Arrrgh!!!

A Clean Desk

2010-03-17T22:06:01Z

Don't you love it when a plan comes together. I managed to get the dishes done, the clothes washed and folded, and THEN......I started working on the mail.

Mail is a major undertaking here. We get mail for five different entities. A huge amount of it is junk mail, but most of it needs to be opened, and a lot of it needs to be shredded. I organize the rest into four piles (DH and my mail goes into the same pile).

I took one stack at a time and filed or pitched almost all of the mail. You can see the top of my desk now. I wouldn't go as far to say that I was finished, but I've made tremendous headway, and it's very satisfying.

Now, I can go outside and play!

Crocus

2010-03-17T21:53:37Z

Our chipmunk population has been redesigning our gardens. I have a wave of tiny purple crocus across the garden at the foot of the sidewalk. I was sure that I planted crocus closer to the front door! There's still one gold crocus, and a white one, but these tiny purple ones are multiplying and making a pretty spring statement.

The iris seem happy with the weather. I see short leaves from all of them. I hope to do a major redesign of the sidewalk garden and I'll be sorry to move all those iris. We haven't recovered from the move of two years ago. I suppose that means that this would be the right time to make the adjustments.

I wish I could tell you that I had made good use of the 60 degree weather yesterday and today. Unfortunately, I've been chained to my desk this afternoon. I may go out for 30 minutes to rake the gravel off the front lawn. The chipmunks aren't the only ones who have been redesigning here. Dear Husband relocated the lawn in four places when he plowed the driveway this winter, so we need to roll out the lawn and reseed. Too bad I can't get the chipmunks to work with DH. ;-)

Plans

2010-03-13T16:36:14Z

I need to make plans. Actually, I need to give some thought as to how to share what I know about quilting with a beginning quilter, without scaring her off! *G*

Elegante Mother was a member of the Empty Nester group at her church. I got to know a number of the ladies when they came to our house for a monthly craft session. They made all sorts of things including lap robes, baby quilts, neck coolers for the troops, and gift bags for women in shelters. I discovered that they have a new member who is interested in quilting, and I e-mailed her. We plan to spend a day together in my quilting studio. She makes quilts for troops returning from the Middle East. I just discovered that she is a beginning quilter, so I'm trying to decide what pattern I can show her to expand her experience, without being too difficult.

Dear Husband and I will be visiting a quilt show this afternoon, so perhaps I will get some ideas there, and I can check to see if there are any books on the subject.

Mary plans to come for the day, and we'll have soup for lunch. We can set up both sewing machines and still have room for a cutting mat. We can put completed blocks on the design wall, so that we have an idea how things are shaping up. I may try to put together some blocks ahead of time that could be mixed into what we make on our quilting day.

I'm really looking forward to making a new friend, and spending a day sewing.

Crocus and Daffodils and Tulips....

2010-03-13T16:16:53Z

Oh, my! Spring is arriving early to northeast Illinois. We've had a week of off-and-on rain. The snow has melted away, grass is greening up, and crocus are in bloom. Each day I visit the gardens that lead to the front door to see what's newly sprouted. The daffodil leaves are at least six inches tall. The Darwin hybrid tulip leaves are all up. There are scads of iris coming up, sharp little points of green pushing their way up out of the dirt. The lavender is greening up, and I can see leaves on the phlox, foxglove and centaura montana.

I've seen the first chipmunk, but not the first robin. My sister said she saw one, so they will be here shortly. I figure the rain has flooded the chipmunk den and floated him up and out, along with the worms. The robins can't be too far behind, since the worms are such easy pickins.

Dear Husband is getting his ears lowered this afternoon. He said if I accompanied him, he'd treat for lunch. I asked if he would go with me to a quilt show after lunch, and he agreed. It turns out the show is just half a mile from Elegante Mother, so we'll make a stop there.

Tomorrow, I hope to get some more work done in the basement, and work on my ironing. I let that stack grow until it begins to irritate me, and then spend an afternoon cutting it back. It's always more fun when there is new fabric to iron, but I've been trying to resist buying more fabric until I use up some of my stash. I think there may be about twenty quilts waiting to be designed from the stash, perhaps more. I hope the quilt show will provide inspiration!

I hope you all have a great weekend. Stay dry!

