My Sister-In-Law

I have what might be an unusual situation.  I have never met my sister-in-law.  Actually, I have three sisters-in-law and I have met and know well two of them, but not one.  Laura lives in Iowa.  That right there is a barrier to getting to know her.  I have never been to Iowa and see no getting there in the future.  She is my brother's third wife.  Wife number one was a disaster and he divorced her.  Wife number two (who I really liked and would have been friends with had she lived) died and left my brother a divorced man with child from wife number one and a widower.  When he married Laura, they married on the same day as another family member married.  We had already accepted the first wedding invite and my brother married in Utah, also a place to far to go.  I did send a present and a note with explanation.  Also, my brother does not like me too much.  

Right after they married, my sister began calling Laura.  One day my sister called to tell me that Laura told her she would call the next time and then hadn't heard from her again.  That was literally the last I heard for a couple of years.  Since my sister never said otherwise, I assumed that Laura never called back.  Well, she did and they have been chatty for years.  Now, my sister has a relationship with Laura, but I do not.

Tonight, my sister tells me that Laura has mention an interest in quilting.  That was the good news.  I also understand that her dad, has cancer in his pancreas.  Not good.  In fact, my aunt found out she had that cancer and died five weeks later.  I pray that there have been advances since my aunt died twenty some years ago.  While I am keeping him in prayer, I did write a note to Laura and I am sending her my favorite quilt book, Miss Rosie's quilt collection.  It has one of my favorite quilts, Tag Sale, inside.  I hope she likes it.  I hope she likes quilting.

opps.  Didn't realize it was so long since my last post.  I have been busy working ont he Christmas Joy quilt, starting a Jo Morton pattern.  I don't have a picture of that one yet, but it is a kind of churn dash pattern.  While I was up in Auburn at the Mercy Retreat Center (see post in July), Natalie, one of my guild friends who was there too, had some leftover fabric.  She challenged one of us to do soemthing with it.  Well, it has been two months and I know she was expecting something sooner, like July.....I have slowly made my little squares and will be putting them togethere so I can show it at my next guild meeting in September.

I have joined the Starbucks 12 star dash.  I have to get 12 stars in 11 days and I get a Starbucks card.  My plan is to stop every day and get a tea, read for a while and then go home.  Since I go up and join Leah for coffee/tea a couple times a week, this shouldn't be so difficult.  I love my gold card.

Tomorrrow I am taking the day off to go hang out with my friend, Shirley.  We are going to commiserate over not being at Pismo Beach.  I have to go back and see if I blogged about that.  Funny story....

I am still working steadily on the Christmas Joy quilt.  I also got caught up on my block-of-the-month that I need for tomorrow morning.  I have choices whether to go at 7:30am or wait and go later.  After an inner debate, I decided I would stay with my usual time.  When I am done with the "class" and purchasing, I can zoom on over to the Denny's where my in-laws will be going for breakfast.  "Our" waitress is Katherine.  She is a family friend and always treats us the best.  Where else can you go and know that a cup of coffee will appear as you sit down?  No one asks because you always have coffee--if you are me that is.  Then at noon my husband and I are headed over to see our friends, Lisa and Noel, to eat  and play cards.   Round that off with an evening at home and I am sure it will be a wonderful day. 

I am really dragging this week.  Can hardly keep my eyes open, bored with having too little to do....All my little tricks are not working--stretching, walking around, popping mints.  Maybe I am getting too much sleep.

Have a lovely day...I will get back to my project.  I am looking at quilting blogs to see what is out there.  There are catagories--recipes, tutorials, pictures.  I am putting together profiles for my guild meeting in September for the Member Demonstration night.  About half of the guild seems interested.  We shall see.
If you have a favorite and would like me to give it a look (I already included Quilting for Hearth and Home by Elizabeth), send a comment.

Back to work

I am back to the daily grind.  Students, schedules, and a lot of fuss.  My husband came home and he is full of stories about how he hates bacon.   I can't even imagine hating bacon.

