I was so busy this week! Back to work after a lovely week off and we were thrown right back into the thick of things. We went to the Effie Yeaw Nature Center on Wednesday. It was a great field trip. The students had a great time. Here we have this beautiful nature preserve right in the middle of a busy, busy city! If you didn't know it was there, you would miss it completely. I know adults who have never been there and they have lived her for years. We saw hawks, squirrels, a snake and deer. The river is a very short walk and the animals don't run when they see humans because they are used to humans. The animals are left to themselves to fend for themselves. We saw a dead deer (I didn't tell the students it was Bambi like I would have if it had been my own kids--such a mean mom) in the river (the Sacramento River). When we asked our naturalist, Jackie, why it wasn't removed, she said they leave nature to do as nature does. Other animals will take care of it--such as the hawks eating it. YUCK! We took the blind students with us this time. They loved it. The snake we saw was named Eddie. Jackie held it--a king snake--and she showed the students how to touch it with the back of their fingers to avoid getting our oils on the snake. I declined to touch Eddie. Thursday was big day because I had my quilt guild meeting. From now on until April 2016, every fourth Thursday will be a biggie because I am president of the guild beginning in April. I really like being an Indian--not necessarily the chief. Today the students made a salad bar for the office staff. We had such an array of toppings--all food grown in California--California Specialty Crops. This was our second annual lunch. All student directed--the menu, selection of foods served, who is invited and prepared by the students. It is all from our grants. We have a fresh from box of food each month, taste testings of California Specialty Crops and Cooking in Chemistry. This afternoon I was taping pages from a copy of the Outsiders and I decided that I would actively search out a grant for a new set. Our books are falling apart from use, not abuse. Every seventh grade class reads this book. Then we watch the movie. The kids always like the movie. I am watching an episode of House Hunters International. Tonight they are in Trieste, Italy. I'm watching this cute couple drinking their glass of wine while relaxing at an outdoor cafe`. I think I will enjoy a glass of wine too and watch more episodes! There are a couple set in England and Germany. My favorite episodes are the ones in France--mostly Paris. I love the look of the neighborhoods--even though I may never see them in person. SO cheers to all.......

Home is where......

Home is where even the tea kettle sings from happiness. (Susan Branch) I was just reading Susan Branch's blog and was marveling at the snow....the cold....the beauty of winter. Here it is a balmy 65 degrees and not at all like winter. I really miss winter where you could snuggle up together and sip hot chocolate while it was ever so cold outside. It never snows here, but we get rain and fog--lots of fog. I am out of control here with buying up things from Valentine's Day at 50% off. I bought these buckets for holding the gifts for my circle of friends. I also bought buckets for gifts for my Thursday night group when we go to Auburn on a quilting retreat. It will be our 4th retreat. I bought five buckets because of course there are six of us who meet. I was feeling so pleased with myself on Sunday. So here it is Tuesday afternoon and I realize that this year Gina will be coming on the retreat too and that makes six--not five. Panic!!!! I ran over to the store to see if by a miracle there were still baskets and there were, only not as many as on Sunday. Apparently, I am not the only insane person. If my husband only knew. He doesn't appreciate the beauty of thinking ahead for this kind of thing. He has a point when he says I will forget I have it and then go buy more when I need it. I does happen. This time my gift is a pattern that is literally a square in a square making a 15-inch table topper. I am going to put in the fabric--3 fat quarters and them a few odds and ends to fill it it out. I have 4-inch pens and sticky notes. They come in so handy when you need to jot down a note and there is nothing to write on except your pattern. Speaking of patterns...I like to make copies of my patterns before I start a project so I can make notes and then add the really good ideas to my original pattern, discarding the bad ideas so no one ever knows I had them. This meant a trip to Office Depot. I tried Staples the other day, but they have the color machine on the fritz--out of order-- and won't say when it would be fixed. The copy girl told me it has been broken for a month. Come to find out the color copies are 5 cents cheaper at Office Depot. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk Staples. Shouldn't let me get happy somewhere else.... Have a great evening. A new Fixer Upper on HGTV at 9pm. Looking forward to it. Julie

