Vivacious Visitors

I am thankful for two "vivacious visitors" this past week. Vivacious Visitor number one, Mary Nielsen, moved to Florida about six months ago, and came to town to teach a couple quilt classes at a local shop (Spring Water Designs), and go on this past weekend's  retreat. And since Mary was in the Possibillibee Bee before she moved, her visit coincided with our monthly meeting, hosted by yours truly. It was a great visit in many ways, including the celebration of her birthday.

Vivacious Visitor number two, Laura Murphy, hails from Michigan (Bowling Green Alum and fellow South Africa traveler with me in 2015), and we've planned a couple "scoots" (4 mile runs) around the Crofton Parkway. She was also kind enough to go with me to my last high school soccer game that I refereed this afternoon, and we will head to Annapolis tomorrow before she leaves. It will be her first trip to the "Sailing Capital of the World", and a fine place for a repast during the lunch hour.

BSolielle! The bright side of friendships at their finest, and I am truly thankful of the paths I've chosen in life to make and maintain the friends I have, including these two amazing women!

Terri

Possibillibees: L-R; Cappy Phillips, Janet McCabe, Carrie Casto, Shelley Jackson, Mary Nielsen, Susie Stevenson, and me

Laura, Lucy and me

Cool Quilts and More

Typically lots of UFO's (unfinished objects) get finished on a retreat. Uninterrupted sewing time is key (except for meals), and paramount to a "successful" weekend. While I was able to finish a couple scrappy backs and several totes, I'd like to show two quilts by other retreat goers; Jean Dwyer and Cathy Brown. They are both stunning and just completed tops!

Photo of Jean, Cathy and the totes. 

BSoleille, 

Terri

Scrappy Backs

Fall quilt retreat at West River is here! I decided to "clean up" my sewing room and do something with all my flannel and fleece scraps. I figured why not make backs, and then figure which quilt top could be matched up with a back. It certainly cleared up my big bag of mismatched fabric, and I'm happy about that. 

Photos of two backs of flannels. Now onto the fleece. And the original pile. 

BSoleille!

Terri

12 Years

I simply ran out of "time" yesterday to blog, as I waited patiently while the Cubs had the "hot" bats and secured the World Series win over my beloved Cleveland Indians 8-7!  It was 12:50 am when game 7 finally ended, and too late to do anything but hit the hay!

So without further adieu today, a big shout of THANKS to everyone who helped Ryan on his journey of childhood cancer and 12 years post Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant! How did we all get here? One. Day. At. A. Time. Ryan continues to shine bright and his story has become very inspirational to many!  We are thankful and proud of the young man he is today despite his tongue cancer this past May and all the angst that that entailed. 

BSoleille! The bright side of celebrating by voting early (Ryan) and dinner out! Photo from two weeks ago at the Columbus Marathon with Uncle Don Tomoff!

Terri

Late to the "Game" ?

Contact style. Maybe it is true that I just got on the "bandwagon" for daily contact lenses, but it is a real "eye opener" for me! As a contact lens wearer for over 40 years, I've run the gamut of hard lenses, semi-hard lenses, then in college, soft lenses, and now....November 1, 2016, dailies! My husband and daughter have been singing their praises for several years now, but I was comfortable with my "old system". It worked, so why bother changing? At my latest eye exam, the doc gave me five days worth of dailies to try. No obligation to buy, of course. I tried them, and liked them, but still had a few months left with the monthly lenses. So today was the day to "officially" start wearing them, and thankfully, today was "clear" as a bell.  And more more thing, I really do think I see a smidge better (I'll take that!). I know is it no lasik surgery, but it has to be the next best thing!

BSoleille!
Terri

Happy Halloween

The ghosts and goblins have come and gone and it was a fine night weather-wise for trick or treating. I hope everyone enjoyed seeing all the costumed kids march through the neighborhoods. 

My photo today is a fully decorated lawn of every imaginable Halloween inflatable. I hope the kids enjoyed a fun night of candy seeking through this maze of madness!

