Friday Fragments

 

 

There’s much rejoicing here at Chez Nana.  It’s Friday!  It’s the start of a long weekend!  Isaac is coming and bringing 3-5” of rain with him!  And it’s time for Friday Fragments! 

 

I managed to get my wall quilt pieced together yesterday … I was in such a hurry to get it basted and in the hoop, ready for quilting, that I forgot to take a photo of the finished top.  So I took a photo of it in the hoop … it should give you all an idea of what it’s going to look like.I plan to do plenty of quilting this weekend … we’ve got perfect quilting weather in the forecast. 

 

This morning, I’m going shopping with DD this morning … she’s on a mission to get shoes for the Ts.  I may get some more time with the Ts tonight as DD is doing a vendor fair at a fundraising event for Alzheimer’s research.

 

Our counters are going to be installed this afternoon … and I cannot wait.  Granted, we won’t have the plumbing hooked up until Tuesday, but at least I will have counters. 

 

Am I the only one who’s getting sick and tired of all the political ads posts on Facebook?    And we’ve got over 2 months before the election.  <sigh>

 

 

Simple Woman’s Daybook

I haven’t done a Simple Woman’s Daybook in quite a long time … I like doing one every once in a while for a simple way of sharing what’s going on in my world.

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...
The sun is shining … there’s not a cloud in the sky … it’s a lovely 69 degrees right now.

I am thinking...
About T#2 … hoping her foot isn’t hurting and that she’s not bored with not being able to get up and play.

I am thankful...
For so many things … for DD making sure that I didn’t blame myself for T#2’s accident (I know that it was an accident, but I still couldn’t help but feel responsible … the one thing I hoped that I would never have to do was to call DD and tell her that one of her babies was hurt while in my care); that T#2’s foot wasn’t broken (I thought sure it was when I first saw it); for DH who supports my quilting hobby … even when it means I sequester myself in the sewing room for hours at a time; for aloe vera … I reached out to grab the DVD player remote the other day and my arm touched the iron … I immediately slathered some aloe vera on it and no pain, no blistering; for wonderful, friendly neighbors; for rain in the forecast … and lots of it … and for so much more.

In the kitchen...
There are no counters and no sink.  The good news is that our new counters will be installed tomorrow … the bad news is that the plumbing can’t be hooked up for 24 hours after the counters are installed, so that means no water in the kitchen until Tuesday.

I am wearing...
My usual outfit … jeans, a t-shirt, and my Sketchers. 

I am creating...
A wall quilt … I got some sewing done yesterday and have the inner borders on … I’m piecing together the outer borders.  With any luck, I’ll start hand quilting tomorrow.

I am going...
To DD’s this evening.  Her hubby has to work late tonight, and she’s putting on a bag party at a friend’s … so I’ll be watching the Ts this evening. 

I am wondering...
What to make for dinner tonight for a woman who is still recovering from back surgery.

I am reading...
A Path Less Traveled (A Miller’s Creek Novel) and Everybody’s Normal till You Get to Know Them.  A nice combination of something light and entertaining and something deeper and enlightening.

I am hoping...
That the disturbance out in the eastern Atlantic will not interfere with our trip plans. We’re already working out a couple of alternatives if we have to cancel our stay in the Outer Banks.

I am looking forward to...
Digging my toes into the sand at the beach.

I am learning…
That God is worthy of all my trust … that His ways are always better than my ways.  What can I say … I can be a bit of a slow learner. 

Around the house...
Things are pretty chaotic … we’ve got kitchen stuff on the side table in the dining area and in the spare bedroom, the sewing room has fabric and quilt blocks spread out.

I am pondering...
How short this life is … that the days I have remaining are much fewer than the days I’ve lived … that they’re not to be squandered or wasted, but to be savored and used to make a difference.

A favorite quote for today...
Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are.” Unknown

One of my favorite things...

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Not much of the week left, but I plan to get my kitchen back in order once the counters are installed.  I also plan to do a thorough housecleaning, including cleaning our hardwoods.  And I plan to enjoy the rainy weekend ahead of us. 

A peek into my day...

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

Another Wednesday has arrived, which means that it’s time for another Hodgepodge.

 

1. Americans will celebrate Labor Day this coming weekend. Do you know what we're actually celebrating? (without consulting your friends Google or wikipedia, ahem) What's a project you're currently 'laboring' over?

I suspect that Labor Day was instituted to honor workers.  Right now I’m “laboring” over my wall quilt.  I shared an update on The Weekend Wrap-up so I’ll spare you all a repeat of the details.

 

2. Labor Day also signals the unofficial end of summer for most of us...what summer food will you miss the most? If you're in the southern hemisphere feel free to substitute winter for summer.

