I know, I haven’t been around all week, and then I drop yards of words on you. I hope you’ll scroll down far enough to see the quilt I finished for my granddaughter.
I had just a couple of thoughts to share before I shut down the computer for the day and go to play with fabric. I’ll visit blogs and read my e-mail tomorrow.
Elegante Mother is doing well. She had a visit with the doc to discuss the plan for her future health care. Doc is going the conservative route that we all prefer. She’ll have some blood tests done next week to determine whether she needs to see a neurologist, or not. Until then, baby aspirin is the drug of choice. If she needs to see the specialist, she’ll also have more tests done, including an MRI of her head. But, we’re waiting to see the results of her blood tests before we jump into further treatment.
We have a Red Hat Lady luncheon coming up next Saturday. I’ve been asked to plan the luncheon for March, so I’ve been compiling a list of Irish restaurants in this area. We’ll check out one of them for lunch tomorrow, and if it’s good, I’ll see if they are willing to host a small group. We’ll be away for five days at the end of the month, so I need to get this organized right away.
It’s less than three weeks to our trip to Florida! Where is the time going??? I need to do a little shopping, My present wardrobe is BBBBBbrrrrrrrr oriented! My-Sister-The-Nurse is going to stay with Elegante Mother while we’re gone, thank goodness. Otherwise, I’d be a wreck.
It’s VERY cold here, and will be even colder tomorrow. I bet the Bears are really thankful that they’re not playing the Super Bowl game at home! *G* We’re keeping bundled up, and adding quilts to beds where needed. Elegante Mother is showing off a new wardrobe of socks that my second sister gave her. If you don’t have to go out, be smart, and stay where it’s warm.
Okay…..I’m off to play with quilt fabric. Have a great day!

I am blessed with a niece who is artistic and thinks outside the box. I had the great good fortune of receiving one of her creations for Christmas. I’ve taken pictures of it so that I can share it with you.

I’m absolutely fascinated with the shape of the lip. I wouldn’t have it in me to play with a piece like this, but she’s fearless! I can’t wait to talk with her and get her thoughts on how she decided just what she wanted to do.

Neither of these pictures are true to the colors on the pitcher. The lighter shade is much greener than this shows. If I had to put names to the glaze colors, I’d say she used chartreuse and burgundy, which are complementary colors on the color wheel. Again, I’d have chosen “safe” colors. My niece has a lot to teach me about taking risks with your art. Cop Car has had that influence on my quilting stash, and it looks my niece will carry me a few steps further.
I love the “tail” on the handle. I’ve been trying to decide whether it looks like a woman with her hand on her hip, or whether it looks more like a cat’s tail, wrapped around the bottom. Whatever you think it is, it adds to the quirky sense of humor the piece embodies.
I’ll have to see if my niece would like to blog about her work. Perhaps we could set up a “Guest Blogger” status for her. Btw….this piece was done by Nan’s youngest daughter.
Thanks, sweetie! It’s a wonderful work of art, and a gift I’ll treasure!

