A-Hoy there Matey!!

 

It's still January!!  So why not start blogging again?  No one knows for how long ... or how often ... but I do miss it.  It wasn't just blogging I gave up.  I gave up FB, Instagram and even writing in a journal.

The problem is - I didn't realize how blogging helped me highlight the year and what was going on.  What quilting I did, and for who.  What were my favorite books ... Of course, things haven't been stellar lately and it's easier to share the fun parts.  

But here we go - here's what's happening in Brookings ... RAIN!  and more rain.  See you next year!

Just kidding!  Warning - this is going to jump back and forth, highlighting what I remember as I remember it!

We had a horrible fire season last year.  Took out our main (only) highway to the rest of the state.  Also took out electric lines over to the coast.  Highway 199 was closed for weeks.  Then just open 4 hours during working hours, with follow-me cars.  It wasn't pretty.  Now they are 'mopping up' the storms we've been having are not helping.   It's open but still likely to have up to hour delays.  Each week gets better.  Fingers crossed!  We managed to get to Portland for Thanksgiving; and Medford for Christmas.

Our daughter L works for US Tennis Assoc.  She was asked to come back again to the US Open Tournament to work with the kid's camp.  It was short notice, and Miss P wanted to go.  Mom said, "NO!  I'll be working and you are not wandering around NYC by yourself!"  P looked at her and asked, "What about Nana and Papa?"  By the time I even heard about it, the plane tickets booked and hotel reserved!! And so yes, we went!  We had a ball.  Sightseeing and Broadway marathon!!  NY is till crazy NY!  Parades at 2 am!!

Rick and I loved  And Juliet.  We had seen a scene from it on the Tony's and I said I want to see that.  Of course, we had no idea we would be going to NY.    The girls loved Six!  About the 6 wives of Henry the 8th.  6 actors were all on stage trying to prove they had the worst of it ... but 2 had been beheaded so whining didn't go as far as it could have!

Meals at Juniors; Museum of Broadway, Top of the Rock, NY Public Library, the 911 Museum, Jazz Club for dinner and more shows:  Some Like it Hot; The Book of Mormon (me & Miss P!!) We learned to avoid eye contact during the show.  Whew! 

2022 was our 50th wedding anniversary and we met all the kids in Portland for a few days together.  Then Rick threw me a surprise anniversary party in January.  The quilting friends and neighbors all met the golfing buddies at our favorite Chinese restaurant.  Cards only and believe it or not - in a small town with limited shopping we didn't get one duplicate!!  

2023 was our 51st!  Didn't even get a phone call from family!  50 = big deal  51 = Meh!  A called us 2 days later, apologizing.  I told L during a weekend call.  Knew she'd remember and feel bad so we joked about it.

Here's some quilts that I made / finished this year.  I allow my quilts to marinate a while and of course, some of them go into time-out for bad behavior.  You have to be firm with them!!

This hospice quilt is "Monkey Business" by Bonnie Hunter.  Fun - it looks like a 3 patch but is a 5 patch!  The lay-out was a killer with the 1/2 blocks problematic.

A ModSquad project finished.  DH always gave me roses.  When he was on a business trip on Valentines Day - and it happened often - he would send me roses.  Of course, there was some mystery with the number of roses in the bouquet.  He was in the south, I was in Nebraska.  Sometimes I got odd numbers - cost differential?  But it kept me guessing.

This year I made quilts for my Birth sisters and brother.  They were long over due and everyone's getting up in age.  Including me!  These pictures were taken in P's garden.  I had her take a gag picture of me holding them up from behind.  Appropriate word!!  Oh my, no one is ever going to see that!!!

Wicked Easy Pattern with blocks inserted.

Crazy 6" block Template set

Pattern Annabelle  

Remember if you want a quilt to have an accent color.  Border it with that color!!

