From Sea to Mountains

Usually the week between Christmas and New Year's Day is fairly non-eventful.  Not this year.  I had places to go and people to see.

Friday after Christmas, my friend, Hattie, and I headed to the beach with the puppies.  This is the scene that greeted us...

There were lots of walks on the beach...

The sand was even warm enough for toes...for a while anyway.

On Saturday night, we ventured to North Myrtle Beach to hear Gregg Allman and House of Blues.  He was wonderful but Hattie and I both agreed we're too old to stand on the floor with the drunk younguns.  We'll be springing the extra money to sit upstairs next time.

We got back home in the wee hours and woke to cold, gusty and rainy weather the next morning.

So we opted for the couch potato life.  The puppies approved.

Before we left on Monday, we went to visit a curious place.  On the mainland not far away, there's a property on the highway that seems to "grow" little houses.  If you just glance as you go by, it looks junky but if you slow down and really look, there's a magic to it...an artfullness.  I've always been on my way somewhere with either someone waiting for me or someone with me who didn't care to stop, so I have never taken the time.  This time we did.  What we found was the wonderland of a visionary artist, Mary Paulsen.

She built all the little houses herself and used whatever was given or found.

There are over a dozen little buildings to explore, including her art gallery.  All of them are painted floor to ceiling.  I found myself smiling the whole time...which is her purpose...that and feeling children.  See.. she's a world renown visionary artist and a good ole girl from Brunswick County...whose used her earnings and donations to feed the children... about 50,000 per year locally and worldwide...for three decades.  It was an honor to meet her and walk in her world.

After our visit with Mary, we went back to the house, packed up the puppies and headed home.  We took the scenic route and made a few stops.  First was a little barn near Whiteville.  (Hattie collects oddities for her art and the place looked promising.)  We met Brandy the Goat who could hear Shelby having a duck fit in the car.  If you look in the window, you can see her eyeballing my new friend.  She was not a happy camper.

I had one evening at home then turned around New Year's Eve and headed for Asheville with my friend Mary Lea.  Our friend, Beth McKee was performing at the Grand Bohemian Hotel.

It's the first time in years that I've have plans on New Year's Eve except to go run around Tanglewood Park with a bunch of other crazy people at midnight.

We checked into the Baymont (because the Grand Bohemian is waaayy out of the pauper's budget) then set out to explore.  We started at Waechters Fabrics then headed to Kitsch Fabrics in West Asheville...where we found the wonderful Amy... and her cactus brassiere (an art bra and part of a breast cancer fundraiser).

After a stop at a bead shop downtown, we had dinner at The Lab...okay dinner and a really good beer.

We headed back to the hotel to freshen up before the party then walked the couple of blocks to the Grand Bohemian.  Here's us...selfies in the elevator...like we're sixteen.

When we walked up to the door at the hotel, we were met by this guy... in a kilt...who was really Scottish.  That was just the beginning of the excellent people watching that would be our New Year's Eve.

The party ended up hopping and we had a great time.

At the end of the night, Beth (and a handful of our new intoxicated "friends") sang Happy Birthday to me.  It was awesome in an Alice in Wonderland kind of way.

After the party, ML and I walked back up the hill to the Baymont, crashed and slept late.  The next morning we headed to Tupelo Honey Cafe for a birthday brunch and then headed back home...where I barely hit the driveway to pick up David and Shelby to head to my parent's house for the traditional New Year's Day black-eye peas, collards and ham...and birthday cake.

Sea to mountains and back home again.  Oh, the fun I had but it's always good to be back home again.

Happy New Year!

Yes, I'm almost a week late but better late than never, right?

We did our usual New Year celebration... head to my parent's house for black-eyed peas, ham and collard greens.  The guys stayed glued to the footballs games while we got the food on the table and corralled nephews...who were in rare form.

A handsome bunch, huh?  If you're my friend on facebook, I graced the world with their rendition of "Happy Birthday to You"...the you-smell-like-a-monkey version.  Charming...

But then they also gifted me with this wonderful birthday cake that they decorated...complete with candy canes and my own Hello Kitty ring.

What more could a girl want?

Well...Shelby says a little peace and quiet would be nice...

Those days are coming, sweet girl...we need to enjoy the madness while we can.

All is Calm...

Well, right now it's calm.

It's been a little nutty....but in a good way.

Sew Sisters has been burning the midnight oil getting all our customer orders out the door in time for Christmas.  We have completed seven quilts this week...not just quilted them...finished.  Most were quilt and bind but some were commissions...start to finish.

