Comments on the Comments

Friday's Show and Tell was such fun for me - all of these "I Used To . . . " episodes have been fun, but for some reason the comments on this one have led me to want to respond to many of them.

As is quite obvious from these posts, I loved sewing. It was something I could do well, and it gave me a great feeling of accomplishment to wear my creations and clothe my children in them as well. I did sew for others at times. The most challenging jobs were when someone else started a project, couldn't finish it, and asked me to complete it for them.

I am in awe of the talent of some of our friends out there in blogland - Barb, who has created herself into a business on line; Denise, who designs beautiful cards for every occasion; Kelli, who hosts us every week with Show and Tell, and shows many of her creations during the week; Robin, who sews and knits for her new grandbabies; those who do wonderful quilts and wall hangings; my niece, Karen, who reminds me of myself at the same age, but who has taken it WAY beyond my skill level.

There are such gifted writers - those who think deep thoughts, those who give us devotionals, those who make us laugh - I guess my gift is telling stories, and it is fun to go back in time and write it down for posterity, and for fun. It's been great to bring back the writing enjoyment that I haven't used for years. In fact, I wish I still had the things I wrote in college. Unfortunately, I threw them away when they became mildewed in my crawl space!

I never thought of myself as talented, but as my sewing ability grew, I did feel good about that. I don't do crafts well at all. Our ladies' group at church used to have monthly craft nights. I always knew I wasn't going to be able to do the project well, but I went for the fellowship. If you don't believe it, let me tell you about the night that one of my friends was in charge of the project for that night. I kept telling her I wouldn't be able to do the project, and she would always tell me it was so easy anyone could do it. I always tried, but it never turned out right. One night she said, "You aren't kidding, are you?"

I learned the sewing basics in junior high and high school, but really took off when my college roommate sewed everything she wore and I began watching her and learning. It soon became not only a way to create, but a way to have a nice wardrobe without spending a fortune. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be true any more - the cost of patterns, fabric, notions, etc. has gone up so much that it seems to cost as much to sew an outfit as to buy it ready-made. Not to mention the fact that I can't see to thread a needle any more. If I decide to go with Lasik surgery, maybe I will be able to try again. So many wanted to know if I sew for the babies and the bigger girls - I don't for the reasons mentioned above - but especially the eye thing - and laziness! I guess I could get one of those threader dealies if I got serious about sewing again, couldn't I? It's the only thing I can't do with my near vision.

My little allowance wasn't much in those days, but it is amazing how far I was able to stretch it - I re-used patterns over and over, just changing them enough so nobody knew it was the same except me. And there was a store in town in those days that had great sales - I can remember buying yards and yards for kids' outfits for 50 cents to $1.00 a yard.

Someone mentioned the polyester double knit era - I remember the day I discovered it and the fact that it was 60 inches wide, and took much less material to make an outfit. It didn't need to be ironed. But - it was HOT!

Two people reminded me that the dresses in the one family portrait were Gunne Sax - thanks, I know I could count on you.

Some mentioned that it was as much fun to look at the things in the background of the pictures as it was the outfits - it's true - you can tell what era it was, can't you?? The records and stereo, the knick knacks, the colors - the shelves were created and built by DC, and served us well for many years. Sure beat the book shelves made out of boards and bricks that we started out with in our first little duplex.

I was noticing the Christmas tree in that one picture of Kristen and me in the red skirts and flowered blouses - I couldn't believe how barren it looked - not just the lack of branches (that was in the days when the kids and DC went and cut down the tree every year from the woods), but the amount of things hanging on the branches - we sure have added a lot of ornaments each year - and now have two trees' worth.

Changing the subject - someone asked me how I am enjoying retirement. I have not looked back, and have no regrets. I went up to visit my old office the other day, and took the girls along for "show and tell." It was fun to see everyone, but there were no twinges at all. I think I'm starting my 9th week already - I think. I've lost track of time. I do know that today all the faculty are back for their big "retreat" - which is a nice word for a long, all day meeting. Then tomorrow is orientation for the new MSW students that I admitted last spring. I had thought I'd go up and meet them, just for fun, and maybe help Peter with the orientation, but I'm rethinking that - we'll see.

