Color of Peace Challenge Winners Announced

Congratulations to our Color of Peace Quilt Challenge Winners! Beth Shier took first place for her Peace or Piece? quilt and wins a $100 gift certificate to Grandma's Attic. Our second place winner is Brenda Lopez who wins a $50 gift certificate to Grandma's Attic for her quilt A Sign from Above. Deb Sorem won third place with her quilt Flying to Freedom. She will receive a $25 gift certificate to Grandma's Attic. If you're looking the picture, Beth's quilt is the small one with the turquoise border on the left. Brenda's is the water color quilt on the top, and Deb's quilt is the round one at the bottom right.

The Color of Peace Quilt Challenge is a charitable event designed to raise funds for Sable House, a Polk County, Oregon agency assisting survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Earlier this year, Grandma's Attic provided applicants with entry packets consisting of five fabrics, then challenged entrants to creatively incorporate these fabrics into a final quilt design. All proceeds benefited Sable House.

Voting took place July 20 through August 7. The general public was invited to view the quilts at Grandma's Attic; then vote for their favorites, plus the categories of Best Use of Color and Best Interpretation of Theme. The winners were selected on August 8. In addition to the top three prizes, Best Use of Color Award went to Deb Sorem. Best Interpretation of Theme went to Beth Shier. They will both receive a gift basket of merchandise.

Grandma's Attic is strongly committed to the health and safety of women and children in Polk County and supports various local resources who share these goals. In addition, Grandma's Attic is dedicated to raising awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault issues through the arts and crafts.

The Grand Cats

From time to time, our daughter Melissa asks us to babysit her "babies," two of the largest cats in all of pampered captivity. Here's a picture of Carly Kitty. Carly Kitty is about eight years old and has been with Melissa since the day she was born. Carly is a very sweet cat who loves to play with her toys and eat.

Here's a picture of Michael with Boo Boo. Michael says this is the latest in fashion accessories--the cat purse. Boo Boo had a rough beginning. One snowy afternoon some years back, the girls mentioned to me that they thought they had heard a cat crying from the side of the road near our house. This road has a series of "S" curves on it and is on a hill outside of town. Someone, thinking that they were "way out in the country," tossed a cat out of their car and drove off.

The girls decided to investigate so they drove slowly down the road calling for kitty. Sure enough, there was a little gray striped kitten. Melissa opened the passsenger door and Boo Boo quickly jumped in. It must have taken all of his energy because when they got back to the house, Boo Boo was so emaciated he could not even lift his little tail. He just dragged it behind him for the rest of the evening.

Boo Boo has grown to be a very large cat. He is a treasured member of the family and loves to hide in bags. He also enjoys chewing on flip flops if they are left out where he can find them.

When Michael and Melissa are on vacation, Stephen and I have cat duty. We go over to their house to feed the "grand cats" and play with them. Both of these kitties are happy and healthy. And bless his heart, Boo Boo never gets very far away from the food dish.