Time

Back in October, when I was in Houston, vendors would stop me and ask, "What are you looking for?"  I would reply, "Got any time for sale?"  Others would ask, "What do you need?" I would reply, "I need more hours in the day...I need more time."

"Ask and ye shall receive."  Apparently that holds, even when one is being a smart aleck.  :)

What I got for Christmas was a boatload of time.  Hours of time.  Days and weeks of reclaimed time, in which I cannot drive, and am limited in the household chores I can perform.  I asked for it, but now that I have it?  What am I going to do with it?

Well...

Yesterday I began to tackle my household desk.  Actually, this was the third time I'd gone after it this week, but I decided that taking a picture of it would be very motivational.  A friend wrote back, delighted to see that, "Someone's desk is worse than mine!!"  hahahaha!  yep.  You should have seen it LAST week.

 I got a section of it cleared off yesterday, but I'm going to have to go back and begin with the drawers.  Much of the stuff on top needs to be filed away, but the drawers are too full.  I see shredding in my future, before I continue this archaeological dig of my desktop.  I found an envelope of photos for Christmas cards from 2013!  I can't wait to see what else I uncover.

 A couple of hours of digging through the desk was enough.  My son's girlfriend brought down my knitting, and I put in a few rows on the mostly wool poncho I started long ago.  Maybe I'll even get a chance to wear it in 2016.  Goals are good.

 Here is proof that I'm behaving myself.  Before the cast, my foot was as fat as an overgrown zucchini, and my toes looked like little gumdrops glued on as an afterthought.  Now my toes look like toes again.  I hope to keep it that way.  The great thing about the cast, is that when swelling starts, I have to elevate it.  With the boot, I just readjusted the straps and let the swelling continue.

So, anyway, today is a good day.  Rather than list all of the things I can NOT do for the next couple of months, I will seek out the things that I have not been doing because of lack of time.  Just think!  I might write past page 45 in my novel.  Wouldn't that be something!  Ahhh, yes.  Goals are good, and I've got a brand new year coming, just waiting to meet them.

Stop. Rewind. Start Over.

Well, the verdict came in from the ortho guy, and it wasn't good.  The quick care PA got it wrong.  It's not the best place to break a fibula, it's the worst.  And so, the news is 4-6 weeks - best case scenario - in a non-weight bearing cast.  Lucky me!

The attached sandal is to keep the cast clean, should my foot drag. 

Oh, and I'm supposed to keep it elevated...above my hip.  Terrific!  So much for my short term goals in the quilting department.

The good news is that the "kids" return tomorrow for round 2 of holiday celebration.  They say they will make my house handicap-friendly, as all of my travels are currently conducted via wheelchair or crutches.  The one item they mentioned that lit me up was to fix a sewing area that is easily accessible.  Now that definitely sounds like a good idea!

In the meantime, my MIL said something about the bone knitting.  (It's cracked in 3 places, but not broken through.)  Knitting!  That's a GREAT idea!  I have a poncho/shawl thing that I started knitting three or four years ago, but I always gravitate towards sewing and quilting and away from knitting.

My youngest son's girlfriend is bringing lunch by this afternoon.  When she gets here, I think I'll ask her to wade through my "studio" and see if she can get the project off of my shelf.  Then maybe, just maybe, I will feel more productive.  Goals are good!  yay!

What To Do?

Therein lies a question, that is not easily answered.  Put your foot in a "boot," get instructions to "stay off of it," and what can a person do?  The answer is "not much of anything, really."  Today I see the orthopedic guy, and hope to be released to walking on the boot, but am not hopeful.  Swelling is spectacular, with sunset-inspired purples streaking the foot.  wow.

The "kids" decorated the tree on Christmas Eve, when our out of state children arrived.  We put them to work immediately, as I was close to useless in the kitchen, along with everywhere else.

While they went to the store, to buy the food I neglected to purchase, I sat in a rolling desk chair and whipped up some toffee squares.  If I'm the only one home, it seems to be less of a production.

For Christmas morning, and on Dec 27, I made cinnamon rolls.  On the 26th, while the folks went to see Star Wars, I made snickerdoodles.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of them.  I guess I contributed a little bit in the kitchen, at least in the tasty calorie department.

 I forgot to take a family picture on Christmas.  This was taken with my camera, as we waited for hubby to set up his tripod.  Unfortunately, I did not get any copies of the "good" pictures from his camera.

