Vacation, week 2

We left Martha's Vineyard last Sunday and headed to Amherst, MA to spend a week with my twin sister and her family. We make this trip every year, and it is one of the things I look forward to most in life. My husband and my oldest spend the week at Amherst College basketball camp, and my sister does her best to wear me out with all the activities she plans for us and the three younger kids. We went swimming, we rode bikes, we took a road trip to New Hampshire, we went to a playground, we had FUN!

The camera missed most of the action, but it didn't miss the train ride at the park,

(my twin sis and my beautiful niece)

(Donald - no, you don't need a helmet to ride the train, but we had been riding bikes)

(my nephew and Donald - so glad it isn't my son making the face this time!)

and it didn't miss the visit of my college roommate and her son, who hopped in the car to come down and visit from Vermont.

It also didn't miss all the quilts I have made that are hanging on her walls - gotta love seeing your stuff in other people's homes. In my nephew's room (the first quilt I ever completed),

in my niece's room,

and in my sister's room.

Now I just need to get a completed quilt in MY room! I did get quite a bit of quilting done on my Bright Future quilt - it should be done this week, I think. I also picked up my new nephew's Bright Idea quilt to use as my fair entry this year, but it looks like some of the red has run! Ideas, anyone? The woman at the quilt shop told me to get Color Catcher from the laundry aisle for when I wash it, but does anyone have ideas about how to get out the small red stain? (Yes, I pre-wash, but this was a string quilt made from scraps from lots of people, and I can't guarantee that all scraps had been pre-washed.) I don't think I can enter a quilt with a stain, and I certainly don't have time to finish another in its place. I'm going to do my best to get this out before the quilt has to be turned in later this month.

Troopers!

No, not state troopers.

No, not storm troopers.

I'm talking about my little troopers. These guys are up for any adventure! On Wednesday, it was riding across the island to check out West Tisbury, a town I had never been to despite all my visits to the island. There was a lovely bike path, but it was a 17 mile trip (round trip). There are many people who would have complained, but not my guys. Down the hills, they yelled, "I have a need for speed!" On the straightaways, they raced. Going up hills, they counted the pedals to get up the hill, and when it got to be too much, they cheerfully jumped off and pushed their bikes up the hills. I had so much fun!

Here they are pretending to be tired...

Yesterday, it was beach time. We went to State Beach, a serene water scene rather than the waves of the day two days previous. Of course, we brought boogie boards this time when there were no waves, and didn't have them when there were. That's OK, we'll get it right today. In the meantime, they made new friends, got thrown in by Daddy and generally just had a good time. The only frustrating part is that I'm not allowed to go swimming yet - argh! I could almost forget the sadness of last week if it weren't for that.

I didn't bring any quilting with me on this trip, just my backpack and my bike, so I don't have any of my own quilting photos to show you, but check out these cute quilts on the kids' beds in the bunkroom. I need to master applique so I can do something cute like these. I love all the different fabrics that were incorporated into these.

(OOPS! Did I wake you up, Donald?)

It has been a lovely week. Here is where we are staying:

http://bootstrapfarm.com/

But I'm also looking forward to next week at my twin sister's house. I love vacation!

Happiness is...

Happiness is meeting your nephew for the first time. It wasn't as hard as I had imagined it would be, in light of what I had gone through just two days before. My sister was a gem and let me hold him as long as I wanted. I love babies!

Eventually, I let the boys have a turn...

Happiness is seeing a quilt you have made being used. When I showed up at my sister's house, the Dresden Plate quilt I made her was on the bed I was to sleep in, and she was in a rocker, nursing Dorian with his Bright Idea quilt draped over the two of them. Just what a quilter wants to see!

Happiness is getting an unexpected pedicure from your niece - it is nice to be pampered!

Happiness is watching your husband teach your just-turned-5-year-old how to ride a bike with no training wheels. Just in time, too, because we are currently on Martha's Vineyard on vacation - no car, just bikes, heaven!

Happiness is watching your kids frolic in the waves. I was a bit sad because I'm not allowed to go swimming yet, but when I put my feet in the water, all of a sudden I was happy to have an excuse to not get in that frigid water!

Happiness is coming across your child asleep, worn out from an 8 mile bike ride plus 3 hours in the sun and surf.

Happiness is realizing you can feel happiness again after something sad happens in your life. Thank you all for the kind and encouraging words!

