Happy New Year

In the eleven days since I last posted, an amazing amount of energy has been expended by me and my family. I almost feel as though the universe is determined to make us use up all our old energy before midnight tonight and start fresh in 2014 with a new supply.

Since the solstice, we have finished packing up the house. Daughter Jo came on the 26th and helped clean while the movers loaded the truck. What a great team of movers they were! We've always loaded the rental truck ourselves when we've moved (about 10 or 12 times I think, over the years) but this time we hired a  company and I'm so glad we did! Thye got all our crap on the truck in 4 hours where it used to take us at least a day or more to load up.

So, on the morning of the 27th, we signed all the papers, turned over the keys, and were oficially homeless for the weekend. Don and I spent a well earned 2 days at the (relative) luxury of the Super 8 in town.We got all rested up for Monday, the 30th.

We signed the papers to buy the new house at 8:30, the moving truck arrived at 10:30 and 4 hours later, all our crap was deposited in the house and garage where most of it still waits to be put away. 

Don and I have spent this New Year's Eve unpacking and trying to make some sense out of all the chaos. I think the worst thing about moving to a new house is deciding where to put everything especially in the kitchen, and then remembering where I put them.  It gets harder as my brain "matures!"

The hardest thing about the whole move--not the fact that our belongings were frozen on the moving truck all weekend, not spending the weekend in a cheap hotel,  not the having to sort out the freezable foods and liquids so they could be stored indoors for the weekend--was having to put our two old cats in the kennel all weekend and not knowing if they were miserable or delighted.  When I brought them to the new  house yesterday, they spent several hours exploring and the rest of the evening and all day today they have been close at hand wanting to be petted at every opportunity. I think they're happy to be back with their humans. :-)

I retrieved my sewing machines from daughter Tessa's house today and they are in the sewing room, patiently waiting to be used again, but they'll have to wait until we come back from Hawaii in the middle of January.  Then the fun will begin again! I'll have 10 days to finish sorting  out  the house and getting ready for our month in Alabama. At least I'll be taking my machines and several projects along with and will finally be able to work on my quilts again.

So, happy New Year--may it be filled with serenity and contentment and a boundless supply of 2014 energy.

The Winter Solstice

Today's the winter solstice, the time when the earth begins turning to light and warmth after six months of increasing darkness and cold.  I celebrate this day as the beginning of a new season in my life.

This past month has held many changes for me and truly, a new season is beginning. Just before Thanksgiving, I retired from my job and on that day as well, Don and I accepted an offer to buy our house.  This was followed by a frantic search to find a house in Menomonie that suits our needs. We lucked out and found a very beautiful house that will serve our purposes for the rest of our lives.  We are moving out of this house on the 27th and will be "homeless" until the 30th when we can move into the new house.  Every day since then has been spent sorting, cleaning, throwing and packing and we are nearing the end of it.  I managed to finish a crib quilt for my friend's new grandson and got that off in the mail the other day. In the midst of all this chaos, our son graduated with his Masters degree so we spent last weekend in Milwaukee for the ceremony and to have an early Christmas with Dan and Erin and the family. I'm so proud of my son--it's taken him a long time to get this degree but he managed to do it--and he landed a choice job as well!  

Enjoy this shortest day and fill it with things that bring joy to your heart and to your family. 

The quilt tour

I went to the quilt tour wrap up meeting last night. What a huge success the entire fundraiser was!  Naomi's goal was to raise $5000 and when she told us that a couple of months ago, she said it with doubt in her voice.  Well, little lady, doubt no more!  The tour grossed over $6000 and after the program subtacted the (minimal) expenses they'd incurred, they came out with about $5900 in their pockets!  All for a very good cause, and I (and the other group chairs) feel very good for doing our bit to help this very needed service in our community.

We learned that a neighboring community had their semi-annual quilt show the same day as our quilt tour and we think that drew visitors away to a certain extent. We decided last night that we want to do the quilt tour again next year, and then, on alternate years, opposite the other quilt show.  That way, its a win-win for both events.

Will I step up and organize the show for the guild again?  You bet--if they want me to. I had a lot of fun doing it and working with the awesome ladies of my guild.  And hearing all the positive comments from the visitors was so rewarding.  Yes, I'm in it again, I think.

