Aubree Grace Stancill

 

Here she is!!!

Born this morning about 1:05 am

8 lbs, 4oz

20 inches

Mom, Dad, and Aubree are fine.

Will (BabyDaddy and Bill's oldest) sent us this picture via cell-phone.

We'll go visit after they go home and the snow is gone.

Bill will probably be called "Grumpy" - cause he is.  I'm still trying to figure out what I should be called.  "StepGrandMother" is a bit formal, dontcha think? Maybe "Grammy?" One friend has suggested "Queen Mum." 

For now just call me "Happy."

Happy Happy! Joy Joy! Snow!

Snow!!!!!

finally!

 

Just took Petey out.  He loves snow!

Since his stroke a few months back he does a whole lot of walking in circles to get where he wants to go.  I say he's going Nascar cause all he makes are left turns - like these

Our Daughter-in-law went to the hospital today for induced labor.  I don't think the people there knew what they were doing* cause she was hooked up all day and barely began to dilate!  They took her off the drip so she could shower and get some sleep.  Hopefully Aubree Grace will get here tomorrow!

(* I had induced with both kids and birthed both at almost exactly 8 hours!  This is the first induced labor/birth that I ever heard of that didn't work!)

More Snow and Baby news tomorrow!

Sleep tight!
 

Vintage Thingy Thursday - Political Leanings

I often tell folks "I was raised  in the proverbial smoke filled back rooms of the North Carolina foothills' old Democratic Party."  I'm told my first words were not "Mama" nor "Dada" but "Bote Kennkey!"  My Dad took almost 1 year old me out and about on Saturdays in 1960 to give my Mom a rest and to show off how he had taught me to say "Vote Kennedy."  (I have also been told my first words were "Go to hell TarHeels!" since we are a Wake Forest family but I digress.)

I've had a life long involvement in meeting, greeting, hand shaking and general campaigning along side my Dad and then with my kids.  My rule is "If you don't vote then you are not allowed to complain!"

You and I don't have to agree on policy or politicians (most are corrupt to some degree) but I believe we can all agree that our freedom to be different is a huge part of what makes the United States a superb place to live! 

I think we can also agree that my little stuffed donkey is adorable!!  I was adviser to a Teen Democrat group way back in 80-81 and one of the teens gave me this as a Thank you. 

 

 Before that - in 1974 - my Dad was a delegate to the Democratic National Mini-Convention in Kansas City.  He arrived home with the words "I flew back to Atlanta [and then on to Charlotte] with the next President of the United States."  We asked why Hubert Humphrey was going to Atlanta.  Dad replied, "Not Humphrey - Jimmy Carter."  At that my Mom, little brother and I all said, "Jimmy WHO!?!?!"

Then Dad was a Delegate to the National Convention of the Democratic Party in 1976.  Here is his floor tag, another one signed "Dan Rather" and a note signed "To Beckie, from your friend, Hubert Humphrey."  Dad gave my brother a Clint Eastwood autograph and a Humphrey one too.  I found the button at a junque store a while back and I'm not sure how old it is.

(I need to fix it from slipping in the shadow box!)

 

 I have more buttons safely tucked in a box.  Lots of Jimmy (who?) Carter smiles and peanuts buttons and tons from local elections.

This little button is about the size of a quarter.  I have had it "forever" but I don't know where it can from.  I guess my Dad gave it to me way back in the 60's.

 

Happy VTT Everyone!  Go visit Suzanne's blog ColoradoLady so you can check out all the other vintage goodies!

VTT in my corner of Our Workroom/Den

Testing a new background and layout! All those little techie thingys make my brain hurt!!!

Happy VTT to you all!!!!

Last week I overwhelmed you with a whole room. I do get carried away sometimes!

This week I'll just show y'all the corner of our workroom/den that is mine.  More specifically - the stuff on my wall over my ginormous cutting table. (Yeah, go ahead and be jealous of my cutting table - heehee)

From left to right...........

Peaking from those 3 wide shelves of de-stash fabric - box that now contains only one of the original 45's of the  "Show Boat" soundtrack.

Lucky me, the remaining record is Ava Gardner singing "Bill."  The producers didn't want to use her voice even though they all agreed she sang beautifully.

