Back on line

I can't believe it is Wednesday already. My modem has been down so I haven't been able to be online since Monday. The electricity/cable was out here on Sunday and my modem would not reboot correctly. So the "expert" came today and called it in and they fixed it from their office. Another rant - they asked me all the same questions so why didn't they believe me on Monday when I was talking to Customer Service. Why couldn't they have done the same thing when I was on the phone with them? Why did they have to send an "expert" out here to see that the modem I have is the same one they gave me two years ago? I typed in "ipconfig" just like he did and read the numbers to them; I read the correct mac #s to them. So why didn't they "flip the switch" for me just like they did for him? So they can justify charging more for their broadband since part of the cost is equipment and number of service calls?
Enough of that - guess who I got to visit this weekend? My grandbabies. Way back when the English language was being developed, someone knew what they were doing when they said the next generation will have grand in front of it. Because they are grand! And it is grand when they get rambucsious to turn them over to their parents.
Could you guess by GS's hair that he and Daddy had been to get a haircut that day? His great grandfather Ray would have loved to tell him the story of the time he went to town to get a haircut and he came home with a mohawk- this was in the late 20's so outrageous haircuts aren't anything new. Grandpa G said- if that's the best they can do - you can pay for your own haircuts from now on.
Sister 5 attended her class reunion this weekend. I think it was her 10th maybe????? LOL
Sister 6 got back from her houseboat trip safely and without any external damage. Don't know about the liver!!!!
I haven't touched the sewing machine this week except to pack it away. This is all the hand work I have been doing this week. This embroirdery will be part of the white on white calendar quilt I plan to do this fall.
August will be here Friday. And August means Upper Michigan for Sister 2 and me. The packing has begun. I always think I am taking too much but cannot figure out what to leave at home. We will be there three weeks and you never know if the temperatures will be in the 80s or in the 60s so you have to pack for all contingencies.
You will not be hearing from me until the first of September. But I'm sure there will be lots of pictures when I return. Have a safe and fun August. I will!!!!!!!

The Weekend's Coming

Thought I would add a picture from yesterday's lunch at Grand Finale. Doesn't it look like it has ambiance? Plus good food. Thanks Joyce.

Sister 6 is off on a long weekend with girlfriends on a houseboat on Lake Cumberland. Hope she is using restraint. Last year she tried to act 14 and go off the waterslide and her butt hurt for a month. Don't know how long her head and stomach felt uneasy after she got back!!
Sister 2 is off for a retreat with the Daughters of the King at Herrington Lake. As you can see, Pris and Lucilu are laying (lying?) at my feet hoping I don't go off and leave them too. Who would give out food and treats? I tried to talk her into a retreat at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, KY but she scoffed at the idea. She says I can't go 24 hours without a cigarette but even worse, I couldn't go 24 hours without speaking. I thought I could use the time to see if I could meditate. Probably my head would just be in a whirl making lists of topics to talk about when I did get out of the Abbey!! LOL
Speaking of topics, I'm going to rant a moment. When did people get the idea that the courts were there for their stupidity? I am talking about the woman who sued her boyfriend (fiance?) for not marrying her. She gave up her home, quit her job, sold her car and moved from Florida to Georgia to live with him - before the marriage. Then he decided he didn't want to get married. So she sued and won $150,000. She is stupid. A woman her age should know nothing in life is certain - especially love and men. And where will her next sucker come from? She is responsible for herself and should have looked out for her own security - not expected the courts to do it for her. I will continue to ponder all the things I think is wrong with the world!
Hope your weekend is full of fun and love!

