Turned a Corner

I believe we've finally turned a corner and are well into the grandchildren's routines. Things are going almost smoothly as we work and play our way toward the week-end. The nightly call from our son and daughter-in-law did not leave the youngest in tears and they all LOVED the dinner I prepared, especially the homemade biscuits. The Valantines are made and in the backpacks ready for tomorrow's school Valentine parties. I managed a small but needed nap this afternoon and felt perky for the remainder of the evening.

Fun With the Grandchildren

Wayne and I have been in charge of three of our six grandchildren (our son's children) for two days and I have a renewed appreciation of their mother's and father's energy levels. Wow! I went to bed early and tired last night.

I'm taking a moment to type this post during a brief "down time." Carly and Fischer are at school. Courtney is taking one of her infrequent naps and Wayne is taking one of his frequent naps. The cleaning women are downstairs (they've finished upstairs which is a miracle considering how little the kids had picked up beforehand.) Courtney went to her once a week preschool class this morning and I had a chance to take the advice I frequently gave to mothers of crying children when I was teaching -I peeled her off and left. Apparently that was the right thing to do because she said when I picked her up, "I LOVE preschool!" They had their Valentine party this morning so I'm sure the bag of cards and candy helped her attitude. While Courtney was at preschool, Wayne and I met Jenny for coffee and bagels at Panera's then picked Courtney up and met Jen and Virgil for lunch at Boyd and Charlie's. My life seems to revolve around food.

Wayne is going to Jack's wrestling match this evening. Grace and Parker (two of my daughter's three children) are coming over here to help Carly and Fischer make Valentines. So far we've had two calls from our son and his wife at their Mexican beach resort. Both calls left Courtney sobbing, "I want my mommy." In between calls she seems just fine. I may quit answering the phone. It's cold and windy. Courtney's word for the day is "blustery." She caught on to that one immediately on the walk through the preschool parking lot.

It may not sound like it but we are having a wonderful time.

Valelntine Doll Dresses

We are driving to Omaha, Nebraska tomorrow to stay with three of our grandchildren while our son and his wife spend a week in Mexico. Our daughter, her husband and three children live just ten minutes from our son's house so we'll get to spend time with them as well. We are fortunate that we can see both families in one trip and we make the nine hour trip every five or six weeks. That's as long as I can stand to go without seeing them! I'm taking ideas and materials for several Valentine projects to do with the kids while we're there. They range in age from almost thirteen to three years old - three girls and three boys. I love hearing from their parents how much they are looking forward to our visit because I am too ... I was born to be a grandma!


I made Valentine doll dresses for my eleven and eight year old granddaughters' American Girl dolls. I've made lots of outfits for them. I love sewing for an 18 inch doll and most of my patterns come from books by Joan Hinds I bought several years ago. One is pictured above. When I looked at them recently on Amazon.com, I was stunned at the increase in prices for some of them. I'm glad I bought them when they were reasonably priced. The patterns are easy to sew and make lovely, well-fitting clothes. I know the girls will like them. My three year old granddaughter isn't into dressing her dolls yet and they frequently go naked.

Trail Ridge Quilters

Trail Ridge Quilters met today for our usual Tuesday afternoon gathering. We are a group of women who make quilted items which we sell at several venues during the fall. All the money we make goes to our local hospital in the form of grants of up to $2000. This group of women is like a family. We love doing something worthwhile for a charitable cause and, even more, we love being together, sharing joys, sorrows, information, advice and laughter. One of my projects this year is making Christmas stockings with a removable cuff that can be personalized with an embroidered name. Using the pattern I've designed, I can make eight stockings from two yards of coordinating fabric. I cut out the pieces for eight stockings today - photo to come. When I've put them together, I'll post a pattern.

By the way, the name of our group comes from Trail Ridge Road which is the name for a stretch of U.S. Highway 34, the highest continuous paved highway in the United States. It is located in Rocky Mountain National Park in my beloved Colorado.