6:34 a.m.
That would be the time I walked into a dark office. The co-worker who is generally here even earlier than that is off today, so I got to switch on all the lights and other doodads.
By 6:34, I'd already been to the post office, the bank and to the gas station to fill up the tank.
Can I go back to bed now?
Week's highlights: Picked up unexpected raffle prizes, had the last check on the incisions from the cyst removal and found out a co-worker got married over the weekend, the sneak. Last Sunday I handled the video for church for the first time since before Memorial Day. Naturally, that morning (we put the presentation together that morning for the service - yes, no pressure!) the pastor didn't get his sermon to us until fifteen minutes before the service was due to start.
Yeah, I actually got it all in - correctly, too - with five minutes to spare. Because I'm a technical wizard, naturally.
Um....
New television season - woo hoo! Not so much for the programs themselves, but because I can set up a routine where I barely watch certain shows every week as a framework for time in the sewing room (Oh wow! Time for Bones. I can turn it on in the sewing room and "watch" it while I sew!). More sewing than watching goes on during those times.
Even with what little I've checked out so far, I've come up with an objection, one that sparked a mini-rant on Facebook and an unpublished longer rant for the blog. The show Sleepy Hollow - a scary things-from-beyond premised romp I would usually enjoy - annoyed the crud out of me. They've focused on the four horsemen of the apocalypse for their demons.
You realize, that if the studio had misquoted, mangled and disrespected the Koran the way they routinely do the Bible, the studio would have been burned to the ground (and the studio execs along with it) by Muslims? My real point here is that Muslims value the Koran as holy, and will fight (to the point of homicide) to keep it undefiled, while Christians see the Bible being misused and ... shrug.
The prevalence in popular culture of Scripture misuse points to an even deeper issue: the appalling Biblical illiteracy among evangelical Christians.
I'll stop now, lest I go on another tirade.
Craft day tomorrow! Pam plans to work on cutting out the remainder of the pieces for the quilts (five of them) she is doing for her grandkids, so I'm going to cut out the couple of quilt kits I've got.
This is one of them, though when I bought it, it was 30% or more off. Not sure why the price jumped up again. The fabric is gorgeous, though I may swap out the background fabric, which is considerably more yellow than the picture.
Connecting Threads has good quality fabric at decent prices. While I do design most of my own quilts, I find I really, really like their kits, especially at sale or clearance prices. Although my kits were in different (prettier!) colorways, I've made up their kits from this pattern and this one.
That's about it here. I need to go scare up another cup of coffee. It's going to be a long day.
Showing posts with label Company girls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Company girls. Show all posts
Friday, September 20, 2013
Friday, September 13, 2013
Company Girls Coffee 091313
Wow - you will want a truly hot cup of coffee this morning. We had almost record high temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday; this drop to more seasonal weather has been a bit harsh. As I got out of the car at work, I realized that a light jacket would probably have been a good idea. No complaints from me, though; I love crisp mornings.
Last Sunday (before the latest great warm up) a girlfriend and I went to a craft fair that is held each year on the grounds of one of our historical sites. The place began as a lime quarry in the mid-eighteen hundreds, morphing into a dairy farm, crop farm, airstrip and riding stable headquarters in turn before being turned into a museum. There are still a few of the lime kilns on the grounds, along with a delightful farmhouse and a huge stone barn. The main portion of the farmhouse dates to the 1850s.
The craft fair sprawls all over the grounds, with the variety in goods you'd expect at a largish show. There's a tent set up with raffle items - the artists donate a piece to be put up, so the table is a good way to get a mini-overview of what the booths are showing.
Long story short, I managed to win two sets of earrings. There were at least three sets I put tickets in for, so I'm not exactly sure which they are (I pick them up tonight), but I adore handmade jewelry. One item was a necklace/earring set in antiqued silver with huge red stones...I'm hoping that set is part of my winnings.
Monday I spent all day at the quilt shop, going over even more features of the new machine. Two lessons, back to back. It's fun seeing the things Bernina thought out...for example, buttonhole lengths are shown only in millimeters. If you don't happen to have that indicated on the card with the buttons, and don't have an appropriate ruler handy, you can simply hold the button up on the touchscreen, adjust the dial so a particular line is at the right edge of the button, and the machine will automatically set the buttonhole to the right size.
Very cool.
Naturally, I haven't had the chance to sew a stitch the rest of the week. While the machine is out of the studio, I can move the sewing desk and clean thoroughly around it. Who knows, maybe I'll go crazy and rearrange a bit as well. I'm toying with the idea of making October "project month". If I set it up (and prioritize) correctly, plus sew a bit every day, I think I can make a sizable dent in the unfinished project stack.
That's the plan, anyway.
Prep for next week Saturday's craft day needs to be done as well. Every so often a bunch of friends get together to craft. The plan is to make chili this weekend, to freeze for lunch that day. The fixings can be chopped up and a pan of cornbread made a night or two ahead, for a no-fuss lunch on the actual day. Craft day is an additional incentive to tidy up the studio.
That's it here. I'll try to post a picture of the jewelry once I pick up.
Last Sunday (before the latest great warm up) a girlfriend and I went to a craft fair that is held each year on the grounds of one of our historical sites. The place began as a lime quarry in the mid-eighteen hundreds, morphing into a dairy farm, crop farm, airstrip and riding stable headquarters in turn before being turned into a museum. There are still a few of the lime kilns on the grounds, along with a delightful farmhouse and a huge stone barn. The main portion of the farmhouse dates to the 1850s.
The craft fair sprawls all over the grounds, with the variety in goods you'd expect at a largish show. There's a tent set up with raffle items - the artists donate a piece to be put up, so the table is a good way to get a mini-overview of what the booths are showing.
Long story short, I managed to win two sets of earrings. There were at least three sets I put tickets in for, so I'm not exactly sure which they are (I pick them up tonight), but I adore handmade jewelry. One item was a necklace/earring set in antiqued silver with huge red stones...I'm hoping that set is part of my winnings.
Monday I spent all day at the quilt shop, going over even more features of the new machine. Two lessons, back to back. It's fun seeing the things Bernina thought out...for example, buttonhole lengths are shown only in millimeters. If you don't happen to have that indicated on the card with the buttons, and don't have an appropriate ruler handy, you can simply hold the button up on the touchscreen, adjust the dial so a particular line is at the right edge of the button, and the machine will automatically set the buttonhole to the right size.
Very cool.
Naturally, I haven't had the chance to sew a stitch the rest of the week. While the machine is out of the studio, I can move the sewing desk and clean thoroughly around it. Who knows, maybe I'll go crazy and rearrange a bit as well. I'm toying with the idea of making October "project month". If I set it up (and prioritize) correctly, plus sew a bit every day, I think I can make a sizable dent in the unfinished project stack.
That's the plan, anyway.
Prep for next week Saturday's craft day needs to be done as well. Every so often a bunch of friends get together to craft. The plan is to make chili this weekend, to freeze for lunch that day. The fixings can be chopped up and a pan of cornbread made a night or two ahead, for a no-fuss lunch on the actual day. Craft day is an additional incentive to tidy up the studio.
That's it here. I'll try to post a picture of the jewelry once I pick up.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Company Girls Coffee 083013
You may want your coffee iced this morning; we're in the middle of a late summer heat wave. Actually, it's been our only summer heat wave.
Felt a great deal of gratitude this morning, as I was writing checks for the couple of odd bills I can't pay electronically. I never take for granted the ability to write a check for the entire annual auto insurance premium, the balance in the checkbook still a healthy positive after everything for the month has been paid. It's a bit surreal to know that a great deal of the rest of the world survives for a year on what I just paid to insure my ten year old car.
In spite of the calendar, it doesn't yet feel like autumn. All of the heat that is supposed to come in summer waited until this last two weeks to show up. It should cool off dramatically starting Monday - nice for the kids going back to school in buildings built before the widespread advent of central air conditioning.
But Starbucks has pumpkin loaf in stock, so you know fall will be here soon.
Strange fact: I like pumpkin soup, and have an abiding love affair with Pillsbury's pumpkin bread, but can't stand pumpkin pie.
Deep cleaning the second floor of the condo this weekend. That's not as bad as it sounds - it's a lot of space (600 sq feet), but the only room that takes some time to really get sparkling is the bathroom. Most of the time in there is spent pushing a swiffer duster into the louvers on the stupid plantation door on the linen closet. Grr.
Once that is done, it's into the sewing studio for me. Most of what I intend to do is embroidery, which is a fancy way of saying I set up the machine, push a button and the machine does the rest. While it stitches things out, I can step into the kitchen to begin cooking to stock the freezer. Italian beef and barley soup (slow cooker recipe - beef stew meat, carrots, onions, diced tomatoes, broth and herbs), cornmeal/buttermilk blueberry pancakes and maybe another soup. Over the summer I stopped taking soup for lunch; the return to fall calls for a return to soup.
