July showers bring up flowers

Had trouble getting to sleep last night.   I woke up again in the middle of the night to hear the rain and see thunder. Got up very slowly at 8, read e-mail, did not exercise since walking was hard enough. Got an e-mail from one of the students who took my Celtic spin class. She wanted me to call her last night, but I didn't read the e-mail until this morning. Thinking it was too early to call, I e-mailed her back. Chris left the bread machine on the counter, so I prepared another loaf. She called me back and told me she had made 3 quilts from my class. I sent her the updated version of the instructions. I did not exercise because of my back and I did not sunbathe because the sun wasn't shining and the grass was wet. But after lunch I did go to the tai chi class. I felt well enough to drive, and the class was gentle and slow enough that I had no problems. I was glad I had called Shannon and asked her to call her back-up. Babysitting an active 3-year-old is another matter. When I got home, I worked on the kneeler. I ripped out one corner and basted it by hand before sewing down with the machine. It looked much better. I listened to an audio on photoreading and did several of the exercises. Chris came home and I greeted him before folding two baskets of laundry. Then I took the kneeler cover downstairs to zigzag the edges. I put the foam inside and it was done. I checked my e-mail again and ate supper. Then I started on the next kneeler by assembling the zipper part. It turned out too narrow and I don't know why. Then we watched 3 episodes of Chuck. When they were over, we came upstairs. It was a slow painful process for me. Going down wasn't that bad so how had I lost so much ground in the space of 2 hours? Tomorrow is AMC Organizational Day at work. Kinda like field day for Chris' co-workers. We'll see if I am up to going when we wake up in the morning.

Grounded, and for no good reason

Sometime in the middle of the night, my back seized. I remember thinking 'don't stretch and yawn'. I was not able to go back to sleep. I heard Chris' alarm go off at 5:30. I heard him get up after 6. I kept lying there, doing mental exercises, hoping the pain and tendency to seize would go away. It did not. When I got up, which was an exercise in itself, I worked my way to the dining room to read e-mail. I tied a winter scarf around my waist and placed a bag of frozen fruit in it against my back. When it came time for heat, I could not find my heating pad. Chris suggested microwaving a wet washcloth. So I put one in a zipped bag and heated it. That process went on all day. Hot, cold, repeat. Did it help? Not enough for me to go to the farmer's market or to mow the lawn. I did, however, work on a kneeler, lay in the sun, sweep spiderwebs from the doorway, and listen to audios. I even practiced my trombone, but that did not last long.  I juiced a redbeet, the humongous cucumber and some celery.  It probably made 2 cups of juice, but I don't know because I kept sucking it out with a straw as the glass filled up.  I managed to wrestle the gallon jar of kimchi out of the fridge and onto the floor. I put a plate under it to catch liquid as it fermented. Chris moved it to the counter when he got home. I was lying in bed at the time, worn out from working around the pain. I got up to check the garden, gingerly, and found a tomato. I left the cucumber for tomorrow. We had supper and then read more e-mail. We were going to go downstairs to watch Chuck, but for some reason I couldn't make it down the steps. So we listened to more of the book on CD, lying on our bed. When disc 12 was finished, Chris moved my laptop back to the diningroom and we went to sleep.

*  This is a pic of Doris' quilt, taken Monday  *

What do you do when you run out?

Chris got up at his usual time to get ready for work. I stayed in bed until after he left. Even then, when I got up, it was only 7. I read e-mail, exercised, and showered. I packed a lunch and prepared breakfast. The slow-down came when I looked around my sewing room for a project to bring to quilting. I decided to work on the batik quilt, with the yellow hexagon pieces as back-up. I arrived at the church at 10:30. We had a good crowd of women today. Even some I did not know. One lady had brought Fluttershy picture books of the last quilt retreat. It looked like they had a lot of fun. I'd like to go, but the the thought of how much fabric that amount of money would buy stops me. I ripped all the batik blocks apart. Then I put them back together in a new, better order. I built another orange quarter block as I went. But when I got to the last row, I realized that I had an extra orange half block and was missing a brown half block. It would be no great problem except I had run out of two of the brown batiks so cannot make any more of those blocks. Several ladies offered to check their stashes to see if they had any. Then I packed up for home. As soon as I brought in my sewing stuff, I mowed more grass in the back yard. Even though I raised the deck, the tall grass rapidly wears out the battery. Several times the mower overheated and I ate a snack from the garden while I waited for it to cool. I plugged the mower in to recharge, and got out a pair of clippers. I trimmed the azaleas and two bushes. The holly needs clipping, but I am not going to do that in my bare feet. While I was clipping, Chris came home. He had bought me a gallon jar of kimchi and a dried squid. I stopped to eat the squid and read e-mail. Then I tasted the kimchi. Not the taste I have come to expect, but I think it is still fresh. Once it ferments, the taste should improve. Chris made turkey burgers for supper. I had some fresh veggies with that. Then I mowed in the front yard. I hadn't finished the back yard, but there is a place by the road where I pile yard trimmings and the city picks them up. I wanted it mowed so I could move the bush clippings there. Then I finished the zipper for the kneeler I was working on before we went on vacation. I brought it upstairs ready to get sewed to the top and bottom. I placed an order with Old Navy for school uniforms which our church is collecting. Then I put two book CD's in the player in the living room and we listened to more of the book we had started in the car. At 10 we stopped so Chris could go to bed and I could blog.  Chris got an e-mail from Michele that she is graduating on Aug 30th and wonders if we are flying over to attend.

A volunteer - what is it?

I woke up in what seem like the middle of the night. But that was only because the black-out shades were drawn on the window. It was light outside and sometime after 7. We got up and showered and dressed and read e-mail. Chris visited the complimentary continental breakfast and brought some food back. I ate my prepared breakfast and took my supplements. We packed up the car and left around 10. We listened to the book on CD all the way home, which was only another 3.5 to 4 hours. I realized that even if we had started that book last weekend, we would still not have finished it. The first thing I noticed when we got back was that the lawn needed mowing. Then we noticed that the garden needed picking, especially the cucumbers. We carried all our travel stuff into the house. Chris made himself a cup of coffee and I ate as many tomatoes as I could. Some of the ones we brought back from the beach were soft and two of the ones I picked had been 'sampled' by some animal. Then we went to the grocery store to stock up for the week. After we put the food away, I mowed part of the back yard. Then I prepared a week's worth of vitamins and placed a Swanson's order for more. I wrote down the ingredients for coconut mayonnaise and took the list into the kitchen. I had all the ingredients, but remembered from last time that the blender won't take a whole recipe. So as I poured in the oil, I watched for the moment when the thick stuff stopped moving. Then I poured some out and kept going. That worked fine the first two times, but as I was pouring for the third time, it would not thicken, and all I got was frothy oil. I tried to save it by adding lemon juice, and by placing it in the fridge for awhile. Neither of those worked. I searched the internet and found out that there is a limit to the amount of fat that it would take. So I added an egg and blended some more. Still did not work. I mowed more of the back yard. I also noticed vines (like Virginia Creeper) taking over the front of the house. I pulled as many as I could. Then we went downstairs to watched episodes of Chuck. When we came up, Chris read his e-mail one last time while I unpacked my suitcase. Then he went to bed and I posted to my blog.

