A Little Finn-ish & Village stuff

I'm really posting these shots for Finn of Pieces from my Scrapbag. If you haven't seen some of the quilts that Finn has been putting together from orphan blocks that so many people have sent her go on over and have a look. I hesitate to call myself a quilter of any particular style. I'm into whatever floats my boat at a particular time. For a long while I made Amish reproduction type miniatures and wall-hangings. That came about because when I saw them in PA Amish country I fell in love and knew I couldn't ever afford to buy one. So I dove in headfirst and decided to try my hand. This, of course, gave me a new-found appreciation for the work done by real Amish women with actual needlework abilities. Awesome work and work I can only dream of since I also found that I'm just too lazy to make anything as perfect. I made a few that are just fine. People say they are very beautiful-my family loves them-but I know where the Amish leaves off and the Dee begins. Anyway, all of this is by way of saying that I really admire so many of my fellow blog ladies who pick a style and then go about perfecting it. Finn is one of these. She has taken these mismatched blocks so nearly child-like in their delightfully playful style and colors that are so far off the mark together that they come full circle to look wonderful together. That's a gift. That's a woman with a natural and playful talent. I look forward to seeing what she's up to daily. Here are a couple of simple things I did a long time ago-before I knew better and during a time when I just wanted to try stuff. The blocks are all very small-2, 2 1/2 inch or so. In retrospect, I wish I had known about more primitive work and tea dying because I now see what doesn't go with the casual doll quilt primitive look. Too bright borders for one thing! I should stick those in a tea bath and see what comes of them.

On another front-I sent out my crack photography team to the village yesterday(Hi Honey!) to take some harbor shots. It was a hazy hot day so everything looks like it's in the mist. He did get a good shot of the church where our Food Pantry is. It's a very pretty church and they are kind enough to let us use the basement for our needs. that little door thingy on the right side down low there...that's the Food Pantry entrance. Try lugging groceries down that thing sometime. It's better than a morning at Curves. Here's shot of the entrance to the park looking across Main Street. Lots of houses up on the hills overlooking the harbor.

Well, I have some cooking to do and the usual boring stuff around the house. I hope to get some sewing done tomorrow.

Where the hell have I been???

Just sitting around trying to get my bearings. We have had company here and there. Roger's office building lost all power so he was in and out for a couple of days and...well....life just kept throwing tiny curve balls. I haven't accomplished anything much in the sewing arena so I won't bore you with that stuff. It's very hot and about 97 percent humidity so I'm kinda hiding out in the cool indoors. I think this time of year is very similar in effect to February for me. You're stuck indoors- unless you like dripping sweat and feeling sticky. Not my cuppa! I have managed to hit Curves for 3 days in a row and even with the air on, it has been a challenge. Lots of water-all day! Yesterday I came home and doodled around while cooling down. Sat down on the living room with Rog and before I knew it I had fallen asleep for an hour in front of the T.V. That's what it's for isn't it??? The endless drone of stupidity just puts me into a coma.
Oh well, I hope anyone who is still awake will forgive me but I need a shower and some breakfast. Our company is returning for the night before flying out of LaGuardia in the morning. We'll do dinner tonight and then they're outta here. Hopefully I will have something quilty to report soon. I notice that not many people are really enthused right now anyway so I'm in good company. Hope to get at the machine next week, if not sooner. Just because I'm not sewing doesn't mean that I don't have umpteen things started. Is there such a thing as sewing schizophrenia?

Rumblin' in the Jungle and 12x12x4

Just popping in to say Hi! Hope everyone is enjoying the sultry summer. It's hot and humid here. I think that's going to be the weather story for this summer. I posted my challenge piece but I couldn't get a good picture. I think it's because of the stark white background. I tried to fix it with what little picture tech stuff we have and it just got muddy looking or distorted. Anyway, it's done and that's 1 of 314 things done. Cross it off.

We have visitors coming on the weekend and I need to scrape a layer of crud off things around here or I will have to hide my head in shame.

I'm working on a couple more things but mostly, my next few days are going to be filled with clean-up detail and finding something to wear to a party this weekend. It's another graduation party that was delayed a bit and our visitors are coming along to meet some of our friends.

The picture is outside my kitchen window. It's well and truly a jungle out there. I really love it though. So do the chipmunks and squirrels.

Talk to you soon.

Lazy Summer Days

Thanks so much to the ladies who signed up for the Pay it Forward thing. It sounds like great fun. I am adding it to my list of things to do. It is currently #312. I'll get there eventually and it's good that we have many months to accomplish it.

Yesterday I went on a shopping expedition with Terry after she was finished with work. I saw lots of cute things but most were appropriate for a 15 year old. Really makes you feel OLD! We went to AC Moore after that and I have to say that it's really gone downhill. I think it's back to Michael's for that type of thing. One whole side of the store was just crap-really crap. About a quarter of the store was filled with Hello Kitty stuff. Not that it doesn't have a place in the world but where are the CRAFT things??? Maybe it's just the season but when I walk out with a purchase of $5.00 for ribbon and a magazine..that's pretty bad. I was after rick rack and should have known better. I need a sewing store near me. The trek out to JoAnn's is a pain when you only need a couple of things....like rick rack.

The temps were back to something resembling normal yesterday but I just came back from Curves and it's kinda steamy and humid at 9 in the am. That doesn't bode well for the rest of the day.

I'm working on a couple of things-the 12x12 is one. I just seem to have lost my energy for anything the past week. I hope something will grab me and I'll finish soon. I hate not keeping deadlines but noticed that others have not finished their pieces on time either. I am working on the nine-patch on point with the jelly roll fabric but basically it's mindless sewing and a way to focus.

