Family

Sister Mary Rita’s Healing Quilt

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Every quilt has a story … especially this one. It belongs to my friend Mary. When she asked me if I could make a hanging sleeve for a quilt she wanted to hang, of course I said yes. When I first saw it, I knew I’d never seen anything like it. It was heavy … very heavy … and contained 120 very personal squares … each one unique … and most every single square was not made by a quilter.

It was lovingly made 20 years ago for Sister Mary Rita, my friend’s sister. Mary Rita was her oldest sibling and the oldest of six girls and seven boys. She was a Catholic nun in the order of the Humility of Mary. As a young child, my friend learned so much from her sister about unconditional love and the value of each person. Sister Mary Rita also had the inside scoop that nuns actually do have hair. She was an educator in the Catholic schools in Cleveland, Ohio. Mary told me her sister was well-educated, smart, compassionate, funny and so much more. Take a look at the picture taken while the family gathered for a picnic…..yes, she was also a swinging nun!

When Sister Mary Rita was in her 40’s she was diagnosed with a blood disorder and then with Multiple Myeloma. For many years she lived with her cancer, receiving treatments as needed. Mary told me her sister continued to live her life to the fullest, with little to no complaining, being more concerned about how others were doing. In her 50’s and 60’s, she took more time off and traveled with friends. The Nags Head North Carolina beach was a favorite destination.

The patchwork quilt was a thought … a discussion … between Mary Rita and her best friend, Sister Cathy Walsh, in 1994. They had seen an article in the Reader’s Digest about a healing quilt. Cathy said that talking to and seeing Mary Rita nearly every day, she sensed that Mary Rita needed to reach out to friends and family and let them know how to support her. As friends do, Cathy encouraged her. Mary Rita wrote a letter asking for prayer and/or a patch for a quilt. They created a template and sent it with the letter to family and friends, many of whom were priests and nuns. In her letter, she wrote something like “I will wrap the quilt around myself and be reminded of and feel your love.”

Patches started flowing in …. 120 are on the original quilt with scriptures, poems, embroidery, needlepoint, creative arts, photographs, a clover secured in a plastic casing and even a Cleveland police patch. Later, ten more patches came in and small lap quilt was also made.

Cathy commented that every quilt square has its own story and they all came together to share and provide Mary Rita comfort. Sister Mary Rita wrapped herself in it daily!

In November of 2001, Mary’s sister had a seizure while driving. Mary told me her family thanked God He protected her, and others on the road, after she crashed into someone’s yard. By mid-January of 2002 Sister Mary Rita was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumor. Nine months later she passed away, but throughout her interventions and treatments she did as she always did…. lived her life to the fullest, listened and learned from the doctor and others, treasured her time with family and friends and never lost her faith.

In 2007, my friend received the quilt and it is now hanging in her guest bedroom. As guests visit, the quilt gives her the opportunity to tell others about her amazing sister and all those who touched her life.

Light-fingered Mimi

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At least once a week some little playing piece, wooden block, colorful wedge, or animal shape comes home from the day center Mimi attends in the crevices of her wheelchair. Over the past few years I’ve probably collected enough stuff to fill a five-gallon bucket.

I used to wait until there was a large handful of pieces, enough to fill a plastic baggie, before returning them. Mimi’s bus driver was then entrusted with the treasure trove to make sure the stash made it back to Mimi’s teacher. That was until I found a great new way to return the items. What do you think?

Celebrating baby milestones on FaceTime

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It was my husband who came up with the idea to FaceTime our grandson this past week. I was a little skeptical at first. I mean … Jake is only three months old. Rick thought it would be fun to sing the “Happy Three-Month Birthday” song to Jake … and after about five seconds of contemplation, I totally agreed!

“Be sure and pick up one of those little bundt cakes and a candle,” he smiled.

Although I totally got the heartfelt sentiment, Rick is one dude with a ginormous sweet tooth. But let’s face it … for every important milestone … there must be cake! And carrot cake from our local bundt cake store is even better.

I love how my daughter and son-in-law celebrate Jake’s milestones. Etsy has these cute stickers that you can stick on a onesie. Search for “month by month baby stickers.” They have hundreds of different kinds. Jake’s photos are are startling in their contrast! Is that elephant shrinking or is Jake growing? You be the judge!

Saugatuck, Michigan … love this harbor town

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Just got back from a lovely visit to Michigan to visit family. It’s July and the temperatures hovered in the 70’s and the humidity was non-existent. It was such a nice respite from the Houston heat!

