26th Anniversary Celebration

Ed and I will celebrate our 26th wedding anniversary on the 30th of this month so we went on a quick getaway to Galena for the weekend. It was sooooooooooooooooo cold! -13 degrees! We had a great weekend regardless of the weather. Ed was a good husband and heated up the car and dropped me off at the door so I wouldn't freeze my toes. We stayed at a victorian mansion built in the 1880's called the Cloran. We would highly recommend it, the owners were gracious and the breakfast was the best!!!

We had some wonderful meals, not particularly in line with my attempt at healthy eating these days but I guess it could have been worse!


Of course there was a quilt, bead, and yarn store in the agenda!!!! Phat Quarters Quilt Shop was very nice, had a great selection of fabrics and patterns and a nice and helpful staff. The more I move and travel, the more I appreciate kindness and helpfulness in stores!!! Galena Bead is a very fun store. Nicely layed out, fun owners and staff and they have a great selection of beads and supplies. My other favorite store in Galena has to be the yarn store. Though I don't knit as much as I used to, I still love wonderful yarn and will still answer the call to come into a yarn shop!! Fiber Wild! does not have a web site yet, but said they were working on it. This is a beautiful yarn shop. The owner is very, very friendly and helpful.

On the way back to LeClaire on Sunday we stopped at the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque. This is really a great museum, very well done! We kind of hurried through it to get home to watch football, but well worth the visit if you are ever in the area!

We had a wonderful weekend in Galena and I really look forward to going back when it is maybe 75 degrees!!!! Thanks Brad for watching Bear and the kitties!

Visit to Mannheim, Germany

A couple of weeks ago we visited our friends Steven, Susan and Jonathan in Burstadt, Germany. They are our long time friends from when we lived in Mannheim. It's always wonderful to see them! Ed and I spent almost 7 years there raising our kids. We have so many wonderful memories. The military community in Mannheim is like a ghost town now, so many young men and women deployed to Iraq. I believe allot of their families have gone back home. I think I would have done the same.
Ed worked at Coleman Barracks in one of the aviation units. He arranged the placement of this Huey helicopter in the front of the installation when he was stationed there and it is still there!!!

12 Days and Counting!

12 more days and I'll be home! I told two of my kitties we are moving and this was their reaction ;) . I have not told Gabby the little one, her mental status is much too delicate for the stress. (Yes, kids, I am indeed a freaky old cat woman!)

Sorry for Not Posting

Sorry for not posting to my blog in a couple of weeks, I've been in major denial. That is usually how I cope with change and stress - denial and lots of carbohydrates! Those of you that have seen my hips know I'm not kidding!!!! Anyway, not a good example for my now grown up children, but I do the best I can. I guess I could have worse coping skills! The big news is that we are headed to the Moline, Illinois area at the end of July. I was hoping for the southeastern United States to be closer to the kids, but Moline is only a couple hour plane ride away or a very, very long days drive.

I was born and raised only about 45 minutes from Moline, and after living all over the world it seems strange to me to be heading "home." I have many bittersweet memories, as I'm sure most people do. It will be wonderful to reconnect with family.

Ed and I have been looking at real estate sites in the Quad Cities area (Moline, Rock Island, Illinois and Davenport, Bettendorf, Iowa) for houses. Housing prices seem to be more affordable than they were in North Carolina. It's hard to tell since we are not checking out the whole neighborhood though. It has always been a dream of mine to have an old house. Now, I know that is a relative term, old to me is 100 years old, I know that is nothing over here in the Netherlands, but that is old enough for me. I love the craftsman style prairie houses of the early 1900's. They have such beautiful wood work in them. I haven't found too many Victorian houses. That's ok, I think I saw too many horror movies that had Victorian houses in them as a kid and I think they are all haunted! Ed is really drawn to brand new homes, which are fine, they definitely have their pluses. I'll let you know who wins!

So it looks like the end of July we will be headed out of here with our three cats. It will be crazy, we will have to buy 2 cars, a house. I don't think Ed will want to ride his bike to work in the States like he does here!

We are planning one last mini trip - "mini" due to the costs of the above paragraph!!! Ed wants to go to Normandy and I want to go see Giverny where Monet lived and then spend a day or two in Paris. Looking forward to it!

Birthday Pictures

Here are some pictures from my surprise birthday party that Ed gave me - very cool! There were like fire works on my cake, much better than 47 candles!!!!

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

I can say without a doubt that motherhood has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me. It has also broken my heart, made me mad as hell, made me anxious and worry, and taught me what true unconditional love is. It has made me laugh so hard I cried and so proud that I thought I would surely burst. I consider my now grown children my closest friends along with my husband Ed, I am truly blessed. I miss you guys and love you soooooooooooooooooooooo much!!!!!!

