Cold - very, very cold . . .

I am glad we waited to head out today. The wind is blowing the little dry snow that is coming down and it is below zero. Not a good travel day. And - it looks like it doesn't get much better until one is south of Salt Lake City. So, we are glad we waited. We will leave on Saturday - supposed to be better - or Sunday if the weather gurus are just kidding us - or maybe the first of May if this winter doesn't ever end.

My verb for today is "refining" - I am refining the packing and "things to take" so that is good. My adjective for today is "excited". We are getting very, very excited. I think these 3 or 4 extra days were needed to build the excitement to an appropriate level.

And the picture for today is of me with my favorite quilt at HMQS in 2008. Being as it is my blog, I can show these old pictures that make my heart sing. I have not entered a show since, but I know this is the year for it!

Congratulations to all who have quilts showing and to those getting ribbons with their beautiful work at the Mid-Atantic Quilt Quilt Festival. That is my dream - to have quilts ready to enter in lots of shows. It takes lots of work and planning and I admire those who stay with it so much!!!

And sometimes . . .

. . . just because you can - you SHOULD!.

Last night I returned this quilt that I finished. (The picture is not so good I know.) A friend had done the quilt for a wedding gift for her stepson and wife and had not had time to get it quilted. And then her husband passed away unexpectedly. I wanted to do something for her so I offered to quilt the top. She wanted a particular quilting pattern - similar to one her own mom had done and hand quilted. Yes, those are just wavy lines in a diagonal pattern. I think it would have looked better with an all over, swirly design. I SHOULD have been more persuasive. But, I am glad I could do it for her.

One last thing today - I borrowed this idea from a wonderful fiber artist I follow on Facebook - to select one verb and one adjective for each day. I like that idea - at least for a few days.

My verb for today is organize and my adjective is thankful.

We are ready to go and the weather looks like we will be heading out on Saturday so I have three days to do somethings I had not planned on getting done until April. It is kind of like a gift.

Still here . . .

Isn't there a song like that from Steven Sondheim?
Well, we haven't left yet. We are now waiting a few days for some better weather and are aiming at the weekend. But, who knows, we may have to wait until June for that - the better weather. The good news is that I am ready to go and now have a few "free" days with nothing planned or required. Ahhh!

I just got back from a quilting group called "Breakfast Club". It is hosted by a local shop and we all go and the shop owner provides the breakfast and the pattern for the month. We then stay and sew for the morning. The pattern has many different sizes we can select to make. I usually chose something small so I might get it done by the next month. Here is the table runner I made last month and shared this morning.

You know my last post about, "just because you can, doesn't mean you should?" Well, that has stuck in my mind and I thought of it again this morning at our breakfast gathering. There are 12 or so women in this group - probably all over 50 and not working or retired. There is always one person in any group who seems to know it all and doesn't hesitate to tell others how to do "it". . . whatever "it" might be. The group this morning is no different. There were a couple women who were very eager to boldly tell others how they should be doing "it". At least the "it" related to piecing and quilting, but it could have been more entertaining if the subject had been spicier. It just seems there is always someone right there to tell you how to do "it" better. I just nod and smile - and go on with my work. But I think it is so funny. Is this typical in any group of 12 or so? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Just because we can . . .

. . . should we?

A friend of mine brought up the "everywhere use" of texting and answering cell phones. It doesn't matter where or what, everyone who uses texting seems to respond regardless of whatever else they are doing or where they are.

I got to thinking about the first time we could use multiple fonts and colors when we used a word processor twenty-five years ago. Often you would see flyers or letters done with every line, or word having a different font, font size and font color. It didn't look so good if you know what I mean. You rarely see it anymore. We would say, "just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Are there other things in our technology enhanced world today where that guideline fits? Just because I can do it, should I? What do you think?

Lots to do . . .

We are getting ready to head south in the next few days. Here is a pic of Gus and Mr. Peepers. I have to name everything you know. It is just one of my many "weirdnesses". Of course the picture was taken last summer. I sure miss that green grass and leaves on the trees. Every winter it seems like it will never come again - and every spring it does, but that is still 2 to 3 months away for us here. Everything out there now is still white from snow. We will be watching for the best travel days after Monday and be ready to hit the road.

Gus is waiting in a garage for us so we will take one load over there tomorrow, make up the bed and put in a few things and then load the other things into Mr. Peepers here at home. It is kind of like taking a little trailer.

