It's Been Awhile!

Looking back, I have been remiss in my postings...

In October, we found out that Josh's deployment to Iraq was canceled.  Whew...I was flooded with such a sense of relief...but overwhelmed as well by the sheer sound of disappointment in his voice...he had pretty much just returned from a two week training stint at Fort Bliss, TX...the reality of the Army is that he will in fact at sometime he will deployed...

The Happy Couple!

In November, all of our efforts, energy and emotions thoughts were poured into the wedding of the year.

We attended dance lessons, sewed dresses for the little girls, a pillow for the ring bearer and hot glued sequined trim onto flip flops.  Relatives came from both coasts, we ate, drank and were very merry.  On November 7th, Josh married the wonderful Alyssa in a fabulous and super fun wedding...Even with a Bridesmaid that broke her arm the night before(she's better now), a toppled (and fixed) wedding cake and the three year old ring bearer that would not go down the aisle, it was the most fun I have ever had at a wedding...Even with the challenges, the important thing was Josh and Alyssa.  Everybody agreed, they had some great stories from their wedding!  A benefit of the canceled deployment is that Josh and Alyssa will be able to live together sooner than expected.  As soon as Josh returned to Fort Drum, he got his name on the housing list.  He moved up pretty fast, he got the call just before New Years that there was base housing for Mr & Mrs Evans.  Timing was good as she flew back east for New Years and got to see the house...the movers arrive in Phoenix on 1/23/12 to pickup her stuff...

Family Portrait

Later in November, Aunt Jo and I traveled to California for Thanksgiving...what a great four day weekend...and the beginning of eatingpalooza...Time with the cousins is always alot of fun, their home overlooks the ocean, what a treat for us desert dwellers.  It was great to see the cousins and visit and, yes, eat too much...Maureen took us to a posh resort on the bluff called Teranea, it was gorgeous.  We had a fabulous lunch and we washed it down with cucumber margaritas. 

Gandalf

In the meantime too we added a new member to the new family, Gandalf was put out of a car in Glendale, fostered by Dorene for the weekend and then adopted by us on a Monday...if you were to tell me that morning when I woke up that I would have a cat by nightfall, I would have said you were crazy!  He has been a great addition to the family and he gets along well with Ami and Ichigo althoug, he has some strong alpha tendencies...

During the Fall semester, I took an English class, ENG 102, the research paper class...it was online.  Online does not mean cut and paste easy...online means time management and seeking other resources so that the material sinks in.  It was a lesson learned.  Grammar and the finer points of writing have always been difficult for me...But, I got through OK...my research paper just squeaked and A and I got a B in the class...glad to put a fork in that one!

Happy Halloween!

We dress up for Halloween at work, this year it was on a Monday, not as many folks as usual dressed up so it was a bit subdued...Justin looked really creepy with the acid green contact lenses...

Support the Troops

Christmas was OK, had a rally hard time getting into the spirit of the holiday this year...I didn't do my normal decorating...I did get together with Dorene and Debbie and bake cookies...we started a new blog to archive our recipes and crafting expeditions.  For donations we donated fabric to a quilter in Hawaii that assembles quilts for Gold Star families and gathered items for care packages to the Troops...

Seahawk Sunday!

New Years Day was Seahawk Sunday!  We headed to Scottsdale to jump on the party bus for the match up with the Cardinals...we were, sadly victory challenged but had a great time anyway...

The holiday break of course, was not long enough...I ate way too much and made too much lazy...

Aunt Jo made the trip over for my birthday, we went out to lunch and had Indian food, later that day, Ashley took me to the movies in a trip that was funded by Steve...

The drama at work was back burner-ed a bit but we will see what happens in the next few months with moving, the new college president, the start of the semester and the HLC visit...

Wedding Quilt

As for my crafting...I finished the kids' wedding quilt and found a great lady to long arm quilt the top...it came out beautifully...I finished all the blocks for the Civil War tribute quilt and picked out fabric for sashing and border...

Farmers Wife Quilt

In addition to Christmas pillows, a tree shirt and coasters I put the borders on the Farmers Wife...it just needs backing and off to the quilter it goes...I am determined to finish some projects before I start new ones or buy more fabric.  Well, that is just crazy talk but, I put bindings on the Jo Morten panel quilt and one of the Army baby quilts, these are my watch TV and hand stitch projects...as for not buying new fabric, I started a new, free block of the month program.  The hook is all designs are done with HST's, the first

HST Block of the Month

Pillow Quartet

finished block is 12.5 inches, good sized...I was going to use my wine fabric scraps but, I don't think I would have enough to do 2 blocks...I have always wanted to do a blue and white quilt, its such a smart and crisp combo.  So, I went to 35th and picked up some fat quarters, this will get me started and I can redo the January blocks and enhance the stash throughout the year as I go along...

Happy New Year...