Meet Fred and Ethel

Remember the show I Love Lucy? And Lucy's best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz? Well, at long last, they make a repeat performance right here on Redo 101 ~

What great neighbors they were, wish I had some just like them, here's Ethel ~

And her man, Fred ~

These two are sew in love, here they are running toward each other with arms outstretched, ready for a huge hug ~ 

Aren't they the cutest?! Of course they recently appeared here from Homemade with love magazine (Feb.-Mar.) p. 18-22. I'm having fun sewing my way through it! The magazine named their pink owl Ethel and suggested we make a friend for her - so of course I gave Ethel a friend named Fred, what else right?!

On another note, I found this nifty sewing/craft room necessity at a yard sale Saturday morning for $1. My kinda price.

Sew, if you have any messages for Fred and Ethel, please leave them in the Comments section below. They'll only be here a short time as they're going to live with my niece Penny (sssh, she doesn't know yet).

Blessings ~ 

Mary

I'm sharing at:
Savvy Southern Style
 

Sunday Morning Gratitude - 5.19.13

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy Name!

Psalm 103:1 NIV

I'm thankful for:

1. My little family - we may not be perfect, but we care for each other.
2. My friends - several ladies I can go to at any time who will listen, understand, pray.
3. Friday lunch with Mr. Redo near his workplace in the country, such a beautiful drive, too.
4. End of homeschool year - yay!
5. Great books to read, so encouraging, entertaining, enlightening.
6. My extended family - I love them, and they bring me such joy.
7. Christian praise songs and the new (to me) radio/CD player for $2 at Saturday's yard sale.
8. Awesome food and fun at a baby shower on Saturday - deliriously happy for the parents-to-be!
9. New sewing projects - loving it!
10. The privilege of praying for others; many family and friends have needs.

So my friends, what are you thankful for this week. Leave a comment!

Blessings ~ 

Mary

Crazy Busy Week

This last week of homeschool was incredibly busy, but I'll try to catch you up on what's been happening here.

Last Sunday a family visited our church. Their last name is Barrick, and they were in a horrific auto accident in 2007. All of them were injured, but none worse than their teen daughter Jen. She wasn't expected to live, and when she did she was not expected to ever live a normal life. However, with prayers from around the world covering her for months, Jen stood on the pulpit of our church and gave a testimony of God's love. True story - I'm now reading the book:

My husband and kids really poured on the love for Mother's Day: a new den carpet, a new "spaghetti pot," and this ~

I was truly shocked when I saw this, and although it had rained the day I took the picture, we've eaten most meals in our new gazebo and had a cookout with a friend last night. So. much. fun.

And this is what's been happening during the days of sunshine and rain ~

On Wednesday a package was in the mail from XO Gigi Fabric - I'd ordered two yards of this gorgeous fabric to make a new bathroom curtain (valance, probably). I am so in love with this print!

And in the midst of end-of-year homeschool testing, I've delivered several sewn gifts to family and friends. And began work on this, which you'll see more of this coming week ~

So much fun, love this latest project from Homemade with love magazine!

And in between all these things, I began reading a new (to me) blog titled Sweet Bee Buzzings. I began with the latest post and then just kept reading and reading - Bethany (Sweet Bee) has been blogging for five years, I'm only back to 2011 but loving every minute of this awesome sewing blog. Learning so much about sewing projects I'd never dreamed of trying!

Bethany makes the most awesome quilts - and does the QAL (quilt-along) each week making one block. This is her completed Christmas quilt from 12.10.11 - love these colors!

She makes boatloads of purses, totes, and wristlets, with many tutorials  ~

And shares funny stories from her family life in Philly, crafty holidays ideas, and printables ~

 

If you want to get lost for a week or more, head over to Bethany's blog here and start reading!

So that's it from my corner, what have you been doing this week?

Blessings ~ 

Mary

Happy Mothers Day on Gratitude Sunday - 5.12.13

Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

Luke 18:16

I wanted to share with you something wonderful that happened to me on Friday. 

While visiting family and friends in Goochland, I decided to drive by the home my Daddy built and that I grew up in. My parents lived there from 1950-1999. 

Elizabeth and Matthew decided to knock on the door (I hid in the car). They talked to the man who opened the door, finally I got out of the car to see what was going on. 

He's the current owner. He invited us in and gave us a tour of the entire house, all three floors (basement), and all around the outside. 

He asked lots of questions - said he'd been trying to get information about the house from neighbors but couldn't really learn much. Of course, I was glad to answer all the questions and give him lots more information too! 

