Fun Day!!!

Here is Tori's car! The body shop picked it up today and will start working on it tomorrow. It should be ready by the 15th of this month. That's 3 days after she moves to college. She is using my car until then. That just gives this momma an excuse to have to drive to see her so we can swap cars.





I love purple!!! I saw the top fabric first and fell in love with the delicate flowers. Thats when I decided to buy lots of different purple fabric and make a quilt. I'm stoked about it! I think I'm a little crazy though...I have so many other projects going on. I'm going to start cutting out my squares this evening....after Big Brother....I am going to try to refrain from sewing until I finish Tori's afghan.


The 3rd one has a beautiful navy background. The last fabric is a dark purple...this will be the back of the quilt.



Tori & I went shopping for college today! Guess what...I didn't cry! We had a blast!! We went to the river market and ate lunch at Boulevard to fuel us for a day of shop till you drop. Our first stop was Target. We love Target...who doesn't, huh? We knew what we wanted we when walked in the door....bedding, bathroom stuff, hamper, etc. As we walked through the door instead of going right towards the household wares we gravitated to the clothes by this invisible force.(this is what I tell John) We just had to give in to the temptation and try something on. We ended up buying these dresses. Just being goofy.
Once this dress is ironed out It's gonna look cute.

Got that out of our system and headed far away from that department. Tori didn't need as much as Meg did when she was a freshman.
1. Tori went to Governors School last year and lived in a dorm and we bought lots of "dorm" stuff then.
2. She isn't moving into a dorm...she's moving in a house with Meg.

So we kinda went "house/college" shopping. She found a hamper, closet organizer, hand mixer, measuring cup and spoons (the girl LOVES to cook) and so much more. She really liked this comforter but decided to see what was at the other store.

We then headed to Bed, Bath and Beyond. She found the burnt orange shower curtain her & Meg wanted (that's 1 project I don't need to sew), towels, wash clothes and a cool rug to match. She got 650 thread count sheets in a beautiful brown color. But she didn't see a comforter that she liked. So (as momma predicted) she said she wants the one at Target. So we head back to Target and run in to get the comforter. It's olive green and is going to look lovely over the brown sheets.
and it's reversible.

And that stinking invisible force pulled us towards the purses....I ended up buying me a cute orange one. Target is a dangerous store!
It was a fun day!

When it rains...it pours!

You know the saying..."When it rains, it pours".
Well, it poured in my life today. A torrential downpour. I was so overwhelmed in a matter of minutes. What could have been so bad you ask...Well, pull up a chair, grab your coffee and I'll vent on you for a few minutes. Is that alright? Well, it'll have to be alright cause here I go.

First, I didn't sleep very well last night; I was extremely worried about the surgery my mother was going to endure this morning. I was in prayer half the night. I finally crawled out of my bed at 5am, lazily let the dogs out then poured me a huge cup of coffee. I spent some more time with God, then started to get ready for the day. On the way to mom's house I got behind a John Deere Tractor going 25 mph...that's what happens when you live in the country! I never had an opportunity to pass him. I had no choice but to follow him 9 miles. When he turned off...I did a little hooray dance in my seat. Then when I finally got to the interstate traffic was backed up and crawling at 30 mph. I could have screamed! But, instead I cried. My emotions have been in high gear for awhile now. Anything can make me cry and I mean anything! But, that's a whole different blog in it's self. So I call Mom and tell her I'm coming... just running into a few road blocks. Finally, I pick up mom, get her to the dentist. They take her in and tell me it will be about 3 hours. OK, I go run some errands my mom asked of me and a few of my own.

Mom has Lupus and without going into great detail, it has ate away the bone in her mouth and was causing abscesses. They had to pull teeth, scrap away bone and so fourth. She is also on blood thinners...one of the reasons I was extremely scared for her to have this surgery. She had to be taken off the medicine 1 week before the surgery. There is a huge risk in doing this. She could bleed to death if something goes wrong. Someone has to be with her for at least the first 24 hours. She has to stay in bed for 72 hours and be as still as possible.