I'm thinking of trying to get a little retirement job, if I could figure out how to go about it - when I'm exercising at the gym, sometimes I watched a bit of t.v. - the transcribed dialogue at the bottom of the screen - I would like to have a job doing that transcribing, because I simply cannot believe how badly some people mess up the spelling of what they're trying to say - I don't know if they can't hear well, or if they're just dumb. I think I could do it much better! Seriously, I don't really want to have a job at all, but if I did, and if I could do it at home, I think this would be a fun one - I just cannot believe they let such embarrassing mistakes go on the air and don't fire the person behind the scenes!

Last - and on an entirely different subject again -- You remember those 23 or more days of 90+ degree weather that broke that 134-year record? It finally ended, and in fact, got quite cool. I love it. There is a hint of fall in the air. I'm sure it won't last, but it's been great. In fact, we had 3 solid days of rain and 60-degrees or less - the nice, gentle, soaking kind of rain that can really help the farmers. Sorry, all of those who had outdoor weddings! We've been praying for rain.

Here are some pictures of the lake that lives in the middle of our town. It's a beautiful spot, and has been the catalyst for people on vacation to go back home, pack up their stuff, and move here - hoping to find a job when they got here!

This lake is beautiful - but unfortunately, it is somewhat of an illusion. It's not really a lake. It's a reservoir. And it belongs to another town east of us - a ditch company. It is the water that irrigates the farmers' fields when it doesn't rain. So here's what happens when the farmers need it, and there's not enough water in the river up the canyon to keep the water levels up. Not only that, but the only ones who can use their boats on this lake are those who own the houses on the shores - they pay a mighty price to have private access to the water for recreation.

If you look carefully, you can see a group of gulls lined up along the tiny stream of water trickling through the mud:

Here is a view of the small beach, which had to close down early this year (usually stays open until Labor Day) for obvious reasons:

It's sad. I always wonder what the tourists who come through here think when they see a sand hole instead of the beautiful lake of the brochures and Chamber of Commerce propaganda. At times they have emptied it purposely for maintenance - and then they find really interesting things that have been lost from boats, etc. There are some legends about what they might find, but mostly they're just that - legends. Hopefully when you come to visit me, the water will be back!

Have a great week!

Friday Show and Tell - and Twin Update

Today is #6 in my series called "I Used To . . . " It has been such a fun journey for me, and I hope you're enjoying it as well. This episode is about the matching outfits I enjoyed making for my family over the years. When Kristen was born, I began having fun making her outfits from the same fabric as mine. This was the first one when she was 4 months old.

The next one was for Mother's Day, when she was 5 months old. I can't get over how dark my hair got during each pregnancy.

This was our first Christmas with her - I'll never forget the excitement when I went shopping for this fabric and lace with my little monthly allowance - yes, I had an allowance. Sorry if you're young and think that sounds terribly uncool! That's the way it was.

When Kev came along, I didn't sew as much for him, but on occasion, I just couldn't resist matching the two of them. Kristen was 4 and Kev 2 in this first one.

We made this snapshot into a t-shirt for Daddy. Don't you just love the decorative garden hose??

I made these when Kristen was 5 and Kev almost 3.

I love this one of them standing in front of that Austrian Pine that's at least 30 feet tall now.

I should have shot this picture before they became a bit disheveled - they're trying on Uncle R's shoes - he's the tallest one in my sibling's shot that I showed in my last post - he wears about a size 13 shoe.

Then there was the Christmas when they were 5 and 3 - Daddy got into the picture this time. Doesn't Kev looked thrilled about his new plaid flannel shirt??