A really, really old Ouija board from my great Grandparents House.  The pointer is missing so we can't conjure spirits or answers to our innermost questions ;-)

A closer view of my thimble collection and some old wooden spools, some with thread.

The lower half with more threads, a trinket from Washington, DC, tatting shuttles and a cute old bottle that held Violet perfume.

I love my "Ladies who Shop and Lunch" Coca-Cola ad.  The old magazine ad also mentions that the ladies outfits were made with Vogue sewing patterns!  Cool Clemson poster above.

 Just the other side of my cool scrap organizer I have another old magazine ad with Gene Tierney selling us Lux with Color Freshener! James Cagney pic from a now closed Applebee's restaurant, pennants from fav teams.  (My 1960's Wake Forest pennant is on another wall.)

My first Barbie clothing pattern. 

I have other patterns framed but those pics are far worse than this one!

Here we have my teachers, my Grand Mothers.

To the left there I am with Grandma Porter.  She was evidently the giver of the tools, hat and apron.

To the right is [Grand]Mama Holbrook and my Mom at the oft mentioned Great Grand Parents house.

Both Grands taught me about cooking and sewing and gardening and so much more.

I miss them, but the pictures (which I just slapped up on the wall behind a glass with thumbtacks)

remind me of their unconditional love and guidance.

Be sure to visit Suzanne's blog, ColoradoLady to find links to all the other VTT  posts.

Before you go, I added one thing to my De-stash along 2010 list!  I've been sewing others folks' stuff and haven't taken much time to do stuff for us.

AND

Here are our two new additions - I've adopted 2 feral neighborhood cats.

Kitteh Kitteh Lovey

She's a teeny (7 lbs) talker!  Skittish but comes when called and loves her catnip toys.

and

Stanley

He roams but we did manage to get him fixed last week.  Stanley likes to come in for short visits and loves to be rubbed and to purrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

No Grand daughter Aubree yet!!!  But soon!

Guest room re-do and VTT

Happy VTT!!!

In my manic organizing mode I tackled out guest room last week.  I moved every piece of furniture to a new place, vacuumed and dusted!! Bill asked if I was okay!  (I don't dust often.)

The bedroom is painted a light (I refuse to call it Carolina) blue.  I decided I wanted a blue/aqua/green midcentury looking room. 

Here's what I have so far by mixing semi-new and vintage pieces.

When you first walk into the room you see our family pictures.  The lamp is early 60's.  The table - not sure how old but it is old.

The headboard was Bill's when a kid.  He carved his name on it but did not get in trouble!  The bedspread was my [Grand]Mama's in the 50's.  Ignore that TarHeel Ramses on the bed.  It's for Grand daughter Aubree.  The silhouette is Bill in 1959!

Books, books and more books.  Some antique, most not.  Really old games - Risk, Trouble and a repro Operation.  One of my Great Aunt's quilts is covering a 1978 Big Bunny who is sitting in an orange woven chair just underneath my "ancient" Clemson Tigers frisbee.  And the yarn stash that's part of De-stash 2010!

 

Awful picture but those are [Grand] Mama's 1970's JC Penney curtains.

Another 1960's lamp on a  50's night table beside the bed my [Grand] Mama bought from sears in the early 60's for me!  It is soooooo old and soooooooooo comfy!  A couple of those pillows have been with me since the early 70's, others there are nekkid and need covers!

See!  Nekkid pillows!  And a really cool  picture made out of itty bitty rocks.  There's desk somewhere in there.

Desk that I decoupaged with this on top -

Yepper, my first phone.  Still works too - hee hee.  I can still call Smokey the Bear and seems I called Santa on it when I thought my little brother was misbehaving.

Picked up this desk at a Neighborhood Yard Sale about 10 years ago for a whopping $10. 

Another bad pic - sorry.  Our CD collection with Barbies on top.  And a Madame Alexander Alice in Wonderland.

My real Vintage Barbies are not on display yet.  But how about that case?  Cool huh?

Now scoot on over to sweet Suzanne's coloradolady blog to find links to more cool Vintage Thingy Thursday posts!

Goals, Organizing and De-stashing

It has to be done.  We must "make it so."

I have been organizing my goals.  My sweet daughter, Katharine, gave me this cute notebook.

I decided to list my goals, tasks and ideas, daily, on separate pages.

