Monday Morning

Thanks for all the good thoughts. Laddie was feeling better yesterday. This morning the pulmonary doctor is doing a bronchoscopy. We already have a diagnosis of congestive heart failure (the difference the oxygen makes is almost miraculous!), but they are looking at other things as well.

I've been getting some reading and some hand quilting done while in the hospital, but my border for the newest quilt is stalled and will have to wait.

The weather here has been gorgeous, highs is 70's and low 80's and almost no humidity. Perfection...

Thanks again, for all of the good thoughts, and I'll be catching up with you soon.

Update

We took Laddie to the doctor yesterday (3rd time in two weeks), and after the 1 1/2-2 hour wait there, he went straight to a hospital bed and oxygen. What would I do without my brother? He has been a rock and an inspiration, especially when I'm tired and petty.

Thanks for all the nice comments on my bright little quilt, and I'll catch up with emails and comments soon, but I must get ready to go back up to the hospital. I'm so wishing I had a laptop!

I do have books to take today and a little handquilting, but my next project is going to be some hand piecing a la Jude! She's always busy on her long commute and gets so much done, and it is such a great way to keep occupied on something you love.

Circles and Squares

I'm working on another little quilt now, another really bright one, using mostly scraps and left over bits. All the 4 patches are sashed now and up on the design wall, and I'm ready to begin the border. The little circles are just stuck on, but if I keep them, I think they will be raw edge.I'm thinking about a pieced border, but haven't gone much into that idea yet.

Hey, Thomas! Hope you and Mike and Jimmy have a wonderful time in China!

7 things...

Dinahmow from Idle Thoughts of an Idle Woman tagged me for this meme.

7 Things:

1. I was a gymnast when I was young, and my joints remind me every day.

2. Licorice is a guilty secret. Love it, but only once in a great while will I indulge in those love black twists.

3. My last pair of toe shoes, battered and worn, are still in a box in my closet.

4. I made a 9 patch quilt for my granddaughter's first birthday. It was something I had always wanted to do, and I'm still proud of that quilt. Mila will be 4 this month, and both she and quilting have delighted me for these past 3 years.

5. Since July of last year, I've only been to Tai Chi a handful of times. I miss it and don't have the discipline to really practice without having class. If I'm going to class, I will practice, but without that incentive, I'm too lazy.

6. In connection to Tai Chi, I may be the only grandmother among you with a saber and a straight sword. Love my weapons!

7. My favorite city is Edinburgh, and I hope to attend the Fringe Festival there once more before I am too old and decrepit to enjoy it!

I'm to tag 7 more people, but remember, this is just for fun, if you've already done it or don't feel like doing it...s'okay!

kimy at Mouse Medicine
debby at ...pieces, too...
deborah at Knit Story
marie at zquilts
acey at Sparkling Lotus Land
deb at DebGeyer Quilts
jules at Jules Notes

Hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day! Mine was excellent -- call from Erin (talked to Mila and listened to Max who was playing near by), wonderful meal with Amelia and Chris at Kon Tiki, several Mimosas, and Fee mowed the yard and edged for me! Since it was nearly 90 and the humidity so high, that was a greatly appreciated gesture!


Here is a picture of my mother in Hot Springs, Ark. , 1946. I miss her.

Then in 1954 with me and my topsy/turvy doll and my brother and his ubiquitous cowboy hat and boots. I think he wore these every day until he was about 8! I was 6 and Steve was 4 in 1954.

Dagwood and Blondie

Marie at zquilter responded in the comment section the other day saying that she had no bunnies, but she had a fox run. I said that I'd love to see some pictures of her foxes, and she emailed me these. With her permission, I'm sharing them with you.

Do visit Marie and see some of her wonderful purses, baskets, quilts...and a bit of her magical island!

This is Blondie.
And Dagwood.
"Three sets of ears."
And...she has an eagle! Actually, two pairs that they feed and that sing to them while waiting for their meals. I think I want to visit Marie on her magical island!
If you haven't visited Quilt Studio lately, drop by and see what these quilters are up to.

I've been tagged for the 7 things meme, but right now, I can't think of anything to say. I'll be back later, dinahmow, with something.

Garden

Obviously, I don't seem much of a threat. Bunnicula posed for several more pictures this morning before leisurely hopping away.

I always find it hard to believe the changes in the garden from month to month, week to week, and often, day to day. A month ago there were some lovely blooms, but lots of empty space. Much less empty space now, and I have to get in and thin some salvia and monarda. Although it is something of a wilderness, the lush growth gives me great satisfaction.


