Jeremy & Hannah's Engagement, Part Deux

Ok, so when we left off, Hannah had just said "yes" and looked in the direction of the bridge.   Both she and Jeremy started to laugh as the sorority sisters broke into hoots and hollers as well as the group of their friends waiting down under the bridge.

The two groups made quite a ruckus cheering on the newly engaged couple.

Awww, how sweet.  I'm so very grateful to have all these pics captured for family and friends to share.

I'm not sure at what point Hannah figured out that the howls of appreciation were coming from her friends.

Oh....yea.....I think it was right about this moment when she realized she and Jeremy weren't alone and that the cheers were for them.

How much fun was that?

And then the funniest thing happened.   A crowd surrounded them and people were hugging Hannah and taking pictures.   I was confused because I thought everyone involved with Jeremy's plan was down under the bridge.   Who in the world were all these people?  Turns out these were well wishers who just happened to witness the proposal and wanted to get in on the happy moment.

Now it was our turn to wish the happy couple congratulations.

We all came out of our hiding spots and joined Jeremy and Hannah on the museum steps.

Friends and family holding the "Yes" signs.

Everywhere we looked there were crepe myrtle trees with their trunks painted blue.  Kinda weird, but kinda interesting, too.   So I'll leave you with one last shot of the happy couple....in front of the blue trees and the bridge spanning the Tennessee River behind them.   I feel like the symbolism is a little prophetic......a sweet young couple planning a new life together, going off into an unknown future much like those crossing the bridges behind them going off into the future.

Joel and I want to wish God's richest blessings on our son and soon-to-be daughter-in-law.   We are thrilled for Jeremy to have found someone so thoughtful, happy and caring to share his life with.   And we are tickled to welcome Hannah into our family and look forward to creating many years of memories together with her as Jeremy's wife.

And so I'll sign off with this pic of a very pretty (pretty to me at least) manhole cover.    Our memories of Chattanooga will forever be changed with all the happy events of today etched in our hearts and minds.

Looking forward to the (about to get busy) next few months!

Debbie

Jeremy and Hannah are Engaged!

Joel and I are excited to announce to you, our friends and family, that today our youngest son, Jeremy, asked his girlfriend, Hannah, to be his wife.   And she said "Yes!".   Jeremy has had this day planned for several weeks now and he invited Joel and I to be there to see him propose to Hannah.   Joel was a little under the weather today so I drove down to Chattanooga because I simply could not miss this!

Jeremy planned for friends of both he and Hannah to hang out near the museum in Chattanooga and then we would all join up with he and Hannah after he proposed.   I arrived an hour before the designated time to allow myself time to find a good spot to take some pics.   You know I wasn't going to miss out on capturing this event on camera, right?

I took this shot from the walking bridge that spans the Tennessee River.   And you can just barely make out the glass enclosed outer deck on the museum on the right.   Yes, that far away!   I was worried the lens on my camera wouldn't be able to get in close enough to see their faces.  As I waited there were about 30 girls dressed in army fatigue green clothes and they were taking a lot of pics of one another.   Turns out it was a sorority taking end of year photos.   A few of the girls asked me what I kept looking at and I explained that my son was going to propose to his girlfriend.  

Well, that was all it took.  They said they weren't leaving until they got to watch the big event, and so they kept peppering me with questions wondering if every couple that walked out on the deck of the museum was my son.   We watched the Southern Belle glide past with a boat load of patrons on board.  

And many people walked up and down the deck of the museum, but none of them were Jeremy and Hannah.   Let me tell you there is a lot going on in downtown Chattanooga on a warm spring afternoon!   There were people everywhere.....parking was at a premium and the sidewalks were crowded with folks enjoying the lovely weather.

Some of Jeremy and Hannah's sweet friends and Hannah's roommates met nearby at The Ice Cream Show and made up signs for after he popped the question.  Hannah's sister and family and other friends also were in on the proposal and they all met up under the bridge, watching the deck of the museum, waiting to shout "yippee" after Hannah accepted the ring.

And then, finally, I spotted them walking up to the museum.   I don't know if Jeremy's heart was pounding as much as mine was.   I was afraid I would shake the camera and get blurry pictures.

Wouldn't you know they stepped up to the glass rail on the side of the deck facing the bridge?   I asked 3 of the sorority sisters to step in front of me so that Hannah wouldn't look over and see me as I snuck in pics in between the 3 girls.

And then all of a sudden Jeremy dropped to one knee and Hannah must have known what was coming next.   How sweet for this mama to be able to watch her youngest son propose to the woman that completes him and makes him so very happy.