So the nurse tells me mom is all done and ready to go home. I pull the car around to the back door to pick her up. The nurse puts her in the car and in 2 minutes flat gives me instructions on how to take care of my mother.

There are two ice packs put them on the counter and hit it with your fist...like this(she demonstrates in thin air) 15 minutes here 15 minutes here (as she points to chin and cheek) every time shes awake...she has two different pain medications give her one of each when you get home...keep her at a 45 degree angle for the first 24 hours...do not let her lay down...she can aspirate. Etc... I swear the woman didn't take a breath...it was one continuous sentence. My head was spinning. I will say this though, That was one of the nicest dentist offices I have ever been in. Everyone was super sweet and took super care of my mother!!!

When they were giving me those instructions, Tori had stopped by to get my debit card so she could go buy her & I sushi for lunch. She was to go to the post office then get sushi and meet me at Grandmas.

My mom was SO out of it....drugged up hard core. There was no way I could get her in the house by myself. I call my sister Kim, she said Yes, I'll meet you there. (she works right around the corner) she calls me back a few minutes later...she was walking out the door and realized she couldn't leave...there was no one else there to watch the shop. I didn't panic I said, OK, I'll figure something out. So I call my brother Chad. He is not in town and said he would come(he is a good 20 minutes away) but I was almost to the house. I panicked and you guessed it...started crying. Kim called back and was able to leave after all. Thank God!!! The two of us get mom in the house....slowly. She settles into the chair. 45 degree angle. I go back out to my car to get mom's medication. I see that I missed a call from Tori 1 minute earlier. I call her back. Here is where my day became the torrential downpour.

Hey Tori, sorry I missed your call...we were helping Grandma into the house.
Momma, I wreaked my car.
What, Are you OK? Where? I'll be right there.
No, stay with Grandma.
Love you
Love you

Of course my sister told me to go...go be with Tori. She was there and would take care of Mom. Well, remember the instructions the nurse gave me in 2 minutes...I gave them to my sister in 15 seconds. I didn't know how long I'd be with Tori.

I cry and cry as I drive to my baby girl.

I went through 2 accidents with Meg, both being very bad, so I was anticipating the worse. As I pulled up to the scene I was relieved that it wasn't as bad as I foresaw. I tend to do that a lot. I think all mother's do...or at least the one's in my family. Tori was headed to Grandma's when a car in front of the car in front of her...slammed on his brakes...making the car in front of her slam on his and then she had no time to react and rear ended him. So I pull up, got out of my car and I hugged Tori and was just happy she wasn't hurt. I was also very happy to see one of her best friend's, Kristyn whom she has known since kindergarten standing by her side. God was in control of that one! He put Kristyn in that intersection I believe so she could comfort Tori until I could get there. She stayed until we all drove off. That speaks volumes about the friendship those two have!

Tori didn't get hurt, physically. She had a headache...and will probably be a little sore tomorrow from the jolt.. She didn't get a ticket...the cops were gracious and wrote it up as $2000.00 in damage...anything over $2500 they have to ticket you. They said they have 6 or 7 accidents like this a day cause the town has grown so fast! It is actually about $3500 in damage. She loves her car and was upset because she has been driving almost 3 years and this is her first accident. We actually were just talking about this a few days back. I'm just glad she wasn't hurt.

Mom is doing good. Her face is a bit swollen. She actually does very well recouping from surgeries. We just have to get her to stay still and stop trying to look at her mouth.You aren't supposed to pull at your cheek and she kept doing so. My shift ended. Tori and cousins, Emily & Krysta are with her now and will be staying the night. Oh and the instructions....I took about 15 minutes and talked it over with them.

So if you have hung in there and read all the way to the bottom I thank you for letting me vent it out. I don't have a stress headache anymore! I think I'm all cried out as well.
I'm going to go crochet now.
I hope you all have a pleasant evening.

