Tuesday Morning... Cats, Quilts and the Calm Before the Storm

I'm having a quiet Tuesday morning. Later today, I have to pick up my three nieces from school and take them through their after-school routine. Snacks, homework, chores, then gymnastics. It can get pretty hectic, with all three of them and the puppy. So, I have to take my quiet time now.

A few posts ago, I showed you the pink, ruffled pillow that I made out of old quilt squares. Remember this?


Well, yesterday I finished another one. A square from the same quilt, just different colors. I made this one a little bigger and added lace instead of a ruffle. Actually, this is about the third version of this pillow. I took it apart and redesigned it a couple of time before I got the look I wanted.


Here is one of the earlier versions:


Working with these old quilts relaxes me. I like the colors, the designs, and the soft feel of the old fabric. It's my quiet time. I don't mind taking things apart and putting them together until they look just right. Sometimes it takes a lot of patience. Not to mention, a lot of time. So, now I have two of them finished... lots more still to make! I have lots of old quilts.

Something else that relaxes me is my cats. They make me smile, they make me laugh. Look at Tiger this morning, sitting in a basket, looking as serious as can be. "It is very important that I sit here in this basket!"

Monday, Monday...

I am determined this morning. Determined to tackle two of my biggest concerns. Too much "stuff" and too much of me.
I have to give credit to Susan for inspiring me to declutter. She had a decluttering project over the weekend, and wrote about Peter Walsh. He appears on television, helping people declutter their homes. He writes books too. One is called "Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?''. I read a review of it. The idea seems to be eliminating "excess" in your life. Too much clutter in your house and too much fat on your body... or something like that. I should look into it... I do need to address both issues.


Project Number One: Getting Rid of Clutter

Yesterday I tackled the storage area in my basement. It's full of stuff that we brought with us three years ago and haven't used since. There are lots of "mystery boxes"... I have no idea what is in them. So, I started opening them and sorting the contents. I have already filled up five large boxes with "stuff" to give away.


Project Number Two: Getting Rid of Excess Weight

This morning, before I turned on my computer, I walked on the treadmill for a mile. It's not much, but it's a start. I have to do it before I turn on my computer, because once I get on the computer I could be there all morning. You know what I'm talking about?

After the treadmill, I got out my new exercise hoop... it's like a hula hoop but bigger and heavier. Sound silly? I know, I thought so too. But when I went on my spa retreat a couple of weekends ago they introduced us to this new exercise routine. It comes with a DVD that takes you through a workout combining cardio and strength training. They say it's good for your "core". I like it. So far, so good... now I just need to keep it up!


Completely Off-Topic:

While I was walking on the treadmill, I had the news on television. (I should know better. There is always something depressing on the news.) Anyway, they talked about some of the victims of Bernard Madoff, people who worked hard all their lives and saved for retirement, who trusted him and lost all their money. And then there are the charities who lost everything. That makes me so angry. How can someone do that to people? And he sits in his multi-million dollar apartment. Life certainly isn't fair.
The second story was about a five year old girl named Hailie, who has gone missing in Florida. Another one already.. first Caley, now Hailie. My first reaction was "what's going on in Florida". But then I realized this happens everywhere all the time. They said there were 40-some registered sex offenders living in her area. But they are also looking at family members. Who knows? Either way, she didn't have a chance. She was sleeping in bed at home when she disappeared.

So, my day started off with determination, mixed in with a daily dose of bad news. That's the way life is these days. I hope this isn't too depressing a post. It's just off the top of my head. I will try to plan something more enlightening for future posts.

Valentine's Day Memories

When I was a little girl, my sister and I always received a special treat on Valentine's Day. My mother would come in during the night and put a gift next to our pillows. When we woke up on Valentine's Day, there was a little white box with red polka dots. Inside was a Nancy Ann Storybook Doll. These were the dolls of our childhood. It was an earlier time, before Barbie dolls were invented.


Nancy Ann Storybook Dolls are only about five inches tall, and they have beautifully detailed outfits. They came in many series; a fairytale series, a holiday series, a seasonal series, etc. The ones we received were always the Valentine dolls, all dressed in red and white.


Over the years, we lost track of our dolls. We had two younger sisters, born ten and seventeen years after us, and they played with our dolls. They became misplaced in the process. As we got older we didn't think much about them. Then, a few years ago, I found a Nancy Ann doll as I was browsing on E-Bay. I ordered one of the Valentine's Day dolls, and when it came in its box a wave of nostalgia washed over me. It took me back to my childhood. The feel, the smell of the box, and the doll with its little painted-on shoes, red dress and hat... it was exactly the same as I remembered.

