Walk Don't Run

We got up at 8:10, a little later than I intended.  We ate breakfast, checked e-mail, then I showered, dressed, and went to church.  I was only expecting 4 kids today, but I had enough for 8.  Two showed up.  They were pre-schoolers.  I reviewed the story of the Prodigal Son.  Then we made the windchimes.  One wet his pants (and the chair) so the shepherd took him to get changed, which left me with one.  But he was the most energetic child I have ever seen.  There was no keeping him in his chair.  He ran circles around the room.  I did manage to keep him in the room, though. As it turns out, he is the son of the lady in charge of Sunday School.  God bless her.  I was so glad when the bell rang.  I started cleaning up the craft stuff.  A man came up to me and started talking about his experiences in the Navy.  But there was a group of kids doing an activity in the fellowship hall near us, so I could barely hear him.  I did catch that yesterday was his 80th birthday.  When I got to finish cleaning up, I took my materials to the car, and went into the sanctuary. Chris joined me a little later.  After church, he went to the grocery store.  I talked to a few people, and then headed home.  I stopped at Bed Bath and Beyond with my 20% off coupon.  One of my quilting friends told me that they sell a teflon cooking mat that can be used for quilting.  I did not find that, but something related.  I also got another popsicle maker.  When I got home, Chris had already finished putting the groceries away.  I emptied the dishwasher and refilled it.  Then I ate lunch while reading e-mail.  I listened to an audio about spirituality and the brain.  I sewed a border on a stack and whack block and auditioned backing fabrics.  Chris put the sheets in the wash.  I threw in a few fabrics, too.  When they were done, I ironed the fabrics and laid them aside.  I came up for supper.  Later we watched a movie called "Walk Don't Run" starring Cary Grant.  When we came up, it was raining.  Chris looked up one of the characters who sounded so familiar - John Standing.  But I could not figure out where I have heard him before. 
*  Here is a version of the block I made for Deb while in progress  *

I like leftovers

We stayed in bed late.  Got up for breakfast and e-mail. I checked e-mail for three accounts. That gets interesting.  A friend e-mailed to say that I could kill the spider humanely by putting the box in the freezer.  I am not sure I would want a box of spider in my frig, but on the other hand, what a great diet aid it would be.  All of a sudden, I am just not that hungry. 
I watered my plants and sunbathed.  With a pitch fork, I spread out the compost pile.  It was our neighbors idea.  Chris ran the dishwasher and I ran down to see if it leaked.  It did.  I called Bob and he agreed to come over on Monday.  I sewed stack and whack leftovers to an audio.  I removed dry dishes from the dishwasher and left the wet ones to dry.  I practiced my trombone.  I had a salad for supper. I transferred wet clothes in washer to the dryer.  Then I sewed, making more octagons out of stack and whack leftovers.  I listened to Chris play with the voices.  I deleted addresses in my address book that bounced when I sent out my change of e-mail message.  One was from my brother William, so I called him to find out why.  He didn't know, but he did divulge that he broke his foot a week and a half ago.  See, no one tells me anything
in this family.  He is home from work on crutches for 4 to 6 weeks.  I read more e-mail, and investigated a new technique called Reflexercise.  Chris finished his game while I wrote a few notes for my blog.  Then I skyped Michele for a nice chat.  After I finished my blog, I went to bed.

The Sashing is done!

It was 8:30 or so when I finally got out of bed.  I read some e-mail, exercised, ate breakfast and read another chapter book.  This one was one of the Boxcar Children series.  In order to send out my new e-mail address, I went through my address book and clicked on each of the people I wanted to send it to.  I had to do that three times before Yahoo allowed it.  But then it would not send the message because there were too many recipients.  How is it that a hacker can send spam to everyone in my address book but I cannot send them all a change-of-address?  Well, it ought to come from the g-mail account anyway, right?  But after I copied it all over to G-Mail, it still wouldn't work.  So frustrating!  Turning my attention away, I watered my seedlings and other plants.  I picked some of the swiss chard and collard greens.  I juiced up some carrots, and used the juice to blend up the greens.  I poured the result in a popsicle maker.  It was only enough for one.  I had carrots left, but needed greens.  So I picked a bunch of edible weeds from the lawn.  I blended that up with more carrot juice and made enough to fill the second popsicle maker.  Then I spent more time than I wanted to cleaning up carrot bits and juice.  I froze the carrot pulp for a future carrot cake.  I laid out in the sun after lunch.  Then I checked e-mail again before going out to find yard work.  I decided to pull out the black-eyed susans since they looked so blighted.  After awhile, I noticed that my finger was abraided.  So I went in to wash my hands.  I decided to take a shower, too.  Then I finished the sashings on the stack and whack quilt, taking pics along the way.  Chris came home from work and started his Friday night game with the voices.  I ate supper and checked e-mail.  It occurred to me that I have an army e-mail account that I never use.  I only check it once every 5 months when the password expires.  I tried copying my change-of-address message over to it, and Bingo!  It had no trouble with the number of recipients.  Sent it out slick as spit.  I remembered Deb asking for a block from a drawing.  I called it up on my computer and then copied it in fabric.  Truthfully I probably needed a special ruler to get all the edges in perfect relationship.  Still, it came out ok.  But by then it was 11pm and time for bed.

Smarter than your average rabbit

Today had all the usual elements.  If you have been reading my blog, you know what they are.  And since it is Thursday, I took out the recycling.  But there were a few unusual elements.  I read a chapter book.  It took me back to my childhood.  I used to love chapter books, especially mystery ones.  Also after sunbathing, I saw our neighbor working in her yard so I spoke to her for awhile.  Then I grabbed the rabbit cage that was left by the carport.  I figured if it could keep rabbits in, it can also keep them out.  I dug a hole in the garden by the fence, put the cage over it, then planted my seedlings in it and covered them with dirt - watered them too.  So now the rabbits cannot eat the leaves, even if they try to dig under the cage.  They could eat the roots, but I doubt they will.  I am thinking it is a great idea.  Time will tell if there are unintended consequences.  I checked my e-mail.  I read that rebounding is good for your thyroid.  Then I hit the sewing room to sew more sashing and corner blocks.  Chris came home while I was down there.  He made supper and a potato casserole for work tomorrow.  He also cut up the carrot cake and arranged the pieces on a plate for another party at work.  I had my large salad and ate it while reading e-mail.  Chris helped me make a new e-mail address through g-mail.  Yahoo has been so unreliable lately that I have to get another address before I lose all my friends.  I went back to sewing.  The hardest part at this point is keeping the blocks in order.  My sewing table is not large enough to hold them all at once, even without the sashing.  Chris came down later to watch NCIS.  We saw the finale for Season 8.  Now the day is over and it is time for bed. 

