Thursday--Goodbye LMA
Today LMA left for California. It was snowing so Ronald decided to use Norton to take LMA to the airport. Thus, I stayed home. It is such a sad feeling to have the last chick-a-dee leave the nest. I know he left the nest years ago, but no matter how old he gets, he is still my baby. Children may leave the nest but they never leave their mother's heart, and I feel like an old hen wanting to gather her chicks under her wing. This is a brutal world. The only comfort is in trusting the Lord and in the divine plan.
Well, Christmas came fast with much anticipation and then left fast. All in all it was a good year--in spite of the great sadness created by Leelyn's death.
In quilt group yesterday, one of the ladies said we needed to start Chrismas projects right away so that perhaps they would be finished by Christmas 2007. Personally I am ready to put away Christmas stuff for awhile.
My resolution this year is to loose weight for the house and for me. I will make and give away quilts and not replace the fabric with more. Note: I have gone three days now without visiting a fabric shop! I am on the committee for our group's activities. We are going to devote time to doing things for others as well as for ourselves. That will help me with my charity quilt goals. Pat Hadley brought some good ideas to the group yesterday that we can easily make in a couple of hours. The ladies also liked the baked potato bag I gave Chris. It is easy to make and takes only one fat quarter of cotton fabric and one fat eight of cotton batting. I think it will a good and productive year group wise too.
The so called "finished project" competition yesterday was funny. Betty had worked hard and brought two quilt tops made out of blocks like we had all made several years ago, plus many of her own creation, two finished quilts--one which was a major repair job of an old quilt, and I think three other projects. Size wise she won. Number wise I did. I had fifteen different projects but tiny little quilted bookmarks don't make much of a splash. I did finally finish my "old lady bag" from a long ago challenge and already I am going to change the handles to be more like the hobo bag design. The other ladies brought a couple of things each. Chris brought a beautiful fall wall hanging she has been working on for a couple of years. Some didn't bring anything--although I know that some have been busy doing many things. At any rate Kim gave Betty a generous stack of gardening and flower arranging books. The rest of us picked and chose among a Christmas book selection. She also let us choose a theme box (I chose the one with a snowman) and she was going to go through her fabric and give us fat quarters according to our choices. That was much better than letting us have a free for all. She and her daughter had sorted and organized her fabrics last month and put them on a high storage shelf. She had foot surgery then and couldn't get up on the ladder to get her fabrics. Betty somehow missed out on the reason there were no fabric prizes and asked about the "basket of fat quarters" the winner was going to get. Kim told her she would go through her fabric and leave a basket of fabric on her doorstep one of these days. Kim is such a generous person.
I have resolved this year because I am on on the project committee that there will be no competitions. For some strange reason, Betty has to feel like she wins. In fact, Kim told her she won because she knows how serious she gets over such things. In reality, the number of projects were never counted......and I find my reaction amusing and puzzling because I am not even a competitive person. At any rate I was a winner because I did finish some projects that have been gathering dust for years. In fact I plan on finishing even more UFP this year. This time I will make a list. Last year I didn't even itemize but I did finish nine quilts, made a night shirt and several pajama bottoms and a zebra costume --in addition to finishing the 15 other projects.
Today I have an appointment to take Edward to the vet. He has been limping for a few days now and although I thought he was doing better yesterday, today he is asleep on my heating pad on my bed. He went out for a little while this morning but has no desire to leave the bed now. I even lifted him off my bed this morning so that he didn't have to jump. I have examined his leg and found just a little scab yesterday. I hope he doesn't have a serious problem. He also is wheezing when he breathes.
Gracie, is even a worse scamp because she doesn't have any sparing partners. Jeanette took Wulfie home the other day and now Edward doesn't feel like playing either. She can quickly trash the place if left to her own designs. She and Hazel are the same personality type. Fortunately I can put Gracie outside to cool her jets and she won't wander far. Gracie even bites cardboard boxes!!
Today is a dreary January day, but I plan on making hay even when the sun isn't shining. Laundry, clutter and dirt await my attention. Ronald even did some major dusting in the pink bedroom because he was choking up whenever he was in there. I need to do some serious dusting in the whole house. That trace of white powder when he scraped the ceiling in LMA's room still is lurking on the wall, drapes, blinds and some shelves. Then there is the stove dust (ashes and soot)..... Lisa did a good job of ridding dust from many places but this is such a dusty house that it will be a miracle when all of it is gone.
