A Quieter House

This week has been bittersweet for me. My house is in disarray! My emotions within are fighting - jubilant! exhausted! eager! hesitant! urgent! patient! This is all due to Murphy's move to an apartment. How can people (myself included) collect so much stuff? The more I discard of his, the more I find of mine, or Graham's, or even Meredith's! Part of me wants to clear it all out - now. And part of me says "Leave it for the children when I die! It's their stuff!"

The one individual who is most bewildered by all this commotion is Treasure. Yesterday Murphy took his couch from the TV room where it's been as long as Treasure has lived here. I had placed all the pillows and throws on the coffee table for the time being. And she wandered in, looked around, then walked all around the coffee table, obviously looking for her couch. She saw the pillows up on the table and tried very hard to jump up there! I finally had to put a pillow and throw on the floor for her, just to ease her angst.


Meredith and Adrian came by after she and Murphy took Graham to lunch for his birthday, and we had a sweet, quiet moment between brother and sister.

Here is Adrian getting to know his uncle, and Treasure is keeping a nonchalant watch from her perch on the couch. Not to be outdone, she agrees to pose with her favorite "brother".

This "togetherness" got me to thinking about my own brother and our relationship. We have not always had the best communication - he was 3 1/2 years older and our interests were worlds apart. It wasn't until our Mother fell and broke her hip that Bill and I began to talk to one another, and better, to listen to one another. We each discovered a person that we liked and had very much in common with! Surprise, surprise! I just hope Murphy and Meredith don't wait twenty more years to discover what really neat individuals they each are.

I can't leave with posting one last adorable picture of Meredith and my favorite grandson.

And the house? Yes, it's in total disarray! I have an opportunity to do a lot of rearranging of rooms and that will entail some professional help - painting, carpeting, and maybe some major renovation in the TV room. As long as I can keep one little corner for my computer, and get the rest of the rooms straightened up a bit, I can wait. But not too long! Please!

Christmas Day

This was the best Christmas ever, for many reasons. Of course, there is Adrian, our precious first grandchild. Being four months old, he isn't terribly interested in all the hoopla of Christmas, so this year I finally persuaded everyone to leave out the hoopla! "Less is more", I've been saying for years. I think now Graham and I are at the age where we really don't need a lot of "things". It's taken forty years, but we are finally able to accept fewer gifts under the tree. And for the first time in forty years I listened to him and bought him socks for Christmas!



These are the blocks I made for Adrian - a total surprise for Meredith! I don't know when I've been able to keep a secret so well!

I also did his middle name, Florin, but didn't get a picture of the complete set. They are fun to make and would be a great baby gift.

Look at this happy mom! Adrian is the best gift Meredith has ever received, and now she is more interested in what to give him for Christmas! "And the gift goes on and on and on..." This is what my mother's heart has longed for. I have encouraged Meredith and Cristian to start their own family Christmas traditions this year. So we backed off a bit and gave them the space to create new traditions, new memories...

Last night we went to their house for tamales and dips and to share our gifts with them. And today, they came to our house for Christmas dinner, complete with Mimmie's Oyster Dressing! That's one tradition she will carry over for sure!



2007 will go down as a very good year for Murphy. He has put new meaning into the phrase "Wait on the Lord!" All his waiting paid off in January when he acquired a very good job with an excellent company. He is bright and charming and has become an asset in his department, earning praise from his superviors. His school loans are nearly paid off, enough that he will be moving into his own place by the end of the year!



The downside to his good news is that Treasure is suspecting some traumatic occurence and is acting very strangely. We found her sitting in Murphy's bathtub this afternoon, and then she will hide under a chair or table. She follows me closely, making sure I don't leave, I guess. She is very attached to Murphy, so we have extracted his promise to come see her at lunch once a week! His office is very close by, so he graciously agreed.



