A little of this, a little of that

 Last week got busy at work.  I was asked to help with two research projects, plus the two projects I was already working on really took off.  I was creating and explaining my ideas and getting people to adopt them.  Then I spent the weekend cleaning house.  Way back in the corners and along the baseboards.  I took down my cutting table.  I wasn't using it as a cutting table, but rather as a collecting table and I kept thinking that if it wasn't there, all that stuff would be put away.  All the stuff piled on it kept me from cutting on it, so I took it down and made plans for multiple ways I could set it up temporarily when I need it.  I also got some Christmas shopping done and figured out what I'm giving Syd (the really big vintage pyrex bowl that we always made pumpkin pie in because it's the same one pictured in the cookbook with the recipe).  She's making the pie for Thanksgiving this year, so it seemed like a good choice.  

I really didn't do much this week but work and cook some really, really tasty meals...not sure what was up, but my flavoring was spot on!  I hope that lasts until Thanksgiving and that I didn't spend it all last week.  I looked back at last week's photos and I'd taken pics of two strumming patterns from ukulele how-to videos and two recipes for Thanksgiving (green bean casserole (where is my recipe???) and poppy seed dressing).  Nothing of interest, so I'm going to share some I took a while ago of the small quilts on my studio walls.  

This is the quilt I made in a thread painting class a couple years ago.  I want to do something like this again and have some great ideas that I haven't executed.  

This is from a kit I bought many years ago at a quilt show boutique to make 4 or 5 small quilted Christmas ornaments.  It was vintage when I bought it.  I added some additional fabrics and picked some additional blocks and made this from it.  Each block is 3".

I love miniatures.  It's TX and really, how many bed and lap quilts do I need?  But, taking a full size quilt and making it as a miniature makes it much easier to store and display.  I took a class and made a basket block pincushion.  The basket block was the same as this quilt, so I made the quilt too.  The blocks are 3".   While it might take less fabric to make a miniature, it doesn't necessarily take less time.  

From a paper piecing kit I bought at a quilt show.  

I made this so long ago that I can't even remember where the pattern came from but I'm going to bet Alex Anderson't Simply Quilts had something to do with it (I was a BIG fan).  It has curved piecing and a little appliqué.  

3" blocks again.  I love taking a print and buying it in multiple colors and then making a quilt out of it.  I did that as part of a BOM many years ago and I've done it several times since.  I have a couple of really cool lines bagged up in the studio closet.  

I read a Jennifer Chiaverinni book about a quilter that moved to Hawaii and it inspired me to try Hawaiian appliqué.  Around that time, we were vacationing on Arkansas and there was a quilt shop there that specialized in pre-cut appliqué.  He sold it as pre-cut kits, but offered to machine cut mine using any fabric I chose.  I bought his kit and the next year, when we went on vacation, I took that as my project.  There is a bag in my fabric stash with a piece of golden buttery yellow and a slightly off white to make a bed sized quilt like the one in the book.  There's even a pattern in the bag.  One day.  

Another class.  She sold an apple core ruler and we learned to make the blocks.  My first experience with curved machine piecing.  

When I was really studying color, I bought a brown, multi-colored fabric and then chose fabrics from my stash to go with it and I made several quilts.  There's at least a table runner and another wall hanging, but the smallest one hangs in the studio.  The squares are 1".

There are some others, many be for another day.  

I finally had the nerve to let Rob hear me practice the uke.  He was setting up Christmas village on Saturday and I played everything I can play from my songbook, except the Christmas carols.  He said he enjoyed it.  I sang, but very quietly and sometimes I could hear him singing along.  Singing is my weak point, but it's getting better as my ability to control my breath gets better.  I've been buying inexpensive ukes and decided that for Christmas, I wanted a nice one, so I did some shopping and found out that you can spend as much as $4100 on a ukulele.  A UKELELE!  Anyway, I found out who the best makers were and kept a watch on what was available and found one that has a "blemish" and was on sale for half price and I pounced on it, getting twice as much for what I was willing to spend.  There are reasons to have multiples.  They sound differently, and I've found that some songs sound better on a small instrument that sounds a little like a banjo and some sound better on a larger instrument with a deeper resonance that sounds more like a guitar.  They can also be strung differently to give different voicing, so I plan to string two differently so I can try that out.  I still play like someone that's only been playing for 5 months, but it's a little better every day.  

