The Parable of the Ants

So ... you deserve to have fair warning: this blog post could possibly involve a wee bit o' whining. As in wah, wah, wah, wah, wah. Before I go further, however, I do want you to know that I did learn some lessons from my adversity, I am grateful for all my blessings and I am well aware that these problems are miniscule in the grand scheme of things. Having said that ...

It all started Thursday afternoon while I was innocently doing exactly what I am doing now, working on the computer. Without warning, the screen goes to black and the air conditioning and ceiling fans come to a halt also. I was not concerned because I was just about out the door to get my hair cut and figured the power would be back on by the time I returned. Except that as I pressed the button to open my garage, I came to the immediate revelation that it too, was powered by electricity. Manually opening the garage (not an easy task for a weakling such as myself) I then took 30 minutes to get to my appt. (10 minutes away) because every stop light in town was now a 4-way stop. Alas ... no hair cut for me.

Not all was lost however. That evening I met some neighbors I hadn't known before as we gathered collectively on our front porches to get out of our sticky homes. Several people from church came by to "check on me" which I so appreciated and not long after attempting to go to sleep (and 8 full hours after it was turned off) the power came on and all was good. (You may have read about our little power outtage that affected about 2 million people. I was one of them. I was fine.)

The next morning dawned bright and early as I was expecting my door painter to come, thereby tethering me to my home for the next 8 hours while the door dried. He came. He painted. He left. I went to pour myself a bowl of cereal, but when I opened my pantry door, I discovered that a large colony of ants had taken up residence therein, during the night. I'm not gonna lie -- I shrieked like a girly-girl, while I pulled everything out of my pantry. I knew that I didn't have any ant killers on hand after my move and I knew that I could not leave my house with the door open. I also felt that it might be unwise to call the BugMan and have him spraying so close to my still sticky door. I headed upstairs to the closest thing I could think of that "sprayed" (see hairspray above) and then I came down and coifed those suckers to death one by one.

Eventually, I did call in the professionals who could not come until the next day. Unlike AZ where you just stick around while they spray, these CA exterminators require that you leave the premises. Before I left, he explained that I might still see a few "stragglers" when I returned and not to worry. I went and got my hair cut and then returned to find more stragglers than I was expecting. I fought those (with Windex this time at his suggestion ... and yes he scoffed at my choice of repellent) for the next 2 days, but finally got rid of them all and put my food back in the pantry. Yeah ... that was a mistake.

The next morning while once again reaching for the Honey Nut Chex, I discover the entire side wall was thick with them. All right ... these are definitely not straggling. I called the BugMan who heartily agreed that a return visit was in order and promised to be there in about an hour. Now, officially playing hooky from work, I headed upstairs to sew. About a half hour later I decided to go down and check on my little industrious renters (frankly hoping there were still enough of them to convince the BugMan the error of his ways.) As I stepped off the bottom step and onto the hard wood floors in my dining room ... I found that I was stepping in water.

This time there was no shrieking ... it was more weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. I grabbed towels and a bucket and turned off the valve in the bathroom right above where the leak was (which was actually coming out of a vent and not through dry wall, thank goodness) and the leaking came to a halt. Right then, the BugMan arrives (a different one than before) and explains that I will have to leave while he sprays. I didn't know what to do so I went to a nearby McDonald's while I made the necessary calls to find a plumber. I'm not gonna lie ... I was still a little weepy and I think it was creeping out the nearby children who were munching on their Happy Meals.

Sometime while I was sitting there I had the following thought: If I had not been there waiting for BugMan2, I would have been at work and by the time I returned I would definitely have ruined floors and possibly a giant hole in my ceiling.

I was absolutely stunned by this revelation and yes ... it made me cry even more. I'm pretty certain I will not be returning to that particular McDonalds any time in the near future.

End of story? The plumber came. He fixed stuff. He charged me a lot of money to fix stuff. He did not charge me nearly what it would have cost me to replace floors and ceilings. BugMan2 completely erradicated the ants with one try. I am pretty darn certain that BugMan1 never even sprayed the pantry which was the entire reason he was called to my home.

I will forever be grateful to BugMan1 and his forgetful/slacker habits.

The moral of the story? The Lord does indeed work in mysterious ways and apparently He employs ... ants.

~ Calm amid the Chaos ~

So ... I have judiciously chosen not to show you more of the chaos. Trust me ... it isn't pretty. But I do love my teeny weeny little center of Christmas that helps to keep me from freaking out altogether.

Oh yeah, that and the bounty of friends who are guiding me through the baby steps of this move until family gathers next week.

