November 2004 Archives

Lend a Hand

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I'm participating in my very first eBay auction.

I read a magazine titled "American Patchwork and Quilting." Last year, they asked their readers to donate a 10" square block of any pattern made in pink and white. The aim was to sew the donated blocks into quilts and auction them on eBay, to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

The readers rose to the challenge, and the magazine has received more than 25,000 quilt blocks! Hundreds of quilt guild members, quilt designers, quilt shop owners and others volunteered to assemble the blocks into quilts. Batting, backing, setting fabric and time were all donated, and nearly 500 quilts will be put up for auction.

In the few weeks that the auction has been running, they have already raised $25,000. The auction runs until December 31st, with new items being listed every week. ALL of the money raised through the auction will go to research. None of it will be kept for administrative expenses.

I have never participated in an eBay auction, but I think this is an exceptional place to start. I've bid on two of the quilts, and I have about eighteen hours to go to find out if I've won either or both of them. I have a five year old niece who is addicted to pink. I can't think of a better Christmas gift for her. She will be cozy, snuggled into her own pink and white quilt, and when she is older, I can tell her the significance of the gift. It's definitely a Win-Win situation!

This is an exceptional way for women to show solidarity. Women pieced blocks, women quilted the quilt tops, and the result of their efforts may one day save women who are facing breast cancer. That doesn't mean we discourage men from participating. We hope everyone will help in some way to wipe out this dreadful disease.

If you'd like to participate in the auction, or even if you'd just like to see what is being auctioned, go to www.ebay.com/apqqfc.

Wish me luck!

UPDATE: YEEEEEEEEEHAWWWWWWWWWW!! I WON my first quilt!

Open House

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My mother will be 88 very shortly. I've probably said that fifty times in the past six months. It's amazing to me that she will be EIGHTY EIGHT!

About six or seven years ago, Dear Husband and I went to New Orleans for a few days rest and relaxation. We had dinner in a fabulous restaurant called "The Courtyard of the Two Sisters." We enjoyed our elegant dinner so much, we returned for lunch the next day. Ever since, I have been trying to persuade my mother to hop a plane for two days and a night in the Big Easy to celebrate her birthday at the "Courtyard."

This year, she announced that if she made it to ninety, she wanted to celebrate in Paris! I like a woman who thinks BIG! *G*

Since we are not going to Paris this year, Mother has decided to do an open house. Two of my nieces work for a major grocery chain, and they are organizing trays of finger food from their deli and bakery departments. One of my sisters and her daughters will be coming for the weekend, and she'll organize the flowers and give me a hand getting ready. I'll be adding things like shrimp trays, beverages, and holiday decorations.

To that end, we will begin decorating tomorrow. I have ornaments to hang from the chandelier, and I'll swap Christmas themed wall hangings for those that normally cover our walls. I have evergreen swags and bows to put up on the carriage lights, and I plan to buy garland to drape at the front door.

I have one wreath, but I need four more. I use a lot of dried flowers and weeds when I make up wreaths, and sometimes I add silk flowers to the mix. Most of it is pretty understated and mellow. We'll put up a tree in Mother's sitting room, but the tree in our living room will have to wait until closer to Christmas.

I've tried for years to get Dear Husband to trim the roof line with white lights, but it's never going to happen. We finally resorted to hanging the icicle lights in the front windows, and some years an angel made of grapevine, covered with tiny white Italian lights, greets our visitors.

So, tomorrow will be the start of our decorating season. Just call me Martha.

The Family Pack Mule

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Dear Husband earned his halo today. He took the day off. I think this is the first time in 18 years that he has not gone to work the day after Thanksgiving. Since it was raining, it was a wise choice. He was spending a lazy day until I came back from my errands.

"Sweetie, could you give me a hand bringing up the Christmas decorations?"

I bet he made a dozen trips. I'd go through a box or two, and hand him what needed to be taken up the stairs, and he'd make the trip. I need to spend a morning downstairs repacking the Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations for the year, so that when the Christmas stuff goes back down, it won't be so difficult to reorganize it.

