Leading the band in pep songs and playing the cowbell

Here we are- proud of our senior!

Senior Night- OK, so it was Senior Night and even though we had 2 days off because of snow, they went ahead with the games that night (valentine's day) because, honestly, the snow had melted and it's so hard to reschedule these things.
The sports kids had their moments first, with 2 basketball boys and one cheerleader graduating this year. One was an Alphin- one of many of the Vet's kids. Then the band had theirs and I think there were 9 kids graduating, a couple have already left early too. It's a big chunk from the band program. The kids get to write a bit about their plans for the future and Maura mentioned fashion design. It really doesn't matter what they say here, but I heard one of the kids mention going to Fullsail for computer design and I (inwardly) shook my head. I see disaster all over that.
Anyway- afterwards, Maura went off with friends and Steve kinda wanted to watch the game and I felt kinda dumb going and then leaving when my part was done- so we stayed. I liked seeing their passing game. Austin is showing signs of being a strong player, but I think the speed The Alphin kid plays with will be missed.
It's been a while since I've been around other parents, but we got in free because Jennie said I work at the school. A curious look from her - she probably wanted to know if I could sub again yet. We chatted with the Verhyn's and said how happy Margaret was able to help out with DI judging. (Margaret is my friend from Ridgedale who kindly volunteered with me last year for DI judging). I am sorry my work schedule will keep me from doing that again this year- but I really don't have a dog in that hunt anymore and I wish that people who did would step up)
We chatted with the Alphins- joking about how long it will be before there's another one out on the floor. Chatted about Stephens college and wished Maura good luck. They brought some missionaries along with them.
The woman in front of us is a deaf educator and she had an older woman with her that she signed to all night. When Maura came by to ask Steve for some money, I saw her signing about Maura's prom dress. (how did I know? the motion for opening the pop can!) The older woman next to us was a very enthusiastic grandma, cheering on the team. She leaned over and asked if I wanted a momma dog and 4 pups she found before the storm hit. (I politely declined)
That's the way it is in small towns. Connections intertwine.

The donkey for the Easter Sunrise Service

Most of us at the beach

Childhood memories-
IQA is having a contest for Houston with the theme of Childhood memories. I'm thinking about entering it- I think I have some great memories to use. Right now, I'm thinking about a collage of images because I have so many "snapshot moments" in my head. It's interesting to me what those moments are looking like. All of them are outside. Most of them have to do with animals, a few others deal with plants (we owned a plant nursery) I want to keep playing around with images to decide what might be good ones to include.
I have in mind a photo my sister took of me with her new B&W camera with a pile of puppies all over me. I think about swimming and fishing in our pond, the bees my dad kept, the horses next door, the rooster I got from a friend that would chase us into trees. (not nice!) the grapefruit fights we had (no buggy ones!) all the random cats and the fiasco of raising calves (billy is loose again!)
Having azaleas and the moss shed to care for- the coral snake incident, water moccasins chasing me in the pond, eating oranges on the way home from school, grandma fixing me a grapefruit for a snack, and using palmetto sticks for roasting marshmallows. Picking Mulberries. Sunday fish frys.
Girl scouts and camping and hiking. Mom's bucket hat she always wore for Girl scouts. My only birthday party at Aunt Ruth and Uncle David's (only friends, not a family one).
All the time spent at church. Round-up Sunday! Gospel sing in a tent. Singing in the choir- our "special group" with half of us not knowing how to read music. The town's Easter Sunrise service.

The beach and all the fun critters there. taking the swim class at the beach (not in a pool) taking a safe boating class and scoring well enough to get to go to the ape roadside attraction. Our hunting camp in Horseshoe Beach and dad shucking a sack full of fresh oysters. Tarpon Springs and diving for the cross, the weeping icon, and food!
Desegregation, Apollo missions, Castro.
Dad always working and making and doing. Grandpa carving wood and blowing smoke bubbles.
Grandma always reading and good for a snack. Mom involved with church, us kids and being my scout leader. All my sisters (adopted cousins and real) who each helped me out in some way.
Riding my bike when I got it. Climbing the mulberry tree, building a tree fort with a spanish moss cave below.
the thoughts just keep coming, but giving them any sort of order yet, hasn't happened.
A good thing to ponder today.

