No Sewing Satuday and no Bob

I realized I was awake at quarter after 8. I was hearing a 'snick, snick, snick' moving around the house. Then the thought crossed my mind that I did not hear my phone alarm at 8, which I set last night with coaching from Chris. The snicking stopped and I got up. I read e-mail and fixed breakfast, preparing to go to a Sewing Saturday. But at 9:20, the message went out on Facebook that it was canceled due to the building being closed and under construction. Having no desk in my sewing room, I set the Brother up on the table. It was the only one with a cord long enough. I sewed the perimeter of the placemat while listening to an audio. I tried laying in the sun, but it was not cooperating. I swept half of the patio and got a splinter in my foot. The sun came out so I took advantage. Then went in for tweezers. I could not see it, so tried a piece of packing tape. Reading e-mail, I came across 111hz as being special for some reason so I looked it up on youtube. It is supposed to promote cellular healing. I listened to several versions of it. Maryann called me on Skype twice. She kept getting interrupted. She complained about the heat, and how it could be humid in the morning and dry in the afternoon. I would love a free sauna like that. I finished sweeping the patio. Next door someone was cutting down trees. I trimmed the tall 4 o'clocks that fell over in the rain yesterday. And the rose of sharons which were getting too tall. I hauled the branches out to the street. I swept part of driveway, then came in for water. There was a little new e-mail to read, but nothing all that interesting. I put on a CD from the book and went into the garage to handquilt. I went through two CDs. I ate supper and handquilted some more, without the benefit of a narrator. Then I work on making a quilt top from a panel print I found in my stash while looking for something else. I heard the Skype sound so I rushed upstairs to catch it. Chris was just leaving for church and wanted to know if the underwear market was open on Sunday. (I had asked for more). After he left, I talked to Michele a little bit and now am posting to my blog and planning to finish downstairs and go to bed.

*  This is a pic I took through Skype yesterday.  Aren't they cute together?  *

It's official!

I awoke at 7:45. I read e-mail, played an audio interview, practiced my trombone and exercised. Chris sent me two pics from Michele's graduation. It is now official.  I cried.  I posted one on Facebook. In my sewing room I noticed that what I thought was dust, was spreading like frost crystals. It must be mildew. I washed the dresser and desk with vinegar as best I could. I ate breakfast and laid in the sun, visions of mildew taking over my brain. I ran quantum energy codes for inhaled toxins. I called our rental agents and left a message asking for help to carry the items to the garage. Since I did not know when or if they'd call, I took the drawers to garage and washed them with vinegar. I vacuumed the floor so as not to stir up dust. I moved all the stuff on desk and the dresser. I laid on the couch to rest my back. Then I ate lunch. I recharged the laptop. After another short audio, I checked the mail, but there was none. I took a shower, then I resumed my task by taking out the drawers from desk. I washed them with vinegar. It started to rain really hard. Bob arrived with his trailer and another man in a car. They moved the furniture to the garage and set it on end so I could wash the bottoms. He promised to come back with a spray can of clear Kilz. I asked about getting a sprayer for the kitchen sink and he thought he had one lying around somewhere. It was suppertime. After eating supper, I listened to another audio and prepared supplements for the next week.  I fired up the tablet to download a pdf for tomorrow.  I ran into several roadblocks, but eventually got it on the tablet in a place that I could find again. I noticed Chris on Skype and called him. I talked to Chris and Michele for almost 90 minutes. Not that we had much to say, but it was nice to see them together. Then I wrote to my blog and planned to go to bed (with the next CD playing).

Bushwhacked

I practiced last night before listening to the CD. With no one else here, I can do that sort of thing. I woke at 8am. I was reading e-mail when I got the idea to get early sun on the palms of my hands to adjust my sleep cycle. So I did. Then I took out the recyclables, and read more e-mail. I saw a video about hemp plants. They make much better paper than trees, and renew at a far faster rate. And it is good for Hempcrete, a building material that lasts a lot longer, not affected by moisture. It is also good for medicinal purposes. There were audios after that. I was able to listen as I cleared the dishwasher and exercised. I practiced and ate breakfast. Also three peaches because some were rotting from the inside. I printed a page of quantum healing codes, then lay in the sun. It was nice to see the sun, but it hasn't rained in a week. Listening to another audio, I worked on a placemat in the basement. It was a low priority item, but I felt compelled to finish it before stealing the remaining fabric for another project. When the laptop battery ran down, I ate lunch, then clipped and sawed the bushes into shape. I loaded the clippings on a tarp and dragged it to the road for pickup on Monday. I needed a glass of water after that. Then I heard a weight loss audio. The interviewee says there is a voice in your head that tells you to do something then chides you for doing it afterwards. Give her a name, and then argue with her and refuse to listen to her nonsense. I made a large salad for supper while listening. I used the juice from the marinated olives for dressing. I took my laptop into the garage to hear another audio while I hand-quilted. When it was over and the battery run down, I took it upstairs to plug in. I took the next CD of the book and put it in the DVD player by the TV. While it played, I worked on the placemat, then sat on the couch until it finished. I put another one in the desktop computer to play while I try to sleep.

*  The bush at the corner of the house used to be much larger  *

Next time Euripedes

Last night I played another CD, but this time did not fall asleep before it was over. But I slept through the night and woke around 8. I checked my e-mail and found a message from Chris that he and Michele were able to find my underwear in Seoul. I mean, they found the underwear market that sells the kind of underwear I like. I listened to audios while reading e-mail, deleting spam, exercising, and practicing. I also cooked up the quinoa after its 24 hour soak, and tweaked the pic of the Lutheran Rose banner from church. I swept the diningroom floor with a broom to find pieces of a pen that fell and broke apart. I was able to assemble it again, but it won't click into place, so there must still be a part missing. After breakfast I drank a glass of water and laid out in the sun. Then I drank another glass of water and mowed both side yards. I sweated a lot, which was good. I drank more water with a squeeze of lemon. I went looking for my book of patterns that I've printed out from the internet. I also have one full of sketches, but I could not find either of them. I searched through bags of non-quilting scraps looking for close matching fabric. Even though I did not find that, I pulled out pieces that will work for the Lutheran Rose lectern cloth. I auditioned grey fabrics for corners. They were all ok, so I had to pick one. I procrastinated on the decision by having an early supper. I hard-boiled some eggs, and made egg salad using the mayonnaise that I made last night. A green salad followed that. Then I listened to some audios and researched sacred geometric designs. I saved a few to a file. Then I took Chris' suit pants downstairs to patch a rip in the right butt. I have already patched the left one. In the words of a famous Greek philosopher and tailor, “next time Euripides, Eumendes.” It was after 8 when I finished. I decided to play one last audio and do some handwork before going to bed.

