Mother in a jar? (or too many episodes of NCIS?)

I woke up in the middle of the night, wondering if the AC was working. When I got up this morning, it was set at 80. Outside was cooler, so I opened a window and turned on a fan. I posted to my blog, which I forgot to do last night. Then I started the first of the daily audios. I got up early just to get them over with before leaving the house. I watered the gardens, but think it might be for nought as the weather seems rain-friendly. I gathered turnip leaves, and a hot pepper. I put them in water to soak until lunch. I jumped, ate breakfast and kept listening. Near lunch time I started cooking a pound of organic grass-fed beef. I washed the turnip leaves and made salad. After lunch I paused the last audio, put on my shoes, looked up route, and drove off. First I went to Claire's house. I took her the turnips that needed transplanting. She gave me several 'mothers', which are bacterial masses that grow in tea to make kambucha. We talked for hours and did some EFT together. Then she had to leave for work, so I went to Alison's house/farm. I got two dozen duck eggs and a quart of honey from her bees. She said it was really fresh. I wonder if she thought she had to entertain me because she got the dogs to do their tricks, and gave me a tour of her flowers and other plantings. I was there for over an hour. When I got home, Chris was already here, but not by much. We ate leftovers and I read more e-mail. I looked up the Huntsville Concert Band. I noticed that the church they meet at has a quilting ministry, so I googled quilting ministries in Huntsville. There were a lot, but then not all the Huntsvilles were in Alabama. I also posted to the HQH guild that I needed a pic of the finished paper-pieced nametag. Then we spent the evening watching episodes of NCIS. BTW, it is a good thing I watered this morning because it didn't rain after all.

Caught the deer! (on camera)

I was following my usual morning routine after watering the plants when the AC man arrived. I paused the audio I was listening to. I explained the situation as Chris explained it to me. He fiddled with the thermostat unit and the outdoor unit, then charged it with freon. He offered to put in a new thermostat, and showed me how to test the cold air return with a sheet of paper. When he left, he said to call him if there were any more problems. Back to the morning routine. Today the audios lasted until 4. Can't quite figure out why. In the meantime, I dressed the guest bed, realized that the pillowcases must still be in the washing machine and dried them. I ate lunch, and worked on the white insets on the blue kaleidoscope quilt. When the last audio was over, I put in a book on CD. It played most of the first disc before Chris came home and I went upstairs to greet him. Actually, I finished the insets and wanted to make my nametag for the new quilt guild, but needed a pic to see where the colors went. So I got online, looked at their website, and even joined their Yahoo group. But I could not find a pic of the paper-pieced nametag that came with my welcome package. The sheet comes with no suggestion of colors or which piece should be white so I can write my name on it. I asked Chris to dig up a four o'clock that was growing where I didn't want it. While he was doing that, I prepared the recyclables for pickup tomorrow. Our neighbor was outside, so we were talking to him when the deer trotted by. He stopped in the other neighbors yard so I took his picture. Then we decided to watch more NCIS episodes. After that, we took a shower (just so he could wash my back) and went to bed.

No more company

I got up before 8, but my in-laws were already awake. I dressed and ate breakfast as they packed. Cecily insisted on emptying the dishwasher. When they were both ready to go, I saw them to their car and waved as they left. I hooked up a hose lying in the flower bed. I used it to water both gardens. It leaks, but it was faster. I read my e-mail while listening to an audio. There were a lot this morning. I cut several short but it still took until after 3 to clear them all out. While listening, I washed and dried the sheets from the guest room and the HP quilt. I covered the downstairs AC vents with plastic bags. I set up my trombone for easy access, but gave my lips the day off. I also finished making binding for the green kaleidoscope and made a backing for it. When the audio ran out, I put on the book on CD. I used that time to design a pattern for insets to finish off the edges of the blue kaleidoscope. I cut four and sewed them on, but two were short so I may have to adjust the pattern. Chris came home and fixed leftovers. When I found a good stopping place, I came up and had some chicken. He told me he saw the deer again, near our compost pile. I saw a rabbit, and he went out to take it's picture for me. After I brushed my teeth, we went down to watch NCIS episodes. Now he's gone to bed and soon I shall join him.

Memorial Day

I think I was the last person to get up this morning. I did a little jumping then fixed breakfast. Everyone else had already eaten. I read the e-mail that was shortest and easiest to delete. Then I went downstairs to find some screws and a drill. I found the screws, but the drill batteries were not charged. I put one on the charger. I went outside to water the gardens. The pavement was really hot. After watering, I raked the twigs and 'stuff' from the ground inside the fence. The part which was in the sun was so hot it burned my feet. And it had some grass on it! Al said not to worry, summer is coming. Ha, ha. When I came in, they were finishing their lunch. We sat around the table and talked until one, then went to the mall. Cecily said we weren't going to buy anything and she was right. It was a nice mall and I would have liked to stop and look more, but we just strode by everything. There is even a small massage shop, and I think they were having a sale (like everyone else). But there was no stopping. Upstairs there was a bungee jumping set. I would love to do that, but Chris just said "Bad back" and kept going. Now I really wish I had gone there with Faye when she came. When we got back, it was not yet time to make supper. I saw the next door neighbor out in his garden, so I grabbed my two jars of picked garlic from the fridge. I opened one and ate a piece to make sure it had turned out ok. Then I took the other one out to give to him. I wanted to repay him for all the things he has given us. But maybe that was a mistake. He asked if I like turnips. I said yes, and he pulled out all the big ones he could find in his garden. I was loaded down! I kept trying to tell him it was enough, but he kept going. Finally I carried the load up to the house to show Cecily. What to do with all these turnips? I cut off the foliage from all the big ones. Some were really small, good for planting, so I put those in water. I put the best foliage in a tub, and the second best in a bucket of water in case they might rehydrate. Cecily helped me wash and strip the leaves from the stems. I boiled vinegar and sugar and salt on the stove like the recipe on Google stated. We shoved it all in a gallon jar and poured the hot liquid over it. It went down a lot then. So I put it in a quart jar, but still had to add more liquid to cover it. Al spent the day taking the top which had come off of a barstool, and trying to fix it. That is what the screws were for. With a little help from Chris and Cecily, he screwed the top into two of the legs, and did a great job of getting the screws at the right angle. Chris and Cecily started supper, which consisted of two roasted chickens with carrots and onions. They also roasted turnips, potatoes and stir-fried mushrooms. I spread corn starch around the patio for the ants. Then I took a shower, dressed in black and then we ate supper. I packed up my trombone, grabbed the music and headed to Huntsville High School to play with the Twickenham winds. I left my case in the bandroom and walked on stage to where the chairs were set up. I waited for the others to arrive. I did not play much because I wanted to have plenty of life in my lips for the concert. The director passed out music, some new arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner. We played through that, and a few of the other pieces. Then we waited for the concert to begin. Lucky for me there was a lady who read a few paragraphs between pieces. It gave me a chance to rest and tap for my poor, abused lips. I really didn't think I could make it to the end of the concert when they hurt after the first piece. I practiced 'lip management', which means I left out certain notes. Each time I made a mistake, I told myself it was the last time I would make that particular mistake. Finally we got to the last piece on the program. I was happy to have made it that far. But then the director saved the hardest piece for an encore. Well, I just didn't have anything left, but made a good show of it. After we finished, I thought I'd have to carry my lips home in a bag. Chris came up on stage to kiss me and I wanted to tell him that my lips were off limits until further notice. It even hurt to smile. We had to turn in our music one selection at a time in piles on a table. That went well, but someone is still going to have to sort all of that by instrument. When I got home, everyone was there. Cecily said it was the best band concert she'd ever been to. We also talked about the steel drum band that Al and Cecily were impressed with on their cruise. Finally Chris said he was going to bed, so Al and Cecily said goodbye to him and they went to bed. When I finish this post, I will go to bed, too.

