Random Love

Yesterday was all about wishes... today is all about things I love.

Before I give you my list, I am reminded of an ex-boyfriend I once had who would rarely use the word "love".  He said it lost meaning if you used it for things.  As in "I love that CD."  I thought he was nuts.  Hence the "ex" part of that ex-boyfriend status.  Needless to say, I can be pretty effusive about the things I love.  So today, right now, this minute, these are some things I love:

I love peanut butter, and am quite particular about what I have.  My favorite is Jif (choosy moms and all that).  Recently I've been eating Jif Natural, but I know that's not as healthy as I could get.  Because I love peanut butter - in large quantities - I have a need to find something more, um, agreeable to my waist.  And my thighs.  Among other areas.  So, for that reason, and because it really tastes pretty good, I love PB2.

Check it out!

Powdered peanut butter that has 85% less fat calories than the average peanut butter.  Granted, you have to reconstitute it with good ol' water, but it's pretty darn good.  I'm out, and need some more.  And now I see they have chocolate peanut butter!  A Reese's peanut butter cup in a jar!  What could be better?

I love to read, and I don't do it nearly enough.  I need to make more time to read.  I especially love to lose myself in a fiction of some sort... something that grabs me and pulls me in and ties me up tight so that I lose the world around me.  Yep.  Love books.

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I love Rainier cherries.  I love cherries in general, but I especially go ga ga over Rainier cherries!

I love paper.  It's probably why I'm a scrapbooker.  But I'm not discriminatory.  Give me a pack of office paper pads or a new journal or even school type loose leaf notebook paper and I'm in heaven.  I smell it.  I always take a whiff.  Ask any of my friends!  The first thing I do when new papers come into the store is pick up a random stack (or three) and take a good sniff.  I'm sure I'm really smelling the ink and printing process, but its all paper to me.  Love it!

I didn't take this photo, but I have many of the same

scene.  This is my favorite place on earth.

I love water.  I love lakes and oceans and rivers and streams.  I love water falls.  I love drinking water.  I love swimming... I love showering.  I love the feel of water.  I love the look of water and the taste and the smell(s) and the sound. I love water when it's cold and warm and hot and frozen. I think my ex would be stabbing himself with a fork regarding how much I love water!  

Okay, before I cause anyone else to stab themselves with a spoon, I'll take my love and go. 

But before I do, am I alone?  What do you love?

Wish Upon a Star

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Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight.  I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.

I wish I could show you all the product I ... uh... acquired during my Quilt Spree, but I just haven't had a spare moment with good lighting to take some decent photos.  Soon...

I wish I had been able to stop by the Farmer's Market to pick up some decent, "home grown", yummy veggies on my way home tonight, but they were already closed so I had to suffer with... gag... grocery store produce.  I kid about the gagging.  Sort of.

I wish I could get through my scrappy rut and finish the few thank-you projects I have been working on.  For over a month!  And then get to some of the SFTIO challenges for last month and this month!

I wish I felt 100%, but I still don't.  I'm maybe at 80%, which is a huge improvement, truly.  I'm kinda tired of feeling unwell.

I wish I wasn't Miss Sensitive.  Sometimes.  Sometimes I really like being sensitive and not hard-hearted.  But sometimes... a lot of times actually... being sensitive just hurts.

I wish my eldest kitty wasn't sick.  I'm not ready to let her go.  Not that she's near that, but... just worried.  She is 15 years old, after all.

I wish I had more money to spend at the vet for all my furry kids.  But, like my own medical, one thing at a time... what's pressing is next, what can wait... waits.

I wish I had taken better care of my teeth when I was a child, because pay-back for that in adulthood is a bitch!

I wish I could help some people I care about very much deal with some hard issues, but all I can do is stand by and be available if needed.  That's very hard.

I wish I understood the dreams I've had lately.  Strange dreams, indeed.

How about it?  Have you wished upon a star lately?

Quilt Guilt

Well, all, I'm back safe and sound.  It was a true adventure. 

More like... an adventure in Murphy's Law.

But it was fun. 

To give you a clue about how my day went (besides the general "fun"), we arrived at the first store before 7am to catch the bus, which was scheduled to leave at 7:15am.  We had a tight schedule to visit 10 stores, and return to the original starting store by around 7:30pm for a yummy dinner and then on our way home from there.

Okay.

