Picking Up The Pieces

Thirteen months without Miss Amber Pie, 2-and-a-half months without sweet Charlie,........feels like we've been slogging through a bog with boots heavy with mud, every day a chore, every morning agony to wake up and just breathe,......Hubby has decided enough is enough and we need to DO something....a 30th anniversary/bereavement trip to Scotland

 helped begin to put our feet on drier ground.  It was amazing what 9 days away did to lift a bit of fog.  While there, we received news that the babyMomma is expecting a baby girl who has been tested NEGATIVE for I-Cell and should be arriving near Thanksgiving.  Is it sacrilegious to picture God winking at her possible birth date?  Thanksgiving!  A precious gift and although my breath caught in my throat at first (I felt like this grammy's heart needed a few more years to heal), I am so very thankful at the prospect of seeing the babyMomma and her hubby with their arms full yet again....and ours as well.

  I have begun to pick up some pieces.....someone has come forward to take medical supplies that have filled so much physical space.

 While bagging them up, I almost WENT to pieces as each category brought memories of the pain and fear when we first had to learn how to use something, memories of the victory and confidence we felt when we mastered it,  and the inevitable crushing sorrow as we no longer need any of it.

I've also picked up the pieces of what was to be Charlie and Amber's floor quilt.  Fabric was chosen for both children......I didn't begin to cut it out until it was too late for Amber Pie.  Last summer in an attempt to move forward, babyMomma and Charlie helped with layout.

 I made great progress during my get-away in October and had begun to bind it late winter.  (I just spotted adorable Charlie toes at the edge of the picture just below)

 The back of the quilt is a spotty blue, with a large rectangle of one of the dog prints.  This was my first machine quilted, far from perfect but a lot of fun to try.

 It is finished now and will await new grandbabygirl to lay and play on it next year.  She will hear lots of stories of her sister and brother....(so disappointed I didn't finish this for Charlie to enjoy).....

and I am looking forward with joy to adding her picture to this category of "Quilting with Grammy."

Busy Birdbath

Cleaned out birdbaths and filled with fresh water.  We've only recently come home and returned to some semblance of order.  Birdbaths were pretty much non stop yesterday.  Pictures are a tad fuzzy, taken from inside through a screened window...and a bit of sheer curtain.

 Crazy Tree Sparrow decided to have a dust bath after the birdbath.

 American Robin just wanted a drink.

 I'm not sure of the ID for the bird on the right.  The Mourning Dove wanted the deeper end of the birdbath but whatever this bird was, it was not going to move.  Later in the morning, I spotted the Mourning Dove just sitting in a second birdbath having a good soak.

 Female Northern Flicker

 Eastern Bluebird....I can't remember if this was the male or female....hard to tell with my camera grabbing so much of the screen and the bird was drenched!  The pair took turns for a good thirty minutes.

Humming At Home

I've been away off and on since my last post.  Coming home today, I heard a steady humming as I walked back to the house from the mailbox.  It was loud enough to make me stop and look around.

A new community of honey bees?  I guess we'll just keep our eyes on them and leave them bee.