The Phoenix Finds Mrs. O'Quilts.

 Mrs. O'Quilts has been feeling the effect of world-wide doldrums....No sewing, no nada...lots of sleeping.Today was stunning outside.  I read one book in a chair in the sun, the other on my exercise bike .  

With energy, tonight after the news, I sewed!!

This has been on my design wall for a month or so..

Maybe it was seeing those vaccines roll out tonight...Maybe it was the exercise.

But, tonight I rose like the Phoenix with energy to sew.

When the Pandemic started, I joined others to choose projects to finish while isolating.

I chose four.  This is the only one near done, but I am excited.

Success begets success.

Just a small batik border and I can baste and quilt.

This is old fashioned Delectable Mountains, but Bonnie Hunter does have a tute for it.

Yesterday I got my first birthday card!!!

Last night's giggle fest after Canasta!

If we look into the room, high on the top shelf of the book case, there is a small turquoise box or two of Trader Joe's minty star Christmas cookies. Yup, they are still there...Lynsey, taking advantage of her old Grandma's wobbly nature.  I do have a grab stick, but I might fall.  AND, there are still many days until Christmas!!  Sigh!!

Yesterday morning, French toast was delivered to my sewing room by Chef Lynsey..  

All dusted with powdered sugar and topped with my favorite blueberries.

She must have learned this from the baking channel or Tik Tok.

Delicious.

Tonight my son took his children on a long bike ride through the woods and golf course.

I said, NO...too late...snakes come out at night...Do you have helmets and lights..

I was ignored.  They all came home flushed with joy.  They had the best time ever.

Parenting is for youth.!!

Tomorrow it is to be cold and rainy.

Remote learning starts up again.

Perfect for snuggling with a book.

2020 Sanity

It is still all about Aoife!  Here is a Christmas present from me.

At 4.5 months she fits inside it!!!  Now all my grands have bags.

The Irish insides...ha ha a sheep pocket.

Label from her grandma.

 I have made so many bags for children in this style with their name on it.

Hello...this time I made things so much easier by gluing the top together before I inserted the straps.

Easy peasy to just stitch them then.  Just a swipe of regular glue stick from the office.

Guess who sleeps in her own bed now??

Guess who rolls over now??

Guess who smiles in the morning to her mother after a good night's sleep?

North Carolina news:  Governor has issued a partial lockdown.  No one is to be out between 10 pm and 5 am.  No alcohol sold after 9 pm.   Next up.....Last night's school board meeting closed in person learning until January 19, 2021.  That starts upcoming Monday. Our hospitals are reaching capacity and those in South Carolina are worse. It is truly scary. Dylan will be in school tomorrow.  I am hoping Lynsey will help me with some Christmas things in-between her lessons..

Evan and his mother ordered black masks....Ugh...

Of course I made them.  For me and my cataracts, black is impossible to see.

At least I snuck in a bit of color for the filter pockets on the back and for the elastic.

 What is keeping me sane??  I think it is friends Zooming...My ALS support group had an awesome Zoom the other night with friends from across the country.. My Charlotte modern quilt guild...Zooms once a month...My regular quilt guild once a month.  Weekly Zooming with my Wednesday night quilt group.  Zooming every Saturday night with my Naranon group...And, chats with blogging friends and local friends.  Daily Facetime with my Aoife and my daughter. 

And texting..the magic of checking in with folks in a nonintrusive way.

My son doing the laundry and fixing things.  I am going to lighten up on the school thing...try to have a bit more fun at home here with the grands.  I do not know how they can fail any child for heaven's sake.  Internet is off and on and hotspots sometimes do not work.  And, that is just in the city. Lynsey is loving remote learning.  The boys, not so much...What is that they say about there being a difference between boys and girls????

Today was nice enough to sit outside with a book and a jacket...sunny 64 degrees F.  I wanted the children to come outside with me and read...but, NO..Both of them preferred Tik Tok and Mindcraft  Oh, well..

I want to give a million dollars to Dylan's fifth grade teacher.  I do not have that....but she is so worth it.

I have also discovered what everyone has known for years.  Being outside and doing a bit of exercise helps my mood.  Focusing on one thing at a time that I can accomplish, steadies me.

Look for the Light

Holiday Season 2020

 Here is our handsome Dylan...fifth grade...

