The Place with Eyes

     I made this long ago for my father.  Ice cream is in our family. Our entire lives, no matter the event, we went out for ice cream.  Lazy Sunday afternoon, my dad would say, "Hey Elaine, Let's go for a ride." Off we'd shoot to look at boring boats, cars, or other things kids "love."  However, after the boredom, we'd end up at one or another place for ice cream.  "Want to go out for ice cream?"  Or as we said in front of the dog, because she knew what it was or my little brother before he caught on....I-C-E Cream.  Buy a new car? Ice cream. Recital, Band concert? Ice cream.  

       After the girls were born, an ice cream shop opened  that put little candy eyes on the cones.  They loved to go to the "place with eyes with grandma and grandpa!" The ice cream tradition continued through their recitals and concerts.  Sometimes the place with eyes, sometimes not.  A number of years ago, as adults, they went to Ohio for a visit. Naturally grandpa had to take them to the place with eyes! 

When I bought my first sewing machine that "made letters," I made this little quilt for my dad.  It's interesting to see my attempt at binding and how I attached the one border the wrong way but, he happily hung it in his work room for years!  The outer edge has all of the reasons and places we went for ice cream.  Of course, the cones all have eyes!

It makes me sad that this little wall hanging lives at my house now but, in a way, also happy.  I know my dad enjoyed looking at it as much as I do now.

Green Bottle Caps

I love my volunteer job! However, I have been struggling with it because I feel... well... less than necessary. I know they appreciate what I do, but they don't always have anything FOR me to do. They are a) nearly all men b) not accustomed to volunteers and c) nearly all men! The "being men" part leads to the blank eyed stare when faced with someone wanting to "help." (Think toy assembly, getting lost, etc. LOL!)

There is one man (CV)that realizes that there is potential in having a volunteer and more and more often he has things for me to do. A few weeks ago he was out of the office and actually "called in" a job for me.

Last week, I walked into his office. I spotted a case of water in the corner of the office. I embarrassingly blurted out to him, "YOU HAVE GREEN WATER BOTTLE CAPS! Please save those for me!" I silently cursed the lack of hard wiring from my brain to my mouth! CV certainly has more important things to think about then saving those silly green bottle caps! I hoped and hoped that he wouldn't remember.

This week when I said hello, CV jumped up and said, "There you are! I've been waiting for you. I have this, and this for you to do and Oh, on the shelf." I looked on the shelf, expecting to see a pile of papers, and found 10 green bottle caps! When I thanked him, his simple response was "We help each other."

It's the silly things that validate a person. They make one feel needed, necessary and important. Like many others, I don't require compliments, pats on the back or flowery words of praise. For me, the silly little, off-handed, often un-thought-of things that people do, like remembering to save a silly lid, affect me far greater.

These ridiculous green bottle caps made me realize that I am indeed a making a difference in this volunteer position. As crazy as it sounds, those green caps made me feel like I belong because I was remembered on Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday, not just Wednesday (the day I volunteer).

Once again, it's my theory, You never know when you will touch someone else's life. I wrote about it here. It also reminds me to be kind and thoughtful to others. I may touch someones life and I certainly want it to be in a positive manner.

Reflections

I have this theory. It’s not deep. It’s not revolutionary. It is however something I need to remember more often. It is “You never know when, where or how you could change someone’s life.” You could change it for the better or you could change it for the worse. A nice word, a mean word, an off handed comment, letting someone out in traffic, not letting someone out in traffic, an unexpected compliment, an unintended insult… You never know what gesture or comment may make a difference to someone else. I have had many such encounters. It is usually the simplest of gestures. The other person generally has no idea that they had such a big effect.

When we first move to Ft. Worth, I was miserable. We were far away from everyone we knew. No friends, no family. I went to the post office and the postal lady looked up and, acting as though she remembered me, said “hi there how are you today?” I nearly cried on the spot. She was so kind, so genuine. She changed my day, my entire out look. She changed my life that day. She made me just a tad ok with being 1,000 miles away from everything I knew. She has no idea that to this day I remember her.

A few years ago, one encounter changed me so deeply, so profoundly that I am still struggling to deal with it. It was a simple thing but it changed me. For the better or worse I still haven’t decided but it changed everything about me.

