Friday, September 30, 2011

Update time


This is a beautiful time of year and I hope the colors in nature inspire you to make some lovely quilts.  The BOM is Maple Leaf http://delawarequilts.com/BOMs/MapleLeaf/  which I think is the perfect block for October. 


Because we had a waiting list for the fall retreats NEXT year, I have added another retreat which hopefully will accommodate everyone’s schedules.  I will announce openings for each retreat after this year’s is over, giving the current retreaters the chance to book first.  Dates and details as know for now are on the main retreat page, http://www.delawarequilts.com/Retreat/  You can always get on the waiting list now and be the first notified of openings.

The Delaware Quilts team is off to a great start for the 2012 Relay For Life year.  You can keep up with our progress at http://main.acsevents.org/goto/Delaware-Quilts

If you are in the Lower Slower Delaware area be sure to stop by Serendipity Quilt Shop today for their Grand Opening celebration.  If you haven’t been there yet you will be amazed at the new store, it’s lovely!  http://www.serendipityquiltshop.com/
 
Finally,  I just posted a brand new quilt pattern on the Mysteries For Relay group.  This is not a mystery, but a full pattern everyone will hopefully enjoy.  You can get this pattern for a $5 donation or you can join the group for a whole year for just $30.  I post new patterns and/or mysteries about every six weeks.  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MysteriesForRelay/
 

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Too much ado about nothing

That’s what kind of day I’m having AGAIN…. I’ve been doing since I got up and nothing is done yet and I’ve had a hundred interruptions and I am all alone… well except for Mufasa.

Speaking of… he learned a hard lesson today, you can not run and jump on a wet floor. I had just finished mopping the kitchen floor when he decided he needed a snack. He noticed his bowl wasn’t on the floor but up on the counter so he took off running to jump up there and landed on his rump on a pile in the corner of the kitchen. He’s not allowed on the counters so I’m glad he missed and hopefully he learned his lesson. Maybe he learned more than one, no jumping on the counter, no running on wet floors and Pine-Sol tastes funny when you try to wash it off your paws.

And I learned a valuable lesson too, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a discount. When you are a good customer businesses will do something nice for you if you ask. I really appreciate this discount, it adds up. And these days every dime counts.

Am I getting any quilting done…. No although I did pick up four quilts from the quilter yesterday. They are still sitting on the kitchen table where I put them when I came home. But the kitchen table is in the living room right now while the kitchen floor dries.

And I have more work to get done so I’d better get at it!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

We have a short URL


https://www.facebook.com/DelawareQuilts
Once you have 25 likes on Facebook you can have a short URL.  In less than 24 hours I got the required likes and now have a nice short easily remembered (I hope) URL.
https://www.facebook.com/DelawareQuilts  You can check there for monthly updates and who knows when I might put a special quilt pattern on sale or something such. 

 Since I am sort of Facebook illiterate I’ll confess, I think you have to be signed in to see that page.  Regardless, if you get on please “like” us!

What did I do yesterday?

I did a lot of some things, a little bit of nothing and some more of not much.  But I got a lot accomplished.  I am making progress in getting ready for the retreats, working on dates for future years’ retreats, and even working on a brand new retreat.  The new one was sort of on demand.  So many people wanted to come in the spring, but that retreat is booked year to year, so I’m contemplating adding a second spring retreat.  No, it won’t be the same time as the show, but there are so many ladies who don’t care about the show and would honestly prefer retreating when there isn’t a show on, making shops less crowded. 

I also did something I said I would never do… started a Delaware Quilts page on Facebook.  If you read me often you know I don’t really like Facebook.  But after the wedding, when I got lessons on Facebook, and when people started posting personal photos of the happily married couple, I started to have a second opinion of it.

And then someone started pushing me to do a Delaware Quilts page.  Her suggestion was a good one, more people see Facebook than the blog, and possibly I could drum up some more Mysteries For Relay business.  DS#1 has been after me to start a Delaware Quilts facebook page to, so he was happy.  And if I make one of my boys happy, it was worth all the trouble, LOL!

For now I don’t have a short URL for the facebook page, but if you want to follow it or like it or whatever you do… you can search in the facebook search box for Delaware Quilts.  As soon as I get the short URL I will post it on the right!

Monday, September 26, 2011

I see the sun!

I see the sun, it’s so bright and shiny and pretty.  It’s been a long time since I saw it; I was starting to forget what it looked like. 