One a Day

When I was still working (was that in this decade?!), I laughed at Sister 2 because she only did one thing a day after she retired. I could get all my appointments in, do the laundry, clean the house, go to a school function and go to church in one weekend. I thought she was crazy. Guess what I have done this week? That's right, one thing each day! Actually I did two on Monday. Monday was the doctor - where he was pleased with the weight loss and the blood count so no insulin yet. And then Sister 2 and I went out to lunch with friends at a new restaurant called John Phillips. It was okay but nothing special.
Tuesday was peridontal appointment which is an every three month occurance. If I had my life to do over, I would never have started smoking and taken better care of my teeth. And to know my DIL is a dental hygenist makes it more guilt ridden. Anyway, to get me in the door and prevent me from biting anyone's fingers - sorry, Dr. Narramore and Susie, before I go I take demerol, valium and phenergan. So by the time I sit down in the chair, if she asked me any embarrassing questions, I'd answer truthfully! Luckily, Sister 2 drives me over. I come home quite tipsy and sleep the day and night away. Sometimes he adds vicotin if it has been a bad session. God bless the man. He was raised in a town where the dentist would take a swig of whiskey and offer the patient one as well. He said the Baptist patients didn't get much relief but everyone else enjoyed the visit. So he understands dental phobias.
Wednesday it was oil change day. It was good to see old friends at Beechmont Ford from when I worked there.
Today was lunch out with Bob and Carol, Ted and Alice - the names have been changed because I think these four are funnier because of the movie. We went to the Grand Finale in Glendale.

It is named the Grand Finale because it is known for its fantastic desserts. But luckily, they didn't bring the dessert tray around for me to succumb to temptation.

This is a picture of my stash of materials from previous quilts. I want to turn it into a stash quilt. I hope to practice making triangles and stippling quilting. This is the start of what I will do. It takes a lot of patience to cut squares, rectangles and triangles without a plan.

In the book I'm reading (Eat, Pray, Love) I am in the section about praying. It isn't as snappy as the section about eating her way across Italy. I never could get into meditation which she is doing at some commune in India. I understand prayer; I've had some answered and sometimes He said no but to meditate for hours on end - my brain just won't settle down and not flit around from thought to thought. But to understand how some people communicate with God and their inner self, this is still a well-written book.

Sister 5 is back from Canada. She was there for a week of mission work.

Monday, Monday

The weekend began with a great show at the Prince of Peace church in Covington with a performance by the children of My Nose Turns Red Theatre Group. I am on the Board so I went to support their summer camps for children. It is amazing to watch the children do their acrobatic expertise after Steve's working with them. I met Steve and Jean in the '80s when they did a workshop at West Whitesburg and I loved their work with the students. I met them again here when we discovered we went to the same church.

Sister 2 is back out among the living again. She is still weak and the cough still lingers but we went to the park this morning. And she went to church Sunday morning and didn't disturb the service by coughing so I knew she was on the mend. The picture is the window in the altar of Trinity Episcopalian.

This is my next project. It isn't very clear in these pictures but it will be a whole cloth, white on white quilt with embroidery. I got the 12 month flower kit and ran them off on fabric on the inkjet printer which will be the border. And there will be a bouquet in the center of the top.

I saw this quilt at the Shelburne Museum exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum last winter. Each of the scallops on the edge are the months of the year. It was georgeous. Let's see how close to it I can get.

I am reading the best book - Eat, Pray, Love by Elisabeth Gilbert. She wants to travel to Italy, India and Indonesia to get her head on straight after a nasty divorce. Since she is a writer it is possible for her to do this. She wants to live in Italy to learn the beautiful language, and to live in India and Indonesia to learn to be closer to God. And, of course, along the way she falls in love. It is non-fiction but written so well you have a hard time believing this happens to a real, live person.

Cookie Cutter Complete!

The cookie cutter lap quilt is finished. It is ready to go to someone who needs to curl up on the couch and keep the chill off and brighten a room up while she's at it.

Now to finish putting a background on the four seasons. The measurements are going to be so weird and I like for everything to be symmetrical so it may take awhile for me to come to terms with that and what material to use. I want to use it as a wall hanging but I have awhile before I need it so it may hang here for a few weeks.

