Mostly Wordless

Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides,  according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing. 

                                                                                    -John Stuart Mill

On Monday

2016 Fire road down from Lolo Pass.

On this Monday I wish I was

on a gravel road adventure somewhere in Montana!

Instead

I carried all the boxes of decorations up to the closet in my office.

Thank goodness that's over!

Cleaned the kitchen

and 

Baked bread.

Did some stitching.

Had a Jameson's and sprite.

Now I'm sleepy.

I've begun telling the characters in romance novels what to do.

I don't think they listen!

Perhaps it's time to read something else?

Progress!

I'd like to say finishes but I'll have to stick with progress!

Brayden's Trip-binding on, sewing it down!

Can't wait to finish it and give it to him.

Ethan's Trip.  I think it's the most dramatic of the quilts so far.

Kind of like Ethan, fiery and dramatic.

I've sewn together the first set of strips for the last row.

Will get the strips sewn together tomorrow.  

The hardest part of this quilt has laying out the strips while making sure I don't match up the same fabric!

Having the design wall across the room

Any errors really stick out!

Lastly, I put together this little side table this week.

The pedestal is from Scott's old chess table which he no longer has a use for.

I bought a 24 inch round and glued and screwed it onto the base.

My bed is high and this table is tall and perfect for a small lamp.

I have to either make a cloth for it or buy one.

It needs to be 80" across so far ready made ones come either 70 or 90!

I'm thinking I'll design a quilted pattern for the bottom edge

Celtic knots maybe

I'll put my little tablecloth from Ireland on the top.

I've made progress towards getting the house back in order 

working towards meeting all my intentions every day.

Doing all those pesky little jobs like changing the furnace filter and sharpening knives.

Tomorrow is 12th night and the last night for all my holiday 

decorations to be on display and lit.

I'll be hauling all the boxes down and sorting out the excess as I pack things away.

All in all keeping busy and staying warm.

New way to cut!

I was at Quilter's Station Quilt Shop before Christmas and I learned a new cutting trick!

Tape down a sturdy ruler-make sure its straight!

Set you ruler up against it and cut.

I have found it does not slip around, not even the long 18"!

Makes for more accurate cuts-which is always a good thing.

My sturdy 48" ruler I found at the big box lumber store-LOWE's.

I think even a strong yardstick would work. 

Taped down on the IKEA cabinet I use to cut on.

I don't intend to buy a Go! and look for anything that makes those squares I love more square!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

It is impossible to live without failing at something,

Unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all--

in which case you fail by default.

--J.K. Rowling

Books and Movies

First, movies.

We went to see "The Greatest Showman" today and we ALL Loved it!

So often folks forget that you go to the movies to be entertained and this was the most entertained I've been in a LONG time.

Brayden (11) said it was the best movie he'd seen all year-keep in mind that this year is only 2 days old!

Then he said he was preordering the movie and buying the soundtrack!

Then he said he liked it better that The Last Jedi!! What?!

Anyway, really good!

Think I'm going to go back and see it again, order the music for piano and the soundtrack.

(Disclaimer-this is a Broadway-style musical, if you looking for something else you won't find it!)

I knew Hugh Jackman could sing (saw him in Oklahoma!) did not know Zac Efron could sing!

As for what I'm reading.

I'm still struggling through Number: the Language of Science most of which is WAY above me but is mostly the history of Mathematics.  

My youngest son is a Mathematician-I feel like I should know a bit more about what he does.

(That could be said of the computer programers as well but I haven't gone there yet.)

Most of the information I've never heard before and I find it sad because Math might have been more comprehensible had some of this been mentioned!

One thing I'll remember-Thank you India for giving us ZERO!

In other Non-fiction,

I began The Big Burn by Timothy Egan, another book about forest fires, again purchased in Montana last summer.

In Fiction, I can read a book in an afternoon.

Kindle makes it inexpensive but I often don't remember the title or author without looking again.

I do usually remember two things-how entertaining the story was and how many annoying errors there were!

2018-Day 1

Quinn has been exhausted since Christmas!

She gets cranky when I lay on the couch as I'm in her way!

Also, it's very,  very cold so she only goes out for a very few minutes at a time.

I go out only if I absolutely HAVE to.

Trying to begin the year as I mean to go forward.

Did I manage everything on the list?

NO!

I did get quite a few things caught up

Cleaning,

Laundry,

finished the quilting on Brayden's Trip

Anyway,

I knew I wouldn't get everything done but un-time is over

and some work needs to be done.

January is one of my deep-cleaning/purge months so it takes a bit more time to get the house in order.

Now, I'm off to make up the bed with clean sheets and put away the rest of the clean laundry.

Doesn't that sound like fun?