Saturday ~ 11/26

Today I wanted to do something, and with so much to do.. I started out with doing the laundry, 5 loads later, I think Im done! Other than that, what else did I do today? Went to the post office to buy some stamps, and to send out some blocks that I stitched for other members of a cross stitch group Im involved with. Organized the DMC floss that I received for my birthday. I stashed most of them, since the floss bobbins were quite full yet. I started some pork baby back ribs that I bought last week. I made them in the roaster oven that Brian gave me for my birthday. They were yummy, when we did finally eat them :)

Went over and visited some with Brian's parents. Worked on the quilt blocks for my mom's quilt. Have 2 of the quilt blocks blocks (yes thats a repeat... LOL) finished (YEAH!). Twenty of the bigger block, and 30 of the smaller block. I just need to wash and cut the other block pieces. Need to measure the darker material, since I bought enough to make the border for the quilt. Then I will sew the 49 blocks together, then I can start piecing the quilt together.

And now, I think Im going to start a new project ~ cross stitching that is.. but what.. I have so much to work on.. that nothing at the moment is screaming at me... STITCH ME!

Angel Block

This was stitched for a block swap. The theme is Angels. I found it on the internet, and thought it was quite cute. I actually had it finished for about 2 weeks, but forgot to post it in the blog. Too much going on lately, need to find my head yet. LOL

Season's Greetings Stitched

This is a design from Heart In Hand. Its comes from the Holiday Trimmings leaflet. Its stitched on 14ct fiddlers aida. Hope this gets me in the mood for Christmas.. LOL

Grandma's Funeral

We returned home from Winchester this evening. We went down yesterday morning for Grandma Mathison's funeral. Got to my parents house about noon, and visited. My mom and I had a hair appt @ 2:15. We went to the funeral home about 3:15pm, and had to wait till about 3:30p, for the funeral director to get there.

We had a nice picture display of Grandma which I worked on when we got there. We saw my Grandma, she looked BEAUTIFUL! She was in the same dress that is posted in a few post below. Alot of people came to the wake on Monday night. We went out to the Village Pub in Winneconne. There were 15 of us. The waitress's jaw dropped when I told her that there were 15 of us, and that we wanted to eat.. LOL Her response was, 15, with no reservations... LOL Yep! We had a great time!

This morning for Grandma's funeral we were there about an hour and a half before the service. There were alot of people for the service. Lots of family and friends. The service was beautiful!
When we saw Grandma one last time, our whole family stood around the casket, and Conway (with Scott's help) placed the same rose that he brought to Grandma the night she died, in the casket with her. We all said our goodbyes and walked out of the church, so that the casket could be closed, and we entered again for the service. At the graveside, we waited, and watched Grandma's casket and vault go down into the ground. We even saw Grandpa's vault ~ since the ground is very sandy, the ground caved some, and they had to make due, and Grandpa's vault was visible.

We had a luncheon after the service, and it was amazing the people that stayed, and had fellowship with us. The workers at the luncheon were very helpful, and giving of their time.

Brian and I came home this afternoon, I was tired, but managed to get home safe and sound.

~Grandma Mathison~

Leona E. Mathison, age 84 of Larsen, WI, died peacefully, Friday evening, November 18, 2005 at Care Partners Assisted Living in Winneconne, WI. She was born on March 6, 1921 in Neenah, WI the daughter of the late Frank and Ida (Schultz) Breaker. She married Russell G. Mathison on August 24, 1940 in Neenah, WI. They made their home and farmed in the Larsen area and then retired from farming in 1955 and moved into Winchester. Leona's husband preceded her in death on September 24, 1996.

Leona was a member of Grace Lutheran Church, Winchester, was a former Sunday school teacher and a member of the Martha Circle.