I Know It Has Been a Really Long Time

Wow! I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted. During that time I have gone to two quilting retreats. In October I went to Lake Tahoe here in California. We went to this fabulous house that is totally set up for quilting. There are quilts hung everywhere and shelves of quilting books. There were eight of us and we quilted, ate and went on two field trips: one to this sweet little shop in South Lake Tahoe (the California part of Lake Tahoe) and to The Quilt House in Gardnerville, Nevada. I bought a bunch of fabric and we got a discount from the Quilt House because we were a group. It pays to share that kind of information. The first weekend in February I went with some friends to the Folsom Quilt Show here in Folsom, CA and the one disappointment was the Quilt House. They had a quilt displayed that was so cute and all the kits sold out. There wasn't even a prayer to go home and buy one online. All the fabrics were gone--Sarah's Collection by Red Rooster from some time back. I think they should have taken the quilt down. It only bred unhappiness--at least for me and my friend Irene. Why advertise a quilt we can't possibly make? Not even a pattern available. Other than that, the quilt show as fun and there were several quilts I liked and some really great venders. I always find something from Reets Rag to Stitches. The second quilting retreat was with a friend who was house sitting in Cool, CA. There is this exclusive gated community there and we (me, Jayma, Valerie and Natalie) spent four days just doing nothing else except quilting. There wasn't even a field trip--just the loveliness of Maryann's house while she was in Mexico. We all finished at least one project! Always good. I'm off to bed now. 4:45am is coming every soon. Have to get up to make breakfast and lunch for my husband. I do get to go back to bed this week because we are off for the President's holiday. hugs to all, Julie

Who does this?????

Me! That is the answer. This morning I had a donation to set out by 8am. My husband had the truck parked on the left side of the driveway and I was sure I had plenty of room from where I set the donation. At 8:30am I went out and got in the truck to take it to the dealership for a bit of work; then I ran over the donation box--not just once, but twice. Curious about what was i there???? China--plates, bowls, etc. Not a full set, but enough. Not any more. The funny thing is that the china came to me in the same box, not packed properly and a bunch of it was already crushed. I had already thrown that away. I saved 4 tea cups--three for my mismatched tea cup collection and one to give as a gift. I am going to plant a herb in the teacup. So, I had a stern talk with my friend Leah who gave me the china. It was her grandmother's and the family considered it to be junk. Well, now it is junk. It was really crushed! Thank God for my son who swept it all up for me. I have a list of things I must do before the end of the month: challenge quilt not more than 36 by 36-inches; house blocks I am doing online; quilting some community service quilts; prepping wool project--Rabbits Prefer Chocolate Wish me luck!!!!

Life Is Full of Connections

I have had two funny connections come up. I was shopping at Sprouts, a fresh market with the best produce. As I was walking back to my car, I passed a man with a dog who was just sitting outside the store. He wasn't dressed badly, but by just sitting there I wondered in my head if he was homeless. I was shocked when, as I passed by him, I heard "Hey, Mrs. Sackett. How are you?" It was the man and the dog. He had gone to Will Rogers Middle School where I have worked for 19 years. He is 26 years old, so it has been a while since he was there. I have no clue what his name is. I usually just ask if they remember me fondly or was I really mean. Always it is fondly. While I am nice to the kids at the school, as a 12 year old sometimes it doesn't seem so, but no one has said, "you were so mean I ran home every day to cry." I have no idea if he is homeless or just resting while walking his dog...... The next connection was so not something I saw coming. I read some really good books this past week and emailed my sister to share them with her. She calls me almost immediately--obviously on her email!!! The books included Like Dandelion Dust by Karen Kingsbury. It was so compelling, I was sure my sister would like it as I did. So she calls me to say that she knows Karen Kingsbury! Karen worked with my brother-in-law. I know now that she used his name as a character in one of her books. Don't know which one, but when I like one book, I usually like them all. My sister trades Christmas cards with Karen Kingsbury. WOW! I'm going now to google her books.