Use it up

2010-03-01T00:28:11Z

I've been using up things from my freezer. You know the concept....don't let it stay around so long that it gets freezer burn or looses it's value as a foodstuff. I moved a roasting chicken from the freezer to the refrigerator three days ago, but by 3:00 this afternoon it had not defrosted enough to roast. I'd left it to Dear Husband to oversee, but I think the US/Canada Olympic hockey game was more pressing.

I was trying to decide what we could do for dinner, running through what was in my refrigerator and pantry. I had hamburger, rice, cabbage, and tomatoes. There was only half a head of cabbage, so I couldn't really do stuffed cabbage leaves, but I found a recipe for Golumpki casserole on-line, and I decided to wing it. I cooked the casserole for an hour, and it tasted okay, but some of the rice wasn't cooked through. I wonder if a full head of cabbage would have added more liquid to the casserole, or if a necessary liquid was omitted from the recipe? I've added more water (and should have added more salt and pepper), and put it back in the oven to finish cooking. I think it will make an adequate leftover for lunches, and it wasn't a bad as a "What the heck are we going to have for dinner?" meal.

I want to surf, or check my cookbooks to see if I can find a recipe similar to this that may have more liquid, or less rice in it. Failing that, I'll just try my hand at cabbage rolls. It's never too late to learn a new recipe!

Will Wonders Never Cease!

2010-02-27T18:29:14Z

We slept in today. I woke around 7:00 and got up to feed Edward Scissorhands. I dressed and headed for the kitchen, fed the cat, emptied the dishwasher, made toast and heated up some tea. I puttered around with little things, waiting for Dear Husband to start his day.

After DH had something to eat, we BOTH headed to the basement. He chose to start shredding documents from prior to 2000 for the company, and I started the mammoth undertaking of repackaging fall and Christmas decorations. This chore is difficult because we store not only our own decorations, but all of Elegante Mother's decorations from years past. At some point, I will invite my sisters to visit and we will go through these boxes to determine what can be thrown out, and what should be kept for Elegante Mother. I think her collections of owls and angels are stored downstairs, plus all her craft materials (batting, fabric, ribbons, buttons, patterns, junk....)

The reorganizing is going well, but I wish I had a longer table. I've found ways to cope with the lack of space for now, but I can see purchasing some plywood for the future, so that we will have a larger workspace.

This is actually the start of my spring cleaning. In order to clean on the first floor, I need to remove all of the decorations and take seasonal things to the basement. I couldn't in good conscience take things to the basement without cleaning things there, first. AND, I'm not likely to invite ALL my sisters to go through EM's things with the basement looking as it does right now.
My goal is to get things stored on the shelves at the wall, and then try to get the floor washed. It's a big job, but one I'll be very happy to see finished.

I want you all to know that I have removed the ornaments from the Christmas tree. It will shine it's lights one more night, and tomorrow the guys will take it to the basement. That's another good reason to get things cleaned up. I need to make a spot for the tree.

I hope you're all feeling as energetic as I am. Happy Saturday!

Brilliant Sun

2010-02-27T01:11:18Z

It was cold today, but clear, and the sun was incredibly brilliant! We still have some snow, and the sunlight on the snow made my eyes water. We have a few more days of light snow coming this way, but nothing like what the eastern U.S. has been getting. I love the sunlight in the morning when it makes my quilt studio glow, but afternoon sunlight is starting to talk to me of SPRING!!! Have you noticed our days are longer?

I went to exercise this morning. We did our warm-up and about 25 minutes of cardio, and then we were introduced to a guest teacher. Regina is going to start a class next week on "Zoomba." She took us through three simple, warm-up style pieces. The footwork is very similar to what we do in my present class, with a bit more dancing involved. I have a bad knee, so I'm not thrilled by steps that require very quick shifts of weight, but I was able to substitute simpler steps and keep up the pace. I don't think I will be signing up for Zoomba, but I enjoyed the chance to sample it.

Okay, tomorrow the Christmas tree comes down. I heard on the news yesterday that the town in which I live requires that your Christmas decorations be down, or you will be fined!! What right do they have to legislate how I decorate my house??? I hope that my evergreen wreath with the red bow in the entryway near my front door is allowable, or I'll be writing about the fine next week! Actually, I'm going to go check out the law, so that I know how it reads! lol

Taxes are almost ready to go to the CPA (She'll FAINT!!!) Usually I get them to her by April 1st. I'll have to drop them off on Monday, just for the fun of it. New insurance is just about ready to be locked in. You can see the top of my desk. Amazing, isn't it??

Have a great weekend!