Sweet corn … not that I got to enjoy it very much this summer.  The heat and the drought wiped out the local corn crop.

 

3. A well known proverb states, 'It's easier to seek forgiveness than ask permission.' Your thoughts?

It may be easier, but I don’t believe that it’s the better way … sounds an awful lot like rationalization/justification.

 

4. Food critic, film critic, book critic, art critic....which hat would you most like to wear?

Food critic … I love the idea of trying new foods, new restaurants all on someone else’s dime.  However, my waistline would NOT love that idea. 

 

5. When you were a kid, who (besides your parents) was your favorite adult?

My maternal grandma.  She always had lemon drops or horehound candy in her candy dish (which sits on my dining table now).  She always made a large batch of Christmas cookies (something I’ve always done, too).  Many of my childhood memories involve my grandma in some way.

 

6. The astronaut, Neil Armstrong, passed away last week. He was regarded as a hero by many generations of people all around the world. Do we still have modern day heroes? What makes someone a hero?

A hero is someone with bravery and courage, someone who places the wellbeing of others head of his/her own.  So yes, I believe that we still have heroes. 

 

7. I never get tired of __________________.

Spending time with my grands and spending time at the beach.  If only I could somehow combine the two …  

 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of time with the grands, we had all 4 Ts here yesterday afternoon.  After T#1 & T#2 had been playing outside with the Nerf “swords”, they came inside and went down to the basement to put the swords back. T#1 came back upstairs, and I assumed that T#2 did, too. But she did not … T#1 heard her crying and told me that she was hurt. I ran downstairs and found her near our old exercise bike under the stairs. She’d been trying to ride it, and somehow her foot got caught in between the pedal and where it connects to the bike.  It looked so awful that I was afraid that it was broken, so I carried her upstairs and called DD who came to take her to the ER. Turns out that it’s not broken, just a very deep bruise. She’s to stay off her foot for a week.   

Weekend Wrap-up

 

 

It was a pretty busy weekend here at Chez Nana. 

 

We spent Saturday visiting my dad.  We were able to help him get a few things done that he has trouble doing by himself, watch the ball game (the Cardinals lost ) and have a nice visit.

 

I was able to spend a little while in the sewing room … a few hours Friday afternoon and again Sunday afternoon.  I finished up NCIS Season 6 and got a good start on Season 7.  Here’s a little more than half of what I’ve been able to accomplish so far.I also have 5 more rows ready to press and sew on … there will be a total of 17 rows so the body of the quilt will be 17x17 (34”x34”); I’ll have borders to make the wall quilt finish at 42”x42”.

 

We had dinner out Friday evening – with two couples from our neighborhood and Sunday – we both had obligations at church that finished at about the same time, so we stopped at Panera.

 

Our Sunday also included church in the morning and a bit of rain in the evening. 

 

There’s something rather satisfying by a nice “bookended weekend” … a visit with my dad surrounded by sewing and dinner out. 

 

Friday Fragments

 

 

Hard to believe that here we are at the end of another week … but that means that it’s time for some fragments.

 

Yesterday was a busy but productive day.  I spent some time in the sewing room … I have sewn together 85 of these together into 5 rows of 17 (not all of them yesterday).

 

I’m getting used to not having any counters … instead of opening drawers, I just reach in from the top and grab whatever utensil I need.  I’ll have to get used to opening drawers again when the counters are installed. 

 

We’re starting to check out the Weather Channel’s Hurricane Central daily as we’re getting closer to our trip to the Outer Banks.  Hurricane Irene forced us to cancel our mid-September trip to the OBX last year, and we’re hoping that we won’t have to make any last-minute changes this year. 

 

My washer’s spin cycle has been making a funny noise the last several times I’ve done laundry … the washer is only 4 years old, so it shouldn’t be breaking down yet.  I don’t know if it would be better to have someone come out and look at it now – preventive care – rather than waiting until it breaks down completely? 

 

Today should be a fairly quiet day … one I’ll relish with a busy weekend coming up.

 

Wednesday Hodgepodge

 

 

1. Aloha! On August 21, 1959 Hawaii officially became a US state. Have you ever been? Upon arrival would you prefer an orchid or a hibiscus to tuck behind your ear?

I have never been to Hawaii.  And while I wouldn’t mind going, it’s not high on our list of places we’d like to go (if for no other reason than we’d have to fly to get there, and DH and I do not like flying – at all).  I believe I’d prefer an orchid. 

 

2. Since we're talking tropical...what's your favorite food or beverage made with pineapple?

Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  It’s not very tropical … but my carrot cake does have pineapple chunks. 