Staying off the web

I went to bed last night with a CD playing. It worked perfectly. I fell asleep, stayed asleep all night, and woke up about 7. I may have to listen to the last half of that CD again. I used the morning hours to read e-mail, exercise, practice, make a Swanson's order, and soak quinoa. I got an e-mail from Chris that he arrived at Michele's apartment safely.  After breakfast, I listened to an audio and laid out in the sun. After a glass of water, I mowed part of the lawn, mostly in the back. Then I laid down in the basement to cool off before taking a shower. I folded laundry and read e-mail until it was time to go to the farmer's market. It took longer to get there than before because now that school has started, there is traffic and traffic police at several places along the way. The police wear light yellow gloves, but they'd be much easier to see in orange. I bought peaches, and two sizes of tomatoes. They also had apples and pears, but I couldn't eat that much. I brought the produce home and ate a small tomato and two peaches (because the first one was so good.) Then I went looking in my sewing room to reasonably match a particular fabric. I'd looked before, but this time I went through every possible place, and all the scraps, and strips and backs of fabrics, and non-quilting fabrics. I did not find it. I had already put stuff in my car for tonight, but added some cotton batting. I ate some meatloaf. Then I drove to the church. Cecelia was already there with two men who were taking apart the small pew from the front of the church. We were all amazed how much taking apart it needed just to recover the seat. When they'd gotten it apart, they left to do other things and we sat with our flathead screw drivers and pliers and pulled out staples. It was not fun and I skinned a knuckle. When we got the blue off, we saw that there was tan underneath. We decided to leave it. We also decided that a professional should do the recovering so that the fabric would be evenly stretched. I took a pic of the rose banner so I could make a matching one for the lectern for Reformation. Then I took the fabric and tools back home with me. I had to bring the stuff in in the dark since the porch light doesn't work. I am glad I didn't walk into the spiderweb in the carport. I read the latest e-mails and listened to a few episodes of Ricky Tims and his rhapsody quilt. I downloaded pics from my camera, and now I am ready to listen to the book on CD and go to bed.

Exchanged for 2 twenties

Chris woke me up at 8. I read some e-mail, practiced my trombone, fixed a bowl of breakfast up to the coconut oil stage, packed my lunch, exercised, and threw the old camera into my bag. Chris ate breakfast, showered and packed a few last minute things, like his laptop. Then we looked up the address for the airport. Leaving around 9, Chris drove us down 565 to the airport. We had the GPS, but it wasn't showing the best way, or even the usual way to get there. He stopped in front of the airport and got out, unloading his baggage. We kissed goodbye and I teared up.  He is going to Korea to spend a week with Michele and her roomate (and see her graduation ceremony).  It's like he exchanged a 50 (me) for two twenties (them).  Ha, ha.  

As I drove away, so did the car in front of me, so I followed it out of the airport property. I found my way down 565 to the Bob Wallace exit. But first it exited at the Space and Rocket Center so I had to turn around and go up to the next intersection. When I got home it was just after 9 30. I tested a lot of batteries for the old camera. Some tested ok, but the camera rejected them. I had to get out two new ones. I read e-mail and finished my exercises. I finished making breakfast and ate it. I made notes for my blog and realized it was almost 11. I quickly brushed my teeth and ran for the car. When I got there, I apologized for being late, but according to their clock, I wasn't. A woman named Jaime cleaned my teeth. I asked about the water and she told me they use only distilled water. I sat in the waiting room for over half an hour. I read my book and did some of the meditation/healing exercises. Then I was called back to get my crown. She snapped the temp crown off, and the new one on. It fit tightly and I was ready to leave. But no, they took it off, shaved it down, re-glazed it, and fit it again. It was too high in one spot so she sanded that off. Then I was free to go, after paying of course. All told it was about 3 hours. I went home to get my sewing things and lunch. I went to the regular quilting meeting. I ate lunch first and then I was prepared to work on the brown and orange batik, but Roberta had costumes to make so several of us did that. When we finished those (red and white aprons), I ripped out pieces of the quilt top that I intended to replace. I replaced them. But, I did not have fabric to suit me for the rest, so I packed up and went home. It was after 5:30. I ate some of the beef for supper, but it got stuck in my teeth. I also had a salad. I got the mail and brought back the garbage can. Then I mowed the front lawn. I was amazed how much I got done since the grass was dry and not too tall. Then I raked up the clippings from the other day. I found an almost ripe tomato and decided it was too dark to do anything else outside. I went inside and read e-mail. I tried listening to an audio, but it was boring. The book on Cd sounded much better. I decided to post to my blog early, and then listen to one or two CD's and go to bed.
* I did not take any pics today since the people who had quilts to show left before I arrived, so, here is another one of my new rulers  *

Our last night

We woke up before 8, but went back to bed because it was too early. I got up before 9 to read e-mail, shower, have breakfast. Chris needed one last trip to the bathroom and I took the opportunity to put some cashews and sunflower seeds in a jar of water to soak. Then we went to church. Our new intern gave the sermon. After the service, I talked to Cecelia and Lars. We scheduled a 'meeting' for Tuesday night to replace the old fabric with the new fabric to match our kneelers. He is bringing tools to get the bottom off and the staples out, but I am not certain who is expected to do the new stapling. I talked to Mary and she wants me to play a second piece for Rally Day. I also returned Spirited Away to Shannon. I spoke to Cyndi about the paraments, showing her some sketches. Then Chris and I went to the grocery store. The only thing on the list was raisins, but we managed to pick up at least half a cart of food. At home, Chris put the groceries away while I changed clothes. We ate lunch, and I sunbathed. We read e-mail and I printed out some quilt instructions for next week. Chris did one more load of laundry and packed his suitcase. I gave him my new camera to take along. He also put gas in my car. I cleaned up my sewing table a little more. I sewed some extra shelving rubber to my cart to keep my sewing machine from slipping off. I packed a sewing project for tomorrow. I thought about mowing. At 5 I rinsed and blended the soaked nuts with water and a probiotic. I put it in the old jar so the leftovers from last week can help the fermentation. For supper Chris cooked some beef. It was really good. I wanted seconds, but opted for a big salad instead. I worked on Barbara's quilt until Chris was ready to watch TV. We saw 3 episodes of Chuck. One last perusal of e-mail, and we are off to bed.

*  I did not take any pics today, so here is one from last Monday of the quilter's bulletin board.  *

The excitement of new rulers

I got up before 8. I went into my sewing room to see if I had topstitch needles. They have a longer eye and might shred the thread less. I did not find any, although I did find metallic ones. I laid down on the couch to think. Then Chris woke up. He came down to find me. I had to pay the troll. Then it was after 9. I drove to UAH where Deb was passing out orders and collecting money. I picked up two of the rulers I ordered. One is discontinued. Then I went to Jo-anns, since I was already on that part of town. Still, it was further out than I thought. When I got there, I remembered that I meant to print out the coupons that came in my e-mail. I got two packs of machine embroidery needles, an 11 and a 14. They have the bigger eyes like topstitch but were slightly cheaper. I picked up some remnants, too, since they were 50% off. On the way home, I found myself passing the salon academy where I have gotten my hair cut. I went in to see if they had an opening, and one student did. She was trimming off so little that I thought it wasn't worth getting it cut. So she asked her supervisor to start a trim guide. That meant that he cut a swath from my forehead to the back of my neck. I think she was supposed to take over then. But, he and I got in a conversation about growing organic vegetables and avoiding GMOs, and he cut it all. Looked really good, too. I tipped her 'cause it was a good cut, even if she didn't do it. When I got home, it was after 12. Chris was having lunch, so I ate some meatloaf and carrots, forgetting that I hadn't had breakfast yet. I read some e-mail, learned about rainbow looms, and then made breakfast. (Rainbow looms might make an interesting Sunday school project). After breakfast I laid out in the sun, and then drank two glasses of water and took my supplements. Chris took a shower and started the laundry. I searched for fast2cut rulers for storm-at-sea, but apparently they are hard to get unless you are willing to shell out big bucks. I perused images of Stargello quilts. The pattern calls for a special ruler made by the same company that makes the Gem Star ruler

