Still have a week left of classes, but I am so close to being finished that I started planning Ben and Jill's wedding quilt today. It will be purple and green with touches of brown. Now I need a good pattern. Have not committed to batiks or anything else, but I know the colors. The design decision will be made this weekend. That is a start. I am going to create the design in EQ or do a scrappy round-the-world. However, I think it will have to be a fat-quarter quilt because I do not really have these colors in abundance.
I am also planning to do some other sewing this weekend. Dad has done a great job embroidering bibs so I have a large number that will require the stretching neckbands. The best part is he is truly enjoying selecting the various designs and he always seems to have someone who is looking for one.
School has been a lot about computer software this semester,so it will be nice to switch to tasks that are not as eye intense for a week or two. I am embroidering a set of snowmen, and find that I can enjoy a half hour and accomplish quite a bit. Imagine what it will be like when I do not have homework in the evening. Might have to do a few more for Christmas gifts, too. Relaxing to just sit and stitch!
For those that care, I am going to commit to blogging about some quilting/sewing task at least once a week from now until classes begin in late August. The posts will be about what I have actually done during the week. The wedding quilt will be revealed only in part until the happy couple receives it, but there are lots of things that I would like to stitch so there will something going on every week.
I am also going to do at least 4 hours of carving weekly, so I will be sharing that, as well. I have a number of ideas, but nothing specific at the moment. That will wait until the last group paper is turned in on Tuesday morning. ;o)
Life is not only GOOD, it is filled with blessings and reasons to be abundantly greatful!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Sunday, April 14, 2013
April 14: Out of Sight, BUT Thinking of Those Who Keep Checking IN
I have 3 weeks of school left and as always that seems to translate into too many projects. We are also doing a craft show this next weekend and have a number of jobs to finish. Therefore, I am going to continue to be more absent than present on this blog. I plan to read my favorite bloggers' post and hope to do some catching up over the next couple weeks, but...................
The two days without power, was worthy of noting, as have been a number of other fun moments, but I am going to allow myself to slide for a few weeks and then see where my head is. Until then, enjoy the coming of Spring.
The two days without power, was worthy of noting, as have been a number of other fun moments, but I am going to allow myself to slide for a few weeks and then see where my head is. Until then, enjoy the coming of Spring.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
April 11: The Power is Back
God and Mother Nature have their ways of reminding us that we can't control things.
These are views of the windows on the north side of the house, and no we do not have privacy glass on them.
Tuesday morning Kevin drove me to school because I am not fond of driving on ice. A mile up the road, I would have turned back but he continued. I am really glad he did because I had a great class. However, during class we were informed that most schools in the area were closing. I called home and we decided I would skip my late class and we would pick up a few things for the impending storm. In the past that has always helped cancel the storm, but not this time.
As we turned into our driveway, the view was pretty sad. These are the bushes that I photograph often, but this is a sad version. Fortunately today they are looking a little better but not much.
We got home and realized that we must still have a few of our flashlights still packed, and if the power were to go off, we would need D batteries for the fireplace starter and the flashlights we could find. So we ventured forth, again. By the time we got back from the store a 1 1/2hour trip that usually takes 45 minutes, Dad was sleeping in his chair with his trusty blanket and the power was out. When you are 80 you tend to notice the cold more, so we moved his new chair upstairs and got the fireplace going. Did not figure it would last all that long, but........................
We had brought back a hot (lukewarm) pizza for supper before setting him up. I got out lots of candles and settled in for a cozy evening. I think I lasted about an hour before the dozing began. Woke up and texted with Jodie for a hour and then cuddled up again and enjoyed my recliner. Dad snores a lot so expected it to be a long night, but I woke refreshed. The guys did not sleep as well.
