Licorice Store...

I like to have a glass of wine once in awhile. Shocking! Anyway in the state we live, purchasing a bottle requires a trip to the state controlled Liquor Store. If HT is with me this generally means his mom is too and they sit in the car while I run in to make my purchase. Well, one afternoon, I told my sister I was going to run over to the the liquor store and HT came flying up the stairs hollering "wait for me, Aunt".

(On a side note, I'm no longer Aunt Susan, I'm just Aunt these days. But that's a story for another day.)

I was a little puzzled because HT is a bit of a homebody and usually doesn't want to come with me to run errands. Since it was just him and me, I couldn't leave him in the car alone, so he came into the store with me. Imagine his disappointment when all he saw was this:

And none of this:

As he asked me where all the licorice was all I could do was laugh.

~Charming's Auntie

Spring Art Show

Yesterday was the spring art show at HT's preschool.  He was so excited to have us come to his class and see all that they had been working on throughout the year.

They sang a couple of songs for us.  But instead of being his usual gregarious self and in stark contrast to his performance at the Christmas program he stood up there with his chin on his chest.  Papa took video footage but I so "thoughtfully" deleted it upon trying to view it on the camera.  DOH!

His picture is the one on the green paper.  They are toothpick "dinosaur bones".

He was very proud of his snowman and said, "Look Mama, I made him melting!"

He has really enjoyed preschool this year and I don't know what I am going to do to keep him entertained all summer.  We have enrolled him again for next fall for three days a week rather than just the two he has been attending.  His birthday just misses the cut-off for kindergarten and he has already been asking me why he can't go to kindergarten with his classmates.  Most days when he wakes up he wants to know if it's a school day, a play day "or not".

Speaking of classmates he invited one of them home with him after school the other day without checking with me or her mother first and was disappointed when I said no.  So us Moms exchanged phone numbers and promised to set up a play date after school gets out at the end of the month.  Then when we got home he told his Aunt that he was "so sorry".  When she asked why he gave her the "bad news" that he couldn't "marry her" because he was going to marry Sabrina from school.  Also this is not the same little girl that he had told me before was his girlfriend.

Young love can be so fickle.

Cover Your Toes

As I sat at the computer the other day I kept getting distracted by a rustling sound outside the window. Assuming that it was a bird hanging out by the window well I didn't really give it much thought as I didn't see anything when I pulled back the curtain and looked out. Then I noticed movement among the rocks. That's when I saw this . . . this garter snake.

Ain't it purty. NOT! I took this picture through the window so you will have to forgive the poor quality.

It's probably the same garter snake that HT and Papa found in the back yard several weeks back and explains why HT has refused to wear his flip flops to play outside. He says that the snake will smell his toes and will nibble on them if it does. He's also been insisting on wearing socks to bed. He wasn't afraid to look at it and even has several toy snakes. So go figure.

He wanted to sit on my lap on the porch after I had rescued it.

Then EM had to sit on my lap too. Once we were outside the boys didn't want to come back in and I can't say I blame them. It actually was a very nice day and I even got a little bit of a sunburn.

We had a lovely supper on my brothers back patio and enjoyed the company of our Aunt and Uncle visiting from out of town. What more could you ask for?

Krista's Quilt

It's time once again for the Blogger's Quilt Festival, a bi-annual event that takes place over at Amy's every spring and fall.

I made this quilt for my dear friend Krista.  We have only known each other about 4 years but in that short time I consider her a kindred spirit.  In that four years she has seen her share of struggles.  One of which has been a bout with breast cancer.  She has now been in remission for a year and is on the road to a full recovery.

With the exception of the sashing and the border the top was pieced using the scarves and bandana's that she wore during her treatment.  Not long into her treatment she discovered that a fat quarter was a perfect fit.

This for her is a reminder of where she has come from and how much more she has to look forward to and is thankful for and she is glad to use the scarves to cuddle under instead of a covering for her bare head.

I enjoyed designing the top but had a few challenges.  First, because all the material had been washed and washed often, I needed to find something from my stash that had been washed and was more than a couple of years old.  Then I washed all the fabrics again, and set out drafting the design.

Second, the biggest challenge in designing this quilt was figuring the yardage requirements for the sashing.  I had intended this to be a lap quilt, but as I sewed it grew, therefore I did not have enough of the white material to put a border sash around all of the pieced blocks before adding the final border.

Finally, finding a border fabric that would tie all the different fabrics together.  I picked the batik, because of the color and the paisley design.  I am happy with finished product and I know that Krista is too.

The machine quilting was done by Stephanie McGee over at Quilt Etc. and she did a fabulous job.

Now hop on over to Amy's and check out everyone's quilts.

Message In a Hodgepodge Bottle

May day, may day, it's Wednesday's Hodgepodge and I'm "sending out an S.O.S."  That's what came to mind when I read Joyce's post for this weeks questions and now I've got Sting singing in my head.  Thanks Joyce.  NOT!

Hum along with me will you.

1.  Have you ever been served breakfast in bed?  Do you enjoy that?  If someone was serving you breakfast in bed this coming weekend what would you hope to see on the tray?

Um. . . yes.  But it wasn't very romantic or sweet, it was delivered by a hospital cafeteria worker after I'd given birth to both my babies, no roses, no mimosa, no tender peck on the cheek.  Sigh.  It wasn't exactly the highlight one dreams about.  Frankly I'd rather eat at the breakfast table rather than getting crumbs in the bed and as long as someone else cooks and cleans up they can serve me anything they want . . . well almost anything.

2.  What is one piece of advice that you would give to a new mother?

Don't sweat the small stuff, it all comes out in the end anyway and keep plenty of wipes on hand.

3.  When was the last time you wanted to scream?  Explain.

I'm finding this one hard to answer, 'cuz even though I'm sure I have wanted to scream it rarely does any good and just makes others scream back at you louder and my ears would rather not hear it.

4.  Can you hula hoop?

Nope.

5.  What is something people do in traffic that really bothers you?

Pretend like they know how to drive.

6.  What do you do when people don't admit that they are wrong?

Ignore them.  I have found it best to heed the advice of Mark Twain who reportedly said, "Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference".

7.  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word fun?

Another song only this time by the Ramones  "we're out there having fun in the warm California sun."

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

If you are lucky enough to still have your mom, please remember her on Mother's Day, if not tell another mother, sister, sister-in-law or any woman you know who needs a little encouragement that you really appreciate what they do for you and for others.   And say a prayer for my cousin, whose mother will probably not make it to see another Mother's Day.

Now go visit Joyce to see what everyone else has to say.