While the boys went fishing, the girls visited the Lake Michigan harbor town of Saugatuck, about an hour away from Kalamazoo. We only had time to squeeze out a few hours. It felt like skipping stones over the surface of a travel destination loaded with plenty of seaside charm, lots of boutique shopping, dining … fine and casual, homemade fudge, cookies and ice cream establishments and wine tasting. We chose the Coral Gables Restaurant, right on the lake, located at 220 Water Street for our lunch break. Nice salads and gourmet sandwiches! Highly recommend!

From the Saugatuck Visitor’s Guide there appears to be plenty of lodging, performing arts and recreation, like the Harbor Duck tour and boat cruises. I could totally see hangin’ out in the town for a relaxing week.

During our stroll through the town, we sampled interesting olive oils and balsamic vinegars at the Olive Mill. There were purchases in the Spice Merchants, a shop specializing in spices and teas. I picked up some exotic salts and a spice mill. Kilwin’s Chocolates was out in force on the street handing out handmade fudge samples. Yum!

My personal favorite shop was The T-Shirt Shoppe located at 107 Butler Street. Sorry there was no website that I could find, although they already have a few great reviews! The store concept is simple and the results were lovely! Purchase a high quality t-shirt, pick out one of their unique designs. They silkscreen your shirt which is ready to pick up in under an hour. Check out the little duck design Mimi is sporting!

My only regret is we weren’t able to stay longer!

Best potato salad ever!

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I learned how to make potato salad by watching, and chopping, for my mother-in-law eons ago. If you camped out in her kitchen you chopped, spindled or mutilated something that wound up in a pot or bowl. Wilna was a wonderful cook and really knew how to feed a bunch of people. Did I mention my husband is one of eleven kids? Nine sisters and a brother. Hand-me-downs were rough.

After all these years, I believe the only difference between Granny’s fabulous potato salad and mine is the pickles. She used sweet … I use dill. That reminds me of a pickle of a disagreement hubby and I had the other day. He would rather I use Kosher pickles. While I certainly didn’t like the sound of that, I tried it this time. It wasn’t half bad. But I still like my chunks of dills.

Granny’s Fabulous Potato Salad
Feeds lots of hungry people!

Ingredients:
5 pounds of Russet potatoes, peeled and boiled till just tender when stabbed with a fork
6 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 large handfuls of dill pickles, chop these guys up too!
large handful of black olives, chopped (optional but adds something special)
small jar of pimento, chopped
yellow mustard
Miracle Whip Salad Dressing
salt and black pepper to taste and don’t be stingy!

Basically, I really believe in NOT dicing up all the veggies so you can’t tell what you are eating! Leave everything a little chunky and you will love the results! So start by cubing up the cooked and cooled potatoes in a huge bowl. Add the chopped eggs and everything else on the list. I tend to go lighter on the mustard and heavier on the Miracle Whip but that is a personal choice. Refrigerate until dinner time! This dish goes great with brisket and beans!

New yarn bowl is uncommonly good

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Ceramic yarn bowlI received a beautiful ceramic yarn bowl for my birthday the other day. I know … “yarn” and “bowl” do not sound like words that belong in the same sentence. But trust me … it is a lovely gift for a knitter-type person. Right now I’m working on a colorful scarf. Yep … the bowl is coming in quite handy.

So the premise of the bowl is it also happens to be the perfect size for a hefty-sized ball of yarn. There is also a keyhole, or squiggly slot, in the side where a yarn strand can unfurl naturally. No more balls of yarn falling on the floor in a tangled mess. And it is a tad easier keeping our anything-knitted-eating dog away from my yarn.

My daughter purchased it on Uncommon Goods , a website that reminds me of Etsy, both great places to purchase unique gifts.

Did I mention my great experience on Etsy this last Christmas? I purchased for my son and son-in-law Breaking Bad cutting boards from Etsy. Heck, we are still having Breaking Bad separation anxiety since the series ended. At least the cutting boards make the boys smile until the next wonderfully written series emerges.

Flashlights and frozen peas

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Little Jake
I’ve learned lots of new concepts over the past few weeks about birth before our grandson, Jake, entered the world. The little fellow was in the breech position and, according to doctors, probably will not turn by the time he is born. The news was not what our daughter and son-in-law expected to hear.

When Chad heard the news from the doctor, he grabbed his iPad to perform some research. He told me there were some really wacky-sounding ways to nudge a baby to turn 180 degrees. They sounded like old wives’ tales to all of us. But was there a smidge of any truth to be found?

