Quilts, Scraps, and Photographs

Tuesday, another snowy day, another cancellation of our book club party - dang! But I had fun working on quilts! That's really not anything new for me, but sometimes I'm in the groove, and sometimes I'm not. This is what got me going today: scraps! A member of Freecycle asked for fabric scraps and pieces. That got me started going through my stuff. I came up with a large bag of really nice fabric pieces for her. And it helped me further organize my stash (a little - you'd never know it if you peeked into my sewing room, aka tornado-strewn-chaos).

In the process of sorting scraps, I found a zillion things I'd forgotten about such as blocks I didn't even know I had! Someone must have donated them at one time.. but I have no idea who or when! (I re-gifted them to someone else who asked for "pot luck" blocks. Ha! Easy way to clean!) And projects I left half started and completely forgotten, which is quite a regular habit of mine. And always, going through scraps motivates me to start sewing!



This is what I did... soon it'll be a scrappy "coins" quilt. And I have another top almost assembled. I'll show that to you in the next day or two.



Oh! And now that Christmas is over, I can show you this doll quilt I made for Little, daughter of Walk. I know, don't some people name their kids funny? Little and Walk! Sheesh! Come to think of it, my dad used to call me Little - Lit for short. (That's my old bride doll in the picture, circa 1960.)

My gosh, my golly, it's nearly 2009 and I haven't made any resolutions! Guess what. I don't like to. They just depress me, because I never accomplish them. So to avoid the guaranteed downer on myself, I just don't make resolutions.

I hope you all have a wonderful New Year! We like to celebrate in a very exciting way: stay home! Avoid drunk drivers, enjoy the peace and quiet, and on New Year's Day we take down the Christmas tree and also, if we're motivated, we go through our files and clean out junk so that we can start the New Year off right - with fewer paper piles devouring us. We are the Party Animals on our block as you can see.

Now to get used to writing 2009. (I confess, sometimes I still start writing 19-- when I have to write the date.)

This and That

Please visit yesterday's post, celebrating my #400th entry!

Last night I was visiting various blogs and websites, when I remembered to check the progress of my Alzheimer's Quilt. Here it is! It's not for sale yet, as auctions only run at certain times. But there it is, looking all official. Colors are a little off in that picture, though. It makes me feel like a grown-up to have a quilt of mine at a real place, offered for sale. Wow!



Yesterday's mail haul was fun. I got a bunch of blocks for Joanie's quilt. Here's a photo of what I have so far. Aren't they pretty? I can hardly wait to put this quilt together.

I'm loving being on break! Hubby is off work for the same period of time.. and it's so much fun that both of us can sleep in, eat when we want, take naps, and do our little fun projects. He works on Sudoku puzzles while I make quilts. Fun times! Our cat-sitting stint finally ended yesterday. We love our daughter's cat, but are always happy when he goes back home. During this visit Mr. Cat seemed especially fond of me, and had to be with me at all times. Kinda drove me nuts!

Am looking forward to our Book Club Christmas Party tonight... it was postponed two weeks ago due to bad weather. Please, let's not have a repeat of that rotten Weather Man Behavior!

Have a Cow! - Post #400

a girl in Nepal hugs her family's goat

This is my post #400! I started this blog in January 2006. It has been almost 3 years of blogging! What fun this has been! I love that I have "met" people from all over the world, and that I have learned so much from other bloggers. Thanks to all the quilters, moms, friends, writers, and artists whose blogs I have visited and your advice or inspiration from which I have benefited.

So in celebration of my Post #400, I am offering a challenge to my readers. Please go to this website,
http://www.heifer.org
read about Heifer International, and make a donation if you can! Heifer started in 1944, understanding that "peace can only begin where hunger and poverty end." What they do is provide an animal such as a goat, a llama, a flock of geese, a cow, to a family in need.. they teach the family how to care for the animal and how to use its resources. The animal provides milk for the family, or provides labor (such as pulling a plow) or provides protein and/or provides products that can be sold. This helps the family become self-sufficient. In return for receiving the animal, the family promises to pass on an offspring to another family and also helps teach them how to care for it. So the cycle keeps giving, and the sustenance helps the health and happiness of many families!