Busy Week Coming

2010-02-20T14:07:40Z

We have a busy week coming up, and then it looks like things might calm down for a week or so. Both Dear Husband and I have finally made appointments with our optometrist. I've been battling an eye infection which is most likely due to close proximity to our cat, Ed, and I didn't want to visit the eye doctor with less than clear vision. And to be truthful, I was lazy about getting around to making the appointment. Had I made the appointment late last fall, I'd have to go back for help with this eye infection anyway, so things have a way of working out.

Thursday, I was the queen of errands. I managed to visit the bank, the post office, get gas for the car, stop at the cleaners, visit with my optometrist for a prescription, pick up the backing for a baby quilt I need to finish, shop for the baby shower, and then stop at the drug store to drop off the prescription, and still get home for an afternoon in the studio! I love days when you are able to sail through a backlog of things with little or no difficulty.

Our optometrist is wonderful. I walked in cold, presented my problem to the receptionists, and they encouraged me to wait to see the doc, who would be available in just a few minutes. Perhaps two minutes later he said goodbye to a patient, and took a moment to talk with me. Rather than airing the situation to the world at large, he invited me to his office, where I could explain what had been going on. My question was, did he need to have the infection cleared up before my appointment next week, and/or did he wish to prescribe eyedrops to clear the infection. He prescribed, and then explained to me it was most likely the very close contact with the cat that was doing me in. No charge.....see you next week! WOW....how long has it been since you've had assistance like that from a professional?

Ed, our cat, is approximately 20. He has kidney disease, and at the moment he's having another flare up. We know his time is limited, and I am loathe to send him on his way, so I will need to make some adjustments. After years of being standoffish, he now wants to glue himself to my body periodically, and he's taken to settling on my chest at night. It's rather odd....but I suppose he enjoys the heat, and being stoked and scritched...and he may like the feel of my heart beat. Unfortunately, I'll have to keep him on my lap from now on to prevent the inflammation in my eyes.

Let's see...back to next week. We have a baby shower for the little one who will be the first great great granddaughter in our family. She's due emminently, and the shower is tomorrow. And a week from Sunday, I have promised to attend the Empty Nester luncheon at church in Elegante Mother's stead. We have been writing to two of the youth group as secret pen pals and Sunday we are to meet our pen pals.

The week is set up alternating exercise sessions with appointments, the shower and the pen pals, so on paper it looks pretty busy. Actually, it's just one activity a day. I might even find the time to redecorate the Christmas tree! *G*

I hope you all have a great week, and just enough stuff to do that you can get around to it all!

Timing is Everything

2010-02-14T16:12:57Z

It's Valentine's Day. I suppose I should take down the Christmas tree.....

Roses

2010-02-14T15:34:13Z

It's Valentine's Day. Dear Husband has given me the most beautiful bouquet of long stemmed roses. When we were first dating, he called his favorite florist to order roses for me, to be sent to our shop, "Three Sisters Needlecraft." I was floored by the gift. It was the first bouquet of roses that I had ever received, and I was in my mid thirties at the time. Everyone who came into the shop walked over and dropped their heads to inhale the scent, and I'm sure the whole town (it was a small town) was talking about the beautiful roses.

When Dear Husband came to visit, he saw the roses, prominently displayed, and he looked like a thunder cloud. I didn't have the faintest idea what had irritated him, and was really concerned. He had ordered a rainbow of colored roses, but the local florist had just dark red roses, so that's how they had filled the order. DH drove to his favorite florist, told them what had gone wrong, and picked up another dozen roses in a rainbow of color, and returned to our shop. Now, I had TWO DOZEN ROSES!!! Be still my beating heart. It still gives me goosebumps to think about it.

If you thought the town was talking over the first dozen roses, you should have heard the buzz when he brought the second dozen! *G*

I've always felt pampered by Dear Husband, in every way, but I love it when he buys me flowers. The bouquet for this Valentine's Day is that same rainbow of color, and they've really brightened our winter days, and reminded me that our love has lasted 25 years.

Thank you, sweetheart!

Hospice

2010-02-12T19:54:12Z

For the longest time, I have thought that "Hospice" was an association you called when a member of your family was about to pass away. I think most of us believe that is their function. And, we believe that they provide counseling for the family.

Okay, yes, they provide those services, but I've learned that they are a LOT more!

