Looking Back 2013

Yes, this is one of those posts, where you look back over the past year and say what have I accomplished?  Apparently blogging a lot is not something I did a lot of in 2013.  One post! For shame!  I have to do better in 2014.

As for quilting, I did accomplish quite a bit.  I had a couple of special projects I tackled in 2014.  I made my first t-shirt quilts for two very special little girls.  One of my challenges was including a plain white t-shirt in each quilt, so I used that block to put their name on the quilt.  It was a complete surprise to them and I delivered them so they could be a Valentine's Day gift from their mother.  Even though we exchanged thanks and tears when I delivered them, I recently received such a beautiful note from their mom, reiterating the fact that they all loved the quilts.  There is nothing like words from the heart to fill you up.  These are my t-shirt quilts for Grace and Olivia.

We greeted another Grand Nephew, Thomas, into our family.  I made him a zoo quilt to welcome him.  And of course I made the carrying bag from quilt scraps.

My youngest son Zachary got engaged this year to a lovely girl named Gretchen, they'll be married next year in July.  I can hardly believe I was 4 years younger when I got married.

I taught James his first phrase "cool guy" while we were at Kennywood in September.  Now everyone he meets is a Cool Guy. 

I attended photo conferences this year, RTV, I Heart Faces, Creative Live Online.  I practiced taking photos of my cousins Natalie and Ian (great subjects!) and senior photos with my friend's son, Eli. I got a new camera at the end of the year, preparing for my new venture into newborn, children's, and senior photography.

This Christmas was a very bittersweet time.  All of us were together, some experiencing a loss in the family.  It made us feel very fortunate to all be together and celebrate on Christmas Eve.  I was so proud to watch all of our children as young men and women, and how they carry themselves in this world.  They are a force to be reckoned with.   

We plan a trip to Holland next year, and with the wedding in July, it promises to be a very wonderful year.

Happy New Year!  

Vienne & Lyon (Day 1)

Finally, I'm getting back to writing about the rest of our trip!  That's because we've already booked our next one and I'm determined to finish writing about this one first!

After breakfast, we had a morning trip into Vienne.  This is a city that used to be under Roman rule, with Roman monuments that  are still intact today.  It was also a home to several archbishops with many churches and convents. We started our walk with a visit to the Gothic former cathedral of St. Maurice, that was built between 1052 and 1533. The inside of the church had wooden chairs instead of pews, with hard wooden kneelers in front of them. It had beautiful tapestries, hanging on the sides of the church. Then we walked to the Cybele Gardens where the Roman remains of a forum with two magnificent archways remain in the center of the city.
The Roman Temple of Emperor Augustus and Liva was awesome.  It has survived because it was transformed into a church and a library and was recently uncovered and is being renovated.  We weren't able to go in, but it was impressive.

The town was completely empty, since it was still a holiday weekend (Armistice day).  I did finally spot a fabric store, where they had their fabrics on the street for sale.  We had a break for lunch so we window shopped and had coffee outdoors at a real French cafe. The tram, which was several cars long, picked us up and sped up small winding streets.  It took us to the highest point in the town, Mt. Pipet, considered a sacred area because it was on top of the mountain.

 We drove within inches from the curbs and the walls of the houses.  We passed this beautiful cemetery adorned with mums.  The guide told us that in France they are the symbol of death, sort of like lilys are in the U.S.  The Pipet Fortress was built here, where today stands a chapel and a statue dedicated to Notre-Dame de-la-Salette.

Unfortunately it was pretty foggy, or the view would've been even better.  We could see the ancient ruins of a theater still used today.
After going back to the ship, we had lunch and cruised up the river to Lyon.  We were able to disembark and explore on our own.  Mark and I decided to visit the Textile Museum (I'm sure that was a highlight of his trip!). The textile museum was really cool.  Of course Mark and I were sort of at a disadvantage without Chrissie to speak French.  All of the labels on the displays were in French and all of the attendants only spoke French.  There were carpets, tapestries, wedding dresses, and gowns for women and long silk coats worn by men.  In one room there was a special display that had these beautiful dresses decorated with ribbons and heavy beading.  It turns out it was a Fashion Show of dresses inspired from the time of Marie Antoinette created by current designers.

I bought things like bookmarks, cards and small pieces of fabric, that I just realized recently were beautiful glass cleaner cloths. On our way back to the ship, we saw a store that had MoMo's name on it.  It just seemed fitting.  Happy Mother's Day, Mom.


Next: Lyon Day 2