....4 months later.....

Life at breakneck speed!  We have accomplished a few things in the last 4 months.....finished (except for a few more cabinets) the studio and moved in, painted the rooms upstairs in the house that I moved out of, redid the landscaping in the front of the house, had a wonderful visit from old friends and family.

I am soooooo enjoying my new studio space.  Our quilt group meets here weekly and we get so much done now that we can all spread out and sew.  This summer we are working on quilts for the people in Joplin, MO who lost everything in the devestating tornado.  Quilts and sheet sets to match will help them rebuild their households.

We were thrilled to have Ann and JV Torgerson visit in April.  We did absolutely everything together during our time in the Army in Germany.....even had our first kids a week apart!  It was so good to see them and catch up.  We had not visited in person for 35 years!  Didn't miss a beat, they walked in and we picked up right where we left off.  Great time!

Krista, with dog cousins, Sarah and Sadie, Mike, Katie, Logan, Ivy all came to visit in June.  We had a fun week and then invited a few friends to join us for a party before Krista, Mike and Katie had to leave.  Grandpa Don came from Casper too!  Don rented a water slide for the kids and what a hit that was! 

       

Grandpa Don really enjoyed the visit.  So much fun to watch the little ones with all their energy!  We were so glad he was able to make the plane trip down to Texas.  It was the first time he had visited us in Magnolia.                                       

Logan and Ivy had a great time with their dog cousins, Sarah and Sadie.  A little love....a little rough-housing....all in a day's play.

 

So great to have the girls "home" at the same time.  That doesn't happen enough anymore.

.....and all too soon, the Brethour family heads back to the Philippines for another year of work, adventure and learning.  The kids love their school there, Katie's job is very challenging and Mike is taking advantage of his time to be with the kids, help at their school, get his scuba certification.

Tune in again soon for the RV trip with the Grandkids!  I have done as much as I can handle in one night!

Winter musings......

What? The very last days of February? Time does get away from us.The landscape is pretty bleak. What the deer didn't eat, the freezing weather took care of. I do wonder what one does with pointsettias in March? They still look pretty good through all the neglect, but I don't think I will push it to next Christmas!We have been busy in the studio. Don has been building and installing cabinets. I get to paint!Actually, things are looking very nice. Countertop should be in this week, bathroom tiling and backsplash are next.......and of course, more painting! There are things in the closet patiently waiting to be installed. Can't really put up that TV or no work will get done!We hope to have lots of things finished before we take off to visit Krista and Andy in Utah. More projects on the agenda there, but it will be a great break from what's happening here. When we get back, I get serious and get this thing done and move into it! All the kids are coming this summer, so I need to get out of the guestrooms upstairs. Never a dull moment around here.

Back to some quilting projects. This cute barn quilt is destined to be a "Binky" for some lucky little guy. Cheryl is so generous to make this wonderful quilts to give away.Then, we had to visit a quilt shop that is unfortunately going out of business. Quite a few good deals to be had! This really is only a fraction of what I hauled home.....Don was not impressed with how much money I "saved". Oh well, it will all find a proper home one day in a great quilt.

That is what is happening at the ranch. Stop by when you are in the area................

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

The new year finds us in snowy Minnesota. We weren't planning to be here now, but my mom had other ideas. She fell and broke her hip on Dec. 22, had surgery to replace the ball and stem the 23rd. To everyone's surprise, she did amazingly well with the whole ordeal. On the 28th she was transferred to Olivia hospital for rehab. Doing really well there too. She is moving well and the main concern is her memory. She can do things for herself but has to be prompted to do them. We are hoping some of that is from the drugs associated with the surgery and recovery and that will improve.

So here are a few pictures of her new apartment at Prairie View. Yes, there are two the same and I do not know how to get rid of one. If I want them, they disappear, but if I want to get rid of it??

We have about had our fill of winter. Today's high is 12 and it was 15 below zero last night. More snow is predicted for this week. If we were playing in it, that would be another matter.

Short post, but we have much to in a short time. See some of you soon....we will be on our way home next weekend we hope!

Holiday Happenings......

We are taking a break from construction and getting on with some holiday activities. We certainly will miss this wonder of Christmas as we have experienced in the last 8 years with Logan and Ivy. We have photos to bring back the memories......


Along with the shopping, packing, shipping and card writing, there has been a little bit of partying. I enjoyed a great time at our quilt group Christmas/birthday party lunch yesterday. What a great group of gals we are!! A little food, a few gifts and lots of fun.

