Movie Recommendation

I'm not usually in the habit of strongly recommending a movie. Movies are like food, so many different tastes. When I do step out with a recommendation, it's really rare.

After renting two duds, I finally hit jackpot!

The Duds:
"Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest" - too boring for me and too hard for me to follow, waste of time (thankfully it was free);
and an even worse movie, "The Break-Up" - this was just horrible, the couple argued the entire time and then went their separate ways. That's the entire story line and yes I ruined it for you. Trust me, I did you a favor! (Luckly it was also free for me.)

But then I got these two fantastic movies. Don's been out of town for a Kansas City Barbecue Society function so I was left to myself and I picked out these two. (Not free, but they were both worth it and I have them for a whole week, so I can watch them again.)

First there was "Mozart and the Whale" - a great movie.
The short description is that it's "a heartwarming romance about two people with a form of autism called 'Asperger's Syndrome'" Although it's a romance, it's very thought provoking. Makes me wonder how we actually determine "normal." And do we even have a right to define that word at all.

The other movie, that I would certainly recommend for guys and gals is "An Unfinished Life". I thought it would be more of a chick flick, but with Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, and Jennifer Lopez it was a tough call. This movie is a must see for everyone, Fantastic! It's a story about a family that is dealing with some losses in life. The scenery alone is worth it, the symbolism was awesome, but the message is one everyone needs to hear. The DVD is wonderful. There are special features and the one on the training of the animals was fascinating, you definitely want to watch it after seeing the movie.

Both of these movies were PG-13 and of course that means the language is not what I would prefer, but if you can get past that .... The only other thing about the movies that was a little difficult for me was that sometimes I had to rewind to catch what was said. Is my hearing going? Maybe it's just that surround sound stuff we have here in our house.

Let me know what you thought!

So there you have it. You may not agree so strongly with me, but I don't think you'll regret renting these.
(Mom, they're on your list.)

Sewing Lesson #2

We have just finished our second item in the sewing lessons. Well actually three items. A pair of culottes (skirt), a t-shirt with two appliqued hearts that match the culottes, and to top it off, a matching hair scrunchie. It took us three one hour sessions. I wasn't so sure about the striped fabric, but this girl knows her style. She wears it well and it turned out very lovely. She did at least 95% of the work herself. Not bad for 6 1/2 years old.

WINTER STORM 2007 Hits North Carolina!

Well that's what the television forecasters kept telling us. Actually they were predicting a "wintery mix" which is what we usually get, snow, sleet, and freezing rain. Down here in the south we stock up on groceries when we get news like this. The roads don't get cleared very quickly and when they do, it's only the main roads. Country roads are usually left to clean themselves by solar power. So here is our first storm of this winter.

Look closely, that's a thin coat of ice on the car with a little snow mixed int for looks.

Again, squint and you'll see a light dusting on the table and benches and look very closely just to the left of the trees on the ground. This is the results of a Southern Winter Storm warning (we actually got the warning, counties further south only got watch status {similar to tornado warnings and watches}).

Granddaughter Update

And of course new pictures of the granddaughter. She's one month old (01/13/07) and she's already busy growing. She weighs in at about 11lbs. 8oz I think (not sure on the ounces.) She's lifting her head and looking around taking in the sights. She visited Grandma's sewing room and I'm sure she was setting her sights on all the things she can get into when she's older. Ummmm....

One month and counting with the hair. So far she's doing pretty good at holding onto her beautiful hair.

It is Done!

Yes, I'm done with my granddaughter's quilt and she's not even in college yet! Hurray for me!

(Note: Elise your quilt is being hand quilted so it's taking longer, I'll try to finish it before your kids go off to college! {She doesn't have any yet.})

My granddaughter, Faith Harwell is only one month old and I'm finished with her quilt. Well I actually finished yesterday, exactly on her one month birthday, but it took until today to get the pictures made and posted to this blog. I almost can't believe myself! It's not perfect, but it's filled with love and will match all of the other accessories we have for her room. (The crib skirt was made long before she was born, but there are are curtains that still need to be made. I'm waiting for their new house to be finished to complete those.)

It's a two sided quilt so this is one side.
This is the other side.


It measures 42"x 30 1/2" and it has a special heart.


This is the label, which was machine embroidered so it can hold up through multiple machine washings. If you receive a quilt from me with a machine embroidered label that means it's suppose to be used and laundered if needed.


So it's complete! Now back to my more artsy stuff.

