I Went to Houston, Y'All

I was very lucky to attend the International Quilt Festival in Houston this year. I was there with four friends for five days. What a blast! The quilt show is huge, fabulous, and a fun experience. The quilts were awesome and just kept going and going. More than once I thought I had seen them all, when I'd catch a glimpse of yet another aisle that I had not yet examined. I was so inspired! There were some great special exhibits and a huge variety of quilts. I am going to start right in and show you a few quilts. In the next few days I'll show you more and more, and also will tell you about the fun stuff we did (hint: we ate very well.) By the way, I got sick upon my return home, so it has taken me a while to get my pictures organized. Please enjoy some of the lovely quilts:

beautiful carpet in the skyway where we entered from a neighboring hotel

Age of Asparagus by Connie Fahrion of Texas

Geese in the Parking Lot by Phyllis Tarrant of North Carolina

Portrait Noir (a self portrait) by Trish Morris-Plise, quilted by Sandra Bruce of California

Mother and Children by Bodil Gardner of Denmark

Cross Woven by Victoria Findlay Wolfe of New York

White Lace on Red Velvet by Lauretta Crites of California

Source of Life by Hollis Chatelain of North Carolina (in the "Water is Life" exhibit)
I took one class while in Houston, and it was a class by Hollis Chatelain. It was a lecture/demo type of class. We watched her paint a face and then after the break she quilted on it (or a look-alike that was already dry). She is very talented, but it is probably not a technique I will ever do. I'm not comfortable with painting and would find it stressful to mix a lot of painting with quilting. A tiny bit? Yes.. I have tried and would like to do more. But I will never do large, gorgeous pieces like Chatelain's. I feel lucky to have witnessed her doing the process. Her quilts are awesome.

La Passacaglia by Sharon Burgess of Victoria, Australia

Here is someone in contortions to get just the perfect shot.

We ate lunch at the food court, and we bumped into this famous person... do you know who he is???

Yes, it's Rob of Man Sewing! You can see him on videos at Missouri Star Quilting. He's very friendly and lively, as you can see from these pictures.

That's it for now! I must go get my "put an end to this cough and cold" sleep.

Jumbled Thoughts

I have had so many thoughts swirling through my head since the election on Tuesday. I feel speechless, yet I want to say something. Exactly what? That is the question.

I have heard interviews with Trump supporters. They sound so angry. They are feeling put down, angry, and brushed aside. I think that's why they voted for Trump. The irony is, they voted for the person who doesn't care about people like them. That's how I see it... why else would he refuse to pay his contractors on his many fancy buildings? The designers, the glass installers, the this and that small contractor who either went broke while trying to collect their due payment from Trump, or had to just give up and let him cheat them. Those people are YOU, Trump supporters.

I really feel like we want and need the same things. We just... I don't know ... we look at the problems from opposite directions. I heard a woman being interviewed about why she voted for Trump, and she was so angry about her health care premiums going up and up. I agree with her - her premiums are outrageous! While mine are, lucky for me, very affordable. This is totally not fair. But she, in her anger, thinks the problem stems from Obama and the Affordable Care Act. I, in my discomfort with the inequities of our health care system, see a bigger picture. Our health care system has been broken for decades.. it was all based on big corporate greed (insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, etc). A major fix was desperately needed, and Obama came in with a suggestion.. a first step. It fixed some of the problems, but not all. The solution, in my opinion, is not in dumping Obama's entire plan, but in furthering the fixes and working harder to make it fair for all, and making sure it is not predicated on big corporate profits, which will always lead to inequities and unfairness.

Another huge problem is all the reports I'm hearing and reading about people being harassed in the wake of Trump's election. Is this really the kind of America Trump supporters want?? A white man on a bus, trying to look down the shirt of a woman sitting next to him, and telling her "when Trump is president we'll get rid of all you beaners." A deaf woman using face-time on her computer in a restaurant, and a white guy yells at her, calling her a "retard" and to leave the country. On election night, a gay man beaten and bloodied by Trump supporters. A woman wearing a scarf being told "your time is up, girlie." WHAT???? REALLY????

I can hardly believe it. I see all of this as a backlash to white men losing their power and feeling afraid of the changing demographics in America. Why? What is so frightening about a diverse population? RELAX, fearful white men, and learn to get along and even love the very diversity you fear!

There is so much work to be done. How will we ever manage to achieve the freedoms and peace we hold dear?

Now What?

I am shocked and saddened. I was hoping to celebrate with this quilt-flag that I made.

