Memorial Day 2023

 Not doing a lot of typing...pics only...but you get the drift! Food/Family/Fun!  Left hand carpal tunnel...getting right done this fall/winter...

My father..his story is below.

Telegram my mum received when dad died.

Desserts at Darrin and Kris'....I did make brownies (Bob helped!)

Only pic of family!

Grandson Nick's car!  It's in fantastic shape...he just got the new 'summer' wheels for it!!!  What a great kid!

Kids outdoor seating area.  Darrin put up the back piece this past week.  Took out shrubs...

Another eating area...

Another small eating area under pagoda!  their blackstone grill, smoker and larger grill are to the left.  Both kids love to cook and grill. The blackstone is Kris'!  HA

Pulled pork was DELICIOUS!

Some of the dinner!!!  Another fantastic meal and time with kids!

Mother's Day 2023

 What  another wonderful Mother's Day!  I wrote the words in blue on a post Mother's Day 2021 and it still applies: 

Mother's Day always makes me stop and think about my role as a mom or 'mum' (as I called my mum and what my kids call me).  I had my babies starting at age 19 3/4, which by so called  today  'standards' is quite young.  We never had a book to read, other than Dr. Spock's Baby & Child Care, on what we should do or not do or who to think about first...so, being so young to have a baby, we only think of ourselves.  I know as a 'mom' there were events in my life that I should have done better, been there more for my kids and not thought about what I may have wanted.  But that's being immature, right. A baby raising babies is what that time was for me....I have hoped that my daughter and son have realized I did the best I could and as I matured tried to be there for them and support them in their lives as a daughter, son,  aunt and dad.  They have always had the best support system around them with other family members and I have always been and always will be so proud of the adults they have become.  I love my kids and extended family so much and I honestly feel so blessed to have them and I appreciate them so much.  Today is another example of my wonderful family and how generous they are.

We didn't get any group picture this year so I'm going to show the one from 2021!  (Kris' mom did join us so I'm sorry she's not in this one from 2021!).

 I told Darrin and Dawn that if I wasn't going to be living with them during my 'final' days, then we need to make sure we take a family picture so I can look at it while in the nursing home!

We had a WONDERFUL brunch prepared by Dawn again this year...I think Amber was helping her too, she usually does!  This was the menu Dawn sent out!  And each dish was fantastic!  And we all got leftovers!  Woohoo!!

These are the famous cinnamon and blueberry scones...they are so good.  Bob's favorite and mine too! 

This was my plate...sorry but I put ketchup on my hashbrowns...guess I could have waited until I took a picture!  The Quiche and Frittata squares were delicious....

I have to repeat myself and talk about Jeff's bacon!  He grills the bacon outside and it's always SO good!!!  I love it!

I did get a sneak photo of Kris, Dawn and Jeff as we were leaving!  HA HA  So there!!  

Dawn Marie brought me 2 boxes of tulips from Amsterdam - one of her plane stops from her trip to Spain last month!  I put them in the frig for the time being.  There are 24 bulbs in each box...and one box is the Tulip Parrot bulbs, which I love.  I'll be doing a post on tulip planting in the spring within the next week or so!!! 

And Dawn also brought me some spices and a packet of herbs for headache/sinus issues...a gift from her trip to Marrakesh, Morocco!  I'm anxious to try the headache/sinus herb...allergies are really bad for everyone here in Michigan.   Such a thoughtful daughter Dawn is!!!

And Kris got me another Mandevilla plant!  I still have the one she got me 3 years ago!!!  I've kept it in the house during the winter.  No flowers so far but leaves are green!  Now I have three Mandevilla's plants.

And, Kris' mom, Nancy, gave us some home made spaghetti! We had some for dinner and it was really good!!!!!  Thanks, Nancy!!!!  So sweet of you!!!

Amber handed me this sweet treat when we arrived at Dawn's house!  I love dark chocolate, anything, and these have caramel and pretzels and salt on them!!!!  Nothing better...

After we had our family brunch, Darrin took Bob and I to see the new place he is working since last winter, Dana Corp.  They are building a new facility in Auburn Hills, Mi. and  Darrin is the Quality Control Manager of the plant.  They are working on manufacturing parts for electric vehicles.  The plant is awesome!!!!  OMG...Darrin did a great job on the tour.  The building facilities are awesome and they are totally renovating what used to be the George P. Johnson marketing facility.  I don't know the square footage but it's LARGE!!!!  I mean LARGE!!!!!  I'm so proud of Darrin and Dawn for all they have done with their careers and with their lives in general.  How lucky am I to say they are my children.  

 

Beth's Dye Dog #2

Beth and her hubby, Pete, live part time in Florida and part time in Adrian, Michigan (yep, where Amber graduated from!).  We both participated in the first dye dog challenge, which you can read about here.

