It's been like, well... forever!

Wow how time flies when you're having fun! Hey, you KNOW it's true, so don't even shake your head at me. I've been soooooo thoroughly enjoying this grandmahood (is that even a word? spell-check doesn't think so) and wanted to pop in to share a bit of what I've been doing lately. Yes I'm still making an occasional greeting card and have done a little scrapbooking here and there, but I've gotta tell you that this little guy has just made our lives around here so much fun! How could anyone possible look at this little face and not smile?

Oh by the way, did I tell you that my daughter is now a photographer? Yup! Well she's kind of doing it on the side now, still working full time, mommying full time and trying to slip in a photo op when she can. You can find her at Photography by Emily Baker here -

http://photographybyemilybaker.zenfolio.com/

How about another peek at the most precious little boy ever?

and back on a crafting theme, here's what I've been working on for Oliver. Just a few peeks, then the finished product will be posted when it's done.

This is my first attempt at strip piecing and really my first official quilt that will actually have some machine quilting if all goes right. Wish me luck!

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iPad case from upcycled leather purse

Good morning everyone and Happy January 6th! Yes I had to look at the calendar to be sure because the past month has absolutely flown by so quickly that I thought I had jumped inside a movie set of the next Back to the Future episode! Can you believe that my grandson was born over a month ago? No, me neither!

In my last post I showed a little of our multi-purpose craft and hobby room in our basement. You saw my daughter and son-in-law working on their projects and also saw the snowflakes I'd been making. What you didn't see because I forgot to take a before picture, was the gorgeous navy blue soft leather purse that I took apart to remake in to an iPad case. Yes I'm too cheap to invest in a store-bought case that has all the sections that I need. Initially I wanted a padded sleeve that would protect it while being carried around in my messenger bag, but what I ended up with was a stand-alone, or should I say a carry-alone bag with the original shoulder strap put back on after I so carefully removed all the stitching. Well I kind of like the vintage looking stud thingies that were used to hook it back on, don't you? Oops, you can't see them, so I'll take another pic. BRB...... Okie dokie, here's a picture of that lovely brad thing that is holding the strap on. I also couldn't resist hooking the Brio! charm back on because it's so.... well, classy! It was on the inside and would be scratching up my lovely iPad case and we just couldn't have that, could we? I glued leather scraps on the inside to cover the metal brad pieces and also glued leather scrap flaps over the inside pocket metal zipper end and beginning. I actually made a wool fleece iPad sleeve, but it doesn't fit inside this new bag, so there ya have it... two custom fit iPad holders don't fit inside each other! Kind of like the whole reason for making this case is because after I got the Logitech bluetooth keyboard for Christmas (woohoo I FOUND my arrow keys!!!) I could no longer use the iPad case/stand that I'd been using. Anyway.... on with the show...

I left the outside of the back section intact so I'd have this awesome outside zipper compartment along with the smaller inside zipper. Having already removed the studs holding the top section together I had to cover the holes with the vintage brass studs below. I'm a real dork sometimes when it comes to figuring out how to put that sort of thing on and ended up with the sharp point of the tack coming all the way through the outer brass brad (ouch!). Luckily I had some smaller matching studs that I could flatten the sharp hooky points meant to go through the fabric, then glue over the mistake. Crossing my fingers that it will all hold together!

You can see how the keyboard fits inside very snugly. Since I use my iPad to take the pictures it's kind of hard, no actually quite impossible, to photograph my iPad inside of the case, so just use your imagination and trust me, it fits!

and when I carry it around it will look like this. There's room for my car keys, entry badge for my job, sunglasses, small wallet and a few other goodies, but most importantly there's room for my iPad!

Toodles!

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Happy New Year!

Today is usually a day of reflecting on the events of the past year and I must say this day is no different except that I haven't been watching all those shows on television. You know, the ones that rehash all the news and events and deaths and tragedies the world has experienced during a 12 month time period

So what did I do today? Well back up a couple of days, or better yet how about 4 weeks to be exact... to that awesome day when this little guy was born. Yup, he's one month old today!

