Strange Times and Silver Linings

I had a entire blog post written last night, nearly finished and the screen flashed and poof it was gone, the whole pea picken thing, I was furious. So much so that I refused to redo it, I went to bed instead. Well it did not magically reappear so I guess I had best get over myself.

So I am not sure what I had written but it was lovely, I can tell you that. I will try and recreate it but its going to pale in comparisson

Video chatted with the family over the weekend. The Pilot set it up and it was awesome,. the Pilot, the Teacher, the Wee Girl and Sweet Pea, The Carpenter and Busy, Miss Mouse and Tater Tot along with me had a visit. It was so good to see everyone and catch up. Technology can be fantastic at times. I was tickled to be included.

My friends have been looking after me during these strange days. I have had small parcels and necesseties delivered to my veranda off and on, KitKat and I have had coffee together with her on one end of the veranda and me on the other. lots of texts and phone calls.  I am blessed blessed blessed with family that loves me and friends that are worth their weight in gold. Makes my life super easy.

I have been keeping busy but then I usually manage to keep myself entertained  on any given day. I fixed a table runner for a coworker, she could not figure out the binding. She gave it to me and it looked like this

I gave it back to her and it looked like this, I am glad I can use my years of quilting practice to help out someone else.

I got the bee put on the baby blanket that I made for a coworker although I have no idea when I will get it delivered

I think its cute.

The really big news around here is the roof is shingled. My neighbour took charge of the arrangements and it happened so fast I hardly knew what was going on but I am so pleased its done and paid for.

So so happy this is done. So happy my neighbour found someone willing to do the roof. Its a steep roof and a very cramped space, not the first choice of any roofer.

I had my first coffee on the veranda this weekend. It was cool but pleasant and I do love to sit out there in the morning and sip on a cup of coffee

I took in the pointsettias and put out the tulips and daisies. I am embracing this spring is coming thing with my whole heart

I have been knitting and I started a new quilt. I am playing with my new template. I am going to make Miss Mouse a quilt but I am doing a practice one first, So I am taking my inspiration from this
Orla Kiely print.

I am going to do something along that line and I got a good start on it yesterday

Nothing is pressed yet but I have a good start.

I have been knitting and poking away at the house work. The Banker and her Sweet Baboo are home at last and self isolating for 14 days but at least she is home again.

Thats it, trust me its not nearly as good as the first psot was but thats how things roll. Take care and stay safe.

Toodles
Linda

Social Distancing .... Nailed it

In this strange time where this virus has us all under its thumb, I think I have social distancing perfected. I usually go to the odd movie with a friend, KitKat and I go or supper once per week and of course the No Cooks observe our traditional weekly supper/coffee date on Friday. That is what I do and the rest of the time I mostly spend at home, I get groceries, I nip out to the odd secondhand store, a craft/fabric store now and then and to Shoppers Drug mart. In these days of being isolated, I have given up the going out, I still go shopping for necessities but not for fun. I stay home and do my thing and pray that people stay safe, that this strange situation passes and we can resume normal activities. I sort of live this life most of the time normally.

My work is considered an essential service so we will not close. Social assistance needs to be administered and we need to keep people looked after. We have made changes and taken steps for everyone's safety. We have limited public access. We have changed shifts and have moved to a call center format.

That is fun I can tell you. I have done two shifts on the phone and it is non stop. The minute the handset hits the cradle it rings again. Concerned questions, not necessary questions, demands, inquiries, questions about extra funding, inquiries over what we are doing and what is happening. People are scared and concerned and want to know there is someone there to listen, to help and to hear them no matter what they are asking about. We do three shifts, two of which are to man the phones and one to try to keep the assistance moving. Its wild because we are flying by the seat of our pants with solutions still being worked out. Its just taken our normal month end business and magnified it a great big bunch. We are now dealing with most of the province not just our little area. Fun times!!

So that is the new norm for these days and I have two more weeks of it. Then I will slip quietly into retirement. Its seems surreal

So this weekend I did not go out and get breakfast, I made my own at home. I could use some fruit, some eggs and bread but I am not to the point where I have nothing. I would just normally replace this stuff if things were normal but they are not.  I decided not to bother going out. I am good and its was child tax credit day of Friday so I figured families that depend on that money for groceries would need to be shopping far more than I. I can go another day.

I worked on the never ending cleaning of the kitchen. That kitchen is my arch enemy. It wins the battle far more than I do. I bagged garbage, loaded up the recycle bin, collected the compost and did the dishes as much as I could. I now have to get all of this hauled to the dumpsters. At this time of the year my back sidewalk becomes a skating rink. I park at the front because I am petrified of slipping and hurting myself. SO I have been known to put the stuff in the car and driving it round to the back. Its all such a big deal. Walking that many times back and forth to the car because I cannot carry much at one time, its just frustrating. It takes so long to get anything done. By the time you have the old mess out a new one has blossomed. Deep sigh of frustration.

