Dogs and Kids

 We love having dogs in our home. Even our neighbor's dog. I grew up with big dogs, but they were never allowed inside the house.

Also I saw these body lotions at my local Ulta Beauty store. How lovely.

Feast Buffet

 A few months ago, the temple staff had a luncheon at Feast Buffet in Renton. It was so fun that we decided to return with the children. The location is enormous and has all types of Asian cuisine, which we love.

I've never been to a restaurant this large. Every food you can imagine is available.

Christmas 2016

 We enjoyed a fun Christmas with the grandchildren playing. They love to unwrap presents and play inside boxes. And boy do I have lots of treats in the house.

Katie and I made this memory quilt from Tyler's band t-shirts. It is a monster!

How we love Martinelli's!

Scholarship and Concert

 Decembers are crazy months for musicians. On Dec 15, Marnie attended an awards ceremony at Stanwood Middle School to receive a scholarship for her musicianship. And as soon as that was over, we ran to the high school to perform the Christmas concert. 

The tradition with Chamber Choir's Christmas concert is that former members join in singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Marnie was chosen to sing the solo at the beginning. What an amazing day for her! Then Katie was able to join in.

It's so fun to see past members and catch up with their schooling and families.

Jim approves!

Painted Forest

 This lovely pattern was created by Scott Hansen at Blue Nickel Studios. I made the first one similar to the cover quilt, nice a springtime colors. Perfect for my large stash.

I picked up a stash of Kaffe Fassett woven stripes and created another one. Unfortunately, it was out the door before I could take a picture.

Although wovens are a little tougher to work with, because they stretch, the colors are beautifully saturated. 

I honestly can't remember how I quilted this. I swear, if I don't take a picture, it never happened.

Bonnie Growing Up

 Pam is great about sending pictures of Bonnie from St. Anthony. It isn't fair that Jim gets so much grandparent time. Howard should be done with schooling pretty soon and they plan to move to Washington. She's such a happy little girl.

Cathy's Millefiori

 Cathy finished her millefiori recently and asked me to quilt it. I think it didn't take her two years. It is completely hand stitched. Most pieces are fussy-cut to allow kaleidoscope patterns to emerge. 

Freddy Moran was visiting with Opal so they came together to the YaYa group. She absolutely loved it. There is so much to see, it's almost an I-Spy quilt.

On the machine, it is a challenge to find something new and exciting to quilt in each section.

Shine On Me

 I had the opportunity to accompany the Chamber Choir at the St. Cecilia concert on Sunday. The song is tough to play, but I really enjoy hearing the choir sing it. Sadly, Marnie is hidden almost throughout this video behind a microphone. But I'm her mother and can pick out her voice.

Halloween at Disneyland

 With a trip to San Diego on the schedule, we decided to stop by Disneyland for Halloween. We are familiar enough with the park to do everything in one day. Well, the things we like.

Because we went on Halloween Day, Oct 31st, we needed to leave a bit early. Disneyland holds an evening party with a separate ticket called the Oogie Boogie Bash. They started arriving at 3pm so we started heading out about 4pm.

The park was nearly empty for the first few hours. What a delight! Haunted Mansion has a Jack Skellington overlay with Danny Elfman music.

There's nothing like walking down Main Street at 8am. We love rides, so we just go from line to line. Without children you don't feel the joy of their excitement at seeing what Disney does best. But neither do you have to stop and wait for the slowest member. Because that's now me.

Inside the art studio directly to the right upon entering, there was this little Pooh Bear painting that I absolutely loved. "Why is Honey Always Uphill?

We caught Mary Poppins and Bert wandering around Fantasyland.

This was the funniest experience of the day. We were standing in line and when the door opened, Chewie came and gave me a huge bear hug. It was completely disarming.

However, when we met Darth Vader it was totally different. I didn't dare go near him. Lots of heavy breathing. Very scary.