Sister 2 is some better but not able to go to the park yet. "They" say the cough may last several weeks. But she is determined to plan and pack for Michigan. Sister 6 just got back from Atlanta where she went for IBM. Glad she's safe.
I have enjoyed hearing from all the cousins after my post yesterday. It is hard for us to realize we are the "older" generation now.
I got an email from one of my favorite bloggers today about why there was a strange flying pig in the airport at Cincinnati - she was flying from North Carolina to California. So I told her about the flying pigs in Cincy and also why the Cincinnati airport is actually in Kentucky. I told her she never set foot in Ohio during her stay at the airport!

Family – the people you ask to be tested for a transplant - the people you ask to give you some money – it’s not a loan because they know they may never see it again – the people who ask you for a loan - the people who can complete the story for you – the people who know what you looked like before plastic surgery – the people who knew your first spouse and knows how this spouse compares to him/her – the people who can bail your kid out of jail – the people who can speak to a trustee to get your kid into a good school - the people who read your blog and know who you are talking about even if you don’t use names – the people who listen to your dog stories and smile - the people who know you wet the bed or sucked your thumb and know if you’ve stopped yet – the people who have watched you change clothes sizes over the years (usually going up!) – the people who know which nursing home you want to be in - the people who help you pick out a casket for your loved one – the people who can hold you and let you cry without saying “I know how you feel” – the people who know the real you!

It wasn't the old home place on Smoot Creek but it sure came mighty close because all of us had some very fond memories of summers spent on the Indiana farm while our parents renewed their friendship. We rode the horses, chased the farm animals like we wanted to catch them, climbed trees, got in the creek, piled in bed together, smelled the aromatic barn while climbing to the rafters, drove the farm equipment and anything else we weren't allowed to do at our own homes.

We missed all the cousins who weren't there but, if your ears burned yesterday, it might have been because you were being talked about. And only in a good way, of course! We celebrated birthdays in the family. I didn't share in the Servatti's chocolate cake but my mouth watered all the way home. Sheet cake is one of my favorite things and chocolate is to die for. But since I don't want to die or have my feet cut off from diabetes - who would push the wheelchair then? - I came home and ate Fat-free, sugar-free chocolate pudding - not the same but it helped my craving for chocolate and my blood sugar was 109 this morning so no guilt today.

Do you remember when Aunt Ollie wrote for The Mountain Eagle? And no one would tell her anything because she would put it in the paper for everyone to read. One of my sisters says the same thing is going to happen with my blog. So I going to try my best to not use names of the living but I will still tell some good stories.

All the bad stitching came out of the cookie cutter quilt fairly easily. It only took about 4 hours (such a waste of time). Now I am ready to redo the quilting and get the thing bound and washed today.

Monday Morning Coming Down

I watched a biography of Kris Kristoferson this weekend. Wasn't my title one of his songs?

A very boring weekend With Lily sick there isn't a

traveling companion so Lucilu and I stayed in. Togetherness might breed contempt. I guess I yelled one time too many.

Now the Baptist comes out in me! My ox wasn't in the ditch. I didn't have to finish the cookie cutter quilt. But I wanted to. So I sewed on Sunday. Be sure your sins will find you out! This is the back of the quilt. As you may be able to see, my bobbin was messed up - big time. So now I have to sit down and take allllllllllll those stitches out and try again. I guess I should have checked the back every now and then. Maybe that was when I was screaming and Luci tried to hide! I tried to rewind the bobbin - that didn't help. So into the garbage went the bobbin and the thread on it. I buy a special bobbin thread which ain't cheap and I hated to throw all of it away since there was a lot on the bobbin. But it just didn't work. I guess the bobbin was nicked and out of balance.

