Happy Easter

Wishing you all a special Easter with your family and friends.

Easter blessings,

Carrie

Magna Cum Laude

I was doing a bit of organizing, cleaning generally moving some dusty things around this morning and uncovered something. It is a little book, The Sixty Sixth Baccalaureate & Commencement for Northwest College, May 2002.

Listed their under Baccalaureate Degrees was my sisters name:

Christie Amans……..Magna Cum Laude…..Bothell, WA

I went and googled to get the definition:

According to Wikipedia.org (even though its Wikipedia its true I learned it in Latin class), these terms are called ''Latin honors'' and are used to "indicate the level of academic distinction with which an academic degree was earned."
Here is a list of Latin honors, in order of increasing level of honor:

• "cum laude" (Latin for "with honor")
• "magna cum laude" (Latin for "with great honor")
• "summa cum laude" (Latin for "with highest honor")

By GPA: Graduation with honors 'cum laude' requirements can vary but in general: Cum laude grade point average estimates: gpa for cum laude - 3.5 to 3.74; gpa for magna cum laude - 3.75 to 3.99; gpa for summa cum laude - 4.0+.

I went to my sisters graduation ceremony and do remember noticing this, but I am just so proud of her that I wanted to share.

Christie is a wonderful sister, I have to say she really has made my life so special for many reasons. She is 6 years older and really included me in her life. She has always been a giver of her life and treasure. She paid all of my travel expenses to go see our Mother in Yuma last month. Just one example of her generosity towards me.

She went to college and became a Dental Hygienist then moved from Oregon to San Jose, CA to go to Bible College for a year. There she met her future husband and made life long friends. She lived in California, where I visited many times, and Texas, what a fun place to visit too!!

The last 12 years her family has lived in Seattle, we have spent most Thanksgivings with them there. After 4 years of moving to Washington she had a big decision regarding her career. She decided to go back to college and get her Baccalaureate Degree, in her 50’s. She was going to college, writing term papers and had an outstanding time doing it.

She has a new career now with Home Instead Senior Care, where she is Human Resource Manager. And I must say she is really a perfect fit.

Christie I am reminded of how very proud of you I am and how lucky I am to be your sister!!

One of my most memorable moments with Christie was in Maui. My daughter was getting married there and we traveled and stayed together with Christie and her husband Larry. We were at the beach going snorkeling, but not Joe, he says no way! Sharks you know!! Well after trying to get flippers and mask on while standing in the surf…..

Christie and I are finally out in the water, sand out of our masks…..Larry is still not so sure. We are saying, "come on in, its great"……. then we see Joe behind Larry waving his arms and everyone else on the beach is too!! So we thought, lets go in closer and see what they want. Well what they wanted to say was there was a shark between us and the beach and now we were swimming right to it!! All I can say is Ignorance is bliss!!

When we noticed we were the only ones in the water we thought just maybe something was up for sure!! LOl……we never saw the shark!

It was fun and we went down the beach a ways to the rocks where more people were and continued our snorkeling…. it was a very fun February memory.

We celebrated Valentines Day very quietly, had a great steak dinner and Joe gave me a very pretty bouquet. Watched some Olympics, I just love the Olympics and always wish they would show them earlier in the evening. We are going to bed after midnight for goodness sakes…..lol!!

Thanks for listening to my sharing of my sister, I would love to hear your special memories too!!

Prim blessings,

Carrie

Visit with Mom and Quilt Show

Well I was so excited to go out to lunch yesterday I did not look at my post very closely.  Oops…..I didn’t upload any of the quilt show pictures.     Lol….guess that gives me a good reason to come back today!!

Like I mentioned, the weather was quite rainy, 1.89 inches in twelve hours.

Here is the rain pouring off the patio,  the best thing is mom had no leaks.   Mom did some updates to her park model in Yuma, it is the perfect size now for her and guests when we come to visit. 

We were going to go up to Tucson for a couple days but changed our plans because of the weather.    We did find a local quilt guilds quilt show with a nice vendor attendance.   These first two quilts were the viewers choice winners from the previous year.

quilting detail.

I love this one!!

 

These next two had the same maker and were hand quilted.  So beautiful.  I chose this first one as my viewers choice favorite.

 

If I had to choose a favorite, or which one would I want for my home this one would be my choice,  I loved the colors and the raw edge quilts are so cuddly.     And I just had to keep my sister in the picture.  :))

We enjoyed the vendors attending the show.    My goodness I was mesmerized by Liberty Homesteads booth.  They had been to the Road to California show and are attending some small shows on there way home to Kansas.   I have never seen there quilts in person and fell in love immediately.  We purchased some of their dyed muslins.    Books or pictures never do justice for the real item do they.  They asked for us to not take pictures of there booth so sorry no pic’s.

