For These I Give Thanks

Several years ago I saw a quilt pattern I really loved. My sister Mary bought a pattern but never made it but I kept thinking about it and knew I had to make it to display in my home. So mid-September of 2007, I borrowed the pattern and started on this quilt called "Many Thanks". I loved it because it was so colorful, whimiscal- -and it expressed many of the things that I'm so thankful for.

I'm so blessed with a wonderful family. They bring me such joy and happiness. I've also had the good fortune to have a lot of great friends over the years. I try not to take for granted how blessed I am. Working of these quilt blocks over the winter months gave me a lot of time to reflect on the blessings and all the good things in my life.

As I'd travel in the car, or watch TV in the evenings I'd work on these blocks. Several times when I went to Utah to help with the grandkids, I took the blocks to work on them in my spare time. There wasn't a rush to complete the quilt . . . I was simply enjoying the whole process.

As much as I love to travel and see new places and new things, I always love to come back home . . . I really do love "roads that lead home"!

I've always loved flowers. I grew to love them from my mother . . . she always had a yard full of beautiful flowers. There's a primary song which says, ". . . for if I love blossoms and meadows and walking, I learned how to love them, dear Mother, from you." Maybe my children will learn to love them from me. I love it when I hear one of them comment when they see something beautiful in nature, or love to have beautiful flowers in their yards. Maybe they really were paying attention on all those drives we took when I'd try to get them to look up and appreciate their beautiful surroundings.

"Each new day" brings challenges, new opportunities and another chance to try to improve and do better than the day before.

Every morning when I hear the birds singing in the yard it makes me smile . . . they sound so happy. I think I have a lot to be happy about too. And when I look up into a star filled night I think it's so awesome . . . what a beautiful sight!

Here's the completed quilt. I finished quilting and binding it by the end of February. It was a rewarding project because as I planned and pieced each block I was thinking of the many things I constantly need to be giving thanks for.

After my quilt was finished, Randy made a quilt rack so it could be displayed. I saw a quilt rack at a craft show which cost $85.00. I showed it to Randy and he came home and made mine for under $20.00! It's wonderful to have connections with a handy carpenter! The top shelf also a good place to display some of his handywork . . . some awesome little wooden bowls. A welcoming smile, each new day, peace and harmony, whispers of angels, birds that sing, the stars above, friends and family, sweet fragrant flowers, cozy old quilt, a plentiful harvest, and roads that lead home . . . are just of few of the things for which I give thanks each day. I am truly blessed and when I look at my quilt I'm remined again of those blessing!

"Bedroom Makeover" - - - our winter project!

Every long, cold winter in Idaho needs a good winter project to help pass the long, dark days. So we spent a good portion of our winter months improving our bedroom . . . we did our own version of a "Makeover Story". Giving our bedroom a much needed makeover seemed like a good way to start the New Year and accomplish something worthwhile indoors while it was too cold to be outside.



It all started with the purchase of a new quilt. I'd been wanting to make some changes for a long time, so when I saw this quilt at the Quilt Shop at Gardner's Village, I knew it would be the inspiration for my bedroom makeover.

We started by taking all the furiture out of the room (what a job!) except for the bed and started painting the walls. The new color is called Earthenware- -a nice rich shade of green. We borrowed a cool painting system from Mauri which pumped the paint directly into the roller-eliminating the need for a paint tray. It made the whole painting process go so much quicker, especially the ceiling . . . and not a single splatter or drip. We'll never be able to paint a wall with a roller and tray again.

It was my job to do the detail painting along the ceiling. My neck and arms were awfully tired by the time I trimmed around the whole room, but it was worth it to have such a nice rich color on the walls.

Next I repainted the closet doors and woodwork. I love how a fresh coat of paint makes everything feel clean and new. Repainting was a job I've been needing to do for several years so it sure felt nice to finally have the job done!

After the walls were painted we started on refinishing the bedroom furniture. Ever since we'd gotten a pillow top mattress, our old nightstands were too short to be of much use. Randy came up with a great solution of how to make them useable! He took the top off the nightstands, had a box made for each nightstand, reattached the box (now a place for books instead of being on top of the nightstands), added some trim and reattached the top.