Isn't he the most precious thing you've ever seen? Yeah, I think so too! I feel so lucky to have my daughter and son-in-law living here so I can help pitch in with grandma time and watch him grow. Can you believe they still ask me if I want to hold him? Silly kids! Speaking of kids, here they are in our joint multi-purpose craft and hobby room. Emily and I were cutting out paper snowflakes for Sandy Hook (see below). I just found out today that they received so many they don't want more sent, so guess these will be used to decorate something else next year. Maybe Oliver's nursery?

Matt said he finally has the incentive to get his train layout completed so Oliver can play with it. What fun to be able to all work on our crafts together. Oh yeah, we installed a small flat screen tv on the wall above Emily's area so we can all see it. This week we began watching Downton Abbey which is proving to be all they say it is and quite entertaining.

There are sooooooo many projects already floating around on my to do list for 2013, but for starters and for tonight I need to make a few "necessaries" for Emily. What would those be? Well if I tell you that she's breast feeding would that be enough? I found some tutorials for making breast pads out of flannel and either fleece or wool, so will make a couple of prototypes to have her try out, then will make a week's supply when we know what works best. I also unassembled a soft navy blue leather purse that I could never get rid of because I love the feel of the leather and paid far too much for it to give away. It just isn't made to suit my ever-growing space needs for an every day purse. Now that I have one of those keyboard case things for my iPad it leaves both sides of it unprotected, so I want to use the leather to make a slipcover/envelope-type case for it. Then I need to make a cover for the Kindle that Emily won recently. We have some ideas to use felted wool sweaters in a patchwork pattern to make a cover. I'll be sure to post pics of all of these projects after they're done. For now, enjoy the snowflakes!

 

 

 

 

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Sweets and sweetness on Saturday

Today has been one of the most relaxing days I've had in a long time. I've had lots of sweetness time with precious Oliver. (No those aren't my hairy arms silly!)

Add to that kitchen stuff, like baking these awesome pistachio cranberry cookies that I found at one of my favorite food bloggers Erin

Hers were green, so you've got to hop over to her blog to see how pretty and festive these can be. I used a generic pudding mix and wonder if it didn't have as much color to it. What I can tell you for certain is that they are yummy! See that empty spot on the lower cooling rack? Yup, that's evidence that the Cookie Monster stopped by for a chat.

I also made some fascinating and absolutely delicious healthy chocolate avocado pudding from Green Plate Rules. No pictures of that, but she put hers in some really cute shot glasses, so you've got to see them!

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Oliver 12-12-12

I just can't get enough of this precious little bundle of love! It has been an awesome first week watching him grow and witnessing the wonderful parenting our daughter and son-in-law are doing!

 

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My grandson has arrived!

Now the REAL fun begins as we venture forth on this new exciting journey of grandparenthood! Oliver decided to come a few weeks early, but both mom and baby are doing great! My daughter and son-in-law were absolute rock stars throughout the whole process from the time her water broke at 2:15 am to first contraction at 11:30 am to final delivery at 5:15 pm. Short, sweet and to the point just like his mother! The women at the birthing center were awesome angels, providing calm loving support that was very uplifting.

I can't find the words to express how much love I have for Oliver already and how proud I am of Emily for being such a champion during childbirth and Matt for being so supportive as her partner in childbirth!

 

 

 

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T-minus 30 and counting

That would be 30 days and the countdown is for the birth of my first grandchild Oliver who is due December 27th! I can't believe that the past eight months have flown by so quickly and that soon we will hear the cries and coos coming from that tiny little baby boy. Ok, so let's tie that thought I. With today's BlogHer NaBloPoMo prompt:

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

If you could instantly know any language in the world, which one would it be?

Hmmm, it's a stretch, but while looking up the origin of the term t-minus I discovered an interesting fact on the Wikipedia entry. The term was first used in a 1929 German silent film Frau Im Mond (Woman in the Moon) which was the first time a rocket launch was presented on film, or at least the sci-fi version of one. So, rocket launch = birth of baby and German is the language I'd love to know instantly! I've lived in Germany twice and studied the language in collage, but can't for the life of me get a handle on becoming bi-lingual! What's up with that?

Why German and not something romantic like French or practical like Mandarin? Perhaps because half of the blood in my veins is of German origin and did I mention that I'd lived there twice and studied it in college? I thought so! What makes it so special? I think it's the fact that while living in Germany as a soldier in the Army I found something that has remained with me ever since... A true relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Yes, it happened as a result of a coffee house ministry called King's Crossing Coffee House which was done in the basement of the base chapel. Yup, I was part of the Jesus movement!

I hope to be able to share my love for The Lord with Oliver in a way that enriches his life. Maybe we'll even learn to speak German together!

The tour group in Israel, March 1975

My baptism in the Jordan River March 1975

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The last time I cried

Thursday, November 22, 2012

When was the last time that you cried? Why?

This is usually a tough question to answer, but this time it's a little easier. As I reflect on all that I have to be thankful for over the past year I have to say that the announcement of my daughter's pregnancy has to top them all! I'd like to say that it was what made me cry, but actually it was what prompted it, so that counts. The last outburst of tears was while reading my wishes for my niece and nephew's new baby at her shower. I was sitting next to my daughter who also broke down crying. It was a very special moment for the two of us as we got a brief glimpse in to our future. Here I am with my two sisters, niece and baby.

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

Tuesday, November 20, 2012


Talk about the opening of your favourite book.

I honestly don't have a favorite book. You know what came in to my head when I read the BlogHer NaBloPoMo prompt for today? "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1 NKJV

Yes, I've been thinking a lot about the miracle of life lately as I watch my grandson grow inside my daughter's womb. I am so blessed to have her living with us and have been enjoying getting to know my son-in-law better.

Getting back to books though, I've read my share of books, but am not the type of person who reserves a part of the brain for storing titles and authors for later retrieval, so even if I had a favorite book other than the Bible I couldn't tell you the name. Am I the only person like this? It's the same way with movies, although admittedly they are easier to remember than books. I can tell you that my most used books are those with usable pages, like cookbooks for instance. Oh, let's be honest, they're really the only books that get cracked open by me and that is going by the wayside now in favor of recipes on my iPad or printed from some awesome blog.

I found this great app called CamScan that let's you turn your iPad in to a scanner. Today I was messing around with some Penzey's Spices catalog pages just to see how it worked. This hot chocolate sounds pretty yummy, don't you think?

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My ideal place to get stuck

Monday, November 19, 2012

If you had to get locked in some place (book store, amusement park, etc) overnight alone, where would you choose to be locked in?

That is the NaBloPoMo prompt for today and didn't really take much thought because I wish I was there right now. A Luscious ten star spa (yeah ok, so maybe the stars don't go that high, but this is MY dream and I can have whatever I want!) this spa would come fully equipped with a staff of people to pamper me, bring me glasses of wine, fresh Holiday grapes, chocolate and strawberries or anything else I want. There'd be a steamy hot jacuzzi with soft music playing, warm oil massage and aromatherapy candles burning all over the place. AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Now, back to reality. Tonight we meet the Doula that will be with my daughter and SIL before, during and after the birth of our grandson. Here's how we spent our time waiting.

I drooled over this recipe for Cheesy Garlic Basil Tilapia in the Penzey's spice catalog which uses all of my favorite ingredients. Hey if it's got garlic and basil I'm happy! And tilapia happens to be my favorite fish!

Emily and Matt were checking e-mail and reading weather blogs. We're still waiting for the long-term forecast for December.....

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