Our lawyer recommended that we contact Hospice, so My-Sister-The-Nurse made the call. In twenty-four hours, Elegante Mother had a new chair that can lift her to her feet, a nursing bed with a table, and a seat for the shower. She had three nurses who oversee her care, who have organized her medications, and a doctor who visits once a month. EM's caregiver has help bathing EM twice a week, and both a chaplain and a music therapist come once a week. Should she need it, a podiatrist will visit. Hospice provides her medication, and all this is billed through Medicare!

Our caregiver is effusive in her thanks for receiving all this help to care for EM. Em is responding to all the visitors, conversing more than in the recent past, and interacting more with the people around her. The change in her is noticeable, and for the good.

I may have written about this before, but I just can't say enough about Hospice and their work! I've been sharing this with everyone who will stand still long enough to listen to me. This morning I spoke with my exercise class, who are all old enough to need this information. The Hospice chaplain who visits with EM is willing to do a short presentation for her Empty Nesters group at church, another age appropriate audience. But, you don't have to have retired to need to know this information. If you are caring for a family member, or if a neighbor needs assistance, please make a call to Hospice. They can help in many ways, and you don't have to carry the burden on your own.

Souper Supper, 2010

2010-02-07T17:53:43Z

The first Friday of each month I host seven ladies in a quilting bee. We each work on our own projects unless someone has a deadline and is in need of assistance. The ladies are quite advanced quilters. One is a fabric artist, another is a certified quilt appraiser, another is the most professional appliquér of my acquaintance. The others are all experts in multiple techniques and a range of quilting styles. My contact with them has kept me up on the news of the quilting world, and the news of my quilting friends.

Some time ago I asked if they would like to have dinner here in February, with soup as the entrée, and they unhesitatingly said, "Yes!" So, for years, we have met for dinner before bee in February. I almost always make two soup choices, but there are days when I feel energetic and make as many as four. The past few years they have told me they would like to have the cheddar chowder and one other soup of my choice. This time I added pasta e fagiole, similar to that which is served at Olive Garden, and those choices seemed to have satisfied everyone. I sent containers of soup home with four of the ladies, and we still had enough left for lunch yesterday.

The ladies each bring something to share, so we had a chopped salad with pasta, and a salad that had orzo, spinach, sun-dried tomato, and feta cheese. One woman brought a wonderful collection of fresh fruit including huge sweet cherries and fresh pineapple. Another brought honey wheat bread. There was a cheese tray, spinach dip, crab dip and a variety of dippers. We eat well at bee!

To end the evening, our dessert specialist provided a heavenly dark chocolate cake with fudge frosting! I don't crave chocolate, but I'm addicted to this cake!

It seemed it was our night to talk about family problems. Three of us have parents who need caregivers. One woman has just lost her mother to a long battle with Alzheimer's, so we had lots of thoughts, suggestion and sadness to share. The younger members had their share of family issues bugging them, so we had our own support session in gear.

I'm so delighted to have friends like these. They make a great support system, and I really enjoy being able to offer them the hospitality of my home. Hmmmm.....maybe next time I should have quilted place mats for the table! *G*

Reinforcements

2010-02-07T17:36:10Z

Last night I walked into the studio to get a chalk marker for a wall hanging that I am quilting, and as I reached toward the utensil organizer the shelving that holds my books, utensils, magazines, batting and unfinished projects, leaned sideways parallel to the wall. I grabbed the upright nearest to me and called for help from the men in the living room. Reinforcements arrived, and the bookshelf was righted, with a promise to tighten up the screws in the morning.

Dear Husband and I emptied the shelves and pulled the unit out from the wall. DH used two boards to create an "X" across the back of the center section to give a little more stability. Because the shelves rest at the outer edge of the floor, the carpet tends to make them tilt in a bit, toward the center of the room. DH found wood strips to slip under the front feet to offset the tilt, and he tightened all the screws that hold the shelving together. Whatta guy!

Of course, I have to return everything to the shelves, but I consider that to be a good thing. It's always good to have the chance to look over what you are storing. Perhaps you will have the solution to a problem that kept you from completing something earlier, and you can move it to the "Ready to be finished" stack. Or, there may be things that you can finally part with, and there are always new things that need to be fit into the collection.

While DH worked on the shelves, I took a few stitches in a lady reindeer that Elegante Mother made as a Christmas decoration, and I cut and pinned the hems on a new pair of pants. I'll have two things done and out of the shelves.

Progress. Don't you love it!?

On the Mend

2010-01-31T14:58:40Z

It seems that I am on the mend. I have a very low tolerance for being ill, so I wish things would hurry up and sort themselves out.

