Schnibbles # ???.... I've lost count!

Taaaaa-Daaaaaa!!!  

One more Schnibbles adorning someone's room! 

This one, this precious pink cutie, will be dragged along the carpeted floors by little Charlee. My friend Erin will be cradling this new baby any day now, so I stitched lots of love into this wee quilt, just for her --- daughter #6!

It was a mad rush to get it finished on time, but, YAY, it happened and is in Charlee's nursery, waiting for its new little owner to snuggle up close!

In case you want to see a huge variety of this month's Schnibbles, on April 1st go visit HERE or HERE and see a whole parade of them!  :)

~ Children are a gift from the Lord ~

  (part of Psalm 127:3)

300th Post! A Tribute to Aprons and the Sweet Past

OK, I shared this very picture with you in the last post, but I had to share it again because of what was in this morning's e-mails...


Today, don't look at us -- look at that darling green polka-dot apron that is dangling from my neck!


On a wonderful blog, where the Blogger links us to her money-making Amazon links (more about this in a minute), she modeled the apron for us. My BFF and I had to have it! (We adore polka-dots, and like to buy the same things, so that we can think of each other and remember our fun memories. Shannon lives an hour away, but we take an annual trip to the coast. It was on our last trip, where, for the first time, we brought along our laptops. At the same time, we oooood and ahhhhed over her blog, saw that apron, and clicked on her link...)

Amazon was out, unfortunately, but after lots of minutes searchin, we found a gal on Ebay that had two available. Click... and they were ours!

Everyone RAVES about my apron. My daughter saw it and begged me to make her one. So, carefully tracing the apron onto newspaper, I made her a frolicking hot pink one with white polka dots!!!  CUUuU-UuUU-UUuuTE!!!


Anyhoooo, before I copy and paste the sweet email about aprons, let me just say that the Proverbs 31 woman is wise and industrious. Lots of times I will link my bloggerinas to Amazon for books and such. One day my friend saw that and said, "You know, Liz, why don't you just sign up with Amazon and use the link to earn a little money." So, I did. (P.S. I do not know how much you make, or how you can sign up. But... my friend walks me through it, and I am sure if you run over to her blog, leave a comment asking her how, she will reply when she can {she has four kids that keep her busy}. Tell her Liz sent you.).


The one drawback to that is this: My posts could sound more like sales pitches than the truth of what I think about something. Like the Busy Mom's Bible post. What really bummed me out,was that some wondered if it was all hype so that they would buy the Bible and I'd get paid. Kerplunk went my heart when I read that... and I removed the Amazon link. But, I'm hoping I get brave enough to do it again, because I think it's a help to you and a help to me.

I am not going to link you to Amazon or Ebay because I already looked, and neither had this great apron anymore. So sad!!! So, my next suggestion is to go buy a pattern or a book. A good friend gave me an apron book for my birthday, and it is loads of fun. There are lots of apron books out there! Hey, nevermind!! While proofreading  this post, it came to me to simply Google "basil polka dot apron". I had to scroll through quite a few, till I came to the gal who invented it (strange that she was not listed first...). Anyhoo.... Though I didn't see the green one, here she is with other colors - 

http://www.mainstreet-store.com/kd_women.shtml

So.... on to the email I got today.....

I don't think our kids 

know what an apron is.

 (Amazon's picture)

 

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for  removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. 

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. 

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
 When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the menfolks knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma's aprons.

REMEMBER:

Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool.  Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw..

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. 
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.

 (Me neither!)

Party On!

It was our dad's 80th birthday, so we threw him a party! We rented the beautiful Junior League building, which used to be an old house with many stairs and bedrooms. I could move right in! The backyard, below the staired patio deck, is wedding-ready. Beautiful!

This picture was taken in the kitchen, where it was a zoo with all of us coming and going, getting the food ready.

In it are (front row, left to right), my sister Linda, one of my all-time favorite aunts - Aunt Dessa (she is a kick!!!), moi, my sister Theresa, behind me to the left is my younger sister Karen and next to her is my wonderful sis-in-law, Debbie. In the background, working as he should (LOL) is Karen's husband, Randy.  

The Meyer clan loves a good party, and it was a fun night!

Happy 80th, DAD!

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he,

I am he who will sustain you.

I have made you and I will carry you; 

I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Isaiah 46:4

Reassuring!!!

OH!!! And this just in..... A bloggerina over at Pokeydotquilting mentioned in today's post about a fabulous pattern & fabric giveaway. Look below and see what you could win, if chosen, on March 22..... 

This is a treat for anybody who has a needle and thread!!!! Jump over HERE, to Karensquilting and enter!  She's doing this giveaway for a friend who does not blog. Kinda cool, eh?  :)

Hope you win!!!!!! XO

 

Busy Mom's Bible

Lately, I have been feeling like my hours and minutes are not my own. I mean, it's nice to have loved ones who need you, a job that calls you in to work so that we can have money, the whir of my sewing machine that means something brilliant is being created (which has been awfully quiet, lately; I went in and patted it the other day), lots of homemaking chores, an 80th birthday party to cook for and plan, and all the other things on our elongated to-do lists. But, in the past few weeks, though my hands and brain have been endlessly engaged, I have yet to experience that restful, caught-up yumminess.



