THE BOY TURNS 16

It's birthday time again for our grandson, Wyatt; and time to bear with this Grammy as she reminisces.

He has always spent a lot of time at our house mostly with his Papa "making things"!  This kid always has an idea for a project. 

This was one of the first of his ideas.  He was a pre-schooler at the time, and told Papa he wanted to make a 'talking ladder'.  Bob went along with it as Wyatt told him what he wanted.  They dug in the scrap pile, sawed, hammered, and painted. And this is what a 'talking ladder' looks like --

At least a hundred projects followed:

The projects got bigger and so did the kid --

Now he is learning how to make knives under the tutorship of the very patient people at Ren-Ten Kustom Knives.  This is his latest project ----


But, to be able to work here on the knives, he needed his very own super grinder.  So what is a Papa to do, but buy Wyatt's first grownup-power-tool toy to celebrate his 16th birthday.

He and Papa have a deal -- the grinder stays in our workshop until Wyatt has his own place for it.  (Ulterior Motive: Bob can now sharpen our very dull knives.)  Win-win and they are both very happy with a new toy.

Happy Birthday, grown-up sweet child!

PS:  And Happy Valentine's Day to both of our heart-tuggers:

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ARCHITECTURAL INSPIRATION

The plot of land half way between my high school and downtown Canon City, Colorado was occupied by the county courthouse, a staid 19th century building.  But, when I returned to live here as an adult in 1979, it had been replaced by a new courthouse designed by architects Nixon and Jones in 1962.  They were inspired by the triangular and linear shapes of the nearby mountains to include triangular motifs in their design.

What continues to fascinate me is the juxtaposition of the courthouse and its neighbor across the street ---- the Presbyterian Church with its triangular spire that was built in 1900.  The two buildings that span over a half century difference in age contain the same architectural triangle motif.

I was first made aware of architectural juxtaposition when I.M. Pei designed a building for the Zeckendorf Plaza in Denver.  I visited it many times and the modern design was stunning against the traditional buildings along 16th street.  I am saddened by the dismantling of the building in the 1990s (in the name of progress??).

Google image of Zeckendorf Plaza

I also loved seeing architect Pei's addition to the Louvre in Paris, the ultimate in juxtaposition!

Google Image of Pei's addition to the Louvre in Paris

Inside of the Pei addition to the Louvre

I was also blown away by the Gherkin Building designed by Sir Norman Foster in 2004 juxtaposed against the gray sky of London.

Gherkin Building as seen from the London Eye

As a quiltmaker, I have always been inspired by my life experiences; in this case, architecture based on triangles.  My latest small quilt is a minor effort at juxtaposition ---- a modern architectural triangle in a traditional quilt setting.

I can never hope to achieve the magnificence of great architects with my limited knowledge and abilities----- 

 

----- but, when working on this quilt it was fun to relive visits to some great architectural achievements.  For more information about this quilt, check on my quilting blog, https://qbits-salmagundi.blogspot.com/2018/01/architectural-juxtaposition.html (click here).

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I WILL NOT DESTROY!!

I continue to work on organizing the family photos dating from the 1800s to the present.

There are pictures of people and places that I can't be sure who or where they are!

Guess I'll just take a clue from my Great-Grandmother who passed away in 1951.  I found this envelope with a receipt for land payment in her belongings.

No, I can't destroy old photos ---- 

I just file them away for my descendants to process with a note saying, "I did the best I could!"

  Do you just turn a blind eye, throw them away, and never think of them again?  Oh, how I wish I could do that, but Great-Grandmother Evelyn left me a note!

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AFTER THE GLITTER IS GONE - 2018 VERSION

The glitter has been packed away for another year --- most of it anyway!  It's always amazing to me to see a glimmer of glitter on the floor in the month of July; a reminder that Christmas will just be 6 months away again.  

But for now, this:

has been replaced with this touch of winter browns:

It was an enjoyable Christmas.  The grand kids were lots of fun.  They seemed to revert to their little kid ways wriggling and whispering in church plus excited about their presents and what Santa brought in their stockings. They even kept poking at each other, etc. when I tried to get a decent picture of them all grown up.

 and, finally a decent picture ---

 I offered to buy them both a haircut for Christmas, but had no takers.  They are both very independent and don't like for me to mention THE HAIR.  But, I'm their grandmother, after all.