Blocks in progress

I was up before 8 to read e-mail.  I figured out that I can 'jump' on the rebounder by using my arms for impetus instead of my feet.  That way it doesn't hurt my ankle. After breakfast, Charlie showed up.  I quickly wrote a check and ran out to hand it to him and ask him to mow the grass a little higher.  He thinks it will only need to be mowed once or twice more this year.  Really?  Ok.  I picked some peppers for him.  I found the box that held the spider.  She moved her egg sac under the flap and was holding on to it with all 8 feet.  I am not afraid of spiders, but this one makes me question my ambivalence.  If there is one, there may be lots more that I haven't seen.  Is any place in the house or yard safe?  On the other hand, does she deserve to die just because she was born a spider?
Then I went to the post office to mail a box of books.  There was no one in line and hardly any cars in the lot.  I was worried that the building was closed, but it was open and everything went smoothly.  I went straight home.  After clearing more e-mail, I laid out in the sun.  I am not sure how much longer it will be warm enough to do that.  Then I finished cutting corner units for the stack and whack.  I started sewing sashing strips.  About 4:30 I came to a good stopping place and went upstairs to take a shower.  I was reading the latest e-mail when Chris came home.  We ate supper and then I left for church.  There was an education meeting at 7 and choir practice at 8.  I agreed to continue for the next 4 week session.  They talked a lot about the Christmas program which will be a Charlie Brown play.  The turnout for choir was small.  And our organist was still in the hospital.  The pastor says the doctors have determined that she has cancer and will do chemo every 10 days.  Our director lead us through all our songs.  Then the men were excused while the women stayed to practice with the kids.  It was in two parts with the women singing counterpoint.  She was having trouble playing and directing at the same time, so I offered to play and she let me.  Then everyone left but three of us.  We talked about Sunday School and a substitute organist.  Then we went home.  Chris was playing a computer game, so I read e-mail for awhile.  Then we watched several episodes of NCIS.  Chris went to bed, and I cut a few more sashing strips before posting to my blog and going to bed.
*  Here is a setting that I auditioned for the blocks.  I decided not to use it because it is so busy.  *

Errands

The morning passed with the usual activities including breakfast and e-mail.  I read about the conflict in Portland Oregon where the people voted against fluoridating the water supply but the town council voted for it anyway.  I also saw a video called Run From the Cure.  It's about cancer patients in Canada told they have no hope left by their doctors but they were able to CURE their cancer with hemp oil.  They want to share their knowledge and produce hemp oil but the powers that be keep shutting them down. I also took care of a few small errands: brought in the shirt with lemon juice that sat in the sun to get tomato juice spots out; collected seeds from my four o'clock plants (seemed like a good idea at the time); watered the seedlings; swept the porch; made a loaf of bread for Chris' lunches; cleared the dishes in the sink and washed the larger ones. MaryAnn Skyped me for awhile.  We chatted about the short sex life of male black widow spiders.  (Date night = movie, make-out, dinner with him as the main entree.  The females are not into long relationships.)  I thought Chris had taken the spider to work so when I sunbathed I was relaxed.  Yesterday I kept interpreting every sensation as spider feet.  I vacuumed the floors in the hall and bathroom.  I finished sewing black corners on all the stack and whack blocks.  Now I need to find the pic of the order I had them in.  Chris came home while I was cutting corner blocks for the sashing.  He made asparagus and fish for supper.  After supper we watched episodes of NCIS.  The last one ended with Palmer holding an eyeball up to the MTAC scanner and triggering it to open.  It did not say "To be continued..." but obviously there is an explanation yet to come.  I will not explain what we did after watching TV, but it did not involve posting to my blog.
* I don't have a pic from yesterday so here is one from the party Friday night.  *

The surprize is inside

I had my usual morning, except that I did not exercise.  The rebounder had two baskets of laundry on it.  I folded the laundry, after breakfast.  Then I got stuck in a Dr. Dain Heer replay list on Youtube.  It is 99 videos long, but they are short ones.  I have only watched 20 so far.  I drained, rinsed and cooked the quinoa that was soaking.  When it was cool, I put it in the frig.  Chris had put the ingredients for bean soup in the crock pot and left it cooking all day.  Ah, the smell!  I  got out tongue depressors for the craft next Sunday.  I used the drill to make a hole in each end.  Despite being as careful as I could, I cracked 5 before I got 8 good ones.  I went outside to get some fresh air.  I raked the leaves and mowed the lawn inside the fence.  I threw sticks on the stick pile and mowed the ditches out front.  After I put the mower away, I looked for a box to mail some books in.  I found the right size box, but it had a surprise - a spider.  A black one.  One with a red underbelly.  I decided the box wasn't quite right after all.  I went to get my camera, but the black widow spider moved from the web and crawled under the flap of the box.  So all I could photograph was the egg sack.  I didn't want to kill it, but I definitely don't want baby widows all over the property.  (Could I Freecycle it?)  I left the box in the driveway for Chris.  I put on my bathing suit and laid in the sun for awhile.  Then I went in and fell asleep.  Chris came home and woke me up.  He said the soup was ready so we ate some.  Later we went down to watch some NCIS. 

More than they told me

I got up at 8 to eat breakfast, shower, dress, and be ready to leave at 9.  Chris was not ready at 9 because he had forgotten about Sunday School.  So I went by myself.  The setup and opening went well, maybe too well.  They were finished early which meant I had the kids more than 20 minutes.  I was expecting 4 students and prepared for 6.  7 showed up.  I had to scrounge parts from my model.  I gave them clothespins that were already strung.  So all they had to do was string the lids and then the hanger.  Shannon and I had to tie the knots for them. But they all finished in the time allotted. After they left, I prepared double the amount of clothespins for next week.  Then I took my stuff out to the car, bringing in my choir folder.  Wouldn't you know it, I remembered my folder, but we did not sing today because the organist was in the hospital. They hired the lady from the nursery to play the organ.  I figured she must be an organist.  But she only played the treble parts on the hymns. The skills she demonstrated were no better than mine.  On the one hand I was surprised they didn't get someone more proficient. On the other hand, what she did was enough to keep the service (and the singing) going.  Maybe someone will come forth from the congregation who can play both hands.  After the service, I went home and Chris went grocery shopping. I changed my clothes and practiced my instrument.  Chris brought the groceries in and we put them away.  I made a salad for lunch.  I read e-mail, and played an audio downstairs while I looked through my quilt magazines for the one that inspired me to collect fruit and veggie fabrics.  I did not find it and my battery ran down.  I came back up to recharge it.  Chris was ready for a haircut, so we did that outside.  I picked up sticks from the patio and yard to place on the stick pile.  I repotted some houseplants and brought them inside.  I had a bite for supper and then went down to sew black corners on my blocks.  I came up to find Chris, who wasn't ready to watch TV.  So I read e-mail for a bit, then took my laptop down to listen and sew some more.  When I had given up on Chris coming down, he came down.  It was almost his bed time, but he wanted to watch 1 episode with me.  Then he went to bed, and I am wondering what pic I can post with this.  Ah, here is one of the quilts we saw yesterday in Birmingham.