I am going to make a donation to Heifer, also. It kind of depends on how many comments I get. Maybe I'll make a donation of $1.00 per comment. Maybe 1 penny per comment, or if I get a bazillion comments, maybe I'll donate a flat amount. This will be decided after I see how many comments I get and what I can afford.

I'm happy to introduce my readers to this wonderful organization, Heifer International, and I hope that most or all of you will make a donation. Even a small amount will help the project. (And by the way, this particular charity is an excellent steward of resources, with a very high rating, so you know that your money is going to where it is needed. This is one reason I continue to give to Heifer.)

Thanks to all, and if you can, please donate to Heifer! And leave a comment, please, to give me a challenge, too.

What a Challenge!

I am working on a challenge quilt for my guild... I think I'm going to love how it turns out. But I can't show it to you yet, because it needs to be submitted anonymously. For now I'll just show you some corners of fabric I'm using. If I get all the putzy parts done and get it all assembled in time, you'll get to see it in a month or so.

Another challenge... my Post #400 is coming up NEXT! This one that you are reading is #399! I'm thinking of how to celebrate... maybe with a small give-away or some sort of challenge to my readers. Check back in the next day or two to see what I decide! WooHoo! I've bored people with nearly 400 posts! Aren't you dears for reading faithfully.

Meanwhile, go check out a NEW blogger here, Berry Patch Quilting. Alison at Berry Patch is using her blog instead of a website. She does longarm quilting professionally. I have had Alison quilt a few tops for me, and she always does gorgeous quilting! I love her work! I know Alison from Sunshine, where we are both members; we make quilts for kids undergoing cleft lip and cleft palate surgery. Alison is a big help there, too, as she sometimes does free quilting for the quilts we send to the kids. Please welcome Alison to the blogger world!

Are you Afflicted with Inner Peace?

photo by Jeff Wignall
Photo is a time-lapse shot of sparklers. Cool, eh?!


I saw this at BusyIntersection and decided to borrow it. (Thanks, T.)
-----------

Signs and symptoms of inner peace:

* A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than based on fears related to past experiences.
* An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
* A loss of interest in judging people.
* A loss of interest in judging self.
* A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
* A loss of interest in conflict.
* A loss of ability to worry (this is a serious symptom.)
* Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.
* Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.
* Frequent attacks of smiling.
* An increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
* An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

http://www.wildmind.org/ 2/1/06

Christmas #3

Our third and last Christmas celebration took place today. We gathered at BIL's new house, had a lot of silly laughs, ate a good and happy meal. Here you see son and fiancee talking with a niece (his cousin) in front of a quilt I made for BIL a few years ago. I must say, it's a nice quilt for how early I was in my quilting at that time.



This is the family that always ends up with something on their heads at the Christmas party. Silliness abounds.

Bethlehem Earthquake!

Something happened in Bethlehem. Looks like an earthquake! Thankfully, it appears that Baby Jesus is still safe in his manger. I'm not positive it was an earthquake, because our big ol' cat was in the same vicinity, so I couldn't really see what happened.

It's a fun, be-at-home-and-do-whatever-I-want day, so I'm about to hit the sewing machine. Yippeee!

Our Carniverous Christmas

Today we had Round #2 Christmas with daughter and her BF. We chatted, ate dinner, opened gifts, chatted some more. It was nice. Next year, though, I hope all 4 can come on the same day. I like it when we can all get together, do some family bonding and all that melty stuff. We shall see.



We served our roast and included some vegan leftovers. Yum. Dessert was a little more traditional than last night. Tonight we had sweet, gooey things: turtles and some layered sweet morsels that I make every year, and then I eat most of them myself.

