That Was Fun!

And hectic, and exhausting… but most of all FUN!

I returned home earlier this past week from Massachusetts where I had the opportunity to work the 10th Anniversary of the Massachusetts Quilt Shop Hop at Southampton Quilts!

I realized as I made my way north that this was my first road trip since I busted up my knee in February.  It was so good to be ‘on the road’ again – I love to travel and especially love to get in the car and drive.  (Yes I went to Hawaii this summer to hug on a new grandbaby… but I didn’t have to drive to get there so it doesn’t count as a ‘road trip’.)

I am quite happy to report that my knee handled the weekend very well!  Yes it was a little tired but overall I was very pleased that all my hard work to get my knee and legs stronger paid off… well that and those medical compression stockings I recently bought.  I never thought I’d say I loved anything that resembled panty hose on steroids – but I love these things!  I had practically no swelling in my knee after being at the shop for some really long days! 

I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed seeing so many quilty friends up there!  It did my heart and soul good to see each and everyone of them – I truly feel blessed to know them.

I so miss everyone from the shop – the owners Nancy and Maureen, and the other teachers Beth, Pam, and Dale.  Each of these ladies are so creative and bring their unique style to the quilting craft – but even more important is that they are all just wonderful folks!  And I don’t want to miss mentioning Gail (a long time shop customer, quilty friend and new shop hop recruit).  She survived working on Friday (always the busiest day) and showed up again on Saturday for more!  LOL

It was also great to spend some time with my kids… I haven’t seen them since they came down here in the Spring – so I was overdue for some hugs!

OK – so what else is going on…

I found a lovely large paisley to make another 4 Patch Stacked Posie…. mmmm pretty!

I’m going to be making (with my neighbor and sister) Sauerkraut on Monday.  I’ll see if I can remember to take some pictures of the process.  In 6 – 8 weeks it will be ready to can.

Oh – I don’t know about you but I have to work a bit to try new things.  In my mind pumpkin belongs in pie.  Coconut milk isn’t anything I would have considered as an ingredient.  But my daughter last spring made a delicious soup – with pumpkin, chicken, coconut milk and curry as the main ingredients.  I’ve had this soup on my mind recently – been craving it actually.  I’ve looked at several recipes and they all use a variety of things so I figured I could just wing it.  So I threw a couple chicken breasts, a quart of chicken broth, chopped onion, and some pumpkin puree in the crock pot yesterday morning.  When I got home later I added the coconut milk and went to add the spices.  I had NO curry powder… none, zip, nadda!  How can I have pumpkin curry soup without curry?  LOL  So I added a little of this, that, and the other in there and came out with an acceptable tasting concoction for dinner.  Curry is on my grocery list.

And because I’m all about sharing the things I learn along the way…

…the problem with using a low sodium chicken broth is that it does not have enough salt in it!! 

An Update in Pictures…

We  went to the farmers market a couple Saturdays ago… and I made cabbage & sausage (no pics), tomato pies and a couple zucchini casseroles (no pics).

 

Here is a family update… Miss K is playing volleyball, 

Kai is excited about Halloween (to infinity and beyond),

and Keanu has been sharing his smile more and more.  I sure miss that sweet face – actually I miss all those sweet faces!

My husband picked grapes off our vines… two 5 gallon buckets of grapes!  And there were many, many more left on the vines.  We have gotten no grapes the past 3 years - didn’t the vines know I wasn’t canning this year?  Good thing my husband helped pick through them… I washed and cooked them down and then strained the juice.  Two days later I canned 3 1/4 gallons of grape juice.  It’s concentrated so we add some water when we drink it and down the road if I feel like making jelly I can use some of the juice for that.

I made some granola this past week… all natural, organic, gluten free, yadda, yadda, yadda, healthy for you and oh so yummy!  That filled a 2 quart jar and two pint jars.

I made some churn dash blocks out of some fat quarters that were sent to me when I was in prison recovering from my busted knee – Thanks Nancy!

A long while back Lori from Dakota City Quilter showed some blocks from a pattern called Swoon Blocks that uses 2 fat quarters and some background fabric for each block – they finish at 24 inches!  I have cut out for 6 blocks (rather than the 9 from the pattern) and this one is ready for final assembly.

And last but not least… My favorite oldest girl went to the Navy Ball with her favorite handsome Navy fella… ain’t she pretty! 

Well that about brings me up to date… except to say… I’ll be on the road later this week for my Annual Fall Pilgrimage to MA.  I am headed up to work the Shop Hop at Southampton Quilts for the weekend and visit with my other two favorite kids…

Oh and my knee… I’m very happy with my progress since I’ve been back – still working it daily at the gym and doing the extra ART therapy… but it’s all been worth the effort!  It isn’t perfect but it’s getting closer!

Searching High–Searching Low…

Searching for my Quilting Mojo…

I guess I have the quilters equivalent to writers block…

Hopefully it’s just a matter of my having had little to no exposure to fabric over the past 7 months.

