Blessings in Slowing Down

I was greatly blessed by reading Jenny of Elefanz's post this week. 

She wrote about slowing down as the seasons of our life progress and we no longer have to do everything. We can stop doing things that are no longer necessary and begin to enjoy the calm and peace in rest. 

Two of the girl grandchildren are at the farm today. It is a PA day with no school. Their older sister graduated from high school yesterday. I did not go to the ceremony. I had been out several times through the day and got home tired, cold and feverish. I know. Devan took my temperature and told me I sounded hoarse and had a temperatue of 38C or 100.4F. I was in bed very early. Like 5:30 on a Thursday afternoon. Among other things like getting blood work and seeing the nurses for the final time and being discharged after my surgery. Yesterday I bought a couple of rose bushes and new clothes which is what we do when we lose a few pounds and have our breasts reduced so smaller clothes fit better. Just saying. And why was I so tired? After all that, I had to pick the girls up from school. That was a lot of driving for this gramma.  

Today, Friday, I took 13 year old Ellyse to the Dollar Store to pick up some craft supplies for a project at school. We spent $101. We also got milk and bananas. Staples in our house. Then when we got home I took 12 year old Devan to help buy some plants for our summer gardens and went out for lunch. We brought home left overs so may have been caught visiting someone else's secret lunch spot. I won't say how much we spent. I cannot count those kind of numbers in my head so quickly anymore.

I can do all this because my Sweetie is visiting the boy grandchildren for a few days. We also bought a new shelving unit to organize my sewing stuff in the Blue Room. I managed to get the thing off-loaded and up to the room before any other adult humans around saw what I was doing and questioned my sanity. We were asked before we left earlier if we had a list and to stick to the list. How much fun is that I ask? The list was in my head. I had been planning this maneuver for a few weeks. Then forgot to get the unit earlier so we got it later as well as some poppies, begonias, sunflowers, and a bunch of other plants. A couple of window boxes. They are already on the windows. Now to remember to water them before it rains tomorrow. 

Much earlier today, I pulled weeds and added water to the water feature. There were a lot of weeds. If I go out there for just 10 minutes a day and putter, it will look really nice. I lasted 8 minutes. I know. I had the timer set on the kitchen stove for running the water. I do not want to forget to shut it off. 

Tomorrow is Sat and I have another Writing Workshop here to help others to start getting ready to start writing their life stories. I have Stonefield's spread all over all the long tables in the SonRoom. I still have a couple of hours to get that all set up before the girls head off to the final night of youth group before the summer holidays. It is an all-nighter. Remember those? I went to one when I was finishing grade 8. Got home after breakfast and had to go out to work on the farm for the rest of the day. No rest for the weary. Well, not in those days. 

So back to Jenny's comments today. I have learned to slow down. A lot. I cannot do all that I used to do. I do not have many of those responsibilities any more. But I can still do things. This summer will again bring family for several weeks and I will be leading my writing group. I plan to write along with them. If I manage to spend at least one day each week doing some deep writing (2-3 hours without interruption or distraction) I can have at least 12 stories written. And if I do one blog post a week, that adds up to a lot of words written. My hands are working very nicely for now since the cortisone shot a month ago. Here's trusting that it will last for a couple months more. 

And what about stitching? I have plans to do some but will not commit to too much. At least for now. Stonefield's awaits some dedicated attention. My OMG goal for that is to start and complete at least one block. Totally doable. And I am rambling. I like to ramble. Oh. And I cut some scrap 1 inch strips to start on Omisgosh as a leader-ender project from now until possibly eternity.