I think that was a resounding "Yes!" from Hannah, don't you?

Sure looks like a "Yes" to me!   How very sweet.

Well, you get the picture, right?  Check out the lady off to the right hand side of the pic, grinning at the kids.

And then Hannah heard some commotion.....

Stay tuned for part two,
Debbie

$1,000 Prize and Quilt Retreat

Yes, I won a $1,000 prize.....just wait till I tell you all about it.   I never win anything.....ever.  But did I ever win big time last week.   I am in the process of consolidating all the sewing machines I have collected over a lifetime of sewing and quilting and reducing them down to a smaller number.   To that end I went looking at different brands of sewing machines to see which brand I felt was the best buy for the money.

After doing my research I settled on Bernina, a brand I had used in years past and several months ago I traded in two of my old Vikings for one lovely Bernina that is my everyday workhorse sewing machine.  I log a lot of miles on my machines and they need to stand up to the rigors of all I ask of them.   My new Bernina has not disappointed me.  I am trying to get down to 3 basic sewing machines......my workhorse, a smaller lighter less expensive machine for traveling to retreats and classes, and a serger for finishing the edges of fabrics when I make garments.

And so I found myself at the Bernina Sew and Quilt in Chattanooga last Saturday with yet another of my "old" machines I wanted to trade in on a much smaller, less expensive machine for retreats.   I had been looking online at the new limited edition Bernina 350 and fell in love with the funky painted surface.   Sewing machines nowadays cater to we quilters love of color and they have begun painting all manor of interesting motifs on the front of their sewing machines.   Paint jobs such as this:

How cute is that????   I mean, seriously......this machine had my name written all over it.   So at the dealership I asked about trading in one of my old machines while they brought out the box containing this adorable pint sized machine.   I was already sold.   Just tell me how much it's going to cost so I can spirit it away in my car, please.    And then I remembered I had received a scratch off sales brochure from Bernina in the mail the previous week.   Huh.   I wonder if I should mention it to them.  

Oh, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.   I produced the brochure from my purse and they casually said that I should go ahead and scratch off the section with the "surprise" discount underneath the red coating.   I scrounged for a nickel in my purse and began to scratch off the red flaking coating and underneath was a $ sign and some numbers.   I looked at them and looked up at the shop owners and looked at the numbers again and asked the salesman if what I was seeing was correct.

Yes, my scratch off that I almost forgot to look at was for ......wait for it.......$1,000!    Holy cow!   I couldn't believe it.   Well, the owners were laughing and shouting and took the scratch off card back to a classroom full of ladies, dragging me along with them, to show them that I had just won $1,000 off a sewing machine.   How do you like that?  They even took my picture standing behind the box with my new adorable machine in it and put the pic on their Facebook page.

That cute little machine safely rode home in my car while I smiled from ear to ear all the way back to the farm.    And another fun aspect about this colorful, happy machine is that the motifs are also three dimensional.   Yes, it's says "I (heart) sewing" on it........and I do!
One of my favorite little poems is this one...

I cannot count my day complete
Till  needle, thread and fabric meet.

Even the scissors are three dimensional.   Well, I had already been looking forward to going on quilt retreat the following day, but now I could hardly wait to get there to show the girls the sweetest little machine I've ever owned.    It got lots of use those few days at retreat and it sewed like a dream.  Now I won't have to drag my large, heavy, much more expensive machine to classes and retreats.   This one fits the bill for traveling just fine.

And speaking of retreat.....did we ever have fun.   Here are Kathi and Kathy sucking up the glaze I made for the blueberry lemon scones I make each time we go to retreat.   I think they liked it.   Again.  Giggle.....

Kathy was doing hours and hours of handwork on a new project that is going to be out of this world gorgeous.    She is the queen of fabric "stash" as evidenced by this little pile of fabric choices she had on her work station.

You think this is a lot of fabric?   Ha!    This is a mere sampling of the varied materials she has at home.    Her quilts are wild, colorful, and whimsical.   Yup, right up my alley.   No fuddy-duddy quilts for her.  No sir-ee!

We almost forgot to take a group pic this year and managed to fit one in right before packing up to leave on the last day of retreat.   What a lucky girl I am to have met such a friendly, welcoming, fun group of talented ladies to hang out with.   I wish you had been a fly on the wall to listen to all our hilarity.   We get very little sleep at retreat as we can't seem to stop ourselves from sewing "just one more seam" while yakking about all manner of subjects.

Sorry, Barb, I captured you with your eyes closed.   Barb got tired of sewing and brought out her knitting project and finished up her fingerless gloves.   They turned out awesome with pretty cables along the back of the hand!