Chris' Birthday

We got up soon after the alarm went off. Chris took his shower while I started preparing my breakfast. When he came out, I took my shower, then finished breakfast and read a bit of e-mail while eating. Then I got dressed and we left about 9. We were at church by 9:10, but the choir was already practicing. Church was supposed to start at 9:30, but their clock was slow so it started later. Everything went well. After church we went to Cracker Barrel for brunch. There were a lot of people sitting outside, but we only waited 20 minutes. Al and Cecily had pancakes, Chris had bacon and biscuits, and I had a salad. Then we went home to change clothes. Cecily had Chris open a bag with his new shirts and socks. I could not find the DVD's I bought him 5 months ago, so Cecily suggested I tell him that he has to find his birthday present. Ha, ha. I guess we were all talked out 'cause Al got on his laptop and Cecily did Sudoku while I finished the HP quilt and Chris did more laundry. Chris and Cecily held up the quilt so I could photograph it for Christy. I did a little practicing and listened to an audio. Then it was time to go out for supper. Chris picked the Greek place called Taziki. It looked fancy from the outside, but inside it was more downscale. We picked up a menu from the cashier, and decided what we wanted. Chris and Al went up to order, and later someone brought the food to our table. Fortunately it was very good. I had grape leaves stuffed with rice. Chris and Al got the pork, and Cecily ordered lamb. Al and Cecily both shared their meals with me. My order was an appetizer which also came with hummus and a cucumber yogurt and crispy flatbread. I did eat some flatbread, but it was as a delivery vehicle for the hummus. There was also the obligatory bottle of Chardonay. When we were finished and Chris had the take-home box with the leftover rice and flatbread, we went next door to Publix for frozen fruit and orange juice. I think we bought more than that, however. We took our purchases home. Then we sat in the family room and traded more stories; most of them about Al's heart attack and subsequent medical history. Finally Chris announced he was going to bed, so I announced that I was going to write to my blog, and so the elder Damours went to bed. I think Chris is waiting for me now.

Birthday shopping

We slept in a little. Hearing Al and Cecily moving around, we decided to get up and dressed. We all had breakfast (or just orange juice), and sat around talking. I did get a chance to jump on the rebounder for awhile. My toe is not bothering me and my cold is gone. Around 1, Cecily wanted a Subway sandwich for lunch, so they all went to Subway while I stayed home to practice. We sat and talked while the three of them ate. Then they went to the mall to buy Chris some shirts for his birthday and then go grocery shopping. Again, I stayed home. I watered my plants, read some e-mail, and practiced more. They returned much sooner than I expected. Cecily opined that Chris only wanted plain white shirts and not the fancy patterned white shirts. Alfred read his e-mail and he had one from Christy saying she wanted a pic of the Harry Potter quilt restored. Well, I had forgotten all about it, not even sure what I had done with the extra fabric she had sent me. So as we talked in the living room, I sat with a seam ripper and took out the part of the binding that was chewed up. Two parts, actually. Then I took the whole thing downstairs. I found the extra HP fabric, and cut a strip to match the piece I had to replace. With a lot of pinning and repinning, I was able to match the background diamonds. I sewed it back on the front and then pinned the back down for topstitching. I did not get to finish sewing because it was then time to eat supper. Chris and Cecily made swordfish with wild rice and peas. We chatted through supper and after. Cecily cleared off the table. We continued to talk. Stories ran rampant; both new and repeats. Cecily went to bed. More stories. I decided to write my blog so it didn't get forgotten.
* quilt pic taken in Paducah *

We have company

When I got up this morning, my little toe was still hurting. And purple. I was very frustrated because I couldn't walk very well and I needed to be able to clean the house before Al and Cecily showed up. Chris said it could be broken, and I did not want to believe that. So I did some tapping and clearing stmts around all of that. The Law of Attraction says to concentrate on what you want, not what you don't want. So I concentrated on how nice it will be to have a clean house. I did squats instead of jumping on the rebounder. I fixed breakfast and ate it while reading e-mail and listening to some audios. I cut them short when the sales pitches started. Then I cleaned the house, starting with the bathroom. Actually, I wasn't that organized. I cleaned something in the kitchen, found myself near the bathroom so cleaned the sink and toilet, then vacuumed the family room, back to the kitchen, then the bedrooms, dusted in the living room, washed the tub, etc. Finally the top floor was done so I went down to clean the lower bathroom. That is when they arrived. Al was at the front door and Cecily went to the back. I let them both in. I gave them a tour of the house. Cecily showed me the turnips that her neighbor sent along. I ate one. We sat and talked for awhile, then Chris came home early. More talking. At 5:15 Chris said we should go out to eat and listed some places recommended by his coworkers. I changed into warmer clothes since restaurants are typically cold. I put on some black shoes and that is when I realized that I was walking normally and virtually painfree. Chris chose the Italian restaurant near Target. I think it was called Mezza Luna. First they put bread and oil on the table. Chris ate most of that. Then they brought an appetizer of flat bread and 3 toppings on the side. All three were spicy. I tasted the toppings, Cecily ate a piece of bread, Al had bread with a topping and Chris ate the rest. I was thinking how could he eat his meal? I ordered a salad with a side of wild mushrooms. I was glad I did when I saw how small the other meals were. Chris ate all of his, and part of his mother's. I ate all of mine plus some of Cecily's lamb. Al ate all of his. I was glad I only had the turnip for lunch. The salad was amazing and the goat cheese was out of this world. No one had room for dessert. We went home. We did a tour of the yard and garden. Cecily sat out on the deck. I watered the newest plantings and then talked to her. Chris came out with Michele Skyped on what will be Michele's new laptop. We talked to her until after the sun went down and the lightning bugs and mosquitoes came out. Then we said goodbye and went in. The others all went to bed and I alone am left to blog about it.
* quilt from Padukah *

Music practice

Since the recycling truck comes on Thursday, I separated the items and put them out by the road. Then I put on an audio. I exercised but not too much, having come down with a cold. Several times during the day I put hydrogen peroxide in my ears and took a probiotic capsule. I made breakfast and read my e-mail. I practiced most of the band music, then went out to water plants, and transplant more four o'clocks. I had a break for lunch, I cleaned up a little knowing my in-laws are arriving tomorrow. I read more -e-mail, practiced the rest of the music, dropped the folder scattering music everywhere. When I picked it up, I realized that the ones with multiple pages were not marked. So I had to figure out which page 2's went with page 1's. I followed one piece of music while listening to the rendition on Youtube. I practiced the choir music for Sunday, and got a call from Bob that he is bringing over a replacement stove top next week. Does that mean I had to clean the stove, or don't bother? I raked leaves up to the base of the magnolia tree. I Fernilized some nasturtiums and then planted the. I fertilized the flower beds in the back of the house. Then I took shower. Chris came home and fixed himself a plate. I picked greens for a salad, but no wild lettuce. The deer ate it all. I limped to band practice, having whanged my little toe on the low brick wall. I brought tissues with me, but for some reason did not need them during practice. It went well until near the end when my lip was shot. I will definitely have to practice before the concert on Monday, even though I will have company. One of the tuba players made an announcement that the Huntsville concert Band needed trombone players for their concert in June. So I took her card, and sent her my e-mail address after I got home. Chris was playing with the voices so there was no chance of watching TV (or anything else). So here I sit, blogging, wondering if I should go to bed early, or clean something.

