Two Different Finishes

yep, two very different finishes.




One is a career finish, Frank retired today.  He headed out to Broussard LA to turn in his computer and was surprised with a party in his honor.  Guys he has worked with over the last 23 years drove in to share jambalaya and cake.  So typically a Louisiana celebration!




I called Dennis, Frank’s closest counterpart, and asked that he take me some photos since I knew Frank wasn’t going to even think about it.











He is leaving a 46 year career in the oil and gas industry.  I can honestly say, the  PetroChem industry has given us a good life.  I have had friends who have railed against Big Oil, but it has been our life.  And we make no apologies for it.









I am proud of the way he handled his customers, making lifelong friends along the way.  He has been honest to a fault and treated co workers with integrity and respect.  He has quite a reputation in the business.












Since he is one of the few remaining rotating equipment sales engineers in the country, it will be interesting to see how things go without his vast knowledge and contacts.  I wonder how quickly they will start calling him!







The second is, well, simply bees!

There is a moment when......

Been working on getting the Bees finished up.

And I have to say. I really love the way it turned out.

There is a moment, when you finish quilting on the machine and you are by all standards finished with the quilt.  It can stand along now, even without the binding really.

That incredible moment is when you take the quilt off the frame and see it the way it will look.

It is at that moment I fall in love with the quilt for real.

What's the Buzz?

I spent the weekend working on bees. 

I love paper piecing.  And I love these bees. 

So I decided to make nine of them, just because I love bees.  And because the quilt just seemed like it might need nine bees. 














After I made all nine, I put them on the design wall and thought I should have made twelve.  Oh well.  Nine it is!  LOL.



I had a Quilt Meeting tonight, not modern, more of a traditional bent.  But a lot of people there are doing modern and we may be hijacking the meeting!  LOL. 





These faces say Mom, we love you more than life itself....because you have your hand on the dog bone jar.

Happy Momma’s Day to All

I feel like I dropped out of life for a while......I had some issues with back and neck pain.  That is so hard to deal with.  Intrinsic in everything you do, every move you make; it is difficult to diagnose and get rid of.  I can’t say I feel great, but I feel better.

And I have the Iceland/Loch ness/StoneHenge trip coming up so I want to be able to hike and backpack around for those weeks as well.  I can’t wait for Sawyer to grow up and help his Grandma with her hiking gear!  Although the way that boy eats, we will have to double our luggage weight just with food!

Happy Mother’s Day to all whether you are a mom to a two or four footed creature.  My own mother refused to ever wish me a Happy Mother’s Day  saying I was not her mother.   But I have always felt it was a day to celebrate ALL mothers, whoever they mothered.  So I always make sure Carrie knows I think she is a wonderful mother to that baby.

McGee and Chloe

For 13 years I was mother to dogs and kitties before I was mother to Carrie and now Grandmother to Sawyer.  Being a mother is through a relationship as well as through blood.  My mother’s mother was adamant that my mother never call another woman “mother”.  I can understand that.  That is a bond that is a special one between a parent and a child.  I have a dear friend who recently lost her daughter, she is much in my thoughts today. 

We had a brunch with Carrie and Sawyer yesterday morning at Another Broken Egg where they serve exotic things like Lemon Basil Blueberry Goat Cheese Pancakes.  Talk about wonderful!  I could eat off that menu every morning and gain all those pounds back!

Pounds?  I tried on some shorts this morning, size 12.  I was shocked.  I knew I had been not always eating like ai shoule, but with frank talking about retirement, I guess I need to start working on my willpower.  He is always eating and stays thin. 

Because I didn’t know what was causing the neck/shoulder/back pain I haven’t been working out as much.  So next week I am hoping to burn some major calories every day again.

It seems those last 10 pounds are always my nemesis!!!





I will be spending my day finishing up the 9 bees to put on the borders for the baby quilt for Maddie's new baby!  Next year she will be celebrating Mother's Day herself!