UFO Challenge

A UFO challenge is not a spaceship race, it's a quilt guild challenge to finish members' quilts that are UnFinshed Objects. And so starts a year with projects to work on that I want to finish. I have a list of 18 that I want to finish this year. And as of yesterday, I have finished 3 of that list. They are small, but they are done. They have labels on the back telling what they are and when they were finished.

I am going to post them here for you to see. The first one reminds me of a summer day when I was younger and used to wait for the ice cream man to come buy so we could spend a quarter getting a cold confection of our choice. Did you do that as a child? The beach ball could remind you of the beach as well since most of those beaches had a snack shack somewhere along the way.

The second one is more of a garden quilt as it reminds me of the scarecrow in the garden that was meant to represent a person to scare away the birds and animals that would try to eat the goodies from the garden. He was always dressed in a dapper fashion and the clothes didn't have to match. He wore a hat to keep the sun off his head and a jacket to keep him warm at night.

The third one is for October and reminds us of Halloween with its pumpkins and Witch's hat & broom. Do you know which witch will be riding tonight? Or any other night for that matter? Even the topper on the frame gives an added mystery to the whole picture.

I have more on my list to do and so you shall see more that show here. With these three done, I only have 15 more to finish this year. My goal is to finish all of them and maybe more. A list of 18 may sound like a lot, but when half of them are only 12 x 14 inches, it really isn't much of a list. So, you get to stay tuned and I will keep working on my quilts!

Rainy days

Well, we thought the rain was going to keep passing us by. The last few days it decided to visit us. We've had roads with chain requirement due to snow. We've had water everywhere and finally puddles. The farmers are thrilled because now they won't have to water for at least a few days. Ranchers are hoping that the young grasses will grow in the fields so they don't have to feed as much hay. Sounds like a win win situation.

While I dislike being wet and cold, I can just hibernate at home and get some of my projects done. Today will be working on quilting and household chores. I have a challenge with my quilt guild, a UFO challenge, in which I listed some of my quilts that need finishing. There are 18 on that list and I'm determined to finish the list. Last time we did this, I put 37 on the list and only got 13 done that year. While I've finished another 10 done from that original list, I think if I start with a smaller list I will get more done. Worth trying anyway.

Will post pictures when I get them done. Kind of like a log of what happens. Till next time.

Family is Important

Family IS important!  Yes, you say you know that. But how many of your relatives do you stay in touch with? Just the local ones? Just your own immediate family? Parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles?

Well, I've decided that my family is all inclusive of the above. I e-mail most of my relatives. Some I still send snail mail to. I visit with my family members whenever I can. I have a trip planned with my mom, aunt and a cousin for February. July will see some other cousins. I will always love my family and the older I get, the more of them I want to see. Seems like as a kid, I always thought they'd be there for me whenever. Now that I'm a grown up, I realize that having them close is much more important than I thought.

If you family is spread all over the USA like mine is, then you have to rely on e-mail or letters. But do keep in touch - they are your life line and we can love them now and really enjoy the time we can spend with them. I bless God every day for my relatives and my friends.

New Year's Eve

Well, here we are again on the very edge of a New Year. Do we know what it will bring? Do we want to know what it will bring? Maybe, and, maybe.

I know I would like more quilting time, more family time and more travel. While I know I can make room for all of these things, the question is "Will I?". I certainly hope I will. I have UFOs to finish for my quilting time. I can always use more family time. And I still have 8 more US States to visit in order to say I've been in all 50. The trick will be to have the time and the money at the same time for those travel plans.

Now comes the hard part. Actually doing what I want to accomplish this next year. Wish me luck as I embark on a New Year, one that is for now, a clean slate for me to write on. After midnight, the slate will start to show some of the writing. Maybe I won't feel like I have to erase?

Lazy Day

Christmas is gone for another year. Today was a very lazy day. I didn't have to go to work, so I slept in a little bit. Then I didn't get dressed until I decided I wanted to go to the store for a few items. Man, was that a crazy idea! The going to the store, not the getting dressed.

Silly me! It didn't occur to me that it was the day after Christmas sales. I didn't do the before Christmas sales and I wasn't really out for sales today. Only picked up 4 items that couldn't wait until tomorrow. Christmas decorations were all 50% off, but I didn't need any. Christmas clothes were all 50% off, again, I don't need any. How does one know that what's on sale this year will be what one wants to decorate with or wear next year? Guess I just don't see the logic when I'm lucky to be able to decide what I want to wear the morning I plan to wear it.

Oh, well. My errand got run, my items purchased and then home I came. To spend the rest of day being lazy because tomorrow is another work day. Hope your Christmas was merry and that your New Year will be brighter.

Happy New Year in case I don't get back to this next week.

Christmas Season

Here we are, just a few days away from Christmas Day. That holy day, in the Christian religion, that celebrates the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Now why would I bring this up? Well, let me tell you!

I have often thought, in the last few weeks, that while our economy is not faring well, that perhaps it is time to re-introduce the reason for this season. While most know the story of how Joseph and Mary were turned away from the inn because there was no room, how often do we actually think about what that would mean to us today. How many people do you know who are without a job? How many in your town are homeless? How many of your friends are not buying gifts because there is no money for extras?

I remember as a child, we had a manger scene that was set up the first part of December when we started the Advent candles that first Sunday. The babe laid in his cradle of hay. This was how we learned the story of Christmas.  I've looked and looked for a manger scene that I would like to have my adult home. Do you know how hard a good set is to find? It's tough! The new ones don't have to right look to them or they have the look but are way out of my price range.

So, I think, this year, I shall just make believe I have my manger scene and will recreate that lovely feeling by using my imagination. I will wish all I see a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I will try to understand when my friends only give me words as a present due to their tightening of budgets. I will wish a Merry Christmas to the stranger on the street in order to cheer them up. Will you do the same?

So I finish with Merry Christmas to all because I believe the Lord is the one who made this season possible!

Bad things happen to nice people

Yes, bad things do happen to nice people. I went to a meeting on Saturday and had a good time. On my way home, I was waylaid by a blowout on the passenger side rear tire. Now that's a bad thing when one is on a major freeway. However, it was good that there was a shoulder and I could get off that busy freeway. It's even better than I have AAA towing service and a cell phone. It was very good that I had cell service to be able to call AAA.

Now, yes, I could have changed the tire. But I would have been tired, crabby and dirty from doing it. It was so much easier to make a phone call. Then after the nice AAA tow truck drive finished changing the tire, he kindly reminded me that since my spare is one of those small donut things rather than a full size tire that I needed to only drive 50mph. While that saves on gas use, it certainly does not make you friends on the roadways.

I "limped" into the next town on the way in hopes of finding the tire shop that I knew was there. I got lucky enough to take a detour through that fine town as they were having a Christmas parade on the main street through town. And, as luck would have it, that is the street I needed to be on. Got to the tire shop and the nice gentleman from the shop asked what he could do for me. I told him I'd like him to either fix or replace the sad flat tire in my car. Well, you may have guessed, it needed replacing. The good news is the tire was still under warranty so my cost was way less than expected.

I was about 2 hours later getting home than my original plans. Now that made me sad and happy at the same time. Sad because I couldn't get everything done I had planned to get done. Happy because I was home in one piece and no one was hurt. With luck, this won't happen again for a long time.