The Little Things That Count

I was chopping some nuts today with the food chopper and it took me down a funny little sequence of little memories.

When I moved up to Provo in January of 1973, my room mate, Darlene saw me making cookies and kind of doing my version "chopping" nuts by crushing and twisting them between my fingers.  She chuckled at me and showed me how to chop them with a knife.  I was 23 at the time.  Not sure how my mom had done it, can't remember.

Years later, my MIL gave me a set of knives and had to show me how to used a chef's knife, I found that to be a wonderful improvement and I now own 2 long ones and at least 3 of the shorter Japanese versions. Could NOT live without them . .  OK, slight exaggeration.  I still had nuts go flying all over when I chopped them.

Fast forward to last summer.  I was at my big brother and sister-in-law's house and she got her food chopper out, went chop, chop, chop and had the nicest, neatest little pile of nuts ready to use.  I  had her show me what she did and now that is how I chop mine.  Those little cups they sell with those choppers to hold the food being chopped just get in the way.  Clean the counter if needed and put the food right there.  Whack, turn slightly and whack again until it is just right.  So simple . ..  and I might add, just a little obvious  ;= ?

So many knives, 3 choppers, three teachers and 50 years later, I don't dread chopping nuts.   It is the little things in life that count!  Thanks girls!

This is not a resolution . . .

. . . it is another new beginning.  I will put the same kind of ticker in my side bar to track my path to better health.  Once again, I am tired of feeling like this, tired of having nothing to wear with a closet full of clothes (that I am too big for, again) and tired of being tired.

I have tried to start this week by cubing my grazing, munching and just being kind of DUMB.  It has already made a difference.  Two pounds off, heart burn letting up and less bloating.  First baby step, the way that seems to work the best for me.  Slow and steady.

Summer is on its way and time is wasting, here I go again.  At least there is only ten pounds to lose again . . and then on to new territory.

DECEMBER 2011

We had fun running across town to for Brianna's first concert with her little girls' Choir.  the girls were so cute and on their way to lots of talented performances!














After this was the attempt to get a picture of all the girls.  As usual, Lynneah was not impressed!

 A quick pic of all the grand kids at one time.  They sure had other things on their minds!  But gave us the best they could.
Variety is the spice of life, and these little stinkers sure give it to us.  Love them so much.  Jon, Sarah and I were all getting over the stomach flu so the kids had to stay away from us.  That was hard.  We ended up with Lynneah on my lap, but there is a good chance she was one of the ones who exposed us all to it.

Next the kids opened the gifts from our name drawing/gift exchange.  It was pretty hard as Lynneah went first, well kind of.  She never did really tear the paper on her gifts.  Lincoln was next; no problem with the tearing into the package.  Tatianna was next and was pretty excited  to get "just what I wanted"!

FINALLY . . . it was Garrett's turn.  We worried he would get a hernia before he got to go to town!   He has always LOVED Cwisamus!  So glad he still does!


Next it was Arianna's turn for a doll that looked kind of familiar . .




. . . and then finally it was the "biggest" boy's turn. Gabriel likes claiming the "oldest grand child" title well enough, that he doesn't seem to mind the wait.  Funny kid.









Baby Neah was busy toddling around the whole time and just being cute, cuddly and her own little self.  Such a joy to watch.  I get hit with a little emotion so often watching her as she develops her own little way in this big old world.  In a couple of months her little world might be turned upside down when she is no longer the baby.  Should be interesting!  BTW, take a look at the little Buddha belly on the little miss.  Her pants are usually at half mast with it pushing them down . .  she and the little . .  thugs wanna-be's running around.  Hang a chain on her and she'll fit right in . .  hmmm, that gives me a funny idea.  Have to think about it!

Getting  late and I'm tired, finish the rest of the month another time.

First a disclaimer:  I am not an expert on quilting.  I have learned a lot of why they do, what they do, on quilting shows.  Since I have not been able to manage much in the way of quilting classes, I am truly flying by the seat of my pants in making this quilt and by learning things the hard way, I am learning to do it the easy way.

I'll be doing a post on my blog and adding to it as I go along on this second side to share and perhaps make it easier for others.

I must admit though, I think the first thing is to take some good quilting classes!!  Some day, soon, it will happen.

As I go along, I will just add to this post to keep everything in the correct order the easy way.

First let me share the first side of the quilt.  It is made with a Thomas Kincaid panel which was a lot smaller than normal.  So I put the smaller ones in the corners.  The ones at the top will get covered with pillows, so I wish I had thought of that before I did the design.  Live and learn.

I was constantly adjusting.  Should have squared up all of them before I started sewing.  Would have eliminated many headaches and save many hours.  I expect this second side to lay together better since the first thing I did was to square up the one panel that will center the quilt.

I was not as far sided as I had hoped.  The two small panels at the top will be covered by pillows eventually.  Now I wish I had thought to have the smaller panels off the corners of the main one in the middle.  It would have made it easier to tie through all the layers at this stage as well when it came time, without having them ending up in strange places.

As I sew each border, I will square it up before measuring or cutting the next border.  It should lay better and have no pulling that has to compensated for.  Pictures coming in a couple of hours.  I also iron, iron and iron.  this is such an important step to any kind of sewing that gets skipped so often.  As each strip is added, I press the seam over, using steam, to make sure it is set.

1:39 p.m.

I can not believe how much easier this first border is going in.  It is the same as the pink shiny border in the first side.  You can tell what problems I had with it.  Some of the shading is from not laying flat, some is from having trouble keeping the two pieces together.  I have had to square  the strips a couple of times, but it is paying off!

10:25 p.m.