One day we ate lunch at this bakery/deli restaurant that I can not remember the name of to save my life.   But….here are some pictures of their desserts of which we did not indulge.     I would today if I could have a take back.    Do you make desserts like this?

These strawberries are so big!

OK enough of that stuff, yum!!  

It’s super bowl Sunday this weekend,  are you watching the game, having a party or celebrating at your local quilt shop.   We haven’t been real big football fans the last few years but I am sure we will watch some.    We are going to make some homemade Pizza.   I will share the recipe and pictures. 

Prim Blessings,

Carrie

Here I am!!

Happy 2010 dear blogging friends.   It has been a very long time since I posted and I appreciate hearing from you letting me know I’m missed, MIA and receiving your encouragement.

We, like most of you, had family visit us over the holidays.  It was wonderful and very fun.  We were so pleased to have Joe’s whole family with us over New Years.     My house was filled to the brim,  Joe and I still talk about how fun it was to have everyone in our home.

Last month my sister treated me to a trip to Yuma to visit our mother.   We were really looking forward to some warm sunny weather.    LOL…….how about some sun and lots of rain, wind and  a fun time anyway.    As it goes, the day we drove to Phoenix to catch our plane it was sunny and getting warm.    

It was sunny on this day, we were in Old Town Yuma for the Lettuce Festival.   We purchased some fresh fruit and Asparagus for dinner.    It was so windy we didn’t spend to much time but opted for a nice warm restaurant for lunch.

We looked up quilt shops and while visiting one learned about a quilt show.    We went and I took some pictures:

 

This week we have a friend staying for the weekend.  Meka is staying while her owner is off  to Sun Valley Idaho.    

It’s a bit crazy here with our 5 lovable GWP’s,  my daily conversation’s go like this…..”put that down” , “give me that”, “that’s not yours”, “take that out of your mouth”, “Hey! Bring that back “,  “Off the table”, “Off the washer” and “Where did you find that?”      And that is just with Casey!  Joe calls him our demon dog, but really, he is just the youngest and is still in the VERY busy, nosey, destructive stages of puppyhood!!

Casey, Pepper, Meka, Slide

Casey,Meka,Slide,Pepper and Jake

 

Daisy Mae,  its just impossible to get them all in one picture.

This weekend we will take a few walk abouts, maybe a couple will get a haircut.    Pepper needs one,  but don’t ask her and Meka, well you just don’t come stay with Carrie and not get some grooming.   Poor thing,  she always thinks she is in trouble.   I will take some pictures because I know you are dying to see more pictures of my dogs.  LOL……..

I have been finishing up details on my BOM blocks getting ready to set them together,   they have been so much fun.   I love all the wool, never never get tired of working with wool.   So pictures of that too coming up.

This year I have really resisted joining a multitude of wonderful projects and will focus on finishing my BOM first.    One thing I will keep up with is my Jo’s Little Women group at Sew Many Quilts.         Then late spring I am going to sew along with the Wool Crazy girls.   If you visit this link today you are in for a real treat.    I’m so looking forward to this project.   I have the wool  that’s for sure,  are you Wool Crazy too?     I have been following the posts and wow, they are looking wonderful.

Well my DH is here now and he is taking me out for lunch!!!    It’s Thursday and  Baldy’s has Baby Back Rib special every Thursday.   Yummo!!!   There the best ever!! 

God bless each of you and have a wonderful week.

Prim Blessings,

Carrie

Merry December

WOW!! The Month is half over and I am writing my first post. Good thing its not my job huh, I’d be let go…….given the boot…..adios amigos!

Time just goes by and another day goes by and I don’t get this done. It is fun once I sit down and get going it must be the starting thing, unlike my quilting projects, there its the finish thing.

Anyway Thanksgiving was quiet and very nice……..gee I won’t go on about the last THREE weeks and bore you but it has been that long. Bad Girl!!!

Did you see the blocks on my header. I LOVE them, Kindra made them for me as a gift. Isn’t that just so nice of her. I have seen them around in blogland and spoke with her about them and she up and surprised me this week. I love surprises, they are so fun!! Thank you Kindra, I will treasure them.

Not to be to corny but our blog name kind of becomes our “brand”. It’s been fun this past year sharing my ordinary life like it was book worthy. LOL…….but really life is a big deal!!! I could get real philosophical about the whole thing but suffice it to say we all are worth it. Right…….I mean I spend hours reading all of your wonderful blogs and it is amazing how we all become so important to each other!! Where am I going with this? I have no idea……. but I know those blocks make me smile and blogging wasn’t even something I new much about 18 months ago.