 

3. Do you believe in soul mates? Explain.

As in finding someone who completes me?  Yes, and I have. 

 

4. Share a memory about the house you grew up in.

It was a tiny little house (when I drove by a couple of years ago, I swear it is half as big as it was when I was a kid! ).  My sister and I shared a room … my mom asked us what color we wanted when she was getting ready to paint it.  We chose chartreuse … she tried to persuade us to go with something a little less intense, but we wanted chartreuse (we didn’t know the name, but we liked the color).  So we had a chartreuse room … until the next time she decided to paint … when we chose a fairly dark shade of periwinkle. 

 

5. Are you comfortable with silence?

Very. 

 

6. You spot a giant spider on your bedroom wall...what's your next move? (all spiders are giant, right?)

Get the swatter out and swat it … and then jump back in case I miss.

 

7. My idea of fun does NOT include ______________.

Amusement parks.  I don’t do rides.

 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Our existing counters are being removed this morning.  The installers will be out tomorrow to create the template for the new counters.  We will be without counters (and a sink) for about a week until the new counter is installed and our plumber hooks the water back up.  But the end product will be worth it! 

Catching up on Tuesday

I met DD at the dentist’s office this morning … dental check-up for her and the Ts.  Even T#4 got her teeth checked!  After they finished up at the dentist, T#4 left with me and is spending the afternoon here.  I love time with my Ts, but there’s something special about some one-on-one time. 

Every time I think about getting a full shot of my log cabin quilt, it’s either been overcast or DH is gone.  He was running errands this afternoon, but it occurred to me that I could hang the quilt over the railing on the deck and get an almost-full shot of the quilt (and not have to worry about whether DH is holding it straight, etc. ).

Tomorrow morning, our existing counters will be removed … which means we’ll be without counters/sink for the next week or so (there’s about a week’s time between the making of the template and the installation of the new counters).  I wonder how many times we’ll reach to wash our hands at the (missing) kitchen sink? 

Our cooler temperatures are gone now … the temperatures will be in the lower 90’s for the next several days, so the windows have been closed and the A/C is back on.   

The Weekend Wrap-up

 

 

It’s time to wrap up yet another weekend that seemed to pass way too quickly. 

 

Thursday afternoon, DH and I were out running errands … one of which was stopping at the quilt shop in a nearby town, where I found just the fabric I want for my wall quilt.  I washed and dried the fabric Thursday so I would be ready to go once I finished the log cabin quilt.  Just in time because I got in the last stitch on that log cabin quilt Thursday evening (ok, technically Friday morning) … which meant that I spent Friday afternoon in the sewing room cutting the wall quilt fabric.  I had the windows wide open with a nice breeze blowing through so I felt almost as if I were outside.  Saturday afternoon, I started sewing, and by Sunday afternoon, I had sewn almost 225 of these 2 1/2” blocks (they’ll finish at 2”).Of course, time spent sewing also meant time spent watching NCIS … I’m now in Season 6 … I may make it through all the DVDs in time for the premiere of Season 10.

 

DH and I had more errands to run Saturday morning, including a trip over to St. Louis to tag our slab.  Yep, we’re going to (finally) get granite counters.  As they were returning our slab back to the storage area, a small corner fell off … which we got to bring home.

 

It was another pretty quiet weekend here at Chez Nana … and it’s a good thing because I think we’re going to have a very busy week ahead of us. 

Friday Fragments

 

 

I probably say it every week, but seriously - where did the week go?  I can NOT believe that it’s Friday already! 

 

The most important news is that I’ve finished the log cabin quilt!  I had to stay up until waaaay past my bedtime to finish it, but I got it done.  It took longer than I had anticipated because as I was stitching down the last several inches of binding, I discovered a couple of the “logs” that I’d failed to quilt.  So, when I finished up the binding, I had to quilt those last couple of “logs”.  I threw the quilt into the washer before going to bed so I could put it in the dryer first thing this morning … I love the softness and crinkly look of a washed/dried quilt.  I had hoped to be able to get a picture taken outdoors, in natural light … but DH is gone for the day, so I had to go with the next best thing (the colors are a little washed out).  I’ll try for an outdoors shot tomorrow, but in the meantime:

 

 

We got more rain yesterday!  8/10 of an inch!  Our front yard is actually greening up and may need to be mowed soon.  Our back yard, however, is a whole ‘nother story.     The rains brought in cooler temperatures, too.

 

 

Like I mentioned earlier, DH is gone for the day.  I think I’ll spend my day in the sewing room … I’ve got fabric to cut for my wall quilt and NCIS to watch.