Husband is nestled all snug in his bed, tired after two days of entertaining. I'm still up, because I'm a Night Owl, and because I'm reading a blog from way back to the present; it is so interesting. It's like reading a good book (nonfiction) that I can hardly put down. Thanks for sharing all your thought-provoking stories and your humor and compassion, T. Your mind is golden.

Here are my two kid-groups: daughter and BF



son and fiancee



and fiancee snuggling with Cat.



I'm in love with life!

Our First Vegan Christmas

Our son and his fiancee are both vegan, so we had to do some searching to figure out recipes that would work for Christmas Eve dinner. We found one that was quite tasty, and even found a good dessert!

This is my plate, so I helped myself to butter, which I love melted in hot squash. Otherwise I ate a vegan Christmas Eve dinner and liked it a lot! It's a wild rice/brown rice/lentil & veggies "stew" which expanded so far and so fast that it became more of a casserole in our case. And with the squash I found it to be quite delicious.

For dessert we had vegan cupcakes with fruit on top. Yummy! They were impressed, and I was happy it all turned out successfully.

Christmas Day we're doing it over again with our daughter and her BF. They couldn't all make it here on the same day, unfortunately. So for Round #2 we're doing a more typical meal with a roast, but we'll serve the leftover vegan dish, too!

Merry Christmas to all!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Happy Christmas, Eve. Adam celebrated yesterday. Too bad you missed it. You two should try to communicate a little better. Oh, you live in different time zones? Never mind. Go ahead and celebrate without Adam! He'd probably try to blame you for whatever goes wrong anyway.

And tell Carol to go to bed and quit this silliness. Santa might put her on the Naughty List.

Happy Christmas Adam!

Years ago I coined this phrase for Dec 23 - Christmas Adam - the day before Christmas Eve. Recently I heard someone famous using it - like Dave Letterman or someone. That person obviously owes me several million dollars for copyright infringement. Oh, that's right, I forgot to copyright my idea. Darn.

Well, I guess I won't get rich, but I can still wish everyone a Happy Christmas Adam! And being a Language Snob, let me point out that saying "Happy Christmas, Adam" is a totally different concept. I have not yet contemplated copyrighting that one.

Be sure to take everything very seriously this week....... (Joy to the World!)

Santa is Sad Today

[photo by Clinton K]

Today Santa Claus is sad. First, because he's apparently stuck in San Francisco where it's warm and there is no snow. Second, and even more importantly, he wanted to spring a surprise on a young woman (in a snowy state) who is really struggling. Her life is topsy turvy, and she is very close to becoming homeless. Santa's Helper went to her dwelling to give her some surprise gifts, but alas, she no longer lives there. Even Santa doesn't know where she is! He doesn't think she is homeless, not yet.... he hopes she is safe and not contemplating something silly like leaving the state before she completes her high school diploma. Her little baby needs her to persevere and get that diploma and have a fighting chance of scratching her way out of poverty.

Please say a prayer for the Girl With the Topsy Turvy Life and for Santa and his Helpers, that they can find a way to help her.

Thoughts on Faith

This is something I rarely blog about and even more rarely do I talk about it publicly. But.. I have had an interesting year and I want to take the plunge... I want to put it down in words, if I can.

First, we have a new pastor at our church who is challenging us to Walk the Talk (I am a life-long United Methodist). We have badly needed this little burr under our saddle. As a church we are working hard at finding out about ourselves and finding what will work for us as service projects in our community and our world. We've changed a lot and are continuing to work on changing even more. It's hard but exciting!

Second, I went on a life-changing mission trip to Rosebud Reservation in August. How was it life-changing? I simply went to a run-down area and did a few days' worth of physical labor and meeting people. It touched my heart in a BIG way, and I really can't even describe how or why. It was a wonderful combination of seeing people from all walks of life working together, contributing to some tasks that *really* needed to be done, and being 100% welcomed and invited to participate in their community. Also, I got the joy of making new friends from within my own church. We bonded!