My version of the block

There were a few audios to listen to today, but I cut each one short where they go into the sales speech. I jumped, I fixed breakfast, I ate while checking e-mail. I went outside to water the garden, check for evidence of the deer, etc. I was expecting Charlie and wanted to be outside when he came so I could warn him not to whack my plants. Finally I went to the sewing room with a book on CD. I sewed until I heard him driving around on his large mower. I ran upstairs to write him a check, and used the opportunity of handing it over to point out where not to whack. He seemed to understand, and I forgot to check later to see if he actually did. I also forgot to tell him that blowing the carport clean was a one-time job, and I think he did it again this week. But that's ok because my in-laws are coming on Friday. I guess I will have to do some cleaning this week. For lunch I cooked up organic ground beef with fresh minced garlic. I was hoping that mincing the garlic would make it stronger, but I still hardly tasted it. Then I went back to sewing. Carol Doak is giving away 4 yards of fabric to some random person who posts a pic of her block on the site. So I made the block. However, I did not use her paper-piecing method. So maybe it won't count. I also put a large border on the kaleidoscope block, and was working on the binding when Chris came home. After supper (which I forgot to eat), he came down to see if I was going to band practice or choir practice. Tonight was the last choir practice, but I told them last week that I wouldn't be there 'cause of all the band practices. So Chris and I watched NCIS episodes for the rest of the evening. As I logged in to Blogger for some reason it wanted me to sign in. And the sign-in page had the link for a new posting, but somehow it got lost when I clicked on something else instead. Anyway, in searching for it, I found a link to the old Blogger interface, which I am using now. It is like meeting an old friend again after many years.

The deer

I had several audios to listen to today.  I was able to exercise, fix and eat breakfast,  read e-mail, repair Chris' umbrella, fold laundry and work on my slide.  I was fighting the slide last night so today I cleaned it inside and out, cleaned the inside of the outside and the outside of the inside.  I even let it soak in the tub for awhile to loosen the buildup of whatever it is that collects inside the inside.  Then, when all the slide cream was off, I reapplied a fresh coat which made an incredible difference.  Now it is as slick as can be.  When the audios were over, I went outside to rake under the magnolia tree so I could mow there before Charlie comes tomorrow.  But before I did that, I picked all the dandelion that might get cut off by the lawn mower.  After mowing under the tree, I couldn't help mowing the ditches, and more of the yard near the tree, and inside the fence.  That is when I found poison ivy, which I dug up and disposed of.  I also put the leaves back around the tree as mulch.  I took the dandelion in for lunch.  Then I dug up a plant (don't know what it is) because it's sibling is blooming greatly so I want to save it from Charlie.  I also taped the nasturtium packet to a chopstick and pushed it into the flowerbed as a warning to Charlie not to weedwhack there.  Then I dug up some small wild lettuce plants that Charlie usually mows over and planted them inside the fence where the deer can't eat it (assuming we remember to close the gates).  To make room for the lettuce, I had to pull out other stuff: mostly weeds, but some were lirope.  I replanted the lirope out front, discovering a hole with tunnel in the flowerbed and a dead bird on the sidewalk. Chris came home and we had chicken soup for supper.  I took a much needed shower and dressed for band.  Chris brought me enlarged music so I played it a little bit, then stowed it in my folder. I packed up and headed for band.  I watched the clock in my car.  It took exactly 5 minutes to go from my carport to the parking lot at Huntsville High School.  I was 15 minutes early, so I warmed up some more, and talked to the player next to me.  He is a band director for a K-8 school nearby.  I noticed a drop of blood on my hand.  Somehow I had scraped it and never noticed.  I washed it off, and still didn't feel anything.  Odd.  The session went well for me because my slide was so fast.  But then everyone did well, which is good because Thursday is our next and last practice.  The concert is Monday evening.  As I was parking at home, I noticed the deer in the yard near the driveway.  I beeped my horn to scare it away.  After I brought my stuff into the house, I went back into the yard to see if he had chewed my tomato plants.  They looked ok in the dark, and I saw him standing near the lilies, watching me.  I made coaxing noises, but he just walked off.  As I came back to the house, I made sure the gates were closed.  Chris was on his computer.  He ordered a cable that connects the laptop to the TV.  So we took my laptop downstairs to watch NCIS from the website, but on the large screen.  Sadly, it did not work so well.  Internet signal strength is compromised just enough to be really annoying.  We finished the episode upstairs.  Then Chris went to bed while I stayed up to amend last night's blog and write a new one for today.
* I was going to post a pic of the blooming sibling, but can't find the pic.  So, here is the embroidery project that I couldn't post weeks ago because it was a gift.   I would like to take credit for the whole thing, but all I did was to embroider "Y'all" across the watering can.  *

My first tomato

Last night after I posted, I simply went to bed early.  Chris did not want to watch TV.  I put a book CD in my portable CD player.  I figured if they put me to sleep in the car, they should work as well in bed.  I think it did.  But having gone to bed early, I woke up early as well.  Then I couldn't go back to sleep because of a scrape-scrape-scrape noise.  Chris said he heard it too.  But I could only hear it while lying down.  As soon as I got up, it was gone.  I checked my pulse to be sure that wasn't it.  Very odd.  Finally I did go back to sleep, waking after sunrise.  There were no audios to listen to since it was Monday morning.  I looked out the window to see that it had been raining, so no need to water any plants.  I went out to pick the tomato, making sure the deer did not get it.  I scented the area to keep it away from the other plants, too. I exercised, then fixed breakfast.  I read e-mail while I ate.  I did a little practicing.  I put together a Swansons order, but did not have enough on it to put the order through. I listened to a couple of meditations.  I ate lunch.  I sat outside and did some tapping. I washed the popsicle molds.  I picked some greens and pureed them, distributing the liquid evenly among the popsicles. That wasn't enough so I juiced some carrots.  That did not quite do it either, so I juiced two apples. Then the molds were full and I added the tops and put it all in the freezer.  Then I had to clean it all up: the blender, the juicer parts, the bowl, the countertops, etc.  I had just sat down when Chris came home.  He had groceries and drycleaning.  I took a shower and dressed for band practice.  Chris cooked fish for supper.  I used the scanner to copy some music so I could write all over it.  I decided that if I couldn't play it right, then I would play it wrong but at least make it sound right.  I wrote my own version.  Then the fish was ready so I ate my piece.  I packed up my horn and the music and a mute and an umbrella before heading out.  The rain stopped before I got there.  So I did not need the umbrella then.  But it started again during practice.  There was a new trombonist there so I introduced myself.  Don't ask me his name.  Practice went ok.  The director made us play the piece he said last week that we probably weren't going to play.  Otherwise I would have enlarged it since it is extra small (I think it is marching music).  There are a few other pieces that I wouldn't mind having enlarged.  After practice, we walked out into the rain.  It is tough to hold all that stuff and an upright umbrella too.  When I got home, Chris was on the computer.  I took my too-small music and put it in the scanner.  I wasn't sure how to use this particular scanner, so Chris helped me.  Actually he did it himself.  He made copies, and sent the images to his computer to print on 11 x 17 paper at work.  That ought to be big enough for me to see!  Like last night, he did not want to watch TV, so I guess I'll go to bed early.

