Where have I been you ask? Has it really been a month? What happened to the time. There are several items to tell you about. Working from recent to ancient, here goes - -
1. Anyone who knows Ellen Guerrant, whose blog "Occasional Threads" is a big inspiration for me, will be saddened to learn that Ellen has suffered a heart attack. She is home, recovering and back on the blog after only a week (that alone was inspiration for me). Find Ellen and learn about her fantastic quilts at. http://www.ellenguerrant.blogspot.com/.
Last night was DOQ in Chapel Hill where it was evident a number of issues are in play. For instance, the Outreach/Education Chair, Carol, is retiring after two years and there seems to be no one are the horizon who can do what she has been doing.
2. Quilt-art friend Susan and I had lunch for the first time in months (years?) today, after Susan and Richard spent eight months living in Asheville. Our gab-fest to catch up took slightly less than two hours during which time we compared textile craft, diet tips and thrift shop finds.
3. My sister, Jan, is back from attending family business in New Jersey. Her mother-in-law died in July and Jan spent a good part of that month and August cleaning out a forty-year-plus collection of family 'stuff,' and clearing up the aftermath.
The result: Jan is in physical therapy to alleviate a back condition aggravated by the lifting and extra work. I empathize because I know all too well what back pain is like.
4. My own aches and pains have been increased since taking up Beginner Pilates. Today was my fifth-weekly session and while I am not "there" completely, I am getting about 80% of the class and stretching to maximize the workout. Remember I am slow and not a natural physical person; mastering yoga only took three years, getting the weight resistance workout down pat about a year and a half, now my new challenge is Pilates.
What amazes me most is the teacher: Amy. Amy is married with children, trained as a dancer and teaching Pilates for some years now. Amy arrives looking fresh, rolls out her mat and begins to talk, all the while explaining the postures, the muscles and how it should feel (?). After an hour, I am dripping with perspiration, my hair is wet, I am gasping and puffing for breath. Amy rolls up the mat, picks up her purse and walks out looking just as fresh as before. How is this possible?
5. Dear Hubby announced some weeks ago that it was time to a) clean the carpets; b) schedule the window cleaner; c) clear out more 'stuff' that we no longer use; and d) __. Well 'd' will have to wait.
Sunday while pulling into the garage in his SUV, DH hit the right side of the garage. A dent in the garage frame, twisted over-head-door rails and a warped garage door required that we call in our favorite carpenter, Bruce. After a terrible night of no sleep and fretting over the incident DH was in a state when Bruce arrived and announced "no problem, it can be fixed." As of today, Bruce is expected a little later.
Beth, our reliable window washer, comes Thursday to do the windows inside; Friday for the outside (depending on whatever direction tropical storm Fay decides to take). That should end our 'summer tasks,' unless something else goes wrong. No, I am not holding my breath.
6. Oh, the carpets - - my summer job. Three area rugs (we have all wood flooring), were vacuumed and scrubbed with my new Black & Decker Scum Buster (second purchase), the hand-held power scrubber. Those and other tasks have occupied much of my summer.
7. Well there was also a couple of weeks when I was over whelmed with a summer cold. Just after the Bonnie Hunter workshop (July 19- 20), I came home with a sore throat - and the next day full chest congestion. Many antibiotics and antihistamines later, I still needed a couple of weeks to regain my stamina.
OLLI classes begin on September 16, and AFTERNOON BALLROOM moves to Mondays at 3 beginning September 8. DH is off to a saxophone lesson getting ready for the resumption of OLLI band rehearsals.
Coming due soon - getting two quilts ready for the DOQ Quilt Show, October 17-19, one finished and one still lacks the binding and label. Getting supplies together for the next DOQ workshop with Gayle Bong, September 13-14, see http://www.gaylebong.com/.
That and Photoshop-ping will keep me busy.
until next time, b
quilt photos and New Year's Eve plans coming soon
*OLLI Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Duke University
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