Sunset

The sun is going down over the mountains across the valley. I can glimpse the sky through the silhouettes of the trees in my neighbor's yard. I feel peaceful just watching the gradual darkening.

Things have been crazy around here the last couple of weeks. Calm is just around the corner, I can feel it coming.

Meanwhile it feels good to have a little interim peace.

Sunday Dinner Benefits

Ray and Diane

I love our Sunday dinners. All the children and grandchildren gathered together with a few nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends thrown in for good measure.

We miss Audrey and her family since they moved away, but they'll be here this weekend!! I can't wait until this evening when I hear the knock on the door and see Austin's and Matthew's faces peering through the glass. It will be fun when they can get the door open themselves and run straight in for a hug.

Maybe I'll sit on the porch swing and wait for them.

Thursday Workday

If it's Thursday, it must be workday. That will be changing next week. Because of some other scheduling conflicts Trish and I are moving Thursday Workday to Tuesday Workday. Just so I get my workday!

Today I finished the top of a small quilt - Madeline, a Schnibbles pattern by Miss Carrie's Quilt Co. I knew when I saw the name I had to make it - in honor of my granddaughter Madeleine. 

I picked up the fabric on Vashon Island at the Island Quilter when I was there with my friends in May. Rather than do the quilt using charm squares, I did a planned version of the quilt. These pinks and turquoises make me think of springtime and the beach for some reason. The original quilt was 28 inches by 28 inches. I put on an extra border and made it big enough for a baby quilt. 

Here's a close-up of the fabrics:

Here's the finished top. Although I do quilt most of my own quilts, I'm putting this aside to quilt after I take a quilting class next spring. I'm looking forward to learning some new techniques.  

U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

A is for Alibi through U is for Undertow. I haven't missed one yet.

U is for Undertow is classic Kinsey Millhone. I wasn't crazy about a couple of  books in the series a few alphabet letters ago, but I thought Sue Grafton was back in the game with this one. (I'm pretty sure I liked the last one a lot also - I must have read it before I started my blog because I couldn't find my review on it.)

I like the way Grafton develops the story, piecing it together from both present and past perspectives. I also like how she has a little sideline going  in each of her books that carries over from one book to another. It's what keeps the personal life of Kinsey alive.

A single book in a series needs to be able to stand alone, yet be intriguing enough about past events in the series to get you to want to read the whole series. Also, I like the background information even though I've read the entire series. Sometimes it's been a long time since I read the last book and I need a couple of reminders.

I think Grafton does a good job of filling in past information without making you feel like you've actually reread a previous book to catch up to where the current story is. It's a tricky balance in a long series like this, and I think by and large Grafton has achieved a good balance.

I'm ready for V is for...

Swamped

I don't know if you can read all the writing on this postcard. It says:

"Margaret this is what you ought to be doing, Mamma."

It was sent from Jamestown, NY to Mayville, NY on April 14, 1907. These days that's about a 30 minute drive. 25 miles or so. Margaret was my great aunt. So her mamma was my great grandmother. Margaret would have been 11 years old at the time. Her father had died a few years before. I wonder why her mamma was in Jamestown and she was in Mayville? They lived in Mayville. This card is just a little piece of history I picked up when I was in Washington for my dad's 80th (more on that later). Isn't it interesting how a seemingly innocent piece of paper can bring forth so many questions?  I wonder - was it just a friendly reminder of what she should be doing, or did Aunt Margaret not like to do the wash, and her mamma knew she might need a little nudge to get it done? Was it a private joke of some sort?

I adored my Aunt Margaret. She always had a smile and a treat at the ready. I only remember her with white hair. She told us her hair had been bright red, and she was teased and called "carrot top" in school. I used to marvel at the idea - she had red hair?! It was too hard for me to imagine when I was young. 

Aunt Margaret was so fun. I remember visiting and her taking us to the movies to see Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and also Nicholas and Alexandra. I was 12 at the time. She drove so slowly that my cousin and my sister and I would lay down in the back seat of her car, giggling away at all the cars that passed her on the two-lane road. She said,"I know you girls are laughing at me, but I'm not going to drive any faster than this." Then she laughed. She was driving about 25 mph on a 45 mph road. She did not speed up.

One time she came to California with my grandmother for a long visit. One night my sister and I stayed up late listening to a George Carlin record (yes, vinyl). We went to bed and repeated all the jokes and laughed and laughed long into the night. The next morning Aunt Margaret came out with a big smile and said, "My, you girls were having a fun time last night." The poor woman probably only got a couple of hours of sleep. She was always a good sport and fun to have around. 

Well, I started this post by wanting to say that I need someone to send me some post cards to keep me on track. I've been swamped with things to do, and tonight I looked around and thought I need to get some basics done around here. Instead I had a good time reminiscing about Aunt Margaret. 

That's a fair trade. I can always clean next week. 

The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman

A rape takes place outside a mikvah in a Los Angeles Jewish Community. In the process of having the crime solved, we learn many interesting things about the yeshiva, and the Jewish Torah life.

For almost as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to the Jewish faith and culture, so that was a great sideline to the book for me.

On the other hand, some of the language was so reprehensible I almost stopped reading the book. I finally realized it's only a couple of characters who consistently use that terrible language and I was sometimes able to skip over it (but not until about halfway through did I figure that out).

On the other hand, the story is gripping, and it is a real thriller (not something I can always handle, but this time I could - barely). I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of the book.

If it weren't for the language, I would recommend the book whole-heartedly. But the language is bad. I'm still wondering if I should have read it. If the language won't bother you, read it. Otherwise, skip it.

Too bad, because it's the first in a series that looks to be great. I just wonder how the language in the next books will be. I've got a big pile to get through in the meantime, so I won't have to worry about that for awhile.

2010 Block of the Month Quilt

I finished my block of the month quilt on Thursday during workday. A few months ago I started to wonder how I would put the whole thing together, and I ran across a post on Cupcakes 'n' Daisies, which can be found here. I saw the Wild Good Chase Sampler and thought that would be a great way to put my quilt together. So, with a few modifications, here is how it turned out:

I'm please with how it turned out. Now I'm ready to move on to the next project in my pile.

Oh yes - I put my label on it right away!

2010 Block of the Month Quilt from Quilts, Etc.
Finished: September 2010
Size: 58 inches by 78 inches

Friday Workday #2

Yesterday Trish and I drove down to Orem for our second Quilting Tutorial with Beth and Debra. They had their strips sewn for their Fence Rail blocks, and had cut strips for their Log Cabin and Nine Patch blocks. We talked about sub-cutting strips and strip sets, and they got down to work.  They sewed together their Fence Rail blocks, then started in on their Nine Patch and Log Cabin blocks.

Their homework was to finish the Log Cabin block and Nine Patch blocks (4). Then they are to cut out their next block - a Postage Stamp Basket. Next week we're working on simple appliqué, and sewing some triangles. 

Of course the best part of all is that someone (usually me, but sometimes Trish) needs to hold Diane and keep her happy while her mom is sewing. It's a sacrifice I'm happy to make.

Beth's Fence Rail

Beth's Nine Patch

Debra's Nine Patch

Debra's Fence Rail

We are loosely following the Sampler Quilt tutorial in the the book Quilts! Quilts!! Quilts!!! by Diana McClun and Laura Nownes. This is the way Trish and I began back in 1993. Let's just say the quilting world has changed some since then, but basic techniques are mostly the same (thus loosely following). Our books are the first edition. I'm not sure how the second edition has been updated, but this is was a good general resource for us when we began.