Dear Husband has been muttering that he shouldn't sit and watch TV after dinner. My solution to that is to have him join me in the basement, organizing what needs to be saved, and collecting what needs to be thrown away. I think he's delayed that chore because he knows that he will get to carry the trash upstairs.

Wait until he discovers that I have five or six boxes of mismatched mugs downstairs. I've been saving them incase we should ever open a coffee house. Maybe it's time to learn to make coffee.

We need a conveyor belt! I think I'll go browse on e-Bay....

Keyboard woes

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Friday morning, I went to my computer to check my mail, and discovered that it wouldn't boot up. It would get part way into the process and then stick, beep a signal at me, and then start all over again. I didn't have the faintest idea what had happened since the night before. When I'd closed the computer down and gone to bed, it was working.

Luckily we were expecting number three son to visit, and he's been given the IT position in our household. So, I practiced my patience. His first question was, had I added any new programs, or had I deleted anything the night before. Nope. I told him that I was having some problems with the computer recognizing my DSL line, but otherwise, there was nothing I could tell him that might guide his search.

He tried booting up, and noticed that an error message was being displayed for one second. He rebooted repeatedly, getting one word of the error message at a time, until he could determine that the problem had to do with the keyboard. We swapped keyboards and, sure enough, it booted right up.

I contacted Dell, and they were willing to order a new keyboard for us, but they needed several pieces of information. It took me until today to supply all the information, and I can expect a new keyboard in five to seven business days.

Their response was very timely, but five to seven business days if the keyboard is in stock, seems to be pretty slow service. I'm lucky that we have several computers in the house, both new and old, so that we can swap parts.

It's a bit awkward, having to go back to an older keyboard, but it works. I'm relieved that I was only out of contact a day or so.

Thanks #3 Son! We appreciate your expertise.

I'm resting

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Thanksgiving dinner is over, and the last of my family have left. About 90%, or maybe more, of the cleanup is done, and I have the first of two loads of table linens in the washer. The rental chairs have been collected, the recyclables gathered, and the dishwasher is running as we speak. Most of the dishes were hand washed by my nieces, but I'm cleaning up the dessert plates and a few pans.

It was lovely! One of my nieces said that this is the most incredible meal our family has during the course of the year. I think it's because everyone rises to the challenge and brings their finest recipes. As a family, we love to try new recipes, so there are always too many appetizers and desserts. We have food left over for days of meals, and I have to surf for ways to use up leftover ham.

I got to see parts of my family I haven't seen for several years, and I played with a one year old who wore me out just watching him. I love Thanksgiving.

Thank you, to my family, for making it such a wonderful day.

Sales!

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Are you a sale maven? Do the words "the day after Thanksgiving" bring joy to your heart? Then get your rest tonight. The BIG sale day of the holiday season is upon us.

I won't be joining you. Personally, I'd rather go to a mall on a Tuesday morning at 9:30, when not another soul is around, other than the sales people. I don't like the hunt or the crush, and I don't need to know that I ripped the very last Baby Bumpkins out of another woman's hand, to win the shopper of the day award.

That doesn't mean I don't like to make purchases for less. I'm not convinced that you can't save just as much on other days of the year. The traffic alone is enough to make me shake in my boots. The thought of all those accidents just waiting to happen, and all the road rage, is all I need to keep me firmly planted at home.

So, tomorrow, when all of YOU are out there, braving the crowds, I'll be at home working on quilts. I'll finish the Thanksgiving clean up, and I might even start some of the holiday decorating, but I WON'T be shopping.

I'm giving my feet a rest, and having a mental health day too. I encourage you to give it some thought. Let's start a "Down with Shopping the Day After Thanksgiving" society. You have my permission to buy as many gifts on-line as you want prior to Thanksgiving. In return, you promise not to shop the day after Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving

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To my blog family, I wish you all the happiest of Thanksgivings, even those of you who may not celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow. The idea is the same worldwide, even if we choose different days or ways to celebrate.