She is survived by two sons and one daughter-in-law; Wayne Mathison and Dean and Sharon Mathison all of Larsen, WI; six grandchildren, Sheryle Mathison, Carol and Gary Allard, all of Neenah, WI, Kim and Brian Ritchie of Long Lake, WI, Glen and Lisa Mathison, Scott Mathison and his friend Jenny Williams all of Larsen, WI, Amy and Gregg Wilke of Omro, WI, three great-grandchildren, Katie and Conway Mathison, of Larsen, WI and Natalie Wilke of Omro, WI. She is further survived by her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; Norris and Millie Mathison of Larsen, WI, Lyall Mathison of Waukesha, WI, June and Melvin Gorges of Appleton, WI, Gerald Davis of Neenah, WI, Virginia Mathison of Larsen, WI, Anita Sawall of Oshkosh, WI and a number of nieces and nephews. Along with her parents and husband, she was also preceded in death by one daughter in law, Shirley Mathison, three brothers and two sisters in law; Rueben and Nora Breaker, Roy and Melda Breaker, Earl Breaker, two sisters and brothers in law; Sadie and Harvey Schroeder and Nora and Irwin Zeinert.

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 11:00 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, Winchester, with Pastor Clarence Harms officiating. Burial will be in Grace Lutheran Cemetery, Winchester. Family and friends may call at Mueller Funeral Home, Winneconne, on Monday, from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and at the church on Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of services.

Mueller Funeral Home
904 E. Main St. PO Box 250
Winneconne, WI 54986
920-582-4242
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051120/APC010301/511200603/1007

Im actually 29...

Yes, today was my birthday :). And Im officially 29. My oh my, where have the years gone, which I think my parents are realizing that, more than I.. LOL (well I hope at least).

I had to work today. Had a nice day. Right before lunch, my coworker Linda came in, and gave me 3 hugs. One for the loss of my Grandma, one for my birthday, and one for just for being me.. LOL. And later (before lunch) she came in with a resident that plays the piano, and next there is a small cake, and the resident is playing Happy Birthday on the piano. It was really nice for them to do that. I had the Nacho BellGrande that I bought last night to eat today for lunch so it was a nice birthday lunch.

For supper, another coworker ordered a pizza for our dinner, and another one ordered a combo basket. So I had yummy bday dinner. I came home to find my bday presents from Brian on the table. I got a 8 qt Roaster Oven (which I have been eyeing myself :)), money, a birthday cake, and an apple cinnamon pie! And a beautiful birthday card, from Brian.

Also I had the excitement (last night) of openning some cards from some friends on a Yahoo group, ILCS.

Brian gave me permission to open my birthday cards last night, since I had to work all day today. It is so cool to open up those birthday cards, and have Brian watch, with a smile on his face. His response to this was... "...wow, you have alot of friends that care about you..." DUH! I dont go on the computer for nothing when I do.. I got on to check to see what is going on in everyone else's lives.

Thanks to you all for the cards and the following:

Linda ~ for the charms, and the 2 DMC floss
Nann ~ for the small kit, 3 DMC floss, and the DreamswithAngel Seafoam Pink floss (just lovely)
Shari ~ for the 2 DMC floss (and the something extra, that I had no idea was in the separate envelope)
Katrina ~ for the DMC Floss
Mylene ~ for the DMC Floss and SSS floss and the beautiful stitched "K" card.
Idza ~ for the 2 DMC floss
Eva ~ for the 2 DMC floss
Judith ~ for the beautiful stitched card, and the 2 DMC floss
Krystyl ~ for the DMC floss
Karin ~ for the 2 DMC floss
Marta ~ for the DMC floss
Vicky ~ for the DMC floss
Sandy ~ for the DMC floss
Cindy ~ for the 2 DMC floss

Thanks ladies! You really made my birthday!

My Grandma

Leona Esther (Breaker) Mathison ~ March 6, 1921 - November 18, 2005

(I took this picture of my Grandma almost a year ago)

My grandma died this evening. My family just had left to go and celebrate my Dad's 60 birthday (which is today), and she died 5 minutes later.

