It’s Rednesday in My Classroom

It is time once again to join Sue over at  "It’s A Very Cherry World" with her bright and cheery Rednesday. All of us who take part in this weekly posting have such a good time. Pay her a visit and check out all the cool red things that are out there floating about in cyberspace.

As you can see, I am back at work.  The “SMR" stands for Student Management Room, but we all know it as the In-School Suspension Room!  It is full of red and Mary Engelbreit so it’s pretty perky to be a place for punishment.  The white walls are just to bare without lots of red in there.  Soon I will be posting the precious banner Elizabeth from over at “Creative Breathing" sent me.  Roy, are most special and helpful custodian, is going to mount it on the wall so I can look at it all day long.  I cannot wait. When you all see it, you will understand why it puts such a big smile on my face. AGAIN, THANK YOU VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY  MUCH, ELIZABETH!

Mosaic Mondays - Our Beach Sandcastles

Each week over at Little Red House , we post a mosaic of some of our favorite photos. Please drop by and look at some of the wonderful entries. They are amazing.

When our family gets together at the beach for a family reunion, the men, boys, and small children build intricate sandcastles each and everyday using all kids of tools ranging from large and small shovels to children’s, carpenter, and brick mason tools.  These are photos of my two favorites from last week’s 2010 FR: one is of a huge pyramid and the other the Sphinx.  These was mammoth and people staying all around us would watch the construction during the day and then return at night with flashlights to watch the tide rush in around them.  This reunion tradition is one of our best.  The men, boys, and children do all the work and the women sit in those beach chairs behind and WATCH! As always, a happy Mosaic Monday to all of you.

Back from the Beach M.E. Monday

Sunday night is here again so it’s time to post my M.E.Monday goody for the week.  If any of you out there in our wonderful bloggersphere love Mary Elgelbreit as much as we do, please hop on over to Vicki’s blog at Cherry Chick and join along with the rest of us with our M.E. Mondays. What better to put a happy smile on your face than a bit of Mary Elgelbreit in your life.

Here is the puzzle from our 2010 at-the-beach family reunion, and  I think it is the cutest we have ever done. After looking at it multiple times, I decided to have everyone sign it so we would be able to pull it out in years to come and see the old signatures.  It only took a day and a half to finish because we have some hard core puzzle piecing boys and men in our family. We all did our parts, but the guys did most of the hard work. Click on it to enlarge. As always....happy M.E. Monday to all of you from HOME!

Cousins at FR Who Look and Act Like Twins

I know it is late, but I just had to post this photo of Seattle Thomas with his Richmond cousin, Eloise.  They were born a month apart and are 5 years old, each one born to one of my sons, act like 2 peas in a pod, they both have VERY curly hair though Thomas’s is very red, they are the same height, and they have the best time together.  Eloise told us that every time they go down to the beach people think they are brother and sister....and someone thought they were even twins.  Thomas told Eloise... “We can’t be twins because I am a boy and you are a girl! That just cracked Buddy and me up....they are just tooooooo cute.  My daughter took the photo so that is why the quality is so much better than mine!

M.E. Monday from Our FR at the Beach

It is M.E. Monday again sponsored by our little Miss Vicki, the Cherry Chick.  Stop by her blog, check out those of us that post our little bits of M.E. each Monday, and come along and join in with us if you haven’t already.Here is my first attempt at decorating a matchbox and my first time participating in a Matchbox Christmas Swap.  Before starting to make the 25 boxes for real, I felt I needed to do a dry run and try to come up with a prototype of what I was setting out to do.  I used an M.E. Christmas card envelope, cut out strips of the red with white polka dots and then glued them to the boxes top and bottom.  Next I added the black and white borders. Finally, I cut the out some of the little presents from the same envelope and adhered them both to the top and the bottom of the box. Once all of this was done I covered it all with a coating of Modge Podge to give it more of a shine and make the box a bit stronger. On the inside of the box itself, I used some red ribbon with a pearl button. I still have to make the hanger, make the goodie,  add its number (i.e. #1, #2, etc.) on a little tag, and then I will be ready to start the 25 little boxes for real.

This is the front...but the green bow will be replaced with the number of the box...

    

This is the back...

This is the inside where each little “goodie” will go...one in each the 25 boxes...

As always.....Happy M.E.Monday to all of you....but this time from our FR!

Blogger Break - Family Reunion at the Beach

Yes, we made it safe and sound....from Bainbridge Island, WA, Chestertown, MD, Richmond, VA, and Lexington, VA, all the way to Sanrbidge, VA.  We are here and in a beautiful home right smack dab ON the beach, and what a luxury this is! It rained all night, but I got this shot after daybreak.  More will follow.  It has been three LONG years since I had all of my children and grandchildren together with me all at one time. The sun is coming out, and I am VERY happy Baga.

