It was a good day

I sure did get a lot of STUFF done today. The last week has been pretty productive, come to think of it.

For starters, there are the charity quilts I'm doing for our guild. Did I pick up one kit? Two? Noooooooo. I had to pick up FIVE! They are Jelly Roll Race/1600/Potato Chip quilts,

so they're easy to sew, but they look really awful without borders. (This one looks pretty awful even WITH the border! Maybe I'll add some yellow fused stars.) At least that's my opinion. So - all the tops are made (my friend Nelda sewed one for me), borders are on 3 of them, and the borders are cut for the other two. The bindings for all are also cut. I want to turn these in to go to the next guildie, who will quilt them, at our meeting next week.

While checking my stash for borders for those JRRs, I ran across 2 other almost-tops that I picked up at a quilt sale function to also turn into charity quilts. I got those borders/bindings cut as well and maybe I'll also be able to get those done by the meeting. (I'll tell you a secret: I'm thinking about keeping them & going ahead & quilting them myself, but don't tell anyone else.)

These are some of the blocks for our guild's 2013 donation quilt:

I'm doing 8 of these blocks (they go pretty quick), and got a few more done today. I have 6 made - should be easy to finish the other two by the meeting. There's a star block that will alternate with these blocks: the quilt is gonna be great!

I got some more Safari blocks done today, as well:

These are also easy-peasy. I guess I shouldn't call them a block YET (4 of these littles will be put together to make a big): I guess they're still just block parts. At any rate, I got more of them done. 

I'm also working on old projects that have been cut and ready to sew for who-knows-how-many-years. (Hey, I really PLANNED for my retirement!!) These are blocks for a design-your-own quilt from a M'liss Rae Hawley book. 

I'm working on the blocks a little at a time so I don't get bored. Won't it be fun to see how these turn out? I still have about 4 other blocks to make for this "mystery". Oh, and of course there's not just ONE "kit" cut - there are three. Honestly, I never seem to be able to do just ONE of anything; it's a personality defect.

So, you can see it was a productive day! Yay!  Here are a few random pics just to show what I've been up to lately:

Earlier this month, the three travelers (I'm in the middle) headed across the pond to Paris and Florence for 12 days. We ended up being there 13 days because we missed a connection & had to spend an extra night in Paris (oh darn) on the way home.

This is one of the many pics I took from the top of ....

....this.  Gorgeous view, huh?

Here's just a few of the things offered in the central market in Florence

Meat

Porcini mushrooms (I brought home 3 bags!)

Pasta of ever shape and color imaginable (I brought home penis pasta for Nelda)

More meat. Prosciutto:yum!

Parts of critters I never wanted to know about, much less see

I loved the trip, but was glad to get home and do a little sewing. I made a bunch of these sweet blocks.

 

I also made Ann Burrell's Bolognese sauce, but added one of those bags of porcini mushrooms. It's very yum!

Then I spent a long weekend at beautiful Epworth-by-the-Sea (St. Simon's Island, Georgia) with the Camden Quilt Guild. It's beautiful here.

So that's what I've been up to. I'll post some more random pics of France and Italy over the next few weeks since I didn't bother to blog while I was there!

Thanks for stopping by.

Aimless writing

How remiss I have been in posting! Not because I'm bored with blogging - I was just bored with what I was blogging about. (OK, not the travel part. But I didn't do ANY posts about my trip to Paris and Florence ... what the hey?)

Anyway I've been thinking about the blog a LOT and it's going to go through a metamorphosis. I'm not quite sure what it will turn into yet, but it's going to be different. I DO miss blogging, and I do want a place for keeping track of what I get done. It won't be any more informative than in the past (as far as "how to": I don't do that), but it will at least be a place for me to journal what I've done.

I seem to be settling into some kind of retirement routine, which is necessary. An unending sense of no direction isn't healthy. I also think the wanderlust has quelled a bit since the Europe trip; I'm ready to stay home for awhile (or at least not take off on a 6-month trip like I was seriously planning for). Who knows? We'll see what tomorrow brings, but I'm quite pleased to be settling in. For now.

Walking continues - 7 miles a day (most days). I've met so many people (fellow walkers)! It's great to see familiar faces each day and get to know them. I'm also thinking I'll join a book club. I miss reading. As always, there's so much to do and not nearly enough hours! Sure beats being bored, though.

I wonder what the day will bring?

The day.,,

And the result

Now for the borders

Mid-Year Report Card and Goals

My NUMBER ONE post in January (1/1/12) listed my goals for the year. I said that I was bypassing the moon and shooting straight for Jupiter. So how'd I do?  In a word: FABULOUS! I have not met even one of the goals I set for myself! Why is this fabulous?  Because of what I've learned.

