wrapping it up . . .

The week, that is.

I've not gotten a schedule from Tate Farms this week, so I guess I'm not scheduled to work tomorrow. It's not really a big deal -- I don't work there for the money. I may go by and pick up my free pumpkin! I think I'd really like to carve one this year. It's been a while since I have done that myself . . . I think I'd like to get one pumpkin for Halloween carving, and one for the turkey stand. :)

James and I went to lunch today and had a nice chat. Marriage and impending fatherhood has been very good for him. I've always had a soft spot for my boy, but I enjoy his company more and more as he becomes the man, husband, and soon-father, that God's whittling out of him. James has perceptive insight into situations -- I love to hear his thoughts on a subject.

Both James and Jocelyn have, by God's grace--not through anything I've done, matured into pretty cool people whose company I enjoy. And they both picked most excellent spouses, making for a double blessing; one for them and one for Todd & me! I love my family.

Todd and I will probably spend a quiet night at home this evening. He's been to Camp Macoba and chatted with that committee today . . . we're moving right along!

Today is better than yesterday. Both James & Kim, individually, offered to take care of Merlin. I am still not sure I want to burden these two like that! But last night, as I spent kitty-cuddling time with Merlin, I decided that I would just enjoy him each day that I have him, and that I would trust God to do what was best. Seems silly to spend time crying now, when I could be spending that time doing something productive . . . like scratching under Merlin's chin!

I got the cute little sewing accessory kit in the mail this week, along with my teapot BOM from The Cherry Pit, a beautiful Jerusalem's cross that Cynthia, my sister, brought me back from her trip to Jerusalem, the most current issue of Eating Well, and I think that's it for mail. Overall, not a bad week!

It wasn't a bad week for James, either. He's inherited (or stolen) my lucky gene! He won an xbox 360 yesterday on the radio. He goes to pick it up today!! Go James!!!! Now he's walking around twice as puffed up ... because it was bad enough when they found out they are having a BOY!!!! Yay! A grandbaby boy will be so much fun! His name will be Sawyer Graham Panter. I cannot wait to meet him next March! Let the baby boy quilts begin!

If I don't work tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of this week's treasures.

Hasta la vista!

:)

happy FRIDAY!

Even though the day is gray, rainy, and cool, it's still a beautiful day!

Lots of exciting things this week:

1)  I won a prize package!  I was so thrilled -- and it caught me totally off-guard!  I'd forgotten that the drawings for the nine members of the Gum Tree Blog were for September 30th!  So imagine my surprise when one of those members, Jenny, e-mailed me to say I'd won the drawing on her blog!  Hurrah!  Lots of pretty things, shipping all the way from Australia, no less!  I can't wait to play.  Thank you, Jenny of ELEFANTZ!  :)  You can check out my windfall here!

2)  Todd got a call from one of the members on the Camp Macoba committee.  It was very positive and the committee is very interested in having us out there!  He was under the impression we were wanting to move out there in the next THREE WEEKS!  Ummmm.  Wow!  Lots of thoughts to process there.  Pros & cons!  The committee members are going to meet with Todd in another week, and go from there.  There's the possibility we could spend Christmas there, which would be really cool with me, since both the kids are going to Maryland to spend Christmas with my mom & dad.  That's another story!

3)  I have about 50 more stitches and I've finished quilting the table topper for my mom!  I will bind it this weekend and put it in the mail on Monday.  She and my dad are in Corpus Christi, and she didn't want to get mail in her absence.  Good for me!

4)  I got out all the "Fall" totes on Tuesday!  Hurrah!  I pulled out three totes of stuff and lined it up on the dresser in Jocelyn's room.  I kept what I wanted, which boiled down to about 10 things -- the squirrel votive holder, the Jim Shores pumpkin, a wicker pumpkin, a ceramic pumpkin, a scarecrow door knob thingie, a three pillared candle holder, a big black spider (!!!), the acorn basket, and the acorn accents.  I've got some garden flags and a door plaque, too, as well as my turkey cranberry dish and two table runners (one I bought, the other that I made last year and have promised to whichever of my children hosts Thanksgiving at their house first).  My plan is to keep *all* my seasonal stuff to ONE tote.  Pretty extraordinary, if you ask me!