Miscarriage

My husband and I got the sad news on Monday. We were back for our second ultrasound in 6 days. The first one didn't show what it was supposed to, just an empty pregnancy sac in my uterus. I consoled myself by saying that we all just had the timing wrong and I wasn't as far along as we all thought. The second ultrasound confirmed what the doctor had initially suspected, though - the pregnancy was not viable and miscarriage was inevitable.

"It is not your fault," the doctor said.
"When there is an early miscarriage, it is usually because of chromosomal abnormalities," he explained.
"This miscarriage doesn't mean you can't and won't get pregnant and carry a baby to term in the future if you so choose," he assured me.
"Nearly every 4th or 5th pregnancy results in miscarriage," he shared.

My head heard everything he said, and told my heart, "Don't worry, we'll try again." My heart screamed, "You failure!" and then broke in half.

I went to work on Tuesday as usual. I cried so much on Monday, I thought I was all cried out. I was wrong. I was sent home almost immediately. Instead of going home, I went to the coffeeshop and ordered a Grande Irish Nut coffee - no need to avoid caffeine anymore. Then I texted my friend and fellow quilter, Nancy, to see if I could come over. Of course she said "yes," so I went over to cry on her shoulder a bit, not in small part because she is moving out of state in a week and won't be a quick drive away anymore. Then I went to karate and kicked the snot out of the bags, probably my fiercest day in karate ever. After all that, I felt much better, and went to find my husband to spend the rest of the afternoon with him. He is such a sweetheart, a gentle giant, but also a fierce protector. I'm lucky to have him. I'm also lucky to have my smart, healthy, fun-loving, affectionate boys. When I sit back and think about it, I have lots of blessings. I can't let this setback cloud my view of all the good things in my life.

Upon the doctor's recommendation, I went in today for a D and E to clean everything out of my uterus. I feel empty inside, both literally and figuratively. But I'm going to let my optimistic nature work its magic, and I'm sure that before long, instead of feeling empty, I will feel like I am starting over with a clean slate.

Baby on the brain

Not only am I pregnant, my younger sister had her first baby last week. Meet my new nephew, Dorian - isn't he a cutie!

So, I definitely have babies on the brain. Yesterday, I wanted a quick project, and bibs seemed like a good place to start. I've never made one before, but I have so much novelty fabric and they seemed pretty quick and easy...


I particularly like the one with all the kids eating.


With the fourth of July coming up, I'd love to start having some seasonal decorations around the house. Other than Jason's Halloween quilt from last year, I don't have any seasonal decorations. Inspired by something I saw on someone's blog (and can no longer find to reference!), I threw together this table runner, which I hope to quilt during my next road trip and then bind in red.


I'd like to make some placemats as well. I have to admit, now that I have a funtioning sewing machine to use, I've been neglecting my hand projects. I'm still quilting my Bright Futures quilt, but I got quite a bit done at the drive-in movie last night (Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Letters to God, but I was exhausted and we had to leave after the first feature), and I have a doctor's appointment on Monday, so I'm likely to get some stitches done then. Plus, I still haven't sandwiched and tied my Orphan Block quilt. So much to do, so little time...

Canine cuisine?

Were any of you reading my other blog (at myquiltblog.com) when I made this pillow for our then-puppy, Biscuit?



If so, you probably remember I had to take it away from him at first because he kept chewing on it, but despite my best efforts, it ended up a disemboweled mess in no time.


Well, after seeing the bed that Nancy-Rose made for her cat, Gibby, I got to thinking that maybe Biscuit is ready for a bed again. He turns two this summer, and he hasn't eaten anything he wasn't supposed to eat in quite a while now. Besides, I feel sorry for him sleeping on the hard floor, especially since we don't have any carpets or rugs in our house. So, last night, I used more of that home dec weight fabric I used to make couch pillows this weekend to make a big floor pillow for Biscuit. I didn't do anything fancy, because I didn't want to be devastated if he ate it, but I think it is going to work this time.

There is an explanation

You read about my insanely productive weekend. As predicted, it was followed by a Monday when I felt absolutely drained. After 8 hours at work, 45 minutes of karate, and 10 laps at the city pool with the kiddos, all I could manage to do by the time I got home yesterday was shower, gratefully eat the dinner my husband prepared, and collapse onto bed with some magazines. My kids woke me up when it was time for me to put them to bed (good kids), and then I swept the magazines I had been pretending to read off the bed and went to bed for real.

There is an explanation for my surge of organizing/cleaning energy, and an explanation for my utter exhaustion. Can you guess?



Is the light from my radiant, beaming smile lighting your part of the world, too?