Quilts come home

This quilt came back this weekend.  It's one of the first quilts I made, back when I hand quilted everything.  Its history goes back to the very beginning of my quilting journey.  

In subsequent years, I made my Mom a quilt and Rob's Mom a quilt.  They had big stitch quilting before big stitch quilting was cool, not because I planned it, but because that's all I knew.  Rob's Mom is very hot natured, so her quilt needed to be very light weight and I believe the batting in this one is actually a piece of white flannel instead of a traditional quilt bat.  

Roughly 28 years ago, a friend's roommate bugged out, owing him rent and he left his stuff behind as his only way to pay.  Part of that was a small fabric stash, some quilting books, and a sewing machine.  My friend (actually they were both my friends and the one that bugged out was one of the most attractive people I ever met and we all benefitted by being near him when we were out, and we all drooled over him all the time) said I could have part of the stash if I would teach him how to use the sewing machine.  I did and we spent a wonderful New Year's Day together talking about sewing and I walked away with two quilt books and some fabrics to start a couple of quilts.  One of the patterns was a flower appliqué pattern that basically made up into this quilt.  I even got a couple of envelopes with flower pieces already traced and cut and ready to appliqué.

The thing I didn't like about the pattern was that there were only four or five flowers provided and you were supposed to repeat them in different colors.  You can guess what happened next, because you know I can almost never follow a pattern exactly.  I started drawing flowers out of the yard.  The daylily, rose, ivy, and sunflower are definitely ones I added.  Not sure about some of the others.  I improvised and it worked and I'm relatively proud of this early quilt.  

This little block also came back.  Somewhere, there are 12 more basket blocks that all use the same basic basket pattern but have a monthly theme.  Not sure if they're in a box in my stash closet or if they ever got finished into a quilt.  I ended up with two of these in different colors.  I think they were maybe the January block because it's not very Christmassy and I think the December block was.  There's not much quilting, just some outline work and a cute border and binding.  Very simple.  Not every quilt has to be a queen sized art project, right?

The main thing I've learned from this election cycle is to never give the Democratic Party my phone number or email address.  Damn, but that shit is basically harrassment.  I think that sentiment is probably something I share with people from the other party as well.  I'm sure they're being worked just as hard.  But, it will all be over soon.  I'm not reading any more polls.  Done with that.  The press should just say "nobody knows" and save the time for real news, like how Cubans are suffering without electricity.  Or what's happening with rebuilding efforts in Florida.  Real news about real people.  I'm currently stuck between being appalled at the racism, misogyny, and bigotry and being disappointed that people I love are so caught up in the racism, misogyny, and bigotry.  It's a hard line to walk.  

I voted last Friday.  I got there about 11:30 and it took about 80 minutes.  I had no idea what to expect in line.  As I stood there, a couple that was maybe a few years older than me walked up behind me.  The man was a very large mountain of a man.  I had to look up...way up...to see his face and he had a booming voice.  And, we had the best time waiting in line.  We laughed and joked and talked about old Austin and engaged with other people in line, told stories about all the places we'd voted in the past and how this church was the nicest, but we wished we'd brought chairs for the wait (he said that was silly, but his wife and I thought it was a brilliant idea).  He and I finished voting first and I saw him waiting in a seat for his wife and I walked up.  I didn't introduce myself.  But, I shook his hand and told him it had been a pleasure waiting in line with he and his wife and he said the same.  Because civility is NOT dead.  It's just hiding from fascists and false christians and they can't seem to find it.  

Everybody have a great week!  Make your voting plan if you haven't already.  I hope you have a good experience and goodness, but I hope you don't have to wait in line for an hour like I did.  In a civilized world, it should be more convenient to vote, which would encourage greater voter participation...oh, yeah, now I remember why the Rs don't want online voting.  

Lane

All by myself

 Well, not exactly.  The dogs are here.  Rob's gone to visit his Mom.  He drove up yesterday and will come home on Friday.  We were worried that Dottie might panic and spend the whole time searching for him, but she's doing fine.  She wanted to sleep on his pillows last night and I knew better than to let that happen.  

I forgot to take pics of the baby quilt after it was laundered, but it came out great!  We got it shipped and it should get there tomorrow.  I talked to my niece and the doctor had told her "any day now."  

Our weather is cooler now, and yesterday I was able to spend some quality time in the garden, cleaning up so I could get the cuttings to the curb for this morning's pickup.  I took a few days off this week too and plan to spend them moving daylilies and iris and potting up some things to give away.  I have a couple of plants that need to go in the ground and plans for where to put them, I just need the time and the cooler weather to get it done.  