Randy's always thinking and coming up with a new ways to improve on an old idea. He's such a creative guy! Not only does he come up with a good idea, he has the knowledge to make those ideas really work. I'm awfully lucky he's always willing to get involved in projects around our home and yard. We've had a lot of fun over the years working on a variety of projects. I think we make a pretty good team!

We took all the furniture out to the shop to be sanded to try to contain some of the mess. Then we brought it inside where I did the final painting and finishing in the kitchen. Remember, this was a winter project . . . it was too cold in the shop to allow the paint to dry. Even though I had a messy kitchen for a while, I had a nice warm place to do the furniture refinishing.

Here's one of the nightstands all finished and ready to be used . . . just waiting for some of good books to be added so I can read in bed. Reading in bed is a luxury I've come to enjoy over the past few years. It's awfully nice to lay in a warm cozy bed on a wintry day and read a good book.

The dresser was and chest of drawers were the next things painted. I painted both a bricky red . . . trying the match the reds in the quilt. We'd talked about either buying new furniture or repainting our old furniture for a long time. When we got looking for new furniture, I couldn't really find anything I liked better than what we already had . . . . they just needed to be given a new look. I shouldn't have put it off for so long because it wasn't really that difficult and the results are definitely worth it!

I used a black undercoat on both dresser and chest of drawers so the topcoat of red would have a good rich base and deepen the color. It's amazing how a coat of paint improves old furniture. The furniture was still in really good condition considering that it's been used for over 30 plus years. I think the new coat of paint really jazzed them up!





Here's the finished room! I found a cute shelf at "Real Deals"(which I also repainted) and hung above the dresser.

I found some fabric and made a simple valance for the window . . . now all I need to do is to hang a couple of pictures! I'm saving room on one wall for a stitchery project I'm working on - - I've always got a project in the works - - -that's what I do!







I'm pleased with the finished project. I love the new look in our bedroom. The warm colors in the quilt and the rich colors on the walls and furniture give the room a nice, cozy feeling. It was a great winter project even though it took several months to complete . . . but well worth the effort! Having an indoor project or two makes our winters bearable and gives me something to look forward to each day. I'm so fortunate that I can enjoy being home during this season of my life and have something I'm interested in to fill my days. I'm "enjoying the journey" each and every day.

Winter . . . REALLY !!!

We thought we were having winter back in late December and early January . . . but now in early February WE ARE REALLY HAVING WINTER !!! Most every day I spend time shoveling or snowblowing. School has been cancelled several times and so has church. The animals are hangin in there . . . and so are we . . . but spring will be real nice.


Sometimes . . . when it's not snowing or blowing . . . it's really quite pretty!

But sometimes IT'S BLOWING LIKE H*** !!!

It's pretty bad when you have to climb out of the barn !

Ilene has had to dig out the path to the barn about 20 times. Enough already !

Lots of snow piling up everywhere . . . even on the ladder and planter box.

Just routine ! This was Thursday, Feb 7th.

You can see that getting out to and then into the barn and shop has been a constant challenge.

You can walk right off this drift and on to the top of the shop. Inside was DARK, cuz the windows were totally covered up by the snow drift. In this picture I've shovelled out about half of the shop because I was afraid the snow would break out the windows with it's weight. One more window to go !

Making sawdust . . .and little bowls

Randy is showing Bridger how he starts to make a bowl. Starting with a chunk of wood . . .

. . . you put in on the lathe and start making sawdust as the wood is cut away (and when you're concentrating really hard you need to have your tongue stuck out - just a little - it helps to make it better)

You keep turning and turning, using different gouges and chisels, depending on how much wood you want to remove. And little by little, the bowl starts to take shape.

And making more and more sawdust as you remove the wood to form the bowl. And little by little, the beauty and character of the wood is discovered as the carving process continues.

And here are some of the bowls that Randy has made as he's learned to use his lathe. Each is a little different . . . some are made from birch, some from oak. You don't know what interesting markings you'll find in the wood until you start the process.