A low-key holiday weekend: the perfect unofficial end to summer.
Felt a great deal of gratitude this morning, as I was writing checks for the couple of odd bills I can't pay electronically. I never take for granted the ability to write a check for the entire annual auto insurance premium, the balance in the checkbook still a healthy positive after everything for the month has been paid. It's a bit surreal to know that a great deal of the rest of the world survives for a year on what I just paid to insure my ten year old car.
In spite of the calendar, it doesn't yet feel like autumn. All of the heat that is supposed to come in summer waited until this last two weeks to show up. It should cool off dramatically starting Monday - nice for the kids going back to school in buildings built before the widespread advent of central air conditioning.
But Starbucks has pumpkin loaf in stock, so you know fall will be here soon.
Strange fact: I like pumpkin soup, and have an abiding love affair with Pillsbury's pumpkin bread, but can't stand pumpkin pie.
Deep cleaning the second floor of the condo this weekend. That's not as bad as it sounds - it's a lot of space (600 sq feet), but the only room that takes some time to really get sparkling is the bathroom. Most of the time in there is spent pushing a swiffer duster into the louvers on the stupid plantation door on the linen closet. Grr.
Once that is done, it's into the sewing studio for me. Most of what I intend to do is embroidery, which is a fancy way of saying I set up the machine, push a button and the machine does the rest. While it stitches things out, I can step into the kitchen to begin cooking to stock the freezer. Italian beef and barley soup (slow cooker recipe - beef stew meat, carrots, onions, diced tomatoes, broth and herbs), cornmeal/buttermilk blueberry pancakes and maybe another soup. Over the summer I stopped taking soup for lunch; the return to fall calls for a return to soup.
A low-key holiday weekend: the perfect unofficial end to summer.
Friday, August 23, 2013
Company Girl Coffee 082313
A bit late today. I wasn't sure I had much to say; I'm still not sure, but forging ahead anyway.
The entire internet (or at least the semi-geeky part of it I generally come into contact with) has exploded over the announcement of Ben Affleck as the next Batman. A round up of some funny tweets is here. The one from Richard Dreyfuss is pretty droll.
There's a bigger issue in this announcement, though.
Why on earth are we still making movies about comic strip characters?
Are there no writers out there who can write compelling, adventurous, engaging scripts that don't revolve around men who wear tights and masks? Where co-stars don't have to waddle around in heavy, furry penguin suits, grease up to shinny into tighter-than-skin pleather catsuits or sit for hours having prosthetic faces built up?
(That sound you hear is my "honorary nerd" card being revoked and turned into silver translucent confetti)
**********
A quick trip to the surgeon this morning. One of the incisions has been fretful, so I wanted a quick wound check. As it turns out, one of the interior, dissolvable sutures decided to go rogue and make a break for the surface. Its working itself up is what has caused both pain and seepage. The doc removed it, handed me some gauze to use on the seepage and sent me on my way.
If I'm this much of a wuss on something this small, what will I be like if anything is really serious?
Aside from the escapee stitch, everything is healing perfectly.
**********
Tomorrow I'm going to a darling little girl's fifth birthday party. She's a cutie - already a runner like her parents, she will be starting school next month. Big changes on the horizon for her, and her two younger sisters with that adjustment.
**********
Monday is a summer day, and I've set up a lesson on the new sewing machine. The only real goal I had for this summer's extra days off was to go through the six lessons (three sewing and three embroidery) that are recommended on the new machine. Thanks to a late start and a few other things, I've not quite made it. With this lesson and two more on my last extra day off in September, I'll have all but one of the lessons finished.
The local crops are coming in a bit later than expected, but while I'm out at the quilt shop I plan to stop in at the Elegant Farmer. Maple syrup, fresh nuts, cider baked ham and apples are on the shopping list. Farm stands are one of the funnest parts of fall. Well, that, and standing in the middle of the Horicon marsh hearing thousands of geese honking all around you, but not seeing a single one because of the height of the marsh grasses (and the overflowing water in your eyes due to an extreme hayfever allergy reaction, but that may be just me).
**********
Just usual stuff for the rest of the weekend - cleaning, maybe some baking, sewing and staying indoors where it is cool. Summer decided to hold back all his fury until late in the season - we just ended a short heat wave, and are due to start another (five days predicted between 88 - 92) on Sunday.
The entire internet (or at least the semi-geeky part of it I generally come into contact with) has exploded over the announcement of Ben Affleck as the next Batman. A round up of some funny tweets is here. The one from Richard Dreyfuss is pretty droll.
There's a bigger issue in this announcement, though.
Why on earth are we still making movies about comic strip characters?
Are there no writers out there who can write compelling, adventurous, engaging scripts that don't revolve around men who wear tights and masks? Where co-stars don't have to waddle around in heavy, furry penguin suits, grease up to shinny into tighter-than-skin pleather catsuits or sit for hours having prosthetic faces built up?
(That sound you hear is my "honorary nerd" card being revoked and turned into silver translucent confetti)
**********
A quick trip to the surgeon this morning. One of the incisions has been fretful, so I wanted a quick wound check. As it turns out, one of the interior, dissolvable sutures decided to go rogue and make a break for the surface. Its working itself up is what has caused both pain and seepage. The doc removed it, handed me some gauze to use on the seepage and sent me on my way.
If I'm this much of a wuss on something this small, what will I be like if anything is really serious?
Aside from the escapee stitch, everything is healing perfectly.
**********
Tomorrow I'm going to a darling little girl's fifth birthday party. She's a cutie - already a runner like her parents, she will be starting school next month. Big changes on the horizon for her, and her two younger sisters with that adjustment.
**********
Monday is a summer day, and I've set up a lesson on the new sewing machine. The only real goal I had for this summer's extra days off was to go through the six lessons (three sewing and three embroidery) that are recommended on the new machine. Thanks to a late start and a few other things, I've not quite made it. With this lesson and two more on my last extra day off in September, I'll have all but one of the lessons finished.
The local crops are coming in a bit later than expected, but while I'm out at the quilt shop I plan to stop in at the Elegant Farmer. Maple syrup, fresh nuts, cider baked ham and apples are on the shopping list. Farm stands are one of the funnest parts of fall. Well, that, and standing in the middle of the Horicon marsh hearing thousands of geese honking all around you, but not seeing a single one because of the height of the marsh grasses (and the overflowing water in your eyes due to an extreme hayfever allergy reaction, but that may be just me).
**********
Just usual stuff for the rest of the weekend - cleaning, maybe some baking, sewing and staying indoors where it is cool. Summer decided to hold back all his fury until late in the season - we just ended a short heat wave, and are due to start another (five days predicted between 88 - 92) on Sunday.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Company Girl Coffee 071913
This is one of those days I wish I liked iced coffee - over 80 degrees and 74% humidity...when I got up at 4:30. Yikes.
The heat is supposed to break this afternoon/early evening in typical fashion, with thunder, lightening and storms. By Sunday the highs will be in the seventies, and on Sunday I plan to sit outside and enjoy the patio, which hasn't been possible this last week because of the heat.
Last Saturday my sweet young quilter friend came over so I could embroider the baby's name on a small wall hanging she had made. A (bad) picture is at the link. Monday I stepped out of my culinary box and cooked a more-or-less Indian dish. That was a success, and will take a spot in the rotation.
A high school friend is in town for the week, and we're trying to set up a time to meet. It's a busy time at work, and I've got other obligations that can't be moved. I think we may have settled on Monday night.
Next week Friday I won't be around for coffee, as I will be seeing my plastic surgeon (I love saying that :). It's not a big deal: I've a couple of largish cysts on my scalp he's going to remove. Some ice packs and tylenol comprise the whole of the recovery instructions.
Being a woman, one of my first questions for him (not the very first; I didn't want to seem vain) was, "Just how much of my hair are you going to shave off?"
Can you blame me? I'd like to know just how much I'm going to resemble a molting blackbird, so I can take appropriate headwear steps. At the moment, I've black and khaki baseball hats that may do the trick, depending on what he does. There is a possibility I'll need something that comes down a bit further on the side.
Either way, it proves a prime opportunity to test out the ability of the new machine to embroider on hats. I've some very pretty flower motifs, and I'm itching to try one on at least one of the caps. Who knows? I could start a new trend.
That about covers it. (hee - bad pun) Prayers would be appreciated for the procedure - finding the right room, guidance for the doctor and the nurses, and avoidance of infection (which I gather is fairly common in this particular procedure). I'll let you all know how it goes (and post pictures of the hats).
The heat is supposed to break this afternoon/early evening in typical fashion, with thunder, lightening and storms. By Sunday the highs will be in the seventies, and on Sunday I plan to sit outside and enjoy the patio, which hasn't been possible this last week because of the heat.