We got new phones last week.  That's always an adventure.  First, Rob has to help me get set up and then he has to help Syd.  This time, Syd's phone was the problem, but it meant we got to spend time with her Friday night and then again on Saturday.  I think we all enjoyed it.  

I'd show you things, but I didn't take any pictures last week.  Not one.  Even though nothing happened, there was something going on all the time and none of it was photo worthy.  Life is passing so fast.  They say that happens as we get older.  

Watching trump and vance is like watching monkeys throw shit at a window for attention.  Goodness gracious, what people will believe is amazing.  

Everybody have a great week!  Have you made your voting plan?  Early voting starts this week here and I plan to spend part of one of those days off waiting in line.  

Lane

Lucky me

Yesterday, we went to visit an old friend we hadn't seen in years.  She's 4 days younger than me, but looks much older.  She moved to San Antonio a dozen years ago and we lost track of one another.  She's had some physical injuries and I don't think she's received adequate medical care and is using a wheel chair for mobility.  She made some life choices that prioritized others over herself and seems to be paying a heavy price for that.  Now she's alone, home bound, in an apartment where animals outnumber people 4 to 1 and reeks of smoke, relying on her married son as a caretaker.  She has plans to turn things around and we'll have to see if they work.  I sat and counted my blessings, and in my head I named them one by one, starting with the good man that was sitting next to me.  I have been lucky.  But, I have also made some good decisions.  

She showed us this quilt that I made a very long time ago for her and had forgotten.  I knew it was my work because I still have scraps of some of these fabrics in my stash.  If I re-made it today, I'd use a little darker fabric in the centers of some of those blocks, but everybody starts somewhere and learns from there.  The places I looked closely at were well pieced.  The quilting was even, but I couldn't figure out a pattern to it.  

I put the last stitches in the baby quilt yesterday afternoon.  I thought I'd be able to finish on Saturday, but it was late yesterday afternoon.  I kept finding places to tweak and I kept getting distracted.  Anyway, I'm declaring it done now and not looking at it too close anymore.  Today, I'll launder and pack it and tomorrow, it will go in the mail.  Hopefully.  You'll probably be forced to look at it one more time after it's laundered.  I don't think a quilt is finished until it has been, and all the puffy bits can stand up and show the real finished product.  

As I was trying to figure out how to play a song on Saturday, I stumbled on a teacher that was offering Christmas carol tutorials.  I spent some time re-creating her chord charts for a dozen carols that I immediately started learning to play.  I don't see us sitting around the ukulele singing carols by candle light on Christmas Eve, but who knows, right?  This new teacher is a little more fun than the one I originally took classes from.  His classes get harder and harder and in about 6 months, I've progressed to the point that I'm ready for lesson 7 of 10.  I'm an advanced and well-practiced 6, ready to move forward.  The new teacher seems to have an easier curriculum, built around learning to play songs that include new, simple chords.  But, my favorite part is that she includes a lot of new strumming patterns.  I was getting pretty tired of using the same pattern on every song.  She also has lessons on picking the uke like a banjo.  I'd really like to learn to do that.  

Everybody have a great week!  Remember the good old days, but also remember why they're the past and not the present.  Put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others.  And, maybe learn something new to enjoy.  Learning is fun (words my 13 year old self never thought I'd say).  

Lane

Can he bake a cherry pie

Robby boy, Robby boy.  Can he bake a cherry pie, darling Robby?  

Yes, I "can".   I think this is my first cherry pie.  As we stood in the grocery, looking at the cans of pie filling, I asked Rob what he'd like and he chose cherry.  I am not ashamed to use canned pie filling.  I add a little cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg to canned apple pie filling all the time and it makes as good a pie as I can from scratch.  I thought cherry pie was tart and sour, but this isn't.  I used a pillsbury all-ready pie crust with a crumb topping I whipped up from memory, and it was easy enough that we should be having pie more often.  One can of filling makes a small pie, perfect for two people who don't need to be eating pie every night.  

