Missed Me?

My cousin tells me she believes there are two kinds of pain.  The kind you've earned and the kind you didn't.  The kind you've earned is like working in the yard or the like.   That's the good kind of pain.  It hurts but you did something and thereby it's okay.

The bad kind of pain is the kind that grabs you by the throat and takes over, while you are bewildered that you're even feeling pain.  After all you did everything right and didn't push yourself or anything.  Chronic pain sufferers have to deal this sort of "bad pain" more often than we'd like anyone to know, much less admit.

Last night the bad kind woke me up.  Now you know pain that wakes you up has to be bad.  I mean seriously?!?!?  I was sleeping!  So I dealt with that from about 2 am until 4:30 or so.  Oddly I went to sleep around about the time DH cuddled up to me, which that alone is odd.  Normally when I have bad pain I will lash out as the spasms can be stronger than my desire not to have them.

I guess all that meant I was darn well going to earn my pain today.  I stood and held towels while DH pressure washed the last of the house to protect the air conditioner from water leaking in on it.  Then I held the first new window while Rob installed it.  Then I cleaned one tower of DVD's.  I changed the sheets on the bed.  I helped to unpack and sort windows.  I helped repack and sort windows and then I did all that all over again.  Then I stood and cooked dinner.  Trust me when I say I'm hoping the dishwasher fairy will show up at my house tonight.

Little Boy's Red Starting to Show

Baby cardinals seem to be everywhere these days.  I think we have three boys flying around (they look so silly with their red colors coming in and one girl who was oh so gray) No babies with Lady Bird and her Gentleman Bird yet.  In fact the two of them are here together right now.  Lady Bird has been enjoying drinking from the birdbath the past couple of days and her boy was seen feeding her just yesterday. 

Little Boy Cardinal

So as I mentioned above we've been working on our house.  Here is the first new window installed and a snapshot of my Sapphire Blue Sherwin Williams paint.  So tell me what color does it look like to you?

Global Change Quilt Project

As the place I want to visit most in the World: Africa is near and dear to my heart.  So when my friend Vicki told me about this project I knew I had to participate.  First I went looking for my orphan blocks.  They are looking for 9 1/2" and 12" blocks (note: not 12 1/2") so anything extra or perhaps that measured a little bit small would be perfect.  I found more orphan blocks than I thought I had, so I took them all and made them into the requested sizes.

According to my friend's forwarded email the proceeds for these two quilts will go to built a well and latrines at a school in the Central Africa republic also known as CAR.  You can read all about it here.  The mailing deadline is July 31st so go get digging.

I'm sending five 12" blocks and seven 9 1/2" blocks, but you can do as little as one and as many as you'd like I'm certain they'd appreciate them all.

I knew those coin stacks I started and then didn't know what to do with would come in handy.

Inside a Box

Now tell me who learned it from who?  Did DD learn it from the cats or the other way around?

THE Rug

Some people go to the store and buy a rug when they need one.  I think I'll be one of those people from now on.

I started this rug - shoot I think nearly two years ago.  It's supposed to be quick and easy and use up all your old scraps.  I don't know about that.  Wrapping the clothesline rope made my hands hurt and the scraps made my allergies bloom.  Oh and until I bought a pack of behemoth 110 needles I broke more sewing machine needles than I'd like to admit.

But perseverance prevailed and I finished the rug. I'd originally intended it for on the floor next to DH's side of the bed but as I was working on it last night (and not liking it very much) it reminded me of something Mrs. Weasley would have had in her house (from the Harry Potter Movies) and so now it will live by the back door.

Bleck!

What is so awful that it would keep me away from my own sewing machine?!?!?! Sewing! LOL! Allow me to explain. First there were pants to repair, which I did, it only took me about 4 or 5 days to resign myself and do it...

Then it was these curtains. The curtains are huge and silky. I stupidly said I would alter them because the area allowed for the rod was only 2”, which wasn't wide enough. But that was when I thought I could alter them my own way. When they were delivered to me I was asked to alter them a certain way. I didn't want to alter them that way because I didn't know how, but it was to late as they had already been washed and dried for me. So after way to long I started on them. Hey I finished them 3 days after I started them and while that's as slow as honey for me it's really not that long.

So here's what I learned: I am going to work VERY hard to keep my mouth shut and try not to offer my services up for free ever. If someone wants or needs something bad enough they will ask and if they ask perhaps they will pay (at least they should) and there's two motivators for doing the job right there.

I miss my Brother ULT 2001. The motor purrs under my fingertips and I miss that. She tells me when I'm being stupid and the thread isn't threaded right, or if I am working on something so big and thick that I can't tell if the presser foot is down - she knows and saves me time and energy. So I've found the $90 for her maintenance fee (standard for a combination machine in my area - I know I called around) as well as having collected what I'm certain will be enough to replace the pinched and thereby semi-severed tiny ribbon cable in the embroidery arm - no sense fixing only one half of her course. And everything should be better in a week or too. How wonderful. Until then enjoy the piece and tranquility of your favorite machine. ;-)