I don't have the year marked on this one, but I think they're about 7 and 5 in this picture - the outfits aren't totally matching, and I wish you could see them in their entirety - I think these are two of my favorite outfits I ever made - the patterns were extremely detailed (I am blanking on the name, but I know someone out there can refresh my memory - does Laura Ashley sound right?), and I was very proud when I finished them. That's our little dog, Fritzie, who was such a huge part of our family.

Last but not least, here is Kristen with two of her cousins and her Cabbage Patch doll, who is wearing an outfit matching hers. I hope to do a post on some more of the clothes I made to match her outfits for a different doll. She was 10 at this time.

The twins had their 7 month check-ups and they are doing just great - they are developmentally right on target - they aren't even talking about "adjusted age." The girlies are "talking" and blowing bubbles and rolling around, and Katie is really close to sitting up. They are about 10.5 and 11.5 pounds - are just about to grow out of 0-3 month clothes, and are in size 1 diapers. I love these two shots - holding hands . . .

. . . and playing footsie . . .

For more Friday Show and Tell stories, stop by Kelli's blog, There Is No Place Like Home.

The More Things Change . . .

The More they Stay the Same ---

Kristen at age 3 (1977)

Kristen at age 7 (1981)

Care Bear at age 3 (2005)

Kristen and Kevin helping in the kitchen (1979 - ages 5 and 3)

Care Bear and Feisty helping in the same kitchen, same spot (2006 - ages 2 and 4)

My siblings and me - in height order (1966) - my brothers always hoped to be taller than me - and one of them finally made it.

My siblings and me - in age order, youngest to eldest (2004). The youngest is now the tallest, by far.

Friday Show and Tell - and More Rambling

Earlier this summer I mentioned our new birdhouse, which my dad had designed and created. I complained that the bird grapevine must be very slow, because none had come by to try it out, or to spread the word that there was a new restaurant in town.

Finally, a little family of finches began to get brave and come to visit - and soon they became regulars. One day I saw a bully blue jay in there, but he hasn't returned. The finches are quite messy, and the patio is full of seeds that they carelessly push out of the feeder.

One of the main features of this design is keeping the squirrels from being able to snatch all of the food. It works very well in that regard. However, the other day I saw two squirrels feasting on this mess on the patio - I wasn't quick enough to get a shot of them. But it made me wonder if the birds decided to share their bounty, since the squirrels couldn't join them - or try to keep them away. I finally was able to get some good ones of the birds, though.

For more Friday Show and Tell stories, stop by Kelli's blog, There Is No Place Like Home.

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Now - on to some more ramblings ---

We're thankful for the end of our long seige of heat - when it's so hot here, it's like being in a furnace or oven, rather than a sauna. It feels like we're heading back into a drought cycle. But it has been wonderfully cool the last two days. It feels so good! We even had a lovely rain last night. The farmers are desperate and we're praying for them.

I think my three days of physical funk made me forget half of the things I was going to put in my ramblings yesterday. Thanks for the good wishes - I am feeling much better. This bug is rampant in our family - including the little ones, who are not at their peak either. Thanks also for the comments about L*sik surgery - I will be making my decision soon. I hope to talk to some folks who have had their surgery from this clinic.

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When I was talking about the gym yesterday, I was complaining about my arms. My sis and I used to always call our arms "teacher flab" because of some of our teachers when they were writing on the board. We both became teachers and didn't want to have that problem! I look back at pictures of when I was younger and cannot believe that I ever thought I had big arms back then. I have always thought I was overweight, but now that I really am, I look back and pix and can't believe how slim I really was. Perspective is everything!

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Back at the gym -- I love watching people there while I'm exercising (well, when I'm not reading a magazine or a book on the machines and I'm working on those blasted arm weights). I hope nobody's watching me! It's almost as much fun as watching people at the airport.

Anyway - there's this one personal trainer, a good-looking young guy with a great Australian accent. He seems to be the favorite of older women who have hired him to whip them into shape. One woman especially fascinates me. She's a very classy looking older lady with silver gray hair - she dresses up very nicely for her exercises - including large clip-on earrings every day. He puts her through her paces as she chats endlessly and laughs gustily. I have to say that I have no desire to have a young male trainer watching my every clumsy attempt - I'd rather just figure it out myself.

