The Big Party!

Yesterday was the Big Party Day.

I spent 5 days working on the house.  That schedule taped to my counter helped a lot.  I always knew where it was and could add things as they needed to be done. You always have last minute things you think of like the proverbial:

*%$(OMG! Why didn't I do that 3 DAYS ago?)*&%

It helped, it didn't completely erase those moments!

Diane, Carrie Jason Sawyer

One of which was the Fruit and Veggie Trays.  I ordered them from Albertson's and then I asked Frank to grab them when he went out for the ice on Saturday morning.  He comes back with a cereal bowl full of chopped fruit and a kid sized tray of carrots and broccoli with a tablespoon size of dip between them. 

Gary and Matt

Really?  This looks like a Veggie Tray to you?  So in order to allow my guest to have veggies if they wanted them, 

I resolved to only eat the brownies.  I made sure we had LOTS of brownies!

Matt and Sawyer

Other than that, things went really well.  I sat there thinking that these people will never get together like this again.  Rodney's Alzheimers is getting worse.  Ethan is starting his senior year

Karen, Michelle, Kenny

Gary, Carrie, Andrew

Kenny or my Dad (either way, same face)

Michelle

 in Denver, Matt just finished his Plebe year at the Naval Academy.  My brother's kids are getting scattered - one in Kentucky and one in New Orleans.  

It was a good time we were together, talking about the things we used to do.  Grandma and Aunt Annie and how they watched all of us at one time or another.  

Matt and Sawyer

The young cousins got to meet their youngest Cousin Sawyer and the oldest Rodney got to take charge of my kitchen and do what he loves best:  be the Chief Cook and   Entertainer.  

Ethan and Lucas were off somewhere with video games and the dogs  They are getting two golden retriever pups on Sunday for Jason's workshop.  

I hope the Bassets modeled good dog behavior examples.

I don't know why I don't have a photo of Rodney.  He was really enjoying himself.  He spoke in his Cajun French and flirted with me when I was drying the dishes he was washing.  He was out there working the grill to help Frank with those Amazing Ribs, He had a great day!

And the dogs were perfect.  Well, once you get over the first 15 minutes of :

+*&^%#    OMG PEOPLE ARE HERE 

AND WE ARE SO $%@ HAPPY TO SEE THEM $#%^*

There was even one time when  the front door was wide open and people were leaving and DiNozzo was just standing there waving goodbye to everyone.  He didn't even step out!  

What a good dog I've raised!

What a Great Party I threw.

And despite the fear that I was hiding the number of people I had invited and that 30 people would really show up, Frank survived too.

I asked him, if you thought I was hiding people from you then why did you get such a tiny bowl of fruit?

Family "Ties"

My cousin Jason who got married last year (remember all those 5 boy quilts I made for the Colorado wedding?) is in town this week to celebrate our family news with us.  So we are excited to see him and his Carrie and however many boys they bring with them.

So exciting to see them again.  And his momma scored some crawfish!  I am amazed since the season is pretty much over. So I get more crawfish.  Maybe I will remember to take some pictures this time.

Wait till you see what I have been playing with!

Rope.

Scraps too good to toss work beautifully here.

And I have an idea to use it.

See the corner of the table there?  That was courtesy of the Fabulous Bonnie Doon.  She hated square corners and went on to round every corner on everything we owned.

That plant in the picture is a succulent I thought was called staghorn, but I can't find it on the internet.  Hmmm.  More research.  Given to me by a dear friend who is no longer in this earthly plane.  As the "arms" break  off you just lay them on some sandy soil and they take root and grow and grow and grow.

And I am meeting with my renter to "talk" about binding.  LOL.  I think I can sway her with the money! 

CAAWS Party down, maybe I can breathe now!

Things are so hot and heavy and coming at me like a speeding train!

I got in on Sunday late and Monday morning I was preparing for the Modern Guild Party. We met for dinner at one of my favorite restaurants to exchange a stack of 6 Modern Fat Quarter groupies.

