In the neighborhood 09-28-19

After months of heat today's high was 73F and we are supposed to have another four days of under 80F weather.  It is wonderful, I even got chilly while walking with KoKo this morning.   And it was cool enough at 6:20pm to take our evening walk in the daylight.

This is the most tree lined section of our walk and we walk on the east side mostly to stay in the shade. 

Really serious clouds, but no chance of rain. 

And a rift in the dark clouds let some sun rays through. 

I have posted termite tenting before.  I don't know if this is something that is done across the country, I've never seen it anywhere but in SCalifornia.  

The entire house is covered with plastic tarps and a poison is pumped in where it stays for several days, killing every living thing inside.  There have been occasions when someone breaks into one of these "tents", ignoring the warning signs, and they die.  This house is empty waiting for the new owners to move in, but if the house is occupied they must go through every drawer, cupboard, pocket, closet, box, bag, etc., to be sure there is nothing edible that would be contaminated.  

I am still working on the coaster project and KoKo is helping.  I hope I have a new lens prescription in October, because I am having a hard time seeing to sew in the right places. Woe is I! 

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Friday Food - Tomatoes! 09-27-19

I dedicate this blog post to my friend Carol Bednar who gave me 2 homegrown tomatoes yesterday.   My neighbor across the street usually has buckets of excess tomatoes, but he hasn't offered me any this year.  And I just don't buy store tomatoes because they don't taste like tomatoes.  Actually, they just don't seem to have any flavor at all.  

This morning I had one of the tomatoes with just a drizzle of EVOO and a sprinkle of fresh ground pepper.  Divine!  

Oh, my goodness it was so good.  I almost ate the other tomato, but decided to save it for tomorrow so that I can anticipate the flavor for 24 hours. 

I used to always grown tomatoes, but then I started traveling and it seemed that I was out-of-town when the crop was ripe, so I just stopped planting them  Maybe next February I will plant one or two.  One year when the weather was fine I had a plant in a cage that gave fruit for eighteen months!  It was amazing, but it was on a drip line and I guess the climate was just favorable during that time.  

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A one hour car wash 09-26-19

The funniest thing happened at the car wash today.  Some would not think so, but I found it very amusing and it gave me a chance to read my e-mail which I hadn't had time to do. I had taken KoKo to the groomer for a bath and trim which takes about two hours.  I didn't have anything special to do, so I decided to go to the car wash which is almost across the street from the groomer.  And then I would go to the ice cream shop and fill my craving for an hot fudge sundae. 

Today was cloudy and cool, the high was 77F after weeks of 80s and 90s.  I don't know if that had anything to do with the lack of business at the car wash, there were no cars waiting when I drove up.  Unheard of.  I got my ticket and went inside to pay and browse through all the strange, unlikely things they sell at the car wash - like large artificial flower arrangements.  Very nice if you like that sort of thing.  So, I paid and was looking at the snarky greeting cards, still nobody else came in.  The manager lady came up to me and pointed through the windows into the washing line and asked me if that was my car.  Oh, no, I thought, something wrong with my car.  Not exactly.  It seems that the problem was with the SUV in front of my car.  It had locked itself and the owner did not have a key.  It seems that sometimes the electronic doors don't like the car wash so they lock automatically.  There is a small sign near the door suggesting that owners of electronic doors bring a spare key with them, just in case.  The SUV guy did not have one.  And he refused to have the car wash guys push his car the rest of the way through the wash into the "drying yard".  So, he called the auto club to come open his doors.  He was quite nasty and vocal about it, seeming to blame the attendants for the problem.  The manager was so apologetic about the delay, but I would have to wait until AAA arrived which could take quite a long time since now it was rush hour traffic - the busiest time of day for AAA.  Meanwhile the guy is stomping around being obnoxious.  He went out to be with his car, thank heavens.  The manager had managed to stop any cars behind me - after a certain point one cannot back out of a car wash.  My car, of course, was beyond that point.  I had to laugh at being caught between and rock and a hard place!  

So, I sat down with my cell phone and read my e-mail.  The manager gave me a card for a free car wash at some future time.  And she sent most of the crew on their way.  But those that stayed must have spent their time cleaning my car.  After about an hour the man drove away to stew and complain to his family and friends.  And I stepped into a car with freshly cleaned front seats, sparkling windows and spotless dash.  Lovely.  

According to the manager this only happens a couple times a year, but it happens also at other car washes.  So, if there is a moral to this story it would be - carry a spare key. 

I feel for the manager as they lost a couple hours of business.  But hopefully the guy will never come back or he will remember to have a key - in case his car should lock itself up. 
He stated loudly that this has never happened before, so he better watch out, those could be fighting words.  

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Still practicing my sewing skills 09-25-19

I'm not sure where these blocks came from, although I think I may have sewed them together.  I do recognize many of the fabrics.  But I had a group of ladies that met at my house once a month for quite a few years.  We called it QFO or Quilts for Others and we made quilts to donate to Ronald McDonald House and other places that could put them in the hands of those who needed them.  I did almost all the cutting and "kitting" so maybe some of the other ladies sewed these blocks.  

They have to be twenty years old and have been hiding in a drawer, waiting for me to do something with them.  Now that they have come up for air, I am cutting 2" red sashing strips which go with the red square in the middle of each block.  I haven't figured out how many I need, but a LOT.  Eventually I will sit down and do a diagram and figure it all out.  But at least I am doing SOMETHING. 

25 patch blocks with red centers.

A stack of 2" red strips for sashing. 