All of this however is about today. Today, I am struggling. I have been for a long time. This isn’t the forum for why; just know that I am in turmoil and struggling. For some reason, today was particularly difficult. I forced myself to the gym, not because I wanted to workout, but because I had to workout. I had to get in my running practice. I had to prove that I am capable. I had to prove to myself that I can do this. At the end of my workout I ran into a long time acquaintance and ….he changed my day. With one kind, off-handed comment, he changed my entire miserable day. He changed my outlook and put a bounce back in my step. I walked out of the gym taller than when I walked in. It wasn’t much, just a kind word but little did he know the impact.

Such small gestures put me in awe of the power we have. I hope that the lives that I have affected have been more positive than negative. I pray that I remember my own “theory” the next time I become impatient and that I remember to compliment my friends and acquaintances often.

I have wanted to write about this for a long time. Thank you to my friend for giving me the inspiration to actually put it into words.

Men

Men are so funny. They would never admit that they gossip, chit chat or chatter. If you ask them, they would say that they go in, get a job done, and get out. THEY LIE!! I'm sitting here at a friend's house while some work is being done. The guys are in the foyer, doing their work, but the chit chat and chatter abounds! I bet if you would ask them if they chat while they work, they would say no. True, they are negotiating how to best get this job done, working out the details ect., but once they are each doing their own jobs....their jaws start to flappin'! LOL!! I'm quietly sitting at my laptop and chuckling.

I have had this same observation at work. We have off duty police officers on our campus. Let me tell you ....THEY GOSSIP! Oh sure, rough and tough, carry a gun and all but man o man. Let something happen at school on Monday and by the time the Friday guy comes to work, he knows all about it....with details! They don't even work in the same office.

I am the product of a man that had few words. "Had" I say because over the past few years, since my mom died, his shell broke. It is a wonderful thing to be honest. However, I was raised by the part of him that didn't talk alot. He certainly didn't verbally express emotion. Now is different. To be fair, he fairly bubbles with words now.

The same goes for men when it comes to their children. They would never admit that they are as soft as they are. I see alot of men with their children at school. Dads are no different than moms, they just won't admit that they have the same emotions!!! These are two stories of men not realizing that others could see their love and devotion.


....again, one of the policemen. This guy is a very muscular guy, He calls everyone "ma'am" and is someone I wouldn't want to meet in the dark (on the wrong side of the law! LOL!!!!!LOL!!!) He has two little girls. One morning, as I waited to turn into the lot, I watched him and one of his daughters, about 3 at the time, walk across the parking lot. In one hand he held her hand. In the other, he held her little pink backpack. I don't know what they were doing but all of a sudden he skipped! Just one or two skips but it was a sight. This big man, complete with a police uniform, gun, bullet proof vest, a little girl and a pink backpack, and skipping! It was a priceless image!

.....my dad. When I was pregnant with my oldest child my dad had a party for his employees. I was very pregnant. I remember him tracking me down, dragging me around and introducing me to his employees. The look in his eyes. I'll never forget the glow of love. He was so pleased that I was having a grandchild! Remember, this was the man that would rather do ANYTHING than EXPRESS emotion.

Why do men work so hard to make us believe that we are so different? What's this macho business about anyways? Every man from my father & my husband to the guys at work, are no different from the women I know. It's just that the women are not afraid to admit that they have emotions or gossip. I really think that it comes down to image. What the men don't realize however, is that we see right through them. We'll let them keep up their charade.

2008 Accomplishments

I may not know how much fabric I bought, used or gave away but because of blogging, I've been able to document my work in 2008. I am amazed at the numbers. My favorite project this year, by far was the Wrapped Baskets. The most tedious project Mrs. S's anniversary quilt because it required long borders.

Quilts

1- Twin
1-Queen
2-Lap
5- Quilted only - some of these were donation quilts that I worked on with Ms. CCCAt

13-Fleece Blankets
5-PJ pants
3-Luggage Tags
5-Totes
71-Cloth Napkins (I need to photograph some of these)
5-Aprons
8-Placemats
2-Locker Hook projects (small)
3-Purse/Wallet combos
3-Pillowcases
12-Wrapped Clothesline baskets
Countless -Wrapped clothesline coasters and trivets
4-Table Runners
1-Wall Hanging
6-Coaster sets
1-Stitchery
4-UFO's

and the most amazing...

1- quilt started but not finished in 2008!

