Sometimes it stinks to be a grownup.

Megan made the hard decision today to give Red Dog back to the people that had her. When she got home from church Red Dog had chewed up one of her roommates bead boxes. It hit Megan that she had taken her on a walk this morning and she still had lots of energy. So, with the next semester looming around the corner, she decided that now was probably not the right time to have a new dog. It was a hard decision as she really is a sweet dog. The people do have a couple of other people that are interested in her, so hopefully she will find a great new home with a yard.

Rainy days and Sundays...

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon. For three out of four of us, today was a leisure day. Megan and Drew and a couple of dogs laid around, watched movies and did some reading, under napping quilts.

I spent the day at my sewing machine trying to finish the large Sunflower quilt, with my faithful dog sometimes at my feet.

Poor Robert, however spent the day in the shop continuing to tear down and cut up the old cooler. Some termites had done some of the cutting up for him. The floor of the cooler was shoveled into the dumpster as it was basically mulch.

Downtown party.

Robert and I were invited to a dinner party tonight. It was downtown in the Lamar building. On the top of the building is a glass "pyramid" room. Scary elevator ride, but beautiful view. We met some of the downtown people. People that have buisnesses and/or homes downtown. It's funny Robert is very comfortable meeting people and telling them what we are doing and giving them our business card. I tend to hang back and talk to the few people I know. Crazy roll reversal. This is not the greatest picture of us, but we were kinda dressed up. So, I thought I would take a picture. Note I sure have BIG hair! I'm glad I have an appointment on Thursday to get my haircut. If I could get some of the chipmonk cheeks cut off too that would be great!

Our community group pitches in.

This is the walk in cooler. That is in the shop area. We used one of the metal racks from this cooler in our pantry. Robert and I took the porcelain panels off one Saturday. I would like to reuse the panels, so if you can think of an idea, I'd be glad to hear it.

Here's the cooler once the porcelain panels are off.
Matt and Jeremy came over and spent their morning tearing the cooler out. Thanks guys.






No more cooler.

Robert has done a lot of demo this week. He has taken off wall panels and torn down the ceiling grid. Enough demo to fill two big dumpsters!

Dinner.

Tonight we had some friends over for dinner. Robert grilled chicken and veggies. The friends are Kim and Ann. They actually own the building our church meets in downtown. We have been to their house and to the Pizza Joint with them. They introduced us to Andy and Susie, the night of the Christmas tree lighting. So, tonight we had all of them over for dinner. We had a good time laughing and talking. It is good to make some friends, though it causes us to miss the "old" ones.

Red Dog.

Megan came home with "Red Dog" on Christmas Eve. She was just watching her for a nurse who had found her on one of the busy streets in Augusta. They had put and ad in the paper as a found dog for two weeks and not gotten a reply.
They already had three dogs and didn't feel like they could keep a fourth. Anyway, Megan decided to dog sit with the idea she could give her back on Friday if she didn't think it would work out.
Having four dogs on Christmas definitely added to the day. Well, Sabueso loves her and played with her for hours. Tallulah refereed during the playing. Maggie, well Maggie is pretty sure Megan has lost her mind. Well, she is part of Megan's family now. She, is a submissive good natured dog. That doesn't have a name yet.

Robert, having all the dogs sitting for a treat.




Just taking a rest. One redhead leaning on a red dog.

Guess who thinks he owns the flannel quilt.

Enough said.

Pictures.

Here's some pictures that Megan had her roommate Mary take for me for Christmas. They are great and I love them.

The Birth of Jesus.

Luke 2

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3And everyone went to his own town to register.
So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord.
12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
6So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Wigilia.

Wigilia
Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia! That is the way to say "Merry Christmas" in Polish. Among Poles, wherever they are, the most beloved and beautiful of all traditional festivities is that of Christmas Eve. It is then that the Wigilia, or Christmas Eve Dinner is served. It is a solemnly celebrated occasion and arouses deep feelings of kinship among family members.

For days in advance, Poles prepare the traditional foods and everyone anxiously awaits the moment when the first star, known as the Gwiazdka, appears in the eastern sky. For that is when the feast to commemorate the birth of the Christ Child begins.

There is always a thin layer of hay under the white tablecloth in memory of the Godchild in the manger. Before sitting down at the table, everyone breaks the traditional wafer, or Oplatek and exchanges good wishes for health, wealth and happiness in the New Year. This is such a deeply moving moment that often tears of love and joy are evoked from the family members who are breaking this symbolic bread. The Oplatek is a thin, unleavened wafer similar to the altar bread in the Roman Catholic Church. It is stamped with the figures of the Godchild, the blessed Mary, and the holy angels. The wafer is known as the bread of love and is often sent by mail to the absent members of the family.