My stomach problem must have been a response to something I ate, because it was over with in less than 24 hours. But, I was also dealing with an eye infection, and that has lingered. My-Sister-The-Nurse was also feeling poorly, so we flipped a coin to see who would house Frankie on Friday night, and I WON!!!

We went out to breakfast Saturday morning. She was on her way to visit with Elegante Mother, and I needed to make a bank and Post Office run. I had a lovely time chatting with Frankie. I moaned about the need to put away Christmas things and the ever present need to clean my basement, and she told me about an exercise she does with the students at her school.

She asks the kids to take a minute to envision their lives 20 years from now. And then asks what their lives might be like just five years from now. Then, she asks what their lives might be like 6 months from now. She talks them through the possibilities, and then asks what's keeping them from achieving those possibilities. Her students are kids at risk of loosing the opportunity to complete their public school education, so some of the answers could be lack of family support, making poor choices in friends, doing drugs, having to work to support themselves, or not getting enough rest or study time. The final step is to encourage the kids to determine how to turn things around.

Applied to my life, in ten years, I'd like to have simplified my life. I'd like to have less clutter, fewer material things to deal with, and the freedom to travel. A slimmer, trimmer me, would also be nice. Five years from now, I'd like to have a CLEAN BASEMENT. I'd like to have all the business files sorted, and culled, the holiday decorations limited and stored, the clothing in storage given to those who need it more than I do, and the floors and walls of the basement swabbed down!

In six months, It will be gardening season, and I'd like to have some of this organization completed so that I don't have two major demands on my time at the same time.

What has been keeping me from getting the basement done? It's not laziness. When I work, I work hard, but I am overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. I don't like having to do this work alone, but with the exception of the business files, I'm really the one who has to decide if something stays or goes. I need to break things down into more manageable parts and chip away at the job until I can see some improvement. I also need to organize some help to remove all that needs to be thrown away.

Okay, sis.....give me some more guidance! I may be working in the basement today! *G*

So.....Frankie is home again after having visited with Elegante Mother. Dear Husband is back from Strictly Sail. I visited the PA and got some help for my eye infection, and I'm on the mend. Things are looking up, and I may even get my basement cleaned, yet!

I hope your weekend has been as good as mine!

Whining

2010-01-29T13:04:48Z

Image via Wikipedia

Please forgive me, but I need to whine a bit. I am under the weather. Dear Husband left for work yesterday and around 5:15 a.m. I realized I had to run for the bathroom. I up-chucked off and on for the next six hours or so. Wretched stuff! Both Dear Husband and I prefer to be alone when we are ill, so timing on this worked out well.

Happily, that phase has passed. I was even able to eat some applesauce and a small banana by dinner time. When in doubt, I always feel the BRAT diet is a good choice (banana, rice, applesauce, and tea). I risked all a little later, and also ate a few oyster crackers, which also stayed down. I assume that I ate something that didn't agree with me, but it's possible that I had a mild flu bug.

Wednesday night, before going to bed, I put a pound of dried Great Northern beans in a pot to soak. I wanted to make bean soup yesterday. Of course, I didn't cook anything at all, and this morning I found the pot of beans still soaking. I've never questioned whether you can over soak beans, so I had to do a little research at Wikipedia. There, I learned that you should not over soak beans. I'll pitch this batch out, and wait to make bean soup for a few days.

Does anyone have any suggestions for simple food that is good for this stage of recuperation? I remember that Elegante Mother always gave us grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, with ginger ale or seven up. My-Sister-The-Nurse tells me that tomato soup is really not a good choice. Chicken broth would be better.

I need to find light duty for today. I could start gathering information for taxes. I might play with fabrics or work on two small quilts I need to finish. Having the cat sit on my lap and snooze with me sounds really good, but sitting all day, without moving around regularly, is hard on the joints, so maybe I need to wean myself off the snoozing.

The worst of all this is that I will miss a visit from Frankie. My sister is driving up from Indiana to have a quick visit with Elegante Mother, and she had planned to stay here tonight. We've changed our plans just to make sure that I don't have anything contagious. Frankie will be staying with My-Sister-The-Nurse tonight, and I'll have to wait until March to see her. Darn!

Thank you, if you made it this far, for letting me whine. I'm sure I'll feel better soon. I have a limited tolerance for whining, so this must be a sign that I'm on the mend.

I hope you all have a good day!