My last three weeks

I flew home to Houston on July 20.  It was good to be home, although the Houston weather remains insufferable in the summer.  I was happy to see my cats, although they have settled into a routine with Mike.  As I posted on Facebook, my husband said something I never thought I would hear:  "Where's the Furminator?"  After three months away, it took me a while to settle back into things at home.  I worked the 24th, drove up to see my mom on the 26th, went to my niece's baby shower in Flower Mound on the 28th and drove home that evening to work on the 29th.  Whew!  In the week plus that followed I managed to work three more shifts, see my internist, get my hair highlighted and cut, pick up the dry cleaning and have a mani/pedi.  I was itching to sew something, but I knew I didn't have time to do much.  I remembered that I had this Mary Engelbreit baby panel, so I cut some binding for it out of her iconic cherry fabric and machine sewed it on.  Now I have some hand stitching to do.

We flew back up to Minneapolis last Thursday and took the light rail in from the airport.  There is a stop two blocks from our loft, and it only took 20 minutes to get here...sweet! Visited the boys (and their parents) Thursday evening and Friday morning, then drove down to Milwaukee on Friday afternoon.  On Saturday we attended the wedding of the daughter of a high school friend and on Sunday we got together with my BFF Marjorie's family.  It was wonderful to see so many old  long-time friends.  We drove back up to Minneapolis on Monday and had dinner at Muffuletta with our daughter, son-in-law, son and his girlfriend (and the boys!) Yesterday morning we rented Nice Ride bikes and rode them over the Stone Arch Bridge to have breakfast at Wilde Roast.  We are really enjoying the urban setting here.  Yesterday afternoon we drove down to Rochester to attend the retirement dinner of one of Mike's former colleagues.  It was held at the Foundation House of the Mayo Clinic, the former residence of one of its founders.  It was an awesome setting, and we were so happy that the timing worked out so well and that we were able be there.  We drove back this morning, had lunch with Kate, Kyle and the boys, and then I drove Mike to the airport, and he is on his way back to Houston right now.  He will be coming back for Labor Day, so I am on my own for the next two weeks.  I plan to relax, see the boys every day, do some reading and knitting, and enjoy the cooler weather.  And oh yeah, finish sewing this binding on!

Where Bloggers Create 2012

Somehow I connected with My Desert Cottage who is hosting "Where Bloggers Create 2012."  Scroll down her sidebar for links to a peek into so many creative places.  I am embarrassed that I am even included.  Of course since I am not at home I couldn't take any pictures of my crafting room, but I did post pictures a few years ago...it hasn't been that tidy since! Pretty much the only crafty thing I have done in the last three months is a bit of knitting...while sitting on my comfy new couch.

A few things that I have acquired while here will be going home with me next week.  My BFF Marjorie sent me this sweet crocheted piece for my birthday.  Somehow, after months years of wondering what I want my grandchildren to call me, I have become "Bunny." But no, I am not going to start collecting bunnies!

My daughter picked up this darling piece at a tag sale.  I said "Oh, is this for me?"  I'm sure there is a spot for it somewhere in the house...maybe on a throw pillow?

One of the things Mike brought up last week was the musical Fisher Price mobile that belonged to Kate  when she was a baby.  The boys were enthralled with the moving animals.  I am going to miss them so much!

Time flies...

Wow, the boys are 11 weeks old today!  I am used to seeing newborns on a regular basis, but it has been such a wonderful experience for me to spend their first 3 months with our grandsons. I will be returning to Houston (and work!) next week and can't even imagine how much I am going to miss seeing them on a daily basis.  

Mike was up last week and we have gotten settled into "the loft."  I did a lot of online shopping to get it furnished.  We have tried to keep it pretty minimal since we will only be here sporadically, but I did splurge on a few things.  I bought this sofa from Ballard Designs an am loving it...really comfy and the slipcover is machine washable!  Lots of stuff from Ikea:  chair and lamps...

Barstools...

Bedframe and mirror...

The Eiffel Tower print was left by the previous tenant.  I wasn't sure about it at first, but it's growing on me.  One thing that we did bring up here is the yellow high chair.  It was mine when I was a baby!  My brother and sister also used it, and then it travelled from California to Wisconsin to Texas.  When Kate was born, my father had all the metal re-chromed, and she and all my nieces and nephews used it.  My youngest niece will be 16 next week, so it had been in my parents' attic for over a decade.  Earlier this year I retrieved it (with the help of my brother).  Mike brought it up last week and we reassembled it.  Not bad for 60 years old...genuine mid-century modern!