Never in a million years would I have guessed that Donald Trump could even run for, much less win the presidency of the USA. I'm soooo sad. It's going to be a tough four years. Please God, don't let it be eight years.

I will have to carry on, believing in the goodness of humanity, and doing my part to do good work. Hillary quoted this Scripture, which I like. I shall try not to lose heart.

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season, we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”

Friday Books on Tuesday

I was out of town recently, and finished two books while sitting in airplanes and during breaks in my schedule.

(1) Justice For Marlys: A Family's Twenty Year Search for a Killer by John S. Munday

This is a true story about a teenager in Minnesota who was murdered. Twenty years later her killer is finally convicted. It was interesting for me, living in Minnesota, to read of familiar places and entities (law enforcement agencies, cities, etc). The killer was a serial killer and had hung out for a bit of time near my own neighborhood! It's a horrible event, and I sympathize with the family... but the story, having been told on the TV show "48 Hours," reads much like a "48 Hours" kind of crime story where the story is dragged out, and it's too long between events. Not the best writing I've ever read, but mildly interesting because of its setting.

(2) The Fifth Floor by Julie Oleszek

This excellent book was a joy to read, because the writing was superb. The topic was not joyful, but it was fascinating. A young girl, ninth out of ten kids in her large family, tells the story of her struggles to make sense of her life. After a family tragedy, life spirals downward. You will root for the narrator and her attempts to understand and deal with an incomprehensible occurrence. She's smart, kind, and feisty.

I loved this book right up to the last few pages which then became a little sappy and too perfect. Other than the disappointingly sappy ending, everything else is so well told and an excellent story. It helped me understand a bit more about family dynamics and possible after-effects of trauma.

An H Block

I am getting SO excited! Very soon we may have our first woman president! I surely hope so, anyway.

I made up the pattern for this.. that is, I struggled with it 'til it worked. After that I found a link to a much easier method, at Blogging Near Philadelphia. Here it is.

I hope everyone votes! I voted a couple of weeks ago. I love that we have an early-voting option now. It's SO much easier to fit it into one's life and not have to wait in line.

Sewing Like a Fiend

I've been sewing a lot! It feels good. It is a comfort to me while "stuff" is going on. Here are some quilts I've finished and some tops I have made that need to be finished:

All of these tops are made from blocks made by a wide variety of people. Some blocks I won, others I bought, others were given to me free.

Some blocks I made:

All that has not even made a dent in what I want to make and what's on my to-do list. Time to head back into my sewing room.

Friday Books: Gendarme

The Gendarme by Mark Mustian

This is historical fiction, a story of the Armenian Genocide which took place in the 19-teens. I knew very little about it; I am glad to have now learned a little.

The title character, the gendarme, is a para-military policeman whose job it is to guide a group of Armenians being forcibly removed from Turkey and marched to Syria. Along the way he is smitten by a young woman who is among the evacuees. His character is complex. Even though he does some horrible things, one finds oneself liking him. The duality of our nature, exhibiting both good and bad, is excellently portrayed in this book.

The gendarme's memory had been damaged by a war wound to the head, so he has never re-examined anything from his past war years. When the book begins, he is a 92 year old man living in America, experiencing upsetting dreams. At first he does not know if the dreams are true memories or if they even depict his own life.

The book goes between his life at age 92 and his dreams of the past. The writing is just beautiful, odd to say about a disturbing topic and unhappy story. The horrible parts were not gruesome, and the ever-present complexity of human beings makes the reader like most of the characters through their good and their bad times.

An excellent read, fascinating and very well-written.

reading while at war

Sewing When I Can

Life has gotten busy again. It seems to be a normal occurrence for Fall. The leaves have been just beautiful. Sadly, I have not ventured out of the city too much to see great expanses of beauty, for example along a river or lakeshore. I did enjoy the beautiful colors along the freeway as I drove to my Wednesday sewing group. It's about 30 miles from home, so I had plenty of time to drink in the gorgeous fall colors. I'm trying to memorize them for enjoyment in my mind through the next few months of white and gray.

I have been trying to keep up with work on my weather quilt. It depicts the high temperature for every day of 2016. I have January-July sewn together. August-most of October is weighing down and distorting the top part in this picture, because they're not attached except with pins right now. When I finish August-December I will sew them all together. It's starting to show the return to blues and purples that will come with November and December. I think it'll be a pretty quilt when it's all done.