Tomorrow 27 of my family will be here to share a meal and say thanks for all that has happened in the past year. Dear Husband's youngest kid gave birth to our beautiful granddaughter. One of my nephews married, a niece had a baby boy. My god child also had a little boy this year. We feel very blessed.

I have pumpkin bread in the oven, and my Sicilian husband is making lasagna, which is his contribution to our meal. The element on one of my ovens has died, but we've found clever ways to get around the problem, and I know that our meal will be incredible. I come from a family of wondrous cooks.

I hope you have something for which you can say thanks. It doesn't have to be something big. It could be the smile a child gave you, or a rose from your sweetheart.

I'm glad that I met Cop Car and Hunky Husband and have been voted into their family. I'm glad Dr. D. and Mad Bull came through the hurricanes safely. I'm glad for Desiree that things seem to be working out for them. I'm glad that Stephanie came home to recharge, and that the boy is doing fine, Billy. Jamie, I'm glad that I haven't heard any stories about a mother in the Dallas area going on a rampage! lol

I'm looking forward to catching up with you all on Friday. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Shopping

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I learned yesterday that you should never wait until three days before a holiday to shop for a new table cloth.

I have a lovely table cloth, in the right size, in a wonderful Fall Gold shade, but there were no matching napkins left. Instead, I ended up with eight wonderful napkins in gold, russet and green that bring a lot more color to the table. Some lessons are felicitous, but I didn't think that was how my shopping trip would turn out yesterday.

I found two table cloths in a reasonable price range to cover a long banquet table. Unfortunately, there weren't matching napkins for either of them. Then, I found these great napkins, but there was no matching table cloth in the right size.

I looked at every set of gold napkins in the place before I finally realized that the table would be prettier with the additional color. I'll add flowers in fall colors, and candles, and we should have a lovely table.

I hope your Thanksgiving plans are all coming together well!

Thursday

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The rain has moved in. It's been gray all day, and was misting as we came home from errands around noon. The sky darkened through out the afternoon, and around 4:00 I realized that it was raining. We should have rain off and on into the weekend. It was 60 degrees today, but by Sunday, we should be down into the low 40s.

As we drove home, we passed the last of the corn fields to be harvested. The resident Canada geese were gleaning the fields. The farmer had made his first pass over the field, leaving roughly the bottom 12 inches of the stalks behind. Eventually he will disk the crop and turn it under, but for now you see a rough stubble. The bodies of the geese were hidden by the stubble, but you could see their necks sticking up out of the field. There were so many geese it looked like the farmer had planted another fast growing crop.

Customer service

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BFI, the company who picks up garbage for my town, needs to have someone encourage them to institute a "The Customer is Always Right" policy!

We live between two subdivisions, and every time there is someone new assigned to our route, they miss our garbage. Of course, it's MY duty to call them and let them know they failed to pick it up.

This morning I called, and was told (repeatedly, by a machine) that their hours were from 8:00 to 4:00 Monday through Friday. Unfortunately, it told me that at 8:00, 8:01, 8:02, 8:03, 8:04 and on, until I had to quit calling them at 8:10 so that I could get to exercise.

When we returned home, I called them again and had to play 20 questions. Each of the questions was phrased to show us just how sick they are of STUPID people who call them. What day is your Pickup Day? Tuesday. I just told you that it wasn't picked up yesterday, and yesterday was TUESDAY! What time did you have the garbage out at the curb? 5:00 a.m., even though you don't pick up the garbage until later in the day. Did it have the proper stickers on the bins? Yes! Did you use an authorized bin? We use your bins for recycling, and our own bins for garbage. This was the garbage you missed, so no, it was not one of your bins. What's your address (in a very bored tone)?

This woman lead me right to the edge of violence. Every word from her mouth implied that we had screwed up in getting the garbage out to the street. They NEVER admit that their people could have erred!