, but I think I can get by without it. I opened the file where I have been downloading pics of communion clipart and sorted it all into its own file. I made mayonnaise, but with a new recipe – one using an immersion blender. It only called for one egg yolk, and it was kind of bitter, which the website said was due to the blender being too powerful and breaking down the droplets of olive oil. I peeled a hard-boiled egg, mixed it with some mayo and ate it. Thus fortified, I went into my sewing room. First, I changed the embroidery machine to a sewing machine. I sewed the rips in my nightgown. Then I saw some train fabric and contemplated how it could be made into a quilt. I needed to use the cutting table, so I started clearing it. Some of the fabric on it needed ironing, so I did. Then I had to run upstairs to plug in my laptop. I read e-mail until I saw the fabric Chris washed with the laundry and I took it down to iron it. When I came up, it was time for supper. Chris's game was starting. I looked for a ripe tomato and found a small one and a red pepper. We shared the pepper. I read e-mail, and listened to an audio. When the audio was over, I brainstormed church wallhangings in my mind. I brought up my file on church symbols and reflected on them. I searched the internet for the colors of the church year, and saved it in my file. When I noticed that the time was after 10, I decided to post and go to bed even though Chris is not finished with his game.

Doing well

I woke up after 9, surprised that it was so late. I read e-mail, and listened to an audio. I used a Clorox stainstick on a shirt with a stain, but it didn't take it all out. So I put lemon juice on the shirt and laid it in sun. I did my exercises and practiced my trombone. After breakfast, I did some handquilting, finishing most of the block. Then, since the sun was shining, I worked on my tan and afterwards took a shower. I reviewed more communion-type images for my project. 

At 3 I went to pick up Alec. He was ready to go, and he was in a good mood. We played several matching games, and with the big bear. We also kind of watched Cars 2, but he wasn't really into it. When his mother came home, she paid me and we chatted. I borrowed Spirited Away before I left. A delivery man brought pizza and breadsticks, courtesy of her husband who is working out of town this week. How thoughtful. So I left, but had to go back to drop off the carseat. When I got home, Chris was on the desktop. I read through the latest e-mails, and fixed my own supper – cheese and salad. Then we watched Spirited Away. There were parts I didn't get so I plan to ask Michele. Then we watched several episodes of Chuck. Chris went to bed and soon it will be my turn.
*  Our black-eyed susans are doing really well this year.  Its probably because I thinned them out, but it could be all the rain we've had.  *

Cutting it short

I got up early again, but don't know why. Breakfast at 11 seemed awfully far away. I read my e-mail, and searched for communion images.  I made up a week's worth of supplements. I took my nightgown into the basement to sew the trim back on. I don't know why it keeps ripping. But the embroidery machine was set up, not my regular machine. Then I remembered that I promised to bring some fuzzy brown fabric to church. I went hunting for it. The first piece I found was unhemmed, which meant that it had never been used. I planned to donate one of the panels we used in our Korean apartment since it will be outside for maybe a month? I looked through every box in my sewing room. I came across the rest of the fabric for recovering my kitchen chairs. Yea! But of course, the panels were in the last box to be checked, shoved back behind another big box. But I found it, and that is what counts. Still not breakfast time. I did my exercises and read the latest e-mail. I heard the recycle truck go by and remembered that I forgot to put them out. 

Then it was time. I was so hungry. After breakfast, and kimchi, I decided to trim the lawn with grass clippers. I cut myself accidentally. After some hydrogen peroxide and a bandaid, I was back at it. I raked the part of the yard with pinecones and then mowed it. I mowed the ditch, too, and in the back yard. The lawn mower surprised me with how well it worked today. Because the sun was shining so nicely, I put on my bathing suit and lay in the sun. Finally I was able to get 20 full minutes of sun. I found an extra large cucumber near the patio. I had given up searching there because the vines were so dried up. I tried to eat it all, but it was too big. I took a shower, and headed out to pick up Alec. I was later than usual, but ironically the kids were still napping in a dark room. I had a hard time waking him up. I took him to his house and he used the potty there. For the first time, he stood up to go. There were color matching cards on the floor in the back room and we played a game with those. Then we played with Mr. Bear. Mr. Bear suggested we watch a movie. Alec picked the movie – Shrek. Every time the AC came on, we couldn't hear the TV so he wanted me to make the bear laugh at him. Well, my throat can only make an evil laugh so many times before I get hoarse. I turned the TV up. His mother came home a little early. We chatted for awhile, and then I went home. It had rained while I was babysitting, and was still wet. Chris wanted me to cut his hair, so we opened the garage door and did it just inside. He wanted it really short and that is how I cut it. Then we had supper. I read the latest e-mails and listened to an audio. Then we watched 3 episodes of Chuck before going to bed.
*  This is my orange and brown quilt top with one of its new corners.  *

Block swap

I got up earlier than I intended, hearing a roach crawling under the headboard. I might have dozed off, dreaming of lots of stairs. Because I don't eat breakfast until 11, there isn't much incentive to get up early. The morning seems so long. And today's e-mail cleared quickly. After exercise, I still have time to tap before breakfast. After breakfast, I wanted to lay in the sun, but decided to mow while the mowing was good. I finished most of the front yard, except for the part with all the pine cones. I also did the side yard and part of the back. The mower did well today, maybe because the grass isn't so tall. Then I laid under the overcast sky for whatever sunbeams might come through. I needed a shower after that. When I was all cleaned up, I ate lunch. It was too early to pick up Alec, so I called my dad. He was sitting with my mom in a Dr's waiting room. We had quite the chat because they were early, and then the nurse took Mom for her appointment and did not need Dad for that. When Mom had returned and was ready to leave, we ended the call. I still had a few minutes. Then it was time to leave. I picked up Alec at his daycare and drove him home. It started to rain. Still, because there is a big tree in his front yard, we had fun blowing bubbles and chasing them. He got out his lawnmower bubble maker. I filled the bottle and he made bubbles just by pushing the mower. He also played in the sandbox, and then we went in. He chose to watch a Veggie Tale movie and asked for a snack and juice. Shannon came home just after the movie ended. I went home to have supper and go to the meeting at church. Shannon was there with pizza and sodas for everyone. Not many people attended. Tamara passed out handouts for the first two blocks of Sunday school. This year crafts will be done 2 of 3 sundays and half the kids will attend each one. The crafts are already chosen and a list of supplies given. We also talked about the church's entry for the botanical gardens – Davey and Goliath. The framework was there and someone was making heads. I offered some brown fuzzy cloth to cover Goliath (hope I can find it). Choosing a Christmas play was also on the agenda. I asked why we had to have one, and one admitted that some parents were tired of it. We chose to have a children's concert instead. The meeting broke up late, and I went home. Chris and I watched several episodes of Chuck, finishing season 4.  As I sat down to write my blog, a roach crawled up the wall.  Chris swatted it and carried it outside.  Just as he was closing the door, I saw another one crawl in.   Sheez!