I am not terribly obsessive about germs. We all know they are around us. We also know that it’s virtually impossible to lead a sterile life. Still, there are some times when it pays to avoid germs, and winter cold season is one of them.
I was in the doctor’s office with Elegante Mother last Monday. She had a follow-up visit with the doc. I picked up a copy of “WebMD” (because Hugh Laurie of “House, M.D. fame was on the cover *G*), and came across an article titled “Germ Warfare.” I thought I knew a lot about protecting myself, but this article opened my eyes.
I’ve seen the liners for grocery cart seats that people use now, as a barrier between their children and the germy cart, and thought that was an inspired idea. Do you think I made the leap from protecting the little ones to protecting myself or Elegante Mother?? Darn! I REALLY need to be looking at the bigger picture. Our grocery store offers sanitary wipes to use on the cart handles. I vow I will never push a cart that hasn’t been wiped down first.
As kids, we were taught to cover our mouth with a hand or a tissue when we sneezed or coughed. Now, we are more commonly being told to sneeze into our elbow or shoulder, so that we don’t contaminate our hands, and then contaminate whatever we touch. Smart, huh?? Of course, it makes for really yucky looking clothes… *G*
As a sidebar to that, check out your doctor. Is he still wearing a tie? I didn’t realize it, but there is a trend toward tie-less doctors as another way of limiting contamination. Think about it. A patient sneezes on the doc, and then his tie gets dragged across his next patient as he leans forward to examine them. It’s just one more place I wouldn’t have looked for germs!
I didn’t realize how many public places or things there are that we need to avoid if we are serious about not spreading germs. I NEVER thought about elevator buttons, or the hand rails on escalators. Out here in suburbia, we don’t have subways to deal with, but those of you who are city dwellers will pick up germs if you are a strap-hanger. Besides, a subway train is similar to an airplane. If someone within three feet of you is ill, you’re at risk.
Because I work at home, and spend so much time in the kitchen, the information about “what’s the germiest” at home interested me. The sponge at the kitchen sink is the worst offender, followed by the dishcloth. We’ve known for some time that sponges could be heated in the microwave for two minutes to sanitize them. Let me say, DAMP sponges. Apparently, when this was suggested in England, there were a number of house fires because they nuked dry sponges.
We change the dish cloth at least every day, sometimes several times within a day, depending on what’s going on in the kitchen. And, I use a bleach product on the sink and counters regularly.
In descending order, the rest of the germy list is the kitchen sink, the bathroom sink, cutting boards, the kitchen floor, the bathroom floor, the bathroom counter, and at the very last….the toilet!
So….having written all this about germs, I’d still tell you that I do not obsess about them. I try to make intelligent choices. I clean what I can, avoid some of the rest, and accept that some contact with germs is not a bad thing.
I have a parting shot for you. Wash your hands frequently during cold season! Use warm water, soap, and 15 – 20 seconds of scrubbing. If you’re not sure about the time, sing “Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear Meeeeeee-eeeeeeee, Happy Birthday to me,” twice.
Now go forth and lead a healthier life! *G*

When it rains it pours, at least with home repairs and electronics! It seems that if one appliance is going to go bad, two more fall apart very shortly.
The printer/scanner/copier/fax machine we use in the office has been getting more and more persnickety. I have finally adjusted to the need for this equipment, and probably couldn’t do without one now. So, after a brief discussion with the bosses, it was decided that we will shift this machine to the shop where they can use it as a copier, and we will get a new machine for the office.
That wasn’t so bad, was it?
Then, last week, I realized that the dishwasher just wasn’t doing it’s job. It’s roughly six years old, and is a Maytag, so of course, I’d like to believe their advertising about not needing maintenance. Hmpf. Finally it was bad enough that I called to arrange another service visit. I think my guys were shocked when they realized we would be returning to old-fashioned dish washing. I did the lion’s share, but I wasn’t shy about asking for help.
Tuesday, the service guy appeared, and worked with the machine for close to an hour before his boss called to find out where the heck he was! I had already figured out that his specialty wasn’t dishwashers. He was doing a fine job, but you could see he wasn’t used to doing it. Ultimately, he ordered the parts and said he thought they might have it up and running by Friday. And so they did!
The BOSS came out and had the parts swapped in fifteen minutes. While he was working on the dishwasher, I groused that just this morning the key pad on my microwave had died. He said that it was cheaper to buy a new one that it was to have it serviced. That’s rather what I thought. When he stood up to go, he walked over to the microwave, unplugged it, plugged it back in, and waited a few moments before he entered the time. Sure enough, he got it to start again.
I asked him what the charge was for repairing it, and he said, “Nothing.” Whatta guy! We talked about the clock on the oven that hasn’t been working. His estimate on the cost to repair it was right in line with a previous estimate. BUT, he was able to tell me why the door of the oven “closes funny.” There’s a hinge that’s wearing out. It would cost me another $25 on top of the charge for the clock to get that fixed. I think he may have a deal. I figure he saved me the cost of a new microwave, at least for a while.
Too bad that he can’t replace the CD player on our very famous brand name music machine.
Copier/Fax, Dishwasher, Microwave, Oven, CD player….. It’s time to stop! That’s more than three.