Sewing Expo and smart phones

The day was both less and more than I expected.  I got up at 6 and was on the road by 6:45.  Initially I was worried that I would be late, but then my intuition told me that we would be waiting on someone else.  And I was right.  Deb got lost and arrive about 7:15.  I was standing on the wrong porch knocking on the door.  She showed me the right one.  Amanda and I got in Deb's van and we drove to Cracker Barrel to pick up Jen and Eli and to meet Rebecca and Cass.  We drove to Birmingham in two cars.  Silly me assumed that the people who have been here longer than I have knew where they were going.  Ha.  But, having a car full of people with smart phones meant that we couldn't get but so lost.  We arrived before 10 so we had to wait for it to open. Deb had 6 free admissions so we all got in free except for Cass and we each gave her some money.  I was glad we did not pay the full $10 admission.  The room we entered was like a vendor area.  There were a few quilts hung along one wall - maybe 10. We agreed to meet at 11:30 at the door.  Well, as it was a small room compared to the exhibition hall at Paducah, it did not take me long to view the vendors.  I bought an odd shaped ruler called Perfect Piecer.  I also signed up for a magazine subscription.  Deb tried out all the longarms to see what she liked.  Others bought hand-dyed fabrics and notions.  Jen got add-ons for her longarm.  At 11:30 we met and decided to go to Ruby Tuesdays for lunch.  We all piled in Deb's van for the trip.  We got entrees that came with the salad bar.  It was an ok salad bar, but not the freshest.  By the time we got back to the quilt and sewing expo, it was 2pm.  Having seen it all already, I sat in a group a chairs in front of a stage.  A woman came out to give a talk about stabilizers and when to use which one.  I fell asleep at least 4 times during her talk.  I was in the back row so I don't think she could see me.  After the talk I walked around to see where my friends were.  I only found a few.  I sat out in the hall to wait, and maybe nap.  A lady sitting there struck up a conversation, which lasted until the rest of my group arrived.  Eli took our picture in front of an ad for the expo.  Then we walked back to our cars.  Rebecca and Cass left first, planning to stop at Whole foods and World Market on the way back.  The rest of us just went back to Huntsville.  BUT after we dropped Eli and Jen at Cracker Barrel, Deb wanted to go to Jo-anns.  It was next to Earth Fare which is where I secretly wanted to go.  So we went.  When I finished buying raw cheese and almonds, I join her and Amanda at Jo-anns.  I did not buy anything, but Amanda looked up Teflon mats on her smart phone to see where the best deal was.  We left there for Amanda's house.  BUT on the way we passed Hancocks having a blow-out sale.  Deb stopped in for some dachshund fabric and I found some green bean fabric.  Amanda used her smart phone to get me 50% off.  Then we went to Amanda's house where I picked up my car and came home.  It was nearly 8 and Chris was playing with the voices.  He had obviously been busy too.  There were two baskets of laundry and the bed had been made up with clean sheets.  He had washed the towels, too.  I ate supper, rinsed the soaking quinoa, and read e-mail.  When the game was over, Michele called me on skype and we talked for 23 minutes.  Chris went to bed, but I stayed up to post the day's events.

Dancing

I got up early, around 7.  I read only a few e-mails before starting the cake.  I whipped up the carrot cake mix that we bought last weekend.  While it baked, I exercised and read e-mail, then fixed two bowls of breakfast: one for today and one for tomorrow.  I left the cake to cool on the stove top.  I went to Hobby Lobby to get stickers for Sunday School.  I did not find the fruit ones, but did find party stickers.  I figured that went best with the story of the Prodigal Son.  HL was all out of fatted calf stickers.  I had to walk by the fabric department.  Had to.  It called out to me.  I bought some that I thought would go with my current project.  HL had a coupon online but I couldn't print it out so I took a pic of it with my camera.  The cashier wasn't sure that was acceptable, but the manager gave it the ok.  When I got back, the sun was shining, so I put on my suit and laid out in the sun.  I brought my phone with me, and thank goodness, 'cause Doris called to say she was out in the driveway.  She was over half an hour early.  I gave her a trowel to dig up irises and went inside to change into regular clothes.  We picked three bags of irises from different parts of the yard.  She also got some four o'clock seeds.  After she left, frosted the cake, finished e-mail and worked on preparing for Sunday.  I sawed grooves into tongue depressors,, pounded holes in lids, and tied embroidery floss loops on clothespins.  I put everything into my car to make sure it comes with me on Sunday.  I did some sewing of black corners, and laid a few blocks on the pink I just bought to see how it looked.  Chris came home early.  He bought drinks.  I took a shower and dressed for the party.  We carried the cake and drinks to the car.  He entered the address into the GPS and we were on our way.  One of his coworkers was having a party for one retiring woman and a deploying man.  People came with finger foods and more drinks.  There was dancing and picture-taking and toasting.  The host is engaged so most of the women went off to discuss her wedding plans.  I talked to Phyllis and convinced her that she needed to learn quilting while her husband is deployed.  Far later than we intended, we said our goodbyes.  It was after 11 when we got home and I have to get up at 6 for a trip to an expo in Birmingham. 

Stack and whack

The hardest part is always getting started.  Today was no exception.  I was having a strange dream which I can't remember now.  Bob had said he would come today to check out the leak, so I stayed by my phone.  I kept it by me as I exercised, ate breakfast, read e-mail and even sunbathed.  It was not with me as I took out the recycling, but Bob didn't call.  It laid on the counter as I pulled out the wind chimes the kids made last Sunday.  I carefully took each one apart, used a coping saw to put notches in the sticks, and retied the lids with three-strand embroidery floss.  After reassembling each one, I hung it up and placed a spot of glue on each string to hold it in its groove.  Perhaps now there will be no more tangled mess.  Still no Bob.  I spent some time sewing corners onto octagonal stack-n-whack blocks.  I came back up to check my phone.  At 3 I took a shower with the phone sitting on the countertop.  I e-mailed Chris to ask what he intended to wear to the picture-taking (for the church directory).  I was trying to decide what to wear when he came home from work early.  We decided on our outfits, and had some couple time.  Then Bob called to say he'd be right over.  He arrived a quarter to 5.  I was downstairs ironing my blouse.  Instead of perfecting my appearance for photos, I spent the time watching Bob look for leaks.  He ran the dishwasher, but it did not leak for him.  He looked outside.  Finally when Chris told me we had to leave in 5 minutes, Bob left.  Then I quickly put on my pantyhose and shoes, and we left.  We went to the church and signed in.  We were early.  We met the intern's family.  They had just had their photos taken.  Then it was our turn.  The man took several shots of us with different backgrounds, and then photographed us separately.  Then we went to another room where he showed us the photographs on a computer and we picked the one we wanted for the directory.  He did show us what he could sell us, probably his cheapest package.  But I thought it was too much.  If Michele had been in the picture with us, it might have been worth it.  When we got home, I just had time to make the HHQ guild meeting.  But I wasn't in the mood.  Instead I googled pictures of stack-n-whack quilts to see what I could do with 25 octagonal blocks.  When Chris was ready, we watched several episodes of NCIS. 