I've learned that I like to take a picture to document something or another, but that I'm just not that into photography. Really. And that's perfectly OK with me!  I've learned that being a non-consumer is not part of my being. There are many things I have to be strong about: buying fabric, yarn, and new clothes for a smaller me are not included in the "be strong" arena.  I've learned that the only way to de-clutter successfully is to make sure I don't add anything new to the pile. I've gotten really good at this part, and really HAVE de-cluttered A LOT so far this year. As for the quilt-of-the-week, well, that really suffered a set-back when I was traveling for 3 months - and THAT is perfectly OK with me!! The travel was just so great! Most importantly I've learned that setting outrageous, Jupiter-like goals will help me weed out what is and is not important to me.

So here it is at mid-year and I'm ready to set a new goal. FINISH! I'm going to work on finishing up the stacks-o-projects that accumulate around those of us that love to sew/quilt/stitch/journal/and-just-about-any-other-craft. Of course I certainly would not be able to finish all the stacks by the end of the year (which speaks volumes to what I have sitting around, doesn't it?) but I AM going to work on making a rather large. I'm also going to try to avoid starting anything new, which will be very hard for me. Will I make it? Stay tuned!!

xoxoxo

The Act of .....

I've discovered that I like "the act of" doing something. I like the act of writing when I do my Morning Pages each day. It doesn't matter that most days there's nothing but drivel in the MPs: the physical act of writing with pen and paper is enough to satisfy me.

I walk 7 miles most days now. When I started (NOT at 7 miles! just 2), it was to lose weight. Now I walk because I enjoy the act of walking. I like feeling my muscles move. I like being outside with no distractions (I'm not an outdoorsy person, but I enjoy the walks each day) (make that "most days").

I enjoy the act of making quilts. (OK not ALL the steps involved - but most of them.) It doesn't matter to me that they have no intended purpose. It's the act itself that is vital to me.

I've learned that "the act of..." is sometimes all that matters. I've stopped feeling weird that some act I do has no purpose other than the act itself.

If you're "beating yourself up" like I used to .... STOP!

xoxoxo

Day 27 - My morning walk

I thought I'd take you along on my walk thru Pacific Grove this morning.

I love interesting trees! 

Calla lilies grow wild here, as well as all the cultivated clumps. They're everywhere.

I have no idea what this plant is, but I love it!

 I also love it in this color.

Almost all the houses have these wonderfully neat gardens that require very little water. Water conservation is a big, big thing here in California.

The houses are tiny, but adorable!

Even the businesses fit into the landscape of the town.

This is one of the "main drags" here in PG. Parking is in the middle of the street as well as along both avenues.

The most fun store (or .... "funnest", in the current slang) you'll ever visit! (Find them on Facebook - Tessuti Zoo)

The concrete whale at the museum. You can see whales offshore here.

See how tiny the houses are? Of course there are some large ones, but most are about this size.

The two-stories look bigger, but they're really just taller. So cute!!

Could you just eat up this adorable place?

Or how about a tiny little hacienda?

I've finished the "through town" part, now it's on to the beach!

See the mountains across the way?

This is "Lover's Point"

Looking back to town from the point

The tip of the point. I think you can click on the pic to enlarge. The first "thing" on the rocks is a fat squirrel. Way out is a man fishing. Yikers!

Two more guys fishing. Man they're brave!!!

Just capturing all the houses along the road.  They are all across the road from the ocean. Only 1 is on the ocean side.

There's a lot more to my walk than this, but this post is gonna be pretty big because of all these pics, so I'll leave you here at about the halfway mark and pick up again tomorrow.  Are you starting to see how easy it would be to live here? So beautiful!!! Until tomorrow .....

..... thanks for stopping by!

Day 25 - My Morning Walk

A beautiful walk here in Pacific Grove, CA this morning. Clear skies. Chilly and windy. But beautiful! Some eye candy for you:

Just couldn't resist this pic

Taken from the beach walk. What a house! What a view they have!

Beautiful but treacherous!

Don't slip while walking!!!!

Yep ... the walk is right along the waves and rocks

....except when it's not

Earth guts everywhere! But beautiful blue-green seas

I have always loved how the wind shapes the trees. Just as beautiful here as along the Florida coast.

I think I could have kept walking for another 2 hours! So beautiful! How I would love to live here!!!

Not much going on except sewing and classes, walking and seeing the deer. I'm trying not to go out to eat too often but there sure are some great places to eat in this tiny burg! Tomorrow I will go have a splurge breakfast at First Awakenings in Monterey (3 minutes to my right - Pebble Beach is 3 minutes to my left) - AFTER my walk!! (Hmm.... maybe I should walk after that breakfast as well!!)

Two more weeks here. Heaven! Then off to more heaven in Carmel-by-the-sea.  Ah .......

Thanks for stopping by!!