5)  The call came yesterday:  I am working my first shift at Tate Farm tomorrow; a light shift, 11-4.  Should be another beautiful day for it.  The rain is supposed to clear out soon, and the clouds are supposed to be out of here by early this evening, leaving us with a breezy, sunny, cool forecast for tomorrow!  Perfect for a day of fun out at the pumpkin farm!

Tonight, Todd & I are having dinner with Kim & James.  Kim is making her yummy Chili!  Should be a fun evening.  Perhaps tomorrow night, we'll spend the night in the RV.  It's been a week or so.  Todd's on shift on Sunday, so he'll head in after church (which means we can't spend the night out there on Sunday).  I'm still tossing around the idea of sleeping out there by myself; I'll have to do it sooner or later.  I might as well give it a shot now!

Alright -- on to be about the day!

Tenga un buena dia!

:)

HOW COULD I FORGET???!

I can't believe I forgot to share this! A couple of weeks ago, I entered for chances to win on Mel's Own Place for her "blogiversary" event. She had some really *great* prizes and guess what? I WON! I won the 4th post - Swaps. My prize came in the mail Monday -- look what it is!!!!!!

Fat quarters! My favorite! Aren't they pretty?!?! I love the colors -- and they make me think of my sweet daughter-in-law, Kim. She's a brown and turquoise girl! Mel sent the fat quarters in a cute little pillow, along with a sweet note. Thank you, Mel, and congratulations on your anniversary!!!!

Today is TGIF! Don't forget to check out the Freebies Friday button on the left! They are giving away an inchie quilt book and tool. Fun stuff! Also, speaking of giveaways, check out the Gum Tree button to the left. This is a new group of nine Australian designers, and each one of them is doing some significant giving away, too!

Today is also the first day of our local quilt show!!!! HURRAH!! So much hard work has gone into this event. From the organizers, to the promoters, to all the show contributors -- it amazes me! We had the judge, Kathy Kansier, as our guest speaker at our guild meeting last night. Wow. She's quite fun to listen to and a fount of information. I was impressed with her guidelines for quilt judging, and it made me feel a little better about knowing my quilt probably had no business being in that show! :) What really impressed me about Kathy was that she incorporated her faith into her program. Not in an in-your-face kind of way, but in a way that let you know it had made a difference in her life and was a part of who she was. Neat lady. I'd like to take classes from her. She and her students will have a special exhibit at the Houston show!!!

I'll work tomorrow as a hostess, from 10-12, and then in the booth, from 1-3. Then I'll wander around to my heart's content!!! Oooh, and the craft show is also at the VBC this weekend, so I'll probably stop in there, too. Then, as a special bonus, Todd and I will go again to the quilt show on Sunday afternoon. My husband is such a good partner. The best.

One of my favorite web stores, Pumpkin Patch Primitives, has a new blog. You can check it out here. She has lots of fun projects and fabrics and is very personable too. Enjoy!

On a more serious note, here's a blog to take a look at: Building the Blocks. What an incredible family this is, with a passion for children needing adoption, and helping families fund those adoptions. They have a pretty incredible testimony. You can "click to give" to help a family adopt a precious one. Good stuff. :)

I had orientation for Tate Farms Cotton Pickin' Pumpkins yesterday. Whoohoo!!! Bring on the pumpkin season! I will be working on Saturdays in the admissions office, and sometimes in the country store (which is my favorite). I don't work here because I need the work; I do it because I really enjoy being out at the farm during the month of October! I love the crowds and the color and the air and the smell and the atmosphere! What a super-fun place! Maybe next year I'll see if they will let me have a quilt booth there on Saturdays! Wouldn't that be a fun thing???? I could do fall and Christmassy things. Bet they'd be big sellers! :) Hahaha -- this coming from the woman who's wondering why she put her quilt in the local show! Anyway, all the money I make from Tate Farms will go to outfit our RV and get it ready to take on the road. We are blessed.