Leaving the lovely beach house

Our suitemates alarm went off several times.  Finally she got up to take a shower.  It was 6:30.  I went out to see if my bathing suit was dry.  It had fallen off the chair so it was still a little damp.  Her husband got up and got himself ready while she packed, then they left the room.  I grabbed my laptop to type in yesterday's post.  I also read my e-mail.  Chris took a shower while I packed.  I went outside to take a pic of the house, but it was raining too hard for me to cross the street and get a good pic.  We went to the dining room for breakfast.  I ate my usual breakfast.  Mark had cake and coke.  Mary boiled the rest of a carton of eggs.  Haley ate one, and we took the rest with us.  Mary also gave us bottles of frozen water.  That came in really handy on the way home.  I rested one on the back of my neck which got sunburnt.  It doesn't look red, it sure feels red.  Mary had a matt for a picture that she wanted everyone to sign.  I had signed it on Saturday but couldn't really think of anything to write other than typical greeting card phrases.  Well, on the way back some better stuff occurred to me.  Too late.  When we go to the interstate, we listened to a book on CD of Sherlock Holmes cases.  It was ok once we figured out which parts to fast forward through.  It was taken from an old radio show and had commercials in it.  When that was finished, we put on "The Last Days of Krypton".  That was interesting, but we did not finish it before we got home.  We unpacked the car, then went to the grocery store.  After the groceries were put away, Chris heated up the chicken soup.  I went outside to water the plants, which were looking a little dry, but not too bad.  Maybe it rained while we were gone?  The grass was certainly taller.  Our next door neighbor came over to the fence to tell me he had scared away a deer from my garden yesterday.  I saw that it ate all the tops off of the wild lettuce.  Those were the young, tender leaves.  One of my tomatoes is almost ripe and I considered picking it.  I think I will pick it in the morning (unless the deer gets it first).  Our neighbor also brought me a load of mulch for my tomatoes.  He was so nice.  He picked some cilantro (which I ate while we talked) and a turnip and a radish.  I planted them later.  He told me how I could turn the brick enclosure into an herb garden and cover it with screening to keep the rabbits out.  Then I picked some dandelion and spinach and wild lettuce (the not-so-young and tender leaves) for a salad.  I ate it with the chicken soup.  I watched the season finale of Big Bang Theory from the CBS website.  Then I downloaded pics from my camera to both my laptop and the desktop.  I used the laptop to add pics to the last to posts.  It is only 9 now, and I think I am going to practice my trombone, but we might end up downstairs watching TV before we go to bed.

Saturday - more beach

  I woke up early, unable to go back to sleep.  So I got up to post to my blog.  I was going to sit next to the router, but Silvia was sleeping on that couch because of snoring in her room.  So I sat in the livingroom.  It was the best place actually because there was a paper with the internet password on it, which I didn't think about needing.  So, I posted to my blog and read e-mail.  The house was deathly silent.  I did not want to wake anyone up and there was no one to talk to.  What was the point of being awake?  I went back to bed for awhile.  I invited Chris to go for a walk along the beach.  So we dressed and went down to the 2nd floor.  Zach was there, playing on his electronic thingy. When he heard we were going to the beach, he invited himself along.  At least, I suppose he did.  I couldn't understand a word he said.  Chris seemed to, though.   We had to walk down the public access.  We headed to the right.  After just a short while, Zach wanted to go back and he wanted Chris to go with him.  So I continued the walk alone.  I went almost to the distant pier,  then turned around.

  The walk back was cooler, walking into the wind.  I wondered which public access point was ours, and was glad to see the American flag that I had noted on the walk out.  Not sure why someone would put up an American flag on the beach, but it would become clear later.  Breakfast was in progress in the dining room.  I poured my breakfast mix in a bowl and mixed it with the coconut milk.  As I ate, the others finished their breakfasts and went to the beach.  I put on my suit and followed later.  When I got to the beach,  the beach was crowded in front of the beach access.  There was a bocci ball contest starting up.  First I walked to the right, but did not see my friends.  So I walked across to the left.  Not seeing them, I put my towel down and headed for the water.  But then I saw Mary and Linda walking along the beach to the left.  I had to run to catch up with them.  The three of us walked and talked, collecting shells as we went.  One lady on the beach pointed out dolphins.  I waded into the water (which wasn't bad for May), but I guess the dolphins swam on because I didn't see them.  We walked back, collected my towel and put the shells in my shoe to carry.  It seems I had missed 'the camp' earlier when I walked to the right.  There were Silvia and Tamara and Celeste.  Jayden was playing in the sand.  We all sat together for while, then I went for a swim.  The water was clear of all debris, and NO jellyfish.  The water temp was a little cool, however, and with the wind, it was even cooler.  I stayed in as long as I could, then wrapped up in a towel on the beach.  After a while, some of us went back to the house for water and the bathroom.  My skin felt like it had had enough sun, so I stayed in the house.  Some people were eating lunch, so I had a plate of leftover shrimp.  I was still in my suit which was sandy, so I went out to the hose to wash my legs off.  Then I faced the street and used the hose behind me to wash the sand out of my bathing suit bottom.  Little did I know that Mark was going to walk around from the back of the house to use the hose.  I don't know what he saw, but he's lucky he didn't go blind.  With the most of the sand washed off, I took a shower.  Then I sat beside Chris and we read e-mail for awhile.  I had a couple of audios waiting, so I cued them up and perused old e-mails to delete.  I deleted about 1500.  25%.  Whoo-hoo!  When we heard people fixing plates for supper, we went down.  Mary was encouraging everyone to finish up the leftovers.  Someone had a birthday so Mary ordered pizza (which was what he asked for).  Most of that got eaten.  Chris went upstairs.  Mary was passing out Reisling.  There was only little left in the bottle, and I remembered that Chris liked it.  So I accepted a glass for him.  Celeste was telling me about her new beau and wouldn't let me leave until I had seen his picture.  When I found Chris, he was asleep, so I left the glass there on the night stand.  The other two people in our room were lighting cupcakes for the birthday man.  The lighter he was using flamed like a torch and the little girl was certain the bed would catch fire.  We went down to sing "Happy Birthday".  After the party, the ladies packed up the incredibly large pile of blue dishware around the sink.  It took a pile of bubble wrap, paper towels, and cloth napkins to wrap it all up.  Then we sat and talked in the livingroom while watching Big Bang Theory.  But it then became "Old School", a movie full of dumb college-type pranks. I got some ice to hold on the back of my neck to cool the burn. Finally the movie got turned to the 11pm news.  Celeste took a shower, packed, and announced that she was going to drive back to Augusta to surprise her beau.  We did not think surprising a man with a gun at 2 am was a good idea, but she went anyway.  As it got later, I thought maybe our suitemates were waiting for me to go to bed, so I went.  But they continued to stay up.  That was just as well, since it gave me a chance to fall asleep first.  She said she snored, and she wasn't kidding. 

Friday - the beach!

 When I went to sleep Thursday night, I used the new MP3 player.  What I heard was not what I loaded.  I can only assume that what I heard was preloaded to check the player before it was shipped out.  I skipped ahead to my stuff.  I woke up to the alarm, but did not get up right away.  Later when we did, he took a shower while I ate, and vice versa.  I was able to check e-mail while eating.  Everything I had packed Chris put in the car.  We washed some apples and carrots to take along.  It was a little after 7 when we left.  We followed printed directions for awhile instead of the GPS.  That meant that I had to stay awake to navigate.  But we also played a book on CD, and that does not promote wakefulness for me.