Third, I have joined a book club at church. It has been a blessing to be part of this group of women. We're not fanatics about sticking to the book topic, so we spend a lot of time just sharing about our own lives, our joys, struggles, and dreams. We help and support each other. And we read and discuss good books! What a joy!

Fourth, I'm just more reflective now in my middle years, and am learning to cultivate the education and life experiences of my early years.

All four of these things in my life have strengthened my faith and given me JOY that I did not have before. It's like God has touched my heart and made me so glad to be alive. And I yearn for more ways to get involved and to help and to touch the world with what I have experienced.

No, I don't want to proselytize. I just want to be a good person and live my faith, every moment of every day, carrying that Joy with me at all times.. I know I trip up so many times. I blurt out things that hurt people, I forget to be *present* in my moments and to cherish them. I take people for granted. I even sometimes gossip or criticize others. So I in no way mean to say that having stronger faith has made me a perfect person. Instead my faith is challenging me to TRY more often, to THINK about what I'm saying and doing, to HELP people, and to CELEBRATE every minute of my life on this wonderful earth.

I believe that a person who lives a life following Jesus's example is doing what is right and good -- we are all equal and deserving of the same life blessings no matter what faith we are. I believe that all religions strive for the same things: equality, justice, happiness, peace, kindness, helpfulness, shared prosperity, love, brotherhood and sisterhood, and that we worship the same God. One doesn't have to proclaim themselves a Christian in order to strive for all those good things and to make it into Heaven, whatever we believe Heaven to be. I just can't believe in a God who would exclude 2/3 of the world simply because they haven't become Christians (many of them have not even heard of Jesus or have never learned about Christianity - or what they have learned has been completely negative through bad practices of the church). Christianity is what works for me, and Jesus is my teacher and guide in how to live, think, and be. But others can learn to live, think, and be through their own religions, and their lives can be just as "Jesus-like" as anyone else's. The important thing is to keep striving!

As for the un-churched, I feel sad. My own adult children seem to have rejected the church. My son, especially, claims to be an unbeliever. He says instead that he follows a "religion of morality." This just cannot be a bad thing! He is a VERY smart person. I know he has done a lot of deep thinking about God, religion, how one should live one's life. He puts his beliefs into practice, which I truly admire. He believes, for example, that we need to be MUCH better at preserving our earth and being good stewards of our resources. He is a practicing vegan because of some of the land-use and animal rights issues he has learned about. He is a very kind and gentle person. He wouldn't hurt a flea.

So why am I sad when I think about how he has rejected the church? In many ways he is doing a better job of Walking the Talk than I am! I guess it's because I don't know if he has been touched with the JOY that I have found in recent years. And.. it has been the community of the church that has nurtured this in me. It has challenged me. It has offered myriad opportunities to serve humanity in ways I could never have done on my own. It allows me to learn, study, grow, strive... without those opportunities I wonder if I would tend to be a little selfish, too inward looking. I want my children to find the Joy I have found, and to find the community in which it is nurtured. I didn't have it yet at their ages, either. So there is hope. I hope they continue to learn and grow and find the warm JOY in their hearts (God).

I found a fun blog written by a Methodist woman in her 80's. She lives in the UK. She posted this letter to a friend, and I think I'll share it with you all. I know this is a LONG post. If you have stuck with me and read this far, I thank you for listening. These have just been my thoughts as I am at this current stage of my life: age 56 and 3 months, happily married, blessed to have an easy and full life, mother of two exceptionally good and kind people. I know I will continue to learn and grow. Throughout, I hope I can constantly feel the JOY that I feel today.

Now for the Letter to a Friend:
-----------

Letter to a Friend

Yesterday, I saw you walking and laughing with your friends; I hoped that soon you would want Me to walk along with you too.

So I painted you a sunset to close your day and whispered a cool breeze to refresh you. I waited - you never called - I just kept on loving you.

As I watched you fall asleep last night, I wanted so much to touch you,

I spilled moonlight onto your face - trickling down your cheeks as so many tears have. You didn't even think of Me;

I wanted so much to comfort you.

