RSC - Orange

I have been working on this month's color all along but kept forgetting to blog about it on Saturday!

I have bit more Orange than Purple!  

I don't think about liking or not liking Orange.

I do like these.

The tumbler quilt is going to be an interesting work!

One that will not be finished this year!

There are still a few skinny strips in each color for me to use up.

 I didn't do light blue In January so I have that to do as well.

Looking forward to seeing what May's color will be!

Another Thursday. . .

Has come and gone!

It's time for the weekly cross-stitch update.

I didn't spend much time on it this week-too tired, mostly.

Still some progress was made and another mouse head is filling in.

She is piping icing on the eaves of the roof!

More and more blending filament, ugh.

As much as I dislike working with the filament, 

I do love the sparkle it adds to icing snow!

Nasty Weather.

Yesterday,  Quinn went to Camp (yes, doggie day care) and I had a 10:30 appointment with my lovely chiropractor, Dr. Joe, so we left home at 8:30am.  It wasn't raining, it had been but we didn't get wet getting into the truck.  It's a 20 minute drive to the place Quinn goes for Camp.  She'll be staying there when we go to Chicago in May and I want her comfortable there.  She has gone there off and on since she was a puppy but it's been many months since she last went due to the drive and the fact that I hate to take her when I'm going to be home most of the day!  Anyway,  we drove in and out of rain on the way down but it wasn't much more than a light rain UNTIL the moment I was standing in the open door of the truck with Quinn in my arms!  Without any warning it began raining hard and hailing!  I didn't even put her on the ground just ran inside, got clobbered by a small walnut-sized hailstone just at the door-ouch. Quinn went merrily off to play like she'd been there only last week and I waited for the hail to stop.  I did get drenched getting in the truck though.  Off I went to get a Cafe Mocha-I had earned it and I was cold!  The forecast was for 70F so I had on capris, a short-sleeved tee and sandals-no jacket!  Hit the hardware store for some cotter-pins I needed and on the way out it started raining again with the wind blowing hard enough that the rain came in sideways-drenched again, sigh.  All before 9:15AM!

It's a ways from Quinn's camp to Dr Joe's -I don't know how far it is but it's across town on side streets so it's kind of slow but I still got there with lots of time to spare so I went to a wonderful plant nursery to get some herbs and one tomato plant for containers. It was pouring rain while I was in there which sounded quite loud on their greenhouse roofs! I still arrived at my appointment 25 minutes early!  As always I had a book along.

After the good doc fixed me up I went halfway back across town to do a little shopping and have lunch before I needed to be at the museum for the afternoon.  It had quit raining by then but it was quite chilly-I don't think it ever made that 70F.

It was time to get Quinn when I finished at the museum with one stop at another plant nursery for some flat leaf parsley.  I picked her up and drove home without anymore rain-although it was dark with threatening clouds.

The really bad torrential rain came over night-about  3 1/2 inches.  Much lightening and thunder, some of which seemed to be directly overhead and Quinn barked at it.  I have no idea why she barks at thunder as she isn't the least be frightened!

More rain today, more lightening, more thunder, more Quinn barking.  I feel like I should say rinse and repeat.  I do hope there's no repeat of the overnight storm!

I wanted to take Ceili out this weekend but thunderstorms are in the forecast clear into Saturday-camping is no fun in the rain! So We'll be staying home, darn it.

Shopping!

Not my favorite thing.

Also clothes shopping gives me sticker shock.

But I spent several hours at it today.

Went to two places trying to get new locks for cover on the truck.

No luck, sigh.

Went to a couple of places looking for metal canisters for Ceili.

No luck.

Went to Sears to show Charles my tires.

He wasn't there.

Went to Marshall's clothing shopping.

Bought 3 new tops!

If you guess that they are blue you would be two-thirds correct!

Went to Shoe carnival looking for multiple kinds of shoes.

Left without any.

Then I went to Costco.

As usual I spent more money than I thought I would.

Then I came home and vegged out.

Finally.

Sadly, due to all the no luck above I have to go shopping more.

Stitching on Nora's Stocking

I didn't post an update on Nora's stocking last week.  

What can I say, last week was weird.  

Anyway, perhaps this is better since it shows a good bit of progress.

 All the roof tiles are complete-back to blending filament tomorrow!

In all of last week's weirdness I didn't sew much.

For most of three days I didn't do much of anything.

I find it very hard to get back on track after these interrupted days, sigh.

I've also hit discouragement with the list.

Picking up a few things here and there but no real progress.

Oh well, I'll be back at it soon!

Feeling a bit concerned.

I've just finished up two mornings of helping wrangle 8th graders (13-14 year olds) at the Trails Museum where I volunteer.  They toured the museum, saw our short film, had a ride on a "covered" wagon pulled by Ed and Harry-Mules, had lunch and visited in the archives.  That's where I worked-the archives.  Totally fitting as that is where I volunteer!  The Education Curator spoke about primary and secondary source documents and I showed around 4 original items-3 diaries and a letter.  Then we gave them a printed copy of two pages from one of the diaries we showed them and they were to try to read it and then to write down what they could figure out.  This proved to be much more difficult than we expected.  In addition to the usual problems of reading old handwriting-letters being made differently and oddly misspelled words-many(Most?) have not been taught cursive and cannot read it!