Blessings,

Chris

linking with frederique 

Almost the End of November

Last week's list:

1. Complete three Lucy sashing strips. I completed 5 and 1 corner square. 
2. Ignore the Wedding Quilt. Tried but failed again. I cut out fabric for foundation piecing but have to put all that aside for now to hem up my son's referee pants. 
3. Work on the Churn Dash blocks. Nothing here. And this is my OMG goal for this month. 
4. Write something. 
1. Morning Pages - a few times but we went away for 5 days and I did no writing then. 
2. Devotions - got a few in. This is the homework I gave my Women's group. I better get mine done. 
3. Manuscript - Nada. But I have a scathingly brilliant idea for yet another new short book. Why are new ideas so much more exciting than old ones?
4. To-Do lists - Every day I write one. Every day I check off some things. 
5. Blog post - Writing it now. 

This week's list:

1. Hem up those referee pants and taper the inseam. I cannot believe how much equipment the hockey referees have to wear to protect themselves. 
2. 
   Hem up a dress. I really do not like sewing with black thread on black fabric, but this is the plan and I said I would do it today. Sigh. I have a luncheon date with my Sweetie then going to visit a friend who bought a cow from us a year ago. It has been exactly a year since the cows were sold and moved off the farm. Life is sweet. 
3. Continue ignoring the Wedding Quilt. I took the blocks off the design wall so I could take them upstairs to check colours. I am about to run out of the one green I have used a lot so far. 
4. About those Churn Dash blocks. 
5. Put away Lucy out of sight, possibly in another building. 
6. Plant those bulbs now that we have had snow and a bit of freeze up. It is supposed to be above freezing for a few days. Now to wait for the ground to thaw enough to put a shovel into the dirt. The squirrels are not going to get my bulbs. 
7. Do not turn on Netflix. I binge watched The Crown Season 5 the other day when my Sweetie went to visit the boys for 4 days. They got serious snow there, like 8-10 inches while we got 3-4. Buffalo, USA, across the river, got a mere 3-4 feet. Nothing new there. Lake effect they call it. That means I got exclusive use of the remote control for 4 whole days. 
   
   
   
8. Get into the hot tub. We had some serious winds over the past few days and the lid blew off several times. We bought the thing a year and a half ago and set it up and filled it a year ago. In August, we drained it and moved it while the patio was being built. Then the contractor insisted on moving it and placing it on point in front of the bathroom window and he filled it. And since he removed several trees and all the sumac, there is a wind tunnel through the back yard now and they sent the wrong lid holder thingy and the new one has not yet arrived. The water dropped to 77F the other day. We have weights on it now. And the water feature? The water is flowing, but rather slowly. 
   
   
   
9. Deadhead the rest of the geraniums and begonias. I brought in some of the planters I bought in the spring for the wedding to over winter. 
   
   
   

Look who snuck in with one of the hanging baskets. 

That should be enough to keep me out of trouble for a few days. 

Blessings,

Chris

linking with: texasquiltgal/to-do-tuesday 

An Amazing Journey

 Throughout covid, I had been leading a small group for women here at the Farm. It started in Sept 2020 as a mentoring group meeting every other Sunday afternoon outside where we could social distance. Once it rained so we came inside. We met last summer again but since we were limited to outdoor groups of no more than 10, I had 2 groups meeting. One in the morning at 7 am and the other in the afternoon at 3. I think the weather cooperated each time since we did not meet inside. Then there was a small group last fall meeting at the church where we again social distanced. In the new year, I hosted two weekend retreats again here at the farm. We do lots of things here at the farm.

Throughout the first winter, we met online, but that was so unsatisfactory for me, but so desperately needed by others. To keep in touch with humans. Some of the girls live alone. One was in a tiny basement student apartment. So, I suggested to one of the others to invite her to rent a room in her home. They did. 

Earlier this month we started meeting again. I wrote a daily workbook for them to journal their way through Psalm 139. Of course, I was writing and editing it the week before the wedding instead of working on the wedding quilt. Then it took another couple of days to print off all 80 pages double-sided and encase them in folders. I loved every step of the process. Do I talk about quilting with my girls? Sometimes, but not much. None of them quilt.  I will get the wedding quilt done when I get it done. 