Embroidery

Yesterday I was at my friends house for 6 hours just working on one piece of embroidery. There is this quilt--Berry Picking Party--that three of us are working on. One of our group is on an around-Asia sailing trip and won't be back until April 2015. From past experience, she could have all the pieces embroidered and finished, ready to make into the quilt, by time she gets back from her trip. That is motivation for me to get as much done as possible. You can check out the quilt pattern on the Crabapple Hill Studio website. Wish me luck!

Ideas

I have so many ideas! I am hosting my 2nd Saturday group on the 12th. I wanted to surprise everyone with a field trip, but I can't think of a way to do it that I can drive everyone. I have 5 seat belts, but no air conditioning. That will not do at this time. I did hear about an exhibit of quilts at the Crocker Art Museum and that might be what we can do. It stops up from sitting all day and it stops us from eating all day. My plan is to have scones with jam and strawberries for breakfast, chicken salad on croissant for lunch. I will have mints and nuts out for snaking. Speaking of planning food, we are invited to an "over 50" party on July 5th. Funny because the person hosting the party is only 47! It really means no grandchildren ranging in age from 27 to 2 years. I was assigned to bring an appetizer. I have tried a few things including these toasts with a spread of ricotta cheese, pineapple, honey and orange zest. Nothing has worked out to my satisfaction so I am going to make my standby zucchini pie and possibly bring some hummus. Sewing project for this week: I made three purses for my sister and her two daughters. They're birthday presents and come with Euros for their trip to Europe. IN the girls purses I put journals, a pen and fruity tic-tacs. In my sister's purse I put a small notebook, pen and Altoids. Mints are the go to present for anyone leaving for a trip. There are unique features with these purses--they are worn over the shoulder and can be right in front of them as well as having thin wire in the strap to further prevent theft. I hear that you don't necessarily get pick-pocketed any more--the thieves just cut the strap and run off with your purse. So sad that we expect some of that in Europe. I sent the package off today. It should arrive by Tuesday. We are trusting the United States Postal Service. Speaking of the USPS, we finally have our own postman. He is a nice Indian guy (as in India not native American). I have given him bottles of water and my neighbor, Diane, has plied him with drinks too. It is really hot out there. For years we had great mail service, but then one day our postman (an old man actually) decided to retire. It has been years of horribleness every since. Apparently we live at the top of a hill. I actually asked them to tell where the "hill" was as I looked at the street. There is a slight rise and I mean really barely a rise. Once we got this one postman, Herb. He was great. He ran his route and our mail service was spectacular. Then some idiot let their dog run free and Herb was bit. Once you get bit, you never have to go back. Goodbye Herb. Since then our little space has been labeled an auxilary route. This meant we got whoever decided to pick up our route day by day. Mail came at really odd hours, sometimes not until 6pm. It was very annoying. This is why I always send our mail from work. I still use snail-mail and I expect something for my tax dollars. I am saying a prayer this guy works out. Have a lovely Sunday!