Did any of you happen to see the Sewing with Nancy program this past week?She as a book on landscape quilts that she made with her artist friend, (name escaping me) Wow! I'm so impressed and that's really what's interesting me right now. I feel like putting everything away and just waiting for the book to be delivered. The whole thing interests me because it satisfies my art and fabric fix and I've wanted to go there for a long time. Space is, of course, the problem. I really don't have much so I will limit my work to smaller pieces. The ones she showed were large wall sized ones. I just can't imagine where I would do that kind of work. The book can't come soon enough. I'm excited about it.

Well, I am very hungry and if I don't eat something sensible soon I'll be looking for something really bad to indulge in, thus blowing everything I sweated off at Curves....Gahh! The picture is one of the small boat marina docks that have been around for ages. Just a place where they launch your boat and you can get gas and repairs.

Have a great day!

Pay It Forward

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week… LOL… but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

Sounds like fun doesn't it?

There's not a lot going on in my world-it's just too hot. I'm coming to the firm realization that I'm just not a summertime gal anymore. I say anymore because I really used to love the summer when I was younger. I would ride my bike to the beach not far from me and spend all day there with friends or just by myself. I'd get golden brown and, sad to say as a teenager, smoke awful menthol cigarettes & drink coke all day (and I wonder why I had so much energy) we never ate and played volleyball. No wonder I was strong and solid then. Boy was that a long time ago!

Yesterday my dear friend Terry had a jewelry party in her lovely back yard. Unfortunately it was 90 degrees. She made such good dips and such but everything food wise had to stay in the house cause of the temps. I managed to shuffle in and snarf up a bunch of goodies though.

It was very nice jewelry. Not at all crappy stuff. I hate crappy jewelry. I'd rather have one or two good pieces than a bunch of awful costume junk so I really thought I was just there to help out with stuff... I bought 4 things. They had a sale where if you bought one piece full price the next two items were half price. It was a better deal than you could get at Macy's or the jewelry store and there is a lifetime guarantee on the stuff if it needs repair. I got some lovely $55 earrings for half price and I'm an earring nut. Got some larger oval hoops(I live in hoops) and a sterling pair with laser cut outs. There were beautiful necklaces but they were kinda big and clunky. That's all I need is something big and chunky to accent my many chins-thank you...no!

Today I started work on a piece that is more arty than anything I've done before with fabric. Not sure I'm brave enough to show& tell yet. Maybe after I work on it some more.

It's too hot to stand over the grill outdoors today so I'm making spaghetti with Bolognese sauce. I'm fortunate to have air conditioning here so it doesn't matter too much what I cook inside and pasta is fast and easy. I passed on the exercise today. Maybe things will cool off later in the week. I know that many of my friends are in places where it's way hotter than this. It's just that we are not used to it-at all. We are surrounded by water and it usually stays breezy and nice. Well, wherever you are I hope you are comfortable and having a good day.

let's walk some more& Got Onions????

High there, I enjoyed our walk so much yesterday that I though we'd amble down along the other side today. Still heading for the harbor. In the middle of the road you will notice the trolley tracks. Yes, there was a Trolley back in the early years of the Village and several years ago they tried to re-visit that era with a horse-drawn trolley that ran in the summertime. It's a shame they don't do that anymore-the horse-drawn Trolley was really pretty and the town could use a little horse-sh-t instead of the chicken-sh-t that permeates village politics now. Maybe I'll run on that ticket "More Horse-sh-t, Less Chicken-sh-t" Sorry...I couldn't resist.

And now, in the spirit of complete lunacy-my husband is a great lover of sweet onions. We used to buy the Vidalia's, before they became popular in stores around here, from the farm in Georgia and have them shipped to us. They are delicious and they don't make you cry when you peel them. Love them onions. We also bought Walla Walla Sweets one year. This year, Roger decided to get some Walla Walla and have himself a treat. Here is what we have. I give you...da da da daaaahhh.. This is what 40(YES I SAID 40) pounds of onions looks like.

Everyone we know is getting a bag of Walla Walla Sweets and then we'll still have too many onions. Seriously, there are so few things that drive Roger to order anything for himself, so I'm happy when he's happy. You may be sure that our July 4th will include onions...in some form-or in many forms.

I'm still playin' around with fabric-woefully behind on everything including my 12x12 which will be done in the next century if I don't high-tail it soon. Roger has taken the rest of the week off-so I'm gonna just chill as well. Haope you all have a great 4th and, this is for Janet-we are fairly traditional for this one. burgers- hot dogs-homemade macaroni salad-root beer floats. There will be more onions than usual though. Here's where I'll be most of the time. Pardon my snoringzzzzzz.

Quick pics for Monday

Just checking in with a few pics from around town. Yesterday I sent my crack photography staff(Hi Honey!) down to the harbor with the camera for a visual update from my small corner of the globe. Let's take a walk, shall we??

On our walk we can stop and say Hi to BIL Bob who has chosen a very Gerrie Lime green shirt to blend in with the scenery around his park bench. It's funny but I think there are less boats in the water than usual. Maybe the big money that is usually puttering around in large yachts has been scaled back? I'm happy to see it the way it is so I'll just enjoy the view.

The other picture is of a portion of Main Street that leads down to the park and harbor. Last week was the Prom and the sign down at the end is congratulating the graduates. They have their pre-prom party thing at the park.

While we're on the subject of "Gerrie of the Lime Green" I am playing around with this stuff and it makes me think of her even more than usual.

Not sure what is happening here but I'll let you know as soon as I do. I fused a bunch of small pieces of fabric I really loved and I've been playing around with a very small piece that clearly involves circles (flowers?). Not sure-I'll keep playing. More tomorrow plus Kim tagged me for 7 things and I may do that as well. Have a great day.