This Sat we meet again outside at 8 am. I have come to love that early morning time but some of the girls don't. But then, I don't have to get myself ready and drive out to the farm like they do. I can roll out and just walk outside. I chose a later start so the dew is off the lawn chairs and I do not have to wipe them off. 

This week I am giving the girls each a book to read called The Story of With: A better way to live, love, and create by Allen Arnold. I had read the book last winter and it was the inspiration for my approach to this summer's group study. We are all on a journey. I have chosen to journey with God and invite my girls to take their own amazing journeys. I give suggestions and insights. I use object lessons. I invite them to journal their thoughts as they read and meditate on Psalm 139.

I especially love how The Passion Translation words the first verse. Lord you know everything there is to know about me.  Then it says in verse 5 You've gone into my future to prepare the way, and in kindness you follow behind me to spare me from the harm of my past.

In October 2005 I had invited God to "meddle" in my life. Three months later I was in India learning how to minister to women in a culture that gave no status or value to women. When I lead my groups, I share stories from some of the amazing journeys God has taken me on. One of my writing-in-progress books is about India, how I got there and what I did on eleven ministry trips. Will I go back? I hope so! We are not planning a trip just yet. We are waiting until it is a bit simpler to travel. So I encouraged the girls to invite God to meddle in their lives. I wonder what amazing journeys they will take together? Last month, Laurie and Dan embarked on the amazing journey of holy matrimony. So we now have seven grandchildren. 

Blessings,

Chris

I Love Blogging

I was reading blogs the other day and Carole from my Carolina home  had some comments about blogging. Which blog platforms are working. Which ones are not. Which ones are user-friendly and which ones are free. Do people still read blogs? Do people still blog and why. And how frequently. 

This all got me thinking. 

I  love blogging. I love reading blogs and seeing what my blogging friends are up to and getting a glimpse into their daily lives. I have blogging friends all around the world. Did I say I love reading blogs? I do. 

I love writing up blog posts. But it takes time. and I have to have something to say. Silly me I always have something to say. And I love saying it with words on a page. And if others read my words that is wonderful. And if they comment on my words, that is icing on the cake. I must remember to respond to all comments. I don't always. I do have ongoing conversations with quite a few bloggers. I did, after all, fly all the way to Australia one time and met a blogging friend.

I love joining my new blogging friends through Chooky's  monthly zoom parties. We are doing a Churn Dash SAL this summer (winter there). Do I need to start a new quilt when I have so many on the go? Absolutely YES I DO.

I have revisited 2 bins of what I call Moda Scraps and have started the cutting process to make however many blocks I need to. I started sewing the first few together on the new Jazz machine I bought in March of last year and this is the first time to use it. I jammed it up pretty good and will need to sit with it for a bit to figure out how to get it going. 

I love just plain talking. I love using words And blogging gives me a place to use words without actually talking out loud. And people read them! And comment. We have great discussions.  

I set up a whole new blog to share my insights on How to Stay Married for 50 Years. I did that back in April but have yet to get the page set up to make me happy. A family wedding here at the farm last month sort of slowed down most everything I was doing. 

I am taking part in a monthly Virtual Writing Retreat this weekend and plan to use all that time on blog post writing and editing and revamping. 

Revamping? you ask. Yes. Carole commented that she edited her blog list and removed the names of people who no longer blog. So this morning I went in and removed about 40 names, leaving me 80 blogs that I follow. Not every one of those 80 posts all the time, but I want access to their old posts about techniques that I want to revisit. 

And pictures. We must have pictures.

I cannot physically tie on my running shoes and go for a hike in the woods or climb a mountain or walk to the end of my lane. But the golf cart has been taken out of winter storage and I can drive that all over the farm if I just get out of the house and do it. That is a great idea. I should do it at least once a day. 