Now, I'll probably get in trouble for complaining about their service on my blog, and they'll give me someone else's garbage, while leaving ours behind, again!

If your business requires that you have to work with the general populace, you need to get real about how you interact with them. I can tell you, when the contract comes up for renewal, I'll be encouraging the committee to look into other service providers!

If you read Essay's blog, you'll understand when I tell you that my Peeves rating was "VOLCANIC!"

Books, Again

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Frequently, when I am working on something like weeding, raking, washing dishes, doing simple paperwork, folding clothes or piecing quilts I listen to books on tape. Our public library has an extensive collection of them, so I can listen to old friends or visit with new books I've never met.

Right now, I have Stephen King's "The Stand." It's the unabridged version, and there are about 22 tapes. I have to return it on Monday, so the race is on to see if I can hear the entire book this week!

I've read "The Stand" at least twice in the past 25 years. Personally, I think it's the best book King has ever written, although I have to admit that I stopped reading his work after "Pet Sematary." He willingly admits that he goes for the most gross as he sets up the books, and his work lost his appeal at that point.

The interesting thing about hearing "The Stand" on tape is that it makes it scarier, if that's possible. I have always thought that it was better to read a book than to see a movie of the book. When you see a movie, you see someone else's interpretation of the book, altered by the time and money constraints of the film making. Generally, I'd rather have my own vision of the book playing through my mind.

Books

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If you've been reading here for a while, you saw a comment last month about the fact that I was reading "Lucifer's Hammer," by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. I'd read the book nearly 20 years ago, and wanted to re-read the story.

Cat news

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I've been concerned that there was something wrong with our cat, Ed. He's the one named for Edward Scissorhands, thanks to wicked claws.

Ed is an indoor-outdoor cat. During the summer he'd like us to acknowledge that he is an OUTDOOR cat....but we compromise on the subject. Generally we let him out from whoever is awake first in the morning, until about two o'clock in the afternoon. Most days he tests his freedom, by asking to be let in and then back out a dozen times. Finally....close to 2:00, we get tired of the game and refuse to open the door for him. That's his cue to slink off and take a nap in the safetly of the house. Other days, he refuses to return until much later in the day, as if to say "I'm in charge here; I'll do as I please!"

So, last week, I finally made an appointment with the vet. I was concerned that Ed looked as though he had lost weight, and thought maybe he needed his quarterly visit to be wormed.

Normally Ed is a tough cat, but when we get to the vet's he becomes a sissy. This trip, he pushed his face between my arm and my hip and hugged my body. I think he figured if he couldn't see the doc, she couldn't see him.

The doc was surprised at how he looked, and that made my heart sink. But, when she weighed him, he hadn't lost any significant weight since August. Because we were both disturbed by his appearance, she decided to do a bank of blood tests on him. We'll find out the results tomorrow night. If there had been anything serious, they would have called us on Tuesday.

I hate to admit it, but Ed is about 64 now. It doesn't seem that he's been with us that long, but he's about 12 in human years. The chart I was reading says that makes him older than I am. Perhaps what we are seeing is the result of a well lived life. I certainly hope it's nothing more!

Two thirds of the way

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Well, we are two thirds of the way through Fall. We've had the most amazing season this year. I'm still waiting for the frost that will do in the last of my plants. I take heat every day from my mother, who wants me to go out and kill off living plants that have grown out over the sidewalk. The brick holds the heat of day and staves off the lighter frosts. These plants clearly understand the benefits of decorating the brick with their arms. You have to be careful where you place your feet as you come up the walk.

Last week we moved a bale of straw to the covered entryway, and set a mum and some pumpkins on it. We also cleared the containers of spent plants and moved some of them to storage, swept the sidewalk, and generally tidied everything. The entryway is ready to welcome visitors, unless we have our killing frost in the next week. Unfortunately, I can see myself outside doing yard work the day before Thanksgiving!