Thank you to Sharon, Cheryl, Beth, Anne, Loretta, Heidi, and Mary Ann for posting a comment.  It really helps me keep going.  Del

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In the Beginning 09-24-19

I started this blog twelve years ago and below is the first post.  It has been interesting and sometimes a real burden.  For years I just posted every day, then I took a week or so off, which gave me a new view of blogging.  Since then I usually write every day, but skip days now and then.  I'm always surprised that people still read my words and always grateful.  I have been a widow since March 2, 1990, and have lived alone all those years.  Life changes and we change.  I am not unhappy, but I do get lonely at times and writing the blog is like writing letters to someone far away.  So, I will keep doing it as long as I can, not necessarily when I have something to say, but on a somewhat regular basis.  Drop me a comment once in a while, just so I know someone is still out there in blogland.   Love, Del & KoKo

Monday, August 20, 2007

A thought about age

"In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in inellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways." Edith Wharton

Quilts from the SAQA online auction 09-23-19

The second (of three) week of the Studio Art Quilt Associates online auction started today.  I had some winning bids last week and the quilts have already arrived on my doorstep.  They are very efficient with that.  I made a list of all the quilts I might be interested in, but need to wait until the price goes down.  They start out at $750 the first day and decrease to $100 on the last day.  So, sometimes I lose out on a quilt I like a lot, but just don't have the funds these days.   Look over the offerings, you could find something you love!

http://www.saqa.com/auction-quiltviewALL.php  

Then click on section two for this week's offerings. .

Here is an addition to the "Birds" section of TCQC.

"The Kotare" [Kingfisher] Marilyn Clark - New Zealand  2019 12"X 12"

Raw edge applique. Cotton fabric, batik and netting. Free motion quilting with a stationery machine. Aurifil cotton thread, cotton batting and canvas for stability.

 I'm always open for flowers - we call this Mexican Bird of Paradise. Different techniques than anything in the Collection so far. 

"A Little Pride of Barbados"  Mary Ann Vaca-Lambert 2019  12" X 12"

Techniques: hand drawing and free motion quilting.
Materials: Inktense pencils, textile medium, cotton fabric, thread, and batting.

 The picture on the auction page is a lot "mistier" than this one I took at home.

Again a different technique.  

"Misty" Annette Boncek  2019  12"X 12"

Gelliprints, Inktense pencils pieced and appliqué, free motion and hand stitched

Batik fabric border, Black netting, interfacing

Such an original design.  Love the hexie fabric in the upper right, under the bees. Nice hand embroidery with different colored threads.  

"Buzz, Buzz, Buzz"  Gillian Moss - California  2019

Machine pieced, hand embroidered and appliqued. Lots of cotton, linen and silk scraps and lots of looking at the piece, deciding what to do next!

I like to add quilts to the  Collection that include different techniques.  Someday I would like to do an exhibit that is just one long, horizontal line of 12" X12" quilts with placards explaining the different techniques used.  

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"Marsh #22" quilt by Sue Benner 09-22-19

This is one of the newer quilts in the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection.  I bought it from Sue last year after she showed it unfinished to her class at Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson, AZ.   I thought I had already posted it here, but cannot find it anywhere. 

It is part of her series "Marsh" and joins "Marsh #11" which I added to the Collection in 2001.  Odd that I should have both #11 and #22.  Guess I'll have to watch for #33!

"Marsh #22" Sue Benner - Texas  2018  46"W x 15"L

Hand painted fabrics by the artist, fused, cotton batting, machine quilted. 

The color in these pictures is brighter than the actual quilt, but I can't seem to adjust it very much; it is more misty and mysterious.  I have enjoyed having it hanging on the wall in the family room where I see it off and on all day.  And I see different things in it at different times.  Sometimes it does indeed resemble marshes, but also cities on water, sunset or sunrise on the ocean, views in the mesas and valleys of the desert....  I find it very peaceful, very calming.  

Detail of left side.

Detail of right side.

Title and signature on back.  Always in gold paint. 

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Brain games on the road 09-21-19

People ask me what I do when I am driving on a road trip.  I mostly look at the landscape - the birds, trees, shrubs, flowers, crops, buildings, etc..   I listen to music and sometimes play a recorded book.  But I also exercise my brain by playing license plate Scrabble.  The standard California plate has a number, three letters, and three numbers.  I use the letters to make words and I have made up my own rules.   I don't keep score, that would be too distracting.  The very short glimpse of a plate doesn't leave a lot of time for contemplation - find a word or forget it.  Of course, the goal is to make a word and one that is already made is a "bonus".  My rules are that I can add as many letters as I chose, but I cannot drop any letters.  Q, X, Z are wild so can be used or replaced with a vowel, but not with any other consonants.  Proper names and places are okay. 

The point of this is to occupy my brain and my memory and my vocabulary.  It is just a silly game that I play with myself whenever and wherever I am driving. 

If I am on the highway there is usually just enough time for one word, if the vehicle is out of sight it is too late to rethink.  I saw this one as SHRUB, but it could also be HUBS, BUSH. or probably a lot of other words. 

The first word that came to mind was WIGGLE.

Here I thought MAZE, but I could replace the Z with an I and make it AIM. Or probably a dozen other modifications.  AMAZON,  AMAZE, etc..

Replace the Z with I = MIKE, MILK, etc. 

Replace the Q with A = MAY, YAM, MANY, etc. 

BUCKET, TIMBUKTU, BUCK, BUICK, etc. 

KEG, EKG, ………………?

Like I said, it is just a silly brain exercise.  It works out-of-state, and some states also have three letters.  But there are usually some California cars around.  Californians do travel. 

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