Happy Birthday to John!

For John's 62nd birthday we had a get-away at the new Holiday Inn Express in Winona and dinner at the Green Mill. The best part was that the hotel was free. Back in August I had booked a hotel in Mpls. for Tanner when he was going to the state fair. Expedia messed up and when he got to the hotel, he wasn't registered and there were no rooms so I had to get on the phone(with someone in India) and try to get it straightened out. After the whole process, I was so frustrated so they finally hooked me up with someone in the USA and he found a room and only charged $25 AND gave me a $100 credit. Just the right price for this hotel!!

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Ticker Tape quilt

This is Tessa's birthday quilt from June. For some reason I had a hard time just finishing it, but it is now done and ready for winter cuddling. The back is flannel, so perfect for winter. The pieces on the front are antique fabrics I've been collecting--mostly from old aprons. There will probably be more in the future, but now I have to get on a birthday quilt to be made by Dec. 19th. That might be an insane goal!

2 down.2 to go

I finished binding 2 quilts that will go overseas. This last year I've been going to White Cross at church once a month. Some very dedicated ladies have been sewing quilts, cutting bandages, and making numerous things to send to the missionfield for many years. I love hanging out with them! They are so wise, love the Lord, and they have great senses of humor. And since I love to sew, it's perfect!

And now I have Tessa's birthday(June20) quilt to finish quilting. Maybe I can do that for her 27 and a half birthday. I also have another one to put together and need to make one for a birthday coming up. If only I could sew 12 hours a day. The house sort of falls apart when I do that. When I was in high school I often sat up all night sewing so I could finish something I wanted to wear the next day. I remember one particular red dress I stayed up to sew. It was made of wool. Don't know what I was thinking! All day long I was sweating in that thing and couldn't wait to get home and rip the itchy, hot thing off. My last wool dress.

Around here

Tyler is moving into Grandma Jane's house so he's been fixing things up and throwing things away. John hates to see things thrown away and usually can't resist looking over what someone threw out and invariably rescuing things. He went off to the dump(shhhh! we're not sposed to have one) and came back with a birdhouse his dad had built. I'm glad he rescued this. He didn't tell me what else he rescued since I am in de-junking mode.

I think the dogs miss the carpet. I laid down on the couch and instantly all 4 dogs tried to fit on the rug in the sun. They love to be near me. The one in the middle is Tessa's dog Oliver who comes to visit when they milk twice a day so he can get exercise.

Giggle Giggle! It's hunting season and John got irritated with a few shirttail relatives of other hunters who slipped in. Those hunters throw sticks for Grafton. He has an obsession with sticks and tree limbs and always greets everyone carrying one in hopes they will throw them. His mind will not shut off and he's crazed so we do not throw things for him anymore. If a stick gets caught up in a tree, he will sit for hours looking up and panting. Other than that, he's a perfect dog ;)

And as I'm taking a picture, there he was hoping against hope that I would throw that stick. Poor guy!