I start one of my vacation weeks tomorrow, I go back, 6/18.  Plan on doing a little quilting, and a little more straightening up.  rather do a lot of quilting and no cleaning, but we are wading thru a small path now!!  I hope also to get started on 3 Christmas presents, at least get them organized if not started.  May or may not be back here for over a week.  don't forget me.  CYA soon. 

Thank you all for all your kind comments.  I really didn't think anything about helping Peter do his quilts.  I love to quilt and he wanted to learn how to make them, so we are a perfect match.  But yes, there isn't as many kind random acts anymore.  Our dept. here at work is really a family.  I have only been here for 4 years, but I love these people greatly. 

The quilts Peter is making, are all his own design.  He is a Math instructor here at the college, so he is having a bit of a time doing stippling!!  it is so funny to watch him struggle.  His world usually equates to absolutes, right angles, prime numbers, etc.  And stippling willy nilly, and meandering with the quilting is driving him almost bonkers. 

gotta go, more later.  and thanks again for the kind words.

I know it's been forever.  I have been helping a friend make quilts for his nephew, niece, and nephew's friend.  the friend has recently been diagnosed with cancer and only 4 yrs old.  he bought all the "Cars" movie fabric they had at JoAnn's here in Waco, and we have been steadily working since January.  The first one is finished and was mailed by ups yesterday, the other two should go a lot smoother, now that we know what we are up against.  no pics yet but working on it. hope to have some soon.

Spring Break has come and gone.  nothing got done, and the quilt for Brenna Jane Shelton is still nowhere near gettting finished.  I was in bed all week for Spring Break.  and 4 of my people still haven't brought me their squares. 

we have finished the book orders for S1, S2 and Fall, and we are gearing up for working on Spring 2008 schedule.  Soon things will calm down a bit and I can get something fun done.  The small quilts for the Vet clinic at the ranch are still not finished.  I am slowly losing ground!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been slow going, this early Spring semester.  we finally got everyone enrolled, are almost finished with S1, S2 and Fall semester schedule and now we are coming up on Spring Break!!!  woo hoo    I haven't been able to do much quilting lately.  Early Feb. I started on several small quilts for the local vet clinic here on Campus, they were badly in need, and all those cute little faces, I couldn't resist.  Have almost finished those.  Spring Break was going to be spent on the baby quilt the dept. was making for Matt's new little one.  unfortunately, not all my people have finished their square.  will have to improvise to add theirs later.  I have been thinking of putting them on the back, or adding a blank square and applique-ing their square in later.   I think that would work also.  sorry so short.  more later,

Well we are finally back at work.  we have had 2 weather days off.  It has been sleeting, freezing rain and snowing here since Sunday, Jan. 14th, (my sisters' birthday), and it is finally melting down so we can drive safely. 

Alma brought back 2 pics of Birdie and her quilt, (she was thrilled), but I am having trouble getting them to load.  hopefully I can get it to work soon.  anyway.  glad to be back, and how was all your holidays?

Today is our last day on Campus, we start our Holiday today.  We show up do very little work, go to the open house, eat for 3 hours, then around 3:00 they send an email out and we all get to leave early.  YEA!!!!  We get 3 weeks off and come back January 2 for Spring semester.  oh boy do we have it bad!!!  NOT,   

I surely do extremely love working in education.  we get the same holidays as the students!!! 

All I have left here for the dept. is Alma's quilt for Birdie for her 40th anniversary, then I can finish up my stuff on holdiay.  but I will have to work next week after dental surgery to finish Birdie's quilt.  can't wait for 3:00 today!!!!!!

in case I don't get back, Ya'll  all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

This is the detail close up of the Texas A&M print fabric I found for the Boss' quilt.  He is a graduate of A&M, so I gave up and bought it to make the quilt for him.  I am a Texas Longhorn fan, rival of A&M, so it took a bit of compromise for me.  But we are all adults here, (yeah, right).  I used the scraps to make chew toys for the puppies!!!  hee hee hee.  (it wasn't my idea, it was Lisa's!!) 

Here is the lap quilt for the boss for Christmas. I used a four patch pattern, and played with it.  I came across this Lucky clover pattern. The color isn't the greatest here, the lighter patch blocks are gray, to coordinate with the maroon blocks and the A&M print blocks.  It worked out rather well.  I think he will be surprised.  I tied it with the maroon yarn I had left over that I used to make him the scarf for Boss' Day back in October.  I am glad it is done, and I am thru with 4 of the deptmental gifts, only 40?? left now?  not really, I usually only give out a few, the housekeeping guys, the boss, the coordinator, and the math lab girls. 

We leave today at 5:00pm and we are out till Monday for the holiday!!!  Warm wishes and greetings to all, eat a lot, sleep more, and root for your fave football team!!!  Go COWBOYS!!! 

I will be leaving a little earlier, I have a MASSAGE scheduled!!!  to get all the kinks out so I can piece and quilt all weekend, except for Friday morn, when we will be SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!! 