I have been busy.  On Saturday I took my daughter over to the farmer's market.  We bought peaches, tomatoes, mushrooms, corn and grapes.  We bought all the ingredients for salsa and then Amanda went home and made it.  I picked it up on Sunday.  We are having mexican food for dinner tonight.

I am so sad.  I had to tell my friends that I couldn't go to Pismo beach for the week.  I really wanted to go, but I literally do not have the money.  Four of them will be there having this great time and I will be here.  I should take a day off and go to Shirley's house to sew while they are gone so we feel like we got to do somthing.....Maybe Tuesday......

I have been spending all my time on my Christmas Joy Quilt.  (see blog post for Wednesday, July 25th)  I have to get the borders embroidered and then it will be ready for quilting.

Have a great evening......                                      

Frantic cleaning

Good thing for me that my husband doesn't read this blog.  He is in Montana--or could be on his way home somewhere in Idaho.  This prompted a quick cleaning on my part.  I don't know if I mentioned this or not--I have never been a fan of laundry.  I have been dumping the clean laundry on an extra bed and I was busy folding and folding--okay, I spent an hour watching Person of Interest and folding.  Then my son wanted to play Life with me.  I am so easily distracted.  BECAUSE I HATE LAUNDRY!!!  I have one night to get it all together. Wish me luck.

projects

It is still hot here--109*.  I broke down and turned on my air conditioner.  Every day, my friend, Leah, calls me and asks if I turned it on,  She turned hers on when it was only 85 degrees out there.  Day after day of 100+ degree weather really runs a person down.

I am working on a project for a group of friends.  As I complete the sample, I an figuring out how much of each item I need.  I can show mine off when it is completely done.  I have to have it to at least one of them by next Wednesday.

I am also going to be cutting fabric tonight for the block-of-the-month.  We are going to do a pattern called midnight garden.  In this heat it is the only time to be out gardening.  Last night Anna from next door called and asked if we still had some wasp spray.  She was doing some clean up in her back yard and bumped against this garden shelf attached to her shed and a swarm of wasps came pouting out.  Anna was stung twice by the swarm.  Probably lucky it wasn't more.  Really lucky she isn't allergic because no one would have know she was in the back yard alone.

Last night my son went over to the other side neighbors to play risk.  I am happy to report that the only girl playing won the game.  At one point, my son came back and reported that Trevor was moving to Texas in the morning,  Trevor is 18 years old and his father lives in Texas.  He found some job there for $4.00 more than he is making at Best Buy, so off he will be flying, until he has some issue with the dad and he comes flying back.  It is a pattern with them.

I am going to eat my breakfast now--quiche made by my very own daughter--spinach and mushroom.  Yum!  Have a great day--even if it is really hot......

I just thought of this story

I was just visiting Elizabeth S. at Quilting for Hearth and Home.  She had made a curtain for her bathroom, noting the need for privacy.  It reminded me of my dad.  Sometimes, when my parents and I were out like at the Fresno zoo, I would notice my dad was missing.  My mom would wave her hand and say he was just around the corner.  I didn't think anything of it and never said anything to him.  So, time passes and we go to my sister's college graduation.  I stayed with my sister at her apartment while my parents stayed in a hotel.  It was the morning after and my parents had shown up for brunch.  I went to brush my teeth in my sister's bathroom and as I was brushing I looked out the window.  I caught my dad smoking cigarettes.  He thought he was safely hiding from us.  Mary, my sister, didn't have a curtain on her bathroom window.  The thing is that my parents always made a huge deal about how my dad quit smoking years before when I was a baby, twenty-four years ago.  All those times he "disappeared" from view, he was sneaking a smoke! I grabbed my sister and dragged her into her bathroom so she could see!!!  We never said anything to my dad.  His secret was safe with us.  I guess Mary could have used a curtain on her window......



















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