Pay It Forward Challenge

I will send a handmade gift to the first three people that leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange.
I don't know what the gift will be yet. My intention is to make something you will know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. You may not receive it tomorrow or next week but you will receive it within the next 365 days. That is my promise.
The only thing you have to do in return is to Pay It Forward by making the same promise on your blog.
Sheri

Veterans Day

My mother's family came from Norway only about 100 years ago but my father's family arrived in Beverly MA from England in 1660. And some grandfather, uncle, cousin, brother, husband, son or grandson has served in the military every generation since. The list is too long to name everyone so here's the latest two, our grandsons Nick and Damian.

I hate war but we have to admire the young men and women that are willing to step up to the plate and serve their country. No matter how you feel about the war we owe them our respect, support and gratitude.

Milisa's Quilt

This is the Christmas gift quilt I made for Milisa. I bought the pattern about three years ago.Finally finished it this fall. It still needs binding,no problem that won't take long. No one is here to hold it up so I threw it over the stair rail. Will try to get a better picture after I bind it.

No, Milisa doesn't read my blog so the cat won't be out of the bag :)

Birthday girl.

Vicky talked about their birthday season. Our family has become so big with four sons, their wives, and ten grandchildren every month is birthday season.(I don't even want to think about cousins etc) I think April and August are the only two months we don't have a birthday. This is our granddaughter Milisa the Nov. birthday girl. She has worked as first mate on her grandfathers fishing boat every summer since she was twelve. She loves it. This year she got her own Captains license.

The Nesting Robin

This is my fourth row for the nesting Robin. The book Dorothy picked was "The Giving Tree" No offense to Dorothy or ya-ll that love it but I did not find the book endearing. In fact I thought it was sad and a little depressing. I think bed time stories should be warm and fuzzy.But that's just me.
Anyhow here's my row. Vicky gave me the inspiration when she said while reading the story her granddaughter pointed out how the little boy had grown. I decided to have the tree grow too. I intended to have a stump at the end but like the duckings ran out of room.
I used Christine Thresh's "Kate & Friends" pattern to make a little boy ,an adolescent, a grown man in the prim of life and an old gray balding man. I made the little boy a towhead ,then the hair getting a little darker as he grew older like my boys did. To make the teenager I used her little boy Dolph and just made the legs a little longer. I was originally going to make the old man in bright plaid pants and a white T shirt. Then it occurred to me that most grandfathers now days wear golf shirts and khakis.
This row has been a real hell march with so many interruptions. Ever morning I'd get up thinking "today I finish it". Then life would get in the way.
The next and final book is "The Polar Express" This row will be a no brainier just a long train in the snow with children looking out the windows. But with DMIL so ill and out of town company coming who knows how long this one will take.

Pumpkins,Puppies and Squirrels

A couple years ago the neighborhood squirrels discovered there is some good eating inside pumpkins. They chew a hole big enough to get their head in and eat out all the seeds and pulp. This year I thought putting them on the back porch where the dogs patrol would discourage them. HA, no problem they just work around the dogs . Our two Jack Russell's, Buddy, aka Fatty Arbuckle and Jack, aka Jocko Bean, Jack O lantern, Jack Sprat,(I could go on for pages of Jack-ums ) Are determined to bag one of the little red devils but so far no luck. Like DH says if they ever do catch one they'll have a whole new respect for the bushy tailed little rats..












Buddy, AKA Fatty Arbuckle and Jack

Environmental Success Story

As we traveled to Eastern Ohio Sat. I snapped this picture of the Cuyahoga Valley as we barreled down the highway at 70 miles an hour.(not allowed to stop on the bridge) The Cuyahoga River can be seen on upper right. Thirty years ago the river was so polluted by industrial waste that the river was dead. Rummor was that it would actually catch on fire. Well through environmental efforts its been brought back and people are fishing in it again. It occurred to me that maybe China's taking all our industrial jobs but on the up side they'll take the pollution with them.