It’s a Thrifty Thursday Rocking Horse

Once again it is Thrifty Thursday.  Go over to Leigh’s blog at Tales from Bloggervitaville and check out the great bargains we are all finding.  It is pretty amazing what a penny pincher can find if she perseveres.

This week’s post is my trusty purchase of an old rocking horse I found at our local drive-in-first-of-the-month-flea market.  Since it was red, it popped right out to me and over to it I went.  I was tempted to use it for my Rednesday entry, but decided to save it for Thrifty Thursdays. Some old gentleman had all kinds of wooden odds and ins really cheap, but he had $10.00 on this little horse....MORE that my thrifty budget allows.  Well, I looked, thought about it, and then told him I would wander about and return if I had any moolah left in my bag.  About 30 or 40 minutes I reappeared at his stuff sitting on the ground and saw the horse was still there.  OK....decision time...and barter time.  I pulled out my billfold, opened up the change part, and there was a 5 dollar bill.  Holding it up, I asked him if it would do...I told him it was all I had.  He muddled it over, told me it was OK, and I went home a happy camper.  I just love it.  It is rough, but that just makes it all the better...and I enjoy looking at it on my dining room table on top of my red school house supposed-to-be wall hanging.  You can see I have been using it because our Walmart candles REALLY drip.  As always, a happy Thrifty Thursday to all of you.

It’s A Very Beary Rednesday

It is time once again to join in with Sue over at  It’s A Very Cherry World with her bright and cheery Rednesday. All of us who take part in this weekly posting have such a good time. Pay her a visit and check out all the cool red things that are out there floating about in cyberspace.

It is a very beary Rednesday here at the house tonight.  Mama Bear in her glasses and red and white checkered dress lives upstairs in little Eloise’s room waiting for her to come for a visit. Baby bear is sitting in my...yes, my baby red chair.  It is cracked and old, but it still is one of my treasures.  The little white dog with the red nose and ears is holding a photo of Eloise’s BIG cousin, Crenshaw, who is off to the University of Maryland in 2 weeks. Oh, my how time flies when you are having fun! As always, a happy Rednesday to all of you.

A Quilter’s Mosaic Monday

It is time again for another Mosaic Monday.  Hop right over to “The Little Red House”  and check out all the others that LOVE to put together collages/mosaics each Monday. It is a real challenge, and looking at the all the different mosaics is quite a treat for the soul.

A few weeks ago I went into town to the Virginia Horse Center where our local farmers’ market appears every Saturday.  As always, I had my camera on the front seat.  After picking up my veggies, flowers, and bread, I started to pull out of the lot when I suddenly realized the county fair was in progress and in front of me was the sign saying the quilting exhibition was inside that particular building.  Immediately, I turned around, parked my car again, grabbed my camera, and headed over to see the quilts.  Of course, I had the wrong lens, but I made the best of it.  Many of the quilts were cropped against my wishes, but they still show the talent and love that went into the making of them.  The “Quilt Diva” tickled me to death so I gave it the place of honor. If you want to see any of the quilts up closer, just click on my Flickr button in the sidebar and you will be able to enjoy more of the detailing in the quilts. The larger pictures are really neat! Enjoy!

“May your bobbin always be full.”
~Author Unknown

It’s M.E. Monday...YEAH!

M.E. Monday is upon us again so go by Vicki’s blog over at Cherry Chick and check out all of our entries. If you haven’t joined in on the fun, please do. Trust me, you won’t regret it! This week I am focusing on my friend, Weezie, in North Carolina. I drove to see her last week after a 2 year hiatus, and we had the best time. By the way, a real miracle took place today as I was preparing this post. I have been using Vicki’s blinking M.E. heart for ages, but it would never blink for me no matter what I did.  All I can say is, the blinker must have known just how much I was missing my Weezie, and it decided to start blinking in her honor. Miracles happen at the strangest times and places and when you least expect them. I am so happy the heart is finally blinking! Below is a little M.E. ceramic picture I gave her years ago, and it continues to sit in her kitties right where she drinks her tea and watches her little TV.  There are no words to express what dear friends we have been for 40+ years so I won’t even try. I think you all have already figured it out. 

The two of us love this banner, and it always hangs in a prominent place whenever we are together.  Someone else might have considered the love our two families had for one another as being dysfunctional, but for us it was “normal!" There were seven children total, 5 boys and 2 girls, and basically, 4 parents.  There were no baby-sitters or house-sitters....we always looked after one another. We carpooled, ate together, played together, vacationed together, traveled together.....it was just the best of the best.  We lived across the street from one another for 18 years, and it was a WONDERFUL time for all of us...many, many happy memories for the two of us ...and all of our children...to reflect back upon as we all age.

