I love giving out blog awards!

July 29, 2013November 7, 2015 | Verónica

Sally at SoKnitSome and Louisa at Knitting Revolution have given me the opportunity to highlight blogs I enjoy with two awards. Thank you to So Knit Some for the WordPress Family Blog Award and to Knitting Revolution for the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award. I have long read their posts and enjoyed perusing their photos. It does feel like a wonderful extended family!

Agujas is pleased to nominate the following blogs for the WordPress Family Blog Award.

Agujas is also pleased to nominate these blogs for the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award.

For each award, the recipients should (1) Display the award logo on their blogs, (2) Link back to the person who nominated them, (3a) For the WordPress Family Blog Award, nominate 10 blogs that have impacted your WordPress experience and family, (3b) For the Wonderful Team Member Readership Award, nominate 14 blogs that exemplify the qualities of a wonderful team member, and (4) Tell your nominees you have awarded them.

Enjoy!

On this day, we give thanks

November 22, 2012November 22, 2012 | Verónica

The day is beautiful and mild. All the windows in the house are open to let in the fresh air. The smell of onions and celery sautéing in the kitchen hang in the air with the promise of feasting.

Outside, it’s quiet but every time the wind blows, the neighbor’s trees shake loose their acorns and they roll down our rooftop and land in the driveway with a plop! My husband shakes his head. He swept up all the acorns this morning.

He scooped them all up in a box for me. I think these can be used to dye wool…

We are so thankful …

for our family, both near and far
for our children
for honest work that sustains us
for the love that binds us
for the cease-fire
(not taking sides, just tired of seeing the bodies of dead children)
for the promise of tomorrow.

Wishing all who read this peace, love and joy.

Fleeting Days of Summer

August 18, 2012November 10, 2012 | Verónica

Summer is coming to an end. The back-to-school sales are in full swing and soon my daily commute will take longer when the school zones reactivate.

We didn’t venture far from home this summer. Earlier this year, we knew we would have to install a new air conditioning system in our home before the sweltering heat of summer arrived. That pretty much ate up any travel plans we might have had, but it made for a much more bearable summer.

Then there was Mom’s surgery in June. I took her to her 6 week follow-up appointment and the doctor gave her a seal of approval. Mom is doing splendidly and is back home. She just hit a milestone birthday – 70. My brothers and their kids took her to dinner and we surprised her afterward with a mariachi band that serenaded her in her front yard. She danced with my brother under the stars surrounded by her grandchildren.

The boys are ready to go back to school and see their friends every day and show off their driving permits. They’ve had their fill of hot, lazy days full of video games, Batman, days at the beach, swimming in the neighborhood pool, and outdoor grilling.

Our boys are growing up. They will be Sophomores in high school next year. Only three more years before they are marching across the stage in their caps and gowns and then driving off to start their independent lives. Have we prepared them? What is left to be done in only three years in the midst of homework, exams, work and sleep?

I tell my husband, “In only three years, it will be just you and me.” He looks at me guardedly from the corner of his eye and asks, “Why do you say that like it’s a threat?” That cracks a big smile on my face. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather be with than him.

Here are some glimpses of our summer.

The waters of the Gulf of Mexico off Galveston Island.

Flowering plant from my aunt’s home in Southwest Texas.

It’s Texas – there are cacti everywhere.

Driving past on our way to visit Mom. I used to swim in the cold waters of the Nueces River as a little girl.

Pink roses “just because” from the husband.

Weekends With My Grandmother

April 18, 2012April 29, 2012 | Verónica

I would spend hours beside my grandmother (“Welita” – my abbreviated kid version of “Abuelita”) while she crocheted. We lived next door to her when I was growing up and every weekend I would pack my bag, wave goodbye to Mom and Dad, and skip over to her house. We would watch telenovelas while eating sweet bread with coffee. (I’ve been drinking coffee since I was about 7 thanks to Welita, which explains a lot).

She taught me to crochet a long chain of single stitches. I didn’t get further than that but I felt like a grown-up sitting with her while we each worked our crochet hooks and talked about the evening news and whether our favorite characters on the telenovela would end up together. Years later, I learned to knit but missed the rhythm of my hands weaving the yarn with that single hook. So, I picked up a pattern book and taught myself to crochet.

I made this afghan for my son. I wanted something blue, but not baby blue. This rich cobalt blue and the deep brown offset by the white seemed to work.

They say that smells can stir up long-buried memories. For me, crocheting evokes hot afternoons, the smell of coffee brewing, and the buzz of the television at Welita’s house, and it makes me smile.

Our Family Heirloom Quilts

March 8, 2012March 7, 2012 | Verónica

When I married my husband, he brought three beautiful quilts into our home. The quilts were handmade by his mother, whom I had the honor to meet shortly before she passed away. Besides raising six children, my mother-in-law was a seamstress. She measured, designed, cut and assembled custom-made clothing, mostly dresses for women. She used a combination of hand and machine sewing for her garments.

Along the way, she crafted quilts for each child and grandchild. My husband became the beneficiary of this beautiful Friendship Ring quilt. This quilt has been gently used throughout the years to cover sleepy boys (and husbands). My husband has fleeting memories of dresses made from the same patterns and colors of the fabrics in his mother’s quilts.

This second quilt is a simple whole cloth quilt (red background). She must have used a thicker batting because this quilt is heavier than the others. The weight is comforting somehow when you snuggle up underneath it.

The third quilt was a gift for our son. The little Dutchmen pattern with the blue borders was just right for his crib.

These are our family heirlooms. We chose not to display them on a wall but rather use them as they were intended – to cover cold toes and keep hearts warm.