It's all a learning process as he discovers the beauty in the wood he's been collecting for years. Some of the wood came from a trip to Ohio, some from a trip to Tennessee, another came from Grandma Kendrick's white clump birch that was cut down several years ago. You just never know where you'll find the next piece of beautiful wood. Randy's always on the lookout! If you ever come upon a good dead hardwood tree (or even little pieces) let him know. . . or bring it to Idaho. He'll make it into something great!

Hats - Hats . . . and more hats

Logan has a thing for hats. If you leave a hat where he can get it, he'll put it on. Jason left his hat where Logan could get it so here it is on his head. He's such a cutie.

I can tell he's used to having his picture taken because when he saw me with the camera, he said, "Cheese" . . . I thought that was pretty funny, especially since he was also holding cheese!

He found these glasses and necklace downstairs in the toy room . . . and Grandpa's hat, so naturally he put them on. It's a good look, don't you think?

And this beautiful little hat belongs to a doll he also found in the toy room. I was surprised he could get it on, but somehow he managed.

What a guy!

Bridger - - the birdhouse builder . . .with Grandpa's help

Bridger spent some time in the shop with his Grandpa last weekend.

He wanted to build a birdhouse . . . and not just a little one, but a birdhouse large enough for birds to really use. So with Grandpa's help he learned how to build a birdhouse.

Here's the serious building as he paints his birdhouse. He's a good little worker when he doing something he's really interested in.

Bridger proudly displays his finished birdhouse. Now he's ready to take it home and hang it in a tree or put in on a post in his own yard. He was pretty proud of his accomplishment . . . and so was Grandpa. Good job, bud!

Quilting. . . . just one of my many winter projects

For Christmas this year, Randy gave me these quilting frames - - -Grace EZ frames. I love 'em!


Now I have a way to hand quilt the quilt tops I've been working on this past fall and winter. I have room to work on them right in my own family room instead of having to set up quilting frames somewhere else.


The quilt top is pinned onto the top roller. . . then as I quilt, I roll it onto the bottom roller.


These frames are great - - I'm thrilled to have them.

This is my "Bull's Eye" quilt that I pieced last year. I belong to a quilt quild that meets once a month at the Basalt Church. Last year's project (my first year in the quild) was to exchange quilt blocks with other members of the quild, which we did for about 7 months. Then I cut all my blocks into fourths, mixed them all up, and sewed them back together to make this scappy old fashioned looking quilt. It was a lot of fun mixing so many fabrics together to make my "one-of-a-kind"quilt.

Here I am working on my quilt.

I worked on it whenever I had some free time . . . an hour here or there . . . making a little progress each day.

My goal wasn't to rush through until it's finished, but to enjoy each part of the process.

And here's the finished project!

After about two and a half weeks of quilting, I finished it! I added the binding and now it's ready to be used and enjoyed. I'm going to show it, along with some of my other quilting projects, at the upcoming quilt show at the Library next week.

It's been such a fun project . . . . just one of the many things I'll enjoy doing during these winter months.

Winter Wonderland

We've dug a path to the shop and barn so we get out to take care of the horses and cats. I love having a place to keep my animals safe and warm during all this winter weather. We also need to be able to continue to work on projects in the shop. Randy has been busy using his lathe--making sawdust and experimenting with some of the wood he's stockpiled over the years. He's been making some cool little wooden bowls in different sizes.


The back patio and arbor are snow covered but beautiful. We've had a few birds (Northern Flickers) earlier this winter but now that they've eaten all the frozen grapes, they seemed to have flown to warmer climates. I can't say I'd blame them, I'd fly to warmer weather too it I could.



" Oh, the weather outside is frightful. . ."

but it's made the yard a beautiful winter wonderland. We haven't had snow like this for several years.

When it snowed it fell straight down, piling high on all the fences, trees and shrubs.

Even the garden looks like a christmas card. . . all snow covered and frosty looking!

I love the snow dusting all the trees and benches. . .it makes even the winter a beautiful time in the garden.