Last Saturday my sweet young quilter friend came over so I could embroider the baby's name on a small wall hanging she had made. A (bad) picture is at the link. Monday I stepped out of my culinary box and cooked a more-or-less Indian dish. That was a success, and will take a spot in the rotation.
A high school friend is in town for the week, and we're trying to set up a time to meet. It's a busy time at work, and I've got other obligations that can't be moved. I think we may have settled on Monday night.
Next week Friday I won't be around for coffee, as I will be seeing my plastic surgeon (I love saying that :). It's not a big deal: I've a couple of largish cysts on my scalp he's going to remove. Some ice packs and tylenol comprise the whole of the recovery instructions.
Being a woman, one of my first questions for him (not the very first; I didn't want to seem vain) was, "Just how much of my hair are you going to shave off?"
Can you blame me? I'd like to know just how much I'm going to resemble a molting blackbird, so I can take appropriate headwear steps. At the moment, I've black and khaki baseball hats that may do the trick, depending on what he does. There is a possibility I'll need something that comes down a bit further on the side.
Either way, it proves a prime opportunity to test out the ability of the new machine to embroider on hats. I've some very pretty flower motifs, and I'm itching to try one on at least one of the caps. Who knows? I could start a new trend.
That about covers it. (hee - bad pun) Prayers would be appreciated for the procedure - finding the right room, guidance for the doctor and the nurses, and avoidance of infection (which I gather is fairly common in this particular procedure). I'll let you all know how it goes (and post pictures of the hats).
Friday, July 12, 2013
Company Girl Coffee 071213
A venti Starbucks blonde roast today - need all the help I can get!
It seems like it's been a slow week, until you factor in last weekend's time off. It's been fairly productive. A giant roast roasted, home made soup taken to a sick friend, two (!) quilts completed except for the labels and an unintentional culinary explosion filled up the week nicely.
More sewing this weekend. A friend has made a quilt top for another friend's new baby (stay with me here). She's left a big spot in the center, asking me to fire up the 830 and embroider the baby's name. We are trading services: a couple hours of her time sprucing up my patio (mostly cutting back the clematis) for design, testing, thread and embroidery services from me.
It sounds as if I'm getting the best of the deal, but it will take me more than a couple of hours to get the kinks worked out of the embroidery. Everything is on a learning curve at present; this is the first time I will need to center the motif exactly on a completed item. Everything up until now has been done on yardage and trimmed to fit.
That's actually the entire plan for the weekend. I need to continue doing catch up on the project for class. This should give me a lot of reading time, as once you push "go" the machine does most everything automatically. Truthfully, I feel a bit superfluous.
We are on the way to a heat wave, but in the meantime we have two, maybe three perfect summer days in front of us.
It seems like it's been a slow week, until you factor in last weekend's time off. It's been fairly productive. A giant roast roasted, home made soup taken to a sick friend, two (!) quilts completed except for the labels and an unintentional culinary explosion filled up the week nicely.
More sewing this weekend. A friend has made a quilt top for another friend's new baby (stay with me here). She's left a big spot in the center, asking me to fire up the 830 and embroider the baby's name. We are trading services: a couple hours of her time sprucing up my patio (mostly cutting back the clematis) for design, testing, thread and embroidery services from me.
It sounds as if I'm getting the best of the deal, but it will take me more than a couple of hours to get the kinks worked out of the embroidery. Everything is on a learning curve at present; this is the first time I will need to center the motif exactly on a completed item. Everything up until now has been done on yardage and trimmed to fit.
That's actually the entire plan for the weekend. I need to continue doing catch up on the project for class. This should give me a lot of reading time, as once you push "go" the machine does most everything automatically. Truthfully, I feel a bit superfluous.
We are on the way to a heat wave, but in the meantime we have two, maybe three perfect summer days in front of us.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Company Girl Coffee 062813
Come on in, grab a cup of coffee. I'm just hanging out here...
...trapped in my condo.
Down the steps to the underground parking, in the car, back out, hit the garage door opener...nothing.
Back upstairs, grab the other remote, try again. Nothing.
Back upstairs, then up to the second floor to get a new nine volt battery. Back down to underground parking. Try again. Nothing.
Back upstairs. Leave a message for the management company. We've had buckets of rain over the last week, and the roof of the underground parking leaks; it may be that the opener shorted out, or maybe it's on lock down because they plan to do some work on the driveway? A couple of neighbors' cars are gone - people who usually aren't gone at this hour.
Did I mention all this happened at 6:15 a.m.?
Call the coworker who is always at work at that time of day, tell her my tale of woe. Unfortunately, I really do need to go in, to print off and FedEx something. She may be able to do it for me, but I hate to put her through that.
I'm taking advantage of the unexpected delay by tidying up the kitchen, making a pot of coffee and listening to praise music.
That's my day so far. How's yours?
...trapped in my condo.
Down the steps to the underground parking, in the car, back out, hit the garage door opener...nothing.
Back upstairs, grab the other remote, try again. Nothing.
Back upstairs, then up to the second floor to get a new nine volt battery. Back down to underground parking. Try again. Nothing.
Back upstairs. Leave a message for the management company. We've had buckets of rain over the last week, and the roof of the underground parking leaks; it may be that the opener shorted out, or maybe it's on lock down because they plan to do some work on the driveway? A couple of neighbors' cars are gone - people who usually aren't gone at this hour.
Did I mention all this happened at 6:15 a.m.?
Call the coworker who is always at work at that time of day, tell her my tale of woe. Unfortunately, I really do need to go in, to print off and FedEx something. She may be able to do it for me, but I hate to put her through that.
I'm taking advantage of the unexpected delay by tidying up the kitchen, making a pot of coffee and listening to praise music.
That's my day so far. How's yours?
Friday, June 21, 2013
Company Girls Coffee 062113
Good morning! Coffee over there for the hardy souls; iced tea for the rest of you. Summer officially arrived at 12:04 a.m. today, and she's brought with her what promises to be a full week or more of temperatures around ninety with high humidity.
Yuck.
In addition to staying in cooled buildings and cars as much as possible, my anti-heatstroke arsenal includes a personal cooling device - a handheld fan. It lives in my purse, and is much prettier to use than a folded up church bulletin or a miscellaneous receipt. This one was on a deeper discount when I bought it, and based on past experience, it should last me at least three summers.
(It was sitting on the dining room table shortly after I bought it, when I spilled a cup of coffee. Some quick blotting, a day drying open and a day refolded with a book on top of it, and it is as good as new (no stain at all - yay, silk!). Sure, it smells just a little bit like coffee when I use it, but I can live with that!)
This last week I finished a quilt I cannot blog about until it is mailed (just call me a tease) on Monday. While it is cute, the machine quilting shows clearly, at least to me, that there is a distinct learning curve with the special quilting foot on the 830. Call me old fashioned, but the next quilt I'm planning to quilt my old way; I feel no great need to need to practice for months to quilt with the new foot at the same level I already quilt without it.
Finishing up that took up a good part of last weekend. Lazy since then, saving energy for this coming week. Canasta Chicks are trying a new day and time, meeting Saturday morning rather than Friday night. Thanks to condo purchases and general life changes, we all live much further apart; daytime travelling is easier. The move may be good for my cards luck, as I'm so much more alert in the morning.
Sunday I'm on tech team at church, which takes all of the morning, plus some. Monday is my last vacation day of the fiscal year, and I've my annual physical. Wednesday, I've a dentist appointment and my eye exam, at opposite ends of the day. Thursday I've a hair appointment.
None of this is particularly onerous, but the thought of doing all that running around during the hottest week of the year has me exhausted already.
In between the running, I plan to sit completely still, with the Kindle in front of my face and a cold drink at my side. Currently in process or just finished: A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet: Southern Stories of Faith, Family, and Fifteen Pounds of Bacon;
Yuck.
In addition to staying in cooled buildings and cars as much as possible, my anti-heatstroke arsenal includes a personal cooling device - a handheld fan. It lives in my purse, and is much prettier to use than a folded up church bulletin or a miscellaneous receipt. This one was on a deeper discount when I bought it, and based on past experience, it should last me at least three summers.
(It was sitting on the dining room table shortly after I bought it, when I spilled a cup of coffee. Some quick blotting, a day drying open and a day refolded with a book on top of it, and it is as good as new (no stain at all - yay, silk!). Sure, it smells just a little bit like coffee when I use it, but I can live with that!)
This last week I finished a quilt I cannot blog about until it is mailed (just call me a tease) on Monday. While it is cute, the machine quilting shows clearly, at least to me, that there is a distinct learning curve with the special quilting foot on the 830. Call me old fashioned, but the next quilt I'm planning to quilt my old way; I feel no great need to need to practice for months to quilt with the new foot at the same level I already quilt without it.
