Life Goes On

After a very sad week we are trying to stay busy and keep our minds occupied so we aren't focusing on the loss of our dearest little Herkie. His little buddy, Missy, seems to be looking for him. Maybe we are just reading something into her behavior that isn't really there. We sure miss him terribly.

Check out my newest challenge. This quilt is called Ladies of the Sea and was designed by Susan H. Garman. I have been admiring this for a few months but thought it was to complicated to tackle. I'm just getting into the applique technique. I love the ocean and anything nautical so after admiring from a far I decided to go for it. It's a 12 month block of the month series so I will take it one block at a time and I figure with each block I can only improve. The best part about taking on this project is knowing some very talented and accomplished appliquers that will be willing to help if needed.

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the wedding of Ashley and Elivs. Isn't she a beautiful bride? She is from England and her family couldn't attend the wedding so one of the guys from church hooked up a laptop with a video camera and connected her family to the church, by video, so they could be a part of this special day. How cool is that? The handsome pastor is Pastor Dan. That was his first video wedding.

It's a very warm day today and the wind has finally calmed down. It's the kind of day you want to stay inside and work on a quilt or read a book, and anything else that doesn't involve being outside in the heat.

Wishing you God's peace.

Good Bye Sweet Herkie

Our best friends eyes closed last night

as his head rest in our hands.

The doctors said he was in pain

and he could no longer stand.

The thoughts that rambled through our heads

while we cradled him in our arms,

Were of his younger years

and all the joys we shared.

Our bed is empty now

where he once laid his head,

Between the two people who loved him

and cherished the time we shared.

They say memories are golden

and maybe it's true.

But we never wanted memories

We only wanted you.

Throughout the day we think of you

and throughout the day we cry

If love alone could have saved you

You never would have died.

In life we loved you dearly

In death we love you still.

In our hearts you hold a place

No one could ever fill.

Good bye Sweet Herkie.

Thank you Lord for the gift of his companionship and the time we shared together.

Computer Heart Break

Greetings from a very frustrated computer user. My computer finally died yesterday. All my attempts to revive it failed. I knew this was coming because I've had to use the system disk twice to get it up and running. After three hours yesterday I just gave up. My next step was to decide if I was going to use my laptop or buy a new desktop. I have been wanting to change over to a Mac because of all the problems and security issues with Microsoft but that would require going out of town and a bigger financial burden. I will be in Oregon in July and I was going to shop there, no sales tax. I opted for the laptop. I took the old out and hooked up the laptop and what a nightmare. This is an old laptop and so slow you could bake bread while waiting to get a response from it. By 6:30 I was ready to pull my hair out. I went online and researched systems and prices. I went through the Sunday papers and found a sale at Office Depot. They have the HP Pavilion Slimline Desktop on sale for $529.99. QVC had the same system for a lot more plus shipping. So I decided to take the plunge. Today I'm dealing with set-up. The computer comes with no manuals. I'm searching the system for manuals and what I need I can't find. I can't get my Microsoft Office to load. Half of my software won't run with Windows 7 and some of my software is no where to be found. My HP Officejet 7210 All In One, a purchase I made a few years back doesn't work with Windows 7. I love this All In One. There is an upside to all this, my files are backed up. So I will proceed until I can proceed no more.

I wish I was quilting. Have a blessed day.

Wishing you and yours a safe a memorable Memorial Day. My DH and I are nursing a very sick dog and we haven't had a good nights sleep for three nights. The upside to that is the down time we have to reflect on what Memorial Day means to us. DH was in the Navy during the Vietnam War and we have a son in the active Army Reserves who served 18 months in Iraq.

I haven't posted for over a month. There has been so much going on and I feel like I'm going non stop. My computer has tried to flat line on me twice. I had to use the system disk to boot up and I think I'm getting an outside sources trying to invade my system because I restore my system to a latter date and it works fine again. What's up with that? So now I don't shut down the computer, I just let it sleep. I'm trying to keep this computer alive until July and then I can purchase a new one, which I hate doing because I like Windows XP and I've been using this computer since 95. You would think a computer would last longer when you consider what you pay for them. Oh well, life happens. I'm thinking about buying an Apple computer.

On the quilting front, I'm ready to quilt my Sister's Choice and I only have two rows, and the inner and outer borders on my 19th Century Red quilt and it will be ready for quilting. I'm not sure what I want for the blocks but I differently want some full and fancy feathers in the borders. Film at 11:00! I pre-ordered the EQ7 upgrade and I signed up for a block of the month. There are more quilting surprises on the horizon.

