My Favorite Quilt

My mother-in-law's family has quilted forever.
 When you had a large family in early Texas,
homemade quilts were a necessity.

Here is my favorite quilt, made by her side of the

family. Perhaps you remember she comes from a
very large family...10 girls and 2 boys.

 

 Depending on how I fold it up, the quilt can be
quite soft or quite dramatic, but always colorful!

  Taking center stage is the square made by
"Mother" Mattie Savage, who lived to be
almost 100 years old despite having 12 kids.

My mother-in-law has agreed to tell me the
story of each person who created a square as
soon as she's had a chance to recover from
her latest hospital adventure.

 In the meantime, I keep the quilt tucked away
in my sitting room with the chicken pillow to
keep it company.

I know some of the ladies who made the squares,
and some I've never heard of. 

 There are a few people I can't wait to hear the
story of...bold AUNT TILDA and MITTIE are
at the top of that list!

Those are some pretty bold colors they
chose, considering it was probably early
1940's when this quilt was done.
 

I know that because my mother-in-law and
her sisters signed their quilt squares with
their maiden name Savage.
All except for Aunt Nola that is...who used only
her first name. She was as flashy as the bold
red material she picked out!

 Nola was a hairdresser with her own shop.
She liked makeup and jewelry. Lots of jewelry.
Could you tell by the square she made?

 I'm looking forward to hearing about soft Grace

 ...and sturdy Opal. 
Looks like Opal wanted her signature to last...

 When my mother-in-law gave me this quilt,
I struggled with how to clean it. It had been
packed away for a while and stored. I'm very
allergic to dust mites, so clean it I must.



I was going to have it dry-cleaned, but then thought of
the horror stories I'd heard about old wedding gowns.
 Who wants to be known as the family's quilt killer?



There's a quilt shop in another small town close by.
I planned to talk to the shop owner to get a ton
of instructions on the do's and don'ts.

 Then one day, while reading the signatures, it came
to me that these ladies used rugged stitches and
cloth of their day, and they had wringer-type washers
back then that must've crushed the hell out of stuff...
 
they were probably laughing at my panic and
indecision right now, from their sewing circle on high!



So I got out the Woolite, set the modern machine
on delicate, and said a prayer.



I'm happy to say we both survived.



Thanks for dropping by!

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How I Lost 18 Pounds And Got Rid Of Aches And Pains

Let me start this post with a warning:

I don't recommend you do anything without

consulting with your doctor or medical advisor.

I thought I would share with you a personal

issue today...being overweight and in pain,

and what you might be able do about it.

Maybe it won't work for you, but Wild Bill and

I have shrunk this month. So much so that we

are weeding out our clothes and donating them

to the local charity thrift store.

I haven't shared this with you, but Wild Bill's

mother collapsed on June 8th and was rushed

to the hospital. Her main artery was 100% blocked.

She owes her life to the paramedics who got her

heart working again - twice - on the way to the ER.

The docs at the hospital put in a stint to open her

artery and kept her fully sedated for 5 days in

the ICU to give her body time to recover.

She's doing well now and back home.

Wild Bill and I joined the gym the very next day
after she was rushed to the hospital.

We paid for a full year so we wouldn't back out.

That was baby step #1.

Before you say you don't have time or money for

a gym, let me say we committed to going 6 days

a week for only 30 minutes a day.

We could do that at home, but we both like the

structure of going to the gym, and we like to

exercise early...like 5 or 6 a.m. early!

The exercise we do could easily be done at home.

I like to walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes going

three laps around (3/4's of a mile) and then do

sit-ups, the back machine, and the leg machine.

Remember...I said baby steps.

That's baby steps for me.

I used to walk 3 miles every morning back in

my 30's, so I know I will be able to increase

my mileage as time goes by.

The key is to ENJOY what you're doing,

that way you'll keep doing it.

After about a month of exercising steadily,

we were ready to tackle chemicals--baby step #2.

I read The Coconut Oil Miracle and got rid of

all oils except coconut oil and olive oil. Now I even

put a teaspoon of coconut oil in my hot tea, cocoa,

and I would put it in coffee --if I drank it. Try a

little of it in your hot drink and you will find it just

makes it taste creamier. And your lips will be

sooooo smooth!

I've written before how I use coconut oil to remove

my makeup with a wash cloth in the shower. Well,

now I slather it on my face as a moisturizer. I do it

several times a night. In fact, I got rid of all my

facial cleansers, moisturizers and other products.
Believe me, after 9 years of rosacea, I had products!

Again, consult your doctor before you do anything

drastic like this.

Finally, step 3 for us was food...
I read Living Paleo For Dummies. This

was the book that finally got through to me, despite

the fact we have about 10 other books on Paleo,

Atkins, and other low-carb lifestyle plans.

