Don't Worry, Be Happy

A few year ago I received a book written by Billy Graham titled Hope for Each Day. As I was reading through it I came upon a section on worry. Graham quoted Vance Havner, “Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair. It will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.” I admit I have been worrying more than usual. I’ve been worrying about the state of our State, Nation, and the world. I worry about our young people and the effect of the dumbing down of American children in the public school system. I worry about the governments attempt to silent the conservatives with their not so “FAIR” Fairness Doctrine. It really causes me to worry when our Legislatures sign bills into law without even reading them and our government prints money they can't back. It has gotten so disturbing that I have stopped listening to the news or reading the paper. I’m especially saddened about the lawlessness in our nation and it looks like it is getting worse. I sometimes want to crawl under the covers and never come out. Graham quoted Exodus 33:22, Gods promise to Moses. “I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand”. That is God’s promise to us. Christ is our Rock, and we are secure in His hands forever. Things may be falling down around us but, our hearts should be at rest. So I will stop the worry and put my faith in Christ. I will continue to pray, asking the Lord to grant our leaders wisdom.

I have another quilt added to my list that I want to make. I think quilting keeps my mind on more positive things. I want to pull out some coordinating fabrics and make up some community for our guild to donate. That will be a great opportunity to practice my quilting. I think I'll start now.

Have a blessed day.

A tale of too much heat.

Yesterday it was 110 degrees and I had to stop by Target after church to pick up a few things, like root beer and ice cream and my car wouldn't start. It had to be 250 degrees in my car and just knew I would get home with root beer and a half gallon milk shake. Within five minutes my car started and I made it home before the ice cream melted but I felt sick. I've never had heat stroke but I think that's what I experienced yesterday. All I wanted to do was lay down and drink ice water. Today it's only 105 and since I worked I was blessed with air conditioning and since I park in a covered lot my car wasn't heated up. When I got home I spent some time piecing a quilt I'm making for my brother's 60th birthday in November. It feels good not to be rushed when I'm working on a quilting project.

I've been practicing my free motion quilting too. I can see a lot of improvement. I am looking forward to having some time to focus on that skill. Meanwhile here are some pictures of the quilt I made for a friend's first grand baby. I struggled with how to quilt it and I'm happy with the way it turned out. I wish the pictures showed more detail.

It's a panel with pieced blocks down one side and across the bottom.

This is a picture of the entire quilt. I quilted a butterfly pattern in the triangles at the bottom to mimic the butterfly's in the quilt and flowers and leaves in the squares and panels. Sorry about this picture. I'm not sure if I should blame the camara or my computer.

I have so many quilts I want to do and so little time. When I'm done with my brothers I will finish my Patch Work Party quilt. I could probably finish that in a few days.

It's still warm out so I'm going to cool of in the pool and hit the sack. I'm sure tomorrow holds many surprises and blessings.

Gods peace to you.

Happy Father's Day

It's that day of the year when we honor our Dads and recognize them for all they do. I think we should make everyday Father's day. Being a Dad isn't an easy job but hopefully it will be the most rewarding. My Dad passed away 35 years ago. So much has happened and changed during that time. As I reflect on my Dad and who he was and what he stood for I think he would be very dissapointed at what has happened to our country and our government. My Dad was a man of integeraty and honesty. He was a fair and caring man that respected people for who they were. My Dad was a very hard working individual who believed you should work for what you want. He always told me I would appreciate the things I have because I worked for them and he was right. I don't know what he would think if he was here today and saw our welfare system and what it's done to our state. I say state because California has welfare programs that are so lukerative people move here from other states. 35 years ago we didn't need police in the schools. Okay, enough of the negative. My husband never got to meet my Dad and my Dad wasn't able to see his beautiful granddaughter grow up with children of her own. So if your blessed and have your Dad around enjoy this time and be thankful for the opportunity.

Today was a special Sunday for me because my nephew's girl friend came to church with me. I've been sharing my faith with her and praying for this for two years. She brought Baby Joey and he played in the nursery. He had a good time and was a very good little boy. She said she enjoyed it and wanted to go next week too. Praise God!

So I finished the baby quilt and I'll post a picture at the end of the week. I'm designing a special quilt label. I'm pleased with the improvement in my quilting. I used my Mom's Pfaff because I couldn't get the bobbin tension right on my Viking. My next project is to finish my brothers 60th birthday quilt.

God's peace be with you until next time.