  It was "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency", read by the author, Douglas Adams.  It is very good and I recommend it.  We stopped for lunch at a place called "Cheddars".  I had fish and Chris got a sandwich.  It was a good meal.  We continued driving.  We went through a rainstorm so bad that I thought we should pull over, but it didn't last long.  We arrived at Tybee Island about 4:30 EST.  Mary had rented a VERY nice house that sleeps 18 people in beds and then there are sleeper sofas.  There were 5 tables of 6 set up on the back porch in blue plates and goblets.

  A caterer brought the food: potatoes, corn on the cob, shrimp, sausage, hush puppies and condiments to complement a low country boil.  While supper was being put together, Tamara and a lady whose name I can't remember put the finishing touches on two gorgeous cakes.  Outside people were lining up with their water-shooting devices to soak anyone who came by.  There was a parade of water-compatible floats.  The participants shot water back at the crowd.  It was lots of fun to watch, but I did not participate because it was starting to rain and with the wind it was too cold to be outside, soaked to the skin, dressed in nothing but a bathing suit. 

  When supper was ready, we gathered on the back porch.  Mary said the blessing and we lined up to fill our plates.  The food was really good and I ate more than I might have at home - especially the shrimp and the horseradish.  The conversation was just as good.  And it went long, first at our table, then I moved to where Linda, Celeste and Silvia were.  Chris brought out his laptop so we could Skype Michele, but it was too far from the router and the connection was bad.  We tried again inside the house, but by that time she was on with Ashley.  So I rejoined my friends who were now in the kitchen and then in the living room.  It was so good to catch up with old friends again.  Not that they are old, just that we have been friends for a long time.   It was late when we went to bed.  There was another couple in our room.  She warned me that she snores.  I didn't think that would be a problem since Chris does too, sometimes.  But I don't think he did.  I plugged myself into an ipod to get some sleep.

Packing and Paula

 This is the brick enclosure where I have been transplanting four o'clocks.  You can see the stick that stands for "This is a flowerbed, do not whack".  I don't think the nasturtiums will be up before Charlie comes back.

The second pic is Paula Nadelstern signing books.  She is world famous for her kaleidoscope quilts, books, and classes.

  I couldn't sleep last night.  Chris was snoring, and my mind kept going.  I composed Faye a birthday poem.  Then I did one for Chris, and Michele, then Kevin.  when I got to Dad, it was really bad. And I got stuck on Kurt.  Anyway, I don't remember the poems now.  I went down to the sofa in the basement to sleep.  Kurt did it and I wanted to know how it was.  I took the little ipod with me.  The couch was very uncomfortable, but I must have fallen asleep 'cause I woke up sometime after the ipod died.  Still, I was well enough rested when I got up sometime between 7 and 8.  I listened to audios while exercising, eating, and reading e-mail.  My laptop's ability to carry on even when unplugged allowed me to pack a suitcase and work outside.  A lady stopped by around 11.  I dug up some morning glories and a four o'clock for her.  I went back to watering stuff.  I transplanted another four o'clock into the enclosure.  I packed supplements and bags of
breakfast mix.  I recharged the ipod and the mp3 player that Kurt sent me.  I also loaded it with BWE and hypnosis stuff.  The Fedex lady came by with a package that I had to sign for.  Something Chris ordered.  When Chris came home, he took my car to fill it up.  It means a lot to me that he does that.  I think I'd faint if I saw the price.  I picked some greens from the yard and made a salad.  Then I went to the HHQ guild meeting.  I dropped off the comfort quilt that Linda and I had made.  She was there with 6 or 7 guests to see Paula Nadelstern.  Paula was selling books and fabrics at the front.  She also gave a very nice talk about how she got into making kaleidoscope quilts.  She will be teaching classes here tomorrow and Saturday.   After the talk, I went home.  Chris and I watched the rest of MASH season 3.  Henry Blake dies in the last episode.  Kind of a downer.  But life goes on.  I write this blog and I get to go to bed.

Oh, and Happy Birthday, Faye

I listened to one of the tapping audios last night, so only had one to listen to this morning.  There will be two more after 8pm, but they are the last in the series.  The longer ones however, continue with only a break on the weekends.  I was able to listen while jumping, and eating and checking e-mail.  I forgot to mention yesterday that I washed a lot of the fabric from the Paducah trip.  So today I ironed it all.  I thought one of them might make a nice border for the kaleidoscope quilt, but when I auditioned it, it didn't do anything.  I raked around the magnolia tree and got one and a half boxfuls.  It has been awhile since I raked, so the tree must be slowing down.  While I was raking, the UPS truck stopped by with a package.  I hadn't ordered anything so it was a surprise.  Turns out to be something my brother ordered for me.  What a guy!  It is my sister's birthday.
I put on my rubber gloves and hunted poison ivy.  I pulled up three sprigs. I dug up some four o'clocks from the back bed and planted them in the enclosure.  A lady came by and I gave her 10 morning glories and a small four o'clock.  I also dug up some black-eyed susans for her.  She seemed very nice in person.  Her Freecycle e-mails were a little pushy.  I opened a pkg of Nasturtium seeds.  I roughed 'em up a little and planted them by the enclosure.  I'll have to make sure Charlie doesn't weed whack this planting like he did the last ones.  I don't think he checks to see what he is whacking.  I took a shower and had just finished when Chris came home.  We ate a few leftovers from the fridge.  Then I went to choir practice and he went to a Spanish bible study at a nearby church.  I did not know, so I was surprised that he wasn't home when I got home.  At practice we signed a card for the pastor's 60th birthday.  They are having a party for him this weekend.  Actually lots of things are scheduled for this weekend.  I think it is because it falls between Mother's Day and Memorial Day.  I practiced band music until Chris came home, then we watched MASH until almost 11.  He made me promise to pack tomorrow.   

Passing out plants

I woke up pretty early this morning.  I listened to two tapping audios and an interview while exercising, preparing and eating breakfast, reading e-mail and folding laundry.  Now for those who are wondering why I carry my laptop around instead of downloading the audios to an ipod, let me point out that the audios are not downloadable.  They are available free on the internet for a limited time (usually 24 to 48 hours), and then they are for sale, usually as a set priced at $97 or more.  Sure, there are bonuses thrown in with the audios, but I'd rather save my money and just listen to the free stuff.  There was an audio playing in my sewing room as I took off the rest of the pink border, shortened it, and put it back on.  A Freecycle respondent came by to pick up the four o'clocks.  I gave her half, and threw in some morning glories and black-eyed susans.  As she was leaving, a man came with a friend.  He wanted flowers for his grandmother's flower bed.  I knew
he was coming, so I saved half of the four o'clocks for him. I also threw in extra stuff.  He was on a break from work, so he didn't have time for me to dig up any black-eyed susans.  We arranged for him to come back tomorrow and pick some up.  I looked around the yard for other 'volunteers' to dig up.  I could not resist pulling more weeds out of the brick enclosure.  But the ants drove me off before I could finish.  I went back to my quilting.  I spread a tablecloth on the ground to lay out my top and audition some border fabrics.  They all looked different but equally good.  Guess it just doesn't matter what I use.  Unable to decide, I drowned my frustration in my inbox reading e-mail.  Hey, it's better than eating, which did occur to me.  At some point during the day, I was interrupted by a knock on the door.  It was the UPS man delivering some packages Chris ordered.  One held 12 jars of mustard.  When Chris came home, he opened them.  The jars were smaller than we expected.  Chris made himself a burrito for supper.  I went outside to pick a salad: wild lettuce, violet leaves, dandelion, spinach, and turnip greens.  To that I added cocktail onions and broccoli sprouts.  We also had some frozen blackberries.  I read some EFT e-mails and did a lot of tapping on whatever came up.  I even tapped for my mom and dad,  I only wish I could tell if it helped.  Then we watched B. Monkey, from Netflix. Well, only the first part.  Due to the use (and misuse) of language, we shut it down in favor of more MASH episodes.  And now to examine the insides of my eyelids...
(Pic taken in Paducah)