Fondling fabric

I'm finally getting some sewing done. I've decided to use those jelly roll fabrics to make nine patches and then I think I'll attempt to set them on point. I've always loved that look when I see it in others quilts-Previous attempts to set things on point have often resulted in setting me on point so cross your fingers. I wish I was more precise and less mathematically challenged. I think I have a chart somewhere that gives you the measurement for setting squares and side triangles for each size square on point. That will help. Oh well, it's about time for a little bit of brain workout.

Thanks for playing along with the silliness these past few days. Sometimes life just gets too serious and I have to put on my Groucho mustache, funny nose and glasses. most people who don't know me well think I'm the quiet type and sort of serious-that would be wrong for the most part. I have a wicked sense of humor and sometimes find myself stifling laughter at inappropriate moments. Lord help me if I have anyone around to make eye contact with. I can remember the very stern looks from Father Wallworth in church when I sat with friends from school. My stomach would hurt from laughing. We weren't being disrespectful it was just the idea that we had to be serious that would get things started.

James went to his first day of work yesterday and we were sort of on pins and needles waiting for him to come home. Huzzah!!!(who said that?) the crowd goes wild-the job is good(for now). There are certain aspects that we are not happy with but he's a man now and has to deal with these things himself. This job will be a learning experience and hopefully lead to something better in the near future. For the time being we are just happy he's working. The salary is really not commensurate with what we think he should be making but he's apprenticing and so we hope he gets everything he can out of it and then looks for a job that will pay him much better. For now, he's a happy camper and that means a lot.

I hurt my neck at Curves on Mon. and had to take a darvocet to get rid of the neck pain and major headache I developed yesterday. By the time I went to bed it felt like a migraine and as if my head would come off the shoulders. Drugs are amazing...today I feel much better-just a slight twinge-however I feel a little hung over from the medicine. Anyway, taking it easy for today- no lunch with the guys. I may have a few friends over this afternoon just to lift my spirits-I think that they specialise in some sort of massage.

Boogie Shoes for the Hot feet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7sXDuKsexM

Just a little fun for your viewing pleasure while I get a little sewing(gasp)done.

Take Two...cha cha cha

Just because it's too darn hot to be anything but silly, I'm taking up the challenge, calling in the markers, talkin' to a guy I know....Don't say I never do anything for you.

I have put on my tango outfit and firmly grasped a rose between my teeth(ouch)Here is my lunch partner for today. Sting couldn't stay long-his wife was waiting in the car(hybrid) We managed to get in some songs and some Yoga(heh). My new favorite word is Tantric.

Today Monsieur Depp appears to be cleaned up a bit(merci-mercy) and we are having drinks on the veranda and a nice salad. Not much else since I'm way too much woman for him-Here's the salad-shrimp, avocado, grapefruit , jullienne of green beans in vinaigrette. Voila...enjoy

Seriously, My guys were all gone today and the house was all mine...it was soooo quiet. I almost didn't know what to do with myself-that is until Johnny got here...heeee

I promise to sober up tomorrow and leave this wild life behind

Hot Stuff

The other day I was commenting on the beauty of the day here on this island-where the usual summer day involves intense, wet, heat. Sort of like baking in an oven with a bain marie. Well-it's here. I knew we should stop and smell the roses(so to speak) because soon....very soon a wet blanket of hotness would fall down around us and stay for a couple of months. Even sooner, nothing will be fresh enough to smell-not roses, not people...not nothin'

I got my act in gear today and went to Curves early. Got a little to vigorous I think. My neck hurts a little. Anyway, I came home, got cleaned up and went to the store for BBQ stuff for the next few days. I came home with this stuff.











I know, I know....again with the food. Made a tall cool drink and nibbled(o.k. snarffed) it all and took a pain killer. That's when things got really interesting
I fell asleep and dreamed that this guy was in my yard singing.....to me
I'm going for the exact same meal tomorrow. Sigh.

Pavlova & Jelly Rolls

Last night was the quilting friends night and since I am blessed (or damned-depends on the weight gain) with two friends who are the best bakers around these parts-We had Pavlova instead of traditional birthday cake. I'll take a repeat of that any day. I'm really not much of a cake person but this stuff is like cake and pastry and candy all in one-with fresh fruit. How can you get any better. Anyone not familiar with it-it's meringue on the bottom, fresh whipped cream and mountains of fresh fruit on top-strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, kiwi-in fruit sauce. OMG this is the best dessert I've had in years and further proof that buying your friends expensive baking books insures goodies galore. This is from one of Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa books I gave Pam. Good girl Pam.

As a bonus I got this lovely collection of Moda fabrics in a jelly roll of 2 & 1/2 strips. handy dandy! What's not to like? Friends, food, fabric...mmmmmm. I also got a lovely pair of chalcedony pink oval drop earrings and a pretty plant.

It is a stunningly beautiful day here. In the 70s and a good breeze blowing-air cond. off windows open-my favorite kind of June day.

I hope to print out a pattern from my Carol Doak PP collection and make some stars with a group of fabrics I pulled aside. Maybe I will finally have something to show soon. James is looking at a good possibility for a job in the next few days so cross your little fingers and toes. Roger is back to work but still having a bunch of discomfort since he is turning to the side during the night and that's the bad side. He's also getting physical therapy which I'm sure is a bit of a pain as well.

I'm heading out to clean off the grill so I can do a beer can chicken. It doesn't get much easier than that. Sure wish I had some more of that Pavlova for dessert. That second shot is one of Nigella's chocolate Pavlovas. I think I like it straight.

Have a lovely day-talk to you very soon.

Take two.....

Hi again, I decided to remove the annoying whine from my attitude and I hope to be back tomorrow with a smile and a story about the Quilting & Birthday gals celebration. There will be wine....but no whine

Have a great evening and thanks for the kind comments-I just really have nothing to complain about and can't stand it when others bitch and moan-so it's even more annoying when the sound comes from my general space.

