Friday, March 16, 2012

This and That

It has been a wonderfully busy week, but I do sometimes feel as though I am chasing my tail.  I am definitely enjoying these longer hours of daylight.  I always dread when we turn the clocks ahead and know that we have darkness so early.  Spring is in the air and I LOVE it.   My male orioles have returned and the females should soon be following.  I get a chuckle out of the males returning ahead of the females to settle in and start the nests.  I wonder if the females ever get back and question what he was thinking.

Over the weekend we had the christening of our newest grandson.  It is always a delight and a great reason to celebrate. 




Monday we had three sons in Las Vegas for a big food and beverage convention so DH and I drove over, met them for dinner, donated a few dollars and drove home the next morning.  I was disappointed that the desert flowers were not in bloom yet as we both love to see the showy colors.  Guess it was a bit early for them. 


I love this lobby.  Don't you think the floor would make a great quilt?

Yesterday I had the pleasure of joining several of the grandchildren and my daughter at the zoo.  It is always such fun to see little eyes in wonderment.   They have just opened up a new reptile and invertebrate display and it is wonderful.  You feel as though you are swimming with the turtles. 



Such beauty!



This little guy is 6 months old and had captured the hearts of all.  Gotta love the wind blown hair!


We celebrated several birthdays in the family this week as well. 


Mr. J is eight.


Seems like only yesterday our first son was born.
 
I would so love to be able to wear a hat so beautifully.
 The week also included some sewing.  I worked on my blocks for the It Takes 2 project.  I think I took out more stitches than I put in on my Feathered Star.  If there was a wrong way to sew a seam - I found it.  Since much of the block is done in quarters, I sewed the wrong seams not only once, but four times!!!!  I am GLAD it is finished and I do love the way it turned out, but do not think I will be making a full sized quilt of that block any time soon. 



My March mug rug arrived from my partner, Shari Butler.  I like the fact that it is not specifically for St. Patrick's Day and I can leave it out past that day.  I tried to do a similar thing with my own partner's mug rug.  I just love the fabrics and the design of the one Shari sent me.  Shari is a fabric and textile designer and has a wonderful blog with her fabrics shown.



Also arriving in the mail this week was this wonderful selection of threads from Connecting Threads.  I won these in a giveaway hosted by Stephanie at Loft Creations.  The colors are so rich and beautiful and will really come in handy with my sewing. 



If you haven't yet signed up for the Blog Hop Giveaway, be sure to check out my previous post.  It runs until March 23rd.

28 comments:

  1. You certainly did have a jammed pack week. Looks like fun was had by all at the zoo.
    Love the block you made - just gorgeous. Glad to know that I'm not the only one who can sew the same seam wrong numerous times.
    I use Connecting Threads most of the time and love them.

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  2. What a special time to share a grand baby's Christening! And birthdays! You are so blessed to have children and grandchildren near!!!

    That floor would make me dizzy I'm afraid. But it does look like a quilt.

    Oh, I wish I could wear a hat and look like that too!!! What beautiful hair to go with the hat! You are just surrounded by beauty!

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  3. It does sound like you had a very busy week for sure. It is so wonderful to have the grands so close.
    I like the monkey hanging on the fence. I have had hair days like that!!
    What wonder gifts you received for sure.
    That floor would make me dizzy and it looks like it would be hard to walk on, I would want to keep stepping up on one.LOL
    Hugs

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  4. What a beautiful family you have....I can tell how much you enjoy being with them from your posts. Eeeeehhhh.....everytime you mention the JustTakes2 I feel guilty....I finally did buy a different fabric but that person who was complaining earlier about not having any UFO's is now beginning to have to eat those words.....I love the way your feathered star turned out.....and nobody but you (well, and us, now...lol) knows how many times you sewed the wrong seams.....it is just lovely.

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  5. Church floors are very inspiring. LOVE your feathered star. Happy Sewing with your new thread. Love your choice in colors.

