In A Bookish, Quilty Mood

  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