Typhoon Haiyan

I've been hearing bits and pieces of the news of the huge storm that hit the Philippines a few days ago but this morning, I sat down and read the NBC news article on the situation here: 

 http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/11/21399516-silence-worries-aid-workers-in-wake-of-typhoon-haiyan-56k-homes-wrecked-on-one-island?lite

This article says it's estimated that 10,000 people have died but "Nearly 620,000 people were displaced and 9.5 million "affected" across the Philippines," according to the UN. How many more will die due to exposure and disease as they have to go without basic necessities such as clean water?

They are saying this storm is as devastating as the tsunami that destroyed so much of the countries along the Indian Ocean  in 2004! The storm was as big as the country of Germany when it hit the Philippines, for crying out loud! Maybe you already know these things but I'm just finding out this morning, so I'm horrified!

I worked with a Filipina over the past couple of years, helping her become a citizen and getting the benefits she's entitled to, and she has children and grandchildren still in the Philippines.  I called her today and she said they are okay but their house has been washed away. This is the second time her kids have lost their house in a huge storm in the past few years.  Of course, I will send some money to them, via their mother, to help them out.  I would encourage anyone who reads this to send a generous donation to the relief agencies which are trying to cope with this disaster.

As I read the above article, it occurred to me that Mother Nature has a way of solving her problems.  Several years ago, I learned that one of the signs of climate change or global warming, is an increase in severe weather episodes. It seems to me that it's happening these days.  But, when huge and disastrous events occur--such as record-breaking cold in Europe in 2011 which killed many people, storms like Sandy which hit the east coast of the US, and this most recent disaster--thousands of people end up dying.  Is this Mother Nature's way of coping with the human influence on climate change?  The fewer people there are on this planet, the less of a carbon footprint?  Is this nature's way of bringing climate back into balance?

It seems to me that we humans can assist in bring the climate back into balance without having to suffer these extreme weather events.  I'm glad I traded my car for a Prius. It's a very small thing, but it's what I can do to lessen my personal carbon footprint.

The First Ever Quilt Show

Yesterday was the first ever quilt show for my guild.  Last summer we were invited to participate in a "quilt tour" fundraiser for the local domestic abuse program and I was tasked with following up on the email. I actually moved myself into the position of coordinator of our part of the tour--something I've had no experience with at all!  Without going into the details, 5 of the 6 ladies who were on the team were real troopers and went full speed ahead and got everything done that they had to do--it was amazing to see it all come together. The 6th lady we'll not say much about other than even though she didn't attend the planning meetings and had no idea of our plans, she arrived on Friday night when we were setting up, and proceeded to tell everyone what they were supposed to do. That kind of thing really burns my butt!  Fortunately, the other ladies know her pretty well and for the most part, ignored her and went ahead with the plans we'd already made.

The tour was held yesterday and Yea, there was no snow, always a risk in November in NW Wisconsin. The turn out was overwhelming!  The thing was set up that 5 guilds or quilting groups set up quilt shows in 4 area churches. We were in one of the larger churches and shared the space with another guild which worked out very well.  People bought a "passport" and were allowed into all the churches on the one passport.  The domestic abuse program also had a raffle in conjunction with the tour and they had some wonderful items in the raffle. Each guild donated a lap size quilt and area businesses donated wonderful things.  I didn't win anything, but that's okay.

We had a store set up where guests could buy items made by members of the guild. We were given 1/2 yard pieces of fabric that the guild bought, and made items using the fabric--mostly table runners, pot holders and other small items. Almost everything sold and we shared the proceeds of the store with the domestic abuse program.

We also had a cafe where we had coffee, cider, punch and cookies for the guests. We set out a good will offering basket and again, shared the proceeds with the program.

I was busy all day on the floor of the show, mixing with guests, answering questions, and so forth. I was a "white glove lady!"  The last time I wore white gloves was when I still lived at home with my mother and we had to dress up for Sunday church--and that's a very long time ago! I heard so many compliments over how we'd set up our quilt racks and how beautiful the quilts were. We had a section of antique quilts that was a big hit. I displayed my husband's great-grandmother's quilt which looked so beautiful now that it's all quilted up.

When it was over and the raffle winners drawn, I helped take it all down and load everything in cars and trucks and came home with a very good feeling in my heart.  My hips and knees, however, had a very bad feeling in them from all the standing and walking as well as heavy lifting so I spent the evening in a comfy chair with my feet on a footstool.  Today, I'm back in the routine and hope to be spending some time working on quilts instead of looking at them and talking about them.

