Whew … Slow Sunday Stitching

Finally!  Life is back to normal.  Don’t get me wrong … I had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I had a wonderful visit with my sisters.  But I’m way beyond ready to get back to my normal routine.    I always enjoy company, but I'm always glad, too, when I can get back to my routine.  What can I say?  I'm definitely a creature of habit.  ha!

We had a nice snowfall Wednesday … although it would have been nicer had I been able to stay inside and watch the snow fall while stitching some hexies together.    But the snow didn’t really interfere with our trip to the airport to pick up my sister L. 

Preparing our Thanksgiving meal was a comedy of errors.  I don’t know how, but when DD and I were doing our pre-Thanksgiving preparations on Tuesday, I must have input the wrong size turkey on that online turkey calculator … I determined that our bird needed to cook for 6-1/2 to 7 hours … neither one of us thought anything of it as it was a larger bird than usual.  I don’t know why (other than perhaps it seemed like the turkey was browning up a little more quickly than I was expecting for 7 hours in the oven), but I reran the calculator Thanksgiving morning … and sure enough, it was only supposed to take 4-1/2 to 5 hours.    Not only was the turkey going to be done hours sooner than anticipated (we had family coming as far as 3 hours away – my sister K and her crew), but we could have easily slept another hour or two!!!!  We had prepared our casseroles right after we put the turkey in the oven … but forgot to take them out of the refrigerator as soon as the turkey was done so that they’d be room temperature when they went into the oven … so the sides that should have only baked for 30 minutes had to bake for 60 minutes!  But even with all of that drama, everything turned out perfectly … and our guests all were able to have a nice long visit before we sat down to eat.

We spent Friday at my dad’s, hooking up his new TV.  We moved his “old” TV to his bedroom  and set up the new TV in his living room.  Everything is fine with his new TV, but we had some issues with the old TV.  It’s not connected to a satellite receiver but will draw in satellite programming when tuned to channel 73.  Unfortunately, when the TV is turned back on, it defaults to channel 1.  We gave my dad some easy instructions on how to tune to channel 73 using TV mode and then switch the remote to operate on satellite mode, but he reported this morning that he was unable to get it to work … I’m sure it’s a user issue, as my dad (at 91 y.o.) isn’t the most technologically adept person. 

My sister L left Friday afternoon and my sister K and her crew (her S.O. and her grandson) left earlier this afternoon.  The house certainly seems quiet, but as I said, it sure feels good to get back to our normal routine … and first on my list is to get in some time with needle and thread. 

Speaking of time with needle and thread, that’s on today’s agenda … and tomorrow’s too (that and perhaps putting up our Christmas tree and décor … IF I’m recovered enough by then … it’s been a week since I had any time to just sit down and take it easy – ha!).  As such, I’ll be linking up with Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching tomorrow. 

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy

Slow Stitching Weekend

As I mentioned, T#1 is swimming a pretty important meet this weekend … the regional USA Swimming A-time Championships.  Making A times means that on the 7 events for which he made A time, he ranks in the top 15% of 11-12 year old boys in our region (which includes southern Illinois and eastern Missouri … which includes St. Louis) … pretty impressive, if I do say so myself (I’ll be honest and tell you that I am totally biased when it comes to my Ts).  And I have to say that he did not disappoint his proud-as-could-be grandparents!  He was ranked 16th for his 200 IM Friday evening and dropped 10+ seconds off his personal best to finish 5th!   Here he’s swimming the breast and then the free (forgive the blurriness … I didn’t think to grab my camera … all I had was my iPhone).


Saturday morning he finished better than seeded and dropped time on all 3 events he swam, even qualifying for the finals this evening in his 100 fly (he was seeded 13th and finished 6th).  We couldn’t be prouder of him.

He’s got 3 more events tomorrow, including the 50 fly, his strongest event, where he’s seeded 6th. 



