He's the man

Father's day was nice and peaceful. Jessica really looked forward to it this year. Yes those are her real hand prints. I took the paper and hung it on the wall after it was done being the wrapping paper. As Rob walked past it, he made a comment about how much her hands have grown. And he's exactly right. Children grow up so fast. These have taken me a while to post as as first Jessica was sick. Then I lost the hub to download photos with, and now I'm sick. The fun just keeps on coming. Sunny has not been sleeping well since Kitty's passing, and I've worried about that. Here he is dozing on the 2" ledge above the ac in our bedroom. Rob took the hint and made him a nice shelf, so he might perch there more easily (and perhaps even allow himself to sleep a bit more). Both Sunny and Tiny have a vet check lined up for next week. Hopefully our yearly visit will come back just fine.

Last Row

As you know I wrapped up the last row for the row robin. In this case the last two rows are mine, bringing the quilt to a 84"X84" instead of 84"X72". Amber has received it and plans on adding a border to bring it up to king size for her bed. I'm certain whatever she does will be beautiful. Each loop of "ribbon" is made from flannel and is being held by a pair of doves. Inside the loops are uplifting passages such as "Good will towards men". This was the last embroidery my machine did before deciding to be broken, so I was glad to learn she liked the top. There was plenty of room left in the flat rate box I stuck in a bit of cheer for the "quilter" in her as well as a couple of things to make her feel special. My personal favorite of what I included is a bath bomb from Basin and White. Since I refuse to order them online, the only place I can get them is the Grand Floridian at Walt Disney World. I feel it helps to keep them "special". And of course if she doesn't like it she can always re-gift. If you would like to see any of these photos closer up, just click on them.

Sickin' Allergies

Yesterday Jessica was running a fever, so we had a "mommy hold me" afternoon on the couch. She can be so cuddly sometimes. Of course today she is off to the races again, picking flowers and playing dress up with a pair of "pretend" glasses that she has.

I thought I was coming down with it to, runny itchy nose, etc. So this afternoon when I cleaned up the kitchen a bit (you know how all that can fall by the wayside when you don't feel 100%) I found a glass of chocolate milk. Yep warm. EEWWWW. There is nothing I am more allergic to than milk gone bad. As a child I couldn't even have pizza or ice cream, but as an adult the allergy has settled into an extreme sensitivity to all "turning" and spoiled milk products. The smell alone will chase me down like a pack of wild lions. So turns out I wasn't sick at all. Just as soon as I'd finished cleaning up the kitchen I was right as rain again.

Father's day was good. Jessica was so excited this year. I used a sponge brush to brush tempera paint on her hands which she patted all over the paper we wrapped the quilt in. In my dreams my husband is a man of many words, in reality not so much. So he said what he always says about my quilts "looks good".

In complete contrast, the other week my cousin was shown all around my sewing area by my DH when I wasn't home. Later she told me how proud he is of all that I do and all that I create.

My sewing machine is okay, but of course the embroidery unit is awaiting a visit to the repair guy. Since today seemed like a cluster of bitter grapes I decided to put it off till tomorrow. After all maybe tomorrow will be a bed of roses.

UnPlanned Clean?

Is there even such a thing? Well today at my house there is. I started by putting away two chairs from the kitchen table, but before I could do that I felt like I had to clean under the table, and so it went. Interestingly everything in my house is clean except the top of the table. Yep, strange I know. Of course that's where I sew so maybe that's part of it.

Currently I have two pairs (or is it three?) of my sister's pants eagarly awaiting repairs. I tell you what - maybe it's just me, but I find stretch denim to be more likely to spring holes. And we wont bother to explain why it's a pain to repair, I think that goes without saying.

One of the holes is just a straight line running with the line of the fabric. I think I'll just satin stitch that one up and cover it with a patch instead of embroidering on it. That way it wont wear and rub annoyingly on her knee. As for the rest, I'll think about them later.

We have a new air conditioner! I'm so glad, I can't even begin to tell you how rough it's been with heat indexes over 100, not to mention record breaking temps.

Jessica seems to be dealing with the loss of Kitty pretty well. I wont pretend to know what goes on in her smart little brain, so we're taking it one day at a time. Yesterday was not a good day for me, but "my momma told me there'd be days like that".

The Tucker went out of my Ticker Day Parade

I wasn't going to post tonight, as I didn't really feel in the mood, but it was so pleasant to drop in on stitchinpenny tonight that I felt perhaps a wrap up on the day might be just the ticket.

Today I finished up the two rows for Amber's quilt. I haven't decided if I will post photos ahead or wait until Amber tells me it's safe in her hands and she likes it. I know I'm such a sucker for a surprise. It's the last of my commitment to the large group and it does fill me with a bit of peace to have it done. The finished size is supposed to be 84"X84" I haven't measured it, but it's big, and heavy and did I mention hot?

With no air conditioning here in Central FL we've been cooking, I have no doubt it was over 95 in my house today (but I didn't dare check that thermostat for fear the sight of it would make me melt!) I can not wait until we replace the air conditioner. I tell you what there is a reason why some people only quilt in the winter time.

I am not so well, I pushed myself to hard today and my foot is furious. My heart is most especially heavy when I am alone. The sun has mostly set and the noises of the night can be heard through the open window, but I haven't turned on the light. It's hard to turn and know that Kitty isn't there, that I wont hear her voice again hollering for dinner. I have never buried a pet that I have loved so long before. I keep seeing her over and over in my mind as she was after she past and I have to remind myself that wasn't my gal.

I once heard somewhere that our pets look like us, and when I had Kitty in to the vets office before Christmas last year I was sitting on the bench looking at everyone and thinking how true that was. The woman with perfectly shaped brown hair with a dog just the same, a huge burly man with a Husky larger than I'd ever seen before. Our three furred friends include the proud regal looking Sunny with a tender heart. Our long and lean 8 pound Tiny, beautiful finely boned. Then we had kitty 18 pounds at last check. She's the one that looked like me and now that she's gone I can't help but realize how very much the same she and I were. It's as though there is a hollow spot not even tears can fill up.

Love your family and hold them close, be they furred, feathered, or skinned because none of us know what the future holds.