My Gang is Coming Home - now I've gotta put the sewing machine away!

Katie's spring break was last week. Our Spring breaks never coincide; all three of us have break at a different time. That usually means that Katie ends up spending her spring break in daycare. You guessed it....not the best way to spend spring break.

This year Steve's annual GSA conference (which was meeting in Maine) fell during the week of Katie's break. Steve and I decided that she might enjoy spending time with family in New England and so Katie flew to Boston with Steve, my brother Matt picked the two of them up and dropped Steve at South Station to take the train to his meeting. Katie then went with Matt and spent three days and two nights with Uncle Matt, Aunt Kerri, and cousins Kaelyn and Jack. She then made the rounds between grandparents, cousin Daniel and Aunt Barb and Uncle Steve. She even drove with Beni and Buca (Steve's parents) up to Orland Maine to see Auntie Donna and Uncle Dave.

This was an exciting adventure for her and I am sure that she will have photos on her camera that we'll post on the blog.

I'm on my way to pick them up in Minneapolis, but thought you might be interested in seeing what I have been up to while they were gone. I made this quilt for Steve and my bed. I have 2 other quilts that I worked on that are almost done. I'll post photos when they are completed.

This would have been a perfect day to hang laundry outside - the wind was really blowing!

Here's a close up of the quilting pattern - my friend Mary Nelson quilted it for me on her longarm quilting machine. I love the pattern she used.

It's been a quiet house this week. While I did create some wonderful projects, there is a part of me that is glad to put the sewing machine away for a while so that I can enjoy the noise that my family creates.

Getting Ready for the Show

March and April are big months for the Winona Figure Skating Club. The girls and boys have been hard at work honing their skills and getting ready for the annual skating show. This year's show is titled "Time to Shine in 2009" and Katie is pretty excited for her number.

She will be skating with three other girls to the Billy Joel song "The Longest Time".

She loves her costume and would wear it at home if Steve and I let her.

Here she is with the rest of the girls in her number. I love the enthusiasm in all of their smiles. Regardless of how the number goes, if they continue to have this much fun it will be well worth it.

The show will run at St. Mary's University on the following dates:

Thursday, April 16, 2009: Dress Rehearsal
Friday, April 17, 2009: First Show
Saturday, April 18, 2009: Second Show
Sunday, April 19, 2009: Third Show

Top Ten Things to Remember about Sadie

Because we know that writing is a powerful way to process difficult emotions, Steve and I encouraged Katie to write about Sadie. She chose to compose a list of 10 things she wanted to make sure she didn't forget. Here is her list:

My Dog Sadie

1. She never barks.
2. She never bites.
3. She likes to snuggle.
4. She is a good frisbee catcher.
5. She loved going on walks.
6. She liked eating treats.
7. She loved to chase squirrels.
8. At night she would chase squirrels in her dreams.
9. When she caught something she would just let it go.
10. She loved her family very much.

(A great list - a wonderful dog.)

Sadie Allard 1/22/1998 - 3/11/2009

Ten years ago, after moving into our first house, my husband announced that he wanted a dog. I was a cat owner and I had no intention of ever owning a dog. Dogs barked too much. Dogs drooled and licked your face. Dogs were hyper and ran around the house, knocking things off shelves and onto the floor. Dogs jumped up on you and put paw prints on your nice clean clothing. Dogs left steaming gifts for you in the backyard that you had to pick up. No thank you, sir. No dog for me.

My husband is no fool. He put together a pretty convincing argument. He reminded me that he spent about 3 months a year alone in the woods, hours from the nearest human, doing field work; a dog would be good company and would alert him of any impending danger. A dog could watch the house for us when we were at work, protecting our few possessions. A dog would be good company for me during my 5:00 am walks. Finally, I agreed to go to the pound and see what they had to offer, but I did so under duress.

As we stood in the yard of the Laramie, Wyoming, Humane Society, I watched my husband trying out several dogs. They behaved in just the manner I suspected they would. They barked, they jumped and yes, some of them even pooped. This was not going to be fun. Then I looked to my left and noticed that a timid black dog with brown markings above her eyes had sidled up next to me. As I turned to look down, she glanced up and her eyes met mine. I could tell that she had experienced more hardships in her life than anyone (human or dog) should. As our eyes met, she leaned over and tenderly licked me. My cat-loving, stone-cold-heart melted. I called to Steve and told him that I had found our dog.

Undernourished, afraid of her own shadow, but eager to please, Sadie came to live with us. I've never looked back. Sadie broke all the conventions of dogdom and shattered all my stereotypical assumptions about dog behavior. She was gentle. She never jumped up on me (except to steal a kiss). She had a stub of a tail so she never knocked anything off the shelf. In the ten years she lived with us, I only heard her bark 5 or 6 times and each time she did so to alert us of potential danger. She was great with kids, even to the point where she allowed Katie to dress her up in various outfits, and to ride her like a horse. She did leave steaming presents for me in the back yard, but hey, no dog is perfect.

Today our wonderful dog Sadie passed away. I left for work in the same manner that I do every morning. I scratched her between the ears, told her to be good, and assured her that she was the “best dog ever”. I had no idea when I left that it would be the last time I would see her alive. When the vet did the autopsy, she found several cancer spots on her liver. She doesn't think that Sadie was in pain, because Sadie hadn't given any symptoms of distress. I am grateful that Steve was home with her when she died. I am grateful that she was not in pain and that I did not have to choose to put her to sleep. Mostly I am grateful to have been blessed with ten years as her owner.

Sadie, you were an amazing dog. Rest in Peace.