Annette's Notes: Lot's has happened this Spring!

I have put off posting for a second time, because I thought maybe Julie could show me better tricks to posting. But I finally decided to try again on my own. So, just remember, I did this without ANY help.

Recently, a local art gallery asked to show a quilt of mine in their gallery during the month of March. I was surprised by their request. I chose to exhibit my quilt, "Pineapple for Elise". I think "Pineapple for Elise" is my personal favorite out of all the quilts I have made.

I also finished a quilt I was making for my French
pen pal. She is not well, and I was hurrying so
she could have it to enjoy and comfort her. The girl with the American flag represents me, and
the girl with the French flag represents her. It is
symbolic of our lives and our friendship. It was
a joy to make.

Here is a close-up of the quilt. I had it lightly

machine quilted, and then I added some

hand quilting for a more personal touch.

I wish I

had been able to do it all hand quilted, but it would have taken too long, and I wanted to get it off.

Along with the quilt, I sent my love, and entitled the quilt, "From my Hands to Your Heart". We have been pen pals for many years and we met in Paris in 2002. I will always be glad we had the chance to meet.

Another dear friend invited me to her house near Valentine's

Day. She decorated her home so lovely--it looks like it

could be out of a magazine!

But, most of all, I love her dishes! Wouldn't it

be lovely to have a room filled with beautiful

dishes! I know, not all of you share my passion for dishes, but hopefully you can appreciate that for some, it brings joy.

I have also been working on an album quilt. I

have been taking a class from Jeana Kimball, and

I laid it out one day to see how I liked the

placement, so I could make sure the remaining

blocks I stitch work well with what I already have. I thought you might like to see how I am coming along.

After all that quilting, our family moved on to celebrating birthdays! Matthew is now 14 and was ordained a teacher. It hardly seems possible that he had grown to much. I remember when he was a small boy--and that was only about 6 months ago!

As you can see, it takes a lot of concentration to light 14 candles! And 14 candles can make a surprising amount of fire and smoke too!

He got a guitar for his birthday since he will be

taking a guitar class next year at school. That

gives him a chance to try it out before his class.

Ethan turned 5 in March. He got a bike from his mom and dad. But I think his very most favorite gift was a graphic novel from Julie. As soon as he opened it, all of the rest of us just melted away from his consciousness. Pretty soon he was saying, "hiyah" as he became immersed in the adventures of the characters in the book.

Hard to believe he will be in school already, but he is ready for it. He knows his letters and has begun to know their sounds, etc.

Matthew's history class put up a display in the

school library and invited the parents. All the displays had to do with life and culture in the 1940's Matthew did a display on the Tuskegee Airmen. It turned out nice and he seemed very knowledgeable on the topic. (He certainly know a lot about airplanes). Of course, my favorite display was Matthew's, but my second favorite was one on fashion during the '40's. Big surprise I'm sure!

The last day of March, the cub scouts were going to the Utah National Guard to see the Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. Since I am the cub committee chair, I asked if Matthew and I could tag along. We got to talk to the pilots and hear about

their career paths that led them to be pilots. It was a fun outing. They got to climb in one of the