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  6. What a busy time you've been having. Congratulations on you win.
    I love the quilt your making too.

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  7. What a busy week you have had! Congratulations on the new baby christening! I love that quilt block, but it looks so complicated!
    Beautiful family you have!

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  8. I am always saying how blessed and lucky you are with such a big family

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  9. So, have you caught your tail yet? lol That is how this week has seemed to me as well. Like you, I'm loving the longer daylight hours and it seems to have given me renewed energy. That and the fact that although we had a ton of snow last week, thanks to above normal temperatures this week, it's almost all gone. Yippeeeee:-)

    Your newest grandson is so darling and congratulations to him on his christening. Chloe is being christened on March 24th and I'll be there, as well as my mom, so we're very much looking forward to it!!

    Wow, that lobby floor is something else! How wonderful that you were able to go to Las Vegas to see your sons:-)

    I love going to the zoo as well and as you say, it's such fun seeing the expressions on the kids' faces when they see the animals.

    I see you've had more birthday celebrations...Happy Birthday to them:-)

    Look at you winning all those giveaways!! Good for you:-) Have a great weekend my friend. xoxo

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  10. I think your feathered star block is beautiful. I love the colors and everything about it. Congratulations on a great win from Stephanie. Sounds like you have had some wonderful times with your family.

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  11. You always busy Mary, but if you were like me. You like to be busy. Family time is precious. Happy christening - hugs Nat

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  12. Definitely a busy week ... but a wonderful one, with family and quilting ... two of the very best things in the whole wide world! ;-)

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  13. It is always so nice to see your family get togethers. Love the photos of your newest grandson's christening.
    Trips to the Zoo are just so must fun for all. I love to go with my kids too.
    Beautiful block.

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  14. Busy week indeed but you always make it look like so much fun Mary! You have such a wonderful big brood and you all seem to enjoy each others company so much. Truly blessed. Love your block! Yes I understand sewing the same boo boo over and over!;-)Cute mug mat and wonderful blog giveaway win! Congrats!!
    Hugs,
    Lola

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  15. I always enjoy post of your wonderful family. That is an amazing floor...

    Love your mug rug!

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  16. We might have to change your blog name to "party girl"!! sheesh-muh-neesh...you really had a rip-roaring week!

    How cool that you were able to drive to Las Vegas! Was it far from you?

    hugZ,
    annie
    anniesrubyslipperz.com

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  17. You sure had a busy week! Thanks for sharing your family with us :)

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  18. Oh my, that floor is breathtaking. And your feather star block is even more stunning!

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  19. How very busy you are! Wonderful family time that is so special. I love your feathered star - I will be trying it one day soon.

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  20. What a fun week! I can imagine you are exhausted. Congratulations on your grandson's christening - what a sweet and proud family.

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  21. What a beautiful block, it looks like a lot of work! The church lobby floor is beautiful......can't wait to see YOU make a quilt like that. Lovely family pictures and congrats on your great win!

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  22. That quilt block is amazing - I'm glad to know that you don't do everything perfectly the first time!!

    That floor - wow - I would probably fall flat on my nose, thinking I was going to go down some steps.

    The zoo - Dwight took the girls and I didn't go for some reason. I always love to watch the littles' reactions. My fave is always the giraffes. I was privileged to see the birth of a baby giraffe years ago when I was resting while Dwight went around with his SS class boys - it was amazing!!

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  23. Lovely Christening photos...you are right a great time to celebrate!

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  24. Lovely family photos. Love your feathered star block - amazing floor!

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  25. I love taking the kids to the zoo! Babies are always welcome in this family!

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  26. Your Grands are so beautiful. Love that block!! Wow. I could not imagine doing anything like that!

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  27. what special memories in the making! loved the zoo pics! you got great shots!:)

    the grand kids are adorable and what a special christening!

    your quilt blocks are always a joy to see!!!
    BUSY WEEK!!!:) BE BLESSED!

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  28. Love the christening pics an d it looks like you have all had fun.

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