Summer doldrums

 We are in that part of year when we just don't do much.  Our big outing for the weekend was a trip to a different Goodwill and lunch at a diner we both remember from the 80's that's still where it's always been, and was doing a booming Sunday lunch.  It was very nostalgic.  But, it was hot and I've never appreciated Rob's ability to remote start his truck more than now.  All we bought was shirts...which we basically take on a rent and return basis since we wear them til we're tired of them and then send them back for someone else to rent a while.  

The baby quilt moved forward again...mostly because I can do that in the air conditioning.  When I laid the fabrics next to it, the choice was obvious.  It's the right colors and it's the right level of "busyness" and draws the eye outward from the simple central focus to the busy outer edges.  I haven't mitered the corners yet, but that's the last step before I pin baste it and get started quilting.  I think I have a really pretty pink back that should have gone nicely with the quilt, but when I tried to use it as a border, it was the wrong pink, so I may need to take the top somewhere to get another back.  

I meant to talk about how I made the flower centers last week.  I took three sheets of freezer paper and ironed them each to the ironing board cover to "size" them.  I've read that freezer paper shrinks when it gets hot, so I generally do this step, plus it makes it lay flat.  Then, I stacked the freezer paper and ironed it to itself, which made something really thick and heavy.  Then, I needed to draw the circles.  All my cheap elementary school compasses failed me in my hour of need and all of them went into the trash.  Then, I took my ruler to the kitchen and started looking for things that were the right diameter and I traced them, cut out the circles and ironed them to the back of my fabrics.  It gave me a nice thick edge to fold the fabric over, which gave me near perfect circles.  I think one sheet of freezer paper would have been more difficult because the edge sometimes rolls when I'm folding and ironing the fabric over it.  

Then, I bought new compasses.  Better compasses.  

Anyway, I hope to be quilting by my next post.  And, I've got to ask my sister what the baby's middle name is since I plan to quilt her full name in a circle around the central flower.  There won't be a lot of quilting.  I want to quilt around all the shapes and give the leaves some veins and the flower petals a little dimension.  The rest will be a little echo quilting and maybe a chain of flowers in the border, something loose and soft.  I still have two months before the baby is due and I should make that deadline, no problem.  

And, yet I'm always somehow cutting it right at the edge, aren't I?

Last week, we had an in-office day.  They are the opposite of team builders.  Every month, someone ends up mad.  Last week, I didn't get mad, but I was incredulous.  The managers don't schedule the in-office days on days that are good for them, so we end up with lunch at like 10:30a or 2pm.  This time, it was 11, and when we weren't ready to go at 10:45 because we were in a meeting, they left us (non-managers) behind.  When we got there, all they talked about was kids sports, and when we got back, we all wrapped things up and went home.  We talked about it on the drive back and we all felt disregarded.  Instead of creating one team, they've created two.  But, I think our team is happier than theirs.  And, closer.  

This is the super blue moon from early last week.  I was going to crop the picture to take out the neighborhood, but that's most of the coolness of the picture.  Without it, it's just a picture of a bright light in the sky.  

Okay, I'm looking for cold dinners.  We recently discovered Chinese chicken salad (inspired by The Great American Recipe on PBS) and we're loving it!  I also made a half recipe of a Grits Casserole from that TV show and it made a TON and I ate on that all week.  One night last week, I was inspired to make old fashioned fried chicken, using less oil than deep frying and it came out GREAT!  I used olive oil and couldn't tell the difference.  

No matter who ran for president against the big baby, we knew ugly things were going to be said.  but it's one thing to say ugly things about someone the country is unsure of, and it's quite another to say ugly things about someone the country is excited about.  The meanness and hateful grab for power are much more obvious and the hateful intent is more clear.   But, I am ready for Kamala to take a different approach on policy.  She needs to take over the narrative and explain how inflation really works and explain how the economy is really doing and explain how much of our financial stability is based on immigration (capitalism requires a source of cheap labor) and show how most of us are better off now than we were 4 years ago, even though covid kind of makes that comparison moot.  Every time she takes over the narrative, people seem to respond to it well, so I think that ought to be her campaign focus from now until Election Day.  But, she also needs to be honest about the difficulties ahead in getting the election certified and she needs to be making a plan for how to ensure that goes smoothly.  After all, her party holds the White House this time.  And, she needs to be encouraging us to be brave in the face of what might happen.  We can't glaze over all that with good vibes.  The threat is real.  And, not talking about it isn't going to make it go away.  We need a plan.  

Gus Walz is a super hero with super powers.  And the greatest of these is love.  

