Late Gifts...

Though I try hard to get gifts to people on time, it doesn't always work out that way.  My sister, Joyce, has been patiently waiting for her Christmas gift, which she received today...only 2 weeks late! Course, her birthday gift was also in the package, and that is about 3 weeks late!  ~sigh~  We FaceTimed while she opened the package. (I love technology, don't you?)  My sister, Julie, had made a counted cross stitch piece for Joyce that needed to be finished.  Shown in the second photo...it reads, "Sisters love to go shopping together".  For a long while, I had no idea how to finish the piece...but then - ha! - it came to me.  How about a messenger bag for Joyce?  So, here it is...

Not sure how well you can see the front flap, but it is rounded on the corners and goes almost to the bottom of the bag.

Here it is with the front flap folded to the back so you can see the counted cross stitch piece I inserted.  I made a dark purple flange around it with a purple solid.  

Julie also made a counted cross stitch piece for sister Jill, which I finished and gifted last week.   For her, I made a log cabin block with the puppy as center for a 12 inch pillow cover...

I also received a counted cross stitch piece from Julie...unsure what I'll do with mine.  Guess time will tell, hey?

More to do...always more.


"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.". Jeremiah 29:11

Speaking of Sisters...

My sister, Jill, will arrive at her

new home in Colorado today.

Best wishes and all my love to her

as she begins this new chapter in her life.

Sister Julie is moving back to Wisconsin...

and in with me!

I'll have a roommate...so will Tag!

YAY!

Julie has a dog and a cat.

Manley (the original doodlehead)

is a golden retriever...

6 months older than Tag.

Manley & Tag grew up together.

Spent parts of every day together...

until Julie moved away 4 years ago.

It'll be nice to have them together again.

 Julie's cat will be here, too.

Not sure how that'll go over with Tag.

Never having lived with a cat.

He may think Kisa is his new toy.

We're pretty excited about our new adventure!

That's all I have for now.

Have a great day.

Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might. - Ecclesiastes 9:10

25 Hours With My Sisters...

Wow, I finally have some time to do this while my satellite speed internet is being cooperative. Finally.

I last wrote on Thursday night, when I made a quilt block for Julie.

The next day, Friday, Julie & I went to the vet school (where I work & where she used to work) so that she could visit with some friends.

We did a few errands and then came home to get
ready for the other two sisters.
Julie wanted some photos

taken with the pups.

Here's Tag, sitting nice & straight for her

(her hand - holding a stick - is just outside the shot).

I think she's whispering sweet nothings to Allegra.

Joyce & Jill finally arrived! YAY!!!

We had pizza for supper and then sat & gabbed.

(l to r: Julie, Jill, Joyce)

Each time we have our 'sisters weekend' we exchange gifts. Jill gave sister plaques, Julie gave each of us 3 jars of jam (oh, it's sooo yummy), Joyce gave each of us a votive candle, dishrag that she made + money. I made aprons for everyone. Julie's has a wine motif, Jill's has motorcycles, and Joyce's is black/cream with a pocket that matches the fabric of theplastic bag holder I made for her last Christmas. I think they all were very happy.

(I made one for myself...pizza slices!)

Mom and Aunt Bev sent gifts, too,
but I don't have good photos of them.

Thank you very much...the gifts are great!

I wanted to give Jill her Christmas/birthday gift so

that Julie and Joyce would have a chance to see it.

(yup, she's crying.)

We got our jammies on and were all set to watch a movie (he's just not that into you). Julie grabbed my 'practice' quilt, Jill grabbed a tan quilt that I usually have on the ottoman, and I had my star quilt that Brenis made for me last year. Joyce sat there in the middle...here's how it went. (Close, anyway.)

Joyce: don't I get a blanket?
me: oh. do you want one?
Joyce: well, yeah.
me: {sigh} I suppose I can get something. (walking toward the hallway) I think I have an old...

Joyce to sisters: I suppose I'll get an old army blanket or something...that'll itch.

I came down the hall with the black and white quilt (I know, you haven't seen it, yet...be patient!) and tossed it into her lap. She looked at it and asked if I had made it. Told her I did...she noticed the patch of purple on the back (her fave color) and we told her to look at the label. She did.

It read: "To Joyce, From Jacque. Heart, 2009."

She sobbed. Not kidding! See?

And, sobbed.

For 10 minutes!

She finally calmed down and looked it over.

I think she likes it. 

And, here it is...the black and white quilt I made for her.

I bought the fabric last spring and made it
in 4 days a few weeks ago.

It's Joyce's birthday/Christmas gift.

See the text pieces? They are verses from Psalms.

Here's the back. See the purple?

