Cambridge, England

I'm in Cambridge this week!  My son has a temporary job with Cambridge University until the end of February, then they will move back to Edinburgh.  Thinking it was time for a visit to see my grands, I came out on Feb. 11th.  Thank you Delta for a great flight here. I got here only one day after her third birthday. This cutie is definitely my girl....

I hadn't seen little brother since he was only three weeks old.

His momma describes him as the "dream baby."  He is so happy and eats and sleeps wonderfully.

We went on an outing the other day to see the sights.  First up the Mathematical Bridge.  Here's a little history on it...The bridge was designed by William Etheridge, and built by James Essex in 1749. It has been rebuilt on two occasions, in 1866 and in 1905, but has kept the same overall design. Although it appears to be an arch, it is composed entirely of straight timbers^[3] built to an unusually sophisticated engineering design, hence the name.

 Next up, through the opening in one of the buildings of Trinity College below, is the courtyard where it is said an apple tree grows from a seed of the apple tree with the famed apple which dropped in 1666 and prompted Sir Issac Newton to develop his theory of gravity.

 Below is the clock in downtown Cambridge.  I think the bug on top is some kind of grasshopper.

 And a statue of Henry the 8th,who founded King's College.

I've done a lot of playing here too.....Emma and I have spent a lot of time at the swing set in the garden behind their flat.

 And we raced scooters.....

 My girl and her beautiful eyes.....

Precious little Haddon.....

On Valentine's Day I kept the kids while my son and daughter in law did a day trip to London.  I enjoyed it, and they did too.  They never get a day/night out to themselves.

I even got a chance to get in a four mile run today.  It was perfect.  Found a great place to run, didn't get lost (which is always nice) and saw lots of new sights.

...but this is why I am here.....

I think we are going to do a day trip to London a couple of days before I head home.  I am looking forward to that......there might be another picture overload post!

More Fun

No words are needed.....

Fun with my girl!

My granddaughter is visiting and we are having such fun!

...so there won't be any quilting done for another week or so....

 

I can't believe how this little one sleeps so well. They just put her to bed at 8pm and without a fuss she goes off to sleep for 12-13 hours.

It's like that at nap time too. She goes down around noon for a two hour nap.

..but she she is awake, it is constant activity. She is keeping Mamaw fit, up and down the steps, over and over and over and over again. Mamaw doesn't mind. There will be plenty of time to rest after she goes home.

 

Baby Quilt

I quilted this one for a friend. This friend has been battling cancer for about 19 years. She is what you'd call a lifer. She is such an inspiration. She made this one for her future grandson. She made one in our quilting class at church a couple of years ago for her future granddaughter. As of now only one of her three children is married and no grand babies are on the way.

Now she has something special made for her first grandson and first granddaughter. They will have it whether she gets to meet them this side of heaven or not.

 

Friday night lights

There is not much else I'd rather do on a Friday night.....

Upstairs in my quilt room, window open, a little cool air flowing in, along with the sound of the local high school band playing at the ballgame a mile or so away.

Didn't even have to cook tonight. The hubby wanted to eat chili for a fundraiser.

He wanted us to make a selfie to send to baby girl....We send her videos and pictures pretty often.

I said there is not much else I'd rather do on a Friday night....I can think of one thing I'd rather be doing -- playing with my granddaughter.

 

Saturday

Beautiful fall day......

Got in a long run this morning. Cooked chicken, mushroom, wild rice soup and homemade bread for supper...oh yeah, and a chocolate cake too. Even did a little sewing on both quilting projects I've got going. And the best part was facetiming with baby girl Emma. Love to hear her say, Maymaaw.

..those eyes.....be still my heart.

This was last night's supper. It was delicious. Kale, shrimp, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Gluten free, healthy, and yummy.

 

Sneak peek

I finished my bright scrap quilt. I've named it Hashtag Graphics. I won't show it all just in case......some of the magazines are kind of picky about that. I've sent pictures off to McCalls. They have been so very nice and I want to give them first chance at publishing it. If they don't want to, I'll be sending pictures off to a few more. One at a time, with a 30-90 day response time, is a very slow process. It will be worth the wait though if I get a taker.

I'm really, really happy about how this one turned out. Pattern number three in my repertoire.

After church and lunch I got in my Monday three miler. Run and done. I love having Monday's off. I've got errands to do in Knoxville tomorrow, so now I won't have to find time to run.

My kids sent me this today. I had to laugh. They are still in Paris and have attended a few churches trying to find a good English speaking one. It seems not many have nurseries (Or crèche as they call it in Scotland) and Emma is pretty wild. This is how they distracted her today.

 

 

How do you display your quilts?

From this...

To this ....(36 screws later)....

This quilt ladder is made by Briick, a family owned company in Illinois. It is wider than a regular ladder and the rungs are farther apart to allow for more display of each quilt. Mine has seven rungs. It has a couple of hooks on the sides for hanging (what? I'm not sure), and a shelf at the bottom. I probably won't use either. I like having my quilts where I can see them.

And for your viewing pleasure......from Paris....

My favorite thing I saw when I was there years ago... The Arc De Triomphe!

Notra Dame

...my handsome son and daughter-in-love...

..and their tired baby girl, after a day of playing at the Jardin du Luxembourg.

Emma and her "Bier-Bier"