Do you know what I am talking about???



It's a good thing to work like Martha, but a totally needful thing to choose to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn and get refreshed.

"'Martha, Martha,' the Lord answered,

'you are worried and upset about many things,

but only one thing is needed.

Mary has chosen what is better,

and it will not be taken away from her.'"

 --- Luke 10:38-41.

I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to plop down and sit still when I have a looming list following me like a dark shadow. My brain rebels at the very thought of sitting still. How does this happen?!



These thoughts had been on my mind all week; there just wasn't time to type them out to you. Sad!



Anyhoo, right before Superman and I took off for the night, I got a box in the mail from Zondervan. You know I love surprises, so I figured they grabbed my name from the Thomas Nelson list of book reviewers (I could tell by the size of the package that it had to be a book), perhaps wanting to entice me to join their list (if they even have one).


Ripping it open with my bare hands (and scissors... hey, hands hold the scissors!) I gasped when I saw the leatherish (they call it "Italian Duo-Tone", whatever that means. It feels like soft leather to me, so that's good enough!) pink-and-hot pink cover. Yay! I love pink, don't you!?



At my desk, I stood there debating which Bible to take along - this new one or my beloved one I use, with all my notes and underlinings in it? The final choice came down to weight. Since I would be lugging a bag around with magazines, books, pen, stationary, and Bible, I opted for the new, lighter one. Good choice!



Blogging about it in conjunction with the "minutes are not my own" post was not in my thinking. And then, as I turned the pages of this Busy Mom's Bible, I saw how perfect it was for this time in my life -- and my kids are grown!

You know what it reminds me of? Two things: When I was nursing Noah, my firstborn, I had the same not enough minutes thing going on. I loved nursing him, but, boy, my mind would race... until, he and I sat in the rocker, gently swaying back and forth, and relaxation swept over both of us. Then, I wouldn't want to get out of the chair and get moving again! This Bible has the same effect.



The other thing it reminds me of is exercising. Don't wanna do it. Put it off. But when I tell myself, just do 10 measley minutes, it's more likely I'll lug myself to the gym. Once moving, I usually do more than ten. This Bible reminds me of an igniter, once it lights you up to read, you get a burning passion to read more!



So, here are some things I love about this Bible...

1. The color and feel of it. They might have other color schemes, but not sure. Rather or not it's leather, it just feels soft and yummy!
2. There are no cross references. Normally, these are a must-have for me; I use them and like them. So, at first, I was disappointed not to find any. But then, as I read, I felt myself relaxing into the simplicity of just reading what was on the page. My shoulders eased away from my ears as tensions took a nap.It was freeing, since they weren't distracting me from the plain and powerful verses I was reading. I'm surprised at this discovery!
3. The colorful pages like this, that give you subjects, like "STILLNESS" and offers you 1-minute, 5-minutes, or 10-minute readings or questions to ponder (with Scripture references and the page you will find them on in this Bible. Handy!)
4. A list (not a to-do) with different 5-minute readings you can do, about Jesus or the Women of the Bible.
5. The 10-Minutes Study Guide, with the additional 5-minutes "Reflect & Pray". (Hey, it's better than none!)

    6.   For me, an alphabetical word concordance is a must! Theirs is very nice.

    7.   One thing I really like, and am thinking about going through one at a time, from beginning to end, is the wonderful 10-minutes Study Index. Had I snapped a picture of the first ones, you would have seen that I will be starting with "God is..."; taking me through 29 truths about God; such as: Coming Again, In Control, Good, Water... and more! Can't wait! (See what I mean about it being an ignitor!!!)

   8.   Maps are important!

   9.   I just like how it has me gung-ho for spending time in the Word; this Bible is God's answer to my prayer to fall in love with the Word all over again! Yay & thank You, Lord (and Zondervan, His vessel to deliver His answer)! "God loves to give good gifts in response to prayer...Matthew 7:7-11" --- from the Study Guide under 'prayer'. And some just happen to be PINK!!!

Crazy Week of Work!

Tonight I walked into my sewing room, my poor neglected sewing room, walked slowly by my unused Bernina, patted it lovingly, and wished for many hours to do nothing but sew. Doesn't that sound fun? What is it that you are longing to do but have no time for?

All week (except today) I dragged myself out of bed when the sun hadn't even begun to have thoughts of stretching it's arms up into the horizon, and zipped off to work. It just doesn't seem right to get up in the dark!  :)  Do you have to leave your home for work when it's still dark out?

But, duty called and I subbed for my favorite library. 

Life is like that!

This is the day the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it.... even if it doesn't get to include sewing... or your beloved hobby!  

(Psalm 118:24)