 *  These quilts are from a block swap.  There were more than 12, I think, at the guild meeting Thursday night  *

Make hay while the sun shines

I woke up early, but went back to bed after drinking a glass of water. I did some inner work on s few things that are bothering me. Also, brainstormed parament ideas. It was almost 10 when I resumed my usual activities. I folded two baskets of laundry and stacked the dishwasher. After breakfast, I noted that the sun was shining most of the time. I found a few minutes to lay out and work on my tan. It was a good time to mow the lawn. It had rained last night, but the grass seemed fairly dry in the sunny areas. I mowed in the back and the top part of the side yard. The mower kept overheating. That gave me a chance to trim the right side of the driveway. With all the clumps of grass clippings in the yard, it looks like I am making hay. When those wet clumps become icky, its like silage, hence the title of this post. I put the mower away, and cleared a few e-mails. I thought about going to the farmer's market at 3, but all I need are tomatoes, and it seemed too far for just that. Then I loaded one of the book CD's and researched religious symbols for the parament project. Chris came home while I was listening to a second one. He fixed himself supper. I played a third one, sketching as I listened. But I ran out of inspirational images. The doorbell rang, and it was the delivery man with my latest supplement order. Then I practiced my trombone briefly before taking the lawn mower for another spin. I finished the side yard and did about half of the front. Chris went to the grocery store. After the mower was put away, I started working on Barbara's quilt. I heard Chris come home and put groceries away. Each block has a 9-patch based design. I quilted about 3 of them before Chris was ready to watch TV. Even with a 200 watt light bulb, I had trouble seeing the stitches. We watched 2 episodes and more or less, went to bed.

*  This is Carolyn's quilt, taken yesterday  *

The prodical FMQ supplies

I woke up after having a strange dream about cake. Putting that aside, I read e-mail and exercised and ate breakfast. I checked the mailbox. It was full of ants and pupae. With a dustpan brush, I swept the box clean and hoped it would stay that way until the mailman made his delivery run. I packed seaweed and nut cheese for lunch. I took lunch and my sewing tools to the church for our usual Monday quilting. There were not so many women there as usual. But more came later. I worked on my brown and orange quilt top, constructing new corners for it. Then I worked on piecing yellows and oranges into hexagons. It was almost 5 when I left. Chris was already home, making meatloaf. While it was cooking, he did two loads of laundry. I went in the basement to look once again for the extension table that I made for my sewing machine. I remembered the night that we were frantically moving items to avoid the water pouring into the basement. I knew I would have shoved it anywhere dry, and then I found it – under my cutting table. A little more searching also brought forward the quilting gloves that were stored with it. Phew! PTL!. I practiced my trombone, and fired up the old computer. It has my embroidery software on it, and it is the only one with a 3.5 inch drive. I re-digitized the quilt label I did for Doris. I had misspelled her granddaughter's name. I took the embroidery card down to the machine. With the proper hooping, thread, needle, etc, it should have only taken 15 minutes. But for whatever reason, the thread shredded intermittently. Chris was ready to watch Chuck long before I finished. Then we watched 2 episodes and went to bed.

*  This is Bertha's quilt  *

The cat returns

I woke up just before 9. Not too bad for not having an alarm, or Chris to wake me up. I read e-mail and ate breakfast while watching a video on the 4^th state of water. It was so good I might have been late to church except that it got interrupted and I had to reload it, so I just quit and took my shower and dressed. I grabbed the last kneeler and headed to church. It was raining but I did not have an umbrella. So I left the kneeler in the car. During the service, one couple, two individuals and a family joined the church. One of them sits in our pew. After the service, I talked to Cecelia and Lars about the kneelers. Now they want to recover the short pews at the front of the church with the fabric that is left. I also talked to Jennifer, and to Mary. Mary found a copy of “When the Saints go Marching In” that she wants me to play for Rally Day. When I got home, it was lunch time. I finished the video and read all the comments that it got. Some of them referred to related subjects and I looked them up. Then I ate a peach and went outside. When the peach was finished, I got out the clippers and trimmed the grass growing inside the fence. I decided to do the garden, too. Then I raked up the grass clippings and threw them on the pile. I trimmed the grass in front of the carport. Then I attempted the grass lining the driveway. But all of a sudden I noticed a prickling in my right hand. It got worse, painfully so. Then I noticed an odd, short, spiky caterpillar. It must have stung me multiple times. I ran into the house. I did not think to take a pic of it. I called Chris and he said he was about an hour north of Huntsville. He recommended that I not go into anaphylactic shock. Thanks. I sat at my computer trying to read and not worry. Finally I got a piece of packing tape and dabbed it over my hand to pick up any tiny spines that might be present. The prickling continued. I tried sketching designs for paraments on a piece of paper. Presently Chris arrived after dropping off his traveling companion. I told him my stories and he told me his. I was not feeling energetic, so I laid down. I sketched paraments in my mind. After a while, he laid down with me. Then, since we are married...he put fish in the oven for supper. When it was ready, we ate some and put the rest away. He read e-mail and sent Michele job announcements. I brushed my teeth and wrote a rough draft of my blog post.  I tried to look at christian symbols on the internet, but all I got were links to more links.  No actual images or clipart.  We watched 2 episodes of Chuck before going to bed.

*  This quilt was at show-n-tell on Thursday night.  *

Roman stripe

It was after 8 when I got up. I have been going to bed early, like at 9, so I don't know why I have been waking up so late. I read the usual e-mail, did my exercises and ate breakfast. I sewed the boxing strip to the top of the last of the kneelers.  (It's like the Last of the Mohicans, only more sew.  Ha, ha.)  I checked the corners and re-did them all. The foot pedal was getting hot, so I stopped there for a break. I ate some lunch. I edge-stitched the seam I had just sewn on another machine. I walked out to the mailbox and found it had ants. I put some Terro on a piece of cardboard to put in the mailbox, but the box was not level and the Terro ran off. A trumpet vine had grown all around the mailbox and I figured this had contributed to the ants. So I cut it back and ripped its clutching vines from the box. A powdery smoke went up and suddenly there were ants everywhere, even on me. I brushed them off frantically, just in case they were fire ants. I left the box alone after that. I picked two tomatoes which were not quite ripe. I wanted to mow, but it had rained and the grass was quite wet. I put the fabric from Tuesday night into the washer. I sewed the bottom of the kneeler onto the rest. The corners looked good, so I took it downstairs to finish. The fabric in the washer went into the dryer. I edge-stitched the remaining seam. Then forced the foam into the cover and zipped it up. The dryer was done, so I pulled out the fabric and ironed it all. There was quite a bit of the roman stripe, so I wound it on a cardboard bolt.  I took an hour and a half to rip out two rows of stretch-stitching on my shorts (not as simple as it looks) and insert some half-inch elastic so I won't have to pull them up every 5 minutes.  I have been meaning to do it for a long time, but other things kept coming  up.   I listened to more audios and played solitaire. I ate supper. I cleaned up the clutter on the diningroom table. I pulled out the red vacuum but it was set too high and I could not adjust it. So I got out the blue one. I emptied its cup. It did well on the floors but not so well on the carpets. I put another CD from the book into my laptop and set it to play loudly while I sat in the recliner in the den, beside the salt lamp. One chapter into the CD I realized I had not written my blog yet and stopped to take care of that before finishing the CD.