Be well!  Have a great week!  Love someone so much it sometimes makes you cry.  

Lane

The middle

 This weekend, I got the rest of the leaves sewn down on the baby quilt and got the flower centers prepped and pinned so all I need to do is sew them down.  This little quilt has gone fast, especially for an appliqué project.  

Next up, borders and I'm not sure which direction to go.  I have a nice print with a yellow background and green leaves that  I think would look great.  And, I have a red/pink with similarly shaped daisies printed on it.  There's a peachy pink tone on tone.  And, another leaf print with little stems of leaves on a white background.  Or, I might take the top to a quilt shop and see what I can find.  

We went car shopping on Saturday.  The Prius is still in the shop.  part didn't come in, yada-yadda bullshit.  Anyway, I was sitting there, looking at a picture of the perfect vehicle, exactly what Rob wants and everything I asked for.  That was when I really realized what hating the Prius was about to cost me and decided I'm not entirely sure I hate the Prius that much.  They were going to order the car and when the Prius was out of the shop, they'd give me a trade in price.  But, I realized this whole deal rests on how much they're going to give me in trade on the Prius and until I know that, there's no sense in ordering a car.  Why they won't tromp up the hill to the shop to inspect the Prius for a trade in value is beyond me.  Anyway, it all got to be a bit much, and I needed to walk away and think about it a while.  That's when we found out the part for the Prius didn't come in and I'm still without a car.  Except this week, I got places to be, so I'm going to need to pay for Ubers.  Because this Prius is never going to stop costing me money!

Okay, that might be a little overdramatic, but it does feel that way a little.  Like I've bought an albatross.  

Rob, God love him, doesn't care how much it costs.  He just wants me to be happy.  In a car he can comfortably get in and out of.  We ended up having several very frank and honest conversations on Saturday, not just about the car but about other things that have been on our minds.  That was really nice.

His new work hours started last week.  He goes in two hours later.  We're still getting used to that.  Big change!

It's summer.  Life is slow here right now.  Anything we do outside needs to be done early in the morning and usually involves a water hose.  And, more and more, I want a power nap after lunch.  I'm still practicing the ukulele, trying to train these old fingers to do something new.  I'm slow but deliberate.  And, I try not to practice when Rob's home because all the songs sound the same when I'm not singing, same five or so chords played over and over.  Kind of like life sometimes.  The same things, repeated until you get them right.  

Speaking of getting things right:

And, this beautiful Sphinx moth spent the day on our front porch yesterday.  

Everybody have a great week!  Stay cool!  Be well!

Lane

Too much

It was Coco Chanel that said take one thing off before you go out the door.  I think that was good advice.  When I'm designing a quilt, I sometimes have to use it.  This was one of those times.  

I spent a good part of the weekend sewing down flower petals and making leaves.  I got a lot accomplished and last night, just before dinner, I thought I had it all and I placed the last leaves.  

There's no room for any quilting and it needs four more large leaves or 8 more medium ones to make the center look balanced.  

Or, I could take some leaves off.  

That leaves me a little room in the center to quilt the baby's name.  I've still got some leaves to sew down and the flower centers to make.  I hate making circles because they are never quite circular., but I'm going to do my best.   I'm hoping they'll give it that last little bit of oomph that it needs.  

In March, my 12 year old Prius died and I bought a new one.  Since the day I drove it off the lot, there's been something wrong with it.  We took it into the shop over the weekend so they could fix it.  Of course, the only thing they could find was the thing that's going to cost me $3k to fix.  I am sooooooo upset that they sold me a car that had problems and now they aren't offering to help with repairs at all.  I've decided I hate the car and I think we're going to pick it up from the shop on Thursday and trade it in on Saturday.  

It was an impulse purchase.  I needed a car right away.  My Mom was in hospital and not expected to live.  I loved my 2012 Prius.  I thought a 2023 Prius would be just as wonderful.  It was not.  The car is redesigned.  It has a much smaller interior.  It's a struggle for my dad and for Rob to get into it.  There's no space to carry anything.  When there were 3 of us doing those out of town meetings a couple weeks ago, there was no room for luggage.  

Anyway, we're studying the situation now.  Thinking about what I really want and need in a car.  I'm going to lose some money here.  All because of an impulse purchase.  But, that's okay.  Sometimes that happens in the course of taking care of business.  And, while it makes me sad and mad, hopefully whatever we trade it in on will make me glad.  And, I will have had this impulse purchase lesson drilled in again.  If only it was as easy to return a car as it is an Amazon purchase.  

