A Quilt In Action

Reade loves the quilt his grandmother made him. It is so colorful, useful, and comfy.

Showing his delight:


Blake also loves it and has it on his bed (breaking it in for Reade):


Ellen made Blake a matching pillow with the transporter print on the inside. Blake insisted it be turned inside out and uses it every night. Will this turn into that one item that creates meltdowns on the days it has to be washed? Giraffe-y and dolly posing as Blake:

Christmas Quilt

Here is the quilt I made for my sister for Christmas. While it may not be the most pleasing thing to look at, it has wonderful memories sewn together. My Nana let me rifle through her remnant stash so each piece of fabric (minus the new edging) meant the world to me. There were scraps from the clothing she made us when we were kids, as well as left overs from homemade clothing still hanging in her closet. Sewing this quilt was like opening a treasure chest in my heart. I hope my sister enjoys it as much as I do.

One side:


and the other:


Tomorrow, I will showcase the wonderful quilt Ellen made for Reade (does it matter if Blake uses it every day?). Now that quilt is so pleasing on the eyes. Reade used one hand to steady himself on Blake's bed this morning and one hand to rub his quilt. It was so adorable to watch his tiny hand explore the quilt in the exact way Ellen had in mind.

Ok, Last Retro Camera App Post

In nature:


In chocolate:

Fresh

Our neighbors gave us a great floral arrangement for Christmas. I pieced out the plants and now have four new plants. Please don't tell them they only have a couple of months to live with me as their mom. Maybe this year will be a different story?

Out on the patio to soak up some filtered sun and natural rain fall:


Blake dressed himself so he could play baseball in the backyard. It is so fun to play outside when there is a break in the rain:


I love this retro camera app, but the blurry pictures drive me crazy. You all have to endure a week of this and then hopefully, it will be out of my system.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. And so it starts. Staying up late has left me too tired to think about all the great things I could/will/should/won't accomplish over the next year. We did nothing today except brew beer from a kit and make homemade granola. Before you start thinking that granola is my first step towards living a healthier lifestyle, just know that the idea was sparked by jealousy. My friend made us some wonderful holiday granola that I couldn't eat it because it had nuts. I am sure that granola was 10 times better than the batch I made, but I guess I will never know since Andrew gobbled it up.

Step One: Cut up dried fruit. I cut up a few dried apricots and added 1/4 cup raisins.


Step 2: Mix in 3 cups oats, 3 Tab sunflower seed oil, 3 Tab maple syrup.


Step 3: Spread on baking sheet. Bake in a 250° oven for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Let cool. Store in air tight container for up to one week.


Enjoy. This was all that was left after we all tried some in small bowls over yogurt.

Year's End

The last day of the year is here. I love this day because anything goes in the way of change and I really believe that it all can happen. I will: stop eating so much sugar, learn another language, go on more date nights with my husband, etc.. Real life may tweak with my time management, but for now I can enjoy the optimism.

My children getting clean, fresh starts:

Hikes

We explored the Cupertino Hills yesterday. The rest of the world is filled with winter snow, but our Bay Area climate just adds green (and brown silt from all the rains). It was good to get some fresh, damp air on our faces.

Quiet:


Loud creek plus one, excited yelling child:


Nature's mirrors: