3 Poodles and a Nana

New Big Sis and Thank You Auntie Sandra!

2009-11-08T18:57:00.002-05:00

Helena is a new Big Sister! YEH!!!! So of course we all brought her gifts today in honor of her new role :) . This was a neat gift she got from her Auntie Sandra in Canada. It is a really neat pillow case in a special cloth case which I think she decided to use to carry her plastic kittens (kinda apt considering Sandra and her cat, Zoomer). Helena says "THANK YOU AUNTIE SANDRA!"

Checking out those little fingers. Today Miles was very alert, looking all around --particularly at his sister.

Everyone that came to the house today got a special greeting. Helena would take them by the hand, lead them to the baby and solemnly (with a dramatic wave of her hand) make her introduction: "This is Miles." It was a very important job.

SUCH A PROUD BIG SIS!!!!

The Sunday Report

2009-11-08T05:00:00.006-05:00

Miles continues to be a sweet and contented baby. He sleeps most of the time and can lift his head (briefly) already! He is heavy though, I'm not used to holding such a big lad :)

He is coming home today and when I visited our camera shop, I noticed they do "welcome home baby" banners. Unfortunately, the banner wouldn't be done until next week so we improvised. I ordered a 12 x 24 inch photograph of Miles and just had "Welcome home" printed on the photo. Found a big ol' poster frame, used up some of my scrapbooking supplies and VOILA: one welcome home poster for new babette!

Influenza continues to be a huge problem in our valley. My son Peter has it now and fortunately, he wasn't around the baby or parents. I am staying away from him because I don't want to give it to the baby or DH--who leaves for Bolivia in two days (flu in South America--YIKES).

Yesterday hubby and I were driving around doing errands and noticed a large back up of cars---for miles. All day DH and I speculated what the problem might have been. Turned out the hospital was giving out flu vaccines at the local amusement park and cars were lined up for about 5 MILES and waited 3-4 HOURS to get it. After DH leaves, I will be hibernating a bit in hopes of not catching and getting Christmas presents completed. We are even thinking of not visiting with therapy dog Seamus until this flu thing is a bit resolved--I don't want to catch it and even worse would be to transmit it to elderly. In the meantime we are washing our hands like crazy and eating healthy. Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment and will just ask for the flu shot. I wish my husband would get the H1N1 shot (he's eligible) but he is resistant to that yet. Hopefully he won't get sick while he is away (I swear he catches things in the airplanes!!!).

Today we will focus on the positive things and take food and presents to the new parents after they get home. I can't wait to see Helena's reaction to her new brother!

Miles' First Day.....

2009-11-07T08:01:00.002-05:00

After we visited the hospital yesterday, we took this picture to our photography store. They are blowing it up to 12 x 24 inches with "Welcome Home Miles" printed on it. It should be ready later today and we will take it to the house (plus food) for when the kids bring Miles' home (hopefully tomorrow).

The hospital is actually enforcing a strict visitation policy due the swine flu. Only 2 visitors at a time and no children--so Helena hasn't met her brother yet. I know she will be a good sister to him when he gets home but it is hard not seeing him. Today (fortunately) she has a birthday party to go to so that will keep her busy!

Miles looks a lot like his sister Helena did when she was born and so far we think he has inherited his Daddy's collick, ears and the wide feet of his grandfather (poor kid)!

BOY OH BOY!!!!!!!!

2009-11-05T23:31:00.005-05:00

A DAY EARLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Melanie went into labor and her water broke before dinner. We all rushed to the hospital and at 8:40 pm, Miles made his appearance. Thankfully, all are well. For those of you who don't know Melanie, she HAD to have this C-section--she is a tiny petite woman and the doctor said they got to Miles just in time--because he was
9 lb, 6 oz!!!!!!!!!!! and 20 1/2 inches long. We are so grateful that she is okay and that Miles is doing so well. He is already trying to lift his head and moving all around. I think he is going to be a calm baby too. He just has a sweet serenity to him (am I gushing like a grandma??). So here is his first pic (5 minutes old), before he even was weighed, measured, etc:

Attic Treasures

2009-11-04T08:31:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I went to put something in the attic storage space and became.....well annoyed with the mess. I don't tackle the attic in the summer, it's too hot up there, and things have a tendency to pile up. This time, I opened one of the trunks I've been carrying with me since--well pre-marriage. I found some things I had been bugging my Aunt for--pictures and papers from my father's family. The treasures ended up consuming my day and I am still scanning and photocopying everything so I can make a scrapbook for my son.

Tomorrow Aunt Carole and I are getting together to go over everything and take a ride out to some of the old family houses. I can't wait to find out who this precious girl is! She has the sweetest face and look at her bracelet! The boy I know is Ralph, his name is on the back of the photo. I love that he has a cane and a gold pocket watch. Love the piano shawl he is leaning on; I think it is a tapestry....

Well off to do cleaning and some shopping. I need to buy cookie pans before the holiday baking commences.....

It was a fun Halloween!

2009-11-03T08:10:00.002-05:00

Usually, I don't like Halloween; partly because I don't like the horror, partly because my least favorite color is orange and partly because I had orange and black birthday cakes my entire childhood. This year I had fun though "boo-ing" loved ones. The teddy bears were for our granddaughter, Helena and Kaylin, my niece's one year old. The dogs I made for my niece Nicole (away at college), our neighbors who own George the cat (included on the wallhanging) and a new friend, Cindy, who recently donated a lot of fabric to me. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving projects now :) DH is going to be working a lot the next month and doing so more little gifts, as well as finishing some Christmas presents, should keep me busy.

Pumpkin Cookies

2009-10-31T09:20:00.000-04:00

I like the "Bake at 350 Blog" and this month, her flavor of the month is PUMPKIN!!! My husband and his band of merry co-workers are real pumpkin lovers so I have collected a variety of pumpkin recipes. Last week I made pumpkin bread and had leftover pumpkin. So I tried this recipe which I think is an older recipe. This came in this cute little booklet I got at the "Pick Your Own" farm. The recipe called for faces made with raisins on the cookies but a lot of people in my family are adverse to raisins so I skipped that part.

The cookie alone reminds me more of a scone, it is not overly sweet and balances the orange glaze on it. It reminds me of the cookies and things that my parents ate for "tea" that they did in the evenings. With the glaze, it takes on a new flavor and is good as well. This is a very moist and soft cookie.

Pumpkin Cookies:

1 C sugar

1 C butter

1 egg, beaten

3 1/2 C flour

1 C cooked pumpkin

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t nutmeg

1 t cinnamon

1/2 C buttermilk

Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and pumpkin. Stir together flour, soda, and seasonings. Add to wet mixture alternatively with buttermilk. If dough seems too moist, add several teaspoons of flour until no longer sticky. Chill dough several hours. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness and cut out circles with cookie cutter. Keep dough chilled and work quickly. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets in 350 F oven for 10-12 minutes. Frost with orange icing. Use raisins for eyes, nose and mouth.

Orange Icing:

2 C sifted confectioners' sugar

1 T melted butter

1 T grated orange rind

1/4 C orange juice

Stir ingredients together until smooth and spread on cookies.

Because of the amount of baking soda in this recipe, these cookies bake high, so be careful how thick you make yours!

There you are......

2009-10-30T10:28:00.005-04:00

Paddie was our only dog for 10 years until we got the boys. I've been trying to take her to different parks--ALONE--like in the old days because she is getting on (12 now). She can be a bit sullen when the boys are around. So seeing her in the park is such a wonderful change and back to the girl I love...

I just love to see her with a swing in her step and a sparkle in her eye. Can you blame me? Look at how pretty she is!!!!!!!!!!!

Happiness

2009-10-29T09:34:00.002-04:00

"The sky is taking on light,

though the moon still hangs pale over the water.

Such beauty that for a minute

death and ambition, even love,

doesn't enter into this.

Happiness. It comes on

unexpectedly. And goes beyond, really,

any early morning talk about it."

from Raymond Carver's poem, "Happiness"

My Son the Nun........

2009-10-27T09:18:00.002-04:00

Is REALLY confusing the puppies.

Happy Halloween!

Getting Ready for Mr. Miles...

2009-10-24T10:27:00.003-04:00

Got another quilt ready for Mr. Miles who is due on November 6! Also put together a box of pee-pee teepees and some bibs. I had already made a fun wallhanging for his room (here). Poor Melanie is pooped and still working although (thankfully!!!) she is no longer working in the school districts. There is definately swine flu in our valley and it has already begun to hit the children.
DH and I were going to take these things down today but Nik is doing something to the house (I think installing the heat pump today). Anyway, DH is stopping over to provide some electrical advice and we will bring presents down later this week.

I'm off the sewing room. My oldest son is going to an Halloween Party tonight and needs a collar or bib thing for his nun's costume. I have no idea if his girlfriend is going as a priest but the two of them have a pretty warped sense of humor so I am sure I will hear a good story later today.....TTFN.....

Dory is having a fest!

2009-10-22T09:32:00.003-04:00

Dory from "Dory's Backyard" is having a festival of smiling dogs. As usual, we are late for the party because well I have three dogs and it isn't easy to get them smile together. As a matter of fact, our oldest dog, Paddie says she wants no part in sitting with the boys to get her pic taken:

Seamus, I said "Smile" not "Say AHHHHHHH" !!!!!!

GET BACK HERE YOU CRAZY BAD BOYS!!! Come back to have your picture taken!!!

So here is how it goes, one smiles, the other doesn't and vice versa. Then I realize that I should move them to a more poetic setting, filled with tranquil fall flowers and soft green grass waving in the breeze..........except the rabbits have eaten the flowers, the boys have all but killed off the grass (including my newly sown grass) and I give up.....

FINALLY!

Only for you Dory baby................

Ah Choices........

2009-10-21T21:30:00.003-04:00

I'm homebound this week with a head cold/cough thing. Fortunately I had finished what had to be mailed out and now I am just puttering between coughing spells. I pulled out my UFO box and found this ancient 1/2 square triangle top and am now playing with borders. I think my friend Sandra is right, the red is REALLY popping and maybe too much (although I am not sure maybe a thin band might work better?). On the other hand, I really love red and would like to use it more. Ah choices.........
More on this one later.........hitting my cough syrup again.........

Wrapping Up Halloween This Week!

2009-10-19T09:51:00.002-04:00

This week I am trying to wrap up the Halloween things that need to be mailed by Thursday. This is in Helena's package. Remember being 5 years old and how wonderful it was to get things in the mail? I like thrilling our girl now that we don't see her often. I thought this shirt would be neat to wear to school:
She loves cats and I am hoping she will like these gloves I got her...

not to mention the cat necklace that lights up and blinks and will be a good thing to wear when she goes Trick or Treating.

67 Days Til Xmas!

2009-10-18T09:07:00.004-04:00

I don't know if it is the snow we got this week, the nip in the air, or feeling like I am finally starting to make a dent in the decluttering (a small dent is better than no dent!), but I am feeling buoyant about the upcoming holidays. Our house is tiny and cluttered but for some reason, it decorates well for Christmas. This year I am hoping to do less decorating and more celebrating as we expect the arrival of our new grandson in November.

What do you do to prepare for your holidays? The prep for me includes two main themes: The decorating of the house on the day after Thanksgiving (that way we get to stretch the holidays out as long as we can) and GINGERBREAD!!!

There are gingerbread houses to be decorated, gingerbread people to make, and ginger waffles to prepare. I love the scent, the taste, the everything about ginger! I'm not sure who discovered this wonderful spice but to me, it is ranks higher than chocolate in the wintertime. Perhaps this year, I will go through my stack of recipes that feature this wonderful spice :)

In the meantime, I am dreaming of a white Christmas and getting out the holiday music. Have a safe and restful Sunday!

Our Little Pumpkin.....

2009-10-15T18:24:00.002-04:00

It was only five years ago that our granddaughter, Helena, celebrated her first Halloween. This was a costume I found for her. From the day she was born, my husband had nicknamed her "pumpkin" in honor of her strawberry curls. When Helena first began to talk, she would point to me and say, "Nana" and point to him and say "Punkin". The name stuck and they refer to each other as "punkin" now.
So when I saw this at fatcat patterns, I just had to make it for her. Happy Halloween dearest Helena!

Must...............

2009-10-12T17:55:00.003-04:00

MUST....

GET...
BALL!!!

What Seamus Did Today....

2009-10-10T13:10:00.003-04:00

Today, Seamus passed the Therapy Dog Evaluation!!! I have been working with Seamus for the last two months preparing him for the test. Seamus is under two years old and I was concerned if he was ready for this but then this past week, I took him to my Nana's nursing home.