It's been a dry year. We had plenty of rain in late Spring, and then gradually things dried up. We'd have a week of gray days, but no rain, and then we had unremitting sun for a month. Finally, this week, we are getting the gentlest of rains. It isn't enough, but we'll take what we can get. I hope that the trees and shrubs get enough to drink before the ground freezes.

So, I'm still thinking in a Fall palate. I want to dress my tables for Thanksgiving in rich pumpkin colors. I have teasel and milkweed pods and cattails to use as part of my floral decorations. My candles smell like pumpkin pies rich in cloves and ginger. Let's hope the weather holds just a bit longer until we "gather together to ask the Lord's blessing."

Paradox

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My beloved SUV had to go in for repairs this week. When I turned on the heat, the entire dashboard shuddered. I suspected I knew the problem, but I wanted to be sure it wasn't something under warranty.

When they opened the hood, they found one of our free-loading mice had made a home in my air filter. Of course, now I have to check our other vehicle, for the same problem.

The paradox came when I traveled through the dealership to pay my bill. A long hallway connected the section where the repairs are done, and the sales area where the cashier resides. Halfway down the hall, there was the loveliest scent in the air, and then petroleum odors closed in again. I thought I had imagined it, until I retraced my steps. In the midst of all those "manly' smells, the three women who worked there had made a little oasis in the ladies room.

The door was ajar, and I could smell either the scent of the soap, or perhaps a hand lotion. What made me smile, was that the door was directly across from the parts department, and the men were lined up, sitting on leather stools, waiting to get the parts for their repair jobs.

I wonder if they were taking their time because they liked the lovely scent wafting over them, or if they needed a break from all those "manly" smells!?

OOOPS!

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I was cleaning shelves in my clothes closet on Sunday. We have one of those closet organizer systems, and the shelf on the top seems to be a tiny bit short. It rests on pegs that you can use to change the height of the shelf, and every now and then, if you touch it just right, it will slide off the pegs, and dump everything on you.

Well, on Sunday, it did just that. Everything slid past me and hit the floor as I grabbed for the shelf. Everything landed safely except for a bottle of Eucalyptus essential oil. The bottle is tiny, but the oil packs a punch. Some of it spilled across the back end of two pairs of slides, and some of it dripped onto, and into the carpet.

Hoarding

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I'm a hoarder.

I don't intend to be one, but it seems that I am. My niece was helping me organize the pantry this evening, and she brought to my attention the fact that I have enough candles to light most of Illinois.

I love candles, especially this time of the year. I love the pumpkin spice scented ones and those that are spiced apple scented. I like the warmth of the flame, and the homey feeling they give the house.

Christmas is Coming

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I'm one of those people, those old fogies, who believe that you shouldn't celebrate Christmas until you have celebrated Thanksgiving. It disturbs me to go to a mall in mid-October and see it dressed for Christmas, and to see them hawking merchandise on the basis of it's "gift appeal."

I can understand towns and villages wanting to get the decorations up while the weather is still reasonably warm. I can deal with that sort of thing as long as the decorations are not lighted until the day after Thanksgiving.

I know....I'm a grinch. But it seems to me that we have lost the entire point of the celebration of Christmas in the overflow of merchandise and garish decorations.

Best Friends

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My sister sent this to me today. It's one of the best e-mails I've ever received on the subject of friends, and I want to share it with you.

I don't know who wrote it, but I'd LOVE to give them credit for a wonderful message about sharing our lives with our friends.

Puns

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My husband is addicted to puns. In all fairness, I have to say that I love them too, but we like different types of puns. He is likely to go for the quick and dirty, the most obvious, hit them over the head, BAD sort of puns, while I tend to like the long involved stories that need to be read or at least told by a master story teller.

My mother has been living with us for the last fifteen years, and this week, I discovered that DH has swayed her over to the dark side.

We were driving home from an errand, and we saw a sea gull perched upon a light standard. It was so perfectly situated that it looked like it was a statue. As we drove by, Mother turned to me and said "I can't decide if that was a boy or a gull."

Ba-dump bump!