Talk to you tomorrow

Big finish

Just a short missive from General Hospital. We are doing fine and my job as Nurse Ratchet is nearly done. Staples out tomorrow and hopefully we are on the road to Wellville.

We had a lovely Father's Day dinner last night of fabulous Italian food from Intermezzo-I had the gnocchi and the guys had some linguine with shrimp and some other pasta with sausage and artichokes. Rice ball shared to start and fresh strawberries from the farm stand courtesy of my BIL Bob. It was a quiet day-Yippee!

I long for my sewing machine and hope to commune with fabric sometimes soon. I got a quilt for donation in the mail from Suzanne for binding and I'll try to get to that tomorrow or Wed. We have the Dr. in the late a.m. so I don't know how much of the day I will get to accomplish anything. Have a great day and I'll catch up with you all soon.

Checking in

Just checking in to let you know that we're doing well. Since Roger's arm leaves him like a one-armed-lumberjack-there is much to do so I can't stay to chat. I'll be back with more news tomorrow and a picture of a special birthday surprise from a darling friend that could not have come at a better time.
Roger's arm is still in a sling and everything is very tender, to say the least. He has metal staples in three places on the shoulder but virtually no scar. The openings look like little belly buttons(innies) but they are clear and clean-that's good news. Back to the Dr. next week and no driving- so we're having an unexpected vacation of sorts. Not one we would have planned but life could always be worse. I like "the glass half full" attitude right now. Besides, I kinda like having the old bear home. Thanks, again, for all the nice wishes. I'll leave you with a shot of the harbor from last week-there are twice as many boats now. Talk to you tomorrow.

A Wee Celebration Postponed

First I want to thank everyone who commented and sent well-wishes both on the blog and personally for my husband's surgery on Monday and for thinking good thoughts about James. I think that in time things will work out well for James. He is registered on that on-line job finding site Monster and just today there were a couple of very good possibilities. There is also an advisor at college that is helping him with possible ideas and suggestions. He's smart and a good worker-All will work out for the best. He saw a few great opportunities-one with a major company with great benefits and will look into that next week.

On the Roger Front-all is not as smooth as glass. He is due at the surgical center on Mon at 8 am but his surgery is contingent upon a couple of factors that may not be just right. Why the series of so-called smart medical types couldn't figure out these glitches before now-Lord knows. I'm crossing my fingers and toes and so appreciate your good thoughts. It could turn out alright but we just won't be able to get the go-ahead until Mon. Meanwhile, as you can imagine, all worry and no definite answers make Roger an angry guy. We have decided to postpone my birthday on Sunday and James's on Tuesday until July 4th when, God willing, all of this will be just an annoying memory. Frankly, at 59, I could do without a birthday this year and have a do-over next year to avoid the inevitable.

If you're looking for me I'll be the one hiding behind anything I can find sort of like the cartoon above. Ducking and weaving-staying out of the line of fire. I'm really kidding since Roger is so sedated with Vicodin that he's the one ducking and weaving. Maybe I'll make myself a margarita and hide in the jungle outside. Adios till Tuesday most likely and thanks, again, you guys are great! I'm blessed with friendship.

It's a Jungle Out There & Thinking good thoughts

Here are some pictures of the yard now that the rains have come and the vines and bushes are in full swing. Please to excuse the cars that now are a part of my daily scene. James is in the throws of selling one of them and restoring the other with parts from the one for sale. So, along with the lovely greenness of my valley, I have a used auto parts center on the side of the house. Let me stop to say a silent prayer to the Gods for deliverance in the form of a full-time job for him....anybody....no...Oh well. I've run out of fingers and toes to cross for him and the really bad thing is that the part-time job he has is in the midst of renovation and has been closed for nearly a month. He's having anxiety over no money, no job and too much time to worry. Pray for us.

While you're at it maybe you could think really swell & happy thoughts for my husband. Today he has to see the cardiologist for an "all cleared for surgery" check and Monday is his surgery. I'm really hoping that this will offer him the relief he needs-lack of good sleep and pain make Roger an unhappy boy. My heart is kinda sorrowful for both my guys right now. Here's hoping that next week will bring better things for both of them. I love my guys and I'm worried about them.

Meanwhile I'm still sweating at Curves-missed another day yesterday though. When things calm down a bit I hope to get back into the swing and keep to my schedule better. I also hope to get some sewing done so I can at least pretend to have a blog about quilting again.

Hope everyone has a great day. Sew something for me!

The Gemini Chronicles

The Gemini Gang, otherwise known as my whole fam damily and assorted friends of the family are in the throws of the birthday season. I decided a couple of days ago to make a table topper for Terry, who has the house of my dreams, and can put pretty things on her table for people to OOOO and Ahhhhhh over. Her house is a Queen Anne down in the village with an actual turret in her bedroom. The bad news is that the turret leaks, but it looks pretty anyway. Her husband built in all cherry handmade cabinets in the kitchen and they have the Mexican tile floor that I covet. Did I mention tha they own the hardware store in the village??Anyway, she loves handmade things and this fabric, which I think is from 3 Sisters for Moda(???) is a favorite of hers. Thus-the birthday table-topper seemed like a good idea. It's about the only thing I've worked on lately except for the donation hearts quilt binding. I hope she likes it. I usually give her a bunch of fat quarters as well and I try to make them a little unusual. She gets a big kick out of a challenge kinda thing and always comes up with something outstanding. I'm not being boastful when I say that I dragged her out of the traditional, albeit beautiful, place she was in. Terry's son is an artist and I think she is fascinated with the art quilt and trying something new and unusual. Terry is like me- no confidence- tends to stay in a comfort zone. She makes beautiful things and so I will look for something in the way of fabric a little "out-there" Maybe Kaffe Fassett or Anna Maria Horner or Heather Bailey. I'll bet she will do something unexpected with it-can't wait.

