The Starkey house fire

These are pictures of the house behind mine burning this morning. Chris and his wife got out all right but they lost a dog and some cats.

CAMC Awards Dinner

Richard and I attended the CAMC Awards Dinner this evening. Richard was honored for being employed by CAMC for thirty years. There were quite a few people who had thirty years in, a pretty good sized list of people with thirty-five years and forty years, and even two people who had worked there for forty-five years! I figure they started working there as very young teenagers! Richard received a very nice certificate, and he was able to choose a $400 gift card from a bunch of items he was offered. We had dinner with 900 people. They served prime rib (not too bloody - but very chewy) and Chicken Marsala (which was delicious). They had steamed squash, green beans and roasted potatoes. I would have enjoyed the veggies had they been hot, but they weren't. They also served a green salad and a pasta salad. I saw several desserts but I only tried Oreo pie. After dinner Richard had to go up on stage to receive his certificate from the CEO of the hospital. We left soon after. Richard needed to visit the restroom so we just slipped out.

This is my Yellow Brick Road quilt. It is lap-sized, perfect to throw over the back of the sofa and use to cover your legs when you are chilly. I got the quilting done yesterday and the binding applied. It still needs the binding sewn down by hand but I will do that on Election day when I am working at the polls. The pattern uses seemingly random squares and rectangles all jumbled together. I decided to machine-quilt 1/4" around the inside of each block. I didn't enjoy making the quilt, it just wasn't much fun. But I really enjoyed quilting it. Of course, I can't take a picture of a quilt without a cat holding it down. They have to sample all the quilts. That's Sam stealing the scene.

Angie called as soon as Cassie's baby was born but she wasn't sure of the name yet. I haven't talked to her since. I hope they liked the baby quilt I made for her and the two little sleepers I got at Elder-Beerman. I wish we had a little girl to spoil. I would love to make frilly little clothes for her. I heard the cutest name for a girl the other day. I told Audrey she needed to have a girl and name her Calliana Rose. Isn't that georgous??? She could be called Callie for short.

Richard saw the doctor on Tuesday and I made sure he told him that he wasn't feeling good. The doctor changed his blood pressure med from Avapro to Norvasc. I hope it helps. You can tell when he doesn't feel well - he sits around all the time doing nothing. He is ordinarily a busy person.

After seeing the doctor we went looking for a sport jacket for Richard to wear to the Awards dinner that will be held on the 20th. We went to all the best places and nothing seemed right or fit well. I got the idea to look for a zip-up jacket to wear with a dress shirt and tie and that would be fancy enough. We ended up a Kelley's Men's Shop where he tried on a burgundy blazer that we both fell in love with. I would never have even tried burgundy but I love it on him. It cost $195 but alterations are free and it did need some work. That is why we didn't like any of the other jackets we looked at, nothing seemed to fit him right. Kelley's has to take in the shoulders and let out the waist, and maybe shorten the sleeves. I told Richard he needs a pink shirt to wear with it. That would match my outfit for the dinner, a flowered pink jacket, a white knit shell and white slacks. I think I will have Audrey take some pictures of us before we go.

Baby Quilt

Made a new quilt for Cassie's new baby. (Has she been born yet? Gotta find out.) Decided to do it last Wednesday when Audrey and I were at WalMart and saw some really cute fabric. We chose the butterfly print for the border and then chose fabrics for the blocks based on the colors in the border. I made the top Wednesday evening and got it sandwiched with batting and backing on Thursday. I let it set on Friday and took it to work with me on Saturday. I did all the quilting and then put the binding on with the Designer Diamond sewing machine (costs $8,000!). Boy it does a great job on quilting! I'd love to have one but that is a lot of money! I embroidered a label on the Diamond also. Then I started in on the hand stitching on the binding. I hate that part, love the rest! Got it done while sitting on the porch on Sunday. Today it went out on UPS. I hope she likes it. I used the same pattern I have been doing for a while now. I have made a total of five quilts from this pattern. I usually just make one of something and move on, but this one is easy and quick and uses up some of my stash (when I'm not buying more fabric). The color looks blue-er (is that a word?) in the first picture. The other two look right. That's Sam in the second picture and Sam and Rosie in the third.