Leaving the beach

We got up at 7 to shower, pack, and eat breakfast. Chris vacuumed our room while I packed the cooler from the fridge. I think we left about 8:30. Saying goodbye was hard. But once we were on the road, we put on the book on CD. This one is a Ken Follett book called World without End – or something like that. It was very interesting and took my mind off of how long the trip was. We stopped halfway at Cracker Barrel for lunch. At 6:30 we arrived in Knoxville at our hotel. After unpacking we drove around looking for a restaurant. We stopped at a Batteries Plus for a spare camera battery. From there we could see a Japanese place with half-priced sushi. Just after we placed our order, Chris mentioned the Thai place he could see out the window. Really? Now he mentions it? But the food here was good, so good that I ate the sushi without the wasabe. Chris' attention was on the TV behind my head. It was playing one of the Mission Impossible movies. After we ate, we drove by the thai place. It was very nice-looking. When we got back to the hotel he checked out their Sunday hours and they open at noon. Our check-out is noon so he suggested that we check out at noon, have lunch there, and then get on the road. We watched Big Bang Theory episodes on TV until they ran out. Then, being tired, we just went to bed.

Big Waves

We set the alarm for 7 to go walking on the beach but Chris told me later that I declined to get up. When I did get up, no one had yet gone to the beach because they thought the weather was cold. I fixed breakfast for today and tomorrow and Sunday. After I ate breakfast, I read e-mail. James, Becca and Cecily went to the beach. James came back first because the tide was so strong. I went out to where Becca and Cecily sat on the beach. I walked in the surf, which was a struggle to stay upright. Becca came in too for awhile, then she and Cecily went back to the house. I stayed in the surf until I got tumbled. Then I rested on my towel, and went back in. I was almost tumbled again when it occurred to me that my back could go out and no one would know. I was tired, too, so I went back to the house. I swam in the pool which was very quiet. Then I came in to change out of my wet suit. I was feeling lightheaded. I laid down and Chris brought me a glass of water. When I felt better, I read e-mail. I went upstairs for lunch and to work on a Sudoku puzzle. Later James, Alfred and the kids went to the golf place. While they were gone, I took a set of tapping papers to the pool to work on. One flew into the pool and I had to lay it out to dry. Later Cecily came out to sit by the pool with her Sudoku. I came inside to cool off and check out fermented cheese recipes so I can order the nuts. Cashews and sunflower seeds look like a good bet. Becca and Cecily made artichoke onion dip. It was delicious with celery. They also fried up some onions. Mmmm. I read e-mail for half an hour until supper was ready. After supper James and Becca went to the beach. We waited for them to come back so James could run the DVD to watch Westwing. Then Cecily went to bed and we watched Captain America. It ended just before midnight and we went to bed.

Where are the peanutbutter fish?

I got up to make breakfast thinking to go to the beach before eating it. But no one had gone to the beach, saying it was cold and windy. I stepped outside the sliding glass door and it seemed quite reasonable to me. So I ate breakfast, then put on my suit and went to the pool. I sat with my feet in the water and it was quiet until Olivia came out. She begged me to get in the pool but my tummy was full and I did not want to swim. But the begging did not stop. I put it off for the better part of an hour, then got in. That is when she decided that the hot tub was a better place. Eventually I gave in to that, too. At 95 degrees it wasn't very hot, so I turned it up when we left. The others were having lunch, so I peeled an egg and a half of an avocado. I added sprouts and a tomato. After lunch I tried blowing bubbles but it did not work well until I added more shampoo. Even then the bubbles blew towards the house because of the wind. The kids played in the stairwell. No one seemed to be bothered by this except me. They have a whole house to play in, but they lay in the landing between floors with their kindles. Chris washed a load of dark and a load of light. I put on my suit and went to the beach. The wind was stronger there and spit sand against my legs. I put down my towel and waded into the water. The temp was warmer than previously, but then I noticed the plethora of jellyfish – on the beach and in the water. I picked up my towel and it was full of sand already. I went to the pool instead. James was reading a book there, so I swam laps and then got in the hot tub. When I came up, Chris had taken clothes out of the dryer, so I folded mine and he folded his. I checked my e-mail again, but it was getting harder. Both Yahoo and Gmail are having trouble. Especially yahoo. I have deleted the same e-mails over and over, but they don't get moved to the trash. I have tried moving them to the trash, and deleting them while the message is open, but nothing works consistently.  I brought my sewing supplies to the table.  I whipstitched a strap onto Olivia's suit.  Then I cut out pieces for a new block.  Then I put it away so the table could be laid for supper. 

Supper consisted of 3 rotisserie chickens. As the only person who openly prefers dark meat, Cecily assigned me all 6 leg quarters. Unsurprisingly there are plenty left for lunch tomorrow. After supper it got dark and Chris invited me to go walking on the beach. I put on my jacket and long pants. The surf was quite agitated and had eaten away the shore line. There was a drop-off of 2 -3 feet which the waves beat against. The wind was strong and chilly. Becca came and took pics. Then we all went back to the house.  Olivia wanted to get in the hot tub, so we did.  I had one dry suit left but no completely dry towels.  When we came in, Cecily, Alfred and the kids went to bed.  The rest stayed up  to watch Thor. Chris was tipsy and made suggestions in my ear. He didn't seem to mind that there were other people in the room. The movie ended about midnight and we went to bed without blogging.

The Flying Fish

We did not get up at 5:30 when Chris' alarm went off. I don't remember it, but he says he asked me if I wanted to go walking on the beach and I said 'no'. It was more like 9 when we got up. I heard the kids go off to the beach for their morning swim. I read a bit of e-mail, then fixed my breakfast for later. I put on my suit and joined them at the beach. The sand was warm, and the surf was cold, but not icy like before. I was able to work my way into the water, but it was hard to stay in. I think the surf temperature was deceptive. James and Becca and Olivia came in to jump the waves. We had a good time until we couldn't stand the cold any more. Then we swam in the pool for awhile, leaving Cecily at the beach. Olivia and I got in the hot tub, too. Then it was breakfast time for me. After breakfast, I read e-mail, and hung up my suit and towel. I heard knocking and went downstairs to look, but there was no one there. I looked out Cecily's bedroom window and still didn't see anyone. Then I heard her bathroom door open. It opens to the deck. A man was setting a gift basket and balloons inside. When he saw me, he mentioned a name that I didn’t know. I told me there was no one by that name, and he left. When Chris finished his e-mail, he took me to thrift shops in the area. I was looking for wooden alphabet blocks for Alec and some informal comfortable goes-with-everything shoes for me. I have such shoes but they are wearing out. We found 4 or 5 shops. I got some kids books and some tops. Then we stopped at the dollar store and got magnetic letters and some bubbles. When we got back, Olivia and I tried to blow bubbles under the house. She had a sunburn and had to stay in the shade. The bubble juice was a dud, so we added some shampoo. That worked much better, but the wind didn't help. Then we played in the sand. When she got bored, she went inside to watch TV. A man came to the house. I walked over to meet him. He mentioned a name and it wasn't one of ours, so he decided he must have the wrong place, and he went next door. Cecily wondered if I was trolling for strange men. Since I am the only one that sees them, Becca wondered if I had too much sun. I read e-mail for awhile, then decided to go to the pool. Without the kids. Chris said we did not have much time. I looked at my watch and thought of Confucius. He say “Man with one watch knows what time it is”. He forgot to add that if that man vacations in another time zone, he could be unsure. Chris went along to the pool to track the time while I swam laps and then floated. I was floating face down when William saw me from the deck above and yelled out because he feared I was dead. I reassured him by standing up. Then I came in to shower and dress for supper. We rode with Al and Cecily to The Flying Fish. Olivia loves that restaurant because they have the best chicken fingers and they give the kids crayons to write on the paper tablecloths. You can see what Olivia wrote. She drew other things while we waited for our food. It was all good. When we left, Al went shopping with James and Becca and the rest rode with us home. It started to rain a bit. Chris and I read e-mail until J, B and A returned. Chris and I took a walk on the darkening beach. We saw crabs scuttling into the surf looking for food. I almost stepped on one. The beach was deserted because of the raindrops. When we returned, we joined the group on the deck to chat. When Cecily went to bed, the group broke up. Chris read e-mail while I wrote this post.