What I especially like reading about is the process of how things are planned and organized and executed. I am a process person rather than a product person. It is nice to see pictures of finished quilts, but I would rather read about how they did what they did. In making the 8 at a time HST, I drew the pencil line diagonally across the background square and then used the 1/4 inch seam guide to follow the pencil line to sew the seam. First time I ever did it this way and I like it. It is more accurate. 

I like linky parties. I like to link my posts so more people will see them and read them. It is all about numbers for me sometimes. Well, most times. I do not like navigating through blogs that have so many ads dancing in and out as I try to read what they are working on, so I don't go there. It is too confusing and too easy to accidentally activate an ad when I try to scroll on down to keep reading. 

So. a few random thoughts. It rained last night so today is a good day to go outside and pull weeds before they realize it rained and start growing again. 

Blessings,

Chris

End of May

I did not complete the wedding quilt. I had taken the blocks to work on at the quilt retreat in Shipshewana last month, but only got 3 blocks made. When I got started on them, I realized that I had not brought enough background fabric so went shopping for something new. I got 2 yards of beigey grunge which is a bit quieter than the brocade I had used in the borders and the center medallion. And, speaking of the center medallion, there are no less than 12  mitered corners in there and I messed up most of the ones I sewed together. You have to have good light and glasses and a sharp seam ripper and a steady hand to fix them. I had most of those things but not all. Needless to say, I still have to fix them before continuing. I had more unstitching to do when I accidentally used the wrong border strip for the tree trunk. For now, the sections are all just sitting on the design wall. Completing this will once again be my OMG this time for June.

And why did I not get it done, other than playing a million Candy Crush games between editing and formatting the workbook I am writing for the summer small group I will be leading starting next week? I actually got a lot of work done on that the week before the wedding. Also, I had to give up not one not two but all four of my folding tables for the wedding. 

The wedding you say? Yes, the wedding of our son and new daughter on our front lawn. It was amazing. My only responsibility was the outside flowers most of which I had planted back in November. I bought several gorgeous window boxes and planters. Do I have photos of them? Somewhere, but not in my camera. Maybe on my iPad if I can figure out how to export them.

I had given 9-year-old Devan my camera with instructions to take a thousand pictures. She set the camera down when she had to join the bridal procession and did not pick it up again. And, I had given 10-year-old Ellsye the iPad with instructions to tape the ceremony. She set it down when she joined the procession, So, I picked it up myself and videotaped the whole ceremony. Except that since I had never used the thing before, I forgot to press the red record button. 

But just for the procession. I did get the entire ceremony taped. I had a front-row center seat so got it good and clear. But, when I tried to play it back I could not figure out the sound. So many things to learn. I handed off my iPad to one of the guests when we had to do the family pictures. He got some good ones. But they are on the iPad. Yes, I bought an iPad. I have no other Apple products and things are different than the Microsoft devices I have used for the past 25 years. So many things to learn.  

blessings,

Chris

May 2022 OMG Goal

 I did not meet my April OMG goal so I will move that over to the May OMG. And what will that be? The Biblical Blocks Sampler I am completing for my son's wedding later this month.

And the wedding is where? Here at the Farm, where else. In our front yard. And the side yard and the back yard. It is going to be glorious! All I have to do is provide the outside flowers, and we planted them back in November and the apple blossoms will be out and the lilacs and the horse chestnuts will be blooming. It will be spectacular! And I am sure the bees will be buzzing in full concert as well. 

I got my dress last month. It took me a whole 10 minutes. Where do you find fancy dresses for overweight, crippled-up senior women these days? Well, I'm glad you asked. I went to a tiny dress shop in my town and walked out of there with a $400 purple dress for 70% off and a killer turquoise/purple/gold scarf. In just 10 minutes! Then I found some amazing Vionic fancy sandals in my size 11 wide in Shipshewana Indiana when I was at the quilt retreat last week. And I was not even looking for shoes! I bought myself 3 different pairs and a pair of running shoes for my Sweetie who is on a diet and does all the cooking here now. Life is good. I found a fancy turquoise shirt for him at a truck stop and I wasn't even looking for that either. 

