A Gathering

Happy Leap Year Day! On Saturday our forecast was that we would have temps that got up to the 70's, so what better day than to go to the mountains. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Estes it was cloudy,windy and cold-so no hiking for this gal. We drove into the Park and saw the biggest gathering of Elk we've ever seen in one spot. It looked like all the Elk that live in the Rockies were in one area. Couldn't resist taking some pics.

This group is only a very small fraction of the entire group.

The next surprise we had was seeing were Mule Deer; we have never seen them up in the park before.

It was so fun, but we were disappointed in the weather when we got home-apparently the clouds had followed us. Yesterday however was beautiful and we even saw a baby Bald Eagle in a nest~we hope to go back today to get some photos.  I've got a very busy day-walking with friends,  going out to lunch with another friend and then taking a neighbor to a nearby mall to look at a home decorating store.  After quilting yesterday for 5-6 hrs, I think my hands will be happy to take a break today.
Blessings~
Noreen

In-Laws

Happy Saturday to you! Today is a special day for my hubby and myself-it is my deceased Father-in-Law's birthday. Many people have lots of stories or jokes to tell about their inlaws, but I can only tell you what an amazing man my fil was. From the first time I met him, he and I clicked and always had a very special relationship. To say he adored me is not an exaggeration; unfortunately he let his two daughters know it. Pops was in the Marines during WWII as a photographer, we only have a few of his photos left but let me tell you that his photos were amazing. He was a natural born artist(much like my hubby, his second son)and self taught oil painter who did incredible seascapes, landscapes and still life. He has been gone now for 25 years. He had a passion for the ocean and shared that with my hubby. While I've been known to say "the mountains are calling and I must go", my hubby says this about the ocean.

When we moved from our home near hubby's parents, he was so sad and died that year. I believe he would have moved up to the wine country too, if he had lived. He would love Colorado and the beauty here.

One of the books of his paintings we have.  If my hubby took up oil painting, I believe he would have as many beautiful paintings as his family have.  We have several large seascapes and many small ones.  I love his landscape paintings more~old barns and farms in the country are my favorite.

There are so many ways my husband takes after his dad-woodworking, gardening, golfing etc.
So Pops, here's to you-we remember you and cherish the love you gave us and our daughters.

May your day be filled with sweet memories.
Noreen

Happy Friday

Oh what a beautiful morning it is~sunshine and blue skies have the birds singing away. It's hard to believe it is on the end of February. I've got to say it is much easier to climb out of bed when the mornings look like this. It really makes me want to get outside on a walk, which is what Hunter and I are going to do in about an hour. It is only 43 degrees, but will warm up a bit later. Tomorrow is supposed to get up to 68 degrees-wow is all I can say. Yesterday was a great day, I got three borders on the quilt and my goal, after walking today, is to get the 4th border on and purchase the back fabric so I'm ready to pin this weekend. I'm going to grab at least one daughter and have her help pin-otherwise it would take me several hours to get it done. Once it is pinned, I'm off stitching. I've decided to keep my quilting very simple and will have a design on the border; this should help it go faster than other quilt patterns. You may remember my last quilt, I kept adding more quilting to it-almost felt addicted to it, LOL. I'm sure that it will still take me months, but if I spend several hours a day and also the evenings quilting, it will get done. When it came down to it, I just couldn't have someone machine quilt it-it would take away from my joy in the process. This may not make sense to some of you, but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't quilt it. So if I skip a day here and there with posting, don't give up on me-I'm just working on our new quilt for our bed. This weekend holds no plans other than what I shared above. I will probably go on a nice long walk tomorrow though. Don't think I'm ready for the bike yet.
 Joy to you!
Noreen

It's Thankful Thursday and I just have to say I am so very thankful for the man I get to spend life with. Even after almost 38 years of marriage and 42 years of being together, he is still such an incredible blessing to me. Not a day goes by when I don't realize just how lucky I am. Thoughtful, patient(he definitely needs it being married to me), tolerant, fun, loving and kind. Not only the very best husband, but a wonderful dad and Papa as well as brother and a great friend. Yesterday, we took a drive to a quilt store to get fabric for our quilt and then even went to Joanns. I took him by a model home to show him a bench I want him to build for my birthday present(yes, he's very gifted too)and he said no problem. Later, I showed him a quilting ironing board(to enlarge the ironing board for quilts)that I want him to make and he told me to buy the cover so he'd have the right dimensions. We happened to compare the costs of our hobbies, because quilting can get expensive, but he said his golf is way beyond my quilting.

