Repair Box

Sarah, your box of repairs is finished. What fun. You're going to have a whole weeks worth of "new" shorts. And Winnie will have three new table toppers. Love the hand-me-down pants for me, too. The blue/khaki ones are the nicest I've ever had.

Happy Birthday, Aaron

Birthday crown, make by the beloved Ms. Judy at preschool.

Mini pillow pets for each kid. Nora has been longing for the ladybug and Aaron picked out the puppy during our shopping trip to Kroger. What is there about pillow pets that kids love so much?

From Aunt Tina: balloons to blow up with a straw, plus really comfie pajamas were a big hit. Mike and Tina could remember having those balloons when they were kids. From Mom and Dad: Thomas train cars, of course.

The party with friends is Saturday, with Grandma and Pap and Bridgie helping. I'm working so I'll miss this one. The party is at a park, so everyone is hoping for no rain.

After All These Months

After all these months, the train quilt is finished, one day before Aaron's birthday.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't the best idea to use the dishcloths in the pretty colors for the train car backgrounds. I fused them on interfacing, which makes them kind of stiff and makes the quilt heavy. Or, maybe I should have just fused around the edges. The cloths make wonderful burp cloths, but for a whole quilt, not so much. The colors make a great background, though, and a four-year-old isn't a quilt judge.

Embroidered applique is

Anita Goodesign Baby Train.

Tag Time

Time to put some tags on Aaron's birthday quilt before I put on the binding. Even though he's going to be four, he still likes his tags.

Last week we were playing some kind of game where he was covering me with a blanket. He asked, "Do you like tags?" When I said I did, he very nicely covered me with a tag within reach. Than he informed me that if I rubbed the tag it would feel hot.

What a great little guy.

Did You Ever?

Did you ever see a sweeter hide-and-seek face (hiding between the big roll of batting and the wall?)

Did you ever see more rapt concentration focused on ice balls?

Did you ever see a painted gas cap? It could start a trend, but probably not.

Since I've lived here, I've had the actual front and center WEBN fireworks experience, the front-but-slightly-off-center experience, the watching-from-the-hotel-balcony experience, the watching-on-tv-at-someone-else's-house experience. Last night was my first time watching at home on tv, with the front door open and the sound echoing from the river. Pretty cool. Next year I might invite some folks over.

Healing Quilt

The healing quilt is finished, and it looks pretty much like I wanted it to look,

watercolored and out of focus, dreamy.

Lots of things to look at, forty-eight, actually, since each block is unique. I'll keep it at church for awhile, then set in motion for it to go to a lady vet at Fort Thomas Rehab. I hope she finds peace and healing in it.

Open House

Last night was Open House at Nora's school - school starts on Tuesday. Nora will be in first grade this year, first all day school for her since her kindergarten was just half days.

Her school was new last year and has lots of cool stuff. I love that her classroom has lots going on but isn't overwhelming. And that Nora, with her introverted heart, had a chance to quietly sit at her desk before the big day.

Aaron enjoyed himself, predictably going for the mechanical things in the classroom. He would have loved to have spent ages with the smart board, if we'd let him.

But since we didn't, the clock had to do. He loved the feature that showed the sun rising and setting.

What a difference from my first grade school, which was old, old even then. It was my first experience in a mixed-grade classroom, but certainly not my last. I always found it so hard to concentrate on my work when the older grade was doing their reading or math. I have no idea how many children were in my classroom, but it seemed like there were lots. Nora will have twenty-four, with a student teacher to help out.