First sun since Saturday

Chris got up early to go to work so it would be no surprise if I got up early.  But I didn't.  I went through the usual morning routine.  The sun made an appearance, so I laid out for a bit.  I also laid out my white shirt with a little lemon juice to get the blueberry stain out.  The weather was nice.  I opened the garage doors to let the last of the water evaporate.  I added soil to the houseplants in the livingroom and gave them some fresh air and water.  I called Sharon and left a message.  Bob called back, he said he could come by tomorrow.  He did not seem worried that the wet ceiling tiles might mold in the dark space.  I pulled all the jars of pickle juice from the frig.  I sliced up the peppers from our plant and put them in a jar.  I boiled the pickle juice and poured it over the peppers, hoping that would take away some of the burn.  Then I scrubbed the kitchen sink.  I noticed my hands were burning.  I washed them, then took a shower.  They still burned.  I rubbed them with coconut oil.  Then I tried baking soda.  Still they burned, like fire.  So I did some sewing to take my mind off of it, hoping the sensation would subside.  Eventually it did by the time Chris came home from work.  He fixed ground beef with tomatoes, onions, and garlic for supper.  I made myself a salad to go with it.  There must have been some pepper juice on the salad bowl because my thumb started burning.  I cleared some e-mail, then went to choir practice.  I saw Shannon there.  We shared a folder.  And Doris.  She offered to come on Friday for irises. We did not have an organist for practice because our organist is in the hospital and they can't figure out what is wrong with her.  I was amazed that no one in the choir could play the piano, or would admit to it.  The director played what she could.  We got through a few numbers, then the men were dismissed and the women practiced a piece.  I stayed to talk to Shannon and offer what music skills I have to the director.  Shannon showed me where a box of string was, suitable for making the craft.  Then I went home.  Chris was ready to watch NCIS, and we saw two episodes.  I just discovered that Blogger has removed the old familiar interface and I am now tasked with making this new one work.
 *  Here is a pic of my veggie quilt folded in fourths with the black cherry border fabric beside it. *

My projects

I got an early start on the day, another rainy one. I checked the basement for leaks and that lead to sewing - not my usual pre-breakfast activity. Somehow I broke away to follow normal morning programming. I ate breakfast, cleared e-mail and watched a video about a engineer and inventor who dreams up cities and transportation of the future. I checked my planter and saw that the seeds have sprouted already. I planted pomegranate seeds in a pot. I swept the wet leaves off of the deck and stairs. I called the property manager to report the leaks. She said she'd have Bob come right over. While I was waiting, I emptied the dishwasher and restacked it. But he didn't come. So I went down to sew, leaving the door to the basement open so I could hear the phone if it rang. I also opened both garage doors to let the water dry up. Then it rained again. I took my umbrella out to walk in the water. I did sew, making 20 octagons from the stack-n-whack that Deb gave me. Then I tried to think of ways to put them together in a quilt. The problem with a s-n-w is that each one is different. Some have lots of color and some have very little. One is mostly red, another yellow, another gray, and another black. I auditioned a number of fabrics. Chris came home about 5. He went to vote and returned quite quickly. I did not go since I did not know enough about the issue to make an informed decision. We had supper and I watched the news and a televised episode of NCIS. Then we watched DVD episodes of NCIS together. Bob never did show up.
* See the rug that I made from placemats. I think they look better as a rug. And they are the perfect color match. *

Frosting on the cake

It was a very productive day. After exercise and breakfast, I alternated e-mail with making chocolate cream cheese frosting, baking bread, putting a check in the mail, folding laundry, and washing the placemats I bought Saturday. I was not happy with the color of the frosting after I added the dark chocolate, but it needed something and I didn't have an orange. I frosted the cake, and had frosting left over. I sprinkled pecans on half of it, then put it in the frig. Although the yard was wet when I got up, it wasn't raining. But when it started up again, it did not stop for the rest of the day (and night). Needless to say, I did not water the plants. I boiled tea to make a new batch of kombucha. There was a lot of scoby in the jar, so I took out half, blended it up, and poured it over the pile of yard waste. Since the pastor said he was coming tonight, I cleaned. I considered using the leaf blower to dust the living room, and then positioning the fan to suck out the air. But the dust wasn't that thick. So I used a cloth that I bought at the $ store. I took a break to eat a pomegranate. I opened it and collected all the seeds in a bowl. Then I sat in front of the TV, eating seeds and folding more laundry. Chris came home early. I turned off the TV. He ran the dishwasher and made rice and pork for supper. I went downstairs to sew the 4 placemats together with a towel on the back for stability. I also discovered that the dishwasher was leaking into my sewing room. Fortunately the fabric near it is in a bag so nothing important got wet. When I finished the rug, I came up to eat supper and take a shower. I was so happy to have a rug that matches my bathroom ensemble! Then we read e-mail until the pastor and intern arrived. We sat in the livingroom and chatted about hobbies and stuff. Chris served them carrot cake and had a piece himself. When they left, he gave them cake to take home for their wives, and had another piece. I was glad to see that he really likes it. Then we went down to watch NCIS. The episode ended with "To be continued" and he went to bed. Here I sit, listening to the rain, wishing there had been sun today so I could take a nice pic of my veggie quilt top.

Carrot cake

I got up early thinking I might be late for Sunday School. Chris was on his computer, never having gone to bed. What a game that must be! It was before 7 and I didn't sleep well last night so I went back to bed for awhile. Chris woke me around 7:20. When I did get up, I made breakfast, read e-mail, and took a shower. I was prepared to go to Sunday School by myself, but Chris got ready too, and came with me. He chatted with others and read a book while I readied my craft table, attended the opening and led the craft. The lady in charge of today's group of students told me the craft went well, but I did not think so. The thread we used to tie on the lids got tangled in so many ways. And the loops moved off the stick onto the string. That never happened to mine, but I guess I was more careful. So I need to revamp the entire project. Tamara suggested making grooves on the stick for the thread loops to settle in, but I can't see how to do that without risking breaking the stick. The tongue depressors are not very strong. I'd like to use yarn, but the holes are too small. I'd have to have a really big nail (or a drill press). I cleaned up the area by the time church started, packing the windchimes in a box for fixing later. I guess they will pick them up next Sunday. As we neared the sanctuary, an old man was handing out bulletins. Chris left to go to the bathroom. The old man took the opportunity to hug me and plant a big wet kiss on my cheek. I fled into the pews. This guy must think I look like someone he knows. Our intern gave the sermon today. After church we went to Publix for groceries. The pastor had asked Chris if he could visit us tomorrow at 6:30. We discussed what we should feed him, settling on drinks and dessert. I suggested carrot cake since I know Chris really likes it. We did not have a recipe with us, so we bought what we thought we needed as plan A and a cake mix as plan B. When we got home, we put groceries away and changed clothes. I took a nap. Chris joined me later. I got up while he was sleeping and read a little e-mail and watered my plants. I also looked up several carrot cake recipes. I found one we had the ingredients for. Then Chris got up to make supper. When he was done, I got out carrots to scrape and shred. I also beat the eggs before starting the recipe. I mixed it all together and put it in a greased glass cake pan. It went into the oven. While it baked, I cleaned up all the carrot-encrusted utensils and ate my salad, worked a few Sudoku puzzles, and watched TV. I was ready to go downstairs, but Chris reminded me that the cake was still baking. Oops. When it came out, Chris let it cool for a few minutes, then covered it with plastic to keep the bugs out of it while we watched NCIS, which was our next activity. Now he's in bed and I'm wishing I had taken some pics today.
I forgot to mention yesterday that I got a drop of blueberry juice in my white shirt. I washed it in the sink immediately but all it did was spread. Chris suggested lemon juice in the sun, but there wasn't any last night. Well, guess what? There wasn't any today either, not really.
* Ok, this is not carrot cake, but I never got to post this pic so here it is. This is the roast with all the yummy red meat in the center. *

