Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's Wednesday ... and for a change, I'm going to join in the Hodgepodge. As a charter Hodgepodger who only skipped weeks we were on vacation or when I was taking a blog-cation, I can't believe that I didn't join in the last couple of weeks. Life is just crazy busy sometimes. Hopefully I will go back to being a regular. ;-)  Why not click on the button below and join in the fun.

1. The expression 'mad as a March hare' originated with a fictional character who is distracted and frantic. When were you last 'mad as a March hare' and what was it that made you that way?

I've never read Alice in Wonderland, so I'm unsure whether the March hare was mad (as in certifiable) or mad (as in angry). I certainly hope that I've never been declared certifiable (although my hubby might tell you that there have been moments when he's wondered about that - ha!), but I admit that I have had moments where I've been angry. I confess to having a rather short fuse but I will say that I never stay angry for very long.  I did have a moment of franticness this morning when I couldn't get my laptop or iPad to connect to our wireless printer, even though the printer was connected to the wireless network.  I had a very important document that I had to print prior to leaving for DD's ... yikes!  I finally thought to reboot the router and voila! it printed.  Whew!  Crisis averted, franticness over.

2. Mardi Gras this year falls on Tuesday, March 4th. Have you ever been to Mardi Gras, and if so what did you think? If not, do you have any interest in going?  Purple, green, and gold are the colors of Mardi Gras. Which one is most prevalent in your wardrobe? How about in your home?

I've never been/nor do I have any desire to go to any Mardi Gras celebration (St. Louis has a fairly large celebration in the Soulard area ... unfortunately, the point of the celebration is the same as it is in New Orleans <sigh>).  I'm not sure that any of those colors can be found in my closet.  In the furniture showroom my couch and chair read as the nicest combination of sage green and tan/brown ... alas in our living room, it just reads as brown.  :-(  So while it doesn't appear that I have any green in my home, I'm supposed to!  :-)

3. Are you old fashioned?

Yes, I believe that I am.  I believe that children thrive in a traditional family of a birth mother and birth father (don't be hating on me - I was a single mom for 10 years). I believe that marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman.  I believe that undergarments should not be seen, that women should dress in a manner appropriate for their age, that men should be chivalrous, that good manners have not gone out of style ... is that enough "proof"?  ;-)  Although I'm old fashioned in many (most?) regards, I don't think of myself as a fuddy-dud.  And least I hope I'm not.

4. Do you carefully plan your vacations, or do you prefer the days to be more spontaneous?

I admit that I am close to being an over planner on our vacations (where we'll stop en route, where we'll stay at our destination, etc.) ... but once we arrive at our destination, I definitely prefer to keep our days completely spontaneous. 

5.  March is National Sauce Month...what's your favorite sauce, and what do you most often top with this sauce?

My favorite sauce is the rich, creamy garlic sauce that our favorite restaurant on the Hill in St. Louis serves on their Tutto Mare and Seafood Ravioli. Yum!  (I don't know how many days' worth of calories are in that sauce, and I don't want to know!)

6.  What's something that easily brings a tear to your eye?

Emotional movies or commercials involving motherhood ... like the P&G Olympic commercial or Steel Magnolias.  

7. If you could own any sports team, which one would it be and why?

The St. Louis Cardinals. In part because I've been a fan for well over 58 years, but also because they've been a successful franchise, second only to the storied New York Yankees in the number of World Series they've won.  

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

It's a good thing we didn't go to Centralia to see T#2 swim on Sunday because they cancelled Sunday's events, postponing them until this coming Sunday.  I do believe I might have been as mad as a March hare had we driven all that way under those treacherous conditions only to discover that the meet had been cancelled.  ;-) T#1's meet went on as scheduled ... I can't imagine how many swimmers showed up.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Kathy

In Like a Lion

 

I’m not sure just how many days into March we need to go before that old saying “in like a lion, out like a lamb” is no longer applicable, but I suspect that the 2nd is still included.  And our weather today is very lion-like.  The freezing rain and sleet have been coming down for a good 3+ hours … and is forecast to continue for another 3+ hours … at which time, our precipitation will be snow.  We’re due for a total of 6-8” of “stuff”, with cold temperatures and strong winds.  If that it’s lion-like, I sure don’t know what is.  ha!  I’m certainly looking forward to some lamb-like weather, that’s for sure!

 

Needless to say, we won’t be attending the last day of the swim meets scheduled for this weekend.  T#1 was to swim 2 events (including the event that he had the best chance to advance to the finals) at the Ozark Division I championships (an hour to the west), and T#2 had 4 events at the YMCA League’s regional championships (and hour and a half to the east).  Both meets are still on, but DD and DSIL wisely opted to skip today. 

 

I’d say that today is going to be a good day to stay inside and spend a little time with my needle and thread.  I’m making some good progress on my Storm at Sea … I’d like to get it finished before I start on DD’s herringbone quilt, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to make that.    The Cardinals game is on TV this afternoon, and the Blues game is on this evening … so I’m set for quilting programming.

