New Challenge

So I was wandering through some blogs as I have been out of blogland for a while and wanted to see what folks were up to. Notice the new button on my blog? (It's from Quilt Dad-credit given where due....) It should link you to a great idea: A basics charity challenge. In the words of the hostess, Cara Quilts, please read,

So what is a basic?

In our daily lives we have a lot of things we think of as basics.

This morning you brushed your teeth with a toothbrush and tooth paste.

You used toilet paper.

Had soap to wash your hands.

Put on some deodorant.

Ran a brush through your hair.

Maybe took a shower with shampoo, conditioner, body wash and a razor.

Put some make-up on.

You were able to put on clean underwear and socks, that no one else has ever worn.

In the kitchen did you grab some paper towels to clean up a little spill?

At some point during the day you probably grabbed a coffee or tea.

Used some tissue to blow your nose. Maybe sanitized your hands after.

I could go on but you probably have the point by now. We have a LOT of things that we consider basics.

In each of our communities there are places that people don’t have the very basic things we all take for granted. Shelters- for abused women/children, homeless, men’s missions, - exist in virtually every community. They are a necessary safety net for people in our communities who for an array of reasons need help. But these shelters are almost always in need of the basic items. Many of the people have had to leave everything behind, or don’t have anything to begin with.

Please go over to her blog, http://www.caraquilts.com, and read more information and how to sign up for prizes she will be offering. The idea is to collect a bunch of basics, take a photo to enter for prizes, and then drop off your basics at your local shelter. The biggest prize is the feeling you will have after you have donated. Tell your friends online and off, let's make it a national/international challenge.

It is this feeling that keeps me donating blood on a regular basis. I can't always donate material things people need, and we do our share of cleaning out and donating to organizations, but blood donation is different to me. It is something I can do with little worry or thought. Because my blood has certain antigens and other stuff, I was classed as a "rare and uncommon" blood type at NIH (National Institutes of Health)-like we needed proof I was "uncommon"? I get a phone call every 8 weeks to come donate blood, and I go in. About 45 minutes later I'm sitting in the break room enjoying juice and a snack, I get my little sticker that I gave blood, and I'm on my way. We get cool stuff, too, like t-shirts and reusable bags (our county just instituted a 5 cent charge for every paper or plastic bag you use from a retail store) a pocket calendar, and this time we got lanyards with plastic pockets to keep our donor cards in. I know, it's the kind of stuff my kids usually raise their eyebrows at, but I love it. It's STUFF, and some of us can never have enough stuff. And the best one? Next time I go in I can get my own guest photo ID so I don't have to go through the security check every time I go onto the campus. Now that is some serious STUFF.

Why I bake, not cook

There is a reason I do not volunteer to cook anything other than vegetarian chili, spaghetti sauce and burgers. Take yesterday, for example. Sarah prefers meals without red meat and following Simple Filling on the Weight Watchers' plan makes it easy for me to eat other protein sources than red meat. So, I'd spent some time going over recipes on the WW site and found one that looked good: a vegetarian stew. After the huge success of the veggie chili, I was pretty confident it would be a winner.

I gathered all the ingredients and followed the recipe pretty exactly, only making a few spicing changes. When we sat down to dinner, Sarah looked in the pot and asked, "You won't be mad at me if I don't like it, will you?" That should have been my first clue. She sampled it, and though it was very pretty-what with all the different bean and vegetable colors-it was more like cooked veggies thrown together than a stew. She said, "Maybe it needs a little more liquid, it's not really 'stewy"." So, I thought since we generally run pea soup through the blender to make it nice and rich, maybe running the stew through the blender would solve the problem.

First error: One does not have a lot of luck if the glass container is not thoroughly seated on the base. Next thing I knew, the glass container is twisting around, and little pieces of black plastic are flying around the kitchen. Not to be deterred, I made the second error: trying to use the food processor. The processor whipped that stew into a mush, and though similar to peas soup consistency, it definitely was not appetizing. I could get graphic, but suffice it to say use your imagination: green, orange, red and white vegetables mashed with red and white beans....

