100- Sophie's Day

Today was Sophie's blessing day. (In our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our children receive a name and a blessing as infants; baptism doesn't come until they have reached the age of accountability, 8-years old.) Doug and Jessica decided to have this wonderful family gathering at their house (which I totally love!) Here's our sweet baby-girl.



I got permission from their Bishop to take this photo before the actual blessing. (I can see that I need to get a wide angle lens. I couldn't get the other priesthood holders.) Look how proud and happy the daddy and grand-daddies are!



Jessica asked if I would make Sophie her blessing dress. I've made them for all our grand-daughters. When I delivered the dress earlier this week I told Jess that I hadn't made a slip so she could put Sophie in a onesie or she could use the slip from Ashton's dress. Ashton grabbed that idea and the decision was made.

I borrowed a pleating machine from a friend and did the smocked yoke. This was a first for me but I am very pleased with the results.



What a wonderful family! I'm so grateful that we are here close, can see them on a regular basis and share these special days.


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099- Virtual Shopping

Have you ever noticed that when you want something... you usually can't find it? Yes, well that has been my experience today. I've been to Orem twice and Spanish Fork once and all I bought was some Cold Stone ice cream to drown my sorrows! (I also made a stop at P F Chang's to see the wall hanging with my own two eyes. The colors just don't read the same as photos.)

Where are all the batiks? That's what I want to know. I feel like I used to see big bunches of them... but not now. Oh, fooey!

So I came home and looked online again. I may have found what I need in these 1895 Bali Handpaints at Batiks Plus I can see that this isn't going to be nearly as easy as I thought!

098- Quilt Design

So do you ever get to the end of the day and say, "What the heck have I done all day?" Well, I can tell you that I've been sequestered in my play-room all day long ciphering!

I've made quilts for each of my kids when they got married. (That is since I started to quilt in the mid 90's so my first three got short changed on that deal. Maybe sometime I will have to rectify that!) So with the upcoming nuptials I knew I needed to get busy.

This isn't the first quilt I've made for Camille (in fact I've lost count!) She's always had more input in the design process than the others. She tried to describe what she wanted and finally said, "You know, like the decor at P F Chang's!" Well, I didn't know! So on Tuesday she stopped by and took this photo for me.



I pulled that baby into PhotoShop and started, well, shoppin'! I just love graphic design with PhotoShop! I monkeyed and played and ciphered until my cipherer was very tired... time to take a break or two or three.

Usually when I design a quilt I just pull out the graph paper and start sketching away and scribble my notes on the side. But I knew that this one was going to be a little more complicated AND I am going to be much more distracted (boy, ya' think!), so I knew I wanted to have some pretty iron clad instructions.

So I've spent the day creating a step-by-step pattern for *Camille & Kevin's Chang Quilt*. (I could take that puppy downtown!)



I'm thinking batiks. Now that I have all my yardage ciphered I can go shopping! Yea, fabric petting (no licking in the shoppe). I love to go to the quilt shoppe, or two or three! I'll be back tomorrow with fabric samples if I am successful!

097- Thank You Dinner

Nothing says *thank you* like a nice dinner out! Here we are with our *fence-builder-boys*! I'm so glad we have them close and they are willing to help.

Funny thing though... Ryan and Kevin arrived separately but they both asked, "So did your fence blow down yet?" Let me tell you! It will be along time before that fence blows over!



We also have our daughter-in-law, Megan, here for the BYU Ballroom Dance 50 year Reunion. It was so nice to eat and visit with them all.

096- Quilt Therapy

One of my favorite things to do is quilting. It fills up in me a need to create. It is an opportunity to take beautiful fabrics and fashion them into a new beautiful whole.

(My friend, Pauline, says, "Joanie, I don't get quilting! You take big pieces of fabric, cut then into little pieces and then sew them back into a big piece!")

My favorite quilt shoppe, Corn Wagon, is only 2.2 miles from my house. I went there today in need of therapy (and true to form burst into tears as I told the ladies I was there to look for fabric for a wedding quilt for my *baby*! Oh, sad, sad lady!)

But life is not without humor... this sign is on their front door! I love it!

