This and that...

Supportin the Troops...

So, what have I been up to...

Been back at work for a month now...feels like I never left, I hate that feeling :(

I have been to the doctors office, had a little scare but all is OK now...hard to believe that I live in Arizona and I have a vitamin D deficiency...under control now with supplements but the blood work drama was a bit unsettling...

Ashley is very handy...

Ordered my dress for the wedding 11 weeks ago...waiting for the "come and get it" call...any day now!  Got shoes and earrings...

My beautiful room!

Irving spent the day painting my room and it looks grand!  It would have taken me two days up and down off that ladder...it was worth every penny that I spent.  Ashley was a great help with the shopping, the hauling of the decor and helping me put it all together.  It looks great...all I need is a different desk and the finished quilt...

I started an online class last week, English 102.  So far it has been OK, I will need to spend some time on homework and re balance some of the priorities.  I took a quiz this morning and didn't really give it my best effort and it showed in the score...I also need to narrow down my research topic so I can gear my summaries towards the final paper.

We got Netflix too, probably not the best use of time as I look at the last paragraph that I wrote...

I sold 16 red "Support the Troops" shirts to some of my coworkers.  I delivered them a week ago and got interest from another group of people, these things just sell themselves...when I walked into the building on Friday, and I saw some of my friends running around in red shirts, it was touching, that others feel this way and are supportive of Josh and the other brave men and women that serve our country.

GCC Supports the Troops!

The finishing touch...

On Saturday Debbie and Dorene took me shopping, they wanted to help with something for the wedding and they purchased the earrings for me...Debbie picked me up at 10 and we did coffee and a little quilt shop out in Avondale then onto the grand daddy of fabric stores, 35th Ave.  We met Dorene for lunch at Paradise Bakery then spent the afternoon at the mall shopping...it was alot of fun and I count my blessings that I have great friends that want to help me through the wedding experience.

Lastly, Vic and I have been spending some time together, I have a few extra rows on the wedding quilt and I spent Saturday catching up on the Civil war quilt, four blocks...done and ready for next week.

On Monday, Labor Day we are pattern shopping for the ring bearer and flower girls dress patterns...since Josh's leave was approved (whew...) there is a new urgency to the wedding plans...after all, it's only 64 days away!

Farmers Wife blocks...

Blocks all laid out and cat free...

...put a fork in them because they are done!

I wish I could say that I had a grand adventure this weekend, that I went some place special and dined on culinary delights beyond my wildest imaginations...

...nope...

I sewed and sewed and sewed some more...don't get me wrong, I love to spend my weekend being creative and productive...this weekend I was hell bent on finishing the blocks for the Farmers Wife quilt, and I did...I was not completely true to the book but I mixed in many classic quilt blocks to make this creation my own.  It is s great to see the light at the end of the tunnel...

This morning, I laid it out on the living room floor much to the delight of the kitties...they rolled, they attacked and even took the time out for some personal grooming all on top of the blocks.  Ami was even kind enough to eat a couple of the labels that I made, after making 83, one for each block, so I have a map when assembling...

I also spent some time this weekend going over the materials for the online English 102 class I am taking this semester.  I am looking forward to directing my mind in a new direction.  And, in a lucky twist of fate, there is no home work due the week of the wedding!

Sashing and stuff...

Let the sashing begin!

This is the second week back at work...the week before classes start.  Everyday this week was hectic and crazy...From all reports, the first few weeks of classes are going to be pretty rocky, there is a littanly of projects not complete.  I came home each day a little fried from the activities.

Sashing was the only crafty activity that I could do, it didn't require a lot of measring or precision, pretty much just squaring up the blocks and sewing the sashing on...I got through 24 blocks during the week, I'm just that much closer to getting this project done!

I had a doctors appointment on Tuesday, I was down nine pounds from my visit last year and I left the office feeling good about that...

Eating wise, my week was only OK and I made it to the gym twice...next week will be better!

Three Block Sunday...

Light & Shadows

Sundays are always bittersweet, it's the last day of rest before you have to go back to the work grind...it's always a flurry of vacuuming, laundry, prepping food for the week.  It takes work to get ready to go back to work...