Breakfast was hot chocolate and oatmeal courtesy of Sterno and patience. We spend the morning considering options and spending time thinking of what rat-race we would have been running if we had the electricity. Still the snow had not really started yet. The ice had continued to build all night, though, so Kevin went out and chipped off pieces of ice from his truck that were about 1 1/2" thick. By noon, we decided that we needed to get Dad up and moving so we took him to the mall for a walk and hot lunch. Weather was not wonderful but the road was okay. Wore Dad out so headed home. Still no electricity, so we discussed options. Power crews were working on the highway near our house, but we were told it would be 11:00 PM tonight before the lights were back on. Options considered: Just tough it out as we had been - Dad was NOT in favor of that. Rent a motel room and hope to get back home today to shovel the still predicted 6-10 inches. Buy a generator for lights and frig. Hotel rooms were scarce, so we then debated the other two options.
Found a generator for sale at Mac's and had Ray help us install it about 8:00 PM. Last of the steps completed about 8:30. Power came back on at 8:43. HA! HA! We will be quicker to start it next time.
Everyone was able to sleep in their own beds. Power stayed on even though the snow did appear and leave at least 6+ inches in places with large drifts in other spots.
We have a huge driveway and parking pads. Ray has used his plow to clear our few snow piles in the past, but he was ready for spring and had stored his blades. We were thinking we might need to wait for the Spring thaw, but a very nice neighbor/farmer brought his John Deer Tractor over and clear everything but the sidewalks which Kevin had already done. Country living is wonderful.
Today we will get back into full swing, but probably not until after lunch. We know this was not a huge storm by many standards, but I am days short of 60 and I have no memory of that kind of ice or length of power outage anywhere that I have lived. My eyes are rested and I am gearing up for school work. Kevin has headed down to finish a project in the shop (but I can still hear him chopping the ice,so...), and Dad is back to being comfortable in his own space. We gained a good deal of admiration for the weather, the frozen foods stayed frozen in the ice chests on the porch the huge chucks of ice I put in the frig did not melt so no food spoiled, and I am beginning to see out the window again.
Life is GOOD!
These are views of the windows on the north side of the house, and no we do not have privacy glass on them.Tuesday morning Kevin drove me to school because I am not fond of driving on ice. A mile up the road, I would have turned back but he continued. I am really glad he did because I had a great class. However, during class we were informed that most schools in the area were closing. I called home and we decided I would skip my late class and we would pick up a few things for the impending storm. In the past that has always helped cancel the storm, but not this time.As we turned into our driveway, the view was pretty sad. These are the bushes that I photograph often, but this is a sad version. Fortunately today they are looking a little better but not much.
We got home and realized that we must still have a few of our flashlights still packed, and if the power were to go off, we would need D batteries for the fireplace starter and the flashlights we could find. So we ventured forth, again. By the time we got back from the store a 1 1/2hour trip that usually takes 45 minutes, Dad was sleeping in his chair with his trusty blanket and the power was out. When you are 80 you tend to notice the cold more, so we moved his new chair upstairs and got the fireplace going. Did not figure it would last all that long, but........................We had brought back a hot (lukewarm) pizza for supper before setting him up. I got out lots of candles and settled in for a cozy evening. I think I lasted about an hour before the dozing began. Woke up and texted with Jodie for a hour and then cuddled up again and enjoyed my recliner. Dad snores a lot so expected it to be a long night, but I woke refreshed. The guys did not sleep as well.
Breakfast was hot chocolate and oatmeal courtesy of Sterno and patience. We spend the morning considering options and spending time thinking of what rat-race we would have been running if we had the electricity. Still the snow had not really started yet. The ice had continued to build all night, though, so Kevin went out and chipped off pieces of ice from his truck that were about 1 1/2" thick. By noon, we decided that we needed to get Dad up and moving so we took him to the mall for a walk and hot lunch. Weather was not wonderful but the road was okay. Wore Dad out so headed home. Still no electricity, so we discussed options. Power crews were working on the highway near our house, but we were told it would be 11:00 PM tonight before the lights were back on. Options considered: Just tough it out as we had been - Dad was NOT in favor of that. Rent a motel room and hope to get back home today to shovel the still predicted 6-10 inches. Buy a generator for lights and frig. Hotel rooms were scarce, so we then debated the other two options.