 

These last two weeks have been looooooong weeks here at Chez Nana.  DH had to make a trip to the Urgent Care Center two weeks ago, and the physician he saw referred him to a dermatologist … to get a lesion checked … the dreaded word “melanoma” was mentioned.  We chose to see a dermatologist at the Barnes Jewish Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis … when melanoma is a possibility, we didn’t want to take any chances.  Praise God the report was excellent … the lesion is benign and he doesn’t need any follow-up care.  But let me tell you that I’m rethinking my plan of soaking up the sun on our trip to Hilton Head in May! 

 

After we finished up at the dermatologist’s office, we headed to a couple of new-to-me quilt shops in St. Louis.  At the first shop, I picked up several pieces of fabric, a few notions and signed up for an applique class and a bus trip to the National Quilt Show in Paducah.  At the other shop, I picked up a few more pieces of fabric.  I wanted to share a picture of the gorgeous fabric I bought, but we haven’t seen the sun since I got home with them, so the colors are NOWHERE close to true in the pictures I took.     Trust me when I say that they’re scrumptious … and if I can remember, I’ll take a picture if/when we ever see the sun again.

 

After a snack at Panera (known as St. Louis Bread Co. in this area), we headed over to T#1’s swim meet.  That’s him in lane 6 (counting from the lane furthest away). 

 

T#3 made a piece of art for his Nana last week … and I’ve GOT to show it off!It says “I love Jesus and T1 T2 T4 Mom Dad … and Nana …”   

 

We upgraded our cell phones and switched providers yesterday … thanks to a generous offer by DSIL to add us to their “family plan” … even with the buyout to terminate our plan with our old provider, we’re going to save a LOT of money on our cell phone bill.  I finally got DH into the 21st century … we both upgraded to the iPhone 5C.  No matter how many times I told him that the iPhone is essentially a small iPad with phone capabilities, he’s having a little trouble figuring things out. 

 

I’m linking up to Kathy’s Slow Sunday Stitching … why not head over to view some delicious eye candy? 

 

Have a blessed Sunday!

Kathy

SOS

I need some help from those of you who are quilters. 

My daughter has asked if I would be willing to make her a herringbone quilt. Here’s her inspiration:

Source

DD is wanting to make it from a solid gray and a very soft white.  It’s 5” HSTs, so piecing it and then quilting it shouldn’t be inordinately difficult.  What I need help with is a good source for solids in a fairly wide array of colors … since I’ll be hand quilting it, I’m looking for cottons that will quilt up easily.  Even if you could point me in the direction of a specific line of fabrics, I’d appreciate it.   

Thanks ever so much, my friends!
Kathy

Slow Sunday Stitching

Whatever this bug is, it sure is a strange one.  I wake up in the morning feeling like I’ve been run over, I hit a spot in the afternoon where I’m feeling much better, and by dinnertime I once again start to feel like I’ve been run over.  I haven’t taken my temperature, but I wonder if I’m running a bit of a fever as I have spells where I’m feeling way too warm … trust me, the only time that happens is if the temperature is about 95 degrees and the A/C isn't on!  ha!  Thankfully this bug isn’t keeping me from some time with my needle and thread … English paper piecing is fairly mindless, so working with my hexies doesn’t overtax my brain. 

Yesterday I managed to finish up the MWFG block I started last week and complete another block.  Hand quilting is slow, but it seems speedy when compared to EPP … but there’s something addicting about working with those little pieces of paper.Forgive the poor quality picture … I took that this morning when I was up waaaaay before the crack of dawn.  I started a third, but when I sewed together two wrong hexies, ripped out the stitches and then proceeded to sew them back together, I knew that it was time to be done.   

I took a break in my stitching yesterday … and spent some time reading some quilting blogs.  Reading blogs always runs the risk of chasing a few rabbit trails … yesterday was no exception, but this time it led me to the discovery of a quilt shop in St. Louis that’s a mere 45 minutes away, as opposed to an hour away.  Plus, this shop offers classes, a retreat, Friday night sew-ins and bus trips to Quilt Week in Paducah!  45 minutes is a bit of a trip, but it sounds like it might be worth the drive!

Another thing I’ve noticed with this bug is that it’s definitely affecting my sleep … I fall asleep easily enough … I just can’t seem to stay asleep.  Friday morning I was up at 3:30, yesterday at 4:30 and today at 4:00.  At least I was up in time to watch the gold medal hockey game. 

I plan to take it easy again today … and spend some time in my recliner, slow stitching hexies.  Hopefully I’ll have a couple more blocks under my belt by the end of the day.  I’m linking up to Kathy’s Quilts for Slow Sunday Stitching … if you want to see what everyone else is up to, just click on the button.