On the medical front-Roger is scheduled for surgery on the 11th. It will be at the surgical center as an out-patient. Next week he has to have the bloodwork and see a cardiologist for a stress test. He's not a happy camper. I don't blame him. This has been a long uncomfortable haul. His surgery is the day after my birthday and the day before James's. I'm hoping it will bring him some relief-he has been in a lot of pain for a while and pain meds make him like a zombie.

On the exercise front- they are still waiting for the new air conditioning unit at my Curves. I'm still going but it's a real struggle since the last few days have been like a dirty wet dog. It is humid and hot(welcome to the island)and I'm going slow as molasses but I'm going. Lots of water and as early in the morning as I can.

Have a great weekend-not sure if I'll get a chance to blog until Mon.

For now...

I don't have time this minute to blog any further, Roger has to go to the orthopedist for a discussion of surgery on his shoulder and I'm trying to get to the workout I keep missing(bad Dee, Bad!)
For now, go over to the right and click on the link for Allsorts and get a glimpse of 500 years of women in art. It's really cool!
Talk to you later-go on now, don't miss it. it's only a couple of minutes and will make you ooooo and ahhhh.

A feast for the eyes & Ye Haw Maw!

I hesitate to show this because it is yet further proof of our questionable backgrounds but this, over there, is my very own college graduate. Congrats honey! We had to put out the old recliner for a village pick-up this morning so last night we got into the spirit(ahem) of the Clampetts. James hauled it into the back of my Sport Track and cruised down to the street in style. What style, I don't know. I will find a handsome picture of my son very soon so you can see that he doesn't look like a drooling moron most of the time. Truth be told, we were full of pizza and root beer floats(the official start to summer)and a little up from the sugar high. There was an all day Soprano's marathon on A&E yesterday and I think I watched every episode. No wonder I had bad dreams last night-could have been the ice cream and pizza....Nah!

Anyway, that represents the bad behavior part of the day for which I was punished this morning by going to Curves and sweating off my tush. The air conditioning is still not working and I'm loosing my patience. To be fair, so is the lady who runs it. She's been promised day after day that the building mgr. is bringing in the work crew tomorrow...and tomorrow, and so on. Seriously, it was 85 degrees and I'm wiped out.

Now for the really beautiful part of this post-The pics above are the best I could get of Deb's beautiful finish to my Hearts quilt. Once again, I am in awe. I wish that you could sit and look at this close up like I am. It's so pretty. On the back and on the front. Even my BIL Bob thought it was wonderful and he's oblivious to everything quilting related. I am putting on the binding this week and then I may just keep it for a week before sending it on. It's really amazing how something that was such a yawn has turned into the princess at the ball. Deb is a master at that machine. I am getting ideas together for a quilt for myself and it will definitely go to Deb Geyer to quilt. Beautiful work, thanks Deb!

It's very humid and icky outside today and I just potted some plants-I'm super icky myself so it's off to the showers and a big drink of water.

Hope you have a great day

Great furniture news, Lobster rolls for Libby & Wii

I'm so full of holiday cheer and warmth for my fellow person(???) that I just wanted to share a good news shopping event.

Now first let me say that I live in NY. A very lovely part of it so don't send me snarky comments-NY is not known for it's friendliness is all things retail. Sooooo...as you know from previous posts-I ought a recliner. Turned out to be bigger than a breadbox, to be polite. Today, I got myself up and dressed(on Saturday mind you-lets hear some cheering in the back there)and went off to Raymour & Flanagan to rectify the problem of what to do about the Beast(that's the chair not a relative) I fully expected a major altercation of some sort since I have had saleperson problems inthe furniture arena before. Let me just say-this store is full of very nice people who want you to be "lifetime customers" That's how they put it. I traded the giants chair for the other chair of human size plus an ottoman and they waved the shipping charge and are picking up one and delivering the other Wed. I walked out in a daze.

In other news around here I had a comment from Libby who has not had a Lobster roll. Here's how it goes-it couldn't be simpler,

1. First you go to the bank, find a loan officer and take out a fist-sized wad of money.

2. Then you go to the fish market and you tell them you want 4-5( how decadent do you want to be?) 1 1/2lb lobsters. If they are a reputable market-they will at no charge, steam them and crack them for you and put them in a big plastic tub.

3. You hand them your fist full of money-they hand you the tub.

4. You take them home and put down newspaper or grocery bags on the picnic table and you pull all of the lobster out of the shells. chop the larger pieces into bite sized bits-dress with mayo, couple of shakes of old bay seasoning, 1/4 cup of minced celery more or less and that's it-step away from the dish-resist the temptation to add anything. Nature has provided you with the perfect meal. Pile a boatload of this onto fluffy potato rolls which you have slathered with butter and toasted until golden. Eat. side of cole slaw-iced tea. OMG life is good!

My son got an early birthday present of a Sony Wii from his girlfriend Dani-normally I run screaming from anything that resembles a video game. This is so much more. It's interactive. You can bowl in your living room in your jammies. He forced me(by whining) into playing an I harummphhed all the way. It's so much fun. You have a bowling alley in your living room. It allows you to angle the way the ball goes for a spare and all. Really fun.
All in all it's turning into a very nice weekend.
Today we did beer can chicken and deli salads and fresh corn on the cob. Boy do I need a session at Curves really soon.
Have a great weekend

Holiday Frenzy

Are you hungry yet??? This is not what we're having today-today it's lobster rolls and home made cole slaw and lemon blueberry birthday cake. I want to thank you all who were kind enough to say Hi and Happy Birthday to Roger. We are having a quiet day together in prep for a little bit of action tomorrow regarding the recliner I bought. It's too darn big. It looks like a throne next to my other furniture and it's so big that he has to wrench himself over to even put up the foot rest. So tomorrow I'm going out to the store to talk to my (hopefully) friendly salesman, Jason, and see if I can't get them to pick it up and replace it with the lovely big chair and ottoman which I looked at first. The chair matches my other furniture perfectly, while still being big and comfy and allowing Roger to put his feet up comfortably. I think this recliner is meant for a big man but also a very tall man. Roger is in such awful pain from the shoulder thing that he needs help to get up out of it. Not gonna work for us. Please say a small prayer that it doesn't cost a bank loan to get this thing settled. The only other thing would be to give this chair to BIL Bob if he wants it and order the other one for us. I think Bob will probably have the same issues with it as Roger though. Too much chair. You should see it though, it looks like the Queen Mary pulled into my living room. Really too much chair.