She LOVES purple, so I had to put a piece in there for her.

I didn't want to have any quilting in the text blocks,

so I just quilted it in straight lines on both sides of each horizontal seam.

After all the excitement died down, we settled down to watch the movie.

The pups got comfy, too.

We stayed up late, chatting and laughing and having a good time.

The next day, Saturday, I made breakfast for everyone.

We showered, etc., and went shopping at Gordman's

(a discount department store that is Julie's all time fave store!).

Joyce and I talked about the doll quilts she wants me to make...

so we ended up at Stitcher's Crossing to look for some fabric.

Went in with Joyce saying she wanted purples and pinks.

Here's what we ended up with.

They are gonna be so dang cute! {grin})

Julie bought some fabric for a quilted kitty blanket. More on that later.

We ate lunch here...

(left to right: Joyce, Julie, Me, Jill)

Salute! To the 4 J's!

Of course, time for them to leave came all too soon.

I love them & miss them very much.

Allegra and Sisters

Update on Allegra: she's doing about the same. No better, but no worse. We're hanging in there.

Other news: I am trying to get everything done this weekend...my sisters are coming. Several years ago, I read Nicholas Sparks' book, "Three Weeks With My Brother". It's an exploration of relationships between the two brothers (Nicholas & his brother, Micah), & how life has influenced them, etc., as they go on a trip around the world. I loved it! And, I have an autographed copy!

At any rate, I determined then and there that time spent with my family was the most important thing in my life. Sisters Weekend resulted from that. Joyce lives in Alaska. Julie lives in Colorado (though she still lived here by me when I instigated this idea), and Jill lives about 2 hours away here in Wisconsin. Once a year, when Joyce comes to Wisconsin to see family and friends, we set aside 2 days for the 4 of us to get together. It's not always a weekend, and it's usually only one overnight. But, we spend time together, just the 4 of us...the 4 J's. We don't do anything special. Sometimes we shop, sometimes we just hang out. The one thing we always do is eat well! Julie missed the first year after she had moved to CO, and we didn't have the opportunity last year, so this year is very special. We each buy 4 gifts...not birthday or Christmas...just a special something for each of us to have from our time together. I've been busy, but I cannot tell you what I'm giving...you'll have to wait until next week when this is over.

Julie and Joyce are flying to WI today. They'll stay in Eau Claire where our Mom lives. Julie will come to Madison on Tuesday, while Joyce takes more time to spend with her youngest daughter, her grandson, & friends. Julie will spend time visiting friends in this area, bathing my dogs, and just hang out with me. I only work Monday & Tuesday. We will probably do a bit of shopping...I know Julie needs a digital camera. On Friday, Joyce and Jill will come down. It'll be a great time and I am so looking forward to it!!! It'll come slowly, but will be over much too soon. They'll all leave Saturday night. I hope to have lots and lots of photos to show you!

Here's what I'm working on right now...just need to hand sew the binding...trying to get it done before my sisters are here. Nooooo, it's not for any of them. Just want to get it done. Look at all the quilting on this one...I had some serious fun! Random lines in the center, stippling in the first border, zigzag lines in the floating squares, then just some lazy lines on the outside border (which you cannot see too well because the binding hasn't been turned to the back, yet). I used a brown/cream variegated thread...so pretty!
Have a great weekend.

2 Days with my SISTERS...the Visit!

As the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end"...but what a good visit my sisters and I had! I love my sisters...though we live apart from the others, we are all close in heart...and always so appreciative of the time we have together.

Here is the arrival of 2 of my 3 sisters in the late afternoon on Thursday. Joyce (14 mos older) is on the left, and Jill (7 years younger) is the driver. Julie, who moved to Colorado earlier this year, did not come.

After unloading the vehicle, meeting the dogs and getting settled...and after I showed Joyce and Jill my house, we sat down and chatted for a bit and then exchanged gifts. Our Mom had sent along a few things for us to open, too...and we called Julie (at work in Colorado) while we opened everything.

Here's Joyce on the phone with Julie...

Here's Jill on the phone with Julie...

She's holding up a framed sketch our Mom did of a piece of our childhood...the brick wall at the end of our driveway. At least 1/2 of us had mishaps which involved this wall...can you say, "OUCH"? Here's a better photo of the sketch. Good job, Mom!!

Jill has a longtime friend who sings & plays guitar in small venues (bars) and he was in Madison that night, playing at Babes American Bar & Grill. Joyce had never seen Tuck perform, so we went out for the evening. I call him a hillbilly, just cuz he's a good ole country boy. He sings some Pink Floyd, Neil Young, Badfinger...as well as his own music. He's pretty good and fun to listen to.