Well, Christmas came fast with much anticipation and then left fast. All in all it was a good year--in spite of the great sadness created by Leelyn's death.
In quilt group yesterday, one of the ladies said we needed to start Chrismas projects right away so that perhaps they would be finished by Christmas 2007. Personally I am ready to put away Christmas stuff for awhile.
My resolution this year is to loose weight for the house and for me. I will make and give away quilts and not replace the fabric with more. Note: I have gone three days now without visiting a fabric shop! I am on the committee for our group's activities. We are going to devote time to doing things for others as well as for ourselves. That will help me with my charity quilt goals. Pat Hadley brought some good ideas to the group yesterday that we can easily make in a couple of hours. The ladies also liked the baked potato bag I gave Chris. It is easy to make and takes only one fat quarter of cotton fabric and one fat eight of cotton batting. I think it will a good and productive year group wise too.
The so called "finished project" competition yesterday was funny. Betty had worked hard and brought two quilt tops made out of blocks like we had all made several years ago, plus many of her own creation, two finished quilts--one which was a major repair job of an old quilt, and I think three other projects. Size wise she won. Number wise I did. I had fifteen different projects but tiny little quilted bookmarks don't make much of a splash. I did finally finish my "old lady bag" from a long ago challenge and already I am going to change the handles to be more like the hobo bag design. The other ladies brought a couple of things each. Chris brought a beautiful fall wall hanging she has been working on for a couple of years. Some didn't bring anything--although I know that some have been busy doing many things. At any rate Kim gave Betty a generous stack of gardening and flower arranging books. The rest of us picked and chose among a Christmas book selection. She also let us choose a theme box (I chose the one with a snowman) and she was going to go through her fabric and give us fat quarters according to our choices. That was much better than letting us have a free for all. She and her daughter had sorted and organized her fabrics last month and put them on a high storage shelf. She had foot surgery then and couldn't get up on the ladder to get her fabrics. Betty somehow missed out on the reason there were no fabric prizes and asked about the "basket of fat quarters" the winner was going to get. Kim told her she would go through her fabric and leave a basket of fabric on her doorstep one of these days. Kim is such a generous person.
I have resolved this year because I am on on the project committee that there will be no competitions. For some strange reason, Betty has to feel like she wins. In fact, Kim told her she won because she knows how serious she gets over such things. In reality, the number of projects were never counted......and I find my reaction amusing and puzzling because I am not even a competitive person. At any rate I was a winner because I did finish some projects that have been gathering dust for years. In fact I plan on finishing even more UFP this year. This time I will make a list. Last year I didn't even itemize but I did finish nine quilts, made a night shirt and several pajama bottoms and a zebra costume --in addition to finishing the 15 other projects.
Today I have an appointment to take Edward to the vet. He has been limping for a few days now and although I thought he was doing better yesterday, today he is asleep on my heating pad on my bed. He went out for a little while this morning but has no desire to leave the bed now. I even lifted him off my bed this morning so that he didn't have to jump. I have examined his leg and found just a little scab yesterday. I hope he doesn't have a serious problem. He also is wheezing when he breathes.
Gracie, is even a worse scamp because she doesn't have any sparing partners. Jeanette took Wulfie home the other day and now Edward doesn't feel like playing either. She can quickly trash the place if left to her own designs. She and Hazel are the same personality type. Fortunately I can put Gracie outside to cool her jets and she won't wander far. Gracie even bites cardboard boxes!!
Today is a dreary January day, but I plan on making hay even when the sun isn't shining. Laundry, clutter and dirt await my attention. Ronald even did some major dusting in the pink bedroom because he was choking up whenever he was in there. I need to do some serious dusting in the whole house. That trace of white powder when he scraped the ceiling in LMA's room still is lurking on the wall, drapes, blinds and some shelves. Then there is the stove dust (ashes and soot)..... Lisa did a good job of ridding dust from many places but this is such a dusty house that it will be a miracle when all of it is gone.