Life on Life's Terms

 For my friend Suzette..potholders to her liking..

Lynsey is writing a book on anxiety and depression.   I am paying her $5 for each chapter.  She is also planning to open a bakery with her mother.  If I want, I can be part of the bakery.  There will be a chair at the back where I can sit and sew.  She said that she imagines girls coming into the bakery and praising the sweets...then, they say to each other,  "That is the girl who wrote the book about depression and anxiety...the book that helped the world!!"

I am changing focus...Thanks to Kathy, Linda and Lisa.

The below pet is a Marbled Orb Weaver...perfect for Halloween.

This one is a Writer Spider.

Never mind, I am sticking with quilting!!!

Lynsey is now making homemade smoothies. She prefers hers with a scoop of ice cream on top

A rough day today....cheered on by pictures of Aoife.

The finale....our Aoife in the lamb outfit I sent her...

Look for the Light

Joy...pure joy!!

Last night, Lynsey prepared to go to her mother's house for a few days.

I said, I am going to miss you when you are gone...Immediately, she put on this song:

You're Going to Miss me When I'm Gone

A Lovely Night Breeze Through my Sewing Room WIndow

Collecting for my 2020 quiltlet.  Spoonflower....love!!!

Given a huge bag of pears by a neighbor...no wasting food!!

Last night I peeled them all and cooked them down into pear sauce for smoothies, etc.

All ready here for the freezer:

You know Thoreau's saying, "Humility like the darkness, reveals the heavenly lights" ?  Well exhaustion reveals simple pleasures. (not by Thoreau!!)

Physical therapy decided today to up the ante... Number 5 on the bike, higher numbers on the bars...walking more...OMG.  I was so exhausted that once home, my outside reading led into a 2 hour nap...right there in the chair....book open, but not read.

Resting in my sewing room now:  window,open, light breeze, cicada music,  I am enveloped in peace.

Once again, Aoife's daddy shows his support for quilting and quilting apparatus:

On the ruler, on the kitchen scale is our 10.5 pound Aoife.

Pictures of Aoife give me great joy!!

The 12 blocks of Shoofly.

Now to putter in my sewing room to the tune of Netflix..

God, Please Give me Strength....

Have a good day, love from Aoife!!! 

Harris Teeter loose tea tin....Thank you Beth!

From quilty gift wrap at least 25 years old...still wet with glue.

is...my lovely new pin tin..Once I have the second one done, I will spray them both with gloss.

Dylan's smile belies the fit he threw when asked to help his grandmother.

Mouth galore from a ten year old...After he had washed and cut the oranges, he used the new electric squeezer to juice them....He loved it after all!!  He then poured us each a glass and threw the orange peels into the woods beside our house for the deer.

Are boys and girls really that different???  I think the answer must be YES!

Dylan is 10 and Lynsey is 11...both are February birthdays, one year apart.

Last night she found this recipe online and wanted to start it at midnight...Nooooo 

This morning while I was napping, her daddy got the ingredients for her.

Lynsey is always on U-tube . Her favorite site is : Bake It

The girl got it into her head that she needed to make a cake from scratch. cream cheese frosting too.

Lynsey made an adorable short video describing her cake...green for grass, orange pumpkins and mud...sprinkles of mud!!!  I did not know how to upload it. The cake was delicious...just yummy.

Now the missy is decorating for Halloween....I am letting her go for it.

Her brother could care less...Although at 10 years old, he still wants to be sure Santa will be able to come even with the Covid...

Wondering if the below Shoo-fly....scrap could be used for the middle of a cuddle quilt???

Guess I need to make 3 more blocks....Does it look OK for kids?

I do not like the two children on so much technology.

Dylan has lost most of it for his behavior anyway.

Tonight, my son went to a meeting and out with his friends.

I googled, "What  is old age, now-a -days?"  Old in 2020 is considered at 73

Very old is considered at 80...No wonder I am exhausted.!!!

I knew it was quiet....but chose to enjoy it...Mistake....

Off of their games, they went into creative mode.  They went into the upstairs linen closet with sandwiches and chips and drinks.  They threw all the pillows and quilts and towels on the floor outside the closet so they could have more space in which to play.  They took fabric strips from my sewing room and tied all the doors together...For them, it was  a grand ol' time.  They were laughing so much.  It was almost 11 pm.  For me, not such a good time.

Instead of laughing, I almost cried.

Maybe tomorrow, I will give back all the technology just for my own sanity!!!!!!!

The News of the Day

Aoife's "newborn" hat may finally fit....Baby does not care..!!!!

Finally  done...ooooh my Kaffe flimsy ...whew..

Now backing choices...I do not feel like piecing a backing, but my choices may be OK with value, but not congruent with the style of the quilt.  Maybe if I put it away for awhile, I will feel like piecing a backing later..but I want to have it done now!!!!

This one below may fit, but I love it and am hoarding it (shame)

A treat tonight:  Lynsey decided to make dinner and would let no one help.

We were to have a veggie fry, but she decided to make spaghetti too.

