{pretty, happy, funny, real}

I am enjoying my coffee in my new favorite cup. It is so {pretty} and reminds me of my grandmother.
Sassy is so {happy} to be able to bask in some sunshine. It has been days of rain and gloom. Finally the sun came out! Facebook. Gosh I waste a lot of my time there. This cartoon is {funny} but true. I promise myself I will limit my time there to less than an hour spread over the day. I don't even play ANY games there. This woman even looks like me!
It's for {real}!!!!! Today I am putting together Isla's raffle quilt. Yippee! I brought my machine upstairs so it can be an all day project, and I can still run the home and homeschool the kids! I might just do this every week (have a machine sewing day)! Sweetheart works 16 hours on Thursdays, so it would be a great day to do it!!
To see more {pretty, happy, funny, real} posts, go over to Like Mother, Like Daughter!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...it is raining hard and looks very cold.
I am thinking...of my husband driving almost an hour in this driving rain.
I am thankful...that I am able to be home today.
From the learning rooms...Zach has tests today in 3 subjects. Charlotte is almost there too.
In the kitchen...Nothing is happening, though I have some planning to do for tomorrows grocery trip. Tonight will be chicken.
I am wearing...my furry robe and gown. I will be wearing a jean skirt and sweater today....it is chilly!
I am creating...Isla's raffle quilt this week, and hand quilting on the UGRR Sampler.
I am going...no where today!!!!
I am wondering...why my mother hasn't called this morning.
I am reading...Galatians
I am hoping...I can get this raffle quilt pieced in one day.
I am looking forward to...my day out tomorrow.
I am hearing...the rain hit the roof.
Around the house...things are pretty well in order, so I have planned a sewing day.
I am pondering...this season with Charlotte.
One of my favorite things...Hot coffee in my favorite cup.
A few plans for the rest of the week:Shopping with mom tomorrow, WW meeting, piano lessons, and hosting a group of ladies for dessert on Friday afternoon.
Here is a picture thought I am sharing... Join in on The Simple Woman's Daybook and see others.

A Wonderful Day

A Happy Birthday wish to my sweet Mom. She is out and about with her sister today and I pray she is having a wonderful day. She is in the middle of reading "The Help", so calling her can be dangerous! LOL Once she finishes, we are going to see the movie! I can't wait!!

All the blocks for Isla's raffle quilt are in. One block all the way from Israel is in there! ALL of them are beautiful and will make the perfect quilts. There are 48 blocks, which is PERFECT, cause the leftover 16 will go into a little quilt for Isla.
I played a little with the placement. I think it will be a stunning quilt.... It will be ready to go to Coleen in about a week! Coleen just posted a pic of her most recent customer quilt. Her quilting is so wonderful, and I am honored she is willing to do this one!
My own quilt is in the hoop and after getting the Crossroads block and a couple of sashing strips quilted, there is a place for me to rub my hand over and feel the quiltiness of what this quilt will become!
Can you guess how I am spending my Saturday afternoon?? Oh yeah! Now I just need a hot cup of coffee next to me, cause it is COLD outside!Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup for dinner. It is such a crisp September day, that it had to be soup! Now I am off to get that cup of Hazelnut coffee and grab that quilt back up! Praying you are having just as wonderful a Saturday afternoon!

It's All About ORANGE

I am feeling quite chatty today, so you are getting a rare 2 posts from me! I did an bit of fall decorating, and I was struck by all the orange around my house! These beautiful Marigolds came from my garden. I put a strip of fall fabric around this little vase and it brightens up my kitchen counter.