Thank goodness I do a mean turkey burger!

I have finally made a list of to-do projects that need to go up on the white board I saved from the discard pile at work. I have a few sewing projects and a few crochet projects. With luck, I can clear a decent amount of space from the stash area so I can refill it will new fabric. I'm getting bitten by that sewing bug again, and it feels good.

The bag! The bag!

Okay, so here are two pictures Lill took of the bag when it arrived yesterday in AZ. I realize now that if I'd been more anal (then usual) I could have reversed the flap layout so the plaid matched the front.... isn't the lining the cutest?

It's been a couple of really busy days at work and I've come home too tired to do anything but eat dinner and sit staring off into space. Well, the staring is actually at the mantelpiece which has our anniversary clock sitting in the center, stopped at 11:40 because I haven't changed the battery yet. And Lou didn't bother to tell me until a year or so ago that he doesn't like the clock face on it and we've only had it for about 25 years. So, hopefully this weekend I can find a new clock face at AC Moore or Michael's and then I can change the face of time and put a new battery in.

I'm also happy to comment that the Susan G. Komen Foundation has come to its senses and reversed its decision to withhold funds to Planned Parenthood that are used to fund mammograms for women. If it hadn't been for a mammogram/ultrasound/MRI progression, my tumor wouldn't have been found and who knows where that could have led. March is my month: I'll be Plus 1 for 3 years!

Bag Lady

So Lill wanted a bag that was not "fou-fou pink" but still had a bit of whimsy for carting her laptop back and forth to campus when she didn't want to use her "uber-pack"-that's what I privately call the Swiss gear pack all the kids have for their laptops and other stuff-it's like wearing a mini suitcase on your back. We have already picked out a pattern to make for a bag for her conferences that will look professional, so this bag had to fall in-between. I started with a basic messenger bag, but had to expand.

I made an inside pocket for just the laptop and doubled the padding in the pocket and the back of the bag. Then I put a shorter pocket on the inside front that will hold the mouse and power cord. I made an adjustable strap that may be too short, but that's not difficult to change. I thought the buckle I got for the slide was kind of tacky looking by itself, so I covered it with fabric. I also reinforced the sides and bottom with woven webbing between the outside fabric and the lining. The outside fabric was a real bargain-drapery material at $5.97/yard. The inside is quilting weight cotton in a mahjong tile print. So, it was a fun project and kept me off the streets on Sunday while I sewed.

Of course, I can't find the cord for the camera to download the pictures I took before I wrapped it for mailing, so either I'll find it soon, or Lill will have to take pictures and send them to me to post.....

There are definitely times I dislike technology.....why couldn't this camera use the same size cord as the gazillion other cameras we've had around here and still have the cords for? (and I know, I shouldn't end a comment with a preposition, but that will be a new post eventually)

Unhappy sounds

Today I moved enough stuff in the blue room to get close to my sewing machine. I'm not sure I'm happy though, Kenny is making a very bad sound when I sew. He started it when I was appliqueing the cutouts on Peg's quilt, but I did a real good cleaning and oiling and let him sit for while. However, today when I sat down to finish up some coasters that have been cut out for months (lots of months), he was fine until about the third one, then he started squeaking. It isn't pretty. So, on Thursday when I have a day off I will load him into the car and take him in to the shop and see if the guys there can get him to stop making noises he shouldn't be making. I have about half a dozen coaster sets cut out from holidays 2009-they were for the folks at work, but then Lou ended up in ICU in Ohio and that blew that holiday season to shreds. Since they were stacked on the table in the yellow room, and all the stuff in there was moved around over the past year, I completely forgot about them until early this month when they surfaced from hiding. The nice thing is that all the cutting is done, just need to do the sewing. Man, am I getting a jump on this year's holiday gifts!

Three of four walls are done so the painting moves along. It should be finished this week and furniture start to return. Lou will be rewiring an antique lamp from my mom's house (I call it antique because it's been around forever) and that will join the redecorating scheme.