Then there is some work going on too. I have some catching up to do on the quilting front. I had promised a few quilts by Thanksgiving and a couple of the gals will have them by Christmas......Oh well. Brenda's Christmas quilt turned out quite nicely and she is pleased. That is always the payoff!

Don has been catching up on the neighborhood work that had slipped also. Meeting with water people to get a hydrant installed in the area so the pumper trucks can fill close to any fire we may have, working with the landscape crew to whip things into shape and lots of other jobs he has taken on. We did enjoy our community Christmas party last Saturday and even won a door prize!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I'm off to finish another quilt and make another friend happy........

Happy Holidays!

We have come a long way! From this.....in late April.....










To this .... in early December!
We have many people to thank for all their help to get us to this point. Gail Yarrow, showing up every day to help wire lights and tile the floor (although I think we are too old for this activity!), Shawn Robinson and his wonderful crew for the amazing landscaping and there are many more.

The house is all decorated with help of good friends. Enjoyed a

wonderful PEO Christmas party last Sunday. Lots of work, but now we can relax a little and enjoy the season.

Christmas will be very different for us this year. It is the first Christmas we have not spent with the grandkids. Quiet will be the order of our day. We will miss the excitement that the children bring to the day.

We hope that you all have a great time with family and friends at this special time of the year. Remember......Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We have much to be thankful for.....a wonderful family, friends, each other, a lovely home and most of all....the fact that we have not killed ourselves or each other over this project!

Don is on the mend. Doc told him last week that he could put weight on the leg and start weaning himself from the boot. What does that mean to Don? FULL SPEED AHEAD!!!!! Today he got up and said, " You can sleep in today. I think we will not tile." He put the boot back on, so.......at least one day of rest, sort of.

This last week we had the help of a friend, Gale Yarrow. Lights went up and what a difference that made! Don was helping from the ground for about 5 minutes and he couldn't stand it any longer. Yup, up on the ladder!!! One dirty look from me and I gave up. Back to painting. The ceiling was a killer. Three days of painting above my head....I guess it was good for toning my arms. Hope the feeling returns soon!

Walls were not a challenge and were completed quickly.

Then there is the "freckle checking" for the spots the "roller" missed.

Right how we are deep into floor tile. Not bad after deciding where to start! Long days and sore knees. We will get this done too. Deadline is approaching quickly, as we'd like to have the room usable by Dec. 5. That remains to be seen.

We are bringing in a landscaper to "clean up" the outside. Rock is too much for me after this tile.

I was going to say that we do have a life other than this project,
but right now that is not the case. I have some friends I need to apologize to as I did not get their quilts finished by today as I had planned. Soon! I promise! Soon!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, friends or whatever you choose to do. We will be missing our family as we celebrate ..... sort of!

Bumps in the road

Fall is rolling right along. There have been a few "bumps" this year and all plans and projects will not be completed as expected, but we are doing OK.

So, our bumps started with dropping the 5th wheel trailer on the pickup bed.....totaled that and the tailgate, went on to find out we needed new brakes on the trailer, Don's table saw died, the garbage disposal died and finally Don broke his leg! We saved up for all these things for a long time!! We have had a mostly charmed life and so one must expect a few "bumps" at some point.

We are still waiting for a treatment plan on the leg. He fell off the ladder on Oct 28, trip to ER, splint, Nov 2 trip to orthopedist, Nov 4 CT scan, Nov 9 we are back at orthopedist to see what we will do. If the ankle is not involved, it's a few weeks of healing, but if it is, that means surgery and then 8 more weeks of this......

I am really surprised by his attitude. He is taking this very well, keeps himself busy and finds way to accomplish most tasks.

In and around all this, I was able to attend Quilt Market, a shopping day with the girls and then the quilt show and lunch on Friday. Quilts were interesting, but there was not much that I needed to purchase from the vendors. Maybe I have too much already?!?!?! Here is a look at the "Best of Show" quilt, done by Sharon Schamber. I can dream! This woman is incredible!!!

Haven't heard from #1 daughter this week....what's happening, Krista? # 2 is doing well in the P. They are still not in permanent housing, but believe that it is getting close!

So, after the PEO garage sale this week, I will be full time into my part of the studio construction. Don has a couple of the contractors lined up to finish out the attic insulation and the heat and air system. Then it's me and the paint brush. I'm really looking forward to this, because it makes big visual changes.........

Samples of the very neutral background for all the fabrics and quilts that will be out there. Trying to keep it very light as the only windows are north and west. I am quite happy with the choices.....

Better get on with some other things. Hope that all of you are doing well! More in a few......