I think the quilt tour was a big success and I know our part of this show was a big success! I would definitely do this again, if we're invited next year.

Julia arrives

Look who came to live at my house last month!  It's a Sears Kenmore Model 1400 that I found at the local Goodwill store for 8 bucks!  I was so excited that I didn't even try it out before I bought it--at $8 I can't go wrong, can I?  I immediately took her to the world's area's best sewing machine guy--Jim Jerabek--and he worked his magic on her.  I brought her home but she's had to sit for a few weeks until I had time to play around with her, and that was today.

This machine, according to Jim, is a real, solid little work horse that will last a lifetime. Well, that's not that long considering my age!  She's a pale seafoam green and reminds me of a bride's maid's dress from the 90s. She's a little worse for wear--her electrical cord is wrapped with black tape and there are dings and wear spots on her from all the sewing that was done with her in her 40+ years.  Can you imagine how many pairs of pajamas and nightgowns that were lovingly made with this machine? How many back-to-school skirts and dresses sewn and how many knees of jeans were patched.  Probably a few Christmas, Easter, First Communion and Confirmation dresses as well.  Maybe even a prom dress or bridal gown.  I think this little lady has been there and seen it all, don't you?

According to the Sears website, the Model 1400 was only made from 1969 through 1973. So that makes her between 40 and 44 years old.  Not that old, I guess.  Today, since it is raining and windy and not a good day to finish my outdoor work, I took an hour or two and simply played with her and all her fancy stitches (There are about 10 of them!  My, how sewing machines have changed in 40 years!) When I put the pedal to the metal, she purred as though she had been waiting to be taken out on a good run.  She is completely sopping with oil--I think Jim wanted to make sure there was enough oil to soak into all the gears and joints--and smells very oily. I washed her exterior parts with a lavender scented cleaner so I hope she smells better next time I take her out.

I have to figure out how to mark a 1/4" line so I can do quilt piecing on her and I have to figure out what to call her.  I don't call my other machine anything but she came with the name "Lily 454" and I think I have to come up with something more suitable for this machine than "Model 1400."  I'm leaning toward "Julia."  I think Julia Roberts has played a few bridesmaid roles over the years but I'm not sure if she ever wore a seafoam green dress. Also, I loved Julia Child when she was cooking on PBS during the 70's and 80's so I think Julia is as good a name as any for this machine.

Another finish

I made a Halloween pillow for my Etsy store, but I like it so much that I think I'll have to make another one to keep.   I embroidered the center and used crayon to color the Jack O'Lantern, spider and the lettering.  I also embellished the orange rick rack and I like that effect very much.  So here's the pillow along with Mr. Vampire and a soon-to-be Jack O'Lantern.

And here's a closeup of the center panel. I think he's a little creepy looking but not so much that he'll scare the pants off little kids.

If you want to check out my Etsy store, here's a link:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/JollyRuby?ref=ss_profile

Don and I spent the weekend with our good friends in Lake Mills and had a wonderful time. He played golf with his old golfing buddies on Friday and Saturday. He really enjoyed being with his buddies again and playing on the course where he truly learned to be a golfer.  I spent the weekend with my friend-who's-like-a-sister visiting and on Saturday we went to a little bistro in Milton for a really tasty lunch. (No pix, sorry) We had shrimp and corn bisque and Elaine had a roast beef and Muenster sandwich on olive and rosemary bread (Amazing flavors!) and I ordered a ham and I forgot the kind of cheese sandwich on almond and apricot bread (More amazing flavors!)  Where I live in NW Wisconsin, we can't get unique combinations like that unless we go the Minneapolis/St Paul, an hour or more drive, so I have to take advantage of these opportunities when they come along.

Elaine and I had to stop at a little quilt shop I'd heard about in Milton and I added to my collection of red and neutrals for the Talkin' Turkey quilt that I plan to make--soon!  Elaine, who doesn't quilt but is an excellent seamstress, found the perfect quilt for her bedroom and came home with the kit.  She and I will collaborate on it by phone when she's ready to begin.  I'm absolutely thrilled that she's decided to take the plunge!

On the way home, I knitted while Don drove and got most of one sock completed.  I love my hand knitted socks but they do take quite a bit of time to complete, but, oh well.

Today I'm off work and will be getting the jalepenos in the dehydrator and making salsa and marinara sauce out of the last of the tomatoes.