Like I said, this is a slow stitching weekend.  Warm-ups at the meet start about an hour and a half before the first event and T#1 swims in just 3 of the approximately 30 events each day.  That means there’s a lot of sitting and waiting … perfect time to work on some hexies!
And of course, we have some down time here at home (one of the benefits of the new Aquatic Complex built in the nearby small city … we’re only 20 minutes away, so we can go back home to crash), so I’ll be continuing to work on my hexies while I watch the first two periods of the hockey game before we head back for the finals tonight.

Rinse and repeat tomorrow. 



I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy

Home Sweet Home

 

Home is sweet … the weather not so much.  But our favorite people are here, and now so are we. 

 

 

We got home around noon yesterday … we unpacked the car, and I unpacked the luggage and started the laundry while DH went to the store to bring home fixings for lunch.  I finished the laundry by dinner … I guess I should fold it and get it put away, eh?

 

 

We’ve got some T-time coming up today.  Perfect timing!    And if that’s not enough, we’ve got a swim meet this weekend … a pretty important meet.  It’s the USA Swim A Championships for the Ozark region.  It’s a meet that swimmers must swim a set time (or better) to qualify for … the qualifying times are based on the swimmer’s age and gender.  The times are fluid, changing from year to year to meet the following criteria (click on the picture for a larger view):

T#1 made A time for 7 different events … and is seeded 6th for his 50 fly (his strongest event).  So hopefully he’ll qualify for the finals in that event (top 8 swimmers in the preliminary events will advance to finals) … and maybe a few more if he has a strong outing.  T#2 has qualified for several BB events … the championships will be held at the end of February. 

 

 

Does thawing the turkey stress anyone else out like it does me?    I worry about buying it soon enough so that there’s enough time to completely thaw the bird and I worry about buying it too soon so that it sits in the fridge unthawed for too long. Argh!

 

 

The day before we left for “paradise”, I tried to print something from my new laptop … it wouldn’t print.  I tried everything I could think of … trying to print from DH’s laptop, trying to print from our iPads, rebooting the printer, rebooting the devices, rebooting the wireless router, reinstalling the printer software.  While we were gone, I researched wireless all-in-one printers and had chosen a highly-rated one that was on sale at a good price. We were all set to run to Best Buy to buy it this morning when I decided to give our current printer one last chance … and of course, it works just fine!  I don’t have a clue what was going on with it before, but I won’t complain about saving a few $$. 

 

 

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy

Reporting live …

 

… from the beach.

 

I’m not sure how much I’ll be blogging until we get home, so I thought I’d touch base while waiting for it to warm up enough to get out on the beach.

 

We got in yesterday … just in time for lunch at one of our favorite little places … I suspect it could might be classified as a “dive”, but let me tell you that if you’re looking for fresh and delicious seafood and don’t mind a no-frills, straight-forward environment, then I know just the place! 

 

As soon as we finished lunch, we checked in at the condo, unpacked and headed straight for the beach.  It turned out to be a lovely day … even nicer than the forecast predicted.  It wasn’t nice enough for shorts and a sleeveless top, at least not for this cold-natured gal, but I was comfortable in a t-shirt and capris. 

 

No trip to the beach is complete without a photo of the sunrise … and although I debated whether I wanted to get out on the beach, I went ahead, figuring that even as chilly as it was, it was probably going to be the warmest morning we’re here … so I’d better go.  And I was rewarded with a gorgeous sunrise … one that my poor photography skills couldn’t do justice.  I was out on the beach for approximately 10 minutes and was able to capture the sun in its progression.  Normally it’s cloudy out on the ocean, so I don’t get a good view of the sun until it’s pretty high in the sky.

On my short walk out the beach, I startled a young deer in the landscaping around the pool … who knew that deer lived on the beach here in Hilton Head? 