We did something before dinner today that I hope will become another cherished tradition in our extended family. Graham and Cristian read in tandem from their respective Bibles the Christmas story in Luke, Graham reading in English, Cristian reading in Romanian. Not only does this reinforce the two cultures in our families, it also reinforces the fact that Christ came into this world for all people. With all the turmoil, hatred, and violence around us, it is more and more obvious that only Jesus can affect our hearts and bring peace. And He will do that some day. My prayer is that more may know Him.



Well, Merry Christmas to one and all. May your homes be filled with warmth and love.

A Better Sitting

I decided to try another go at getting a Christmas picture of Treasure. So the other day I persuaded her to settle in under the Christmas tree, next to the pretty red packages, and then "smile" for a picture! Not so fast! And not so easy. At first she was all Terrier and not in the mood to comply.



So I tried another angle - literally. If she won't move toward me, then I'll just scoot over in front of her and photograph her sweet little face! Not! Her body language is saying "I'm just not interested in your ole Christmas picture!"



Okay. Honesty is not working here. So I'm forced to come up with a little white lie. There are two things in this life that Treasure will not pass up - going outside "walking" and going for a "ride in the car" - and she knows both of those phrases very well! So-o-o-o, I lied a little and told her we'd go ride in the car and then, SNAP!, we get a good Christmas picture!



So Merry Christmas to one and all!

It's Done!

Yes, brothers and sisters, it's all done. It's all wrapped. It's all boxed. And it's on its way to Wichita Falls! Hallelujah!

I think the reason I was so frustrated with this quilt has to do with my sewing machines. My little 1968 Touch & Sew model had served me so well and got me through quilting class and a multitude of quilts this summer. So when the flannel clogged its little innerds, I thought it may be time for a new machine.

For whatever reason, the new Singer just didn't take to the quilting foot I put on it, and I could never properly adjust the tension for quilting. As soon as I realized there was a problem, I should have taken my old machine in immediately for a checkup. Alas, oh well, you know the rest of that story.

I'm happy to say that the reworked seams look very good. I didn't rip out every single one, most were acceptable. And hopefully Bill will always fold it with the front facing out!

Merry Christmas, dear Brother, with much love from your Baby Sister!

Christmas Picture

Here's my "Christmas Baby". I don't know why it's so hard to get this darling Westie to "smile" for her picture! I know other Westies in my Ebay community who have the same "photophobia". Must come with the breed.

Because of the Christmas pageant at church and the energy spent preparing for it, I am decorating minimally this year - just enough that Adrian will have some sparkly lights to enjoy.

Speaking of pageant, the big show is this weekend. Graham and I participated in Malcolm Grainger's extravaganza pageants at Castle Hills Baptist all throughout the 1980's. We were younger then, had a little more stamina, and got caught up in the excitement of the pageantry and costumes and "big music". Thankfully, both Malcolm and we are older now, a little less stamina, gait a little slower, and enjoying the pageantry on a much smaller scale at Village Parkway Baptist.

Pray for us! These next five days will be very intense, but Sunday's coming!

Saturday Afternoon

We had a little "canine identity crisis" today. Thus far Treasure has been very accepting of Adrian, ignoring him when he cries, glancing over him at playtime, even seeming okay when I sit in a chair holding him. But today she was feeling very insecure and couldn't quite leave me alone as I held the baby. She was very persistent, maintaining her objection long enough for Murphy to snap a pic from his phone.

I think part of the reason for her insecurity has been the increased frequency of our choir rehearsals. We are away from the house 3 - 4 hours at a stretch, several days (or nights) a week. I remember watching the AKC dog show one year after we acquired Maggie and the announcer introduced the Westie by saying that Westies "will not be ignored." That has certainly proved true for both of my Westies. So Treasure will be as happy as we to have the Christmas pageant over and done with next Sunday!

I'll try not to stay away too long. But everything I'm working on right now will be Christmas presents and I don't want to give away a surprise by posting a photo on my blog!

thanksgiving day

Meredith's lovely table - check out Adrian's "dinner" at the head of the table!















Adrian gets to enjoy his dinner at the table with the rest of us!