2009

Last year I attempted to curb my fabric purchases. All it did was make me feel awful each time I bought something. I also tried, and failed to use my stash and only my stash......I think I figured out why these things are wrong for me. So, I have a new thing I'd like to try this year. I have projects, loads and loads of projects. Book, patterns, magazines, internet photos, on and on. I have wanted to do many of these things for quite a long time. Well, this is the year I am going to do it. I have a goal, loose but a goal, to do as many of the projects as possible. I don't care if it is fabric wallets, wallhangings or full quilts. I just want to do the projects that inspired me to purchase, download or print. In addition, I promised my girls a gift a month for the year and this will help me to get so many things finished. I am done with Jan. and Feb. and am working on March. Anyone want to join me? Let's just get things done. UFO's, WIP, PIMM, Kits, whatever. Just do it! Be ready for lots of little projects being finished here.

Why I.........

I don't remember when it happened but I began doing things for the when "I'm no longer around." I don't plan on going anywhere soon but know how important memories, ect. are to loved ones. It is why I blog. I've wanted to start a journal for years. This is as close as I'll ever get. Oh, I must admit that I enjoy talking about, reading about and thinking about quilting but, life seeps in a post every now and then. I keep a file with a copy of all of my blog entries. Eventually, most of them need to be tossed but perhaps one or two will strike a chord with my girls and they will want to keep "my words." It's why I blog about my family or the holidays. It's nice that there are other people interested in "my words" now. As a matter of fact, I find it fastinating that "strangers" want to read what I write....maybe they just look at the pictures! However, mostly I do it for tomorrow. Well.....I do do it for today too but ultimately for tomorrow. (I think it's funny that my "in person friends" will read my posts and comment to me about them!!! It's very flattering. When my one friend leaves for the entire summer, she keeps up with me through my blog!)

It's the same reason why I seem obsessed with making things for the girls. Yes, my personality is one that becomes obsessed with something and then once that obsession is over, never revisits it again! My latest obsession is making things for my girls homes. Maybe it's because "How many Halloween, Valentine or Thanksgiving table runners can I own?" Maybe it's because there are so many items out there that I want to make and I only have so much space. Mostly I think it is because I want them to be surrounded by the love that went into creating those things. I hope that they will have so many hand made things from me over many, many years that they beg me to stop! But in the meantime, I'll keep blogging and sewing and hopefully piling memories on top of memories.

Beauty

Beauty, physical good looks that it, is such a strange thing. In the eye of the beholder, individual, unique. Isn't it odd how when it comes to beauty in people, even the oddest looking person becomes quite attractive once you know their personality. Many, many years ago a "friend" told someone that my then fiance' was "ugly." I on the other hand thought he was quite handsome. Our inside person somehow projects outward to influence our physical being. (No my husband is not odd looking. The sentences just followed one another!) How many times have you met an outwardly attractive person only to discover that their physical beauty fades once you know the inside person....and visa versa. Maybe if we all believed that we were beautiful and stopped getting caught up in the physical; hair, nails, body size, we could more readily project our inner beauty. But more importantly, when we might believe in our inner beauty and let the outside shine!

Nature on the other hand lucky. Beauty just is. A vase of blooming flowers. (No, DH is not being romantic! Heaven forbid! LOL! These are from a student.)

Fresh tomatoes? Beautiful! Tomatoes that taste sweet and luscious. A dear friend gave me these yesterday and mmmm......I haven't had fresh tomatoes since living in Ohio.

Mango's growing bigger daily. Just a gorgeous sight. The promise of the sweet fruit. Hopefully they won't all fall off the tree during the bad weather that is projected to be here this weekend.

Beauty has been on my mind quite a bit lately. Inside and outside, physical vs. internal beauty. No conclusions, no profound findings. Just that you have to believe that you are beautiful to actually BE beautiful.

Ripping and Stripping

It is so funny, this blogging thing. My girls cannot believe that I have a blog. I mean what in the world do they think I'm going to post? Wild political ramblings? Pornography? "You have a blog?", they ask. They must be confusing me with the bloggers of their generation. I on the other hand go through my day and think, " Hey! That would be a great thing to blog about!" Sad, sad, sad. The initials with my maiden name were MM. My dad always called me MM, motor mouth. I have to laugh because I am still a motor mouth but now I need to type it.

Last night we played "strip poker" at our quilt meeting. (maybe I am pornographic!?) It was so much fun. I am the programs chair and a friend sent me directions to the game. I adapted them to fit our needs and off we went. It was a blast. I began the game with 25 strips and came home with 23.Not too bad. The big winner went home with 38 strips so she really had a blast.
Judging by the laughter it sounded like the others had a good time too. We now have something other than quilto to play at our occasional game nights.