Squash Blossom

I managed three blocks today...the Squash Blossom block is the only block that is technically from the Farmers Wife book, all the "other" blocks are classic ones, so that's how I am looking at it.  I have learned so much and become a better technician in the process...

Shoo Fly

Blocks 73, 74 and 75...

Saturday, lunch with MIZ...

Churn Dash redo

It's so nice to get up in the morning without the alarm clock.  Even when you get up around normal work time, it's on your terms!

I was up around 5:30.  One of the first things I do on Saturday mornings is I check the Barbara Brackman blog for the block of the week.  This weeks block is called Indiana puzzle and features curved piecing.  I have not  done this in a quilt, i have sewn plenty of curves during garment construction.

Wrench

Armed with my cup of coffee, I re did my churn dash and fashioned a wrench for the Farmers wife quilt.

I met MIZ for lunch at Red Lobster.  It had been about two months since our last visit, we had lots to catch up on.  Mike Storms stopped by our table, he and I had waited tables together at the 35th Ave store about 100 or so years ago.  After lunch, we hopped into her new Mercedes SUV (super swank in my book...) and hit the Arrowhead mall for a little shopping.  I don't think that MIZ really does alot of shopping, we always have fun and some good laughs while we are out together.

Old Maid Puzzle

The evening was low key, one more block an a trip to WalMart...

72 blocks done...9 more to go!

Back to work...

Ohio Star

It was hard to get back into the swing of things...the alarm went off at 5:15 and my immediate thought (the one I have every morning) was, I don't want to get out of bed...

My schedule is 7-4, I am hoping for some time by myself in the office before all hell breaks loose each day...

The problem with not leaving town and having the vacation experience was, in some ways, I felt like I never left...

The week was busy with emails to catch up on, orders to recreate, invoices to reconcile and any manner of office business that usually pops up...

Sashed block

I went to the gym twice, which is one less time than I scheduled myself on my Google calendar.

The Seahawks played their first pre-season game and won, they kicked it up in the third quarter.  I will be happy when we go to the bar to watch the games with the other Seahawkers...

By Friday I was tired, a nap on the couch and a cup of coffee revived me and I brought Vic back to the kitchen table and did a little sewing...

Looking forward to lunch with MIZ on Saturday...

Day Seventeen...

Carolina Lily

I tried not to oversleep this morning...I knew that if I did I would have a hard time detting to bed tonight with work in the morning...

First up was a trip to Trader Joes for some ingredients for some of the items that I read about last night in the their food blogs.  Not a bad time to go, 10am on a Sunday...

I pieced my Barbara Brackman block in the early afternoon.  When I was done, I had to start the hard task of cleaning up my sewing machine and the boxes of fabrics that had been my friends over the last two weeks...

Ashley helped me tidy the house for our dinner guests, then at the last minute, Steve called to say he would not be able to join us...Alyssa came over and we gave her the scrapbook with pictures of Josh when he was little and the packet of Army benefits that we got from Fort Leonard Wood last September.  We had a pasta dinner, watched the deprived dress show on TLC and had a pleasant visit.

Day Sixteen...

Three finished quilt tops

Today was my last full day of sewing...I worked on the Jo Morten quilt top for most of the evening...

Since this is Monday (when I'm writing, I have a horrible sense of recall)

I must have done other things...if so, I just don't remember...if something else comes to mind, I will add it...

Oh yeah...while searching the web for a recipe for balsamic glaze, I found a couple of very cool websites that feature clean eating and other healthy nutritious recipes and tips...bookmarked them...made a lovely batch of balsamic glaze, can hardly wait to try it...

Day Fifteen...

Lazy...again...

Two naps today, each lasting about 30 minutes or so...

I have been wanting to go to Sun Valley Quilts for a couple of weeks now.  I was disappointed...the clearance section had really crappy stuff and they have raised the prices on the regular fabric.  Ever since the new owners purchased the place, it has just been different...

Finally got the car washed while I sipped on a frozen drink from QT...they didn't have the melon berry flavor that I liked...leaving the house today was a little disappointing and it was hot as you know what...

