Thursday, February 28, 2019

Really Random Thursday, 2/28/19

Every week I wonder if I will have anything random enough to be worth writing about. But here's something you won't see everyday.

I wasn't actually invited to this particular party. However, the party-goers have agreed to let me share the party anyway.

A year ago, our friend Julia got a new puppy, Bruno. She brought Bruno over to Aaron and Christa's house one afternoon, and they spent the afternoon playing with him. And falling in love with him. Turns out that Bruno had a sibling. And in fit of insanity (their words, not mine), they went out and adopted his sister and named her Rosie. This week, Christa got a text from Julia:" Bruno and Rosie turn one tomorow. My aunt is making them dog cupcakes." And before you know it, there was a full-on party.

Complete with party hats.
And cake.
There were cupcakes and pizza for the human party-goers. You can't much more random than that!

I've been enjoying the clouds so much. Just a tiny peek of blue...
Mark's been experimenting with his Traeger smoker. This week he smoked lobster--SO good!
Haha, number 1.
Sunday was a busy day. Aaron was in Jamaica doing a medical mission trip. Christa was teaching a three-hour class on human trafficking. Charlotte needed an escort to her yearly piano celebration event. Gramps gladly volunteered. He took a picture through the window as she played before the judge.
She got a superior rating--the highest possible. So she then performed in a mini recital.
Charlotte is growing up into an amazing young woman. It's hard to believe it's been seven years since this picture. Time just zips by...
Meanwhile, the rest ofthe kids were at our house for the afternoon. Gabe and I spent the entire afternoon making duct tape crafts. We started out with a zippered pouch. It was a no-sew project and turned out pretty great!
Then he made six insulated drink holders--basically duct tape on bubble wrap.
We had such a good time.
Haha, number 2.
Christa, Aaron and the kids gifted me with this cute clock--radiation is over and it's worth celebrating time.
My good friend, Stephanie, made this amazing armchair sewing station. I was shocked when it showed up in my mail. It's just perfect, including the color!
I continue to work on my Sweet Pea crocheted afghan.
Last May I took a picture of a quilt in Idaho when we visted Mark's brother, Pete, and his wife, Jane.
This is what the Jeep looks like this week.
We had a little family dinner on Tuesday. Mark and I spent all day making a lemon chiffon cake. This is what it looked like with the layer of filling, before we put the top layer on and frosted it. SO good! The story behind the cake is that when we lived in western Kansas (from 1973 through 1978), a lady in town, Mrs. McQuitty, made these incredible lemon chiffon cakes. They were very pricy for the time but they were so good that people often ordered them for special occasions. Everyone always asked for the recipe, but she kept it a secret. After she passed away, the family published the recipe in the town newspaper as a thank you for all the cakes people had purchased over the years. So if you are interested in making your own incredible lemon chiffon cake, and have an extra day to spend making it, let me know--I'll be happy to share the recipe. (Please check if you are a no-reply commenter--if so, I have no way of getting it to you.)
I took a piece to my friend, Janice, who also took a picture. I think she enjoyed it--she asked for the recipe. :)
I'm always fascinated with the things that Gabe comes up with. He gave this to me at dinner on Tuesday.
And then there was this, a proposal for a weekend activity.
It's a little hard to read, so let me write it out here (with words spelled as he wrote them):

"I think we should have a sleepover. I have a plan. Frist, we can go to your house (you pick us up from church). Then, we can get our things redy. After that, we can eat dinner and watch a move. The next day we don't have school. So, we can go and see the Lego Move 2. Then, we will go back to your house and mom will pick us up.

___Yes
___ Yes
___ Yes

Please, with a cherry on top!"

He included a lollipop to sweeten the deal. I'll be gone for four days, sewing with friends. Otherwise, my answer would be yes, yes, yes. I told him we will plan the sleepover for another time, but definitely yes to the movie on Monday.

And finally, haha No. 3.



Thursday, February 21, 2019

Really Random Thursday, 2/21/19

What a week it's been.

Mark's brother sent him this picture from Minnesota. While it doesn't look really interesting at first glance, the thing is that the bird feeder is probably about five feet off the ground. And there is so much snow that the squirrels can eat the food out of the bird feeder! Crazy...
These super fun deck of cards arrived. I have spent a lot of time playing solitaire lately--so much more fun with this rainbow set of cards.
It took us from Gabe's birthday in October until last week to finally set a date for Chuck E. Cheese, one of his birthday gifts. We had so much fun.


This baseball game was one of his two favorites, the other being skee ball. If he released the bat at just the right time, the little bat on the inside of the game would hit the ball and he could get a home run, or advance players around the plate, or get a strike. Once he caught on, he did a great job.
In this game, he scored 12 runs, including a couple of home runs--his high score of the afternoon.