So this morning, we are both home and had a wonderful breakfast. So many friends are battling with cancer or other life threatening illnesses and I realized we just don't know how long we've got on this earth. This year was our year to go to Kauai, but he decided that we would pass on it and use the $$$ for other things. I thought he'd be so disappointed, but we both have other adventures we want to go on.  If you have family close to you and a person you share your heart with, make sure you tell them on a regular basis how lucky you are.
So today, I lift my heart to my beloved and say I'm so glad to be married to him.
Always and forever,
Noreen

Yesterday I had two girlfriends over for lunch and we had such a fun time visiting.  I made a hamburger, onion, mushroom, cheddar cheese quiche and served it with a green salad. For dessert I made one of my favorite gluten free cakes-a Magically Moist Almond cake, the recipe is on the back of Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour package.  If you like the taste of Almond flavoring, you'll love this cake.  It also uses a bit of Coconut Flour and I substitute the Vanilla extract for Almond Extract. If you don't like Almond you might not care for this; it reminds me of Marzipan candy.
I served it with fresh berries as you can see.  My friends and I usually go out for lunch, but I may have changed that.  The quiche was a big hit and actually made two, so hubby had it for dinner last night and probably lunch today.  I was so glad Ruth got a photo of the dessert!  After I cleaned up, I had a bit of time downstairs; I still have one more heart to make today.  Tomorrow we get another pattern.  Right now, I'm heading out to meet another friend and walk with her; if it is too cold outside we will head into the Senior Center and walk their indoor track.  I've got a couple of errands to run afterwards; I've got two grands coming over this afternoon for sewing.  Hunter is wondering why his momma hasn't been walking him-it is simply to cold.
May your day be blessed!
Noreen

A Little of This, A Little of That

Bright Monday blessings to you! I hope you had a great weekend and a bit of nice weather so you could get out and about. Our weekend was fine, productive and relaxed. Hubby was running work errands on Saturday morning, so I got time to sew. This first block was the pattern we received on Thursday and I finally got to it. For those of you who embroider, please don't look too closely-it's been at least 15 years since I did any and it took quite a while to remember how(it isn't the best looking, but it's done). I choose to do this square in other fabrics and not sure it will go in the quilt top I end up making. I will say that working with such tiny pieces has brought out a little ocd in me, which is an o.k. trait with quilting.

Here are the first three blocks and I'm happy with the colors I choose I choose for the top too, but by the end of the year I may be so tired of browns, tans and reds.

Here is one more Honor Flight Square that I made yesterday; I really like the look on this square.  I have sewing with the girls this week and think I may cut out fabric for them and then have each set of sisters make a square with help.  I think it would be a great lesson for them to learn to honor those who have fought for our country.

Today I have to run to the store to pick up a few more things for tomorrow~I'm having two friends over for lunch. I initially thought about just salad, rolls and dessert,  but have changed me mind and am going to make a crustless quiche, salad, almond cake with fresh fruit on it.  This afternoon I am also taking my neighbor to a mushroom farm down the road to see what type of mushrooms they sell.  I may even add some to the quiche.  I'm hoping to sew this afternoon, but also need to tidy up a bit.
On a side note, as I was redoing dates on our white board calendar on the fridge, I realized today was my mom's birthday-she would have been 103, instead she's celebrating with Jesus.  Happy Birthday Mom.
I hope you have a great day today, may you have sunshine and giggles.
Noreen

National Love Your Pet Day

No matter what Hunter's doing or where he is, this momma loves him to pieces(he knows it too).
I simply can't imagine life without him!  So go hug your pet and give him/her some love.
Treats would help too; we are out of Hunter's favorite treats and I need to run to the store later to get some, but for now I'll be downstairs sewing.  In case you are thinking I'm a fast sewer who gets lots accomplished, let me put your mind at ease-I'm still working on Thursday's block and have to make another Honor Flight block. Tomorrow I'll get another block to make and next week, I'll get the border for my quilt top and then once I've got that one, I'll be able to sandwich it and start quilting. 
Enjoy your weekend.
Noreen and Hunter