We gradually reduced our intake of flour, sugar,

starchy veggies, beans, milk and processed foods.

Finally, around the end of July, we got rid of

all those foods from our kitchen for good...
I even gave away all the canisters!

On August 1st, I weighed myself at the gym on
 their doctor's-type scale. When I weighed in again

on the 24th of August, I had lost 18 pounds!

Better than the weight loss, the constant pain
I've had for years in my hands and one leg is
almost completely gone. I credit giving up grains
and using more coconut oil for this change.


I'm not ready to share before and after pictures
yet, but I will when we get farther along. 

I'd love to hear from anyone who has had
success with lifestyle changes and/or has
any tips to share.

Thanks for dropping by!

P.S. The book advises to use virgin, organic
unrefined coconut oil. It's easy to find in any
store, including Costco and Sam's.

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Aged Basket Finally Completed

A while back I painted a laundry basket

with a mix of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and

Vintage Market And Design paint.

My next step was to age it down further

with some clear and dark wax.

I love the color of the baguette tin basket I

bought at Three French Hens in Wildwood MO.

I tried to match that aged color.

Here they are together...

 I used a mix of Annie Sloan's dark wax

with Miss Mustard Seed's clear wax...

 Why? 

No reason. Just the first ones I grabbed when

I reached into my bin of waxes.

 Here's a close-up of the basket with just paint...

and with dark wax...

 The wax made it darker and "browned up" the

gray of the basket.

 I like it against red for Summer...

and with the Fall colors, which are my favorite.

The throws are new from Pottery Barn.

I like the look of them, but don't think they

will hold up very well if actually used.

 I don't think I'm done with the basket.

I'm thinking of adding some stenciled numbers

to the front that I've seen some others do.

 

Thanks for dropping by!

 

All opinions expressed are my own.

Here's a link to Three French Hen's store.

 http://threefrenchhensstl.com/

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School Already?

Benny Bear starts school today.

 Hard to believe 5 years have passed so fast!

Seems just yesterday, Jaysa was 11 days overdue...

and we were eating lunch after her doctor's visit,

when she felt (finally!) her first contraction. 

And after a long day, and an even longer night,

we were all so happy to see him! 

 And hold him...

 

 Especially Dee...

 

  
Just a month later, he was a troll doll for St. Pat's Day

He found Grampy's antics funny.

 

Started nursery school...

 had exciting adventures with mom and dad

and helped me cook...

He became a superhero...

...and a fireman...

and big brother extraordinaire!

So really, all that's left is to get an
education and tackle the rest of the world.

 Right after breakfast this morning...

Hope first day of school goes well.

Thanks for dropping by!


P.S. For all you other grannies out there
who resisted getting a smart phone as long
as I did...shame on us! It is so wonderful
to get pictures as soon as life happens.

Talking Tables

One simple question here girls.

Yeah, I know the men won't like this so

I'm just talking to you women!

Have you seen this table on the

Restoration Hardware website?

Yes...I am in love!!!

I texted these pictures to the middle daughter happily

expressing all the love I was feeling for this table.

I mean, I wouldn't possibly pay that much for it, but

I can dream it might go on a drastic sale someday, right?
 

 Her only response:

"What's Bill think of it?" 

Well, I hadn't run it by him because men are

completely irrational about wood staying wood...

 So, I ventured on the wild side and asked!

You don't want to hear his response,

but I can tell you it started with "OMG..."

(and not in a good way)

I have a table that's kind of the same style, but a little

shorter. I think I'm going to try to make it look like this
while I'm waiting for the big "someday" sale.
After all, Wild Bill did express that any nutcase
could do a... "*&%#@!" ...paint job like that.
And, to hear him talk, I'm well qualified!

Wondering what you ladies think of the look?

 Thanks for dropping by!

Buy Pairs, Not Singles

A while back, I read on someone's blog a tip

on decorating that has stayed with me...

Don't buy a decoration smaller than a baseball

I have a huge problem with loving the "littles"

so I really took that tip to heart.

Now, I have a decorating tip I'd like to share.

I've learned this the hard way!

Don't buy smaller decorations in singles,

always buy them in a pair if it's available

 About a year ago, I bought this little round

picture. I loved it, but never hung it up because

it was too small for most areas or just seemed

dumb by itself.

There were several different birds to choose from

so I could have bought a pair, but chose not to.

Yesterday while down in McKenny, I found a sister

for my little bird picture at a consignment shop.

 Now, I've finally got a place to hang them

since there are two...

 They seem to go well with my tub full of faux

flowers and a bird's nest or two...

 I'm sticking with faux flowers these days.

 With the heat in Texas during August, it's

hard to keep real ones alive.

Thanks for dropping by!

Partying here:

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