Did you know if a mother-to-be places a large bag of frozen peas where the baby’s head is located it is supposed to encourage a “swim” in the opposite direction? I was keeping an open mind.

“All we had was a bag of frozen corn. We tried it but nothing happened,” Chad smiled.

Katie’s dad thought the idea sounded intriguing but put his own spin on the idea. Rick suggested a bag of frozen chopped broccoli might just do the trick because … wait for it … of course every kid hates broccoli. You see what I have to live with?

There are also “baby spinning” suggestions (www.spinningbabies.com) on the Internet involving acupuncture, doing handstands while you are in the pool, getting on your hands and knees to scrub the floor, and playing music with headphones on your stomach. Of course the music one also has an ad for special headphones, called Belly Buds. They only cost $49.99, excluding sales tax and shipping. Who knew?

“We tried the music, without the special headphones, but apparently baby boy doesn’t like rock music. All he did was squirm,” laughed Katie.

Yoga was also mentioned. Apparently there are a bunch of exercises that are touted as helpful at spinning that baby around. It would be Katie’s luck that baby boy would wind up doing a 360 and be right back where he started. And how about just plain old visualization exercises? Basically, the premise is if you see it in your mind’s eye, he will turn. Sounds like taking wishful thinking to a new extreme.

My own personal favorite was the one using a flashlight.

“After the frozen corn, we tried the flashlight. It’s where you start at the top of your belly and move to the bottom and hope he ‘moves towards the light.’ It didn’t work either,” Katie chuckled.

Flashlights, frozen corn and rock music were all interesting but failed attempts to spin their baby boy around. Jake was born via C-Section last week. I do think the “baby spinning” concepts will make for some very interesting entries in the little tyke’s baby book. Welcome to the world baby Jake!

Mimi’s ‘Adventure Wall’

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My three babies
Finally took down the baby pictures in our hallway to the kid’s bedrooms. I mean … Ricky and Katie are married and one of them is having our first grandbaby in a few weeks. It’s time. Life is a transition, so I decided to get with the program! But what to replace them with … hmmm.

I’ve been plotting and planning an “Adventure Wall” in the family room for a while now with photos of world travels. I’ve finally got our favorites all picked out with about half of the photos blown-up. My engineer/husband has the large wall they will rest on plotted out on paper like a blueprint. Heck, I even know how many vertical and horizontal pictures I can fit on the wall before it blows up.

Carrying on with the same theme, I wanted something different for the walls vacated by my babies. It was earlier this year I decided Mimi should have her own “Adventure Wall.” She has been going to a special needs summer camp (Camp C.A.M.P. near Comfort, Texas and Camp for All in Burton, Texas) since she was eight-years-old having her own kind of adventures. Mimi will be thirty years old in July. Every year a disposable camera went with Mimi to camp for her “buddy” to take photographs. We’ve gotten some interesting photos of her fishing, petting boa constrictors, in a canoe and even hanging from a zip line. A couple of times they even got her in the pool. I think it is the splashing she detests. But by far Mimi’s favorite activity has always been horseback riding.

Obviously, Mimi on the horse is the first photograph she sees as I wheel her down the hallway to her room.

Her bobbin is busy!

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A couple of years ago I decided to kick my quilts up a bunch of notches. I started bringing all my quilt tops to the fabulous Kim Norton, of A Busy Bobbin (www.abusybobbin.com). To say she is JUST awesome is an understatement.

In the past, I tried hand quilting. It takes a long time and I wasn’t very good at it. Blame it on being a lefty! I tried doing my own machine quilting. My results were nice enough, but with limited time, I wasn’t cranking out many quilts each year with the added work.

In the past, I’d inspected the details on many lovely quilts at various quilt shows, but didn’t think any of my quilts could look that good. When my friend Angela raved about Kim, I decided to give her a try. The rest is history!

The most recent quilt Kim quilted for me is for our grandbaby-boy-to-be. He is now the size of a cabbage, as that is the thing to do these days … compare unborn babes to fruits and veggies. We’ll meet him in person in early May!

I love bringing my quilt tops to Kim. It’s a blast watching her creative juices flow as the unfinished quilt top is laid over her longarm machine. We talk about the quilt’s vision and then Kim does this little dance with spools of thread that she takes down from her spool rack. She lays strands across the quilt top to see what will work best. We chose a variegated thread. Although I have several awesome custom quilted designs from Kim, lots of the quilts use an all-over, or pantograph pattern. For the little cabbage’s quilt, we flipped through a book and picked out one called “Animal Crackers” from Urban Elementz with zoo animals all over it. I love the results. What do you think?