Early, early, *so* early this morning, my friend Jennifer left for Nicaragua. She's going with a team up-river to help build a church for a small village -- Asang. That's what they are doing during the day. At night they are going into even smaller villages and sharing their testimonies and showing the Jesus movie. They will be speaking with people that have never heard the name Jesus before! I'm honored to be one of Jennifer's prayer partners. She will be on my mind and in my heart for the next week!!

Merlin found a sunny spot by the door. He's a good fellow and a sweet companion.

It's Friday -- the kick-off to a three day weekend. Yay!

Tenga un buen fin de semana!

:)

GUATEMALA CUTIE

This little beauty is my adopted prayer concern from Guatemala. Isn't she simply precious?! I don't know her name yet, but I should soon. Oh my; what a privilege and honor it is to lift this cherished baby up to the Father!

I got her photo/name through Mission Firefly, a local, non-profit organization that is headed by a group of local men and women who have a passion for being about God's business and have chosen to "get out of the pew" and into the world! There's a link to their website on my page. Check it out!

Speaking of links, there are lots of links to explain on my page! I'm a huge fan of things "tea" like tea parties, and afternoon tea, and tea rooms. One of my favorite tea rooms is Emma's, a darling little shop nestled on the edge of Five Points. Rebekah is the owner, and the shop is named for her daughter, Emma. Their menu is absolutely *wonderful* -- I believe Rebekah's sister is the head cook. I have not had a soup or quiche there that wasn't remarkable. And, the veggie sandwich is quite yummy! My favorite part is the pages of teas to choose from! Heaven! There's also a little gift shop that has all kinds of fun tea things. If you really want to feel like a girlie-girl, this is definitely the place to have lunch! :) I just got a September e-letter from them; in it was a coupon for a large pot of tea -- on Emma's -- if you bring a girlfriend for lunch! I'll be there!

Tomorrow will be a day of serious quilting. And, evidently, some serious quilt shopping. One of my quilt links is to "Hooked On Quilting" which is in Fayetteville. It really is a fun shop because the owner, Cindy, carries LOTS of novelty fabrics! She has a whole room of baby/children prints! It's *so* much fun to browse for fabric there! Cindy offers quarterly (only now it's bi-monthly) birthday parties where she gives her birthday girls and their guest a HUGE 25% discount on their purchases!!! My sweet friend Tina's birthday was in July, so the birthday fete is tomorrow for July/August. Tina can't go, because her mom's birthday happens to be tomorrow. But she called Cindy and asked if she could send her guest without her. Cindy said, "Sure!" Yay!!! With Christmas and a grandbaby on the way, I have LOTS of reasons to shop!!

I also want to get tomatoes put up tomorrow. I'm going to stew them with peppers from the garden and garlic. I think I'll just freeze them. Sunday, I'm going to bake Lew Boyd's chocolate cake. I started Light From Heaven last night; once I finish it, I'll only have the Father Tim book and the little books to go before I put Mitford up until this time next year (and in anticipation of the release of the next book)! It's probably time--I need to focus on quilting!

I sent Tate Farms (another of my links) an e-mail yesterday; I will be able to work Saturdays for the Farm during Cotton Pickin' Pumpkins time! YAY!! It's such a fun place to be in the fall! Just think -- in a couple of years, I'll be bringing my GRANDBABY to visit the farm! What an exciting thought that is!

Tonight Todd and I are having friends over for dessert and to play Rook. It's been so long since I played, I hope I remember how! Should be a lovely evening -- a nice way to cap off the work week.

Funny story: one of my Spanish-speaking co-workers asked me if I knew what "dormir" was. I took a guess and said sleep -- because sleep in French is dormir. He said yes and said he slept 'muy bien' and asked how I slept last night. I don't know 'so-so' in Spanish, but I knew that in French my response would be, "comme-ci, comme-ca". He looked at me puzzled for a minute (because he wasn't sure if I'd tried to say something in Spanish or if I'd said something in English he didn't know) until I told him that it meant 'so-so' in French. He walked away repeating it in French, pleased to have learned a new French word. I have to laugh -- we'll have the craziest speaking group of tri-linguals here that ever was!

Tenga un buen fin de semana!

:)