Auburn Retreat

I have been gone since 2pm Thursday at a quilting retreat in Auburn at the Sisters of Mercy Retreat Center. It is a very lovely and peaceful place with deer gracefully prancing around the gardens, waterfalls, private benches to relax on and really beautiful landscaped grounds. The food is fabulous. I finished a small baby sized quilt, the inside of my daughter's wedding ring quilt and a adorable little bag in pink. I started a twister and then made a wrong cut, but darned if I know how I did it. I have it tucked away until I find the time to really just look at it. I am thinking that I might just keep on cutting the 1.5-inch squares and see where it takes me. One of the items I really need to purchase is a tiny rotary cutter. It was very helpful to have it--as in borrowed from my friend, Val. The blade is about 1/2-inch which makes cutting the tiny pieces easier. Val has two of the squares and is thinking of giving the second one when she finds it. Her sewing stuff is everywhere and it could be a while I am thinking. Val makes the most beautiful quilts and makes them in all kinds of fabric colors. She has an eye for putting colors together. There is naught better than getting up in the morning and being able to quilt until breakfast, a breakfast that is made for you. All you have to do is go eat it. Then being able to quilt for the rest of the day, stopping only for lunch and dinner, which is done for you. The day only ends when you are ready for sleep--which for me is about 11:30pm-midnight. On Saturday we were serenaded by a singing retreat group. They sang a song in German which were the last words of a German pastor and dissident, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, during World War 2. I am so proud that I could pick out words and know the meaning after so many years of not speaking German. I started learning it in the 7th grade and then through high school and a few years during college. Since no one here speaks German, it went by the wayside. The voices of the singers were fantastic and I wish I could sing like that, but I am NOT a singer. Today was back to the real world. It is the darling daughter's 27th birthday. WOW! Am I really old now! We went out to breakfast and then I ran her around doing errands (hers). I took her to a concert a week ago to celebrate. She spent the rest of the day with friends and is out now with her friend, Anna. It is Bachelorette night here. My secret vice! So I'll say goodnight.

I am a crazy woman

I just can't resist telling this story. On Tuesday I was doing the dishes and I saw two women walking by my house. They had these purses that were just like what I am making for my sister and my nieces. I ran out of the house in my shorts, old tee-shirt, barefoot and my hair sticking out because I hadn't brushed it yet and got them to stop. The women looked really confused until I said, "My sister is going to Europe and I am making a purse for her. Yours look exactly like what I have in mind. Can I look at yours?" Turns out the sister of one of the women made the purses for them and they were both quilters. They didn't think I was strange at all. We had a lovely chat out on the sidewalk. I almost have the purses done. I only have to figure out a strap that I can feed some flexible wire through. I might have them done today.

One down.....so many to go!

I have the four kits put together. Whoo, one item off my list. I have a gift for each, the hostess gift and even a gift for the husband. Poor guy, he broke his leg and it was severe enough that he was sent to a nursing facility to heal and as I understand it, he cannot go home until he can stand on his leg. So, I got him a toy. All men need toys. All I need to do now for Saturday is to make my macaroni salad. Since I can't do that until tomorrow at the earliest, I am going to clean my bedroom. That should take me the rest of the day!

The Daughter is NOT moving home???

This happens to the Daughter every year it seems. She has a roommate and all is going well and then they decide to move back home. What is it with this moving back home thing??? The Daughter does not want to move back home. Her mother has taken over her room and the Daughter's things would not fit. The brother and the father who annoy her when she lives with them are still at home. She keeps me up-to-date on the roommate search. So say a prayer for her (I mean me!!!) that she finds someone suitable and doesn't have to give notice. She loves her apartment.

Good morning. It is 6:30am here and I am about to start my day. The plan is to make kits for my circle of friends. Five of us meet once a month and just sit ans sew together. We usually bring hand sewing, mostly wool projects. I think I will work on my Rabbits Prefer Chocolate squares. I also want to make a cute little mug mat for each of them--that means four, but I am thinking it won't take but an hour or so to do that. When I am finished, I want to start on my purses for my sister and nieces. That is a project that must be done by the 18th to be mailed. I will put money, small notepad and mints in my sister's purse and money, mints and a small journal in each of the girl's purses. As I contemplate my day (while my coffee is brewing), it occurs to me that I bought something to put that kit into for each of my friends and I have zero idea of where those darn things are. So now I am adding "find the bags" to my list. It grows as the minutes pass by! How does that happen? My husband just left for work and he came in a few minutes ago and asked where all his time went. Life will be better here today. It was 106*, then 103* and today an ocean breeze from the San Francisco Bay. We are so far away that the breeze cools so much before it reaches the Sacramento Valley. So, my son is providing my breakfast and I am going in to get my first cup of coffee to get started on my day. I wish us all a productive morning. Julie

