Sunday AM

I'm supposed to be getting ready to go up to Portsmouth to go kayaking but wanted a few minutes with my quilts. So I took pictures and figured - ah what the heck - I'll post the pictures ---quickly!!!

I finished the commissioned Monkey quilt and I think she will like it - it's cute and colorful and I like the binding now - orange is a great color.  But only I know what misery I sewed into the quilt and it seems like my sewing machine caught onto my vibes cause it was a total pain in the neck, catching on seams - breaking threads etc.  I have decided to get a new one and am leaning to Pfaff.  Anyway here's that little quilt.   Nephew Sean loved the sock monkeys - I do too!  I have some left over and also have banana fabric and spotted fabric to go with it.  

Now - I wanted to make something that I liked, and I had this great green and brown cotton fabric so followed a pattern for a quilt/wall hanging.  I totally love the look and colors of this combo - Tony doesn't think it works for a baby quilt - what do you think?  I took this picture in the basement so it is dark, I'll take another one in the sunlight and post it.  It's beautiful fabrics - but I agree - different from the typical baby look.  

  I'm getting slightly better at adding photo's to this blog - but it still isn't straightforward! 

And last but not least, my first Linus quilt -  a little Cinderella fabric (actually it's the princess fabric that I used for the other quilt that I made for a friend) - it's backed with a nice cozy fleece that I hope some child will get some comfort from.    

Wish me luck on the cold NH coast line - kayaking away! 

Start of a long weekend

After morning chores we went for a bike ride today - my first real "off road" experience on my new bike.  It took a bit of getting used to, but I liked it and the bike rode great in the dirt and gravel.  

Down one dirt road we found a cemetery  - Riverside Cemetery - with most graves from the 1800's or so. The usual sad looking stories, young children buried by their parents; one husband and two wives and so on.  

But strangely we found a marker stone that said "Jacob A Riis is buried in this cemetery".  Jacob Riis???  "How the other Half Lives"????  In Barre Massachusetts?  I was stunned and of course googled it as soon as I got home.   Yup...it was him!  I have all his books, and while he was a person of his times - his eye for the perfect photo was amazing.  The people in his photographs speak to you even after all these years.

You never know what you will find on those simple bike rides on a lovely Saturday afternoon  

Illustration Friday - Worry

"Things I worry about"

This is an easy one for me - I might post more than once!

Am I a worry wart? Yup - can't help myself.

Tuesday night in Prince Edward Island - almost Animal Wednesday

I have been to this island a few times over the winter and since it was always snowing and cold and windy, I never saw that one block to the left out the front door is that Ocean! Yes, big and bluish, and powerful. Duh, Mim, wake up!

So today I took a long walk early in the morning and cleared my brain from the travel fog and then went to work with a much clearer outlook on the day. I am with a group of people from work, and tonight we went clear across the island for a "Lobsta Dinnah" - which was pretty good.

The wireless in the hotel is pretty good too, so to take advantage I'm posting my Animal Wednesday picture now - a perfectly drawn (not) illustration of a Hippo Butt!

HAW to everyone - thanks for the buddy system.

A calming sunday

Today was truly a day of rest, just working in the garden and household chores.  Emotionally I still feel bruised and that is coming out in the quilt that I have been making. 

A friend at work asked if I could make a quilt for her for a baby shower that she has to go to early June. Of course, I was thrilled but in the midst of all that we had the "bad husband" thing happen and I totally forgot about it. So when she asked me this week if it was almost finished, I told her the truth, and said that I'd have it done by next week. 

I think I've said before how much of yourself you sew into a quilt- or into anything that you make.  Well, this quilted blanket has given me more trouble than I would ever believe.  I am definitely sewing my feelings into it. It's wrinkled, and stretched out wrong, I've had to stitch and pick out stitches; the border started out at 9 inches wide but has been cute down to 5 inches.  The binding color is all wrong, and I'll have to make new. It needs pressing, and washing and if I wasn't giving it away - it'd go into the goodwill box, so that I wouldn't see it again.  

Every quilt has a story, and this one is a tangled mess.  

Happy Times

We went to NH yesterday to watch Sean play with his baseball team.  Got to the field, saw Sean with his friends but stayed low profile (nothing like your aunt coming up to kiss you in front of your teammates!) Anyway, Tony went over and said hello, figured out what was going on and then we waited...and waited...for Sean to get into the game.  Finally the coach smartened up and had him pitch the last two innings (5 inning games).  It was great to watch this graceful, tall, thin wonderful kid pitch - I can't figure out if he got the "win" or the "save" - but either way  - to me - he's certainly the winner!   

Saturday night - update

Hi all, 

Sorry to be such a downer yesterday - I'll tell you what happened. 

Remember a few weeks ago I found some porn on a friends computer?  I took the advice and never said anything to her, but just found out yesterday, thru tears and wailing, that she also found it. AND - she started doing some snooping and found out that her beloved husband of 15 years - as close a best friend as she ever thought she would have - has been doing more than just internet activities - he's been fooling around with at least one woman - maybe two!   She read emails, and tracked some phone numbers and had figured out what was - or had been - going on.  She's not vindictive and is not going to call out these women - but was one very angry and devastated woman. 

It devastated me also, since their marriage is one of those that you think is "perfect".  He is sensitive to her needs, but fun...seemingly devoted, supportive of her career, pitches in at home and to top it off - ain't bad looking.  There is an age difference between them - he's about 10 years older than her (must be around 50) but is active, and successful.  It always rocks my boat when something this dramatic happens to a close friend. 

We spent hours talking and crying and I just listened.  I don't know at all how to advise her, but did recommend that she take some time to get her anger under control, gave her the name of a therapist and then got mad myself, and fumed and cried all night.  I still just can't believe it - I would have never thought that he would cheat on his wonderful, loving wife.  (but of course, I reminded myself that I have no idea as to what goes on behind their bedroom doors - and have no intention of asking.)

She did confront him with her findings and he claims that "nothing really happened" and "don't worry about it - it meant nothing" and "it'll never happen again" etc etc, but really did not seem all that remorseful from what she said.  

How can you ever trust someone who would do this to you?  Was it just a fall from grace, or a lifelong habit?  How can one tell?  

Are all men just dogs?   Any answers out there???

I certainly am glad that I wasn't the one to tell her about his internet stuff, wow, what a mess that would have been.