I was so  happy to get a set of Stephanie Brandenburg's Plaster of Paris, which I jealously guarded in case someone decided to steal.   But there were so many fabulous groupies of 6 that they left me alone.  I was so very happy.

Because NOW I have the ones from last year that will mix with the ones from this year in a quilt I imagine will be a bright happy piece.   Can you see it?

Remember the 5 boys quilts for Colorado?  Well, Jason was on TV for his woodworking.

http://www.9news.com/videos/life/2015/12/10/77122790/ 


Then I spent the next three days preparing for the Annual CAAWS Volunteer Appreciation Party where the board puts on a huge party for the donors, volunteers, and members who have helped up during the years.  I had to deliver an End of the Year Message and make sure I thanked everyone.  Not an easy task, I inevitably leave someone out somewhere.  This year, I thanked them all for doing what we do, in an interesting poem. 






The 2015 Community Partner Award went to Raising Canes Chicken Fingers for their 16 years of support of our Spay/Neuter Programs and the Krewe of Mutts Parade. 

Hilton Cole, the head of East Baton Rouge Parish Animal Control spent a lot of time talking about

the early beginnings of CAAWS 35 years ago.  Here are Hilton and my Newsletter Editor Libby Haydell.  He talked about our first President Jannie Heinmiller working out of a rusty horse trailer she pulled behind her truck.  A Budweiser box served as her records box. 

In the early days, CAAWS did

 cruelty investigations.  Now we are legally prohibited from doing them.  Enforcement is done by Hilton's group.

CAAWS 2016 Board

This morning I got up early and tried my best to straighten up my really neglected (and dusty) house since Cynthia is coming over to use the long arm.

Aughhhhhh!

Wedding of Jason and Carrie in Denver

This is the reason we went to Colorado in the first place!  Wedding!  These are the parents of the 5 Colorado boys who will eventually receive the quilts I made.

They are both really happy people with lots of friends and a great family.  I am so glad they found each other.

Her name is Carrie so we now have MY Carrie and Jason's Carrie!

My Carrie has a renegade video of Frank and I dancing to MC Hammer's Hammer Time.  We were quite the dancers in the day! 

Jason and his Carrie at the Friday night dinner.

 Jason's mom Diane, who was married to my beloved cousin Terry.  She is now married to Rodney, who plays Cajun Music all over the US.  And collects and restores antique cars.  You gotta love this guy.

 My Carrie and her hubby Andrew. 

Jason and his Carrie dance their first steps as a married couple!

Here is the beautiful couple!  Don't you just love their smiles?

This is Jason's oldest son, Ethan.  And his girlfriend.  He is 14. 

 This is the littlest ladykiller, Lucas.  He was the ring bearer at my Carrie's wedding.  And the love of ALL the girls.  Just about every photo of my Carrie's wedding had Lucas in them!  He was all over those pretty girls!

Impetus for Randomness

I need an impetus to finish things that no longer interest me.  In that vein, I have invented a way to make myself do them!  It will clear out about 6 UFOs.

My nephew, well actually he is my cousin.  He is the son of my favorite boy cousin and grew up calling me Aunt Glenda.  His father and I were very close all of our growing up years.

Terry loved flying.  He became a pilot and flew commercial planes rather than passenger planes.  He would qualify on bigger and bigger planes, always flying.  He went though 3 marriages but never fell out of love with the sky. 

I still miss him, he had a heart attack in the Rome airport taking possession of his next flight.  Fitting, very fitting. He was where he wanted to be.

His son lives in Colorado now.  In July Jason is getting married to Carrie who is a dentist.  Together they have 5 kids, all boys!

So I figure I can pull together 5 boy quilts and a wedding quilt for the two of them!  Isn't that a lofty goal?

Here is number 1.  The blocks are a collection of years of randomly sewing together fabric from the scraps.  I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I have 50 that aren't girly girly.

Here are 24 blocks together so far.  I  am probably going to have to make a few more, I think I will need 64.  Each section is 4 by 4 or 16. But if I can do 8 by 7 it would be 56.  I think 8 by 6 would be too small.

Whew -- All that math!

