Saturday, January 30, 2010

SARA

You have ruined my day. First you run 6 miles in bad weather despite being barely recovered from a serious infection and then you tell me you got your Janome 6600 for half the price I paid even with a discount. It's not fair. I'm not mad at Carl, though, so you can tell him I wish him the best in both business and with whatever it is that's had him so low so long. But I do stick my tongue out at you.

By the way, Sara and everyone else, despite my crabbiness I hope you will enter something in the quilt show in August. I promise that if you send it to me it will be safe. The only reason the last time you sent one it seemed to have been lost it was delivered by some incompetent and landed on the porch of someone who was out of town. That's pretty unlikely to happen again. It would be even better if you come for the show. The B&B where you stayed last time is just a few miles from me but I was so busy with the show we couldn't connect. I've backed off being chair of anything and will just be a worker bee for a couple of two hour shifts. I think it was Jill in Portland who entered a quilt in the guild show two years ago and she won a first or second place in her category and was really excited to receive a huge basket of quilty stuff.

The NC Quilt Symposium in 2o12 will be great fun and I have two beds I can offer if you want to just pay as a commuter. Ooops I've already announced at a guild meeting that the two beds would be up for grabs by guild members as I live so much closer to the venue at Western North Carolina University than most of the members of the guild. Since my guild is that year's sponsoring guild it will be a frantically busy time for many of us. It's too soon to tell if there will be any takers for the beds. All meals and rooms will be available at the newest dorm on campus. As soon as the details are worked out between the committee and the university they will be published on the guild web site and I'll publish them on the BB.

As noted on national news we've had some rough weather. I saw on tonight's news that Asheville received 11" of snow. Interestingly the temperature, while it stayed in the 30sF it never froze so a lot of the snow that fell melted. It fell at such a rate, though that in my yard it is still about 6"deep. Since both my Internet connection and TV signal come via satellites I had neither all day yesterday and this morning. Most of my neighbors have been without power for about 36 hours as this heavy wet snow brings down trees with some falling on power lines. It was warm enough this afternoon that most of the snow on the Internet satellite, a large eyesore in the yard, had slid off. I slogged out there in hiking boots and swept the rest off so here I am. As long as Shadow and I were outdoors we went down the steep driveway .4 mile to pick up the mail and then slogged back up the hill. Boy, was that a work out. My heart rate was at the top of the safe range for me and we were both blowing like race horses when we reached home. I had also unbuttoned my coat. I hadn't moved a muscle for several days and I felt good and not sluggish for the first time since about last Thursday. There is a small tree down across the driveway but way too big for me to move and coming back up after I'd climbed over it each way spotted Koko, the neighbor's Boykin Spaniel, an occasional visitor at my house, and following her three younger siblings then followed by Betty and Ken, the dog lovers, owners of the Boykins, who won't allow me to board Shadow when I'm out of town. He has a big tractor with a blade and all kinds of other features. They had been out walking with their beasts and were coming down from the area of my house. I told Ken he was just the guy I'd been thinking about and he has offered to come up the driveway tomorrow and remove the tree and plow the whole thing. I have two appointments Tuesday so I won't have to reset them. It's supposed to start warming more in the next few days.

Welp after that exciting report which, no doubt has heats beating wildly, I will bid you all good night.

Jane

Hi

Greetings from rainy No. Fla.
I'm back among the living, thanks to strong anti-biotics. Went to the Dr. Wed. morning, had a sinus infection, and it was starting in the lungs.
Basicly I've been a slug on the couch all week. Today was our run,so last night decided that I needed to get my act together, and went. It was only 6 miles. I say "Only" because that is a short distance at this time in the practice. Thankfully I had lots to tissues, and cough drops. Whized, sneezed and coughed a lot, but made the whole 6 miles. The last 1 I had to just walk.
My body most likely needed to still be home in bed, but my mind said do it. The race is Feb. 21st which is just about 3 weeks away.
There hasn't been any progress in the quilty room this week. DH is in there now moving the shelves from one room to the closet in the other. This will free up a lot of storage space.
ROSY-my last post wasn't clear. I ment to say that DD said the schools where she is were cancelled that day. She lives in N.D. just about 30 miles south of Winnepeg.
JANE-I believe my newish machine is a Janome 6600 also. I truly love it. Got it for $1,000 about 1 and 1/2 years ago, a deal at the time, I think. The only problem I've ever had was one time when I jamed the knee lift in (unknown to me) and everything froze. It is a workhorse, also love my little Janome Gem that I take to classes.
Does anyone watch What Not to Wear? It is on the TLC chanel, and I think it's a hoot. I whish they would come take me to N. Y. and give me a $5,000 shopping spree. The people on there are much worse off than I, at least I have some fashion sense. I'm currently wearing a size 14, but the tips are the same. Love to see what they do with the hair and makeup also. Guess I'm still a girl at heart.
Nothing new in DH's dept. We are still waiting for the Dr. to order a chest X ray so we can go on to the next step. He is feeling well, so that is a plus. The cold wave went away, so did the increase in businness. That's OK, he needed some slower time.
OK, that's about it for me.
Take care, and stay well!
Sara in Fla.

Friday, January 29, 2010

I can't get into the Chat board

But I can post, apparently...this has come up.

Jane, I just wanted to say that you made me chuckle with your co-dependent comment. At least you can laugh at yourself. Anyone who can do that...can't be allllll that baaaaddd...lol.

We'v had bitterly cold temps here in Southern Ontario but I like the cold and the snow is pretty to look at; the sun is out today...just have to dress up warmly.

Took a book out of the library the other day as I was out of reading material and slipped out, undercover, as I'm embarassed to be caught reading these things and actually enjoying them, a book called "Jackie after Jack". Well, not only did I enjoy reading it, I finished it at 4:30 this morning when I woke up. It's nicely written, gives, to me, an honest portrait of a complex individual but I still, for the life of me, aside from the money she got out of him, understand the marriage to Onassis. He was not a nice man. Anyway, that's my literary intellectual (?) stuff for this morning. The book is going back to the library today.

Today is mop-cutting day. Better finish off the porridge and get dressed...warmly.

Rosey

Thursday, January 28, 2010

oooops

sorry about the yellow line . I couldn't get rid of it on my computer but never realised it would show when I sent it. Hugs Bee inNz.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

a DUG checking in

and a hot one at that . Mid summer and it is great, we could do with some rain up this end of the country , Marion will be having rain ,I think. Not much happening here too hot to do much. Jane, good news about your brother and Sarah, get well soon. I am still having problems with my DH , he is getting more unsteady on his feet all the time , has really become so much worse since Christmas. We have hospital appts early next month but I feel not too much can be done. It is horrible to see a very clever and fit man come to this. As you can imagine I am worried sick and really feel we may not have him too much longer. I can't leave him as he falls all the time and have to find someone to watch him if I go out, even shopping.I am trying to think positive and start quilting tonight. Still hand sewing as I can keep him company but I really enjoy handwork. We are set for thunder today so will have to give the dog his pills. Big wimp , he is obviously not a gun dog . Or a water dog either you should see us try to give him a bath LOL. We had a joint birthday for Dh and DS2 on Sat and our 21month GD was the entertainment, she performed really well and we all enjoyed her antics, just put music on and she is away.I so enjoy this kid she has a gorgeous little face and grin to match. She is to be a flower girl tomorrow , that will be something to see. Very casual wedding so she will be in her element, loves flowers so expect her wreath of flowers will not be on her head for long. We are not going {DH} but will await the video with bated breath. One place she went to she wandered off inside the house and emerged with a bottle of vodka under one arm and a sausage in her mouth, told you she is the entertainment!!!! Love to all and keep warm, hugs Beein NZ.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

DB & JUST STUFF

Sara, my brother is doing remarkably well according to the conversation I had with him Sunday. He’s now staying with a friend who was my reporter during his hospitalization. He insists I not come out there so I’m backing off my usual co-dependent care taking urge. He expects to go home in a few days but will still be dependant on others for shopping, driving etc. but he insists he has more offers of help than he can use. Who am I to argue? I even went out to get not only the seasonal flu shot I get every year but had the H1N1 shot even though I’m very low risk for that just in case I did go out there. I’m sure his immune system is still compromised.

Been playing with the Janome 6600 and having a fair number of messes but re-reading the directions usually brings me back to a good result. Have made about half a dozen blocks for DD’s wedding quilt. I’m buried in pricey batiks in greens and purples but find myself in need of some more of the appropriate values. I should never have started out with separate green and purple blocks. There are some gorgeous combinations of those colors and should have just proceeded from the outset with one combo dark, another medium and a light. The whole thing would be unified and placing the finished blocks much simpler. I’ve even thought about starting over. However I have near thirty blocks already done. I have acquired some gorgeous combination fabrics in a second round of buying in three yard lengths and will start using them instead of struggling with the darn strips already cut. Those jelly roll type collections included a lot of stuff I felt inappropriate for my purposes. Now that I’ve thought “out loud” so to speak right here that’s what I’ll do from this point on. When I am finished using them I’ll decide whether to proceed with additional purchases. What the heck; I’m going for broke lately anyway.

Weather here is strange. It can get near 60*F one day and two days later it is snowing and temp in the teens. The creeks and rivers are near flood level now that the ice has finished melting. After the terrible drought of the past five years in which springs and wells have dried up it is raining almost every day it isn’t snowing. Since I’m dependant on a well I’m happy to have it but enough is enough. I guess my light gathering ability ain’t what it yusta be because sewing in the daytime is not comfortable on the many dreary dark days we’ve been having.

Well, have a trip to Asheville tomorrow morning for what I assume will be the last visit with the hand surgeon. I’d best get moving toward bed via cleaning up the kitchen. Wouldn’t you know it is supposed to be beautiful tomorrow. Shadow and I haven’t had a good trek in days but I did get to the gym today and felt much better for it. Been putting it off too much lately. I’ve resolved to start getting up at 6 AM as I did for years even after I retired and get myself a high protein breakfast to avoid the blood sugar crash and head for the gym first thing. They open at 6. Then I’ll not be so tempted to eat out afterward as I often do for lunch. That’s why I’m getting almost nowhere on that five pound challenge. It goes down a couple of pounds then pops right back up.

Jane

Ontario is a huge province

Sara, it may have been somewhere in Ontario that schools were closed but not as far as I know in the southern part of Ontario...west to east. The Ottawa region got the highest rainfall in years yesterday. The Ottawa canal, where people skate for miles, is closed temporarily for safety reasons. A friend, whose father was in the Senate, years ago, used to skate to work at the Parliament buildings from his home in Ottawa; when the ice melted, he paddled his canoe to work. Up here in the country, we missed most of the storm that went further south and along through Lake Erie and then veered inland to go north/east to Ottawa, our capital city, for you folks in the US. It's turning very cold again and our laneway is full of thick ice making walking treacherous. But, it's winter. And tummy bugs and colds are going around here, too. Nothing to do but bear through a cold, knowing that in a week's time it's generally gone but it's aggravating when you can't sleep at night.

Winter is a great time to find quilty projects to do. My studio is set up for peaceful things to hear and see and smell and I can close the french doors to the rest of the house if I need to. At Christmas, I splurged and purchased a diffuser from Young Living Oils. I use YL Theives Oil in it. That and my Bose radio and a Nawang Khechog disc playing in it and I'm all set to zone out though as yet, I'm not entirely productive. Maybe just sitting here thinking about quilty things is enough for now.

Rosey

Where is everyone?

Jane-how is your brother?
Rosey-Are you having blizzard conditions? My DD said school was cancelled there yesterday
due to high winds.
What's up with the DUGS?
Between sessions of coughing and blowing my nose I have gone through bins of fabric, ironed some, pitched some. It is taking longer than I thought (of course) but is coming along.
Thinking of trying to sleep proped up on several pillows tonight. Maybe I could breath better. Last night was misery. Today was good until just now. Going to do the netti pot again and take some Advil.
Sara in Fla.

Monday, January 25, 2010

this & that

Hi, it's Monday afternoon, and my head is full of water. I've taken sinus stuff, and Tylonol and don't think I should take anything else. Just want to sleep for 2 days.
Did anyone watch the football yesterday evening? I like Payton Maning alot, but think it would be nice to see New Orleans win for a change.
It's actually "spring" here and I sat outside for 15 min. and soaked up some sun. Felt good. Otherwise I'm a slug and laying on the couch drinking hot tea with lemon.
If there was some whisky in the house I'd hava a hot toddy, but don't feel like driving anywhere to get some.
Yucky in Fla.
Sara