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| {Mom and Dad in Barcelona, Spain - 2010} |
Today is my mother’s birthday. I crashed her party somewhat - LOL. She had lunch with our dear friend, Sally, and then headed over to the LNS for some socializing and stitching time. There was no intention of my partaking, but my presence was had anyway. I don’t think either minded or at least I hope not :) I arrived to lunch mid-way and I didn’t sit and stitch. I visited with staff instead. Afterwards Cameron and I went home. I think mom had an okay time. Dad is out of town, but he’s taking her out Friday evening for her birthday once he returns from his trip. They’ll have a nice time I'm sure of it. 
Believe (past freebie)
Cameron believed he could build these two towers, with a little bit of mom power backing him up, to which he did succeed. And maybe mama will be successful too if she believes a little more in herself. Thanks for stopping by…Talk soon!
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WHY??? WHY??? WHY??? WHY does my child do such things??? I call Cameron my ER Baby, and for good reason. Where does he come up with these wild and crazy ideas? His big brother wasn't even in the room so no influence there. TV was of no concern. In fact, I can't remember what was on. Cameron just dumped his blocks on the couch. Climbed up between his daddy and me and bombs away. He scared the living crud out of me at first bc it was really really loud and I wasn't expecting him to act like a kitty cat missing his step on a ledge (I was positioned to the right of the couch). I immediately stood up and of course yelled.
I mean, c'mon, are you kiddin' me?!?! Who does this except an insane trapeze artist...who by the way has a safety net underneath them...HELLO!!!! I had my phone right there (it has a camcorder) and caught his second leap of faith, which might I reluctantly add, I let him do so I could show all of you fine folks my Evil Knievel reincarnated two year old. Who's more stupid? Me or my dear sweet, Linda Blair impersonating Cameron?
Doesn't matter...we BOTH belong in the nut house...
Talk soon!
My parent’s vehicle was packed. There was food and luggage in every crevasse. We added the third seat for Jose and Jasmine, the dog, to sit in (they had the most room). Cameron and I had the second row seat and we were without extra space. Mom and Dad had the captain’s position obviously and they were jammed in. I must admit though, it wasn’t all too bad. I pretty much stitched the entire way.
Grandpa is always by Grandma’s side, helping her in every way. They are both so tired but he has taken the role of aid and nurse. There is loving care there for sure. He’s in pretty good shape for being able to take care of her and him at this phase of life. I admire his perseverance (or is it a lack of asking for help?) or maybe because he just has to. At some point, we all will have to care for the ones we love.
Who doesn’t love cornbread? Who loves it when it’s in muffin-style? I do! I do! I probably ate four of these. My mom had the food prepared by Cracker Barrel and I would recommend this for Thanksgiving, or any meal for that matter...anytime. It was absolutely D-LISH!!! I’m not sure how the carrots were cooked but yum is the word. That’s my plate. Less turkey, more starch – right up my alley. Cameron enjoyed his plate of food but I think he enjoyed 
My Dad says that when you’re at grandma and grandpa’s house your metabolism slows - LOL. I think he’s correct. Every time we’re there we want to fall asleep. As my grandma calls them, they’re a bunch of lazy bones ;-) Even Jasmine the dog got trapped in that stereotype. Grandpa loves to play Dominos. Grandma and Uncle Jimmy like to play Rook. Cameron had to get in on the action of Dominos of course and naturally Cameron lost one of Grandpa’s pieces so while out on Black Friday (OMG!) we picked up a new set for him. This photo is just too cute. These grown men in wife-beater tanks (just a term) with a little two-year old child. LOL
Mom, myself and the boys stayed at a nearby hotel bc there wasn’t enough room at the house. Cameron looked so “royal” having breakfast in bed while cozy in his flannel collared Christmas jammies in a white fluffy bed. So regal! Cameron being mechanically and technically savvy was the first person to correctly operate our hotel room thermostat controls. In fact, we couldn’t get him to leave the damn thing alone. Hot. Cold. Full blast. Auto. On. Off. On. Hot. Hot. Hotter. Hotter. Freezing cold. I couldn’t tell if I was dying from hypothermia or just melting away.
The days following Thanksgiving were memorable. Cameron made a real friend in Uncle Jimmy, but then that doesn’t surprise me. Uncle Jimmy was always good with the kids. Cameron took his nap in Jimmy’s arms and Uncle Jimmy didn’t mind one bit. More lazy bones on the couch including the dog. Mom and I stitching together. She’s stitching on a LHN project and I was sorting threads for her on an upcoming project. Jose and his Papa - they always have a good time together.
