Flowers from Luke

 I helped my daughter and son-in-law buy a house last week.   After all the signing was done at the closing, he pulled out a bouquet from under the table.   Thanking me for making it possible to get a new home.  

A week later, they're even more beautiful.

I hope that their marriage will be the same - unfolding into better and better beauty.

Jane

Jane was made using Jane Sassaman's fabric.

Jane’s mother wanted her to become a writer like her idol, Jane Austen.

Unfortunately, Jane is dyslexic.  

She now has a thriving career in retail sales, as she has a good eye for line and color. 

Trees in the Ice Storm

I have two very large Bradford Pear trees in my front yard.   There's a Live Oak between the front sidewalk and the street.   Then in the backyard there is a large Crepe Myrtle in the back yard, two Cedar Elms  behind my fence, and a young Burr Oak in the back also.   All of these are on my 1/10th of an acre!

Last week, while I was out of town, a very unusual for us weather event occurred - an ice storm.

Both Pear trees lost a very large branch, each in the middle of the tree.  The Crepe Myrtle lost about five medium sized branches, all on the back side.   

I called the people who had done landscaping for me before and they agreed to come on Monday.   But they didn't.   When I texted with a query, I got a very vague answer.  

 Fortunately, my brother-in-law asked if I needed help and I gladly accepted.   He and my sister came over and in less than an hour, my broken branches were off the tree and hauled to the curb.  

Now I'm hoping the city will hold to their promise and pick up all of the debris.   I also hope that the trees will fill out and regain some symmetry.  Who knows, maybe the reduced limb count will let more sunlight through and my grass might grow better.

Linus Quilts

     At .a quilting retreat in Stonewall two weeks ago, I put a binding on a quilt which is destined for one of my great-grand-newphes for his high school graduation.  When I got home, I labeled it and put it into the growing pile in my studio closet.

Next projects were to take panels given to me at the Linus Connection meeting and make quilt tops of them.  

 I finished one larger top, two for toddlers, and one for an infant.   The three smaller ones began as one piece of fabric, but I separated the motifs and featured each one in a quilt top. 

Real People

Most of my Faces are totally imaginary, fictitious, and a little off-the-wall.

Lately, I've tried my hand at making some based on friends and family.  

May I introduce Carolyn, Susan, Vicki, Dexter, and Megan:

Carolyn has been my friend for almost fifty years.  She loves to play bridge, drink wine, and is proud to be a Texan.

Her sister Susan published her first novel at the age of 72.  She, too, loves bridge and wine.   She prefers Italy to Texas, however.

 

Vicki couldn't quit smoking.  Even after her husband died of lung cancer, she couldn't quit smoking.   When she became ill, she refused to move to an assisted living facility because "They won't even let you smoke in your own room!"

Dexter loves to travel.   He works for an airline and goes as many places as he can on his pass.   

When he and a friend went to Vegas, they won $500 in the slots at the airport.

Dexter's cat was happy to see him return home.

Megan is a chameleon.  Her hobby is collecting hobbies.  Her profession morphs regularly.   She is never boring.  

She loves cats, dogs, her husband, and her Mama.   Not necessarily in that order.

 

 My former neighbor, Marilyn, and I checked out the Fiber exhibit at Texas State University on Saturday.   I was happy to see that the stories had, in fact, been included on each sign.  The signs are not much bigger than a business card, so I was grateful that the stories made it.   

My daughter created a webpage for me and it's simple enough that I can edit many of the elements.

https://judybaumannart.godaddysites.com/#e8583b2b-fa58-43b5-8426-9a48dbab57de

 In an Exhibit!!!

Alfred, Betty, and Rosa were accepted into the Round Rock Arts Fiber Art Exhibition starting soon.