Audrey and I were going to church Easter Sunday but she had IBS problems. I fixed a spiral-sliced ham and some veggies and made some macaroni salad which is still in the fridge (I always forget something). Richard had brought in a half-flat of strawberries so we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. I tried to call Adam to dinner but he wasn't answering his phone.

Richard is off today for the holiday so we went to Lowe's and he bought a new pressure washer. He couldn't get his old one to work yesterday.

Spring Wallhanging

This is the spring wallhanging I have been working on today. I got the top finished, now to get it layered and quilted. That makes about three tops I need to quilt, and one king-size quilt I need to bind. I love to piece the tops but the quilting is not the most fun. I got the fabric today at JoAnn Fabrics. Picking out the fabric for a quilt is the hardest part of making one. It's really fun to see it coming together, especially the pattern I used today. You sew together strips of fabric, make a tube, and then cut it apart into rings. Then you open one of the seams in each ring and sew them together. By opening a different one each time it makes the design. It makes a 44" square quilt. This is the fourth one I have made by this pattern.

Richard hasn't been feeling well the past few days, or even longer. I told him I think they need to change his blood pressure meds even if his blood pressure is under control. I'm sure that is what is wrong. He doesn't even feel like eating - so you know he doesn't feel well! Even when I'm really sick I still want to eat.

Damien spent the day with Richard yesterday but I didn't get to see him. I spent the day teaching a class on the Spring Wallhanging quilt to three nice ladies. Their quilts were georgous (of course). I missed getting to see Damien though. He was wearing Big Boy pants the other day but yesterday he was back in Pull-Ups. He seems to be resisting toilet-training. If Richard had him for two days he would not need Pull-Ups any more. Richard and Mom toilet-trained my kids, I didn't have anything to do with it.

I talked to Angie this afternoon. She said Cassie has already gone on maternity leave, even though the baby isn't due for another couple of weeks. I told her to be sure and let us know when the baby is born. She is having another girl.

Debbie finished her Tossed Nine-Patch quilt two days ago so we took both of them to Quilts by Phyllis to be quilted. I also took the other quilt top I had ready. Surprise, Phyllis said that it should only take about two weeks to get them quilted.
We also went to WV Quilts in Barboursville to buy more fabrics to make more quilts. I didn't spend much but I got a lot of fabrics. They are smaller than fat quarters but they are great for my scrap quilts.
We had a nice lunch at Panera Bread at the Huntington Mall. Then we went to Teays Valley to shop at Elder-Beerman where I got t-shirts and cardigans in yummy spring colors, and a new pair of pierced earrings.
I was tired when I got home and spent the evening in my computer chair watching tv. I guess having my heart rate so low makes me tired like this. I see my doctor next Wednesday and I am going to ask him to change my meds.

Debbie

Damien is here!

Damien is spending the evening with Richard and me. I finally gave him the quilt I made for him last fall. It has choo-choos and planes and all kinds of transportation on it. I had it quilted at Quilts by Phyllis. It has been finished for a while but the label was still laying here. I got the label on just a few minutes before he got here.

Richard brought home a half-flat of strawberries yesterday. Someone sells them behind the hospital on Thursdays when they are in season. I cleaned and sliced them and put sugar and Splenda on them. Then I made some pound cake. Delicious strawberry shortcake for desert today! They came from Plant City, Florida. Many years ago we would be in Florida this time of year and we would always get strawberries from Plant City at the Flea Market. It really makes me miss Mom and Dad.

Adam brought his laundry home a little bit ago and had some time to spend with Damien. We played the new Mario game on the Wii and Damien is as good as Adam is with it, or he will be with practice. It always amazes me the things he can do.

Audrey's mother-in-law is visiting and they put the daybed together for her sleep on. I ran over to KMart and got a new set of sheets. It was a gorgeous day to be out and about. I sat on the porch for a few minutes, but it was shaded and I get so chilled. I can't wait until I can porch-sit as much as I want!