Sunny day

We got up about 9, and found out that Cecily, Becca and the kids were at the beach. So I fixed breakfast and let it sit while I put on my suit and went out to join them. The water was cold, but I managed to work my way in. Olivia came in with me. Then Becca got in the water. We jumped the waves for awhile, mostly numb from the cold. As seaweed washed in, I decided to get out. Also, did not want to get burnt. I came in to eat breakfast. Then I took a shower. Chris and Alfred went shopping. They were not able to get everything so Alfred went again later. I read e-mail until lunchtime. The others had lunchmeat and cheese sandwiches. I peeled an egg and mashed up an avocado in it. I added sprouts, cucumber, tomato, and carrots. After lunch, I read e-mail and worked Sudoku puzzles. Cecily and the kids went to the pool. I sat on the deck with my feet in the sand, listening to an audio. Olivia joined me when she got out of the pool. She was making a birthday list. I suggested all kinds of things she might want. But everything on her list had something to do with My Little Ponies, and their accessories. When my battery needed charging I went in. I worked on Sudoku puzzles then. Olivia hung around for awhile. Chris was in and out, until he was needed for the preparation for supper. He gave me the 2 minute warning. I put down my puzzle and came up. We had spiced beef, burrito shells, corn on the cob, pico de gallo, and cheese. After supper, we had homemade ice cream. I took a walk on the beach. I made sure to get back before dark.  The water was cold, but warmer than in the morning.  I sat on the seat built into the beach walk. Several times I got up to fireworks down the beach. I was hoping my feet would dry to the point where I could brush the sand off. But it just wasn't happening. So I got a broom and swept off the decking. We have a foot shower, but our feet get sandy again walking to the door. When I finished that, I came in and checked my e-mail again. Chris was on his computer, too. I listened to an audio and worked on the puzzle that I started earlier. Chris set his alarm so we could get up early and walk on the beach. Then we went to bed.

A death in the family

Monday

I got a good night's sleep and woke at 7 CST which was 8 EST. Expecting rain later, I put on my bathing suit to get in some beach time. The sand was neutral, but the water was ice cold, like yesterday. I did not stay out long. But on the way in, I met the others heading for the beach. So I went back out. The sun came out. So instead of wading in the surf, I hid behind Cecily and her large umbrella. No sense in getting burned on the first day. When the others went in, so did I, leaving Cecily some peace by herself. I carried my breakfast box to the kitchen to assemble my meal. After breakfast, I cleaned up the counter and carried the box back to our bedroom. Michele skyped us so we all talked until Chris' computer crashed. I read e-mail for awhile. Then Chris invited me to go to the store. It had rained and the roads were flooded. We went to Harris Teeter first, getting a few groceries. Then we went to Rite Aid for a clothes line, and then to Ace Hardware for a sink stopper. When we got back, everyone else ate lunch, but I wasn't hungry. I read e-mail and got my unread e-mails down to 50. An e-mail from my aunt Jean said that my uncle John died this morning. I was very sad. Olivia came in and wanted to play a video game. I don't remember the name of the game we played, but it involved finding objects in a room and using them to escape. At level 10, I brought up my laptop to find out what we were missing. When we finished the game, she played Wedding Bash and I read e-mail until my battery ran down. Then I got out my fabrics and tools to cut templates, and pieces for my yellow quilt. Olivia watched me and gave encouragement. She is very good at that. Then, at 5:30 when I thought they were going to start making supper, I got word that Cecily said we should go to the beach. Being an obedient daughter-in-law, I put on the suit and followed the others. They went to the beach but I stopped at the pool. It was warmer. I swam by myself until Olivia came in from the beach. We swam together for awhile, then went in the hot tub. Then the others came in. When I was done, I took off my suit and wrapped in a towel. I hung up the suit and tried to come in the lower door, but the key code did not work. So I had to come in on the third floor. They told me supper would be ready in 15, so I changed into dry clothes and read a bit of e-mail. Then Chris came down to tell me it would be 10 more. More time to read e-mail. Then we all gathered for supper. We had pork tenderloin and sauerkraut, apple rings, and sugarsnap peas. I cut up some tomatoes for me. After supper, it rained and we saw lightning. Most of us watched two episodes of Westwing in the livingroom before going to bed. Chris was reading e-mail when I came down. I saw Kurt had skyped me so I mentioned the funeral and he hadn't heard. We skyped back and forth about it while I wrote this post.

A ton of tomatoes

We got up about 8:30.  Chris was in no hurry.  He showered and went to the hotel lobby for breakfast.  I cleaned up and ate my prepared breakfast.  He brought back a banana and an apple.  I ate both.  We read e-mail and packed.  We got on the road about 11.   We listened to another Janet Evanovich book on CD.   We had no trouble making progress until the bridge over the Alligator river.  Two sailboats were passing through so the bridge was raised.  We waited for what seemed like a long time.  We arrived at the beach house after 4.  James and Becca arrived soon after.  Alfred and Cecily picked up the key and met us a little later.  We all helped carry stuff in.  Cecily brought a ton of tomatoes.  I did not want to tell her that I might be allergic.  Then the kids put on their suits and I put on mine and the three of us went to the pool.  William left first.  Olivia and I stayed in until I remembered that my freezer pack needed to go into the freezer.  We changed into regular clothes and I froze the pack.  Chris, Cecily and Becca made supper.  We all sat down to eat.  We had chicken piccata, spaghetti, spinach and tomatoes.  I ate more than my fair share of tomatoes, but it didn't make a dent. After supper Becca and I and the kids went to the beach to walk in the surf.  It was cold and walking in the water was enough.  The sun set and we came in.  I was tired so I sat on my bed and read e-mail.  Chris was already there reading his.We read until 10 EST when he went to sleep and I tried to finish my blog post quickly so I could turn off the light.

Halfway there

Chris mentioned yesterday that he wanted to leave no later than 8.  It was after 7 when we got up.  He fixed coffee and read e-mail, so I read my e-mail too.  I ate the breakfast I prepared yesterday.  I was the first to break away and pack the last few things.  I printed out another sheet of hexagon parts with thinner lines.  I packed it in a plastic bag with a small rotary cutter, mat, and scissors.  I forgot to bring tape, pins, or needle and thread.  I also forgot my wedding ring.   I checked the garden one last time and found two cucumbers.  I ate one.  We got on the road at 9:30.  We played a Janet Evanovich book on CD.  It wasn't a Stephanie Plum novel because we've been through all of those.  We stopped at a burger place for Chris, but I wasn't hungry.  Hours later we stopped at Subway and I got a salad.  I skipped the tomatoes and peppers because my hands were really hurting.  We brought it to the car where I got sprouts and carrots from the cooler to complement it.  We made good time until the last 15 miles.  Route 40 was closed until Monday and we didn't find it out until after the next to last exit.  It was start and stop traffic up to exit 180.  Why weren't there signs warning us earlier?  We could have gone around.  It took us over an hour to go several miles.  When we got off at 180, we drove fairly quickly to our hotel in Winston-Salem.  There was a pool, but I didn't want to get my bathing suit wet.  I wondered why I was so impatient in traffic considering that all we did was drive to the hotel and sit.  Reading e-mail.  We shared an orange around 8.  I had to restart reading the XKCD comics when I discovered that you could mouse-over them and get more info.  Then I got hit by something like caffeine.  I was pacing the room and Chris finally went with me for a walk outside.  It was nice and we walked around the hotel and saw the pool.  We went back to the room for the car keys and got my water bottle.  It was almost empty.  Then we walked to CVS for a Brita filter pitcher.  After that walk, I felt better.  I ate some kimchi and soaked the new filter in water to prepare it.   It's hard to believe that after all the driving we did today, we have just as much tomorrow.

