I've been wanting to learn how to quilt for a long time. Until one night, I was blog hopping and discovered Donna's blog. Her enthusiasm is so contagious that I ordered a book from Tricia. I will attempt to quilt for the first time and Donna offered to help. Donna is also having a Turning Twenty Quilt Show and by participating you will be entered to win a prize. If you are interested, please go visit her blog for more info. She is giving away a lot of door prizes! Above is a quilt from my mother-in-law. I think this is a different kind of quilt ... I am not that familiar with quilting but you can tell there were a lot of efforts and times spent in completing the above.
This one is another quilt, again from my MIL ... in those days, they used old clothes, neckties, etc to quilt a blanket. I think this one was all done by hand as opposed to machine quilting. Both of the above are very old, we decided not to use them due to wear and tear ... they are a keepsake.
I am editing this post to add this link. This is a wonderful organization that quilts for veterans to show they care. Please check it out by clicking the link. Thank you.
Memorial Day parade ... our son, who is a member of his school's marching band, played solo with his electric guitar. I positioned myself in front so I could have a better view since I want to take a video with my digital camera ... and so I thought; until after the parade when I tried to view the video, and I saw nothing! ... the screen is blank!? What the heck ....!? I realized then my mistake, I did not push the "record" button. duh! Well then ok ... not the end of the world. I will still have another chance. Luckily, they are participating in a marching band competition the following weekend.
And so, that weekend hubby and I started early, over 2 hours early to be exact! We brought folding chairs and positioned ourselves across from the judging stage. When the parade started, I video-taped the first marching band because I thought I should have a beginning and end with our son's marching band. When it was their turn to march, I stood up and positioned myself in front of a telephone pole just so I was not blocking anyone's view. Cool, I got the best spot. The winterguards performed, the band performed, then they all started to step aside in a semi-circle and in the middle is our son ... he is going to play his solo now ... then... my camera went blank! !@%$^&*&#@ ... again, another, what the h ....?! the memory card is full!!! ... and this time since it is a competition, he played with his electric guitar behind his back! Even 'ma and 'pa were surprised; we did not expect him to play that way. The spectators were applauding! And I did not get it on video! :( I brought 2 other memory cards with me but by the time I was able to put a new one, his performance was over. Lucky for us again, they have one more competition remaining in two weeks. We did not have a plan to go because it is over a one hour drive, and we are not familiar with the area but I've got to have his solo on video and at this time, I was really so mad at myself for video taping the first band which was a little bit too long since they were the town host's marching band!
So yesterday, Saturday, hubby and I drove to this place. We drove around and around in circle looking for a place to park. We found one and it was a long walk to the judging area; I felt so bad for my hubby because he just had knee surgery the last week of April, but I got to capture our son's solo! :) Most parents are so proud of their kids accomplishments and it so happens that I am one of them. And so, below is finally his solo. BUT, I was a little disappointed because his band director suggested that he play with his guitar in front; the director thinks it will sound better that way. We thought the sound is not as important as the showmanship but ... he is after all the director. Our son still received applause but not as "noisy" as the first competition. On our way home, he told us that for next year, he was given the responsibility to pick what they are going to play. And so, if you have any songs that impressed you, we welcome your suggestions. This year they played Beatles' songs.
So, my good friends, presenting to you our son's solo, it is not professionally done but still a keepsake and special ... for us anyway.
I am enjoying my garden beds right now and I want to share them with you. The above is just one of my four rows of peonies. They all can be enlarge by clicking at the images. I don't know the name of the plant above ... what I love about it is the beauty of its variegated foliage. If you know the name, please let me know?
My campanulas are beautiful this year! The stems are long and the blooms are bigger than ever.
These are my lemon lilies, they were planted along side the foundation of our house. I love to pair them with the purple campanulas when I'm fixing a flower bouquet, and I just love their scent!
Close up of my white peony.
Very light pink peony.
Light pink peony.
Dark pink peony. Well my friends, hope you enjoyed looking at them. Next time I will feature my roses ... and my dahlias when they're ready. Gardening is hard work but it sure is worth it when they bloom.
Oh dear, is it that time already? My porch is not quite ready yet. Oh well, I'm sure my friends will understand. Where I live, it is not a good idea to start planting annuals outdoor until after Memorial Day ... we still get cold nights before then. I usually have planters in front ... but anyway, WELCOME to my humble porch, my friends! Have you been to Rhondi's porch party? I am one of the front porch party participants. Oh yes, Rhondi, wishing you a Happy, Happy Birthday! Hope you have many more to come. The weather forecast this weekend will go up to upper 90's and I have more chairs inside so please, do come in ... it is cooler indoor. This is the front view of my front porch, my Peonies are blooming! I have more rows of peonies at the west side of our house but for some reason, the buds are still tight. Ahhh, it is so nice to see and smell fresh flowers! This is the other end of my porch ... as you can see, we have an old timer "glider" that I plan to refinish this summer and debating what color to use ... any suggestions? Well my friends, I'm afraid this is not much of a party, but thank you for stopping by. Please come and visit again as I do the same.
Oh my gosh, I must show you these doll houses dear friends! Every day on my way to work I drive by this yard where the homeowners created a small "village" of their own. Doll houses literally "littered" :) their yard. It never ceases to put a big smile on my face, and I'm sure that for everyone who notices these it has the same effect on them. It has a gazebo, Victorian doll house, country store (i think), bridge, etc.
