• For the love of Sock Monkey and sewing…

    January 23, 2013 / No Comments

    I love sewing.  I especially love sewing for my grandchildren.  I have just begun using my new sewing machine this week and it is definitely a little more complicated.  I have to stop and read the machine manual from time to time, but I’m not complaining.  In time, I will have the whole thing figured out and will be back up to speed.

    My thirteen year old granddaughter has had a growth spurt this past year and her closet is looking a little bare.  If you’ve shopped for clothing for young teens, then you know about the choices out there.  To be honest, it’s a bit appalling to see some of the clothing the fashion industry thinks a young teen might wear.  Not this sweet Christian young lady.  So, her Mom and I have been busy sewing dresses for church.  She loves all animals (she wants to be a vet) and especially horses.  I found the most wonderful fun horse fabric and created a dress and vest ensemble.  She wears it with her boots and it is absolutely adorable.  I am now in the process of sewing a red corduroy dress for her.

    My eight year old granddaughter is a happy camper when she receives her big sister’s very nice “hand-me-downs” and her closet is far from bare, but I wanted a make sure she had a new fun outfit as well.  I found an adorable rich brown corduroy Sock Monkey fabric at Hancock’s and knew she would love it!  She does.  I created a skirt from the Butterick B4722 pattern (the one on the model) and ordered a white cable-knit sweater from Old Navy to go with it.  It is a very cute outfit!

    I have six granddaughters and am looking forward to sewing for each of them!

  • Heimlich hugs…

    January 22, 2013 / 5 Comments

    Last night, I had a sweet visit with my firstborn via Facetime.  While it is not as good as an in person visit, of course, it is the next best thing.  The grandchildren were already in bed and I didn’t get to see them but that gave my son and me a little extra time to catch up.  He is a physician, board certified in both pediatrics and tropical medicine.  He spent the first few years, after residency, practicing in a pediatric group in an “upscale” setting.  While he enjoyed it, he longed for more challenges and an opportunity to work with those in greater need.  He spent the next almost seven years as a missionary doctor in the Andes Mountains of Peru.  He and his precious family loved the opportunity and the Quechua people.  There, my grandchildren quickly became bilingual.  (My son and his wife had taken about 6 to 7 months of intensive language school in the beginning.)  While in Peru, they also adopted my beautiful “Peruvian Princess” granddaughter.

    When they returned to the states a couple of years ago, my son accepted a position teaching at an outstanding medical school.  He teaches residents and medical students preparing for a future in pediatrics.  (And he has a much better disposition and personality than Dr. House!)  😉  He sees patients in a clinic setting as well.  He still uses his tropical medicine specialty teaching in frequent mission opportunities and at the medical school.

    He told me about an episode this past week which, thankfully, had a happy ending.  A three year old boy presented in acute distress after aspirating a GRAPE!  It was a scary time as he and his team worked to save the young child’s life.  At first, repeated efforts of the Heimlich hug were unsuccessful.  The child became unconscious and the parents were hysterical.  They were just before having to perform CPR, when one last abdominal thrust dislodged the grape!   No doubt the parents as well as my son and the rest of the team breathed a big sigh of relief.

    Over a long nursing career, I participated in more than my share of “codes”.  I’m thankful that I don’t have to do that anymore.  However, I am around four of my precious grandchildren often now and need to review my CPR!  I also need to teach them how to correctly perform the Heimlich maneuver.

    And I don’t think that I will feed them grapes anytime soon…

     Featured photo at top:  my son biking out west during college.

  • The dining nook…

    January 22, 2013 / 5 Comments

    When I posted “a little tour” of my new home, I mentioned that I would share photos of my dining nook when I purchased a table and chairs.  My daughter, her two youngest children and I ventured to the furniture store before Thanksgiving.  Grandchildren are very helpful and actually wise beyond their years (especially my 8 year old granddaughter) when it comes to selecting furnishings.  It “had to fit all of us for Sunday dinner” according to my sweet girl and she proceeded to explain how this would work.  There are two extra chairs in my storage room on the lower level.  The table has a hidden leaf which can be opened to an oval which seats six when needed.   We actually scoot in the computer chair too and it seats seven!  Otherwise,  the table looks like this.  Right now, there is a protective cover on the table and my sewing machine!  It’s the perfect place to sew and watch old classic movies at the same time if I so choose.  😉

     

    In past years, I have used the shelves on the hutch for favorite dishes.  This time, I’m enjoying using it for photos framed in black.  I still have several more photos to frame for the buffet.  The perfect place to enjoy my family on a daily basis.

    I have so many books that I needed one more bookcase.  Although I ordered the identical bookcase, the stain on the one on the far left was a little lighter.  After putting it together all by myself, there was no way I was returning it!  Come Spring, when I can open windows, I will try to darken the stain to match.  In the meantime, I really don’t notice the difference and am living with it!

    I love this little setting.  The antique was a gift from my children’s dad on our twelfth anniversary…many years ago.  The angel was a gift from my daughter and her family.

  • I have a dream…

    January 21, 2013 / 12 Comments

    I grew up in Memphis, Tennessee.  I’ve lived in the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest, but Memphis will always be home.  My roots are there.