On the home front, the main bathroom is done and it's beautiful. I still have to make the window treatment and hang it but after that, mission accomplished. Now it's off to the dining room.

Praying for peace and joy throughout the world.
Sandi

Never enough time.

Greetings. I was listening to a speaker saying that the only thing that can be stolen and never replaced is time. I have been giving that a lot of thought. Who or what has been steeling my time? My first thoughts are the television, newspaper, telephone, computer, husband, mother, family in general, and poor planning. It seems like I have been work all week to strip wall paper and paint a bathroom. Í started Monday and it's still not done and I find that very upsetting. Part of the problem is depending on somebody else to do their part. I was scheduled to start the painting at 7:00 a.m. today and I'm updating my blog and catching up on emails because the old flooring wasn't removed and that needs to be done before the painting. That flooring was to be out Thursday and no later than Friday. Oh well. Dare I hope for this project will be completed by May 1? I have so many projects around this house that need completing and I can't afford to have my time stolen.

A great use of my time is attending a quilt guild meeting. Thursday night the Pioneer Quilter's Guild brought their 2010 Opportunity Quilt to show off and sell raffle tickets. This is their beautiful quilt. Their web site is pioneerquiltersguild.org and their show is November 5 and 6th.
This is Judy showing off her Dresden wall hanging she started at a workshop a few months ago. She hand quilted it. Judy's work is beautiful.

This is Julie's Dresden quilt. I love her use of blue's and a splash of yellow. Julie is another accomplished quilter.

Barbara did the same pattern as Judy with different colors. She said it wasn't intended to be a Christmas wall hanging but it just might end up that way. When I see the beautiful projects these ladies create I want to start my own. I'm fine tuning the art of self control. It's a very slow process.

The upcoming week should be very productive, that's the plan anyway. I'm hoping to get my 19th Century Reds quilt pieced this week and who knows, maybe that bathroom will get finished. I do believe in miracles.

Wishing you a blessed and productive week.

Philanthropy and Quilting

On Tuesday's some of the Manteca quilters meet at a church in Manteca to put together quilts and other items for philanthropy. Some of the ladies work on their personal items too. Connie brought in the quilt below, that she pieced and quilted. She still needs to finish the binding. She spent most of the day working on philanthropy projects. I thought she did a great job and wanted to share it with you. This quilt is my Sister's Choice pieced with fabrics from the More Pink and Chocolate collection from Windham Fabrics. I worked on this at the Gold Beach retreat. I have an idea how I want to quilt it but, I'm not too sure of my skill level. We will see.

This is a shot of some of the worker bee's enjoying good company and doing for others.

That's Janice with her arms up. I'm not sure why but I know it wasn't a touch down. In addition to quilts we also make small pillows, hospice gowns, wheelchair and walker bags, and knitted infant caps.

These ladies are pinning a quilt top, batting, and backing for stitching. This is truly a group effort.

This is Rosemary and Judy showing off a quilt that Rosemary just completed. It's a boy's print and I'm sure it will give lots of comfort to the little guy who gets it.

The first Tuesday of month there is a Potluck. There was a lot of great dishes and desserts. Good thing they don't do that every week because I would end up big as a house. These ladies are good cooks. So I have to tell you, meeting every Tuesday with these awesome ladies is just another perk of being retired. I am so blessed. I did a lot of visiting so I brought the project I was working on home so I could finish it. I think it's terrific to be able to help others by doing what you love to do.

Have a blessed week.

Just checking in.

I hope you all had a blessed Easter, I sure did. The day was filled with so many of the things I love. I started my day with Easter services followed with friends, family, food, and fun. The afternoon was topped off with a steady rain. I worked on a few quilt blocks after I cleaned up the kitchen. Life is too good!
Today is Mary's birthday. I wish I was in Oregon celebrating with her. Happy Birthday Mary, we love and miss you. I'm looking forward to Sister's.

I've been trying to find a way to spice up this blog, hence the new look. I'm not sure I will stay with it. This process takes up a lot of time I should be spending on other things. I thought being retired would free up time but it seems I'm busy doing something all the time. I'm sure that's a good thing, I just need to be selective on the things I choose to do.

I'm looking for ways to arrange my quilting studio and make it more efficient. I want to hang shelving on the walls and and get things off the floor. My hubby is not being very supportive on this issue. I did find some great pic on the web and hoped they would inspire him. If they did he sure isn't showing it. Any suggestions out there?

This week I will post a picture of the quilt I was working on at the retreat in Oregon. I'm joining friends for a quilt day tomorrow so maybe I'll have some other fun pics to share.

Have a blessed day.