all girls road trip

Road trip to Knoxville to see the Lady Vols vs. GA basketball game. This year we had 13 who drove up from Ellijay and 5 more joined us there! Three generations represented, love having the younger girls along this year to hopefully carry on the tradition.

It was a great day out in the winter sunshine, good food and company. The Vols won under the direction of our cousin Kellie Harper!

The group has grown over the years, with the first trip in 2006 with just us 4: Kay, Sue, Heidi, and me:

2006

merry

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE GREAT-GRANDKIDS!

MAVERICK AND LILIANE

starter quilt

I could hear the yellow double wedding ring quilt top pleading to get out of the musty cardboard box. I finally responded and released it from captivity. Ahhh fresh air! Sunshine!  But wait, it was still an unfinished quilt top, a vintage UFO made by Buddy's grandmother. I had just finished 4 quilts left from Ms. Thomas when she passed, is there a pattern here? Sewing for ghosts? I see dead people…

Anyway, my idea for the yellow DWR was to give it to Michelle, great-granddaughter of the quilt maker. I ran the idea by family members (do not assume, always ask) and everyone was fine with it. I showed it to Michelle to see if she wanted it and she said that yellow was her favorite color. So the process had started, but who will quilt it? Me?  I don't know, the size of 102 x 90 was overwhelming to me.

If only my favorite quilter lady was still here. But I have just retired and there is really no excuse for me not to JustDoIt. I was still agonizing over how to attempt such a big project, when overnight I had a light bulb moment - cut the quilt in half or quarters and quilt the smaller pieces then sew them back together. I ran this by Buddy, explaining that it is an acceptable way of making quilts, called 'quilt as you go' which means you could quilt a block at a time then sew them together, albeit may not encompass cutting up a perfectly fine large vintage hand stitched quilt top… but it would turn out fine I am sure.  Buddy also had an overnight idea - why not take off a row or two, making a smaller quilt and one easier to handle, incorporating the other 'rings' into another quilt or more than one, like using something old to make something new. He said kind of like that recipe that was going around for a while, something about a starter? Sour dough starter? Yes like that.

I really liked that idea! I asked Michelle what size her bed is - full size - so that helped my decision to cut it down. It started out 5 rings wide x 6 rings long, I cut off 2 rows, now it is 4 rings wide x 5 rings long, 72 x 90. I had some poly batting 72 x 90, and had a sheet for the backing (frugal quilter = use what you have).  The DWR top was so puckered, I tried to stretch and pull, but never did get it to lie flat. So I just did some straight lines through the rings and let the curved pieces be free to fall where they may. Maybe I should have taken it to a professional?  But it is out of the cardboard box and will soon be into the hands of family, for Michelle made by her great-grandmother, Two Mama.

"Better finished than perfect."

When we first showed the unfinished quilt top to Michelle, it was mentioned that it was a double wedding ring pattern, and Michelle said, "Well, I will never have a wedding ring :)" So I decided to name it something else. Just because it started out in Two Mama's mind as a DWR doesn’t mean it has to stay that. (I also did this for Jenny's lavender one  - called it the Circle of Life.)

Anyway this one is The Yellow Quilt Road with this for a label (Michelle recently moved back to the old homeplace to help care for her dad):

It just came out of the wash and it doesn't look too bad! The puckers look more puffy now, and puffy is good for a quilt! Whew! Check that one off the list. One more thing out of my sewing room and into the hands of family. And hopefully I will stop hearing voices...

family baby shower

santa Buddy

Grandpa Buddy a.k.a. Santa was busy in the work shop for a few days before Christmas. We were all banned from going inside, and even when he left for a few hours he put a sign on the door.

He had googled wooden quilt designs and came across this beautiful Tumblin Blocks pattern made with different colors of wood (no stain), the light is pine (the knotty pine from our recent bedroom redo), there is oak, cedar, and walnut. The pieces all fit together perfectly, much better than if I made this pattern with fabric!  It is an optical illusion - do you see the 3-D tumbling blocks or do you see the star? 