So that's where I've been...in the studio...in Karen's basement.  She delivered the last commissions last night.  Yay!

Well, I have been a few other places since Thanksgiving...


I went with Mary Lea to see Beth McGee sings at Krankies.

 And we went to see Little Queenie (Leigh Harris) at The Garage.


I went to see my nephew, J.D. play the Mayor of Whoville in Seussical the Musical and it appears his hamminess will come in handy in his budding acting career.

Made it to the Candle Tea at Old Salem.  It was a spur of the moment Sew Sisters outing.

Took Shelby to the vet for her first ever ear infection.  She's doing much better...hated the drops but loved the ear rubbin's.

Spent a day at the Glenwood Rec Center meeting new people and not selling much...still fun though.

Helped hang the new quilt shoe at the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center.  The show opens December 27 so if you're local, go check it out.

Had our annual Bee Christmas party at chez Goodneedle.  We watched Hope Springs and ate cookies that OhQuilter since to us.

Got a new floor in the bedroom to replace the ten year-old burber carpet that Shelby distroyed as a pup.  (Did you know that if a 2-pound puppy digs in burber, she can pull a thread and cause the thing to run like a pair o cheap panty hose?)

I also did a program at the Catawba Valley Quilt Guild in Hickory and it happened to be their Christmas potluck....which is how I talked David into going with me.

So...yeah...been a little busy...with everything except getting ready for Christmas.  But today, I spent all day wrapping presents.  With the exception of two gifts, everyone is getting handmade items this year.  Times are tough and I really should do something with all this fabric I have in this house, right?

As my friend, kb, says it's all good.

It's it's getting better every day.

Valentine's

I've never been real big on Valentine's Day.  It's a day I tend to ignore for the most part.  This year, though, my mother decided to have a Valentine's dinner on Sunday night with the nephews.  David and I went over to join the chaos um...festivities.

As we were pulling into the driveway, my brother and his wife were pulling out of the driveway...fast...laughing.  They were, after all, dumping their three wild animals...umm...wonderful sons...at my parents' house to spend the night.

We jumped right on in there doing what aunts and uncles are supposed to do...teach the nephews new tricks and feed them sugar.  It was a crazy hysterical night and they amaze me how much they have changed every time we get together.  The oldest's voice is starting to change.  The middle and step son has found his place as one of us and seems to like it there more than before.  The youngest has grown a foot but remains absolutely hilarious.

So here are my favorite Valentines...better than roses any day.

But, of course, Miss Girl is my most favorite.

Wanda the Wonderful

Yesterday was a great day at Sew Original.  First, we finished inventory.  YAY!  Second, we were treated to lunch with a very special customer.  Wanda started quilting later in life but she has taken to it like I'm betting she's taken on everything in her life...with reckless abandon.  She takes things people give her  - fabric, odds and ends, junk and turns them into wonderful things.  She makes the most incredible Santa Clauses.  I don't believe there is anything she can not do.

Going to her house was a treat.  It is decorated to a fare-thee-well.  I know people who pay good money to have someone come in and decorate their homes for the holidays and they do not look near as beautiful as Wanda's home.  Lunch was yummy - potato soup (my favorite), spinach quiche and chicken/cranberry salad sandwiches.  Dessert - citrus bread pudding with Drambuie cream sauce.

Why did she do all this?  Because she wanted to thank us for being here and because she has so much fun hanging out at the shop with us.

Oh, Wanda, the pleasure is all ours.

Participating

For about 30 years, my family has spent Easter weekend at Holden Beach. It's a nice quiet family beach in southern NC and is one of my favorite places on earth. In years past, I would spend the weekend in the house for the most part, quilting at the kitchen table mostly because it was a struggle to do much else. Things are different now. One, I can't get to the kitchen table for all the computers - one dad and three nephews playing on their computers takes up too much space and two, I want to be outside because I can.

Participating in the traditional family Easter weekend this year included:

A long walk on the beach with my mother and sister-in-law catching up and telling on each other

Crabbing with the nephews, my mother and my "adopted" brother, Larry. (He's really adopted my parents and I love him for that.)

The first unfortunate crab

(note - this was a catch and release program. no crabs or little boys were injured in this activity.)

Ashman the Bucket Boy

The Crab Catchers (and Bucket Boy)

Larry and Mom

(yes, she put on lipstick to go out on the beach to catch crabs in the dark.

It's a rule - never leave the house without lipstick on.)