I've drafted the pattern for Lill's sort-of messenger bag. It's a bag for her computer and stuff when she goes to meetings and conferences, but it's not a true messenger bag. She's trusting my judgement to pick the material, and I'm hoping to find something that is whimsical but still will pass for professional-tall order, but I'm up for it!

I finally found the perfect thank-you gift for Lill's friends Kayla and Andy who showed us such a wonderful day in Cambridge. It turns out Kayla is a goldfish cracker fanatic, and they are not available in England. So, when I was at Costco for the first time in ages, I found not only the large box that holds three bags, there was also a box of 24 individual bags for lunches. After dinner tonight I will write a note of thanks and package it up to send to the UK. I hope they enjoy it.

I had the nicest birthday yesterday with cards from my family, phone calls and dinner out at SushiKo. I got to do nothing all day while Lou and Sarah painted. I was really bad, too, as I clicked up Netflix and spent the afternoon watching episodes of season two of Torchwood, a spinoff of Dr. Who. If you are not aware of my liking for Dr. Who, than you really don't know me very well, do you? One of the highlights, among many, of my trip to London was shopping in the flagship store of Forbidden Planet, one of the absolutely best sources of Dr. Who merchandise. I think David Tennant is still my favorite doctor, but I will give "the new guy" a chance (not much of one, but I will give him one....)

So, building on my idea of setting goals rather than making resolutions, I have done a walking dvd today. 30 minutes, but covered two miles with interval work. It wasn't easy, which shows how far I have to go, but at least I started instead of putting it off. So, one goal, Start Moving, has been started. I won't say it's been met, because it needs to be more than one time, but I'm working on it!

Good weather

I am really glad we are having a mild winter with no snow, just wind and cold. I am especially glad of the sun and no snow as Sarah is shopping for furnishings for her room make over. For example, she has been scouring Craig's List for a secretary. The secretary we have, my grandmother's, does not have a large enough work surface for a laptop and books, nor does it have sliding reinforcements-hence the search.

She found a few worth looking at, one she especially liked with claw feet, circa late 1800s early 1900s. The "little" hitch was that it was in Mechanicsville, VA, a short 122 mile hop away. Since her friend was coming this weekend to visit with a van, sounded like it was worth a road trip down to look at it. Saturday morning we took off on a really nice drive, the scenery was beautiful and must look extraordinary in summer all green, or autumn when the leaves are changing. The GPS the kids gave me for my birthday worked perfectly, got us to the house of the seller. It was love at second sight-first sight was online. The secretary is in excellent condition, exactly what she wanted. So, rather than have to make a second trip to VA, we put down Miss Lucy's top, loaded the secretary in the back seat, covered it with towels and twine, and drove home. Thankfully we didn't have the predicted rain to contend with! We also made a lot of people smile as they passed us (even though I was driving the speed limit) and when we stopped for a hot drink, one lady looked at us and the car and said, "I bet you two are cold". We were, a little, but we had the heat blasting at 3 and were really warm enough.

We got home and Lou helped us unload the secretary from the car before I thought to take any pictures. Humphrey is home, waiting downstairs until the painting is finished. Of course, he may have a name change once he settles into his new home.

Amazing people

I have been blogging for a few years now. I started while I was recovering from cancer surgery and continued as I got involved in online groups of apronistas and quilters. I entered a few swaps and a few bees. These wonderful people have been so supportive through my recovery, through my husband's stroke, recovery and then his foot surgery.

Recently I asked my bee buddies to make me multicolored shapes rather than a block for my month. The plan was to make a lap quilt for my father-in-law's wife who had recently entered a care facility and was spending most of the time in a wheelchair. One of the important tasks caregivers do with dementia patients is repeatedly point out familiar things to keep their minds active. With the winter coming I wanted something warm for her. I planned to mount the shapes on black fleece to stand out, and backed it with a floral print flannel. Well, of course, the group came through in ways I had not ever expected! Eleven buddies sent 25 cutouts in rainbow colors. What wonderful people there are in the world, and I am glad they are in my corner of it.


I wanted to post this earlier, but life has a way of messing with my plans. I just want everyone to know that I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me create something that will bring warmth and color on a daily basis.

xxooxx,
San-Dee