Changed my name

I decided to change my blog name to "Keeper of the Skies Wife". It suits me better, you know, since my husband is an Air Traffic Controller!!!
Short & Sweet.
Betty

Call me a heathen...I don't care. I was just too tired this morning to go to church. I slept like a baby in my own bed last night. Wait...babies don't sleep through the night...why do we say that? Um, I slept like a rock last night!! There is nothing in the entire universe like your own bed! Don't you agree?


After the long car ride ( & reading an entire book with my neck down and 2 dogs in my lap) yesterday, I was feeling the tightness in my neck and shoulders. So I thought about asking John to give me a massage when he woke up. Then I thought, "How selfish, Betty...he drove the trip so his neck is probably killing him". So I quit thinking of myself and decided to make a Heated Neck Warmer for him. ( I did try it out before he woke up) He absolutely LOVED it!!! He was quite impressed. Here he is on the couch with it around his neck.



Call me lazy...I don't care. I was too tired to make a big meal tonight. I looked through the pantry to figure out a quick and filling meal I could make. I found organic buckwheat pancake mix that I bought from Wild Oats. Of course I couldn't just make them plain. I added cinnamon, honey, walnuts and blueberries. Oh me oh my oh....these were delicious! Instead of syrup Tori suggested wild berry preserves. This was not just healthier for you...40 calories per tablespoon of preserves compared to 210 calories per 1/4 cup of syrup...but it tasted SO much better!

This was less then a tablespoon of preserves.




Oh and of course we had to wash it down with ice cold milk!

Reeses, he wants to be a part of the family at dinner time. He gets on the back of the couch and watches us eat with wide eyes...licking his chops just begging for someone to slip him a taste.

We are home!!!

After a long 11 hour car ride...we are home!!! The beach was wonderful....to walk in the sand....we couldn't go in the water because of the Jellyfish. There were so many! Also, the currents were extremely strong! But, we made the most of it. We went swimming at the pool everyday and enjoyed some amazing food at night. It was a very relaxing vacation. I'm looking forward to getting some of my projects done before school starts. Oh school...thats in 3 weeks. Oh my! Where did the summer go.

Rainy Day

It's raining, it's pouring....what do I do? Grab John and go to that cute little Yarn Shop you saw earlier in the week! Oh, I just love yarn. The different textures, colors, even the smell. My stash has seriously depleted since I've made the College Scrap Afghans. I controlled myself and didn't buy the entire store...oh, but wouldn't that be a dream....all that yarn at your reach when you want it. Imported yarns....expensive....but marvelous...the soft, warm feel entwining through my fingers.


I bought 2 skeins from the Plymouth Yarn Company that were made in Turkey, yellow & rainbow, to add to Tori's afghan.


The other yarn is also from Plymouth but it's the luxury brand...spun in Peru, it's 91% Alpaca , 8% Wool & 1% Nylon. It's so soft and delicate looking. I've never worked with Alpaca before...I'm looking forward to making something beautiful out of this.





Have a good day! The Yarnaholic

together

Summer sun shining hot
sand between our toes
thick green algae
jelly fish
purple & red flags
waves & rip tides high
morning walks with my girls
sharing stories
wading in the pool
relaxation
lunch never taste so good
late afternoon naps
first timers...oysters
laughter
two tiny dogs
bike rides
homemade dinners
made together
late night walks with my love
holding hands
togetherness
quality time
cherishing every moment

How do you "let go"?

How do you "let go"? My youngest, Tori leaves for college in just a little over 3 weeks. I feel as if I'm losing a part of me. I'm losing a child who no longer needs me for every little thing. As each day passes and I look at the calender; I pray for time to slow down. When I'm alone I cry & cry...I have feared this day for so long and it is finally creeping up on me faster then I could have ever imagined.

1 year old
2 years old

3 years old
Time flew by...1-2-3


This song by Mark Harris sums it all up.