Yes – I am now 7 months post surgery!  Last week I went to see a different Orthopedic Dr. to get a fresh opinion of where I am and where I can expect to go with my knee.  He said that he thought I was doing well.  He said that these injuries take a good year of healing before you know just what limitations you will have long term or before you would consider any surgery to remedy anything.  I have been seeing a Chiropractor who uses the ART (Active Release Technique) Therapy (Ortho Dr. thought this was great!).  This type of therapy has been a great help in getting my knee working again.  It’s not just the knee joint and the tendons there that need work… it’s also the muscles (especially the quad) in my thigh that need attention to get back to working correctly.  I’m not an athlete but I want to be able to stand without my leg hurting and walk (faster and further) and hopefully without a limp.  I’m very optimistic that I can get there.

The quilting… well as I said I’m in a big slump.  I did go into the quilt shop Thursday to pick out fabric for the November Calendar Quilts and I also worked the Finish It Friday class and I went back on Saturday to pick out for the December quilt.  I was tired but it felt good.

The quilt shop here is closed this next week for the Town Fair… the streets around the shop are blocked off so it’s a vacation week for the owner.  After that I’ll go back to working twice a week (4 hour days) and see how that is on my knee.  There is a local Shop Hop that runs for the first 2 weeks of October and the Shop Hop up in MA is the weekend of the 15th.  I am really happy to say I will again be coming up to MA to work at Southampton Quilts that weekend! 

I am hoping that this increased exposure to fabric and all the lovely quilty folks will reawaken my desire to make quilts!

I’ll never forget That Blue…

That morning was the most perfect late summer, early fall morning in New England.

It was crisp out… not yet cold – just a hint of the winter to come.  The air was dry and the sky was crystal clear – not even a whisper of a cloud. The sun was gloriously bright - adding just the right amount of warmth.

And That Blue… it was rich and deep – the most beautiful color a sky can be.

Later as I pondered the events of that day I remember thinking “how could something so horrible come out of that glorious sky?”

Eventually…

Eventually I’ll get my body clock adjusted to this eastern time zone!

I arrived home Wednesday afternoon after a long flight with not nearly enough sleep.  I blame my long re-adjustment on the fact that I was gone 5 1/2 weeks… I don’t believe my age has anything to do with it… stop it – I heard that snickering.

I had a wonderful visit with my daughter and grandkids… such a pleasure to watch as everyone settles into the new routine of having a baby in the house again.  My daughter asked the last week I was there if there was something I wanted to do… maybe go to the beach? see some of the Hawaiian sights?  I told her that I had done everything I wanted to do – be right there with her and the kids and hold the baby.  I got a sun tan on my feet from walking down to the park with her and the kids and we had gotten out to eat some good seafood (really good seafood) at a couple different places while I was there.  So I was happy… well as happy as I could be about having to leave.

And oh my – that little one… well take a look – he’s not so little.  Here he is helping me pack on the day I left.

Actually I was trying to see if he would fit in my carry on bag… but he was too big.

Here is a video of Kai explaining how he fell down the stairs and bumped his head and had to go to the hospital.  He had a minor concussion so we just had to keep him quiet (HA HA HA – keep a 2 1/2 year old boy quiet) for a few days.  Honestly I was ready to go buy duct tape…

Describing his fall down the stairs

Fortunately he was only about 3/4’s of the way up to the first landing – goofing off and jumping like a frog.  I was already on the landing when I heard him jump up and looked back to see him tumbling backwards down the carpeted stairs.  His mom was in the living room and heard him and when she looked up all she saw was his landing at the bottom… banging his noggin.  He seemed to be fine but we were worried about his neck – so he and his mom spent 5 hours in the ER… on her birthday… Happy Birthday Mommy!

Tuesday I have to be back on Eastern Time… I need to get back to the gym and I have all kinds of appointments this week.

No, No, No…

I’ve always loved 2 year olds… they are just sooo funny!

I was teaching Kai to sing ‘Where is Thumbkin?’  Then the other day as we were walking into a store he was asking me to sing the Pumpkin song with him… ?  After a bit of back and forth and watching his hands we figured out that he was asking for ‘Where is Thumbkin?’.  I emphasized that it was Thumbkin… see my thumb… Thumbkin… and then we sang as we walked.

Later in the car he again asked for the Pumpkin song…

Mom: Kai… it’s Thumbkin

Kai: No, No, No… this is a guy… this is Pumpkin

Mom:  Kai – look – this is your thumb (wiggles' thumb in the air) – this is Thumbkin

Kai: No, No, No… this is a guy (also holds one thumb up in the air)… this is Pumpkin (holds other thumb up).

Mom (chuckling):  Kai – see my thumb?  This is THUMBKIN!

Kai: No, No, No… THIS is a guy (again holds one thumb up in the air)… THIS is PUMPKIN (holding up other thumb)!

