2/3c vegetable oil

2 eggs slightly beaten

1/2tsp vanilla

Lastly stir in

1c crushed pineapple (drained)

1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Bake

Cake 40-45 mins @ 350F

Muffins - about 20 minutes at 375F

Eat... and try to hide from your husband. *LOL*

Notice I didn`t say salt. I don`t use salt anymore so I don`t know what the recipe said originally. 1/2tsp or something maybe.

I really wanted to continue with stripping wallpaper but I need to tidy up around here since we have people dropping in this weekend. So I guess now I better go declutter something.

Catalicious Quilt Stitch In Block 3

Whew! This was the most intense one so far. But it's also my favorite so far. I just love Bronwyn's designs. I haven't even started my Gifts of Grace one but I did get it copied onto fabric yesterday and hopefully it will only take a couple of days. I love the mixed applique/embroidery component of that one.

I made placemats and coasters for the bazaar next weekend. And I'm reading a new book (see side margin) called Three Day Road. It is SO good. It's Canadian but that's okay. It's about 2 Cree men (boys) who are sent to fight in WWI. The world of the white man is strange enough for them without mixing it with a war. The book starts when one of them arrives home missing a leg and addicted to morphine. The other one died in battle. It's stories told by his aunt of times when she was a girl combined with stories of the war told by him. It's an interesting mixture to have 2 first person components in one book. I have to have it read by May 8 cause I've joined a book club and that's the book they're doing right now. Not a problem. I'm a fast reader and I'm addicted to reading as well.

And this morning I went to a meeting for women who are volunteering to make caps for soldiers to wear under their helmets when they are on watch in Afghanistan. It gets really cold and a lot of them just stuff socks in their helmets. The woman who organized this is amazing. People back East who are making these buy their own wool. They have to be real wool so they'll be warm enough. She started this knitting group at a local coffee shop and when they moved from making personal stuff to making the caps a lot of the local merchants offered to donate towards the price of the wool. The woman at the wool shop sells it to the group at cost plus freight. And the Legions got involved with fundraising too. So she has enough wool to make over 500 of these. There are only 100 more needed. There must have been 25 women at the meeting and she was going somewhere else this afternoon so she'll have her 100 caps in no time. So I'll be trying my hand at knitting again. I've lost my skills but the only way to get them back is to use them.

This meeting is at my old church. I haven't visited there for 15 years now and it was interesting to see who is still there and who is new. They have a large women's group.

And, yes, I'm still playing with Farmville but I have another confession. 2 years ago my husband gave me a Nintendo DS for Christmas. It was my daughter's idea. She knows about my addiction. She was playing Animal Crossing and needed someone else who had the game so she could visit my town and get something she needed for her town. Not as complicated as it sounds. But now I noticed they've come out with a Super Mario game.. as in the old fashioned jumping Mario. How could I resist that? I remember sneaking in and playing that game years ago when it first came out on my kids Nintendo when they were at school. I played so much I injured the muscles in my thumb. I called in Nintendonitis *LOL*

I'm such a mess... I need an addicted to life stuff meeting *LOL*

AND I'm going to pull the wallpaper off the office wall so we can finally paint in here. It may mean no computer for a couple of days but it needs to be painted.

I FInished it!!!

I did it! I actually finished the Boston Red Sox quilt AND I quilted it myself even with the fleece backing. I was soooo nervous. I asked a professional quilter and she wouldn't do it. She's done it before but she's a perfectionist like me so isn't happy with the result. She said home machines are better because we have feed dogs where she doesn't.

So my friend at the LQS told me to use 505 Spray baste twice - once on the fabric, once on the batting - and it worked! Usually Spray Baste doesn't work on Fleece cause the fleece doesn't take the stickyness but spraying both I had no problem at all. I used the large quilting needle that I saw recommended somewhee - mine was a 75 - and I used large stitches. I forgot I have a dual feed stitch in the ditch foot but I did okay with just my quilting foot. And the back is flat flat

I have to say after 8 years of quilting this is the best quilt I've made to date. Even my corners on the binding turned out nicely.

I've been visibly absent for a couple of reasons. Mostly cause I'm playing Farm Ville on Facebook and it's terribly addicting. The craft group at the church has declared me "wonderful" so I've been given more projects to sew. If I'm wonderful makes you wonder what the others do with a sewing machine *LOL* Now they all want to learn to quilt. I can't do long days but I could do 2-3 hour workshops to get them started I suppose. We'll see what comes of it.

Another Table Runner

First of all thank you everyone for your kind comments yesterday. I'm so glad to see that Aspergers is getting enough attention that many more people now know of it's existance.

For the table runner. I'm not proud proud of it but I know I did my best... well, almost did my best. I forgot to check the back after I pin basted and there's a crease down it but I've decided that's okay.

Here's a close up

The dark lines you see are a shadow from the mutton bars on our french doors. Now this doesn't look great but I've realized that beggars can't be choosers and since the ladies pick stuff up at thrift shops chances are it's going to be polyester and that stuff is impossible to work with - or I'm a fabric snob, I don't know which. The smell when you're pressing is very off putting.

Anyway it's done and it looks okay considering they'll probably sell it for $10 or something. The colours are pretty.

We went out last night to a local musical thing. This group raises money for charity so I guess singing well isn't a requirement to take part in their musicals. It was nice to see that a few young people have joined cause mostly these people are in their 80's and it would be a shame for it not to be carried on. They were having fun and they do their best on a very limited budget. A couple of them had very nice voices. We had a "Delta Idol" thing here last year for teens to take part in and the winner has joined the group to get practise singing in front of groups I suppose. She was very good.

All I've done today is sew on that table runner.