So glad that we took the time to travel down on Tuesday - Thursday to see her, and spend time with my family. Will be going down for the funeral, just need to find out when it will be.

To Grandma Mathison - thanks for the memories you brought to my life. We will miss you! Love you!

Dad is 60!

Oh wow, where has the time gone.. My dad turned 60 today! Hard to believe! This is an ad that we put in the Winneconne News for my dad's birthday.

Happy Birthday Dad!

When we were leaving on Thursday, Bri and I had to decorate the house alittle... LOL We hung a "60 is an amazing age" banner on the back door, and hung some banners in the dining room. And made a sign for the living room window.. couldnt miss it.. LOL


Oh geez, with dad's birthday today... here comes mine tomorrow!

U.S.A. Quilt Blocks

Ok Mom, cover your eyes.. cause these are 2 of the quilt blocks for your quilt.. .. no peeking now.

This block is actually quite larger in person than the one on the right, dont know why it looks the same in size.

*Jaw dropping*

When we left on Tuesday morning, it was just beginning to snow. Well it snowed TWELVE INCHES while we were gone!

Probably the best part of being gone these past 3 days is cause our neighbors (and we) had no power! From about 11am Wednesday till 2am Thursday they had no power. And just about an hour before we got home, it went out again! We were home about 10 minutes and it came back on. Good thing, cause our house was COLD! It got down to 32 degrees inside while we were gone.

Here are some pictures of the snow that we found when we got home. ~ umm someone wanna buy me a new digital camera that takes good pictures during the day?!?!.. LOL

Went home..

We went down on Tuesday to see my Grandma Mathison. When we got there to see her, my uncle was there waiting for us to arrive. My Grandma is on her own ~ nothing more can be done for her :(. We wanted to see her before she dies. Im so happy I took the day off ~ I think Im entitled to be there for my family at this time of need, cause I sure needed it! She knew we were there, cause we would talk with her, and she would either moan or mumble something. We told her we loved her several times, and she responded back.

It so hard to see her like that, but its also was a nice closure to be there, be surrounded by family.

We spent alot of time with her. And Im so glad we did. We came back today (Thursday), and she is still with us... unmarkably!

Love you Grandma Mathison!

Time to grieve....

We received word that my Grandma Mathison doesnt have much time to live. So if you dont hear from me for a few days. We will be down @ my parents. Leaving in the morning.

Headache

I had totally planned on going down state today to see my grandma, probably for the last time. But as I told my mom on the phone last night, that I probably wont be able to sleep, well I guess I was right. I didnt sleep much at all. And besides it was raining out, so there was a constant drip-drip outside the window.

Last night I had told Brian's mom that we would be leaving about 6am, and she called about 7:15 to check up on us, to see if we were going down. I felt awful! I had such a headache all I wanted to do was sleep.

My Mom called about 8:15am, and I just told her that I didnt think we were going to go state, as I felt awful. She said that was fine, and that I could just come down when I had the next day off.

Well I slept till 2:15pm! I was so wiped out. Will have to go down on Wednesday I guess.

What a day!

Where I took my quilting class, the owner was hosting a open house for her quilting studio today. I told her that I could come by in the morning, and just be like a student in her class area, and work on my quilt that Im making for my mom.

Well I got there about 10am, and did alittle finishing up of last minute things that she didnt get around to doing. People were starting to come @ 10am, so we were busy getting things settled. I had managed to get my machine set up, and somewhat organized the quilt blocks that I was going to stitch on. Well I managed to get about 2 blocks done, cause I had so many onlookers admiring the Northwoods quilt that I just finished, and had there to "show off". Lots of ohhh, and ahhs from the ladies. I was really proud of the quilt, and since this is my first "big" quilt, I was happy to show it off.

I left the quilt to have Laurie Jean quilt for me, I cant wait to see what she ends up quilting on the quilt. :)

Came home from the open house, and Brian said that my dad had called, and it had to do with my Grandma Mathison, being in the hospital, and the outcome doesnt look good.