Target-filled bag of dirty cotton. Must clean cotton.
I managed to start a piece the day we left (Wednesday) and I finished stitching it Thanksgiving Day. Can’t say what it is yet or show it clearly. I still need to get ribbon to finish it up, but it is cute, simple and sweet. I can’t wait to tackle the finishing bc I’m trying something new (to me anyway).
Thankful (finishing unfinished)
On a very sad note, dh’s grandmother passed away late Wednesday night. She has been ill for quite sometime and her health had been declining rapidly over the course of a year. Dh’s Aunt Carol and Aunt Donna have been the most caring daughters a mother could ask for and have done everything in their power to ensure their mother’s quality of life. I’ve stayed in regular contact with Aunt Carol and Aunt Donna over the course of this year and have sent them numerous photos of Cameron so that Grandma Nichols could photographically meet her great-grandson. She always thought Cameron looked like her son (my FIL). I’m thankful dh and I could grant her memories of her past. I met Grandma Nichols once years ago when dh and I were merely dating. I’m not sure if she was spiritual or religious, but I pray she has found her way home to her higher power and that she is reunited with her love. She will be missed. 
It seems that Thanksgiving gatherings are traditional for most families but not for mine. Even though our Thanksgiving Day is spent with family, which is tradition, our holiday plan differs from one year to the next. My parents, brother, and I have always lived a distance from the rest of the family and being married hasn’t changed circumstances bc dh’s family lives in Canada (not to mention their Thanksgiving is in October-anyhoo). My FIL, however, does live nearby.
Since those times every year our TG gatherings changed. Last year we had the addition of our family-friend join us. The year prior my BIL and his (now) fiancé and FIL joined my family (or was that Christmas?), or was that just my FIL? See how jumbled up our holidays can get. The year prior to that one was our last TG spent with my late-MIL, Barbara, who passed away the year after of cancer. My family and in-laws spent TG at their house. It was a memorable Thanksgiving because it was our last with her – a cherished treasure for me.
[Grandma and Grandpa meeting Cameron for the first time. Cameron was 3-4 months old.][Play video – 10 seconds] Grandma used to do this little ditty to us when we were kids. I think it’s a southern thing but what I do know for sure is that it’s a tradition for her tickle a baby this way. ;-)
My mother has organized a TG dinner by having a local store cook an entire turkey feast with all the fixins’ and we’ll pick it up when we arrive. The easy part is no one has to cook or clean up which makes for more family time. The way I see it is none of us are wasting time. This could very well be her last birthday and her last Thanksgiving. I want to savor that memory forever and I want Grandma to carry it in her heart forever as well. This will be one gathering tale I’ll never forget…Thanks for listening to the tales. Happy Thanksgiving and many blessings to all! We're off on our Thanksgiving travels. Talk soon!
Cameron sporting his dashing smile again and the new Christmas jammies his Nana gave him. They have doggies on them.
Since Cameron has been so sick and one of our daily, minute-by-minute challenges has been wiping a snotty nose he’s been influenced some into helping Blue Bear with his supposed snotty nose too. Only Cameron used some of mommy’s batting instead of tissue or toilet paper. Speaking of which...
I am doing better, but I too have a lingering cough. Sinuses are still a bother and my voice isn’t quite mine. I asked Cameron to get me “some” tissue and he brought back the remaining toilet paper unraveled. Isn’t he adorable?! I just had to capture this. Luckily I had the camera on the table where I was sitting. Cameron’s so funny – LOL.
My friend, Sally, gave me a couple of her finished projects to finish-finish. This is one of them by LK. We’ll be finishing it into a hanging ornament which I’ve started, but I’m not posting pics until it’s complete. The orange fabric is for backing the ornament and it’s really cute. The DMC is for twisted cord.
I joined my first SAL a week ago - The Prairie Schooler ABC Bee. I asked the LNS if they would order the first ABC chart (and they did!) and they got it in next day. Way cool! I had a piece of linen (28 ct. Natural) and the DMC in my stash so off on my start I went. I’ll post a progress photo after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Today I experimented with dyeing fabric with cinnamon ground for the first time as well as the usual dyeing process with Rit and coffee. I used scrap pieces for the job. The darker pieces are with Rit and the lighter pieces are with cinnamon and coffee. The grey/blue is with Rit. Just having some experimental dyeing fun that’s all.I hope you all have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday! Hugs! Talk soon!