She is filming herself for her U-tube station....OMG

Now she has pulled up a recipe for pumpkin something and texted her father to bring a few cans of pumpkin on his way home from a meeting.

Lynsey for sure will have Lynsey Lou's Cafe as she dreams of..

Her organizational skills far exceed mine...wow...

Today, I was whining at physical therapy.  They had put me in the "baby steps" category.

I really wanted the giant step group.  After much talk about my progress that I could not see., she took me for a walk.  Walking with her, I saw a huge difference in my progress since going to physical therapy. 

It was so encouraging..

Also encouraging was Dylan's teacher...so supportive.  She said that children with disabilities had a 100 times more difficulty in remote learning...

 Today was the day, I decided not to subscribe to naysayers' crazy and not to be afraid.  I did it the Nike way....I just did it!!!!!!  I drove to the post office and mailed my ballot.  I have voted!!  Interesting that there is a code on the ballot where you can trace your ballot to see where it goes.  DONE!!

Now, I am going to sew!!!

Day after Day....

Easing my soul, making a bowl.  This time I used regular cotton with a wide blue and white stripe. The regular cotton leaves some fuzzies unlike batiks....but I kind of like the look.  This bowl is relatively small...diameter is 6  inches.I love it and was immediately relaxed.

This Kaffe has been stewing on the design wall...Finally I figured it out.

Just need to sew on the red borders, but I could not wait to show you.

Blacks are all folded now...I am such a lucky lady to have folding friends.

Guess we will look at the Halloween/ Thanksgiving fabric next!!

Now ALL the whites are done..!!!  Yeah...After Covid, what in the world will I do

with a clean sewing room???  Oh, never mind!!!

The fabric hanging on the left .....One lot is flannel and one lot is linen, both of them are sorta masculine....What pattern to use??  What to do...so exciting.

 Lynsey is 11.  She was telling me about this "friend" at school last year, who told Lynsey not to wear makeup any more because it was illegal at school  Lynsey's answer was that she is not wearing make up...Her cheeks are naturally soft Irish white and pink and her lips are naturally rosy red.....

Dear me, that girl is dramatic.

  She came home from a visit with her mother....like this:  Maybe it is for Halloween??

Dear Zoe, we love you so.  I had thought that a black lab being 12...your end was near.

Then I found that part of you is another breed....that helps in longevity...and you are like a race horse..lean and a great runner...You know, Squirrels 501 and Zoe 0... a lot of exercise.

We are just going to love you for today and not worry about tomorrow!!

Look at the absolutely adorable fabric I found on Spoonflower

I am going to make a 2020 small wall hanging...exciting!!

Collecting fabric for that...this one will be part of it.

Chuck Eye steak is also called "poor man's" steak.

It is our favorite kind.

Tonight I showed Lynsey how to marinate the meat for a few hours.

She also put the baked potatoes in the microwave...easy peasy.

My son is going in late to work tomorrow so I can go to physical therapy.

Today was another good day.  My son went to the doctor for a refill on his meds.

My DIL is going to help with remote schooling next week.

Lynsey announced how much she loves history...

And Grandma here, is almost finished with her above quilt top!!!

Autumn

Aoife...celebrates two months...wahoo!!!

My girl sewed up this autumn bonnet for her girl!!!

Aoife in Autumn, 2 months on the 22nd..., the first day of fall.

Below, calming myself by making a bowl for a friend.

Bowls are great, Friendships are great.

Telling my secrets here.....

I have accepted my age...that I am indeed old.

Dear me how I fretted that I would never roller skate again. 

 Nor would I be body surfing in the Pacific Ocean

I am giving up on ever being 42 again...

Truth.  Yup...Truth...

Now back to my nap xo

Our dearest Zoe is a black lab!!  WAS, as you can see!..

That means Zoe and I are an aged team.

She is 12 plus...Zoe is not just black any more...She has white feet and more.

Sitting in the yard with a book...cold enough for a jacket

Cold enough for hot tea, 68 degrees F...

Hot tea with garden mint..And, the last rose of summer.

Carolina Blue skies

Why did I never listen to Sherry...She told me and told me.

Finally....

I have been sewing and making bowls watching Netflix instead of the news

I am sooo much more relaxed!!

A big shout out to my sister for her listening ear and support!!!

We all might just be OK after all..

 

Goodbye Sally, Hello Sunshine

Mustang Sally 

Hurricane Sally visited Charlotte..My windows were wide open to the lovely sound of rain. 

Aoife happy to be leaving Spokane to go home to Portland.

Now that she is home...she is even happier!!!  And the rains came and the smoke is way down.

Below is another example of my aged and Covid brain..

A bit of a treat for myself as my money always goes elsewhere....I ordered on Etsy some solids...so I could try Sujata Shah's work with curves......Here we go with my crazy story:

The mind goes like this:  Clouded....I grew up in Arizona...

so when I was ordering my solids on Etsy, It said hombre....like in Phoenix...Oh....once it came,

I realized I had been way out to lunch....the fabric was ombre...pronounced the very same.

Instead of solids...I have a graduated color....A surprise for me and an exciting new challenge.

