If It's Thursday ...

 If it's Thursday, it must be trash day. Do you think I remembered that last night? Noooo ... and when I open the shades in the living room to let in the glorious sunlight, I see all kinds of trash barrels outside. Yes, I think I missed the truck, but I dragged my barrel to the curb anyway. In the "old" days (on Mondays!!) when they emptied the barrel, they left the top open. This new truck puts it back down with the top neatly closed. So you can't tell if it has been emptied or not. Life is difficult for the trash challenged. (I was too late.)

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This is my new favorite "commercial." There is a real Sam Adams commercial first; don't miss the SNL skit after it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je1NIf8GeeY

I know people who have this same reaction to flavored coffees, lol.

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I washed my hair yesterday. Yeah, I know, big deal. My point is, I let it air dry and it was kinda o.k. with lots of curls. I get up this morning and it looks like I stuck my hand in a light socket. Somehow the curls stretched out, but are still sticking out a la Medusa. Makes me really glad for the mask. (Although people seem to have no problem recognizing me. It must be the queen size.)

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Luckily, Emily likes the snow suit I sent for J. I couldn't resist -- it has teddy bear ears on the hood. I got the black thinking he's a cool urban young man (instead of red) since he will be two years old in February. The kid's growing like a weed and has become a master of manipulation. I guess that's toddlers' job. They always manage to excel at pushing their parents around.

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I don't know about you, but I am darn sick and tired of not only political ads, but politicians asking me for money. I have long believed that we should drastically limit campaign spending and the money they can legally collect. I got an email today from 'Nancy Pelosi' titled "Not asking for money." This included a 'survey' asking if you support Trump. And at the end, lo and behold, the only way to register your 'survey' is to include a donation. This burns me up. And if the Democrats lose this election by thinking we are the same mentality of that other mob, I am going to be royally ticked off. 

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Here it is Saturday and what do I have to show for myself? Not much. However, I have taken a couple of walks on the bike trail (Amherst to Hadley).

                                                       Moo.

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Rummaging around the house, I found two more quilt tops that need finishing and I still have the yellow and blue one I made in California as well.

This one is called Blueberries.

Yes, I know it's all wrinkly. I'm working on that but in the meantime, I'm figuring out the back. So far it's mainly white, but I am going to add a quilter's block or two using very dark green batik (it looks like black) and a patterned fabric. Which is why I'm very happy that I ordered a chalk pen. Last time, drawing the diagonal on the squares was almost painful. I was using a white 'sewer's pencil.' It pulled the fabric and didn't want to really make a good line.

My first hurdle, however, is getting the darn package open.

I love my kitchen scissors! It can cut up chicken and open these ridiculously hard to open packages! And, yes, the pen works well. I'm on my way making half squares.

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There's one other thing I have been working on sporadically.  

It's a knit blanket I call Sand and Surf. Yeah, I know, why name a blanket? It's just what the colors reminded me of. And that reminds me that I haven't visited the ocean. I should do that. Hmmm ... Boston or Connecticut? Maybe both. I'll pack a lunch. But not today.

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I hope you all have a great week. The sun just came out so I may have to go outside and work in front yard. I've got some phlox seeds to plant. Cheers!

My Dryer Lint Is Blue

 October 9, 2020

Yup, I finished washing and drying the rest of the blue fabric -- most of it for the By the Shore Quilt. However, I am forging ahead on the blue quilt back.

Ever had those days when you feel as if you can't do anything right? Well, I have had too many of those lately and have been stitch ripping for hours at a time. Jeanne came to my rescue and invited me to her house for some instruction. Imagine my delight to see the pink quilt in progress. I was thrilled -- Jeanne let me do some quilting! It's a 'wide meandering' stitch so it's all hand guided. (You can program the machine to do certain designs such as ferns and straight squares and you have to watch it with no hands on.)

Clipping an Errant Thread

Hand Guiding Quilted Swirls

I thought this wall hanging was super. I can't remember the price but if you are interested in buying anything from Jeanne, go to Hummingbird Garden Quilts.

Pegs and cards are in the bag that Jeanne has stitched. I'm wondering if I should brush up on cribbage and get a board for Mom. 