Have a blessed Sunday!
Kathy

Weekend Musings

As I mentioned Thursday, we had severe thunderstorms move through the area.  Any time we get unseasonably warm temperatures (like the 74 degrees we got Thursday), we know to expect bad weather.  And we were not “disappointed” Thursday, although the storms weren’t the culprit this time … it was the strong winds that followed on the heels of the thunderstorms.  Places in our area reported winds as high as 60+ mph.    Needless to say there was plenty of damage caused by those winds.  DD’s neighbor’s freestanding pergola was toppled, landing just inches from one of DD’s landscaping beds.  On my drive home yesterday, I saw several trees that had been uprooted.  And there was damage here in our neighborhood.  One neighbor will need a new roof.

Another will need to have the ceiling fan on their deck repaired/replaced.

(Click on the pictures if you'd like a better look)

I feel that I need to clarify something else I mentioned on Thursday ... I wasn't complaining one little bit about my busyness keeping me from spending time doing what I wanted when I wanted.  As much as I love working with needle and thread, it doesn't even begin to come close to bringing me as much joy as spending time with DD and my Ts!!    So I gladly give up stitching time in order to have some T-time!    

My weekend plans have certainly changed!  I had planned to watch the USA men’s hockey team play Sunday morning … instead I’ll be watching them play today … for bronze instead of gold.    It’s hard to believe that the Olympics are almost over … I’m already looking forward to the 2016 summer games … all the more because we have swimmers in the family now.   

I’m sure that most of you have heard the saying “Sharing is caring” … I’m here to say maybe NOT!  At least not when it’s an upper respiratory bug that’s being shared!  Thankfully I don’t think I’ve got it quite as severely as DD and the Ts, but even a mild case is no fun.  I’m going to take it easy this weekend in hopes that I can keep this just a mild case … and can be back to normal by Monday.

In spite of my puny state, I will be spending my weekend stitching … as much as I’d like to get back to work on my Storm at Sea, I think that basting my hexies is a better choice, given the URI-induced brain fog I’m in.    I’ve got 13 Martha Washington’s Flower Garden blocks completed … I plan to set them in a tumbling block setting to make a lap-sized quilt … I have no idea how many blocks I need to do that … maybe next week, I’ll lay 3 blocks out on the floor to get a rough idea how big a block that creates and use it as a rough guide on how many blocks I will need. 

Have a wonderful weekend!
Kathy

A Little Bit of Random

When I was working, I longed for the carefree days of retirement ... when I could spend all day doing whatever I wanted.  So just where are those days?  Seriously I cannot complain ... my busy days are usually days spent with DD and my Ts, and while I may not have whole days to do whatever I want, I can usually manage to get a little time each day to spend some time with my needle and thread ... best of both worlds in my estimation.  ;-) And that's been the case this week.  We had T#2 and #3 here yesterday afternoon.  Today I stayed a little longer at DD's since the bug that took down T#3 and #4 last week has taken down T#1 and is threatening to take down Mama.  By the time we have dinner, I'm too tired to put in any stitches on my Storm at Sea ... the mindless work of basting hexies for my Martha Washington's Flower Garden is perfect for a couple of hours of watching the Olympics before calling it a night. 

While basting a few hexies last night while watching the men's hockey game (recorded from the mornining's broadcast), I noticed that my basting thread matches my scissors!

There will be more stitching (hopefully on my Storm at Sea) tonight as I'm recording the women's hockey gold medal game today.  I don't know about you all, but I'll miss the Olympics when they come to a close on Sunday.  I'm certainly looking forward to the summer Olympics in 2016, now that we have some swimmers in the family.  

I know that many locales lay claim to the saying that if you don't like the current weather, wait a little while and it'll change. It's certainly true here in southwestern Illinois ... we had freezing rain/ice on Monday and on Tuesday we had a high of 60. Today we're going to have more springlike weather ... warmer temperatures and severe thunderstorms (which have just moved in, bringing some small hail with).  No worries, though, winter will be back in full force next week, with single-digit lows and some more snow.  

Have a great day!
Kathy

Slow Sunday Stitching

There hasn't been much slow stitching this weekend ... at least not as much as I would like. I walked with my friend/neighbor yesterday morning, and I celebrated T#1's birthday yesterday evening. Today is his friend party, and he insisted that he wanted me to be there ... I realize that this may well be the last year that he is cool with having his Nana at a friend party, so I wouldn't pass on this for anything!

I did get some piecing done on my Martha Washington's Flower Garden yesterday afternoon. I finished piecing one block and got a start on another. 

I had originally planned to make this as a wall quilt, but I discovered that I love EPP too much to stop ... so I've picked up a few more pieces of some Kansas Troubles a couple of weeks ago and will keep going.  ;-)  It might take me a long time to get this finished, but if I wanted fast, I'd go to Target and buy a quilt. The process is as every bit as enjoyable to me as the finished product. ;-)

I hope to be able to do a little more slow stitching tonight after the party while watching the hockey game ... I'm recording this morning's game as we'll be leaving for church in about 15 minutes, so I won't be able to see the end of this game. It's hard to imagine that it will have as an exciting finish as yesterday's, which was made even more exciting by the fact that TJ Oshie plays for "my" Blues!  ;-)

Have a blessed Sunday!

Kathy