When the cat is away, the mice will ... sew

I did not exercise this morning. My back was in an iffy condition. I read e-mail, listened to audios, and wore a bag of frozen peas on my back. I ate breakfast at the usual time. I put away all the quilts in livingroom that I had gotten out yesterday to make my selections for the show. I sewed piping to the top and bottom pieces of the kneeler. I went to my bank to deposit a check, then to another bank to cash one that I wasn't sure would go through. When I got back, I sewed the boxing strip for the kneeler and assembled the zipper section while listening to another audio. I ate a turkey burger for lunch. It looked like rain, so I ran out to mow. I mowed under the magnolia tree and I mowed in the back yard. I had just finished the back yard, but was able to mow it shorter. The mower kept stalling. I think that is because of the clumps of grass clippings. Then I noticed that the handle was loose. I took it back to the garage and tried to take it apart, but did not have a star driver. So I made a mental note to call Charlie and turned my attention to clipping bushes and flowers. I was carrying a bundle of clippings to the yardwaste pile, when a ball flew over the fence from next door. The kids came over to get it. I talked to Craig, the father of one of them. When I mentioned that the mower handle was broken, he told me to bring it over. He had a star driver and took the housing apart. He pulled out the broken piece and arc-welded it together. I learned a lot by watching. He also gave me two peppers, both red, but very different shapes. I thanked him and put the mower away. After carrying off the rest of the clippings I went inside for supper. I made a large salad for late supper and finished listening to audio started earlier. Faye e-mailed me a pic of William from his birthday party. So I called to wish him a happy birthday (can't believe he's 47). Then I wrote to my blog, anticipating a leisurely evening listening to a book on CD and going to bed.

When the cat's away, the mice will ... show?

When I woke up this morning at 5:30, I could hear rustling near the headboard. I snuggled lower in the bed and went back to sleep. Later I got up for good. I found the roach in my shoe, so I took the shoe to the door to evict the roach. But I was not dressed, so I just threw the shoe out. I got dressed, retrieved my shoe (now empty) and took out the recycling. I read e-mail, listened to an audio, and exercised. I ate breakfast, I read that extroverts need more stimulation, and introverts need less and may avoid social situations which are overstimulating. I worked on gathering entry info for three quilts for the quilt show in October. I printed and filled out forms and took and printed photos. I filled a dish with dates and covered it with plastic wrap. I finished mowing the front lawn and mowed the part inside the fence. I took a shower, and had a bite to eat. Yesterday I put quinoa in a jar to soak. Today I rinsed and cooked the quinoa. I went through a box of old sheets in the basement, looking for some that would be appropriate for the quilt show. I wrote my name on two slips of fabric and sewed them to the sheets. Jeanette came by at 5 to pick up a copy of the purse pattern. I had it ready. I hunted my nametag and found it hanging in the closet. I brushed my teeth, and drove to church for quilt guild meeting. I was thinking that so many things were going on at this meeting that I felt overwhelmed. I turned in my quilt show entries, and then the membership registration with a check. I got my picture taken with the raffle quilt and for the membership directory. Jody asked me to sit with them, so I did. There wasn't much to do but talk until the meal started. Door prizes were awarded. When Debbie arrived, I brought the two labeled sheets to her. But she only wanted donated sheets. The tables were set in a large square, leaving the center of the room empty. Covered dishes were set on the tables. When it was time to eat, we all stood up and prayed. Then we moved in two clockwise circles: one on the inside and one on the outside. We filled our plates as we walked along. When we got back to our seat, we sat. It was an interesting way to do it. Desserts were on a separate table in the back. After the meal, we had a short business meeting, regular show-and-tell, round row robin show-and-tell, and speeches from the outgoing and incoming new presidents. The outgoing board presented a quilt to the outgoing president. It was beautiful. Then a group of square dancers did a presentation of two songs. Then they turned to us and each one picked a partner from the crowd. I kinda volunteered. It was fun and really nice to dance with a man who likes dancing. Then the meeting broke up and we all went home. The house was dark and I could not get my key in the lock. Fortunately for me, I know another way. I put the dates away (mostly untouched). I rinsed and put away the quinoa that was still on the stove. I killed a roach and went to bed.  I played another CD from the book to help me relax and go to sleep.

When the cat's away, the mice will ... mow?

When I woke up, Chris was having breakfast and not happy with Google. I read some e-mail.  Chris asked me for cash and I gave it to him and went back to bed. He left before 8. I got up because I was hungry but tried to put off eating. I made up a week's worth of supplements. Having the bottles labeled for the days of the week really helps me figure out if I have taken them each day. Also made breakfast to see what else I need from Swansons. I exercised and cleared e-mail. I finished the Swansons order after breakfast. I was surprised how small it was. I sewed panels together to get fabric large enough for the last kneeler. I printed out a registration form and a membership form for the big quilt group. I laid out in the sun for 20 minutes. I went back and forth between the laptop and the desktop trying to get to pages on Facebook for the quilt group. I had to restart them both. I mowed in the back yard and the side yard. The mower quit 4 or 5 times. While I waited for it to start again, I picked 2 small tomatoes and a pepper. After putting the mower away, I came in to cool off. I cut the kneeler fabric to fit the last kneeler. I also zigzagged the edges of the seam. I printed a quilt pic to go with the quilt registration. One quilt is a group quilt and the rules claim everyones name has to be on the registration form. So I spent over an hour reading my blog posts from Korea trying to find the names of everyone in the block swap. It did not work as well as I had hoped. I made a salad for supper with a turkey burger. As I read my blog, I watched the man next door mow part of our lawn. I sent him blessings and good thoughts. At 7:15 I got out the mower and finished the side yard and re-did part of the front. It got dark. I cleared out a few more e-mails and did two killer puzzles. Now I am posting to my blog and hope to listen to one CD of a book while I go to sleep.
*  this quilt is from show-n-tell yesterday  *

Show and tell is my favorite part

I was having the most interesting dream this morning but I can't remember it now. I also can't remember what threw me out of it. I got out of bed to follow my normal morning routine: e-mail, exercise, etc. I even got in some sewing (piping). After breakfast I noticed the sky darkening. So I rushed out to mow before the rain hit. The grass was wet but I struggled through. It did not rain, and in fact, the sun came out for the rest of the day. I went into my sewing room to find something for the demo tonight. I found everything I needed already done. Tonight's block is a lot like the March block. So I packed it all in a bag and stuck it in the car. I checked my blog for show-and-tell suggestions. All I could find were the samples from the FMQ class. Kneelers aren't really appropriate, nor do I have one at this time. I took a shower and left at 2:40 for the farmer's market. I bought peaches, tomatoes, and cucumbers. It is not a big market so shopping did not take long. When I got back, I finished the piping from this morning and a block from roughly a month ago which I decided to take to the meeting. At 5 I went out to mow again. The grass was dry and the weather nice. But the grass was tall and I did not get as much done as I had hoped. Chris came home a little late. He fixed himself a burrito and I had a turkey burger with some of the nut cheese on it. That was delicious. And proteinacious. (My word processor doesn't think that is a real word.) Chris held up my green quilt so I could get a good pick of it, and then I raced off to the quilt meeting. Eli had brought 3 boxes of fabric to share with the group. I got two pieces and decided to let the rest go, not wanting to take more than I should. The meeting went well. Show-and-tell was first. Then various items for discussion. Block of the month was last and seemed to go well. I did not stop at the Asian store on the way home for kimbop like I usually do. I got home about 8 and I sat at my computer to write Eli a thankyou note and send a msg to Jeanette and a couple of recipes to Lisa. Then I posted to my blog for yesterday. I had written the post earlier but got side-tracked by more urgent things. Then Chris and I watched a couple of episodes of Chuck before going to bed.