I thought I'd be showing you a finished and laundered baby quilt today, but I'm not.  I got the binding sewn down last week, but having the quilt in my lap and being that close to it made me notice a flaw.  Around some of the flower petals, I didn't get close enough to the edge when I was machine appliquéing it down.  The edges didn't lay flat on the background and cast a shadow, and more importantly, they were susceptible to anything getting under them and ripping them off.  So, I'm going around those pieces and hand sewing them down.  And, when I said some of the petals, I really meant most of the petals.  The flower centers and leaves are okay.  I must have been paying closer attention when I was sewing them.  Anyway, I spent most of Saturday and half of Sunday with it in my lap, doing hand appliqué on a quilt I decided to machine appliqué because it was quicker and more convenient.  

You'd think I'd learn my lesson about quicker and more convenient.  It's like the short line at the bureau of motor vehicles.  You see a short line and you think 'why am I waiting behind all these people?' so you get in the short line and when you get to the window, you find out it's only for farm vehicles and you have to get in the back of the long line and wait again.  (this joke stolen from a comedian in the 80's.  I have used it hundreds of times since, to illustrate the futility of shortcuts.  And yes, I get the irony of telling this after my canned pie filing story)

Anyway, I have a couple petals left on a small flower and a couple petals on the large center flower and then I'll be done...for real.  I think some of this is a hesitation to finish.  I've enjoyed this little quilt and I guess I'm not quite ready for it to be done and gone.  That's a good sign, I think.  It generally means it's a good quilt.  But, I'm not sure I could define what makes a "good quilt" other than one where most everything goes right.  

Dottie, waiting for her #1 person.  I am at best a distant #2.  He was out front, visiting with the neighbors and she stood at the door with her nose at the crack, apparently hoping to get just a whiff of his scent.  She stood there for a long time and even when I called her name, the most I could get was a quick head toss and then that nose was back in the crack.  Finally, she walked over to the edge of the carpet and laid down to wait for him.  I have never seen a dog get so excited about a person coming home.  And, then look over her shoulder at me, like 'oh, you're still here?' after spending the whole day with me.  

She's getting to sleep with the humans now.  She was waking us (mostly Rob) every morning at 1:30 to go out and then she would get to sleep in the big bed.  I suggested that we might get a full night's sleep if she just started in the big bed and I was right.  That whole 1:30 thing was about getting out of the crate and cuddling with #1, not about having to go outside.  

My doctor started me on a new med.  I've been struggling since my Mom passed and the struggle wasn't getting any easier, so I asked for some help.  It's not the first time.  I ended up taking Monday off and slept most of the day.  On Tuesday, I fell asleep at my desk while reading the most boring document ever written and only woke when my elbow slipped off the keyboard tray.  By Wednesday, I was doing better and now I'm feeling normal again.  It's okay to ask for help.  We don't have to do it all alone.  You won't find a bigger believer in stoicism and pulling myself up by my own bootstraps than me.  I preach it and I practice it, too.  But, that's not always enough.  

Everybody have a great week!  Do something you love, love something you do, or just sit and watch the seasons change out the window.  

Is everything djt says anymore a lie?  I read an article this morning that the reason for the escallation in lies is so he can tell an even bigger lie later.  It was an idea coined by Hitler in Mein Kampf.   We all know what the bigger lie will be and when it will be told.  The waiting is so stressful.  

Lane

Shortey

 Not much going on around here.  I spent the weekend quilting the border on the baby quilt.  I did larger flowers and some straight lines.  I'm sewing down the binding now.  It's always slow going for me.  I sew a few minutes and then I get distracted and set it in my lap a few minutes.  Despite how different the border and the back fabrics are, I found a fabric that pulls a little color from each of them.  

We didn't make it to the local quilt show this weekend.  I stepped on a rock on my walk the other day and bruised the bottom of my foot, and walking through a quilt show was not in the cards.  It's the first one we've missed in a long time, and I hated it.  I tried to get Rob to take my office chair and push me through the vendor mall, but he wasn't having it.  Even the best of men will only go so far...apparently.  

My desert rose bloomed this week.  It's a beautiful flower.  I guess I didn't realize it was a poisonous plant.  I don't keep it in places where a dog could get to it, but it still was a little bit of a surprise.  

Am I the only one that ever wondered why Franciscan called this pattern Desert Rose?  Now, I know.  

While the days are cooling off, we're still not getting any rain, so I linger in some parts of the garden to enjoy a little beauty and then I walk quickly through others, or get the hose and get lost in the rambling thoughts of a little hand watering.  

Our grocery store was closed yesterday due to power issues.  We went to the next nearest store.  Wow, was it different.  At one point, after Rob had spent several minutes searching for Kleenex, we both looked at one another and said "this store is laid out stupid."  But, we got what we needed and had a little adventure to boot.  We also had dinner with Sydney on Saturday night.  And, she gave me some plants.  She's really into houseplants right now and I'm all for that.  I'll let her give me advice.  She gave me a couple of really nice cuttings to root (fingers crossed) and a couple of other plants that outgrew her space.  

