November was busy too

In November, I won tickets for Kent and me to attend a gala for the Veterans Community Project. We bid on tickets for the Hip Hop Nutcracker and kept bidding long enough to get the tickets. We also bought a slew of raffle tickets for a quilt—there were several quilts, but I was only interested in the one you see here. Yes, we won the quilt too.

And we made our last trip to Yuma for Thanksgiving. We knew we were going to go for a hike so I (finally) replaced my hiking boots. Dad had bought me an amazing pair years ago, but they were destroyed when we flooded in Boston. These are the same brand, although not quite as nice.

Alison has taught herself acrobatics and flexibility moves. She is truly a pretzel (and didn’t get that from me, that’s for sure).

Kent, Ben and Jordan finally finished out their customized game of Risk Legacy. Jordan got that a couple of years ago and as you play, you settle the rules, and there are only so many games you can play until the board is full. This was the final year. Kent says it was a really great gift and I know he’s enjoyed playing it with Jordan and Ben.

We had our usual amazing food for Thanksgiving, made even more amazing by the fact that Ben and Jen and the family were moving to California the very next week. So we enjoyed the food, the fire pit, seeing all my family together again, and especially enjoying having Amanda as our daughter-in-law now. It was a great trip.

We got back late the Saturday after Thanksgiving, just in time for the blizzard the very next day. Yes, a real blizzard. But things cleared up enough for us to go to that Hip Hop Nutcracker I mentioned earlier—and it was amazing!

A couple more random photos from our trip

Sometimes when you're helping a grandchild sew, things get to a more complicated stage and you just have to finish the job yourself.

Here's a photo from last night's taco truck dinner (no people in the photo, just a sense of what it was like there).

Finally, our granddaughter finished the second Harry Potter book today. I love seeing her so engrossed in reading like this.

Random catch up post

Whew—the last two weeks have just flown by. I have been buried at work, getting presentations ready for India (I leave Saturday), and also working on a spreadsheet so I can forecast the work pipeline. And our India agenda has shifted several times. Never mind the details, as Inigo Montoya would say, “Let me explain . . . No, there is too much. Let me sum up.”

The other manager who is supposed to be there with me for the first week had a hiccup with her visa application—India requires a visa for entry into the country—so there’s a slight, OK more than slight but not huge, chance that her visa won’t get here in time for her to leave on Saturday also. So she and I have been developing two agendas: one that includes both of us and one that’s a solo agenda. While I can present everything alone, it would be much better for both me and our new associates if we were both there. So stay tuned on that.

In other news, my granddaughter has written a play and enlisted the help of her brothers and mom to put it on. When I read that blog post, I had to smile because I did that all the time when I was a little girl. I’m sure I drove everyone nuts around me putting on all these plays—some were musicals, some were dramatic and all were at least to me, very complex and of course important. I loved theater and for a long time, I was convinced I’d be an actress when I grew up.

My step sister used to put on beauty pageants. She wanted to be Miss America in the worst way and so she held these pageants in the back yard. I can remember her swanning around with a book on her head (for better posture), and then arranging us in dress up clothes for the evening gown competition. She was around eight and I was five the year I sang a really long, involved song (“Just wait until I comb my hair”) for the talent competition. Turns out one of our next door neighbors has passed that story down to her own children which just cracks me up.

It’s been hot here, really hot. Oddly enough, it’s been a bit hotter here than it is in Bangalore (where I’ll be). Although the air quality is better here—which is a little alarming for me and my lungs. I won’t be running in India, that’s for sure.

And I think I’ve pulled together clothes that will suit in India and still be things I can wear here. Did you know that flowy pants are a thing again this year? Normally I’d pass on a trend like that but with my need for less form fitting clothes, I got a pair from Loft. And I picked up what’s called a boyfriend shirt from Old Navy, plus a couple of other flowy-esque tops elsewhere, and I think I’m good. I don’t need to blend it, I just need to not offend.

I’m planning on not checking a bag. In addition to just preferring to travel that way, I have a tight connection on the return trip—I have to change airlines and terminals in Frankfort which means I would have to get my bag from baggage claim before clearing security again. I’d rather not add that kind of time to my trip.

A couple of completed projects

Lest I leave you with the impression that all my projects end up as wadders, here are two I've completed recently.

The sweater fabric is from Mood, and I got it last July on our trip to NYC. The pattern is McCalls 6408, which I've made before and blogged about here.

Don't mind my weird expression;
my allergies are kicking my butt and I feel
pretty miserable at the moment.

This lunch bag is my own creation. Inspired by my granddaughter and daughter-in-law, I took apart a paper bag from Bath & Body Works to use as the rough pattern pieces. It's made from the scraps left over from a bag I'd made for Jen, and the lining is from one of Kent's shirting materials. The front flap has Velcro to hold it down. I'm pretty pleased with this. I'd wanted a smaller lunch bag than the one I'd bought a couple of years ago, but it's hard to find a small one plus they're expensive for no good reason. So now I have this one.

