The Joy Post: Edition 003

I've let the curser flash on this stark white screen for a good ten minutes now. My brain is a scramble of where to begin and how deep I should go. At last, a stream of consciousness propels the familiar clacking of the keyboard and once my brain stalls, I go back and make so many edits that what I've written is unrecognizable. It’s my favorite way to write: no plans, no fear.

I'll begin with the most important update: A PARTAY!

Our darling, Caroline, began her next trip around the sun! She spent most of the day at school but that evening we celebrated her with gifts, slices of her favorite pizza and the most perfect Mama-made cheesecake. Then on Saturday, we invited her classmates, friends and family to a giant bounce house room at a local event center. Jason and I were so grateful for the turnout and I know having her friends in attendance made it the most special birthday yet!

The fun has continued into this school week leading up to GLORIOUS Spring Break. There are parties and egg hunts around every corner as well as the Spring Book Fair! Naturally, I signed myself up for a volunteer shift because BOOKS and THEY'RE FINALLY LETTING PARENTS IN THE SCHOOL. It was an action packed shift of reacquainting myself with a cash register and discussing the abhorrency of taxes with fifth graders.

Friends, I was giddy. Giddy mostly because I was the kid who played store and bank for childhood entertainment. One summer, my sister and I made a cash register out of old cardboard. Toy registers hadn't hit the toy industry yet and before we acquired play money sets, we used monopoly money. We'd spend hours rearranging our bedrooms into boutiques and I would have Jenna drive our go-kart around to my bedroom window so she could complete her bank transactions via our makeshift drive through.

Apart from my actual cashier days at Party City (eons ago!), I'm sure you can imagine how prepared I was to tend the Scholastic Book Fair register. A few kids tried to swindle me but I held firm. No payment? No Lamborghini poster. It was the most fantastic afternoon and an honor to participate at Caroline's school.

Back home on the sewing front, I completed my last Meadowland block but found that I strongly disliked how the darkest blue did not flow with the rest of the hues. So I 86’d them. I am salvaging other fabrics from those blocks therefore late night seam ripping sessions await me. All is fair in quilting and ripping because I'd much rather make something I love.

Finished may be better than perfect but I'm more of a champion of "love is better than done."

In other quilt news, Caroline and I have been perusing fabric options and rearranging mockups for a Granny Patch quilt for her bed. Check out our finalized mockup above! Hawthorne Supply Co. sent my fabric order in a jiffy (ordered, fulfilled and arrived in less than 48 hours from NY) so now I'm knee deep in laundering and starching those bright and cheerful choices that match my girl's personality. Ballerina and Mac and Cheese were obvious favorites!

While I don't typically prewash, I’ve opted for precaution for my first Queen sized quilt. What I will not have time for is color bleeding or strip sets that measure a quarter inch short. I'm hoping to execute crisp, accurate sewing and every quilter knows fabric preparation is key. 

Spring green magic has emerged in my kitchen bed. I am so pleased to share that my seeds survived the series of frozen nights and germinated perfectly. Baby spinach and buttercrunch lettuce seedlings are up! I've previously used starter plants so watching them grow from seed will provide an extra special harvest this year. If I can fend off the greedy rabbits, that is.

Jason and I are also in the midst of shoveling our way out of a massive load of Alabama river rock. We're transforming an old flower bed to a sitting area and refreshing the rock in other beds around the perimeter of our home. My back and arms are in as much pain as there is rock but it's a good kind of pain. Gardening days make me feel like I contributed, like I did something worthwhile.

To end this week's edition, I like to extend my sincere thanks to all of you for your encouragement and shares of The Joy Post. If you added a comment here on my website, please know that I read your kind words and am researching an app or plug-in that allows me to respond to you. Why I do not have that option *baffles* me. Hopefully that issue will be remedied by the next post.

Better get to starchy fabric pressing and finalizing the menu for my most favorite day of the year.

Sunday is coming!

TTFN,