Here is picture of Weston and Kassie. Weston was here a few days ago and Kassie is never far away. She knows there might be good "droppings" when either of those little guys are having a snack as Weston is finishing some ice cream and a cookie. Of course Kassie is going with us. She will miss her food drops for a while.

And some quilting to finish today. Then a little vacuuming and dusting here and there for one last time before we go so it will be inviting when we get back. There is a lot to do.

Can there ever be too much love - or technology?

First - Let me wish you a very Happy Valentine's Day. I found this quote I love so have to share it here.

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." Lao Tzu

I turn around and a week has gone by . . . these are busy times.

This past Friday, my new computer arrived. It amazes me that it left Shanghai on Wednesday and gets to rural Montana Friday afternoon via Memphis. But from that point on, I have been deep into "geekhood". It is a new MacBook Pro. I got the 13" size this time after having the 15" for the past two MacBooks I wasn't sure if it would be okay, but I love it. It takes some time to get it set just like I like and get files transferred over, etc. And then, Bob gets the old one, so I reinitialized the hard drive on that one and loaded an updated version of the OS just for him.

And right in the middle of being a Mac geek, my software from Art and Stitch arrived so I had to install that as well. First I uninstalled the trial version and then installed and played with the new software. I love it. I prefer not to have my Mac run Windows software. It just doesn't seem right to me. But, remember, I have been a Mac person (with all of the idiosyncrasies) since 1984. At one time yesterday, I had the new Mac, the old Mac, the old, old Mac and the HP all set up on the counter in the kitchen. The new Mac is that sleek little one second from the left and the oldest Mac is on the far right end. I got it in 2002 and used it until 2007 when I got the next one and now this one. Before Bob retired, he used PCs in our business, but since being home had decided that old, old Mac was going to be his. I hope he likes the new old one as well.

But, things are settled back to normal this morning and I am off to quilt a quick customer table runner and then one for myself.

Have a great day!

To Missoula . . .

I woke up sick this morning. I had that awful flu right after New Year's for a couple weeks and sometimes it feels like I get a "relapse". I didn't sleep very well and I was cold and sick to my stomach most of the day. But I had promised Mom we would make a quick trip to Missoula to see her and we have already had to cancel one trip due to weather. It is a little over 400 miles round trip and the roads were okay. I wanted to take some things to her so we decided to just tough it out. Bob drove the whole way coming and going - you know I am sick when I pass on driving. I love to drive . . . but not today.

We had a good visit with Mom. She will be 90 in May and is an amazing woman. We decided on a long, late lunch at a great Chinese place. She lives in a senior apartment complex and is very quick to tell you that it is not assisted living. "All of us here," she will say, "are totally independent". And they are. She hated it at first, but has come to enjoy the camaraderie of others and the many activities. She needed a couple tubes of paint for a painting she is starting so one of our stops was at Michael's. She loves to shop and shopping with her is always fun.

It was a long, good day. Bob and I were both really glad to get home. It was a race to see who could get their "comfies" on first - I won!!!

Head down - working and learning.

This has been a very busy time here - but lots of good learning. I have been working to learn to design and digitize my own quilting patterns. Each day I think, "I should blog about that", but with each day there are still too many questions I have about which way to go. How many computerized designs does the world need? I have many I want to make and I would like to sell some with I have some ideas that are a bit different. I also want to be able to digitize for others who want a special design for a special project. But, what would that look like for me while still giving me lots of time to quilt. I have made the final decision on the software to purchase after several weeks of trials on various kinds and I am now ready to go. I knew if I just mucked around long enough in this quandary that it would become clear and I woke this morning with that desired clarity. It always seems like a miracle when the clouds part and the path is so inviting to go that I just can't wait to load the wagons and head out. I am ready and what an exciting journey it will be.

Here are the gorgeous roses Bob brought home for our anniversary last week. (Don't you love that crochet piece? Mom made it for me many years ago.) I am pretty lucky in lots of ways, huh? Bob and I were married 17 years ago in the district court judges chambers (also a good friend) here in Bozeman. Bob was 55 and had never been married, but we had known each other and dated some 20 years before. Our paths then went in different directions, mine to the Denver area until we reconnected and decided we would not let life get in our way again.

I also started a block of the month on one of the online boards. I got it started, signed up for the first month, lots of others wanted to play and signed up to be the "Block Momma"s for other months and we are off. We are each selecting 12" blocks from the Quilters Cache site. Here is the block I selected for February. It is "Morning Star 2". I think it will be fun, but I know that sometimes with these online projects, things kind of fade away. That will be okay as well.

So, today I am off to sew and make some plans for my digitizing work. These are exciting times!