Look what I bought myself for my birthday!!!!

I just love colored duct tape.  $16 for 12 rolls, I could not help myself.

How do we spell friendship??  Homemade MOLASSES  cookies.

Aoife learning Tic Tac Toe...

Our family Christmas version,

I am finally working on a Christmas present.

Our tree is up and crooked. A 2020 tree!!

When the kids come back from their mother's house this weekend, we can decorate.

No one is coming, but this 2020 demands and deserves bright and cheery.

I see a package under the tree...I had joked with Lynsey that we were going to wrap with fabric to save paper....so there I find my good Denise Schmidt fabric under the tree!!! Ha!!                                                        

A holiday present that sounded the alarm

Dylan cannot wake in the morning. Neither can his father.

Finally, Grandma O'Quilts got fed up with it and ordered them each an alarm clock

It was billed as an alarm of all alarms...for even deaf people.

This is what I get for looking for a quick fix!!!

This alarm is so loud and piercing that my ear still hurts.

It is worse than the fire alarm...OMG

Guess I will have to send it back....cry....cry..sad..

On a NC personal note:

I went to the grocery store just now and apologized to the supervisor who

helped me when my PTSD was triggered last month.  Talk about shame and ego...she did not remember it....either she sees many meltdowns in the grocery store..Or I see myself as the drama queen..

My dentist has retired.

Now, my vet has sold his business and retired..

I do not do well with loss.

On Black Friday, I bought a chair for my sewing table.

Unfortunately it turned out to be a gaming chair that gives my legs no support.

I have to return it.  NOW, old lady reads the small print.  Returns are on my own dollar and they have a restocking fee....I am beside myself making poor decisions....I think I was using Black Friday Prime as some kind of Covid tranquilizer....UGH

We are not giving holiday presents to adults this year, which is a big relief.

In fact we are having a 2020 Christmas...sigh....four people.

Ten days until my birthday...I am doing the best I can.

I am doing 6th grade social studies and science...I am interfacing school work between teacher and student in remote learning.  I am doing my PT home exercises.

I am responsibility free tonight....That, my friends, means a sewing night xo

Walkin' Right Through That Fire....

The Rose

Trader Joe's has the best Christmas mint star cookies.

Lynsey was putting away the groceries when she spotted the two boxes I had bought for Christmas.

Here she is, putting them high in the living room bookcase, so the entire family can watch over them, just in case a sugar freak grandmother eats them before the holiday.  Whaa??????

Eamon has been working on a neighbor's car for a few days now.

He just cannot get the last two screws out..Guess who he grabbed away from Minecraft???

Yup...our Dylan..starting early.  And, Dylan was able to put his smaller hand in to get it out..He did it!!

Hawthorne Threads is my new favorite fabric shop online...I used to love Hancocks of Paducah but lately, the pickings are slim.  .Hawthorne's site is fabric candy  OMG...just to look is fun.They had a cyber sale, but before I found it, most things were sold out, not that I needed anything.Hawthorne Supply Company Is evidently the new name...love..

Whining below...you can ignore!!!

A harrowing day with joint pain at the grocery store.  Dylan and Lynsey took their own cart to get half of the items. She wiped down all our carts. They loaded the car.  They told me that I overdid things....As usual, Grandma.!!!!

Because of their helpfulness, I thought we could play canasta before bed.  One child sang, "Nanny, nanny boo boo, stick your head in doo doo.." laughing annoyingly hysterically.  The other one....well do you know how a male AD/HD 10 year old plays cards???  He jumps in place. He runs up and down around the chairs., He drops the cards...OMG

They fight over who is cheating and who is not.  They argue on card placement. They accuse each other of not playing right.  Guess my expectations of a relaxing card game with my darlings...was way out of whack.

Dylan pulled the blinds down so hard that they broke.  Lynsey decided in between turns to make red velvet cake. My brain is fried. I have not sewn in days.  I had to cancel a fun visit due to exhaustion.

More today as Lynsey told me that the only place she can concentrate on social studies is in my sewing room with Alexa screaming some new age music.

My son and Dylan sleep so deeply that waking them is a chore...a big chore.  After Dylan missed the bus this morning, i ordered online, two alarm clocks for deaf folks..they have a loud alarm and a vibrating pad for under the pillow...stay tuned!!