*  This is Jen's quilt.  She bought the top on Ebay and quilted it.  *

Binding and ripping

Last night I put cashews and sunflower seeds in a jar of water to soak. I rinsed them and added water and some fermented coconut milk this morning. I let it sit to ferment. I read e-mail, and did two of three exercises. I ate breakfast early, then packed a lunch, and projects. I went to church about 11. I finished sewing the binding on the green quilt. Several of us sat down to lunch. I offered to share my fermented nut cheese, but it was not well received. I enjoyed seeing Laurie's quilt laid out on the design wall. I spent the afternoon unstitching parts of the brown and orange quilt. I cut some new strips. At 4 I was ready to sew, but it seemed a little late to get gettting out my machine, so I went home. I mowed side yard and part of back before mower slowed down. Chris came home while I was getting the mail and bringing back the garbage container. He cooked turkey burgers while I cut strips for piping. When I sat down to attach them to the previous piping, I discovered that the strips were too narrow. So I cut three more. Then we watched 2 episodes of Chuck and went to bed.

Sunday stitching

The alarm went off at 9. Chris was already up and on his computer. I rolled out of bed. I read e-mail and took a shower. At 10 I fixed breakfast and ate it. I dressed and put on my earrings, but one broke so I got another pair.  We headed to church. I brought the new kneeler and put it in the place of the old one. At the service, we officially welcomed our new intern and her husband. After the service, Pastor told me how he just realized that most of the kneelers were new. The congregation gathered in the fellowship hall for a meal and a 'pounding'. We went to Publix for groceries. At home, we put the food away and changed clothes.  Chris glued my earring back together.  I read e-mail for awhile, then headed out for Stitch Group. I had decided that I wasn't stopping at Lowes on the way because I didn't have the energy after staying up so late last night Skyping Michele. But when the moment came, I took it. I pulled in and searched the store for plexiglass. Someone had to show me where it was. Pieces were pre-cut in several sizes and I got the one Deb recommended on Saturday. But it cost 60% more than she said it would. Still, it will come in handy for several uses. I arrived at the storage building after 2. They were not set up yet, so I helped. I brought the green quilt so I could stitch binding. And I did some of that. But Debbie brought a DVD of a quilt show in Georgia and we spent most of the time looking at pics. The group broke up after 6. But it was almost 7 when I got home. The sky looked like rain was coming, but I mowed anyway, and it did not rain. Then I came in to have leftovers for supper. I read a little more e-mail, worked another puzzle, and then we watched 2 episodes of Chuck. Now I am really ready for bed. Gotta catch up on my sleep. 

*  Here is the end result of the FMQ class  *

FMQ = free-motion quilting

I woke up about 8:20. I wasn't sure if the FMQ class started at 9 or 10. I tried to look it up on Facebook, but Facebook wasn't cooperating. So I called Deb and she said 10, and asked for a circle ruler if I had one. I fixed breakfast, glanced at my e-mail, and packed up the sewing supplies needed. I boiled a dozen eggs so I could have one for lunch. I took seaweed and the nut cheese. I arrived right at 10, driving in the back way. The door was locked, but Jan came through and let me in. Deb was alone since both Deb and Amber had gone home to get something they forgot. We chatted until they returned. Deb instructed us to create a few quilt sandwiches for practicing. I made three. Then she had us draw curlycues on the whiteboard. Mine kept coming out in lines. She didn't want that and erased it. Then we moved on to l's and e's. When lunch arrived, we stopped for that. Later we quilted our sandwiches. I did ok, not knowing before I started sewing what was going to result. I quilted 3 and assembled a 4^th. I noticed others packing up to leave, so I did too. It was very cold in there. I got home just about 5. Chris was eating and waiting for his game to start. I unpacked my box, and had some supper. I picked a pepper and some dandelion. I spent the evening listening to audios and working killer Sudoku puzzles.

Basted!

I kept falling back asleep this morning, not wanting to get up. But when I did, it was only 8:30. Chris had left earlier to take his car for maintenance. I read e-mail and exercised. He came back before I had breakfast. After breakfast, I got out the lawn mower. I mowed inside the fenced area so I could lay in the sun. But the sun was fickle today. Then I mowed in the front yard. I was going to mow until the battery ran down, but I got hot and dehydrated first. When I came in for water, Chris was watching the second Tron movie. I drank two glasses of water and took a cold shower. Then I started preparing for FMQ class tomorrow. I had my list of things and put them in a bag. The fabric I chose for the backing needed trimming and ironing. While I was ironing I realized that it was past time to leave to pick up Alec. I jumped in the car and drove over there, arriving just in time. I took him home. He was in a great mood. He wanted to watch a Diego movie. This movie prompted interactions from the kids that watch it. We had a good time. It must have been scratched because it froze about 5pm. I skipped ahead to the next episode. His mom came home at 5:30 and he ran to greet her. She paid me and we talked for awhile until we got the carseat out of my car and her son decided to strip on the front lawn. It was my cue to leave. When I got home, Chris was waiting for his burrito to cool. I grabbed some supper, too – meatloaf and acorn squash. And olives. I read the latest e-mail, then put on an audio and went into the basement to finish the list. I forgot all about mowing again. I went through my batting pieces to find 3 good sized ones that I could sew together to make enough for the top. With all three pieces assembled, I laid them out on the pingpong table. I sprayglued the batting to the top, and then the backing to the batting. I whip-stitched all around. Then Chris came down and we watched two episodes of Chuck before going to bed.

* This is a pic from Monday.  This device holds a ruler steady during the cutting process.  I tried to find one on the internet and was amazed how expensive they are.  * 

Mowing and babysitting

I woke up this morning with the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Every woman over the age of puberty knows the feeling. Sometimes the feeling is wrong, but I found out later that I was right. I went back to bed. I don't know when I got up, but it was a pretty average morning. It was sunny, too. After breakfast I mowed the lawn. It was slow-going as I mowed forward 2 feet and back 1. The grass was tall and wet. Yet I persisted until all of the grass was … less tall. As I mowed, I thought about what part to mow after supper. Silly me. I cleaned up from mowing, and ate lunch. I re-juiced the mash from yesterday.  I read some e-mail, cleaned the spots on the quilt, blanket and sheets. Then I got dressed and went to pick up Alec. It rained in torrents. Visibility was very low. But I made it to the daycare to pick him up. I took him home, and let him pick one thing out of my bag to play with. He chose a deck of cards. They had words on them and he could not read them. So he decided to play hide-and-seek. We had a blanket fight and I tapped on his bear. I showed him another deck of cards with colors and shapes on them. He did great at that. He built a nest of blankets and laid down for awhile. Then he was up again and ready to play. His mother came home early. We chatted for a bit and then I went home. I had a headache. I wonder if it is from the tooth. The dentist warned me that it would hurt, but it doesn't. Well, brushing hurt, but I learn quickly when pain is involved. For some reason the gum is sore.   the worst part is the frustration.  My tongue is constantly telling me "There is something on that tooth and I can get it off." 

