Where does the time go?

It doesn't seem that long ago that I could work on a dozen projects at a time and always felt like I was making progress on all of them.  Not so much anymore.  Now it feels like I'm busy but don't make any progress on anything.  It's because I have too many projects going on.  There's so much bad in the world now and I need constant distraction so I start something that looks fun and work on it a while til I get bored, and then start something else.  It's the way I'm built and it works, but it means there are all these little piles of unfinished stuff laying around. 😉

Yeah, that's why there's piles of stuff laying around.  I'm like one of my Grandmothers that way.  I'm going to need that tomorrow, so why put it away today?  Drove my Mom crazy!

I did finish the penny rug I started while I was sick.  These go so fast compared to needle turn appliqué.  

I have another kit, but I'm really hoping to work on some other things before I start it.  

I'm cutting things back in the garden, getting ready for winter.  There's only a little bloom, but there is fun color.  This volunteer pepper plant is covered with tiny round peppers.  They could be Thai Chilis.  I haven't tried them, but they make a pretty display.

My mums always fall open like this, so I've had to adjust to the fact that they're not going to make balls of flowers.  I guess it's because there are so many flowers and I'll take that over shape.  I bought three more this year and look forward to putting them in the ground for next spring.  

And, the green rose is blooming up a storm.  This green rose is pretty old now.  They make roses that make green flowers now, but at the time, this was what was available.  It doesn't make petals, only sepals.  Where a regular rose has 5ish sepals, This rose has many sepals, all bunched together to form a flower.  It's been so happy in its new spot.  Finally after years of me looking for the perfect spot!  It gets mostly sun, but a good bit of shade too.

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As much as I'd like to say 'I told you so', I'm too busy being appalled by the right.  And, I'm not much happier about what I'm seeing on social media from the left.  I'm sitting back, waiting to see what will happen.  

Pray for us all.

Everybody have a great Monday and Happy Halloween!!  We've got our treats and toys all bagged up and ready to go.  We'll likely get a dozen trick or treaters and then about dark, we'll shut it down.  Back in the day, the kids on our street used to traipse all over the neighborhood as a large group, ringing bells and shouting trick or treat!  We'd get full size candy bars, coins, and sometimes, popcorn balls.  How I miss popcorn balls, but Rob can't eat them and they're too much trouble just for me.  I should look for a recipe that makes just one or two.  

Lane

Well, I went to the work conference.  It was a fun conference.  Lots of laughter and it was good to see old friends.  They packed every minute with some activity so by the end of each day, I was exhausted.  We had speakers and games and icebreakers and I smiled until my face hurt.  But, one of those people had a secret.  They had covid.  And, a bunch of the attendees went home with covid, including me.  (I didn't post last week because my Mom reads my blog and I didn't want her to know I was sick until I was relatively certain I would survive...of course, I could have blogged about something else, but I wasn't feeling very creative then and didn't think of that.)  I am fully vaxxed and boosted and wore a mask from the time I went in the airport until the the time I can out and I still caught it.  Now, Rob has tested positive, but remains asymptomatic.  

Anyway, with all that down time, I was able to get several things done.  I finished this pair of socks.  This pair of socks seemed to take forever because I kept stopping to work on other things.  This is another pair where I found the repeat in the yarn and was able to turn it into an almost matching pair.  

And, I picked all the quilting out of the triangle quilt so I can start that project over.  I'm going to have to be very innovative.  But, I can do this and get over this hump of quilter's block I'm in.  The creative juices are not flowing toward quilting right now.  

I started work on the other wool kit I bought.  I was planning to save this for a while, but what the heck.  Why wait?

And, I assembled the Barbara Brackman September block.  It's in the center below.  I'm enjoying the challenge of the blocks but have lost some of the enthusiasm I started the year with.  

Wow!  It sounds like I was really busy, but most of what I did was sit around and read and drink tea and sleep.  

Rob and I tried to keep him from catching it, but he tested + on Saturday and has made arrangements to work from home.  He's very disappointed and doesn't do any better at sitting around being sick than I do, especially if we're only a little bit sick.  I guess it's akin to cabin fever.  I was feeling well enough yesterday to put a roast in the crockpot and make a pumpkin pie, but after that, I was ready to sit down, so I'm still taking it easy, but I do plan to work the whole day today.  

High points and low points of last week.   The high point was having a couple of the youngest and newest members of the team ask me what the best career advice I ever got was.  Sometime around 1991, a lady named Nancy told me that every time they asked me if I wanted to work on a big project, say yes.  That advice has offered me opportunities that few in my job group have had and build a name for myself that is widely known.  The low point of the week was being the old man.  The one that asked about "early" rides to the hotel and was ready to go a half hour after dessert was finished and the waiter had stopped asking if we were okay and the busboys were hovering and just wishing we'd go home already so new diners and tippers could take our tables.  That's the true sign the party's over and I was the one with the "nerve" to ask about putting the party to bed.  Many people appreciated it.  But, I still felt like the old man in the commercials.  