I am just amazed at how much better this sides is going together.  I have realized that either, I still can not measure straight or  I can't count right or something.  It is turning out too big and I still have one more border to put in to get the Bippity Boppity Boo fabric incorporated into the Cinderella side.  So once again, I need to re-figure and be flexible to get it done.  Sigh.

I love watching the quilt/sewing shows on PBS.  I have even been recording them so that I can refer back to them.  Last Saturday the show that has the mother/daughter team on it, was discussing how techniques and methods have changed since rotary cutters have come along.  They have made it so much easier to make accurate cuts which can result in much more complicated designs.  So true!!  The correct equipment has been a life saver, no doubt about it!  

Gifts, What Are They?

As I sit here and see the same commercials that have been playing for weeks now, I am kind of taken back over the years.  I have always liked to spend time on gifts.  I think of the recipient and reminisce.  It can be such a pleasant experience.  All the glitz and glamor on the commercials can't hold a candle to spending time with someone you love.

Time is such a rare commodity;  so hard to find.  It taxes your mind, thoughts, energy and strength.  But that is OK.  I pays off in the end.  At least we hope it does!  Sometimes it can be a bust, but the giver has already received his/her gift.  That can't be taken away.

So here are the last of the pictures of the infamous quilt.  I have fretted, redone, picked out, restitched and yes even cursed a bit on occasion.  But it is a done deal.  I learned a lot of what to not do and then what to do.  Made a new resolution to get myself into the quilting classes I have wanted to take for years; and will finish them this time.  Reinventing the wheel is such a waste.  It is a foolish person who doesn't learn all that they can where ever they can. Who thinks that they can learn all they need from one person.  Everyone has something to teach.  How sad to miss opportunities to gain new knowledge by being foolish.  I don't want to be a foolish person.

This side lent itself to the tying.  I was pretty comfortable
with it.  Though it would have looked great with some
quilting around the central parts of it.

I really detested the tying on this side.  I was stuck, so
have to live with it.  There were more embellishments
I could have been added & made it more Victorian, but not suitable for two little girls!

There are lots of little details on the Snow White side that I love.  After I did the little fern stitching to set the little roses on, I realized it would have been even prettier if I had used a double needle with a multi- shaded green thread in one of them.  Lesson learned. Those crazy little roses are still showing up here and there.  They must have sprouted feet and crawled into corners to come out and surprise me at random times.

I will never try making one like this double sided again.  The ties take away from it, especially on the Snow White's side.  I am also concerned about when it needs to be washed.  A pretty delicate piece of work.

The Doll House Curtains are finished.  I do believe they have driven me over the edge!  Took all day, even after starting them last night.  But they are done and now it's time to get back to work on purging and creating a place of organization, peace and at least a little sense.  A gift to Jon and me, just because we deserve it.  Hope it can be done peacefully . . . ah hem!

Do You Want A Donut?

Brother Christianson taught Seminary. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's Seminary class.

Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?"

Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do."

Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time."

"Do you think you could?" Again asked Brother Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," Brother Christianson said. Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it."

Brother Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.

When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk..

Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.

And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.

Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott, do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Jenny said, "No."

Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.

During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Bro. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want." And Bro. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Bro. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him."

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in."

Bro. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

"Yes."

"Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro. Christianson, can I help him?"

Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, pleaded to the Father, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten."

Now that I am beating myself up just a bit; at how often I leave that donut just sitting there, not taking a bite, not even a nibble, I hope that this will stay in the front of my mind and deep in my heart as I finish my preparations for celebrating the Savior's birth.  The New Year is also coming so soon.  I hope that this story will encourage reflections that will help preparations for the new year and stepping out and forward and upward.

Piecing a Quilt, the Easy Hard Way!?!?!

First a disclaimer:  I am not an expert on quilting.  I have learned a lot of why they do, what they do, on quilting shows.  Since I have not been able to manage much in the way of quilting classes, I am truly flying by the seat of my pants in making this quilt and by learning things the hard way, I am learning to do it the easy way.

I'll be doing a post on my blog and adding to it as I go along on this second side to share and perhaps make it easier for others.

I must admit though, I think the first thing is to take some good quilting classes!!  Some day, soon, it will happen.

As I go along, I will just add to this post to keep everything in the correct order the easy way.

First let me share the first side of the quilt.  It is made with a Thomas Kincaid panel which was a lot smaller than normal.  So I put the smaller ones in the corners.  The ones at the top will get covered with pillows, so I wish I had thought of that before I did the design.  Live and learn.

I was constantly adjusting.  Should have squared up all of them before I started sewing.  Would have eliminated many headaches and save many hours.  I expect this second side to lay together better since the first thing I did was to square up the one panel that will center the quilt.

As I sew each border, I will square it up before measuring or cutting the next border.  It should lay better and have no pulling that has to compensated for.  Pictures coming in a couple of hours.  I also iron, iron and iron.  this is such an important step to any kind of sewing that gets skipped so often.  As each strip is added, I press the seam over, using steam, to make sure it is set.

1:39 p.m.
I can not believe how much easier this first border is going in.  It is the same as the pink shiny border in the first side.  You can tell what problems I had with it.  Some of the shading is from not laying flat, some is from having trouble keeping the two pieces together.  I have had to square  the strips a couple of times, but it is paying off!

10:25 p.m.
I am just amazed at how much better this sides is going together.  I have realized that either, I still can not measure straight or  I can't count right or something.  It is turning out too big and I still have one more border to put in to get the Bippity Boppity Boo fabric incorporated into the Cinderella side.  So once again, I need to re-figure and be flexible to get it done.  Sigh.