Five Things for Friday, Quilt, Farm, Car, Blog and Book Edition

I started this quilt for Rose about three years ago, and finally finished it. The edge just needs to be bound, and I am taking it over this afternoon to a lady in our Ward who is going to teach me how to do it. I used an old bedspread for the backing and padding and so it might be a little tricky to bind, but hopefully it will turn out nice. 

This was my first quilt and so it was a learning experience. I built the quilt top only to discover I didn’t like it and so took it all apart and re-made it. I also learned a lot about hand quilting ( which I really love to do) and discovered that if you stick the quilt frame in your scary dark basement you will never go down there to work on it and it will sit for a year. It is much better to set it up in your living room for a month and have everyone trip over it because then you actually get it done! 

I’m happy with how it turned out. It is a bit wild because I used scraps, but I like it that way. Each piece of material has a story– a part of the first skirt I ever sewed, a piece of a bridesmaids dress, material from some of Rose’s Halloween costumes, leftovers from the ring sling I sewed when I was pregnant with her, pieces of pajama pants, and other scraps that I have been toting around for years. 

I hope that one day she appreciates it and knows that every stitch was put in with love…. and there were a lot of stitches!

When we went on our trip to Utah/Idaho this summer I downloaded a few new (free… I’m cheap) apps for Asher to play on the way. On a whim I got a game called Hay Day which allows you create your own farm where you can raise animals, grow crops, make cheese, bread, popcorn and just about anything else you can think of. The game relies heavily on in-app purchases but I have the option turned off on my iPad and so Asher just has to earn all the points instead of buying them. He really likes the game and a few weeks ago I sat down with him to watch him show me something.

And I got hooked… bad. 

Which is so embarrassing because I remember DISTINCTLY the moment several years ago when I saw that one of my Facebook friends was playing Farmville. I remember saying to myself, “What sort of lame-o person spends their time PRETENDING to be a farmer. What a waste of time.”  Just more evidence that I should never ever judge another person because invariably I end up doing the exact same thing.

You think I’d learn.

The only good thing about it is that Asher and I have totally bonded over this silly game. We are a team and the farm is our project. Tonight at dinner Asher was telling me all about the new candy maker machine we almost have enough coins for and I was telling him we need to make sure we find nails to make our barn bigger.

Yep… Nerdy with a capital “N”.

This is an old story but I want to document it here for posterity.

Back in August I went with Jon to a Stake youth activity at a nearby reservoir so that I could meet some of my online Seminary students. Jon drove the young men in the Suburban and since we didn’t all fit,  I took Jon’s old beat-up 1980 Ford Ranger.

Do your remember Fred, the rusty old truck from the movie Cars? That is exactly what Jon’s car looks like… rust and all. No joke.

It is a good truck but I am always embarrassed to drive it. The worst was when last winter Jon put an old washing machine in the back of it to give it more weight on the snowy roads. I’d driven it to the adult session of Stake Conference by myself (Jon stayed home with the kids) and since I’d arrived early I parked near the front doors of the building. After the meeting was over I was leaving with some friends and just about died when I walked out of the building and saw that Jon’s truck– with the old washing machine in the back– was in grand display for everyone to see. There amid all the nice– not rusty and crusty– cars it looked liked something from Beverly Hillbillies. It took some real pride swallowing for me to walk over and get into that thing! 

Anyway, I digress.

So, we were getting ready to go home from the youth activity and I was parked on the curb waiting for Jon to round up all the young men. It was hot so I had the window down (of course the air conditioning doesn’t work) when a teenage boy and his little brother stopped in front of me. The teenager was looking admiringly at the truck and came over to me with a big smile on his face and said, “1980 Ford Ranger, right?”

I smiled and he enthusiastically continued, “Oh, these are the best trucks. I just bought one awhile ago, but mine is black,  and we (pointing to his brother) have been restoring it. They have great engines. Oh, wow are these the original side view mirrors? You know you can fix this with super glue. Just put a little bit here. Really, this is a great car you have all the original parts. So lucky. I’ve been looking all over for some. I’m so glad I saw you today. It is so awesome to see a car like this on the road. They are just the best.”

He continued to gush admiration for Jon’s car, as I started unbelieving at him and wondered if we were looking at the same car. When Jon’s young men finally loaded in I thanked him and wished him the best of luck with his restoration.

Then I smiled the whole way home, remembering the words of my young women’s teacher. She was an older woman who, from her youth, had owned a beautiful baby blue Cadillac convertible. We were riding it in one night and we laughed that she was getting lots of attention from the men parked with us at the traffic light. “Girls, when I was young I use to think they were looking at me… but now I know they are just looking at the car.”

It made me laugh to think that I now know what she was talking about. Still, who would have ever thought I’d get attention for driving a rusty, crusty falling apart in pieces pickup truck?!!

I’ve had a few posts over on The Gift of Giving Life  recently and wanted to post them in case you missed them. First, I reviewed a book called “Delivered” by J. L. Van Leuven which is a fictional account of the midwife who attended the birth of Christ.  Here is a bit of what I said:

“I loved the idea and message that this book sent… that God is aware
of each of us and that he prepares us for our missions in life in ways
that we don’t always understand. I also loved the idea of imagining what
Mary’s birth experience would have been like. I wouldn’t have ever
imagined it like it happened in the book, but I enjoyed the author’s
perspective and ideas. The truth is that we don’t really know what
happened and so anything is possible. I loved imagining.”

It is a fun read and you can read my whole review here and order the book on Amazon. 

Second, I wrote my thoughts about Elder Eyring’s conference talk. Remember how he got SUPER emotional when speaking about his mother? His emotion really touched me as did his comparison to his mother’s ability to receive revelation to that of a patriarch. It reminded me of an awesome story about Rebekah, the mother of Esau and Jacob. If you’d like to to read the story you can see my post here called “The Power of a Mother’s Blessing”.

And last, but not least. Look at the picture my editor sent me two days ago.

It is a REAL book!!!

I got a confirmation tonight that says that my copies are in the mail to me– right now— and should be here in the next few days.

Just thinking about that makes me ecstatic and terrified all at the same time. I am SO excited to see this book and have it in my hands, but I am also nervous to see it. Up to now this book has only lived in my head and my heart and so I feel like an expectant mother, getting the courage to let go and let my baby be born. What if it is ugly, what if it isn’t perfect, what if everyone hates it, what if, what if, what if….

Which really are silly worries because I think it turned out amazing.

 I am super ready to see it!

Have a wonderful weekend!