What did I sew during retreat, you ask?    I whipped up this child's quilt which still needs to be quilted with batting and a backing.   It's destination is for the Blue Jean Ball which raises money for Kids on the Rise, a non-profit agency that partners with Cumberland County Schools to provide mentoring for kids in need.

And then I quickly pieced together this star quilt which will go to our charity quilts for pregnancy centers in Cumberland County.   Our guild members make these smaller quilts every month to donate to organizations in our community.  It also needs to be quilted and that will be my project for next week.  I also worked on an ongoing project quilt for myself that will hopefully get finished sometime this Spring.

After having so much success sewing at retreat I was really in "get 'er done" mode back at home and knocked out this quilt utilizing all the leftover fabrics from a quilt I had just finished making for my own personal use.   I love these blues and creams and they make me think of winter.

At retreat I had picked up these appliqué snowflakes and they seemed to be the perfect touch to add to this simple design.   Yes, I do have a lot of quilts to load onto the longarm machine next week, don't I?  The fabric leftovers which made this quilt were from the quilt shown below.....

I began this quilt last January and had worked on it off and on for over a year.   Three weeks ago I brought it out and told Joel I was going to sew until it was finished, no matter how long it took.   Well, I put over 70 hours into it over a two week period but I managed to get it done.

 I may have lost count but I believe there are 14 panels of hand embroidered snow scenes.   They evoke a bit of Currier and Ives in that they are scenes reminiscent of days gone by.   And yes, I said "hand" embroidered.   I love to have hand work to keep my hands busy at night while we watch tv.  Once the hand embroidery was completed I had to make a crazy number of blocks to sew onto the panels.   Hmmmm, and make sure I used light enough fabrics in the areas where the panel embroidery would bleed over onto the pieced blocks.   Oh.  My.  Stars!  

It seems that every pieced block was a different size, a different quilt block pattern and all the while I was keeping an eye out to make sure I used soft enough colors so I could finish up the embroidery once all the blocks were sewn together.   Yikes!

The embroidery panels run all across the top of the quilt, down the right side, along the bottom and up the left hand side.   I love each and every romantic scene.  

Quilting this quilt is going to be a real challenge for me as I have put so much time and energy into making the quilt top that I want the quilting that holds the three layers together to be just as special.   We'll see how that goes in the coming weeks.

And so now you have a quick overview of the last week here at Whispering Oaks.  Whew!    But wait, there's more.   I'll show you what else I've been busy with in the next post.

Stay tuned,
Debbie

Girls Can Do Projects, Too

There has been an awful lot of fuss in the news since the election.  Women demonstrating.....the issue seems to change from day to day.   I'm totally confused.     Seriously, there has never been a time in our world's history when women have so many options available to them.   Forget about politics.  Know this:  YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO!  I've never paid much attention to "the rules" that previously designated certain tasks as only for men or only for women.   So instead of demonstrating, girls, pick up your power tools and get the job done yourself.  You'll have a good time, really!

Which leads me to today's projects.  Honestly, ladies, don't let the guys have all the fun.  You men have been playing with tools your whole lives, so working with them comes more naturally to you.   But girls, for this project all you really need is a phillips screwdriver and you, too, can get in on the action.   And there's nothing more fulfilling than seeing a project  completed that you did all by yourself.

I know, I know.   What the heck, Debbie?   Yes, you're looking at a simple doorknob.   A very outdated doorknob.   A "1980's" era brass doorknob.  A doorknob that I have been wanting to be rid of for some time.

 Now, we live in a farmhouse.   A farmhouse that we have gradually been remodeling to suit our current tastes and needs.  If you watch HGTV or any of the hundreds of do-it-yourself shows you are probably already dreaming of projects of your very own.    For me, the creative juices in my brain are constantly coming up with ideas to bring more charm into our little house.   (Much to Joel's chagrin)  And one of those projects involves banishing any and all remnants of the 1980's decor.

I made a quick trip to Lowe's and picked up some door hardware which is conveniently packaged with everything you need inside it to change out a doorknob.   The only tool you really need for this job is a screwdriver but I also opted for using the drill to speed up the removal of the screws on the old knobs.   But really, no special tools are needed!

There are always instructions inside the doorknob packaging, but common sense tells you that first you need to remove the 2 screws which hold the old doorknob in place.   Done.

The doorknobs on either side of the door simply slide out of the door once those 2 screws are removed.   Easy- peasy, right?   Next, remove the screws that hold the remaining portion of the knob "works".  Notice I haven't a clue what in the world this part is called.   I just know it had to come out. Hey, laugh with me, not at me....giggle.