Spreading the Passion For Sewing

For those blog readers who are fellow quilters or seamstress (or cloth engineers), do you remember the first time you got behind a sewing machine and actually made something yourself? I do, it was an apron. I don't know whatever happened to the apron, but I can remember it exactly and see it perfectly in my head! (Well I see lots of things in my head, but we won't get into that!) Up until that time I had been doing all of my sewing by hand the way my grandmother taught me and I still enjoy handsewing. But I can distinctly remember that first machine made item and the excitement of making it. I got my very first sewing machine of my own for my high school graduation present and although it's retired now (in my attic - it's sentimental) my passion for sewing has only gotten worse through the years.

When my daughter was about 7 years old or so, I signed her up for sewing classes at a local lady's house. She went once a week just like music lessons and learned to sew. She really enjoy making things on her own and was the first in our family to use a serger. Actually when I got my serger for Christmas one year, she had to show me how to use it. She still comes over and sews once and a while, but now it's time to pass on the love of sewing and all things cloth and crafty to my neighbor's daughter.

My neighbor herself doesn't sew, but her daughter just loves the piece goods section of Wal-mart. So now we are beginning our sewing with the same patterns my daughter used when she was first learning. It's with the program, "Kids Can Sew" and it's really a neat program.

The kids sew very useful and fun items such as this bag that she is holding up.


We actually sewed our first item just after Christmas, it was a small pillow. Now she made a bag to carry her things in. Our next project will hopefully be a skirt and matching blouse or embellished t-shirt. Her enthusiasm is wonderful and she seems to be a natural! The food network tells us to cook with our kids. I say "sew with your kids!" It's a valuable skill they'll appreciate one day.

House Guest

Since Mom had her surgery on December 22nd, we've had a little house guest with us. She seems to have adjusted well, and although she is living a little beneath her standards, I think she's enjoying roughing it!

My dog, Holly and Mom's dog, Michou are great pals.
Holly has been given the job of camp counselor her at "Camp Harwell," the name the indoor four legged pampered guest refer to us as because here the dogs stay outside for a good portion of the day when it's not very cold.

Holly's Report:

"I can't believe that you're suppose to let your guest have the best. This is getting a little out of hand don't you think! She's in my bed!"

"Michou is a great toy! She actually plays back! She even squeaks sometimes like my other toys!"

"Listen, it's not my fault she's so dirty. She's the one who dove into the lake after those ducks. I could have told her that was a waste of time! We call her 'Little Brown Booty' here at camp because of the way her feet always stay brown. What fun a dog can have in a little puddle of mud!"

Happy New Year and Decorations Installment #7

Happy New Year - Wow 2007! Time flies when you're having fun and perhaps even when you're not. But either way, it seems as if it were just yesterday that we were welcoming in 2006. We spent last night ringing in the new year with sleeping. That was until our daughter called to wish us Happy New Year, the neighbors shot off very loud fireworks, and the siren on our weather radio went off. I guess that's old people for you as our daughter made clear! 2006 was a big year for our household. Our daughter got married and we welcomed our first grandchild. For me personally, I had set a goal of entering a quilt show and I actually entered two. The experience alone was worth it because as I found out, quilt shows have a culture all their own. The fact that I won two ribbons in our local show was icing on the cake! I also started blogging and though I'm not very regular at creating postings at least I take more pictures with the hopes of getting it posted. I'll certainly try better for this new year, but no resolutions for me! I've tried to come up with a new goal for my quilting/art and with the inspiration of a new friend from the dye class, Sarah Ann Smith I'm going to try journal quilting. That sounded like a do-able goal back in December, but now that January is here, I'm a little afraid I won't complete it, but I'll try. I'm going to be trying to make 8.5x11 small quilts where I try out new ideas or techniques. The goal is to make one new one per month. Sarah assures me that it's a reasonable goal, but she's much more ambitious than I am! I'll give it a shot and see where it goes. Now for the decorations. The tradition around here is to have our tree down at least by January 1st of each year. Don's dad always took their tree down the day after Christmas so I'm fortunate that we get to keep it up until January 1st. The decorations are all packed away, but I'll put up a couple more pictures here to end the season. I do apologize for not getting them all posted, but the pictures are made so it should go smoother next year. Scroll Ornaments - I bought these at Precept Ministries International's Gift shop several years ago when I was there attending some training classes. I love them and found the internet site to order more. There are all types and you can even get names of people or your surname customized onto them. The website is http://www.scrollsunlimited.com/

I especially like the Names of God and the meanings. I have about a half dozen of these now and hope to order more for next year.

And last (for this year) but not least by any means - our newest ornament. An ornament with our granddaughter's picture in it. Of course! No respectable grandparent tree would be without one!