Yep ... there's no place like home for the holidays. And don't get me wrong ... it is still home.

~ OCD: One Crafty Diva ~

So ... my friend Kelley ... aka Glamma Fabulous has started an Etsy Shop. Kelley loves Halloween like no one I know, in fact it just may border on the weird. But who cares! She has channeled her obsession into these fabulous paper mache pumpkins and as you can see no detail has been left unaddressed. Go ahead ... you know you want one. Just click here.

Then start your own Halloween obsession. It's the perfect time of year for it.

Tinkerbell is Alive and Well!

So ... I'm guessing that you probably want to learn to fly too. First, you must know that it's all about the Magic Fairy Dust.

Combined with the delightful exuberance of Miss Dub1.

blocks and blubbering

So ... I just want you to know that it was just barely November when I finally finished these two.

I haven't checked to see if the November block is out yet, but I'll try to keep on schedule with that one.*

Thanks to Miss Bunny Hill for providing me with these distractions all year long. I'm back to sewing and other projects that occupy my mind and heart. Since I don't use my blog to vent about personal issues, you will think that it's pretty much business as usual for me.

It's not.

But ... as far as my blog is concerned, it is. Thanks for your love and friendship and you're-a-total-stranger-but-what-the-heck-I'll-have-you-in-my-heart-anyway prayers. And even though it might seem like business as usual around here ... keep them up.

Definitely ... keep them up.

* Oh ... it's here all right. And you are correct in assuming that there is no rest for the weary.

I sewed today ...

I sewed today.

Gooooooooood.

Cheap Therapy.*

Thanks for all your kind thoughts ... they magically help.

* Ummm ... or not so cheap?

Wish I was here.

So ... I'm not here. At the the beach, that is. I am actually here in the blasted-hot sun where it is indeed 115 degrees today.

Today I forgot to put up my windshield sun shade up while I was in church. Today I burned the back of my legs on the seat and had to use a wadded up program to shift gears.

Today I really wish I could smell some sea air instead of the sweet scent of the hair being singed on my arms. Today is the day I was talking about in February when I gave you guys the admonition to remind me how wonderful it really is to live in Arizona.

Forgetaboutit. Today I can not be convinced that there is an upside.

Today I just want to whine.

My First Quilt

So ... the powers that be over at Carrie's and Camille's have suggested to the rest of us that it would be fun to show off our first quilt and our latest quilt. Having perused the offerings so far, I was a tad hesitant to show off my first quilt. Just keep in mind that I made this sometime in the early to mid 90's. Also keep in mind that this was the first quilt I made after having actually taken some classes. There were some others but I no longer have them.

Please ... be kind.

My favorite thing about this quilt is that I hand quilted it and I didn't do a half bad job for a first-timer. Okay, so the very first quilt (which is basically one block and one of my daughters has it to hang as a vintage oddity) was hand quilted also and those stitches were basically hand basting.

My least favorite part (other than the fading, which occurred because I let it hang with some serious sun on it for several years) is the binding. I didn't know how to do mitered corners so I just ... avoided them. The tacking down of the binding on the other side is done with huge, slanted stitches. I purposely chose not to post a picture of them. I did have a huge grin on my face yesterday when I got the quilt down off the closet shelf and studied it. This was just after I returned my bag to the closet which contained my supplies/samples/handouts for the class I taught yesterday morning, here, called ... Better Bindings.

You may have already seen this, my latest quilt. I've called it "sum, sum, summertime". I'm thinking that I have learned a few things in 15 years. Good to know.

Thanks Carrie and Camille. Now I'll go and continute salivating over all the others.

The Frosting on the Cake

So ... I'm older ... but just by a year. Saturday was the official jumping off point, but let's just say it was a week of celebration and smiley faces. On Monday, several friends got together to inagurate the occasion. A lunch at Wildflower Bread Company full of fun, food and festive cards and gifts. The lovely piece of cake, pictured above was part of the surprise, but just in case you are tempted to taste it (and I was ... and I did) it now masquerades as a handy-dandy pin cushion, thanks to my friend and a boffo pattern by this gal.

The Gees had been with us only a week before, but they retraced their 6 hour steps to be with me for the big day. They also came to go to the D-Backs/Angels game and rubbed it in only slightly when their beloved Angels creamed/humiliated our beloved D-Backs.

Oh, who cares!? (Sorry, PDaddy ... I know you care and I do too.) We had 3 days full of this begoggled little guy who scares the bejeebers out of us because he thinks he can swim anywhere.

