Mail arrived

 It is always nice to get mail...fun mail. This week a package

This is what Cynthia sent to me! Four lovely pieces of fabric! Here is what they will look like when added to the quilt

I will have plenty to fill in as I go along. Thank you so very much Cynthia T. I am enjoying the slow hand stitching and will be making more squares today. 

We celebrated a birthday this week..

What better way for her to celebrate than with a horseback ride. Following the ride, Alan and Lisa had lunch t one of their favorite places, The Tonto Grill. 

My heel is showing improvement...everyday it is better. I still wear the boot when out. Hope by next week to start wearing shoes on both feet! I will be soon wearing out all my left foot shoes. I miss taking Murphy for walks. We both need the exercise. That is my goal starting next week... in the morning when the ground is still comfortable for him to walk. Our temps have been in the 80s to mid 90s and the sun really heats the pavement.

Time to get cutting squares and then pressing and stitching. Glad you stopped by. thank you for your kind words and for your friendship.

Frost on the pumpkin....

I meant ice in the fountain...

The weather forecast did say a frost warning. The moving water did keep it from freezing altogether. It will quickly melt with the warmth of the sun.
A wonderful birthday celebration last night.

Alan, Lisa and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, Arrowhead Grille. We enjoyed Filet Mignon and veggies and wine and then my birthday Crème Brule complete with candle and champagne. A great way to welcome #73. Thank you all for your birthday wishes, cards and emails.

I think our smiles tell it all...happy and enjoyable evening.

On Sunday Alan trimmed bushes in the garden with his able assistant. Murphy loves brooms. Alan managed to do a great job despite having a helper. Then came the time to hose down the pavers... and Murphy and that meant I got to wrap him in a towel...

it was a struggle to dry him... actually to try. He fought me all the time. He had fun and I know Alan did too. I supervised! So glad I no longer have to contend with yard work. We have been enjoying our kitchen garden tomatoes... nothing like picking them fresh.
Shortly, both Alan and Lisa will leave for work and Murphy and I will just relax. Actually, I will be cutting out my French Rose flowers. Happy to visit with you. Thank you for your kind words and  for your friendship.

26,297 days ago....

It was a Monday...the temperature was 10 degrees and it was 26,297 days ago that me myself and I entered the world. First born to Eva and Giuseppe (Joe); I am named after my maternal grandma Grazia (Grace). I was not expected until February 14th.... but I was in a hurry to be me! Actually my mom Eva P was very sick with a terrible cold which resulted in my early arrival. So instead of being Fridays child is loving and giving...I am Mondays child is fair of face.
So many things/events have happened in these years.... I have been very lucky, and now here I am 72 years later.
Saturday I celebrated with friends...

l-r....Robyn, me, Sue and Rachel 

Robyn made a delicious banana cream cake

 We started with a glass of my favorite wine and chatted before settling down to cake and coffee. It was a wonderful couple of hours with friends!

My morning did not start out so pleasant. After making a blog post, I looked out to the lanai....

No, that is not a shiny waxed floor...it is a flood! Remember the irrigation line that was chewed? Well, I should made sure it was aimed in the  opposite direction.... when the system turned on this morning it shot out directly into the lanai! A mess for sure. Guess I will be trying to fix this like no

 These beautiful flowers arrived from sis Lynowl....Spring is in my living room!

Lovely cards are displayed on my mantle. I feel happy.... thank you to Robyn, Rachel, Sue, and Glenda for the cards and of course to sis for the flowers.....

Today will be a quiet day. I will most likely be yelling at the TV during the Super Bowl...Go Patriots! I  have a week to accomplish a few things and that is the plan for now. 

 So glad you stopped  by today. Thank you for the kind words and for your friendship.

Thank you

Thank you for the many birthday wishes.  It made a difficult day easier.  The day started with a birthday post form The Brother Alan.  Glenda and I went out for lunch and the restaurant served a special dessert, a warm blueberry muffin split with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and lots of whipped cream......we came home to find a mystery balloon from the "Birthday Fairy" on the front porch, later to find that Robin (across the courtyard) had placed it there and then brought over the warm brownie with a candle..... the door bell rang and I was handed

this beautiful vase packed with blooms from sister Lynowl. All in all it was a lovely day. Then as evening arrived so did the phone call from Dianna singing me Happy Birthday! On Friday the mystery package was a special birthday gift from my niece Tonya. I was finally able to reach someone from the company who told me they forgot to include the greeting ...Happy Birthday Auntie, Love Tonya. Tonya remembered that Dennis loved cardinals and so she chose this indoor water feature with that in mind. Also on Friday the Shutterfly corrected book "My Denny and me" arrived and I could not be more pleased with how it looks....so all in all it has been a lovely birthday.
Now about my leg....I have been awake since 1:30 AM with aching discomfort. The ice pack has helped a little. Finally I will be able to sleep without the compression stocking tonight. That may help to ease the ache. Glenda and I will return on Wednesday for procedure #2 and then we start again. I am so lucky to have her helping with this. I keep telling myself that when this is over I will feel better.....I will feel better.
Needless to say I have not tatted or done much of anything else. Today I hope to load a shuttle and tat while sitting outside in this fantastic weather. The Doves have been here but not to either of their half built homes. Not a clue as to what is going on with them. I think I may try to close my eyes for a few more hours....thank you for your kind words (and birthday wishes) and for your caring friendship.