*  Here is a pic from the talk on Thursday night *

 

Furlough Friday

I got up at 9 to start my day, leaving Chris in bed.  I read e-mail, exercised, and worked on a kneeler.  I joined the ends of the cording going around the top and bottom pieces.  And I cut side pieces and strips for the zipper portion.  By then it was 11 so I headed upstairs for breakfast.  Instead of preparing one breakfast, I prepared three.  As I finished with each ingredient, I placed it in the food box.  It was almost noon 'till I finished.  I put two of them in the fridge and ate the third one.  I laid in the backyard for 20 minutes, my last chance to prepare for the beach.  Then I took a shower while Chris did laundry.  Chris got out my suitcase and I put in bathing suits and towels.  I went through my checklist, putting in what was ready.  I wanted to finish the kneeler, but gave up hope that it would happen today.  At three I went to pick up Alec.  I took him to his house.  I told him stories for awhile.  Then he wanted to watch Spirited Away.  I put the movie in the DVD player but could not get it to play on the TV.  We watched part of a western, then I shut it off.  His mom came home at 5:30.  She paid me and we talked for over an hour.  Then I came home to eat supper.  I picked two cucumbers from the garden.  I intended to eat them, but somehow forgot.  I folded the laundry and picked out outfits for the beach.  More things from the checklist went into the suitcase.  I wanted to take my shower filter, but Chris did not like that idea.  I drew and printed out some hexagon-part pieces so I could do some sewing at the beach.  Then we watched several episodes of Chuck.  Chris went to bed and I am ready to head that way myself.

 

Border talk

I had trouble falling asleep last night due to the pain in my hands.  I felt betrayed by my favorite food.  But somehow I woke up before 9, 'though not by much.  I read e-mail for a long time.  I made a smaller grounding mat to take on vacation.  I wrote my post for yesterday and needed a pic of my tomato plants for it.  So I went out to the garden to take it.  I saw a pink surprise lily blooming in the garden which meant that the ones in the square flowerbed couldn't be far behind.  I wanted to mow that bed before the lilies came up.  So since it was already after 11, I ate breakfast without stopping to exercise.  I removed the bricks around the bed which separate it from the rest of the yard.  I heard the recycle truck stop next door, but it was too late to get them organized and out to the curb.  I mowed the bed, which was difficult because the grass was so high, but still far easier than clipping it by hand.  I avoided the morning glory and the lantana.  The bricks went back into place and the bed looked pretty good.  Since the mower was out, I mowed the side yard.  It was pretty hot and I got dehydrated so I quit there and came in.  I drank two glasses of water and sewed some cording.  Then I put on my suit and laid in the sun.  Gotta be in shape for the beach.  That was followed by more sewing.  I put cording on both the top and the bottom of kneeler #3.  I changed clothes and went into the basement to find Dudley.  He wasn't there, but I picked up a blue monkey instead.  I picked Alec up at daycare and took him home.  I read him 6 Mercer Mayer stories.  There was one more, but my voice was going.  We played with the blue monkey until he needed a nap.  Then we built a lego bedroom for him to sleep in.  Alec decided to hide when his mother came home.  Before I left, he gave me a small dinosaur.  I promised to bring it back tomorrow.   When I got home, Chris asked if I would like fish or turkey burgers for supper.  I opted for fish.  While it cooked, I read e-mail and looked at a sewing catalog.  I changed clothes again.  After eating the fish, I went to the quilt guild meeting.  I realized that I had forgotten my name tag.  I sat with Cheryl and Jody.  There was the regular show-n-tell, and the showing of the comfy quilts.  Then the program was about quilt borders.  The lady who gave the talk brought lots of quilts as examples.  When I got home, we watched several episodes of Chuck.  Then I downloaded the pics from my camera.  I was astounded to see 54 of them!  I posted to my blog and will probably go to bed.

The hidden culprit

I got up about 7.  I never get up that early so I must have slept well.  In fact, I don't remember having any trouble falling asleep the night before.  It is day 4 of my going without tomatoes and peppers.  The skin on my face is looking clearer and my hands and ankles don't hurt.  Could better sleep be related? 

I did my exercises, read e-mail, and ate breakfast.  I came across recipes for fermented nut cheeses and am eager to try one.  I just have to order a large quantity of raw nuts.  I saw a Youtube video showing how metal screening can reduce the radiation from a cell phone tower or wifi.  I wondered if it would interfere with the signal, too.
For lunch, I ate a tomato.  Why?  Because part of me refuses to believe that my favorite food can cause pain.  I also ate a bunch of cherry tomatoes that have been ripening over the last 4 days.  No immediate reaction.  I laid out in the sun on a sheet.  I don't mind the ants crawling on me, but why do they have to bite?  These are not fire ants, and the bites fade in less than a day, usually within in hours.  It's just darned annoying.  I took a shower and dressed in my nice top and shorts.  I zigzagged the seams of the kneeler, but did not finish.  At 1:25 I went to tai chi at the nearby church.  As the leader went through the motions, I tried to write a story to explain each one.  He gives an explanation, but there are 10 different ones.  I need one cohesive story to keep it all in order.  One lady tested at the end of class and earned a patch.  I left to go home.  I worked on the kneeler some more.  I took a jar of fermented coconut milk and the quilt I was working on last night with me to the daycare.  I  picked up Alec and took him home.  He played by himself for awhile while I finished the binding on the quilt.  He plied me with stuffed toys so finally I gave in.  We set up tracks for his little Thomas trains, and then built Lego tunnels for them to go through.  I had started reading him a story when his mom came home.  She paid me for last week.  I gave her the coconut milk.  He tried to give me their cookie jar.  He was so cute.I went home to see that Chris had come home.  I ate a turkey burger and some cheese for supper.  And a salad.  I finished edging the kneeler and cut strips for the binding of the next one.  I also cut out the bottom layer, using the top as a template.  Chris and I watched several episodes of Chuck.  I noticed that my hands hurt while we sat.  We went straight to bed.  My ankles hurt, too.  I felt really annoyed and frustrated that the evidence points towards tomatoes as the problem.

No nice words for kneelers

I did my usual morning stuff: exercise, e-mail, and breakfast. I put two checks in the mail and I bathed and re-dressed the cut on my foot.  I made a loaf of bread for Chris.  I emptied the dishwasher and re-stacked it.   I saw that Maryann was on Skype so I called her.  We talked for over an hour.  I sunbathed to get my daily dose of D. I skipped the farmer's market because I don't want too much food on hand.  While reading e-mail I came across a Tim Conway skit and that led to a Carol Burnett show on Youtube.  Then I watched an episode of TQS showing new ways of using hexies, one of which will be a new idea to go into my yellow quilt.  I sewed cording onto the bottom of the kneeler.  I was cutting the side strips when Chris came home.  I sewed together the sides with zipper portion, and sewed the top to sides.  I took a break to mow the front lawn.  When I got back, I discovered that I had to rip out portions because I left the presser foot up and the tension was really bad.  The fabric is so thick that it is impossible to tell the presser foot up from the presser foot down.  Except for all the loops on the back.  I re-sewed those sections.  I had to re-sew some of the corners, but inadvertently left it up again, so had to re-sew again.  Next time I offer to make kneelers for church, will someone please shoot me?  It is the humane thing to do.  Earlier I had had visions of finishing the kneeler tonight, but  I decided it was time to watch TV with Chris and leave the finishing for tomorrow.  We watched episodes of Chuck and I hand-sewed binding on at the same time.  Nothing left now but to go to bed. 

