All the news

Well the major news and the news that every thing else revolves around is that I have tennis elbow. I've had it before - it's rather painful. It comes from repetitive motions. When I had it last time it was from spending too much time on the computer. This time it's a combination of work related actions (lots and lots of portioning) and too much time on the computer.

So I'm supposed to be not using the hand anymore than I absolutely have to. Which leads to I shouldn't even be doing this. But I have to tell you I'm going about buggy. NO QUILTING!! What a nightmare! Especially with my daughter graduating high school in less than two months and her quilt not even half finished - and that's the top never mind the actual quilting. sigh.

I have been reading quite a bit. I read the latest Elm Creek Quilters book and have proclaimed it my absolute favorite. I love all the books but the ones set in the Civil War time frame are my favorites. The Lost Quilter is the continuation of Joanna's story - Joanna being the runaway of The Runaway Quilt. Jennifer Chiaverini has a wonderful gift for telling stories. If you haven't read her books this is a wholehearted recommendation to pick one up - soon.



My next book was The Help by Katherine Stockett. I had heard that this book was a "must read" and it certainly is. Set in Jackson Mississippi in the early 1960s it is the story of the white ladies and the black maids who tended to them. It's told in the voice of three different women and it's a page-turner. It's an unvarnished look at the lives these women lived and parts of it are not pretty - as it accurately portrays the times that were not always pretty. Ugly things happen that mirror events in real life - events that I am thankful I was too young to have been a part of. But in amongst the ugly truths about the past of our Country there are the loyalties, loves and risks that these women were willing to take to make a better Country. If you only buy one book this year - buy this one.



And the one I just finished about an hour ago - A Single Thread by Marie Bostwick. I will admit that I looked at this one a number of times before actually getting it. I'm so glad I finally decided to pick it up. And thank goodness this is the first book in the series because I'm not ready to let go of Evelyn, Abigail, Margot and Liza. If you need a book about the encouragement of friends and the need to have friends in your life - this book is it. And they quilt - who could not love a book about a group of quilters? I can't wait until the end of May when the second book comes out.



Next on my list - if my library has it - is Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas. Maybe I'll get the chance to check tomorrow.

Well the elbow is throbbing so I'm off to find my ice bag.

Until next time - hugs and stitches. Jody

Happy Easter!!

Easter is my favorite holiday. Christmas is really great because it's a celebration of Jesus' birth. But Easter is a celebration of Jesus' completion of God's plan. It's the celebration of the eternal life that we can all have in Heaven because of Jesus' sacrifice.

We have also had another celebration this week - our daughter Tasha turned 18. We asked her what she wanted to do and she decided on a road trip. So early Wednesday morning we loaded up the Durango and headed to Washington DC to the zoo. Here's a shot of the kids between exhibits.



Yesterday our oldest son got a fun assignment at work:



LOL. He wasn't all that thrilled. The ventilation was close to nothing and the eye holes weren't really near his eyes. But he's a good sport and did his best. He said it was amazing how many kids loved him from afar but were scared to death to sit with him.

So today has been low key. Our plans for church were not to be so I ended up running to the store for raisin bread and then in to pick up Ryan at his apartment. Rodger made french toast and it's one of Ryan's favorites - and since he was supposed to go to church with us we would have missed seeing him today had he not come out.

We did an egg hunt for Joe and Timmy although Rodger tried to tell them they're too old for it (the eggs were in the back of the shed at the bottom of a stack of bins and the store was sold out of them). But we managed. Here they are as they take off:



On the quilting front, as I mentioned in my last post, I'm doing the A Tisket A Tasket BOM from Bunny Hill (you can click on the link on the right hand side if you'd like more details). I'm making individual wallhangings and I finished up the April one last night.



I can remember a time I was completely intimidated by applique work but I noticed the other night almost every thing I've made lately has included applique in some form. I haven't perfected it - but I'm getting more comfortable with it.

Well there's a ham and some sweet potatoes I really need to get in the oven. So here's a parting shot of Thunder. If you look closely at his nose you'll notice a little red dot. That's Ryan's laser keychain. Thunder loves it. Rodger has one too and one night they were both playing with him at the same time. Great entertainment for those of us easy to amuse. lol. It amazes me how big he's gotten.



Until next time, hugs and stitches. Jody