Freecycling four o'clocks

There were two tapping audios available this morning, so I listened to them and tapped along while rebounding, and fixing and eating breakfast.  I had laundry to fold, but the audios were over before I got to it, so I will save the folding for tomorrow's audios.  I read my e-mail and then went outside for some barefoot time.  There was no sun, only wet grass, and rain on and off.  I checked on my tomatoes.  They all have little ones, but nothing turning red.  The one plant has two BIG tomatoes, but they are still green, sigh.  I weeded the brick enclosure near the garden.  The four o'clocks are taking over the flower beds, so I dug some up, actually lots of them.  One I planted in the enclosured.  The others I put in a bucket of water, then posted them on Freecycle.  Last time I posted on Freecycle, the moderators did not approve the message until 6pm, so I figured today was no different.  I washed the dirt off my hands and legs and came in.  I took some time to listen to two BWE Youtube audios.  I swept the ants out of the kitchen.  I marveled at how they ate the bait and kept going strong. (There is a scary hoard of them in the enclosure).  Then I went down to work on quilting.  I put a blue border on the ugly fabric quilt so that the edges (with all those seams) wouldn't stretch.  I just barely had enough blue to make it.  Then I pulled out the green kaleidoscope.  I googled images to see what kinds of borders have been done for it.  Most have a small inner border and a larger outerborder.  So I auditioned inner and outer borders.  I used a pink one, mitered at the corners.  But somehow it was wavy so I started taking it off.  Tomorrow I get another whack at it.  I heard Chris come home.  I went up to have supper.  I took a shower, and dressed a little nicer than usual.  I checked e-mail one last time to find people had been responding to my Freecycle offer all afternoon.  I warmed up the trombone, then packed it in the case and headed for Huntsville High School.  I arrived early.  Never having been there before, I wanted to do as the Romans do, but had to wait to see what that was.  We got to pick the parts we wanted to play, then sat in the appropriate section.  I met the guys to the right and left of me.  One is in high school, the other in college. I am old enough to be their mother.  There were two women trombone players, both older than college.  The two men were my age or older.  But I didn't tell anyone my age.  And no one asked me what school I go to:(  It did not last the whole two hours.  The music was relatively easy compared to what I expected.  Still, I will have to practice a few runs, and some tricky counting for next week.  When I got home, Chris was on his computer.  He did not want to watch MASH. I responded to a few Freecycle e-mailers. I ate a few pickled onions.  I read some e-mail, etc.  Now that my blog is written, the only thing left to do is find a pic to go with it.  Here is a lovely quilt from Paducah.

Ugly fabrics make a fair top

Chris woke me up slowly.  Then it was breakfast time.  I posted to my blog. Chris had a nice Mother's Day card for me.  We were ready on time to arrive at church early.  The choir practiced for a few minutes, and then we waited for church.  The rain came down in a torrent.  A bunch of young girls sang at the beginning of the service, and then handed out roses to all the mothers.  They were so cute.  After the service, we met Cindy and her husband.  She works for the court system with juvenile offenders.  Then we went to the grocery store, and home.  I put my rose in a vase after clipping the stem.  Chris cut up veggies while I de-boned some chicken to make chicken soup.  We both read e-mail for awhile.  I called my parents and spoke to each of them.  Dad can hardly hear and Mom can hardly talk.  Sometimes I wonder how they get along.  She spoke about a party yesterday like it was a mother's day party, but I wonder if it was for Faye's birthday.  Then Chris called his mom.  We tried to Skype Michele, but she wasn't on.  I practiced my trombone for awhile, as long as I could until my lip gave out. Then we got a hold of Michele briefly, but she was on her way out the door for class.  Chris held up the top I finished yesterday so I could take a pic of it.  If you could see the individual fabrics, you wouldn't like them.  But they do go together well.  The ants came back so I put out an ant bait.  We went down to watch episodes of MASH.  When we came up, the ants were all over the bait.  I hope they take the hint.  My desktop computer was off because the power was interrupted by a blown transformer.  It seemed like it took 10 minutes to boot up.  But now that it has, I can finish my post and go to bed.

May sewing Day

It was a Saturday morning, but I could not sleep in.  I woke up at 8, ate breakfast, and may have listened to a tapping audio.  Can't remember now.  I packed up a box of sewing supplies, my machine, seaweed and an apple for lunch, and some unfinished projects, and headed out for the sewing event.  It was supposed to be a paper-piecing day, and some did.  But it wasn't a class, and my projects weren't like that.  First I finished my 'Strips of Ugly Fabric" quilt top.  Then I worked on my blue kaleidoscope.  The points needed taking in so they would lay flat.  I did that, but when it came to piecing in a background, I found I needed supplies I hadn't brought along.  So I moved on the the fishy stack-n-whack.  I did some math and started piecing a border that resembles a fence.  By then it was almost 4:30 so I packed up to go.  Deb was working on  a PP dragon quilt for her son.  Jen had decided to do the AQS BOM, God bless her.  And Lisa was cutting sets of 4 squares on point from a variety of striped fabrics to make really neat blocks.  I wish I had taken a pic, but she packed up as soon as she finished the last one, and I lost my chance.  On the way home, I stopped at Huntsville High School to see the layout of the parking lot and auditorium.  I will need to find the bandroom on Monday night and wanted to catch the lay of the land.  When I got home, Chris was playing with the voices.  I went outside to transplant some 4 o'clocks and do some weeding before it rained.  I had some supper, and listened to another audio, this time one that was recommended by Lisa.  It was an interview with the author of "Dying to be Me", Anita Moorjani.  I also did one of the tapping audios, leaving the other one for Sunday.  When Chris' game was over (along with the post-game commentary), and my audio was over, we went downstairs to watch episodes of MASH.  It was late when we started, and even later when we finished, so I fell asleep afterwards without posting.
* Quilt from Paducah.  I promise to upload a pic of the Strips of Ugly Fabric top after I take one.  *

Garlic: ripe or RIP?

I started the day with two tapping audios.  I exercised and fixed breakfast.  When the audios were over, I started in on the longer ones.  But deleted several because I am tired of being tied to my laptop, or having it tied to me.  I put it into a backpack while I swept off the shelves in the carport.  It was dusty work.  Then I left it behind while I transplanted some daffodil bulbs, and dug up a stand of garlic.  I dug them up because their foliage had fallen over.  That's what articles on the internet said to do.  However, they also said it happens in July or August.  I think they live farther north.  Anyway, I looked up how to pickle garlic.  Then I brought the bulbs in and blanched them.  I tried to peel them, but there were no cloves inside,  they were like onions.  I cut them up.  I boiled vinegar, sugar and salt and threw in the garlic.  Then I put them in jars and covered them with the juice.  I really don't think they are ripe, but hope they pickle ok anyway.  I took pics of the daylilies in bloom, and the plant I can't identify.  I was reading e-mail when Chris came home.  We ate supper.  I watered the tomatoes.  We watched our latest Netflix movie - Mission Impossible.  This one I was able to follow (unlike the previous ones which had me baffled).  But it was so suspenseful I almost asked Chris to pause the movie so I could catch my breath.   Since it was still early, Chris wanted to watch Walking with Dinosaurs: Allosaurus.  It is a BBC production and not bad for a documentary.  Then he went to bed.  I took a shower to get off all the dust and plan to go to bed as soon as I finish this blog.  Tomorrow is another sewing Saturday and I hope I think of something to take to work on by morning.  It is also the day we are supposed to put food out by the mailbox for the mailcarrier to collect.  I bought some cans yesterday after going to the post office. I just hope I remember to put the bag out.

