Huh...I really thought I would be better at this...

Well, once again, it has been awhile...and my memory is hit and miss sometimes...starting to have senior moments.  At least I have some photos to jog my memory!

Weekend in Havasu

London Bride, Lake Havasu

The last weekend in February was an adventure...I packed up my little Honda and headed west to Lake Havasu City to visit my very dear friend, Linda Lou.  It was an easy drive at three hours, I had never been there before.

We had a very fun weekend!  She lives up in the hills over looking the lake, they bought the house just a year and a half earlier as a retirement home.  Only months after moving there, Barry contracted double pneumonia and, tragically, never recovered.  It was heartbreaking.  To work your whole life to retire and enjoy the good life and then pass away so suddenly.  Linda was devastated...and who cam blame her?  I thought she was very brave to come back this season alone.  She has been keeping herself busy and has a great support system.  We had many talks that weekend and got a chance to reconnect.  We ate too much, watched reruns of "Dancing with the Stars" and went on many drives around the Lake.  Very beautiful spot, I can see why folks retire here.  I am looking forward to returning next season...

The view from our seats...

Hockey Game

In March, my friend MIZ texted me out of the blue and asked me if I wanted to go to a hockey game...she had a set of tickets...I was game...

Little did I know, these were VIP tickets with a parking pass, special ticket holder entrance, gourmet buffet...the whole experience!  One of the unique things about the dining area was the windows that flanked the sides, during our dining experience the teams came through on their way to the ice...

That night the Phoenix Coyotes place the Vancouver Canuck's.  Little did I know, the team had been having a banner season and the victory we witnessed was a path to the playoffs later that season.  They made it all the way to the semi-finals this season...

My little sewing buddy...

Sewing Along...

The fabric and sewing obsession continues...but the good news is, I never have to sew alone...Gandalf is a curious little kitty...in this picture though, he is pretty tuckered out.  I finished two more quilts for Army Babies and started more projects...the not buying anymore fabric resolution was, well, pretty silly...I am still working on finishing projects, but new ones keep calling my name...

Brunch with the Gals...

Brunch with the gals...

On a beautiful March day, during Spring Break, Sue invited Debbie, Dorene and myself over for brunch.  For a long time, I had hear how neat Sue's house was, full of antiques and unique finds from her travels and jaunts through thrift shops and antique stores.  Each room had a theme and personality.  When people described her house, I always thought it was an older home, turns out she is a mile away from me in a subdivision about the same age as my house!  I always thought I had a good eye but she really has a knack to pull things together.  We had a wonderful fritatta and after lunch, we all busted out a project and stitched and talked and laughed...it was wonderful...she will be part of the cookie gang in December...I asked her for the  fritatta recipe the following week, turns out it was made with a pound of cheese and cream...no wonder it was so delicious...

Ashley Goes Back to School!

Practice makes perfect!

My darling daughter has been unemployed for over a year now.  Initially not by choice but her job search was half heated at best.  She has been on unemployment for a year and I think that played a part in the lack of effort for the job search.  During all this time there have been a couple of intense arguments about her actions and the financial impact of her decisions...not good times...I can only hope that her decision to get a marketable trade was at least nudged by one of these encounters and some serious self evaluation...

Graduated!!

In March, Ashley returned to school, Classic Beauty College in Phoenix, to become a nail technician.  She plunged into school head on and worked diligently at finishing her 600 required hours of instruction and practical time.  She even practiced on the weekends on friends and family to refine her skills...she did in fact finish her 600 hours in record time...

She graduated in June with several other technicians in what was to be the last graduating class of nail techs from the college.  She has recently completed her state boards and we are waiting for a shiny certification to arrive in the US Mail...then it's time for her to find an RJ...a real job...

Update from Fort Drum

Mothers Day greeting from Josh...

Josh and Alyssa have been living the newlywed life in upstate New York for a few months now.  Alyssa found a job, not a glamorous one but a steady one.  Josh has had many opportunities to do some post MP duties including bike patrol...apparently with the summer months and the kids out of school, the mischief level increases in the parks and other community areas.  They put MP's on bikes to help curtail some of the activities.  He has really enjoyed the biking and the exercise.  In May, most of his friends from the 563rd deployed to Afghanistan, a deployment that he volunteered for, but they had enough troops to fill the quota.  He continues to be frustrated since he has not been deployed, I continue to be grateful that he has not deployed...the day will come soon enough, I'm sure...meanwhile, we are looking forward to a visit in September when they come home for a wedding on Alyssa's side of the family and we are also looking forward to our journey to NY in October to visit them...

Finishing up projects...

Finished Farmers Wife

One of the biggest craft accomplishments was the quilting of the Farmers Wife project.  I worked in this quilt for a year and was really thrilled to take it to the quilters one afternoon after work.  We worked for about an hour with patterns for the interior and the border.  She used two different colored threads for each section and it turned out beautifully...I was really, really happy with the final result.  It is now proudly displayed on my bed with coordinating pillows.  The cats love it too...thats OK, a house isn't really a home without a cat...or three!

Primitive Wool Project

I also finally finished the wool fall project that I started on vacation last year, it was in one of my first blog postings...while I don't have an exact spot for it at the moment, I am glad to have another completed project under my belt...

Ami poses with the shopping bag

Since Linda Lou will be putting me up for a week when I go to Seattle this year and she was a great hostess when I visited her in Lake Havasu, I made her a personalized Northwest themed shopping bag.  This was a fun project and I had everything I needed in my stash...The Northwest fabric was a great find two years ago on my trip home...

Random Photo 

My Dad and me...

I posted this on Facebook on Fathers Day...I really miss my dad...I think I was three in this photo...I just love the flat top hair do he is sporting and the stylish 60's decor...This November it will be 10 years since he has passed...time really does just keep going...the grief is gone and I can look back on these photos and just feel so lucky to have had such great parents and memories of them both...

Until next time...