Hello blogger friends out there! I have a computer to use now. After doing all I could to get my lap top working and failing, my son has come to my rescue. I now have his computer--a really nice fancy set up. My son likes his video games and this computer wasn't compatible with his ever increasing collection of video games. Nothing I do on the computer will stress this up. My keyboard is new because my son preferred his old one. It all looks so new. Hurrah. I have made at least three baby quilts in the past few months. I have eleven small quilts for community service ready to be quilted. Those are bothering me and I am going to quilt them myself instead of waiting for my aunt to use her long arm quilting machine. I am sorting through the unfinished projects I have. I keep finding new quilts to make. Still collecting patterns. Working steadily on the Berry picking quilt. I have twelve squares to embroider and I have one done. Hmmm, doesn't sound like I am working....but really I am. I cart my box around with me every where and I embroider where and when I find the time. I am spending time fixing up my sewing space--a place I haven't sewn one thing! I am still in the kitchen sewing. School is out for the summer. I want to get at least one project done each week until I am back at school for the new year. I figure that the three purses I am doing this weekend will count as three. My sister and her family are going to Europe this summer for two weeks. I am making over the shoulder bags for my sister and my two nieces. I have three different kinds of fabric that are scenes of Paris in three different colors--a light blue, a creme/tan and a red. They will fly to Amsterdam and go see family. My brother-in-law is Dutch and family still lives there about 100 miles from Amsterdam. Then they are going to Paris fora few days. My sister loves France. I give her French gifts every year because she was born on Bastille Day--the day the French peasants stormed the Bastille and Marie Antoinette was supposed to have said "Let them eat cake" when she was told the people were without even bread to eat. My sister has been to France before--she went for a D-Day anniversary once. After Paris they will go to London, spending a few days and then fly home to Los Angeles. Off to get some coffee. I will chat with you soon.

Hello. It has been a while. Probably only writing for me now. I have been spending my time cleaning out my daughter's room so I could get in there. Doesn't that sound so bad! I got it cleaned out completely on December 31, 2013. My sister was coming on New Year's Day and I had a deadline. When I was done I was truly embarrassed. I have two stacks of art boxes (13.5x13") floor to ceiling of UFO's. Most I admit are things I started on a whim or maybe they are wool projects--but whatever, there are at least two projects that I have all the patterns and fabric (wools) and haven't touched at all! As I write that I think there are more.....So, 2014 is the year of Unfinished Projects. I am going to finish all those block-of-the-month projects. I haven't yet begun any of that! I have loved hiding in the room away from my husband and his loud (but mostly nice) friends. I have read a few books. Right now I am reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. I have cleaned a lot and have really tried to keep it up. That alone takes away from quilting time. That cleaning thing might not last very long! News: My son did well on his grades from CSUSacramento. It was his first semester so he is proud. My friend's daughter is coming down from Seattle. Her husband is going to Afghanistan in March. This might be the only time to see them--or at least him.....until he comes back from the middle east. Sew, sew, sew! Quilt, quilt, quilt! Until next time, Julia

Chirstmas letters

Hah! It is September and I am already leaning toward Christmas??? Not today, but soon. Today we were reading an article about how Facebook makes us sadder. People read all those darn facebook posts and begin to think that their lives aren't as good as their friends, family, ex's, friends who used to be friends, etc. We read about all those wonderful moments in other's lives and we start to think that our lives are somehow less. Maybe we don't go on vacation as much, or our children aren't doing marvelous things, no grandchildren, no weddings, no anniversaries, no parties, etc. As we are reading this, I began remembering that Everyone Loves Raymond show where the mom gets a Christmas letter from her sister Theresa. It is one of my favorite episodes. The mom writes her own Christmas letter and Debra, the wife, feels slighted. When Debra reads the letter from Theresa, she knows exactly the problem--"Oh, she's a bitch," Debra says and sits down to write a better letter that makes everyone look rosy. I totally understand this feeling. When we post on Facebook, write that yearly Christmas letter, or whatever, we put our best foot forward. We use only the photos that put us in a favorable light, tell the exciting parts of our lives. No one writes that they ran over their cat and is drinking a fifth of vodka each day. Sometimes it does look as if everyone else is having it easy while you struggle. I am sure we can all relate! Hope you day is one of those that you can post on Facebook.....