The dinner itself differs from other evening meals in that the number of courses is fixed at seven, nine or eleven. According to myth, in no case must there be an odd number of people at the table, otherwise it is said that some of the feasters would not live to see another Christmas. A lighted candle in the windows symbolizes the hope that the Godchild, in the form of a stranger, may come to share the Wigilia and an extra place is set at the table for the unexpected guest. This belief stems from the ancient Polish adage, "A guest in the home is God in the home."

The Wigilia is a meatless meal, no doubt the result of a long-time Church mandate that a strict fast and abstinence be observed on this day before Christmas. Although the Church laws have been revised and permit meat to be eaten on this day, the traditional meal remains meatless. Items that would normally be included in a traditional Wigilia menu include mushroom soup, boiled potatoes (kartofle), pickled herring (sledzie), fried fish, pierogi, beans and sauerkraut (groch i kapusta), a dried fruit compote, babka, platek, assorted pastries, nuts and candies.

Tonight we shared this meal with some friends from church they have been so gracious and giving to our family. We truly enjoyed the company and symbolism of this meal. The breaking of the wafer and sharing it with everyone was especially meaningful.

Thanks Matt and Lara for your friendship, hospitality and warmth.

Making Candy.

Megan asked me a couple of weeks ago if we could make some candy together during Christmas break. She remembered my Mom and I making candy together, and wanted to do that as well. Megan and I have cooked and baked together, but not really made candy together. So, today we made peanut butter balls, Texas skillet candy, and turtles. It felt different to be the Mom and to teach Megan about candy making, instead of being the daughter and learning from my Mom. Weird too, because I haven't made candy since my Mom died and I don't feel like it is something I'm very good at. Anyway, we had lots of fun and made lots of candy most of which we sent to the E.R. for Megan's co-workers that have to work tonight and tomorrow. Some of which will go to the Plochas for dinner tonight and some of which we will keep for us to have. It was nice to have that time with Megan and do something that was such a tradition with and for my Mom. Thanks Megan, I really enjoyed the day.

Merry Christmas Eve eve.

Tonight we celebrated Christmas Eve. We celebrated on the eve of Christmas eve, because we are going over to some friends tomorrow for a traditional Polish celebration. So, tonight we called out for Chinese, opened our stockings and watched: The Muppets Christmas Carol. Which is tradition for us. Tonight was even more fun as Pat was here for a visit and celebrated with us. Just one more event, celebration, tradition that continues to make Augusta home.

Some history on our building.

Robert did some digging today and it looks like at least part of our building was built in 1884. The records of the Augusta Historic Properties Survey only record back to 1935. It was a grocery store at least from 1935 to 1980. Then It was Eat Cetera at deli restaurant from 1981 to 1991. Then Woo's Chinese until 1997. Then the China Dragon some time after that. The picture is from 1976. If you click on it you can see that there was a house to the left of the building. Oh, how we wish that that house was still there and not the parking lot. I'm sorry the resolution is not the greatest, but I couldn't get the blog to take it in a higher resolution. It's fun to have some of the history on the building. He is going to check out the library next week some time and see what else he can dig up. One day this spring when he was working on the building. He met an older man whose first job was at the grocery store.

Annual Christmas Rhyme.

The year is 2007 and it is Christmas time,
And it is time for the annual Christmas rhyme.
We wanted to get a head start on our Christmas letter,
Because getting you our new address would be better.

While visiting Megan in Augusta in January one day,
She pointed to a commercial building that seemed to say,
“Fix me up and you will see,
That one day a great quilt shop I will be”.

So, the building we did buy,
And to jobs and friends we said goodbye,
In June our things we did pack,
We have moved to Augusta trying not to look back.

We have torn out, built up, sanded, tiled and painted,
Robert has plumbed and done electrical and not fainted.
We have worked and worked on the apartment on the second floor,
Making it a place we can live for sure.

However, ours dogs now do not have a yard,
Having to walk them everyday has not been so hard.
This year has been busy with lots of change,
In a lot of ways we will never be the same.

In a temporary nursing job Kathy worked fulltime,
She thought with a nursing shortage a job would be easier to find.
Finally at an outpatient cancer clinic she is working fulltime,
She gets to ride her bicycle to work with Megan most of the time.

Tickets to the “Quilt Market” for her birthday Robert did give,
We needed to go and see how shop owners live.
We walked and talked in the convention center for two days,
Trying to figure out what we might need to order and how to save.