The next day I exploded a brilliant sunrise into glorious morning for you.

But you woke up late and rushed off to work - you didn't even notice.

My sky became cloudy and My tears were in the rain. I love you.

Oh, if only you would listen. I really love you.

I try to say it in the quiet of the green meadow and in the blue sky.

The wind whispers My love throughout the treetops and spills it into the vibrant colours of all the flowers.

I shout it to you in the thunder of the great waterfalls and compose love songs for birds to sing to you.

I warm you with the clothing of My warm sunshine and perfume the air with nature's sweet scent.

My love for you is deeper than any ocean and greater than any need in your heart. If only you'd realise how I care.

My Dad sends His love. I want you to meet Him - He cares, too.

Fathers are just that way. So, please call Me soon.

No matter how long it takes. I'll wait - because I love you.

Your friend, Jesus.



MERRY CHRISTMAS!

There's Some Shoveling in Our Future

The prediction was correct: snow all day, and lots of it! It is so pretty! I love it! Hubby looked outside and said "there's some shoveling in our future."

I stayed inside all day and finished this quilt, made from that Twenty-something-or-other pattern. (I can't think of its real name.) I made my hubby go outside and take a picture of me with the quilt on our snowy deck. He's usually willing, but not so much while getting snowed on.

Here's the quilt (which you also see in my new sidebar photo):





and the Reluctant Photographer scurrying back inside:



Now for a nap.. a great addition to my day!

Friday Five

1) It's FRIDAY, pay day, AND the beginning of a 16-day weekend: my two-week break from work! What could be better??? I plan to sleep, read, sew, and visit my mom.

2) I got the last of my Christmas shopping done after work today. I also bought some groceries - extra stuff that will get us through Christmas (I hope), not to mention through the next couple of days of a snowstorm (predicted up to 8 inches of snow here by Sunday). There is nothing I love more than being snowed in, all snug and warm, with a kitchen stocked full of groceries, and no worries about having to leave and drive in the mess. When one doesn't have to drive in it, a snowfall is GORGEOUS!

3) I am bummed that our Wood Guy has not shown up yet this year. He stops here every year or two, to sell us wood for our fireplace. Last year we told him we were set for the year. Now we need wood, and we're having a real wintery-winter in which we could enjoy fires in the fireplace. But where's our Wood Guy?? (I can't remember his name, of course.)

4) The tail end of my work day was so fun... a student came in with a GLOWING report of her accomplishments at a training program. She was very pleased, and we were all so happy for her. I gave her a poinsettia to take home. I had inherited it from the office, but I thought she deserved it more, and I think she liked it, because she gave me a hug. Great way to end my day/week/calendar year at work!

5) I have such nice friends! I'm thankful for them all.

I Don't Want To...!

Look at this great retiree's motto! LOL!



And the cake they made for me!!!!



Nah, it isn't for me. It would be fun if it were! But sad, too, as I'm not ready to retire yet. My co-worker, another Carol, is retiring, and we had a party for her today. It was loads of fun, and she enjoyed herself immensely, even though she had insisted that we must have "NO PARTY!" I think she's glad we did after all.



Here's the youngest party-goer.



On my way home I enjoyed finding a few pretty Christmasy houses to photograph.



Are you ready for Christmas and just sitting back, enjoying the days of Advent? Or are you stressed and anxious? Try to enjoy... eat a Spritz cookie and be happy! I'm not ready, but I'm also not stressed. I know I'll be ready, and we'll have a good time. Plus, soon the weekend is here! Hooray!!

Snowing and Sewing

My book club was going to have a party tonight, but it was canceled due to snow. The snow amount is not so much, but with such dreadful cold and a little wind, the roads quickly became very slick. Sometimes it's just best to stay home and avoid taking risks. I'm thankful we didn't risk it and end up in a snowy ditch.


