I have had the most amazing adventures this year but it is mid November and the year is fast coming to an end. I have been invited to jury duty this coming week and do not yet know what time lines that might encompass. Last time, 25 years ago, I had to report daily for 2 weeks. We shall see on Monday.
Two days ago lost internet access and wondered how I ever
managed to get through a day without being on the computer and on line. I
should do it more often. The desk top is still out. Something about an IP address? The laptop works. But the big desk top is more fun and it has a touch screen. So much easier to see and to play . . . uh . . . never mind.
The little boys keep coming for 4 days a week and we are having a lot of fun. Well, until little David keeps climbing onto my lap and pushing buttons, hence the internet issue. Also, some of the house phones do not ring. Something about pushing buttons. And Jonathan glued everything in his room at home with a jar of vaseline. Glad it was there so I did not have to clean it up here. Dawn dish soap helps.
This year I completely completed, including quilting and binding and gifting, 5 whole quilts. I started 3 new ones which is the norm for me. So actually, I am ahead in the numbers game. No, I guess I started 4. Not much work done on any of those at this point.
I worked on 11 of the 17 ufos for 2017. I have one more to post about that but I will save it for December. I did do a bit of work on that one at the retreat last week.
I am clearing the tables and decluttering some of the many project boxes that I pulled out and the new ones I started so there is room in the quilt room for the Q@F retreat here the first 2 days of December. My intent then is, while I have both 8 foot tables clear, to stretch out and layer the Dear Jane quilt and get it ready to big stitch hand quilt. It was suggested to quilt for just 20 minutes each day. I could do that. Maybe.
I have also been pre-washing the new fabrics I brought home so I can get at those broderie perse birds and flowers.
I got the oil changed in my car before driving 7 hours to Shipshewana, but now have to find time to get my snow tires put on since winter is coming. And I have registered for the April retreat and booked not one, but two rooms.
The potted geraniums finally made it into the house for the winter last week when I was away. Now to clean up the wilted leaves and spent blossoms. Five down 12 to go.
The cows are all settled in the barns for the winter and we passed the bi-annual quality milk inspection so we can carry on dairy farming for 2 more years.
The corn is not yet combined nor is the high moisture corn in the small silo. Next week some time I hear.
So some of the amazing adventures were a trip to Poland with my now 10 year old Ava. A short term mission trip to Rwanda Africa. I have yet to post my Rwanda Reflections. And a quilt retreat and workshops with the Australian Di Ford-Hall. But the most amazing adventure of them all has to be publishing my first book. The temporary web site is up for proofing.
I have also been doing a bit of house work (yes really) and laundry. How come I do little boy laundry every week? Oh yes, on Thurs nights they get supper, a bath and clean pjs then I load them in their van and meet Mommy, who has my car, at the university so she can drive them home after her last class. They get home around 9:30-10 pm. We swap cars and I come home after picking up a few groceries since I am in town.
So the reality check is realizing that I will never complete the course work for my doctorate at the pace I am going and the procrastinating attitude I have had towards it. I have typed out exactly 3 pages in the past year. One of my OMG goals for November is to complete and submit one course. The text book has been on my desk for the past 2 months. That's when I typed out those pages. And I remembered to save them. I dropped all the hand written notes behind the desk just before I left for the retreat and now I have to figure out how to retrieve them.
Elly came over for a visit today and she offered to help, until she saw how many spider webs there were back there after we got a light to look down. So we got out the spider web catcher and got rid of them. She could not fit down under the side of the desk to get them and I could not reach that far down from the top. There is a big book shelf beside the really heavy desk. Grampa had the outrageously creative idea to get a broom and weep them out. What a smart fella I am married to. Now I have all the notes and a cleared off desk. And fewer spider webs.
My OMG and slow sunday stitching project is to complete this 1857 block. I have been fiddling around with it this month. You have to figure out what you want and what leaves to cut out, them what order to stitch them down. I thought I had the first set of leaves placed equidistant on the circle I drew in the middle, until I got to the last triplet of leaves. I don't care that they are not straight and even, they are almost done. I kinda like the dark around those leaves. I get to do a tad bit more of this in the Bally Hall Birds Quilt. I have decided to do some of it by machine so I stand a chance to get it done before the end of this century.
And I found a whole bunch more of the Only2 red and white blocks and nicely organized bits for many more blocks as I was tidying up the quilt closet so I have somewhere to put away the project boxes.
But in reality, I was looking for the heat-n-bond lite to fuse to the new fabric. I cannot believe I used more than 80 yards of the stuff. There has to be some more here somewhere. I will keep looking.
blessings,
Chris
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