BSoleille!

Terri

Sports Round Up

From four soccer games (refereed), to a "Guinness World Record Party, and lastly, to the Tribe vs. Cub's game, what a wild ride it's been for the last 18 hours. My fellow referees today were a husband and wife "team", Julio and Lety, who were thrilled to work with another female referee (there are just not that many of us). We had a good set of games and the weather was perfect to be outside enjoying the day!

The next order of business was to head to the Richard Flanagan household where a celebration party was underway to congratulate Rich on his "official" Guinness World Record for his one-wheelie record in one hour that he did on May 29th, 2016. There is a lot of paperwork required by the Guinness World Record people, with the  checking and double-checking on the record once it has been accomplished. A few days ago, Rich got the official announcement that he now holds the Guinness World Record for a one hour one wheelie (64 laps on a track)! How awesome is that!??

And lastly, the Indians vs. Cubs game in which the Cubs just won game five (boo), and now the series MUST be won in Cleveland on Tuesday! What a game, and series it has been thus far. Looking forward to the best baseball around with the traditions surrounding both teams...vintage!

BSoleille!
Terri

Photos of my ref-mates and Rich Flanagan (one of Rich very young doing a trick on his bicycle!)

Ta-Da! Cool Avacado...

It took two plus years to have the kitchen done to completion, and I am thankful the family hung with me for the last phase, painting it all. Except for the outlet covers, everything is pretty much back to its rightful place, and I am thankful for that. So without further adieu, I give you the before and after photos.  I like the door especially, with a pop of paprika color!

BSoleille!
Terri

When Good Work is Done...

My kitchen renovation was done in the summer of 2014, but was never painted to "complete" the look. I did not get to it in 2014, nor 2015, and this year, I actually broke down and bought the paint this summer. And since that purchase of several gallons of paint at Sherwin Williams, I told myself (and family), almost weekly, that I will be painting the kitchen...soon. And since August, the weeks flew by with nary an inkling to tackle that job. What's a girl to do?

Well, I went back to the Crofton Sherwin Williams store last week, and asked the store manager, Alyssa Kozlowski, for some names of painters. I told her I "gave up" on doing it myself and needed suggestions on some good painters. She happened to give me the name of David Godwin, who had recently painted a project for Alyssa's grandmother, and did "good work". He was prompt, had fair pricing for the job, and is a friendly guy who did great work. So, thankfully, I made the call. We quickly scheduled a time for him to come out for an estimate, and I "booked" him on the spot.

David spent the past two days painting my kitchen...and more. Not only did he do a great job, he happened to "wash" out all the paint that we got on our clothes as we "gingerly" walked through the kitchen and brushed against the wet paint (it never looked wet!). Of course, our dog Loo-C was no exception to rubbing against the wet paint, and David took it in stride to wash off all the paint on her coat too! 

If you are local, and need a painter, give David a call. Take the "angst" out of doing it yourself!

BSoleille!
Terri

Photo of David at work and his business card! I will post before and after photos tomorrow.

Giving Back to Sinai Hospital

Typically, November is the month of "Thanks" and "Giving". But for the Southern Comforters of Bowie, MD, every month is a way to "give thanks and give back". As I have mentioned in several previous blog posts, my guild has made, quilted and donated hundreds (maybe close to 2,000 over the last 16 years) of quilts to every newly diagnosed child with cancer at Georgetown. It is something we are very proud of, and the kids and parents (plus the staff) are in awe of varied and beautiful quilts bestowed on these brave warriors. With prayers and good wishes stitched into each lovingly made quilt, we want the kids to know they are loved, even by "perfect strangers", who only wish for positive outcomes through their arduous treatments. Our members take our community outreach program seriously, and it shows in each and every quilt donated.

Today, I would like to announce, with the blessing of my guild, that we have branched out to another hospital: Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Maryland. My son Ryan and I took two huge bags filled with beautiful quilts for the staff to select a "perfect match" to give to each new pediatric hem/onc patient. The doctors and staff are thrilled to have the new partnership, and I am too! We are spreading the love...one stitch and one quilt at a time!