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Changing the subject drastically - I mentioned in the post about our yard a few weeks ago that we have raspberries, some of which came here in the ball of a maple tree and have been growing wild. We're having a bumper crop of raspberries this summer. I needed to do something with them before it was too late. Susie showed the other day how she freezes her raspberries on a cookie sheet so they don't clump together - I decided to do that yesterday. I put the cookie sheet full of berries in the freezer, but didn't get around to putting them in baggies yet when - DC came home, opened the freezer door, and I immediately identified the loud crash I heard - frozen raspberries everywhere on the floor. Totally wasted. They begin thawing very quickly, and the floor was soon very sticky. What a mess.

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I think at some point in this blogging adventure I have mentioned my bad luck with nails in my tires. The last time DC took my car in for tire repair the guy at the station told him to tell me to quit driving in the alleys behind bars! Ha. The other day I was sitting at a stop light when I saw this thing in the road. I took a picture of it on my check book so you could get an idea of how huge it is.

I jumped out of my car, snatched it up, and saved myself and/or someone else from spending more time and money on tire repair - I think this one would have required more than a simple repair job - more like a new tire.

Have a great 08-08-08!

Random Ramblings # ???

I hope my dear friend, Groovy, will forgive me for borrowing (or should I say stealing?) this wonderful caveat to this post. It cracked me up and said so well what I would say if I were as clever as Groovy is.

"WARNING: Readers of this post should be at least 48" tall and be in good health. If you are pregnant or have heart conditions, please check with your doctor before buckling into this ride. This ramble is subject to quick pacing and sudden twists and turns in subject matter. As always, please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle until the ride comes to a complete stop. "

I haven't felt all that great for the last 3 days - just a bit of flu, I think. There's a lot of it going around here. I can't blame it on the heat, although that is what I have blamed everything on for the 23 straight days of over-9o degree days that we suffered through until a breakthrough came. We broke a 134-year record - dubious at best! I heard, though, that Barb over on the western slope, had over 50 days in a row. I guess I should count my blessings.



First and foremost, I need to acknowledge a lovely award from our friend, Tammy, over at Lattes and Lollipops (formerly Family Doin's - but I don't have the techno savvy to change it on my sidebar and my techie guru, Kristen, is out of the computer loop right now). Tammy has honored me with this award, and said the kind words below:

"I think I met her after I had only been blogging a few months and I love that when I visit her, it's like sitting down at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a good friend. She has just recently retired and added twin baby granddaughters to her family in the past six months, so it's fun to peek into her life as she enjoys this interesting phase of her life."

Thank you, Tammy, for those kind thoughts - and I do wish each and every one of us could sit together and chat. But what a blessing that we've found each other in this wonderful medium.

I've missed going to the gym for the last several days - first because of the big doings out at my husband's employer (see previous post), then not feeling well. But last weigh-in was Thursday (two more to go before the end of the contest), and I'm happy to report:

It's going very slowly, but at least in the right direction. Especially when you consider all of that FREE food friend Groovy, mentioned above, talked about in her latest post.

BUT - how in the world long does it take for some improvement to show on my disgusting bat wing arms??? I might have to have a bit of nip and tuck surgery -- and speaking of surgery ---

You may remember the marathon of doctor's appointments I went through before retirement and changing my insurance plan. I didn't get to my eyes at that time, because I have no coverage for them anyway, and there was no rush. When I got the notice that it was time (well, way past time, really) for my eye check-up, there was an offer for a complimentary evaluation for L*sik surgery. My personal opthamologist has told me that he doesn't think I'm a good candidate. But I wanted to hear it from those who do the process evey day. So I took them up on the offer. It was a very thorough examination. At the end when the doctor finally took over from the technicians, he told me that I had very dry eyes and they don't close completely when I blink. Hmmm. Weird. He told me to use eye drops for two weeks to see if the reading he was getting was just because of the dryness, or if I really wasn't well suited for the L*sik correction.