The jelly roll race

I got up by 8 to get ready for this sewing Saturday. I fixed breakfast, read e-mail, showered, and packed a lunch. Then I went downstairs to pack up my sewing stuff, inadvertently leaving my lunch in my sewing room. As I drove over to UAH, I noticed the ramp to 565 was closed. Then I remembered that the Trail of Tears was being closed for the motorcycle riders coming through town. But I arrived at my destination without incident. Although I was almost hour late, I was not the last to arrive. We squeezed quite a bunch of us in one room. I had my strip ready. One spiral seam and it would be finished. Well, it took me over two hours to sew it. I got off to a slow start. First I sewed one round and discovered that I was sewing the right side to the wrong side. I took it out and started again. Now that problem was fixed, but after the first round, I was sewing three layers together instead of two. But there was far less to unpick. The ladies were eating lunch when I finally finished. Cass gave me some of her strawberries and celery. Thanks, Cass. I pressed the seams on my colorful tube. Then I laid it out as flat as I could, and cut it down one side with a pair of scissors. Success! I brought some cherries on black for a border and everyone liked it. Deb suggested I cut the top in three sections and add a black cherry sashing. I wanted to trim it better before I did any borders so I stopped there. Rebecca had two blocks that were out of order so I fixed those for her. Then Deb gave me her stack-n-shack project because she was so frustrated with it. I packed up to go home early. On the way I stopped at a thrift shop. I did not find a green bathroom rug, but I found four rugged placemats of the right color for $2. I can make a rug out of them. When I got home, I raided the frig. I watered my plants, and picked two tomatoes. I did not see the man next door (he has a drill press) so I got a hammer and a nail to punch holes in all the lids that I got Wednesday night. There were not as many as I thought. I gathered up all the stuff I could think of that I might need, and put it in my car for tomorrow, including my choir music. I also packed my flute and a copy of Blue Danube in case we had time left over and needed more to do. Chris started playing with the voices. I ate supper and did some Sudoku puzzles. Then I went down to trim my quilt. I was dismayed to find that the bottom of the tube came out three inches shorter than the top. So it is 47 inches wide instead of 50. Then I turned to Deb's stack-n-whack. She had a lot of starch in it and the points wouldn't match easily. So I rinsed the strips in the washbowl, thinking it would remove all the starch. Then I tried to pin the wet pieces together and iron them to match. But it was too awkward. So I ironed one piece dry. Then I pinned the next wet piece to it, matching images, and ironed it dry. I removed it and did the next one. Hopefully now I have 8 exactly matching strips. I listened to two audios while doing this. Now it is time for bed, and it sounds like Chris is finished with the voices.

New salad greens

The day started early with the feeling that something was wrong. But I was mistaken. I started reading e-mail, and listening to the first audio. I exercised and ate breakfast. And the audio kept going. I finished e-mail and checked out the fabric swatches with the photos that I took last week. I got some sunbathing in right around lunch time. I also opened the seed packets, picked out a few from each packet and let them soak while I planted the seedlings that I got yesterday. After the seedlings were planted in the ground, I planted the seeds in the planter. Then I watered it all. In digging up the ground, I came across the turnips that I picked leaves from months ago. The greens were gone and the turnips were rotten. I threw them in the yard trimmings pile. Some animal will love them. I washed up and went into my sewing room. I cut two strips from each food fabric. Keeping them in order, I sewed them end to end, creating a strip 1600 inches long. I wrapped it around a square quilting hoop to keep it organized until the jelly roll race tomorrow. When I finished, it was 5:30 and Chris hadn't come home yet. So I called each of his three phones and got no answer, nor did any of them take a message. But he drove in before 6. He ate supper in front of his computer and I ate my salad while watching TV. It was a show about a boss who goes undercover to see what his employees are doing. Then we went down to watch NCIS. This new-to-us season has the same cast, but 'McGee' has lost a bunch of weight. I did not think he was fat to begin with. Now it is really late and I have to get up tomorrow for the races.
As I download today's pic of the garden, I am missing XP and the way it allows me to store my pics by subject rather than date.

Picking a rainbow

I opened my day with the usual audio, exercise, breakfast and e-mail. I put a long overdue Get Well card in the mail. It was so overdue that it should be called a Got Well card. While I was listening to the audio, a loud noise interrupted it. That was Charlie on his riding mower. I was still mad from yesterday and didn't want to be impolite, so I put the check on the railing where he could see it when he blew the leaves off the deck. I figured that way I wouldn't have to talk to him. But when he came up and blew off the deck, he went back down without the check. So I went out to make sure he got it. And boy did he get it. He asked me if I waited for him to come by yesterday and that's when the shi* hit the fan. He took it well, though. Promised to call me next time he'd be a day late. When I finished the audio, I played a video about an architect who makes houses from concrete and recyclables. His houses don't need to be hooked to the county water supply or electricity grid. But he got in all sorts of trouble over local ordinances. I had a big lunch to fortify me to go driving to a place I have never been before: C T Garvin Feed and Seed. Can't say I was impressed with the selection of vegetable plants. Mostly collards. From there I tried to go to Home Depot. It took a long time just to get out of the parking lot because they are the only thing on the fourth side of a traffic light. And if I didn't pull my car up just right, the light didn't know I was there. No wonder there were so many people lined up to get out of the lot. But Home Depot had the same paltry selection of veggies in spite of their massive selection of flowers. The manager didn't know when the next shipment would be in. So I bought a pair of hand clippers and some seed packets. I'll try a few seedlings. If we have a mild winter, I may get something. And even if not, I will have enough seed left for next spring. That way I won't make the mistake of buying seed at Publix again. Those cucumbers tasted funny and had thick skins. I was feeling tired, so I laid out in the sun for a bit, and then took a nap. Then I checked on the drill. It was only mildly charged. I drilled holes in about 12 tongue depressors, only cracking one of them. I decided to charge the other battery to see if it might do better. I hope to catch our neighbor home so I can use his drill press to put holes in the can lids. (A bunch of them were delivered to me last night at choir practice.) Since I was already in my sewing room, I pulled out my fruit and veggie fabrics to make a rainbow. The guild is having a jelly roll race on Saturday. Jelly roll race quilts don't impress me, but maybe if I use a rainbow of food, this one will. That is when I heard Chris come home. When I finished photographing the order of the fabrics, I came up to greet him. He invited me for a walk. So I put on walking shoes, and we walked around the neighborhood for half an hour. You wouldn't believe how many houses here have three-car garages. One had a two-car garage built in and another two-car garage in back. I won't mention our two-car garage and three-car carport. But their houses are much bigger. So maybe there are actually cars in their garages instead of 'stuff'. After we got back, I made myself a salad. Then we watched MASH for the rest of the evening, finishing season 9.
As I sit here downloading the pics of the day, I am reminded that I recently cleared all 600 pics from my camera memory so I could start fresh. Sadly they were downloaded to the desktop computer where Major Harddrive took a nosedive. (Can you tell we've just watched 8 seasons of MASH?)