Got my Clooney on and watched "The Peacemaker", I picked it up in the bargain bin a couple of years ago and decides to break it out of it's shrink wrap...

My crafting project for the evening was to get the borders on my Jo Morten "convenience panel that I picked up in California...

Day Fourteen...

It felt good to wake up in my clean room...it's amazing how much better the room feels without all the extra boxes of stuff cluttering the space...

I met Dorene for lunch, it was a working lunch.  She needed to give me my performance review so we got that bsiness out of the way and then had a great visit over Indian food...

Did a bit of shopping today for the bathroom, new shower curtain and rugs at Anna's linens, new towels and a fresh supply of Seahawk fabric at Walmart and then a trip to Joanne's later in the evening for scrapbooking sopplies and pillow forms...

I got another row onto the kids wedding quilt, that was the creative effort of the day...

Day Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen...

A cluster entry...

Enjoying the clean room!

I have spent the last three days cleaning my room...the last time I did it, it also took three days in 2004...

So you can imagine the multitude of time capsuled things I found, threw away, recycled and shredded...condolence cards from my moms passing, Nortons medical records, some Norton spew, cards from Josh's ex girlfriend and a birthday card  with $50!

I vacuumed, dusted, sorted and sneezed more than once...

We went to Walmart and bought new sheets, lamps and a bookcase...

The bathroom is clean too...

The reward for all the hard work (besides the obvious...) was to bust out the sewing machine...which I did, I was squaring blocks for the kids' wedding gift when things just weren't going right...that's when I decided to start fresh in the morning...

In the meantime, the boys have enjoyed playing and napping and tonight I will sleep well after a job well done...

During the cleaning, I unearthed a few books, so I decided to take advantage of my new found (re found) library, I started reading on of my short story compilations...

Day Ten...

Sunday, a day of rest...I took this one to heart and spent a good portion of the morning and early afternoon in my jammies reading, drinking coffe and managed to squeeze in a nap, I was already in the outfit so, why not?

Empty Spool variation

After I got cleaned up, I dove into my block of the week, Empty Spools...the original block lacked a bit of pizazz so, armed with my new deck of classic quilt blocks, I stitched four empty spools in one block.  Technically, this turned out to be one of my better blocks...

Dinner out with Ashley and back home...computer and mindless TV...

Day Nine...

I met Debbie for coffee this morning.  We swapped some quilt blocks and had a very good visit, we gossiped about work and had a very personal conversation about kids and motherhood…she’s a great friend and I truly treasure our friendship

We hopped in the Mercedes and went to the Olde World Quilt Shoppe out in Cave Creek.  She needed to pickup her fabric for the setting squares on her Farmers Wife and I found some wine fabric in the clearance section…no, I didn’t really need it…we also spoke to the shop owner about quilting our completed Farmers Wife quilts, the plan is to get them in for quilting around the end of September

On the way home, I stopped by the Quilters Bee and got one more yard of background fabric for the FW quilt, that really ought to do it…I hope…there are a couple of redos, I am within 10 blocks of finishing!

Cabin Cats - Ichigo

While Ashley was out with her dad, I worked on the Cabin Cats, Ashley’s Christmas gift, I put on the border and got Ichigo fused…

Did a take out order from China Rainbow, again they recognized my voice on the phone and they tossed in a complimentary order of hot and sour soup…it’s kinda nice to be a recognized regular…

The evening was rounded out with several episodes of the TLC wedding dress shows and some reading

Day Eight...

Bug day…or bug spraying day…this morning I had a 9-12 window appointment time and the bug man was at my door at about 9:10.  Normally they show up at the end of the time slot…he was pleasant enough and reminded me of the recently departed from the Seahawks, Matt Hasselbeck…

I did a fair amount of reading today, opting for the intellectual experience as opposed to the hygienic one…yep, the first vacation day without a shower…my teeth were brushed…

Fruit Basket Variation

So of course, it was necessary to leave the house today.  We had to go to Kinkos to fax a document for Ashley because the original had not been received by the time she made the call.  With that behind us, we headed to Costco so she could get a hotdog and churro.  We ended up wandering around and looking at books, furniture and mass-produced oil paintings…

Later in the evening I managed to sew one more block for the Farmers Wife…

Day Seven...Dad's Birthday...