In the evening I had a djing gig. Well it was so easy, since I only played for about an hour. The surprise party was a flop. Not too many ppl stayed around for the music. I guess that most of them had gotten drunk the night before, and were more into going to a bar, than stay and mingle. So it took me more time to get everything ready and set up, and taken down and put back where I got it from, than the time I had to play. Easy money...:)

Came home from the gig around 8:30pm. My dad had called again and gave us an update about my Grandma, it doesnt look good. Im planning on going down tomorrow and see her.

Country Sampler Framed

Tonight I finished framing the Country Sampler. Cant wait to see the reaction on the face of the person who is receiving it :). It's a 11" X 14" black frame.

Cinderella

I finished Cinderella this evening :) Wanna guess who it is for?!?! Yeppers, its for Natalie. My mom had found the kit, and bought it, and thought she could stitch it up. And I thought, umm Mom, you better send it to me. So I received it in the mail about 3 weeks ago. And now I have it complete.

Of course the scan of the design, does not do it justice to how it looks in person.

This design was from a Janlynn kit. It was stitched on 14ct aida, and I used my own floss, since the kits floss was shredding so bad, when I started.

Farewell to my friends...

This morning when I got to work, a coworker told me that another coworker had died this morning. I was in shock. I couldnt believe it. Where I work, we have been struck by death in the past 2 weeks. In the past 2 weeks, we have had death affect us 6 times. We had another resident pass away this afternoon. Its amazing that we are coping as well as we are.

Good bye to my friends; Ken, George, Marion, John, Agnes, and April. Love to you all!

This what I woke up to... this morning.... S*N*O*W This is our first snow that really stuck, but it was gone later in the morning. Oh, the joys of this weather in Wisconsin.. LOL

Quilting Bear

Since I was working on my quilt, I thought I would stitch a quilting related design. Well this is what I came up with.. LOL

Quilting Bear, from 101 Bears with Personality, stitched on 14ct Aida. I did change the bow, from red to purple. Going to be finished into a tuck pillow.

Quilt Class ~ 11/03

Today was the 6th, and last class of the quilting class. Im VERY happy with my quilt! Not to brag, but I was able to get the quilt done! Yes it did involve LOTS of homework, but it was well worth it! I have the batting, and the back fabric (just need to wash it, iron, and sew it together). Im going to have the teacher, Laurie Jean Brown (owner of Golden Needle Quilt Studio in Iron River) quilt it. I will finish the binding around the quilt when I get it back from Laurie Jean.

Its huge! Its about 63" X 74". The picture doesnt do it justice! Will have to get another pic, once the weather is "decent"

Katie's Baby Sampler

I stitched this baby sampler for my niece Katie. Its a Lizzie*Kate design. Stitched on pink 14ct aida cloth. I will be framing it soon. :)

I lost a friend

My favorite resident at the nursing home where I work, passed away tonight. John was the reason I went to work each day. First of all he called me "Pam", how I got that nickname I will never know, he could never remember my name, so he called me Pam. Even my coworkers are calling me Pam, and John's family call me Pam. I had to say good morning to John every day, no matter if I was working on the unit or not. John was always happy to see me. When I would say, Hi John, he would respond. "Who are you, Pam?".... LOL, I loved that, and I would respond, "that's what you call me" I could go on and and, and I might have to.

I had coffee with John almost every morning I was there. He loved his coffee. Cream and sugar, and he loved it best when I made it. John didn't have the best of vision, but he could spot a girl or a pair of legs, standing a distance away. He was our flirt on the unit ~ I kinda had to warn the other visitor of his flirty behavior. Moonie (another coworker ~ which John gave her that nickname) bought him a stocking cap with the word "Flirt" on it. This morning I had to place that cap on his head, cause it just wasn't right, him laying there without his stocking cap. John loved his company. He always looked forward to his wife and daughter coming into visit. The staff came to know and love his family. They were one of us, and we were part of their family. When I was off helping another resident, I would hear "Pam are you here" "Yes John, I'm here" "Ok, just checking, making sure you are still here" On Mondays. we need to clean the bird aviary, well when I would tell John what day it was, he would remind me that I had to clean the bird cage, and he would comeover and make sure the birds didn't get out. And I would even get him to wash the windows at times.