 

It’s going to be another nice day today and tomorrow … then that massive cold front moves in.  It won’t be as cold as it is back home, but it’ll be plenty cold enough for me.  So we’re planning on taking advantage of the warm weather while it’s here.  And when the chillier weather comes in, I’ll just remind myself of what DH always says: a chilly day on the beach is still better than a warm day at home (paraphrased). 

 

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy

One Last Thing (or Four) ...

... before we hit the road.

I got T#1's quilt finished!! I got the binding sewn on fairly quickly and had a couple of free hours Thursday afternoon and thought that I'd get a start on sewing the binding down. That went well enough that I decided that I'd get it done so I could gift it before we leave.


Ignore that dot over on the right and the poor lighting conditions ... I had to take this *late* Thursday night after I got the last stitch in and had washed and dried it. We will stop by their house this afternoon after the swim meet to give it to him.

It was a long day at the one-day retreat yesterday. (Note to self: pack the sewing room chair next time! My bottom is still sore ... thank goodness for our stadium seats ... these wooden bleachers don't look very comfortable). I didn't get as much accomplished as I'd hoped ... I don't think I had a very realistic estimation of how long it would take to make a block.


There are almost 60 strips in that 14" block. Obviously this is going to be another long-term project. ;-) I got 1 block finished and a second block almost finished (I need to sew on the final 4 corner strips). A fellow quilter has a project that is her retreat-only project ... this one may be mine.

I'm composing this on the pool deck while we're waiting for the morning session to begin. T#3 swims this morning in 4 events while the two bigs swim this afternoon. Rinse and repeat tomorrow. ;-) This is one time when I'm not frustrated at being so cold-natured ... I'm here in jeans and long-sleeved T and am quite comfortable. ;-)

I've done about all the surreptitious packing/planning I can do. DD plans to give DH her gift tomorrow ... I'm hoping to share my gift for him at the same time so we can pack up tomorrow night and be on the road early Monday morning. It looks like the "polar vortex" will only have a minimal impact on the Hilton Head weather. Even so, I won't be packing my swim suit. ;-)

I'm not sure how much blogging or blog reading I'll be doing until we get back.

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy

Woo Hoo!!

I took the last quilting stitch yesterday afternoon and got the quilt squared up, ready for binding! Guess I’ll be unpacking my sewing machine, as with any luck, I should be able to get the binding sewn on tomorrow … then I can pack it up to take with and stitch the binding down in the condo in the evenings after dinner.  I’ve got the binding strips cut … from the red used for the centers and the narrower border. 



While DH and I watching the hockey game, I put together another ornament … the 4th.  I have one more to put together.  I hope I can remember to stop at Michael’s on my way home from DD’s this evening to pick up some small jingle bells for the wreath … I’ve got the red ribbon. 



DH and I stopped in at the Walgreens Take Care clinic on our way to vote yesterday, hoping that we’d get there in time to avoid a wait … only to discover that there was an hour’s wait.  Thankfully they now schedule appointments … the soonest I could get in was 9:00AM tomorrow.  But at least I'll be getting my flu shot.



I am glad that this election is over, although I’m having a hard time finding local election results.  I do wish I could find a truly objective source for where the candidates stand on more than just one or two hot-topic issues.  It’s so hard to know where the candidates stand with all the negative ads, and it seems like every analysis comes with an agenda (sometimes a not-so-subtle agenda). 



I’m not sure whether I’ll be doing much more blogging before we leave … as I mentioned yesterday, the next several days will be busy ones!  I’m watching the Ts today, sewing on binding, setting aside as much as I can for our trip without DH growing suspicious, flu shot, and dinner with friends tomorrow, an all-day quilt retreat Friday, and a swim meet Saturday and Sunday.  (It seems like it’s all or nothing here at Chez Nana … I either have nothing going on like last week or something going on every day like this week.  )



I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy

Tuesday’s Trivialities

 

I’m continuing to make progress on T#1’s spiral log cabin … I’m a couple of hoops away from turning the corner to the fourth and final side … the side where I started, right in the middle of the borders.  I just might?? get the quilting finished today. 