Please excuse the quality of this picture, but my printer is about out of ink. If you all could have seen Weezie and me trying to get the silly camera set up on the dining room table at just the correct height to take our photo on time delay you would have cracked up.  We did it at least 10 times having to shift the camera to the right and then the left or put another book under it.  I am going to have a “real” picture made from it for my “Pals" frame, but I can’t get it done in time for Vicki’s M.E. Monday Post at 8:00 tonight. Sorry about that...but I did get my post up on time! As I say every week at this time....Happy M.E. Monday to all of you.

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”

~Annonomous

Saturday’s Most Special Little Sweethearts

After spending three days with my dearest friend in NC, I returned home to experience a bit of sadness resulting from having to leave her behind.  We had such fun reminiscing about our combined 7 children and in particular our 2 grown daughters caught in the middle of all those boys. Tonight while thinking about her and our wonderful visit, I decided to go online and see if I could find some photos or artwork of young girls.  I finally found a really special site that allows you to use their art free of charge: Free Your Soul - The Free Art Projects. Should you want to use any of these beautiful drawings or others from their site,  just click on the link above in red letters. All of these little sweethearts definitely put a smile on my face. I would like to have a set of postage stamps made from them.

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
~Henry Ward Beecher

Oh, My, Goodness...It’s Rednesday Already!

Just like for M.E. Monday, I am in Asheville at my best friend’s house visiting so had to plan my post ahead of time.  Saturday, I had a great time with my nieces and little Gabriel as they were on their way to Asheville to take Gabe to camp.  We ate lunch at the cutest diner called “The Five Guys” which just happens to be one of the President’s favorites. I wore my Chicopee, Mass., red apron Carol gave me, carried my red backpack, and the tiles in the diner clinched it al with their red and white. Unfortunately, I could not find my red NY Yankees baseball cap which really distressed me. Surrounded by all of this red, what could be better for a Rednesday?  The photos are a bit silly, but they show just how much fun we were having. As always, happy Rednesday to all of you. I am back to VA in the morning.

“To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.”
~Barbara Bush

M.E.Monday Is Here Again

This M.E. Monday I am out of town visiting my best friend in Asheville, North Carolina.  We reared our children across the street from one another and our families were so totally a part of one another that we were basically one extended family. Since I will be there through Tuesday night and on the road driving back to VA on Wednesday, I’m having to get my post ready ahead of time.  School and work begin on the 16th so I thought I’d show you that I am M.E. ready to go back to my closet space and my little darlings who are sent to me for in-school suspension...my room was originally a closet with no windows and a solid wood door without any glass in it s that is why I call it “the closet!" As you can see from the photo, I have my computer ready, my M.E. journal where I document everything that happens in my room, my M.E.coffee cup telling me NOT to forget my batteries, and my M.E. little girly child’s hatbox bag which holds my classical cd’s I play all day, everyday, for the entire year. The students actually get to where they like it, and if I don’t have the cd player on, they will ask me to turn it on. They quickly learn there is music other than rap, hard rock, and country. I love it!!! Guess I am ready to hit the road for another 180 days.  Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have thought I’d still be going to school and work at 71!  AMAZING!!!!! The odd part is I am actually looking forward to it.  The more time I am busy, the less time I have to think about my aches and pains and getting old.  Work for me is a blessing! 

P.S.I did make it to Asheville safely, and Weezie and I are having the MOST wonderful time together.  It is just like we had never moved away from each other some 31 years ago.  

Countdown to Christmas Match Box Swap 2010

My daughter has been participating in ATC (Artist Trading Card) swaps and other swaps for quite a while now, but I was always afraid to try.  Then this precious "Countdown to Christmas Match Box Swap" showed its shining, smiling face to me, and I could not resist.  Since I had never taken part in one, I had to get a reference. My pal, Vicki, over at Cherry Chick did the honors.  I am so excited and cannot wait to begin my little creations.  Christmas is such a wonderful time, and this year it is going to be even more festive than usual.  Thanks, Vicki, for standing up for me, and thank you, Linda, for doing all the hard work involved in sponsoring this swap.

Rednesday - Four Fantastic Fotos!

This week I am bit under the weather, so I decided to go to Flickr and find 4 photographs I found exciting to view, were out of the ordinary, and brightened my day. Here are the 4 I chose. I cannot imagine having the skill to capture such images with a camera...not for me in my lifetime, anyway. I am in awe of the photographers, and if you click on the titles beneath the mosaic, you will be able to view their impressive bodies of work. The mosaic does not do them justice...trust me! The two red sunrises are magnificent, the red door and iron fence remind me of my trips to England, and the red cup of tea with the steam rising makes me wish I had it sitting here beside me at this very moment. All 4 pictures seem to be trying to leap from the screen and into my room! Happy Rednesday to all of you.

