Thanksgiving Preparation

Max and Maycee helped by making leaf cut outs from the jellied cranberry sauce. Unfortunately I forgot to set it on the table for everyone to eat, I just finished eating it yesterday.

The food was good!

Being Grandma

Reading to little Jeffery, so fun to see him so interested he wants to eat the book. It has been nice to take lunch breaks with him on some of the days I work in the Joplin area.

Row Quilt Completed

Using fabrics from my favorite designer Jane Sassman

Com. Dev. Fall Retreat at Walter Woods

Every fall my work department escapes for a two day review and update meeting to this great location between Joplin and Racine MO. We had great weather this year and hiking on our breaks was especially therapeutic.

Fabric lovers

For my fellow fabric loving friends check out the new fabrics/ displays from Houston's International quilt market.
http://www.jonag.typepad.com/

Thought for the Day

In the presence of eternity, the mountains are as as transient as the clouds.

A Couple More of the Wilmott Wedding Photos

We Care Fair

Me and Stephanie set up at the We Care Fair in Neosho. We had planned for serving about 635 students, but well over 1000 students attended. We must plan for a bigger crowd next year. Hopefully the Salvation Army donations will be increased this year during the bell ringing season.

Family Gathering Last Weekend

Tulsa Mall

We met up with Robbin and the kids at the Tulsa Mall last month. I commented on how much Maycee had grown and Max made sure to tell me he has too. Yes he has. I think they are so dang cute!

Jacob and Katie Willmott Wedding

Evening Activity to Clear the Mind

After a full day many of my friends know that my favorite way to clear the mind and relax is to quilt, or knit. There have been studies done that show the repetitive activities of knitting or sewing activate the part of the brain that induces a type of meditative state. However a person does not have to do repetitive activity to achieve this, sometimes just focusing carefully on a difficult math problem or puzzle can clear the mind of the excessive fluttering from one thought to another. Calming the mind is not necessarily the Zen state but very close to it. And a great way to relax.

Zen State of Mind cont.

My favorite way to seek that Zen state of mind is

to start with three deep breaths and go for a walk, paying attention to the sound of my footsteps, if it is too noisy where I am walking I pay attention to my breathing, inhale, exhale etc... as I walk I take in the view of where I am at and say what I am looking at in my mind. If my mind wonders, I say cancel/cancel in my mind and make renewed concentrated effort to pay attention to where I am at or my breath or the sound of my footsteps. The more you practice waking up to where you are at and what you are doing the better you get at this practice, you may even discover that you do it naturally instead of listening to your minds incessant chatter about work, appointments, and other worries.

Zen State of Mind

Ekhart Tolle says, our minds are constantly racing about what happened yesterday, last year or next year. We are trained to think about the future from a very young age. We prepare for what we will be in our adult lives, where we will live, where we will work, who we will marry, where our kids will go to school, how much money we need for retirement. But what about today? Right now; in this moment? All too often we forget to stop and smell the roses that are right in front of us, instead opting to think about what to do when the flowers die and we have to replace them.Preparing for the future is a normal and important part of life, but being able to get back to center is just as critical. Rather than waiting to live later on in life, a Zen state of mind helps us live in the moment and enjoy life as it is happening.To be Zen is to have a clear and completely conscious perspective, even if just for an instant. Many of the thoughts that run through our brains are recurring even when we aren't aware we are thinking at all. It happens at home, at work, while we drive to work. You may recall a product that some have in their homes and offices called a "Zen garden," the theory behind this sand garden is that while they are raking the sand, nothingness fills the brain.How can one get a Zen moment with all the responsibilities in daily life? My next couple of posts will suggest how to get that Zen moment.