They even have their own church! How about that! :)
... and on holidays like Christmas, these doll houses are decorated with Christmas wreaths and lights. It's just like a fantasy ... they are so impressive to look at.
It is nice to know that the people who live there are young kids at heart. They always keep their yard so neat and trimmed. Once a week I see this elderly lady with curlers on her hair mowing. You seldom see those old fashioned curlers anymore, it's kind of cute in a way ... nowadays we use curling irons. Ahhh ... life is good!
I saw this sign in an antique store's bathroom. I thought it was cute, since "somebody" I know just hates changing a toilet paper ... gotta have a sense of humor 'bout it! ;)
My daughter is graduating from college this weekend, I will be busy, so to all of you wonderful Mommy's, grandmoms, great grandmamas, and everybody in between, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to y'all!!!
Ahhh ... spring weather!... time to work outdoors! A good friend of mine came and helped me plant my Dahlias yesterday but we ended up digging a new garden beds in front of my walkway. Fortunately, it rained the night before so the ground was not too hard but carrying these stones is enough to give anybody a carpal tunnel syndrome! lol I really prefer a shorter plants to go in here but since I have about 4 buckets of dahlia tubers, we planted some ... I plan to surround it with lower growing annuals like Petunias and Geraniums, can't wait to see how they look like when they're blooming.
After all those digging, hauling and planting, we rewarded ourselves with a well known Filipino dessert called Halo-Halo. It is a mixture of shaved ice, evap milk, coconut sport or young coconut meat, yam, plantain (banana), and beans. This is usually eaten in a tall glass with a leche flan on top and/or rice crispies.
BUT, instead of shaving ice and tall glasses, etc. I did a short cut ... a week before, I made an ice candy halo-halo (pictured above.) I mixed all the ingredients, filled an ice candy bags and put them in the freezer ... less work and no dishes. :) That was a nice ending to a tiring day!
A few years ago I started collecting milk glass. Why milk glass? I love their whiteness. White-on-white appeals to me...it looks so elegant and classical! Pictured above are a few in my collection. You'll notice the head of my "pets" roosters; I am keeping my eyes open for the bottom parts ... what a joy would that be when I find the missing pieces. If you're a collector you'll know what I mean... you'll feel that triumph and a "thud" in your heart! :) One of the things that I did when I started collecting was to buy a book on milk glass. I learned various designs/patterns, what a good find is, and also a bad find, and manufacturers. Above are what an (English) hobnail (top shelf), a lacy edge bowl and a paneled-grape pattern (2nd & 3rd shelves) look like, manufactured by the Westmoreland Company. If you turn them over you'll see a monogram.
Every piece of my collection has a story to tell. I remember very well when I first saw the paneled grape pitcher and tumbler set at an antique store. I thought it was quite pricey at that time, but then when I got home all I could think of was that I wish I could buy it before someone else. So, that weekend me and hubby drove back to that antique store and what a joy I felt when I saw them still there! ... waiting for me, and at a discounted price! It pays to wait (sometimes) lol Oh yes, the two footed bowls on the left side are called beaded grape design, and on the right side, a banana bowl and a Silver Crest basket by Fenton.
I remember those times when my friends and I hooked up on weekends to scour rummage sales, antique stores, and/or auctions. The price of gasoline was a littler cheaper then. :) We called our outings a "mental health day". We considered it therapy for what ever ails us. I was trying to complete my milk glass dinner set then. At one yard sale, my friend saw the dinner plates first but then since she only needed a dinner set for 8, she gave me the other four. That was really nice of her. I am still missing 6 salad plates to complete my 12 serving set. What an experience would that be when I find the rest ... that would make them special!
I am running out of space at home, so this grouping is sitting on top of our microwave. The 2 rounded ones that look like decanters say, "1939 World's Fair". There is a vase with an old quilt pattern by Westmoreland (front middle), wine bottles, etc.
These two compotes are called "Shell Pink" milk glass. They are not white, but a shade of pink, a treasure to have and are hard to find. Behind them is a punch bowl set. Why do we collect? For me, there is nothing like collecting to renew my interest in life ... something beautiful to look at everyday ... it's one of the joys of living!
My stepdaughter from Oregon came and visited us for her father's birthday. One of the favorite things we like to do is to look around old/pioneer cemeteries located around our small town. The above photo is a sign describing where the founder, Gamaliel Wilder, was buried along with other veterans of the civil war.
Pictured above is the newer gravestone of the town's founder that the Historical Society put up because the original gravestone is now hardly visible.
We noticed that most of them died young, like 40's, 5o's, 60's, and a lot of children died after only a few days or months. That was why when we saw the gravestone pictured above, we were amazed that this guy lived to be 96 years old!!! We did the math, and that meant he was born in 1720! Click to enlarge and read the inscription, it is somewhat funny in a way. :) Try to notice the engraving too, crisp and sharp, it takes a lot of skills to do this by hand.
It is fascinating to realize how old this cemetery is... 1801! There are a lot of gravestones lying around that had fallen to the ground and are not even legible anymore. It is nice to know that the Historical Society is trying to save this cemetery. They cleared the bushes/trees that were crowding the place and put up a sign that says, "Founder's Cemetery" by the highway. There was one cemetery that we visited where it has overgrown trees and bushes and if one is not looking, nobody would even know that there is a cemetery somewhere in there... sad.