I finished a fun project this week, I had to use a life line and phone a friend about the little noses! Yikes, I haven’t done alot of embroidery and this project had TWELVE noses……

As you can see they are somewhat of a focal point and I was wanting them to be perfect………well I got over that and just jumped in because my lifeline has her own life and has been very busy!!! She did call me today and reminded me we have a mutual friend who I could also have asked. Thanks for the call, it meant alot!

This mat is a Christmas gift and will be off Monday with the rest of the gifts to Omaha!! It is a Primitive Gatherings kit called “Love Ya Man!” It was so much fun to make, working with wool is wonderful.

We are enjoying a kind of heat wave today……..it is 50 degrees warmer than last week. We had more than a week of below zero temperatures and today we are 45. Its awesome!!! It is blue skies and sunny!! It’s almost like summer.. lol!

When we get cold weather we have the biggest icicles, they are pretty cool. I was loving them until I watched the news and they showed pictures of house with ice damns ruining there roofs causing $$$ of repairs bills. So I went out and knocked them down, changed the channel and watched something less scary. There were alot homes and businesses with broken pipes this week and I am so thankful we were not one of them. It kind of makes average temperatures something to be thankful for!!

A friend has started a new blog!!! Michelle of Mocha Moochell used to live in Bend and found mister wonderful and now lives in Portland! She has recently started quilting and is finishing up her teaching credentials. Go over and welcome her to blogging, she is having so much fun with her quilting and has some wonderful quilt shops to share with us!! I will get over to see you, your quilt shop sounds wonderful!

A little update on my boys……

Here they are with Mom at the piano. Krista is a music teacher, doesn’t she look happy!! We will miss them this Christmas, they are growing so fast!

Hayden is walking and is just adorable. They were so fun to shop for this Christmas. Look forward to more videos on Facebook.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy all the festivities leading up to Christmas. My week is full of parties and decorating, I can’t seem to get it finished this year!

Prim Blessings,

Carrie

Holiday baking

This past weekend I got the baking bug and started working on my bread recipes.    It is a good work out for the arms making bread that's for sure.    Years ago I made bread every week, I had a few recipes that we enjoyed.   But  homemade bread is not the best for my diet,  :))  I love it too much  so I let it go by the wayside.   The holidays is a great time to  do some though,   I am working on a wheat dough that is  a bit lighter for some fluffy rolls.        This is a batch of 50 % whole wheat flour and 50 % white flour.      I am thinking I will reduce the wheat flour but first I am going to read through some recipes to see what else I could change before reducing the amount of whole wheat.   

Here it is in my rising bowl we will enjoy eating it over a couple days then try again.

While Joe was hunting with Pepper, Slide, Jake and Casey,  Miss Daisy Mae was my buddy for the weekend.     She wasn’t happy at all about being left behind.

Daisy had surgery for the second time on her accruciate ligament.    The crimp holding the line together didn’t hold both sides.  So the vet did the surgery again for us.   Poor little girl, she will be 10 in April  and will miss hunting this year.    She was enjoying being let out of her crate since she was the only one at home.

And when I told her I would put her on the blog she  perked right up.   She loves attention  and was looking forward to the taste of fresh baked bread.   

I made  up my favorite apple cake recipe a couple weeks ago, its out of A Taste of Oregon cookbook.    

Hood River Fresh Apple Cake

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup shortening

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

4 cups chopped cooking apples

1 cup chopped nuts

Cream together sugar,  shortening, and eggs.  Sift the dry ingredients and add to mixture.  Add chopped apples and nuts.  Bake in a greased 9 x 13-inch pan for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.

SAUCE: 

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small pan combine sugars, margarine and whipping cream.  Bring mixture to a boil, and then add vanilla.  Pour sauce over individual servings of cake.  It may be warm or cold, but is particularly good warm.   Serves 12 

This is one of my favorite fall recipes.  It goes together  quickly and is delicious!  This sauce has the most amazing flavors. 

               

I made an apple pie too.    I use premade pie crusts,  I use to make my own but these are really easy and flaky too.

I let them sit out of the refrigerator at least 20 minutes then roll them out a bitter thinner,  I used my leaf shape cutters to make vents and decorated the top of the pie.

I brushed the top crust with egg whites then sprinkled with sugar.  It make a pretty pie!

Today I am making pumpkin pies and rolls and looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving.    Yesterday Joe and I went to the store and bought Turkey and all the goodies you need to make the meal.     It was fun doing the shopping together.

This year we are not going to Seattle,   we are staying in Bend.    So we are cooking a 20 lb Turkey and taking it to a homeless shelter and spending some time there serving food.   We are looking forward to our day,   after all the tough economic times here in Central Oregon its exciting to just get out and share with others.     We know we are going to receive much more than we give.  