Finishing up that took up a good part of last weekend. Lazy since then, saving energy for this coming week. Canasta Chicks are trying a new day and time, meeting Saturday morning rather than Friday night. Thanks to condo purchases and general life changes, we all live much further apart; daytime travelling is easier. The move may be good for my cards luck, as I'm so much more alert in the morning.
Sunday I'm on tech team at church, which takes all of the morning, plus some. Monday is my last vacation day of the fiscal year, and I've my annual physical. Wednesday, I've a dentist appointment and my eye exam, at opposite ends of the day. Thursday I've a hair appointment.
None of this is particularly onerous, but the thought of doing all that running around during the hottest week of the year has me exhausted already.
In between the running, I plan to sit completely still, with the Kindle in front of my face and a cold drink at my side. Currently in process or just finished: A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet: Southern Stories of Faith, Family, and Fifteen Pounds of Bacon;
Friday, June 07, 2013
Company Girl Coffee 060713
Good morning! Grab a cup of something warm (a friend has dubbed our current weather "Juntober", as the calendar says June, while the weather persistently proclaims it's October) and pull up a chair.
Summer on campus means shorter work weeks (running out the last of this year's vacation taking a day off per week) and less stressful work days (the rest of the office is gearing up for the annual financial audit, for which I have minimal responsibilities - yay, me!). A day off per week means more time for fun.
A major fun point from last weekend was finally breaking what seemed to be a personal curse on my ever making progress on the embroidered squares for a class I'm in (see the previous post - saying I'm "in" a class I've only actually been to once in four meetings may be a stretch). The finished blocks are darling; I've gone on to cut out another one and hope to finish it this weekend.
For the last year or maybe longer, I've been carrying around my favorite fine point architect's markers in a gallon zip lock bag. Not exactly cute and classy, huh? One of the smaller projects started last weekend is a quilted zip top bag, sized especially for the markers.
Ordinarily, making a little pouch is an hour's work - I've made them before and it really isn't a big deal. With a new machine to use, however, it becomes an adventure.
1. Create quilted fabric, using the stitch regulator foot when doing the quilting (learning experience #1).
2. Import an alphabet (transfer from PC to USB, attach USB to sewing machine), design the embroidery and make sure the individual letters are lined up evenly (learning experience #2)
3. Hoop the quilted fabric so that the penciled horizontal line matches the line on the hoop template (learning experience #3-5 (had to rehoop a few times to get it right))
4. Stitch out the pattern. Rethread the machine and back the pattern up half a dozen stitches before restarting (learning experience #6-7)
From this point, it's a simple matter to finish. Cut the front and back to size. Insert a zipper. Sew front and back together. Step back and admire finished project.
My brain, however, was tired from learning new things. I should finish up this weekend, and will post pictures then.
Another project is in process, though it's a birthday gift that I daren't describe here, lest the birthday girl figure it out. Let's just say it involves more embroidery, three dimensions and a five gallon pail.
That's the fun stuff here - what are you up to this weekend?
Summer on campus means shorter work weeks (running out the last of this year's vacation taking a day off per week) and less stressful work days (the rest of the office is gearing up for the annual financial audit, for which I have minimal responsibilities - yay, me!). A day off per week means more time for fun.
A major fun point from last weekend was finally breaking what seemed to be a personal curse on my ever making progress on the embroidered squares for a class I'm in (see the previous post - saying I'm "in" a class I've only actually been to once in four meetings may be a stretch). The finished blocks are darling; I've gone on to cut out another one and hope to finish it this weekend.
For the last year or maybe longer, I've been carrying around my favorite fine point architect's markers in a gallon zip lock bag. Not exactly cute and classy, huh? One of the smaller projects started last weekend is a quilted zip top bag, sized especially for the markers.
Ordinarily, making a little pouch is an hour's work - I've made them before and it really isn't a big deal. With a new machine to use, however, it becomes an adventure.
1. Create quilted fabric, using the stitch regulator foot when doing the quilting (learning experience #1).
2. Import an alphabet (transfer from PC to USB, attach USB to sewing machine), design the embroidery and make sure the individual letters are lined up evenly (learning experience #2)
3. Hoop the quilted fabric so that the penciled horizontal line matches the line on the hoop template (learning experience #3-5 (had to rehoop a few times to get it right))
4. Stitch out the pattern. Rethread the machine and back the pattern up half a dozen stitches before restarting (learning experience #6-7)
From this point, it's a simple matter to finish. Cut the front and back to size. Insert a zipper. Sew front and back together. Step back and admire finished project.
My brain, however, was tired from learning new things. I should finish up this weekend, and will post pictures then.
Another project is in process, though it's a birthday gift that I daren't describe here, lest the birthday girl figure it out. Let's just say it involves more embroidery, three dimensions and a five gallon pail.
That's the fun stuff here - what are you up to this weekend?
Friday, May 03, 2013
Company Girl Coffee 050313
Pull up a chair, but don't get too close. Why yes, I'm sick yet again. Or still, most likely. A cold virus moved in sometime around the first of the year, and while it's gone on vacation for a week or two at a time, it's never completely moved out.
So tired of this.
It's messed up my fun week, that's for sure. I skipped the quilt class Tuesday, for a number of other reasons, but also because I could feel this thing coming back. I won't go to canasta tonight, I think. My friends surely don't want me coughing all over them, and the hostess has cats, which will further aggravate the sinuses. I just can't win.
The plan is to stay in and take it easy this weekend. The only time I do need go out is to go to our annual homeowners' association meeting. Have I ever mentioned that I'm one of the younger owners in our group? The meeting is always interesting.
If I can clear off the dining room table and get up some energy, I've at least two small quilts to layer. Both should have been done a while ago, but the cold has sucked out all my energy. I'm still not sure I'll really feel like it, but it needs to be done. Once they are layered, it takes much less get-up-and-go to sit at the machine and do ten minutes of machine quilting a day. Actually, if I use some of the quilt patterns in the embroidery module, all I'd have to do is sit there and watch the machine work. That's pretty appealing right now.
Back to work. I can at least get things organized for Monday, even if my head is too fuzzy to do anything more challenging at the moment.
So tired of this.
It's messed up my fun week, that's for sure. I skipped the quilt class Tuesday, for a number of other reasons, but also because I could feel this thing coming back. I won't go to canasta tonight, I think. My friends surely don't want me coughing all over them, and the hostess has cats, which will further aggravate the sinuses. I just can't win.
The plan is to stay in and take it easy this weekend. The only time I do need go out is to go to our annual homeowners' association meeting. Have I ever mentioned that I'm one of the younger owners in our group? The meeting is always interesting.
If I can clear off the dining room table and get up some energy, I've at least two small quilts to layer. Both should have been done a while ago, but the cold has sucked out all my energy. I'm still not sure I'll really feel like it, but it needs to be done. Once they are layered, it takes much less get-up-and-go to sit at the machine and do ten minutes of machine quilting a day. Actually, if I use some of the quilt patterns in the embroidery module, all I'd have to do is sit there and watch the machine work. That's pretty appealing right now.
Back to work. I can at least get things organized for Monday, even if my head is too fuzzy to do anything more challenging at the moment.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Company Girl Coffee 3/22/13
Ah, coffee. Over at Home Sanctuary, Rachel Anne opens up our virtual coffee break with some questions about our coffee/hot beverage habits.
Are you a coffee or tea afficionado? Is iced tea your cup of choice? Just for grins, share your favorite drink - hot or cold - and the brands/methods you use to get it "just right."
My coffee habit can be traced back to my grandfather; yes, it's all his fault.
My grandfather was born in Sicily, emigrating to the US at roughly age 25. He served in the Italian navy during World War I before joining his brothers in moving to the U.S. Some years ago I was able to search the Ellis Island records and order a copy of the page of ship's manifest that included his entry. He arrived on January 8, 1920 - exactly thirty-nine years before I was born.
For breakfast, or for a snack, he would make a coffee porridge of sorts. First, tear up a couple of slices of squishy white bread (the squishier the better) and put them in a bowl. Add some milk and a bit of sweetner, then pour over the hot coffee and stir it all up.
For us kids, he'd mix up a mug of mostly milk with a little bit of coffee and sugar, and give us a slice of bread to tear up and dunk.
Sitting at the table in my grandparents' tiny kitchen, sharing a mug of coffee is one of my strongest memories of my grandpa.
While I love coffee, I'm pretty much an egalitarian when it comes to brands and types. Growing up, coffee was made in a pot on the stove - a pot of boiling water to which instant coffee was added. Yeah, it was probably as unappealing as it sounds, but it was still coffee.
The instant coffee habit followed me to college, joined by really, really bad vending machine coffee. While I dropped the milk (too hard to keep in stock in the dorm room), I started adding a bit more sugar to mask the battery-acid taste of the swill from the machine at the college library.