Usually the nursing home is depressing. There is a lot of dementia on her ward (she has it too) and mild alzheimers. Because we were allowed to take our pets there, I thought it would be a good litmus test for Shayme (Seamus' nickname).

I have heard so many times the effect that dogs have in nursing homes but it wasn't until this past week that I actually experienced it. There was an immediate awakening among the residents as they petted and cooed at him. The interest they had in him hits one like a wave, it was a very touching experience to see them awaken like that.

Seamus was a champ, went right up to everyone in their wheelchairs and politely waited to be petted. He was unafraid of the walkers and canes and was just happy to be getting so much attention. I also took Paddie this week and had scheduled her for a test too, but after seeing her at the nursing home, I know she is past her prime to do this, especially with her cataracts. It was a hard decision to make but the right decision for her.

I wasn't sure Seamus would pass what is called, the "TDI Temperament Evaluation" because he is so young. To make it more challenging this was a park with a dog festival going on which excited Seamus to no end (he loves other dogs).

The evaluators are tough. This is a lot of work for a dog as young as Shayme and a lot of work for me too......but it is worth it. My boy is looking forward to bringing happiness to the world via one pet at a time...but for now, he has worked hard, had his treat and is ready to relax....
GOOD BOY!!!

Bummer Dudes

2009-10-07T09:04:00.001-04:00

The boys are going to the groomer today to get spruced up. They don't really need a haircut but they are getting a bit--er--fragrant. Paddie isn't so bad so she is relieved to be staying home :)

Checking in......

2009-10-06T13:34:00.003-04:00

Things have beeng busy here at 3P and N! Between the sewing, the dog training and the gardening something is always going on! Today Miss Paddie (above) and I did some gardening, filling up the composter and dreamt of small picket fence in the front yard to really define the garden. It would mean a lot of changing of the beds but would be so nice. Now to convince DH of this :)

Sew-a-thon

2009-09-30T12:00:00.002-04:00

I'm posting more pics of Cape May while I continue my sew-a-thon. DH is gone for two weeks and I am taking this time to sew, sew, SEW!!! Since I am working on secrets and xmas presents, I am really not ready to post much. Still trying to figure out who (in the family) reads the blog and who doesn't. Meanwhile, enjoy some neat painted ceilings (above is a balcony ceiling and yeh, that is PAINTED), the Pink House, and some gulls on the beach.

I'm feeling so good, it might even be time to break out the Christmas music. :)

Hopefully I will get enough done to spend my evenings binding while we watch tv (once the hubs is home again). I'd show you a pic of the sewing room but it is a holy mess and that is what a sewing room should look like when you are getting things accomplished!

Old Cape May

2009-09-28T08:19:00.002-04:00

The monarchs are everywhere and are migrating south.
The sunrises are wonderful :)

And the houses are still delicious to view!

I took about 500 pictures, too many to post but many good ideas and inspiration. Its good to be home and sewing again. Today is Monday which means visit Nana today and then work on cleaning up from the weekend.

I'm also starting a two week sewing marathon while my hubby is away on a business trip to Seattle. Should be a lot of fun to get some things done!!!

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea...

2009-09-24T07:35:00.003-04:00

Linda and I are enroute to the beach. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

It's a boy :D

2009-09-23T08:56:00.002-04:00

Here's a wallhanging I just finished for our soon to be grandson's room. I love these Amy Bradley panels--this was an older version I got a few years back for when more babies arrived. When I get back from the seashore, I will be quilting his crib quilt (with a bit more subtle colors).

Jars Full of Autumn

2009-09-22T17:24:00.007-04:00

Happy Autumn!!! We're expecting rain and my rose buds never survive a good storm. So I took some time to fill a few jars full of flowers and distribute them to friends and my Nana.

Autumn used to make me sad but now I look forward to my late bloomers and the roses at this time of year are truly spectacular. There is so much to look forward to this season: baking, quilting, cleaning out the parts of the house that become too warm in the summer (attic and basement). This week, my friend Linda and I are going to the shore for a long weekend/girls retreat. It's the perfect end to the summer for us and we are both excited to just walk on the beach, gab, and read.