Morning view

Each morning for nearly a month now, this has been my view from about 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m. The newspaper, a book, coffee (and more waiting in the heavy-duty thermos), and some knitting keep me occupied while I watch the puppy play.



Not being a morning person, this early routine was not something I looked forward to at first, but as the days passed I liked it more. It's pretty quiet here in the morning. Not many vehicles pass on the street. Occasionally a few people out for their morning walks come by, but mostly I have the morning to myself. Well, I share it with the puppy and with the other dogs. And the cats. And the birds. It's been a good way to start the day before the busyness takes over.



And in the evening from 6:00 p.m. until about 8:00 p.m. I watch the puppy again, but usually with great company.

Jury duty

Last week I had jury duty. This week I again have jury duty. So far, I have not made the cut to actually sit on a jury. But I live in hope.

Last week was one of those weeks I'm glad is now in the past. In addition to jury duty I also had museum duty (and could find no substitute). Sam got sick - sick enough to have to go to the doctor and get antibiotics. Bowie, the dog, got sick. All over the family room floor. All night. From both ends. It was not a happy sight that greeted me when I walked into the family room at 6:00 a.m. He managed to be sick ONLY on the HUGE oval area rug that cover(ed) the entire room. At 6:30 a.m. I was moving furniture and rolling up the rug and coaxing sleeping teenagers to get up and help me get the disgusting piece of textile out to the road. Then I showered and went to the courthouse. And called another family member to take the dog to the vet. Where he had to have treatment and stay overnight. For two nights. $$$$.

On Saturday we had rain - yay! The garden needs it. But Sarah, Marley and Joan came downstairs and said, "Mom, the ceiling in the playroom is leaking. Over your yarn and sewing machine." Oh, dear. A new roof was not on my horizon - at least not that I knew. Our roof is only 8 years old...

And Joan had college orientation and needed a parent to be there. That would be me. As Steve was very busy with an important project and could not take off from work for the three days orientation was going on. (Besides that, he now needs to work VERY HARD to make $$$$ for a new roof. Unless the leak is the result of wind damage, which means someone needs to go up on that scary Victorian roof and have a look-see, and I can't even begin to think that high or far just now.)

God is good. I was dismissed most days in time to cover most of my other obligations, including the museum and orientation. And I survived. And that week is now in the past.

Now I'm looking forward to a new week.

Finishing up a baby quilt

My mother started this quilt in 1986 for Tom, who was born in May of 1987. She cross-stitched the alphabet squares, and cut and hand-pieced all the squares together before she put it aside.

And years went by. Several years ago she gave the work-in-progress to me so I could finish it.

Now before I start another "new" quilt I want to finish this one up first.

I have the cotton batting ready, but have to find a suitable backing and binding.


Mom bought and gave me this fabric when Tom was born and I made curtains for his room with it. We used the curtains in the children's rooms in every house we lived in until we moved here. I would cut and alter and sew them to fit the windows and I thought I still had enough material for a small crib quilt. But I don't! So I have been going through the other material I have and have yet to turn up anything suitable.

I hate to have to make a trip to the fabric store, but it may just have to happen.

Antique store, thrift store and yard sale finds

I had high hopes for bargain shopping at a couple of yard sales this past weekend, but my plans didn't turn out as I'd hoped. It doesn't matter - I spent a lot less money than I'd planned to spend, and I still found at least one thing on my list.

The antique store had this set of nautically themed glasses that I got for $5, and a little framed print illustrating the article "The" for $2:




At the thrift store I found a bag full of fabric for $5. (That was the only item on my list that I found.)




And at the yard sale I got a little porcelain hinged box of a cat napping in a chair (for a quarter!) which I gave to Marley:


I still would like to find a suit valet for Steve (he's an inveterate clothes-draper) and a metal coffee table or end table for the yard, but that will be another hunt on another day.

Look at Apron Thrift Girl to see what she found this weekend - lovely treasures!

The puppy bounced back

The tiny black furball we found two weeks ago in the heat pump casing was rejected by the family we thought would take her. Not because of anything to do with her, but because they are trying to sell their house and feel that a puppy is not something they can handle right now.

Supposedly another friend of Sarah's wants the pup and will take her... in August. I'm afraid that by then we won't be able to emotionally detach ourselves from her, but we're going to give it a shot. Until then, it's puppy training time again for us all.

Sarah's quilt is ready for use

Sarah's quilt is finished. I am very happy with this quilt. It was my first one to make after reading Jane Brocket's book, The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking, and I was able to use so much of the information I got from her book.

First of all, I don't think I would have mixed different-sized rectangles with squares had I not seen and liked her quilt designs. I also had the firm notion that a quilt backing had to be made with a solid color, and not a fabric with a design on it. Finally, I believed that one had to baste the quilt layers together before quilting, and that is what I had done in the past. This time I just pinned the heck out of the quilt layers and quilted in hand - no basting.

It all worked! And it was fun and much quicker (almost three weeks from start to finish) because I loved working on it.


The back is my favorite part - I loved that fabric when I bought it (paisley is pretty!), but didn't know what I would use it for until Sarah decided that it would be fine for her quilt.