Our evening ended at the original and last store to eat dinner at 9:45pm.  I ate, shopped and was in my car to drive home by 10pm.

So.  More this weekend.  I'll fill you in on all the gory details, including the quilt guilt that hit my credit card!

Road Trip!

Thursday is going to be a fun day.  I am going on a bus trip!  Where to, you ask?  The quilt stores around the area all got together and set up a Quilt Spree.  This week (tonight through Saturday) is Shop Hop week.  I decided to hop their convenient bus and spend a day visiting all of the quilt stores in the "general" area.  I just thought it'd be easier plus they'll feed me breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner and best of all... I don't have to drive and figure out how to get to and from places.  It's going to be a mad rush, though...

All in all, including the store where we start, we'll be visiting ten different independently owned quilt shops.  I'm sure it will be very exciting and I will be hard-pressed to keep my money in my pocket!  I have a very tight budget so I'm going to work hard to keep to it.  We start at 6:30 am at the first store, which has breakfast and opens up for us to shop (exclusively for passport members), then the bus leaves for the first store at 7:15 am.  We return around 7pm!  Whew!

Also included in the passport are special coupons that last until 2011, free admission to their holiday fest, and I'll also get entered in for various prize drawings.  On top of that, I already received 10 patterns for quilted "toppers" and table runners.

I think it'll be a fun way to spend a weekday!  Fun stuff, man.

This is Me... REDUX

Remember this?  Yeah, "me on drugs".  Well, after heading to the doc today, I'm on antibiotics and... wait for it... wait... steroids. 

Again. 

I'm so excited.  Thrilled.  Beyond happy. 

*sigh*  That last bit was all sarcasm.  In case ya weren't gettin' it. 

Let's just hope it kills this infection I apparently have, reduces the swelling and huge amounts of fluid in my ears and sinuses, and makes this vertigo go away.  Cuz I'm tired of this !

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Trippy, man.... Trippy!

You Spin Me Right 'Round, Baby...

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Whew!  It's been so quiet here, don't you think?  Let me clear away some of these cobwebs. 

Whoops!  Almost fell over, there.  Guess I'd better let y'all know I've been down and out for most of the past 6 days.  Woke up with a severe (and my very first) case of vertigo.  It was awful... I couldn't do anything last Tuesday, without feeling like I was walking (or sitting, or laying) on a ship being tossed by a storm.  For anyone who knows me, I do not like to not be in control of my own body and not being able to walk and balance myself, when I wasn't even drinking... it really stung me.  As in, super freaked me out to the point that I was a whiny, weepy little girl afraid to get out of bed even for a drink of water.

Luckily, the Hubs stayed home with me the following day and that helped out a lot.  By Thursday I was mostly in control of my body again, except still fighting massive amounts of nausea and zero hunger, which means that by Thursday morning I had eaten exactly 3 1/2 pieces of toast and a can of tomato soup... and that included everything I ate on Tuesday and Wednesday!  But I could walk again, as long as I didn't move my head too fast.  Friday found me back to work, but by the end of the day I was exhausted and the weekend has been intermixed with bouts of feeling fine (although not 100%) and bouts of walking on a floating dock. 

So... needless to say, I've not been around.  I've wanted to do so much... scrapbook, write, finish my thank yous and... nothing.  I feel the best after taking a nap.  Unfortunately, I can't nap all day.  So... a call to the doc I will make tomorrow.

The sun will come out, tomorrow...

Sorry, I often break out into song in my head and since this is where I'm at right now (in my head), y'all get to suffer for that.

Be very thankful you can't hear me sing, as my son would say, "for realz".

Just swiping at the cobwebs today.  Hopefully I'll be back before more take root.

Thank You LYB!

Remember this?

Well, I got my prize in the mail yesterday.  A perfect pick-me-up after being sick in bed for two days!

Thank you Little Yellow Bicycle!

From what I can tell, I have the entire lines of Boardwalk and Pack Your Bags!  Holy cow, how so very generous!  The packing list also indicates a bag, but that wasn't in the box.  Not that I'm complaining... not at all... just curiosity as to what that was.

Guess I'll be rummaging through this treasure a little more over the weekend... maybe I'll share a few photos of my good fortune, to boot! 

The Most Beautiful Flower

The Most Beautiful Flower

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The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read

Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.

Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,

For the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,

A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.

He stood right before me with his head tilted down

And said with great excitement, "Look what I found!"

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,

With its petals all worn - not enough rain, or too little light.

Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,

I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side

And placed the flower to his nose and declared with great surprise,

"It sure smells pretty and it's beautiful, too.

That's why I picked it; here, it's for you."

The weed before me was dying or dead.

Not vibrant of colors, orange, yellow or red.

But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.

So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need."

But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,

He held it mid-air without reason or plan.

It was then that I noticed for the very first time

That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun

As I thanked him for picking the very best one.

"You're welcome," he smiled, and then ran off to play,

Unaware of the impact he'd had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see

A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.

How did he know of my self-indulged plight?

Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see

The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.

And for all of those times I myself had been blind,

I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that's mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose

And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose.

And smiled as I watched that young boy, another weed in his hand

About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

by Cheryl L. Costello-Forshey

Life is a Bowl of...

One of my favorite fleeting fruits of summer!

It Is Time...

It is time for me to become mindful and aware.

It is time for me to "find" me.  I really hate that term, but it's the only thing I can think of to describe what time I feel it is. 

It is time for me to discover my passion.  I have no idea what it is.  This is both exciting and sad.

It is time for me to show you my finished quilt!

It is time for me to get scrapbooking on ME, and stop doing pages for everyone else but me.

It is time to re-learn how to get lost and have fun in scrapbooking, and not feel it is a chore.  Yes, that's how I feel.

It is time to make a trip back "home". 

It is time to thank my son for modeling my quilt.  He did a great job!

It is way past the time to have a clean house!  Will I ever catch up?

It is time to get off this laptop and DO something.

What time is it for YOU?

Class is Dismissed!

So, my last quilt class was tonight.  We brought in our finished quilt tops to show the instructor (and each other).  They were ALL so wonderful!  I love mine!  No, I don't have photos (can't you tell?) to share with you yet, but they will come soon.  I promise.

Tonight's class was all about batting (the quilt filler) and the different types and purposes (warmer vs. cooler), the back of the quilt and the quilting process, although learning how to actually quilt is a separate class.  Then the instructor went in to some great detail about adding the binding (the outer edge) to the quilt.  Whew!  A lot of information that I'm sure I'll need to be refreshed upon when it actually comes time to bind my quilt.

My Sew Busy post is true... I am SO busy lately.  I feel like I've neglected this blog lately, and the light at the end of the tunnel is soooo far off, it seems.  I've been keeping busy with this one thing, which really has occupied a lot of my time and my brain.  I know I'm being cryptic, and I'm sorry, but it's a good thing all around, and I'm just not ready to share completely yet. Just know that I'm still here and will be back again soon!

What's shakin' in your corner of Earth?

Sew Busy

My holiday weekend has been very busy.  The majority of it has been catching up on my quilt class.  We are supposed to bring our finished top to class on Wednesday and I still had to fix my mistake from week one!

That's what I did on Saturday - fix my rail fence rows and then I started to cut my churndash blocks and half square triangles.  If you're like me, you're probably thinking, "what the heck is a churndash?"  This is a churndash block:

See the little spinner?  That's what gives this block it's name.

I had to make four.  They will go on top and on the bottom of my log cabin blocks, which was our week 2 assignment.  I kept my churndash to two colors.  I was beginning to feel the "busy-ness" of the quilt, so I wanted to simplify a little, thus, I only chose two fabrics... plus the "focus fabric" in the center.

The new trick to this block was the "half square triangles".  The instructor taught us a neat little trick so that these are much easier than you would think.   Here's one just trimmed:

Then it was all about piecing the nine-blocks together to create the one churndash 12" square:

Once my churndash pieces were together the quilt top was nearly done!  I just had to piece the churndash and the log cabin blocks together, and then add some sashing to those pieces and attach my split rail on the sides.

Here's a close-up of the middle of the quilt top.  The four log-cabin blocks are in the center and then there are two churndash on the top and on the bottom of the log cabin square.

Here's the top with the sashing between the center and my split rail rows:

Whew... sorry about the angle.  Hope you don't get a little seasick tilting your head to look at it. 

To complete the quilt, I still have to sew an inner border and an outer border.  I was going to do it tonight, but I really need a sewing break.  Perhaps tomorrow... stay tuned!

Happy 4th all!

Who Woulda Thunk?

I never imagined that this:

Would result in these:

How fun, though!