Double Slice with plaids for my brother

This is "Long View" a pattern P and I loved.  It looks like improv - it isn't.  We started it thinking we could get the top done in a week or so ... 3 months later ...!  But fun.  We had our favorite local quilter quilt them and we hung them as one quilt in the show!

Our new Harris Hts neighbors had a new Great Grandson.  He needed a quilt.  I'd been saving this panel for years - it worked up wonderfully.

This fall M - 15 years old now - had to go in for surgery.  8 hours with 2 surgeons - it was scary for everyone.  He's back in school and doing well.  There's follow-up scheduled - they will be keeping their eye on him for the next year.  Thanks to all who participated in our prayer chain.  We could feel it.

My sister N passed in December.  She had been fighting problems for a long time and finally went into Hospice.  We all miss her so much, but know she is no longer in pain.  I couldn't get back for her funeral: the holiday traffic and storms.  Hope to go back next spring for her birthday celebration.  She was a good gal who is missed.

You'll have to wait til the next time for good books in 2023.  And I know I'll remember more things I'll want to share.  Thanks for your patience.

Let the Wild Rumpus Start! In a calm way, please

 

Happy New Year – though I did hear ‘Mrs Maisel’ say that she’s just calling February 1 the start of the new year.  Let January shake off it’s ‘2020 vibe’.  

It's a New Year from sunrise on Rainbow Rock

2020 did give us lots of time … to waste, to discover, to read and even to spend HOURS on your computer devise.  I will never tell how many Wheel of Fortune games I played!!  Although I do have to point out, it’s one of the few games there are no ads every move!  Just saying!

I read 83 books this year!  The last two years my count was in the 40s.  And a LOT of them were excellent!  Here’s the ones I recommend.

A Small Town by Thomas Perry  I love his Jayne Whitefield series: a one woman Native American witness protection force.  Always excited to find a new book.

Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn  Artsy woman trying to make a living and find a man ... good old romance for a bewildering year.

Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg  Not your typical book club group!

Virgin River by Robyn Carr  Beware there are over a dozen books in this series, you’re going to have to pace yourself!  And then there is the series on Netflix!  Oh, yeah!

Jane Harper’s series based in Australia   The Dry, Force of Nature, The Lost Man.  Excellent series and The Lost Man took my breath away!  I hear there is a new book out soon.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett  She is usually a great read but she’s outdone herself in this one!  The cover is delicious and the story is even better.

American by Day by Derek Miller  Book 2 of a series from a Norwegian author.  The first book was Norwegian by Night.  I think I read it, but didn't log it.  I love a good strong woman character and this has her.

The Dressmakers Gift by Fiona Valpy  Generational tale centered on WWII

Year One by Nora Roberts  Set in an alternate reality, proving Nora Roberts isn't just a romance writer.

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian  This was really good, kept me guessing until the end.  And the series on HBOmax is good even if the story is tweaked a little.  As usual, book first is the way to go.

The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg  Who doesn’t want to run away from home?  Yes, I’m talking to you grown-ups!

The Lola Quartet by Emily St John Mandel

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins  Excellent prequel to Hunger Games.  Learn how Snow got to be Snow.  I listened to the audio book from our online library and the narrator was awesome.  Got a lot of quilting done just listen to the book.

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Mortimore  This was a real find, different plot.  I loved it, loaned it to my friend, told my daughter to read it and they both loved it!!  SciFi but not really.  Try it!

Beyond the Black Stump by Neville Shute  Written in the ‘40s (!)  another Australia author.  I really love his writing, I went on to read 3 more books in our library.  Definitely a winner.

Well, shall we talk about quilting?

I looked at my list and I was underwhelmed.  But then I remembered I made more than 300 masks!  Well, that explains it!   

 

My favorite projects this year were:

I topped the Road to OK that was a raffle block from Nebraska.  I wanted to win back then but I didn’t, so I made one block to remember it.  It IS a tricky block because the points of the stars are in the center of the block, not the outside.  There was ripping.  The star is made by the 4 corners together.  AND I really just loved the name for it’s own sake:  I wanted to be on the road back to OK (normal), didn’t you.  We still do.