Thank you Frau King

A lovely woman recently passed away, Judith King. She was a very dear, special lady who was so kind to our family. Steven, our good friend in Mannheim introduced us to his mother when we were stationed in the military there. I loved to hear her stories about WWII and what life was like. There are many things I will remember about Frau King. She loved to have guests in her home and would spoil them by setting out her special china and silver and serve delicious coffee and pastries. I remember once she had me over for coffee and I hadn't drank coffee in the last 10 years due to being pregnant and nursing babies. I didn't have the heart to tell her I didn't drink coffee after she layed out such a pretty table! I was so wired from the caffeine of that strong German coffee, (I haven't stopped drinking coffee since!) Frau King tried to teach me to knit in the continental way. Unfortunately I never got the hang of it and am still a "thrower." At Christmas time she still used real candles on her tree!!!! She had our family over and she lit the candles (and yes, the tree did catch on fire!) No big deal though, she simply squirted it with a spray bottle of water! I started quilting in earnest when we lived in Germany and Frau King had me make some items for her. She had a collection of antique white linens and lace that she asked me to cut up and make into a quilt for her. I was very reluctant to cut up such beautiful pieces of fabric, so I was able to persuade her to just cut up the damaged ones. It turned out quite pretty and I hope to make one for me one day.

I never thought I would see Frau King again after we left Germany for Colorado. It's funny how life twists and turns and you never know where you will end up. Seeing Frau King again after moving to Holland last year has been one of my highlights of being back in Europe. All three of my children were able to see her again before she passed away and for that I am grateful. She was very special to us. I will miss you, Frau King.

Spring has arrived!

Spring has arrived in Holland! The daffodils are out in full force on our patio and the flowering trees are doing their spring thing. It has been a beautiful week - SUN! Wonderful sun!!!

Brad was here visiting on spring break, it was great to see him.


I haven't done allot of quilting this week - but hopefully I will get back to getting my current projects going again. I did baste my Lone Star and appliqué quilt and started quilting it though. I added a pieced border to it containing the other fabric in the star and appliqué - and I think it will be ok. Ed is playing golf - so I am off to quilt!!!

My Baby Girls

Never in my wildest dreams would I have hoped or believed my girls would ever learn to play nicely together!!! They were born 17 months apart and I think until recently have never stopped fighting! I believe they still have bite marks that they had given each other on their arms from when they were little! I'm glad you both are becoming friends - especially with me and your dad being so far away. You make me proud! Love you!!!!

Tommy is Here!

Lolajasper

Our kitty family is all with us now! Ed brought back Tommy from the States last week. He is doing well (Brad - you made my cat really fat!) Gabby and Willy are slowly adjusting to having their big brother back in their lives. He loves the patio and hopefully he will not jump off! Tommy's favorite person is Ed, and this is his favorite spot in the house - on Ed's chest! I apologize in advance to anyone that visits that is allergic to cats!!!

Sampler Quilt

This is one of the first few quilts that I made. It's a quilt that has very special meaning for me. My mother bought me the fabric for this quilt the summer she died. It was difficult to work on it as I was so sad. This quilt is in memory of her.

The quilt at the bottom of the bed is an embroidered quilt from the 1940's, maybe 1950's. I found the top at a Salvation Army Store in Colorado Springs, Colorado and paid $5 for it! I finally had it machine quilted a year ago. The quilting lines were already marked on the quilt in pencil!

Wedding Quilt

Lolajasper

This is the wedding quilt I made for Krisi and Chris. Hand appliquéd and hand quilted with a little bit of machine piecing. I injured my shoulder one month before the wedding, so I had a difficult time trying to complete it, but I was determined to give it to them before we moved to the Netherlands. Krisi is my pink girly girl, so of course it had to be pink!

Kelly and Tommy

jellykasper

My daughter is crazy! I love her for taking such good care of my cat, Tommy! (Yes, she is walking him)

Christmas!

Christmas was wonderful! First of all, the kids were here! It was so nice to see them! It was bitter sweet though - cuz it only makes me realize even more that life has definitely changed, and my children are now grown! I am so proud of them, they are all terrific , good and kind human beings. I am very fortunate. I still struggle with what to do with my time these days. I don't see an end to the frequent moving for the next 20 years or so, I will have to adapt. Wow did I just get melancholy, sorry!

Again, Christmas was wonderful! I caught a cold, but that was probably a good thing. It gave me an excuse to stay home and Ed took Krisi and Chris to Amsterdam for a speedy jam packed tour. They were definitely able to cover more ground without me!!! I would have been asking "where's the cab!!!!" We went to Mannheim, Germany to see our good friends, Steven, Susan and Jonathan. It is always wonderful to see them. They are just like family to us! We went to a Christmas market in Strasbourg, France that was very beautiful. On the way back from Mannheim we drove up along the Rein river valley to see the beautiful castles. I think it is more pretty in summer, but it is still awe inspiring in winter!