Here's Tuck - at the end of his night - with Joyce and Jill...

By the time we got home and went to bed, it was about 2:00...{yawn}. The dogs and I got up at 5:30 and spent a very quiet time together until my sisters got their lazy butts out of bed around 8:00. I made breakfast and we spent a nice chatty morning together until it was time to get moving and ready to go SHOPPING! We went to Kohl's, which is one of my most favorite stores...

Jill wanted to know, "Does this color look good on me???" Joyce and I both thought so, so she bought this jacket...

We ate at Perkins, a favorite place to eat...we all had the famous BLT Chicken Breast Salad.

Though none of us needed it, we split a chocolate malt 3 ways...ohyummy~

We were so full, we could barely smile! haha!

Yes, this is the only picture of me with either of my sisters.

After rolling out of the booth and getting back into the car...Joyce wanted to buy souvenirs. Off we went to Wisconsin Active Sportswear where she bought t-shirts and sweatshirts and magnets, keychains and a shot glass! Good job, Joyce!

One more stop...Harley Davidson! Jill and Joyce have long been associated with Harley Davidson bikes & men.

Finally, we are DONE with shopping! YAY! We came back home to my house, chatted while they got ready to leave and then Joyce and Jill had a quick bite to eat. Just before they were ready to go, my son showed up with his family. Joyce and Jill had never met Paul's fiance, Rachel, or her son, Devin...or his daughter, Kaylynn, so it was good that they had some time with them before taking off for Jill's house. (more about Paul's family in another post)

Great Aunts Joyce and Jill with Kaylynn...

Joyce and Jill must get going...

BYE!

I love you~

and miss you already~

2 Days with my SISTERS...

This is for those of you who don't know the story behind the annual SISTERS weekend that I mentioned in my previous post. Perhaps you've noticed that on my list of favorite books, I listed 'everything by Nicholas Sparks'. I eagerly await each new novel (in fact, his newest, "The Choice" is available now!) and am not sure if I have a favorite! At any rate, my story starts with the arrival of his book, "Three Weeks With My Brother", which came out in the spring of 2004. It's a story of Nicholas Sparks and his brother, Micah, who took 3 weeks to travel around the world together in early 2003. Here is what Nicholas has to say about this time in his life...

"...This, then, is a story about brotherhood. It’s the story of Micah and me, and the story of our family. It’s a story of tragedy and joy, hope and support. It’s the story of how we’ve matured and changed and taken different paths in life, but somehow grown even closer. It is, in other words, the story of two journeys; one journey that took my brother and me to exotic places around the world, and another, a lifetime in the making, that has somehow led us to become the best of friends."

To read more, click on this link: Three Weeks With My Brother

This story moved me entirely more than I thought possible. It's not an exciting, suspenseful book...but a book of discoveries and of time spent together. It inspired me to try to find more time with my family...special time. Not the usual 'all the relatives for a special event' get together. The majority of my relatives, including my Mom and her husband, live about 3 hours away in Eau Claire. I have a sister (Joyce) in Alaska, my baby sister (Jill) a few hours away here in Wisconsin, and Julie, who lived in the apartment next to mine for several years but moved to Colorado earlier this year. I see my family a few times a year...usually when I travel to see them. So. I decided that it would be great to have Mom down to Madison for a visit....just her...just time alone with me Mum. She came that early summer (YAY!) and again the next year. Course, I had to share some of that time with Julie, since she lived right there, but Mom and I did have time alone. Mom didn't come last year...I was planning to spend a week in Eau Claire...but that's when Cruiser was having problems, so I didn't go. And, of course, if you are a faithful reader of my blog (who isn't?), you already know that Mom came for a short visit in early September...just a month ago.

At the same time, back in 2004, I decided that it would be nice if my sisters & I could have time alone...without Mom...without kids...without friends and relatives around...just the 4 J's (Joyce, Jacque, Julie, Jill). Joyce travels to Wisconsin once a year, so we take a few days for our SISTERS weekend when she is here. It is a great time! We do nothing special...just be with each other. We usually bring small gifts for each other, but that is not a requirement. We shop, eat, talk, laugh, eat, talk, laugh...it is a very special time for us! Mom keeps asking if she can come...ummmmm, NO! {grin} Julie won't be with us this year, but we shall chat on the phone with her. (She'll be home for Christmas.)

In preparation, I am a cleaning fool this a.m.! Joyce hasn't seen my house in the country, and Jill had just a quick run through, so I want everything sparkling! I groomed the dogs last night, so they're looking good. I do not enjoy cleaning at all, but I do enjoy a clean house!

And, there you have it...the story behind SISTERS weekend. Don't worry, I'll take lots of photos to share!