Thanks Peter....for sharing this poem:

SILVER TANGLE OF BRAMBLES AT MIDNIGHT

Late at night you remember God's first language

is silence. The space between heart beats,

the pause before someone says, Yes,

a brief moment before ebb becomes flow.

So you say, Fine. Don’t talk to me

like God’s a stubborn ghost.

You say, I’ll hear messages

whether you speak or not.

Every closed-door signals detour,

and each broken heart demands

sitting quietly for a time.

.     .     .     .     .     .     .

From The Stumble Fields, Malaika King Albrecht. Main Street Rag Publishing Company, Charlotte, North Carolina. © 2020.

At the midnight hour ...I have finished what seems to be a bow-tie top.

Borders to go on tomorrow.  

You know, the best thing about a root canal is the wonderful feeling once it is over.  A person can quite feel alive again!!  Same with despondency ; once it lifts, the day is glorious!!

Doing the Joy Thing

I love a bargain...half price...my very favorite flower...a treat for myself as I walked the grocery store per instructions from physical therapy!!!

The above four patch snowballed into blocks...hope to set them manana.

Maybe I should limit my grocery store walks...Look!!!!

Already, my favorite Christmas ice cream...They will be sold out by Thanksgiving!!

Arriving home this morning from an outing...A family of deer..

I only got a picture of  one or two, but there were 6 at least!!

They are in the field beside me multiplying like crazy.  I live in the woods,

in the city...love..

It was freezing this morning...65 degrees F. I needed to wear a sweater for my breakfast on the deck.

So excited for my favorite season.

Our school system drops off free meals for Corona virus, stay at home children.

The school bus comes to the end of my street with the boxed food.

In the past few weeks, we have accumulated so many apples and pears.

The pears all ripened at once.  Last night Lynsey and I made pear crumble.

This morning it was gone...Lynsey had it for breakfast!!

Tonight, I had told her that I would do her kitchen clean up, if she would peel and core the apples.

It took forever to cook them down on the stove, adding a bit of sugar and cinnamon.

We had homemade apple sauce on vanilla ice cream.  Dylan's doctor said he could eat cooked apples.

But, he was afraid.

Above a lovely card and patches from Suzette...She has the most wonderful cards and the most wonderful heart..

I am going to make a patriotic potholder  or two!!

Last thing and the best thing...a visit...Linda helped me fold the last half of my white fabric.

She took snips and I discovered fabric that I had long forgotten.

Yesterday was a bit of a slump after PT,  but, a great faithful boost from my Orkin guy set me on the right and grateful path.  He is so nice.  He came to my husband's funeral.

Twice I have called him late at night to share that I found a big and ugly roach in my house...I leave a message on his answering machine that thankfully, he leaves turned off.

The next day he calls me...Was the roach dead or alive.

I say....dead.

He says, well....I can only kill it once...ha!!

Sooo lucky to have friends.. New friends never, ever replace the old.

According to Girl Scouts...One is silver and the other gold!!

OH...one last treat:  Aoife in Spokane trying out her new pacifier

The Attack of the Covid Brain

Thank you Aoife for cheering me so!!!! Guess it is cold in Missoula!!

Below, Ashley's bag holder:

My physical therapist and her boyfriend are obsessed board game folks...When I found a bit of this fabric, I knew I could incorporate it into a plastic bag holder for her...She is leaving for her doctorate in physical therapy in January.  But, I cannot wait.. I am giving her  this good-bye, I love you, present tomorrow!!

 Last night I was in such a snit..I took it out on my son and DIL...in two different episodes....Called "Grandma O'Quilts goes nuts,"  And, "Grandma O'Quilts goes nuttier"

My doctor said get out of the house or you will die of something else

My physical therapist said that I need to walk around the grocery stores.

My DIL said I would go nuts if I did not get out of the house..

My son said the same....Oh, no..I did not listen

Instead, I obsessed about the fires and bad air, I obsessed about the children giving me COVID, I obsessed about my son working and not having time to help us. I obsessed about my failure as a remote school teacher...

I had to apologize to everyone. Self care for me is now....a cheese omelet with wild onions and 3 pieces of  cinnamon toast, just like my grandma made!!!!!  Comfort food.

The morning light brought a stunning revelation:  

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow (Thank you Suzette for the prompt!)

Here Comes the Sun  Today I am reading in my yard sooo thankful.  Yesterday I went to borrow some books from the library for the first time in 7 months...After I got to the library, someone brought the books to my car and I did not have to go in...sooo nice!!

People can be marvelous.  Look at Chay...She lives in Missoula where my girl is staying. Chay gave us good advice....Stay put because, unfortunately the smoke will follow you as the wind shifts.

The measurements for the bag:

Fabric: 20x25 inchs

Top: 11 inches of 1/4 inch elastic

Bottom:  6.5 inches of 1/4 inch elastic

Strap:  14 inches.

I got this from Muggs.  I do not think she invented it so I used it..hmm

Muggs...hope that is OK

And, isn't it wonderful that I have 6 trillion yards of 1/4 inch elastic now.

All prepared for mask making and bag making