Everyone was able to sleep in their own beds. Power stayed on even though the snow did appear and leave at least 6+ inches in places with large drifts in other spots.
We have a huge driveway and parking pads. Ray has used his plow to clear our few snow piles in the past, but he was ready for spring and had stored his blades. We were thinking we might need to wait for the Spring thaw, but a very nice neighbor/farmer brought his John Deer Tractor over and clear everything but the sidewalks which Kevin had already done. Country living is wonderful.Today we will get back into full swing, but probably not until after lunch. We know this was not a huge storm by many standards, but I am days short of 60 and I have no memory of that kind of ice or length of power outage anywhere that I have lived. My eyes are rested and I am gearing up for school work. Kevin has headed down to finish a project in the shop (but I can still hear him chopping the ice,so...), and Dad is back to being comfortable in his own space. We gained a good deal of admiration for the weather, the frozen foods stayed frozen in the ice chests on the porch the huge chucks of ice I put in the frig did not melt so no food spoiled, and I am beginning to see out the window again.
Life is GOOD!
Monday, April 1, 2013
April 1: Happy Fools' Day to All!
I started out with intentions of studying all day for my test on Thursday, but THAT WAS A FOOLISH THOUGHT! Seems everyone realized I was home and that must have sounded like She is available. Dad had an errand to run. Then I took him to the doctor. I followed that up with making a business delivery and getting an oil change. In between there were a number of phone conversations, texts, and business email. All of it was important, yet all of it was keeping me from my studying (I did study while they changed my oil!) Still I am smiling and not tearing out my hair. ;o)
Not complaining, but I think I allowed it because I am a bit nervous about this test and can't seem to focus. I use this software program, but the thought of performing all the required tasks without access to my reference material and having to do it in a short 2 hours seems way beyond me at the moment. What does a perfectionist do when they don't think they do something well enough? My pysch professor from years ago said they either don't attempt or they procrastinate. Guess what? Besides that, setting up and using a database is something that I want to make pretty and organized, so I get stuck in the minutiae. It is a crazy, illogical thought process for me. I need to keep telling myself go for the big parts and then come back to the minutiae as time allows. That is NOT, I say NOT how I do things!
It must also be acknowledged that , AFTER ALL, I am the Dinker's Daughter and can fill an hour with 5 minutes of work. I make deadlines and keep them, but given a less structured day, I can keep myself occupied with the DETAILS for hours. Maybe I am not a perfectionist, maybe I just want to really did in and understand everything I am trying to do????
Well, it is now 7:00 PM and I have a deadline of 9:30 to complete 5 parts of my studying, so here goes! Don't expect to hear from me again until Thursday after 5:30 PM.
Life is GOOD!
Not complaining, but I think I allowed it because I am a bit nervous about this test and can't seem to focus. I use this software program, but the thought of performing all the required tasks without access to my reference material and having to do it in a short 2 hours seems way beyond me at the moment. What does a perfectionist do when they don't think they do something well enough? My pysch professor from years ago said they either don't attempt or they procrastinate. Guess what? Besides that, setting up and using a database is something that I want to make pretty and organized, so I get stuck in the minutiae. It is a crazy, illogical thought process for me. I need to keep telling myself go for the big parts and then come back to the minutiae as time allows. That is NOT, I say NOT how I do things!
It must also be acknowledged that , AFTER ALL, I am the Dinker's Daughter and can fill an hour with 5 minutes of work. I make deadlines and keep them, but given a less structured day, I can keep myself occupied with the DETAILS for hours. Maybe I am not a perfectionist, maybe I just want to really did in and understand everything I am trying to do????
Well, it is now 7:00 PM and I have a deadline of 9:30 to complete 5 parts of my studying, so here goes! Don't expect to hear from me again until Thursday after 5:30 PM.
Life is GOOD!
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