Anyway, Chris baked fish for supper. I read e-mail and listened to an audio and worked a number puzzle (the kind where no numbers are entered). We watched several episodes of Chuck and Chris went to bed. He is not working tomorrow, but getting up early to get his car serviced.
*  This is the other old quilt top that I dug up  *

I must be a queen

I got up at 7:30. I read e-mail, saw the sun and thought about mowing the lawn later. I tapped for upcoming anxiety. I showered and ate breakfast. I headed out early to the dentist. I worked on a number puzzle until they were ready for me. I had a cracked filling which needed replacing. I did some future pacing to set the intention for being relaxed and rested at the end of the visit. I brought my ipod with meditations and hypnosis on it. After removing the cracked filling, the dentist showed me my tooth. I couldn't believe how little was left. She showed me the crack across the nerve bed and the base. She told me that she could put in a regular filling which would hold for awhile, but would probably end in a root canal, or she could put a crown on it. Since I never want a root canal, I went for the crown. Sadly that meant removing more of my already diminutive tooth. I had to sign a form saying I would pay for it, and then she took an impression and put on a temporary crown. I paid at the front and they made an appointment 3 weeks away for the permanent crown (and a cleaning since I missed my cleaning appointment today). Due to the ipod, I felt calm most of the time and not so bad during the injections and drilling. When I got home, it was sunny, so I put on my suit and lay in the grass for 20 minutes. Then I dressed again, and went to tai chi. Because of the anesthetic, I could not smile properly and because it was wearing off, it kinda hurt, too. But I had something to smile about. It was the last class, and the instructor asked me to 'test'. So I did, and made two mistakes. The rest of the class clapped, and I was happy to have done that well. Since I caught my mistakes the leader decided to give me a patch. As I left the building, I could see how stormy the sky looked. There would be no mowing today, nor taking Alec outside. I was hoping for an easy afternoon. When I picked him up, it was raining hard. We had to run through the rain to the house. He got a little wet and wanted to change his clothes. He picked out ones that were too big. I tried to read him a story, but it hurt, and he played with his toys. Then we went to the backroom to build a tent out of a blanket. He put all the other couch blankets in there and every stuffed toy. I don't know how he fit. Then he wanted to watch “The Lorax”. I figured out how to run the DVD and we did, until his mother came home. We talked for a bit and I went home. Chris was eating supper. I juiced up some veggies and let some cheese dissolve in my mouth while reading e-mail. Then we watched episodes of Chuck, season 4 and went to bed.

Digging out quilt tops

I woke up at 8:30,. It was raining very hard. I read e-mail, and watched the rain. I tried out a few songs on my trombone for Rally Day, but none of them seemed appropriate. I constructed a grounding mat for the desktop. I put a sympathy card and a check in the mail – rain had stopped. I played an audio, did some tapping, and actually exercised for the first time in a week. I ate breakfast, and playe a neuroscience audio. After more tapping, I gathered egg cartons into bag, and found crayons in the craft box, putting them in the car for tomorrow. I added the remaining old kimchi to the new, hoping to blend the tastes. I took and e-mailed pics to Amanda so she could pick a quilt top for Saturday's free-motion quilt class. At 2:38 I realized what time it was and headed towards the farmer's market, grabbing the egg cartons. I got there just about 3pm. They were open and people were shopping. I found an egg seller and got two cartons, giving them my bag of empties. I also bought 2 cartons of goat cheese, although one also has some cowsmilk in it. When I got home, I put the food away.  I had determined to mow the lawn, but it started raining again.  I worked on the kneeler, sewing the boxing to the top. I sewed part of the bottom seam too. Chris came home so I gave the machine a break and let the foot pedal cool down. He fixed his supper and I ate mine. I cut a cucumber into slices and spread nut cheese on them. After supper, I played Michele's game again. I did not die this time, but I explored the entire board and did not find any way to get the main character back to the life she was forced out of . I finished the kneeler and zigzagged the edges. Then I inserted the foam and zipped it shut. Having this week's kneeler finished by Tuesday leaves the rest of the week for preparing for the FMQ class. I listened to several audios during construction and the battery ran down so I had to plug it back in to recharge. I sat at the diningroom table to listen to another audio while Chris gamed with the voices. The voices are going to a convention and this game somehow prepares them for that. I went into the basement because the bathroom down there gets perfectly dark. I had an ipod with meditation music on it. It was nice and relaxing. When I came up, Chris was still gaming. I checked my e-mail, but nothing new has come in for hours. I was worried, so I checked Facebook to see if the internet world was still there. It was. I decided to go to bed.

Colorful Day

I slept so well that I did not hear Chris get up for work. I woke up at 7:30 to find him gone. I read e-mail for awhile. I tapped for the mowing situation and the babysitting situation.. I then sewed piping to the top of kneeler #6. It went ok so I figured I was good to sew. I ate breakfast and packed a lunch. I wanted to take the fermented nut cheese but I had nothing to put it on. It wasn't that great by itself or with celery. I packed my log cabin project and the green quilt that needs binding. I loaded it all in the car and drove to the church. I ended up spending all my time handsewing the binding and never got to the other project. Glenda brought me some fabric she thought would match my log cabin project, but the colors were off. I spoke to Alice about cans for Sunday School and she said she could get 30 in less than a month (she owns a restaurant). Being the first Monday of the month, we celebrated all the birthdays this month. Victoria brought in two cakes that she had made. Everyone raved about how good they were. All I ate was the fruit on the table and my seaweed. Debbie sat next to me for awhile and I took a pic of her not-quite-completed quilt top. She asked to see the pic and was surprised how beautiful her quilt was. Myrna told us she was quitting her job cleaning for the daycare. She cleans 14 toilets a day, 5 days a week and now she's had enough. Yep, I can can believe it. Around 4 I packed up to go home. I mowed the side lawn, stalling 3 times. Then I mowed on the other side, near the ditch. I put the mower away when it sounded pitiful. When I went in, Chris told me that I missed a phone call. I called back but there was no answer. Then I made some egg salad for supper. Chris informed me after I peeled the egg that he had meatloaf in the oven. I read more e-mail. I called Shannon, and she told me that she was going to start working parttime in two weeks so she wouldn't need a babysitter, but that in the mean time the daycare would be closed for a week and she'd need all day care. I started sewing piping to the bottom of the kneeler. My phone rang and Chris brought it to me. Jodi and I had a nice chat and promised to pray for each other. Then I mowed again, raising the deck so I could get further. The mower ran out about dark. I put it away and wrote this post until it was time to watch TV. We watched several episodes of Chuck and then...went to bed.

Fermented Nut Cheese

The alarm went off at 8:30 but we didn't get up until 9.  I fixed breakfast and checked on my fermented nut cheese.  I stirred in salt, garlic and lemon juice.  It might have looked a little like goat cheese, but it did not taste like it.  There was a meeting between services at church but we did not make it. We got there just in time for the second service. After the service, I talked to Cecelia about the kneelers. Then I talked to the new intern and her husband. Chris joined it. Before long, we seemed to be the only people left. Except for pastor. Finally we left for home. We changed clothes and went to the grocery store. Then we put away the groceries and had a bite to eat. I was going to go to Renegades, a quilting group for Linus project. But the pulled muscle in my chest said no. Still, one of the ladies found a great deal on fabric for the group and was asking for donations to cover it. So Chris drove me over and I gave her $20 towards the $100 needed. I chatted for a bit and then we went home. I read e-mail with a bag of frozen peas on my chest. Then I mowed the rest of the front lawn. It went faster since the grass was not so wet. The man next door stopped to talk which gave me a rest. Then I just barely finished as the lawn mower petered out. I plugged in the mower to recharge and came in to use the frozen peas again. I sat at the computer to clear more e-mail. I found Michele's game there so I played it. Much of it was hard for me to understand, so I sent her about a dozen e-mails as I went along. At the end, I died at the hands of a villainess who was killed earlier, at least it seemed so at the time. I finished listening to an audio, and then we had supper. Chris played a computer game while I passed the time with my bag of frozen peas and rulers and a rotary cutter. I ironed the fabric I bought yesterday when it came out of the dryer. Then I practiced my trombone for a few minutes so Chris could wrap up his game. We watched several episodes of Chuck. Each one more unbelievable than the next. But the suspense is killer. As a side note, the character Morgan stands out for several reasons, one of which is his height. He is noticeably shorter than any of the other males. So we looked up the actor to see how tall he is. He is 5 inches taller than me. I never before thought of myself as noticeably shorter than other people. Do I stand out because of my height? Or lack thereof?