Anyway, we have cracked and cleaned the lobster and I have the cole slaw going and the cake is here. From the look of things it won't last long-any of it!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and enjoy yourselves doing whatever makes you happiest. I received the donation Hearts quilt back from Deb Geyer and I'm going to sit and marvel at how beautiful it is. I will take a picture for you soon. You can't imagine how lovely it looks. I have also finished Dani's Mom Cheryl's table runner for her birthday, which by coincidence is also today. Our temps have spiked up to 80+ and we now have the air on for the rest of the summer, gratefully. As predicted it's too much too soon. From 48 Mon. morning to 86 today is too much for me. I will bask in the cool and try to dig my way out of the mess I've made everywhere this week. We look like the Clampetts around here but then it is the Birthday season. If I didn't think it would put me into a coma-I would have one of the drinks you see above. I think I'll stick with the iced tea for now....for now

Family love

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday. It is the beginning of another year that I hope will be a more healthy one for him and a happy one for us together. He's a wonderful man, husband, father, and most especially, friend. I can't think of anyone I would rather go to when there is something important to say or...just nothin' much. Just chatting away a morning over scrambled eggs and coffee.

Without his faith and help I'm not sure what would have become of my life. When we began, I was troubled and unsure of anything, mostly myself. He has protected me, showed me what true love is and given me the first safe place to dwell in my life. We are two connected souls.

If anything makes us different it is that he is the orderly yin to my chaotic yang. Further proof of his good soul is that he doesn't care about this. Now and again, we get a snow shovel (hey! not a bad idea) and some sort of minor order comes into our lives for a brief time. His measure of what is important in our lives is "does it make you happy?" He is the firm hand that gently pushed me into a good place. I wish there was a way I could do the same for him. His only fault is an streak of Irish stubborn a mile wide-but only when it comes to himself.

I cannot imagine how empty my life would be without him and my birthday wish for him, to that end, is that he would start taking better care of himself.

May you have many more birthdays and much more love. I read a biography of a famous artist. She said that everyday she would end by lying down and saying quietly in prayer, "thank you for my life" Nothing sums up my feelings more than that simple graceful sentence. I think it was Frida and I know it was a long time ago. Everynight since, that is the last thing I say after goodnight-Gracias por mi vida.

Fish Tales, Kid Congrats, and poor Dear

My staff photographer has taken a few shots of the garden and my personal favorite so far is the wild cherry. It's probably part of the reason that none of us can breathe right at the moment but it sure is lovely.

I have been celebrating the graduation of our son James from college and we are now awaiting the moment when he will have a full time, health benefits job since we are paying his medical insurance to the tune of $500. monthly. I can hear an audible intake of gasping breath when Roger writes out that check but we love the kid and we would wind up paying anyway if, God forbid, he gets sick.

Sorry for the lack of posts-life just seems to be getting in the way and I haven't anything quilty going on right now. It is the birthday season here and Roger's is on Friday. We will be having lobster rolls as requested and a possible lemon blueberry cake from the bakery in the village. You know the one, where you stop at the bank and take out a loan first. Good thing they make a really good lemon blueberry cake-and everything else as well. Mercifully, something happened to them in the bagel dept. I suspect because they are Danish they can't make a bagel to save themselves but in the scope of things-Meh! We are awash with bagel places here-some good. Some really bad! Some have lost the basic concept of the bagel all together. NY is bagel heaven-and bialy's as well. A real bialy is a lost art. There are few places where they actually make a real bialy anymore and what passes for them in grocery stores tastes o.k. if you've never had a real bialy all chewy and centered with real sweet onions. On that note, I never really write complaints to businesses but today I took the time to send a lengthy and concise diatribe to Stop & Shop. They opened a Super S&S right around the corner and it was, by far, a welcome relief from the other grocery stores around here, one of which is so dirty and has deli people who are full of tattoos and look like they need to be dipped. Dirty haired misanthropes that even the rubber gloves can't improve. I don't even want them breathing on my food-UGH! ANYWAY, So here comes this new store-all clean and sparkly and they have everything-flowers, drugs, health food, good and unusual meats, Japanese take out(futomaki, etc.) and deli and a seafood dept. Now, let me just say that I don't get mad easily about this stuff cause by now at this point in life I have come to realize that, 1. they really don;t care what you think in the long run, 2. Complaining only works for the first few months and then everything starts to slide downhill anyway. So in that vein-I don;t complain unless there's something so egregious that it just slaps you in the face. Also let me make a disclaimer-Stop & Shop contributes a goodly amount of money to the Food Pantry-really goodly. They believe in contributions to the neighborhood and civic whatever.