It's only for a moment you are mine to hold
The plans that heaven has for you
Will all too soon unfold
So many different prayers I'll pray
For all that you might do
But most of all I'll want to know
You're walking in the truth
And if I never told you
I want you to know
As I watch you grow

I pray that God would fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

May passion be the wind
That leads you through your days
And may conviction keep you strong
Guide you on your way
May there be many moments
That make your life so sweet
Oh, but more than memories


I pray that God will fill your heart with dreams
And that faith gives you the courage
To dare to do great things
I'm here for you whatever this life brings
So let my love give you roots
And help you find your wings

It's not living if you don't reach for the sky
I'll have tears as you take off
But I'll cheer as you fly

Productive Day

I have had a very productive day so far!
I worked on Tori's afghan this morning. This is the third day in a row....it's coming along wonderfully.
I made a Grocery Tote out of one of the vintage pillow cases I found last week. I'm quite pleased with the overall look. But, the next one I make will have a few changes. This case was considerably thin so the bag will only hold light items. So if using sheets or pillow cases I'll double up the material. I think I'll try this in a canvas soon. This tote will be perfect for the Farmer's Market!

I wish you could smell my house right now. Tori & Natalie are making lunch. Homemade Vegetable soup with fresh local grown ingredients!! They bought Spinach Feta Cheese bread from the Old Mill Bread & Flour Company to go along with the soup. Oh, yum!
I'm off to eat a most enjoyable meal.

*Update~ The soup was amazing!!! The bread was delicious. Tori & Natalie you girls are incredibly wonderful cooks! I'm so proud of you both! Thank you for the healthy lunch!

coffee, waffles & goodbyes

Last night ended up being Tori's last night to work at Waffle House. She had a wonderful night. Her 3 favorite old men Mr. Don, Cowboy & Glenn all came in to have her wait on them one last time and say goodbye to their favorite waitress. John & I were there, along with Tori's best friend Natalie (who is down visiting from Missouri) when Cowboy & Mr.Don were. As Cowboy got up and got ready to pay his check, he hugged Tori goodbye then came over to our table. He then talked for 5 minutes about how much he loved our girls. (Meg worked there also from age 16-18) how he has their graduation pictures on his Ice Box...and he tells everyone that they are his granddaughters and his favorite waitresses. Then he started talking about how smart and caring and loving they are towards everyone. How he has watched them mature, that they will make their mark on this world. It made John & I so proud. I had a hard time not crying. He also said all this with plenty of, Dadgumits. He says Dadgumit a lot. Sweet man.

Glenn, he is a hoot!!! If you don't get to filling his coffee cup when he is ready...he will go behind the counter and get his own!! He'll even fill yours up if you need it.

Mr. Don. Quiet man who still pours concrete at the age of 75. This man has been sweet to my daughter's as well. When he would take his wife to work he would go have coffee and wouldn't leave until the girls got off work. He would walk them to their car so no harm would come to them. Someone asked him the other day, "Who is your favorite, Meg or Tori"? He said, "I was floored, I love them both equally. How could I choose".
John & I went over to say bye to Mr. Don...he told me he drove all the way over to see Tori and was so upset when he didn't see her car (Natalie drove her to work and hung out there the entire shift) he decided he might as well go in...then he was extremely happy to see her pretty face! He then told me that my girls mean so much to him. They are like granddaughters to him and how much he will miss them. Natalie and Tori walked him out and he hugged them both. They stood outside for a good five minutes and he told them that he didn't wanna leave. Natalie said she thought she saw a tear in his eye as he hugged Tori bye for the fourth time.
Here is Mr. Don & Tori on her last day...

Tori & Natalie. What a best friend, huh? To stay at the Waffle House your entire shift.

The tears just keep coming.

Aprons out of vintage pillow cases

I took the pillow cases I bought and made cute little Cafe Aprons out of them! I've only made three so far. I plan to cute the scraps into squares and make a quilt. I'll need more squares so I'm off to go thrifting again today. My goal is to find vintage sheets...in crazy 70's colors...like the couch and wallpaper in my childhood home in New York. I remember big burnt orange flowers and brown leaves...retro yellows and greens.
Memories...sweet memories.