This week I attended an interpreter conference which was excellent. I do love my job; how lucky I was to "fall" into it so many years ago! I complain about having to attend workshops, but when they are well done it rejuvenates me and encourages me to be a better interpreter. Though I only work about five hours per week, I should strive to be the best I can during those five hours.

I'm in the middle of reading an excellent book and look forward to telling you about it soon.

Friday Books: a Mystery

I read Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger. I don't usually read mysteries, but I wanted to try one by this author for a couple of reasons: he is from Minnesota and his books take place in Minnesota, and I read his non-mystery book, Ordinary Grace, and LOVED it.

This one was interesting at first. The story piqued my curiosity. Family issues and the introduction of the baby were well done.. I could relate to the daughter falling instantly in love with the baby. I liked the setting with familiar names and places (though I've never been to the Northwest Angle - it is on my bucket list).

By the end of the book I resolved again that I'm not interested in mysteries. I wanted it to hurry and end, and I found some of the events a little far-fetched. Maybe that's the nature of mysteries... but I will say, if I have to read another mystery, I would try another William Kent Krueger book, because it was pretty good "for a mystery."

Note: the last three books I have "read" were actually audio books, so I listened to them. I'm experimenting with it, and finding places I can listen (while sewing) and can't listen (while lounging on my bed - 3 guesses why).

Friday Books: Astronauts

An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything by Col. Chris Hadfield

For some reason I wanted to dislike this book. Probably because I never liked science too much, and I sometimes wonder if we spend too much money on the space program. However, I found myself enjoying the book.

Hadfield is an astronaut who decided at age 9 while living on a farm in Canada that he wanted to be an astronaut... and he made it against great odds. This book is the story of his journey to becoming what he wanted to be, decisions he made to improve his odds, and the fun he had in his career over the years. He ended up going on three space flights and got to do a space walk at least once.

Some of the day-to-day stories were quite fascinating: all the work that astronauts immerse themselves in, even if they never make it into space.. they are constantly studying and preparing to do so, or preparing to be a vital support system to those who do go. Then he also talks about the daily "grind" of being in space: how to brush your teeth in space, how zero gravity affects everything -- for example, one's sinuses won't drain, so it's like constantly having a cold, and the taste of food is lost. Also interesting was how re-entry into gravity feels, both in the first few moments and in the weeks following.

I found it all quite interesting, and most of all I admired Hadfield's attitude toward life, work, relationships: work hard but don't be a show-off, accept the bumps and lumps as part of the normal journey through life, enjoy the ups, learn from the downs, be humble, and remember that no one gets where they're going without the immense support of hundreds of others who came before or who work behind the scenes.

I'm glad I found this book and enjoyed it, despite myself.

photo by Beth Polvino

Days of Our Lives

Haha! That post title used to be (maybe still is?) a title of a TV soap opera. It seems appropriate for me to borrow it today.

So.. I am beginning to recover from all the turmoil of the last month, the death of my mother being the biggest trauma. I didn't expect it to be this hard, because at her age, 95, I thought I was ready. Nope, I wasn't. I miss her. And, as I look back on the days before her death, I am so thankful that I got to be there and witness her strength, her faith, her kindness. I took pictures when friends and family came to visit and say goodbye. I am not going to share them here, but I am so happy I have those pictures. Mom's face lit up with joy when visitors arrived. That was one of the things I loved about her - her friendliness and love of life.

But, as I say, I am beginning to recover. My tears have been very close to the surface and have fallen freely, but I'm getting better at thinking and talking about my mom without crying every time. People have been so nice, and that really helps a lot.

While I've been overwhelmed, Husband has been working very hard. We're both so tired. I wish the two of us could get away for a short vacation.. maybe a date night is something we could accomplish.

Life keeps tick-tocking along. I have not been back to work but will return this week. I am looking forward to working again. At first I was afraid to go back, thinking I'd burst into tears too easily. But now I'm ready.

Random Pictures:

my mom on her 95th birthday last March

last weekend I was on a retreat where I worked on this word quilt and made good progress... this is approximately the top half

books I donated to my Little Free Library in memory of a fellow quilter and LFL steward who died of cancer:

above: the sewing room I go to on Wednesdays.. the tree outside was absolutely beautiful

quilt top I'm taking to the machine quilter this week.. I can't wait to get it quilted!

child's quilt top I made while on retreat last week

I'm loving our cool, beautiful fall days. We turned on our heat this morning.