I love all cartoons having to do with a play on words or punctuation...
Sunday afternoon, Charlotte and I went to Starbucks. We keep a list of how her name is spelled, since it is so frequently misspelled. Good job this time, barista! I love spending time with this girl--I'm thrilled she is willing to share her time with me.
For some reason, I saw a lot of things this week relating to drinks/drinking. These are the ones that made me chuckle.




The best part of the week was undoubtedly Tuesday, the day I completed my radiation treatments. Yippee!! Mark went along to this appointment. I received a certificate of completion. :)
And I got to ring the bell.


When I walked out through the lobby, everyone clapped. I received lots of hugs from the staff. Every single person at the Fresno Cancer Center has been kind and compassionate. I was treated with respect at all times--which is saying something when each day you are lying on a hard plastic table with your breasts exposed. As much as I liked everyone who helped me on my journey to recovery, I hope to never see them again. Ever. Unless it's in the checkout line at Target or something... :)

Mark had a referee meeting in the evening, but I really wanted to celebrate the end of radiation. So Janice and I went one of our favorite places, BJs. We have shared many meals at BJs, usually three hours at a time--we can literally spend hours and hours talking about quilting and reading. And then do it all over again the next week. One of our favorite servers, Amy, waited on us. I told her we were celebrating the end of my radiation treatments. We were going to order a pizookie anyway, but before we had a chance, she came to our table and said, "I know it isn't your birthday, but you are celebrating something really important." Aw...
I had Janice take a picture of me with Amy. It was such a sweet (literally) surprise and I was very touched by her thoughtfulness.
My energy is already returning. Which tells me that at least 50 percent of a health crisis is psychological! I feel ready to return to the sewing room and actually turn on my sewing machine. It's about time...


Thursday, February 14, 2019

Really Random Thursday, 2/14/19

Happy Valentine's Day!
Original design by Gabriel Wiens
I have followed mrprintables for years. If you have some card stock paper, there are so many cute things for kids. A few years ago I saw the cutest pompon maker (question: is it pompon or pompom??) They now come in three sizes. Yes, I have all three. No, until yesterday I had never made anything with them.

On Instagam (@pom.maker) they showed the cutest little Valentine's project. So I got out the middle size and experimented with several different kinds of  yarn I had on hand. I decided my favorite is by Stylecraft dk (the gold and the blue), which I happen to have in lots of colors!
Aren't they cute?? I put them in a little bag with some Hershey's kisses and a handful of conversation heart candy. Happy Valentine's Day indeed.

Things have been quiet around here. Every morning (Monday through Friday) I get a radiation treatment. This license plate belongs to someone who works at the cancer center...
After this morning's treatment, I only have two more left! Side effects have been minimal so far--a little sunburned feeling and a general lack of energy.

Christa preached in church on Sunday. She continues to be an educational coordinator for Central Valley Justice Coalition, an organization that partners with churches and the community to prevent human trafficking. She often teaches a 10-week class aimed at prevention--one will be starting for girls in juvenile hall. We are so proud of her passion for this difficult problem and her gifts as a communicator.
A year ago, Mark and I decided to have our DNA tested through Ancestry DNA. I was surprised to find out I had a rather high percentage of Great Britain, which thrilled me so much. However, they have updated my profile. *sigh* Decreased by 38 percent!
Speaking of DNA...
Haha, Number 1:
When Janice and I went to DIsneyland in November, we each fell in love with the Disneyland rose.
Janice did some research and found that it was available through Jackson and Perkins. She bought each of us a rose bush (!) and Mark planted it Tuesday.
He also stopped at Trader Joe's and came home with a gorgeous bouquet of tulips.
We are planning on doing a reclaimed wood project in our laundry room. And by "we," I actually mean Mark. He is also helping Stacie with a project at church, so Tuesday afternoon the two of them gathered a stack of barn wood. Looks like there is a lot of work to be done. It is being stored in the patio so it can stay dry during this rainy season.
The mailman has brought some completely unexpected treats this week. First, a pin and magnet arrived from my friend, Lauren. I don't know about super powers, but I sure like having red hair. :)
And Tuesday, this hand embroidered  bag arrived from Rene', along with some enamel pins she has been custom designing (you can find them here). I had seen her posts on Instagram about this bag and could not believe it when it showed up! The support I have gotten from friends after my diagnosis has been mind blowing and humbling.

About all the energy I have lately is to sit on the couch and crochet an afghan in a very simple pattern. It's the Sweet Pea crochet-along by Attic 24, and the colors definitely bring to mind my favorite flowers (more Stylecraft dk yarn).
We are scheduled to have more rain--above our yearly average, while unusual amounts of snow are falling in other parts of the country. You gotta love Bob Ross...
We finally were able to go to one of Charlotte's basketball games yesterday.
And we got to see her play for at least four minutes, which is a lot of time in a 7th grade girls game!
I'll end with these words of wisdom.