I'm going for it!

I have finally made the decision to teach Jonah the violin. I have thought about this long and hard and after thinking about what little we have to do this summer I decided that I might as well just give it a try. I'm really nervous about it. I don't want this to be all about me wanting my son to be the best little violin player out there. I want to do this because I think he'd like it and might have fun learning something and later he might appreciate the discipline that comes from practicing an instrument. Maybe I'm looking too far ahead but I'm willing to give it a try. I approach this with much trepidation. I've thought about this for several months now...should I do it, or shouldn't I? I've made the decision to go for it! Just a little while ago I ordered a violin online. Hopefully if all goes well we'll have it by next week! Wish us luck!

A story of the Mutant Tomatoes

Over a month ago I had an idea to start a small tomato garden outside of my kitchen window. It would be fun I thought to myself. We'd have delicious tomatoes that we could pick off the vine ourselves. We'd eat them every day! They would be the best tomatoes anyone has ever seen.
I purchased three different tomato plants at the Home Depot ~ Roma tomatoes, Mr. Stripey heirloom tomatoes, and Yellow Pear tomatoes. I thought the variety would be fun. And as they were growing outside I could just glance out the window and marvel at the process happening before my very eyes.
The plants grew very quickly. One plant practically quadrupled in size. I was so excited! Then, the little yellow blossoms starts showing. I thought they were really nice. I have never grown any kind of vegetable before and so anything new here was progress. I waited and waited to see any sign of tomatoes springing forth. When my inlaws were here visiting a week or so ago it finally happened. Two oblong shaped tomatoes popped out overnight. I was thrilled! I watched to see how much they would grow. I watered them. I hoped they would grow and turn out to become beautiful tomatoes, the very first tomatoes that I had ever grown myself. I was so proud of these tomatoes.
When I first decided to place my tomatoes outside of my kitchen window I had a brief thought that the tomatoes, if they chose to grow, would turn out to be some kind of mutant tomatoes, seeing as how they were being grown on the street...literally! I didn't dare plant them in my backyard, seeing as how the rats would probably get to the tomatoes before I ever could. Even thinking that the rats could touch them gives me the goosebumps. Gross! So I planted them in the window box to keep them from large city rats. Mike didn't think that we'd end up with any tomatoes. He assumed that the birds would get to them and eat them before they ripened. I didn't anything or anyone would touch or harm them.
I was wrong.
Shortly after my inlaws left I noticed my two prized tomatoes growing rather nicely. I even thought that they were starting to change colors from green to red! The bottoms of each fruit had turned a color that was like a deep purple - and I just knew that it wouldn't be long before we'd be able to enjoy them. I waited and waited to see if the color would spread to the rest of the fruit, but it didn't.

After talking with my older sister last night I realized that I had a problem on my hands. My tomatoes had blossom end rot...and I needed to get rid of them. So I'm trying something she suggested...and if it doesn't work...older sister, you know who you are!!! She suggested that I try putting banana peels and or pieces of banana in the dirt. So this morning after I took off the rotten tomatoes, I placed a banana peel around my three plants.
I'm waiting and watching carefully and hoping against all odds that my tomatoes will be fruitful!

A visit to the warehouse

This morning we traveled to the Stone Warehouse to pick out our rock for the new kitchen countertop! We were both excited about the process and anxious to see how our choice would look against our new cabinets. We were able to pick out the slab we wanted and that was that! It's called Uba Tuba and is black with specks of green, yellow, and tan in it. We were glad we went seeing as how it differed slightly in the way it looked online. We are very excited to be upgrading our kitchen and can't wait for the finishing touches to be added! Tuesday is the date of installation! Stay tuned for further pictures!

New appliances

Out with the old...


...and in with the new!!!

We even updated our light fixtures...it is so bright in our kitchen now, I LOVE IT!

Let the demo begin!

This is just after Mike and Jack took down the top wall cabinets. They patched up a few things and moved on.

The corner before the new cabinet went in. Previously there was not a corner cabinet~just two smaller cabinets which didn't utilize the corner. We had so much wasted space in the corners that we opted to get a few corner cabinets and a lazy susan.

The very first new cabinet goes up!

A few more are added, along with one of the doors to give you an idea of what it will look like.

More cabinets on the main wall went up, along with a new corner cabinet on the right.

Family scrapbook

Storybook Island, Rapid City, SD ~ August 2005
Dinosaur Park, Rapid City, August 2005

My child loves to golf with his Daddy!