Again, ANYWAY....it's about part way into the 2nd year and last week I go shopping making my final stop the fish dept and futomaki for lunch. I am stopped in my tracks by the fish guy loading up a floor to ceiling case with prepackaged cellophane wrapped fish pieces. Fish in plastic people!! Plastic. and to make matters worse, my Japanese guy who makes the futomaki has been relegated to a tiny case where there are some pre-made rolls languishing and he is no-where in sight. Much grumbling and commiserating with the fish guy later I vow to send them an e-mail to corporate headquarters in Mass. Yesterday I get a coupon in the mail for 33% off of one fresh fish purchase from S&S which explains that my purchase will now be conveniently wrapped in self-serve packaging for my betterment. Who the hell do they think they are kidding. In this village there are no less than 3 fresh fish stores in a walking radius-what idiot thinks that anyone would buy FRESH???? FISH???? in plastic for any reason. So there you have it-my fresh fish rant. They fish guy told me they fired the manager of the fish dept and he's down to a few hours just to load up the case. UGH! fish in plastic...unspeakable little bits of indefinable fish in plastic trays. What the hell is this? It's a coastal island fishing community. The best part is the note on the coupon say, and I quote "Right off the boat, help yourself to first quality"

O.K. If you're still with me-fish rant over....

I'm still in the Curves groove and really enjoying it. I can't believe I actually look forward to it. There must be something to that "craving the burn" thing or wanting the endorphins to kick in. I can't wait to get there. Still a few issues with the right knee so I take that a bit easy.

I must go now and try to clean up the living room since I went out and bought a new recliner for Roger for his birthday. He is still in so much pain from the shoulder injury. Yesterday they made him go for an MRI and the position that his arm and shoulder had to remain in was very painful. He came home in terrible pain. After some Vicodin he was better but that stuff can knock you on your ass if you don't watch it. I hope things improve soon. He's like the rest of us-no patience for debilitating stuff and he can't sleep well with this. Thing is, before he went to the Orthopedic guy last week, the PT guy had him starting to get a glimmer of feeling better. Then the Dr. jerked around the arm and pulled or pushed something too much and now he's miserable again. Poor guy.

Off to get out the vacuum and dust stuff.

bloomin' beautiful

As soon as I took this gorgeous Calla Lily from my husband the other day-I immediately thought of Katherine Hepburn. If you're a movie fan like me you may know what I'm talking about. Famous line from a Kate movie-"the calla lilies are in bloom....sigh" There I go dating myself again.

O.K. Nuff about that. Anyway, aren't they lovely? There are three good sized groups of lilies that can easily be divided and made into 3 separate plants. Yipee! Also-today I noticed that the lily of the valley is out all over the front bank of our house. It's all the way around the other side of the house and very easily forgotten until it's too late. I could just go around there and sit in a pile of lily of the valley for the entire day-happily-breathing in the perfume. There really is nothing on earth that is as magnificent as the natural scent of flowers. After years of working in the industry-I can't think of a single flower scent that matches mother nature for clean, crisp, heavenly smell. When I was much younger we would sometimes go over to the Vanderbilt Mansion across the harbor and walk through the house. I enjoyed it but I was all about getting to the sun room and very elegant porch. It was a colonnade of lovely Spanish tiles on the floor and there in the center was a gardenia bush. It was very old and, they said, was installed there by one of the Mrs. of the family. Even then, 45 years ago, it was 50 years old so I imagine it may not be there now. All of the years since that day I am still reminded of the gardenia bush when I see a picture or am lucky enough to come upon an actual gardenia. No bottled gardenia perfume could ever capture that fragrance. I should probably go over there and check it out sometime.

I don't have much in the way of quilty stuff to show. Still working on finishing Dani's Mom's table runner. Needs binding but I think maybe that will have to wait till next week.

Today I took on the horrible task of going to find some work-out clothes as I only have one pair of pants I'm washing to death. Several suggestions from fellow Curves ladies. Turns out Sears, which I normally hate, has some decent and fairly low priced stuff for the gym(that's all they have) Can I just mention how much I hate cropped pants and Capri's. I really hate them. They look adorable on other people but on my 5' 3" chub-they really look stupid and feel stupid. No choice though so here I am wearing clothes I hate because the only other option was heavier weight winter stuff or plastic-feeling pants that need to be taken up about 5 inches. Can't there be a happy medium for the height challenged. As it is the cropped pants come to my ankle-not my most flattering part but at least not my, aptly named, calves.

Well, I'll leave you now for some prep work for dinner. Nothing exciting tonight. Homemade cole slaw, Kosher hot dogs, grilled baby potatoes, and fresh strawberries. In an act of self-preservation, I'm passing on the baked beans.

Spring in the 'hood

I had a wonderful weekend. My family, as usual, was great to be with and it was quiet and peaceful and somewhat delicious. We had ribs, sweet potato fries, home made cole slaw and corn bread from the new place around the corner. Folks down south would faint at what they charged for a rack of baby backs but we tried to ignore that(BIL Bob bought us the anniversary dinner we didn't get in Feb) and wow was it great. A pretty perfect day to remind me of how fortunate I am. Thanks guys!

I'm giving you a peak at the color of spring around here. As Roger said yesterday, "you wait all year for this color" It's a green that only appears for a brief time. Vivid and intense and in many shades from lime to deep forest. Very alive. Not that the garden is not beautiful the rest of the summer-it's just that spectacular spring green that inspires such bliss. The picture of the harbor is an interesting one because in a wekk or two there will be so many boats that you can nearly walk from boat deck to boat deck around the harbor. This is a brief blissful moment.

A while ago I came home from the grocery store and one of the 2 million trips (sigh) that I have to make there during the week, and this sweet cardinal was back again. Yesterday he practically sat for Roger while allowing photographs of his lovely self to be snapped. Today I was unpacking the stuff from my car and he landed not two feet from me in the gravel. I moved-he stayed-I moved some more...he stayed and re-positioned himself several times, as if to say "I'm ready for my close-up Mr. DeMille" He's still hanging around out there munching seed and looking wonderful against the grey and blue stone. I sort of wonder who he really is. Maybe a relative come home to visit? Is that you Pop? He won't say.