* No pics today so here is one from show-n-tell last week.  *

 

Lauri's quilt

I got up before 9.  I had done two rounds of exercise and was heading to the bedroom when I felt a sharp pain on my foot.  Somehow it got cut.  I cleaned it off with hydrogen peroxide and put on a bandaid.  I wore the slip-ons with the high wedge heels to take the weight off of the ball of my foot.  I ate breakfast, and planned to write a check for the quilting.  Then I remembered that I needed to write another check as well, but only had one check left.  I had to find a new checkbook.  I also did some tapping, packed a lunch, and grabbed the second kneeler on my way out.  I arrived at the church after 11.  Rebecca had bought me some banana fabric at Quilter's Combo so I paid her for it.  Debbie showed me a picture of her Little Gracie quilt frame that she wanted to sell.  I sewed 7 binding strips together, pressed the strip, then sewed the binding onto the green quilt.  The ladies I wanted to see about advice about the kneelers were not here.  The others commented nicely on the kneeler I brought.  Well, I'm not likely to do worse on the remaining ones.  They also commented positively on the quilt Cathy quilted.  I forgot to eat lunch.  After the binding, I brought out another top to be taken apart.  There was a discussion about the George Zimmerman case, but since I didn't know a thing about it, I could not comment.  A little after 4 I had most of the blocks removed, and I packed up to come home.    I was home by 4:30.  I ate some kimchi and roast beef.  I finished writing the check to Cathy, then read e-mail until Chris came home.  I told him about cutting my foot.  He found a nail sticking up on the landing of the doorway.  I hit it with a hammer a few times.  I went outside to look for apples.  Nope, but I did pick and eat a cucumber.  I also trimmed long grass at the back edge of the driveway.  We both read e-mail for awhile before watching TV.  I also cut a top and bottom for the next kneeler and sewed cording around it.  I discovered that the cording foot will not go around corners.  Hopefully I can catch the corners with the zipper foot when I sew the sides on.  We saw several episodes of Chuck, then read e-mail and went to bed.

A Double Baptism

I got up early thinking it was later, then went back to bed.  The second time I got up I stayed up.  I fixed breakfast and read e-mail.  I showered and dressed.  I assembled some CD's for Jennifer and some fermented coconut milk for Shannon.  Chris put the child seat in his car and we went to church.  I gave the CD's to Jennifer before the service.  There was a double baptism today - two sisters.  Although we sat in the front row, we didn't have the best view.  After church we gave the child seat to Susan who is going to pick up Alec Monday and Tuesday, only she might not need to because Shannon had to stay home with him today, and is going to take him to the doctor tomorrow.  Needless to say, I was not able to give her the coconut milk.  On the way out of church I had a dizzy spell.  When we got home, I picked a cucumber and drank a glass of water.  Then we went to the grocery store.  When we got back, I ate some lunch.  Today I am avoiding tomatoes, peppers and potatoes  - members of the nightshade family.  Yesterday it was meat and dairy.  I thought not eating cheese was hard, but not eating tomatoes is harder, especially when they are ripe and sitting in the fridge.  After lunch I laid in the sun for 20 minutes for a good dose of vit. D.  Then I finished mowing the back yard and re-mowed half of the front yard.  I drank two glasses of water and laid down for a few minutes.  Then I freshened up, and drove to the storage place where some quilters meet once a month.  There were a bunch of ladies there, and I sat down with them.  I pulled out a quilt that needed binding and worked on that.  Others were doing binding too.  It was nice to sit and listen to them chat.  I was late, so it wasn't long before the first one left.  As others finished their projects, they left, too.  Finally it was just Deb and I .  She encouraged me to continue sewing even though it was time to pack up.  We had a nice chat about computer stuff and I managed to sound like I knew what she was talking about.  She showed me a quilt she had on her longarm in her storage cubicle.  When she left, so did I.   I drove home to find Chris watching a movie he bought Friday.  He had turkey burgers in the oven.  We ate supper.  Then he finished his movie while I sewed binding.  When I had sewed as much as I had cut, I went into the garage to cut a top and bottom for the next kneeler.  Chris came in to tell me he was ready to watch Chuck.  So we saw a couple of episodes before he had to go to bed.  The last one ended with him staring through a doorway at his long-gone father who was off screen.  It was not a season-ender, but Chris said we had to save the surprise for tomorrow.  He went to bed and soon it will be my turn.

It's back!

Saturday - Yesterday felt like Saturday so it seemed like we ought to be going to church today.  We slept in a little, then read e-mail and had breakfast.  I laid in the sun and mowed in the back yard.  The mailman delivered a box with my green quilt, all quilted.  I trimmed the edges on the pingpong table in the garage.  I cut binding strips for it and put it all in a box for Monday.  I finished the sides of the kneeler (2nd one).  I shoved in the foam to see how it fit.  Better.  Then I tried to serge it.  But even with a new foot pedal, it was not going well.  So I used my embroidery machine and a zigzag stitch.  I guess because it is computerized it would forget that it was zigzagging and start hopscotching.  Weird, huh?  I rebooted it several times, but it consistently went back to hopscotching after a foot of zigzagging.  So I put that one away and went to my trusty first machine - the Singer.  It stitched it nicely all the way around.  I put the foam back in and tweaked it to its best fit.   Chris played with the voices online.  I juiced up more of the cucumbers he brought home from work and two that I picked today.  I did not find any apples.  I mowed again after supper.  I futzed about trying to decide where to cut more cover for cording.  I was going to cut another pair of top and bottom for the next kneeler, but the leftover fabric wasn't long enough.  I made another zipper section.  And I covered more cording.  I thought it might look better, more uniform, if I used a cording foot instead of a zipper foot.  So I put my foot on Grandma's machine and tried out a section.  It looked pretty good, so I went back to the long part and continued from there.  I only stopped when I heard Michele's voice, talking to Chris.  Their game was over.  She and I talked over Skype for a little while before I had to quit to post to my blog.

Sequestration begins

Friday - Chris was home.  We slept in and then got up for breakfast.  Shannon called to say that she was staying home with her little boy today.  I called Susan about splitting up the next few weeks since neither of us wants to pick him up 5 days a week.  After breakfast I mowed part of the lawn and laid in the sun.  I listened to an audio while re-attaching the old knee pedal and making 9 yards of cording.   I only stitched into my finger once.  Nine yards is 27 feet, which is 324 inches.  At about 6 stitches to the inch, that's 1944 stitches and only one through my finger.  Not bad.  I sewed three yards of cording to the top piece and three to the bottom piece.  Chris went to Target for another VCR, and to the bookstore. I mowed the lawn again just before supper.  Chris left to play Battletech.  I assembled the zipper piece and started sewing it onto the top.  I decided to tap while Chris was away, and because it was dark.  He got back from Battletech before I was done.  He checked his e-mail and went to bed.  I laid down with him, and fell asleep instead of posting to my blog.

*  This is a pic of my new grounding pad under my computer.  *

Is there an app for that?