LOST

I haven't spoken of my obsession with the television show LOST yet but today is as good as ever. Last night was the season finale and I could hardly go to bed, I was so excited. My husband and I have been devoted watchers of the show since it started and I know I'll continue to watch it when it starts back up again...in 8 months! I can hardly stand it. The shows always leave me with a feeling of wonderment. Last night was no exception. I'm scratching my head just thinking about it! Wow. If you haven't joined in on the LOST experience, you have all summer long to catch up. I highly suggest that you do so because it will take you on a trip unlike any other!

Family Scrapbook

I love the paper that I found for the above two pages. Who can pass up a clearance sign at Michaels?

Jonah loves to dress up like a cowboy.

The above to pages were taken a few summers ago. Jonah and his cousin Cooper got to ride in Grandpa Swartz's digger in SD. It was so much fun for them both!

Family Scrapbook

Halloween 2005

Spring 2007

Fall 2006

Another scrapbook

I'm back in business with a new computer and setup so I'm ready to add some new pictures! I've decided to start a new scrapbook, without any kind of theme or time-frame, so there are old pictures in it that I just finally got around to scrap and there are newer ones.

Why a Patchwork Quilt?

I've had several people ask me why I've named this blog "My Patchwork Quilt" when it has nothing to do with quilting. I do have an interest in learning how to make quilts, but at this stage in my life I don't have the time of day to spend on quilting! (I'd rather be blogging) So the reason it's called "My Patchwork Quilt" is simply because I'd like to share my thoughts on other areas of my life, not just about my children. It's about the very fibers of my life and what they are made of. It will consist of stories that make me think thoughts other than the motherly ones I express on my other blog. And lastly I will use this blog to share my other experiments ~ my scrapbook pages and other home improvement projects. They all are different parts, or different "squares" in the quilt of my life.

Late night visitor

Last night I was sitting on the couch, veggin' out with the television while Mike was downstairs studying for his test this morning. I was in the "zone" when all of a sudden someone was knocking on our kitchen door. It wasn't a subtle knock, but one of urgency. This knock scared the living daylights out of me. I jumped off the couch and ran halfway down the hallway deliberating on if I should open the door or not. It was close to 9:30 pm and nobody really uses our kitchen door, and we live downtown for petes sake...who would want anything to do with us at that hour? So I froze and yelled down to Mike to come upstairs and answer the door for me. I was just sure it was some kind of an axe murderer or something. Mike came up and looked out the kitchen window when this person knocked on the door again. So he went over to the door and peeped through that peep hole, but didn't recognize the person on the other side. He went back over to the kitchen window and opened it up ever so slightly (and much safer mind you,) and the man outside is pleading us to give him something to do. Anything. Take the trash out, clean the yard, anything to make a few bucks to get him back to the county on a bus. I've heard this line before but have only heard it in the daytime when I have felt relatively safe. Then he said, "I saw that your lights were on. I just had to come and get help. I just got out of prison and I have my papers to prove that I was just discharged..." What oh what were we to do? Mike told him that we couldn't do anything right now because we had two kids upstairs sleeping...(in other words...keep the racket down already!) and we just weren't in any kind of position to help him out at the moment. In all actuality the moment scared me to death. We could have let this man in our house and something horrible could have happened. But we could have also just given him a buck or two and let him be on his way. Being in the inner city has taught me to think twice about what it is that we do with our family and our money... but still there is another voice in my head that says and even thinks...maybe this is someone I could trust and just help out. Isn't that what Jesus would want us to do? Help the stranger, go out of your comfort zone and be a servant? It's a dilemma we often face being here in the city. Sometimes I'd like to think that we are acting like Jesus would want us to. Sometimes I think that I've missed the mark. All I can I can do is try to be better!

Still Here...

I'm still here, just having a bit of a hard time finding some regular time to post and do other fun things. I promise that there are lots of pictures to share...and they will be posted as time allows.

4 Generations!

I love, love, love this paper that I found. It sort of matched Nanny's blazer so I used it. Four Generations!

3 and 4 months old

2 1/2 months old

These pictures were taken while JD was 2 1/2 months old. My how he's growing!

Crying and Little Man

This picture was taken when JD was only a week old. He was so tiny and we were trying to take a picture of him on the quilt his grandmother made for him but he only wanted to cry!

Little Man ~ in Moms arms. That says it all!

Nana

These pictures were taken while Nana was here helping out. I just love the paper I used, found it on sale at Michaels! The colors are so pretty together.

Florida trip

These pictures were taken while we were in Florida this past January. We had a great time!

It is finished!

It is finished! Every letter has been accounted for and I'm glad I finally got to the end. Now it's on to other scrapbooks! It was fun putting this together.