What makes Life Awesome?

Some little vignettes of things that were Awesome in our life this past week.
Pink and White Snapdragons
Snapdragons do have a delicious fragrance- Their smell was the first thing that I noticed when Bruce found this bouquet at the grocery store. A funny story about the price of them: You could buy one bundle for 7.99 or get two bundles for 7.98 It truly was cheaper by one cent to buy two bundles rather than one. LOL
A Sleeping baby in a quilt:
Our niece sent us this photograph of Anni all wrapped up in her baby wrap. Doesn't she look cozy in it? The wrap design does work well in a stroller and a car seat.

Some quilt progress:
The music quilt continues to progress- albeit slowly. I am to the next border and not sure what fabric to use- Unfortunately, I do not have any more of the dark black multicolored musical notes left- I can find the same fabric line in lots of other colors (pink, blue, green and yellow but not black- I am going to make one last stab at it tomorrow, and see if I can find it at one of the quilt stores- if not, I am going to use one of the ones shown and hope for the best..

Lots of musical fabrics:
Of my current choices, I think I may use the black one with the gold musical notes or the black and red one- One thing that crossed my mind was to take the strips apart to use the one black fabric with the instruments but that would not be my first choice.

Having two beautiful god daughters who are like daughters to me:
My god daughters, A. and E. came along with their wonderful parents to have a barbecue the other evening. We were celebrating a few of their family birthdays.

A just because kind of gift:
E is showing off a bracelet that I made earlier this summer. This was the one she chose- She is partial to the color green and it looks lovely on her wrist. Before school was out, I made about 15 bracelets out of glass beads, stones and silver. E's bracelet is lentil shaped beads with gold foil in them combined with square black beads. Playing with beads is fun and a good alternative to times not spent quilting..


A silver locket:
On another note entirely,this lovely young woman is my other god daughter A. She just had a special birthday and I was thrilled to be able to gift her this vintage silver locket found on Ebay. It was the first time I had ever bought anything off e-bay and I was very pleased with the result.(It was kind of exciting to win the bid VBG) My parents gave me a heart shaped silver locket for that same age birthday and I still have it - though, mine is a little less shiny than this lovely one. I thought it was a nice tradition to start with these special girls in my life.


Buying something that contributes to a worthy cause:


Isn't this a beautiful piece of quilting? It is a piece that I bought from a local quilt store. It could hang on the wall or be used on our sideboard this fall. It is a batik applique and the money that I paid for it, will all go to the Alberta chapter of the Canadian Cancer Society. I do not do much applique quilting. I love pieces that have leaves and fall themes. One hopes that these charities, through their fundraising efforts, will help provide the monies necessary for the researchers to find better treatments for all forms of cancer.
A friend's memorial celebration:
We attended a friend's memorial celebration on Friday afternoon. Our lovely friend Sue was 51 years old and lost her battle to a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer. Each time I go to a memorial celebration, I am reminded of the importance of making the time to spend with our friends and loved ones.
Memorial thoughts:
Some thoughts: Let the important people in your life know how much you love them. These events act as a reminder to treasure one's relationships and the special gifts that each one of us brings to the world around them. At the celebration, we saw friends that we hadn't seen for a long time. I sometimes, wonder where all our time goes. How is it that we only find time to go celebrate someone's life after the fact, rather than celebrating the person's life when they are still with us? Our friend Sue, was a quiet gentle person who contributed much to the lives of people with whom she crossed paths. May we all leave such a legacy. My last thought that afternoon was that life does seem especially fleeting and much too short...

Some final this and that:
Summer is moving right along- I am slowly finding my form and getting a few things done. I have met for coffee with two lovely quilt friends this past week, besides co- hosting a barbecue. It was so much fun talking about fabric,learning of new techniques but, more importantly, getting to know some new friends that have a passion for creating things. I never cease to be awed by the many talents that people are blessed with, and all the different crafts that one can explore if one has the time.
Summer reading:
I have been reading a few books- This weeks offerings are " Sarah's Key" and " The Postmistress." They are both a good read and take place during the second World War. Sarah's Key goes between the Second world war and current time. The other book that I discovered is" The Book of Awesome". I am not a big fan of short stories, but these little vignettes help one reflect on one's daily blessings, and celebrate the little joys of life. There is now a second book by the same author that is entitled something like "even more Awesome". If you need something to uplift you, you may enjoy these little readings.

I hope you have some " Awesomeness " in your life 'til we meet again.

Warmest regards,
Anna