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!