Short post.  Sorry.  But, I think I'm feeling the effects of having my flue shot and my covid vax at the same time, maybe.  Not feeling sick, just muddle-headed.  I don't think work is going to get their money's worth out of me today.   I'd like to pull this baby quilt over me and keep sewing binding.  Maybe take a little nap.  And is that the start of a plan?  

Everybody have a great week!  Hydration, hydration, hydration.  

Lane

The last straw

I took the leap and traded in the Prius.  I got it out of the shop two Mondays ago, and last Thursday something else went wrong.  I sat in the car, in my driveway and screamed (I hope the neighbors didn't hear, but if they did, I don't care).  When Rob got home that night, I told him I was ready to get rid of it.  But, I think that story has a happy ending.  

The carfax report on the Prius didn't show it had been wrecked, but it had.  In Florida.  And, the repairs weren't done well.  But, because it's been repaired, the dealership says I bought it as-is and they're not responsible for things going wrong.  And, I decided I wasn't sinking another penny into a car I'd only owned 6 months.  The dealership says they didn't know it had been wrecked, but I don't believe that.  And, they were charging me premium prices for the repairs they were doing (Rob looked into it and said they had really overcharged me for the last work they did).  

So, we went to the Honda dealer.  

When I bought the Prius, it was a tense and overwhelming experience.  Like swimming upstream.  But, Saturday's experience at Howdy Honda was the exact opposite.  We had a great salesman and their finance manager was no pressure.  When they had us test drive, they sent us to drive...there wasn't a salesman sitting in the back seat watching over my shoulder.  We got to actually play with the car's features on the road.  We tried to push every button.  The finance manager clearly explained what my options were, and when we'd made our selections she didn't pressure me to try to buy more.  At the Toyota dealer, the finance guy wouldn't let me go and finally called his manager in to try to pressure me.  All that did was make me uncomfortable and defiant.  It didn't make me buy.  I actually bought extras this time because it was so easy to say yes to some and no to others.  And, I loved that we got to haggle over the price.  It was the whole old-fashioned buying experience with bargaining and trips to go talk to his manger.  I loved that part.  It made me feel like I was part of the experience.  There's no haggling at Toyota.  

This is my new car.  A Honda CRV Sport-L Hybrid.  It won't get the same gas mileage as the Prius, but it should do pretty good.  We haven't driven it enough to get a really good measure of gas mileage yet.  It had 36 miles on it when we bought it and we put 6 of those on it in the test drive.  It's ginormous inside compared to the Prius.  We took it on a road trip yesterday to have lunch in the country and it did great, even on that piece of freeway where the speed limit is 85!  It was roomy and spacious and quiet and smooth where the Prius had been none of those things.  

Sometimes, I think of us as a couple and the example we set for the world to see.  First, the sales people made us comfortable, so we were able to be ourselves.  And, they got to see a couple make a hard decision (between this one and a less expensive one).  They got to see us have very serious conversation and they got to see us laugh.  And, the salesman gave us privacy to talk.  Anybody that thinks gay couples operate differently than straight couples only needed to watch us buy a car to see there's no difference.  

After we bought it, we went to lunch.  I drove.  Rob navigated.  It was a good thing because I was in kind of a fog and it probably would have been suppertime before I made it to the restaurant.  We parked far, far away, where no one else was parked.  

On the way into the grocery yesterday, I asked Rob if he preferred beef or pork balogna, since that's going to be an important part of our retirement plan now.  

Last week, I took three days off.  I had oral surgery Wednesday, a pre-colonoscopy appointment on Thursday, and took Bella to the vet on Friday, after which she had some kind of a panic attack.  Between all that, I managed to get most of the baby quilt quilted.  

I even managed to get her name (Emma) quilted into it.  

All that's left is quilting the borders and the binding.  I have zero ideas about the borders.  I shall be seeking inspiration in pictures of other people's quilts.  Art inspires art.  

Now that it's cooling off a little (there's a big difference between 100*F and 108*F) things are starting to bloom again.  

The plumbago has taken off.

So has the thryallis.  This one wants to lean because of where it's planted, but I don't mind.  It makes it look like a bigger plant.  