BSoleille, The bright side of giving back in any month of the year!

Terri

Photo of Danielle Eichner, Art Therapist, and Ryan

World Series 2016

I've posted that if you follow MLB, October is all about pitching. Lots of teams were "hot" getting to the series, but the last two standing are the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs! As I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and a mere three miles to the "old" stadium (as the crow flies), my heart is with  Cleveland for the big trophy and a series win! It helps they are the underdogs, and I am thankful for that!

But it is really cool that the Chicago Cubs are the other team, and they even have a longer dry spell of 108 years in not winning a series. I guess 68 years is "nothing", at least according to the announcers and all the Cubs fans out there! So as the games play out, I'll be cheering on the Tribe in the next week and a half of games. "Old fashion" baseball at it's best!

BSoleille!
Terri

The Gang...

Is all here. And really, it was two extra for dinner, but it was all so good. The food and the company with a bouncing lively discussion kept the tempo moving along. Lots of laughs when Uncle Don and Liz Verrecchia comes to town. A must is to brush up on apps and social media because he crushes all of it! We zing from "Slack" to Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Evernote and Google photos. Whew! It's tough to keep up!

BSoleille!

Terri

A "Little" Hike on the AT

I awoke at 4:28am (alarm set for 5:30am!), and never was able to fall back asleep. But that meant we had a few extra minutes to pack a few things to head to Pen-Mar Park on the border of Pennsylvania and Maryland. We made arrangements to meet up with friends, Mark and Linda Misencik, as they hiked the entire state of Maryland since Friday (45 miles) on the Appalachian Trail. How awesome is that? Bill and I got out there by 8:00am and began hiking South, as the Misencik's began hiking North after they broke camp. We met up after a few miles on the trail, and hiked back to our car. We then drove them in to Harper's Ferry, WVA, their starting point and their vehicle. It was a lovely Sunday to crack our boots open this fall. Interestingly, no bugs, though no birds either, but the trees are a turning, and the vistas surrounding the area were stunning!

And to finish the afternoon, a great brunch at the Old South Mountain Inn, an establishment that dates back 275 years atop scenic and historic Turner's Gap. Lots of Civil War lore in these parts, and I would love to go back. And if General Robert E. Lee can eat there, why can't we?

BSoleille! The bright side of a little hike on the AT!
Terri

Happy Anniversary Installnet!

The company I began working for three years ago, Installnet Inc., of Crofton, Maryland, celebrated 20 years in business this week, culminating with a big party last night at the office. I no longer work for them, but my husband does, and it was a great night congratulating the owners, Dale and Karen Ewing! Dale certainly had the vision and knack to create a great company of project managers and project coordinators in the office furniture industry, and I loved working for them. So hanging out with "my" former co-workers, and my husband's co-workers, was certainly a lot of fun!

So kudos and Congratulations to Dale and Karen Ewing, and cheers to 20 more years in the industry!

BSoleille,
Terri

Photo of Bill and the accounting staff of Freida, Karen, and Susan! (And Mike S. waving at me!)

"Old Time" Soccer Game

Do you remember the days before smart phones? How about just plain texting on a flip phone? Or do you even remember a flip phone? How about playing sports before artificial turf? And, of course, manicured Bermuda grass is lovely, but the game, any game (soccer, football, lacrosse) is still slowed down a wee bit. So this past week, I refereed two junior varsity boys games at Chesapeake High School in Anne Arundel County. The grass, in some areas, was knee high and very thick. All the teams that played this week could really kick the heck out of the ball, and they tried, but it stopped quickly if it was not in the air. The players were tripping and falling all over the field, and overall, the very tall grass (weeds) made each game quite pathetic. I was a bit nervous for the players, and also the referees stepping into a big hole that could not be seen, (big divots can wreak havoc on ankles, and even knees), but it seemed like all players/refs came out all right after each game. Whew!