Not all orange, but orange enough, I picked up some of my favorite soaps for the season, along with some wonderful hand sanitizers. Bath and Body Works has a nice sale on right now with all their fall scents on special! The Pumpkin Spice is amazing!
I also grabbed a "Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin" room spray while I was there. Everything smells like Pumpkins here! :) What is fall without a new Yankee Candle? This year I got "Farmers Market". It is SO good!.....and it is ORANGE!Orange accents went into the entryway also.Clashes a bit with the brown and salmon table runner, but I like it anyway. On second thought, now that I am seeing it here, I think I will flip that to the back side, which is gold.Sass seems to like the ORANGE also....she was smelling and rubbing her face all over the Marigolds this morning!
I even decorated my daughter in ORANGE.....HA HA!
Have you decorated for fall yet?

{pretty, happy, funny, real} Emerson

I have been reading Like Mother, Like Daughter for quite sometime now. I have enjoyed these ladies immensely! Such wisdom, creativity, and love. They host a weekly spot called {pretty, happy, funny, real} and I always look so forward to reading it along with the others linked there. I finally decided to join in on the fun. My first {pretty, happy, funny, real} post is dedicated to Emerson, who turned 3 last week. We celebrated her birthday this weekend, and what could be better for this post than to share a bit of her day with you all.

She certainly is {pretty}
Emerson likes to share her {pretty} so she put "lipstick" on Charlotte and Old Grandma!
She was very {happy} when we sang ♫Happy Birthday♫ to her....and when she played the piano with Aunt Charlotte.........and when she played the new lap harp we picked up in Galena.
Her brother was quite {funny} with icing all over his face!!!!It was a very {real} hug TJ received from Emerson...........just after she slugged him for not sharing the harp just when she wanted it!

If you want to read more {pretty, happy, funny, real} posts (or better yet, join in), just click the logo at the top of this post! You will want to take some time to look over the blog if you have never visited. See you soon!!!

Our Day Trip To Galena

My mom and I took the kids to Galena for the day. I will just let the pictures speak for themselves! I'll be back soon with pics from the weekend! Isn't my mom beautiful??!! She doesn't look like she is turning 69 on the 24th!

Set for Winter Quilting

I was going to share our day trip to Galena today, but blogger started throwing a tantrum, so I will have to save that for next time. I did get these pictures loaded before the fit began, and this is plenty long enough for a sit down! It has been a long week and it started out rough for me. If I ever doubted God's timing, it was not on Monday. Just when needed, the mailman brought a special package!SASSY!!!! Get off of there!!!!That's better! This incredible wallhanging arrived from Linda. The delicate words, stitched by hand, spoke of friendship, and touched me more than words can express. My absolute favorite quilting design, was included....double crosshatch! I LOVE IT! Thank you, Linda! Monday's cloud lifted and Tuesday and Wednesday went by like a blur...Tuesday I had my day out with Mom. It was a good one. I weighed in at WW and lost 3 pounds, plus got my 5% sticker! Big milestone....now on to 10%! Wednesday, we headed to Galena with the kids. Another excellent day. Thursday was basting day! I have a love-hate relationship with basting day! I had already marked the top. I think it will look great and the sashing stencil I chose fits well.

AGAIN with that cat! She loves a quilt of any kind!One of the things I DREAD about basting day, especially with a huge quilt like this, is the pain I know my back will suffer because of all the bending. Because of that, I usually take a couple of days to baste a quilt of this size. This time I spent 8 bucks and purchased these risers to lift my table up to counter level.BEST 8 bucks I ever spent! I did this entire quilt in one day with ZERO back pain. Granted, it took me 12 hours and about 200 yds of thread, and though my legs ached some the next day, that was nothing in comparison of days of back pain! I am now set for winter quilting!
Today, I plan to add some major quilting in that quilt and have a nice relaxing day. Tomorrow, the grandkids, my son, my sister and her family, and my parents, come for the day and after church, we will take them all to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate Em's birthday. Next week will be busy too. My Mother in Love is having a valve replaced in her heart on Wednesday, so I plan to be there all day, and then running up to see her as often as I can as she recovers. I have perfect peace everything will be fine, but if you think about, say a prayer for her. ♥

Off to have that perfect quilting day!