Here are two of the aprons I've made so far.




John is off work so we will do our usual....go eat Sushi. Then I'll drag his tired butt around and thriftique. But he likes it so I know he won't complain.
Will today be my day? Again. I hope so!

Two funny photos to share...the boys got a tampon; Tori caught them and snapped these photos. It was funny! Reeses has the tampon; Dinosaur has the wrapper.

Mom's Birthday

My mom looked radiant at church today in her beautiful green dress my girls bought her. Meg came in from Conway to attend church with her on her birthday. Tori was working her last Sunday at the Waffle House. Tuesday will be her last day working there.

We invited Mom over for a birthday dinner. I made her chicken pot pie; one of her favorites that I make by scratch. Yep, I even boiled the chicken whole and made my own chicken stock....even made the crust. Yum! Not to brag or anything...um, it was really, really good.Instead of the traditional birthday cake with loads of bad calories; I made Blueberry Roly Poly...but, I modified it....it's low-fat. Even the homemade whip cream. Mmmm good.
Enjoying a cup of coffee. Tori and Grandma

Poco is in her arms and you can see the beautiful dress. Oh and her beautiful car too! Doesn't she look amazing !!! Can you believe she had 9 kids!!? My mom rocks!!!!
I hope she had a wonderful birthday!

Thrifting

I had a goal...I wanted to look for vintage pillow cases, Pyrex bowls and my favorite Fire King Ware. So John took me thrifting! I love it that my darling husband loves to go thrifting and antiquing with me! The first place we went to I found my bowls!!!

These are my lovely Fire King bowls...the two on the left John found for $1.50. I was so proud of him! I found the one on the right...it was $2.50 but it's two tone and pretty.

This is my other Fire King I found. I love the way it goes from black to yellow.

I then found these Pyrex wheat nesting bowls. Jackpot!! I was a happy camper!! All the bowls have few or no chips...no cracks...a few scratches but they are vintage.

We paid for my bowls and left the store. I was pleased. I didn't even care if I would find the pillow cases today or not. I was totally stoked about my bowls. We had to drop off some items at Good Will (Tori cleaned out her room) so we decided to hit another Flea Market. Oh goodness me....the third booth I went in I spotted them. Sitting there all neat and pretty. I looked at John and smiled wide.

So here are my pillow cases!

John said, "Today was your day". I love when that happens. When you find exactly what you set out to find. Actually, I don't think that has ever happen to me.
I am content!

Early Birthday for Grandma!!

Meg & Tori wanted to treat my mother to an early birthday dinner. This weekend she will be....um, I shouldn't mention her age, should I? Well, let's put it this way....I'm the 7th child out of 9....I'm 37....the oldest is 48 & the youngest is 31. Mom still looks very young for her age.
We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Red Lobster! Tori took this picture of Grandma & Meg with her amazing Nikon D80 her Daddy & I bought her for graduation. I love this picture!


I got to drive Mom's Jaguar to the mall since she had a margarita with her meal. It drove so smooth. Mom had been eyeing a dress at Dillard's for sometime now. She has even tried it on, on several occasions. The girls bought it for her for her birthday! She looked beautiful!
It was a wonderful evening full of laughter and love.

Scraps & Tears

Scraps & Tears...there are plenty of those in this house lately.