Actually I enjoyed my surprise evening at home. I sewed, and I watched a good program on public TV. I made some blocks for Sunshine Lotto. They're not fancy at all, but Tammy who collects them will be able to use these, along with the other contributions, and make some knock-out quilts for kids. This month's Lotto theme is "pot luck."





I finally woke up from my sleepy day at work, and now it's time for bed again. Good thing I'm back to feeling sleepy. G'night, all!

Fa La La La La

I'm feeling quiet and sloth-like today. I could have stayed in bed another couple of hours this morning. My body is just refusing to wake up. The gray skies aren't helping. Wake up, Carol! There is work to be done!

Oh, bother, I'd rather sleep. Maybe listening to some joyful Christmas carols will help rejuvenate me. (This is the bass section of my son's college choir, taken a couple of years ago. I wish they could come to where I am right now and sing a lively FaLaLaLaLa to wake me up! If not, I just might fall asleep right now and enjoy some Giraffe Dreams. hahaha!)

Oh, Happy Day!

What a fun Sunday! That makes two great weekend days in a row! Hubby went to church with me today. That was a big joy! And the kids did their little Christmas pageant. Those little stinkers are just the cutest.

Next, I made a tad more progress on my organizing and filled a huge box of clothing and stuff to give to Goodwill. Oh, that feels excellent!

And last, I did some fun sewing! What could be better? Look at what I finished. This quilt! Isn't it the bomb??? Well, I should say humbly that... I think it ROCKS. I love how it turned out. Now to get it quilted. It'll hang in our guild show in February.



I also made this little doll quilt. I bought the doll at a craft show, and made the quilt to go with her... she is headed off to make a little girl happy. Her daddy is being sent off to sea for six months. This will be her first doll! Aren't I lucky to get to make her this little quilt?

A Copasetic Christmas, Carol

What a fun Saturday! I did a little sewing today. I finally got the tree up, and even wrapped a few presents. I used to love wrapping presents, but as the years have gone by, it has begun to lose its appeal. So I felt very pleased with myself to be able to use these quilted gift bags that I made right after Christmas last year. Easy peasy! And they are re-useable many times over. I'm feeling quite happy with this wrapping method. I have several more to use, and will need to wrap only a few in paper this year.


Tonight we went to a concert. We took our two kids and their SO's out for dinner and then to "A Copasetic Christmas Carol" performed by Doug Haining and the Twin Cities Seven. They are a local jazz group who is doing pretty well (every once in a while I hear them on the radio) AND their founding guy, Doug Haining, is my second cousin! He doesn't appear in this picture; it was really hard to get a clear picture without using my flash. The pictures where he appears were all very fuzzy.


Anyway, we had a good time with our kids and their special friends, the food was good, the music was great. I'm feeling pleased with my life at the moment. I wish the same for my dear readers.

Friday Five

1) I ask for prayers for my sister, for strength, peace, and new-found joy.

2) I had an interesting week at work...some ups and some downs. I'm constantly learning from my students and feel so lucky to be in a position to get to know them. Are they helping me more than I help them? I hope I have managed to have some impact, small as it may be.

3) Who is the Tubby Lady in the above picture? I don't even recognize myself! Yeecchh! I have to do something about my enormity. I haven't walked in ages; I even removed the walking image from my sidebar. I need strength to combat my bad habits and my "inner brat" who only does damage to herself (me).

4) Quilting brings me joy and challenges. I hope to find some time for sewing this weekend. And I have the ever-present challenge of trying to clean up after a quilting session. Picture a Peanuts strip featuring Pig Pen... that's me with a cloud of fabric and threads.

5) I am reading a fantastic book: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. I so appreciate a well-written book and beautiful language!

Quilt for Alzheimers

Tonya challenged us to make a quilt for Alzheimers quilts. The sale of these small quilts raises money for Alzheimers research. I made mine pretty quickly, but then got lazy about finishing it. It's finally done, registered at the site, and ready to mail. At some future point this will be offered for sale, either by auction or flat rate sale. When it comes up it'll be at www.alzquilts.org . If I think of it, I'll post here when it's available.

