MIL day

I finished the quilting on the race quilt.  I love the back, a very 80's southwest print.  I've been wondering where I'd use that print. 

I quilted it in straight lines down all those ditches.  Would I do that again?  NO.  That took longer than I anticipated, mostly because I can't quilt like that all in one direction.  I have to do it like a farmer plowing a field.  I get to the end of the row and turn and come back up the next row.  That keeps the quilt from shifting as I quilt it.  I once made a quilt and quilted one side of it top to bottom, cut the thread, then top to bottom.  When I quilted the other half, I did top to bottom again, which was bottom to top relative to the first half.  When I got done, I had a parallelogram with two 60* corners and two 120* corners (yes, I'm exaggerating.  But only a little bit).  I squared that, but it never laid flat.  It always wanted to pull on the diagonal.  So, now I always alternate the direction of each row. 

Now, to bind it.  Red, I think.  Or, maybe mixed strips from the 2" bin.  I dunno yet.  And, I don't have to decide.  Not today anyway.  If I get any sewing time over the next few days, maybe I'll work on that.  Or, maybe I'll do something else.  The only thing I can't do is quilt.  I can sew all I want.  Maybe I'll even make a shirt or something.  Who knows. 

Rob's Mom comes today.  She will be here for graduation on Friday.  The house is sparkly on the inside.  But, it's moldy on the outside.  I don't think the rain is ever going to stop.  My garden is having it's best year.  And, it's so muddy I can't get out there.  Not to mention the cloud of mosquitoes, hell-bent on my destruction lurking right outside the back door. 

Her request, as it always has been, is 'don't go to any trouble'.  Well, first, we like going to trouble for her, so it's no trouble at all.  She loves my food and is an adventurous eater, so we are having a simple casserole and salad tonight.  But, tomorrow night, it's Indian food - butter chicken.  Friday is graduation and I'm pretty sure we will eat out.  Saturday we always eat out, but I have Thai food in my back pocket in case I need something all of a sudden.  Sunday I'm making a roast chicken and cornbread stuffing.  Monday, something simple because she flies on Tuesday; probably Swiss steak and mashed potatoes. 

Sydney is making me cray-cray!  Don't be surprised if you drive past my house and find a cell phone nailed to a tree as a warning to other parents about out of control cell phone use.  Unfortunately, that is a battle we are never going to win.  All we can do is make sure she is prepared to live on her own.  Hopefully soon. 

Very soon. 

People say empty nest like it's a bad thing.  Who are these people?  Do they need a psychiatrist? 

Lane