A Contemplative Life

The state of my work table, and all the totes I someday need to deal with, as I told my daughter this weekend I would attempt to use all my fabric before, well.... I'm back after a lovely weekend spent with family in the San Francisco Bay Area. Events were celebrated, the weather was marvelous, in that it wasn't hot, ha ha. And of course hanging out with beloveds is PHENOMENAL, also altering, in that my granddaughters aren't tiny, my own daughter not a girl, and my son-in-law the master of half-caff almond milk lattes, among his other genial attributes. I am blessed for such a grand collection of humans in my realm, and while we all wish to live closer to another, we're in the same state, and we get together as often as possible. Driving home yesterday, I breathed deeply after crossing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, because in achieving that feat without any traffic incidents meant I was halfway home, though not halfway in actual distance. Still many miles to go, some ...

Today's featured quilt was made for my eldest, celebrating her birthday several years ago. She asked for a blue and brown cozy, and I joyfully acquiesced with this beauty, which I enjoyed last night on their guest bed. A deliberate play on words in today's title; I'm visiting my eldest and her family in our former stomping grounds of Silicon Valley. And I'm reminded of a fave book amid my catalogue, Home and Far Away , for how odd it is to return to where one used to live, or from where one originated in some vague manner. Because in returning to a house I know well, and beloveds I know even better, there is a sense of, "Dude! Did I actually live in this wacky big city?" As well as granddaughters getting SO TALL and not being the wee sprites that pop up on computer screen savers back home. And where exactly is HOME? What does that mean in the grand scheme.... Most of these fabrics were acquired at Joann. But those dark blue leaves on faint light blue, from whe...

Title and idea courtesy of my husband. And the hens, lol. Oh, and the Year-End Smashwords Sale! Do chickens have guardian angels? Do humans? I don't know the answer to either of those queries, but I have suspicions, and who is to say chickens or humans don't possess someone assigned to their well-being. I will say that yesterday morning my husband scraped a LOT of nasty poo off the wall, leading us to wonder if said chickens had coccidiosis. Yet, we didn't have the liberty to do much more than pray about it because we were meeting our eldest daughter in Santa Rosa for lunch and to exchange Christmas presents. We fed the chickens, I gave them some bonus straw in which to play, then chased after Nadia who slipped from the coop, that nimble hen! Finally trapping her near the door, I slowly picked her up, then set her where she belonged, wondering if later that night I'd be dosing their water with Corid. Highway 101 yesterday morning, photo courtesy of my husband, as I was ...

Not a contender for the cover, but pretty nonetheless. This outing was slated to occur over a month ago. Then I was laid up by diverticulitis. Yet I still needed a book cover photo for Home and Far Away , so yesterday my husband and I traipsed down 101 on a most gorgeous early autumn day, enjoying lunch and snapping pics as we traveled. I began the driving, as my better half likes to snooze whenever possible, lol. First off I noticed how deciduous trees speckled amid the Redwoods had altered from our last trek south; golds and oranges and reds and dusty green-grays were their hues, sparkling as though wishing to out-muscle the giants for recognition. We wondered how the grapes further south would appear; Home and Far Away takes place in fictional Jumpville, California, standing in for Hopland. I was hoping for grapevines still with leaves, but would take what nature provided. After reaching Willits, vineyards appeared, and to our joy almost all were still leafy, in a variety of colour...

The center of a Mandolin block I started during the weekend. Looking forward to working on it again today. We're home a day early from our daughter's house in the San Francisco Bay Area. On Saturday my husband got a head cold, so the decision was made to cut short by one day our long weekend visiting family. While I lamented his illness, leaving was the best option, and I went to bed that night mentally prepared for a road trip the next day. Which occurred, but not as I had imagined, for when I woke Sunday morning, my lower back was a TRAIN WRECK! No idea what I did, but it was something AWFUL, and I spent the early hours hobbling around, attempting minor stretches, as well as ingesting over the counter painkillers, all to no avail. Meanwhile my beloved was head cold sick as the proverbial dog (Do animals get head colds? I have no idea!), our plan to depart on his account now suddenly scuttled by my predicament, DUDE! I was literally limping around my daughter's house, trul...