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Hi!

Friday, March 13th, 2009

maxine

Just when I think I am getting my head above water, I get another website update or more registration stuff to take care of. We are getting close to the cut off date  – March 31 – so the conference coordinators want daily updates of workshop enrollment.

Today, I took a bit of a break and did some house stuff. We are having our Sojourners group at our home for dinner tomorrow night. Mr C washed the windows, which is always more scary for me than him. He gets up on a ladder with a squeegee on a pole to wash our floor to ceiling windows in the living and dining rooms. Since the daylight part of the basement is below, it is like washing windows on a second floor.

I did my marketing for the main course, which I am cooking. I am making beef bourguignon which I have not made in ages. I am using Ina Garten’s recipe. Tomorrow, we have to finish cleaning the house and I will do my magic with some lowly chuck and turn it into a thing of beauty.

By the way, it was a beautiful day, almost 60 and sunny. Tomorrow, the rain and snow in the hills will return. Such is life in Portland.

Lisa called from Boston where she met with an agent and her staff. She will now be reped by this firm. The woman is a real mentor to her clients. She has given Lisa some homework to do before she gets her portfolio on line. Very exciting!!

Posted in My Brilliant Daughters, This and that | 4 Comments »

Some Quilty Stuff

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

Want to know what I have been doing for the last couple of days? Click here. You can see all of the fabulous fiber gallery shows that will be going on in the Kansas City area during the Surface Design conference. From that page you can click for each show and see more images. Really cool stuff!!

Today was the 40th birthday party for my guild, which until today was called the Columbia Stitchery Guild and is now the Columbia Fiberarts Guild. We are trying to move into the future. There are not that many embroiderers left in the guild.

Here is the beautiful cake that was served following a delicious lunch.

cake

Many of the past presidents were our guests. They brought samples of the work that they do. Here are some pics of my faves.

buttonquilt

This quilt has tons of buttons.

ginkotree

This was a beautiful ginkgo leaf quilt.

img_5513

img_5536img_5508

There, I promised you quilty stuff. I really enjoyed hearing these women talk about their tenures as president of the guild.

Tomorrow, STASH is meeting. We are going to try to become more productive this year — do some workshops and such.

Posted in Quilting Friends, Quilting Organizations, This and that | 1 Comment »

Ennui

Thursday, March 5th, 2009

…a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom.

I have been dragging around the house in my sweats, unable or perhaps unwilling to do much of anything. I can’t even go into my studio. I don’t know when this will end. It is like a bad dream.

Today, I did get two loads of laundry done. I got myself cleaned up. I loaded a bunch of stuff in the car that I bagged up in December before the snows came. Mr C and I dropped off the cast off clothing at a thrift store near our church. Then we went to the Powell’s Warehouse in NW Portland with a bunch of quilt related books. I left with a check for almost $200.

I also did some organizing in my office. I have piles of stuff that was never put back on shelves after the painting was finished. But it is slow going.

Oregon/Washington SAQA meeting. I never reported on this, but there really is not much to say. There were 11 of us there. We decided to meet quarterly, next time in Portland. I think I am going to try to get a local group meeting more often. I went down with Bonnie Bucknam, who lives over the border in Vancouver, WA. We had a good time. She has decided to come to the SDA conference, after the SAQA conference and the debut of her quilt at Quilt National. We are going to take a class with Alice Kettle, from the UK. The class is titled, Following a Line to Tell a Story. She does very interesting free motion machine  embroidery. I am thinking of staying for the post conference workshops and taking a class with Els Van Baarle.

By the way, I found a link to Mary Ann Jordan’s work which I mentioned after our trip to the Vision’s Gallery.

The California Supreme Court heard arguments today for and against overturning Proposition 8, which would bar same-sex marriages in the state. I have been supporting the fight to overturn this, for my daughter. Today I received this t-shirt.

idotshirt

Spring must be coming. At least daylight savings is coming. Oh goody, I have M & M coming tomorrow to spend the night so that Steph can take Jack out for his birthday. It is also my son, Mark’s, birthday. I am wishing them both happy times.

Posted in Links, This and that | 6 Comments »

Home Sweet Home

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

After two long days on the road, we arrived home yesterday afternoon. Mia had been sick all week. Jack and Steph both got sick on Friday. Only Miles, Maggie and Chester survived the week untouched by the viral crud. Steph pulled herself together enough to have a nice clean room and freshly made bed ready for us. Let me tell you, sleeping in my own bed was wonderful.

Today, I had to hit the ground running to get caught up with SDA conference registrations and updating the website. Plus there was all that laundry and food shopping — back to reality.

We managed to get from the desert to Redding, CA on Saturday. The weather was not bad – partly sunny most of the way. On Sunday, we had to do a lot of rain driving. I entertained myself doing drive-by photography. I love photographing tree silhouettes that I can use for thermofax screens. All photos are clickable.

3treesinarow

roadsidetreesilhouettes

The sky is also a source of inspiration:

mtlassensky

morningsky

And the colors of spring always inspire me:

orchardblossoms

mustardfield

And so so structures:

candystripedwatertower

ncabarn

All the photos are on my Flickr site: Sights Seen on our Trip to CA

Here are some fiber photos, in case you are bored with my drive-by shooting:

This was my Valentine gift from Mr C, from Lisa’s shop, Rare Device, felted rocks.

feltedrocks

And, here are the turquoise Japanese fabrics I bought in Healdsburg:

turquoisefabircs

Posted in photography, This and that, Travels | 2 Comments »

Monday was for the Birds

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

Los Angles area had rain and snow in the mountains. We had wind and some spritzing. Mr C and I took a walk in the morning and the sun felt so wonderful, even with the wind. After lunch, we decided to drive to the outlets, about an hour west of us. The further we drove, the worse the weather was. It was pouring and the roads were flooding. There were accidents from hydro-planing and warnings of flash flooding and snow in the pass. Guess what we did? We turned around and headed back to the comfort of the high desert. We could see the sun shining on Twentynine Palms in the distance. There was a rainbow, but too faint to show up.

sunover29palms

Outside the kitchen window, is a fenced in area where Diana, the housekeeper, feeds the birds. I love watching them when I am in the kitchen.

dove1

dovesincourtyard

There are lots of doves and another bird, I have not identified yet. This morning I saw a beautiful California quail, but by the time I got my camera, he was long gone.

Today, we are driving through Joshua Tree National Park to the Salton Sea. It should be a great photo op. The weather is clear, the sun is blazing and the wind has died down.

Posted in This and that, Travels | Comments Off on Monday was for the Birds

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