There is no sewing around here...none...zip..I am stuck looking out the window playing Freecell. I have started behaving like the children. ..zoning out..... Would like to go to Tuesday morning to get the Christmas candy, but I am scared to...Scared to leave  my house.  Covid 19 is creeping up and up here in the Carolinas.

In between remote learning classes, this girl decided to make some mug rugs...Her way of course.

No seams, only applique...Here I am teaching her how to rotary cut for the first time ever...I insist she wear one of the gloves that protect the hand.  Teaching a bit of measuring. too.

This week has held tons of stress for Grandma O'Quilts.

Good thing is that my hairdresser of  21 years came by...On the sidewalk, she cut my hair.

It lifted my mood..  My mother used to call the hairdresser, a miracle worker.

 Grief and Covid and holidays equals huge stress.  I am exhausted. It was pouring rain in Charlotte.  I stepped outside to admire the holiday lights my son put up.  I smelled a fire from the neighbor's fireplace.  It takes me right back to good family times....but instead of a warm fuzzy   I get an anxiety attack.  That is what PTSD is...A person is strong and strong and strong during the crisis..and once that has been survived with the help of friends, then the strength goes away as the anxiety comes... I love Megan Devine and her grief links and her book.  She reminds us that gratitude and grief ride side by side. A person is not denying one by expressing the other.

Just sayin'  if I was younger and stronger, for sure I would climb up and eat those Christmas cookies right now!!!!

Family Gratitude

My two beautiful and good hearted children...9 years ago

Wednesday Thanksgiving prep.  Lynsey chopping the celery and onions for the stuffing 

Dylan scrubbing the sweet potatoes for boiling.

Lynsey enjoying the chopping of onions.????

Lynsey has big plans to open a bakery some day with her mother....and to be a writer. 

She is all on the holiday thing.  Dylan rather play Minecraft...

Mean Grandma gave him kitchen duty instead.

  I was going to pass on Thanksgiving dinner since it is 2020 but Lynsey insisted we do what we do every year and she and her daddy would do it. 

Update...Thanksgiving was all thanks to Lynsey.  She made the chocolate pudding pie, the corn casserole, the green bean casserole, the homemade cranberry relish from fresh berries, She helped me stuff the turkey and skewered closed the openings...Really I am amazed at that girl.  She is only 11.

It was nice enough weather to eat outside...Then we drove plates of dinner to my sister.

I am fretting about Christmas because of COVID.  Lynsey said, Grandma, this is 2020.  We are going to do the very same thing as we did for Thanksgiving...and soon there will be a new year.  

Thank God in heaven for that girl.

 Voila:  The other granddaughter!!

I could not choose..I love both of these...Such joy to my heart.

This is a lovely idea.: Gratitude Quilt by Diary of a Quilter

Tuesday  The visit was on the screened in porch, 6 feet apart, masks, long underwear, jackets and two heaters  Nothing can keep fabric lovers and quilters apart...brrrr.

Emily designed some labels for the homemade extract the kids and I made.

We have vanilla, mint, and lemon.

My son started the holiday decorations..

Cheer for these times at home.

No sewing, as you can see...

However, I am sewing in my head...maybe in action tomorrow.

I have appointments at the end of January for my cataract surgery...When I started to fret,

I realized that I cannot see without squinting. I have no choice...

AND. I just read this:

"Worry is a superpower; the illusion of control..."

How right on is that!!!

Never Did Like a Rollercoaster!!!!

 

Good reading for an uplifting moment.

Really Mrs. O'Quilts??

Today, I have finished the last 5 potholders...Now, in my stash I have 25 done!

Kids going nuts to keep this old tree.  Their memories, that first Christmas I had guardianship of them

The tree only halfway lights...bottom half...It is now yellow and not white. It stands in the middle of the living room forlorn, but well loved. There is no room for it due to Lynsey's school room, moved downstairs due to remote schooling 

I had to order another bargain online..

Tomorrow there will be tears as they cling to everything.

Even cleaning their rooms...they send a suitcase or two to their mother's house filled with things they cannot bear to give to the Goodwill.

In the corner where the tree goes, is Lynsey's table and school books.

However, that is not all..She has installed a dry erase board so she can practice teaching.