What did I do to deserve this??

Muskrat Ramble

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We live in an interesting area west of Chicago. Fifteen years ago, we built a house at the end of what was a row of "farmettes." As nearly as I can tell, that means long, deep lots that may have been used to keep horses or farm animals, or perhaps to have small veggie farms. Our land had been purchased in the 1930S by a couple who started a nursery. The remains of the nursery can be seen in the grove behind our house, and the evergreens on our lawn.

No see-ums

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NO, not the little bugs that drive you wild when you're sailing, or gardening. I've been thinking about how much of the time I do work that has little to show for it.

Tuesday, was one of the rare days when I didn't have to leave the house. I spent the first hour cleaning the kitchen, and the rest of the day I alternated between moving loads of laundry through the washer and drier and cleaning up stacks of work in the office. My niece and her boys joined us for our weekly dinner, and when they left, I went back to work in the office. At 2:00 in the morning, I finally crashed for the night, after creating the envelopes for the invitations to my Mother's open house.

Everything I did NEEDED to be done. I didn't get everything done that needed to be done. And except for the fact that we had clean clothes, and you could see the counters in the kitchen.....there was no evidence of the long day I had put in.

It's difficult to have a life where there is so little to show for your efforts. I used to be able to proudly point to children who were becoming musicians as a sign of my efforts. And, at one time in my life, I churned out quilts.

It's said that if you want something done, you should ask a busy person. They seem to be able to squeeze in one more thing. Maybe I need to force the issue and add one more thing to my week, and then one more, and one more after that, until I can list my accomplishments.

Or, perhaps, I need to find a way to be satisfied with the work I do. After all, caring for your mother is an honorable job. Keeping your husband out of jail, by filing federal quarterly reports is a commendable job.

Still....I'd like to be a little less "faceless."

Catching up....

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...in the gardens.

Today, one of my nieces gave me an afternoon of help out doors. Last weekend, when I should have been out doing yard work, I was inside. So this week, I've been playing catch up. I've planted four of the six dozen tulips, and now I'm running out of space. If I can find two matching containers that are not terra cotta, I may try planting the last two dozen in pots to be set out on the sidewalk next spring.

My niece raked the small lawn at the front of our house while I cut back the peonies, removed their supports and covered the stalks with compost. The compost helps to insulate them over the winter, and gives them a slow release feed that makes the peonies glorious in the Spring.

My attempt at lasagna gardening last year was quite a success. I managed to reclaim a long stretch of garden that had been over taken by grass. I added two more small sections of lasagna garden today, and hope to do one more small area before we quit for the winter. Normally, a "Lasagna" garden is created by putting down layers of wet newspaper and then layering "browns" and "greens" over it. "Browns" are dried leaves, shredded paper, straw or leaves. "Greens" are hotter materials like manure, kitchen scraps, or grass clippings. You need to make a stack six inches or higher to get an effective compost pile. I cheated. I laid down a heavier layer of paper, and then we put ready made compost over it, to hold it in place. That will deprive the grass of light, and kill it off! YEAH!!

Then, my niece moved a bale of hay to the covered area at the front door, and we decorated it with a potted mum, pumpkins and gourds. We cleaned up the leaves that had blown in, and either cut back or removed spent plants. I have to make room in the garage for several plants that will be wintered over, but things look much tidier now.

There are a number of plants in the gardens that edge either side of the sidewalk that are still going strong. I refuse to kill off something that has that kind of heart, so I can expect to be out in freezing weather cleaning up the rest of the gardens. I hope that they don't all die the day before Thanksgiving!

It was chilly this morning, but I was comfortable as I ran errands in a heavy sweater jacket. Then the wind picked up, and as we worked we could feel the temperature drop. By the time I went in for the day, my fingers and toes were really feeling the cold. Dear Husband and I collected two tarps of leaves for the compost pile and called it a day. My niece and her boys joined us for dinner, and it was nice to end the day in their company.

I still have 50 crocus to plant. It will be worth it, when they bloom next spring!