Tampon Tim!  I love it!  Imagine being a transitioning boy and getting caught at school unprepared.  You can't go into the girl's restroom...well, you could but that's not what being a boy is all about.  Imagine having what you need available to you no matter what restroom you go into.  I'm sure a LOT of girls wish there'd been a rubber machine in the lady's restroom.  

Anyway, if that and the fact he retired from the military at an awkward time is the best they got, then bring it on.  That line of attack is not very effective when it comes from the team of a pussy grabbing draft dodger.  trump is so out of touch, he doesn't even realize what he's saying is not true anymore.  In his mind, it is true.  And, people want to give him the nuclear launch codes.  What maroons.  

Somehow, I managed to spend the cool part of both days out in the yard and not take a picture.  It's soooooo hot.  Just a few minutes out there doing what needs doing and I'm exhausted.  And, everything needs so much water.  I have large pots that need to be dunked, but it would take a crane and a pond to do it in.  So I just walk around with the hose, putting water in this one and that one.  I have one plant that I'm going to water every day this week in hopes that if I do that, I'll be able to saturate the soil.  

I lost four orchids recently.  Instead of taking that as the sign from the universe that it obviously is (I don't have time or focus to grow orchids), I used it as an opportunity to buy orchids.  I bought this one this weekend.  What a beautiful flower.  I think maybe these orchids were being grown for an occasion and didn't bloom at the right time.  Now they're blooming and the grower was practically giving them away.  When we walked past them, I said that can't be the right price, but it was.  And, I brought one home.  (impulse purchase...hmmmm)

Everybody have a great week!  Find something you enjoy.  Hug someone you love.  Adapt to the ever changing landscape of life.  

Lane

Perseverance

I have to confess that last week, I was skeptical about this little baby quilt.  I know why.  I started with the medium fabrics and it felt flat.  And, the more flowers I built, the flatter it felt.  I even asked Rob at one point if he thought I should scrap it and start something else. 

Then, I started adding leaves and it started to hum, so I kept adding leaves until it started to sing to me.  By time I get the burgundy (thanks for the good idea!) flower centers added, I think it will really be singing a tune.  At least I hope so.

Before I got too far, I decided I needed to sew some petals down to make sure this was going to work the way I expected, without me having to hand sew them (that's a lot of appliqué).  I got the ones on the left done.  It took some getting used to and a couple of ideas I tried didn't work, but I think I found what I was looking for.  I put my free motion foot on the machine and I'm pinning them down real good and then just sewing a straight stitch around them.  Quick, easy, effective, and pretty much invisible.  

Then, I got on with the work of manufacturing appliqué pieces.  I did that both of my weekend afternoons.  Just standing at the ironing board and working by rote; iron on the freezer paper templates, cut a bunch out, paint starch around the edge, use a stiletto to fold over the edge, use the tip of the iron to keep it down.  I even burned out an iron...it was supposed to be a really good one.  The kind hotels use, not in their rooms, but for the staff.  Oh, well.  I do like a hot iron.

I have a few of the really big petals left to make and a half dozen more leaves, but I should be sewing everything down next weekend and then I can make borders and start to quilt.  

My boss was out of town the last couple weeks on his annual vacation to the beach with family, so it was really quiet at my desk.  He doesn't direct a lot of my work, but when he's gone, it's like I get a little vacation too.  No stress.  Last week I pulled out my to-do list and did the stuff that there's never time to do.  Of course, something happened late Friday afternoon that's going to keep us all busy for a few days.  That's how things go.  But, at least I got to enjoy a few stress free days when nothing seemed to matter much.

Dottie being cute. 

She's convinced that if she's cute enough, she'll get to stay in bed all night.  And, one day, I'm sure she will.  But not until she stops being so stubborn about house training.  She goes outside.  She gets distracted by...anything.  She forgets to go.  She comes inside and suddenly remembers.  Rob has started taking her out on a leash until she goes, then she can be free.  Not sure how that's going.  I keep her confined to the room I'm in and that seems to be working pretty well.  

There were some beautiful clouds yesterday morning and then yesterday afternoon, an unexpected rain.  It was a perfect surprise.  

I've been enjoying watching trump run to try to get in front of Kamala.  He's like the kid that's a bully and got in our faces, challenging us, only Kamala walks on by instead of stopping to answer all that.  I wish I was that person.  I hope she can keep it up.  There's nothing hurts a bully like being ignored.  And, laughed at.  

Everybody have a great week!  Do something you enjoy, but don't get so focused on it that you ignore other things you enjoy (like not practicing my ukulele and taking the next lesson).  Be well rounded.  Do it all!

Lane