Primitive Bunny Challenge

Nee Nee , of http://primpatternsnhandmades.blogspot.com/ had a bunny challenge on her blog. She gave the pattern for this bunny without the directions, and asked those who wanted to participate to make one, and she will post the pictures on Tuesday of all the wonderful bunnies. Here is my contribution, I made her out of my father's flannel gardening shirts. The butterfly is our symbol for Dad, so I put an applique' on her skirt, and used the buttons and some fancy stitching for details. I didn't add a face to mine, as I wanted the shirts to be the focal point of this bunny. This was a really fun challenge, and if you get a chance, pop on over to her blog. Wonderful talent!!

Retirement and OWOH

My husband shuffles his feet. No big deal I guess to the outside world, but to me, it's the most irritating sound in the world! I guess I never really noticed before, because he worked midnights at the local foundry, slept during the day, got up for dinner, then would go upstairs to tinker with his computers. But now he's retired. Oh is he retired. The minute he puts on his house slippers, my brain starts to malfunction! His routine? Get up, shuffle to the bathroom, shuffle from the bathroom to the kitchen, get something to eat, make mouth noises while he's eating, shuffle to the kitchen sink, shuffle to the living room, sit down to watch t.v. with the volume up so high I can't hear myself think! The shuffling probably wouldn't be so irritating if we had carpet, but oh no, we have linoleum and pergo throughout the house. And for some reason, it amplifies the sound of slipper against floor. And now he has a new trick! Sit in the rocker, rock back and forth with his feet on the floor, and shuffle!! Forward, backward, forward backward...... and then there's the retirement rules. Did you know that the first years of life together are for the wife, and the next half after retirement belong to the husband? I did not know this! I wish I had been informed of that rule as I would have been a royal queen for the last 18 years! And all the things I thought I knew to do to run the house are now wrong. So I play it cool. OK, then you can do it yourself! No more rinsing and stacking dishes! No more washing his clothes! Hey! I may just get used to this retirement thing, and with some reverse psychology, I'll be the queen from now on!

OWOH
And the winner is............Elaine from Averettladynana! Congratulations Elaine!!

Cream of the Crop!

Chad and my grand daughters on the steps of the Iowa state capital


"I only pass the cream of the crop, and you're not it." Those are the words my sons electronics teacher told him when he entered this class in high school, to pursue his dream of becoming an electrician. And to add insult to injury, it was only the second day of school. Chad was crushed, and felt quite defeated. It seems the "cream of the crop" were the popular kids, the kids who had wealthy backgrounds, those who the teacher felt buttered his bread more than the other students. Feeling defeated, Chad decided to not go to class, as transferring to a different class was not allowed. So he skipped. Every day. I received calls from the principal daily, stating that my son was a trouble maker, probably on drugs, and not a good student to have in his school. My son was none of these. He was a good student, and yes it was wrong to skip classes, but he felt he had no option, as this teacher pegged him as not electrician material from the get go. Eventually, the principal called and said he didn't want Chad at his school. Me being divorced, Chad felt his only option was to move back with his father to complete his school year. As bad as I wanted him to stay home with me, I understood if he was to graduate this was the best thing and his only shot at graduating. He went to his father's, where he signed up for the electronics class, same curriculum, and aced the class. What a difference a teacher makes. And a principal that gets it. After graduation, and a couple different jobs, Chad found an electrical company that agreed to hire him as an apprentice, since he had such potential, which was discovered in his class. He quickly went from apprentice to a journeyman, and then taking the test, a master electrician. Today he lives just outside Des Moines Iowa, and is the general foreman for all substations in over half of Iowa state. I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of my son. He has a beautiful wife, and I have two of the most gorgeous, fun, grand daughters. If Chad had allowed his former teacher and principal to defeat him, this never would have happened. I love my son dearly, and if you live in an area of Iowa where there is currently no power, you better believe Chad is on top of it, and is working tirelessly to fix the problem! Go Chad!! I have your back!!!!