She dresses up, she has a school ID around her neck..... and teaches 6th grade English (her grade)

That is how she practices her learning...

Now, this room is no longer a living room...the effects of Covid and remote learning.

She said, no one is coming anyway...so be flexible. Grandma..!!

The Begonia lasting through the fall with trees bared of leaves.

It gives me strength to try and be like a begonia.

End of November, Covid and remote, crazy elections, country a mess.

And the beautiful red Begonia keeps on keeping on.

Tonight Ms. Lynsey asked me how I make my ganache...hmmm..Dear girl, Grandma has never made ganache....eye roll...She saw it on Tik Tok and surveyed our home ingredients. She started making the cake.  I heard her call her father to pick up the whipping cream on the way home from work.

Ganache, by Lynsey

 A present made by Drenna....to cheer the day...xo

And so it goes..that old rollercoaster of life!!

 

How my Heart Beats

Mr O'Quilts visiting his brother in France 2010,

My girl and her girl...Aoife, 4 months today.

And me so far away...love her so much.

It is hard to know what I did today.

Evan's masks with filters..

Evan is 15...He ordered these pineapple masks.

It must be the fashion for teenage boys to love pineapples???

This morning guilt got me out of bed for one hour of a two hour zoom with CQG.

I was glad I made the effort.

I went to the library.....They brought it out to my book out to my car.

I tried to read my book on the great pandemic....in the sun.  Alas, I live in the woods and there was no sun.  I did all my exercises. I puttered....Bye, bye...the day was gone.!!

Wondering if my darlings should have a ping pong table, horse shoes, corn hole???

Of course there is a difference in price...just wondering...

Guess almost one am again is too late to ponder anything...

Kids coming home tomorrow afternoon for just two days before Thanksgiving break.

I hope I have the energy for games and other learning away from technology.

 

The New Zoom Life

 

The unpaper towel above, to save the earth and money and sanity...maybe.

There are tons of tutes...so easy.  I did not put mine on a roll as that would not suit my busy family, However, I think it is a great idea.  

Below is Lynsey picking out the fabric for ours.

We used terry cloth (torn towels will do) backed with fabric scraps.

This Covid thing is not a good thing...

They said on the local news today, to uninvite your guests for

Thanksgiving....It is not worth the risk.  I made myself some new masks today that take filters which I ordered online...shipping from USA.  I got them already.

Lynsey is writing her autobiography.  Dylan is helping her with the tech part.  They are so close

Fighting yes, but loving too.

Today, from noon to  8pm, I had a Zoom Sit-and-Sew with my Good Vibes quilters.

We are in Charlotte, Minnesota, Oregon.  It was great fun.  I finished the above masks, The extra protection of filters in masks and how to care for them.

finished off potholders, so I now have 20...5 more to go for my goal. I made 8 non-paper towels,

Laughed and chatted with friends...even took a break to ride my stationary bike and do my bicep curls.

Tomorrow morning is a two hour Zoom Sit and Sew with the Charlotte Guild.  Tomorrow night is my Naranon Zoom....wow.. the new Zoom life.

After today's fun, my sewing room is in the worse mess ever.

Honestly, I think the mess fairy comes and does a number in this room!!

I love to stay up all night and sew...but then I get up at noon and miss a lot of fun and sun..

Kids are with their mother, My son is putting out Christmas lights to cheer us on..

Hoping that that mess fairy comes back tonight while I am sleeping to put this room in order.

So, This is the Life

Sometime a quick fix of fabric can cheer your day. 

Taking advantage of Spoonflower's 50% off sale..so much fun.

Now that the sale is over, their rates have gone up to $12 for a fat quarter...OMG

The sale was $6.!!! I would never pay that big price...Will wait till next year..not that I need anything.

Below is one fat quarter...I LOVE it...just what we should be doing in these sad and trying times..

But, so not 2020.

All the band aids in the world...even Spoonflower ones, will not heal the wounds of 2020/

Spoonflower candles for our country and the world in Covid.

We are the World

Celebrating diversity..

People are people are people

Tissues and tea....See the creative use of my quilters clip to hold the tea bag!!

And my awesome tissue box handmade in wood...prize I won two years ago.

Aoife Rose playing in her basket.

The very best of 2020

Turn, Turn , Turn