These are purple Mexican petunias.  They get about 6' tall will take as much sun as you give them.  I keep them in part sun to control their growth.  They're secretly plotting to take over the world.  

This one doesn't look much different in the picture, but it's a pink Mexican petunia.  Next year, there will be a white one, too.  I found it in a neighbor's untended garden and pulled one stem that is thriving.  

This echinacea and I are getting familiar.  It's a lovely flower but the plant isn't like my other echinacea.  It doesn't like too much sun.  I've repotted it and added good dirt to the really crappy soil it came in that wouldn't hold water, but it still wilts in the heat.  I plan to put it in the ground this fall and I'm going to bare root it to get rid of that powdery stuff it came potted in.  

Okay, that's it for me today.  I have a physical this week where the doctor and I will discuss my weight and the effect it's having on the rest of my health and what she suggests to help me bring it down.  

They lied about people eating pets.  JD said they lied about it and that it was okay to lie.  And, still their loyal idiots follow.  My Daddy taught me that you can't trust someone that lies on purpose, because if they'll tell a little lie, they'll tell any lie.  And, we are hearing every lie.  And, they're getting away with it because they're telling the biggest lie of all, that white people are suffering from white racism.  And, many white people want to hear that so bad that they're willing to sacrifice their christian faith in order to pretend it's true.  

Whatever happened to sitting back and counting our blessings and celebrating all the magnificent things the Lord has done for us.  When did it start being about making sure no one else gets the opportunities that the average white person receives every day, just because they're white.  

Yes, I'm white and I am privileged as hell.  I know that.  But, instead of reserving that for myself, I want to see everyone be as privileged as hell.  

Lane

learning to sing

First, a baby quilt update.  I've outlined all the flowers and leaves and have quilted a little pattern in the flower petals.  I'm working on quilting veins into the leaves.  And, then I'm going to have to stop and tie knots and bury thread ends.  So.  Many.  Threads.  But, it's coming out really nice and I just need to find some more time to work on it and get it past the finished line.  I'm thinking about taking a couple days off this week to really focus and move it forward.  

I was a band kid at a time when you were either a band kid, choir kid, theater kid, jock, or hippie.   There were no video games.  We all went "outside" and we "gathered in groups" and we "talked".  Concepts that seem to be going out of style.  Probably because now, the sun can kill you and you never know who's carrying a gun and you can talk through your avatar without having to expose your vulnerabilities.  

Ah, the good old days.  

Anyway, I sang at church.  In children's choirs and youth choirs and adult choir.  I was told I had a good voice, which wouldn't be a surprise because my Dad has a good voice.  He sang in a quartet that traveled and sang at different church events.  After that, my singing was limited to singing along with the radio or singing in the shower or singing on the dance floor with everybody else.  This year, I decided to learn the ukulele.  I'm not good enough to pick yet, so everything is chords.  Chords are boring.  The singer carries the tune.  So, I've started to sing again.  And, I am bad at it.  I have to work on my breathing.  And, controlling my voice.  And, what's with that frog that's taken up permanent residence there?  

I was playing while sitting back in a very comfortable relaxed pose on a sofa, with the uke balanced on my belly.  Not so good for breathing.  But, comfy as heck and I had a good view of my fingers on the frets.  When I decided to learn to play, it was on a lark and I worried that it wouldn't last...like so many other larks before it.  But, I have stuck with it and the new, larger uke is much easier for my fat fingers to play.  I don't think I'm doing too bad for a beginner.  I can move around in four chords without watching my fingers or losing the beat and can play a half dozen songs pretty well.  I'm learning two new chords and that's opened up some new songs.  So, I decided to set up a better space to practice.    

The years have taken a toll.  On everything, not just my voice and my breathing.  I have a doctor's appointment coming up.  Two, in fact.  New doctors.  And, I am not looking forward to it.  I'm on rice cakes and water and a tablespoon of peanut butter every other day until then.  

Everybody have a great week!  Find something you enjoy.  Even harder, find the time to enjoy it!!  

If you think eating cats and dogs is bad, you should check into men that grab women by the genitals.  One of those things is real.  

Lane

Un-quilting

You all know me and my tendency to un-quilt, especially at the start of a quilt.  Frequently, I will have an idea of what I want to do and I'll get started on it.  Then, I realize it was the wrong thing and I'm picking it out to do something else.  This time, it was prompted by Rob.  