Voices and a friend

We laid about in bed, being lazy. Around 10 I remembered the farmer's market near our church. So I threw the completed kneelers in my car and drove to church. I was going to walk to the market first, but someone was coming out of the door, so it was a perfect time to bring in the kneelers. I replaced the old ones with the new ones and put the old ones in the old nursery. The organist was there and requested one for the piano bench. Then I walked to the market, bought tomatoes and peaches and walked back. I was hoping for organic meat, eggs, cheese or milk, but there was none of that. Then I went to Hancocks to look for a larger piping foot. They did not have a larger one. But I did find some cupcake fabric, some doughnut fabric and some sweet potato fabric. Two of them were on sale so I bought extra. Maybe if I had eaten breakfast first I wouldn't have been so tempted. The cashier was interested in organic food and avoiding all the things I try to avoid, and she gave me a facebook group name for permaculture. From there, I went home. I passed a yardsale on the way, so I stopped. The lady said I looked familiar, so we compared notes. As it turns out, we were both at Yongsan at the same time. How amazing is that? Her son looked familiar to me and I think he was in the third grade math class that I visited once a week. At home, I fixed breakfast, and put nuts in a bowl to soak. I was going to mow the lawn, but it rained just then. I called the Singer place to see if they had a larger foot. They did, so I drove over there. It was a small store that I had never noticed before. Her foot was not as large as I wanted, but she said it was the largest made for home machines. So I bought it. She also said that using upholstery thread in my home machine would ruin it. Never heard that before. I hope she is mistaken. Nearby was a thrift shop. It was large, and full of stuff. I looked for a pair of shoes like the ones I have, but there were none. I looked through all the other stuff, but not the clothing. I did not find anything I desperately needed, but I enjoyed looking. I came home to try out my new foot. Although the piping slot was larger, the foot was slightly deeper so it was just as hard to get the fabric and piping under the foot. Pulling it through as the machine sewed was easier. I cut and sewed 8 yards of covered piping. Chris invited a friend over to watch him play with the voices. It was by his friend's request. When I finished the piping, I ate supper and mowed part of the lawn. I know I shouldn't mow it when the grass is wet, but that is the only kind of grass we have. Then I put the soaked nuts and seeds into the immersion blender. It has a chopper attachment. I added in some fermented coconut milk and a probiotic capsule. I left the mixture in a jar to ferment over night. Then I read e-mail and watched a video interview. During the video, I was playing solitaire and all of a sudden something I did turned off the keypad. I absolutely hate it when that happens! My only recourse is to reboot. So I retired to my desktop. I finished the video and read all of the comments. Several times I jumped up at the sound of fireworks, but was unable to see them because of the trees. Then I came out to the kitchen where Chris was finishing up his game and his friend was reading. I rebooted my laptop so I could skype Michele. Chris' friend tried to help me figure out how I accidentally turned the keypad off and how to turn it back on. Chris googled it and between the two of them, the problem was solved. I skyped Michele and she told me she had written a computer game and needed someone to test-play it. She was having trouble sending it to me and I signed off to write my blog and go to bed.

*  I didn't take any pics today, so here is one from the last guild meeting  *

From bad to better

My back was not feeling good when I got up.  I had trouble getting out of bed.  I read e-mail and ate breakfast. It did not improve so I called Shannon so she could find someone else to pick up Alec. Ants were swarming at the sink yesterday and I put out Terro twice. Today I put out one more puddle, and that seemed to take care of them. Some one from pest control came by to check the mouse and rat baits. I sunbathed in the back yard. About 1:30 Chris drove us to the daycare to drop off the carseat. On the way back he put gas in my car and we stopped at Kroger for condolence cards. Then I worked on the kneeler, zigzigging all the edges and stuffing the foam form inside. I also made the zipper portion of the next one and did some cutting for the top and bottom. I used our new immersion blender on the 'mayonnaise-that-wasn't'. It frothed but did not miraculously become mayo. Two packages came in the mail: Swanson and Old Navy. I put the Swanson items away and will take the Old Navy stuff to church. Feeling better, I got out the lawn mower and mowed what I could of the front yard. The mower kept overheating, so I got out a tarp and loaded cut branches onto it whenever the mower needed cooling off. I dragged the branches to the front of the yard so the city can pick them up on Monday. Chris put cod in the oven with the failed mayo and garlic and herbs and bacon fat. It was extremely good. I walked out to the garden to pick a tomato and cucumber. The tomato wasn't quite ripe, so I set it in the window. The cucumber became part of a salad with fish and mayo juice on it. I read e-mail while eating.  At 8 I wrote a sketch of my blog and went to the garage to work on cutting until Chris was ready to watch TV.  We saw several episodes of Chuck.  The writers really keep it interesting, if not believable. I finished my post and went to bed.

Superheroes don't like bubbles

Chris went to work later than usual, on purpose. I read e-mail until he left. I took a break to organize the recyclables, then read a little more e-mail. I went downstairs to cut boxing strips and make a zipper for the next one, hoping to do a better job while the memory of the last one was still fresh in my mind. I cut the top and bottom for kneeler #5. Then I put the pieces in the guest room where Grandma's machine is. Breakfast, e-mail? Cecelia called 1, right after sunbathing.

Chris came home early. He had been shopping. In addition to food, he brought home an immersion blender. I watched a tapping video and then resumed work on the kneeler. I made more piping, and then it was time to go. I drove to the daycare to pick up Alec. When we got to his house, I suggested that we blow bubbles, but he said the super heroes don't like bubbles.  Come to think of it, I have never seen a superhero blow bubbles, so maybe he's right.  He played with his action figures and I brought in a coloring book that I got at the beach. It had Mother Goose rhymes in it. Several times he stopped to help me color. I brought in the package of magnetic letters, only to find out that all the magnets were missing. I realized that the package did not actually contain the word 'magnetic'. I still felt gyped. Around 5 he was ready to blow bubbles. I got them out of the car, but the bubble juice did not work well. I added the contents of a small shampoo bottle that I got from the hotel. It helped, but still not the result I was hoping for. He got tired of it and wanted to play in the back yard. We did that until I found poison ivy back there. We played with his sandbox until his mother arrived. I left there about 6:30. When I got home, I ate leftovers. Chris started gaming with the voices, which I did not expect. So I sewed. I attached the piping to both the top and bottom pieces. I sewed the boxing parts to the zipper part. Then the sides to the top and bottom. I had to re-do some of the corners. I realized that that pain in my chest was a pulled muscle from shoving so many layers of fabric under the needle. I held a package of frozen fruit on it while checking e-mail.  Then I read the latest quilt magazine while Chris finished his game.  Then we went to bed.

*  This is a pic of me that Becca took at the beach and posted on Facebook.  *