Today is Thanksgiving and, my goodness, do we have much to be thankful for. Where do I begin? Well, let's start with my heart and move outward. And that would be our precious, healthy, beautiful grandson, Adrian! He is just over three months old on this Thanksgiving. You will see in the pictures how much he has grown in just ten days!

My neice Barbaranne called me this morning as she was preparing Mimmie's Oyster Dressing for her Thanksgiving dinner. I said to her that her house must be quieter with only three of their five children home. And, guess what! Nathaniel and Kate were both right there in the kitchen with her! Another praise that her two oldest children were safely home from overseas.

We were planning to go to the coast on Sunday with Bill. But he came down with a bad cold and Texas is coming down with a bad cold front! So I'm thankful that we were able to cancel our reservations and stay in the warmth of our homes instead. We will have another chance to go.

So here are some pictures from Adrian's first Thanksgiving. Looks like Grandpa got first dibs on holding him! Even Murphy and Treasure joined in the activities of eating and napping.

We're wishing you all a Happy thanksgiving. Stay ever mindful that all our blessings come from God above.

Play Time

Adrian was in the mood to play the other night and I quickly switched my camera over to video to catch some of his precious interaction with his playful puppy toy. I wish this had been the camera with sound because he was talking away to the puppy! So cute!

Meredith reminded me that this blog is also about quilts, so I'm announcing that I'm making headway with Bill's quilt! This is one of those projects that gets ten minutes here, twenty minutes there and hopefully we'll come to the end of it soon! I am still not very happy with the new sewing machine. I think I'll take my old one to be cleaned and repaired. I have enough small projects I want to work on and I think the new machine will be okay for those.

Life is full as November moves into December. My Bible study will take a break after this week so that all the Christmas activities won't get in the way of study time. And then there's the Christmas pageant! We've been having extra rehearsals all month. Before you know it Dress Rehearsal is upon us, then the pageant, and Christmas is over! Well, not exactly, but it sure feels that way. Of course, this year will be special because of one very special little boy. One other special little boy, I should say. We should never forget that Jesus is the reason for Christmas.

A Happy Tuesday Night

Our little Adrian was in a very good mood Tuesday night. I think he knew we were going out to the Cracker Barrel after supper!

In an effort to knit together my two favorite subjects, I'm introducing Adrian to Westies! In addition to my two live specimens I have plush Westies from all over the world. In just about every country we have visited I have purchased at least one Westie. (Imagine the fun I had in Great Britain!) Hallmark and Ebay are two great sources of indulgence.


Anyway, Adrian will have ample opportunity to develop a love for westies when he visits his Ludee. Here he is, getting a great start!

While we had him in a happy frame of mind, Meredith caught him interacting with the toys in the Pack 'n Play. When Adrian's happy, everybody's happy!

Trying out a New Swing

Last night at supper Meredith tried out the nice swing that was borrowed for use at Ludee's house. We thought we had something going for a while! Adrian was cautiously happy for five minutes or so, then he decided it was time to stop the nonsense and get some reassurance from Mommy! I think in the next weeks he'll come to enjoy his "swing-time"!

Godparents and Lisa

Adrian had more visitors today! Lisa Schwenn, a longtime friend of both the Mozas and the Wilsons, came by to bring news of an upcoming garage sale for the Romanian mission team. And guess who she found meeting their special godchild, but Richard and Charlene Webster!

Rich and Charlene have been prayer partners since Meredith first went to Romania as a missionary - way back in 1998-99. They were praying for her safety, her fruitfulness in her mission, and her future as a young Christian woman in a foreign country. So when Meredith and Cristian became engaged it was very natural for them to ask Rich and Char to be Cristian's representatives or godparents at the wedding. Today they met Adrian for the first time and Char lent a hand with his afternoon snack!

It's becoming apparent that little Adrian will have lots of doting "grandparents" as he grows up. I'd say a new folder with "Babysitter" phone numbers is being compiled daily! Looks like Ludee will have some co-conspirators to help with the spoiling!

