Father's Day

Me and my dad, 1979

I know how fortunate I am to have a great relationship with my dad. So many people my age (including some of my friends) have already lost their fathers, or are estranged from them for one reason or another. I try to be sensitive to those for whom Father's Day is a hard day, but I also love to publicly honor my dad! My dad has always selflessly taken care of me, my siblings, and our mom, and still sacrifices to make our lives better. He's dependable, trustworthy, and always there when we need him. On top of that, he's a good friend to his adult children and a lot of fun. One of the best things about this era of my life is that I have a lot of time to pal around with him. We go to movies, on walks, out to dinner. We team up on home projects. I can talk to him about pretty much anything. I feel very blessed.

Me and my dad, May 2013

As I get older, I'm becoming more like my dad in big and small ways. I keep finding out that my various quirks came from him. Yesterday, after our Father's Day outing of Man of Steel and dinner at El Porton, I told him that I keep forgetting things in my car. It's never been an issue before, but multiple times in the last few weeks, I've dropped cash or a shopping list into my cup holder while getting into the car. Then I've gotten into the store and turned my purse upside down looking for the item, which was still in the cup holder. He just started laughing. Turns out he's been doing the same thing for years. These are the inheritances no one warns you about.

Valentine Recap

I hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day yesterday. Mine was great! Honestly, being single on Valentine's Day doesn't bother me. I see it as a fun day to celebrate love and express love in general, and I have plenty of non-romantic love in my life. In fact, I know it sounds weird, but I think I enjoy the day more as a single person! No pressure, expectations, or disappointment.

My (non-romantic obviously) Valentines are as follows:

Clockwise from top left: 1. My dad // 2. My niece // 3. D.J. Stephens // 4. My cats (awesome D.J. dunk pic from BluffCityHoops)    

My dad took me to lunch at Gus's and gave me some flowers, balloons, candy, and even some earrings from him and my mom! I know it's considered lame to get your only Valentine gifts from your parents, but I appreciate it because it means my parents a) love me and b) are still around. That's a blessing.

In the evening I organized some single girlfriends to see Beautiful Creatures, which was fantastic! They changed a LOT of things from the book (including eliminating half of the supporting characters), which usually drives me nuts, but in this case I loved the movie anyway. I've only read the first two books (out of a series of four), so now I'm wondering if the new plot points come into play in the later books. Overall, the movie is very faithful to the spirit and tone of the books, and the actors are just perfect.

After the movie, Elizabeth came with me to Sonic to get my annual Sweetheart Shake! They only have it in February. It's a cherry shake with chocolate chips. In past years it had brownie pieces, but I guess the recession has affected everything. :P Still delicious. I can usually limit myself to one of these shakes, but when the Shamrock Shakes appear at McDonald's, it's a different story. Anyway, it was a perfect ending to the day.

Yay!

An Answered Prayer

In 2008, before I started this blog, my dad got a mysterious tumor in his lung. It was growing fast, and cancer was a possibility, but lung surgery was the only way to get rid of or diagnose it. So that November, after months of uncertainty, he had lung surgery. The experience was pretty rough for my whole family, but thankfully, the doctor knew immediately that it wasn't cancer. It was histoplasmosis. This disease is fairly common in the South, and for most people it's no more severe than a cold or flu. But my dad was one of the very few who caught the lung-invading, long-term version. They removed the large tumor completely, but there was another, smaller one in his other lung. It can't be treated with medicine, so the only way to eliminate it is to remove it.

So for four years, he's been checked every six months to see whether the tumor is growing, and we've all known that it's only a matter of time before he needs another lung surgery. Although I'm thankful that it's not life-threatening, I've dreaded him going through all that again, knowing that he has this thing lurking that makes him uncomfortable and can only get worse. But this week, his pulmonologist confirmed that the tumor is shrinking, and they now think his immune system will kill it off! THIS IS HUGE and unusual for this type of tumor.

So I want to publicly thank God for His healing and grace. I have several friends who have faithfully prayed for my dad's health, and this is a clear answer to those prayers. For years I've lived under a shadow, half waiting for something bad to happen, and while none of us are guaranteed anything, that shadow feels much lighter now! I'm so relieved.

A Painted House

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Things I Learned While Painting My House This Weekend

1. Commercial paint sprayers will save you DAYS of work.

2. My dad and I make an excellent team. (well, I already knew this)

3. It's impossible to freehand a clean line when painting stucco. Even with a tiny brush.

4. Some people still think it's funny to honk at someone precariously balanced atop a ladder.

5. Even atop a ladder, I am frustratingly short.

6. My next door neighbor needs a reminder that I actually own my house and am not just holding it for him, so I don't need to hear or heed his opinions on my paint color choices.

