In A Bookish, Quilty Mood

  Lassen National Forest, California; our trek eastward took us along this route, trees not surviving a firestorm now markers of what used to be. I enjoyed a brief chat with a fellow author this morning via Bluesky , just my reply to his post from over a week ago, then his appreciation for my musings. Which is always lovely, interacting with other writers. I responded with this not quite three hundred character missive: It's merely in my acceptance that a theme/message written now or ten years ago isn't tied to this/that point in time. And being brave enough to follow the muse/spirit, not letting expectations (mine or anyone else's) deem what is valuable in the creative process. Aging/maturity helps. (With a smiley face inserted right afterwards.) Sometimes off the cuff remarks can be incredibly....Valid. Brilliant. Insightful, ahem, speaking for myself, lol. I took a screenshot of that reply because I wanted to remember it without having to go back to look it up later. And...

I'm quite pleased with this to be wholly honest. So, about the quilting! A few days ago I completed a round of Alexandria, Jodi Godfrey's medallion pattern. Much to go before I sleep with this one, hehehe, but now I am FIRMLY into this project, which is good because of how much remains, ahem, and that I wasn't sure I'd finish it. (Kind of like writing a story, then realizing it was going to be VERY LONG, so instead of writing it quietly, it gets released bits at a time even though the author is nowhere near the end. LOL.) When I gave up on Alexandria, it looked like this. Pretty, but so incomplete. Why did I abandon it? A pinched nerve made hand-stitching impossible in February of 2023, and once I could hand-sew again, for whatever reason, I dove into Cornflower quilt blocks. Alexandria laid on a guest bed, or my work table if the bed was needed. I sort of ignored it, busy with writing and sewing other shinies. Well, I kind of ignored it. I kept stitching the next round...

  Evening clouds from last night. Sometimes things we accomplished in the past weren't for when we did, said, or wrote them. Sometimes those achievements are for NOW. Past Me gets the kudos today, not only for writing The Hawk , but for being patient. Because in a rare moment of living in three dimensions, I'm currently Past, Future, and Present Me, acknowledging why re-releasing The Hawk is vital RIGHT NOW. (And as these odd snippets of clarity often go, I had no inkling of this two days ago when I wrote the previous post, lol.) Years ago, maybe even before I wrote The Hawk , I followed a blog written by a young-ish mum named Sarah. She had a daughter named Eliot Rose, who one day told her mum that peace was just a lot of hopes put together. I found that wisdom so striking, and asked Sarah if I could thank Eliot in one of my novel's Liner Notes, and Sarah obliged. I put that here to preface the rest of my explanation, because currently in America and other places on this ...

Finally a break from the incessant rain/gray sky/rain/brutal winds/rain. The above shot was taken at 11.05 PST, noting not only the BLUE SKY , but how low the sun has dipped behind the tree line. Yes, it's the twenty-second day of November, one month left till the solstice. (Heads-up, LONG POST.) I am *HOPING* to release Book One of The Hawk next month. It's in a pretty good place revision-wise, maybe one more read-through to confirm I have eliminated as many typos as possible. Also getting rid of unnecessary that and just too, lol. Basically making myself feel like, "Yup. This novel is DONE. (For now....)"  For now? Really? After all it's been through? As an indie author, my novels are MY OWN and if one day I feel (STRANGELY) compelled to again read over this series and make changes.... Future Me smirks, for which I'm glad. Because while I LOVE this set of stories, I am currently feeling like it's time to, ahem, move on from them. Having said that, the...

Lonely mailbox post. Not in recent memory have I experienced sustained hurricane-level winds until yesterday, as a bomb cyclone sits off North America's West Coast, spinning the atmosphere into an extreme tizzy. We haven't lost power, thank the Lord, although the internet is glitchy, why I'm writing so early in the day. My goodness those winds! Gusting, howling, knocking a large geranium pot from its stand, blowing down a young tree, making the house rattle and keeping my husband and myself on edge all day. I stayed up long past my usual bedtime, listening to the wind, then the rain, which held off until evening. We're in a small rain shadow in our neck of the North Coast, and I'm eager to learn how much rain is in the gauge once there's enough daylight to see (one inch I found). I'm hopeful this weather pattern is the kind that doesn't produce as much rain as forecasters predict; how often is that the case? Yes, it's better to edge toward the worst-...