    My husband (of thirty-nine years) and I were living in Memphis on April 4, 1968…the day Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated.  We were a young couple expecting our first child living in a small apartment on Jackson Avenue.  Little did we know that morning that evil lurked in the heart of a man in downtown Memphis.  Like many sheltered young people, we had not seen, firsthand, such raw hatred and ugliness.

    Along with the rest of the nation, we were in shock when we heard the news.  We were appalled and sickened.  There would be other times in years to come in this land that hatred and prejudice would show their ugly heads and lives would be ruthlessly taken, but that was later and this was here and now.  I close my eyes and try to remember that week.  Mostly, I remember the upheaval, the sadness…the tragedy of it all.  I remember it being a time of FEAR and discord for everyone – regardless of race.

    On a flight from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest a few years ago, I had an enlightening experience.  I was on a small aircraft with one flight attendant and two distinct sections of the plane:  first class and coach.  I was in coach.  She made the announcement that if we (coach) NEEDED anything to let her know, otherwise there would not be a beverage service (for us) on that flight.  I was sitting on the second row of coach and had a “front row seat” for the show.  She totally catered to first class…warm towels, beverages, nice snacks, etc.  The lights were out in coach.  The gentleman sitting across the aisle from me remarked that he had never seen this before.  Neither had I and it made me mad.  It hurt my feelings.  The Holy Spirit used this for a teaching moment.  He reminded me of all those people who had unjustly spent years at “the back of the bus” or subjected to even worse treatment.  He said this is how it felt.  It hit home.

    Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day here in the United States as it is celebrated near the date of his birth (January 15).  I’ve listened to several of his speeches and I am always moved.  My favorite is “I Have A Dream”.  I have to ask myself what I would have done if I’d been born in different circumstances.

    I don’t have the answers for how to eradicate prejudice.  Prejudice is everywhere and it isn’t always about race.  I still have my moments, as everyone does, but I fight it.  Personally, I think our Heavenly Father sees us through a very special lens…the blood of His Son.  If we are believers, then we’re all the same color – whatever that is.  I think it will be interesting to see when we get to Heaven…

     

    This post was originally published in My Southern Heart.

  • Ozark Mountain Apple Cake…

    January 13, 2013 / 10 Comments

    A long-time reader emailed me one day this week to ask for the recipe for one of my favorite desserts:  the Ozark Mountain Apple Cake.  I had featured it in My Southern Heart a couple of years ago.  She had baked it then and loved it, but lost the link.  I emailed her back with the recipe.  Since then, I’ve had this cake on my mind and wishing for a warm slice right from the oven.  It is moist, apple sweet and absolutely delicious.  It’s actually even better the second day!  So for a sweet repeat, here’s the recipe for Ozark Mountain Apple Cake.

    I baked it this afternoon and the wonderful scent of cinnamon and apple filled the apartment.  I’ll enjoy a couple of slices, share some with my next-door neighbor (I am Southern after all) and then take the rest to my daughter’s house.  😉  I really shouldn’t eat a whole cake all by myself…right?!   Enjoy!

    Ozark Mountain Apple Cake

    2 cups sugar (The original recipe calls for 2 cups but this makes for a very sweet cake.  I usually reduce the sugar to about 1 & 1/2 cups or 1 & 3/4 cups if you’re using tart apples like Granny Smith.)

    1/2 cup butter or margarine or vegetable oil

    2 eggs, beaten

    2 teaspoons cinnamon

    1 pinch of salt

    2 teaspoons of vanilla

    2 cups flour

    2 level teaspoons baking soda

    4 cups peeled and diced apples (McIntosh or Rome Beauty) (I didn’t have those particular apples and it still turned out great!)

    1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

    Yellow raisins (I used about 1 cup regular raisins)

    Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.  Combine well and pour into greased and floured 13 x 9 pan or a large cast iron skilled sprayed with Pam or other vegetable spray.  Bake 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.  Serve warm or cold.  May refrigerate.  Great with whipped cream!

    A bowl full of Granny Smith apple chunks…

     

    The dough will be thick and you’ll wonder if it’s going to work…but don’t worry – just stir as well as you can, spread it out, bake and enjoy!

     

    Fresh out of the oven and a slice cut before I remembered to take a photo! 😉

  • A little Déjà vu…

    January 7, 2013 / 4 Comments

    I was thirty-four years old when my youngest child was born.  His older brother and sister were twelve and ten.  Needless to say, he never wanted for entertainment.  It’s a wonder he learned to walk before he was one year old, since someone was always carrying him, but he did.  When he started talking, it was in paragraphs with an extensive vocabulary.  His outgoing and sweet personality was evident early on.  He still has it.

    He grew up, graduated from college and married his beautiful college sweetheart.  Now, they have an amazing baby girl.  She has the sweetest disposition to go along with her beautiful blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair.  Her mom says she’s just like her dad…and she is!

    Above and below:  love their similar expressions!

      

     

    Below:  walking with her Dad, wearing her Urlacher jersey with her tutu and Mary Janes!