Another thing I am starting to forget is quilting… seems like forever since I did any and things keep popping up keeping me from it.  Two weeks from tomorrow like it or not I will be back in quilting mode, with friends, old and new.  Can’t wait!
 

Sunday, September 25, 2011

To whom it may concern

I got this email..    

UNITED STATES POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE,
PO BOX 555, NEW YORK NY

This is to inform you that we have intercepted your parcel, UPS COURIER SERVICE is making the delivery and we have stopped the delivery process for some security reasons stated below:
 
1.  Our scanning system has detected that your parcel contains an ATM CARD that has the sum of $1,000,000.00 (one million dollars only) in it.
 
2.  Such ATM CARD coming from Europe, Africa, Asia, must be verify by the postal inspection service which we have directed our inspection team to verify the authenticity of this ATM CARD. After the verification on the Parcel / ATM CARD we contacted the issuing institution who made it known to our office that the ATM CARD is a Genuine and not illegal acquired. We also forward the Serial number of the ATM CARD to the United States Treasury Department and they confirmed that the CARD is authentic and ready for use in any ATM machine in the world.

Of course they want some personal information I don’t wish to give them, so… to the dear person who sent me the ATM Card with a million on it, thanks but no thanks.   I am not that stupid although I sure could use the money!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Rainy Saturday

And Friday too, I think the rain may never stop... I'm going to build an ark soon.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Of course John was there!

Smarty pants Sue asked me if my husband attended the wedding since she didn’t see him in any pictures.  He was there, and he took many of the pictures I’ve shared on here, which is why he isn’t in them.  He was in the first look video too, but you only see his back, since he was standing in the hallway making sure no one came in the room.  However, Sue was right there wasn’t much photographic evidence of John being present.  However, a friend of the bride and groom caught us coming into the ceremony and again coming into the reception.  Both are a little fuzzy, but proof John was indeed there. (And I am sure photographer Issa Michel got many more of John)

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Yes another post already

I just got an email from a friend through facebook, something I thought couldn’t be done.  I went on facebook to see why, and found lots of posts from friends complaining about changes.  But for the first time ever I managed to maneuver all around facebook easily and even found everything I was looking for, LOL! 

While on there I noticed my security was low, extremely low according to them.  So I clicked to change it.  They ask you to answer one of those security questions.  So what if you don’t know the answers to a single one of their top secret security questions?  How is that going to make it more secure? 
 

Back to quilting

No, not yet, I’m just not ready.  But I better get there soon, I have a retreat starting just 20 days from now.  And right now my retreat and quilting stuff is scattered all over this house and in the garage and it might just take me 20 days to find it all again!

And I know a certain long arm quilter who is waiting for me to pick up some quilts, and I want to get them too. 

And there is still two or three loads of laundry left from the weekend.

And I think I promised a mystery sometime this month. 

Guess I’d better get my act together and get to it. 

But several of you have asked me questions about the wedding etc and it would be rude not to answer, right? 

Kathy wanted to know where Mike and Kelly went on their honeymoon.  They didn’t go yet, Kelly is still working on her masters degree and had a class Monday night.  They will be going during winter break to Sandals in Jamaica. 

Lynn wanted to know how the kitty aka Mufasa did during all the company and was he still here.  He did pretty well considering all the harassment he got.  You know boys just can not tease an animal, and since this one loves fighting, he enjoyed it.  He loved that the two sofa beds were open and he could crawl under them, and he just doesn’t understand why he can’t now.  And yes, he is still with us, Mike and Kelly aren’t ready for him just yet. 

And quite a few people have asked to see ME at the wedding.   If you are a friend on facebook, now that I’ve been talked into going back there and even posting there, there are a lot of photos of me at the wedding.  I think if you are my “friend” you can see them but facebook is still foreign to me so I could be wrong.  But, since you insist, here are a few for the blogger friends.  (Which I like much more than facebook)
My sister Kathy (Kate) and me
front view
Mike and I dancing
rear back view
Photographer Issa Michel, Mike and Kelly and Jon and me
after the rainbow shots were taken. 
(And they were running to get more photos before it faded)
I’ll share more when we get the photographers pictures, I’m pretty sure he took a few of me and I can’t wait to see the family ones!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

More Wedding

No I’m not done yet.  I have much more to say about the best wedding ever. 