When it comes to preferences, though, I think the verdict is in - nobody compares to being swaddled and cuddled and fed in Mommy's arms!

Honorary Grandparents

We had a wonderful visit tonight from our dear friends, Doug and Lois White. Doug and Lois are in our Sunday school class and on our Board of Directors. They have been good friends since 1995. Now that Doug has recovered from knee surgery, and before they go back to North Carolina, we were so happy to have them come over on a Thursday night to spend some time with Adrian, Meredith and Cristian. They take to grandparenting like a duck takes to water!

Treasure had to make sure she got some of the attention! Next time they promise to bring Jefferson, their precious poodle, over for some playtime. I'll have some pictures from that visit for sure! In the meantime, enjoy the Whites as they enjoy getting to know Adrian.

Hill Country Visit

Graham and I drove up to Marble Falls Sunday afternoon to look around the town and the surrounding area. Sunday was beautiful - warm, sunny, not much traffic. We had a great dinner at the River Side Grille. Best catfish I've had in a long time and a blackberry cobler to die for!

So Monday morning we anticipated having a good look around town, walk through the historic district, look at some neighborhoods, and instead were greeted with 45 degree windy rain! We were so disappointed. We managed to drive around a bit, even drove over to Kingsland where my Dad lived while he was building his house in Deer Haven. We tried walking in the historic district and decided it would be better to just go home.

Here are the only pics we managed to get, at a "scenic point" just outside Kingsland.

Today Treasure got her hair cut - probably will last her through the winter. It's not her favorite activity, but she is so-o-o cooperative that all the cutters at Petsmart want to do her hair! They do a really nice job too. The only request I have ever made of a groomer is that they leave the hair on her back a little long. You can't imagine how often I go to get her after a haircut, only to find she looks like a Schnauzer! Now I have nothing against Schnauzers - they are precious dogs. But I don't want my Westie looking like one!

So here is my Treasure with a perfect haircut!

That's all for now. Meredith and Adrian will be here for dinner with Cristian. Graham is away at Greek class, so it's "Pizza night!"

Look Who's Coming for dinner!

It's Thursday night and look who found his little boy playing at Ludee's!

Don't you just melt when you catch him smiling! (Please excuse the red-eye. I couldn't get all of it out.)

Of course, after play time comes --- dinner time!

At his check-up on Tuesday Adrian weighed in at 11 lb. 5 oz. He's also grown over 3 inches in height. He got the first round of immunizations and both he and Mommy shed a few tears over that! By Wednesday he had pretty much forgotten those shots and settled back into his routine. Which, of course, includes Thursday night at Ludee's - wheeee!

In the meantime I have been working on Bill's quilt and am about 3/4 through the quilt top. It has presented more of a challenge than I expected, but the finished product will more than make up for the setbacks. Here is where I am with it now....

So that's it for today.

Out to Lunch!

Today we piled into the car and drove out to the Rim to go shopping. Afterward, we stopped at Chick fil-A for lunch. Adrian is not quite ready to sit quietly in his stroller, so this is what it takes to make everybody happy!

Yesterday Adrian was two months old! As I remember, he is 2/3 of the way through the hardest months of infancy. Some time soon he will be eating a little more and sleeping for longer periods of time. I can't wait for the day when Meredith walks in the door with him in her arms and he reaches for his "Ludee" to hold him!

Soon he will get to go to Romania and be introduced to a whole new family who will love him and hold him and tell him stories! I long for his "other" Grandmother to drink in the sweetness.

Now he's back home for his nap - so is his Mommy! Sleep well, children.

Thursday Night

Ahhhh, Thursday night. Cristian goes to school on Thursday night, so he comes here for supper on his way to UTSA. Now Meredith and Adrian come too, so they can visit with him before class. This is our night to be goofy grandparents and enjoy our grandson.
I have to say that he is more enjoyable every day as he grows and gets more in tune with his new world. Meredith and I sat down with her baby book the other night - just to compare notes and see who was superior! I was surprised, one, with how much Adrian looks like her baby pictures, and two, how much I had forgotten of her first months. We're happy to report that Adrian and Meredith are on the very same scale of perfection!
Enjoy this slide show of my favorite - Thursday Night!