Scraps...I am a crocheter! I love to crochet. I collect yarn. So what best to do with the scraps from the left over projects....make your girls an Afghan for college! I did this for Meg and whipped it up pretty fast. Tori's though, I'm having a very difficult time even picking it up. Oh sure I look at it everyday....cause I keep it on the trunk in my living room....all laid out pretty...begging for me to work on it. So why am I having such a difficult time with this particular project? I have come to the realization that I have been unconsciously not picking it up for I fear the inevitable....her moving out. To me finishing the afghan will make it final. My life as I know it will be over. No more kids in the house to depend on me. My baby, my last born will be moving on to start her life as an adult.

work in progress....
Tears...in the morning with my coffee, cleaning the house, talking with her daddy, thinking about crocheting, anytime!!! Last night as we sat in the Waffle House watching our little girl take peoples orders I wondered, "where did the time go?" Wasn't it just yesterday her and Meg were playing restaurant and cashier in the kitchen. She came and sat in the booth next to me and then told her daddy & I something that made me have to bite my tongue so I wouldn't weep in front of everyone. This is what she said,
"I'm sad about moving out"
I said, Well, you know you don't have to, you can commute to college.
She giggled and said," No, I'm ready to move on with my life, I'm just sad to leave my room and you guys." Then she said, "I was thinking about it Saturday night, and I cried." Then she got a few tables and we didn't get to talk about it anymore. Let me tell you...I have never had to hold back tears like that before. It was hard.
Tori is a strong little girl...I know she is going to make her mark on this world.
So I leave this blog today with lots of scraps demanding to be picked up & lots of tears flowing down my face.

When the electricity goes out...

So the 4Th was fabulous. My nephew Nate, turned 3 that day and my brother Chad (his Papaw) always has a huge BBQ and tons of fireworks. Its was wonderful as usual.Me & my mom...you can see her dog, Poco as well.
Sisters...check out Meg's new haircut. Whoa...about 8 inches cut off!! Doesn't it look beautiful.John & I with the boys, Reeses and Dinosaur.

Saturday, Meg, Tori & I went and had a mother/daughter date. We ate at Boulevard Bread Company in the River Market...went shopping at the Farmers Market....


Then we went to Wild Oats. While we were checking out we looked outside and it was pouring and I mean POURING down rain. We decided to make a mad dash for the truck. We had our cloth bags but we needed one paper bag cause we bought more then anticipated. Well, not one of us thought that the bag might get wet...that it would fall apart and split open if wet.....yep, that's right, when Meg picked it up to put it in the truck we heard a crash and then we looked down....she said, "Oh, Momma I'm sorry".....it was no big deal....it was just my bottle of wine. But, seriously I was glad no one was hurt and I can go buy another bottle. I was happy it wasn't the Ginger salad dressing!!! We all get in the truck totally soaking wet, boy was I glad I didn't wash my hair that day. So we drive home in the pounding rain...the girls take a quick nap...why not, I would too if I weren't driving...the roads to our home were all flooded...I've not seen anything like that and we've lived here 6 years....it was like a stinking river. So we drive slow until we reach our home. I push on the garage opener...nothing...push, push, push oh, crap we have no electricity!!! Before we had left for the day I made a pot of tomato sauce...it was still warm so the electricity hadn't been off long. Meg got ready for work and headed out the door. Ten minutes later John came home from work. I was on the couch contemplating the situation. I found myself feeling frustrated...I realized just how dependent we are on our electricity. We have no TV, no computer, no ovens or stove and no lights. How did they do this 100 years ago.

John offered to take Tori and I to eat sushi but, I already made the sauce and was craving eggplant parmigiana. So he suggested we use the gas grill. Tori & I lit up and got all excited...In Tori's words "Let's Do It"....why not...lets give it a whirl. Let's live like they did 100 years ago...OK not really but you know what I mean. So we all put on our aprons and got to cooking. John & I cooked the eggplant together outside.
We acted silly...laughing at each other and enjoying quality time.


While we were doing that, Tori was busy inside making a Caprese Salad with the amazing fresh ingredients we bought that day and her amazing fresh basil.

I assembled the parmigiana and away it went in the grill. 15 minutes later it was bubbly and the cheese was golden....quicker then my ovens. So as I was taken it off the grill...the electricity came ON. We all started laughing. When the electricity goes out...don't fret just work with what you have. We spent that time talking, laughing and making a wonderful meal together. As we sat down at the table, held hands to pray John thanked God for that time we had. We kept the TV off and continued the theme. It was a wonderful day!