We are so blessed to have a home and good health, the love of family, and Central Oregon is a fabulous area  to live.     We have great neighbors we enjoy,   friends that bless our lives and  Joe and I both have been able to enjoy our hobbies  so much this year.    

We are cooking a smaller Turkey for our celebration,  actually we picked out a 12 lb one and it looks much to small…..lol.   I’m sure it will be more than enough!!

I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with your loved ones too,   God Bless!!

Hugs,  Carrie

Friends are one of life’s treasures.

While I was in Omaha last month I took an outing to meet up with Kindra, who was just by chance participating in a local craft show. Kindra and her mother are a crafting team. So I was so pleased to meet both of them, and see there booth. There booth was full of wonderful handcrafted items and I enjoyed finding a couple special items. It was near the end of the day when I got there so it was slow and we had time to visit, bloggers are just the nicest people and Kindra it was a real treat for me to meet both you and your mom.

I wanted to buy the big star that Kindra made out of reclaimed wood, no way it would fit in my bag so I bought the cute tree that was still there. It will be fun to find the perfect spot for it this Christmas. I love the hand towels Pam makes, they are wonderfully soft and embroidered, I love baskets and she had some done in red and green. My favorite colors. Then there was this wonderful saltbox scene that just pops. Well Kindra, it was one inch to tall but I carried it proudly in my carry-on bag without any problems.

Krista was not able to make the trip, my son was sick that day, so she stayed home with the boys. I missed sharing the trip with her but she loved the towel so I am going to order some for Christmas gifts. I will make it a point to take the trip to see Kindra again on another visit.

I finished this Schnibbles, Winter White, last month. I used the Blessing line by Brannock and Patek from Moda. I am not keeping up with the schedule at all, but that's going to be ok with me I want to enjoy the process and not make a burden out of it.

A few more embroidery stitches on a couple blocks and then I will be ready to sew the blocks together. Karen showed the finished quilt on her blog and it is just so cute with the scalloped wool border. I will be sewing it up soon.

Anne of Cottons and Woolens was so generous and did some shopping for me at quilt market. I gave her some cash and a wish list and bless her soul she got everything on my list.

Maggie Bononami’s new book Nature’s Offering, it is full of wonderful projects big and small. I am definitely putting a few on my 2010 to do list. Primitive Gatherings new pattern along with a bundle of their new brushed wovens. They are fabulous and yummy!! Anne I am going to copy you on your sashing and post’s, they say it is flattery :))!! And a bundle of Jo Morton’s Toast II, and…… three bundles of Andovers Wuthering Heights. Holy Moly this is better than Christmas. I love them Anne!! You were so sweet to take that extra luggage and share the joy with others!

This is a sad time for Anne, know I am keeping you in my prayers. I know you are being surrounded by friends and family who will be a strength for you!! Hugs!!

I went shopping at Country Sampler in Omaha too, I knew Anne was shopping for me at market so I was very good and boring. LOL… its not fun. They have Fig Trees Mill House Inn in flannel, boy that really had my attention but I do not have a little girl to make a quilt for and I just couldn’t justify another bundle to decorate my sewing shelves. They have so many wool kits and goodies there that it is the most fun. I have a couple kits to make up for gifts so I didn’t need to indulge, but its fun to see them made up and not just pictures. What I purchased was there embroidery threads, they carry Weeks and I needed some colors for a couple projects. No one locally carries it so I was tickled to find some. I bought Krista a yummy scented candle. I found some primitive light strands in brown for my mantle that I will use soon. It was fun to browse the store, they have so many wonderful samples it was a treat!

We are having some cold Fall weather with snow in the mountains. Many people will be traveling the passes for the football and basketball games in the valley, my youngest son is going over for basketball so I am nervous for safe driving conditions. The pass is such a beautiful drive, I just don’t like packed snow and ice at all. This doesn’t get better with age, you know what I mean!!!

Tomorrow a local quilt shop, Stitchin Post, in Sisters is having their pajama sale. It’s a big deal with 30% off between 6:30-8:30 am and an extra 5% if you were pajamas. It’s a lot of fun and I am going to meet my girlfriend who lives there and we will see what we can find. You know you can save online tomorrow too, they are giving a 25% discount to online sales. Yeah, I like to share the love with you!! Then we will go out for our favorite coffee shop and have some breakfast too! A girl works up an appetite with all that excitement!!

I am thankful for my friends, blogging has brought many new wonderful people into my life and I count you as my friends. I hope I get the opportunity to meet you in person too. God Bless and have a wonderful weekend.

Hugs, Carrie