Good bye, old friend

I read e-mail first thing. I looked for an audio, but there weren't any and I wondered if Yahoo forgot to send them. I exercised and ate breakfast. I was waiting for Charlie to mow the grass but I waited in vain. I wanted to go to the plant place, but also wanted to be here to pay Charlie. I also sunbathe after he leaves, but he didn't come and he didn't come, so around 2 I laid out in the sun. I called my parents to see how the botox appointment went. Mom said her hand was sore, but there was no difference in her curled fingers. They were at the fitness center. I worked on my prototype windchime for the education meeting. The last step was to drill holes in the ends of the tongue depressors to feed the yarn through. But the drill battery was discharged. I left it on the charger for several hours, but it didn't help. Maybe by tomorrow it will be usable. I picked the ripe tomatoes and swept the leaves off of the stairs. If Charlie had come, he would have done it. But he didn't even call, so I don't know what happened to him. I tried to do some work on the desktop computer but it was really slow at Windows Explorer tasks, which should have been fast. When it stopped altogether, I rebooted it and practiced my trombone while it booted back up. But Windows wouldn't open, so I rebooted it again. And again. Finally it told me that it could not load Windows because it might hurt my computer. Really? It is just now figuring that out? Anyway, there was nothing else I could do so I retired to my laptop. I took a shower and dressed in nice shorts and a top. When Chris came home, I was working on piping in the basement. He spent some time with my desktop and pronounced the harddrive dead. A moment of silence, please. Then I gathered my prototype, the uniform shirts, and the books Doris lent me, and drove to church. I dropped off the uniform shirts. The education meeting was held in the fellowship room. The acoustics are not good in there. I think they need quilts on the walls. I had to leave the meeting early to go to choir practice. I had forgotten my choir folder, and figured I could pick up a new set of music on the way in. But it wasn't set out like last week. So I had to share with Doris. Then the women were asked to stay late to practice a song with the girls. After that, we were dismissed, but I stayed to talk to the organist and then Shannon came over and we chatted for quite a while about Sunday school. Finally we walked out to the parking lot where we chatted more. It was 9 by the time I got home. I wanted to watch TV with Chris but he was busy. So I went down by myself. CSI was on which was just the kind of thing I wanted to watch. A lot of the characters have changed though. Then the local news came on. Huntsville schools are going to laptop instruction. Things are not going smoothly, but the superintendent says that is to be expected. When I got tired of the news, I came up. I'll be in bed as soon as I find a pic for this post. Ah, my prototype.

My Design Patio

Since we went to bed so early last night, I was awake in the middle of the night wondering about the brilliance of that decision. Still, when I did get back to sleep, I slept in until 7:15. Who-hoo! I started the first audio while checking the morning mail. I exercised and had breakfast. I cleared more e-mail when I started the second audio. And they were long ones. Have they no pity on those of us who have other things to do? I did not listen to all of them. I sent out a message to the church congregation asking for can lids. I did not sunbathe because the sun was having another 'now you see me, now you don't' day. But I did mow inside the fence in preparation for Charlie's arrival tomorrow. I also cut some of the tall yellow flowers to see if they will grow back shorter and bushier. I seriously considered going to Home Depot for veggie plants, but decided it might be a bit soon and all I would find are seeds. I juiced up brussel sprouts, carrots, celery and peppers to make another batch of vegetable popsicles. I brought my quilt top outside to audition a red piping with blue border. Sadly there was not enough of either the red or the blue from the audition for the project. So I searched for alternatives. I was also thinking of an inset using all the leftover squares from the quilt. So (or should I say SEW) I stitched all the leftover squares together in two long strips. I did the algebraic equation to see how much inner border I could put on before adding the strips of squares and not run out. The magic number was 19, which basically means I could add 9 inches of border all the way around and still have enough squares to border that. Then Chris came home. I fixed myself a salad and ate it while watching the news. I started my blog post for yesterday. Chris finished whatever he was doing, and went downstairs for MASH. So I followed. Now we are MASHed out and ready for bed.

Monday Sept 10th

After exercise, breakfast, and e-mail, I labeled a box to mail to Maryann. I also fixed a manilla envelop of fabric squares for Andrea. I went to the post office. Since I seldom leave the house, I had to break inertia to get out. There was a line at the window, but I was out in 10 minutes. Then I stopped to shop on the way back. I wanted something I could put in a windchime for a Sunday school project that would 'ring'. Can lids work well, but how can I get enough quickly? My first stop was the $ store, but found nothing. Still, I did not come out empty handed. I checked out the rest of the shopping center since I hd never been there before. Then I went to Hobby Lobby. There was a lot more home decor stuff than their name would imply. Still nothing, but the saleslady suggested canning jar lids. So I went to Target next since it was in the same shopping center. I was getting a headache but I was on a mission. I searched everywhere. I even looked for a couple of other things, but found none of them. However, on the way out I saw an endcap with canning supplies on sale. Score one for me! It isn't enough for all of the kids, but it will get me through the first Sunday. I went home, had lunch and a nap. The headache was still with me, so I went outside to sunbathe and do some raking. I was pleased to see the the branch pile had indeed been picked up - with minimal scarring to the grass. The headache persisted. Chris brought me supper. Then we watched a Netflix movie called Wild Target. Chris found it very funny. I must have missed the British humor. When it ended, we were prepared to go to bed, but then I noticed it was only 8:30. I had a headache and Chris offered me a massage to see if that would help. It was very relaxing and I fell asleep but still couldn't quite shake the headache.
* pic from Padukah *