UFO Projects
I've used this time off to work on more traditional quilts I've had around. The quilt above began from finding the stars at a thrift shop. I finally turned all the raw edges and stitched them down to the backing squares and shopped for reproduction fabric to go along with the real 30's/40's fabric in the stars. This is really a departure from my usual style but I felt I needed to stay true to the spirit of the stars.
I started this one at a retreat I went to in Texas about 2 years ago. It was in commemoration of the "summer of the bat" when Delaney tried to rescue a baby bat she found in the school gym. I sort of made this up as I went along so I do have some issues with the border blocks.
The latest one in progress. I have been playing around with split 9 patch and fabric I got from the SDC costume shop sale. I've added to what I bought from there with some older pieces I've had in my stash. As I was laying out all the blocks to organize them to sew them together, Lola decided to take a nap on them. I have a bit more sewing to go and a border to add then I'll call it ready for quilting.

Fabric sale- An estate sale to dispose of a quilter's stash netted me all this for less than $100.
Downtown Leavenworth, KS- Would be busier, I think, if it wasn't Super bowl Sunday. very interesting architecture.
Did you know Abraham Lincoln announced his run for President in Leavenworth? Neither did I.
One of the houses that faces the river- very cool mix of houses in the town really.
The bridge to Leavenworth crossing the Missouri River.
Downstream Missouri River heading to Missouri.
Hey! It snowed up there! In a year lacking in snow, I was lucky enough to see some on my trip.

Dental work
January 26th (last Thursday) I had my dental procedure done. It takes a lot out of you, so I've been basically coasting ever since. Not something I'd typically think about writing, but in the vein of being honest and truthful about my life events, not exactly something I can ignore either.
I've always hated my teeth. They have been the bane of my existence for so many years. I've seen more dentists over the years with extreme measures for their viability and nothing seemed to work. I've had teeth pulled, capped, root canals, filed, filled, disguised, and gums scraped. To no avail. I finally got to the point where I asked myself, seriously, what is the point? Let's just start all over- let's just be done with it all.
You feel a bit like a failure and that it is an extreme decision you can't come back from. You think you know what you are getting yourself into, but there still ends up being surprises and moments when you think you made a mistake.
So, they gave me a prescription for pain meds (actually antidepressants) to take before I arrived. I can honestly say I faded in and out through the whole thing. I was aware of certain things (like the nova-cane shots) but not a lot of actual procedures. I was aware enough at one point to put on my mp3 player, but don't remember listening to it.
Steve drove me there and back and then again on Friday when they checked on my progress. I am going back today on my own for what I think is a bone spur.
It feels like there's too much in my mouth. the teeth feel small compared to all the gum material. The teeth have a smaller profile on the backside than on the front. Looking at my gums without the dentures in place is a scary thing! I can't even describe how horrific. I keep thinking I can deal with it and they will heal up and look better, but for now, it's just freaky. I've had so many problems in the past with TMJ that it's a work in progress to adjust to my teeth meeting and in the absence of the teeth , going past the point they normally would meet. It's early days and there's adjustment, swelling, healing, and so on, so I don't know which part of this will remain , which part will get better, or what I'll need to get used to. I've progressed to the point I take them out at night and then, I look like an old granny woman. I've not gone out in public yet and try to deal with talking much, but, today I have to because of that sharp thing in my gum. The teeth push against it, making it very sore, so I need to have it looked at. Adjusting to the bottom ones are much harder than the top- perhaps this is one reason.
I've not felt like doing much these past few days. Yesterday I did sew a bit, but I've mostly been sleeping, watching Tv and reading. I started reading "the hunger games" and ended up reading all three books. It felt strangely appropriate to read of the characters' terrible lives as I'm going through a painful recovery.
I've been eating soft foods and dreaming of crackers and sandwiches. LOL I've actually not been enjoying the pudding and jello and icecream. I've been wanting savory flavors- so mash potatoes and gravy, potatoes, eggs, and soup are better, but not really hitting the spot. I'm wondering how to eat veggies. Steve has been great about getting me what I want, I'm just not sure what I want. I am concerned about protein- besides eggs- maybe I should get insure.
So, it's hard to see the benefits at the moment. I am sure I'll get the hang of it all eventually- lots of people do- and I hope I recover enough to be ok when I start back to work. I'll have a beautiful new smile with perfect teeth. I'll share it as soon as I can.