Mainly Mike and Kelly planned the entire happening and they are amazing wedding planners.  They did a LOT of research and got the best of everything for their wedding.  I have to comment on all of them and I hardly know where to begin….

Burt Miller, brand new Daddy and terrific sax player which has nothing what so ever to do with his job at the wedding… the ceremony.  Burt is Mike and Kelly’s pastor and did an amazing job at the rehearsal and wedding and had the most important job of all, marrying them!


The rehearsal dinner was held at their favorite restaurant in Lewes, Agave.  John and I had not been there before, but we will go again, and their party room is great.  Not traditional tables where you sit, but comfortable sofas and coffee tables.  Oh there are a few tables but arranged in a family room kind of setting, very nice.  The food was terrific, but watch out for the spicy shrimp… delish but oh so spicy!

Reception site, Nassau Valley Vineyards.  I remember the vineyards when it started, just a few rows of vines and one little building.  Now it is a great venue and I would recommend it to anyone for a party or happening. 

Dover Rent-All provided what the Vineyards did not and did a great job at set up and take down too. 

Bayside Limos drove us to the wedding (thanks Sam) and home again (thanks Ellyne).

The ceremony music was done by Keith White and Josh Ostasewski and was perfect, just right. 

Food!  YUMMY!  (even as leftovers!)  Georgia House and Joanne Dorey and ALL of the servers too did a great job.  Guests have commented to me how polite they were at all times.  

 

The cake was by Joanne Hearn of Cakes by Joanne and it was perfect, even the mustache cake.  And she provided an extra layer incase there wasn’t enough, and I’m so happy Mike and Kelly shared it with us!  Perfectly moist deliciously divine chocolate mmmmmmmm


Even though I am not into most of today’s music, I very much enjoyed the wedding music.  And DJ Amaze did an outstanding job with the dance crowd… except for one thing.. he never got back to that fun Soul Train dance.
You  might have to enlarge this to see, but this is DJ Amaze and Issa Michel photographer at work...
look like part of the party gang to me!
And the photos!  Amazing photos were taken at this wedding, probably a million all together… or at least close. 

The photographer IssaMichel came all the way from Fairfax VA and was such a delight.  He was like one of the party even before we got to the wedding and by the end of the night he was like an extended family member.  He was so polite in his arranging things and people and fit right in the crowd.  I can not wait to see ALL the photos he took. 

And then there was Story Booths’ Heather and Claire.  I’ve known Heather for a few years now through Relay but never knew about her side job until Relay last year when she brought her Story Booth along as a fundraiser.  There I met Claire, Heather’s Story Booth partner and there Mike and Kelly saw "THE" photo booth they wanted for their wedding.  And Heather and Claire and their Story Booth were there, and the guests quite enjoyed it as you can clearly see
Kelly and Mike
Some of the bridal party

Steph and Jon

Cheri, John's sister
My sister Kate who will always be Kathy to me
not real sure who these women are


 
The Davis Gang


these two look familiar
I think... no... maybe... gee? 

The reception and more

  After we all receded from the ceremony we hid out in what is like a storage room in one corner of the hall.  (All being the entire wedding party and parents.)  If the wedding had been on the beach the bridal party would have had formal photos before the wedding, and the bride and groom and their families would have rushed in the limo to the vineyards to take family photos immediately after the I dos.  But the rain sort of spoiled that, so we all hid in the storage room until the guest left the wedding half of the hall, and then we all went back into the wedding half for the family photos. 

In the meantime the guests were enjoying some fabulous appetizers and a wine tasting (so I’m told cause I never got any) and then the bridal party starting with the parents were announced.  (Boy did it feel good to sit down, LOL)  Then the bride and groom had their first dance, and then Mike and I did our dance… ok… Mike doesn’t slow dance much and I hadn’t danced in years so we shuffled. And then the toasts, first big brother… I mean best man and then the maid of honor and then we ate… Well most of us ate, Mike and Kelly barely took a bite since they were visiting the guests.  Even after us Moms sat them down and ordered them to eat they barely took a bite. 

Shortly after we started eating someone said rainbow, the photographer grabbed the bride and groom, and many of us headed outside to see it.  It was not just a rainbow, it was a full, finish to end, rainbow.  The photographer took some great shots, and this is one of mine…  the rainbow made up for the rain, because we all know you can’t have a rainbow unless you have rain.  What an amazing site and such a good luck message for the newlyweds. 
Then the dancing started.  There was hardly anyone left sitting, just a few of us old folks, the dance floor was mobbed.  Speaking of mobs… the bridal party had arranged for a flash mob at the reception and it was amazing.  Here’s a link to one of the guests Facebook video of that, and don’t look for me cause I didn’t even attempt it. 

