Today, Amanda and her kids, and my sister-in-law, Joan, and I went strawberry picking at a nearby farm.  It was a beautiful day!  This is how the strawberries looked -

                                    

We have had a lot of rain the past few days and the ground was wet, and a lot of the strawberries were moldy, so it took some searching for the good ones, but we found enough for 5 buckets between us all!

Here are some pictures of the area and people picking strawberries out there today -

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

And it was so much fun to have my grandchildren there to help us! 

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

                                   

Megan got a little wet in the wet grass!

                                   

I love being a Grandma!  This week, I was able to see them everyday!  Here is some fun at Grandma's from earlier this week -

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

Tomorrow we are going to make freezer jam out of those delicious strawberries!

Next time I blog - My Summer Reading Alliteration!  Stay tuned!

                                   

                                    

We hung our finished or semi-finished projects outside on the fence on Friday after dinner and took pictures.  Camelia, who was able to stand up, but needed to stay in one place (remember her broken foot) was in each picture with us.  I only had parts of some projects finished.  I had taken some very old projects from some classes I had taken years ago as well as some block-of-the-months from a couple of years ago.   I am always starting a project, or taking a class, and then only getting parts of the quilts finished.  Even at this retreat, I only got partial quilt tops finished because they were getting too large for me to manage in the space we had to sew.  I have learned, after about 6 years of going to quilt camps, that with the small sewing space, limited table space for planning and cutting, and my shoulder problems, that I need to keep the projects I work on manageable.  At home, I can spread out more and I have much more table space to lay out the quilt while I sew on the borders.

All that being said (because several people asked me what I worked on), here are pictures of some of the quilts and each of us with Camelia, who was our retreat organizer.  The first one is of Camelia with her quilt -

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

Christine had these blocks made on the day we were taking our outside pictures:

                              

And the next day, this is what she had -

                              

She and her mom had traveled 5 hours from West Virginia near the PA border to be here.  I was glad they did, because I enjoyed getting to know her and we got to be good friends -

                              

This couple came from Silver Springs, Maryland.  They stayed in a cabin on the camp grounds.  They came together because they were waiting for a call from their son that a grandchild had arrived, and the camp was close to where the son and his wife lived.  No baby arrived while we were there, though!

                              

On Sunday morning, Camelia and her husband had their church group come to camp for a short worship service and the quilters were invited to join them.  They have a home church, so it is easy for them to have their service anywhere.  This time it was on the porch at camp!  Here is the home church group -

                              

So, that was the weekend!  Quilters are all such friendly, helpful, and fun people, so it was nice to be with this group.  I have been quilting for years now, but I feel like such a beginner in many ways, and it is nice to be able to learn new techniques and get my questions answered by more experienced quilters.  I am trying to get some old projects finished up!

                                  

I went to a quilt retreat this past weekend.  It was quite a long weekend - Wednesday - Sunday.  This one was organized by a woman I have gotten to know from some previous quilt camps, Camelia, who is a talented quilter, author and photographer - http://www.cuniquec.com/.  She decided to organize these quilt retreats twice a year.  This one was at a place called Camp Alta Mons, where there are not only camps held, but there are several buildings for groups to meet.

I only knew Camelia and one other friend, Patty, going into the retreat, but quilters are always friendly and nice, and so I made some new friends.  This is the building we were in -

                                   

We were in that one building for sleeping, eating, and quilting, and I took several pictures of the sewing machines, ironing boards, and cutting stations set up in the one large room -

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

We ate on the front porch at some tables that were set up -

                                    

                                    

                                    

I took a walk every day, and here is what I passed on my walk -

                                    

                                    

                                    

                                    

There were butterflies everywhere, and I finally got one to stop long enough for me to take a picture -

                                    

We all brought our own projects to work on all weekend.  Some of us, like me, had lots of old projects to try to finish.  Others brought fabric and just started a new quilt, either from a pattern or something they made up.  I was so amazed at the creativity and talent that some of these women have!

This woman had never pieced a quilt before - she was learning how, from a friend who brought her, and this is what she was working on -

                                     

My friend Patty was piecing a quilt and holding up the border she was putting on here -

                                     

And here is more of that quilt -

                                     

Camelia, who was in a wheelchair or on crutches all weekend, following a broken leg, was working on her own design of a quilt that will represent a vacation they took, with pictures and beach-type designs -

                                     

Next time - we took pictures of our projects, finished or unfinished, outside on the fence!

                                    
                                  

I planted some flowers and some herbs in pots on my deck the other day -

                                       

                                       

                                       

                                       

On Saturday, we had a nice lunch here at our house.  Our friends, Sherrie and Bob, who moved away over a year ago were back in town.  I wanted to get some of their friends together, and lunch seemed to fit best in their busy schedule for the weekend.  We had about 16 people here.  But in the busyness of preparation and then eating, I forgot all about taking pictures until almost everyone was gone!