So ... there you have it. I'm older. I'm okay with it. I still have more blessings than candles.

HAH.

Permission to Fly

So ... basically, I've got nothin', so I'm resorting to some thoughts I had a couple of months ago. The fact that I can retrieve those thoughts is nothing short of a miracle. Sometime in April, when my June issue of American Patchwork & Quilting arrived, I was so taken by this first page, I didn't delve into the rest for several minutes. (Another miracle, btw.) This was the very credo that caused me to form the Patchwork Pilot Club, now thriving at this store on the 4th Wednesday of every month.

I have used a combination of my own patterns and those of others as the basis for our projects. During the months of March and April, we worked on Bluebirds of Gratitude, my pattern that grew out of the birds that I hand appliqued in Seattle last summer. You can see that pattern here.

Everyone is still in varying stages of piecing/applique/borders, but I had to show off Sharon's because she was the first to finish her quilt top. I was wowed by her choice of batiks and I am not kidding, I got a little teary when I first saw it. All the others continue to add their own touches such as Michelle's blacks and pinks, Margot's rich florals and Sue's machine-digitized birds in an altered layout. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that their quilts don't look just like mine does on the pattern.

So ... my plan worked.

How about you? How much do you/do you not like to switch things up in a pattern? As you can see ... you now officially have permission to do so.

Phase - ology

So ... I'm still baking bread. Seriously. It wasn't just a phase. I have made multiple loaves with varying degrees of ground wheat in them, plus one dessert and one batch of hamburger buns. All right ... so the hamburger buns didn't exactly turn out, but that was basically a shaping issue. It was hard to judge the shape of the buns before they rose and so I basically made pita bread. I'm over it.

When I was young ... so many, many years ago ... my mother would often refer to any passing interest of mine as a "phase". For some reason that would hurt my feelings, as if she didn't trust me to stick with something for very long. Like my interest in sewing my own clothes in the seventh grade. And Roger B*.

As an adult, I have had my share of phases. Like macrame. And Shabby Chic. And eating only healthy foods.

I knew that quilting was going to be a major part of my life when I was still at it a year after I first started. Twenty years later I have definitely decided it is not a phase. And I have those same vibes about this bread making thing.

How about you? Dish it up on some of the "phases" in your life. I promise not to laugh ... and (if she were here) neither would my mother.

Processing the Process

So ... I have some questions and I expect some answers. Be prepared for some deep thinking.

In the process of making a quilt (or some other creative venture) from start to finish, what part is your favorite and what part is your least favorite? In other words, what part makes you feel giddy and what part makes you feel tired? What part makes you accidently drool and what part makes you purposely blow raspberries? Is there a part that actually makes you forget to eat?

And if you say that "every part makes me drool", then think deeper, people. I just have to believe that there is some sort of hierarchy involved.

As for me ... just thinking about picking fabrics for a new project makes my heart palpatate. I love, love, love pulling 'em out and switching 'em around. I'm willing to do this for a very long time until I think it's just right. Sometimes I'm actually sad when it is just right because that means that part of the process is over. That's just a little sick, isn't it? Eh, what can I say? I'm sick.

My least favorite has to be the machine quilting part. Mostly because it makes my back hurt. And my shoulders. But inspite of all that, I don't dislike it. It's just that I am happy when that part is over. At that point I'm reenergized because I truly enjoy attaching bindings and sewing them down. I start thinking about the next project ... and ... I begin to drool all over again.

So how about you? Please do tell. I swear I'm going to write a book someday on motivation and creativity and so this information is vitally important to my research.

I'm also really nosy.

All Play and No Work

So ... I finished the quilt. Truthfully, I figured out just a couple of days ago that I really needed to have it done by tomorrow morning to take in to here for the REG(istration) Party since it's the January/February sample for Patchwork Pilot Club.

So ... I was working pretty hard.

Or was I?

While in the throes of my labors, I happen to come upon the following quote by James Michener:

"The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he's always doing both."

I decided I had been playing all along.

Escape-i-chosis: A Real Disease

So ... remember how excited I am to be home and how much I missed my "normal" life and how nice it is not to take a 40 year old elevator down 6 floors in order to to my laundry?

Yeah. But as it turns out ... "normal" life is back with a vengence, and my "obligation-less" life that was boring me speechless a week ago is now the fodder of wistful memories.

The ol' calendar is full to the brim this week ... full of things I essentially enjoy and with people I have truly missed.

But ... they all take more energy than threading a needle and doing a crossword puzzle. All those little activities that I brought along to merely fill the time suddenly feel like they should be the essence of my day.