 I asked Beth if I could post her Dye Dog #2 and she agreed!  Beth does beautiful work as you can see by this picture!

Beth's artistry and workmanship is awesome!  

Here is Beth's description of her piece: 

The butterfly is all hand sewn stitches, to reflect the colors in the center. It was built on muslin, then a heat and bond back and trimmed, and heat set.

Not an embroidery design.

I used to think hand was a four letter word now I enjoy the peace while I’m just sitting and taking stitches.

I think this piece really turned out well I will be showing it at art  quilters at our May meeting.

Thank you Kay for inspiring this piece to see your beautiful hand dyed fabrics. 

Isn't this lovely!!!!  All hand sewn!  

These are pictures of Beth's first dye dog piece!

Just beautiful isn't it!  If you go to the link in the first paragraph of this post, you'll see Beth's explanation of her finished piece.

So I wonder if we'll get another Dye Dog #3 next year!  Thanks again, Kay for your fabric and inspiration!

Our Graduate for 2023!

 This post could be boring to most....I'll be posting on Beth's Dye Dog #2 this week...until then you can look at the pictures or not.   I print out my blog yearly so I can look back on the past year.  This is a day I want to remember!   Thanks for stopping by!  

Our family:  Bob, me, Dawn & Jeff, Amber, Kris & Darrin, Nick and Nancy (Kris' mom)!

Love this pic!  Nick graduates in 2 1/2 years - he's trying to get his 5 years finished in 4 1/2!

Proud Grandma and Grandpa!

Amber and his supportive aunt!

This was taken at dinner.   Kris got Amber a great bag for her school supplies!

All finished...walking out of ceremony!

Iconic stature at the school

Proud Grandma's!

Love this young man!!!

Ms Amber written on her sweatshirt from her mom!

Uncle Jeff, Amber and Dawn!  They are the best aunt and uncle....

Yep that piece of architecture again!

It was a wonderful day!  Long day but I'd do it again in a heartbeat!  Two hour drive both ways, 2 hour commencement ceremony and a wonderful dinner at Paesano's Restaurant in Ann Arbor!  The meal was fantastic!  The best Italian we have had since eating at two wonderful, true Italian restaurants in Florida!  

Bob wants to drive the hour+ to have dinner at Paesano's sometime this summer!  I'm up for that!

Dye Dog #3 Progress

 

So now our local library book sale is over (whew!  That takes a week or two for organizing!), I can get back to working on another project.  Woo hoo!

I did finish the lace top and the Dye Dog #2....I have another knitting project but need to purchase some yarn first...

Here is the final layout for Dye Dog #3!  Of course there will be lots of hand stitching.  I need to work on a quilting design that I can use for the hand work.

I really like the colors of Kay's shibori fabrics.  They are so beautiful and inspiring!

Beth (friend from Florida) and I were working on this dye dog #2 which she has also completed.  I forgot to ask her if I can post a pic of her finished top.  I'm sure she will but don't want to post until I get the 'ok'!  Beth did an awesome job...you can see our first dye dog project we completed here which I posted at the start of our Dye Dog #2.  First Dye Dogs Completed

Not sure if Beth will do a Dye Dog 3 or not!  HA

These are just some of the layouts I played around with...

It was good I put it away for awhile....I like my finished top layout (above in the first pic)...I still may add some other strips if I don't get the results I want with stitching...but we'll see.

this was one of the first layouts.  Always fun to play isn't it!!!  

Rain, rain and more rain for us the past few days.  Amber's college graduation is this coming Saturday but the weather is suppose to be in the mid 60's and NO rain!  Fingers crossed...at least the ceremony is inside...whew!  It will be a long day as the college is almost 2 hours from us - but Dawn and Jeff are picking us up...until then..........

Cyano Printing on Paper Day 2

 Here are results from my 2nd day of Cyano printing on paper!  This is tooooooo much fun!!!!

These are dried plants/weeds my friend Donna and I picked up on our walk last week.  Trees are just starting to bud out so I didn't have a lot of leaves, etc. to pick from!  But these worked!

I am really happy with this print.  Each of  these watercolor papers are 11"x14"

Yep, Donna spotted some dried pussy willows!   I love the way they printed!

This was the 1st print I did with pussy willows.  I think I like the one above better...but this still decent!

My favorite!  I will be cutting these up into smaller sizes and I think they'll still show up quite nice. 

 

 I usually order from Amazon Strathmore 105-250 Photo Frame Cards Cutout Window, 40 Cards & Envelopes. 

Currently I use some of my quilts that I've cut up to put in the window of the cards.  I think cutting these up would make nice Christmas cards!  Yes, I need to think about Christmas..I didn't send out any cards this past year...I needed a year off!  

Now to start looking for more weeds and grasses to use in making prints!