I'd put in some really cute quilting.  It would have made a delightful show quilt.  And, I brought Rob in to see it and he complimented it.  He didn't provide any feedback, just asked one simple question.  "Is that going to be soft?"  And, of course, it was not.  It was already stiffening up.  And, I know that my usual 3/8"  between lines of quilting was going to make a stiff baby quilt.  So, I picked half of it out.  Now, I'm going to pick out the rest.   3/8" is great for show quilting.  It makes for a beauty of a quilt.  But, it doesn't make a very cuddly, soft quilt to wrap a baby in.  For that I need 3/4 to 1".  

I'm a believer that if the quilting looks bad, it's because there's not enough of it.  So, if I'm having trouble with the way a section of a quilt looks, I put enough quilting into it that you don't see the mistakes (unless you look closer than it's polite to look.)  The less quilting there is, the better it has to be.  And, when I picked out half the echo quilting I'd put into the large flower petals, I realized what was left wasn't very good.  In fact, those petals are so large that they might not lend themselves to echo work at all...long lines and large curves are hard to do on a domestic machine.  I have to change hand placement multiple times in a space that large, and every time, I run the risk of slightly changing the direction of the line.  We'll have to see what I end up doing there.  I might be able to do it if I draw it in.  For now, I'm just doing outlining around all the flowers and leaves.  I can come back to those large petals later, after I've gotten a feel for how this quilt wants to be quilted.  

We took it out into the sunshine after I'd pin basted it the other day, to see it in natural light.  It's lovely.  I hope my niece thinks so, too.

Last week, my boss had me do a research project.  Technically, there's a group that should be doing this work, but they're not, so he asked me to.  It was a fun project, looking deep into a competitor's practices.  They keep what he's looking for under very tight wraps and I only found a little bit about it, but I found a wealth of other info that we didn't know.  We had a meeting on Friday for me to present findings.  He had no interest in what I found.  It wasn't what he was looking for and that's all he cared about.  Now, I know that what I found could help break into the competitor's advantage in the market, and there was a time I would have pushed back and made that research known.  But, that time is passed.  I got nothin' to prove anymore.   His loss.  Getting old and being disregarded sucks.  

Anyway, I went through my current spending last week to check how close we are to retirement.  And, it's looking good.  We don't spend a lot, and the rest goes into savings so there will be cash during that year I'm not planning to work, but before I want to start collecting social security.  Then, there will be a year when Rob doesn't work and doesn't collect retirement, but by then, I should be, so we're planning to dive in and hope for the best.  That's faith!

Today, I'm taking the Prius to the shop to have a repair done.  We've been waiting on the part for a few weeks.  Cars are getting more complicated and people don't seem to realize that makes them harder and more expensive to repair (which is partially driving the cost of insurance).  Cars were simpler when they only needed to get us where we were going and didn't need to be home entertainment centers capable of making decisions for us.  

Okay, that's all that's going on around here.  The weather seems to have broken and yesterday, a lot of us were wearing a long sleeve shirt early in the morning.  I sure hope the 100*F days are done.  I need to get this baby quilt finished because it's about to be gardening season again.  

Everybody have a great week!  Find things you enjoy doing and get them done!  

Lane

Labor Day

Rob and I were reminiscing about Labor Days from our past yesterday.  I said something about going to a store and he was like, they won't be open, nobody works on Labor Day.  And, there was a time when that was true, but that time is not this time.  And, everybody seems to be having a sale.  

Our plans are small.  A little barbecue, a little homemade peach ice cream, probably a nap.  We've had an adventurous dining weekend, and I think both our stomachs are looking forward to a day without spicy food.  We generally go out to eat on Saturday night.  It's something we started when Sydney lived here.  A chance to get out and take her someplace so we weren't eating every meal at home.  Last Saturday, I took Rob to an Indian Restaurant that I went to with book club.  It's very delicious and very authentic...and very spicy.  They have mild, medium, hot, and Indian hot spice levels.  Their mild is at the edge of what I enjoy, and I can't imagine how hot they go.  

Yesterday we had a congratulatory lunch for Rob's boss who retired a couple weeks ago.  They decided not to have a party, so this was our chance to celebrate with him and his wife.  It was very nice.  We had Mexican food and margaritas.  We came home and took a nap.  Neither of us wanted dinner last night after that.  