Friday night after crabbing, Larry wanted to go to Paradise Cafe down the street where they were having karaoke. I was game. No one else would get off the couch so I participated in my first ever karaoke night. (When I say participate, I mean watch everyone else get up and sing like fools while I laugh until my sides hurt. I can't carry a tune in a bucket.) About midnight my bio-brother showed up. He walked up to me and says "mama sent me down here to bring you home".

I laughed.

He wasn't kidding.

Yes, I'm 46, not 16.

He then promptly went to join Larry and the rest of the singers in a round of Jimmy Buffet favorites.

We all three left about an hour & a half later.

It was the most fun I've had with my brother ever.

The next day Larry geared the nephews up for a sand sculpture. I suggested a snake and they though that was a great idea. (I love being the cool aunt.)

Then time sitting on the beach with my dad and husband watching Uncle Larry wear out the nephews (or vice sersa).

Saturday night was much more subdued. Mom, Dad, Larry, Dave and I went to the Sugar Shack for dinner...which pretty much did us in for the rest of the night.

Sunday morning, Mom, Larry and I went to the sunrise service on the beach...something we've done most of my life. It's always wonderful and feels like coming home.

When we got back to the house, there was the usual breakfast rush and Easter Egg Hunt.

Then everyone packed it up and headed home. Dave, Shelby and I were last to leave. It's surprising how quiet and big that house gets once that last truck pulls out of the driveway. I used to only enjoy the quiet but now that I can participate I've grown to like the chaos.


Mama was right - it is what you make it.

Happy New Year!

I think much to my poor husband's chagrin, the Running of the Lights is becoming the New Year's Eve tradition. I sure missed kb, kb's mom and Ginabean tonight! Wish you all could have been there. It wasn't near as cold and wet as last year...but there also wasn't a guy dressed as a banana either so...

All is Calm...

No. It's not...but that's okay. All is well.

Since the weekend away with Bonnie and Shelby here's what's happened...

1. The heater had to be replaced.

2. We spent Monday and Tuesday nights with my folks because it was 41 degrees in the house.

3. I had my officer's exam to be a deacon, passed and will be ordained in January. (I know some of you are shaking your head at that one.)

4. I spent a wonderful evening with kb, Nane and Laura rug hooking, laughing, eating Nane's cookies and watching Shelby terrorize Roscoe (Shelby - 6 lbs, Roscoe - 60 lbs - it is a sight to see).

5. I went Christmas shopping with my husband...at Walmart on a Friday night. They had two registers open. I think someone should do a psychological study on the impact of the Christmas Spirit regarding people standing in long lines at Walmart. Some people explode. Some people take it in stride. Some people turn it into a party. I'm the middle one but enjoy being near the party people. The exploders should have to go to a separate Walmart.

6. Saturday, kb and I went to Durham for the annual Piedmont Rug Hookers Christmas Party. Now, THIS is a fun time...always! There is Santa Soup (everyone brings something to put in the pot). There is yummy bread and sinful desserts. There is a Dirty Santa gift exchange which always involves hysterical laughter. There are wonderful, wild, lovely women who enjoy each other immensely. And there's the egg nog - naughty and nice. I can handle about 1/2 a cup of the naughty...beyond that, I need a designated driver...or a cot.

7. I wrapped presents and put them under the tree.

8. I got the Christmas cards in the mail...finally.

9. I went to church on Sunday and had to sit in the back because between the college students being home and the Market Street Brass performing, there wasn't an empty seat to be found.

10. I spent time with Jane B. whose daughter is getting married on Thursday and wanted a little quilt for people to sign instead of a guest book. (I whipped that up last Thursday night at the beach. It was a sacrifice - Carolina blue and white...I sang the NC State fight song in my head the whole time I was making it.)

11. I had a bowl of soup by myself at Panera, enjoying the sounds of people around me enjoying each other...and ran into new friends from church who like to hug and are happy to see everyone they meet.

12. I went to a funeral service for a wonderful woman who passed away suddenly and unexpectedly and for the first time thought...this is what I want my "celebration" to be like. We sang and waved colorful scarves (because she used to teach a creative motion class when she lived in Berkley) and cried for her family and because she will be sorely missed.

13. I went to Sharon and Dick's Cookies and Glogg party. I got to visit with quilter friends and eat too many cookies. (The glogg is tasty and I like it better than the nog because it's hot and had no milk in it but it won't knock you on your butt like the nog does...though it comes close!)

14. I wrapped more presents.

15. I sewed silk ties together in string blocks.

16. I worked...you know, work?

All is calm?

I'm still waiting on that part.

But all is good.