That's it for me today.  We're resting and drinking lots of fluids and eating well.  Neither of us is sick enough to need a doctor and that feels pretty lucky.  Everybody have a good week and watch out for your health.  It's the only one you've got.  

Lane

Short post

Just a short Sunday post.  There won't be time tomorrow.  I have an early flight out to a conference.  If you know me well, you know how much I hate that kind of thing.  We're supposed to "get to know one another" and try not to talk about work...but honestly, the only thing I have in common with these folks is the work.  I go, I smile, and I ask others about themselves.  People love to talk about themselves and I can usually run out the clock without having to talk about myself much.  And the food, as always, will be worth it all.  

I finished the little snowman.  I love how fast this went.  Two weekends and I had it all done.  And, there's a lot of detail I didn't realize would be there from the small pics I saw.  

Sometimes, when I'm feeling anxious, a quick project is just what it takes to keep me distracted and happy.    I like the way it came out and we're trying to figure out how to put it under a glass on a round table in the living room.  

I thought I'd share my travel snack box.  Some for the flight, some for the room, and some for when I'm sitting next to someone and feel guilty about eating in front of them.

Nobody wants me hangry on the plane.

Everybody have a great week.  Be safe, be strong and hopefully, we won't have armageddon before I get home.

Lane

Wool work

There's a lot going on right now.  In the world, in our country, in my life. So, when I bought that wool kit at the quilt show last week and then pulled out my wool UFO, I might have used it as a bit of a distraction from everything else.  It's keeping me from feeling overwhelmed.   And, there's nothing wrong with that.  It's easy, it's quick, and I get a feeling of accomplishment from it.  

Anyway, I bought a couple more kits last week and decided to start one.  I started it Saturday by washing the wool felt and steam ironing it.  Then, I cut the pattern pieces out of freezer paper...a couple times.  The pattern was supposed to make a 7" finished piece, but they sent me enough fabric for a 16" piece and it just felt silly to have so much left over, so I used my photocopier to increase the size of the pattern.  I increased it all the same, but when I laid the pattern pieces on the background pattern, it was all out of proportion, so I increased the size of everything but the background again and that filled the space perfectly.  I cut the pieces Saturday night and started the appliqué after chores yesterday.  It went really fast and I only have the leaves, the carrot the gray parts of the bird and a lot of finishing touches left, including assembling the background and backing.  (Wow, there goes my sense of accomplishment.) I'm loving it!

Forty years ago, I did cross stitch.  40 years ago, nearly everybody did cross stitch.  Then nearly everybody stopped.  I was blessed to receive my Mom's stash of embroidery floss and later, Linda's.  And, it's all been boxed up in the top of the studio closet.  My Mom and I stored ours in small white envelopes sorted in numerical order (remember when we used to send letters in envelopes?). Linda stored hers wrapped on bobbins.  When I needed floss to finish something, I'd dig around until I found just the color I wanted.  I'd added simple color and shade descriptions to the outside of the envelopes to help,  like light green or dark red, that way I didn't have to open every envelope.  But, it sure would help to see the color because A dark red isn't always THE dark red.  I don't follow patterns anymore, so the numbers weren't really important.  I spent a good bit of my free time winding floss onto bobbins and when I was finished, it looked like this.

I still have a box because my Mom bought multiple skeins at a time, so the extras are in their envelopes and the numbers are on each bobbin so I can find the remaining skeins if ever I should need more than one skein of floss to do anything (yeah, right!), but it's done and well-planned and easy to see.  

I also cut the Barbara Brackman American Stars block for September, but I didn't get around to assembling it.  I was having' too much fun!

This little orchid is dying.  There's nothing I can do to prevent it.  It's the one I bought without checking the roots and the potting medium was molded and the roots were rotting.  I couldn't stop the root rot, even when I repotted it in a drier medium so it has no viable root system.  Despite all that, it has continued to bloom.  I set the base in water every day for a little while and that seems to have slowed the dying so I'm getting to enjoy the blooms.  They're very beautiful and I'm sorry I couldn't save the plant.  

My heart goes out to the people of Florida, especially Fort Myers.  So much destruction, so much to rebuild.  And, I'm not sure they're receiving the best representation to get that.  But, it was good to see FEMA step in to help right away.  So much preparedness and organized execution of the plans to provide aid.  

That's what we get when we watch out for one another.  It ain't perfect, but no response can meet every need.  

Everybody have a great week!  I'm going to leave you with this thought that I saw this morning.  It really spoke to me and hope it does to you too.

Lane