a peaceful solitude

I felt like last year was such a whirlwind that it has been more than nice to have several days of being unable to go anywhere. I've actually done some fun things - pulled out a puzzle (printed on 2 sides and double cut....what was I thinking?) and have spent several hours in my sewing room. Granted, there's been the everyday life chores, and the unexpected winter chores (carrying hot water out to the dogs and chickens to thaw out their water bowls), but overall these last few days have been nice.

In December one of the quilt groups I belong to was skipping our traditional meeting (I think only me and one other person had not finished the quilt top for the month) and were going to do the jelly roll race as a fun meeting night. With all the family coming in for the wedding, I ended up missing it. Since I already had my roll, I decided on Saturday to go ahead and make my quilt top. It didn't turn out as I expected (I modified the plan a little), so I've still got some work to do before that will ever be considered a finished quilt top. Maybe I'll post pics of that later this week. But I have been trying to work on this past year's project. I'm not halfway through page 10 (out of 18) pages. This quilt has HOURS of work on it, but I think it's going to be one of my favorites when I'm done.

And today is Bobby's birthday, so I'll be making country styled steak for supper tonight (one of his favorites). He said no to cake (crazy, I know), so I spent my afternoon sewing and ironing instead of baking a cake. And I put cheese in the scrambled eggs. Not my thing, but he likes it. So for his special day, he got it.

The pond is starting to melt, as is the ice/snow around the house. Our driveway is in the shade, so it doesn't melt as fast as other places. Nevertheless, we may venture out tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then I'm definitely heading out on Thursday.

Happy Bobby Day!

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things we do for love

Saturday we had a baby shower for Bobby's niece. As I was making the mints, Bobby asked what else was on the menu. After I recited off the litany of items, he responded with "No peanut butter?! This shower is for Hannah! What's she going to eat?" (Hannah has had stomach problems over the years and has been unable to tolerate many foods, but peanut butter has been her staple.) Despite my assurances that she would enjoy the foods we were having, he was adamant that I needed to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the shower. Even though I protested that NOBODY took that to a shower, he persisted, and informed me I could make them dainty with my little cutter. And so I did. To my surprise all but 3 were eaten. Who'd a thunk it?

perspectives

A few years ago after a Bible study a lot of the group continued to sit and talk and simply relax. One of the ladies felt like she was being mistreated by her boss. She was always given extra tasks or asked to assume responsibilities that no one else was asked to do. She felt it was unfair. As she was listing off some of the extras (she worked in a cafe for a plant), I was in flashback mode. My last year of college I was a shift manager at a fast food place. One of my many duties was to ensure that certain cleaning jobs (extra duties) was assigned and done properly. We were inspected by company headquarters once a quarter, and 3 of their 4 visits was ALWAYS a surprise visit. When I handed out those extra assignments, I had three things in mind: Who will do this job without making a bigger mess? Who can quickly do this job so we don't impede serving customers? Who will do this without the most drama? In essence, I wanted the best person for the job. Use the teenager who griped and c...

fun...funny houses

We saw the above house in Pittsboro while on our way to the mountains. It was the strangest house I've ever seen. Evidently this isn't a modification, for Bobby remembers thinking it funny as a child. Evidently a governor lived here at one point. I think the sign said it's now a Masonic lodge. And if seeing one funny house wasn't enough, the latest issue of This Old House had a link to their website that had several galleries of funny (or strange houses). Here's my favorites from their collection: Szymbark , Poland This just makes me laugh, and I would love to visit this house in person. Created by a designer who wanted to demonstrate "wrong-doings against humanity". Visitors have stood in line for as long as 6 hours to tour the house, and many come out feeling "sea-sick". Kalambaka, Greece... This 1,000 foot cliff drop has housed monastaries since the 11th century. Six of them are open to the public, " assuming, of course, th...

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