It wasn't long until I was ordering more of them from E-Bay. I showed them to my mom, who was delighted to see them again after all these years. We spent many hours reminiscing over them. Then I surprised my sister with one on her sixtieth birthday. She was as nostalgic as I had been.

Here are a few that I have collected over the past couple of years. Yes, I am at that age when things you played with when you were a child have now become collector's items. I guess it seems silly for a grown woman to have dolls. But these little dolls still have the same fascination for me as when I was little. Their outfits are so old-fashioned and nicely detailed, and I appreciate that.

Quilting Weather

Yesterday we were under a tornado watch. Thunderstorms were headed our way from the west; it was the same weather system that caused deadly tornadoes in Oklahoma the day before. Our tornado sirens went off a couple of times. I took this picture of the sky outside my back door. See the little bit of rainbow? And the clouds? We had a bit of everything in a 30-minute time period. It got really dark, there was some lightning and thunder, then high winds swept through, followed by a short hail storm. Finally, the sun came out. That's when I took this photo. The clouds were receding and the sun was coming out. There was a weird kind of light on everything.


This is the kind of weather when I decide to stay indoors. I was in my basement, where my sewing room is. I worked on some of my cutter quilt squares while I was there. This one will become a pillow, once I decide on a fabric to make a ruffle for it:


Here is another one in progress:


The little electric fireplace was warming the room. I had flashlights, candles, and battery-powered lanterns with me in case the power went out. I had my three cats lounging about to keep me company. I could hear the wind howling outside, but it was quiet and cozy inside. It was a day to stay inside and work on quilts.

Has Anyone Else Noticed?

Am I the only one who has noticed this? Am I the only one who is sick and tired of seeing it?

Every time you see this guy standing in front of a microphone being bellicose...


You also see this guy just behind him, looking smug and slightly sinister.


See... there he is right behind his main man...


See... there is is again. Don't you see the smugness?


Who voted for these guys anyway?

Politics As Usual Is Killing Us

"I hope he fails".

This is what Rush Limbaugh said about President Obama. WHAT? He hopes our new president fails? If President Obama fails, our whole country fails. Doesn't that sound like treason to you? It does to me. How can this man stay on the air? Why does anyone listen to him? Why does anyone take him seriously? Yet, I have been reading that his influence is growing. And it's not just Rush Limbaugh. There are radio personalities all over the country who spout the same kind of poisonous nonsense. And there are people who agree with him, including I am afraid, some in Congress.

We are unquestionably in a crisis that is predicted to only get worse. People are suffering, losing jobs, losing homes, losing businesses. The majority of Americans see what is happening. The majority of Americans voted for change. During the last eight years we had a Republican president and a Republican majority in Congress. A surplus became a record-breaking deficit under their watch. Now we have a new president and a new majority in Congress. We are counting on them to lead us out of this crisis. But what is happening in Washington? Politics as usual is happening.

Is bipartisanship a fool's dream? Apparently it is. Republicans in Congress appear to be united in opposition to anything President Obama proposes. I am so tired of seeing them endlessly spouting the same tired party line. As President Obama says, what credibility do these Republican leaders have when it comes to fiscal responsibility? Look what happened under their watch. An unprecedented deficit. A multi-billion dollar "TARP" with no accountability regarding what happened to the money (our money, taxpayers' money!). I can't help but feel that these Republican leaders are being disingenuous. They opposed Obama's election, so now they are going to oppose everything he does. They claim to be acting on principle, but I'm afraid they are acting more out of their own political interests than out of concern for solving our problems.

I know there will be many who disagree with me. I understand that there are two sides to every story. But this is what I see, and I will be very happy if they prove me wrong.

Dancing Girls

Today a fund raiser for the American Heart Association was held at our local mall. A group of dancing schools in the area put on a performance, with parents and friends donating on behalf of each dancer. There were dozens of performances by dancers of all ages. My eleven and nine year old nieces participated. Here are some of my photos:

First, the little girls:






A little bit older:


Some of the older students:




The two girls in front, looking at each other, are my nieces:


My nieces with a post-performance treat:


My husband and I were there, along with my sister and brother-in-law, and my mother and stepfather, the proud grandparents. After, we all went out to dinner together. It was a nice afternoon.