Land of Grant

Second band concert for the week.  It was truly amazing.  The students from various schools practiced on Friday evening and all day Saturday, then had the concert on Sunday.  How do they do that?  The conductor for middle school was from University of Cincinnati, for high school from Miami University.

It took a long time to get to the high school where the concert was held.  Apparently the counties participating were ones where the president once lived.

It was a good day for Aaron too, his basketball team won their championship.  Nice to see both kids feeling happy and accomplished.

It will be off to the grocery store for me in a bit.  I had planned to bake cakes for the church Community Meal but learned that they needed cookies as well for the lunches that people take with them.  So, a baking day for me.  Long ago I used to bake an orange cake, I'm thinking that is what I'll make.

Yesterday it was so windy all day and into the evening.  And now, cold again.

Another Christmas Quilt

Another Christmas quilt finished, this one is bigger, 30" x 38", made with a center panel and coordinated piecing for the border.  It had been a long time since I had done much free motion so I just stippled the panel, trying to get back in the groove.

I got the panel and fabrics from a friend who had a fabric business.  She has a similar quilt hanging in her entry way during the holidays, only hers has a gray palette instead of green.  Whenever I see her quilt, I wish mine were finished.  And now, it is.

I had my wellness visit at the doctor yesterday, so I stopped on the way home at the main Graeter's bakery for a blackberry chocolate chip donut.  The flavor and chocolate chips are in the icing, not the actual donut.  I go by the bakery on my way home and stopping there is my treat for taking myself to the doctor.  I don't actually eat the entire donut, I just enjoy the treat.  I always hope that the soup of the day will be meat free, but that didn't happen yesterday - chili and chicken and rice.  

When I was growing up, doctor visits were rare.  Does anyone remember those little envelopes that the nurse would fill with the appropriate pills?  The crowded waiting room, walk-ins only?  And the seriousness of a home visit?  My sister had pneumonia a few times when she was little and the doctor came to the house.

And then, the canned orange juice for taking the pills, something that was only purchased during sickness.  I tried a mouthfull a few years ago for some reason - it tasted just the same and to me it tasted like sulfa pills.

  

Thimble Blossoms

Thimble Blossoms by Camille Roskelley

Just spent a couple of nice days at a retreat with my quilting friends.  Caught up with everyone and did some quilting too, including finishing this sweet little mini, 16" x 16".  Not to be repeated because some of the pieces are so tiny, but it will be fun to get it out in just nine months!

I got most of the way home before it started to pour.  Traffic slowed down and a few people pulled off the interstate.  I wished I hadn't waited in the line at the slow drive through for a Diet Coke before I started my way home, those minutes would have put me farther toward my exit.

However, I know that my friends with snow, again, would not feel very sorry for me and my rain story.

Baby Quilt with Grays

Baby Quilt Group is in an hour, and I just finished the binding on this little quilt.  36" x 42".  

And it's been on the studio floor for a very long time.  The longer the winter goes on, the less I feel like doing much of anything.  I have to admit, though, that the picture of the finished quilt chirks me up a bit.

Maybe I should just head up to the studio first thing in the morning and sew before anything else.

Next up for me is to quilt Joanne's wonderful quilt top, with foxes and hedgehogs, and then get those disappearing nine patch blocks off the design wall so I can put on other things.  I don't have as many blocks as I wanted but I can use sashings to get the size I need.  It's time to just call that project done.

Grand Dog Valentine Two

Grand dog Valentine part two.

Steph's dog Maggie is a good-natured dog, usually not any trouble at all.  But she does have a soft spot for delicious things.  Once she managed to snag and eat an entire chicken from the kitchen counter.

Aaron wanted a special Valentine for a girl he likes and decided on a bag of Hershey's Miniatures.  That bag, his Valentine box, and his Valentines were on the dining room table, all ready to go.  But somehow during the night, Maggie managed to pull down that bag of chocolates and ate the whole thing.

So, early yesterday morning, a trip to the vet for Maggie.  I heard that she threw up tons of chocolate and foil wrappers.  Apparently a bad combination, each have their own consequences for dogs.  But Maggie is fine now, a little "off" but otherwise her cheery self.

Hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day.

Valentine by Kay.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

These are three of four grand dogs, looking all spiffy and wonderfully behaved.

There is a Valentine's story about the fourth grand dog, but it will wait until tomorrow.

Waiting Around

Yesterday Joanne posted a picture of the fabrics in her closet.  My shelves look kind of the same, except, no closet.  And except for my messy top shelf.

That's the shelf where I keep the bright fabrics and it's the one that gets the most action.  And is therefore the messiest.  Of course, there are more fabrics than this, on lower shelves, and these are just the smaller pieces, fat quarters and quarter yards, mostly, and leftovers.

I have no trouble in finding what I want for small projects and scrappy projects, what sends me to the fabric store are baby quilt backings and solids, white and gray, mostly, some pink and blue.

I am excited that the book I reserved at the library is in, Women Rowing North:  Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing As We Age, by Mary Bray Pipher.  I could use a little navigating and flourishing about now.  I'll let you know if the book is as helpful as I'm hoping.

Braxton and Graeter's

You may think this is the weirdest thing ever, but it is amazing.  Braxton is a local brewery on the Kentucky side of the river and Graeter's makes ice cream and baked goods in Cincinnati and distributes them all over the region.

And this stout is a nod to both.  Yes, you read that right, Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip Milk Stout.  It's a dark beer as you might imagine, really smooth flavor, not a bit hoppy.  If you get a chance, try it out.  You may never go back to Bud Light.

My friend Carrye was asking about when Lent starts.  Carrye, it's March 6.  We enjoy sharing a Graeter's King Cake right before Lent.  Last year Lent was a lot earlier, about right now.  I took a King Cake for Walt's funeral meal.

I need to be off to the grocery to pick up some medications.  With deductibles for each one.  I must have refilled them last right at the end of December.

Holding My Breath

In my email this morning was my Duke bill, so I started out my day holding my breath.  And then letting it out, $172.30.  Less than last month, and there were a few very cold days.  But then this week, some really moderate days.  In my area, Duke supplies both electric and natural gas, so the bill is total for heating, water heating, cooking, lighting, etc.  Always nice to start the day with good news.

My two new rulers were ready at Luke's this week, and I know I'm going to enjoy the Elvira ruler above.  Gentle curves.  And no, I didn't use that ruler for the quilting in front.  The orange piece is a practice piece that I keep close to the quilter for trying out different things.

Last night I went with my daughter to Nora's teacher conferences.  All good news.  We stopped at Kroger on the way home, larger and less crowded than mine.  My daughter didn't believe that I enjoyed that jaunt, but I really did, different from my evenings at home.  I had already met my goal of 6000 steps for the day, plus 1000 more, and with all the walking at the school and the store I ended up with 9000 steps.  Sorry, probably boring to you, but exciting to me.  

The rest of the story for the pink baby quilt you saw earlier in the week:  I met my quilting friend for lunch at a new restaurant and she brought the quilt.  The wait person saw it, really liked it, and wanted one for a friend's baby girl, due in April.  We worked it out that he would get a quilt and we would each get two lunches.

Collaborative Pink Baby Quilt

Collaborative baby quilt.  Piecing by me, quilting by my friend.  It's a gift for our doctor's new baby girl.  Until a month ago, we didn't know we went to the same doctor.  Out of all the doctors in this large metropolitan area.

I know it's been awhile since my last post.  There just didn't seem to be much to say.

Maybe there still isn't, but I've made a few personal changes.  I've been feeling bad because I never get the recommended 10,000 steps per day.  So, I've changed my goal to 6,000 steps per day, which is more realistic for now and I can feel better about it.

And I've decided to do a weekly review of daily goals left unaccomplished.  At that point, I can either do them or let them go.  Blogging was one for last week, if you haven't guessed.

The third is to keep a pantry, although I don't have an actual pantry.  More like a shelf or two.  And freezer goodies too.  Like I said before, I've tried to cook fresh but sometimes ended up eating fast food because I was tired or didn't have anything on hand.  That was defeating my purpose.  Canned peas and green beans are better than no veggies at all.  Those are two veggies that I just don't like frozen.