1. RED! Sunrise, 2. The Sun is painting...a Red and Blue Sunrise Clouds, 3. The Red Door, 4.Photoshop / tea / smoke / color / red / nature / light / green / photography       

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

A Pictorial Journal of My Year of Quilting One Stitch at a Time

After about 25 years of compulsive knitting and needlepoint, my wrists and thumb joints decided I needed a rest bringing me to realize it might be advisable to look into some other sort of handwork/needlework. I had always sewn my children’s clothes when they were growing up...the little matching boy and girl outfits when they were babies and then school and church clothes as they aged. At age 70 that really didn’t appeal to me anymore, but the idea of going back to my quilting roots did.  I was aware of all the neat quilting shops opening up, the precut colorful fabrics, and the fabulous sewing machines so I decided to go for it.

Well, it has been one huge, very slow, learning experience, but it’s been exciting and a joy from the onset. I was a hand quilter with those mini-stitches, a swinging frame from our sleeping porch, church quilting bees out in the country, a huge frame in the living room as well as the big oval ones that sat in my lap.  All fabric was measured and cut out by hand with plain old heavy pinking shears. There were no companies like Moda offering precut shapes and sizes of material ready to stitch, no rotary cutters, and no protective rubbery things to cut on with those SHARP round blades.  There was certainly no quilting done on a sewing machine! All piecing and sewing together were put together by hand. All we had were LOTS of needles and LOTS of thimbles!!!

Since I could only find one photo of my huge quilting frame with my daughter, who is now 47, and a very pregnant me working away on a huge cross-stitched quilt, I decided to attempt to document my work in photos so I would have some record to refer back to in the years to come.What follows is a group of collages I made using Picnik capturing the quilted things I have made this year.  My other sewing projects I hope to share at another time.  When I look at these pictures, I am amazed at how small and simple my quilts are when compared to the magnificent quilts out there created by the “real” quilters of our blogging world, but for me I am very happy with my accomplishment.I still have a lot to learn and a long ways to go before I feel like I am even within 50 miles of those wonderful quilters whose blogs I follow, but I will persevere and keep on trying to make new and different quilts, playing with color and design, coordinating fabrics, and working to learn how to make the fascinating patterns out there and learn to use the new machine quilting techniques.  I look forward to this next year ...heaven only knows what I will come up with!

"A bed without a quilt is like the sky without stars.”

~Author Unknown

Red and Blue Beach Quilt for Reunion 2010

I have my M.E. puzzle, and now I have my new beach quilt finished.  I wanted a new one just large enough for me to plop on under an umbrella, but not one so large it would be heavy to haul back and forth. This one turned out to be the perfect size.  It is made from Moda 10" X 1"0 Layer Cake squares and a red Moda Jelly Roll for the strips. The backing is a greet red,cream, and blue leaf-like design which I had to add one red strop to each side to make it square up and fit the top. The quilt ended up being just the right deminsions for me...57” by 57”.  I used the precious backing material for the binding which just topped it off perfectly. The quilting design is a gridded diagonal one from Crazy Mom Quilts.  She has a great "mini grid" tutorial which I followed.

 

“Quilters never cut corners."

~Author Unknown

M.E.Monday

It is the 1st of August so it’s time to get started thinking about our family reunion at Sandbridge Beach over by Virginia Beach. We are going to have a full house:  Buddy and me, the three children and six grandchildren plus our best bachelor friend...NO pets.  We’re all so excited.  We do this every three years, and it is such a SPECIAL time for me. The house is huge, and it is on the beach...that is the best part!  What is a family vacation without a puzzle for the afternoons when you are tired of being out and about in the sun and for rainy days when you are stuck inside? I always bring one, but this year the selection is really special...1000 pieces of one of my favorite Mary Engelbreit’s drawings.  The guys are just going to have to keep their comments to themselves this time.  I love it...and it’s going to be such fun to put together.  August 21st....hurry up and get here.  I don’t think I am going to be able to wait these three long weeks to see all of my family all together again.  A happy M.E.Monday to all of you.

Mosaic Mondays

Last night we received a wonderful, cooling rain.  As I listened to it pinging on our tin roof, I could’t wait for first light to go outside and start snapping photos with my telephoto lens.  Here are the results with a few water drops included just for good luck. I have been happy with the basic Picnik offering for creating mosaics, but I finally decided to plop down the $24.95 to purchase a year of the Premium membership. That way I would have more choices and the ability to create larger groupings. If you want to enlarge any of the pictures just click on the collage. When it opens in a new window, use the magnifying glass to enlarge to your choosing. "Mosaic Mondays" is sponsored by Little Red House.  The list of girls participating is growing and filled with fabulous mosaics.