Memorial Day~ Present, & Future

Yes, yes, I know it was yesterday, but I had to get some time to get out some tears and compose my thoughts about it before I could sit down and type.... so here goes my two cents worth:

Monday was Memorial Day, which most know as the day in which we recognize and give thanks to those men and women who have served in the armed forces, some of whom have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. I love Memorial Day and I have always been a patriot and fully appreciate all these men and women do. Even when the orders given may not be what the soldier think is right, they still do as commanded, and that takes great strength and discipline. I also love parades. My family groans every year on Thanksgiving as I wake them early to go downtown for the Christmas parade, but I do it bc I just love parades, the floats, marching bands, big balloons, and the closeness I feel standing next to my family watching all go by..... Yesterday we went to the Memorial Day Parade in town I grew up in and in which my mom still lives. I fully expected a somber parade and some moments of joy as the bands would march by; but was I wrong! In the middle of the parade was a float that 3 families had sponsored together for their 3 young sons/husbands/brothers/uncles/(how to go on with all these titles these men must have had...?) who grew up in this town and died in Iraq. At that very moment I realized exactly what I had been dreading all this time..... MY son will be leaving son to go to the Army and most likely to Iraq, and maybe he will not come back. And if he does return he will not be the carefree joyous 18 year old boy whom I have loved a little bit more every day. Even as I write this my heart spills over to tears and I feel somewhat ashamed because I know I am not the only mother to go through this, yet at the same time I am wondering how, HOW do mothers get through this? The women in my family are regular Irish Catholic women who just accept what God gives us as is, so the overflow of emotion is strange but welcome... and darn I am gonna have a whallop of a headache in the AM! Mostly I just needed to get this out and also wanted to give appropriate appreciation and memory to the 3 young men from Aurora, IL who paid the ultimate price in the cost of freedom and democracy that we enjoy. I hope that I have remembered their names correctly (as I am going from memory) and that if read this that you will say a quick prayer for their families and loved ones for them to feel God's healing love. Eduardo Lopez Jr. Jesse De La Torre. Hector Ramos.

I know this is not my usual upbeat banter, but hey, even a mom deserves to cry every now and then...

Shannon

Snow Days In May!

Those who know me know I love snow!! Not just to play in but to watch and see it covering the tress, and all of its beauty. I do not even mind driving in it. The more the merrier. But I think this past weekend I realized another reason why I like snow so much: Snow Days! And those are not just for kids! I have been particularly busy this week and have been looking forward to a day of no work and no to do list! A day that I can fritter away doing nothing if I choose. So, I decided today is my Snow Day! I do not have a car today and I will not be venturing out for any reason, except maybe to go for a walk if I choose. In a few minutes I will get my second cup of coffee, have my cheerios and then decide what, if anything, I will do next. Yipeeee! I may sew for awhile, and then move onto something else. I am not sure! And I will just let the day unfold that way. I may not even get out of my jammies, we'll see.....

So, I am off to enjoy my snow day, I hope you get one soon too!

Shannon

Many Days.....

Ok, well, I have been crocheting up a storm! And in between remembering to sew some and knit some. Mostly the knitting is so I can keep practicing until I actually start an easy sweater pattern. I have one from the shop I work at part time www.fringeknitting.com and one free one from Lion Brand but not sure which I want to do; and I am not doing both!

Only two more weeks of working full time where I am and there my really crazy schedule starts. I will bu working part time at the container company (4 hours a day) and 5 hours with the kids, through Wayside, www.waysidecross.org , but wait! The 4 hours at the packaging company is split and will be before and after the kids! Thank God Scott and I still work near each other and can car pool!

And only 2 more weeks of driving the boys to school! But Marc will start football camp so he'll leave when we do in the AM for that. I think I miss those long lazy days of summer that meant doing nothing but playing outside all day and sometimes babysitting at night. Now Marc is talking about football camp and working part time this summer and I did caution him against it, but he really wants to earn some money to save throughout the year, so.... Wonder where he gets that business thing....?

Well, off to get ready for work! Keep Stitchin' or whatever you do that makes you happy!
Shannon

Day 1!

Well, I did it! I managed to get up early and work on one UFO for 15 minutes this AM before taking the boys to school. And I took the d#*n tablecloth with me to work and worked on it twice! At lunch for 15 minutes and my afternoon break for 10 more! I have decided that on Mondays I will take my project bag with the DT in it to work and maybe leave it there during the week and just bring it home on Fridays (kinda like my old gym uniform...). Then I know it will always be there for my breaks and I am sure I will get in 15 minutes daily!

Other than that. It is Friday and I am glad. Right now it is late, as I am just arriving home from a visit with my friend Nensi. The drive home was nice, I put the windows down and listen to old school music from my high school years (80-84), and let the wind blow my hair around! That was fun, and it is true what they say about music triggering memories, I felt like putting on some roller skates and dancing!

Ok, time to stop showing my age off and get ready for bed, the morning will come quickly and I have TONS to do, including the 15 minutes on my UFO.

