Skittering with the little chicks!

There's a children's book I love to read(sing) to my kids - Barnyard Dance, by Sandra Boynton. They are probably getting too old for it, but I love it still. In it, you are encouraged to "skitter with the little chicks", and that is exactly what I felt like I was doing yesterday, skittering about, doing a little bit of this, and a little bit of that.

While the kids were bathing in my tub, I stitched a bit more on my mom's GGG quilt. Yeah, I gave it to her for Christmas, but I took it back because I wanted to add some more stitches. Do you ever do that? Seems like I'm always doing it with HER gifts! Oh well, I'll likely be done this weekend, and can give it to her for real then.

After bathtime was bedtime. Over Christmas, I found some Stories From Grandma's Attic books at my mom's house. Growing up, I adored those stories! I read them over and over again. So I brought them home with me to share with my boys. The stories are about growing up on a farm in Michigan in the mid-1800s, and just like I do/did, my boys love learning about how people lived in the past. After reading one of the stories to them last night, both of them wanted to read more on their own, so I had to go get another one of the books for Donald. Mind you, Donald is in Kindergarten, and can sound out a couple of words, but certainly isn't up to the challenge of a chapter book, but that didn't deter him. When I went up for lights out (they are allowed to read in bed every night), there he was, telling himself stories from this chapter book with very few pictures.

(ignore the fact that his walls have flowery wallpaper and his curtains are pink - he is a real boy, not afraid of pink! Actually, I'm afraid of redecorating - ugh! The room is exactly as it was when we moved in 7 years ago. Do you hear that bed crying out for his Boys Will Be Boys quilt? That will be my next quilting project as soon as I finish this other one off for my mom!)

Next, I wandered down to the sewing room to make a chicken. Yup, you read that correctly - make a chicken. I took some scrap quilt books with me to the gym on Monday while Jason had basketball practice, and in one of my favorites, Quick Quilts from your Scrap Bag, there was a quilt with pieced chickens in the border. For some reason, I've been thinking about pieced chickens ever since. Measure, measure, cut, cut, stitch, stich, VOILA!

He/she is going to have at least one buddy because I don't think I can stop at just one. What will I do with him/her, you ask? Beats me! Ideas, anyone?

As my leader/ender project for the chicken, I finished a couple more log cabin blocks. I think I'm gonna really like this when it's done!

Finally, it was approaching midnight, and I needed to go to bed. Did I go right to sleep like I should? Of course not! Instead, I picked up Earlene Fowler's Love Mercy, which I had just brought home from the library. I've been fiending for another Benni Harper mystery from her, but, of course, she needs time to write them. Imagine my delight when I discovered that Benni and Gabe and Dove all have bit parts in this book! I'm only on chapter 3, but I can tell already that I'm really going to like it.

Speaking of books I liked, I received The Middle Place, by Kelly Corrigan for Christmas, and read it very quickly. Memoir of a young woman with breast cancer. Horrifying, but also delightful - I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The irony is that I was reading it on the trip to Atlanta with the basketball team. On the team (and on the bus) was a young man who lost his mother to breast cancer this Christmas holiday. He's on his way back from his mom's funeral today. I'm so saddened that my throat closes up every time I see him. I've lost a parent, so I know how hard it is, but I was also a grown woman with a spouse and children of my own when it happened. I just want to cuddle the poor kid up to my bosom and rock him to sleep, never mind that he is twice my size. Have you clicked the Breast Cancer Site to give free mammograms today?