Everybody have a great week!  Find something you can enjoy NOW!  Don't put it off.  We don't know what's going to happen.  All we can do is enjoy today as if it might be the last day.  

Lane

Staying busy

I've been filling the time I'd normally be focused on the news with plenty of other things.  Silly stuff, but it feels especially important to be organized right now.  And, it's autumn, so there are plenty of gardening tasks that need to be done.  Rob put his greenhouse up on Saturday, so he's ready.  I didn't get quite that far.  I had some pruning and weeding to do and after that, I cleared off the vegetable patch, which is also where my portable greenhouse will go.  I could spend a whole weekend in the permanent greenhouse, just cleaning up all the little messes I made and left during the heat of summer, when my energy was zapped and I just couldn't put those pots back where they belonged or sweep up the little bit of dirt I spilled.  And, the spiders had a hey-day in there this year, so I need to sweep out the cobwebs.  A lot happens out there in a year.  

I'm keeping up with the news, enough.  Just a little here or there.  Nothing that sounds too sensational.  Anything that's about real people and not politics.  I'm taking comfort from preparing.  I cleaned my pantry this weekend so I could make a little room to store a little more food.  I bought a couple of things that I was going to need soon and were on sale and that I thought might get more expensive later, including a new pair of walking shoes.  It's not that I believe anything bad is going to happen.  I can be as optimistic as Rob and believe that we won't be affected too badly.  But, the election has made everything so unpredictable.  I'm less worried about what little t will do than I am about him losing control of the chaos...starting a downward spiral that he can't stop and that we all get caught up in.  

In the meantime, there's still work to prep for next year's garden.  This year, that meant some digging up and dividing.  This area used to be three clumps of yellow daylillies and a large clump of amaryllis.  There's still a clump of daylillies and some of the amaryllis, but now there's also a small clump of spider lily, a white Nile lily and a purple one, and a small clump of yellow Louisiana iris.  There are two other small beds that got some transplants this weekend as well.  I made room in the sun for a couple of daylilies that were still in shady spots and in digging them up, I dug up some shade loving volunteers that I moved into a little shade garden that I've been struggling with all year.  It's a weird spot that's shady until very late in the day when it gets about an hour of very intense, hot, end-of-day sun.  

It's shrimp plant season.  I love my shrimp.  I'm about to move one that's not doing as well.  I moved this one a couple years ago and it's thriving now.  I love this one because it's a shrimp plant that's the color of cooked shrimp.  I couldn't resist.  These come tagged as full sun plants, and that's where I put them, but around here, they like a little afternoon shade.  

I've also been playing in the aquarium.  About every 3 years, my aquarium needs a "reboot".  The fish start to age out and I end up with a couple of fish and a boring tank that's more burden than pleasure.  And, then I pick a theme (active tank or slow, relaxing tank) and add some fish and a couple of live plants and off we go for another 3 years of me enjoying being a fish keeper.  Rob tells me that there are people that are fish keepers and people that are fish buyers.  The people in the fish store know the fish buyers because they're there all the time, spending money.  They get extra attention and their questions are taken seriously. The staff don't know the fish keepers because we're only there every few years.  We're treated like uneducated hobbyists and twice I've had my questions or decisions laughed at...not in a kind way.  

There are only a few fish in there right now and most of them are bottom feeders to help clean up the tank.  I'm adding fish slowly so I don't overtax the cycle that converts ammonia to the nitrite that feeds the plants that create extra oxygen in the water.  

We were in Petsmart yesterday buying plants and I saw a school of the next fish I plan to buy.  They're bright red (cherry barbs) and fast swimmers and should really add some movement to the tank.  Then maybe a shark.  I've never raised a shark before.  

Do you ever walk past someone's car and think 'I think we'd be friends'?

Everybody have a great week.  Find something that makes you happy and gives you peace, whether you're worried about the future or not.  Don't buy in to the news media's desire to shock you and keep you clicking.  Try to find something that's important to you and focus on that.  Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  I've been practicing making cornbread for dressing.  And, playing the ukulele.  And, the garden and the aquarium and cooking.  And, work.  Whatever it takes to slow your heart rate and help you relax your face muscles and maybe sit down for a few minutes, without wringing your hands.  