Leftovers!

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Thank God for leftovers! Tonight, I don't have to cook. Instead, we are cleaning out the refrigerator.

There's Chili, Minestrone Soup, Country Rigatoni, and Broiled Shrimp that were marinated in olive oil, lemon juice and oregano. We have Green Salad, Waldorf Salad, Coleslaw, Salsa and Guacamole. There are Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, Asiago bread, Pumpkin Pecan Dessert Squares and an incredible Chocolate Layer Cake.

We're a little short on veggies tonight, but I'm willing to eat an extra apple just so that I don't have to cook.

Tomorrow, we have family to dinner.....Pork Chops and Rice, Green Beans, Broccoli with Cheese Sauce, and salad.

I know, it sounds like my mind is on food again, but actually, it's focused on the freedom to get other things done, rather than cooking. Everyone needs a day off now and then!

Vote Early and Often

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Yes, we voted. Dear Husband went during the work day, and I drove over to the polling place with my Mother. Like Wichi Dude, I probably should have posted this on Tuesday, but it was on my list of "......when I get back to the computer" subjects.

Mother was rather funny about the subject. There was NO thought of not voting, but she announced on Monday that we would have to go EARLY because she had to get back to see Johnny Depp on the Oprah show.

She was rather ticked when I announced that to the members of the exercise class. Tonight, she said that she didn't understand why people thought that someone who is 88 (or almost 88), shouldn't be interested in the opposite sex. I told her that I didn't understand it either. I was right there with her, watching Johnny Depp!

So....we've voted. Not everyone we voted for made it into office. You win some years.....and you loose some years.

Mea culpa

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MAXIMA mea culpa!

The wondrous woman who hosts my blog was born on Halloween. I know that fact. I've known it for ages. Somehow, when October 31st came around this year, I forgot to send her my best wishes.

How embarrassing! Mortifying! How RUDE of me!

Okay....enough breast beating.

T.....I love you, girl, and I'm dreadfully sorry about missing your birthday. I hope you painted the town red, ate all the chocolate you wanted, and danced the night away!

Happy Birthday, hon!

Friday night

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Last night as our quilting bee was coming to a close, I asked the members if they had all voted. I received a resounding "YES!" I should have known these ladies would have been johnny-on-the-spot to see to their obligation as a citizen.

What interested me was that they are all rabidly Democratic! Wait...I don't mean that in a bad way. When I graduated from school, I was a Democrat, and over the years, as a businesswoman, I have gradually become a little more conservative. You could describe me as a person who votes the man, or the issue, NOT the party.

So, I was amazed to find that these women were all aggressively Democratic. They span years from 40 to 66 and are all college educated. The older ones remember what it was like to live through Viet Nam, and one of them marched against the war in Washington. Another is a walking textbook of statistics on Dubya's first four years, and the youngest member lost sleep election night, hoping that Kerry would make it.

My mother, who is a Republican, announced this week that she had, for the first time in her life, voted for a Democrat. I assumed she meant Kerry, but it's possible that she was speaking of Barak Obama, who has been elected as one of our Senators. I wish she had been present as we discussed politics last night, because it would have been enlightening to learn how she looks at the world. While she has never missed the chance to vote, I have never heard her make a political statement.

I've known my quilting friends for YEARS.....more than twenty years, for most of them, and I never knew how they felt about politics. I'm really glad I asked!

Saturday Morning

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My quilting bee met last night. There are nine ladies who meet once a month at my house. We take turns providing a sinfully delicious dessert or two. Normally we work on our own projects, but occasionally we will quilt together at a frame to help one of the members finish a project.

Last night we had an abundance of desserts: fudge frosted devil's food torte, crumb topped apple pie, and pumpkin pecan dessert squares. Unfortunately, last night only five of us made it to bee. It was a bit quieter than usual, but we had an enjoyable evening.

