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Showing posts from May, 2017

NC Quilt Symposium

I think this was last weekend, but to be honest, my brain is so tired that it could have been two weeks ago. Bobby and I went to look at the quilt show only. We didn't attend any lectures nor did I sign up to take any classes. This was a visual pleasure trip only. There were many quilts I liked, especially some of the landscape ones (oh my word, the tiny pieces!!!), but the following are the few that prompted me to pull out my camera: This colored blocks in this quilt are called "one block wonders", where you take a fabric and cut it, then sew it together, creating a kalediscope-style pattern. I love they layout of this quilt because the blocks are offset with black, creating a unique pattern on top of a pattern. I also thinks it enhances the "wonder" of the cut pieces. My Gatherings class will most likely finish our 2017 quilts early, and Sonja, our teacher, has suggested this quilt, though not necessarily this design of it, as something to do for the remain

beginning the faster twirl

Since coming back from AL on Monday, it seems we've been on the go non-stop. I'm not quite caught up on everything yet, but we are back in the swing of things. Today I opted out of getting up early for an estate sale, and I don't regret it one little bit. We finished out Quilts of Valor meeting early, so we were able to swing by (and I got some small canning jars for a very good deal; some of the boxes were unopened) but that was all we left with. We've finished running errands, and after supper I'll be heading outside for more yardwork. The hen nesting in the brooder box is pushing the time limit. Her eggs should have hatched this week. She tossed out one rotten one, and I know she's got at least one more rotten egg under her. So if we've not seen or heard chirping by next week, she's going to be forced off the nest. The garage is starting to smell. Since I didn't weed the garden before we left (the tiller's not working), and we were gone

the month of repairs

We kicked off May with wheelchair repairs, followed by van repairs. Then last week we realized our tiller isn't working correctly, and last night...my specialty sewing machine died. So my tiller is sitting in the shed while I debate whether or not it's worth the money to get it fixed this year. At this time of year it will take about 3 weeks for it to be repaired, which is about the same amount of time it would take me to hoe all the weeds out if I spend an hour or two every weekday morning out in the garden. We've had this problem once before, two years ago, where it would crank, but every time you activate the blades it shuts off. I don't remember what the part/problem was, nor how much it cost to repair it. But right now I'm not sure that's where I want to put my money. But my sewing machine...the large one I use on quilts...that went to the store today. The repairman will pick it up tomorrow and I should know sometime soon what the problem is and how much it

say what?

This afternoon while running errands, the lady checking receipts commented on how cold it was for May. (and while the high 60s/low 70s are cool for this month, it's not unheard of either) Then she said "You know what the Bible says about that, don't you?"  And for the life of me, I couldn't think of anything she could possibly construe about the weather, so I asked "No. What?" And she told me the Bible said in the end times the seasons would all be the same and houses would burn, and that we were seeing that now. I was so speechless, I couldn't ask her where the Bible said that, and I couldn't figure out a polite way to tell her I've never come across that anywhere when I've read the Bible. As we were leaving, I commented to Bobby that I wanted to know what version of the Bible she reads. He nodded, then said he'd heard things like that all his life growing up, and was surprised to find out it wasn't in the Bible. I'm contin

Just put one step in front of the other....

I am tired.  That is actually not my normal lament, but a simple statement. I am happy. I am blessed. I am excited. I am very grateful. But it does not change the fact that I simply have no energy. I don't remember which animated movie has that song Just put one foot in front of the other...  but that has been my mantra this week. It's okay if everything doesn't get done. It's okay if we cancel on some things...just keep moving. Wednesday night Bobby's van overheated on the way home from church. Thankfully we have AAA, which has free towing within so many miles, and their service is 24/7. After three phone calls (or was it four?) and a 2.5 hour wait, we finally got the van to the mechanics and unloaded (loading and unloading were problems due to the lowered floor and the gas tank being in the back), and Bobby and his chair home and unloaded and re-united. Our dogs were very puzzled and confused the last two days. They'd come sit in the garage where Bobby's

Lazy 5 Ranch

Over the weekend we went to an historical symposium (where historians give lectures), and we left half a day early so we could swing by the Lazy 5 Ranch. Bobby has always wanted to go there, and I think we both enjoyed it very much. Once you enter the ranch, you have the choice of driving your car through the trails (the animals run free in the enclosure) or riding a horse-drawn wagon. Bobby enjoyed it to so much that he's toying with the idea of how to make something like that work here. I think his brainstorming is along the same lines of me opening a quilt shop - nice to think about but realistically not going to happen in the next five-ten years, if ever. We don't know if these are Emu or Ostrich eggs (or both), but they made our geese eggs look tiny. The emus were funny. They would peer inside the windows, looking  to see if we had a bucket of food. If I didn't have the food bucket covered, they would peck at the window. And yes, I was a chicken and did not ro