I Couldn't Resist

I'm about to head out for choir practice, but I couldn't resist posting this photo of my sleeping companion.



She's my best "quilt tester".

Happy Birthday Murphy!

Today my first-born is 36 years old. Where has the time gone?

Morphing a Quilt

I've spent the last two days creating a Double Irish Chain quilt for Bill. After studying the colors in his home, I came back here to find that the material I had already picked for this quilt would be perfect on his sofa! Here is my progress so far:

"In the beginning..." there are piles of strips, then "sections". I have to label each one to keep them straight. And still it's very easy to pick up the wrong section and end up with my ripping tool!

Here is my pile of "Block A" - after successfully ripping and re-sewing in the correct order! I haven't made a quilt yet that didn't require a fair amount of ripping!

This represents the first "layout". My next step is to sew all the blocks together in the proper order and then begin the "frame" around the picture. The finished product will look very different from the first layout.

I nearly "buggered" my new machine the other day, sewing again with flannel! I don't know what kind of machine will handle flannel well. But I don't think I'm going to work with it again unless it's by hand. Meredith has asked for some crafted "burp pads" made from prefolded diapers and a panel of material sewn to the front. These are the ones that work most successfully on my machine.

They make great gifts to go with a quilt, picking out one of the fabrics from the quilt. I'm having a lot of fun with these.

We'll see how the day goes on the quilt. I'll leave you with one very special picture of a happily full and sleepy baby...

Back to my Stitching

I'm sure I must have A.D.D. because I'm so adept at moving from one project to the next, picking up right where I left off. So these days I split my time between Bible studies and sewing projects.

I just finished a sampler for my neice Tiffany and her new husband. They were married in September and this is the finished project. This was was a "quickie" - I had only two weeks to finish it before the wedding, so my quilting was put on hold.

Now I am back on track with my birth announcement for Adrian. Meredith has requested that I replace most of the red threads with a sage green so that it will fit better into the design scheme in his room. I am about 2/3 into it, working most of each quarter before starting the next. Here is my progress so far:

My friend Ruthie, who encouraged me to get back to cross-stitching several years ago, loaned me many of her "granny" charts and I've had lots of fun stitching little bibs. This was a kit, however, that I purchased at Hobby Lobby or Michael's. It just seemed to fit into Adrian's bedroom better than anything I had seen. There are lots of baby boy clothes with puppy themes and trucks and airplanes. So this ought to be a good fit.

In the meantime, I'm trying to finish a quilted table runner for Meredith's long dining room table. It's in a monochromatic theme of blue floral prints. The pattern is the "friendship star" and this runner is 76 inches long and has eight or nine stars - I'd have to go look at it to be sure. But it's a really long sucker!

I can't help but admire my new sewing machine in that picture. I finally had to replace my loyal 1968 Touch N Sew model with a new one this year. After making a quilt out of flannel, the old machine just coughed its last cough! It served me well for almost 40 years. I'm just getting ready to sew the binding on the runner.

That's all for now. Thanks for joining me in my sewing room.

Ludee's Night

Tonight is Ludee's Night. Twice a week Cristian comes by for supper on his way to class. So Meredith and Adrian come over to eat with us and visit after Cristian leaves for school. We are trying to introduce Adrian to some playtime with fun toys and music. Tonight he was looking intently at the little shapes hanging from his new Playful Puppy gym.


Treasure is adjusting really well to his presence in the house, but not too well to his crying. After a while he got bored with the gym and, realizing he was now hungry, he let out a wail. Treasure flew off her perch atop the sofa and ran straight to the crib with a very concerned look on her face. And we positioned her up on the stairs so she could see just what was making all the noise! Here she is, Adrian's little sentry.



That's all for now. This is what I look forward to two nights a week for the Fall term. Now I've got to get back to my stitching!