This morning when we were going to the park, there was a Mama duck and 13-15 teenage ducks crossing Highway 27 (at the crosswalk no less). So even though the light was green, I had to stop. Luckily I had sense enough to look in the rearview mirror first to see how close the car behind was to me. Could I have splatted them if he had been tailgating? I don't know. But he stopped too. I thought about Jon and Kate and their eight kids. How would you have the patience to teach 15 babies how to fly and how to paddle? And she has to do it year after year. I guess you just let nature take over. I remember when I decided it was time my oldest son was potty trained. He broke out in a terrible rash all over his body. The doctor said I had decided, not him, and I should let nature take its course. So I did. Of course by the time he decided it was time, he and my other son were big enough that I would catch them changing each other's diapers. What did mothers do before disposable diapers? And I got them both potty trained at the same time. Coming from a family of girls - how do you teach a boy to stand up? Is it nature? Or is it nurture?

Saturday morning

Lily is sick so for the last two days I have taken the dogs to the park by myself. If you had told me three years ago that I would have taken a walk with enthusiasm, I would have thought you were crazy. But now I do. Lucilu is some of that motivation. After running in the park, she is not so tenacious. Lily has respitory congestion; we think she might have gotten the germs from the daycare. But who could help cuddling this sweet face? And does she look like a hotbed of germs?

Anyone who has not been around children catches everything they have. I always told new teachers to expect to use up their sick days the first year because they would catch everything coming and going.

On the way to the park I saw these two sights.

I thought about going to this show but I didn't know if I'd see many old friends! Or if they'd ask me to enter the show as a contestant. Wonder what you have to do to win?

The other picture is St. Anne's Convent. It was the scene in the Rainman movie - the drive is where Dustin Hoffman drove the car. Until this spring, there were beautiful old trees lining the drive. But they got some kind of disease and had to be cut down. They replanted these trees but I won't see them as beautiful as the old ones in my lifetime.

I got cookie cutter on the machine to quilt. The sewing each strip is even more time consuming than cutting and sewing them together. But I think I know who needs this lap quilt

Walmart screamed my name as I drove by this week. I got one of these reachers for $10. Now I don't have to bend over to pick up material scraps in the hobby room or get a chair to get something off the top shelf. And they had a task chair for $25. Now I can roll between the computer and the sewing machine. Plus I can adjust the height. I just wish it had arms. But for $25? If someone ask me what my decor is in my place, I use to say eclectic. I think recently it has become more mainstay!! I noticed a lot of lavender/purple products at Walmart in the home department. Is that a new color trend? Or am I just noticing it because of my granddaughter? Does Walmart start trends? You know, I believe if you can't find it at Walmart, then they don't make it!

I saw my first tv commercial for the IBOT chair. I remember when Anita got so excited about the IBOT after reading about it. She said she was so tired of looking up at everyone. She called and spent hours on the phone trying to get in on the research program. But they said she didn't qualify for the program - I think it was her age. I wonder if she would have had better quality of life if she could have gone up stairs with this machine.

I finished reading Melody Beattie's The Grief Club. The book is about getting through changes in your life. And I have had so many changes in my life in the last 8 years, I thought I would see if there were things I could have done differently. Melody Beattie's books have been great material for me. As my son says, "If you want to know anything, there is a book about it."
One of the sections I enjoyed was : "Guilt - the gift that keeps on giving. That's what Marge says. Marge is my friend who calls big loss initiation. Like me, she comes from a fundamentalist background filled with right and wrong, sin and good works, and rules. Many rules. People like rules. Rules keep them safe - at least that's what they think. Fundamentalism can crop up in religious groups, recovery and new age groups, institutions, treatment centers, government organizations, schools, corporations, cultures, and families - wherever people gather. Fundamentalism is the absolute thinking that leaves no room for being guided by intuition, awareness, evolution, and what's right for us. There's no heart, no compassion. Fundamentalism breeds rules, and rules breed quilt."

Guess I'd better stop before I start lecturing or preaching! Have a good one! Charlene

Cookie Cutter

Before I could start on the cookie cutter quilt, I had to recover the cushions for my glider on the patio. Doesn't this material just scream summer and hot weather? Now I have a clean spot to drink my coffee in the morning!