Mission accomplished

We finished the dress yesterday shortly before dinner. Alison did really well and hung in there til nearly the end before she got a little bored. She started asking if the dress was done and got disappointed when it wasn’t (we still had to put in a casing for the elastic at the waist and then hem the dress). To be honest, I get bored at the very end of a sewing project too! But it’s not exaggerating to say that she was involved in a good 90% of the sewing.

Once the dress was nearly done, she got really amped up – although all three of the kids tend to get amped up about 30 minutes before dinnertime. My own kids used to do that;  I called it the witching hour. But her excitement was overwhelming and it was hard to get her to hold still for a photo shoot.

She was so proud to show her daddy.

The entire time I’ve been here, she’s played with and brushed my hair. She’s been determined to get my hair up in an elaborate style and here’s the result of some extreme concentration and effort on her part.

Jen was taking pictures of Alison and me and Colin decided he wanted to get into the action – but as a photographer, not a model!

At first, Eli wanted nothing to do with pictures, but then he came around. Aren’t his eyes just amazing? I love his sweetness, too. Last night, for example, he came three times into Alison’s room where I was reading her a story before bed to ask me to check on him before I went downstairs. He’s a huge snuggler and if you ever get asked to check on Eli, get ready to give that boy some hugs.

And here's a final photo, a selfie of Alison and me.

I have been busy

I am in Virginia this weekend to give Alison sewing lessons. She’s been fascinated with sewing and her fascination was reinforced by a birthday party where all the attendees hand stitched little bags. That was about the same time as Easter, when Kent and I sewed her and her brothers’ Easter outfits. It’s been a perfect storm, so to speak, in terms of piquing her interest.

Alison and her mother did some shopping before I got here Friday and picked up a pattern and fabric for her first machine sewing project. We’re not done yet but will have no problems completing the dress before she goes to bed tonight.

Unlike her Nana, Alison is using a thimble
 -- a good best practice!

Eli has been fascinated with the process
(never mind his "creepy" face)

She cut out a good 90% of the dress

Lo how a rose e'er blooming

OK, it's not a rose. It's not even real. But it's a flower pin for the granddaughter's bolero jacket. I cobbled this together from a tutorial meant for cotton which meant I made it up as I went along. There's a pin on the back so she can pin it on and take it off and put it away from her brothers' destruco-hands.

Day 19

Incredibly grateful for mail like this:

We got that yesterday. You better believe I am thankful for Eliot (and Alison and Colin).

A big milestone

And I almost missed it.

Take a look at our family photo from two years ago:

Here's last year's picture: 

And here's the photo from this year:

Do you see the difference? Miss Alison is a big girl now, she wasn’t held by anyone.

We are family

We had such a great time in Virginia—so glad we went, so very glad Jordan and Sophie could be there also and very grateful that Ben and Jen are willing to host all of us.


We met Colin. Just look at those eyes! They aren't exactly brown (sigh) but they are also very different from Alison's eyes and Eliot's too. Both of those kids have crystal blue eyes. Colin's eyes sometimes look gray or navy blue.

Alison has changed so much. She's looking very grown up, not like she's in kindergarten. Some of that is her height (she's nearly four feet tall at age five), but a lot has to do with her new sense of confidence. This visit, she got to make cake pops with Sophie; watching her break the eggs and use the mixer was a lot of fun.

This picture shows perfectly how Colin is--a little love bug who grabs on tight and likes to cuddle. He's really fond of clutching hair in his little fists and can get a death grip you wouldn't believe. I'm not sure how Jen still has any hair left on her head.

Isn't this a great picture of Jen, Alison, Eliot and Colin? I swear Jen stays calm through anything.

Sophie posted this story yesterday about Jen:
The best mommy quote this holiday was definitely when 2 1/2 yr old Eliot asked his mom to get him out of the highchair. Jen, who had a baby in her arms, said "I can't get you right now Eliot, how about you sing a song to yourself."

Jordan and Sophie are just the coolest, always upbeat and looking to make sure everyone else is having a great time too. Kent took some great pictures of them "dancing" with Alison and Eliot and you should see the grins on the kids' faces.

OK, bear with me. Yes,it's another picture of Colin but this one is pretty cute even if he is crying.

Kent and I had gotten Eliot probably three different sets of train tracks from Ikea last spring before we left Boston.

I'd protested that three were too many plus the package said they were for children ages three and up and that Eliot would only be two at Thanksgiving, all to no avail.

I'm here to say that Kent was right.

Eliot loved his train tracks and splitters and whatever else was in there and so did everyone else.

Finally, here's our annual family picture. We clean up OK, don't we?