Outdoor Sunday

I began my day with e-mail and breakfast. I posted to my blog for yesterday and needed my camera. I found the camera outside on the patio table. I am lucky it did not rain. I wore shorts to church because we worshiped outside under two large canopies. It was Rally Day. Head of ed dept wore a yellow/tan suit and a headband with a banana cutout on it. The head of childrens Sunday School wore a bunch of purple balloons and a green stem hat. The theme was fruits of the spirit. We got there late but they didn't start on time. Other than that, it was a normal service. Afterwards, we ate a carry-in meal in the fellowship room. Then Jennifer showed me where to find craft supplies. Later Tamara showed me a few things Jennifer missed. I took home a basket of tongue depressors and old fashioned clothespins to see if they could work for my project. When we left, we did not need groceries, so we went directly home. I changed my top and checked e-mail, then took the mower for a spin. Several people have asked me why I mow the lawn when I pay Charlie to do it. I have stayed awake at night looking for good answers (justifications) to that question. A number of reasons came to mind, but it all boils down to the fact that I like mowing. So really the question is why pay Charlie? Well, we didn't have a mower when we hired him. And there is a part of the lawn that gets pinecones from the neighbors trees. My mower won't mow over them, and I don't want to prick my fingers picking them up. Charlie can whizz right through them. Plus he has a weedeater and I don't.
I stopped mowing long enough to talk to our neighbor who was spraying his weeds. He gave me a jar of hot peppers that he had pickled and they were really good. Maybe I should pickle mine. Chris cooked the steaks we were going to grill in the oven. He made mine rare. It was absolutely delicious. I ate enough steak that I didn't need a salad. I took the tree branches that were cut yesterday up to the street. Our neighbor says the city will take them away on Monday. When the leftovers were cool, we put them in the frig and went downstairs to watch MASH. We are in season 8 (I think) and Margaret is really doing up her hair. I sat with ice on my ankle to keep it from swelling. I am not expecting a problem, but a little insurance could go a long way.

A sewing-at-home Saturday

Since Chris stayed up to play with the voices and I went to bed, I got up earlier and got started clearing e-mail. I got some sewing done, too. We went to Publix to get the weekly groceries and the ingredients to make mac-n-cheese for church tomorrow. Then I went back to sewing. I finished sewing on all the strips I had cut in the last few days. So I sewed the remaining strips together, but some of them weren't the full 2 inches wide, so I only got about 14 inches of usable strip set. But I subcut that into strips. I sewed two onto the side which made it the perfect width. Now when I sew onto the bottom, there are no leftovers to take off. Each strip ends where the next one needs to begin. Chris brought three baskets of laundry down and I worked on that as I sewed. Around 5 I got so tired of being indoors. I wanted to mow, but the grass was too wet. It rained off and on all day. So I got out the ladder and trimmed the low hanging branches of trees. I put the tools away, but left the clippings for Sunday when they will be dryer. I ate supper listening to Chris play with the voices. I did a bunch of Sudoku puzzles too. I am now in the #200's. He and I dressed the bed while he took a quick break from his game. Then I went to bed, trying not to hear his voices. Usually I wear my headphones and play the ipod, but it wasn't charged. I did some tapping and eventually fell asleep. I don't know when he came to bed.
* This is a volunteer plant. It's greenery reminds me of evergreens and its little red flowers are like miniature Christmas lights. *

This is not a crime scene photo...

... unless sunbathing is a crime. It was a hot day. After exercise, breakfast and e-mail, I cut charm squares, and sewed strips while listening to two audios. Then I had a bite for lunch and sunbathed in the back yard. I came in to cool off, but later went out to mow and rake. The mower ran out of energy before I finished the short ditch. I plugged it back in, and returned to sewing. When I finished my strip set, I crosscut it and sewed the new strips to the old project. But my seam allowances are slightly different. I was afraid this might happen. Chris came home and changed clothes. When I came up, we ate salad for supper. He played a late game with the voices. I practiced my trombone. I tried out the chime craft for Sunday School next week. It called for washers, and I know I have a pack of mixed ones, but could not find it. I found two old ones, but they weren't impressive or effective. Can lids worked much better. I sent word to the person in charge of Sunday School to see if she had any, or knew of any at the church. Then I spent most of the rest of the evening doing Sudoku puzzles while listening to Chris' game.

Getting squared away

Before having breakfast, I got a little exercise running on the rebounder. I started an audio. The first one was on numerology. I love numbers, but just can't see how reducing one's name to digits can reflect on one's inner self. I started the bread machine and took out the recyclables. I checked my e-mail and found the following tidbit: suntanning your armpits reduces the smell. I went downstairs to sew. I finished sewing all the strips into pairs and pressed them. Then I put on my bathing suit for a little soak in the sun. The bugs did not bother me as much today as they usually do. I came in for water and a Sudoku puzzle. Then I went out to do a little yard work. I picked up sticks and limbs in the yard. I dug out entrance to the culvert. Then I dug out the trench in front of the carport. I was able to move all but one of the trench covers. Half of the dirt went into the flower bed on the right, and the other half went onto the bare
spots in the back yard. I came in for a much needed shower. After I dressed, I went down to get the stack of charm squares and lay them on the table on the patio. I took a picture so I could remember which fabrics were in the stack. I am going to send them to a friend and I may send more at another time. Chris came home while I was cleaning up. I looked to see if there were any scraps that didn't contribute a square. I cut a few more. Then I went up for supper. Chris hardboiled the duck eggs for me. I fixed a big salad. Then I tweezed my eyebrows and practiced my trombone. I even cut a few more charm squares before Chris was ready for MASH. We finished season 8 and started season 9. Then it was 10 and Chris went to bed.

A chat with Faye

I woke up early again, but fell back asleep after Chris left. I had a very strange dream about bad guys invading our house and we had to climb out the window less than fully dressed. Freud wouldn't know what to make of it since there were no cigars. I actually exercised today for the first time since I hurt my tendon. I ran in place on the rebounder. Then I ate breakfast and read e-mail and listened to two audios which took so long that I stopped listening at some point. My sister e-mailed me for some commiseration. She was in bed with muscle spasms. She thought it was her back. So I called and we chatted. I don't know if it helped, but maybe it distracted her from the pain for awhile. She asked me not to blog about how much I didn't get done because of talking to her. So all I will say is that I finished 4 Sudoku puzzles during that time. The call ended around noon, and I went out to sunbathe, continuing the second audio. Then I boiled tea for kombucha, packed a box of manga, watered my plants, picked some tomatoes, and washed the last load of fabric from Pinehurst. I took a shower and laid down until the washing machine was finished. Then I started ironing the load. I heard Chris come home, but I kept ironing. I wasn't wearing a watch, so I came up to see the time. By then it was quarter of 6. I made a salad for supper and sat in the recliner until it was time to go to choir practice. It started at 7 and I was 2 minutes late. But it didn't seem to matter. Our director told us she had laryngitis. We rehearsed a number of songs and then called it quits. I stayed to see when she might want to schedule the piece I have been practicing. She didn't say, but wanted to get a brass ensemble together for Reformation day. When I got home, Chris was ready to watch the latest Netflix arrival - Larry Crowne. It starred Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. It was pretty good. Then Chris went to bed and I am wondering what pic to post with this. Surely not the large roach that Chris just slapped off the wall in front of my computer.
* The old stand-by - a pic from Paducah *