Maybe the calm will come this week?

It usually hits about midnight Christmas Eve.

I'm ready.

A Fun-filled Happy July 4th Weekend

It's been a been a busy one. That's for sure.

Friday was a wonderful day. It started out with a 3 mile walk in the cool morning air with Miss Shelby. Then we met Mrs. G. at Starbucks for a little coffee and "catch-up". After that, a quick stop in at Sew Original to pick up a couple needful things.

And then, over to Karen's house for a mini sew day with Karen and Bonnie. I was binding a quilt, Karen was working magic with 4-patches on her design wall and Bonnie was sewing strips together for a million 9 patches. Bonnie kept asking "so you think this is enough?", lifting the mound of sewn strips up in the air. We said "no" until it became a joke. I'm betting she's still sewing strips together!

Finally, Friday, we met a couple of friends, Ron and Lynn, for dinner at our favorite hibachi restaurant. It was great to catch up with them. Ron and I used to be cohorts at work until he left for greener pastures in October and I miss him. We are almost exact opposites, which made us a good team. I've been hoping the four of us could continue the friendship but it's been hard to get together because we are four very busy people.

On Saturday, we hiked up Hanging Rock. I was surprised there weren't many people there when we arrived. Well, we were about an hour ahead of the crowd because as we were going back down the mountain, everyone else was going up. I was thankful. It was a beautiful, clear day.



Shelby went too and did very well. She seems to really love to hike!





Yesterday, we went a little east and met a couple of my high school girlfriends for "lupper" (that's lunch/supper). In high school, we always hung out at Pam's house because her parents were great. They didn't care how long we stayed, who stayed, how loud we were, etc. They had a big piece of land and a great great house and a pool in the back yard. It's a different house on a different piece of land and a pond with lily pads instead of a pool but it's the same feeling of welcoming and comfort. We spent many hours laughing and remembering and before we left, we planned the next get together.

Last night, we decided to skip the fireworks. I'm not much for crowds. Besides, the kids across the road provided us with their own fireworks show...which drove Shelby nuts.

Today, the house is quiet. My DH is off to play golf and Shelby is sleeping at my feet. I think I'll do a little planning this morning and this afternoon, I'm getting a little help from my friend, Mrs. G. We have joyous things to do today.

Tomorrow, it's back to work and that's a blessing too.

Happy New Year!

Usually my New Year's Celebration is spent either at home or at my parent's beach house listening to the men folk snore the New Year in. This year we went a different route.

A couple of weeks or so ago I get a challenge (uh, email) from Gina. She wants to know if we will join her for the "Running of the Lights" at Tanglewood where the Festival of Lights is held every year. At midnight New Year's Eve the "race" begins - a 3.2 run/walk through the light show. We walked. I don't run. Even in my younger, thinner days I refused to run.

It was cold. It was foggy and misty. It was dark. It was a blast.

Thanks to Gina for getting us out to ring in the New Year in a healthy, wacky, memorable way!

Happy New Year to all!

The Women Gather

Though there are a few of us who live very near where our clan originates, there are just as many who have landed elsewhere - Savannah, Pensacola, Baltimore, San Francisco. For once in many holidays, most of us were here in one spot.

So we did what we do best...had lunch.

Getting us all to look at the same camera at the same time...we're not as adept as we are at eating lunch together.

Great Mail & a Couple of Finishes

I love getting packages in the mail especially on a Monday. It's a reminder that there's a great big world out there with wonderful people and wonderful things. It turns a rat race Monday into not so bad after all.

Today I received my signature blocks from the block exchange Melissa organized a few months back. They are wonderful! Thank you Melissa and thank you to everyone that participated. I can't wait to start playing with them!



Yesterday our Dinner for Eight group from church met for brunch. (So, I guess that made us brunch for Eight, huh?) Anyway, the purpose of this program is to get groups from church together a few times so we can get to know each other beyond waving at each other from across the pews. Since we live in a little bitty house and can't serve dinner for eight, our "turn" is always in a restaurant. I decided that since I can't "host" and it was our last gathering before switching groups and it's Christmas, that I'd make little gifts. So, I made each family on of these little trees. They were great fun to make and everyone seemed to love them. Made me all warm and fuzzy.



On another note, I've had this rug hooked for months and just couldn't make myself sit down and bind it. Once I got started, it went fairly quickly. Unlike binding a quilt (which is one of my favorite steps), binding a rug isn't even close to my favorite part.



And finally, here's Shelby helping me wrap presents. She's a big help. Can't you tell?