bits & pieces

There's a very old saying that goes something like, "whom the gods would destroy, they first make crazy." Well, just call me crazy... Seriously, what in the name of sweet mercy was I thinking. Never again. I love paper piecing for small works but this was just plain nuts. The one good thing about it is that it creates such complete tedium that you can fall asleep while doing it. After I posted yesterday I was determined to get somewhere with this and I did. What a mess all over the kitchen floor and I will have to get the tweezers and go over all the bitty bits, but I made some headway.

In the bin with this was that little 9-patch I finished a while back and never put the binding on. I managed to finish that just before I fell into a coma last night. .

We are having a stormy day here. High winds and heavy rain predicted for later. Tomorrow is supposed to be somewhat better. Last night Bob and I went out into the side yard around midnight with flashlights. There was an unhappy threesome of raccoons shrieking at each other. No doubt a failed amorous adventure. In all our years here we couldn't recall such a wild and crazy fight and for cripes sake it was 25 feet up in a very thin not to sturdy tree. The lights were coming on all over the neighborhood to see where the hell the racket was coming from. Most times that we have this sort of thing it just sounds more like cats fighting. Last night was like someone being murdered in the yard next door. They didn't even stop when we shone a very bright flashlight on them. Ain't love grand?

Further signs of spring- the farmer's market is back in the village. Haven't been yet and the bigger market down by the harbor is about due to open. Fresh veg to look forward to. Some fish and lobster too!!

I'm going to sweep up this mess and take a nap. Back soon.

Anniversary quilt-part deux

Here's a cautionary tale for today boys and girls. Never put off till next year what you could have done ten years ago. Or something like that. This is half of the quilt I started about ten years ago as an anniversary quilt for our 25th. Roger really loved these fabrics and enjoyed buying them for me over the course of our frequent trips to Lancaster and Maine and other places. He teased me from time to time that it probably wouldn't be finished in our life time. Little did we imagine through the joking and laughter how prophetic that would actually be. I can across its other half recently and then last weekend James was in the basement and came across a big bin that held a number of supplies including fabric, blocks, and accessories. I remember at some point telling him to just put the bin in the basement till we were finished with the move to the sewing room last year. The I completely forgot about it. Now and then I have wondered where a certain thing had gotten to like my multiple rotary cutters and box of small safety pins and certain blocks. Talk about too much stuff. I am hanging my head in shame.

Anyway, he came upstairs and reminded me about that bin in the basement. I just looked at him and was sorry to say that I had completely forgotten about it. Into the basement I went to see what was there. Like a kid in a candy shop I opened it and was thrilled to see many things I had forgotten about. Among those things were multiple rows of these blocks all sewn and waiting to be put together. think sometimes about the last few months and feel like I fell into a coma of some kind not really caring about much of anything. All of these wonderful things staring back at me in that bin, like these blocks, was sort of like waking up or coming home.

Needless to say, I put the blocks together and now I need to join the two halves. The only bad part about it is that there are miles of paper to rip off the back. Paper piecing always seems like such a good idea and sometimes it is...but not this time. Today I sat and ripped about half the blocks and in the quiet I thought about Roger and how much I wish I had finished this and given it to him to sleep in peace under.

Moral of the story...don't wait till it's too late. Life will come along and kick your ass.

Have a beautiful weekend-hug it up!! I'm going for a walk and look at the green popping out everywhere.

Autograph blocks

Gerrie's poem made me laugh so much. See yesterdays comments. So funny.

I can't imagine how this entire morning got away from me but sleeping in till nearly 9 may have something to do with it. Last nights loud and scary storms may have too. Love those spring showers and May flowers but enough with the lightning and thunder already.

Meanwhile it's almost noon and I've only got 3 blocks to show for it. These are for Victoria over at Bumbles Beans. On a sadder, related note, there is a young boy missing from her daughter's school in Manhattan and here is the info. I hope by the time I get this blogged he is found safe and sound. There seems to be so much horrible news around here lately. Surely something good will come of this. Fingers crossed, prayers said. You say some too.

UPDATE_Alex was found-all is well.

I am running even later than usual because I took an hour out of my already late morning to go to the post office to mail my taxes(grrr) and then I took myself to the beach to see the wild waves and think about ways to be more healthy and avoid having to pay that much in taxes next year(holy smoke). I really wanted to walk the boardwalk but the mist was coming down heavily and it began to rain steadily minutes after I arrived. It was beautiful to see but very damp and cold. Tomorrow is supposed to be better. I'll try again then. We have had a lot of wet weather and I'm sure that once the sun returns it will warm up fast. Trips to the beach remind me of Roger so much. In a good way though. It was something we often did on days when it was too wet to do much else outdoors.

Anyone watch the Good Wife last night? Is that the last episode of the season?? Hope not. Don't want to wait till Sept to find out what happens but they often do that to us don't they? I got the second season of Nurse Jackie. Watched most of it Sunday night until way too late. What a great show that is.

Back to work...Talk soon.

Back again...

Some sweet spring flowers for you all. First, thanks to everyone who sent me messages, both private and on the blog, and checked up on me during these past weeks. I suspected all along that once the terrible winter ended I would snap out of it and feel human again. Roger's death and this past winter-from-hell really caused a storm of the century in my head and heart. Gradually, as the sun returned and the garden began to green-up I felt like a return to the living. The first sign of that came one recent morning when the window next to my bed was open enough for me to hear the birds in the thicket. That was followed by a chipmunk sighting in the yard and suddenly I felt like it was worth getting out of bed again. My family and friends have pulled me out of the gloom more times than I can count. Of course, a little Lucy loving always helps. Such a joyful little darling.

Yesterday I pulled put some fabrics for an autograph block for V of Bumble Beans. If you haven't gone over to see what she's up to grab a cuppa and spend a couple of minutes there. Very liberating. Speaking of liberating, I had a wonderful conversation on the phone with Debra of Debra's Design Studio(link on the right). That really perked me up. She put out a call for nine-patch blocks for a quilt to be auctioned for charity. It came out so lovely and she is now quilting it on her long arm machine. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

One of the most unfortunate side effects of these past months is how much I comforted myself with comfort food. Everything is tight and I feel like a slug. A return to Curves is on the list of things to do. I need to get moving again.

On that note, it's time to get dressed and get out to do some errands so I can get back before the thunderstorms predicted for later. On the list of good things I am enjoying lately, the Kindle is at the top. I have read more in the past weeks than all of last year. Problems with my vision caused me to cut back on the reading and he Kindle allows me to make the font large enough to be comfortable for me. I have to say that it's the best thing to come along in a long time. I got the case with a light so I can be anywhere and see clearly. LOVE!!Between that and Netflix I have kept myself entertained during the worst winter ever.

OK, off to the store, the Library to see Terry, the bank for a loan to buy gas and running between the raindrops back home to work on some sewing. Thnaks for stopping by.

Back tomorrow

Hi All! I'll be back tomorrow. I wasted so much time this morning setting up the new look that I ran out of time for the important stuff...like actually writing something. I've been up to a bunch of things and have finally dusted off the machine and fondled some fabric. I'm working on an autograph block for my friend V of Bumble Beans(in sidebar). Playing with the adorable Lucy and generally trying to get on with life. Things will never be the same but they will be alright-just different. The sun is shining and the trees are greening. Life goes on....