I know that the schools are not teaching it any longer, got to make time in the school day to teach to the tests (Oops, did I say that?)  I'm not sure this is all that great an idea.  All of us who are currently adults write in cursive, it's faster.  So how do the kids read letters or postcards sent to them and written in cursive? I know that letters are few and far between but what about grocery lists, recipes handed down from Great-grandma and not on the computer?  What happens when we have multiple generations of children who cannot read it?

It's odd, I think, that in the US we can't/won't change to the metric system even though in truth it's much simpler and used by the rest of the world!  Instead we stick to the English system-I don't even think the English still use it!  (You can never tell though they don't use the euro!) Still, we can forget teaching cursive writing.  I still think of it as a basic skill, like reading.

It reminds me of a Science Fiction piece I read in High School (never been able to find it so if you know it let me know!) Society was so ruled by computers that people had forgotten basic mathematics.  One man had learned it on his own, and could add in his head.  He was considered a secret weapon!

Enough on that soapbox.  In the grand scheme of things it's not so important but still it makes you wonder what the world might be losing.

Busy Day!

The beauty of having a long list is that no matter what you do you can

CHECK THINGS OFF!

Today I did that.

Lots of phone calls made.

Drs and Vet appointments, done.

Quinn's place for our trip to Chicago, done.

Yard mowed.

A few more leaves put out.

Laundry done

Sheets changed.

Quinn got a bath-she hated it!

and more.

The outcome  beyond marking things off?

One tired Gail!

As soon as I drink this adult beverage I'll be crashing!

Of Ethan and Panic!

On Friday, I nearly had a panic attack!  

My mind was going 90 mph with things that needed to be done-by me.

I didn't get a single thing done.

That night I had Ethan while everyone else went to the Royals game.

We went to IHOP!

Where he ordered this (Nora always orders this as well!)

And a squeeze tube of applesauce!  

He was quite determined to get that applesauce!

After eating we went to Rob and Tanya's to deliver a saw,

he likes playing with their toys-new, you know.

Then we went to his house.

It was nearly time for him to sleep.

Sometimes, he goes right down

 but Friday I had to sit in the hall and read for a while before he crashed.

After I was sure he was out for the count I took a spiral

notebook and wrote down everything I needed to do.

It took three pages.

I've added to the list since!

A funny thing happened.

Even though I have a lot of things I need to do

I am much calmer seeing it on paper!

Yesterday and today I managed to cross off some of those things as

DONE!

Some others (leaves) are mostly done.

As a reward I'm going to go sew.

Cross-stitch on Thursday.

I didn't show this last week, so there's two weeks of work done!

I haven't worked on it for the past two nights as I've been organizing those

pesky boxes in the studio.

Tomorrow is another day.

Hunting in the studio!

Yesterday, I spent far too much time hunting in the studio!

I wanted to use my bias bars to make flower stems.

Those bias bars were not willing to be used!

This comes on top of hunting for my orange handled scissors-for days.

I'd finally had enough!

Tonight, I began an inventory and labeling adventure.

Every project box, every drawer, every shoe box will be inventoried and labeled, 

then I will input that info into the computer for a "finding aid."

I did find the bias bars though!

But not the scissors, sigh.

What's Blooming!

Thought I'd let you see what is in bloom at my house!

Violets!  Tons and tons of violets!  

I don't treat my lawn for anything-weeds, bugs, etc.-as I have a

slight chemical sensitivity.  Once got Pneumonia from mowing a lawn

that had been treated with weed and feed!  I've not done it since. 

Used chemicals- I mow nearly every week.

Plus, I don't think it's good for Quinn.  

Last but most importantly, it is really bad for the environment. 

When the lawn companies come calling about all my "Weeds" I simply say

"Yes and they are all green!  Biodiversity is a good thing."

Off topic there, sorry.

The point is that because I don't treat I have tons of violets blooming in the grass!

Purple violets, and yellow dandylions very cheerful!

Next up! Bleeding hearts.

My Mother loved these as do I.  They are quite charming and old-fashioned.

And soon gone.

For the first time I have Forget Me Nots!

So tiny and sweet.

The last two I'm not sure of.  

The blueish lavender on the top is some ground cover I bought years ago.

That name is way gone from the memory banks.

The last one might be mudwort or speedwell.

Just because I don't know their names does not mean that I do not enjoy seeing them!

Soon the lilacs will be in bloom!

In other news,

THEY'RE BACK!  

The boys in blue are back!  

Baseball is back!

Forever Royal!

A shopping expedition!

After the truck had it's tires moved around and it's oil changed (and the check engine light turned off-yep I didn't get the gas cap on tight again) I headed west for the Bernina store.

I would love to have a Bernina 550QE!  That said, I'm having a hard time justifying the $4,000.00 price tag.  I'm thinking on it-I may be thinking on it for a good long while.  I could manage the cost I'm just not sure I want to.

After drooling over sewing machines I went to IKEA.  I wanted some metal plates they have for Ceili-I plan to fit them inside the doors by the kitchen and put spices into magnetic containers to be stored there.  In a small trailer you have to use every inch.  Anyway, the plates they have are, I think, too wide.  Guess I'll have to hit the hardware store and have some cut to fit once I get Ceili out of storage.  I did get some more wooden hangers-wow big purchase.

Hit and miss rain all day, no mention of it in the forecast this morning!  Cold.  It's to be warmer tomorrow which is a good thing as I get to be a Soccer Granna again-Brayden has a game!