Someone asked me what a cookie cutter quilt is and I thought I would show you what I have so far. It is a matter of being patient enough to cut strips different sizes, sewing them all together, then cutting them apart again into odd angled squares and sewing them together. I have another row to build and then I'll be ready to quilt. I think it will be a lap quilt. It has to be a very special material or special person I'm giving it to for me to be ambitious enough to quilt a large quilt. I am most proud of the way the seams came together as you can see in the closeup. I think it had a lot to do with these new two pronged pins. They hold the seams together very well before you sew.

The walk at the park was wonderful this morning. The humidity has abated for the time being. From the picture you can see the muddy Ohio River. That's Richmond, Ohio on the other side. The park is bordered by the Ohio on one side and a railroad tracks on the other. There was a 17 car derailment in Florence last night so we didn't see any trains although usually there is one heading west from Ashland. Did you know the conductor will still wave at you but I do miss the cabooses on the end!

I started the last of Emilie Richard's Shenandoah Album series. The books have strong southern women and quilts - two things I believe are good for the soul. And now I have a good glider to curl up and read when the shade comes over.

Have a good one,

Charlene

Lunch out today

On either Monday or Tuesday, Lily and I go out with Ric and Sam for lunch. Today we went to Hyde Park to Tellers. Tellers was a bank in a previous life and they left many of the original interior architectural features. Sitting in the park after lunch and watching people was almost as good as the lunch. But I'm happy to say the Italian Garden pizza I had didn't negatively affect my blood count although I love pizza crust. I left a large amount on my plate. The book says the best taste is in the first bite and you can savor that and be satisfied. I don't know if that works with tanglewood pie - my favorite - but it does with many things I've tried. Today my first reading was the most normal it has been. Pat on the back for me!!

I put the sleeve on Jake's wallhanging, traced the letters and numbers for the growth charts, fixed one of my four season squares to where it is presentable and sorted some material. The four seasons wallhanging is going to take a great deal of hand work so that may be slow going. That's all the quilting I accomplished yesterday. Today I hope to start on the cookie cutter pattern. I know I need to stay in because the humidity is so high outside I could melt. We southern girls don't sweat - we get dewy. And this morning on the walk in the park, my dewy started dropping off. So I'm in for the day.

Have a good one!

Charlene

End of the Holiday

I hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July weekend. Here the Fourth was damp and sometimes downright wet. Saturday was better.

John brought his family up to go to the Reds ballgame which the cooler weather made a good idea. While Jake went to the ballgame, I had the honor of keeping Emerson. Here she is enjoying some spaghetti. Lucilu thought she needed fed some spaghetti too.

Today was church, resting and picking up all the little things grandchildren can leave all over the place. And I wish they were here today to mess up the place again!! I already miss them.

I saw a demonstration for a cookie cutter quilt the other day. And I just happen to have several maroon fat quarters. So I think I will have a new project for the week! Have a good one.

Big Brother

I have met Big Brother from George Orwell's 1984.

It was a recording from Kroger's informing me that I had bought some of their tainted hamburger meat and should destroy it or return it to the store.

For a refund I must return the receipt or food label. Wonder which landfill I need to go to and find that white garbage bag that I am sure has the receipt in it? And to find the other white garbage bag which has the food label in it when I opened the carton and fixed myself a hamburger (no bun!). I didn't get sick either. I'm sure I wouldn't have a problem identifying my white garbage bag among all the other garbage bags. Surely everyone else used green bags!!

My question is - if they know I bought hamburger meat, they know which store I bought the meat from, they know what day I bought the meat, they know how much I paid for that meat, they know my phone number, they know my address. Why do I need to bring in proof of purchase for a refund? Can't they just scan my Kroger card and give me back the $3.84 or deduct it from my grocery bill next time I shop at Krogers? Or send me a check for $3.84? Or do what ATT did and send me a prepaid Visa card for $3.84?

Kroger better watch out. A super Walmart will be opening in my neighborhood in August and I bet they won't call me personally for a food recall.

I need to decide whether I want to keep my privacy or lack thereof!! Is there any privacy anymore? Oops, I'm getting into politics now!!

