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A Moment in Time

I have been one poor correspondent lately because I have been so busy dancing the dance.  My daughter is returning home to England in the morning and although I know that is where she belongs and where her heart is, I can't help but feel a little melancholy for me. It doesn't help that I am reading "Traveling with Pomegranates", which is a fabulous read, but totally echos what I have been feeling during this visit.  As I watch my daughter become a mother herself, it brings it home to me that my life is also changing.  I didn't really feel it that much when I turned 50, but now at 51 I am mourning the loss of my youth.  I really appreciate the wisdom that age and experience has brought me, but conversely I feel like my essence is drying up.  Maybe I am just tired...
Since this is a sewing blog, maybe I should report on recent projects.  I did some repair work the other day...BORING...and then yesterday Sara asked me to make her some maternity skirts.  Using a RTW maternity skirt she brought with her, I drafted a pattern and made a couple between running to the vet with Ms. Lola for her tick and tape treatment and a dry run to the airport to make sure all is in order for her flight. I cut out 3 more, but a headache sidelined me last night and I didn't feel much better when I got up.  Luckily I started feeling better so I could go to work (oh Joy!!!).  I will finish the skirts and mail them with baby gear, as there are still more baby items despite filling an extra bag with just baby stuff!  Tomorrow will be hard, but I will remember the good time we had together and concentrate on taking care of myself.

Where were you when the mountain blew?

May 18, 1980 8:32 a.m. Do you remember where you were and what you were doing that day? We lived in Vancouver, Washington.  I worked for the Columbian Newspaper as a route manager and I was heading down Andresen hill after making sure my paperboys had delivered the Sunday paper.  It was not unusual to see the mountain spouting. In fact it had become quite a regular event, so much so that it was almost routine, like "oh, it's raining again."  But this eruption was unlike any of the ones that had preceded it.  This was the big one that filled the sky with ash as far as the eye could see and swept debris down the hillside, leaving destruction in it's path. I hurried home and nudged my husband, who was still sleeping.  My parents who lived to the North had heard what sounded like a horrible sonic boom and were frantically trying to call to make sure we were okay.  The phone lines were hopelessly jammed and they didn't get through until later that day.  Of course we had to go find the best vantage point for this grand spectacle.  This was our playground.   We used to go fish the streams and hang out at Merwin lake.  The guys would ride their motorbikes all over up there.  After the blast it looked like a desolate moonscape.

It seems unreal that 30 years has past.  So many things have changed. I became a mother. We moved, changed jobs and went about our lives.  The mountain changed too.  Rebuilding, regenerating and coughing up steam now and again.  The wildlife and trees have returned.  So have we.  We no longer play on Mt. St. Helens.  We have new playgrounds. We still live in the Pacific Ring of Fire. Some day Mt. Hood could rumble back to life.  I remember Pop scoffing at the reports that Mt. St. Helens was going to have a major eruption..."ah, it's never gonna happen!"  The lesson here is never underestimate Mother Nature.  She'll win every time.

Mother's Day Weekend Baby Shower

What a perfect weekend to have a baby shower! Complete with a beautiful 3 week old baby girl!

and lots of friends

And another Grandma and Auntie

And lots of fun baby gifts...what more could a mommy ask for?

Special thanks to Alana, Nicora, Jamie and Eve-Maridy for coordinating the shower.

Regularly Scheduled Sewing will Resume Soon (I hope)

Not too much going on in the sewing world lately, but I hope that changes soon.  I have a few more favors to make for Sara's baby shower on Saturday and then I can probably loosen up a bit and do some "real sewing".  Back to back double shifts kind of put the brakes on my sewing production, besides making me tired!  Soon as the family gets up I'll fire up the embroidery machine and get after those tea totes for the shower...it's back to work tomorrow.  That's one nice thing about doubles...three days and your work week is done! Later...

Looks Like We Made It!!!

I have a new passion.  The Eugene Half marathon was amazing! I approached the event with all the bravado and confidence I could muster, but really in my heart of hearts I was concerned  worried that I hadn't trained properly and wouldn't be able to keep up. I'm happy to report that was not the case and it was more fun than I imagined!  Sure I was a little sore after it was over and there were some emotional moments like when "Meet me at the Equinox" came on the playlist right at the split (Yes, I rocked Death Cab for Cutie on my run...don't judge!) My competitive monster came out and Sara had to keep reminding me to run my race and not worry about anyone else.  I still wanted to pass people. I don't hold any illusions of winning the thing...I just want to do better.  Okay, it was my first...I'll do better next time.  Here we are:

Before the run...getting ready!

In the starting corral...waiting to go!

Hayward Field...heading towards the finish line!

Hayward Field or Bust!

Guess where we are heading this morning? Hopefully the regularly scheduled sewing will resume soon.  Next week's work schedule will be a little grueling, and I must whip out the tea tote favors for the baby shower, but maybe after that I can whip out some maternity things for Sara.  The May BurdaStyle has an adorable maxi # 113 that I think I can adapt to maternity. We bought some tops and a nice dress pant the other day, but only one dress.  Come summer dresses will be more comfortable for sure.  Well, the shower stopped so it's my turn to get ready...see you on the other side!