Well, despite the beauty of this day and it is stunningly pretty-I have the requisite crap to accomplish. Laundry, dinner prep. Crap waits for no one!

I promised my honey that I would re-create the meal that Lydia made on her show yesterday. It's a salad that includes roasted Vidalia onions dried black Greek olives, red bliss potatoes and green beans. Finished off with bibb lettuce and oil and vinegar dressing.I may throw in some cheese shavings and roasted peppers- so it's off to the grill. She made a scalopini with wild mushrooms with it but I think we will just have the salad and some good bread, fresh mozzarella and sopressata. Who's up for dinner???

Here are the accompanying shots of winter-Goodbye to all that!

7 random things

1. Despite the fact that I talk to you all on a regular basis, I'm sort of a loner and a hermit. I think it must be difficult to be friends with me. Terry says it's not but she's about my best and only true friend. I know a bunch of people associated with the Food Pantry and members of church groups etc.and folks here and there but none of those people really know me and I don't think I make it easy if they were so inclined. I must come across as a cold and distant person but I'm anything but- it's really just that I don't do the chit-chat stuff well. Even at Curves I noticed all the women are chatting along and I listen but it's rare that I add anything. Getting kicked around a lot when you are young tends to make Dee a painfully quiet and deeply shy person(stop laughing back there). It also makes me a great listener. You could talk and talk and talk and I'd be fine with that. When I do make a friend I am stupidly devoted. That tends to leave me disappointed in humanity a lot. Over the years I've found a way to force myself to be direct and forward and in the process fooled a lot of people into thinking I'm a very with-it kinda gal. Really, I'm still that little girl inside.

2. When I worked for a physician years ago, he had hired another woman to be an assistant at the same time. She loved to do secretarial work and I loved the Dr. stuff. When he was training her to be a surgical assistant she slid down the wall and had to be helped out of surgery from the sight of blood in a very minor procedure. I loved it and only had to restrain myself from verbally expressing my fascination with all things surgical. Like this- "wow would you look at that!" Dr. Zimmerman thought it was funny but told me I had to get a grip on my enthusiasm. He did train me to handle the surgical stuff and looking back on it-why not. I was smart and young and he didn't have to pay me anything. I was in heaven just observing. It was the best and most interesting job I ever had. Unfortunately, he had no medical insurance and paid next to nothing. I was single and young and poor-did I mention young? It was still always exciting and always great fun.When he went on vacation I would borrow his medical texts. How boring can you get huh?

3. I know stuff. Not sure if that makes sense but I have a gift for language and history and stuff that puts most people to sleep. I think it began as something that helped me survive my past. I would lock onto a subject and there were not enough books on the subject to suit me. Obscure things-like studying religions.I will hunt down everything I can find on specific subjects and useless details. It was bad enough before the Internet-now it's just a black hole into which I can easily fall. My friend Terry uses me as a party trick. We will be in a group of people and she will constantly say, "Hey-ask Dee about????" Like someone will do to the guy who can recite all the Presidents backward. Who knew I'd be a living party game and I'm hell at Jeopardy.

4. I was born in Germany. In an ancient medieval town-Augsburg. I came here when I was 3ish and so have no trace of that language even though we spoke it at home for years.

5. Fear of failing has influenced me to a horrible degree. I think it's all part and parcel of the agoraphobia and hermit thing. Part of me is afraid to get started and part is afraid of failure-deadly combination. Just going to the gym everyday is a concerted effort. Not hard, just something I think about for more than a passing moment. I am proud of myself for making it thus far. If I could only apply that to art...hmmmm. Those that can't do-teach?? I'm great at teaching people how do make stuff.

6 I worked a job from the time I was 12 until I had James. My family was in the restaurant business with loads of connections-I was a bus-girl for years-coat check for some time and waitress briefly. Spent a lot of time growing up in kitchens with crazy cooks and crazier waiters and learned a lot of Spanish from busboys(some Italian too)

7. I was a teenager in the late 50s early 60s and the town we live in was so small that I learned to drive at about 12. I can remember driving through the village at that age. My family knew all the cops and I'm not sure if they just turned a blind eye or what but at that point the car was my escape. The family members used to send me out on all kinds of errands-it was fun and my escape.

O.k. that's 7 . and I hate to tag people so tag yourself if you haven't done it already.

I'm in the throws of an awful sinus and allergy thing and I'm going to take something for the headache and put my feet up for a while. Such a beautiful time of year to feel so crummy-snort.

allergies 1- Dee 0

Here's a shot of the table runner I made yesterday. I had the blocks made a few weeks ago and finally put it together. I love this fabric. It was a Keepsake medley of the month some time ago. It's kind of amazing what you can get out of a package of fat quarters. I used this fabric medley to help my friend Diane make a table topper last year and had enough left over to make this with the addition of only a few strips from another couple of fat quarters. Not sure what I'm doing with this but we are coming into the dreaded birthday season. My husband's birthday is May 25th as is Uncle Don's, and Dani's Mom. Cousin Dottie the 27th, mine June 10th, James June 12th, James's girlfriend Dani June 17th as is my best friend Terry's. It's a month long birthday festival. I may use this as a gift for one of those occasions. I think I'll quilt it with different size circles all over. I did this with another piece years ago and liked the way the circles looked on the very square design.

Allergies have got us all down to a certain degree. My poor husband is really suffering. In addition to his shoulder injury-he has not slept a full night in a while. He's really wiped out. This year I am having a lot bronchial problems. When I cough it sounds like I have a bad cold-I don't, it's just the seasonal ick. I may resort to an inhaler but I try to avoid it if I can. I hate that funny, dizzy, feeling you get from it. I am walking on the treadmill today-Curves tomorrow. See you later...