Mike Turned 64

Vacation

Well last week was a long awaited vacation. If I count the weekends I had ten days not scheduling my life away. I had a surprise visit from my Brother and his wife the first weekend, then a pool gathering at my mother's home on Monday evening, which included my youngest son, wife, grand baby, and his Nanny. Tuesday I dropped in to see friends who happened to be cooking a wonderful lunch of squash burritos with a Verde sauce, fabulous! Wednesday, Mike and I traveled to Tulsa to meet for a few hours of shopping with Robbin and the grandkids, and then dinner out once Scott could meet up with us. Thursday we traveled onto Ft. Worth to visit his brother in the nursing home and actually enjoyed some time getting to know his wife and step daughter better. By Saturday we traveled back by way of McKinney Texas where we stopped in to see my niece who was home recovering from back surgery, it had been at least eight years since I had seen her. We traveled on home to sporadic storms and then later fireworks. Sunday I woke up too late to attend church so I had a pajama day and sewed all day, over all a wonderful unplanned period of time off.

Dyeing Fabric

The Battlefield Quilters guild met a week ago for a retreat of fabric and fun sewing. The highlight of the two days was dyeing fabric, you can see my team partner was a few years younger than myself, but this craft knows no age. I worked side by side with both my grandmothers as a young girl, it is really cool to share with any age person.

Big Spring Park

Big Spring Park

As I walk near the stream running through Big Spring Park I look into a hollow of trees hanging silently over the water. Nearby are ducks swimming and scratching themselves as little children with moms, and grandmas are spreading picnic blankets and breaking out some lunch as they sit along the brooks edge. Flowers are in bloom, marigolds and petunias of fucia are arranged in special flower beds as you walk near the area where you can look at the giant sized goldfish swimming in the sectioned off pond. Journey further into the park and you hear the sound of children swimming in the pool and playing on swings and slides, yes it is summer in Neosho MO, what a great place to take a break from the office.

Social Workers Feeling Like Rock Stars

Well in these times of serious economic down turn social workers come to work with lines down the street waiting for the social service office to open. Today was the first day of the summer energy crisis program and one of my new co-workers from Joplin sent me an instant message saying, she is scared, there are lines down the street with anticipating clients at 7:30 a.m. I told her that it will be this way until we spend the money. The people trying to get help are either currently disconnected or are in shut off status. We let people who call in crisis know that we have limited staff and can only see those who get out of bed and show up early. The catch on this is that disconnected clients are addressed first so we must wade through that group first at which point those with disconnect notices will also be getting disconnected. The other catch is that if there bill exceeds $300. they must pay the difference before they can recieve help. What a mess! On a personal note I like to fatasize of being home quilting or hugging my grandbabies. Yesterday baby Jeffery recieved his father's blessing, it was beautiful and Paul did not let his son down. We had a wonderful time afterwards where we had a special Sunday Brunch in his honor.

quilting friends

I have met and enjoyed so many great ladies since my involvement with the Newtonia Battlefield Quilters (a guild), this is a photo of a gathering at my home a month ago. Last weekend my friend and fellow quilt muse, Corralee came over and we tried our hand at convergence quilt design based on a short instruction video I had. She brought her hand dyed fabric and I provided a print for the border and we whipped up a linus donation quilt in about 2 hours. We rewarded ourselves by going to a local quilt shop and buying more fabric. We really enjoyed going through the scrap bin and stuffing a plastic bag with our finds, for great variety and a good buy.

Spring - Rainy Day

I received this beautiful bouquet from a friend's garden about one month ago, and on this rainy, overcast day it cheers me to look at them again.

Lots of Family Events

Advise from Dali Lama

Great love and great achievements involve great risk.

When you lose don't lose the lesson.

Follow the three R's:
Respect for self
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions

Remember not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck

Life is Easier with a Friend

One day Chao-chou fell down in the snow, and called out, "Help me up! Help me up!" A monk came and lay down beside him. Chao-chou got up and went away.
Zen Koan

Making Cookies at Christmas

Well it has been well over a month since Christmas but I have been full speed at work since the holiday. This is a photo of my grandchildren helping make the Santa Clause cookies. Max ate alot of icing, Maycee just posed for the picture, she was too small to really help.