So ... how did this happen? Has this ever happened to you?

It stands to reason that I need a vacation. A three-hour tour would be perfect.

I just hope I pack enough evening gowns.

For Your Viewing Pleasure ...

So ... first of all ... I have to say thanks for all the very lovely comments on the last post. PDaddy and I continue to be overwhelmed at the amount of love and concern on our behalf.

And we were having a hard enough time just being "whelmed".

Secondly ... I have to give a shout-out to Lyndsay who designed the new header for my blog. Is it not so charming? I cannot mention changes to my blog however without giving another big shout-out to Mrs. Dub who did all of the other tweaking and color-arranging. I don't know if it's a mid-life crisis or what, but more and more it's simple that makes me happy.

Speaking of happy. Apparently no one is this family is feeling an obligation to appear glum. In fact "wacky" would better describe our demeanors.

So if I must leave you looking at the same pictures for a few days, I give you these. Mr. Gee and Miss Dub just want you to be happy.

Works for us.

The Story, the whole Story and nothing but ...

So ... after 4 1/2 months of beating around a very large, prickly bush, the time has come to fill in the details. You know ... the PDaddy details ... the why-the-heck-are-we-going-to-Seattle-for-a-month details. The details that some of you are mighty familiar with and others ... not so much.

Let me just say that I have not previously told this story because I didn't feel it was my story to tell. Over time I have seen PDaddy (the DH, fyi) himself spill some parts of the story, so at this point ... with 4 days to go before we leave ... here goes:

In March we went to the doctor because he was feeling really dizzy. They saw his blood count was low and assumed a bleeding ulcer. Three days later we found out they were right ... except that the ulcer was sitting on a tumor which was sitting on his esophagus.

Bummer.

No problem. PDaddy took matters into his own hands. We found out that this would involve a major surgery that would remove most of his esophagus, and make a new one out of the top of his stomach. We were told it would be wise to have a surgeon that does this surgery a lot. Really a LOT.

Enter Dr. Low in Seattle. Our new home-away-from-home.

Did I mention that he has already had 9 weeks of chemotherapy (which worked really well ... woohoo) and blood clots in his lungs (that put us back in the hospital in June ... not even a woo.) Our biggest concern at that point was that the surgery would be postponed. Ooh, only by a month! Woohoo and Yippee. The surgery will be on Tuesday, August 26th. We welcome your prayers. We know we have them already. We thank you.

So ... the good news? From the very beginning there has been more good than bad. He was diagnosed relatively early. He found the right doctors. (Our family doctor has been more than amazing.) The blood clots were diagnosed in time.

The best news? Well first of all, friends and family who have given support and love ... and an amazing amount of chocolate. We thank those who will (live in) and care for our home while we are gone.

The best-est news? Why PDaddy himself, of course. He is wonderful. He has made me laugh every single day. He literally has knowledge on his disease that equals his doctors. He has an amazing faith that touches everyone. He never, ever wants anyone to feel sorry for him. So we don't.

We just laugh.

And we pray.

And we thank you in advance for joining us.

Bathroom Talk

So ... I have a couple points to touch on today ... and they all involve the bathroom. In a good way. Seriously.

Like this lovely picture of (fake) flowers from my bathroom. I love the white ... and the green. And the ... fresh.

Speaking of fresh, here is my latest acquisition from Bath and Body Works. It's their scent du saison, so I already know it will go away until next summer ... just like my all-time-favorite Dancing Waters did. This one is called rainkissed leaves, and it is just a green version of DW. But there is one little problem. The spray makes me choke. Like ... I have to spray and then hold my breath and then move to a different place before I inhale whatever it is that is floating in the air. All of that involves breaking a sweat, which is immediately counter- productive.

Has anyone else had this problem?

This last tidbit involves Park Tae-hwan from Korea, pictured above. PDaddy and I watched him win the gold in the 400mm freestyle on Saturday night. Before he raced, they told his story:

He was at the 2004 Olympics as a 14 year old. As the race was about to start (also 400mm freestyle) he literally ... jumped the gun. He dove into the pool, prematurely and was immediately disqualified. And then ... then ... he went into the men's room and stayed there for several hours, feeling very humiliated.

I have been there, haven't you? (I was there, as my most angst-ridden teenage moment came in Junior High when I got accidently locked in the restroom and had to scream until someone found a janitor. When I walked out ... a small ... snickering ... crowd had formed.) I did not go on to win a gold medal in Junior High. But I did ... go on. Just like Park.

That's it. Bathroom Talk. Inspiring and sweet smelling.

Just like success.