WOMEN AGES 50+ FOR JULY 2018

Heather I am sure your speech for your brother was perfect. You took so much care.

Sue I do hope the wedding went smoothly despite the family uncertainty. Even if your sister does not appreciate you, Bandit knows just how caring you are.

Allie I am so sorry about the exam. I hope that you can take it over soon.

Rebecca What a thoughtful and useful gift. It sounds like your son has many happy memories of Japan. You and your husband provided just the good example to spur all your boys to service.

Lisa What a beautiful quilt. It was just waiting for the perfect time to be finished.

Michelle This must be local cantaloupe day. I also bought two and ate almost an entire melon. I bought local candy onions or the third week in a row. They are not in season very long and they really are very sweet. I just saute them in a nonstick pan with some water and a hint of olive oil. Yummy.

I cleaned all the horse tack from the basement yesterday. I took leathers and saddles to a shoemaker for intensive cleaning. They developed fuzzies from all the dampness. It was a very wet spring and I just discovered that my dehumidifier only made noise. It was not removing the moisture from the storeroom. (Sears scratch and dent is on my errands list tomorrow for a replacement.) I want them to get cleaned and then buffed with a machine so I can get the best price. All the blankets, irons, wraps, and clothing went to two different consignment shops. One is very high end and takes only perfect items. The other will accept things that have been repaired but are still in very good condition. All my stuff was washed, dried, and then spread out on the grass in the sun for a final disinfecting/odor removal. So between both shops, all the soft goods are gone. When the leathers come back, I will consign all of that. My car was packed and that was not even half of what I have had over the last 25 years. I held onto all the stuff even though I gave away the horses a few years ago. Wishful thinking. I could either pay for costs associated with DGD's cancer or pay for horses. I still miss my pony. Since the cancer came back over a year ago (poor baby has only been cancer free for less than a year out of 5) I know that I made the right decision. Also, there was no way I could have taken care of my husband and horses.
Cleaning out everything I don't use is next.

CJ - I'm so sorry to hear about your granddaughter. The worry must be so hard. Of course you wanted to do everything you could for her.
Well done on getting to grips with all that stuff. I am cheering you on. My writing archive is something of the same challenge. I still have a lot to do. It takes courage and persistence.

The renewal of vows ceremony and the party all went very well. DH was not happy sitting through the religious ceremony (my brother is Born Again) , but he felt he was needed to help keep Edie calm. Apart from the pastor there were three speakers - I was the second. I was glad I was before my nephew and his wife, who I knew would be the comedy turn! I did have a couple of jokes, including the deck of cards one, but mine was more like a sermon followed by a funny poem. I think it went down well. Several people came up to me afterwards to say how much they enjoyed it. DH said it didn't look as if I was reading the speech, so that was good. I was, of course, very nervous, but managed ok.
There was a choir and live music, projected words and pictures. At the end people danced around to God's Great Dance Floor.
The dress code was "summer", so there were lots of shorts and colourful shirts! There were bridesmaids with roses and a ring bearer in a flowered jacket.
My DSIL wore a beautiful dark green satin full princess gown with rhinestones. She has gorgeous long, red, curly hair so it was intertwined with jewels and a tiara.
Max and Edie enjoyed the after party with a huge buffet and candies!!!! They did great on the dance floor when the disco started and Max has a great sense of rythmn! I brought AF wine and my son went on to the AF beer. I did ok on the food - lots of veggies and hummus, fresh fruit and a few gluten free wraps with spinach. I did have half a mini pork pie.
We left just after 8.40 and the kids were still in fine fettle. We are seeing them on Thursday again.
It was great for my son to reconnect a bit with his cousins. He last saw them 6 years ago. We lead such different lives , but I think one of my nephews might be up for a relationship with my son. They have children the same age and he is a self made business man. They swapped numbers and emails and we can host them once we are down in Hove.

So, pretty good. It's a miracle DH went at all, so that's a win, and it was nice for him to have Max and Edie there. It always astounds me how huge a family I have! My brother has 6 children from two wives.
The ex wife was there (!!!!!) , so I did go over and say how brave I thought she was and how difficult it must be. I think she appreciated it, but said it was water under the bridge. Her partner was with her. I did modify my speech very slightly because she was there.
I didn't take very good pictures, but will post a couple from my phone when I get to it.

Otherwise, love to all and thank you for your good wishes. It helped a lot.

Heather UK xxxxxxx

Heather - glad your speech went off well, and LOVE the pics... especially the difference between your son's reaction and that of your husband and kids. Kids and weddings don't always mix well... Love the bride's gown, but then, I have a soft spot for emerald green.

Mary - hoping your daughter takes a turn for the better soon.

Machka - so glad to see that you and your husband are back on the beach! Hope it wasn't terribly cold.

Rori - you're the strongest person I know.

CJ - it sounds like a tough few years for you. It's never easy to sacrifice something we love to care for family. There's such strength and honor in the choice you made. I marvel at the depth of that from so many of the amazing women who talk here on this thread. I'm glad you're here for your own support...

I've been busy designing quilts the last couple days. The design stage is the easy and fun part. I've got a request from my favorite niece for a Texas-themed quilt, and got some input from her on what she wanted, and put this design together. The swirly brown is a saddle leather print, and the blue is, of course, bluebonnets, the state flower.



And this one is more of a map than being faithful to the actual colors. The whole time I was finishing up the stippled stain glass quilt, I was designing this next one in my head. I want to use prints in more muted colors than those shown here to develop a Greek key patterned quilt, and then quilt it with a Greek Key pattern as well. If I can pull it off, the back should be just as beautiful as the front. We'll see how it turns out.



But, while I've got the specialty prints ordered for my niece's quilt, they're both in the future. In between packing for my trip today, I'm cleaning up the sewing room from the chaos left behind by the flurry of finishing the quilt yesterday, and getting it ready to be moved over to the new house in the months to come. Finally learning a little patience in my old age, perhaps.

Love y'all,
Lisa in Arkansas

Morning! So glad we’re getting rain, we need it.

Heather . Sounds like a wonderful time and yes, you all got through it. I’ve got a very large extended family as well and those events that bring us together are very tricky. We are large but not close

Mary more and strength for your daughter’s healing.

Barbara if you’ve got a terrier you can loan me, I’ll take it!!

DH and I are slowly planning the trip in August so prepare yourselves ladies for some travel pics and my usual nervous rants about plane travel end of August. We’re headed to Cape Town and driving the garden route with various stops and a 2 day stop over to visit Rachel at her school which is right next to an elephant preserve. First though, we will have a 2 day stop over in Doha Qatar! (DHs idea) which will be eye opening for me I’m sure. This is DH idea of an adventure and I am embracing a part of me I never thought possible—staying healthy has allowed for this, I am blessed

NYKAREN