Friday Books: Being Mortal

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande (audio book)

This is a book about end of life issues and how our system of medicine delivery has addressed these issues, or failed to address them. It is really fascinating. The growth of hospice has been a big blessing in changing our patterns, but there is still much we need to alter to make a person's last months of life as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

My own mother died just two weeks ago, and we lived through many of the scenarios Gawande brings up in this book, such as assisted living no longer being an option, moving her to a nursing home, starting hospice care, and then her end of life. It was comforting to me to read this book and see that our mom's experience and ours as her survivors were pretty good when one looks at what could have been.

This book explores the attitudes of the health field and our society toward death and dying, and challenges us to think more carefully about how we care for one another. It's an excellent book for anyone from a random reader with curiosity about the topic to a health care professional wanting to improve services.. providing food for thought for all.

Maybe my Mom is in heaven with an endless supply of fabulous books (and her friends and loved ones who paved the way to heaven).

Sincere Thanks

Thank you so much for the lovely comments on my previous post. And thanks also to friends and family who have been a great comfort in person. I am truly blessed.

I came home on Tuesday, Sept 27. I have been very tired and am trying to take it easy. I have a million things to do at home; I'll get them done as I can. I have been going to bed early at night, something that is unusual for me.

I'll write more later; for now I just wanted to check in and say thanks. Your kindnesses mean a lot.

family members at my mom's memorial service, wearing red (her favorite color) in her honor -- the quilts behind us are some of the many that my mom made; all are hand quilted.

our newest family member with me, and with Mom - her youngest great-grandchild (four days before Mom died)

Mom with her 4 children.. she was starting to fade and the picture of Mom isn't the best, but it's our last of the 4 of us with her. We came from MN, NY, and KY. Being together through all of this was great.

Some of us at Sunshine are making heart blocks in memory of my mom. I am truly blessed with wonderful friends.

My Dear Mother

I have been away, helping take care of my elderly mother. After several weeks of illness and pain, she passed away peacefully on September 21, 2016, surrounded by her three daughters and her oldest grandchild. She was 95. What a life of accomplishment she lived! She was intelligent, strong, and kind. I am going to miss her a lot.

Memorial Service will be next Monday. We are all emotionally spent and exhausted. I'm still a little bit in shock.

Friday Books: Craig Ferguson

American On Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot by Craig Ferguson.
Craig Ferguson’s autobiography is an interesting look at his early life in Scotland, how he ended up living in USA, and most of all his journey through alcoholism and drug use. At times it was hard to read about his destructive and difficult years as an alcoholic. That kind of life is just not a pretty picture. He finally gets himself cleaned up and lives a sober, happy, successful life as an American citizen. I miss seeing him on late night TV.

Daily Life

Our son spent two years teaching in Korea. He's back home (for now), and has had fun cooking for us now and then. Tonight he prepared a typical Korea restaurant meal. It's cooked at the table; as parts are finished, people take them right out of the pan, with chopsticks, of course. (I used a spoon. I should probably attempt to master those pesky chopsticks.)

He said we were missing some key ingredients, but hubby and I couldn't tell, and we thought it was delicious. Sometimes one puts some of all the parts (rice from a separate bowl, and from the pot one takes vegies and meat as desired), rolls it up inside a lettuce leaf, and eats it all in one bite. He said he had never seen anyone eat it in bites like I did.

At the end, when most of the pot ingredients are eaten up, the rest of the rice is put in there, an egg is added, and "fried rice" is created. Yum! What a fun, end-of-meal delight!

In other family news: my mother is out of the hospital and out of rehab and back in her own apartment. She's much happier there. She's doing pretty well - as well as can be expected when one is 95 and has various ailments from which to try to recover.

Today I sewed along with my new, regular group which meets every Wednesday. It's a long drive from home, but fun to have a group with whom to sew every week.

I finished assembling this quilt, made of a hodge podge of donated and orphan blocks.

I also finished the binding on this baby quilt which is for my newest great-niece.

Mom Was Hospitalized

I have been away for a few days. My mother was very ill and hospitalized with a c-diff infection. It was scary for a while, but she recovered quickly. She is not back to 100% health, so after leaving the hospital she had to go to a rehab wing in a nursing home. She is not happy about this and is eager to go back home to her apartment.

She's in a nice place, it's just not what she wants, and it doesn't feel right to her. Hopefully it will be a short stay.

Thanks to all my friends and acquaintances who have prayed for my mother and sent good, healing thoughts. We really appreciate your kindnesses and are happy that Mom is almost back to full health.

My cute mom is 95 years old!