Who can resist this little guy? I think I liked the owl better (not shown) and there's also a Raggety Ann. Jeanne is so talented!

 'When did you last clean your machine?' Jeanne asked. 'Um, like never.' So I promised to do that first thing when I got home. Which is when I realized I didn't have any machine oil, not even any WD40. And the little screwdriver I have fits the Featherweight (1950 vintage machine), but is too small for this one. That meant a trip to Joann's where they have the oil but no screwdriver. Then it was on to Target which did not have any short screwdrivers. So I ended up buying a drill bit kit with the flat head that I need.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I find that I already have a flat head tip that goes into a screw driver that takes multiple bits. Using pliers instead of a handle, I use this flat head bit and get the face plate off. But I couldn't figure out how to get the bobbin casing out, so I head to YouTube. The lady was very informative, including telling me to use the screwdriver that came with the machine. It's the metal triangle in the pouch with needles, bobbins, and spare parts that came with the machine. Who knew?! They could have at least labeled it "screwdriver"! Sheesh. 

I took some photos on the way back from Jeanne's house. I also bought a cauliflower at the roadside farm stand that I passed.

I made some blueberry muffins this morning. That reminds me that it's time for a muffin and tea! Have a great weekend. Cheers!

Don't Bleed on the Quilt

 Monday 9/28/2020

Bet you never knew quilting is a blood sport. A while ago, I was re-threading the machine when I inadvisably got my finger caught on the needle. My natural reaction was to say, "Aggggh!" and pull my finger up and away. Nope, I had to push my finger down with the other hand to free it. 

Which is why today I shouldn't have been surprised that my reaction wasn't a good thing. I was holding a pincushion magnet. (It's great for picking up pins from the floor.) It started to slip out of my hands so I reacted and grabbed it -- thereby making my hand looking like a porcupine. Since it's a magnet, some of the pins are upside down, points up. No, I did not bleed on the quilt.

I'm in the home stretch of the blue quilt top.

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Phyllis and I decided to take a walk at Groff Park to see the new sprinklers for the kids to run through. Of course, the water is turned off and she offered to spit so I could get the full effect. I declined her generous offer.

I think all of the shapes above shoot streams of water.

I really liked the recycling fish!

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Fall is here, early. I think the colors are early due to the drought.

Wow! It's 3 p.m. Time for lunch. See you later. And it was egg salad on romaine lettuce. Did I tell you I love the egg cooker that Emily gave to me?

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Wednesday 9-30-2020

It has been raining since yesterday. The sun is supposed to come out in the afternoon, and it's trying now at 11:30 a.m. Of course, I washed my house with a bleach solution and they said, 'Don't apply when it's supposed to rain.' We had had a drought for so long ... I hope the bleach worked on the north side mold. 

Update: only one section of the house looks good. The rest is not green anymore, but it is black. Ugh. It looks like the rain will start up again, so I'm going to wait before reapplying -- and scrubbing.

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10/1/2020 

Happy October! The blue quilt top is finished as of yesterday. Now on to the bottom.

I am so happy! By the Shore, a quilt made in California last winter, has been sold! At the moment, it's only a quilt top, but that can be rectified pretty quickly with the help of my favorite longarm quilter

Sold

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Looking for a good home. This quilt top yearns to be finished. $180.

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Standing at the kitchen counter yesterday, I hear rustling. Thinking I'm imagining it, I go back to cooking. Then it happens again. This time, the rustling sound is followed by a little pop. Puzzled, I look down at a piece of aluminum foil which contains a small stalk of large phlox seeds, still on the plant. 

It was time. The seed pods were popping one by one and bouncing out of the loosely closed foil. And it continued for another half hour or so while I was in the living room sewing. Every time I heard a pop, I giggled. Ain't nature grand? Now I have to plant those suckers.

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Time to wrap this up. Beyond everyday living, I'm going to attempt chemical stump removal. Will keep you posted.

No, I'm not raking any %^&* leaves. They are pretty when they are on the trees, not so much when they are on the ground. Besides, my allergies have kicked up big time and it's not a pretty sight when I rake and my nose dribbles!

Have a wonderful week/month/year. We can do this. Life is good.

nding