I will be back at the end of the month with more pictures. 

Blessings,

Chris 

Blooming Geraniums

 

I have been overwintering geraniums for most of the 49 years we have been married and living in this old farmhouse. I wasn't always successful. One time I phoned in to a radio talk show asking for advice. They laughed at me when I said my geraniums just sort of wilted and drooped in the pots. I was told they were in transplant shock. Okay. Now I know.

My mother used to pull hers up and hang them upside down in her basement. I tried that. They might still be hanging down there after all these years. This house has a full basement with dirt floor and hanging pie shelf and cobwebs that would make the Munsters proud. We have often joked about starting a grow-op down there but there are no windows for light. Yes, I know we could put in hydroponic lights, but that would require a plan and follow through.

I used to plant them in the ground for the summer then pot them up to bring inside. It turns out that you have to water them sometimes. Got that. But they still drooped. Then I read a great suggestion in a  Country Woman magazine about 25 years ago.   Pot them then remove ALL the leaves and buds, put them in a sunny window and start watering them. More than once. The ones that did the best were the ones on the window in front of my computer. I poured what was left of the water I was dinking into the pot and was rewarded with flowers. I think I was on to something. 

This red geranium is one of 10 I bought from a girl about 25 years ago as a fundraiser for a school trip. I still have 2 of them. 

At first, I potted them in small pots then as they grew larger, I put them in bigger pots. Instead of planting them into the ground each spring, we put the whole pot in then brought the whole pot into the house in the fall. I have discovered that geraniums are not so particular about the temperatures, but really like direct sunlight. The ones in south windows have fared the best. Those on east or west windows get tall and scraggly but no flowers. 

In the spring, I put the pots in the flower beds in places that have no bulbs. Then in the fall when they are taken out of the ground, I plant tulip and daffodil bulbs in the vacated holes. Saturday we planted about 300 bulbs. There should be magnificent colour in the spring. But we have to do winter first. That could arrive here anytime since it is the second week of November, but we are still enjoying wonderful sunny warm days for now. 

And Ava is now a teenager. How did that happen?

Blessings,

Chris 

And I got almost no stitching done this week again. 

linking with: needleandthreadnetwork.

the-2016-31-day-blog-writing-challenge

Here is something I came across today. It sounds interesting.  A challenge. I like a challenge. The challenge is to post once a day for 31 days. I thought I could start Jan 1, but that is in 2017 and this challenge is 2016. It is Dec 14. We are almost half way through the month of December. I could post twice a day to catch up. Or, I could post once a day and carry it over through January. I don't have enough to do so I think I will stick with once a day. I have been away again; took my Sweet Farmer away from the Farm for 4 days and we went to Chester County Pennsylvania to visit a farmer friend. She took us to Longwood Gardens . Oh My Goodness!!! I was in tropical plant heaven!! And it was all decked out for Christmas and the lights -  how does one describe lights decorating a 40 foot high oak tree or whatever kind of deciduous tree it was?

It was a pretty cold out since winter has arrived.
Blessings,
Chris

OMG May

Here is something that has my attention. Barbara Brackman's newest BOW  hexathon.
Now I cannot promise that I will actually do any of the hexies but I can follow along and enjoy the read each week. I have been wanting to do some hexagons for the past year or so and have collected some papers for the EPP technique. I even did a class when I was in Australia last year, just for the fun of it.

I sometimes I feel like a one armed paper hanger juggling all the things I have to do right now and quilting is high on that list, but I often get stuck and accomplish very little. However, I did finally submit my edited, revised and corrected manuscript to the publishers, and the back page info and the forward and the photos were found, scanned and submitted this morning. I feel so free and ready to start complete yet another project.