 

If I do finish the quilting today, I’m not sure that I’m going to push myself to get it bound before we leave … every single day between now and next Monday is full.  Tomorrow I’ll be watching the Ts … Thursday we’ll be having dinner with friends and I’m going to do my best to start getting ready for our trip – surreptitiously, of course! … Friday I have an all-day quilt retreat … Saturday and Sunday is another swim meet … and Monday morning we’ll be hitting the road bright and early.  I’m trying to decide how to share the news of our trip with DH … maybe when we get home Sunday, I’ll tell him so he can pack his own stuff (the clothes he wants to take, his meds, etc.).

 

I’ve got everything all ready to go for the retreat Friday.  I think I have pieced enough blocks for DH’s log cabin (I worked on that at the September retreat), so I think I’m going to start my two color pineapple quilt.  I found 25” foundation papers from a link provided in Amber’s blog.  I cut strips back in June so I could be prepared for my summer retreats, but I never got far enough along to start working on my pineapple blocks.  Of course, I’m reminded of the miniature pineapple blocks I started last year.  I seem to recall planning to stitch up a block a week … obviously that’s fallen by the wayside as I just did a count of my completed blocks … 13.  Ooops!  That’s not even averaging a block a month.    I knew it could be a long term project … I just didn’t expect it to be this long. 

 

Today is election day … DH and I will go vote this morning.  While we’re out, I hope to stop by the Take Care clinic at Walgreens and get my flu shot.  Most doctor’s offices no longer give out shots … I think mine still does, but I’m getting ready to switch doctors (my annual check up is due at the end of the month), so I’m just going to pop in at Walgreens and “get ‘er done”. 

 

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy

Slow Sunday Stitching and Other Stuff

 

 

 

I’m definitely going to be doing some Slow Sunday Stitching today … my plan is to continue to work on the borders on T#1’s spiral log cabin.  I have 1 side fully stitched, another side half stitched, and a quarter of the quilting done on a third side.  As I mentioned yesterday, I plan to take advantage of the extra hour today … with my needle and thread. 

 

 

Our temperatures didn’t get as low as forecast Friday evening … not that it was balmy, but a low of 28 is certainly better than what was forecast … well, sort of.  It didn’t get much warmer last night, but tomorrow should be a pretty nice day – a high in the upper 60s. 

 

 

Is anyone else looking forward to Wednesday as much as I am?  While it won’t be the end of the election coverage, at least we’ll be done with all these political ads. 

 

 

DSIL’s sister posted wedding pictures on Facebook, so I had to grab a few of my Ts.

 

And this one, a candid shot of T#1 with his Nana, just melts my heart when I see his tenderness.

 

 

I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy

Welcome to the Weekend

Voting is now open for the Fall 2014 edition of the Blogger’s Quilt Festival.  If you’re so inclined to vote for my chevron quilt (no pressure … I have no expectations nor do I have any way of knowing who votes for my quilt), just click here.  And don’t forget that there are plenty of beautiful quilts in the other categories, too.



I started quilting the borders on T#1’s spiral log cabin quilt last night (in between answering the door to dole out candy to the trick or treaters).   Since I’m sticking with the straight line quilting, I’m hoping that it won’t take too long to quilt those borders … maybe I can get this finished up before we head to “paradise”. 



DH and I will be celebrating a milestone anniversary in 2017 and are starting to plan something special to celebrate that … we’re thinking about an Alaskan cruise/tour.  If any of you have taken one, can you please share your experiences/recommendations … you can share in your comment or send me an email. 



Don’t forget to turn back your clocks tonight … we get an extra hour to sleep … or in my case, to quilt (I’ve reached the age where my body has determined just how long I can sleep ). 



I hope that whatever you have planned for today includes a little something that brings you joy! Have a great day!
Kathy