Postage to Korea

I started the first audio, and then exercised.  It was one audio after another through breakfast, e-mail and stamping a card for my mom. Charlie came over to mow the lawn.  I wrote him a check, and put a card to my mom in the mail. I sat outside and listened to an audio while sitting in the sun.  At 2 I went to the shopping center where there was supposed to be a postal office.  But all I found was UPS.  The UPS lady said it would cost $200 to send the 8 lb pkg to Korea.  Yikes!  So I went to the post office 2 miles away.  I had to repackage the contents into a flat rate box.  The price was still more than I would have paid under any other circumstances, but I wanted her to have something to open for her birthday.  So anyway, I went home. I moved all the pictures in the guest room either into the closet or into the hallway to go downstairs later.  Yes, another audio was playing.  There are just too many this week.  But I am getting pretty good at carrying my laptop around.  I was practicing my trombone when Chris came home from work.  He started a game with the voices almost immediately.  I guess I was playing too loudly because he shut the door to the family room.  After I played as long as I could, it was time for supper.  I had a piece of fish and picked dandelion for a salad.  I ate my salad outside while - you guessed it - listening to another audio.  I ate some frozen fruit which made me cold, so I sat in bed and kept listening.  One audio after another.  Some only 10 minutes long, some over 2 hours.  I took my laptop downstairs to listen while finishing the binding on the purple quilt. Chris' game went on until after 11.  I was still listening, am still listening.  This one is a video called the Thrive Movement Movie.  It is very interesting, follows the money to where it is being consolidated and used to control events and people.
* quilt from Paducah *

Finally finishing the purple quilt

It was a rainy wet morning.  I heard Chris close the garage door before he left.  That meant it was open all night.  I wonder who left it open?  I cued up the usual audios while I exercised, had breakfast and read e-mail.  I even worked on the purple quilt binding.  Charlie was supposed to mow the lawn, but it was too wet.  I planted some of the grass I dug out of the flowerbed yesterday.  I put it in place of the pokeweed I pulled up.  There is a weed which is flowering nicely in the front bed.  Others of its kind have sprung up in the grass, so I dug them out and replanted them with the first one.  I put something in a box for Michele and looked up the nearest post office thinking there had to be one closer than the one I went to last week.  I went back to work on the binding, this time watching Dragnet.  Chris came home and made fish for supper.  It was excellent.  He used chopped scape and baked it in the oven.  I went to choir practice.  It still took an hour even though we only have three Sundays left to sing for.  After that we are done for the summer.  I learned something new about my car.  If you sit inside and use the key fob to lock the door, then open the door, the car goes into panic mode.  Since I was in the church parking lot at the time, I went into panic mode too.  The car went BEEP BEEP BEEP, and I said .  I pushed all the buttons as fast as I could to quiet the car.  How embarrassing.  When I got home, we watched episodes of MASH.  Chris went to bed and I will probably go shortly. 
 * Another quilt at Paducah *

A day of audios

There were lots of audios to listen to today.  I started with the EFT ones.  At least they are less than an hour long.  Some of the others are up to two hours long.  Anyway, having a laptop allowed me to listen while I exercised, dressed, had breakfast, read e-mail, raked under the magnolia tree, folded laundry, and emptied the dishwasher.  I did have to pause it when Maryann skyped me.  We had a nice chat. Her son likes the quilt I made for him, which makes me happy.  I also could not listen while I mowed under the magnolia tree, in the fenced area, and in the ditch.  I even paused it while I practiced trombone for 40 minutes. I skipped the end of one because it turned into a sales pitch.  I finished another after Chris came home.  After supper, we watched a BBC episode of Sherlock Holmes.  It was one I hadn't seen.  We even watched the special on the making of it.  Then Chris went to bed, and I stayed up to read the EFT newsletter and do some tapping.  Guess I'll go to bed myself now. 
* quilt from Paducah show. *

Another bloomin' plant

There was no audio last night, so I played some BWE from Youtube as I dressed and did several jumping sessions on the rebounder.  In between sessions, I put the broken fry pan with the other bad cookware, opened the garage doors to let the water dry up, swept out the water, took out the garbage, folded some laundry, ate, and checked e-mail.  Chris forwarded one about an inclement weather advisory.  I could see it was getting darker outside, so I went out and raked until rain started, then closed the garage doors.  Of course the rain stopped then.  I sewed until Chris got home, working on the red and green strip quilt I started before I went to Korea.  As Chris fixed his supper, I picked greens from the yard.  I noticed the 4 o'clocks were blooming.  I ate my salad and read more e-mail.  I watched a BBT episode that I had missed and then the latest NCIS on the CBS website.  We watched MASH together downstairs until it was time for Castle.  It did not always come in well and several times I had to stand and hold the antenna.  Then Chris went to bed while I stayed up to write this post.

Rained again

I woke up this morning to the sound of a frog-strangler: thunder, lightning and torrential rain.  I went to the basement and garage to check for water.  I moved stuff in the garage away from where the water was coming in and went back to bed.  We got up after alarm went off, and the rain had stopped.  I took a shower, ate, and dressed.  I had trouble getting my right earring in.  Chris tried very hard to help me, but the hole was partially closed.  Together we got it in and we were at church in time to practice with the choir.  Only the women sang this sunday, and the female children.  Maybe there aren't any boys in that age group?  After church we stopped at the grocery store, then went home.  I must have been tired because after taking off my church clothes, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I ate lunch.  Chris was putting two chickens in the oven for supper.  He also did several loads of laundry.  I checked my e-mail, then raked the leaves under the magnolia tree.  There were a lot after the downpour.  Our neighbor was out in his garden (which looks fantastic), so I talked to him about the garlic.  He asked if we ate fish,  and when I said we did, he brought out some fish he caught Friday night.  I put it in the freezer since tonight's supper was already in the oven.  I practiced my trombone until I couldn't play the upper notes any more.  By then supper was ready. We ate the chicken, and I picked salad greens from the yard.  I ate the salad and some frozen fruit to cool me off.  I listened to a couple of BWE audios on Youtube, and then we watched episodes of MASH, season 2.
* Winning quilt at Paducah *

The mouse had a good time

When the cat's away, the mice will play.  But will they blog about what they did where the cat can read all about it?  Chris was still in Atlanta.  I got up about 8, called up the latest audio to listen while I jumped, and had breakfast.  As I was reading e-mail, it seemed the kitchen light got brighter, but then realized the sky was getting darker and it was going to rain.  I brought in the table cloth that was hanging out to dry.  The rain did not last long, so I went out to look at the plants.  I saw the first lily was blooming and the oakleaf hydrangea.  The four o'clocks are going to bloom in yellows and reds. I planted one of the tomato sprouts which got too big for the planter.  I looked up garlic harvesting to see when to pick them.  They say to cut the scapes (blooming stalk) off and eat them so the plant will put its energy into the bulb. When the lower leaves turn brown, dig it up.  They also said the stalk is 'garlicier' than the bulb.  I listened to several Youtube videos on brain wave entrainment while surfing the net.  I felt like cleaning up, so I washed the pots and pans, and the crockpot.  I needed to do some embroidery and realized the software was on the old computer.  It had never been set up.  But how hard could it be?  I assumed all the pieces were there, and the cables had different ends, so it was just a big puzzle.  When I was done, it actually worked.  Wow.  Ok, so I digitized the design, loaded it on the card and went down to the embroidery machine.  The machine tried to outsmart me, but in the end, I won.  I washed away the extra stabilizer and hung the item out to dry.   I picked dandelion and wild lettuce and a garlic scape. I made salad with that and spinach from the fridge.  But the scape was too strong and I left most of it out.  Still, my mouth was on fire when I finished eating.  I spread out my new fabric from Padukah on the bed like eye candy.  It looked so delicious that I jumped in and rolled around in it.  All those prints, batiks, and hand-dyeds, it was wonderful.  I spent a moment outside to enjoy first fireflies of the season. Then I closed the windows to practice my trombone.  Then it was time to pick up the fabrics, fold and take them downstairs.  I watched a bunch of quilting videos on-line. I wasn't terribly impressed with the lineup.  When I realized it was almost time for the cat to come home, I decided to write my blog.  And now he's here.  At least the mouse had a good time.