#engaged

thanks for the memories

Thanks for the memories….

THANKS to grandpa Buddy's boss for the annual end of year bonus and THANKS to Buddy for sharing it for the family trip, wait, that check hasn't come in yet…. Hopefully no jelly-of-the-month club for us this year!

THANKS to SARAH for her idea, "let's have matching PJs this year" and to MELISSA (and Target) for making that happen!

THANKS to ALLISON for making the official family photos again this year.

THANKS to MELISSA and CARRIE for creating the menu and grocery list and ordering it online for pickup at the Kroger(s) in Pigeon Forge upon arrival, and thanks to the folks at Kroger for having everything ready right on time.

THANKS to KEITH and DANIEL for all the cooking.

THANKS to MELISSA for the neat hot cocoa bar.

THANKS for the memories, the baby holding, the hot chocolate, the puzzle, the music, the coloring, the laughs and fellowship around the table. THANKS for the big table and the fireplace to gather around, for the Christmas trees and décor.

THANKS to RACHEAL and ISAIAH for bringing the entertainment (baby LILI).

THANKFUL that everyone had safe travels from places near and far. THANKFUL that all of our kids and grandkids are grown and have jobs and cars and can fend for themselves, they could all go places either together or separate, whenever and wherever they wanted (after a few minutes of car Tetris to get out of the parking area). A few places visited this weekend by some of us: Dollywood, Gatlinburg Aquarium, Laser Tag, Mini Golf, GSM Foothills Parkway, Ferris wheel at Pigeon Forge. 

Thanks to Dollywood Cabins for another great destination lodging experience. Staying at DW cabins has a lot of perks but the two that stand out are the 'length of stay pass' - for $69.95 per person you can come and go to DW as many times as you want for as long as you are staying in the cabin. But the best perk we think is the free parking at DW. Yes parking costs $15 per vehicle or you could all cram into the car with grandpa who has the Gold pass, but if you stay at DW cabins every vehicle gets a free parking pass (we had 7 vehicles). But not just FREE parking in the main parking area and ride the tram, but FREE parking up at the top of the hill in the special lot G with a short walk to the back entrance.

Thanks all y'all for another great family Christmas trip!

walking the line

this weekend we were out walking property lines, looking for corners, iron pins, flagging, because Kyle and Allison want to move to the mountains!

which house site to choose? 

Carrie wanted to make sure her site was marked clearly so no one would get it.

A beautiful day to walk in the woods, the leaves are starting to turn, the air is cool and crisp. And we are getting new neighbors!

Shall We Gather

We have had many family gatherings at Tumblin Waters over the years, birthdays and holidays and picnics and sliding down the waterfalls, but two will stand out in my memory and both involve sister Kay. The Wedding almost 45 years ago, Christmas 1973, and last Sunday's funeral/celebration of life also for Kay.

For far too many years now we have mourned the absence of our parents from our family gatherings. Being the oldest generation is hard to get used to, we became The Elders, and Kay was The Eldest as I often liked to remind her. But losing one of our own generation is like taking a gut punch, a wake up call, a reminder that there is more sand in the bottom of the hourglass than in the top.

Shall We Gather at the creek… the setting was perfect, a cool fall day, blue sky, the background sounds of the stream flowing by and the breeze in the towering trees, the warmth of a campfire to gather around. Kay would love it, I could imagine her there watching over us and smiling, especially when she saw so many of us in Tennessee Orange in her honor (thanks Michelle for that idea!).

It is nice having a resident clergy in the family, Heidi did an excellent job honoring Kay, leading us in the old songs, telling stories of her namesake and aunt Kay. Sue read a letter from Kay to her Daddy. Ethan reminded us Kay was not just the cat lady but had strong beliefs in other areas including working with the underprivileged and politics. The family then climbed up to the Upper Falls to scatter Kay's ashes in one of her favorite places on Turkey Creek, happy memories shared of eating watermelon in the creek and sliding down the falls.