I have great hopes that one month spent "in the boot" will result in some quality studio time.  So far, its only result has been quality baking time.  The next wave of visitors comes through for New Year's.  After that?  We'll see how productive I can be.  Goals are good, and I know how to set them!

Blessed Christmas

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

Flying Time

Christmas is just around the corner.  Are you ready?  Oh, I thought I might be, but life had other plans.

I basted a stack of baby quilts, and even got one quilted.  I suspect that the month of January will see me spending a lot of time in the studio, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

 Quilts from earlier years were put to good use, as Penny recovered from a stomach bug.

 On the 18th, Grandpa took Penny (and her mom) to see the SF Ballet perform The Nutcracker.  Looks like they had a GREAT time!

I stayed behind, to keep track of the well drillers.  Yesterday, we finally made it to 500'.  We're about a week away from completion of the drilling portion of this project.  Machines broke down, rain came (yay!) and in general, it's been a muddy mucky mess out there.

 Look at that glop.  I'm not even sure if this is what they dug out of the well, or if it's what they were using to do the drilling.  It's just...gross.  blech.

I spent last week keeping watch over the doggies.  This is what Pixel looked like when she was at her house.

 This is where she hangs out at my house.

Roscoe was there too

 And Sheila.

When my son got back into town, I took a few days off.  Then yesterday, when there was a break in the weather, I suggested we let the dogs run.  One thing led to another, and in the end, I slipped in the mud.

 The bad news is that I broke my fibula.  The good news is that my son put lights on the tree for me.

We've got family coming in tomorrow, and lots of plans for the next 10 days.  If I don't check in with you, don't worry.  We're not planning on breaking any more bones.  Merry Christmas, my friends!!

So Busy!

I'm stunned by the fact that I haven't posted in two weeks.  How did that happen?  Where does the time go?  Turn the calendar to December, and the days flip faster than ever!

When last I left you, I was piecing baby quilts.  I have one more to piece, but the basting tables have gone up and come down, and they won't be going up again until after we ring in the New Year.  In the meantime, I can begin quilting one of the SEVEN quilts that I basted last week.

Actually, the fifth from the bottom, with the black on white fabric, has already been quilted.  It still needs its binding cut and attached, but that should happen sometime soon.  The others?  I'll get to them when I get to them.

Our Itty Bitty quilting group had our annual Christmas party on Dec. 2.  Wow!  It came and went so quickly, I wasn't even sure it was December yet!

 It did inspire me to hang some Christmas quilts, but other than that?  I'm way behind on decorating.

 Then again, my husband was on it, when it came to putting up the outdoor lights.

 I did a wee bit of baking, beginning with a family favorite.  These are toffee squares, from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book.  I've been making them for almost four decades!!

 Our persimmon tree is LOADED.  I've never been much for baking with persimmons, but this year?  I decided it was high time to get my act together.  I've been picking them and giving them away.  I think I've placed about 5 dozen, to date.  :)

 My first loaf of persimmon bread fell.  It was raw in the center, so I put it back in the oven for almost double time.  The second attempt, in which I went from 45 minutes at 325 degrees to 60 minutes at 350 degrees was much more successful.  I will be making more, just so you know.

The tree is in the house, but nary an ornament hangs upon it.  I still need to put the lights up.  I am unexpectedly home today, so perhaps I will take advantage of the gift of time.  I had planned to be out at the walnuts, just in case I was needed.  We have a BIG project going on right now.

We put down our deposit in April, and now, eight months later, our well driller has arrived.  Yesterday they drilled 80', so we've only got 420' to go.  It rained yesterday - thank God! - and saturated the ground so that they couldn't bring in the fuel truck or more pipe.  They expect to be back at it tomorrow morning, bright and early.  Our current well did not go dry, but the possibility was there.  I think we've got 20' of water left, which should see us through until the new well is functional.  That's going to be a while, but goals are good, doncha know?!

Merry Christmas, and I will try to post again soon, rather than allowing another two weeks to pass in silence.

Steady Progress

I seem to be plugging along, getting quilting time here and there.  It's not yet all quilting all the time, but I'm working on it.  I pieced another baby quilt over the weekend.  It's a bit BUSY.

 It's still busy, when you're up close and personal.  I thought of putting dots on the back, but that might be just a bit much.

Remember the scraps I pieced while on retreat?  They were leftovers from an unsuccessful challenge entry.

 I kept thinking it needed a pelican.  Last night, I pulled out the brown paint and painted one on.

 This morning I picked out some nice variegated King Tut thread...

 And then I started quilting.

 I love the fabric I chose for the back.  It seems to have lined up quite well.

 I trimmed it, and added facing.

And the next thing I knew, it was finished.  Well, it still needs a sleeve and a label, but it's pretty close to done.

Yes, I think the pelican was just what it needed.  Cross one more thing off the list.  woohoo!  :)

Simple Projects

Today I had a choice:  brave the shoppers on Black Friday?  or quilt?  Guess what I chose?  Like there was any competition for my time! 

I pieced together another baby quilt, bringing my need-to-baste stack to 4...or is it 5? quilts.  I really should put up the tables, but I have things to do every day, which preclude putting up tables to baste massive quantities of quilts.

Oh?!  You wanted to see the quilt?

 Here's a close-up.  The large squares are filled with rockets and planets, since I didn't have enough of either fabric.  The 4-patch blocks are made with star and Milky Way prints.  I didn't realize it, but the stars glow in the dark, which is actually kind of cool, since this quilt is for a 4 year old Big Brother of soon to be here twins.  I think he will appreciate the nighttime surprise.  :)

 I showed you the box of fabrics that arrived in the mail.  When I saw that Jan had included some of her signature fabric's selvages, well, I had to whip them into a stocking and mail it back to her.  It arrived today.  yay!

 The last addition to my SAQA quilt collection is now hanging in a place of honor.  I love this quilt.  It was made with "ink, paint, coffee/tea dye, trapunto and free-motion quilting."  It is truly stunning in person.  The sea urchin shells stand out from the background.  I absolutely love it!   It is called "Found on Whangaumu," and was made by Mathea Daunheimer.  The Google tells me that Whangaumu is in New Zealand.  wow!

 Another thing that I whipped up was cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving breakfast.  I LOVE these things, and they are so easy to make!  Just thaw some Bridgeford frozen bread dough, flatten it, add butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and (optional) dried fruit and chopped nuts, roll it, slice it, and put it in a pan that has melted butter and brown sugar in the bottom.  Let it rise for an hour, then bake for 30 minutes on 375.  For extra oompf, I add buttercream frosting.  Oh, yum!!

As the temperatures drop outside, I really really want to spend more time at the sewing machine.  Yet the colors of fall beckon me to run outside and enjoy them, too.

Prioritizing isn't easy, but, as usual, quilting won.  yay!!!  :)

Compromise

Guilt or Quilt?  That was the question.  I answered with a bit of both.  I started cleaning, but then got distracted.  It was a good distraction, a productive distraction.  It began with a box of scraps, sent by a dear friend.

 I set them to washing, and then picked up some selvages that were strewn across my sewing table.  Those shouldn't go to waste, and so, they did not.

This morning the fog descended.  I delivered coffee to the walnuts, helped walk the dogs, and now?  It's the perfect weather for hunkering down with my sewing machine. 

Goals are good!

Finding the Groove

I tell you, it feels like it's been a long, LONG time since I've had consecutive days to sew.  I think about quilting; I dream about quilting.  But actually quilting?  That doesn't happen very often.

Now that I am home, I am making a concerted effort to spend time getting reacquainted with my sewing machine.  So far, so good, though I've yet to sit down with it today.

Over the past few days, I've made the missing blocks for the baby quilt I started piecing on retreat a few weeks ago.  The top is now waiting for basting, along with MANY others.

 I finished up a few postcards, for the Postmark'd Art exchange.

 These are for the "No Theme" trade.   Apparently I have a theme, albeit an unspoken one.

 I was straightening the room, still trying to find carpet and happened to look up.  Well, there you go!  There it is!  The "missing" 12" quilt that I bought in Houston.  I'd put it in a safe place - on the bulletin board, behind the door.  No wonder I thought I'd lost it!

I've cut the hanging slat, and need to drill holes before hanging it in a place of honor.  Once it's up, I'll take a better picture, and tell you what it is called, and who made it.

Other than that, other things seem to always take precedence, like trimming some trees to allow the well driller's rig in for next week's foray into a search for water.

I supervised the chainsaw operator.  I'm not sure he was thrilled with my supervision, but he kept saying, "This is just like date night!"  umm, yeah.  Can you tell that we've never done date night?  After 34 years of marriage, an outing to trim trees is seen as something special.  hahaha!  :)  yep.  True, that.

And now, my studio calls to me.  It's saying, "Clean me, clean me!" but louder than that is the sewing machine that is singing, "Turn me on and use me!"  Guilt or quilt?  Which will win out?