Our son, the teacher/traveler was home for a couple of days. He spent most of his time going to church (3 times in 2 days) and preparing lesson plans for this week's classes before jetting off to Hong Kong for the New Year's long weekend celebrating with other EF tour leaders.

He is back already from a fabulous trip and teaching with jet lag, I'm sure!

I've had a nasty cold/cough --- the perfect excuse to take a nap every day; but looking forward to a great 2018.

May your New Year be filled with blessings.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

From our house to yours --- have a joyous Christmas.

DISH ADDICT CHRISTMAS

Today's the day at the Have a Daily Cup blog for a dish addict's Christmas.  Check it out for a plethora of Christmas with dishes.

I'm definitely a dish addict ---- it's in my genes, as I'm the fourth generation of family women that has collected dishware.  And, being the oldest granddaughter, you can imagine the amount I have inherited.  Add to that the damage I have done buying my own collections.

So,  I can't just put the dishes away to bring out the Christmas decorations ---- I have to just incorporate them.

Since we don't have a fireplace, this dish cupboard does double duty as a mantel.  I love some of my brown transferware to serve as a backdrop to the usual Christmas swag.

My theory is fill anything with pine cones and you have Christmas!

My favorite vintage family ornaments look great in my Great Grandmother's wash basin.

Red transferware is also a nice background for Christmas goodness.

What a novel idea --- using dishes for Christmas dinner ---

 Thank you to my mother, Grandmothers Haines and Billingslea, and Great Grandmother DeLong for entrusting me with their dishes.  I never have to look far for vessels when hosting a Christmas party!

If you look very closely in my house, you might even spy some dishes from a mini-world!

Thanks for visiting my Christmas home overrun with dishes.  

Please check out Jann Olson's blog for more fanatics.

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES THROUGH A CHARM BRACELET

For Christmas, when I was a first grader, my parents started a charm bracelet for me.  One of the first charms I received were the scissors -- how did they know I would spend every spare moment in my life sewing with scissors by my side?

On Christmases and birthdays, my folks continued to add charms.

The first Christmas we were married, Bob gave me this Christmas wreath.

On my 24th birthday, we bought our first house and he gave me this charm to go with it!  We spent the whole month refinishing floors, painting, etc. getting the house ready to entertain family for Christmas.

The week before Christmas 1966 we moved, sight unseen, to the wilds of Montana.  It has been the only time in 60 Christmases that it has been just the two of us to celebrate without family around.

Over the years, there have been many more milestones documented on the bracelet --- births of the children, grandchildren, and memorable adventures such as the trip we took to Europe to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.

Yes, my life has been charmed.  God has blessed us abundantly.

And, I'm thankful.

Have a joyous Christmas.

I'm joining Ceceila from My Thrift Store Addiction to celebrate a romantic Christmas, a part of Jann Olsen's "Creating Christmas" series.

HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS

One of my favorite bloggers is hosting with her friends a week long party of Christmas goodness.  Check out Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson for the schedule of "Creating Christmas".  Tuesday, December 12 has been designated 'Homemade Christmas'.

I've always been a sewer and a wanna-be crafter, so homemade is a natural.  Back in my day in my small hometown, we didn't have kindergarten so I've never been very proficient with glue and glitter even though I try.  But, I can sew up most anything.

Several years ago my friend, Jan, and I teamed up together to make about a dozen of these homemade Santas as gifts for our friends in our Wednesday Morning coffee/quilting group.

Jan made the faces and bodies and I made the clothes.  This is still one of my favorites, as he just looks like the Santas of my childhood.

Handmade projects with memories attached are special.  This is an elf that I made using buttons from three of my grandmothers' button boxes.

Another handmade project for me has been the knitted stockings ---- started in 1958 on our first married Christmas.  I knitted the one on the far right for Bob that Christmas, and continued as family members were added.  The last one I did was for grandson, Wyatt (on the far left), who was born in 2002.  

  Now, I'm just waiting for those great grandchildren to come along!!

And what is Christmas without those wonderful handmade Christmas projects of preschoolers?  They are the best!

Homes filled with handmade Christmas are real blessings to visit, and are just meant to be shared!

Go over to Carol's Art and Sand and share your favorite handmade Christmas on Tuesday.