Some are goals with deadlines.  Others are tasks I would like to get done.  Then there are ideas that pop in my head.  I can ponder those further and act or forget it.  There is sooooo much satisfaction and instant gratification is crossing off the things achieved and completed.

A few days after starting my goal book I found De-Stash Along 2010!!!!!!!!  Missie says "The goal is super simple: to use as much of your current craft stash as possible by the end of the year. That is it!"

What could be better than a challenge to sew, craft, knit, crochet, whatever your craft is AND reduce one's clutter!?  I think it's a little bit Earth saving too but that's a subject for another day perhaps.

So I am IN!  I had already decided that I was going to do my best to only purchase what is necessary to finish current Works In Progress and to use up my ridiculous stash of  fabrics and yarns.  It will be very, very hard for me as a complete fabriholic and yarnoholic.  Often I absolutely must be physically restrained when I see a bargain or a pretty pretty fabric or lush yarn!

I did buy this nifty ribbon organizer for half price at Micheal's last week.  Now these pretties are not stuffed in a box where I forget about 'em. (Yes, you see pics of Bill Hubby and my kids from way back and my beloved Mugsy from long ago.)

Kathi, my blogland buddy of Paintings That Fly, asked me about my fabric stash one day.  Here it be piled high on 3 wide shelves on one wall and 2 on another wall and my scraps and pieces in a nifty organizer that I won!

 

  

What I didn't show you are the many huge plastic tubs with lids also full to overflowing with fabrics!

And here's the yarn stash.   Don't let looks deceive you - those shelves are deep and packed!

When I figure out how to do it, I am going to list my De-Stashing projects over on the side here.

Won't you join us by signing up over at Crafting with Cat Hair ?

Please let me know if you are playing along !  I'm thinking up some sort of prize/reward for my followers.

Goal List 2010

Many years ago my New Year's Resolution was to never make any New Year's Resolutions.

Never again.

Ever.

I can proudly say that I have been 100% resolute in that resolution.  I am proud.

Resolutions seemed so final.  And depressing.  Not achieving the (sometimes ridiculous) goals made me feel really bad.  Loserville.

Why should we make promises once a year to accomplish something by year's end?

With that in mind, I do make lists.  I love lists.  There is a great satisfaction is crossing items off of lists.  I feel organized.  I feel as if I am making headway.  I feel good.

This year, this new year of 2010, my first New Year's with my blog, I have decided to share a few of my goals with you my BlogLand and RealLife friends.  It will help to keep me "honest."  I can click back to this post from time to time to gauge my progress.  You can help by reminding me :)

Professional Goals 2010

Sew more - at least 6 days a week.

Refill my etsy shop and sell, sell, sell!

Venture out of my comfort zone (home and the computer) to some craft and street fairs with my wares.

Finish jobs on time!!! This is very difficult for me, the Queen of ProCrasty Nation!

Personal Goals 2010

Sewing

Finish the long ago promised High School T-shirt quilts for Jordan and Kat. 

Sew up the fabrics I bought to make curtains for:

Our Bedroom

Guest Bedroom

Living room

(Hey, we do have sheers and temporary curtains up!)

Use up my ludacrously huge stash - only buy essentials to complete projects

(Ultimately I know that as a Fabriholic my resistance may be futile but I will try.)

Personal

The usuals - eat better, exercise more, sleep better

Read more.  I used to read lots of books a year.  Now I'm lucky to finish 2 a year. 

A really, really big goal I have, one I must accomplish for my mental and physical well-being -

eliminate toxic people from my life. 

This is not easy, especially if one must have contact with said person(s). 

Life is too damn short to spend it being treated badly, talked down to, feeling guilty for  things that are out of my control and spending my energies on those who will never be satisfied with what I do and who I am!

The happy opposite of that goal is to spend more time with and energy on Bill, our children, Will & wife, Jennifer & our almost here Grand Daughter Aubree, Megan, Jordan & Katharine and beau, Brian and our friends too numerous to list! 

I want and almost need to have more parties/gatherings, attend more music events and movies and write more letters, notes, and birthday cards to family and friends who live far away.

If along the way I lose weight, gain muscle, make new friends, learn a new craft, take a real vacation, and/or find a cure for the common cold then that will be a nice by product of trying to live well and do right by others.

What do you want to do this New Year?