I did not go directly to bed after posting to my blog last night.  There was a terrific storm going on so I stood outside for a few minutes, soaking it in - no pun intended.  Then I took a shower to get the oil out of my hair.  I had to wash twice.  Then I went to bed.  I wanted to use my new grounding mat, but the storm kind of put the kibash on that.  After Chris left for work the next morning, I hooked up the mat and laid on it, going back to sleep.  I did not really feel any differently when I got up, so maybe it did not work.  It was almost 10.  I read e-mail and exercised, and put together a Swansons order.  Then it was breakfast time, but I realized that it was also recycle day and I hadn't taken them out yet.  After that, I did eat.  I googled how to get Jehovah Witnesses to leave you alone.  If there was an app for that, what would it be?  Anyway, most Youtube videos involved being threatening, silly, rude, passive aggressive, or argumentative.  I was hoping for something  'polite'. The most helpful (and polite) advice was to ask to be put on their 'do not call' list.  After that, I worked on my tan and mowed as much lawn as I could, hoping to get some kneeler work in later.  But the JW research put me so far behind that it was time to go pick up Alec.  So I took a shower and headed out, bring one of Michele's puzzles with me.  I brought him home from daycare and we worked on the puzzle.  He did not know most of the letter names, but he had no trouble matching the shapes with their spots.   I got some reading in, but then he wanted me to play Legos with him.  I tried reading him a story, but he wasn't interested.  We had to play puppets, and then ghosts.  I was so happy when his mother came home, because there was no convincing him that I needed a nap.  I was home before 6, for supper and then mowing more lawn.  I checked my e-mail again, and then we watched Chuck until late.  Chris is furloughed tomorrow, so he doesn't have to go to work.

*  Since I did not take any pics today, here is another one of Michele.  *

 

News from South Korea

I woke up feeling like it was really late in the morning.  But when I finally got up, it was only 8:30.  There might actually be something to this head to the North idea.  I read e-mail and exercised.  I wanted to get started on the grounding mat that I bought all the materials for yesterday.  But the roll of screening was missing.  I checked all over the house and car, so figured it must still be at the store.  I called and they said they hadn't found it but would give me another one if I came by.  While searching the house, I found my order of Vit C on the floor in the garage.  I wondered how it got delivered to that point rather than the front porch.  I needed gas, so checked Gasbuddy before I left.  The cheapest stations in town were in the scariest parts, so I chose a more expensive one sort of on the way to Home Depot.  On the way over, I noticed that most stations only advertise the lowest price of gas, not the one my car requires.  I stopped at Texaco, reorienting my car when I realized that the gas tank is not on my side.  Then I went to Home Depot and got another roll of metal screening.  I brought it home and had breakfast.  I unrolled the screen, and cut off about 2 feet.  I used foil tape to wrap the edges.  I found a piece of rebar in the carport.  I hammered it into the ground below the window.  I ran some copper wire through the window and wrapped it around the rebar.   To the other end of the wire I attached an alligator clip.  That is as far as I got.  I had to eat and change clothes (because I dropped kimchi on my outfit).  Then it was time for tai chi class.  I was early for the first time.  Class went well, although I still can't remember all the moves.  When I got back, the Jehovah's Witness ladies were waiting for me on my front porch.  Their car was at the bottle neck of the driveway.  I had to park on the grass to give them space to leave.  I told them I didn't have time to talk.  So they gave me a tract and left.  I had just had time to prepare a week's worth of supplements (including todays) before it was time to pick up Alec.  The daycare gave him a sheet covered in star stickers for going to the bathroom like a big boy.  I drove him to his house and we went in.  He wanted us to hide under blankets to surprise his mom.  I told him it was too soon.  He played with Legos and stickers.  Then we heard thunder and watched the rain come down in sheets.  We saw large mushrooms in the yard across the street.  He wanted to eat them.  Then he wanted to make a boat to float down the street in the rushing water.  He drew all over a piece of paper with markers and wanted me to paperfold it into a boat, but I couldn't remember how.  When I heard the front door, we hid under a blanket.  We 'surprised' his mother who certainly could not tell that the two large blobs on the couch were us.  Then Shannon and I talked for almost half an hour.  The rain had stopped, so I drove home with no problem.  Chris had eaten supper, so I fixed myself a large salad, and some egg salad.  Then Chris opened the 5 gallon bucket of coconut oil for me.  I scooped it into two one gallon containers.  Since I did not want to waste the oil on the scoop, I wiped it off with my hands and spread it on my hair as conditioner.  I was checking my e-mail again when Michele skyped me.  She is thinking about coming home at some point.  Her landlady is putting in a new bathroom.  I enjoyed snapping her picture with Skype over and over.  Thankfully she did not take my pic with all the oily hair.  After we hung up, Chris and I watched an episode of Warehouse 13 before he went to bed.  I put towels in the basement where we've seen water before.  Then I posted to my blog and went to bed.

A practically perfect day

I slept pretty well last night, AFTER I fell asleep. I heard Chris get ready for work and then sleep took me again. But it released me before 9. I had time to skim e-mail and exercise before making a list of all the places I wanted to go and all the things I wanted to have with me. I left about 10 for HSnV. I picked up my machine there and got some thread and a new foot pedal for my serger. They returned Grandma's knee pedal and said they did not have another one nor could they rig something. So from there I went to Barb's. The repair man there said he could absolutely help me. He had a new pedal with no cord. I told him he could use the cord from my old serger pedal. I went to Home Depot, and when I got back, he had finished wiring the new pedal. I paid for it and went home. I read e-mail while eating breakfast. I put on my bathing suit and worked on my tan. I ate lunch. I took a shower. I packed some seaweed and an orange for supper. I put a cooler, a book, and guild stuff in a bag. I went to the farmer's market. I was early so I sat and tapped. I could not believe how well the day had gone so far, and thought my luck could not hold out. At 10 'till, I walked over to the stands to scope out the tomatoes and peaches. One guy had close to a dozen varieties of tomatoes. I bought some yellow 'Taxi' tomatoes and a few heirloom (when the bell rang). Then I got a small container of goat cheese, and a large basket of clingstone peaches. All of that went into the cooler. I hopped in my car to drive to the church daycare to pick up Alec. They made me show my ID, then gave me the toddler seat to put in my car. He came with two backpacks. I drove him to his house which was pretty close. One of the packs had a key. It was so nice and cool inside. He showed me his hamster. I figured I would have to entertain him, but he entertained himself. I ran to the car for the book and the cooler. I offered him some of a peach, but he thought it was sour. It may not have been sweet, but the flavor was incredible. At 4:30 I took him to the potty, but after 15 minutes and nothing happening, I let him go back to playing. His mother came home about 5:30. We talked for a bit, and then I took my cooler and book and left. The guild meeting was not far away. I did not find it as easily as I had hoped, but might have found a new way to get there. Again, I was early, but others were earlier. I put on a pair of pants and a sleeved shirt because the AC is so cold in there. We had our regular meeting. I presented the block of the month, number 11. We discussed charity quilts and blocks. When the meeting was over, I drove the new way home, stopping at the Asian store for natto and kimbap. The kimbap was all gone. The man told me I should call early in the day to reserve some. I proceeded home. When I got there, Chris was ready to watch TV. We watched two episodes of Warehouse 13 from Netflix. And then it was time for bed.
*  This is Lisa's quilt from show-n-tell tonight  *

New job?

