Busy, busy, busy

As the magician in Frosty the Snowman said, that's just what I've been. I've been working on the quilts I'm giving for Christmas. I have 3 quilt tops finished, one nearly finished, one started, and one planned. Not bad, huh.

The other night our PBS station showed a documentary on the artwork of Dale Chihuly. I've always love glass, and have a collection of Fenton baskets. But the work of this talented man just leaves me breathless. Check out some of his work at http://www.chihuly.com/glass.html. The colors and shapes are just incredible. He has a team of blowers, and does little glass blowing himself, but the designs are just amazing. I think I'll bookmark this site for times when I need some inspiration. Have a great weekend.

Monday, Monday - Again

This weekend Rod and I were to leave Saturday AM for a night away for our 34th anniversary. I was so looking forward to it, but on Friday afternoon, Rod called and said find us a room for tonight and pack your undies -- I told the Bossman I'm leaving for my anniversary weekend early. I'll be home at 3:30. What a great surprise. We left the house at about 4:00, and made a quick stop at our favorite bakery to pick up a few goodies for the trip. Soon it was dark and very rainy, and we missed a turn. The trip which usually takes 2-1/2 hours took 4-1/2 hours, but we laughed and had a good time. Our trip was awesome, we visited stores we don't usually go into. Had a lot of good food, and a very relaxing weekend. And of course, I visited a fabric outlet. After all, what's a trip without a fabric purchase????

Yesterday we took down the Halloween decorations and put up some turkey things. Thanksgiving is Rod's favorite holiday. After all, he says, what's better than a weekend of family, good food, and football!!! And, of course, we throw in a little Black Friday shopping. We aren't the early birds since I don't like crowds. Last year we left at 4:00 pm, still found the bargains we wanted and no crowds. Guess everyone else was shopped out. How do you spend Thanksgiving weekend? We put up the turkey quilts, and today my sewing room looks like a tornado went through. So, now I'm off to put things away and try to find the half finished project that is my next victim. Have a great week.

Friday

It's another Friday and with each one that passes, we are closer to Christmas and I feel more pressure to get things done. This morning I've been trying out a Bear Paws block for DSL George's quilt. I love the block but I think it's too complicated for the time I have left, so I may just go with a Log Cabin in homespun plaids.



Finally got a picture of the Lion King Quilt. Doesn't look too bad, does it? Well, Bubby is calling me from the living room -- probably to watch Blue's Big Musical for the fifth time in the last two days. Good thing it's Friday!!! Have a great weekend.

Election Day and Gratitude Tuesday

Wow, it's finally election day, and I'm so thankful. Hopefully tomorrow will end the bombardment of political ads, phone calls, and opinion polls. What will all these people do when this is all over??? Will you be going to vote??? Please DO..

Well, they're here -- photos of the grandpuppies in their costumes. Do you think they look positively humiliated?




I've started putting Kristin's quilt together -- cutting sashings and squaring up the blocks. Looks pretty good so far. This Saturday will be our 34th wedding anniversary, so Rod and I are planning a night away to celebrate. Hope to get another hand-pieced block cut to take along. We're going to Amish Country Ohio, and everything there closes as 5 pm, so I'll want something to work on. I guess this weekend is their holiday open house so I'm looking forward to that.

Another Monday -- New Month

Wowser!! It's November already. And I still have 4 quilts to go before Christmas!!! Better get a wiggle on, as my granny used to say. We had trick or treat night here on Friday. All the kids left together from here with the grandkids and grandpuppies. I don't have pictures of the puppies, but the black lab went as Darth Vader and the chocolate lab went as Yoda. They looked as though they were totally humiliated!! I do however have photos of the grandkids.



Krissy's birthday party was Saturday evening, and she loved the quilt. I didn't honestly think I would get it done, but I did. Slow and Steady -- that's my motto. It really turned out well, and I'm pleased. Now I'm making some 9-patches for a quilt for Jimmy and I need a break from all the thinking on those character quilts. I'll post a picture of Krissy's quilt as soon as Mary gets one to me. Have a great Monday.

Monday

Another Monday, and this one is Rod's birthday. Happy Birthday, Dear. The kids are coming tomorrow night for dinner to celebrate. Sunday am, Mary dropped the kids off at 8:30 and then went to watch Jimmy's playoff games in softball (they lost the first two games they played, and Mary was pretty happy -- it was cold). So, for breakfast Pappy made his world famous donuts. Kristin and Izzy stopped, and Izzy got her first taste of Pappy's donuts. She just kept saying, "Oh, Wow!" Kris and Izzy stayed over an hour, and then went home. Krissy and I made pumpkin pies, and when the pies were done, we went down to the train room. Krissy and Rod worked on placing some of the houses, so he can finish the wiring, and Bubby just got mad because he could only run three trains instead of five. Shortly after we came back upstairs, the twins showed up and made wedding soup for dinner. It was so good. They really pile in the mini-meatballs and you get at least two in every bite. Mary and Jim got back about 3, and we watched our Steelers lost to the NY Giants.

I had my quarterly check-up with my PCP on Friday. He photocopied my bloodwork papers and told me if he had a gold star, he would have put it on the top. My bloodwork was the best it's ever been. My numbers were all in the range of non-diabetics and that's better than he ever expected. He told me I must be doing something right, and just to keep it up. So, I don't go back until January, and no bloodwork this time. Guess I go to the head of the class. It's not easy. Sometimes I am just so tired of being diabetic, and watching everything that I put in my mouth. But check-ups like this one make it all worthwhile.

I'm still blanket stitching the blocks for the Lion King quilt, and can't wait to finish this one up. It seems to be taking forever!! And I'm anxious to start some other projects. So, I guess I'd better go and start stitching. Have a great week.

This and That

Wow, another week nearly gone. Here's a few scraps from my brain. I got my fall wall hangings out over the weekend. They were made, oh, about three or four years ago. I'm amazed at how much my work has improved in that time. Sometimes it's good to realize that.

I did something yesterday that I don't think I've ever done before -- I forgot to turn my iron off. Luckily when Kristin showed up to take me shopping, she noticed a "hot" smell in the back of the house, and found the iron on and turned it off. I'm so upset by this -- Hopefully it's not anything wrong, just a "mental-pause".

Rod is on overtime. Don't know for how long, but it really changes life. Now he leaves the house at 5:30 am and doesn't return until after 7:00 pm. We don't eat dinner until he's home, and then I'm not really hungry for a snack before bed. This morning my blood sugar was only 64 -- not a good thing. I'm sure it will take some getting used to before I can level it out again. I like to keep it between 80 and 100 because that's when I feel best.

Still working on the Lion King quilt. Yesterday I fused Rafiki and Zazu. I figured they would be the most difficult, and I was right. But now that they're done, I can move forward. If I don't post tomorrow, have a great weekend.