Slowly reentering my realm

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Hand-quilting DONE! Now to start the finishing touches.

I arrived home yesterday afternoon, grateful for the time spent with family and equally relieved to be off the road. I do enjoy a journey spent behind the wheel and it goes without saying how much I love being with my children and grandkids. However I am not the spry gal of years before, and I didn't do much once stepping into my house other than eating dinner fixed by my hubby, then managing a little hand-sewing. I plopped into bed shortly after eight p.m. and slept hard all night.

Rising early, as is my usual custom, I drank my coffee and tea while chatting with my spouse; darkness enveloped the landscape not only due to when I woke, but that the sun has moved further along the horizon, the middle of September fast approaching. I'd had a grand plan to start a novel this month, but I was kidding myself; not only have I yet to choose an idea, but quilts are muscling their way onto the docket, as well as a much anticipated visit at the beginning of October from our other daughter and family. I'd rather wait (not procrastinate truly!) until after their stay to begin a new book, freeing my time for some Halloween fabric that I am hoping to turn into at least one quilt, plus a table runner. And if another quilt emerges, all the better.

But first there is completing the EPP quilt pictured above. It was waiting for me, heaped in a pile on my sewing table, precluding any fabric cutting until I give it the proper attention. Which means edging it with a perimeter seam to secure those hexies, then fashioning the binding (strips for which I cut before I left, thanks past me!), attaching that binding, then hand-sewing the binding in place. Oh and don't forget to remove the safety pins, ha ha. How I thought I'd fit writing a new book into my schedule is slightly embarrassing. I'll be doing well getting all this sewing sorted!

I gave little thought to all of this while I was away, absorbed in a wholly different life with two grandsons and their four-month-old pup. Yet I relished being removed from my usual day-to-day, although the heatwave, while great for aching joints, wasn't a thrill. Returning to cool Humboldt County permits quilt making to feel necessary, no need for blankets when it's 113 F outside. My daughter has a newly installed mister hose attached near their patio, from where I took this shot on Friday, pleased for how well the cooling water was captured. And yet two days later I'm thankful for my robe and slippers, hehehe. And to be home where my creative endeavors can flourish.

Mist makes for a cool grandma....

Living far from family is at times frustrating; I want to share in their joys and assist with their struggles. But I am happy to reside where my husband and I call home, delving into projects (or putting them off as sometimes occurs) that stimulate my intellect and satisfy my crafty heart. Yeah my hands ache occasionally and I greatly miss those beloveds, yet this place is my home, alongside the man I love deeply and the life we are forging. How books and quilts and don't forget the garden figures into our souls is a work in progress. And regardless of when I next draft fiction or get patchwork squares on the design wall, more important is the slow, at times silent, but very necessary growth of ourselves as people. I might be a grandmother, but who I am to become next requires contemplation, then the actions associated with such alterations. While I reacquaint myself with my life, I accept that life is always changing. Embracing those changes with open hands and a willing heart, even when that heart aches for those faraway, will provide peace of mind, body, and soul.

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