'Night from the Brook, Shannon

New Habits....

Sew, as you can see... I do not always remember to come here and post, even when I think about what I would write, something else just comes up! So, my new habit will to post daily even if just for a few minutes.....

I am only 2 weeks away from switching my one full time job to 2 part time ones, which will be staying where I am part time and working at Wayside part time. I really wish I could just work full time at Wayside and focus on that, but they do not have the funds for it, so.... I am making up the difference. Oh, and the yarn shop! How could I forget that?!?! I am having fun, am learning to knit (slowly) but only so I can make a sweater. I am a looong way away from that! And there are so many patterns to choose from I can hardly wait but will for some time, bc the other habit is getting in those 2 15 minute sessions on my d*@n tablecloth and my quilting UFO's.

So, gotta go finish dinner and then I will post just before bed if I made my other 2 daily habits happen!

Shannon

Help a Friend....

Ok, so I am starting to "get" the blog thing a little bit... and while cruising around ( I know they say "surfing" but I like to drive) I was amazed at the wonder of the web to help others! Very cool. My friend Lundie has a friend named Heather and she is not doing so well. In addition to prayers and $$ help, I have added to my blog some click thru "spots" so you can see her web, read her story, and possibly help. All the time we hear that the www can be a very troubled space, so I think this is a great opportunity to use it for good.

Yesterday I took a class on making a quilted jacket. I had sewn cloths before, years ago, but thought this would be an interesting turn on my craft, wearing my handy work around for others to see.... hmmmm. SO, it was interesting, the pattern was not really one I would have chosen, but easy for everyone to do. So, I still have to finish it but it is started. Anywho, at this class yesterday, the teacher, Joann, tells us she has no stash, no UFO's, does have one or two WIP's (works in progress) and some PIG's (Projects in Grocery Sacks). She said a UFO is something we are never going to finish can stay a UFO forever so that our grand daughters, nieces, ect. can find them after we pass and have the same treasures some of us have found at the passing of loved ones. I thought that was interesting and am now going to sort out some of what I previously called UFO's into WHIP's, trades (for fabrics on one of my e-guild groups) and the others get left for "whomever" to find... (Oh, I hope my sons marry nice gals and have at least one granddaughter for me to spoil up in true "girl" form! Not soon but someday..)

Speaking of sons, I can hardly believe Jay graduates high school in about 5 weeks and two weeks after that leaves for the army.... seems just like yesterday I was pushing him in his stroller and on the swings. Even though he gives me such grief sometimes I am sure gonna miss him, :-( Please, remember to pray for him and all the men and women serving in all the branches of the armed forces.

Well, it is a beautiful day here and close to supper time, maybe we'll grill out.... been a long time since we've done that...

Happy Stitchin'
Shannon

Long time No Change....

So, I am new to this blogging thing and also to remember to make posts.... usually I just e-mail my friends over and over the same news to each one of them, but it is easier to post here.... semi incognito.....

Old News:

Just came back from a 3 day quilting retreat with my mom and 10 other gals from my quilting guild, Riverwalk Quilters Guild of Naperville. http://www.riverwalkquilters.com/ We went to Racine, WI (just 2 hours away) to the Siena Center. Had lots of fun and are planning on going again in November. Since it will not be a guild event that time just a group of gals getting together I am going to invite my stitching friends to come along. I cannot express how much fun we had. :-)

Job is the same, very stressful and challenging. 3 more people in my dept quit and they have only hired 2 of the first three that quit months ago! The original dept was only 12 people, so we do struggle some days to keep the work flowing. This has prompted some new news:

New News:

I will be having a job change soon. I am answering God's call to go work with urban youth in ministry programs that I have helped develop and volunteered in for years. This is a great change, and does bring some challenges... namely salary. I am confident God will provide for us and because God cannot direct a ship that is not moving I will be actively promoting my quilt business, http://www.yourmemoriesquilted.com/ . Don't bother to stop there, it's not built yet; so I will start here and with my friends' help move there. I am still challenging myself daily to work at least 20 minutes in my personal quilts (the UFO's) and that is some days easy and some days more of a challenge, but it is still a goal.

I also have gotten a part time job, to help with the transition. I am doing bookkeeping (my old gig) 5 hours a week at a local yarn shop. Boy is that trouble! I only have quilt type UFO's and the Damn Tablecloth to work now, but working around all that beautiful yarn makes me want to start a sweater! NO! I am resisting but it is hard! I am going to earnestly try to crochet one motif/day and see how that goes.... if I am making good progress and feel I can keep it up when I start my new job, I will start a summer sweater.

More about my new job: I am really excited to be working with kids, even if it is only 25 hours/week. Such opportunity to help them grow and learn in a fun relaxed atmosphere. Wahoo!

Well, I will close now and surf the wen for a few more minutes linking up my friends blogs..... (TY Lundie for showing me how this works.....) and later put some pictures in..... poor Lundie, she has volunteered to help me and doesn't know that I know absolutely nothing about all of this!

Happy stitching! Shannon