  Well, our departmental Thanksgiving dinner is over and it was a great success.  The VP and his secretaries came over to eat and share fellowship with us.  We had tons of food, desserts, and drinks, (coke, water, tea, etc)  I think we all got our fill, in fact I took a plate home last night for the hub, and one for the baby boy!! and I didn't even eat supper, I was still so full!! almost to the point of being miserable.  The food was wonderful.  tasted almost as good as Mama used to make. (she has been gone since 1988).  I sure do miss her cooking.  

Anyway, the VP's secretaries found out I quilt and of course they immediately engaged me in conversation, one was wanting to do a T-shirt quilt for their daughter, and the other one wanted to do a baby quilt for her next grandbaby.  So we not only got our tummies full, we also got to talk, discuss, and enjoy my other passion.  We also discussed what we are doing for Christmas gifts, and evidently, I am the only one around here who plans out my gifts early enough as to get them handmade in time for the holidays.  everyone else just throws money around.  Well, I have several thoughts on that matter, 1.  I don't have a lot of money to throw around, 2. I have way too many people I give gifts to, to buy them, 3. I enjoy making something special, personal for each person, instead of buying 4 of the same thing and passing them out to 4 other people in the office, or my 4 aunts, whose personalites are waaaaayyy different. & #4. It makes me feel good to give something I put thought and love, not to mention a little hard work into.  But that's just me, maybe.  I do have friends and relatives, that unfortunately do not have the  passion I do for making things, and sadly, also do not have the appreciation for things hand crafted.  Oh for the good ole days!! 

Before I get maudlin, Ya'll all have a very nice Thanksgiving holiday, in case I don't get back to you before then!!!! 

I don't know what's wrong with everyone. My instructors here at the college have too much going on and I have evidently contributed to the mess.  I sent out a food sign up list 2 months ago, and it got lost in the shuffle somewhere.  So I send out another one, on PINK paper this time, 2 weeks ago. and guess what?  Yes, it is lost too.  I guess I am going to have to go, office to office and just take down what everyone is bringing.  otherwise we won't have any Idea what's what. 

Luckily, I have been working on decorations for a while too.  I got them all done.  Except for gluing the Turkey centerpieces together.  (my niece/work study student will do that today) we got them all colored anyway.  I got the placemat/search a word done, and the color me/turkey what I'm thankful for puzzle.  I got all kinds of leaves cut out of all kinds of colored constructions paper, Indian corn napkin rings, orange paper napkins (left over from halloween, marked down 75%, "what a deal"!!), and I shredded different colored paper and shiny paper to sprinkle on either side of the orange and yellow crepe paper on top of the brown tablecloths.  if the food is no good we can at least enjoy the decorations, search for words, color pages and tell what we are thankful for!!  I will be thankful when this is over.  "WHEW!!" 

oh' btw, we are in Waco, Texas, MCC, college drive, that is where the party is, come on down and join us.  Wed. 11-15-06, 11:30 to whenever the food runs out!!!!

Our last day on campus is December 8, 2006.  we are out for 3 weeks for the Christmas holidays.  woo hoo!!!     Of course that means we have to get all the gifts ready for everybody in my Dept. waaaaay early.  I have finally decided what to do for the new boss.  For Boss' day I crocheted him a scarf in A&M colors, (it was 37 degrees here this morning), and now I need something for Christmas.  I got it.  I saw some A&M fabric at Wally world, so now he gets a lap quilt, or at least one big enough to take to the football games, or just keep in the truck for just in cases!!  I still have some maroon left from Alma's sisters quilt, so that will go nicely for sashings between the squares of aggies.  I am hoping to get Birdies children and grandchildren's names on the quilt this weekend, then I can start putting it together to quilt.  I only have a few weeks left.  ya'll wish me luck.  Tonight is Senior night and the last home football game.  One more away game and we can put that in the books.  Unfortunately we didn't win enough games to get into the playoffs, but I am kinda glad, coz I have too much other stuff to do.  So 2 more games, getting pics, interviews, etc for the Jaguarette Newsletter and I will be done for another season. 

I have had a busy busy week.  several instructors called in sick and I have had to proctor several classes and exams, some at the same time.(AGAIN).  but it's Friday and after 1:30 today, all will be nice and quiet and I can get back to my scanning evals for the portfolios.  I will be glad to go home today!!!!!!!!   ya'll have a great weekend and try to enjoy yourselves.  more later.    

ps.  a surprise comes in January!!

Now I just have to get Alma's sister's quilt done and I will be finished with all my obligations for a while.  Hopefully, Cathy got pictures and interviews for me at the Football game, so I can get out the next edition of the newsletter.  I missed Homecoming when we went to Alabama last weekend for the wedding. 

I am not going to be able to be the fortune teller this year for Halloween.  but I did get some of the house cleaned last week.  it is going to take me another week just to rest up and get over all this traveling and visiting.   whew!!!  I am not used to all this.  I am going to have to start an exercise regimine to work out all the kinks from riding for 11 1/2 hrs there and 14 hrs back.  lordy that's a long time to be in a car!!!!   Ya'll take care, it may be a while before I can get back to the old routine and get back to blogging!!! 

not long after this both of them had cake, up their noses and in her veil, and on top of Austin's little bald head!!!

The Happy Couple.

almost done!

waiting at the altar!

See the little fireman and fire truck.  He had on his uniform too.  and Austin had to go back to the station after and work the late shift.  Fire and time wait for NO man.