But the funny thing is that on most of the field, soccer cleats were not visible.  At. All. Even while standing next to another player. The grass will probably be mowed tomorrow because the season ended today for most of the teams in the county, especially the junior varsity soccer teams.

BSoleille!
Terri

Battle of the Seasons

The Mid Atlantic is experiencing a "hot" Indian Summer, with a record breaking temperature of 87 degrees yesterday in Maryland. Today was in the low-eighties. We know this mild, borderline on hot, weather cannot go on too much longer, but I'll take each day that it stays warm, so I can wear shorts and short-sleeved shirts. We have already wrestled with some cooler and rainy weather a few weeks ago, and I was -this close- to switch to flannel sheets on the beds!

So the past few days, the floral and fauna have created a "second wind" on blooming in the garden. We've got leaves a turning, yet dandelions have popped up, as well as my geraniums. The "cooler" mums need a lot of water so they don't wilt too much. So, I sum this up as the "Battle of the Seasons", and will see who wins out...eventually. And I hope no tulips or daffodils pop up!

BSoleille!
Terri

Photos of some of the flowers taken today...still blooming and hope to continue blooming this fall.

Cover

Every once in awhile, I like to sew something out of the "someday" project basket. And that project was a sewing machine cover with sewing machine fabric. With sun and dust floating around my naked machine when not in use, it will now sit nicely with a suitable cover to keep it humming along!

BSoleille!

Terri

She Did It!

NOTE: This blogpost was posted yesterday, October 16, 2016. I somehow deleted it by mistake, and there is no going back to retrieve it! But....lo and behold, tech guru Bill had saved it in another forum and was able to send it to me to re-post! #SoThankful!

A whirlwind weekend in Columbus, Ohio, culminated in a very early wake up call to get everyone up and ready to cheer on "our" first time marathoner: "The Best Daughter!" Mild temperatures and sunny skies lent for a good race (maybe borderline 'hot' for some), that covered 26.2 miles in a time of 3:42:38 for Olivia, and her fearless coach and running partner, Mark Misencik of Amherst, Ohio. The frenzy of the weekend activities and general good spirits around so many athletes embarking on either a first or 29th marathon (and half marathon too), makes one get into the spirit as well, maybe even thinking a marathon is in their future!?

And do not think being a cheerleader is easy work. Our cheer leading squad was comprised of Linda Misencik (wife of Mark); Don Tomoff, plus Bill, Ryan, and myself. Linda and I covered close to 11 miles while cheering on our runners (7 of those miles running from mile marker to mile marker), and at various points on the course. We not only cheered for our folks, but hundreds of the brave souls that set out to cover the distance. (It's easy to cheer on the runners who had their names on their race numbers/bib). Their faces light up when you called their name, and if not too tired, even smiled or gave the thumbs up in appreciation. So a big hearty Congratulations is in order for Olivia Tomoff and Mark Misencik! May the aches and pains stay at bay and you both are back in the saddle with an easy run soon!

BSoleille! The bright side of finishing your first marathon! And, the bright side of being a proud mama!
Terri

Photos from this epic day:

20 Year Anniversary

Today marks the 20th Anniversary of my son Ryan's diagnoses of Childhood Cancer (Leukemia). I cannot believe it's been 20 years as we dealt with the good, the bad and the ugly, but the kid is a "thriver" survivor! And I am very grateful that he continues to be my hero and inspiration every. single. day! Ryan's "marathon" has been the trials and tribulations of years of treatment, relapses, a bone marrow transplant, and a new cancer diagnosed this past May. He is amazing in how he handles (and has handled) all the adversity thrown his way, yet continues to plug away each day with life; being a community college student, volunteering at his Alma Mater (high school), and Special Love (Camp Fantastic), and working each summer since he was 15 years old. We are proud of the young man he has become today, and only wish for him a bright future of continued "success."

BSoleille! Hands up for the bright side of an unbelievable milestone!!

Terri

Photo Flashbacks...

And tonight...