"Life is hard as it is. Too many rough roads to travel. Too many chains to untangle. But no matter how cruel the world may be, life becomes less hard when you got a good friend."......unknown

It's Jo's Birthday!

I am helping Jo celebrate her birthday with the Big Birthday Blog Hop....

She has assigned us a year to comment on and this is her comment for the year 1981

1981 - Jo was 15.  Jo has settled into High School life and has become involved in the school dramatical productions.  The first year they performed songs from Oliver, the next year it was a 1920s evening with assorted songs, sketches and a performance of The Magic Piano.  It was during these rehearsals that Jo was approached by the drama teacher who suggested that she might enjoy being involved with the stage lighting.  This was a tactful way of telling Jo she cannot sing!  Fortunately Jo loved operating the lighting desk and building the scaffold tower to adjust the lights (Health & Safety would have had a fit!).  Jo also discovered Drama was useful for getting out of unpopular lessons - "I can't do PE, we have a rehearsal"

Now I must say this was not an easy year for me....I found it difficult to comment but here it goes....
First of all in 1981 I was 34 years old. Old enough to have been her mom! I had been married 11 years.  A few tidbits about that year: The top selling car was Toyota,  the average cost of a gallon of gas in the US was $1.25,  in the UK it was a Royal Wedding: Lady Diana married Prince Charles,  Top film was Raiders of the Lost Ark,  popular boy name was Michael and for the girls Jennifer.  That year my birthday (February 3) was on a Tuesday!   A memory does come to mind.  I was working  my second year as a Social Director (all around activity and party planner) at a nursing facility in Rhode Island.  Mary was admitted as a full time resident the year before. She was a sweet soft spoken lady who used a wheelchair for mobility and we became fast friends. Her sons lived out of state, one in Florida and one in New York.  I became her "adopted daughter" as her NY son Joe called me. One day Mary handed me a gift.....her diamond engagement ring!

I was speechless. I had only known her a short time and besides, I could not accept a gift let alone this! It only fits on my pinky now. It is 18kt gold with lovely scrolls on each side of the diamond. She and her husband came from the Azores and married there in 1910. The next day I was called into the administrators office and Mary was sitting there. After speaking with son Joe in NY, the administrator handed me the ring! Papers were signed and it was legal. Mary lived to be 104. So I guess something special did happen that year after all. Jo also asked that we post a picture of something we stitched that we think she would like...

This was stitched in the eighties and I think Jo would agree with the sentiment.....we may be miles and an ocean apart but we are friends with ever holding hands or hugging or meeting....
Happy Birthday dear Jo and good wishes for many more celebrations. Thank you for letting me participate in this blog party. Thank you my dear friends for always stopping by and for your kind words. Have a great day. Be sure to stop by Jo's place and say Happy Birthday!

A wonderful week

Warning: lots of pictures!
Oh my...a bit tired today and a bit sad....The Brother Alan returned home. We had a marvelous week (we always have a good time). It was special to have him celebrate my 69th birthday. First lets start with what we did. You already know about the horseback riding (Friday) that we did...Alan, Lisa and me. Mr H was not able to join us on the ride but did come along for the rest of the day. On the Thursday we went to see the Michelangelo exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum...wonderful drawings that are on tour the first time out of Italy.

just one of many. It was fascinating to see that he drew more than one sketch on a paper. Once even on the reverse side of a letter. I did purchase a book covering his works. On Saturday we left Mr H home as he was not feeling too well (he is fine, just one of the days) and after Lisa got her 2 pair of cowgirl boots...

we of course went for a Margarita Lunch at Arriba's!

Just look at the size of this drink....not to worry, I also had a delicious salad. Sunday was a quiet relaxing day. Monday was shopping at Scottsdale Old Town. Tuesday we took a ride to Luke Air Force Base ..and we were able to catch the F35's for take off and landing...quite a sight and sound!

We parked just at the landing field....it is quite an experience to have them fly so low and right over you.

You can actually see the pilot! I always find it exciting. We could also see the take off across the field. It was a bit cold and windy but we enjoyed it nevertheless.  This brings us to Wednesday, my birthday. Alan and Lisa made arrangements for dinner at The Arrowhead Grill.... what a dinner. Just a perfect meal. Look at the size and lovely presentation of these shrimp!



They were the most delicious and oh so big! Our steaks were cooked to perfection and melted in our mouths. The wine was excellent. Then came my surprise...

A lovely birthday desert. They wrote my greetings in decadent chocolate! An unbelievable celebration. Alan and Lisa were leaving us at 1PM on Thursday, so it was a relaxing morning sitting out on the lanai. They certainly spoiled me and gave me a special evening. I did warn you there would be lots of pictures....hope you enjoyed sharing my week. I worked on a Hardanger project that will mark this birthday. That is about it. I will post the recipient of my Un-Birthday gift on Sunday. Thank you all for the birthday wishes and for your treasured friendship. Have a great day.