I bought too much

Yesterday I was with my "Thursday" group and I was going to fill the bobbins with embroidery thread. That was the plan for the entire evening (2+ hours). I had 32 skeins of thread and 28+ bobbins. So, there I am comparing the numbers of the threads to my master list and I find I have them all except for one! I bought 31 bits of thread I already had! Why do I do this????? I cannot even say how many times I have bought a second pattern or book. Each time I think how much I must have really loved the pattern(s) if I choose it twice. Now when I see a book or pattern, I write it down and check at home and then go back and purchase. I ended up finishing a piece of embroidery that I have been sorking on--on and off--for a while. Soon I will add the embellishments and make the pillow. Hopefully I will be able to add the picture to my site.

The Flying Geese Project

Just when you start getting compliments on your work; just when you begin to think you are pretty darn good at something; are you ready for what I screwed up???? Seriously, I am getting compliments. I am pretty darn good at this, but I still make mistakes. I am not Mary Poppins...although that could be fun. I made 120 flying geese for a Thimbleberries group project. If you made the required number of flying geese, Pam gave us two pieces of Thimbleberries fabric from the shop. We picked our own colors. It was fun. When I began putting it all together, I found that my color choices weren't what I had in mind now. SO, I put the fabric I received free aside and got something from my stash to use as "sashing". Now it is not the usual rectangle. The rectangle is sideways. And, most important, it is too big on one side--like 2 inches. I am going to have to figure this out. I'm sure it naver happens to others--only to me. (SIGH). Unfortunately, I know where I went wrong. It is my own fault, but I am sure I can fix it so no one will know. It will be our little secret.......

Over the weekend

This weekend I devoted my time to getting stuff done! I amde my block for the Saturday Square class at Quilter's Corner on the 31st. I made the block of the month for my guild project and caught up the blocks I had fallen behind on. Then, I opened a box that I knew had fabric in it. What was really in there I wondered. I found a quilt I started 10 years ago--maybe longer. I had received a quilt calendar--one of those that has a quilt pattern for every day of the month--all year long. I can't even imagine what I was thinking, but I began making the quilt blocks for each day in January. Then I stopped and there it has sat since I put it away. Some of it was put together. I obviously began making four patches. There was no picture, no calendar (I'm sure I threw it away years ago), no idea of what I was thinking ten years ago. So, I just began putting squares together. I have a 64x68" quilt top. I used pinks, grays, blues, turquoise, whites, purples and lavenders. It is interesting to say the least. What I am most impresed with is that the entire thing fit in a shoe box! I can't even think that I have made one thing that didn't require at least a 12x12 box and possibly a second one also. I think I have decided to give my guild quilt to my nephew in Iowa. He has only one quilt--a baby quilt that he probably doesn't own any longer knowing my brother and his penchant for getting rid of things. This could be a way of getting to know him better. This quilt has fabric with fish and lots of color. I have 12 squares with orange friendship stars. Still thinking.....

"You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." Quote by Jim Rohn This was a quote used in the 8th grade English classroom I work in. The students wrote about how they were similar to the five people they chose. I decided that I am not necessarily the average. I decided that my friends and I compliment each other. It was just such an interesting thought. I apent my lunch with a student catching up on an assignment. He is such a funny kid. He told me he was humorous. It's true!!

Projects that I have worked on: Yellow and Blue quilt complete top with borders (Bolero postcard) Thimbleberries Flying Geese (size wrong; stopped to reconsider) High Hand (ran out of fabric in cream--Opps!) Opps, there is the bell. Got to run.