White Saturday

It's been snowing ever since we got into Michigan: sometimes just a few flakes drifting lazily down, sometimes whipping so heavily that a thick lace curtain hangs between the barn and garage. The Mama's snow-plowing cousin is on vacation in Florida, so we were very happy when a neighbor roared down on his ATV this morning to do the job.
    We were headed to Frankenmuth (Michigan's 'Christmas town') and the art museum...but the roads have been slick for days. (We did get to the Bruce Dice Mineralogical 'Museum' -- really, a collection -- at Calvin College. A beautiful wood-panelled room holds a wide assortment of gems and minerals, including one of only three known octopus fossils in the world. If you're in the Grand Rapids area, don't miss it. Only open M-W-F from 1:30-5:00 p.m.)

     Instead, The Mama and Daughter #2  helped me do up a sample quilt top: a 3-D Bow Tie, made easy with 4" squares. (This pattern will be in the upcoming Hanky Panky sequel, Hanky Panky with A Flourish. More on that soon.) 
     All that activity inspired Angel to make her own 'random' scrappy version, baby quilt sized, for a goddaughter. Much cutting...now they're laying out squares. And the games begin.
     "No, no! You've got it wrong!"
    "But it's supposed to be this direction..." (A flurry of movement as squares fly up in the air. They take this 'placing randomly' stuff way more seriously than I do.)
    "Now you've got the same fabrics next to each other." (More square flurries, with matching snow outside)
    "Aarggh!"

    Every now and then, they'll appeal for my opinion -- then ignore it, and start arguing among themselves again. (You should have heard them the past few nights, playing Fill or Bust and accusing each other of messing with the dice. Now the score pad has "cheater" written next to each name!) 
    At least the arguing is good-natured; they're actually having a wonderful time. And I love seeing grandma and granddaughter play together. The Mama enjoys it very much, too.
    Muttering is coming from the next room, along with occasional staccato bursts from the sewing machine. They must be figuring it out -- yup. They buzz back to the squares, laid out for the quilt top, grab more and zip back to the sewing machine.
    The furnace kicks on with a rumble, and I can smell pork simmering for lunchtime barbecue. A car zooms by, skidding a bit as it goes. The stitched blocks are starting to pile up now; Angel hums to herself as she lays out more squares. A cachet of snow drifts down, tinkling against the window.
     Back to peace...for the moment, anyways.

    Can't wait to see how they act during the Superbowl.

P.S. I was just told, "We're not arguing - we're DISCUSSING!"