second week off work-
I am enjoying my time off so far by attacking some of the things I've put off.
One- I cleaned my creative space and became friends again with projects I've set aside (otherwise known as UFO's). In becoming friends, I've prioritized which ones to work on first. First up was some orphan stars I found in a thrift store several years ago. I sewed them to backing blocks and then, in keeping with their age, I used some reproduction 30's-40's prints to finish them up. Second up was my "summer of the bat" quilt I stared. I'm actually adding a 5 inch border around what I had and calling it done.
Two- in keeping with a general concept of socializing more, I attended a quilt guild meeting in town. It was fairly close to what I expected and made contact with a longarm quilter which I've seen around before. I handed over a quilt top I finished with fabrics from Quilt Market and we'll see how that goes. The Quilt was based on Modern quilting so it was quick and I think will be good for my son. I was quickly approached to give a talk about my quilting and possibly lessons. That fits in with my general interest these days of how to share what I've learned.
Three- I've spent several hours with my new family tree maker program and Ancestry.com. I've found several people using their "leaf" and now I'm down to making the harder connections.
I can't say I've had any true surprises but it's always interesting to see where you come from and imagine what life was like at different times in different locations. You'd think that I would have run into someone famous by now. LOL I read an account of a distant uncle which described how his father (my distant grandfather) developed the farm from raw land. Basically, he was the first white settler on that land.
Four- I'm moving ahead on my dental work. I imagine one more appt and the procedure will be scheduled. Trying hard not to think too much about it other than wanting the worst to be over when I go back to work.
Five- I've been cooking dinners more now and I finally tried making Risotto. I know, not a huge thing, but the rice to make it just showed up in our stores around here, and, honestly, I wanted to see what Chef Ramsey was always yelling about. Just how hard is it to make the stuff? Turns out, it's pretty easy, but takes a bit of watchful time cooking. I made mine with onions and regular button mushrooms, but I guess you could get pretty creative with it. It's even good warmed up and I had it for dinner a second night.
Sometimes, the schedule of people around here is hectic and often last minute changes rule. Tonight, I was going to miss one kid from dinner, then a second one, then the third- so Steve and I ate leftovers. Later, I picked up the girls (plus one) from the game. Somehow, Maura has become the acting drum major for pep band. Apparently, the real ones either quit or can't be bothered. (not sure what's going on there) She is still working hard on scholarships and was invited to be in a wedding too. She has quizbowl this Thursday and something Friday and she wants friends over Saturday. I learned all this while waiting for Delaney to buy notebook paper this evening. Interesting life!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I am sitting here this morning with one more day of Painting parasols at the park ahead of me. Last night, attendance was more than projection and I'm thinking tonight might be as well. The nice weather has brought people to enjoy the last week. My sister Ann even surprised me with a visit. I looked up and there she was (looking really great too) with a couple friends from church.
Since I've been so busy this week, I've not had a chance to post here about Christmas or my anniversary or the play Maura was in.
The play was first- It's called "Promedy" and was basically a comedy about prom- Maura (who played Dante) wanted to go with a cheerleader, who wanted to go with a football player, who liked the goth girl and then there was the geek, who ended up with the promise of 3 different dates (one being with the entire volleyball team) and ended up with none.
Maura did a good job of playing the rebel type guy. The prom theme was a mash up of underwater, renaissance and future, so she wore the cape, spongebob slippers and dueled with a starwars laser.
All in all the kids did a good job and most came over for the cast party afterwards. (I was working, so that was all on Steve)
For our anniversary, we got each other sappy cards and Steve had one of our wedding pictures enlarged on canvas and I bought him a silver celtic design ring with the word "more" engraved inside. We did a bit of shopping and then had an early dinner at Landry's (which was a bit of a disappointment taste-wise, but we didn't mention that to each other)
Christmas morning and I woke up at 5 remembering I didn't bake the pies yet so i was the first up. I finally woke everyone about 7 and we celebrated Christmas. After gifts were opened, i spent the next few hours in the kitchen, we ate about noon and then I napped a few hours. When i got up again, i made some snack food for dinner.
I am very excited about a couple few of my gifts. I got a new Kindle reader which is about the same size as my old sony one, but half as thin... so light, I'm not having problems holding it while sleeping.
I got the new version of family tree maker- so I'll be delving into that again, on my time off. I got a new ruffler foot for my sewing machine so I'll be playing with that too.
I just learned i have to take Delaney to work, so I have to get a move on.
Love to all!