7. I don't want to work in my front garden bed ever again except to garden.

8. Exterior paint is unbelievably expensive. (I spent as much on paint as I did on my plane ticket to NYC.)

My dad and I have been talking about painting my house since I moved in almost six years ago. This weekend we finally did it, and I'm SO pleased with the finished product! I feel like my house looks more substantial and housey now, and the new colors complement the brick so well. The front door (which has been red for several years) is now my favorite part of the house. The storm door finally seems to belong. I also think the trim around the door sets it off nicely.

Colors are Behr (from the Home Depot) - Dried Basil and Polished Pearl. I was nervous about using an off-white because it often looks dingy to me, but this one paired nicely with the green - a pure white might have been too harsh. I'm happy that my gut instincts for color are still good.

My house finally looks the way I've imagined for a long time. Thanks to my dad (as usual) for making it happen!!!

Planting Day 2012

My 2012 vegetable garden went into the ground yesterday! This will be my third (I think?) year gardening in the same location, but with a big upgrade. My dad built a raised bed out of planks I already had in my shed, extending it down to the far side of the chimney. On Saturday he filled it up with Pro Mix from the local nursery. No more struggling with heavy clay soil! Bonnie plants (my usual brand) were half off at Home Depot this weekend, so I went there and loaded up. Then I spent yesterday afternoon planting!

I picked up about six tomato plants (Better Boy, Early Girl, Arkansas Traveler, Sweet 100, Celebrity, and a grape tomato), a huge assortment of peppers, several squash, cucumbers, and an eggplant. They should all have plenty of room to spread out. Thanks to the extra space, I added herbs too. I usually grow those in pots, so I'm interested to see how they do in the ground. But I reserved most of the new section for watermelons - my brother-in-law's dad gave me some heirloom watermelon seeds at Thanksgiving! I've never grown them before, so I don't know how much space they'll need. Either way, it's still too early for them. I know it seems reckless to plant any vegetables on April 1, but I didn't think twice about it because it's already summer here. This March was officially the hottest on record. As in, since they've been keeping records.

After trying various unsuccessful watering methods, I'm sticking with a basic soaker hose this year. (Which I will arrange better once it uncurls.) My dad suggested I run it fifteen minutes a day. I already have a watering timer (worth its weight in gold), so we'll see if that's the magical amount.

I say this a lot, but I'm SO thankful for my dad's ongoing help with home and garden things. I get a little more capable each year, and I do as much as I can on my own, but I'm still only one person. People are impressed when they hear that I own my own home and do the yard work and stuff myself, and that makes me feel good, but I could never manage it all without my dad. Because of him, I have a home and yard and garden that I love and feel proud of. I'm very blessed.

I haven't even talked about the things that are blooming right now, so expect a flower update later this week. I know you're excited! ;)

Sewing 101

My mother has been sewing since the age of ten. She made a lot of my clothes as I grew up, including my senior prom dress. Although she tried a few times to teach me sewing, my perfectionism and her natural genius were a terrible combination. It was too frustrating for me to struggle for hours on something she could do much better in five minutes. I didn't see the point.

A few years ago, I became interested in sewing very basic things. My mom helped me make a fleece pillowcase for a cat bed, and a wall hanging with pockets to hold hats and gloves. Using the machine was easier than I remembered. Over time I thought of more and more sewing tasks I'd like to be able to do. Then, a few months ago, I went to a crafting event hosted by a few women from my church. At one station we made scarves out of old T-shirts. I immediately saw many possibilities for the craft. Lindsey went to her sewing machine to bind up my scarf for me, and I thought, If I had a sewing machine, I could do things like this at home. That's it. It's time. So, knowing that my mom would be thrilled, I asked for and received a sewing machine for Christmas. :)

Crafting wasn't my only reason for wanting a machine. My fashion creativity has exceeded what's available for my budget and difficult body type. I see something, get inspired, and have an instant, specific mental picture of what I want. Then I waste many hours looking for it, and usually don't find it at all. I don't have delusions of making my entire wardrobe, but bringing a few mental pictures to life myself will be easier, cheaper, and more fulfilling.

I read good reviews of The Colette Sewing Handbook, so my mom added that to her gift. After reading it, I've concluded that while it is helpful, enjoyable, and beautiful to look at, it ought to be called The Perfectionist Sewing Handbook. The overall message is that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right the first time. Buy top quality supplies. Make several cheap drafts of your garment until the fit is exactly right. Take months to make one item if you need to. While this is how I've operated for most of my life, nowadays I'm a little more low-key and don't mind learning from mistakes. (Plus, if the clothes are that fitted, what happens if you gain a few pounds? That's a new motivator.) My mom read the book before giving it to me, and told me not to be discouraged or feel pressured by it. She also said that in a lifetime of sewing, she's never used (or, in some cases, heard of) some of the recommended supplies. In any case, I'm happy to learn from both my mom and the book, and figure out what works for me.