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!

Although it doesn't look like it outside.

But as you can see by the pictures, Lily and I still take the dogs to the park, rain or shine! I hope the rain stops so my sister's Fourth of July fireworks won't be drowned out!

Thirty-eight years ago today, I had orange hair! What a sight! I went to Super Sams to get my hair frosted (now they call it highlights) on July 2 because I wanted to look good for my wedding date. I sat in the chair for eight hours but they couldn't get my dark hair to go beyond orange which was a far cry from the white I wanted. They didn't charge me for the frosting job but I still felt miserable. So I went to my wedding on July 4 at Walnut Street Baptist Church with orange hair. I just knew that if I tried to dye it back brown it would all fall out. That happened to a cousin of mine so I'd rather live with orange hair than no hair. Chemicals have come a long way since then. Plus our best man was in the hospital for kidney stones. The doctors let him out for the wedding on the condition that he drink enough beer to try to pass the stones. That was no problem for him back then! When he went back on Monday, the stones were no longer there. Guess the beer worked! Medical treatment has changed a great deal since then as well.

So Ivan if you are looking over my shoulder - Happy 38th Anniversary!! The fireworks are for us!

Got the makings for potato salad on the stove. What's a Fourth of July without hamburgers, hot dogs and potato salad. As long as I don't have any buns and restrict the potato salad to half a cup I'll be okay! This planning and measuring is sure time consuming.

I finished the lap quilt for myself. I fell in love with the material. It is the pattern Praire Window which I thought was appropriate because the scene on the material would make a beautiful one to look out your window each day and see. No matter how hard I worked I could never have a garden that beautiful

Again Happy Fourth of July!

Material Shopping

Did I have fun this morning!! Went to Pendery Park for the morning walk. I needed some embellishments for the growth charts I am making - guess who for? LOL And I needed some material for the lap quilt I've been working on. So nothing would do me except to head to Cabin Arts Quilt Shop in Burlington. And of course when I'm there I has no self-restraint. She had her solid sateen cotton on sale for half price so I had to get some yardage for a quilt I'm planning. Does that look like something you might could live with Maureen?

And I got an early start on Christmas with this material. Won't it make a cute table runner?

But I couldn't find my embellishments so I had to move on to Hobby Lobby - where the wallet stayed in the pocket and to Hancocks. I found the embellishments and will show the growth charts when I finished them. But I also found some batik on sale and wanted to see how they quilted up so I got some of those.

After stopping at the PetSmart for treats for Lucilu, we headed home to get started on all this sewing I have to do. At least I have lots of time to sew because there is absolutely nothing on television. I don't know if it has to do with the writers' strike or my taste are changing but I find nothing to watch any more. You know you've overdone it on Law and Order when you start saying the dialogue for them. And the only reality show I like is Jon and Kate plus Eight. I could read but then I'd just read myself to sleep - which was okay when I was too exhausted to go to sleep but now I have to be careful I don't follow my grandfather's pattern and sleep 20 out of the 24 hours.

Still keeping with the diabetes diet and the blood testing Wonder if leeches would be easier than the needle I forget to change and let it get dull?!

Four Seasons

I forgot to add a picture of my in-progress wall hanging.

First Blog

My first post will be short and sweet. I just wanted to see if I could set up a blog to share with friends.
I am a mother and grandmother who retired from school administration and now I have time to do what I want when I want with whom I want. Lucilu is my West Highlands Terrier who keeps me entertained 24 hours a day. She is also my motivation to get some exercise! When she drags me out of bed at 6:00 am (with that look you see on the Caesar's commercials) then I don't know why I thought getting a pet was such a good idea. But after our walk, I appreciate her.
Right now I am working on a wall hanging for the four seasons. I figure whenever it gets finished I can hang it because the season will be there!
Yesterday I went to a session with a diabetes nutrition specialist to try to get my blood sugar under control. Which proves that you can't do everything you want to when you retire!
I'll see how this post and know if I want to continue