095- Happy Faces

I just love happy spring faces! These happened to be Primroses that live outside the Provo Temple. They just make me smile every time I look at them. It makes our changeable spring weather more bearable because it reminds me that, yes, early spring snow storms will subside and give way to those late spring days with all the flowering trees, bushes, flowers and shrubs that fill the air with their heady fragrance.


And I just had to add the watercolor filter again.







When I was looking for information on the Primulaceae I found this darling piece of art by Cecily Mary Baker. I just love the whimsy of it. It reminds me so much of the lovely illustrations hung in our rooms as children by Jessie Willcox Smith.

094- Near Disaster

I've blogged about our General Conference cinnamon rolls before... but today is a little different.

This would be the first time that Camille was making cinnamon rolls *for Kevin*. Yes, we took him some back on Christmas Eve, (when, by the way, he ended up in the hospital! No, it wasn't the cinnamon rolls!) but they are engaged now and it was Camille's day to shine.

While Camille used her *master-baker* skills I cut up some fruit so we would be all ready for a delicious breakfast while we watched the morning session of conference. The plan is to have the cinnamon rolls ready just before conference starts. I was *helping* Camille, who'd gone upstairs for something, the oven was hot, it was time to put the nice, light, fluffy cinnamon rolls into bake. I picked up the pan, opened the oven door, reached to set them on the rack of the oven and...

and...


AND...

the pan slipped from my hand (this has NEVER happened before) and fell, plop! onto the partially opened oven door. Do ya' know what happens to light fluffy dough if you drop it? Yup... it knocks all the air out of it. There was a mass of gooey, cinnamon roll dough all jammed down at one end of the pan. BA-STINKIN'-LONIE!! No, I didn't!?

Sadly, yes!

What to do? Well, first, I had to get Stuart to stop attacking the dough (using the voice of the French Chef, Louie, from Little Mermaid). Since the dough wasn't dirty, just flat, I re-rolled the dough, added more butter, sugar and cinnamon and set them to rise a second time. Here they are getting ready to bake THE SECOND TIME. I turned on the oven... but I let Camille go put them in when the oven was hot!!



Fortunately, we have a DVR so our conference started about 10:30 this morning instead of 10 o'clock like everyone else!

They turned out yummy and now we have one more story to add to our repertoire of *Joanie Stories*. It's hard being me!

(FYI- this one still doesn't top the shopping at Walmart for slippers with Auntie P story and falls slightly behind the flaming garlic toast!)

093- Girls' Night

Years ago we started the tradition of Girls' Night on the Saturday of General Conference. The men head off to the Priesthood session and the girls head out for fun.

Tonight we had an object to our mission... pick up Miss Camille's wedding dress. I knew that we would need to include Desi, Camille's sister-by-choice (I am so grateful for family, regardless of how we get them!) As it turned out we also brought Emmalie along and baby Blake went to Priesthood with his daddy and grandpa.

Miss Emmalie Camille loves her Auntie Camille. What a precious pair!



Little girls just come hard-wired to love weddings. I captured Miss Emmie doing what little girls do best! (this is NOT Camille's dress!)



Here there are... my girls! We've often discussed how much Desi and I are alike and how much Camille and Andrea are alike. Like I said... I love my family!



I have to admit... as I took this photo there were tears in my eyes. Somehow the last 24 years have just gone way too fast.

092- Darling Boys

Look at these darling boys!

Not boys, you say?

Men?

Yes they are!

And such good men too.

I love to watch them working together. By Saturday evening I will have a new fence. Now here's the bad news. It will make the rest of the old fence look old and shabby!



And just so you know... I've saved you from being scarred for life by not showing you Ryan's impersonation of being a plumber!

091- April Fool!

♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ I woke up this morning and what did I see?
Snow all over my apricot tree!!♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Spring didn't bring me such a nice surprise, blossoms dying right before my eyes! ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ I could take an armful and make a treat... ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

Well, you get the picture!



I'm not too hopeful about my apricot crop for this year. I wish that the planter of my trees had realized that this variety of apricot was too much of an early bloomer! Ah, well, there's always next year.


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