Working more than fulltime Robert, the house to renovate,
He has worked really hard to make the space great.
At Megan’s urging he trained for a 5K,
So, again running may be in his life to stay.

He has been to Arizona a couple of times,
Getting to see his family, my how time flies.
The book of Matthew is his Bible study,
He gets to ride motorcycles with Kathy as a buddy.

Megan started school to be a (physicians assistant) P.A.
School started with a bang, all starting in May.
Megan and her boyfriend Michael for triathlon did train,
It ended up being a duathlon because of the rain.

In September she got a coat so white,
She feels responsible to learn everything right.
She has learned some hard things about control,
And that of some things she must let go.

Wow, can you believe Drew turned 18 this fall,
He decided that high school wasn’t for him al all.
He is working at Blockbuster and took his G.E.D.
And trying to decide if Augusta is really where he wants to be.

A car of his own he did finally acquire,
And after a ticket, decided a seat belt was proper attire.
For the spring he may enroll in Augusta State,
Which we think would be just great.

And from you, our friends and family we want to hear,
To, see how things have been for y’all this year.
May this be a Christmas not just of presents,
But with Jesus love and His presence.

Love,
Robert, Kathy, Megan and Drew

Let it snow quilt.

I bought the fabric for this quilt as a kit from Tiny Stitches in Marietta last year. I have only made one other flannel quilt and I loved the snowmen in the borders of this quilt. Anyway, it finally got cold enough that I got started on it. The back is a flannel with snow flakes on it that Debbie gave me. This is a great snuggle quilt. Drew and Sabueso have been fighting over who gets it.

I wish you could see the quilting on this quilt. We made "pumpkin seeds" in the nine patches and snowmen in the tan diamonds. It was fun and different.

Today is a new day.

It is amazing what a good nights sleep will do for your outlook. I am better today than I was yesterday. I feel blessed and not depressed. That is a nice change.

I went for a long walk with my dogs and Megan's dog Maggie. Which in itself is amazing, since Maggie and Tallulah are still mortal enemies. I think I am the dog whisperer and I am trying to walk them as a "pack" in hopes that they will one day get along. They do great on the walk, but still try to kill each other when we are trying to get in or out of one house or the other.

It has also rained most of the day today. Yippee! We need the rain.

Robert's Mom has turned the corner and is doing better. Her condition is stable and the word is she will be moved out of the ICU and into a step down type of unit. Also good news.

I went to dinner with some new friends and then to the "Behold the Lamb" concert downtown at the Imperial Theater. It was a nice evening, good food, good fellowship, and good music.

The end of a long week.

This has been a long week. I had two out of five days that I felt overwhelmed and not sure that you can teach an old nurse new tricks. Could be that life in general is a little overwhelming. Robert's Mom is not doing well at all and is in critical condition in the ICU. (she has been in the ICU for over a week) Robert left this afternoon to go back to Sedona. My kids are in Roswell and so I am all by myself in Augusta. Waa.
Okay enough whining, I am off to take a long bubble bath in my claw foot tub. Then I think I will quilt a little while then off to bed to try to get some sleep.
Goodnight.

The end of the semester.

Megan finished her second semester of PA school. She ended up with 5 A's and 2 B's. Woo Hoo! Way to go Megan! She had a tough semester and is glad to be done. I can tell the semester is over because she brought lunch to me at work today. She cooked dinner for "weekly dinner." Which is a group of her friends that do just that, they have dinner together weekly. I got to benefit from some of the leftover shepherd's pie. Yum. She is also working registration in the E.R. at MCG a few days over break which will be a nice change of pace for her. Welcome back Megan, two semesters down, seven to go.

What's behind the wall, Robert wonders???

Actually four wall layers. Besides the original beadboard (green) there was drywall (pink) and two layers of that lovely 60's brown paneling (one painted yellow). Notice the water and sewer pipes going through an original window frame.





One part of this long wall has a lot of termite damage and will need some shoring up. This section is in good shape and just needs new insulation and drywall or paneling.
I pulled down the fiberboard ceiling panels to uncover the original beadboard ceiling painted green, blue, gray and white.

Shutters.

Look, we have new shutters in the master bathroom. They were Robert's idea. That way we can still have the great light from the windows, but also have some privacy. Great idea.
Now we only have three windows left in the whole house with the brown paper on them. Yea, we are making progress.

Socked in.

I'm glad we didn't stay in Charleston and try to make it back in time for church this morning, as this is what we woke up to.

We were completely socked in, it would have been a miserable ride home.

Motorcycle ride to Charleston.