Enough about my first world problems. I did get the next row sewn for my Row by Row Quilt as You Go sewn up. I have three rows done now and I think once I can get some backing for the quilt I will start the "quilt as you go method". I YouTubed it and I think it will be fun.

Its much bluer in person, and what looks cram in the photo is more pale yellow. I have not been able to get a good picture. I am very pleased with this quilt so far.

I finally took pictures of the two other completed quilts,

.

I made chili, a big pot of it. Well I tried to make chili, it turned into more of a soup but whatever you want to call it, it made a big pot full. I did not have all the ingredients on hand for chili but I had enough to improvise. This little project cleaned up the veggies that were in the fridge on the verge of turning on me. Wasting food is even more of a sin and shame during these times. I let that happen way too much in this house. 

It may have an identity crisis but the stuff in this bowl is pretty darn tasty. Plus it kicks that "what will I have for lunch? supper?" out of the ball park for a while anyway. 

Today I have been doing laundry, knitting for the donation bag and watching tv. I have lots of stuff taped and there is always Netflix and YouTube. That will keep me entertained.  Book Club is on hold, No Cook Friday is on hold and for the most part we are staying home and doing as we should to help end the spread of this virus. 

So far I have been feeling fine, which I am beyond grateful for. My immune system is still crap and I seem to catch anything that is going around but so far so good. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this keeps up. 

Wash your hands, take care and stay safe. This too shall pass.

Toodles

Linda

Time Keeps On Slipping into My Future

This has been an odd month, one full of big decisions,  impending life changes, a change of season in my life. A chapter is closing and I am moving into a new phase. AT MY AGE!!  I have been excited, thrilled, scared and numb all at the same time. BUT like most major things in my life, I have made my decision, its gonna happen and I am just hanging on with all my faith placed in the fact that it will all work out. I will be fine. In short, in 18 days I will be retired. EEK and HALLELUJAH. Mentally I will be fine, financially ................. remains to be seen but time will tell. Time will tell.

Yesterday I was determined I was going to get lots done, and in one way for me I did. I went and got groceries, thanks to this stupid  virus panic I did not get all that I ordered but I got enough. I went to the drug store and got a few more things, eggs, bread, Kleenex, a bag of chips but NO TOILET PAPER. Everyone is in a mad hoarding frenzy on the toilet paper. I am fine, (not that you need to know but what the heck?), I am just at the point where I would normally add it to the grocery list. I have faith that I will find some at some point and if I don't I have a back up plan.  I am not going to share that tidbit just yet so let's get back to my day. I did my errands and then got my breakfast as per usual and then I headed home. 

The first thing I did was I did manage to finally get the numerous bags out of my trunk. It may not look like lots but the picture does not show them all. They have been in my trunk for  2 weeks or more!!

Well I needed my trunk for groceries. On my way to pick them up I stopped here

At long last my trunk looked, once more, like this, littered with my grocery bags.

It feels so good to get that done and to have made myself do it for myself. Very freeing. I need to do so much more. Work in progress that's me.

I got home and the plan was I was going to eat breakfast, put away groceries, quilt for a bit and then get some housework done. Quilts suck me into a black hole, maybe that is not the right way to express the situation. I go someplace where time is suspended and I am  totally in my happy place. I did do some dishes and hauled the recycling out to the dumpster but other than that, the day was gone and I had the quilt almost finished. (It got finished today)

The flimsy was passed onto me by Busy. Her mom made it and never got it finished. I have finally gotten around to taking care of the quilting of it. Today, I can happily let you know,  its all finished and just needs a bath to get the chalk marks off of it. 

I love the old fashioned scrappy look of it. What about the 52 blocks quilt?? Glad you asked, its all done too. It needs a bath as well and then I will take some better pictures of the entire quilts, both of them..

I even got the label sewn on. I am hoping she does a label for the new quilt project. Row by Row Quilt as You Go.

These are the first two rows of that project. The next row comes out on this Tuesday. I so enjoy these quilt projects. Its fun to be part of a group and see what everyone else it doing.

I have discovered the Missouri Star Quilt Company on YouTube. I LOVE THEM!!!  They have marvelous tutorials and they have stuff to help you quilt better. I treated myself to these:

Templates to make marvelous quilt blocks. They have a couple of tutorials on how to use them. I have a few plans already, using these, so stay tuned, you never know what may show up here. I cannot wait to get going on them. Oh the possibilities!!!

I have been busy getting all the details organized for my retirement. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that I am not going to have to work. I have waited for this my entire adult life, (ok to be honest since the second day of grade one) and now its gonna happen in a few days. I already have been making plans and thinking of schedules and routines, and on the other hand I cannot totally let myself enjoy this because I am still not 100 % sure that I have gotten here, to this point in my life.  So much change but I am, as I said earlier, I am hanging on and moving foreward inspite of all my fears and second thoughts. I have a goal and I am going for it come hell or high water.

Tally HO!!!!

Toodles,
Linda