Christmas is not so commercial in The Netherlands as it is in the states or even in Germany for that matter. It was very nice and understated! I probably gained 5 pounds over the holidays, sampling all the goodies. They have the best spicy goodies here!

A Little Bit About Me

I'm 46 years old, have three children (ok, 3 adults.) Kristen is an eighth grade English teacher, married to Chris and living in Virginia. Kelly is a journalist for a newspaper in Virginia and Brad is a junior at Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina. I have three cats (all orange tabbies.) When each of the kids went away to college, I replaced them with a cat! It did help somewhat with that awful empty nest feeling. The picture is of Krisi's and Chris's wedding with our family.

I had a bad shoulder injury in June so have been slow in quilting the last few months, it is much better now so I am hoping to get busy again with all of the ideas in my head.

We're not sure how long we will be here in the Netherlands, but the people are lovely and their are oodles of quilt shops and many talented quilters. I hope to meet more in the future. I usually try to rope in a quilt shop when Ed and I go on a day trip. He hasn't complained too much yet!

Denial Got Me Through It

Denial got me through it!

I haven’t posted since April, but this is what has been happening:

-Sold the house in Apex, North Carolina
-Flew on an airplane 11 times in 3 months (yes, believe it!)
-Quit job (Yeah!)
-Packed up overseas shipment to the Netherlands
-Kelly graduated from James Madison University (Yeah! See pictures)
-Helped Krisi with wedding stuff
-Rented 3 U-Hauls for the kids so they could cannalbilize our possessions!
-Packed long term storage and air shipment to the Netherlands
-Said goodbye to Tommy (cat that Brad is taking)
-Flew to Michigan to see Larraine, Greg, Andrew and Lizzy
-Fell while in Michigan, dislocated shoulder, compression fracture and torn rotator cuff
-Krisi and Chris were married July 8th! (See pictures)
-Got to see my cousins that I haven’t seen in 12 years!
-Said goodbye to my 3 babies (Krisi, Kelly, Brad)
-Said goobye to Tazy (dog that Krisi and Chris is taking)
-Flew to Amsterdam
-Moved to Enschede, the Netherlands
-Settling in hanging curtains and pictures

Whewwwwwwwwwwww!

I’m tired, but it’s nice to be back living with Ed, even though he does snore! We have a pretty two bedroom apartment and the only thing I hate is that it is not air conditioned. It has been so hot here. No one has air conditioning so I guess we are all in misery together! I’m trying not to think of my nice air-conditioned house in Apex! At least we won’t have the $500 electric bills for air-conditioning!!!

One nice thing about the heat is that it is too hot to cook! I’m not sure if I remember how after not cooking for a couple of months! We have this teeny, tiny oven. I asked Ed where I put the batteries because it reminded me of the “Easy Bake Oven” I had as a child. The refrigerator is cute and little too, though it necessitates going to the grocery store every day! That makes it hard to stay away from the bakery!

We are hooked up on “Skype” so we are able to video call to anyone that has downloaded that program and has a web cam. Definitely nice to see the kids plus it’s free! I’m lolaj19 so if anyone wants to call me, please do!

Well off to do some more decorating.

Trip Back Home

It's been a crazy week. Ed flew in from Holland and a couple of days latter we flew to Moline, IL for orientation on his assignment overseas. I was really impressed, the people were so nice and thorough. A little too thorough as the corporate nurse wanted to give me shots! That's quite ok, I told her I would get them from my home Dr. (We'll see about that!) After the orientation we toured the John Deere store. They probably make more money from their merchandising than their tractors! It was very cool to see though. Made a quick stop in the John Deere Museum before it closed, very interesting. Also stopped by the Isabel Bloom store. Darling concrete sculptures native to that area.

We drove down to Galesburg. It's been 12 years since I had been back to my home town, since Mom died. It was very emotional, but I'm glad I went. Hardest things were seeing my Grandmother Rylander's house and gardens torn down and visiting the cemetery. Best thing? That would definately be seeing my aunts, uncles and cousins on my father's side. They were great and look great too! I've posted pictures in Webshots.

I managed to get on 4 airplanes in 2 days! I hate to fly, but I have to force my self to do it. It's hard to get to Holland by car - so I have to get over this fear! Or at least not freak out about it so much.

We got back and then it was a mad dash to get things done around the house that only Ed could do before he flew back to Holland, like go through his tools and clothes. He's the energizer bunny, he wears me out!

Easter was a weird one. Took Ed to the airport at 11:00am and kind of spent the rest of the day on the phone! It was hard not having anyone here for Easter, I really missed the kids! I'm used to making big Easter dinners and having lots of guests. Life does change doesn't it.