When I went back and they re-ran some of the tests, it turned out that I could indeed have the surgery. Now - the problem. I can't decide whether I want to do it or not. I WANT to do it, there's no doubt about that. One problem - my sweet DC, who usually is up for anything I feel strongly about, is not sure about this one. It's costly, and I have to figure out how to pay for it. But I haven't talked to too many people who regret having done it. I totally understand that I'll probably have to still wear reading glasses. But I really detest wearing glasses - especially bifocals, after so many years of contacts. So - my question - if you have had Lasik surgery, give me the pros and cons. Okay? If you don't want to do it here on this comment section, please e-mail me from my sidebar. Thanks!

I am almost through the pile of books I showed a few posts ago - I am enjoying the Jennifer Chiaverini series so much. But I'm reading several other books that are new, so only have 3 weeks to read them and can't renew. Thus, I get very homesick to get back to my new quilting friends in between books. I recently finished Runaway Quilt, which was a very moving book. If you haven't read it, it's worth the entire series to read this one book. It is a flashback to the Civil War times when slaves were hidden in the Underground Railroad. There was a paragraph that really gripped me,

I cannot trace the path my thoughts traveled that night, but in my fatigue and my fear, I saw quite plainly a sameness linking all of us entangled in this great conflict, so that I felt once both guardian and fugitive, both slave and freeborn. Slavery made slaves of us all, it seemed to me, imprisoning those with dark skin in the iron shackles of injustice, those who owned slaves in chains of sin, and those of us complacent in our freedom with the heavy yoke of obligation to help our enslaved brethren.

Last - I have mentioned several times that I'm reading the Bible through chronologically this year - I just finished Isaiah - as in Proverbs, I find so much that is applicable to our society. How long will God wait? In the second chapter (The Message), Isaiah gives this message:

God, you've walked out on your family Jacob because their world is full of hokey religion,

Philistine witchcraft, and pagan hocus-pocus, a world rolling in wealth,

Stuffed with things, no end to its machines and gadgets,

And gods - gods of all sorts and sizes.

These people make their own gods and worship what they make. A degenerate race, facedown in the gutter.

Don't bother with them! They're not worth forgiving!

I'm thankful God is still in control and that his timetable is not ours. In a time of wondering why young men die - another funeral today for a young guy, only 15, who's been battling cancer for 3 years - why fires rage the land, hurricanes and tornadoes, drought - it is comforting to read Isaiah 55:

Seek God while He's here to be found, pray to Him while he's close at hand. Let the wicked abandon their way of life and the evil their way of thinking. Let them come back to God, who is merciful, come back to our God, who is lavish with forgiveness.

I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work - God's Decree.

For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don't go back until they've watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry. So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They'll do the work I sent them to do, they'll complete the assignment I gave them.

So you'll go out in joy, you'll be led into a whole and complete life. The mountains and hills will lead the parade, bursting with song. All the trees of the forest will join the procession, exuberant with applause. No more thistles, but giant sequoias, no more thornbushes, but stately pines -- Monuments to me, to God, living and lasting evidence of God.

Another Amazing Week-End

It was the late 1970s. Our new friends had just moved to our town and joined our church. Our girls (their third, our first) became best friends. He joined choir. He worked with his dad and his brother in a company they had begun. They were making evaporative coolers for trucks and tractors. One night, in the middle of choir practice, he told DC that they were going to change their product - they were going to make lawn mowers. Thus, so inauspiciously, began a wonderful success story. A giving glory to God story.

Walker Manufacturing began a journey that has been amazing. The mower production began in 1980. It took 20 years to produce the first 50,000 mowers. It took only 8 more years for the 100,000th to roll off the production line. (DC has worked for them as a buyer for the last 8 years, after he was unceremoniously "downsized" - don't you love that term - by his employer of 27+ years). This last week-end was the Family Reunion - the second one. Have you ever heard of a company having a family reunion? For the second time, Walkers invited anyone who had ever worked for them, worked for them now, sold a mower, bought a mower, distributed mowers, used a mower, wished they had a mower, to come and celebate the 100,000th mower. Approximately 3000 people showed up - from all over the world.