I remembered, when I saw that Betsy had brought Luna upstairs to greet the people who were still here -

                                        

Here are Rachael, Sherrie, and Pam -

                                        

Bob -

                                        

Pam and Steve -

                                         

Jim -

                                         

Sherrie and me -

                                         

It was so nice to see them! 

Yesterday, Luna - and Jim and Betsy and I - went to Durham, NC to see the musical, "Wicked", at the Durham Performing Arts Center.  Well, only Jim and Betsy and I went to actually see "Wicked."  We decided that since it was a short, overnight trip, it would be a good first out-of-town trip to Luna, to see how she does in a motel.  We were able to get her "Service Dog-in-training" orange vest so that she would be allowed everywhere we wanted her to go.

We ate our lunch outside at a fast food restaurant so that Luna could be outside and walk around.  It was less than a 3-hr trip, but that was a nice break.

                                   

                                   

We put her crate up in the motel room, and she did great!

                                    

Here she is looking out the window - she loved taking walks around the motel property!

                                     

She settled right in -

                                     

We left Luna in her crate while we went first to a nearby restaurant for dinner, and then to the show!  She needed to take this service dog stuff in small increments. 

It was a lovely evening.  We enjoyed the short walk from where we parked our car to the theater.  Here is some of the scenery -

                                     

                                     

That is the building up ahead, with the glass enclosure -

                                     

                                     

Waiting for the doors to open -

                                     

There were signs everywhere, as soon as we walked in, that no pictures were allowed inside the building.  So, I didn't take any.  But it was a great show, and Luna was fine when we got back.  She enjoyed a nice nighttime walk and then she was such a good girl all night long.  In the morning, we took her with us in her vest to have breakfast in the motel lobby, and she just laid next to Betsy's chair and was a perfectly good girl. 

She is showing signs of becoming a great service dog for Betsy!

We had all seen "Wicked" before - Betsy has now seen it 4 times!  On Broadway, twice - once with a friend and once with a class from college, and then in Chicago when I went to visit my friend Julie - we went to a quilt show and Betsy went to the theater with a friend of Julie's.  Several of those times, Betsy got special seats close to the stage where she could read lips and feel the music.  Last night we were up in a balcony, but she loved every minute, as she now has the show memorized and she was able to notice some interesting differences in the directing and blocking and costuming, from the different places.  It was fun for me and Jim to get Betsy's feedback on all of the interesting details that only a theater major would know.  It is such a fun show, the story of the characters, particularly the Wicked Witch and Glinda, the good witch, that led up to the "Wizard of Oz".

Now we are home, out of the land of Oz, and back to real life!  It was a wonderful trip!

                                      

I stole that title for this entry from someone else's blog about the same topic - weight loss!  I had a routine doctor's appointment today and I am seeing a new family doctor - new as my doctor, but he has seen other family members over the years, he delivered my grandson, and we know him from other social situations.  You know, when you are a medical family, you get used to your doctors being family friends.

Anyway, this doctor is very much into healthy and natural ways of taking care of oneself.  Sounds good to me!  I asked him specifically about my weight, and here is why - way back in 2002 when my father was sick, I gained 10 pounds.  He died in Sept of 2003 after a very long and difficult illness.  Then I spent 6 more years managing my mother's care, a very stressful time for me.  I gained 40 pounds!  That's a total of 50, and I was a little overweight to begin with.

I am being honest here because it is the only way I will be accountable!  I need to lose about 55 pounds!  I have some family history of heart disease, and my cholesterol, etc, are way too high.  So now I have doctor's orders to lose weight.  But, not to go on a diet - to change my lifestyle.  He spent a long time with me talking about what all has changed in the past 6 years besides the stress of caring for elderly parents.  One thing is that since the kids are not home, I don't cook healthy meals.  I eat whatever.  Another, of course, is that my metabolism has changed.  So, I am, for now, going to really work on eating less, eating fewer calories, and exercising more.  I had more blood work done today, and in 3 months I am going back to see how things are going.  He wants slow but definite changes that will progress and last.  Exercise at least 30 mins a day 5 days a week.  Cook more meals at home that are healthy.  Shop at the grocery store intelligently.

I want to live healthier, have more energy, less aches and pains, less stiffness that comes with being my age!  I am determined! 

Yesterday was Suzanne's 30th birthday!  I had an opportunity to go to visit her!  I left home yesterday morning, drove to Leesburg, and then her outing of choice was to go into DC to see the Botanical Gardens.  So, we drove to the Metro, took that into DC, then walked a short distance until we got there -

                                   

                                  

We didn't get there until 4:00 and it closed at 5:00, but it is small enough that we really did see the whole thing -

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

Wonder if Jim would have been interested in this area?!

                                 

Lots of beautiful flowers and plants all around, divided in to different areas.  We just enjoyed strolling around and taking a few pictures.