During the service, the occasional baby cry served as a reminder that although we lost one, life goes on. Just look around and you will see the future of this family, the babies being passed around between aunts and uncles and grandparents, and the little ones gathered around the campfire and playing in the creek.

A live well lived, Kay is gone from our sight but not our hearts, we will miss her dearly. Hopefully she is now free of her ailments and can visit with all of those gone before her - her mother and daddy, two-mama, hey maybe she will get to meet Pat Summitt!

the cat lady

are there any stray cats in heaven? If so, y’all gather at the gate, soon you will all be taken care of because the cat lady is on her way…

A champion of kids and old folks and animals, Kay worked over the years as an educator, a social worker at DFACS and the nursing home, and in her off time she rescued animals, fed them, took them to the vet, placed them in caring homes, we are talking hundreds of animals over the many years.

Born a city girl, Kay loved these north Georgia mountains, loved to hike them and camp out in them. She moved to the mountains and lived as an independent soul until one day the love of her life dropped in. We had dubbed her a spinster, but she found someone to put up with all of her quirks, and a fellow animal lover. This feller had a beautiful farm which she loved, lots of room for animals and kids to roam.

I had no sisters growing up but was blessed to earn three as an adult, one of which was my sister and best friend, Kay. Rest well my friend, and take care of those heavenly cats!  

Kay Curbow 3/24/1942 - 10/11/2018

so many stories

All of these lines across my face

Tell you the story of who I am

So many stories of where I've been

And how I got to where I am

But these stories don't mean anything

When you've got no one to tell them to

~from Brandi Carlile The Story

the gathering together for a family construction project was almost fun at first...

this family has so many stories, I so wish I had gotten Kay's stories down before it was too late 

the ramp

Heidi, Sue, Buddy, Jenny, Tracy

Lucien

Abby

Ethan and Lisa

The Crew

Tracy, Jenny, Sue, Kennon, Ethan, Abby, Cody, Buddy

Coming together to build a ramp for Kay because that's what families do.

make grandpa great

wedding quilt

Congratulations Kyle and Allison!

a variation on the traditional Log Cabin pattern: A Formal Affair by Fons and Porter

here comes the Scott family

Keeping the family tradition alive, Madison once again writes the Scott Family Christmas letter.This one is a challenge - you have to sing it to the tune of  "Here Comes Santa Claus" !!

                          

 ♬♪♫ Here comes the Scott fam, here comes the Scott fam, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Right down Burnt Mountain Road, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Sarah & Matthew & their engagement, puttin’ on a ring, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Wedding bells are ringin’, Kyle’s singin’, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Allison’s gonna be a bride, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ So, grab your passports & take a plane ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ ‘Cause Madison & Meli went travellin’. ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Here comes the Scott fam, here comes the Scott fam, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Right down Burnt Mountain Road, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ They’ve got a bag that’s filled with toys, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ From Disney World again. ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Hear that Sarah finally graduated, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Oh, what a beautiful sight. ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ So, jump in bed & cover your head, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ ‘Cause Keith’s got worry lines, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Here comes the Scott fam, here comes the Scott fam, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Right down Burnt Mountain lane, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Rache & Isaiah moved to Canton, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ To be a chef you, gotta train! ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Y’all know the Scotts’ love children, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ They fill hearts with cheer. ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ So, fill our home with baby gifts, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ ‘Cause a gran’baby comes next year. ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Here comes the Scott fam, here comes the Scott fam, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Right down Burnt Mountain Road, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Sarah & Matthew & all their pets, puttin' on their shades, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Phones are ringin', Matt's singin', all is merry and bright, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ So, close your eyes and make a move, 'cause Cali is a sight! ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Here comes the Scott fam, here comes the Scott fam, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Right down Burnt Mountain Road, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Kyle’ll come around when Ali shouts out, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Homeownership is great! ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Peace on earth will come to all, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ If we just swallow our pride, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ So, let’s give thanks to mom & dad, ♬♪♫

♬♪♫ Who raised us all alright. ♬♪♫