Y-seams or why-seams

I started my morning routine by putting on the latest audio and bouncing.  I ate breakfast and was reading e-mail when the HVAC man came back.  After he finished and left, I called Sharon (Bob's wife) and let her know it was done.  I put a check in the mail, and pulled weeds in the flowerbed.  Yesterday was such a nice soaking rain that they didn't need watering yet.  I went down to sew the rest of the hexagons together, then auditioned borders and seriously considered taking it apart again.  I checked my phone and saw Mary had called. I returned her call to find out that she invited us to a party but the invitation never arrived.  So I checked the mailbox, but found ants.  I considered that an invitation to put ant bait in the box.  I browned ground beef for lunch and had some kimchi with it.  On the way out to the car, I took a pic of garlic that was blooming.  I proceeded to the post office to mail the finished quilt.  When I got back, I raked 2 boxes
of leaves from under the magnolia tree.  I thought I needed more time in the sun, so I mowed the lawn in the sunny areas.  I called Chris one more time.  Not there.  But he called me back a little later.  I ate supper, and watched the latest Castle episode.  I sew side units onto my hexagon quilt to straighten out the sides.  I was surprised how well it worked.  I had the TV on while I worked.  I came up for the camera to photograph the quilt, and saw that Michele sent me a message via Skype.  We wrote back and forth for awhile.  Then I guess she got bored.  Chris called to tell me he arrived at his hotel near Atlanta.  I yawned and he told me to go to bed.  I just might do that after I take the pic, so I am writing my blog now before I fall asleep.

Still no heat

I got up, listened to the latest audio.  It was raining so I did not have to water anything.  I put off jumping and breakfast because I was expecting the HVAC repair man at 8:30.  At 9 I gave up on him, and started the rest of my daily routine.  Well, then he showed up.  He did not stay long, said he would come back this afternoon, and would I be home?  I agreed to be home.  I finished my routine, then put on my bathing suit and scrubbed the deck and steps.  They look much better now.  I went back to reading e-mail.  The doorbell rang.  It was the postman with a box wrapped in brown paper, no name.  I almost refused it, but then remembered Chris saying one of his friends was sending him a game.  Wonder what the mailman thought when I opened the door wearing my bathing suit.  Anyway, after e-mail and two more audios, I put the black quilt in a box, labeled it, weighed it, and looked up postal rates.  Then I worked on the hexagonal blocks from yesterday.  They needed to be trimmed, but I don't have a hexagonal ruler and my triangular ruler is too small.  So I just sewed them together the way they were.  The HVAC guy finally came, he hadn't gotten any parts.  He poked around for quite some time, and then said he was coming back tomorrow, would I be home?  I was tired of promising to be home.  I have a package to mail.  But yes, I will be home in the morning.  So he left, and 25 minutes later, Chris came home.  We fixed salad for supper.  We watched BBT at 7 downstairs, then the current Netflix arrival: a modern day version of Sherlock Holmes.  I'd seen it before, on Korean TV, but I must have been sewing at the time, because so many portions of it seemed new.  After Chris went upstairs, I fell asleep on the couch.  He came and led me to bed and I fell asleep again.
* Another winner from Paducah *

Another day, another block (or two)

I got up to write my blog post from last night and got sucked into trying to solve my laptop's refusal to connect to the internet without the D-link.  I gave up and plugged it in so I could read e-mail.  Then I remembered to put on the latest audio.  I wrote the post, and took my laptop outside to listen while I watered the vegetables.  I noticed that the hydrangea is in the process of blooming.  I jumped on the rebounder and fixed breakfast.  I read my e-mail and listened to another audio while working on the binding.  I took a break to rake under the magnolia tree.  I noticed that the grass in the ditch was high.  I don't think Charlie can get it short with his large mowing deck.  So I broke out my little mower and shortened the grass.  Then, just for kicks, I kept going to see how long the mower could go.  I finished most of the rest of the front lawn.   I checked e-mail again.  I finished the blocks I started yesterday and started two more.  I took the black and bright quilt outside so I had good light to finish the binding.  And I did finish, just as Chris came home from work.  While he changed around and had supper, I finished the blocks.  I had time to check e-mail one more time and take a shower before going to choir practice.  We women had to be there early to practice this Sunday's piece with the kids.  We did not get to leave early though.  When I got home, we watched several episodes of MASH, and went to bed (after checking e-mail again, just for giggles).
* another prize-winning quilt from the Paducah show *

Monthly quilt meeting

I played the current audio while watering the plants.  Much to my surprise, I found spinach growing where I had given up on it.  So I pulled out the weeds around it, and I watered it.  I folded the laundry - I save it every week to do during the first audio.  Then I used the rebounder and fixed breakfast.  I ate while I read e-mail.  Some one on Freecycle asked for a bed frame.  There is one in the carport, so I responded to her ad.  I watched several 'eatyourkimchi' vidoes.  Then I brushed off the bedframe and went outside to rake leaves while waiting for the lady to arrive.  We had to take it apart to get it in her car.  Then I finished raking and put on some shoes to pull the tallest weeds to the left of the carport.  I also dug out lots of pokeweed in the back.  I noticed the tree was full of black cherries, not yet ripe.  I came in and rested while listening to another audio and working on the binding.  Then I took a shower.  My back was bothering me so I laid down for a bit.  But when I was feeling better, I got up to vacuum the dust collecting in the corners, and on surfaces.  I had gathered projects to show the group, but there were a few I couldn't bring, so I printed out pics to take along.  Chris came home and fixed himself supper.  I had to look up the start time for the meeting and it was earlier than I expected.  So I hadn't time to eat, but packed up and left.  At the meeting, attendance was a little low.  Linda brought sewing books from her mother's estate to share with the group.  There were plenty of books not taken because we already have them.  We had show-and-tell.  Deb revisited the future dates for the group, and passed around a few books for us to look at.  I passed around the Paducah show book, and another one on modern dresden plates.  I tried to show my Paducah pictures but forgot that I renamed the file.  I did a demo on piped half-square triangles, and showed my sample projects.  They chose the zippered velcro purse.  I found the pic of Jen winning the Janome sewing machine.  The meeting was over early.  But Deb and I chatted in the parking lot for quite a while.  I came home a different way because I missed the Jordan road turn.  So I took University to Memorial to Drake.  It was pretty fast.  I was home by 8:30.  Chris and I watched several episodes of MASH.  But it took a long time 'cause the DVD was scratched and kept stopping.  Chris made me a better offer, and I fell asleep.
*  This is Caryl Bryer Fallert's winning submission at Paducah.  I think it is made of silk. *