Maybe that drink permanently singed my taste buds, but I can't usually tell the difference between high end and bottom of the barrel blends. Most mornings, I'll pick up a cup of McDonald's coffee (which has improved over the years). The brew of choice at home is Dunkin Donuts, though in the past I've picked up pounds of Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kona.
Equipment of choice at home is a Cuisinart automatic drip and a small Krups espresso machine. I've toyed with using some of the other brewing methods: French press (too messy to clean), pour over (too fussy), Moka pot for espresso (cleaning), Keurig (coffee too strong, don't care for flavors). I'm happy with the basic auto-drip.
My jaunts to Starbucks, Alterra, Stone Creek or Anodyne are for lattes, not coffee. I'll tell you a secret - I really don't care for their brewed coffees. (side note - while Milwaukee may no longer be the country's largest beer producer, we do seem to be rising in the ranks of home grown artisanal coffee houses - that list above is nowhere near complete).
Basically, as long as it is hot, caffeinated and black, I'll drink it.
Well, except for the coffee at the office, which is a whole 'nother story.
Are you a coffee or tea afficionado? Is iced tea your cup of choice? Just for grins, share your favorite drink - hot or cold - and the brands/methods you use to get it "just right."
My coffee habit can be traced back to my grandfather; yes, it's all his fault.
My grandfather was born in Sicily, emigrating to the US at roughly age 25. He served in the Italian navy during World War I before joining his brothers in moving to the U.S. Some years ago I was able to search the Ellis Island records and order a copy of the page of ship's manifest that included his entry. He arrived on January 8, 1920 - exactly thirty-nine years before I was born.
For breakfast, or for a snack, he would make a coffee porridge of sorts. First, tear up a couple of slices of squishy white bread (the squishier the better) and put them in a bowl. Add some milk and a bit of sweetner, then pour over the hot coffee and stir it all up.
For us kids, he'd mix up a mug of mostly milk with a little bit of coffee and sugar, and give us a slice of bread to tear up and dunk.
Sitting at the table in my grandparents' tiny kitchen, sharing a mug of coffee is one of my strongest memories of my grandpa.
While I love coffee, I'm pretty much an egalitarian when it comes to brands and types. Growing up, coffee was made in a pot on the stove - a pot of boiling water to which instant coffee was added. Yeah, it was probably as unappealing as it sounds, but it was still coffee.
The instant coffee habit followed me to college, joined by really, really bad vending machine coffee. While I dropped the milk (too hard to keep in stock in the dorm room), I started adding a bit more sugar to mask the battery-acid taste of the swill from the machine at the college library.
Maybe that drink permanently singed my taste buds, but I can't usually tell the difference between high end and bottom of the barrel blends. Most mornings, I'll pick up a cup of McDonald's coffee (which has improved over the years). The brew of choice at home is Dunkin Donuts, though in the past I've picked up pounds of Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kona.
Equipment of choice at home is a Cuisinart automatic drip and a small Krups espresso machine. I've toyed with using some of the other brewing methods: French press (too messy to clean), pour over (too fussy), Moka pot for espresso (cleaning), Keurig (coffee too strong, don't care for flavors). I'm happy with the basic auto-drip.
My jaunts to Starbucks, Alterra, Stone Creek or Anodyne are for lattes, not coffee. I'll tell you a secret - I really don't care for their brewed coffees. (side note - while Milwaukee may no longer be the country's largest beer producer, we do seem to be rising in the ranks of home grown artisanal coffee houses - that list above is nowhere near complete).
Basically, as long as it is hot, caffeinated and black, I'll drink it.
Well, except for the coffee at the office, which is a whole 'nother story.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Company Girl Coffee 021513
::yawn::
Good morning. Where is the coffee? ::slurp:: That's better...
Gosh, this has been a long week. Lots of hours at work, puttering at home. I'm happy to report that I've made real progress on organizing the sewing room. With a bit of luck, I can bring the machine in and set up to sew tonight or tomorrow morning.
The room will be far from complete, however. There are about six boxes of miscellaneous books to be taken upstairs and unpacked into the built in bookcases, as well as about that many boxes of other "stuff that belongs someplace else". Even with that all cleared, the treadle sewing machine (my grandmother's - in a beautiful, recently refinished mahogany cabinet it weighs a ton) needs to be moved to the living room while the four foot bookcase in the living room needs to come in to the sewing room. Then there is a valance to make, patio door curtains to order and lighting to be assessed.
Maybe I'm not as far along as I think, but being set up and able to sew in there will be a huge blessing.
I'm off to Orlando part of next week for a work conference. The conference runs 8 - 5:30 every day, but still - it's Florida. Sunshine, here I come. This is one time my habit of getting up at the crack of dawn should benefit me; I'm not anticipating having any issues with the time change. Still, my head is already starting to ache in anticipation of being stuffed full of .... stuff.
Lunch and movie with a friend tomorrow. Soup making/freezing. Cleaning. Laundry. Packing. Hopefully some sewing. That's my weekend. What's up with yours?
Good morning. Where is the coffee? ::slurp:: That's better...
Gosh, this has been a long week. Lots of hours at work, puttering at home. I'm happy to report that I've made real progress on organizing the sewing room. With a bit of luck, I can bring the machine in and set up to sew tonight or tomorrow morning.
The room will be far from complete, however. There are about six boxes of miscellaneous books to be taken upstairs and unpacked into the built in bookcases, as well as about that many boxes of other "stuff that belongs someplace else". Even with that all cleared, the treadle sewing machine (my grandmother's - in a beautiful, recently refinished mahogany cabinet it weighs a ton) needs to be moved to the living room while the four foot bookcase in the living room needs to come in to the sewing room. Then there is a valance to make, patio door curtains to order and lighting to be assessed.
Maybe I'm not as far along as I think, but being set up and able to sew in there will be a huge blessing.
I'm off to Orlando part of next week for a work conference. The conference runs 8 - 5:30 every day, but still - it's Florida. Sunshine, here I come. This is one time my habit of getting up at the crack of dawn should benefit me; I'm not anticipating having any issues with the time change. Still, my head is already starting to ache in anticipation of being stuffed full of .... stuff.
Lunch and movie with a friend tomorrow. Soup making/freezing. Cleaning. Laundry. Packing. Hopefully some sewing. That's my weekend. What's up with yours?
Friday, January 18, 2013
Company Girls Coffee 011813
It's Friday, the day before a long weekend, and we have the go ahead to leave an hour early. Yay! I may either take work home or come in for a bit over the weekend (boo), but for today, I'm content.
While we have no snow on the ground (flurries are rather apathetically floating past the window right now; we aren't supposed to see any accumulation from them) we are going into the deep freeze later Saturday afternoon. I just bought a space heater to use in the living room on those brisk days, as the combination of high ceilings, big glass patio doors and concrete under the carpet make the room just a bit nippy at the best of times.
I'm in an on-line Bible study group through Good Morning Girls, on the first eight chapters of Luke. One of the daily steps is to copy out several verses from the reading. Working on it this morning, doing a rather longer passage (5 verses to copy), I felt a bit of kinship with kids from the past, back when learning to write included doing quite a bit of copying. It slows you down, helps you to notice more about the passage and gives you a chance to think over what you've read.
The coordinator of our Facebook group for the study puts up links to various sermons on the passage we are currently on, and those in the group share their insights. The advantage we have as a group is that we are held together not just by a common interest, but by a common Spirit. This is the second study I've done with this group - a wonderful bunch of women.
I need to catch up on my other reading - I'm going through the Bible again this year, but in a different reading plan. A nice afternoon session with the Bible, a quilt, a fire and a cup (or a pitcher) of hot chocolate should get me caught up.
It's beginning to sound like a delightful weekend. Have a happy one yourselves!
While we have no snow on the ground (flurries are rather apathetically floating past the window right now; we aren't supposed to see any accumulation from them) we are going into the deep freeze later Saturday afternoon. I just bought a space heater to use in the living room on those brisk days, as the combination of high ceilings, big glass patio doors and concrete under the carpet make the room just a bit nippy at the best of times.
I'm in an on-line Bible study group through Good Morning Girls, on the first eight chapters of Luke. One of the daily steps is to copy out several verses from the reading. Working on it this morning, doing a rather longer passage (5 verses to copy), I felt a bit of kinship with kids from the past, back when learning to write included doing quite a bit of copying. It slows you down, helps you to notice more about the passage and gives you a chance to think over what you've read.
The coordinator of our Facebook group for the study puts up links to various sermons on the passage we are currently on, and those in the group share their insights. The advantage we have as a group is that we are held together not just by a common interest, but by a common Spirit. This is the second study I've done with this group - a wonderful bunch of women.