I was much more adventurous today than yesterday...I actually left the house!

I was pleasantly surprised when I logged into my checking account to view the amount of my first post administrative reassignment paycheck...

Six months of sewing little blocks...almost there!

Armed with this info, it was time to hit the "Christmas in July" sale at 35th Ave...they had been reopened for a week with the promise of 50 new fabric collections, and I had resisted and waited until payday.  It was kinda funny when I pulled into the parking lot and the giant inflatable Santa and snowman were bobbing and shining in the Arizona sunshine.   I will say, all in all I showed great restraint in my purchases, there was something specific I was searching for and I did find it...

At home I decided it was time to layout all the fabulous little quilt blocks I had inventoried the day before.  Thinking that the cats were sleeping, I laid out the blocks just to see how things were shaping up...and they shaped up very nicely...then the cats woke up and had one of their tussles on the blocks...

Lunch today was special, it is our annual tribute to dad at Subway.  We had a sub and a good visit and a toast to dad...We all miss him every day!

My wedding shoes...

More retail therapy ensued after lunch, the 99 Cent store for cleaning supplies, Anna's Linens and JC Penney for curtains, both a bust...and finally a trip to DSW where I found the shoes for the wedding.  Ashley and Justin were very helpful in choosing the right shoe...

At home, it was more sewing and the season premiere of Project Runway...

Day Six

Cheryl's Block

Hovering Birds

Today was really a one note kind of day...

I counted and inventoried all of my blocks for the Farmers Wife quilt and determined what I needed to finish.  Then, I pretty much sewed for most of the day...

When I stepped outside at 7:45 to check the mail, I realized that was the first time I had done anything close to even leaving the house...

Almost Amish Basket

Day Five (or lets just call it Tuesday)

This morning went much better in my efforts to get to the gym...I actually made it!  I increased my cardio time to 35 minutes, it seemed time to do that...I thought I was making good progress until I saw the elderly gentleman on the elliptical next to me...He was almost at one hour and he was really working it...outpaced by a QTip!

It felt pretty good to me home and cleaned up by 10:30am...Seemed like a great time to dive into my book, I have been reading "American Wife" I found it in the bargain bin about a year ago.  It has been a good read so far, it's supposedly loosely based on the life of Laura Bush...had a great nap during reading time too!

Kitchen Woodbox

Sewing was hit and miss today, some of the blocks I did turned out well and there was one that I flat could not figure out...scrapped it for now, I need to do a block count and figure out where I'm at and if I need to draft anymore patterns...

Friendship

Ashley had a job interview today, the only employer that has called her back in all the apps she has filled out...when she came home early from the interview, I knew it was a bad sign...she got lost so she never made it...to make matters worse (or infuriate me...) she didn't call them...a big fight ensued from that point...I'm not proud of these moments but they do weigh on my mind so, I include them here in the blog...

We made a trip to Red Robin for Ashley's free birthday burger and my vacation fish and chips...very tasty but not the same as Spuds at Alki Beach...

Farmers Wife

Found out too that Matt Hasselbeck will not be returning to the Seahawks...mixed emotions on this but, it's how the game works...

More sewing, reading and mindless TV...

Day Four...

A few blocks for the snowman quilt

I had the best of intentions...I really did...

I woke up at 7am, precisely the time I start work in the summer...I chuckled to myself, played on the computer, made a conscious decision not to go to the gym and went back to bed and slept until 11am...I seem to have no problem slipping into vacation mode...

Today was a good day because the NFL lockout is over...football will be starting in a few weeks...very excited!For my creative endeavors, I worked on a quilt that Debbie and I are doing together for Dorene.  It was a cutting and fusing project...I love the way the cardinals came out...

Flock 1

Flock 2

Lastly, I did two more blocks for the Farmers Wife quilt.  The "flock" block is by far one of my favorites, so I took a couple of my favorite fabrics and added two more to the group...I think I have 20 or so to go before I can start sashing...

Day Three...

Happy Birthday Ashley!!

Today was a fun and kick back kinda day...