Lane

Something else

I didn't get much done last week.  I just shut down.  I kept things going at work, but I didn't start anything new.  I just wasn't feeling up to it.  I cooked for a good part of yesterday, which always helps...it's casserole weather this week.  But, mostly I was introspective.  I made plans for how to adapt, and this week, I'll be implementing them.  

Someone commented on my post-election post that they didn't understand what the big deal is, there are always elections and disagreements.  I was jealous.  How nice it must be to not be afraid.  My greatest fear is health insurance.  I don't think it will take long for them to start mucking about in that, and me and my pre-existing condition may not be able to afford coverage or the medications I take.  I am very afraid of that.  I plan to put a pin in my early retirement plans in case I need the company's health plan until I'm officially 65.

And, speaking of retirement, experience has taught me that when republicans have too much power, they stick a straw in the stock market and steal all the retirement funds.  I'm too old to be able to recover from that again, so I'm trying to more heavily invest in the bond market.  I've been focused on the bond market since the first time I saw them drain the stock market like that.  It's been long enough for most people to forget, but I remember how angry that made me.  

I am so jealous of anyone that isn't afraid.  

But, life goes on and my niece had her baby.  A beautiful little girl.  They sent pictures and everyone looks so happy.  I don't know what the rest of the family is saying, but I think she looks like her daddy.  

I finished another project over the weekend.  I've been tatting the little 3.5" squares for a couple months.  I enjoyed making them, but the finished product is a mountain of obvious errors.  I've been toying with the idea of making it again.  I don't know whether I will, but tatting is such a portable project.  Not like the other UFO I'm working on, an afghan with its bag of yarn and bulk.  I can watch TV and tat, or sit in the yard, or ride in the car, and the whole project is held in my hands.  The closest runner up for portable projects is probably knitting socks.  

Anyway, I got to practice multiple new skills on this one, including using two shuttles, each with a different color thread, and adding beads to my work.  The inspiration photo was four squares and I thought why not go bigger, because that's how I think, right?  I have a square table that it should fit perfectly, but I haven't tried it yet.  I just didn't love the finished product as much as I thought I would.  

This is the afghan project I picked back up.  I was so excited when I started this, but goodness it's taking a long time.  And, it's not nearly as big as I remember it being when I set it aside for the summer.  Can't sit with an afghan in my lap in summer, but it's a perfect winter project.  

Everybody have a good week.  We will adapt.  Things will change.  And, we will do the best we can to survive.  And, somehow, we will figure out how to be nice to people that are not nice.  Because that's all that we can do.  I have no interest in the news.  Not interested in watching the party leaders point fingers in the blame game.  Not interested in reading about the wealthy turning their backs on their positions to kiss trump's ring.  Not interested in the pundits telling us why Harris lost.  We all know why.  The good guys only win in the end.  So, this is clearly not the end.  

Lane

And, the next day

Rob woke me with the sad news yesterday.  Oh, how I would have loved to stay in bed.  

But, Bella needed to be let out.  And Dottie needed her first, second, and third walks.  I needed breakfast.  I still needed to answer questions about the project I submitted on Tuesday and I needed to get that file to the data analyst.  I needed to eat that spaghetti at lunch...maybe not all of it, but whatever.  I needed to help some customers with problems.  I needed to order a toaster while I can still afford it.  I played the ukulele a lot.  I played my whole songbook, including the dozen or so Christmas carols.  I learned the strumming pattern for a new song.  Until my fingers hurt.  And then Rob needed supper.  And, the dogs needed out.  And, then it was bedtime again.  

And then it was today and Bella needed to be let out.

The things I needed to do got me through the day.  

I hope you're also finding a way to cope with the fact that 72 million of our fellow citizens voted for the right to be an asshole whenever and to whomever they choose.  

I saw these tweets in the news that helped.  A little bit anyway.  

Chin up.  Shoulders back.  Being a good person IS what it's all about for us.  