I need to catch up on my other reading - I'm going through the Bible again this year, but in a different reading plan. A nice afternoon session with the Bible, a quilt, a fire and a cup (or a pitcher) of hot chocolate should get me caught up.
It's beginning to sound like a delightful weekend. Have a happy one yourselves!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Company Girls Coffee 121412
AKA, Space Cadet version.
I blame it on stress, and rightly so.
Since before Thanksgiving, I've been exhibiting what are my own personal markers for stress. No problems falling asleep, but vivid nightmares that would keep a psychiatrist in crocodile shoes and cashmere for years. No jaw pain during the day, but evidence of teeth grinding during the night. Inability to focus, except when focus is pinpoint sharp, almost to the point of obsession.
Eh. It's the most wonderful time of the year, after all. I'm working through it, but in the meantime, the extra layer of spaciness brought on by lack of quality sleep makes life rather...comical.
This morning, for instance. Last night I managed to focus long enough to address, write, sign, seal and stamp a box of Christmas cards. Wonder of wonders, I remembered this morning to drop them in the work tote, since our condo complex has its own USPS mailbox on the way out. Mailing them would put me at the halfway mark for finishing the cards.
Once a week, I stop at Starbucks on the way to work, as a change from picking up coffee at McDonald's (don't judge - McD's coffee is fast, hot and cheap - and doesn't taste all that bad). Since I missed my usual Thursday stop this week, I swung in this morning, reached into my tote for my wallet and pulled out - a Christmas card.
Tonight will not be the fist time I will pull into the condo complex, turn around at the first break in the median, pull up at the box to mail something, then do another turn around at the street to come back into the complex. Nor will it be the last, most likely.
So I continued on the way to work, mulling over the wisdom of taking a class my quilt shop is offering for an applique/embroidery quilt. One possible size is a 126 x 30" "bed runner"; strangely enough, the livingroom-facing side of the loft balcony is crying out for a long, narrow quilt. This would be the perfect size, with the added bonus of helping me learn the embroidery module on the 830.
All of a sudden, I became more aware of my surroundings. I had just pulled in to the McDonald's parking lot and was headed toward the drive through. Apparently, it made no impression on me that the interior of my car smelled deliciously like the hazelnut latte I'd just purchased at Starbucks.
It's going to be a looooong day.
A friend is joining me for dinner tonight before my church's Christmas concert. She is coming to my house so I can drive, as I'm more familiar with this side of town. The restaurant we're going to is new to me, and tucked away in an out-of-the-way spot in a neighborhood. I've a feeling my friend's faith in my ability to get us there may be misplaced, given my state so far today.
Lunch with friends tomorrow. After that and for the rest of the weekend, pre-painting prep. I've sample quarts of the two finalists for the living room color and for my bedroom; slapping some of the paint on the wall is first priority, so I can live with it for a few days before calling the painter.
The rest of the cards need doing, the freezer needs a new crop of soup to get me through lunches next week. Actually, one of the space hogging hunks of meat should come out of the freezer to be cooked. There's a mutant chicken (8 pounds, I think) that takes up half of the bottom shelf. If I take it out when I get home tonight, it may be thawed by the time I get home from church on Sunday.
Pray for me as you remember...as you are so much more likely to remember than I am at this point.
Since before Thanksgiving, I've been exhibiting what are my own personal markers for stress. No problems falling asleep, but vivid nightmares that would keep a psychiatrist in crocodile shoes and cashmere for years. No jaw pain during the day, but evidence of teeth grinding during the night. Inability to focus, except when focus is pinpoint sharp, almost to the point of obsession.
Eh. It's the most wonderful time of the year, after all. I'm working through it, but in the meantime, the extra layer of spaciness brought on by lack of quality sleep makes life rather...comical.
This morning, for instance. Last night I managed to focus long enough to address, write, sign, seal and stamp a box of Christmas cards. Wonder of wonders, I remembered this morning to drop them in the work tote, since our condo complex has its own USPS mailbox on the way out. Mailing them would put me at the halfway mark for finishing the cards.
Once a week, I stop at Starbucks on the way to work, as a change from picking up coffee at McDonald's (don't judge - McD's coffee is fast, hot and cheap - and doesn't taste all that bad). Since I missed my usual Thursday stop this week, I swung in this morning, reached into my tote for my wallet and pulled out - a Christmas card.
Tonight will not be the fist time I will pull into the condo complex, turn around at the first break in the median, pull up at the box to mail something, then do another turn around at the street to come back into the complex. Nor will it be the last, most likely.
So I continued on the way to work, mulling over the wisdom of taking a class my quilt shop is offering for an applique/embroidery quilt. One possible size is a 126 x 30" "bed runner"; strangely enough, the livingroom-facing side of the loft balcony is crying out for a long, narrow quilt. This would be the perfect size, with the added bonus of helping me learn the embroidery module on the 830.
All of a sudden, I became more aware of my surroundings. I had just pulled in to the McDonald's parking lot and was headed toward the drive through. Apparently, it made no impression on me that the interior of my car smelled deliciously like the hazelnut latte I'd just purchased at Starbucks.
It's going to be a looooong day.
A friend is joining me for dinner tonight before my church's Christmas concert. She is coming to my house so I can drive, as I'm more familiar with this side of town. The restaurant we're going to is new to me, and tucked away in an out-of-the-way spot in a neighborhood. I've a feeling my friend's faith in my ability to get us there may be misplaced, given my state so far today.
Lunch with friends tomorrow. After that and for the rest of the weekend, pre-painting prep. I've sample quarts of the two finalists for the living room color and for my bedroom; slapping some of the paint on the wall is first priority, so I can live with it for a few days before calling the painter.
The rest of the cards need doing, the freezer needs a new crop of soup to get me through lunches next week. Actually, one of the space hogging hunks of meat should come out of the freezer to be cooked. There's a mutant chicken (8 pounds, I think) that takes up half of the bottom shelf. If I take it out when I get home tonight, it may be thawed by the time I get home from church on Sunday.
Pray for me as you remember...as you are so much more likely to remember than I am at this point.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Company Girls Coffee 111612
Good morning! At least I think it's morning; there were so many clouds in the sky when I was on my way to work it was difficult to tell if the sun bothered coming up or not. It's not supposed to rain, but it will stay cloudy.
After the busy-ness of last week, this week was pretty calm. Good thing, as I've been on overload for a while. Last night I stopped at the paint store to pull chips to mull over for the Mongo Painting Job. I have until about December 19th or so to make up my mind, according to the painter.
Anyone want to start a pool on how many times I will change my mind between now and then?
The pressure is on - for the last twenty years, if I didn't like a color I used in a room at the old flat, I'd simply paint over it right away. In the condo, that option would be ridiculously expensive. You'd think that a quilter with thirty years' experience wouldn't be so flipped out over a color choice.
Tomorrow we have a Women's Worship event at church. The church has experienced a growth spurt over the last several months, so the idea is provide a chance for us to get to know one another a bit better. I'd been waffling on going (I have a hair appointment right before, and a ton of things to get done this weekend), but was tagged to do video.
Other than that, I plan to take lots of naps. And double check that turning the valve in the basement really did turn off the water to the outside faucet. And maybe look at curtains on line...though until I pick wall colors, that seems kind of silly, doesn't it?
After the busy-ness of last week, this week was pretty calm. Good thing, as I've been on overload for a while. Last night I stopped at the paint store to pull chips to mull over for the Mongo Painting Job. I have until about December 19th or so to make up my mind, according to the painter.
Anyone want to start a pool on how many times I will change my mind between now and then?
The pressure is on - for the last twenty years, if I didn't like a color I used in a room at the old flat, I'd simply paint over it right away. In the condo, that option would be ridiculously expensive. You'd think that a quilter with thirty years' experience wouldn't be so flipped out over a color choice.
Tomorrow we have a Women's Worship event at church. The church has experienced a growth spurt over the last several months, so the idea is provide a chance for us to get to know one another a bit better. I'd been waffling on going (I have a hair appointment right before, and a ton of things to get done this weekend), but was tagged to do video.
Other than that, I plan to take lots of naps. And double check that turning the valve in the basement really did turn off the water to the outside faucet. And maybe look at curtains on line...though until I pick wall colors, that seems kind of silly, doesn't it?
Friday, November 09, 2012
Company Girls Coffee 110912
Good morning almost lunch time! Obviously, even coffee didn't help me this morning.
It's been a busy week, and it is not quite over. Highlights:
- A CT scan on Monday proved that Rover - the spot on my lung - is stable and pretty much nothing to worry about, at least until it's scanned again in a year. Praise God!
- My car passed the emissions test; I love my little Civic. It may have helped that in the last month I've made the 60 mile, highway driving trip out to the quilt store six times.
- The 'Supper for Twelve Strangers" last Saturday was a lot of fun. Home cooked meals are a delight for students, and it's always nice to cook for an appreciative crowd.
