short

I am only going to take a couple of minutes here to write since I have to get up early tomorrow and go to physical therapy. My shoulder is impinged and I am hoping that this p.t. will heal it and I won't be in pain anymore.  I was taking an anti-inflammatory which helped but I stopped taking that because I think it gave me heartburn.

Spring in Tracy

Went to visit Michael and Brieanna for a little while this afternoon. Here are some pics.

Yesterday

An old building that I pass every morning burned down yesterday. Caused all sorts of issues at work because the power went down in our building and the servers didn't come back up the way they're supposed to.

It makes me sad to see such destruction. I thought the building was an old train station but apparently it was an abandoned church.

Here's a picture of the fire. Pretty spectacular!



Here's what the church looked like in 1938.


It was built in 1903. I tried to find a picture of how it looked last week, but haven't been able to yet. I'll keep on the lookout. I'll try and get over and take a picture before they completely tear it down.

I was able to do a few of the items on my short list ..

went to yoga, cleaned the bathroom, went, to target, worked on the quilt .. a little. I got three blocks done. I also got my laundry done, went to costco and sort of made dinner. went for dessert before dinner at 'bennigans' All in all a productive day. Hopefully I can do more work on the second quilt...

tomorrow!

National Quilting Day

National Quilting Day is the third Saturday of March each year. Who knew? Here's where you can find more info -- or you can just google it like I did.

I think I'll do three things in honor of this day:

1 - I'm signing up for a giveaway on one of the blogs I follow, Sugar Spun Quilts. As you may know, I just recently started quilting and I also just recently started following quilting blogs.

2 - Post a picture of a quilt. (to be added later) still to be added later.

3 - work on my Pinwheel Sampler Quilt -- I've got six blocks to do from last week for my alternate quilt, plus there will be a new block today - so that's at least 8 more blocks. These are the blocks from this week. It was really fun! I can't wait to do it in the blue -- I've got week four and week five blocks to get done in the other quilt. Once the blocks are cut it takes about 1/2 hour to make the block.





Did yoga - now to eat breakfast/lunch and go to Target -- trying to make today a productive, yet relaxing day.

March Madness

Madness??? Well, the weekend is finally here! I don't have big plans but I'm glad to be able to relax - hopefully. Here are a few of the things I want to do this weekend.

1 - yoga
2 - go to Target
3 - clean bathroom
4 - make quilt squares
5 - work on Robin's quilt
6 - get a couple of gifts for Robin this weekend (my baby turns 21 on Thursday)

maybe there'll be some yard sales this weekend that we can visit. We need to get some furniture for the deck and I need to find a Judy Bolton book.

Maryland made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament - so maybe we'll watch some of that this weekend.

Ruby Tuesday

So, they're going to do Rolling Stones on American Idol this year. Maybe they'll do Ruby Tuesday. One of my favorites. Actually, they had some great songs back in the day (i.e., the 60s and 70s) .. Mother's little helper, Paint it black. I used to have an album, though I think it was Stuart's but I don't have it now - in vinyl or CD.



I didn't realize they were doing them tonight -- so far I'm liking it. I love the old songs. I can do without Jumping Jack Flash and Satisfaction. I hope they don't do those.

I went to the dentist this morning to have a cavity filled. I like the dentist less and less. I didn't used to mind going at all but now I can't stand it. I was looking for a picture of a cavity but decided that you all know what one looks and feels like (except Rachel who never gets them). At least I don't have to go again until August.

Makes Me Happy Monday

Here are some pics of things that made me happy today ...


my favorite kitty (aka, the devil cat).


chocolate chip cookies! Robin made them and they are oh, so yummy!! I've only had 3 so far ...



and the most recent blocks I've made for my new quilt .. I'm really enjoying making it and I think they are beautiful. There are going to be 42 of them (not all exactly like these) and then there will be sashing, either blue or white, a border, binding and then the backing. I'm so excited!!

Writing Class cont.

So more on the writing class i took yesterday. Practical Strategies for New & Would-Be Writers. I took the class to get a writing credit for the CLM (Certified Legal Manager) exam I'm going to take in September. Although the class was not exactly what I wanted, I needed to get the credit and it was approved, so I took it. The other people in the class were interested in writing books or getting articles published and how to go about that. I felt rather like an interloper because I didn't really have an interest in being a "writer". However, that being said, I felt like I got some good things out of it.

First, I really do enjoy writing and I would like to improve my writing. Not sure this class actually helped in that area, but it certainly couldn't hurt. It did encourage me to write. There were 6 people in the class: three other women around my age (though probably slightly older), one about 10 years younger, and one 8th grade boy. They all had ideas of books to write. I just needed the credit. Back to my point, which is that the only way to improve my writing is to write more and not worry about what other people think (i.e., will they like me more more or less because of what I say). Critiques of my writing style or grammar or the like are okay. So, y'all are my sounding board or guinea pigs, thanks!

Second, I can apply some of the things I learned to my job, as well as my blog. One of the things the instructor said was to just write. Frequently, when I'm writing even a two sentence letter, I grapple over what to say. So now, when I have that problem, I'm just going to write down what I want to say without worrying about getting it perfect the first time. I may have to write it and then come back to it later, but that will be so much easier than agonizing over two simple sentences. Now to apply that to my blog, I will write what I'm going to write and then save it and come back to it later to make sure it makes sense and to correct the things that are wrong.

Third, when cleaning the attic I found an old journal I had kept sporadically about 20 years ago. It began before Michael broke his leg and went to a year or so after that. It was really interesting to re-read what was going on. I intend to write more so that I can remember what is going on in my life.

So, all in all, it was a good class for me. I enjoyed it and plan to write more. I promise I won't drag you down with too much depressing stuff. I'll try and keep things upbeat. I want to use this as a place to say what's going on in my life so that the days don't just drift away.

Writing and stuff

took a writing class today. It was interesting, about how to break through writer's block. This allows me to .. I'm having a rough time right now thinking how to express my thoughts. Probably because I'm not in a quiet place. I'll write more later, but I wanted to upload a couple of pictures and take this item off my list (#15).

I finished my next two blocks for the quilt. I'm also working on another pinwheel sampler quilt that is blue and white and will be in my bedroom. I'll upload pictures when I put that together.

New Blocks

Here's Weezer watching us work -- he was getting ready to launch himself onto a large pile of boxes but we distracted him, just in time.

A pair of Robin's old shoes. I remember when she used to wear them. So, so, long ago.

Just finished the next blocks for the pinwheel sampler. These were the hardest ones so far, but I'm quite pleased with the results. I don't have the backing fabric yet -- debating whether to go to a fabric store or order on line. Such a tough decision.

Check

I just realized that I knocked three items off my list - two this weekend and one last month! We totally cleaned out the attic (# 5) this weekend and had a yard sale (#24) to get rid of all the stuff from the attic. We didn't sell much, but we gave whatever didn't sell to Goodwill. And a month ago, yesterday, I gave blood (#51)!

Blocks 3 & 4

Here are the next two blocks for my pinwheel sampler quilt. I'm also doing the same quilt in a blue and white to match the curtains in my room (actually it's being made from extras of the curtains in my room). I'm excited about both quilts!