Robert and I went to Charleston today on our motorcycles. It was a great day for a ride. Charleston is 144 miles from our house in Augusta. I think it would be a nicer overnight kind of trip, however it was the first annual Augusta tree lighting and we were meeting friends for dinner, so we needed to be home by 5:45p.m. It a great ride though pretty much straight roads. It was still good to go for a long ride with a destination in mind. (I think Beth and Don need to come to Augusta and we can all ride to Charleston for a retreat weekend) While we were in Charleston we checked out a quilt store. People, Places and Quilts. It is in a corner grocery store in the historic part of Charleston. Nice shop with some nice helpful ladies. The owner owns a shop by the same name in Summerville S.C. where my friend Pam Williamson is from. Pam is one of the people who got me started quilting. I have actually been in that shop with her in Summerville, long before I was a real quilter. Funny how things change. Anyway, we had some great she crab soup and drove like the wind back home. We rolled into Augusta at 5:30p.m. just enough time to put up the bikes and grab cookies for the open house at The Well. (Which is our church.)

Then off to the tree light and fireworks. It was a nice yet warm evening. I took a coat that I carried all night. Then we all went to the Pizza Joint for dinner. It was a good time, making some new friends.

I would like to say that only in Augusta, do you have James Brown lit on the wall, at the Chirstmas tree lighting and not baby Jesus or a star.

Second full week of work.

Well, this week has been better, I can step into the hallway and not really have to think about what is where I am and which way is the way I want to go. That's a bonus. I feel like I know more about what I am doing. I still am nervous about hanging chemo, and I am still really slow at it because everything gets checked about 20 times. I recognize some of the patients now, which is nice, and some of them know my name, which is also nice. I did look for a "chemo-oncology nursing for dummies" book, but no luck with that. However, I ordered a couple of regular oncology nursing books, I think that that will help too. So, all in all the week wasn't too bad, but I am glad it is the weekend.

Tallulah helps with the physical exam.

Megan has her "physical exam" test tomorrow. So, she came over to practice on me and be proctored by Robert. She, got it all done in 50 minutes. I would like to say I have never had such a thorough exam. Yea, for physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

Tallulah got to be part of the practice session with an exam to her eyes. I think that it would have been easier to examine those huge ears.

Inaugural bath.

I came home from Atlanta this weekend cranky, and depressed. Wondering about being in Augusta. My new job is busy and the learning curve is huge. I left there on Friday feeling that I am too middle aged to learn all that being a oncology nurse requires. And we really don't get lunch before 2:00 and even then it is a 15 minute lunch. Robert still has not found a job. (Bless his heart he has resumes out everywhere.)
My bathroom is still not done............Megan is in a hard place personally and has finals this week and next. Is this really where I want to be? I don't know.
Anyway, Robert tried to make life better in a way that he knows gives me comfort. He got the bathtub hooked up. Yea! So, tonight after our small group left I got to take the inaugural bath in the claw foot tub in the new bathroom. We soaked in a bubble bath with a glass of wine. I'm still not sure about being here, but having the tub in place and getting to take a bubble bath made me feel loved.
Thanks Robert.

Emaline and the quilt.

Our friends Jeremy and Melody Carr's baby, Emaline. On the quilt I made her. Isn't she adorable!!!!

These are the first pictures I have of one of the babies actually on one of the baby quilts I have made. Awwww.

The Christmas Pineapple.

We stopped by to see Pat on our way home from the Leonards. She gave us a tin of homemade sugar cookies and a pineapple. Gotta love those "I didn't know what to get you, so I got you a pineapple" kind of gifts.

Thanks Pat.

The blustery day.

From: Winnie The Pooh and the Blustery DayWritten by: Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. ShermanPerformed by: Sterling Holloway [Pooh]

Hum dum dum ditty dumHum dum dum
Oh the wind is lashing lustily
And the trees are thrashing thrustily
And the leaves are rustling gustily
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to be
It feels that it will undoubtedly
It looks like a rather blustery day, today
It sounds that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubtedly
Looks like a rather blustery day today

Not that there is not enough tile to be laid here.....

Beth and Don have redone their kitchen. Complete with painting walls and cabinets. They had new counters installed and the old back splash torn down. So, Robert volunteered to help, as they have helped and helped and helped at our place.

I think it also feels good to be working on someone's projects besides ours for a change.

You go for it Mr. accountant!

Finished with putting the tile on the wall. Grouting the tile is up to Beth and Don.

Beth and I actually helped some too. But the truth is that with the stove in the middle of the floor there is really not room for four butts. (you'll have to ask about the children's book we thought up, something like One butt, two butts, red butts, blue butts.........) But I digress....the tile and the whole kitchen is beautiful.