Part of Saturday was spent procuring backing for the baby quilt.  We decided the pink I had would work, but we could probably do better.  We walked into JoAnns and Rob pulled a bolt off the rack and we both knew it was perfect.  We looked around, but nothing else measured up to that first instinct.  We bought it and had a nice lunch.  Unfortunately, my brain was not kicked in and I only bought half of what I needed so we had to go back.  And, we had a nice dinner.  Fortunately, the bolt was still in the bins waiting to be put back on the shelf, so no one had bought any of it.  Yesterday, I assembled it and it's all ready for one last ironing and to be pin basted today.  I hope to get a few quilting stitches in before the day is done.  

We had a cooler week last week and I've been slowly weeding out the dead leaves and fronds and the garden is looking nice.  We're supposed to get some rain this week, which will hopefully perk it up even more.  

Neither Rob nor I can believe we're still getting daylilies.  Neither of us can remember ever having blooms this late in the year before.  It's not a big bloom, just a few flowers here and there and they're a little faded compared to spring, but they're there and quite pretty.  

The plumbago is getting started.  I'm hoping I'm going to get a good show, but I also know I've been shading this with an umbrella in order to shade some of the other things around it that were struggling in the heat.  That might have hindered the bloom a little.  Plumbago can take it as hot as Mother Nature can dish it out.  

And, the butterfly bush.  I can't speculate on how large this would get if it was in the sun.  I keep it in the shade so it doesn't take over.  It dies to the ground every winter and comes back huge every summer.  It draws hummingbirds and butterflies.  

My Mom suggested I get a Thryallis years ago.  I'm not sure why.  She didn't have one, but must have seen one in someone else's yard.  Anyway,  I stumbled up on one a few years ago on half price sale and gave it a try.  The first place I planted it wasn't right and I'm not sure why and it nearly died.  I moved it to a new place a couple years ago and it thrived and this year, it's doing great!  The only problem is it wants to lean into the sun and fall over.  I used to struggle to keep it upright but this year, I've decided to just let it be.  It looks great and you can hardly see where it comes out of the ground, so it looks like a short plant instead of a tall one and it's not hurting anything it's laying on.  

You can just barely see the lime tree on the left side.  It's got a bunch of limes on it that are ripe and I plan to harvest today.  Key lime pie next week!  They're so small that I usually get just enough for one pie.  

This is the back of the house.  Sometimes, a little green is all you need.  This is the sunnier side of it (still not much sun).  There's shade to the left and I mostly have large houseplants in blue pots there.  It was all supposed to be blue pots, but my ambitions exceeded my ability to find the blue pots, which seem to have gone out of style.  Things I start to collect have a tendency to do that.  Probably has something to do with me not starting to collect until they've been relegated to the discount stores.  That white pot is new and there's a good chance it will get painted blue, like the one to the left of it.  Painting them has been very successful.  

Everybody have a great Monday.  If it's a holiday for you, find something you enjoy.  If it's not a holiday, I hope it's still a great Monday.  I plan to watch these clouds and shame and threaten them if they don't give up the rain.

Lane

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

 

Excitement

I'm excited to be working on a quilt.  It's been so long.  I let quilting start to feel like a chore.  Must finish this, must finish that.  And, I'm pretty happy that it's my niece's quilt that I got excited about.  I'm excited to be doing something original again, and hope it turns out okay.  

We went to the fabric store on Saturday for mauve/pink fabrics.  I also needed the background for the appliqué and a quilt back and batting.  The background fabric is white with what looks like pale pink paint strokes across it in one direction.  I was talking about the directionality on the drive home and how I wasn't sure how I'd use that and mentioned that I could cut it into squares and piece it to look like a basket weave.  Rob got so excited that I knew that was the right idea...what's the point of having a design consultant if you don't listen to him?  

I also started making petals.  And realized how many petals there are to make.  When I had the background pieced, I started laying petals on it.  I can't get the camera to pick up how pink the quilt really is.  It seems to bring out the orange and gold.  I showed pics to Rob yesterday, but when he saw it in person, he commented that it was a lot more pink than it looks.  But, you can get an idea of where I'm starting.  I plan to bring the smaller flowers in a little closer to the center, especially the corner one.  And, I haven't started making the leaves that will help me fill in a little.  

I have a couple of daylilies that have decided to bloom.  First, there's this peach one.  This was an "extra" probably pulled out of the ground when I was pulling dead fronds and put in a pot.  I lost track of what it was.  I had several of those and put them in the ground this year and they all bloomed, so now I know what they are and which ones I want to keep and which I want to let go.  

And, this one.  This is such a surprise.  This is not the time of year we get daylilies.  I'm thinking it must have something to do with all the rain we've been getting.  We've had an unexpected amount of rain this year, almost like when I started gardening.  It's meant we haven't had to water, and that's been a VERY good thing.  

