Happy Father's Day 2005!!

This is for the dads who read this...are there any?! lol

This morning Jim opened his presents. I got him shirts--no dark colors! I've noticed that he's always wearing dark pants and dark shirts to work. Looks like some engineering uniform or something! So this time I got him light blue, beige, grey...nice neutral colors to go with all those dark pants.

Jim also got a new Martin DMX guitar. It's gorgeous!

We're headed over to Jim's parents' for the big barbecue. We have to cut it short this time because there is, of course!, baseball practice. Yesterday, the twins won their first playoff game--the game was called because of the slaughter rule. But that's an entirely separate entry for a different day!

Friday night I helped out at the batting cages with the tournament team. Let me tell you, I now have a new-found respect for those pitchers and other in-fielders. I was feeding balls into the pitching contraption--it's really two motorized wheels that fling balls down the cage--while standing behind netting. My head was well beneath the top of the net, and it covered me sideways. But when those crazy battin' 12 year olds knocked those balls toward me, I flinched and squealed more than once. It was scary! Frightening! I was certain the netting would break and I would get a ball batted into my face or body. It was also quite a work out. Thirty balls for six batters five times each...I had to help shag the balls. Yikes! The back of my legs still hurt!

Today I am spending a lot of time thinking about my birth father, William Lee Johnson. I am looking at a picture of him, wearing a chefs hat and cooking up something. I never knew him. He died in 2002 and I didn't find my birth family until 2004 (again, another post on another day). He's so handsome. He looks so happy. When I look at him I really see my brother Paul.

My adoptive father, Rich Harkness, is also very handsome. When I look at pictures of him from his younger days, I am reminded of Buddy Holly. Yes, maybe it's just the glasses! And now, he's in his 60s and I think he looks a little like Andy Griffith or Buddy Ebsen--think that cop show he was in, not "Beverly Hillbillies"! sheesh

Jim's dad is a big man. He's over six feet tall. He looks great for 72 years old. His hair isn't even completely grey yet! He has the drollest sense of humor and I can completely relate to it.

Art wise, I want you to see a project I worked on since November 2004. I joined a row round robin on the Greenies Quilting yahoo list. There were six of us in each group and we each made a row to compliment the row the owner of the quilt made first. My quilt is absolutely gorgeous! These ladies did a great job. I am impressed. I also cannot wait to finish this off. Not quite sure how to do it. I'm thinking of a plain-ish fabric between rows. Borders. My original thought was a quilt for a king sized bed. That might have been a pipe dream! Any suggestions?

Happy Father's Day to all of you!