It was HOT. But they came and they stayed around for 2 days, some 3. There were things for the kids to do, there was an obstacle course (the same young man won for the 4th time in a row), there was great food, there was entertainment on the stage as people visited, there were balloon rides and helicopter rides, there was a talent show, there was the driving of the 100,000th mower driven in a parade of sorts by the woman who won the drawing for the privilege. There is Walker Ware to purchase. There was a free pancake breakfast for everyone, there was a free brat dinner for everyone, there were DC's clients - many suppliers - there with giveaways. There was a flag raising, with flags from all over the world showcased - those countries where Walker mowers are sold.

The mower of honor looked like all the rest to me, but it has a special paint to make it stand out from the crowd -

There were many wonderful prizes given away by the customers - some little fun stuff, and some amazingly generous gifts. Walkers give away FIVE of their mowers - mowers that sell for $7000-$15000. You had to be present to win - and many people had gone swimming to cool off and lost their opportunity. Can you imagine their chagrin when they learned this?? Here's a picture of 4 of the 5 with our friend, the CEO of the company. (If you have any grass in your town, you'll probably see these mowers being hauled around by lawn care companies - we have so many young guys around here who start their own lawn mowing companies and eventually can afford one or two of these mowers - they have long trailers and haul them around town - start looking and I'm sure you'll see them. Their claim to fame is that they do a 360 around trees, etc., and have a great grass collecting system).

The evening finally began to settle in and cool off. Three concerts were scheduled -- none of the artists were familiar to me, but they were a hit with the hard-working employees. The first guy (I didn't get a good picture - the lighting was bad at that time of day) was Mike Snider and his band - they were a very talented group of pickers and strummers - with Mike's humor thrown in. He was also a very talented harmonica player.

The second concert was with Pam Tillis - I'm sure some of you know of her and are probably fans. I remember hearing of her dad, and for some reason remembered that he has a stuttering problem, but that's all I knew about him. Pathetic, huh? But Pam is a charming performer, even though country is not my favorite. She gave us a good concert.

Then as darkness settled down, the third star took the stage - I really had never heard of him, and I have to say he was my least favorite act - but the workers really got into his program. His name was A*ron Tipp*n. It was fun to watch the crowd, but I was getting pretty tired and was happy when he finished his performance.

One interesting sidelight of his performance - every concert he shows his work ethic roots and puts together a bicycle for Toys for Tots. This time he decided to help put together a Walker mower. The already assembled deck was carried onto the stage and each of the shop supervisors brought his individual part of the mower to complete the job - they finished putting it together in a matter of minutes. Then he got to call the winner's name and he autographed the mower. It was quite exciting. Wouldn't you know - my battery died at this inopportune moment.

The closing ceremony was a great highlight - first of all, 100,000 firecrackers were set off - I wish I had timed how long it took - it was amazing.

Then the grand finale - a wonderful fireworks show. We'd been there since 7:30 a.m. and it was now 9:30 p.m.. but it was a great day.

But that wasn't the end. Remember - this is a very unusual Christ-centered company with devoutly Christian leaders. They wanted to end the week-end with a worship service for those who were able to stay around. (Thank you, Lord, for the nice cloud cover for most of the service!) DC's quartet sang - the two Walker guys are on the right.

We had a great time singing together with a local church's praise team - in fact, one of the members of the team has a new Walker mower of his own, because his wife's name was drawn.

The patriarch and matriarch of the Walker family are wonderful role models - he had a stroke a few years ago and is unable to talk, but he sat there with her in one of the carts that get people around the large property - tears flowed from many of us as their daughter shared their testimony with us.

The message was brought by a professor from Colorado Christian University and it was a true blessing - this man was a gifted communicator. What a wonderful time we had throughout the week-end.