Mother's Day Round-Up

Did all you moms have a nice Mother's Day? This mom did, and I hope you did, too. My plan was to blog yesterday about Mother's Day, but plans do go awry, sometimes, and so today I am playing catch-up.

My biggest excuse for going off my plan is this darn allergy-cold I have picked up! Doggone it, anyway, but it sure makes a gal miserable with dripping and snuffling. My eyes water, my nose tickles, my throat is sore, and my head is foggy. Gah, I'm a mess.

With all that going on in my head, I was still determined to hit all my planned activities for the weekend. A good hot shower and multiple hot drinks - both coffee and tea - kept my head happy. So on Saturday, we met our girls and their fellas in Columbus at Arch City, a friendly, inviting restaurant/pub in the Short North. The girls pooled their resources and gifted me 2 tickets to see humorist Jeanne Robertson when she comes to Columbus in August. Here's another link at Wikipedia. I am super-stoked about this! I have been a big fan of hers since I first heard of her several years ago from friend and fellow book-clubber, Marlise. If you do YouTube, go search for her clip about sending her husband to the grocery - it's a hoot! You will find dozens of other 5-10-minute clips and before long you will be a fan, too.

But I digress. We had a great time with the kids. The waitress was kind enough to take a picture of us.

There's the sweet gang - Erin (DD1), Emma (DD2), Geoffrey (Emma's boyfriend), Kevin (DH), Jeff (Erin's DH) and Jayne.

Since DS Adam is in Oregon, I couldn't get a current pic of him, so the next best thing was to make a collage of a decent recent pic side-by-side with his sisters.

The three who call me mom. Love 'em to pieces! Adam called Sunday morning, so I touched base with them all.  On Mother's Day afternoon, we drove over to my mom's for a visit. She had indicated earlier in the week that she didn't want a big fuss, and to just stop by to visit in the afternoon. Had the weather been nicer, we would have made homemade ice cream. 

Any time spent with Mom is sure to be fun. She loves sports and has always been a tomboy. When we were little, she would pitch and Dad would catch while we five kids hit, ran the bases and fielded. Many an after-supper softball game was had in the front yard this way. Looking back, I can see this was a sure-fire way of wearing us out for an early bedtime! 

The picture below is from Easter where we attempted to get some family group pictures. Much silliness! Our mother sure loves to have a good time; her sunny disposition has shaped us all. 

While she has definite tomboy tendencies, her influence on my becoming a seamstress is immeasurable. Most of our clothes from those very young years were hand-made. Even the boys had some homemade shirts and shorts. Additionally, she made her own clothes and many items for our home such as curtains, pillows, table cloths, and comforters. Often, dolls came decked out with homemade clothes at Christmas time. 

(Clip art from Instagram.)

She turned me loose on the sewing machine when I was 7 and in my first year of 4H; in that first year I made a tea towel and a needle book. (I believe I still have that needle book somewhere.) How I thank my lucky stars for her willingness to teach me to sew. As I grew, I remained in 4H and by the time I finished, I was making most of my own clothes. In high school, I made a winter coat, learning about bound buttonholes and tailoring. I continued to make my own clothes through college and my early married years. At some point in the late 80s, I took a sharp turn into quilting, and haven't looked back. 

Happy stuff. So glad to enjoy a fun weekend celebrating my mother, and being celebrated by my kiddos. I did remember other special mothers like my late m-i-l Mary, my grandmother, and my aunt. They have passed but are not far from our memories, especially on Mother's Day.

Now, a new week is upon us; I want to kick this crazy head-stuffy nonsense and take on some big tasks! Gonna' get stuff done!

Happy Quilting, Friends!