TGIF I THINK

I don’t know about you but for me, one little thing can go wrong in the morning and turn my entire day upside down. Today was one of those days.
I got up early this morning so I would have time to stop and gas up my car. I’m on the road at 6:30 and the traffic is light, which is a good thing because the developmentally delayed seem to populate the roads at that time in the morning. These people creep along 10 – 15 miles under the speed limit, and wait until they are actually making the turn to use their turn signals. My favorite are the ones that wait until you are almost at the intersection and then they pull out right in front of you and creep along. You check your rear view mirror thinking there must be a line of cars behind you and this is their only window of opportunity, but no, there are no cars behind you, so I figure they must be visually impaired. Tonya, you know what I'm talking about.

I’m following a school bus and I’m staying a safe distance behind. As we approach the intersection the bus enters and the light turns yellow so I stop. Before the bus is out of the intersection the light is red. Almost immediately the light is green again and I take off and while I’m still in the intersection the light turns yellow and then red. My first thought is okay Lord, is this a test? So on to the next intersection. This one is a photo enforced intersections where your picture is taken if you run the red light. Okay, so I’m behind the bus again, the light turns green, we go, and then the light turns yellow then red and I’m still in the dang intersection. This is at West Lane and Hammer, which is a huge intersection, like five or six lanes. I can’t punch it because the bus is in front of me and I don’t want a ticket. What’s up with this? Is this a scam the city has devised to increase revenue’s to balance their budget? The irony here is that I’m very aware of these intersection with the cameras and I always approach with caution. So, while I’m filling up my gas tank, I’m steaming, getting angry and upset trying to figure how I’m going to handle this, it just isn’t fair. As I’m driving to work I hit a couple of the numerous potholes in the road, not good for the car. Stockton has the worst roads. Maybe the city wants additional income from traffic fines to fix the roads.

By the time I get to work I’m really upset. I sit at my desk and in front of me is a tile with Psalm 18:2 on it. The Lord is my strength, in whom I will trust. So I ask him how I should handle this, I can’t just ignore it. I call Stockton’s traffic signal maintenance division and to my surprise a lady answers the phone. I thought I would get a recording because it’s not even 7:30. I explained my situation and she said she would transfer me to the electrical shop. Ed answered the phone and I told him my story. I’m not sure why but he was laughing. He explained that the lights are on timers which operate according to the traffic usage. I explained to him that that should not be the case on the intersections that are photo enforced and the time between yellow and red should be enough time for a car to get through the intersection. He is still chuckling and I asked him if these calls are recorded. He said no and asked if I was going to curse him out, then I started laughing. No, I explained, that wasn’t my style I just didn’t want to receive a ticket for something that was out of my control. He laughed again and said he would call the traffic engineers. So it’s a wait and see. Now I ask you, who should have to start their day like that?
The day continued with computer problems and more regulations from the state that make my work very unpleasant. So it’s Friday and tomorrow is Saturday I don’t have to drive in traffic. After church on Sunday I can work on my quilting project and play with my dogs. Thank God it’s Friday.
Have a blessed weekend.

Marvelous Monday

Of course it’s marvelous, it’s my day off. I had a great weekend. My sister-in-law arrived from Oregon Thursday night. We have Chinese food for dinner and sat around talking until way after my bedtime.

Friday after breakfast I took her to our local quilt store to check it out and meet the ladies who work there. They are the greatest. Debbie, the owner, was there and she and Mary hit it off. They were wheeling and dealing and I was catching up with the ladies and checking out all the eye candy. I love fabric and Debbie has plenty. I think we were there over three hours. Then it was home, dinner, and more chatting. I gave her a trunk show of all the quilt tops I’ve made and need to quilt.

Saturday we headed back to Quilter’s Quarters and Mary and Debbie did more wheeling and dealing. When we left there it was off to Gottschalks for their liquidation sale. The store is closing up and I sure hate to see it go. We don’t have many good stores in town and I was usually able to find cloths that were suitable for work there. Mary picked up a metal display rack that will be perfect for hanging quilt patterns and stacking fat quarters at her quilt shop. Then it was home to get ready for the big wedding in Modesto. It was our great-nephew’s wedding and we had a great time. The evening was fabulous and from my point of view it was the perfect wedding.

Sunday I went to church, everybody else was off doing their thing. It was a slow paced day that ended in a barbeque and a movie. Mary left this morning and it was back to reality. I accomplished a lot today. The laundry is done and I vacuumed. I spent time outside trimming my rose bushes and the hedges in the front of the house. The weather was wonderful and I sat on the side of the pool with my feet in the water thinking about how great it will be when I’m retired and I’ll have more time to enjoy all the blessing I have.

I have a quilt I need to get finished so until next time have a blessed life.