I made this in memory of my dad who died in 2002. His birthday is coming up this Saturday, December 13. He would have been 93 this year! We were lucky that his Alzheimers was a late onset, and he never got to the point of forgetting us. It was just starting to be more evident when he died of other causes.

My dad liked to watch the birds Up North at the cabin, so this singing birdie is for him. Happy birthday, Dad! I love you and miss you!

Guild Christmas

We had our December guild meeting/party. Had a great time, but it went late, and I'm tired. Gotta hit the old sack-eroo.







Thanks for all the comments in my previous post. I have lots of good ideas to mull over. I'm glad I asked.

Need Your Feedback

I have this thing going... not sure I like it. I kept playing with it, adding to it, changing it. When I got all done I wasn't very happy. What do you think? What should I do with it, or is it OK as is?

One question I have is about this little kid and dog. I felt that the bottom half of this quilt was too much boring white. So I added them. But, are they ridiculously small?



Too small for the scale of the house and snowman? I know, I'm not trying to depict realism here. After all, the snowman is nearly as tall as the house. But... are they too too tiny?



Another idea is to add words to the bottom... so it would say "Snow.." (on the top) "...on Snow" (on the bottom). Words from "In the Bleak Midwinter."

What do you think? Help!

Aw, Shucks, It's Nearly Monday

someone is ready for Christmas (not me!)


The weekend went by WAY too fast. I didn't get a lot done... a little of this, a little of that, and the Christmas tree still isn't up! Today we attended our son's *last* college choir Christmas concert. It was fabulous! Brought me to tears several times. I think it's the best Christmas concert of his college career. What a wonderful choir, and I'm overjoyed that he got to have that amazing musical experience. The choir is going to Great Britain next month! How lucky can you be?! (Again, I'm overjoyed for him.)

Tomorrow, boo hoo, is Monday. Ah, me. It IS nice that I'm able to pay my bills, and I do that by going to work even when I don't want to on Mondays (and Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, and Thursdays, etc).

My Saturday Six

I forgot about posting my Friday Five, so I opted to do a Saturday Six.

1) Went to a women's group activity this morning at church. I enjoy getting to know this nice group of women who are interested in helping others around the world. These paper products are for a transitional housing unit that serves homeless women.



2) Today I'm working on organizing. I'm going through piles of stuff and sorting. Most of it is getting tossed into the Goodwill box or the recycle box. Why do I hang onto all this "stuff" for years on end? I really want to simplify my life.

3) While I work on organizing, my mind is racing with all the quilts I could be working on. I have so many ideas, and I just want to get started making them!! It doesn't help that while organizing I am running across a zillion beautiful quilt patterns and books. There isn't enough time to do all I want to do. Quilting and the way it explodes have contributed to my lack of organization in the last few years. The quilting is a joy, but the disorganization is not.

4) This week I watched the DVD "The Kite Runner." That book was so excellent, I was afraid to watch the movie and be terribly disappointed. I wasn't! It was very well done and followed the book story line very well. I recommend it. Not for little kids, though, because of the hard stuff that happens.

5) Lately I have read a couple of excellent books that are written for "young adults." I really enjoy reading these. They are good for any age adult, in my opinion. And the bonus is that they usually are very quick reads. The first was "Habibi." It was a very good and touching story which takes place in the Middle East. The second book was "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas." This one was about a 9-year-old boy during WWII. (I hear this one is being made into a movie.) When the characters stay with me, and I think about them over the days after I read a book, I know it was an excellent book. That happened to me after reading both of these books.

6) I really want to get our Christmas tree put up this weekend. If I continue plugging away at the organizing, I'll feel like I will have earned the delight of putting up the tree. (Hubby rarely gets involved in the tree activities. I can't imagine not wanting to do so. Do your SO's/mates/husbands participate in the tree putting up and decorating?)