Wrapping things up

 I've been working on multiple projects to finish them up.  Some are holiday gifts, so can't share yet, but this sweater was for me.  I've been working on it about a year, with long breaks when I would get tired of it and need to work on something else.  All that's left is buttons and I believe I have a nice set of brown ones that I didn't use on the last sweater I made.  

I was more sure about the gold yarn last year when I bought it.  This year, I was in a different 'fashion mood' and was worried that it would be too bold, but once I had it on and felt how soft it was and saw how well it fit and went with blue, I stopped worrying.  The yarn is a wool/cotton combination.  One or both of those has a short staple and it made the finished product "fuzzy", but blocking the pieces seemed to control some of that.  

I don't care for how the collar was made.  Instead of picking up stitches around the body and adding the collar to the sweater, the collar was made as a separate piece and sewn on.  I made 40-something inches of it and sewed that on so that I only had the bulk of the sweater in my lap while I was making the button holes.  I marked where the buttons should be on the sweater and then knitted and sewed collar to that point, made the button hole and kept going to the next one.  The button holes are totally decorative.  If I ever tried to button it, they'd pull and make that weird scalloped stretched shape across the front, not because the sweater is tight but because of how they're made.  I guess that's okay.  If it's ever cold enough that I need to button it, I probably won't care how it looks.  

The election wraps up tomorrow...or soon after.  Rob shared a meme that said something like If you don't know why your gay friend is afraid right now, then you don't have a gay friend.  You just know someone that's gay.  It's true.  I am afraid.  I'm afraid I'll lose my right to be married.  I'm afraid I'll lose my right to live my life the way I want to and out loud, not hiding it under a bushel to make the false christians comfortable.  My only feedback on that meme is that gay people and trans people are not the only ones afraid.  Women, black people, Latinos, and actual Christians are all afraid.  And, still that's not all the people that are being made to fear by a small, insignificant criminal, so hell bent on staying out of jail that he's willing to bring down our country for it.  

I also saw this.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahah!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Stephanie Ruhle asked a young non-binary student "If you were to ask Vice President Harris a question, what would it be?"

The student replied "How soon do you think we can get the Equality Act passed?"

Stephanie then asked "How about Donald Trump?"

The student replied "I would ask him 'Do you see me as a human?'"

'How soon will I be fully equal' compared to 'do I exist to you?'  What a telling contrast to illustrate the difference between the candidates.  

Worthless piece of shit could spend nine billion dollars at beauty spas and he still gonna look like Grandpa Munster in a grizzled old man beard.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Sorry, that one's so funny I had to say it again!

Rob and I had a serious conversation in the car yesterday.  He said he was feeling pretty calm about the outcome, whatever it is.  I said I was so stressed I could barely contain it.  We agreed that we make a good balance.  A lot of mine is personal.  How dare people that say they love me vote in ways that would harm me and my family.  Logically, I know that they have shifted all their focus onto pretending that they are victims and making sure not to look around their lives and count their many (many, many, oh so many) blessings.  They've lost focus on their own families and on God.  The family that raised me would have taken cyanide before they voted for a man that bragged about grabbing women by the genitals, got caught paying off a sex worker, was convicted of digital rape, was credibly accused of treason,  and lies ABOUT EVERYTHING.  Sometimes I wonder what happened to that family.

I can't leave that thought hanging there like that.  I moved away.  I became a person that I am proud of.  I remained the good person I was taught to be.  I took lessons I learned from my Daddy and became a success.  I learned to overcome the prejudices and controlling habits I'd seen and embraced people as equals.  I'm an encourager.  About a million times, my Mom said 'Raise a child in the way that is right and in their old age, they will not depart from it' and then she'd say something like 'I guess you're not old yet."  

I'm old now. 

So, here's a flower.  An out of season Amaryllis blooming outside (not forced).  Mine will not be blooming this month.  They're recovering from summer nicely, but not enough to bloom.

Everybody have a good week!  Try to be calm and relaxed.  Read a book (not the news).  Watch a movie (not the news).  At this point, there's not much we can do, unless you've been waiting to cast your vote.  And if you have, then please be sure to vote.  Don't let that privilege get away from you this year because it is oh, so important.  Maybe more important than it's ever been.  

Stay calm and carry on.  Lane