Chris got up late because his alarm was turned off. I woke up while he was showering, but fell asleep again after he left. When I woke up again, I did not want to get up. It was not an unusual feeling. I did get up, but not in time to exercise before breakfast. I skimmed my e-mail and saw one from Shannon to the congregation. She was looking for someone to pick up her child from daycare 5 days a week. I responded because I felt badly for her. Then I packed up the wonky quilt blocks and their leftovers and went to quilting at the nearby church. We had a light crowd because several have gone on a quilting retreat. Dinah lent me her tool for sewing covered cording. She said she had a heavy machine that I could use if I can't get a foot pedal for Grandma's machine. I got some papers from the daycare at this church because they are open longer. Then I called Shannon and we talked about me picking up her son this week to see how it works out. After that I made wonky blocks from smaller 4-patches. I had brought yellows for the next round of color, but never got to them. Patching together leftover pieces of blues for the smaller blocks kept me quite busy. The shop called to say my machine was ready, but they did not have the foot pedal I needed. I was packed up at 4. I went home and cleaned up the kitchen, emptied the dishwasher, and folded laundry. I wanted to have my day free for all the traveling I expect to be doing tomorrow. When Chris came home, I was mowing the lawn. When the mower was done, I put it away and picked a cucumber for supper. After supper I read e-mail and checked out Shannon's address online. She lives very close to her daycare and UAH, which is one place I am going tomorrow. I posted yesterday's blogpost. Then we watched more episodes of Chuck before retiring for the night.
* These are some of the blocks I made yesterday and today *

Renegades

Chris' phone alarm went off at 7:30. We stayed in bed a little longer before getting up. My foot was hurting from dropping the jar of kimchi on it Saturday. Although it was raining, I did not go down to check the basement. After showering and dressing, I practiced my trombone one last time and then packed it up. Chris took it to the car. I went through the garage to pick up the kneeler. We parked right outside the north end of the church. Even though it was only 20 minutes until the service, there were only 2 other cars in the parking lot. The organist was inside with the pastor. I showed them the kneeler and we all tried it out. Cecelia came in to see us kneeling and she tried it out. She liked it, but agreed with me that it could look better. The organist played while she sang her piece and then with me while I played part of mine. The church was filling up with people. We sat on the far left so I wouldn't have far to go to play. During communion I watched to see who got to kneel on the new cushion. After the last blessing, I played my two songs. Most people stayed to listen and clapped when I was done. A few might have been singing along with America the Beautiful. Then I packed up and Chris took the instrument out while I stayed behind to chat with a few more people about the kneeler. Then we went home to change clothes. I ate breakfast while Chris went grocery shopping. After limping in church, it seemed like a good idea not to go shopping. But after breakfast, Chris took me to Quilter's Combo for the Renegades meeting. They make Project Linus quilts. The block for this month was a wonky four-patch. The leader gave me a few small leftover blocks from another project to get started with. She had also brought some home grown tomatoes. I found out later that they weren't grown at her home. It was fun to root through the Project Linus stash to find strips to go around the blocks. I finished 8 blocks by the time most ladies were leaving. I called Chris to come get me. He arrived just as I had packed up. We came home and he put roast beef in the oven. He smelled like bacon. Mmmm. I considered mowing because the rain had stopped, but decided to give my foot another day of rest. After supper we watched more Chuck. My foot was feeling much better as long as no one touched the top of it. Chris gave me a back rub and I fell asleep.
* This quilt was on the wall above the ironing station. Interesting use of divided sashing. *

How about a prayer for sewing machines?

I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. Finally I re-oriented myself so that my head was facing north. I fell asleep soon after, and now wonder if that was really the reason. I got up about 10 to have breakfast and pack up my machine. I took it to the sew and vac place to get fixed. I asked for a replacement foot pedal for Grandma's Pfaff machine, but he didn't have one and wanted to see the old one. Barbara came in the shop and we spoke for awhile, and I bought some thread. Then I went to Barb's sewing Center because she is the Pfaff dealer, but the shop was closed. Apparently they are only open Tuesday through Friday. So I went home, liberated the knee pedal from the cabinet and took it to the first shop. The man had never seen anything like it and thought it was an after-market job. I left it there for him to check into. I came home and worked on the kneeler. I had to sew with the handwheel, which was slow, but there were only a couple of spots I needed to re-do. I went into the kitchen for lunch, and dropped a gallon jar of kimchi on my right foot. It hurt like heck, but once the pain subsided, I could walk on it quite well. I finished the kneeler boo-boos, and pulled out my old serger. It did well for half a seam and then the foot pedal started burning. Great. But I think I remember that happening before. So I got out the newer one. It takes a degree in rocket science to read and follow the manual. But I persevered until I had the function changed from cover stitch to a two-thread serge stitch. That is when I discovered that the foot was too wide to run beside the cording and still overcast the edge. Double great. I turned to my embroidery/sewing machine, the fifth machine so far. I tried several stitches until I found the one that covered well and used the least thread. I finished the kneeler cushion, and stuffed the foam into the cover. What a tight fit!! Now it looked even worse. I think I will add seam allowances to the next one. And somehow I am just not stitching close enough to the piping. and not turning the corners right. I cut more pieces for the next cushion. Then I decided I needed a break to sew something else. I edge-stitched and quilted the S-shaped quilt that Rebecca gave me. It felt good to do. I went upstairs for supper. Chris made chicken soup with bacon fat. It was good I must admit. Then I used Grandma's machine to sew the ends of multiple strips together to cover more cording. I walked outside barefoot to look at the garden. I found one apple untouched by the rabbits. And two cucumbers that weren't quite ready yet. When I got back inside, my foot started to hurt. I practiced my trombone and then sat in the computer room, reading e-mail and resting my foot on a chair. I tapped and followed some of Brad Yates videos. When Chris was done playing with the voices, I asked him to get me a bag of frozen fruit for my foot. He went to bed, and I am hoping to get there soon.

Is there a prayer for kneelers?

It was almost 9:30 when I got up. I was having a dream about my mother going missing. Rebecca was scheduled to come over at 10 so I didn't have a lot of time to get ready. I was going to clean the diningroom table and discovered that the box of origami date papers had fallen and the floor was covered. I picked them up, exercised and practiced my trombone. I started checking e-mail while I waited. At first I thought she was late and later concluded that she wasn't coming. This makes the 5th time. It was just as well 'cause I wanted to finish the kneeler. To give it my full attention I had to finish checking e-mail and have breakfast. I also took out the recyclables when I saw that all the neighbors had theirs out. I began by sewing the side strips onto the zipper. I accidentally ran the zipper pull too far and it came off. It was not easy to get it back on, but eventually I did. I sewed the zipper piece to the boxing piece. And then it was time to sew it all to the top. Not simple, nor easy, especially with the cording not joined. My machine started making a funny clacking sound. I exposed the bobbin area and tightened some screws and removed some lint. That helped, but something was still amiss. That machine was not built to sew through so many thick layers. But, ha ha, I have Grandma's machine. Solid metal. Heavy as sin. Will sew through anything, even a finger, without so much as a 'by your leave'. I found its zipper foot, but needed a wrench to get off the regular foot. I wound one of its bobbins with upholstery thread and put in a #16 needle. I was ready to sew! And it sewed soundlessly and solidly until the knee pedal started to crackle and pop. I finished the top in short bursts. With my finger wrapped in a paper towel, I pinned on the bottom. It did not fit exactly, probably because I snugged up the cording to make the corners neater. To get it just right, I 'pinned' it on with binder clips (pins couldn't handle the job) and hand-basted it all the way around. Then I sewed 3 of 4 sides before the knee pedal overheated. Great, now I have ruined two machines. I called my dad to see if there was a knee pedal at his house, but there wasn't. He told me all about his last two days. By the time the call ended, the pedal had cooled down and I finished the bottom. Ah, it was finished! But no, there were a couple of oops that had to be taken out and re-done. And I want to serge the seams, IF my serger can handle the thickness. But it was after supper and I wanted to take a break and watch TV. Guess what we watched? Chuck. At least 4 episodes. Chris went to bed after that and I wrote this post and realized that it makes the sewing fiasco sound a lot easier than it was.
* I don't have a pic of the kneeler yet, so here is one of my daily supplements, which I forget to take occasionally. *