He and his wife LOVE the house, are thrilled to have it, are fixing it up - it looks fabulous, and it made me happy to know this and to see the beautiful improvements they've made. 

What a wonderful day it was. I felt like my kids gave me this incredible Mother's Day gift by being brave enough to knock on that door and ask the man to let their mom come in "because she grew up in this house."

Today I'm thankful that I had a strong, kind, steadfast mother ... and I'm so thankful for the two beautiful children God gave me from the other side of the world. My life hasn't been perfect (who's has?!) but I have been blessed in these three generations. 

And sweet ladies, what are you thankful for today? 
 

Blessings ~

Mary

God's Beautiful Springtime - Part 2

This sweet Mama is just starting to build her nest ~

There's a lot of work to be done ~

Uh Oh - what's going on?!

Oh ... now I see ~ 

She ran that squirrel off. Our Lady Thrush is is going to make a wonderful Mama!

Blessings ~ 

Mary

God's Beautiful Springtime

I'm sharing at:

A Favorite Thing

A Confirmation Heart

My great-niece Caity is celebrating her confirmation at church this month.
 

(Caity with her dad, my nephew Dave)

To commemorate this special occasion, I made her an "Amazing Grace" heart. I'm so proud of our Caity girl!

The sewing details:

Heart (front) fabric: "Ladybug Garden" by Riley Blake, purchased at XOXO Gigi Fabrics here
Heart (back) fabric: "Piroutte" by Verna Mosquera, purchased also at XOXO Gigi Fabrics

Ribbon from JoAnn's, Offray brand, 1/4" width
My new "Amazing Grace" stamp, purchased at 123Stitch here

The pattern for this heart is found in the February/March 2013 issue of Homemade with love magazine, p. 14-15.

Blessings ~

Mary

I'm sharing at:
 Motivation Monday
The Dedicated House
 
 

Sunday Morning Gratitude - 5.5.13

My father passed away eleven years ago today, and I'm happily remembering all the wonderful times we had together and the way he taught me to live.

Daddy was a hard worker, both at his job as manager of a prison laundry and at home where he built our house and fixed our cars and chopped wood for the stove in the basement.

And just as hard as Daddy worked, he also played. He loved a good snow storm, I guess it reminded him of his boyhood days in northeast Pennsylvania. He placed oil lanterns on the hillside and took us out at night to sled. On vacation, he took us hiking around the lake and encouraged swimming and boating.

Daddy had a keen memory for funny sayings picked up during his 20s when he drove cross-country several times to visit his nephew. These sayings were heard frequently in (what he considered) appropriate places.

1. "You'll be sorrrrrrrry," was called out to every bride and groom as they drove away from the church.
2. "Come on rain," was yelled across the lake as we climbed into the car at the end of every vacation.
3. And no matter how often you said, "Thank you," he always replied, "Du welcome, I'm sure."

He taught me how to build (a bird house that won first prize at the country fair), how to garden (growing celery in Virginia where that was practically unheard of in the 1950s), and how to make homemade fudge (his always turned out perfect, mine not so much).

Daddy believed in me at a time I needed it most - my teenage years. When he found I learned to sew, he gifted me an electric sewing machine (even the ones we learned on at school weren't electric yet!). When he found I typed like a high-speed printer, he bought an electric typewriter for my 16th birthday (school typewriters were still manual).

So today, I'm thankful for Daddy who was my all-time hero, and one of my favorite people ever!

Blessings ~ 

Mary

I welcome your thankful comments below -
anything you're thankful for this week! 

I'm sharing at:
Sunny Simple Life
 A Favorite Thing
 What Joy is Mine
Motivation Monday
Doing You Well Wednesday
 
 

Rainy Mondays Don't Get Me Down

In spite of the song lyrics, rainy Mondays really don't get me down. Especially when my flowers and tomato garden need this kind of long, slow, soaking rain. I'm thankful for a rainy Monday ~

Blessings ~

Mary

Sunday Morning Gratitude 4.29.13

The highlight of my week is Sunday morning when we arrive at church. Greeting friends, laughter, hugs ... and then into the sanctuary to pour out our worship to the Lord.

I'm so thankful we have the freedom, the privilege, the joy of attending church. I love our church and my friends there.

I love the Lord and having that hour, each week, to focus completely on Him.

If you'd like to join in this Gratitude day, please leave your comments below - I love to read them!

Blessings ~

Mary

Scripture is from Psalm 122:1