They're not quite big enough to use it yet, but look who came over for lunch today!

Exciting news

Well, I have been in Minneapolis for four weeks today.  The boys and their parents are doing well.  I have been staying with them, just trying to support all their efforts dealing with newborn twins.  Mike and I have decided that we want to spend as much time as possible up here watching the boys grow up.  With that in mind we decided to rent an apartment.  After looking at a few apartments, we learned that our expectations we a bit higher.  Then we found this rental condo loft.  It is in an old glass factory built in 1900 that was converted into condos in 2005.  These pictures were taken when it was occupied by the owner who is now living in London.  It is very contemporary, with concrete floors, exposed ductwork, stainless appliances, etc.  We will be furnishing it from scratch, something I have never done before.  Hope to keep the contemporary feel without spending too much money...IKEA here we come!

This is the view as you walk in the front door.  The master bedroom is to the right and the second bedroom is behind the sliding door you see on the left.

The bathroom is across the hall from the master bedroom.

These are looking into the kitchen from the living area.  The glass top island/bar stays, but we will need to get barstools.

These are looking toward the front door.

And this is the living area.

 

One of the things we really like about it is the location.  It is only 2 blocks from the light rail which we will be able to take to the airport and back.  It is also very close the Guthrie Theater and the soon to be torn down Metrodome.  Maybe we will be able to catch a Packer/Viking game! There is heated underground parking, which is a must in Minnesota, especially since we will be keeping a vehicle here. It is just a few blocks from the river and walking distance to many restaurants. It will be a new experience for us to be urban dwellers.  Minneapolis also has a great bike share program that we will take advantage of.

Oh yeah, one more thing, these are the reasons we are doing this...

The main event

I did finish both of the quilts.  I still have to hand sew the binding onto the second one, but here is first one.  The yellow knitted blanket hanging on the end of the bed is one my mother made for my daughter Kate when she was born.

I kind of put my knitting on hold to get the quilts done before I came up to Minneapolis on Monday.  I did manage to get a few rows done on the plane and a couple while I was in the waiting room waiting for the boys to arrive.  And now they're here! 

Charles Michael weighed 7-7 and Arthur John was 7-1.  Yes, that is a total of 14.5 pounds of baby!  I am so proud of my daughter and so happy that she was able to carry these guys to 38 weeks.  All my worrying was for naught.  I am SO thrilled to be a grandmother!

Progress

I haven't made as much progress on my projects as I had hoped.  I have been working full time for the last couple of months in preparation for the opening of our new hospital, the Texas Children's Hospital Pavilion for Women.  It opened on March 26 and is a fabulous facility!  I have one more week to work before I start my grandmother's leave of absence.  The boys are scheduled to arrive on April 25th and I will be going up to Minneapolis on the 23rd.  I have made some progress on the knitting projects, but have decided to put them on hold as I can finish them up once I get there. I have just started on the white stripe.

 

I do need to finish the quilts before I leave.  My old sewing machine is at Kate's house, but I really want to finish them here.  I have all the blocks done and quilt top #1 is finished.  I will machine quilt them myself...just stitch in the ditch.  Now to get off the computer and on the sewing machine!

Sneak peek: baby projects

I have started on a couple of projects for my twin grandsons, due May 9.  Both are fairly simple, but since I need to make two of each, I decided I had better get started!  The nursery will be done in shades of yellow, aqua and gray.  I am knitting chevron baby blankets in these colors.  The gray isn't quite as dark as it appears in this photo.

Of course I wanted to make quilts for them, so when I was in Minneapolis two weekends ago, Kate and I went to Crafty Planet and she chose these fabrics.  I am using them in this pattern for a zig zag quilt that was also originally from the Purl Bee.  I'll keep you posted on my progress...

Did I mention I'm going to be a grandmother?

My daughter Kate is expecting twin boys on May 9th!  We are all very excited, but I am still very nervous...being an L&D nurse I know everything that can go wrong.  So far so good though, boys are growing well and no signs of preterm labor.  I went up to visit for her first baby shower last week. I took a few pictures that I haven't uploaded yet, but here is one her friend Erin took of us and and the huge number of gifts she received.  Erin, who is also pregnant, blogged about it here.

 

While I was up there, we went to Crafty Planet and bought fabric for two crib quilts.  I will be sharing my progress here...I promise!