Project #1 was a second fleece cat bed. My two cats have fought over the existing one since I made it. This was the most imperfect beginner project ever - just a square of fleece over a square pillow from Hancock's. I cut out the fleece using eyeball measurements (Gandalf was laying on it at the time), sewed three sides, flipped it, and put in a zipper. The zipper was backwards the first time, but my mom showed me what I did wrong and I fixed it easily. I felt like I had climbed Everest.

Project #2, completed Tuesday night, was a cover for my new Kindle. This pattern was also very inexact, adapted from a laptop cover pattern I saw on Pinterest. I used a measuring tape and tried to abide by the formula, but the cover came out a tiny bit short. (The mathy aspects of sewing will be my Waterloo.) I also didn't realize I needed a special tool to apply snaps, so I had to use Velcro dots instead. It'll do until I can make a better one. Preferably from a pattern meant for a Kindle. I have plenty of this fabric and batting, so I plan to make a camera case from it too.

As you can see, I'm purposely starting with simple, four-sided projects. :) Once I get more comfortable with those, I'll try basic garments. By spring I should be able to handle an A-line skirt. We'll see!

Blue > Orange

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. And on HIS birthday, he was happy to take me to the big Memphis/UT game. He won free tickets at work... we definitely got our money's worth. :)

This was the Tigers' second game against UT this season - we already (barely) beat them at the Maui Invitational. Usually there are a lot of turncoats in the house at these rivalry matchups, but last night the Forum was a sea of blue. The atmosphere was amazing.

I knew from the warm-up that it would be a good game. The players were clearly, as my brother would say, "jacked." :) Even I've had to admit that the Tigers have been playing sloppy for weeks, and the defense has left a lot to be desired. But last night they played like the team we all knew they could be, wiping the floor with UT, 69-51.

As far as I'm concerned, no matter what happens from here, the season has been redeemed. I'm happy I got to share such an awesome experience with my dad!

Sorry for the blurriness... I just hate using flash. :)



The Anniversary Party

Today my parents celebrate 35 years of marriage! My sister and I really wanted to do something for their 35th anniversary, but our plans kept getting thwarted. Finally, running on pure determination and excellent teamwork, we threw together a surprise anniversary party in about a week. It wasn't as elaborate as it would have been if I'd had a month to plan, but I think it actually worked out better that way!

Debra came to Memphis on Friday night and helped me with last-minute preparations. Our parents didn't know she was in town. I had told them I'd be picking them up for a surprise around noon, but Debra was the one who pulled up in their driveway! She blindfolded them and took a meandering drive back to my house, where a bunch of their friends were waiting. They were VERY surprised!

Debra brought her wedding veil for my mom to wear at the party, and I made a felt-rose boutonniere for my dad. (One circle of felt and a glue gun. Couldn't be easier.)

We had a light soup and salad lunch. I made Ina Garten's Italian Wedding Soup (get it?), which was enjoyed by all - I'll definitely make it again. After lunch we played a round of the Not-So-Newlywed Game. :) Although both of my parents forgot some things about their marriage, they both correctly answered "What is the first thing your spouse does when he/she wakes up in the morning?" even though my mom never gets up before my dad leaves for work. That's oneness right there.

Of course, we had cake and champagne! I felt too overwhelmed to bake a cake from scratch, so Debra brought a delicious Publix bakery cake from Nashville. If you see the "Lemon Infusion" cake at Publix, I highly recommend it. (We almost had a Cake Wreck, though - the bakery worker had to be reminded how to spell "Anniversary.")

 

Since Kevin and Lance (my brother and brother-in-law) couldn't be there, we printed out photos of their heads so they could appear to be participating. LOL!

The decorations were my favorite part (and also the most time-consuming). I smuggled some old photo albums out of my parents' house, scanned an assortment of pictures, and reprinted them in black and white so they'd look uniform. Then we hung twine clotheslines around the living room and attached the pictures with clothespins. Everyone enjoyed looking at them! We also made a giant banner - actually, Debra did most of the work on that.

My dad's friend volunteered to take a group picture, then snapped away like a paparazzo even though no one was ready. Things got pretty crazy, but we ended up with a couple of good shots.

 

 

All in all, the party was a success and my parents had a great time! I'm very thankful for their strong relationship. If not for their great example, I'm honestly not sure if I could keep believing in marriage. I don't take it for granted.