Mom & Granny (both laughing and holding thumbs in the air)  KAI… this is a thumb… (wiggles thumbs for emphasis) THIS is THUMBKIN!

Kai: NO, NO, NO! (now annoyed that both Granny and Mom are so STUPID)… THIS is a GUY (also wiggles thumb up in the air)… THIS IS PUMPKIN (holding up other thumb)!!

…of course by this point both his Mom and I are laughing like the idiots the boy thinks we are.

So it’s official… this is a guy (holds one thumb up) and this is Pumpkin (holds other thumb up)!

Being Prepared…

You know the planning for a long flight to Hawaii takes a bit of thought.

I wanted to be comfortable – so I choose to wear a pair of black light weight knit work out pants, a sleeveless top and a long sleeve very, very light weight knit cardigan.  Because my left foot is still a bit swollen my slip on shoes were the perfect choice.

I charged all my electronic devices, updated my iPod, downloaded a book to read, downloaded a book to listen to, and brought along a Sudoku book and mechanical pencil.

I was all set…

Until the lens fell out of my glasses…

Is it some sort of twisted evil plan that makes an eyeglass manufacturer design glasses that have the screw holding the lens in place inserted from the bottom up?  What’s with that?

And so about an hour into my 9 hour flight… I couldn’t see to read my book or play any games on my iPod.  I could play Sudoku in the book I brought but couldn’t see my little number notes in the corners of the blocks.  I did listen to my audio book – but that made me sleepy and I had to keep backing up the story.

So I decided to sit and Ponder for awhile… then I remembered the extra pair of reading glasses I had packed in with my makeup bag.

Mental note:  Pack an eyeglass repair kit for the next long trip.

Any frustration over my glasses was quickly resolved upon arrival.

The little boy being a little boy…

A very happy big sister…

And a laundry helper that seems to be sleeping on the job!

Aloha!

Saying Aloha…

We have a new grandbaby…

Say Aloha to Keanu…

His older brother just loves holding him…

Everyone is doing well – the kids are especially excited with their new brother!  I’ll have more pictures when my daughter gets her cable service established.  You see - they moved down the street to a bigger house.  Yeah – she went into labor the day the movers came.  LOL – when it rains - it pours… even in paradise.

My quilty weekend was so much fun… we had a great time and got a lot of sewing done.  Our Challenge Quilts were all wonderful – I of course don’t have any pictures so when I do get some I’ll post them.

I worked on a New York Beauty for a shop sample that was printed on foundation fabric.  Of course no matter how many times I looked at it and rearranged… I’m still not excited about the color dispersion.  Oh well.  I think I’d like to do something like this again but using a paper foundation that could be removed.

I also got the Sept. & Oct. Calendar Quilts done…

I’ll have to update that page but that will have to wait.

Now I’ll say Aloha… because my bags are packed and I’m headed to Hawaii first thing Friday morning!  There are 3 grandkids there for me to snuggle… oh and I’m gonna work on my tan too!

Eating Peas…

I had to laugh when the President – in talking about getting this whole debt ceiling issue resolved – said it was something that just needed to be done…  “So we might as well do it now: pull off the Band-Aid, eat our peas. Now is the time to do it. If not now, when?"

The USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council’s response was… “We take President Obama’s comment on the need to ‘eat our peas’ as a reference to the First Lady’s push to get all Americans to eat a more healthy diet as part of the Let’s Move campaign. Eating peas has two clear benefits: they can help close the nutritional loopholes in your diet, and preparation isn't taxing! If tasty and nutritious meals featuring peas are served more frequently in the White House and in the cafeterias of both Houses of Congress, it will contribute to a balanced diet, if not a balanced budget. Eating more lentils couldn’t hurt, either.”  (Closing loopholes… not taxing… balanced budget… very clever!)

That made me laugh too – they could have had their nose out of joint but instead chose the higher road… saw the glass as half full… and made lemonade out of lemons pea soup out of dried peas!

Anyway… I’m at the ‘eat my peas’ point.  My quilty friends will be arriving here day after tomorrow - I can stall no longer… I have to sort thru the remaining clutter and get it put away, the compost heap pile of misc. laundry needs to be caught up, and books and magazines need to be collected and put away.  Then I think I’ll call it done… good news is that I know my friends don’t come to visit or inspect my house.  They will understand that I didn’t wash my curtains because I’m not climbing a ladder to take them down or put them up… and as long as no one writes in the dust – it won’t be noticed either!  LOL

Here’s a picture to ponder… kinda looks like farm fields from the air don’t ya think?

University Update–Calendar Quilts

Finally I’ve gotten some pictures of the May thru August Calendar Quilts.

Individual pictures are posted on the Calendar Quilts Page… just click the link on the right or on the link above.

All of these still need to be quilted… something that won’t happen any time soon.

May & June… I especially like the Ants and Watermelon on June.

July and August…

Four more to go…