Sunlight and Shadows

Sometimes quilt block names say so much. This week has been filled with sunlight and shadows and will each year for the rest of my life. Tuesday was my birthday and I had a lovely day with precious birthday wishes from family and friends. I love being part of the post-WWII baby boom (which my students always thought was just hysterical!) Here’s a picture from February, 1947. This is me with my mother :)
Two years ago, I spent my birthday at my mother’s bedside expecting any moment she would slip away from us and into the presence of our Savior. She had suffered a series of strokes and seizures and was no longer conscious. Today marks two years since my precious mother went to be with Jesus. I thank her for giving me life and loving me so much. Mother was 82 years old and she and Daddy had been married 64 ½ years.

Mother 1924 - 2007

Mother, I love you and I miss you.

Hope you have a blessed day.

Happy Wednesday

The past week has been a busy one but I'm so pleased with the results of our work. The larger room - formerly known as the second guest room with a sleeper sofa and my sweetheart's desk and bookcases - is now sunshiney yellow with MOST of my sewing stuff in place. (The guest room and office is now in the smaller room and fits very well.) I still have a little more to do but it looks so nice with shelves around the walls and my sewing machine out in the middle of the room with a big table beside it to use for cutting and holding quilts as I sew. I'll take a picture when everything is in place. There's a small tv with vcr right at viewing level from the sewing machine and my collections of Christy, Anne of Green Gables and Sarah Plain and Tall are right there for peaceful watching and sewing. I can't wait to get started!

But sewing may be delayed a little. We've decided to go ahead and do some more painting...after two years of all white walls, we crave a little soft color in some rooms just to make them more warm and homey. Since painting requires moving furniture, etc., I'm getting my spring cleaning done as well! I love moving into the spring and summer with the house deep-cleaned and organized. Then I can spend time outside with a clear conscience.

Speaking of spring, thank you all for the kind comments and concern after the early Oklahoma tornadoes. Thankfully we were just fine.

My girls loved the Valentine purses I made for them. Amy is a Native American scholar and writer so I chose these fabrics for her.

Maggie loves the combination of pink and brown so I knew she would like these fabrics.

It's time to get back to putting fabrics and patterns away!

Hope to finish the sewing room today!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.

Hope your day is happy, productive and blessed!

Tornado Alley

The skies turn dark, the clouds start to boil and we know it's tornado season in Oklahoma! It just usually doesn't happen in February but yesterday was quite a day! Our meteorologist daughter emailed early in the day and warned us to be aware...conditions were right for a major storm outbreak. She was certainly correct. My sweetheart works in west OKC and, at his company, they took shelter three different times as the sirens sounded and tornadoes roared very close to them. One touchdown was just north of his location. The real damage in the afternoon was in Edmond, north of OKC. At our house, there was wind, rain and hail. In the early evening, a tornado did tremendous damage at Lone Grove, south of us near Ardmore, and lives were lost. We pray for that community.

We've lived in Oklahoma all our lives and every spring and fall we know to watch the western skies. I can tell by the feel of the weather and the smell when storms can develop. Yesterday was one of those days!

I've been stitching Valentine gifts and will show them when I know the package has been delivered. Until then, I'm moving everything out of my sewing room and will be trading for a larger room after it's painted a sunny yellow gold...a happy creative color :)

Have a blessed day!

Monday Hoops

Ooops...I need to correct that the Lady Vols were ranked #12 this week but the game was very exciting and the Sooners won 80-70!!! It was a great evening!!!!!

Stitchery hoops are not the focus today at our house! Instead I'm very excited about basketball hoops :)

My sweetheart and I love to follow college football and basketball! We look forward all summer to the first football game of the season and we are totally lost when March Madness is over :) We are not big baseball fans and that's probably good since we need those months to garden and get things in order before football starts again. We are very devoted fans of the University of Oklahoma Sooners (BOOMER SOONER!!) but we also cheer for Belmont University, Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee since one daughter and son-in-law are alums of those schools.

I especially love women's basketball and the OU Sooners are number 2 in the nation! My favorite women's basketball coach is Pat Summitt of Tennessee...she's an amazing coach and a classy lady. So the ideal game for me would be Sherri Coale and the #2 OU Sooners against Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols!!! And it's happening tonight and my sweetheart surprised me with tickets!!! He even has to take off work early so we can get there in time for all the pregame fun.

I want the Sooners to win but a Tennessee win would be #1000 for Pat Summit. I'll be a happy lady either way. It's nationally televised so if you see a crazy lady dressed in OU crimson and cream singing "Rocky Top" ... that's me :)

I'll be back to stitching tomorrow! Have a wonderful day!