Sometimes . . .

I read something that just hits the spot with where I am at the moment. I read this a few minutes ago on the blog "Ordinary Courage" and it was one of the "ah-ha" moments for me.

"Don't try to win over the haters. You're not the jackass whisperer."

-- Scott Stratten, author of Unmarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.

Gray day here . . .

It was cloudy,spit snow and tried to rain all day and it seemed so dark and dreary. It isn't like we don't have days like this once in a while, but both of us were kind of feeling less than our usual energetic selves. So it is what I call a "low and slow" day. No quilting, but I did write up the summary of the trials I did on the quilting motifs from yesterday.

I also made some cookies - found a recipe that could include oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips and walnuts. The recipe didn't have the chocolate chips and walnuts in with the raisins, but rather suggested you could substitute either for the raisins, but I just put them all in together. And, because I don't make cookies often, any warm fresh cookie tastes amazing so we liked them!

We also talked with our son in Portland and we are going to head that way for Christmas. We will plan to get out there the week before Christmas as Meagan is out of school that week and her dad has to work. What fun that will be - we will have a whole week to get ready for Christmas, to bake, to shop, to wrap and just enjoy time together. We will spend Thanksgiving here with our son and his wife and the two little guys.

Lots to look forward to - lots of blessings.

Fun with Hoke . . .

I took some time this afternoon to give my A1 quilting machine a really good cleaning and then I snapped on my IQ, a computerized robot to drive the quilting machine. I wanted try some new motifs and patterns. I love the IQ as it is a tablet computer that rides on the front of my quilting machine which is an A1. The IQ is light and the A1 is very smooth so they work well together. I loaded a small piece of natural muslin so I can make sure it all works before I do the table topper I mentioned a couple days ago. And, as usual, my IQ and A1 work beautifully together doing whatever I want.

Really, I just wanted to play a little bit today. The first picture is from the side showing both the IQ and the A1. When I got the A1 a few years back, I named it "Miss Daisy" so I could be "driving Miss Daisy". Then when I got the IQ a couple years later, I named it Hoke who really did drive Miss Daisy in the movie. It is fun to just play!

You can see the pattern on the screen and watch Hoke drive Miss Daisy stitching out whatever pattern is selected. I can also change the motifs and record my own if I want. Sometimes I do forget how much I love my quilting. I have so many blessings.

We have many blessings . . .

Today Bob and I did our first driving route to deliver bags of groceries to seniors. We selected a route in a nearby town - about 20 miles from where we live. When we arrived at the food bank, it was bustling so we quickly got some directions and a list of delivery addresses. At every house, people were so appreciative and kind. It was a good morning and one we will do again next month. Now that we have everyone found, we will even do better.

It has been almost a year since Dad passed and I know he would have enjoyed this grocery delivery as well. I thought a lot about him today. He ran a small "grocery/clothing/everything" store when I was in high school in a small, western town here in Montana. This is a picture of that same store now - it looked a bit different then. It was all painted and the front windows were the large "store front" type windows then. Of course, I looked a bit different then as well - LOL - after all it was 50 years ago. I loved delivering the groceries every day at 4:30 around that little town. once I got my drivers license. Dad trusted me with the pickup to do that and I was only 15 with a brand new drivers license. I miss my dad.

It is also time for the Christmas Cactus to begin blooming. It blooms from the first of November through April with the heaviest blossoms coming right around Christmas and again in March. This plant was started from a plant that belonged to my grandmother whom I never knew. She was Dad's mom and she passed when he was in his early teenage years. One of my cousins started it for me from the original plant that his mother, my aunt, had. I remember it as a child and I love it every year.

Also, remember the geraniums that I brought in from outside? Well, with a little TLC, they are still blooming and I am still loving the two colors together.

It was a day filled with very special blessings.

Good people . . .

There are so many good people in this world and today I had the pleasure of getting to know one of them a bit better. I met Janna in Livingston for lunch. Janna is a longarm quilter and she and her husband also have a motorhome. She does a wonderful blog, Tin Teepee/Log Cabin, that I wouldn't miss reading each day. In fact, I started reading her blog in May of 2009 after they had returned from some time in the warmer temperatures of the southern states. They may have been a big reason Bob and I decided to travel down the path of being RVer's. It was so much fun to visit in person. Internet connections are sometimes across the country or around the world - or "just over the hill". It was a great time!

On the quilting front, I am loading up a little table topper and going to try a new pattern designed by my friend, Ronda Beyer. You can see it here at Intelligent Quilting. I am needing to make lots of stuff in the next year as a couple other friends of mine and I are planning a holiday boutique next November. We decided to meet monthly starting the middle of January and show what we have made for "product" to sell. It is going to be a really fun year and I will show and share as I go.

It was a good experience. . .

It was great! I did my first volunteer evening at our local food bank. We packed up about 600 sacks of food for "groceries for the elderly" program. There were about 15 others there tonight and most were like me - newbies. It was fun - we just took a bag and walked up the rows putting in the food in cans or packages. I also volunteered to drive one of the delivery routes which I will do on Friday. I liked it and everyone was so appreciative. It is a once a month commitment. I am loving this new energy for life!

Here is a pic of the back of the quilt I had been working on. I delivered it today back to the quilt shop. She was thrilled and I am going to take in some cards later this week at her request and I may take in a bit more customer quilting again. I sure enjoyed working on it and I am so thankful she liked it. It will hang in the window and both sides will show. I will try to take another picture once she has it hung in her shop. I ran out of room, and time, here to get a full picture.

Fantastic Friday . . .

Busy times here, but it is all good! I have been so energized and loving life after many months of the doldrums. What is the difference? I am not sure, but, at my doctor's suggestion, I have been taking a lot of Vitamin D3. Maybe it is all in my mind, but I feel so good every day.

We have had the little guys visit a couple times in the past 10 days. Last weekend they were here and we loved every minute. Here is a cute picture of Walker watching Barney. He has just started to really love Barney and he has to sit in this little rocking chair with his favorite blanket. We took both boys with us to a memorial service for a friend on Saturday. It was a couple hour drive away and it was held in an arena. He a very distinguised horseman and an extraordinary driver of draft horse teams. Many people took turns telling good memories. It was very cold in the arena and Weston was sitting on my lap with his coat wrapped around him tight. Walker and Bob has gone off to the kitchen area where it was warmer, but he was not able to hear the service. After dozens of memories and tears were shared, Weston looked up at me and said, "Grandma, somebody just needs to say amen". Our friend would have loved that - he loved little guys and their honesty.

I am just finishing this huge quilt - it is a king and I got way to ambitious with my quilting plan. I am loving every minute, but I have not been able to quilt every day and only a bit on some days. Life seems to have others plans at times. There have been lots of thread changes, lots of ruler work, some stencil work, and some frogging. It is all part of the game I know and I am so glad to be back.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.