Cooking School

I did a cooking school with friends this past weekend. I love breaking bread with buddies and when you get to do it yourself (without the tedious prep and messy clean up) it's even MORE fun. Can you tell I am excited? I am making my first crepe, and it turned out terrific. 

We started with a salad, but this was the star. There are roasted potatoes under the beef, and the sauce, oh, the sauce!!

Our dessert, using the crepes we made. 

The men. We met these guys in Norway and this evening happened to be Norway's Independence Day, so a bit extra special. 

My buddies!  Love, love, love these ladies!!

The guys in action and the women imbibing! I drive, so they can!

Bake and Pray

This weekend was spent in the kitchen, baking and praying for some folks I love. I wanted to send cookies to my almost 10 year old grandson along with his mom, who celebrates her 34th the same day. Then my brother turns 62 the following day and SIL#1 turns 40 the day after that. I also made a second batch of Thank You cookies that I will take down to the medical center tomorrow to give to all those folks who are part of my care team.  They are the best! I have my check up and expect to hear GREAT news about my current cancer status. I know I am doing better as I can do some pretty serious weight training again, along with cardio, and I do just fine! Whoohooo, here's to good health again! Lovin' it. After being forced to be a couch potato for nearly 4 years, I don't ever want that again, it's GOOD to MOVE THAT BODY cause then you can have an occasional cookie!

The CAR shirt

This is a long promised shirt for Bro#3. It took me a while to get around to making it, but I finally did. He wanted a different fabric, but it is no longer available. I like this because it reminds me of him when he was little. He would sit in the car any time we went anywhere and announce each and every car that went by, saying the make, model and year! Annoying to a big sister, but I was also very impressed with his ability. He is still a pretty cool guy and I am glad to have him as one of my brothers. This one seemed particularly easy to line up the front closing and the pockets. Impressive! 

On the model! What a cool guy. 

I light this candle . . . .

When I visited my mom recently, we were able to attend a Memorial Service that was done by the hospice organization that took care of my mom and dad as my dad was dying. What a blessing they were to our whole family. Being so far away, it was a comfort to know that there were people there for them, that knew how to deal with the last days of life, comforting not only my dad, but my mom as well. It was an extremely stressful few weeks, and at times I wasn't sure how my mom would get through it, but she did, with hospice help. They even are there for her now, in the first year after his passing, to assist her with the transition and challenges of this huge life change. She is managing well and I am so grateful. 

Loss comes is so many forms, death of an older person, death of a promise of life and so many other types of death. There is also loss in dealing with an illness, an accident, abuse, any type of loss that falls short of our expectations. Some can be very shocking and sudden, other's are painfully slow and hard to watch. Loss is the result of life, and will never be easy to take in. I have seen people do it with grace and have seen it break people down. There is no formula to follow in dealing with this inevitable part of life.  I rest in HIS promise, I know there is far more beyond this place we reside for a time, I know that all will be well, regardless of how we cope. When there is great loss, I step WAY back and know that I, and all those around me, are in the Palm of HIS hand. A comfort, to sit in HIS presence and take in HIS peace. 

The Blue Shirt

This shirt is for SIL#1's birthday coming up. He picked out the fabric earlier this year. At first I thought it was rather a heavy fabric and wasn't sure how it would turn out. Turned out nice and he is one of those who is always a tad cooler than the rest of the world, so the heavier fabric will suit him well. 

The Mustang Shirt

I have gotten better and faster at getting the shirt front and pockets to match up.  This one is for a brother who is soon to have a birthday. Still takes a bit of extra time and fabric, but makes for a really fine shirt, and I appreciate the details. We seem to share our creative gifts with one another. He does some mean woodworking. 

Another non sewing post!

I recently returned from a trip to spend time with my mom. It was a good trip, a relaxing trip, a trip that seemed more like a retreat than anything else. I was lazy, I only walked three times the whole 10 days. I read five books, saw several movies, experienced a lovely memorial service put on by hospice, had several lovely lunches with my mom and some of her friends, got to hear a wonderful hand bell choir, listened to a priest share his experiences in Rome during the transition to the new Pope, enjoyed dinners with my brother, visits with my sister-in-law, a bit of shopping, a visit to a lovely conservatory, attended mass, enjoyed the library, and even got some paper work done, phone calls made and a few lessons in technical stuff. 

1. It's always good to visit mom.