I love show and tell

My bladder woke me up early, even before Chris got out of bed. After he left, I got up for breakfast. I tried the rebounder. There was still some pain, but not enough to stop me. Still, it might mean jumping is not a good idea yet. I did a little running in place and that worked fine. I started the first audio and ate through it. I also cleared the sink and loaded the dishwasher. During the second one I folded the laundry and put mine away. Then MaryAnn skyped me. We chatted until lunch time. Then she had laundry duty. While we were talking, the doorbell rang. The postman was delivering packages and mail, but he didn't ring twice. After the call, I had a bite for lunch and finished my audio. i looked up how to build an antenna on Youtube as MaryAnn suggested. Each one used something I didn't have. Then I spent some time lying on the grass in the sun. It made me all sweaty so I took a shower. After the shower I took an unplanned nap. Then I tried to find the notes I took on my green and purple quilt so I could do a presentation on the first block. But I could only find one sheet of notepad paper. Maybe it was enough considering the president of the guild wasn't sure the members wanted to do it. When Chris came home, he fixed himself a burrito. I was too rushed to eat. I had run out of certain supplements and had to reorder. Then I grabbed the quilt from our bed for show and tell. I also had to put on long pants because the guild meets in a cold room. I drove the Bob Wallace route to UAH. When I got to our room, there were boxes of fabric for anyone who wanted some. I took a piece of blue floral. Most of what was there looked like leftovers from factory cut garments - stacks of odd shaped pieces. The first order of the evening was show and tell. See pic. We discussed how to deal with people who join the Yahoo group, but never come. We also discussed going to the sewing expo in Birmingham. I wasn't going to go, but since Deb said she was driving and had room for three more, I changed my mind. We discussed making my green and purple quilt as a BOM and it went over well. So I gave out the fabric requirements. After the meeting, Lisa had boxes of quilting books and various kinds of thread donated by a former quilt shop owner. We had fun making selections. Nothing earth shattering. As usual Deb and I were the last to leave. Amanda was with us as we walked out. And as usual, we all stood on the sidewalk and chatted until it was way later than we intended. On the way home, I stopped at the little Asian store for natto and seaweed. He had a package of kimbap too. Now that I had tasted the one from Korea House, I decided to try this one to see if I liked it any better. But I waited until I got home. Yes, it was better, and Chris had a piece, too. Then we watched MASH downstairs. Chris went to bed, I stayed up to exercise my memory on the days events.

What I won't do to use up someone else's scraps

I lingered in bed, no reason to get up early. Chris and I headed for the kitchen at the same time. He fixed coffee and oatmeal. I made my usual breakfast, and read e-mail. Later we loaded car with cardboard and beer bottles. I shook the roaches out. Some of the boxes were wet from the rain yesterday. We left those to dry since the recycling place doesn't want wet stuff. Chris drove to the recycle place. The bins were open to air and rain so who would know if it was wet when we dropped it off? When we got back, I went to my sewing room to finish the blue and gold quilt top. After getting the blocks together, I put a gold border around it. Then I started on the bargello project. I am not sure if it is an unfinished project or leftovers from a bigger project. There was enough fabric in the remaining strips to get at least one and in some cases 2 more strips. If nothing else, I can add 30 inches to what is there. With a little creative piecing maybe more. Chris came down to ask if I knew where any matches were. I searched high and low but did not find any matches or a lighter. So he went to the store. Sadly, even with a lighter he could not get the old grill working. So instead of grilled steaks, we had leftover pork for supper. After supper I worked some Sudoku puzzles (now in the 160's) while watching Stars Earn
Stripes. Dean Caine is still in the running. I sketched out my blog post for later. I went down to sew some more. Chris came down later to watch MASH. I can't remember who the season 8 writers are, but there is an awful lot of yelling in these episodes.

Saucer blocks

I woke up in the guest room when Chris' alarm went off. I stumbled out to the kitchen for breakfast and a quick glance at e-mail. I keep a shot glass of almonds in water soaking overnight for the next day's breakfast. This morning one of the almonds had teeth marks on it, and the water level was low. I think the mouse had a snack in the middle of the night. I put a small bowl over tomorrows almonds. After breakfast I took a shower and dressed for church. As we pulled out of the carport, Chris said "Goodbye Mr. Stinkbug". There was a bug clinging to the windshield. Apparently he likes windsurfing because he made it all the way to church. Due to the holiday, there was only one service and it was at 9:30. The pastor related several very funny anecdotes. One was about a child seeing Big Bird take off his suit. The child stood very still for a moment, then wondered if Big Bird knew there was a man inside of him. The children on Sesame Street saw
the puppets as real. Well, on the way out we had to tell the pastor how Michele saw a puppet show in a church service when she was very small. After the skit was over, she burst into the aisle shouting "Wake up, puppets!", much to the chagrin of her shy mother. (Sorry, Michele, but it's a great story)
When we exited the church, it was raining heavily. William called yesterday to see what bad weather we got from the hurricane and we hadn't had any at the point, but we got it today. We went to the grocery store anyway. Mr. Stinkbug was gone. After the store, we went home to put the food away and change clothes. Then we went to Home Depot. We got a broom (mine is always upstairs when I need to sweep downstairs and vice versa), lightbulbs, car washing supplies, and a propane tank. We are thinking of grilling steaks for Labor Day, and I have been advised to have gas on hand in case the electricity goes out during tornado season. I spent the afternoon sewing together the pieces on my table. The blocks remind me of flying saucers. I could hear the tornado sirens wailing in the distance. They could not stop me from sewing. However, I was gratified hours later when Chris called me up for supper and the upstairs was still there. Some times I concentrate so hard I might miss such an occurrence. Finally we got enough rain that I don't have to water the plants. I stood just outside the door to breathe in the purified air. Then we ate Chris' wonderful aromatic pork roast. Later we rounded out the evening with more episodes of MASH. I even had enough energy left to post the days events.

My sewing room is in pieces

Saturday
After clearing e-mail and having breakfast, I spent most of the day picking up scraps in my sewing room and then organizing them. I found an unfinished Grandmother's flower garden project from an estate sale. I packaged it to give to the guild for their auction. I found an unfinished bargello project from same sale and left it out to work on. Several other projects came to light but I am not sure what they were intended to be. One was a Delectable Mountain pattern leftovers. I made a few more blocks and laid them out on the table. Now, do I want to finish it, or pack it up and let someone else do it? Chris started the laundry. While I was in my sewing room, I kept the machines going. When all the laundry was done, I did a load of fabrics, which I then laid across the washing machine so I can iron them later. I got so tired that I laid on the floor for awhile. Chris was too busy playing a computer game to watch TV with me, and that was all I had energy for. So I went to bed. Only the bedclothes were still in the laundry basket after coming out of the dryer. I fell asleep in the guest room. I have no idea what time it was. Later, Chris went to bed, but he slept on the unmade bed. He said it was 2am.