Don't forget to remove the strike plate on the door frame.   That's the metal piece that the door latches into once it's closed.   Here I've already replaced the old one with the pretty dark metal one.  Yea, making progress.

In reverse order replace the old parts with the new parts and using the enclosed screws, tighten up the knob so it doesn't wiggle.    It's all in the instructions.    And you're done!   How cool is that?    I replaced the knobs on 10 doors and now our house feels one step closer to "farm house appeal".

Oh, um, yes.   There's just one more thing.   When you change the color of your knobs you might want to consider also changing out the hinges.   They kinda stand out as not matching now that all the knobs are done.    So, it's back to Lowe's I go.....next week....I'm busy with other things now.  

But when you go to your store, bring along one of the hinges you have unscrewed from your door so you match the size and shape.    Who knew?   Yes, hinges come with either rounded corners or square ones.   You don't want to have to get into working with a chisel to take out wood from your door just to make the new hinges fit.  It's so much easier to buy hinges that are duplicates in shape to your old ones, then it's a simple matter of unscrewing the old hinges and replacing them one at a time.   You won't even have to remove the door that way!

Here's another quick and easy project that I recently finished up.   At Lowe's I bought a pull out metal shelf for under the kitchen sink.   I don't know about you, but that area of my kitchen is always a jumble of cleaners, brushes and a collection of who knows what.   And I despise having to get down on my knees to reach something in the far back corner of a dark cupboard.

Now I can easily glide the shelf out (it fully extends from inside the cabinet) and remove any item I need without ruining my already arthritic knees.   To install the shelf I first emptied all the items from under the sink.   Four screws were all it took to install the sliding base of the new shelf and you're done.   Seriously.   Less than 5 minutes.    And the messy area is now neatly organized.   Now that was a project worth doing!

Are you feeling empowered to do a project of your own now?   I certainly hope so.  You can do it!  And when you're at the home improvement store, why not buy yourself a new screwdriver or two?   I have been doing that over the last 2 years and now have my own collection of tools in a drawer of our butler's pantry.   That means I don't have to ask hubby for one of his tools when I need to do something inside the house.  

Love that feeling of accomplishment,
Debbie

Is Multi-tasking a Good Thing?

Remember when Joel and I tapped our maple trees several weeks ago?

Well, I lost track of how many gallons of sap we collected, but it was quite a lot.   While we were building the decks we put the sap on to boil outside.    It was very windy that day so we set up a piece of plywood as a bit of a wind break to protect the flames of the propane burner and moved our comfy chairs near the flames to keep us warm.  

 Boiling down the sap is a simple task.    We usually put about 4" of strained sap in each of two huge pots onto the burners and crank up the heat.   The goal is to get the sap boiling so the water evaporates.   As the sap boils down to about 1" we add more sap until we once again have 4" in the pot.   Wash, rinse, repeat.   For hours.    And hours.   It takes a while when you have over 15 gallons of sap to boil off!

 So instead of sitting around for the better part of the day we got to work on the deck, making sure to check on the sap every so often.

 Remember this pic?    We were quite busy with the deck.   There was just one itsy bitsy problem.   I got so involved with laying down boards that I temporarily forgot about the sap.   Until I smelled something really sweet in the air....and when I looked down at the pavilion where the sap was boiling off....I saw something horrible.   SMOKE!!!  Holy cow!

 Joel and I ran down to the pavilion and quickly shut off the propane to that burner and when we looked inside the pot, this is what we saw.   Yes.   A charred mess.   And all the gallons of sap we had boiled off in this particular pot were gone.   Aww, man.....can you hear me whining from where you sit?    Yes, I was not very happy with myself.  What a stupid mistake.

Needless to say, from that moment on I paid much closer attention to the remaining pot of sap happily boiling away.    Once the remaining gallons of sap were boiled down and had turned this amber color we shut off the propane under the pot and moved our operation indoors.   The sap needs to be finished off inside where the temps can be more closely monitored.   See how large the bubbles are?    It's not quite syrup yet.

And then all of a sudden the bubbles get smaller and smaller and the whole business froths up.   I checked the temperature of the syrup to make sure it was 7 degrees above boiling water temp and we were done!   Just that simple......

And these are the pretty bottles filled with the luscious gold liquid.   I do believe that is more than enough syrup for us for the next year.   And just think how much more we would have had if I hadn't been preoccupied with the deck?   Sigh.....well, live and learn.   And there's always next year.  Maybe multi-tasking while cooking sap isn't such a good idea after all.

You can bet I'll pay much closer attention to the sap boiling process next year,
Deb