Kelly is saying "WOW, I can't believe you two are here!"
Dancing continued until the DJ announced the last dance and the party was over… well not quite.  There was an after party too!  After the guests had left we packed up what had to be packed up right away, like all the leftover food and personal belongings.  John and I came home and put away all the leftover food and then we changed clothes, and headed back out.  I’m not sure exactly who was more surprised to see us at the club, the bride and groom, the rest of the bridal party… or me!  (I don’t like crowds, I don’t like loud music and there I was at jam packed noisy club on a Saturday night) 

I don’t know what time I left, but I was on the limo bus with the bride and groom, some of the bridal party and a few guests.  First we dropped of the newlyweds at their hotel and then someone who had left their car at the vineyards and then we headed to where I’d left my car.  However… that couple usually go in and out of their house through their garage (like we do) and someone had locked the door between the garage and house and they didn’t have a key.  So they did what anyone would do… broke into their own home, LOL! 

When I got home, John and I took the last groomsman home and then came home ourselves.  It was 6AM when we finally hit the pillows. 

The phone rang at 8:30, Mike calling to say they were running late since we were all supposed to meet at the vineyards to clean up.  I told him everyone else was sleeping still.  When we arrived there everything was almost finished, so we sat around and talked some then came home.  The rest of the day and night people came and went all day long, right up to 10:00 when Mike and Kelly dropped in to get something they needed…  I climbed in bed at 10:30 and didn’t get up until 10:30 Monday.  I thought it was to be catch up day, but it was a repeat of the day before, our phone rang off the hook, family and friends who couldn’t be there calling for details, and Mike and Kelly even stopped in for lunch before they headed home to Maryland. 

Today John is back at work, and I’ve returned all the calls (I think) and answered all the emails, (ditto) and now am posting this.  All that is left is to catch up on the laundry and then I need to get organized for whatever comes next!

Thanks to everyone for your emails, phone calls, comments and best wishes!  It was the best wedding of my life for sure, 1000 times better than my own.  Next is … not saying because it upsets someone when I mention it although it doesn’t bother Steph at all… wink

PS. I had left over chocolate cake for lunch, yummy!

Still to be continued

First so many of you have written or called that you were thinking of me on Saturday and I can’t say how much I appreciate that.  It was nice to know that I had friends thinking of me… maybe that was why I stayed so calm… well pretty calm anyway… through the whole adventure!
Thanks!
Next, I am still catching up, but here’s a video of the First Look!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpYDCedMj6M&feature=share

Marge

Monday, September 19, 2011

The Wedding by the mother-of-the-groom

I don’t even know where to start. It was such a new happening to me, almost equal to becoming a mother the first and second time. However this time I became a mother-in-law to one of the most special young ladies I have ever met.

Friday was setting up day, and that went so smoothly and fun, almost like a well planned party. Everything got done way before the bride and groom thought it would be and everyone was relaxed and ready for the next day. Well almost, it seems there was a small issue with three of the bride’s maids’ dresses which was quite upsetting to them. A certain part of their dresses stuck out in a funny way, and they were uncomfortable about it. (Sort of like a pair of snow cone cups were stuck inside the dress)

I said I would look at them and see if I could do anything but inside I was cringing, praying I could. One of the bride’s maids and the maid of honor followed me home and we went to work. Maid-of-honor Amber had some printing she needed done, and Nina tried on her dress. The “flaw” was quite obvious so I had her take it off and I pulled it inside out and went to work. First try wasn’t good enough so I tried again and success… no more pointy boobs. After the dress was finished and the printing done we all started getting ready for the rehearsal.



Rehearsal was on the beach and went quite well. Of course there was a lot of laughing, some joyous cheering when the two out of town grooms-men finally arrived, more laughter and even some tears, mostly from the mothers. We proceeded and receded down the beach until we had it right and all knew our places, then headed off to the rehearsal party. Everyone has a fun time, the food was great, but I just wanted it to be over so we could go on to the next day.