My sentinel standing guard at the window.  She wants to bark threateningly at everyone that goes by, but she's learning that's not appreciated, so she'll let out a little yip, then look at me to see if it's okay to be a threat...all 12 pounds of her.  She has come through her spay very well.  We started taking her on short walks over the weekend.  It's a little earlier than her discharge instructions said, but she's a bundle of energy and walking her is about the only way to burn that off.  If we don't, she gets into trouble...like stealing my glasses and chewing up the arms.  She's the Dottie.

So, politics, huh?  Lots of change there.  Kamala wouldn't have been my first choice.  I don't think she's serious enough.  What I didn't consider was how that might throw trump off his game.  I like what she's saying, tho.  "...to see what can be, unburdened by what has been."  And, if she can unite the party, I'm all for it.  I am learning to say her name this time.  Kamala (Comma-la).  I hear her step daughters call her Mamala.  And, maybe a Mamala is what our country needs.  Someone to bring in some humor and some light, to hug our country until it feels better, and to put bandaids on our wounds and tell us to "stop fighting with your friends."  If she could heal that rift, that would be better than trying to balance the budget, in my opinion.  

I am liking the excitement I'm seeing, but not losing track of the fact this is a long and painful road where nasty people will say nasty things.  And, we're going to have to endure.  This is the way.

Everybody have a great week!  Do something you enjoy.  Find some excitement in every day.  

Lane

Designing a quilt

I forgot that I was going to be driving all day last Monday.  The trip to Dallas went well.  I was very outgoing.  Both dinners were struggles for me.  I did my usual thing where I sit with the uncool kids, which was fine, but neither table filled, so there weren't many people to engage in conversation, which meant I had to carry more of the conversation.  And, I did it.  Both nights.  Keeping the conversation moving and keeping the awkward pauses short.  And, I participated in the meetings during the day and was chauffeur to a teammate and to my boss's boss.  That was weird, but I did it with confidence and when I missed a couple turns, they never knew it and I didn't tell.  Mapping software is great!

After two days of meetings, I headed to my Dad's for the weekend.  That was a wonderful time to relax.  He is so laid back.  He hasn't been sleeping, but while I was there, he was able to get some good rest.  Maybe he just needed someone else in the house.  Anyway, that left me time to relax and rest.  We had lunch together and dinner with my sisters and their families.  We talked in the mornings napped away the afternoons and had coffee together.  It was a very nice getaway and I think we both enjoyed it.  

I had lunch with my niece and her husband while I was in Fort Worth and we talked about a quilt.  We talked about colors and themes and she shared some crib sheets she'd chosen that I could pick colors from.  

Saturday, I designed the quilt.  I knew the sheets had flowers on them, so I looked for flowery quilt patterns.  

Here's where we started.  This is Sweet Pink Daisies from Quilt magazine, sorry I don't know which issue.  Before I got too far, I figured out it's over 400 appliqué pieces.  So, I needed a little redesign.  

And, what I decided was to make the flowers larger.  A 24" square center with an 18" daisy, 4 x 12" daisies in the corners and 8 x 9" daisies between them.  I drafted that out on paper and cut the plastic templates to make it easier to trace the pattern pieces onto freezer paper.

And, then I did the math and it was still over 200 pieces.  So, I decided to halve the number of pieces by making 8 petals per flower instead of 16.  You can see the larger pieces drawn into the picture above.  I'm pretty happy with that.  

Then, the sheets got here.  While the description is pink and orange (what a combo), it's not your average pink.  It's a mauve/peach pink.  And, orange and two greens.  Here's my initial fabric pull.  But, I don't think I have it yet.  It's too orange.  I need more mauve colored fabrics.  

It's cool, tho.  I haven't been to a fabric store in a long time.  

Last week, we had Dottie spayed.  Here she is in her pink onesie that I did NOT make.  She'll need to wear it a few days, but she's doing great at not bothering the incision.  We are struggling to keep her still and quiet because she is a bundle of energy.  

Today, after about 6 weeks, they're supposed to come fix the air conditioner.  It's been working, but it's only been able to keep the house cool if we limit what we do in the hot part of the day, so no cooking big meals and no doing laundry in the afternoon, things like that.  It hasn't been too bad, but we've worried the whole time that something else would go wrong and we'd be without a/c in July in Texas.  It will be nice to be able to relax.  

Everybody have a great week!  Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy!

Lane