Saturday, December 31, 2016

New Year's Eve

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #366 I did it!


Twelve months filled with 366 patches of memory (I had to pick a leap year, right?) 

On the day of I was too busy to take that in. J was busting moves ...


while a boy and his dog looked on ...


There was a movie to watch ...


and a new year to celebrate.

Time enough to reflect.

Friday, December 30, 2016

- Happy anniversary

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #365 What 39 years looks like 


We got married on New Year's Eve Eve, at 2:30 in the afternoon on a Friday. The day was crystal clear and cold. By nighttime, the snow had begun to fall.

So it was appropriate to celebrate on a freezing cold evening in St Louis. We went to YaYa's in Chesterfield ... dining on duck and trout as we reminisced. And while our wedding cake may have been somewhat forgettable, the anniversary chocolate soufflé with ice cream and raspberry coulis was most definitely memorable.

We left the restaurant as a sliver of crescent moon was setting in the west. Another perfect memory.

The only down note in the day was Jackson's stomach virus that kept him from joining Jace in their indoor bounce house ...




Likewise, J missed our daily game time while Jace napped ...


The good news is, J bounced back the next day.

Thursday, December 29, 2016

- Sing

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #364 Wylie words


Also commissioned on one of our prior visits was a sign with lyrics from Ray Wylie Hubbard's autobiographical song Mother Blues. Don and I worked together on selecting wood, paint, and a font to fit a frame that Meliss wanted to use ...



It was definitely a long-term project and I think Meliss and Jake had kinda given up hope that they would ever see it. 

Which made the surprise even better ...



And even though it's hard to tell from this picture ...


we really enjoyed our surprise gift from the boys of a trip to the movie theater to see Sing!

After which there was some pre-nap playtime ...




And then settling down ...


for some story telling ...


READ indeed ...


Wednesday, December 28, 2016

- Good timing

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #363 Centerpiece


The last time we were in St Louis, Don and Meliss painted the dining room a rich blue/green. Then Meliss commissioned a centerpiece for her table, that we delivered for Christmas ...


While I had the camera out, I also took a picture of the glass doors ...


Well-timed as the cleaning service wiped them clean the following day.

Original Post

Gone but not forgotten

I'm taking a break to be with family, but rest assured that there will be posts and patches to finish out every day of 2016.


Tuesday, December 27, 2016

- Christmas, part II

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #362 Complete joy


We arrived in St. Louis just in time for dinner. After which we had Christmas all over again. And even though the pictures are blurry, given that I was still learning how best to deploy my new iPhone, the joy is evident.

J's new hat was well-received ...


Jace was equally taken with it ...


And I was taken with the green peace ornament he made for me ...


Pop Pop's tic tac toe board was a hit ...


Especially when J realized he made three in a row ...


N.B. It was only after the patch was long done and I was reviewing this post that I noticed it was the same color as Melissa's top, which is just barely visible in the background. Serendip!

Monday, December 26, 2016

- On the road

Retrospective (1/18/2017)


Patch #361 In the midst of Joy


Writing this on January 18, 2017, I am remembering the day after Christmas. The patch is orange, for our last day with G in 2016. And the "O" recalls our travel to Oklahoma City.

Traffic was light, seeing as it was technically a holiday, Christmas having been on Sunday. The downside was finding The Paseo in Oklahoma City's art district, buttoned up tight. And it had looked so appealing online ...


Oh well, maybe next time. At least we got to console ourselves at Ted's Cafe Escondito in Edmond, where hot off the griddle tortillas made waiting for a table a pleasure ...



Sunday, December 25, 2016

- Merry Christmas

Retrospective (1/18/2017)

Patch #360 The beginning of Joy


Original Post

From our home to yours ...

we bid you peace.

Addendum: Williamsburg twin tree ...


Saturday, December 24, 2016

- Christmas Eve day

The patch will come later, but it's been a busy day, so it's all good.

It started with an apt horoscope for our mutual Gemini birthdays (we were born two years and one day apart) ...

It's no coincidence that I finally added a "Collaboration" heading to the blog Index today!

After breakfast, I baked cookies ...


recipes for which can be found here

Somehow Don talked me into completing  our beach picture printing project ...



while he worked on creating bead board backing (more on that when they're complete). All of which was way more fun than packing (which we still haven't done).

I added another week to the Land of Flood and Drought - 2016, which is now 51 inches long and one week from completion ...


and as night-time fell, the Ackert family tradition of Christmas Eve pajamas from Santa continued, causing much excitement ...


which abated, enabling a more focused shot ...


Now for a good night's sleep ...


Friday, December 23, 2016

- Tic tac toe

Patch #358 Three in a row



Don made wooden tic tac toe boards and markers for G and J, which had been in the works for a while. So when I was headed for Hobby Lobby the other day and he asked, "Could you look to see if they have some drawstring bags for the markers?" my response was along the lines of, "Really, don't you think I could do that?"

Well yes, he had considered that, but it was kinda short notice. Hence the Hobby Lobby gambit ... hoping I might offer to make them four days before Christmas.

Of course I did.

The drawstring bag idea was discarded early on, as I eyed a thrifted denim shirt that had awesome patch pockets, quickly removed ...


I lined the back of each pocket with linen, turning under the raw edges of the denim and blind stitching the layers together ...


Then sewed wonky buttons onto the front and made frog closures with some cord ...


Not bad for a day's work, although my fingertips felt bruised from pushing and pulling the needle through the denim ...


Ironically, once the throbbing went away I thought, "Gee, I should make a patch."

And wanting to make it look authentic, I challenged Don to a game. Blue won on the board ...  


but orange won on the patch.