                                 

                                 

It was a beautiful day - the weather was perfect - not too hot, but warm enough, and it had started out cloudy but became sunny.  We walked to a restaurant that one of Suz' friends recommended, Rosa Mexicana.  It was a nice Mexican restaurant and we had fun taking pictures of each other while waiting for our food.  I told Suzanne that I needed a good picture of myself for my Facebook profile.  Maybe I should change my profile on here too!

                                 

                                 

Then we took the Metro back to our car and drove back to Leesburg with a stop at one of my favorite bookstores -

                                  

We don't have them here!  I had a gift certificate to spend (thanks, Julie!).  It was such a nice day!  I left early this morning to drive home.

                                           

Happy Birthday to Suzanne!
                                
                                 

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

                                  

I haven't blogged about Luna in awhile! 

                                

Luna is our Australian Shepherd who we adopted to become a hearing dog for Betsy.  We are training her ourselves, through a local trainer.  So, Luna goes to obedience school to be able to become a Canine Good Citizen, and then does service dog training and hearing dog training.  Most of you know this, but I have a few new people reading my blog and my Facebook page!

Betsy is a busy young lady - working as well as participating in various ways in several community and school theatre productions.  But on Saturday, she took Luna to class and training, and I remembered to bring my camera!

Betsy is deaf, actually, she is, technically, profoundly hard of hearing, and has been for about 7 years now.  Hard to believe it has been that long!  We are anxious to get Luna trained and working for her!  She is doing great, but it takes time. 

So, Bets is suppose to take Luna places to practice walking up and down in front of stores where there are automatic doors, lots of people, and different smells, to just get her used to staying right with Betsy and ignoring the distractions.  This time, it was Tractor Supply, because it was on our way to dog class.  Waiting for her instructions -

                                  

Walking up and down in front of the place -

                                   

Then on to dog obedience school where they do lots of different things.  Here is another dog and  owner who we have gotten to know -

                                   

                                   

Waiting in the cubby -

                                   

                                   

Here they are doing an exercise where the owner puts food in a bowl and lowers it to the floor.  The dog needs to wait for permission  before being allowed to have the treat!

                                  

During this part, the owners go around and greet the other owners.  The dogs have to stay right beside their owner.

                                  

                                  

                                  

All of this obedience training is for any dog whose owners wants them to be trained or to get their Canine Good Citizen award.  The service dog training is separate.

Good job, Luna!

                                  

                                  

I love that last picture because it really shows how focused Luna stays on Betsy while she is waiting for instructions.

After class, we took Luna outside and let her run around awhile on a long rope to get some more exercise.  She had a busy day!

               

I started smocking about a year ago - well, I started smocking AGAIN.  I had done a little smocking (very little) when my girls were little, but nothing since then.  My friend Jessie has gotten me interested again!  I joined a smocking guild, made a little bonnet for Megan, and have been interested in making her a dress.  So, my smocking guild had a class on making a Bishop dress scheduled, and then rescheduled, and rescheduled again, this past winter, when the snow and ice kept us all inside.  Jessie gave me a pattern, though, which I cut out, sewed the lace onto the sleeves, we pleated the sleeves (which had no seam) and then sewed the sleeves onto the main part of the dress, and got it all ready to be pleated.  So, on the day of class, several weeks ago, I took my pleater, and tried to pleat it, and after 2 tries and 2 broken needles, we decided that I needed to redo the sleeves, taking out the french seams I had put in and doing regular seams.  So, I did that.  Today, I went over to Jessie's and we tried again.  2 more times through the pleater and 3 broken needles, and I was about to give up!  But Jessie suggested we try her pleater.  We noticed right away that the needles were smaller.  The dress went right through her pleater with no problem!  Mine did fine for straight pieces, but not when there were even the tiniest of seams.  So, my theory is that the longer needles can't handle the pressure of the needle going through the seam and the pressure on the other side - or some such thing. 

So, I have the dress pleated, finally!  Now I still have to open it up in the circle and get it pulled up to the right size, spray starch it, and then I will be ready to smock!

Now about the technological stuff - we have had a DVD and a VCR break recently, and then on Wednesday, when Charlie was watching one of his favorite videos on the TV I have in the living room, the video got caught, stuck, and eaten up when we were trying to take it out!  Oh, my!  I told him that we would show it to Grandpa and see if he could fix it.  Charlie was convinced that "Grandpa FIX it!"  Well, at first Jim really couldn't get it to work.  But finally, tonight, he got it working!  Yay for Grandpa!

I had to order another video.  This particular series, "Say, Sing, and Sign" is not made anymore, and you can only get them used.  But they are cheap on Amazon!  So, I was able to order another one - the same one that was destroyed in the VCR, on colors!  Lot of songs with signing all about learning your colors!

Betsy's cell phone broke last week - you aren't suppose to drop them!     Fortunately, she was due for an upgrade.  But the new phone has new ring choices, and we had taught Luna to go to the phone when she heard the old ring.  So, we started again tonight, with a new ring tone, and she learned it immediately!