- My crockpot has had a real workout this week: an unheard of three separate dishes have been left to simmer all day. Last night's pot roast - a mid-week impulse - melted in your mouth. Paired with previously frozen but home made twice baked potatoes, I was able to give a friend a "Sunday" meal on a Thursday night.
- Good news from friends, including a child coming home from the hospital (though a long road ahead; he has just been diagnosed with ALL Leukemia, but is progressing through chemo like a champ), a new job, a long-sought promotion and a new home. Lots to celebrate.
- The painter came over last night to measure everything in order to provide an estimate. Depending on where he comes in, I may not get a second. A neighbor had her place painted by a different company recently, and has been kind enough to share with me her recommendation and her costs. Now comes the hard part: nailing down colors. Eeeck! The painting will be done while I'm on vacation over the two weeks around Christmas - can't wait.
Other than a short visit to see friends' new flat and going to church, I have nothing on the slate for this weekend. At least not anything other than whatever the heck I want to do. Depending on energy level, that includes taking a load of cardboard to the dump (have I mentioned it rains every.single.time I could put it out for recycling?), cleaning up the patio and covering the table for the winter, emptying a few boxes in the sewing studio and setting up the new machine in there.
This may be our last unseasonably warm weekend of the fall - highs in the low to mid sixties and pretty sunny. It just might be warm enough to spend an hour or sitting on the patio reading, prior to packing things up for the winter. Now that would be a great way to spend the afternoon Saturday...
It's been a busy week, and it is not quite over. Highlights:
- A CT scan on Monday proved that Rover - the spot on my lung - is stable and pretty much nothing to worry about, at least until it's scanned again in a year. Praise God!
- My car passed the emissions test; I love my little Civic. It may have helped that in the last month I've made the 60 mile, highway driving trip out to the quilt store six times.
- The 'Supper for Twelve Strangers" last Saturday was a lot of fun. Home cooked meals are a delight for students, and it's always nice to cook for an appreciative crowd.
- My crockpot has had a real workout this week: an unheard of three separate dishes have been left to simmer all day. Last night's pot roast - a mid-week impulse - melted in your mouth. Paired with previously frozen but home made twice baked potatoes, I was able to give a friend a "Sunday" meal on a Thursday night.
- Good news from friends, including a child coming home from the hospital (though a long road ahead; he has just been diagnosed with ALL Leukemia, but is progressing through chemo like a champ), a new job, a long-sought promotion and a new home. Lots to celebrate.
- The painter came over last night to measure everything in order to provide an estimate. Depending on where he comes in, I may not get a second. A neighbor had her place painted by a different company recently, and has been kind enough to share with me her recommendation and her costs. Now comes the hard part: nailing down colors. Eeeck! The painting will be done while I'm on vacation over the two weeks around Christmas - can't wait.
Other than a short visit to see friends' new flat and going to church, I have nothing on the slate for this weekend. At least not anything other than whatever the heck I want to do. Depending on energy level, that includes taking a load of cardboard to the dump (have I mentioned it rains every.single.time I could put it out for recycling?), cleaning up the patio and covering the table for the winter, emptying a few boxes in the sewing studio and setting up the new machine in there.
This may be our last unseasonably warm weekend of the fall - highs in the low to mid sixties and pretty sunny. It just might be warm enough to spend an hour or sitting on the patio reading, prior to packing things up for the winter. Now that would be a great way to spend the afternoon Saturday...
Friday, November 02, 2012
Company Girls Coffee 110212
Lots of coffee needed this morning. I managed to stay up considerably later than usual last night, partly because of a television show (Elementary - love Jonny Lee Miller), partly due to cleaning in advance of having dinner guests Saturday.
Half a dozen coeds from the university at which I work are coming for dinner. Faculty and staff volunteer to host students, who are randomly matched up with hosts. They even have a "reunion dinner" for everyone who participated on campus during the second semester.
These kinds of events may be why our alumni are pretty passionate about staying connected to and volunteering for the school after they graduate.
So, cleaning...the condo is generally pretty neat, but it is the "extra" cleaning, the kind you do when strangers are coming, that takes a bit of time. That is exactly why I try to have guests over every four to six weeks; it makes that extra cleaning easier when it is done fairly regularly.
Last weekend I made two different soups for the freezer, one chicken with wild rice (broth based, not cream based), the other vegetable beef barley. One is stovetop, the other crock pot, so they cooked more or less simultaneously. The challenge was making room for twelve individual containers in the freezer. Pumpkin soup is up next, once I chop up and cook the pumpkin. It's the chopping that is the difficult part.
Half day of work today, then off to the grocery store for dinner supplies. We're having an italian country stew (crock pot recipe), a green salad bar and hot whole wheat rolls. The guests will help to make dessert, an easy apple crumble served with frozen yogurt.
After the grocery run and a couple of other little things, it's off to the quilt shop for a sewingmachine computer lesson. It's been so busy I haven't had time to play with my new toy, though I have read the manual almost all the way through. The parts I've not read concern the embroidery module, which we won't get to for at least the next couple lessons.
If you have the time, please send up a prayer or two on my behalf. On Monday I've a scan that will show whether a worrisome, mysterious spot on my lung has grown in the last six months. A life-long nonsmoker, the appearance of a spot, no matter how small, is disconcerting.
Have a great weekend!
Half a dozen coeds from the university at which I work are coming for dinner. Faculty and staff volunteer to host students, who are randomly matched up with hosts. They even have a "reunion dinner" for everyone who participated on campus during the second semester.
These kinds of events may be why our alumni are pretty passionate about staying connected to and volunteering for the school after they graduate.
So, cleaning...the condo is generally pretty neat, but it is the "extra" cleaning, the kind you do when strangers are coming, that takes a bit of time. That is exactly why I try to have guests over every four to six weeks; it makes that extra cleaning easier when it is done fairly regularly.
Last weekend I made two different soups for the freezer, one chicken with wild rice (broth based, not cream based), the other vegetable beef barley. One is stovetop, the other crock pot, so they cooked more or less simultaneously. The challenge was making room for twelve individual containers in the freezer. Pumpkin soup is up next, once I chop up and cook the pumpkin. It's the chopping that is the difficult part.
Half day of work today, then off to the grocery store for dinner supplies. We're having an italian country stew (crock pot recipe), a green salad bar and hot whole wheat rolls. The guests will help to make dessert, an easy apple crumble served with frozen yogurt.
After the grocery run and a couple of other little things, it's off to the quilt shop for a sewing
If you have the time, please send up a prayer or two on my behalf. On Monday I've a scan that will show whether a worrisome, mysterious spot on my lung has grown in the last six months. A life-long nonsmoker, the appearance of a spot, no matter how small, is disconcerting.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, October 26, 2012
Company Girls Coffee 102612
Good morning! A chilly one it is; it was in the mid-thirties when I rolled out of bed, and is currently only 36 degrees, after a high yesterday of 75. The roller coaster ride continues!
So thankful it is Friday. I'm ducking out of a couple of things scheduled for the weekend, as I just need some time on my own. Well, and time to clean the house well and plan a menu for next Saturday.
Our university does what they call "Dinner for 12 Strangers"; faculty/staff volunteer to host a bunch of students for dinner in their home. Any interested students can sign up, and the organizers mix them up based on availability and transportation needs. Last year, half a dozen young coeds came over for stew and cards - lots of fun. So...I volunteered as a host again this year, with a dinner date of November 3rd.
Funny, November seemed a lot further away when I first signed up.
In another sense, November cannot get here soon enough. All the political ads are a bit crazy-making. After work last night I did the early voting thing - it's all over for me other than learning the final result.
If things go my way, there will be much freezer cooking this weekend. Two kinds of soup - chicken with wild rice and vegetable barley - plus either stuffed shells or a chicken/rice casserole. Both, if I can make room in the freezer. The change in the weather is prompting a change to warm lunches and oven-hot dinners.
It's time as well to bring a stack of quilts down to the living room. Thanks to the high ceiling, the living room is a bit chilly no matter the temperature on the furnace. The quilts help, especially when you are just sitting there watching a movie, or chatting with a friend. Eventually I'll get the ceiling fans in, which should help push the (expensively heated) air back down from the ceiling and the loft.
That's about it here.
So thankful it is Friday. I'm ducking out of a couple of things scheduled for the weekend, as I just need some time on my own. Well, and time to clean the house well and plan a menu for next Saturday.
Our university does what they call "Dinner for 12 Strangers"; faculty/staff volunteer to host a bunch of students for dinner in their home. Any interested students can sign up, and the organizers mix them up based on availability and transportation needs. Last year, half a dozen young coeds came over for stew and cards - lots of fun. So...I volunteered as a host again this year, with a dinner date of November 3rd.