Soon enough it was over and I went… no not to bed…. I had two more bride’s maids’ dresses to fix.  At about my normal bed time John, my little Janome and I went to Jeff and Ali's, part of the bridal party and good friends of Mike and Kelly's, to do more alterations.  That took about twenty minutes, most of the time was talking and laughing and soon enough we were on our way home. In our house were the grooms-men along with all their “stuff,” The best part of that was listening to them talk about who was going to sleep with who and before it got too wild John and I went to bed. Of course I threatened them that if they woke me up I would not be happy, and since all of them knew how grumpy I was when woken up from past experiences they were quite quiet.

When I woke up Saturday morning the first thing I noticed was the darkness of the room… it was the cloudiest “partly cloudy” day I had ever seen. When I walked in the kitchen the guys were all up and eating… One was eating chocolate doughnuts straight from the bag, another eating a dry bagel… I reminded them to make themselves at home and eat something decent, told them where the cream cheese was and went to work hemming the best man’s pants. (FYI, it took me three times as long to hem one pair of pants as it did to fix three dresses.)

At 9:00 the guys headed out to clean up the beach and prepare it for the wedding. I jumped in the shower and headed off to my hairdresser with hopes she could do something with my hair… she did and I hated it, but it was done. I didn’t like it at all, but everyone else said it looked beautiful… I still hate it. I came home to find the groomsmen in various states of dress and confusion, trying to iron their shirts and get ready. The photographer followed me in the house and I left quickly to join the bridal party.

Let me say this… there was much more chaos in my house then there was where the ladies were getting ready. I found all them sitting in one place or another doing much of nothing…. Three were sitting on stools in the kitchen, five were sitting in the living room watching a movie (Wedding Singer) and the rest sitting elsewhere. They were a calm relaxed group of women… The three on stools in the kitchen were getting their faces air brushed (I never heard of such a thing until then). All had had their hair done and even in their various state of dress looked lovely. Shortly the photographer showed up there and so did the rain, but I seemed to be the only one who noticed it, or else everyone like me was afraid to say that four letter word.

As the photographer was taking shots of the wedding dress without the bride I heard one of the girls call out “Momma E Kelly needs you right NOW.” A sobbing bride was comforted by her mother and all I could hear was “but I sob sob sob wanted sob sob to get sob sob sob get married sob sob sob on the sob beach sob sob sob” and I knew that someone had finally admitted that the beach wedding was an impossibility. Momma E said “but you are marrying Michael and it doesn’t matter where you get married” and slowly the bride calmed down…. and I escaped to the bathroom so I could have a hold back my tears and regain my composure.
I almost lost it again when I peeked in at the photographer taking photos of Momma E and Kelly and decided I really should get dressed myself. Both bathrooms were in use, as was the spare bedroom, so I snuck into the “man room” to dress myself. I slipped my dress over my head and was pulling down the layers when my eyes fell on a photo of the man of the house and my baby in a famous (to anyone who knows them well or attended the wedding) pose and then I really lost it. It was a good thing I wasn’t wearing any makeup because it would have certainly been washed off with the tears… I tried to get myself back together, but the girls sort of noticed when I came out, and when I explained they all understood.

Soon we were escorted to the limo under a huge umbrellas that still only managed to keep our heads dry and were on the way to the wedding venue, the vineyards not the beach. The bridal party and parents did a very quick verbal run through of the ceremony so we all knew our places. Then the first look….

I’d never heard of a first look until this wedding and let me say, it was wonderful. Mike stood with his back turned as Kelly walked into the room. The photographer was directing them and snapping what must have been millions of photos along the way. He had Kelly walk closer and closer snapping away. Then she placed her hand on Mike’s shoulder, and then whispered in his ear. Then he had Mike close his eyes and turn around, then open his eyes… it was priceless and there wasn’t a dry eye there and I am bawling again all over again just typing this.


















After that the photographer took the family photos to get them taken care of and then we all snuck as well as we could back to the other side of the divided hall so the guests could go into the wedding part. (The bride was hidden behind a huge golf umbrella so no lingering guests could see her… well nothing but her feet at least.) Soon we were all lined up to proceed into the wedding hall… and before I knew it Mike and Kelly were announced married.
(to be continued…)

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Tuesday, I promise

Most of the family has left, but the bride and groom.... or should I say newest Mr & Mrs Gordon, are still in town.  I will post many details Tuesday, I promise.
Marge

And they lived happily ever after

photo by Issa Michel