They Are Old As The Hills, But They Make Good Music

Ethan and Lucas

Frank, Carrie, Andrew

Since yesterday was Frank's Birthday, and Jason was in town, we met him and his mom and the boys at a place where Rodney was playing.  They have a jam session every Tuesday night.  The place is bad, they have bad service but the music is good!

If you are an alcoholic, this is NOT the place for you.  It took me all night to get one beer, and there was no chance of getting another.  Jason had the Happy Hour Two for One Margarita, and never got his second margarita!

And the place was half empty!

But it was a good time just to be with Jason and the boys.  I don't know why the boys even figured into this, they played on cell phones and x boxes the whole time.

Jason

Diane and Jason

For the first time I used the movie function on my new camera.  My old one had it, but I don't think I ever used it.  And you will be able to see the obvious in the one with Crawfish Pie.  Rodney and 16 other musicians from all over come together every Tuesday night to jam.  They are all retired, old as the hills, but they make beautiful music.  Some are from gospel bands, some from bluegrass and some from Cajun bands.  The blend is incredible.

The musicians all gathered in the corner

Oh, and you will have to tilt your head for the first half of the video.  I didn't know I couldn't flip it later on.  And the lighting sucks.

Rodney is the guy in the end who sings Crawfish Pie.  You can't even see him here, he is way in the right back corner next to the lady in pink.

Stash Report, Design Wall, Jason all in one

I have been on that Houston Shop Hop and did add some fabric to the pile.  Not much, but some.

Stash Report.

used this week	-1.5
used in june	-17.75
added this week	21.25
Add in June	71.25
Used YTD	-92
Added YTD	104.68
Stash reduction	12.68

 

We are in positive territory here for the first time!
Design Wall:  Still quilting Dan's quilt.  But adding some Duffle Bags to the mix.

Then we crossed this bridge to see my cousin Jason and his kids who now live in Denver.  Jason's momma was married to my beloved late cousin Terry.  She has been a wonderful friend over the last 40 years and her son has been like my own son.  I was so close to Terry when we were growing up, and his absence is deafening, as they say.

I dreamed about Terry last week, then Jason called to say he and the boys would be in town and his momma was having a fish fry.  I should have taken pics of the fish, amazing pile of fish caught by Diane's brother and nephews.  Rodney's band played for everyone, they do Cajun music all across the US and will open for the Three Dog Night Concert in Tampa soon.

  Jason is the one without the hat!  His kids look like their momma for sure!  The little one is Lucas and the older one is Ethan.

Boy do I miss them now that they are in Denver.  They boys are doing so well out there, they love snowboarding and excel in school.

We have such a smart family, cousin Karen's kid is super smart as well.  I guess that means Carrie's kids will have their goals set for them!

The space is belongs to Diane and husband Rodney.  Rodney purchased it from the bank as a foreclosure.  The buildings were used to fabricate the stuff for the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans.  There are three huge buildings and he has it full of 57 Chevys he has reconditioned.  All kinds of equipment like front end loaders and bobcats.  It is a wonderland of fun and interest for the likes of me!  And the kids LOVE being there!  They have the run of several dozen acres of pasture and land and the buildings and their grandma!

glen

design wall monday 11-29-10

I am pleased to have two quilts on my design wall.  I designed them both, they are for my cousin's two boys.  I scored a passel of dinosuaurs at a garage sale about 3 months ago and knew they would be  an excellent companion for some dino quilts. 

I don't get to see the boys very often, they moved to Albuquerque NM a few years ago.  But their daddy grew up with Frank and I as "Aunt" and "Uncle". 

I know they will love the dinosaurs and the dino quilts! 

I used a panel of dinos I cut up and took all my brightly colored juvenile fabrics and tossed them into the mix.  I stepped outside the box and used some of the techniques I have been practicing in the Virtual Bee over at Bumble Beans.  It certainly pulled me out of the traditional stream of thought!

The two are headed for the quilt machine tomorrow.  I will just do a simple large meander on them to get them done.  I am hoping to have my mother do some of the binding.  That will keep us both busy for a while.

Now if I can just finish them for mailing time!

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