One of our members is a certified quilt appraiser. There are only 65 certified appraisers in the United States. The National Quilters Association is the body responsible for certifying quilt appraisers, and those who wish to be certified have to pass an intense course of study, and a grueling final test.

Two weeks ago, when I visited the Antiques Market with my sister, I bought two quilts. I rarely purchase quilts, so it was odd that I bought two on one day. I found a S Trip Around the World quilt that was in fairly good condition. The link shows you the pattern for the quilt. My quilt is a bit gentler in appearance because it is made with Depression era fabrics.

The second quilt I bought is a S quilt that I plan to give to my Mother for her birthday. It's in shades of white, pink and rose, and the design has been created in counted cross stitch. It's a very feminine quilt, in excellent condition, and the hand work is beautiful.

I asked my friend, the quilt appraiser, if she would do her magic for me on these quilts, so she brought her kit and appraised them as we chatted. I was astonished at the outcome. In her opinion, to replace these quilts, I would have to spend four times what I actually paid for them. Dear Husband says that we have our quilts appraised to make us feel better about what we spend on them, and this surely made me feel better!

Like anyone else, I like a bargain. I probably wouldn't have sprung for these quilts at their appraised value. But, I'd like to tell you that the art of making a quilt is generally undervalued. If I were to take the quilt on the back of my couch and add lines of machine embroidery to it to jazz it up, and then describe it as "Fiber Art," the quilt would command twice what it is worth now, or more.

For some reason, quilts are seen as an everyday item of little value, when it takes considerable talent to make a beautiful quilt. Years of practicing stitching, learning endless techniques, and developing color sense are all disregarded because it is just a "quilt." Some people are not even able to tell you what makes a quilt, and will call it a "comforter" or a "blanket."

In case you are not sure.....a "quilt" has three layers, a top, a batting (in the center), and a backing, and it is stitched together through all three layers, either by hand or by machine. This is the most basic of definitions. It's possible to have a quilt that doesn't have batting, but the stitching that goes through all the layers is essential. A quilt top could be "whole cloth," or a pieced design (like the Trip Around The World), or it could be embroidered, or it could have fabric appliquéd to it. When I first started quilting, the backs of the quilts were either sheets, or muslin. Now quilters are doing what they call "Back art." The backs of some quilts are as delightful to see as the fronts.

But, I digress, as I often do. What I want you to keep in mind is that quilts are MUCH more valuable than you may realize. They carry the history of your family in their stitches, and if you have family quilts, I URGE you to be sure that they have a name tag on the back that gives at the very least, the maker's name, the year it was made, and the town where it was made. The simple addition of a name tag increases the value of the quilt immensely by giving it a provenance.

So.....go forth on your Saturday chores thinking about quilts and share what you've just learned!

Again....

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I posted tonight, but MT must not love me.

Yes....I've been away longer than usual. I've been saving up things to share with you while I've been chained to my office desk. Hopefully, I'll get the time in the next few days to write a bit more.

We are already into November and I've barely scratched the surface of my Fall gardening. The Herb Garden is just about ready for winter, but it's the only garden that has received any attention.

If you have iris, now is the time to add a gentle fertilizer. Go buy a bag a alfalfa pellets, the kind of thing you might feed bunnies. Sprinkle them around your pods of iris, and let them deteriorate over the winter. They'll feed the iris and you'll have the most spectacular blooms you've ever seen.

I need to cut back peonies this weekend, and the plants in the container gardens. The pots need to be emptied and cleaned for storage in the garage over the winter. I want to insulate two roses and a pot of herbs that I'm going to try to store in the garage, too.

Saturday, we plan to attend a wedding reception late in the afternoon, and then go on to dinner with the kids, to celebrate Dear Husband's birthday. We're a little late with that celebration, but this was the first time we could gather. Sunday, one of my nieces is coming for a visit in the afternoon. So, I should be able to do some gardening during the mornings.

So...while my mind dwells on gardens and celebrations, the filing calls me. I'll be back soon.

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This page is an archive of entries from November 2004 listed from newest to oldest.

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