I am still plugging away on the simple faux log cabin for my dear friend. This simple quilt has been very irritating. First, I assembled the blocks inside out, upside down, catywhampus and backwards. Then I quilted feathers in the wrong thread and ripped it out. Then I quilted feathers in white thread. Unfortunately, when I tested, I used the pink thread instead of the white (I'll talk about this later) and on the tester piece it looked good but on the actual quilt it came out lousy. So I ripped that. Then tested and quilted the white thread and it looked good. I didn't test the pink thread. I just quilted away. W-e-l-l-l-l, it was completely, utterly awful. Ripped it out! Now here is my gripe. Both the white, variegated and pink threads are the same type, manufacturer. Why in the world did the settings for one not work for the other? Color shouldn't have anything to do with it. I was so irritated. Plus my machine doesn't seem to like this thread unless I just haven't hit on the correct needle. It is Coats and Clark triobal thread. So this picture is a bit of the thread that I've pulled out. I'm going to try again tonight to see if I can finish this riffin' raffin' thing!

The only good thing that came of all that ripping was that I was thoroughly entertained while doing it. We live in a neighborhood that is just the right age for new roofs. We have all needed to get them in the past couple of years. My neighbor is having one put on now. The men that put on new roofs must be the happiest guys in the world. This goes for our roofer and all of the roofers our neighbors have used. They always have cheery happy music blasting. They laugh and whoop and AYE YAI YAI YAI, all the time. They talk a mile a minute. I only wish I could have understood what they were talking about. They just carry on and carry on as if they are having a hay ole' time. I think they may have been teasing one guy cause they were just laughing and laughing at him. I just sat, picked out stitches, tapped my foot to the music I didn't understand and smiled at the happy conversations I didn't understand. The strange thing is all of the houses around me have had new roofs and the workers always sound the same! Music, whooping, laughing ect. Male bonding. Gotta love it. (and they say women are yakkers. These guys talk rings around all of my friends.)

Enough motor mouth for today

Grandma Bosh would be proud

Great quilty weekend?....well Grandma Bosh would be proud! You see, my grandma sewed. She was a seamstress and also made most of her own clothes. She would have just died if she saw the price of fabric today. She used to tell me that if I could sew, I wouldn't need to buy the expensive clothes on the racks. Hah! She got me interested in sewing. When I was pregnant with DD#1, I decided to make baby buntings. I chose a pattern that was way out of my league. You see Grandma Bosh always told me, if fact it was one of her mantras, "If you are going to sew you have to rip sometimes." This was a never ending source of frustration to me. I hated to rip and it drove me crazy. I would take her things in pieces, she would calmly rip it apart, give me her mantra and put it together correctly. Well, the baby bunting, notice the single tense, I made, was flannel. I can still see the pattern on the flannel and is DD#1 is almost 23yo. I ripped the "V" where the buttons and collar go ( I can't for the life of me think of the name of that piece) so many times that after the first washing it was in shreds. I quite calmly took all the others already cut out to her, and as usual she assembled them. (she also made my girls millions of adorable sundresses and fitted flannel diapers to name a few items) This is the way it went for a long time. I began a piece of clothing for the girls, took it to her in tears, and she finished it. Well, this weekend she would have been proud. I began quilting a quilt. I got a medium sized section finished and decided I really didn't like the thread. (yes I pre-tested it all just didn't realize I wouldn't like the color on the actual quilt!) I knew it would need ripped but decided to come back to it. I switched my thread color, quilted the same size section again and liked it. I then quilted a l-a-r-g-e section - across the entire lap quilt. After I finished I looked at the back to admire my work and HORROR. It was awful. Not full of pulls and nests but bad enough that I knew it wouldn't hold up. This was the equivilent to 1/3 of the quilt. So Gram, I ripped. I ripped and ripped and ripped. It's still not done, but almost. The only saving grace was that the stitches were so hideous that the pulled out fairly easy. I have now requilted about 1/2 of the quilt. I talk to my GB when I quilt. Mostly when I'm ripping as can be expected. So my picture of something finished won't happen tonight.....

What am I thankful for?
1. Grandma Bosh and her voice in my head
2. Black light activated hand stamps...mind didn't wash off and I was able to get back in the
Peddler Show for free. Had to buy another jalapeno cooker.
3. Jalapeno cooker.....they were great!
4. Pumpkin bread in the freezer and cream cheese in the fridge...well, should I say our bellies
5. DD#2 hearing our mantra all these years. I never knew she was listening