WOW! This is my 501st blog post!! Amazing

Oregon is ordering "The Pause" starting on Wednesday.  A sneaky way of getting everyone to quarantine for 2 weeks.  And please, let's do that!  We have to get back to our lives! 

We've been laying pretty low most of the time.  I wear a mask in public.  No meetings.  I do have P in my covid pod.  We're together quilting or cleaning up quilting most days.

My sister (almost 80) caught Covid in Nebraska.  She was in the hospital for two weeks, but never on a ventilator.  It was so scary.  I was able to talk to her most days.  Thank God our medical personnel believe in science and use it daily. 

Sis got the plasma from a recovered patient, steroids and the drug.  We kid that people have to stand up when she enters a room - Presidential treatment, don't you know.

Please wear a mask - it isn't going to kill you - and Covid could.

Off the soap box - I teach a Hand Quilting class to artists tomorrow!  Gulp! This month's display is  Annabelle Walkley's one woman quilting exhibit at the Manley Art Center in Brookings.  She's a good friend of mine, and a member of Mod Squad.  At our meeting yesterday, she curated her show for us.  What a font of info!

After finishing a quilt, she soaks and rinses her quilts in cold water - no soap.  And never puts them in the dryer.  Blocks them on the floor to dry.  Hmmm.

Well, tomorrow, I teach up to 7 women hand quilting tips.  The first thing I will say - "our quilting is NOT going to look like Annabelle's!  But we'll work on learning the process."

Working with artistic personalities has so far been like herding cats!  And I'm allergic to cats!!

No contract; I didn't get the class list until I begged for it yesterday to send a reminder.  I furnish the kit so-o we'll all start with the right supplies!  

They wanted a class to 'go with the show'.  Everything about piecing quilts can taught at stores, on the web, etc.  But even books tend to 'cover' quilting with "quilt as desired!"  So - wish me luck!

We're having a King Tide here - seriously, there is NO beach today!!  The promised winter storms have arrived with a vengeance two nights ago.

I was wearing ear plugs (DH was mumbling / whistling in his sleep)  And the wind in the trees woke me up!  It was that strong! We're supposed to get about an inch of rain each day for the next week.  But the storms always give us an interesting ocean to watch.

So - it's been going thru my mind lately, Hello, I'm Doni and I'm a quilter.  I have no wish to 'recover' from it.  Quilting has occupied me for over 40 years now.  DH says 'possessed' is more accurate!  

I honestly don't know where I'd be without it!  It's given me an outlet for creativity and energy.  Kept my mind active - planning the next project, working out the problems and organizing.  And I love to gift them, display them and pet them!  And of course, cuddle under them.

My DS and DDIL are in Panama for 2 years.  Interesting times to be there.  They left everything they couldn't fit into suitcases in a storage unit in Oregon.  It burned down in the Almeda Fire. Luckily I have the important papers.  BUT they lost family photos, the kids' toys and stuffed animals, thousands of Lego blocks, musical instruments, books, videos, kitchen supplies, dishes and at least 28 quilts.

A friend in the area went into the storage unit area and found very few things left but recognizable.  One golden dragon tea cup that was part of a set of dishes my birth brother brought back from Japan for me in the 50's.  DS loved that set.

No Legos were found - they were expecting to have a large multicolored plastic lump but apparently Legos evaporate!

Do families that are not related to quilters have 28 quilts?  Probably not.  I'll have to count how many quilts I have in the small condo we live in.  I'm pretty sure it's more than that!  How many do you have?  Yes, count the wall and holiday quilts!

I'm going to make/finish a quilt for each of them - ready when they come back next summer.  Most of the kids' quilts were panels, we have pictures, but there is no way I can duplicate them now.  It will be a new adventure.  Lord knows I have enough fabric for the undertaking!!

Stay safe!