  Last night's accomplishment. Blue and yellow blocks are to remember Ukraine's struggles. To my utter JOY (and no small relief) I am FULL of ENTHUSIASM in my return to Jodi Godfrey's medallion designed Alexandria quilt. W-H-E-W! I've been pining over it for months, but couldn't work on it until after my husband's party because it already takes up space and is only going to grow. Two nights ago I brought down the center, stitched nearly two years ago, then rummaged through the living room tote for hexagon blocks. Then I went to the office looking for another Alexandria tote for basted diamonds. Two totes for one quilt? Oh yes! Meanwhile, I pondered how these medium-to-large EPP projects mirror my medium-to-large book series, lol. Indeed a few parallels going on in my life right now. So, about this quilt. Currently I have four of twelve outer hexagon blocks attached, and am planning (hoping, praying) to continue adding two per night, which includes sewing the bl...

Not to box myself into anything permanent, but.... What you see above is MOST LIKELY the last completed sewing project for 2024. Currently it's in the dryer, but since it hasn't rained today, I decided to hang it on the line, snapping one picture, then hustling myself and said quilt back in the house. It's chilly out today and I have a small cold and 'nuff said about being outside in those conditions. I hesitate to write this, but perhaps ( PERHAPS ) this is the last quilt I'll display on the ancient laundry line. We're hoping for some home improvements in 2025, and if that occurs, the laundry line will be removed, oh my! Kind of funny to even consider that because the home improvement plan has been in the works for a couple of years without anything occurring. Because sometimes life is like that. Anyways.... Who knows really? Maybe I'll get inspired and quickly machine-sew some kind of impetuous comforter. Maybe a Christmas quilt. Maybe something else entir...

  This week's Red Sky at Night block, Rolling Star. Green is becoming one of my fave colours. I'm glad it's a new day. Yesterday was....tumultuous. Not because of what you might imagine, but due to rain, memories, and a sense of futility. A decent night's rest alters A LOT. Cups of less than half-caff tea ease the turmoil, and now at 6.13 a.m. I'm feeling able to grasp my life with more than a modicum of relief. PTSD is a funny thing, in the you never know when it's going to strike column. In the how crippling are events from the past you never consider until they have brought you to your knees arena. In the why in the hell am I still bothered by this, that, and the other even though the crap happened over forty years ago element. Hmmm. Fascinating is the human mind, able to slot away shite from one's day-to-day, then BOOM, there is it in a downpour and merely by God's grace there go I into the maelstrom. Suffice to say, being in a car in the middle ...

Slippers my grandsons left behind. Not long after my most recent post, I accidentally hit the create new post button. I titled it Not sure yet because of course there would be another post, written at a more opportune moment. In the middle of a family bash, most of my focus was on relatives and party details, and I can happily say the festivities were phenomenal! We haven't thrown a wing-ding like that in ages, nor at our still new-ish residence, which for many guests was their first time visiting. My husband certainly felt the love, many hands made for light work, and I got to play heaps of card games with the grandkids and others who appreciate Crazy 8's and Go Fish. By eight p.m. last night however I was TOAST. Partying hard in one's late fifties is...hilarious, in that I required a cup of caffeinated tea at lunch yesterday and still went to be before eight thirty. While I slept well, I've been awake for, um, a good while, and despite the mostly clear sky, admiring ...

  It's a quiet moment, all guest in the house asleep. The above shot was taken at 5.15 a.m. today, although it's not cold outside, fifty-one degrees Fahrenheit. Which is MARVELOUS for a clear night in nearly mid-November. Amid party prep, we wondered what kind of weather would greet the festivities, and so far it's been SPECTACULAR, as have been the reunions and revelries. No rain in sight and so many embraces, peals of laughter, appreciative gestures and surprise gifts, two of which were for me, hehehe. My youngest sister brought a painting our mom had done of Dad, as well as a blanket I made for him. Those treasures joined a couple of pieces of furniture delivered, tables made from a redwood slab the previous owner of our home left for us four years ago. We've been living here for a little over forty-eight months, and now my husband is sixty, and in hosting a collection of our nearest and dearest, perhaps this house is now fully integrated into the familial.... I can...

  The hourly forecast for Saturday; indicative of my mood are the clouds, but if no rain falls, I'll be SO GRATEFUL (also indicative of my hope for the future). Recently a dear friend sent an email about being patient, trusting, and celebrating exactly where I am right now. I was grateful for her grace, that peace, and the accompanying anecdote about happy pigeons proffering a glimpse between where I currently stand and a world just beyond the veil. Where I am right now feels like thin ice, although Future Me is holding my hand, reminding that she just told me things were gonna suck. She squeezes my fingers as if to confirm that notion, the pressure not harsh but healing. She and I have been in some VERY DEEP VALLEYS, Past Me too, and yet here I am (or we are), breathing without difficulty on this bright, Thursday Humboldt County morning. Family arrived on Tuesday, my sister-in-law and her partner. The birthday celebrations begin tomorrow, so today will entail grocery shopping and ...