Daylillies all over the garden are blooming now, and some of the asters are starting to bloom.
White salvia. It reseeds, but doesn't cause a problem like the blue/black salvia that has spread like crazy.
Swamp sunflower, beginning to open. Regular sunflowers are approaching 5 feet now, but not ready to bloom.
More daylilies, larkspur (mostly lying down and needing to be staked - better late than never), rose campion with its deep, rosy neon color

Finally finished a quilt...

I finally caught a picture of this chameleon doing his thing. I've never had the camera handy when this happens, but today luck was with me. Looks like something happened to his tail, a bit stubby. If you want to see the lovely color around his eyes, click to enlarge the picture.
Butterflies are everywhere now. Here is the final version of this silly little quilt. I like the bright colors and had fun with the Marston/Moran liberated quilting style, but I'm glad to have it finished.
Laddie has a CT scan scheduled for tomorrow. He will not be happy about having to go back to the doctor again this week or to realize that he has another appt. on Monday.

Mrs. McGregor Strikes Again!

I noticed an observer while sitting outside this morning. He seemed to think if he remained very still, he would be invisible. Slowly moving out of my chair, I came inside, found Fee's camera, and came back out. He's still there, doesn't move. Darn! The camera won't work! Oh, the card is in the computer. Back inside, get the card, put it in the camera, knowing all along that baby rabbit will have departed before I get back.No, he's still there posing. I take a picture through the foliage, then move around and snap another, then get closer and take another. He didn't scurry back into the salvia until I'd finished with the photo shoot. Cheeky little bugger!
At least they can't get into the vegetable garden...

Progress...

I was up and out for my walk at 5:00 this morning. With the humidity at 86%, it might as well have been raining.

Almost finished with this quilt. It won't be very large and might be better as a wall hanging. Here are some details as I get on with the quilting.

More rain. I know we need it, but every day? Well, we did have a bit of a break yesterday, and I transplanted two of my clematis that will be in the way of the new addition...if we ever get that far. I've been transplanting the contents of two beds, gradually, for the last several weeks and so far, everything has revived immediately.

The beautiful iris again. See how black that bud is as it prepares to open? Like black satin. Little raindrops decorate the petals. (You can click on the picture to enlarge.)I found this little bit about the symbolism of the iris:

Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred
flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages.
Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved
women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to
take the souls of women to the Elysian fields.
- Hana No Monogatari: The Stories of Flowers

I finished All Creatures Great and Small last night and closing the cover was like saying goodbye to an old friend. There are still more of the Herriot books to re-read, though, and so it will be only temporary parting.

Micellaneous Musings

The rain has been falling here since Tuesday, but it has been a gentle, soaking rain that will help get us get closer to normal rainfall averages. We've been way down for the past year, so this rain is a blessing. Actually, the sun has come out now, although more rain is predicted.

I've been busy thinking about the ways in which I justify my actions (or more often, my lack of action). Having just finished Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why We Justify Foolish Decisions, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts, (reviewed on my book blog), my own method of justifying avoidance is much more obvious to me. "I'm too busy, too tired, will do it later..." echoes pretty loudly in my head right now.

So...I finally started quilting, and I'm finding it slow going (because my table isn't the right height, I'm not good at free motion quilting, my shoulder and neck hurt...blah, blah, blah...self-justification!). But at least the excuses are now in that segment of my mind that can recognize them as such and won't let me off the hook!

I'm still reading All Creatures Great and Small and smiling as I read. It is just as funny this time as it was the first time!

Yesterday, I tried to reduce the size of the picture in my header...and now I can't get anything to work because of that green border (I think). I had such a hard time when we went to Beta and then with the change to New Blogger, that I left the pic too large after finally getting it up. When I try to change it now with the "customize" setting it keeps the large rectangle and the bird is pasted just over the text. No better luck with html. Technodunce is at it again.

Neat Quote

I found this wonderful quote about piecing over at happythings ( she reviewed the book The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art.)

"You can't always change things. Sometimes you don't have no control over the way things go. Hail ruins the crops, or fire burns you out. And then you're just given so much to work with in a life and you have to do the best you can with what you got. That's what piecing is. The materials is passed on to you or is all you can afford to buy... that's just what's given to you. Your fate. But the way you put them together is your business. You can put them in any order you like. Piecing is orderly. First you cut the pieces, then you arrange your pieces just like you want them."