My One Monthly quilting Goal for May will be one simple 1857 block since I cannot blog about the other things I am working on.

1857 Block # 17 back basted ready to go

1857 Block # 17 ready to needle turn the edges of that stem.

Another goal for this month will be to complete one of the 3 courses I have been neglecting for  my doctorate. I figure 3 days of concentration and I should have the Intro to Psychology and Counseling done. The hard work is done, now to write a book report and a 3 page paper either agreeing with or disagreeing with an article that I both agree with and disagree with so it should be interesting to see what I finally come up with.

And because it is springtime and the grass is growing, I bought a new lawnmower today. Yesterday we took all 22 geranium plants outside to catch the rain. I fertilized them and will get them into their summer places. I have been overwintering some of them for 4-5 years and others for 8-10 and two for 20. What can I say? I love plants.

Blessings,
Chris

Flowers

After 2 weeks in snow bound New Brunswick, I came home to Ontario and found these poking their heads out of the ground. Yes, spring has really arrived here at the Farm.

And these are the daffodils that I planted back in the fall just as the big freeze was happening. I had to find some dirt that wasn't frozen yet so I could dig it up to plant several hundred bulbs. This is right up against the south wall of my house under the quilt room windows.

So now I am looking forward to seeing more green things and mud. The sun was shining beautifully here all day and cast a great shadow I see.

Blessings,
Chris

GO Real Fast Quilt Progress

Now to quilting.

I did not get much more done on the GO Real Fast quilt since the weekend. Monday was Family Day, a holiday and I babysat little girl grand babies 3 different days and we all know how  much quilting we can get done then. I got 12/16 blocks prepped and all the green and some of the red is appliqued so far.

I finally decided to use silk thread for the machine applique. It is working very well so far. 

Grapes

I am not sure if I got this green wreath right. I cut out the circle and ironed it down then tried to center the leaves using a press and cut mat with lines and circles. I started out appliqueing this with polyester invisible thread but it was so fine it kept breaking so I switched to nylon but it was rough so that's when I switched to dark green silk. The idea was to have the stitching disappear. 

Green Wreath

However, I wanted to high light these flowers so used some creamy variegated long staple cotton by sulky. So now this really shows up and looks very nice. But what do I do with that green wreath?

Roses

 These look more like corn cobs than tulips.

Tulips

It is fun working with all the wavy stems GO has available. Maybe if I ever order any more custom dies there should be some stems only.

Different Roses

 This one looks a bit skimpy. Should I add more leaves and if so where?

More Roses

I tried to center the designs and put a pin at the 12" mark in each corner to keep the designs from falling off the block. This one seems a bit scarce in the bottom right corner. I have not yet stitched it down and plan to highlight the flower petals.

Poinsettia

 I wonder where this pomegranate shape came from? I do not recall them looking like this in the orchards of India that I have visited. I added some cheddar here for dimension. I like it. 

Pomegranate

Again, working with curvy stems has been interesting.

Laurel Leaves

 More cheddar. Should I have a bud here or another leaf? 

Wonky Roses

Oak Leaf and Reel

These last 2 were quilted up last week. I forgot to switch the presser foot for the waking foot so the quilting looks a bit poofier on the Lancaster Rose block.

I took the liberty to cut out some of the leaf center so it would not be quite so much dark green. and I see that I only used that red with gold print in this block so have to make sure I get it into several others.

Lancaster Rose

I do not want to start on the border until I have 4 blocks completed, quilted and joined together then I can balance the swags and whatever other flowers I put on them. 

to be continued . . . .

Blessings
Chris

Amaryllis

My amaryllis have bloomed. They do get top heavy and the one on the left left its perch on the glass shelf on the window and toppled to the floor before my husband could jump up and catch it. So, he put the broken blooms in a glass container and we enjoy it at the table. Yes that is snow outside. After all, it is winter here in Canada. Nice view outside through the new windows. Do I need to get blinds?