Funny, November seemed a lot further away when I first signed up.
In another sense, November cannot get here soon enough. All the political ads are a bit crazy-making. After work last night I did the early voting thing - it's all over for me other than learning the final result.
If things go my way, there will be much freezer cooking this weekend. Two kinds of soup - chicken with wild rice and vegetable barley - plus either stuffed shells or a chicken/rice casserole. Both, if I can make room in the freezer. The change in the weather is prompting a change to warm lunches and oven-hot dinners.
It's time as well to bring a stack of quilts down to the living room. Thanks to the high ceiling, the living room is a bit chilly no matter the temperature on the furnace. The quilts help, especially when you are just sitting there watching a movie, or chatting with a friend. Eventually I'll get the ceiling fans in, which should help push the (expensively heated) air back down from the ceiling and the loft.
That's about it here.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Company Girl Coffee 101912
::yaaaaawnnn::
Coffee isn't doing it this morning. Too many late nights this week, and another one tonight. It took three tries to type the title on this post; then I looked up after writing my first sentence, to discover it was still misspelled. Ack.
Tuesday night our women's group hit about twenty women, despite missing some regular attenders. Plans are in the works for a morning mini-worship session for the ladies in mid-November. In early Februay there may be a retreat, the first for the women at Mercy Hill.
What is fascinating (and wonderful) about MH is that, as a visiting friend put it, the leadership/worship services/atmosphere is very "male". I get what she meant; the men have stepped up and taken on their roles in leadership. It's not that we don't have very talented, capable women in the church, but that the church is committed to following the Biblical pattern for leadership (for an explanation, see Alexander Strauch's excellent book on Biblical Eldership). This will be the third or fourth year for the men's retreat; the men's group not only meets as often as the women's, but is just as well attended.
A longer post (with pictures) will be forthcoming, but a couple of brief notes on the America's Test Kitchen event I attended last night. First, MPTV needs a lesson in truth in advertising. What was promoted as a "taste test and demonstration" was really a stop on a book tour: an hour or so of questions and answers followed by an autograph/bookselling session. Second, we had a fun surprise guest, as Jack Bishop, the taste test guru, also showed up. He is a bit of a practical joker, doing little things like putting a layer of chili paste between the bread and the butter that Chris Kimball was supposed to test, while simultaneously filling the glass of water Chris drinks from during the testing with gin. All for an 8 a.m. tasting session. Third, I made a pitch for Jubilee Kitchen Wax, but that's really an entirely different story. Stay tuned.
I'm cutting out of work early today. My boss it out of town - I did actually tell him before he left that I planned to do this. My first lesson on the new sewing machine is tonight, and the quilt shop is a solid hour's drive from work. Things will be interesting once I get home, as boxes (still, after a year) litter the sewing studio floor. Eh. It's always been true that a couple of hours' worth of work will render the room usable, but it has also always been true that I've felt no burning desire to do that work. This will change that.
Maybe.
Dinner with a friend Saturday night, but other than that, the plan is to lay low for the weekend. Well, maybe shift/empty a few boxes. After a year, it should be easy to make the donate/toss/keep decisions, as if I haven't felt the need to unpack something, it can hardly be that important...I have too much stuff, anyway.
The clear sign that I'm past exhausted is my inclination to babble, which shows up both in speech and writing. With that...have a great weekend!
Coffee isn't doing it this morning. Too many late nights this week, and another one tonight. It took three tries to type the title on this post; then I looked up after writing my first sentence, to discover it was still misspelled. Ack.
Tuesday night our women's group hit about twenty women, despite missing some regular attenders. Plans are in the works for a morning mini-worship session for the ladies in mid-November. In early Februay there may be a retreat, the first for the women at Mercy Hill.
What is fascinating (and wonderful) about MH is that, as a visiting friend put it, the leadership/worship services/atmosphere is very "male". I get what she meant; the men have stepped up and taken on their roles in leadership. It's not that we don't have very talented, capable women in the church, but that the church is committed to following the Biblical pattern for leadership (for an explanation, see Alexander Strauch's excellent book on Biblical Eldership). This will be the third or fourth year for the men's retreat; the men's group not only meets as often as the women's, but is just as well attended.
A longer post (with pictures) will be forthcoming, but a couple of brief notes on the America's Test Kitchen event I attended last night. First, MPTV needs a lesson in truth in advertising. What was promoted as a "taste test and demonstration" was really a stop on a book tour: an hour or so of questions and answers followed by an autograph/bookselling session. Second, we had a fun surprise guest, as Jack Bishop, the taste test guru, also showed up. He is a bit of a practical joker, doing little things like putting a layer of chili paste between the bread and the butter that Chris Kimball was supposed to test, while simultaneously filling the glass of water Chris drinks from during the testing with gin. All for an 8 a.m. tasting session. Third, I made a pitch for Jubilee Kitchen Wax, but that's really an entirely different story. Stay tuned.
I'm cutting out of work early today. My boss it out of town - I did actually tell him before he left that I planned to do this. My first lesson on the new sewing machine is tonight, and the quilt shop is a solid hour's drive from work. Things will be interesting once I get home, as boxes (still, after a year) litter the sewing studio floor. Eh. It's always been true that a couple of hours' worth of work will render the room usable, but it has also always been true that I've felt no burning desire to do that work. This will change that.
Maybe.
Dinner with a friend Saturday night, but other than that, the plan is to lay low for the weekend. Well, maybe shift/empty a few boxes. After a year, it should be easy to make the donate/toss/keep decisions, as if I haven't felt the need to unpack something, it can hardly be that important...I have too much stuff, anyway.
The clear sign that I'm past exhausted is my inclination to babble, which shows up both in speech and writing. With that...have a great weekend!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Company Girl Coffee 092812
Good morning! And a good morning it is - seven hours until vacation!
You'd think that I'm going somewhere special, but no, I'm hanging mostly around home. At the end of the week I'm taking an intensive, three and a half day quilting class with Margaret Miller (click on "gallery") at a quilt shop in a sweet little town half an hour west of here.
My creativity needs a bit of a jump start after sacrificing itself to moving and rearranging the condo over the last year. This class will be a bit of a refresher on color/value theory, plus a lot of playing with angles and new blocks. From what I understand, we will work in pairs, providing an opportunity to see things from a different perspective. Woo hoo!
We were told to bring 8 -10 fabrics in each of two colors, of varying values (value is the relative lightness or darkness of the color, though you can't go on the actual color itself...trust me, if you take a black and white picture of a range of fabric, which ones read as "medium" and "light" may surprise you). Her examples were complementary color pairs - red/green, orange/blue etc. Eh. So I'm actually using analogous colors (colors next to one another on the color wheel) for the two primary fabrics - teal and lime green. I've an accent color in a red-violet; something tells me I should pull quite a bit of that from my stash, as someone is bound to recommend I use that as one of the primaries (with the lime?) and the teal as the accent...
Wish I could direct link to some of the fabrics I've chosen. Can you tell I'm excited?
The rest of the week holds a hair appointment, canasta night, my 35th high school reunion, a fireplace cleaning and at least one trip to the Farmer's Market. Lots of reading, finishing basement cleaning (with the promise of being able to clean and repaint a cute little wooden bookcase that the previous owners left down there), fall food cooking and relaxing. Counting down the minutes...
You'd think that I'm going somewhere special, but no, I'm hanging mostly around home. At the end of the week I'm taking an intensive, three and a half day quilting class with Margaret Miller (click on "gallery") at a quilt shop in a sweet little town half an hour west of here.
My creativity needs a bit of a jump start after sacrificing itself to moving and rearranging the condo over the last year. This class will be a bit of a refresher on color/value theory, plus a lot of playing with angles and new blocks. From what I understand, we will work in pairs, providing an opportunity to see things from a different perspective. Woo hoo!
We were told to bring 8 -10 fabrics in each of two colors, of varying values (value is the relative lightness or darkness of the color, though you can't go on the actual color itself...trust me, if you take a black and white picture of a range of fabric, which ones read as "medium" and "light" may surprise you). Her examples were complementary color pairs - red/green, orange/blue etc. Eh. So I'm actually using analogous colors (colors next to one another on the color wheel) for the two primary fabrics - teal and lime green. I've an accent color in a red-violet; something tells me I should pull quite a bit of that from my stash, as someone is bound to recommend I use that as one of the primaries (with the lime?) and the teal as the accent...
Wish I could direct link to some of the fabrics I've chosen. Can you tell I'm excited?
The rest of the week holds a hair appointment, canasta night, my 35th high school reunion, a fireplace cleaning and at least one trip to the Farmer's Market. Lots of reading, finishing basement cleaning (with the promise of being able to clean and repaint a cute little wooden bookcase that the previous owners left down there), fall food cooking and relaxing. Counting down the minutes...
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