Fast forward 45 years?

The second I saw Tom's face on Survivor last night, I saw Sam. When you ask Sam where his mouth is, this is excatly what he does.

What would Stan Lee think?

Emily: "Look Mom! Spiderman's saying 'I Love You!'"

My Current Obsessions

Normally when I get bitten by an obsession bug, I only get one bite and for the most part it stays for a good 3-6 months so I’m able to see the obsession through to the end. But as of late, they've all bitten at the same time. Let me explain... The sewing, quilting and scrapbooking bugs have all bitten, and in the sewing and quilting area, they have bitten multiple times.

Obsession number 1: scrapbooking
I’m itching to do more, but haven't had time to edit and print the pictures.

Obsession number 2: sewing
I have a number of excessively cute patterns with equally cute fabric that I want to make up for the girls... I have capris and dresses I want to make for them. I have resisted the temptation (until Tuesday) to purchase any additional fabric for kid clothes... I have entirely too much as it is, but Tuesday I was tempted beyond my control to purchase some way cute red and yellow fabrics...


Obsession number 3: the quilting bug bites.
Bite #1: Over spring break I finally cut into a pack of fat 1/8's that I'm sure I purchased before Rebecca was born for a baby quilt using very bright fabrics. All the squares are cut and sewn into pairs, now I'm sewing the pairs into 4-patches and then I'll sew those into rows. It should be a very cute baby quilt, if I can stay focused enough to finish it.

Bite #2: I teach a quilting class/head up a quilting group at church. It's kind of an odd little group. This was in answer to a number of people who wanted to take Diane's quilting class a year or more ago, but couldn’t' attend Wednesday. So I started a Saturday AM group, echoing the things Diane was teaching. The only catch, I wasn't going to make the things I taught... I did a few times to illustrate techniques, show color choices, etc. ... but for the most part I simply taught them the patterns. The problem I'm seeing is I've created a rather complacent group of women, who aren't as committed to completing the monthly assignments as Diane's group.

At the beginning of the year, they requested that we make a flag wall hanging Diane has displayed in her entryway. I've had pattern and fabric to make this for years, and decided to bite the bullet and make it along with my group, even though I didn't really have the time to do it. I started with a very enthusiastic group of four, and somehow, it's gotten to be just me and one other. I'm almost done with this this months assignment and we meet again Saturday.

Bite #3: Barbara Brackman's 2005 class theme is the Underground Railroad. She teaches a quarterly class on history, period fabrics and quilts that is fascinating. At each class you listen to a discussion/lecture and get new patterns for blocks in a quilt she has made depicting different aspects of the Underground Railroad. I have no intention of making all the blocks this time around. But she showed us an entire quilt made with one block - Lost Ship - and now I have to make my own using reds and creamy whites. I think I've found all my fabrics. Now I need to finish my other projects, and not start any new ones, so I can make up this one.


Bite #4: Last Saturday morning before Conference, Emily and I went to the quilt shop downtown to look for some “Lost Ship” obsession fabric.She had a grand time playing in their playroom, so much so that I had way more time than I’d expected to look. With my extra time, I looked through a basket of “quilters candy,”6.5” squares of random fabric that are 8/$1. I found 16 squares from a fabric line called “Sentimental Journey” and this fabric is my latest obsession. I’m now on the hunt to find more of this fabric… I found some at Hobby Lobby, and some on eBay.

2 Girls 18 Boys

Last month we got a brochure from a local recreational center advertising a basketball class for pre-kindergarten aged kids. GR took Rebecca to 'Sport-2-Sport' to sign her up, which was probably a good idea...

True to her bubbly personality, she talked non-stop. She told the gal at Sport-2-Sport that she watched them play basketball with her dad on TV all the time (she thought it was Allen Field house, where the Jayhawks play)... and that she was going to go home and practice for the big game.

Today she had her second class/practice. Bob takes her and gives us a full report when he brings her home.

Last weeks report: She's the only girl - there are at least 20 kids in the workshop. And she needed to work on dribbling.

GR and I decided that we'd offer to help Rebecca learn to dribble, but we weren't going to make an issue out of it. When she was ready, we'd be available to teach her, otherwise she'd learn with time and practice... she is only 4 (okay, nearly 5).

This weeks report: She's better at dribbling (I don't know how since she didn't practice that much over the last week) but now she needs to work on shooting the basketball. Apparently they tried numerous times to help her shoot the basketball and she managed to make them all go straight into the air most of the time. Bob did say that she made one basket - pretty amazing! Oh, and this week there's one more girl in the class.

I can't believe there are only 2 little girls in this class. Soccer must be a more popular little girl sport.

The pictures below are first of the kids dribbling, and then below that, Rebecca being taught how to shoot the basketball. I love the stance of the little boy behind her.

Jr Horticulturists

During the last week as we've driven around town, the girls have been asking the names of various flowering plants. They are now able to recognize, forsythia bushes, bradford pear trees, magnolia trees, dafodils, and dandylions. Forsythia is by far their favorite, probably because it' is so abundant in our neighborhood. Everywhere we go, from the back of the minivan we hear a choirous of "FORSYTHIA" every time they see the bright yellow bush.

Another funny story about my little horticulturists. At first Emily though all the bradford pear trees - the trees with the beautiful white flowers - were apricot trees. Emily called a good friend of mine who lives in our neighborhood and has fruit trees to see if she had an appricot tree for us to go and see. Unfortunately Kathy didn't. Next we need to call Great Grandfather in Logandale - who has apricot trees - to see if he can take a picture of an appricot tree in bloom for Emily and mail it to her.

And to think this all got started with a Primary song... Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree.