Friday, August 22, 2014

From MaryJoG (Rosey's posting service)

So nice to read all the posts.  Quilting friends are the very best.  We moved to Bend, Oregon 4 years into in our marriage.  I left teaching to care for my mother and was concerned about meeting people.  My DIL said to start quilting; that I would meet the nicest people at quilt shops.  How right she was!

The house finally cooled to below 70 last night.  Fall is coming, so glad after the long, hot summer.  Have picked up several perennials on sale to freshen the flower bed.  Bee balm is new to me; put it on the corner where bees won't be a bother.  Have several new carnations and a peppermint hibiscus that is blooming a lovely pink.  Will put in a purple delphinium today and plant 4 lavenders in the back bed that will only contain lavender next year. Will transplant the daisy and mums when they finish blooming.
 
Daughter Jeana and SIL Steve brought Max down last night.  Today he will get moved into his dorm and the family will attend freshman orientation. This is the last of their 4 to attend college here.  4 became 5 as Nate married Stephanie.  Empty nesters now; only the two of them after 26 years of children.   8 for dinner tonight.  Started the roast in the slow cooker for pulled pork.  Easy dinner with mac and cheese plus salad and melon.  Quantity becomes important with 4 young men eating.  ;>)
 
Progress with introducing the cat and kitten.  When she pounces on him; he is likely to hold her down and give her a good bath.  In the past, he boxed her ears.  Sadie is fearless, not sure that is a good trait.  Am calling her the $700 kitten as she brought home a disease to share with Fred.  The vet said it is rampant in shelters and she is immune.  He had blisters covering the inside of his mouth and on his lips.  Had to have several IV's as he could not drink or eat.  Then got crystals in his bladder, an after effect.  Good that he doesn't know she is the cause.  He might not forgive her.  As it is, he frequently reminds me that he preferred life as an 'only'.
 
Son Jeffry called to say he will come in early October to help winterize the house.  Love to see him and will appreciate the help.  The oldest son and his wife are back in AK teaching.
MaryJo

Thursday, August 21, 2014

friendships

Working in a Catholic School for 17 years or so, I was often involved in staff workshops where we talked about relationships, etc.  Once we were discussing 'community' and in asking to contribute I suddenly realised that I was part of a very special community of quilters.  I told my colleagues about looking online for patterns and fabric and somehow finding my way onto the original WWQB site.  It became the highlight of my day to turn on the computer and find out what was happening to each and every one of the group. We shared births, deaths, the highs and lows together; Christmases and birthdays, fabric, gifts and those special quilt blocks.
I have been especially blessed because over the years I have become very close to one small group which branched out from here but have also met and become good friends with half a dozen or so whose names are listed to our right, and some who have left our midst.  Also lucky enough to have travelled overseas several times in the last 10 years, I can make claim to meeting these quilting friends in the USA, Canada, NZ, Australia, England and Switzerland - at least 25 if not more in all.  One American has become such a close friend that we are in constant communication, have stayed in each other's houses several times and met up for other holidays as well.  Other special friends have welcomed me and other members of my family into their homes several times and I only wish that we could reciprocate sometime - perhaps when we live in Adelaide this may happen at last.
I cannot imagine what the past 10-15 years would have been like for me if I had not belonged to this community..... certainly the poorer. This site, its originator and its participants have truly changed my life. Thank you to you all.
Fran.

spell check

involved involved, idiot!!

Would you believe Thank You notes in the mail!

After all that venting yesterday, and my DH home painting walls, etc.  Today he is at work, and a big envelope of Thank You notes came in today's mail.  It's hard for me to realize how life for her with 4 teen boys, almost on the Canadian border, and out in the country is.  I had the rare privilege of a phone call and we talked for over an hour.  They really ARE grateful for our help, so it is good to know.
They don't know that I will cherish the Thank You notes forever.  I have a small stack of them, all in their handwriting, from over the years.
Quilting really does bring people together, and had brought joy, and will continue to bring joy and pleasure into my life.  Recently I signed up for a "purse" class at a nearby quilt shop.  Not that I need another purse, but need to girl-time, talk time, fun time.  I don't do well with isolation.
So good to see pictures of new baby, etc.  Hard to wrap my head that Bee is so cold, we have "heat warnings"  that the heat with the humidity is 110, about 96 reg. temp.
Good think my DH works in the office at the air conditioning office, the younger men go out to make the house calls.
Reading BLOCK, the Missouri Star Qt. Co. -they call it a magazine, more of a book, or work or art.  It came yesterday.   one quote is "I believe that families and friends are at their best when they mirror that flock of geese flying in a V.  Sometimes we have the energy to lead the way and other times we need to lean on others".  --We do that here, and family and extended friends - and others touch our lives.
Sara in Fla.

quilt friends

I have made more friends through quilting in the 30 years I have been ivolved than any other way, besides the joy of working with the fabric. Every where I go I meet quilters and it is so wonderful to catch up with their news and families. I don't make bed quilts anymore but still play with bits of fabric. I have taught quilting and that was wonderful I love to talk and to be able to show others what I so enjoy and get them hooked as well as my lot makes my day. Grandaughter no 1 wants to start but I will have to find something very quick,attention span , and hand done.She is a prosecuting lawyer and has to go to courts around the country so something like a small quilt project would be wonderful for her. Take her mind off the stress. It will have to be easy as she doesn't even sew!!!!!! Any ideas will be gratefully received.It is 4degrees here and I am going to have a nice warm shower and sit in the sun . Mmmmmmmmmm join me anyone? hugs Bee in a very cold NZ.

Baby Van

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

this might be a long one vbg

SARA: I also taught my sons to write 'thank you' notes as they grew up and notice it when it doesn't happen.  Now it's their partners who do it most of the time but every now and then I get a 'thanks so much, Mum - love you' text on the phone.  Even if the young ones can't write a letter they can still email, text or even make a phone call.  It's just common courtesy, isn't it.  I notice it from my nieces and nephews and their children - there are very few and far between follow-ups and when there are they are remembered forever vbg  It's nice to know what money is spent on specifically if that was the gift, for instance.  A couple of nieces, who received quilts early in my quilting 'career', still let me know that they are well loved and used.  Gives a warm glow.  On the other hand, will never forget handing over a card and a gift certificate to a niece at her 21st and watching her toss it onto her bed unopened, never to hear about it again.

My 'secret wish' is that any family member who received a quilt would bring it with them to my wake. One day I might mention this to a significant other.......

ROSEY: I think you reading that obit was meant to be.  Another 'warm glow', knowing that what you began so many years ago meant so much to so many people, and continued on successfully.

Well, as Marion suggested, I will let you know my 'exciting' news. First, I must explain that we have a building on the back of our block which consists of a very big cellar, two storerooms which were originally cool rooms and a bedroom with ensuite which was originally an office - neighbourhood stories say it was run as a cheese and egg supplier in the old days. It's been a great bonus for us when it comes to storage, plus very cosy and private accommodation for friends and family in the 9 years we've lived here. The cellar is now set up with a bar, etc. and has been used over the years as a community gym and goodness knows what else besides a great place to have a party!  Anyway, just recently we have had to have the ceiling of the bedroom fixed due to a leak, and then the whole roof replaced for the same reason. The verandah, which holds a solar heating system for the pool, is sagging and rusty and one pole is disappearing into the ground. In short, more money needs to be spent on that building as well as our 80 year old house.  We did replace the kitchen last year and are both revelling in the perfection of it. However, we only have so much money left to live on into our remaining years, and can see a big percentage of it being spent on essential repairs.
At the same time, i.e. 7 weeks ago, our 2nd grandchild was born in Adelaide, 400 km away. And when these two things happened in conjunction I woke up one morning and said to DH, "What are we doing living here?  Why aren't we living in Adelaide?"  To my surprise he agreed, although with the stipulation that he wouldn't like to actually live IN the city or suburbs, but on the outskirts somewhere.
Sometime during the next week or so he was talking to the men replacing our roof. When I got home from quilting one afternoon he told me that one of them had come back to him and suggested that, as he had a home being rented out in a town just north of Adelaide, but was intent on living here from now on, why didn't we swap houses!!??  His house is just 10 years old, has 3 br which we want, two big garages, much smaller garden, lots of storage space, an ensuite (which I would LOVE), and best of all is only 11 km away from our son's house. And both houses are worth about the same amount of money, give or take a floor covering here and a lick of paint there.
We have agreed that it will take at least 4-5 months for us to go through all our belongings here and get ready for a move, and he still has to make sure that he has ongoing work up here into the future. But we are 85-90% sure that the swap will go ahead. If not, he is willing to keep the house until we sell ours here, and then we would buy it in the normal way but without agents. Either way, we will be saving thousands of dollars in fees.
Besides being so close to the grandchildren, I have 2 sisters living down there plus several childhood friends, and we will be a day closer to our other sons living over in Melbourne. The baby, by the way, was a little boy:  a 10.6 pounder called Van, who looks just like his Dad and is just gorgeous in every way (of course) LOL.
I'll let you know if it all comes to fruition further down the track.
All the best,
Fran in S'Oz.











Pardon me while I vent

It is thundering outside, but sunny.  These hot days we almost always have a doozy of a thunderstorm, but it's usually about 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
Since most of us are "mature" I'll ask this question, and if there is a solution or not.  I have been asking my DD to have the grandsons send "Thank You" notes.  We and the "other" relatives spent big bucks on them flying them here and to Mexico during the summer months for vacations.  (otherwise we wouldn't see them)  That was June-July.  Then DD calls wants money for the boys schooling, sent $800, then needed another $800.  Whatever happened to good manners?  Has it gone the way of handwriting?
I said there would be not more quilts until I was thanked for the last ones.  Maybe shouldn't have said that, as I do enjoy quilting, but good grief!  My Mom taught me, I taught her, just because they are "busy" isn't a good reason not to express gratitude.  Is it because they are teen boys?  If you don't teach them, how do you expect them to learn?
OK, off my soap box.
Enjoying watching the humming bird(s) outside the kitchen window.
Rosey-  is that a current picture of your entrance, there are fallen leaves there, isn't it too early for that?  I hope my obit has something about my quilting in it.  (If we do move to Jacksonville Beach we will be very near to the guild I like, and can go to sit & sew on Fridays)
Finding the eye that had the cancer doesn't see well after dark, so don't want to risk the 25 mile drive each way from over here.  There is another guild closer, but it meets on Monday AM, and that just doesn't work for me.
Sara in hot, sticky Florida

Inspiring and encouraging the art of quilting since 1975

And this is where it all began.  The Etobicoke Quilters Guild (EQG) was the second quilt guild to be formed in Canada.  Through this door walked many of my quilting students from 1974 to 1983 which was part of our home in the Borough of Etobicoke (pronounced...Etobicoe, the k not pronounced).  I suspect many of us here on the board are of a 'certain' age...an age where we are mindful of the past and what brought us to where we are today.  Waiting for the chap who was fixing my studio ceiling to be finished (it had been damaged around the skylights due to a bad roofing job before the shingles were replaced a year ago), I picked up the Toronto Star and the obituary page opened before me.  Sadie Jourard Brown, born in 1914, died on Aug. 5, 2014.  A retired social worker, it was noted in the heading of her obituary, that she was a past member of the Etobicoke Quilters Guild.  When she retired, she took a course in quiltmaking, "loved it and spent many years making beautifully hand-quilted quilts which are now in the possession of her family members, treasured items to be sure.  We are positive that it was quilting that kept her going for so many years..."  Now, I don't recall teaching Sadie Brown but I may have; I was only one of two quilt teachers in our end of the city at the time but it was the announcement of the Quilt Guild that I formed in 1975 that brought me full circle in the realization of how much pleasure the Guild has brought to people, myself included.   I am now living an hour north of the city and aside from picking me up and dusting me off every decade or so, the Guild has moved on without me at the helm.    I wonder how many quilters have found solace and comfort and enjoyment in making quilts.  I think this is what draws us to quiltmaking, the love of colour, the enjoyment and focus to sewing quilts, taking our minds away from many other concerns in our lives.  I know that when I began teaching quiltmaking, it was at a time in my life when I was recovering from the death of a young husband and that how, in teaching others and sharing my love of quiltmaking, I received far more than I gave out in whatever skills I had acquired and could share in the ten years I'd been making quilts prior to my classes at the Quilters Workshop.  To see the Guild honoured in the newspaper under an obituary and that I, who never read a newspaper, happened to open that page today makes me wonder...is it serendipity or some form of energy that brought me to reading this.
RoseyP, in Canada

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

later...

Back home again and disappointed to see that the photos I asked himself to take, aren't worth posting...:)

A lovely sunny afternoon and I was inspired to buy some plants on my way home  to brighten up the garden.  Now I just have to find the time to plant them.!!.

Good to catch up on the posts.  Sara, tough days for you , I hope the sale goes through without difficulties, and that you don't find leaving your home, too traumatic.   We have been thinking that it's time we moved from here so have been looking at properties, closer in to our small town.  Nothing appeals so far, the only one which ticked the boxes went at auction for $100,000 more than Govenment Valuation, which made it an expensive property.  (we didn't bid on it !)  Now DH is saying that there is no need for us to move from here, so we'll stay...  Wish he would make up his mind !   Meanwhile I continue to sort and give away...At this rate we'll be rattling around in an empty house !  The garden is too big for me too keep tidy, I do love gardening but don't have the energy that I once had.  DH doesn't "do" gardening ?!?   I have had help in the past but decided it was too costly. I think I will have to get her back again , perhaps just for a few days, two or three times a year.

Our small rural town looks like a bomb site.  Most of the buildings in High Street have been demolished  . The Town Hall has out of action since the earhhquakes (4yrs ago next month) but is all set to reopen next year,the renovation includes TWO small cinema's !! Yippee...I've only been to about two films in the last four years.  I'm nervous in the big cinema's and most of the small ones were destroyed in the quakes... Christchurch is booming, if you only want to eat out or drink in trendy bars... Not much else happening ..

We went away for three nights recently. Just two hours up the road to an alpine village which has hot pools. We took our earthquake refugee friends (still living in their damaged house and still waiting for a timetable for the demolition and rebuild.)   It was very relaxing soaking in the hot pools and enjoying the views of the snow capped alps..

Rosey, thank you for posting so regularly.  I'm always intersted to hear of your life and activities.   Your sewing area looks so inviting, fresh and bright. Quite inspirational. No wonder you turn out such lovely work!!

MaryJo, difficult days for you but you seem to be taking some postitive steps. Getting older isn't easy is it ? We all know that we'll either be left by, or leave ,our partners, but it's not something easily prepared for.  Thank you for posting aspects of your journey here..

DH has just come in to tell me that he nearly got stuck in the river bed !  I had sent him down there for some sand (!) He drove over a sump hole and dropped down to window height !  Fortunately, a large truck (driven by a young woman !) appeared, and eventually got him out.  ..  I should stop complaining about the many trucks on our road, all getting sand and gravel for rebuilding  Christchurch, Our roads have been such a mess this winter, huge pot holes everywhere...

Well that's enough about nothing, nice to touch base with you all again,
Marion.

A.W.L.

I feel as if I've been Absent Without Leave...Our computer has been giving us problems..Takes forever to get onto a page and I haven't been in the mind set to deal with that... DH keeps saying he will get it fixed and still I wait..   Now that I have finally got onto the page I haven't got time to "post" !!  Today is the day I visit the friend who had the devastating stroke in February.  She is in care now, unable to speak or stand, her world reduced to one room...
We still have a few winter months to cope with here, but the signs of spring are definitely out there and that's always an encouragement.!   We have had some mild days and I have enjoyed spending time in the garden.
Hope to post some photos of the view from our gateway later.  DH has the camera with him so I'll have to wait until he comes home... When we had the hurricane force winds last Sept, which took out thousand s of trees in Canterbury (including hundreds of our own) it changed the landscape and we now have an amazing view from the end of our drive.   We also have a very exposed home and garden which isn't such good news but we will replant and hope that the new trees won't take too long to grow !..
Better go. I'll try again tonight...
Marion .

Update--sale is on

It looks like the sale of the house is on.  Working through agents you don't get the details, but they still want to buy.  Closing sometime about Oct. 1 or 2, rent back from them for 90 days.  Looks like the end of Dec.  So, it's been 23 or 24 years since we moved here, and lots of "stuff" to go through.  But not today, just got back from seeing Mom.  She will be 97 in Sept. and is like the Timex watch comercial.  Takes a lick'in, and keeps on tickin'.   Helped her eat the noon meal, took her some new clothes, etc.
Got together with some GFs last night for a Mexican dinner, laughed, talked, (mostly about aging parents) and got cough up on their lives.  It's good to have GFs to talk and "vent" with.
Sara in Fla. where it is 95 degrees and about 95% humidity- Thankful for air conditioning!

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Sunday late afternoon

We are waiting on a phone call or text from our real estate agent.  On Thursday at 6PM --in big thunderstorm--we went to the agent's office and signed paperwork to sell this house.  A bit less money than we were hoping for, but I had a melt-down last Monday night & Tues. about everyone coming through the house, putting up dogs, and so on.
Well, yesterday DH receives an E mail saying that the buyers MIL (who lives with them and helps care for 1 year old) was seriously ill, and their agent would call our agent Sunday afternoon.  They have given us a $1,000 binder and we were to close in 45 days.  Then we were going to rent back from them for 90 days.  So, we wait.  Confused as to what to think.  The husband is a maybe 30 year old veteran, lovely wife who took notes on every plant in the yard and asked questions.  She is in nursing school in the town where they live in N. C.  Will graduate in April.
Guess I'm just tired, tired of my mom lingering with dementia, (will be 97 in 2 weeks) tired of cleaning, leaving house, not being able to be "creative" as in quilting.  Tired of hot, humid weather.
The prices of housing in town are not great, but not bad, and the prices of condos at the beach are through the roof.
Sorta-of watching women's golf.  We watched some of the Little League World Series also.  DH was a Little League player, and played baseball through High School.
On another theme, Trader Joe's -- a rival to Whole Foods Market, will open at the Jacksonville Beach area, they supposedly carry a line of gluten free foods--such as pastas-- that I want to try.
Had a really bad experience Friday night at a pizza place trying to order some chicken Marsala. Almost in tears, and to top it off the leftovers I brought home leaked on my favorite slacks!
Hopefully this will be a better week.
Sara in Fla.