When he was hungry, he would say "Pam, get me a snack, I'm hungry" I would say, "what do you want, a smack?" and I would walk over with my fist, he would come back to say, "Now Pam, you wouldn't do that to me" His favorite was the Vienna sausages, head cheese, pork rhines and hard boiled eggs. And he would always make sure I had something to eat. When John would ask for a pop, I would say, "You wanna pop, huh?", and I would walk over with my fist closed, and he would go "Now Pam, be nice". This might come off as being mean, but we knew each other so well, that it was taken as humor.

John loved to hear me laugh. He would either be signing, or telling one of his many stories. I enjoyed hearing stories and stories over and over again.

I was the only one that could get away from turning his ball cap around, so he was wearing it backwards, and covering his eyes and saying "guess who?" He would say "Pam?" When he was dozing off, I would wake him up and say "Well I'm going home" "Why are you leaving me" "Cause your sleeping, no need to be here if you are going to sleep" "Now Pam, don't say that, you know I would miss you if you left" And in no time I would find him sleeping again.

Just after the Pope died, he was known as Pope John Edward. He was the one that came up with that name. We had alot of fun with that. He hated camping ~ he was in WWII and had lots of stories about camping. When I would be off for a couple days, he would say, he didn't know what he was going to do with out me. I told him, well I spend more time with you, then I do with my own husband, so I guess its him turn to spend time with me... LOL. But I loved spending time with John. He didn't care for Pres. Bush, he was making humorous comments.

Another part of the day, is when we do our exercise, I would put John next to me, so he could see what I was doing, and I would poke him sometimes to keep him awake.. LOL. One exercise we do is "row the boat", and I would ask John if the boat was ok to row, and he would say, yep. Well we sing Row Row the Boat, and we would get done, I would ask John, why there was water in the boat. And he would either say, he forgot to put the plug in the boat, or there was a hole in the boat, and he would have to get naked to fix it.. LOL. But I would say, well we better row back to shore before John has the chance to get naked, and he would say "Oh, Pam"... LOL Another one of our exercises was where the residents need to open their mouth wide. And when we were finished, I always asked John for his "hillbilly smile" And I would get the most cutest hillbilly smile. I will miss that. Oh, and when we did our marches, Left right, left, I had a good home and left, why did I leave?

When it would get time for me to go home, I would do my charting and John would ask if I was doing my homework. And he would sit and talk with me while I did my homework. When I would take my classes for quilting, he would ask me if I had to go to school, "Yep John, I have school tomorrow"

John looked forward to Friday's also, those are our Happy Hour days. John loved to request "Tiny Bubbles"

When John went to bed, it was always ~ Night John boy, Night Pam.

Gosh I'm sorry if I took up to much of this blog, but John was like a Grandpa to me, he was either calling me his granddaughter, niece, or cousin. I grew to know and love John, as if he was my grandpa. There were several times where I told my coworkers that I would never have or had a relationship with my grandpa like the one I had with John.

I have so many memories of John, that I look back and all I can think of is memories, and they involve John. Tonight when I with John's family after he died, I thanked them for sharing John with us. And John's wife said that he worshipped me, and that he loved me so much, and I was all he talked about.

John died on my Grandpa Mathison birthday. My grandpa would have been 90 today.

John taught me this saying:
In the shade of the old apple tree
by the light of the moon I did see
Alittle red spot with a hair on its top
and it looked like a june bug to me.

John Edward Faust

October 11, 1914 - November 1, 2005

John, I will miss you, alot of my memories involved you.

Love, Pam