In the morning I spent some time on the flickr site and wrote a good plug for the Army Baby quilt project.  One of the other quilters had just contributed a quilt to the Army Baby project based on a comment I had made on the site (I sure wish I could remember what I said!)  It was flattering that I inspired someone to contribute to the project...

In the afternoon, Alyssa and Steve came over and we headed to NYPD for a pizza lunch and free Birthday dessert.  After lunch we caught a viewing of "Captain America", what a great movie!

The day was capped off with a trip to WalMart where I was pleasantly surprised when I spotted Kiltlifter in the cooler section...who knew?

Day Two...

Week 30 Peterson Star

Saturday is Civil War block day...each Saturday since January, I have gotten up and booted up the computer pretty much first thing.  This has been such a fun project.  the blocks are all so different and not blocks that I would normally give a second look at...

Since last Christmas when I made two quilts for the Army Babies project, I have wanted to make an Americana palette quilt, the Civil War block of the week project was just the ticket.  Every time I go into a quilt shop, I always cruise the patriotic fabrics,  have quite the stash built up...I can make a few more quilts with what I have!

Week 30 Rockland Star Tribute

I received a lovely note from someone in the Civil Flickr group, she was inspired by me and has just shipped off a quilt to the Army Baby project...how exciting!

Sewing and crafting was the order for the day...caught up on several episodes of "Say Yes to The Dress" on TLC...reality shows are so silly yet so addicting...

Day One...

First up on the crafting journey...primitive design in wool

I slept in...normally I am up around 6am or so on my days off but I managed to snooze until about 8:30...Did the normal morning stuff and checked a few things on the computer...

Hit the gym around 11am...Friday mornings at the Fitness Center is Silver Sneaker day so, I feel like a whippersnapper during my workout, truth be told, there are some folks there that could run circles around me!  I followed a gentlemen on the shoulder press that had the weight setting twice of what I could handle...

After a trip to WalMart and a shower, Ashley and I braved the heat for a little lunch and shopping.  At 2pm we hit Costco for the $1.50 hot dog special, the place was packed!  Forget fancy restaurants, Costco was the place to be...

Next up Arrowhead Mall...I needed to replace a well loved cosmetic product and invest in a hair thickening product that was recommended to me...I was amazed by the number of people out and about for a weekday on such a hot day...

Little stitched pumpkin

We stopped by Borders to check out the "Going out of Business" sale, it was crowded...and a little sad.  I always enjoyed going to Borders for a cup of Seattle's Best Coffee and flipping through a magazine.

Last stop was Joanne's to purchase just a few items, or supplies actually for the upcoming crafting spree...we used every coupon in the sale flyer.

Home for a nap, a cup of coffee and to work on the primitive wool project.  Stitched and watched the West Wing on DVD...first full day of vacation, pretty darn good!

On Vacation...

What a day at work!  Despite my best efforts to be organized and plow through the to do list, it was still a crazy, hectic day complete with some drama and last minute "but you gotta help me..."

I have concluded that it is days like this that validate the fact that a vacation is needed...

The highlight of the day was a call from Josh after his shift at Fort Drum...after 15 months in the Army, he is finally getting to do what he enlisted for...the sad casualty of the day was the chipmunk that ran out in front of his patrol car...

Journal Musings

Cardinal Log Cabin Block

Another blog?

Yep...another blog...

This is going to be a different kind of blog...this will be an online diary of sorts as I work, play, go to the gym and generally "do my thing"

I am hours away from my vacation, a well earned vacation.  Each year I pack my suitcases and catch a plane to Seattle.  Not this year...this year my credit cards, unemployed kid and engaged kid have diverted my resources.  I'm still a bit in denial about my annual trip but, on the other hand, I am lucky to have a great family and job that I can deal with...so, I won't complain anymore...

Work has been interesting for sometime now, no two days are alike at GCC, there are many characters and some pretty crazy people at work...in my 21 years at the college I have accumulated a few stories, gray hairs, wrinkles and yes, a couple of pounds...

So, since I'm not leaving town for vacation, what am I going to do?  Sleep in, read, sew, clean my room and whatever else I feel like...

One more day of work to wrap up the loose ends and leave notes for the person covering my desk for the next two weeks...