Freedom on the Fourth

We celebrated first thing in the morning with our own fireworks, even though it was raining. I found time for exercise, practice, and e-mail. Breakfast was precisely at 11. At 11:40 I packed up my trombone and headed to church. I met Mary, our organist. We worked out a medley of two songs, My country tis of thee, and America the Beautiful for a postlude. I tried singing a verse, but it did not feel comfortable. After I got home, I picked a cucumber for lunch and some apples that fell from the tree. I was lucky to get them before the rabbits had their one bite. I watched a few more Youtube videos to determine how big to cut the pieces for the kneelers. Some say to add seam allowances, and some say not to. I decided to split the difference. It took quite some time to cut out the pieces I needed for the first kneeler - the one I took apart. I was determined to leave space at the end of each row for strips of boxing and zipper inserts. The man we ordered zippers from loaded the first pull, so that was not a problem (he sent a 10 yard zipper and a bag of pulls). When I had all the pieces cut, I sewed the piping to the top layer and the bottom layer. I did not tailor the ends in case I had to adjust them later when I added the boxing strip. I came up to watch videos on how to assemble the zipper insert. There are several methods so I had to pick one. By then it was after 8, so we decided to start the movie "Mists of Avalon", courtesy of Netflix. Three hours later, it was finished and I was all teary because almost everyone died. It was also after 11 and time for bed. Chris got his clothes ready for work tomorrow. As I write this, I can hear people setting off fireworks, but none that show above all the trees.
* This is Louise's last quilt - the one I wrote about on Monday *

Progress on the kneelers

I got up before 9, which really surprised me. I started my day reading e-mail. I progressed to exercise, practicing, and breakfast. Then I took a shower. I wanted to lay in the sun, but there wasn't any. It had rained overnight and the grass was damp. I finished sewing my sample of cording and headed to church. I was hoping if I went early and got things started, we might finish before tai chi class was over. But that was unrealistic. Cecelia arrived just as I was bringing the kneelers from the sanctuary into the fellowship hall. I had already brought in the new foam and batting. We laid the foam sheets on a table one at a time for cutting. We used the old foam as a pattern. She held the metal ruler in place while I cut along the edge with an electric knife. It worked well. Then we rolled each piece in batting and spray-glued it on. We arranged the new foam around the communion rail to make sure it fit. Then we put the old foam back into the covers and replaced them at the rail. It was way too late to make tai chi, but the cut foam looked good - good enough to kneel on. She brought an old shower liner to catch the overspray. She was going to throw it away, but I found a use for it. When I got home, I used it to cover one of the boards that funnels the rain away from the house. Chris came home soon after I did. I went out to mow the lawn before it rained. I finished the back yard and one side yard before the drops hit. Chris made meatloaf with cayenne and bacon fat (among other things). It was really good. I watched Youtube videos of ladies making cushion covers. Then Jennifer e-mailed me from her phone to meet her at church. I called to make sure it was her, then left. We talked about EFT, and hormones, and Law of Attraction, and lots of stuff. We even did some tapping before we went our separate ways. When I got home, we went down to watch Chuck. But the DVD player would not work. The power light would not come on. Chris took it apart to get the disc out. Behind the DVD player was a dead mouse. Lovely. I guess the bait is working. Thankfully we have a spare (DVD player), so we used that. After several episodes, we came back up to look up some of the actors that seemed familiar. Then Chris went to bed while I blogged.
* This is Barbara's quilt, ready to be handstitched. But it can't stay there 'cause that's where I gotta cut the fabric for the kneelers *

Broccoli flowers

It was after 9 when I got up. I don't remember anything unusual happening during the morning except that I did my exercise routine in a different order. I practiced my trombone and watched a video about Darren Brown, the British hypnotist. After breakfast, I tried to order some vit C over the internet but the site said my card was rejected. After an hour (or more) of calling the company, then calling my cc company, then the internet company and then my cc company, I finally found out that no one knows what the problem is so I used Paypal instead. I went outside to lay in the sun, but the sun was unpredictable. I spent quite some time researching absorbent cloth to make my own moon pads. Wearing commercial ones didn't bother me when it was only a few days a month, but now I need something organic and chemical-free for everyday. After ordering some cotton/hemp cloths, I pushed myself away from the computer to get something in the sewing room. I found myself hooping Barbara's quilt in the garage. I did not hear any birds, so I think the danger of bird poo is over, but I covered the quilt with plastic anyway. I thought I might start quilting, but I mowed instead. I saved an apple from the lawn mower and ate it. Being a green apple, it was very tart. Not sure what happened after that, probably e-mail. I was eating chicken when Chris came home. I watered the garden and did a little yard work. I took a pic of the flowering broccoli. i picked some dandelion and made a salad. I decided I really need to do SOMETHING on the kneeler project, so I cut off a 13 inch strip of fabric and a piece of cording to experiment with covering it. I used my regular size 12 needle, upholstery thread, and a zipper foot. It seemed to work ok, but the tension was off. As I was trying to figure out whether the top thread was too loose or too tight, Chris brought my my phone. It was the organist calling to schedule something for Sunday. She picked My Country Tis of Thee for a postlude. We scheduled a practice session for Thursday at noon. Since I have the music already, I practiced it after she hung up. Then we watched several episodes of Chuck before going to bed.

Finishing my to-sew list

I awoke to hear my phone ringing. It seemed awfully early, but it was past 9. The ringing stopped before I could find my phone. When I did find it, I called her back. It was Cecelia and we changed from Thursday to Wednesday. I exercised and read e-mail. I practiced my trombone. I heard the chimes attached to the front door. I wasn't dressed, so I went to the bathroom window to see who might be there. It was a bird. It swiped the chimes with its wing, then flew to the corner to watch the door. It did it again. It gave up when I refused to play. I packed everything I needed for quilting and then ate breakfast. Still, it was after 11 when I arrived at the church. There were plenty of ladies there already. I found a place to set up my machine. The first item on my to-sew list was binding. I had the strips cut so I sewed them together and pressed the length in half. I pinned it to the quilt and stitched it on. It all sounds timely but it took hours because of all the talking and then lunch. Rebecca and I discussed how she made her S-shaped quilt. I figured it was like the circular bargello, but she said it wasn't. Barbara brought me the quilt she started 30 years ago for her son, but can't finish because it is partially hand-quilted and her hands can't do that anymore. Bertha gave me her scraps. She announced a field trip on Friday to Barbara's lake house, but I can't go. Alice showed off Loise's last quilt. Loise died early last week. The funeral was Friday.
The second thing on my to-sew list was putting a border on the quilt top from last week. I brought two choices, hoping for the lighter one. And YES, that was the one that went best. I didn't really know it until after it was sewn on. Having finished my to-sew list, I packed up and came home, arriving only minutes before Chris. I unpacked the stuff that needn't be in the box next week. I came upstairs to greet Chris. When I went back down, it was to get the lawn mower. I took it out for a spin in the front yard. Then I turned it over to scrape out the clumps of grass and put it away. That is when I noticed the birds. Baby birds. The mother had fledged them from the nest in the insulation of the ceiling. They were hopping/flying around the garage. I called Chris to come see. I opened both garage doors so they could get out. One tried very hard to get through the doggie door into the basement. I moved the batting and foam into my car, and covered the fabric. I don't want baby bird poo all over it. We left the doors open and went up for supper. I read e-mail and researched a book I decided to get. I practiced my trombone. We watched several episodes of Chuck. I thought I would rip apart the kneeler to use it as a pattern as we watched TV, but decided it needed my full attention so I could document how to put it back together. Then we went to bed.
* This is my finished top for Linus Project *