Sister's Choice Quilts

911

 

911.  We all know about it, have even used it once or twice.  On Sunday, someone had to dial 911 for me.

I was walking with a colleague to my car after working all day at Talbots.  She is young and very fit, and was leaping up the three block hill like a gazelle.  Me, not so young (and not fit in the slightest), was trying to keep up with her.  Mistake.  I forget sometimes that I have chronic asthma.  I probably will not do that again.  Suddenly, with a speed that was truly remarkable, I could not breathe.  Could not breathe, could not speak, could not do anything but grab onto the side of a parked pick up truck and ease myself down onto the pavement.  That is just about all I remember for a bit.

The next thing I remember through the desperate gasping for breath I was going through, was a young policeman saying "Her lips are blue".  He asked me some questions, but I couldn't answer him back.  I had managed to pull out my inhaler, but was too weak/uncoordinated to get the thing to my mouth.  Nothing seemed to be working except for my sweat glands, which were doing triple duty while my lungs heaved.  Soon the paramedics arrived, and they knew just what to do.  In a blink of an eye, they had a face mask on me with a breathing tube full of asthma medicine.  It took awhile, but soon I could get a breath, even if it wasn't quite as big a one as I would have liked.

I was less confused, but still got my address wrong when asked.  It was really hard to say more than one or two words at a time.  I did notice a small crowd of local residents staring at me, and realized that I was somehow lying half under a big blue pick up truck.  Still not sure how that happened.  Shortly, I was trundled into the ambulance, my stalwart little co-worker continuing to hold my hand and say soothing things.  Husband was summoned, and I began to think that maybe I wasn't going to die right that minute after all.

I was advised to go to the hospital.  I didn't want to go to the hospital.  You want to know why?  My husband recently lost his job, and we have had our health insurance converted to Cobra.  Only we don't have any new insurance cards yet.  While I was lying there in the ambulance, grateful to be alive, I was worrying about how much this whole episode was going to cost us.  Thousands I am sure.  Go to the hospital?  Add a few more thousand dollars to the bill?  No.  Please. 

And you know what undoubtedly contributed to the entire asthma attack?  The fact that we no longer have prescription coverage and that I have been cutting my asthma medicine in half to make it last longer. 

I hear of fixed income senior citizens having to do that in order to afford their medications.  They just take half and make it last twice as long.  I always felt so sorry for the poor old folks who had to do that.  And now I was doing it.  Something is very wrong People.  Every one of us in this country should be able to have the medications and health care we need.  My blog has never been a format for political opinion, but I am so ready for a change in our health care.  That is all I am going to say about that.

After a time, I was released to my husband and soon was home in the bosom of my family.  Chest was still tight, I was a bit light headed, but I lay on the couch for an hour or so and then was escorted to bed.  Today I feel fine, but the memories that linger are strange.  I am afraid to sleep, in case my breathing stops.  And I am back to the full dose of all my asthma medications.

Yes, I am still worrying about how we will pay for this sudden and unexpected medical emergency.  But I am almost as concerned about the fact that I was on display for half of Carmel to gawk at while I was lying in the street half under a pick up truck, wearing a shirt that said "Ask me about my pants".  (Talbots is making us all wear these shirts to promote their newly designed pants fit).  Also, now my co-worker knows my age (gratifyingly 10 years older than she was guessing) and I am going to be in the Carmel Pine Cone Police Report.  "Female collapsed on Mt. View near Torres due to asthma attack.  Medical treatment given, hospitalization refused".  Along with other police reports such as "Neighbor dials 911 to complain of next door wind chimes" and "Dog defecates on the block of Dolores between Seventh and Eighth.  Owner warned to carry poo poo bags".

Lunch On the Town

 from Sara's iPhone

Last weekend, I was treated to a fabulous lunch by my son in law at a new restaurant in Carmel By the Sea.  The restaurant is called Basil, and is one of the hottest new spots for locals to dine.  It is tucked away in a little alcove off of San Carlos Street between Ocean and Seventh.  (No street numbers in Carmel--one of its eccentricites). 

I ordered the Sliders.  What ever happened that sliders fell out of favor?  I remember a fast food place who served them back when I was kid.  White Castle?  Anyway, they have to be the most fun little bites you can imagine.  These three little darlings were ground beef, cooked to perfection, topped with a bit of gorgonzola, bacon and arugula.  Heaven.  Just heaven. 

While we waited for the sliders to arrive, we snacked on warm bread and a special basil/olive oil dip.

 from Sara's iPhone

Just look at that color.  It tasted of basil and olive oil, and it doesn't get much more simple or delicious than that.  That is me there, having my sixth or seventh piece.  It's ok, they brought more for the others.

Side note:  you may notice that my vow to give up artificial nails did not last long.  Life's short.  Have nice nails.

The Most Beautiful Fabric Ever.

Rouenerries by French General  for Moda is the most beautiful fabric ever.  I haven't been this excited about a fabric collection in years.  And I get very excited about new collections from my favorite designers on a regular basis.  This collection is just so ...different.  Those are the faded reds and pinks above.  Here are the greens and lights.

And this is my favorite piece in the entire collection.  I think.

You won't be able to buy this fabric until October.  Do not be afraid of the name.  Roo-en-er-reese.

I happen to have a couple of jelly rolls that were sent to me as a secret stunt sewing mission for a well known quilt pattern designer.  Usually when I make a quilt with a particular fabric collection I am pretty much done with it when the quilt is completed.  I have no desire to use the group in a second project, I just want to move on to the next new fabric group that is out on the market.

Not so with this fabric collection.  No sirree-Bob.  I could make several quilts, table toppers, bags, and anything else you can think up with this fabric.  I LOVE it.  Love it.  I want to redecorate my house with it, wear it, eat it.  Well, maybe not eat it.  But I sure am hooked.

French General is a company that has been around for awhile.  The aesthetic of the company is the brain child of a lovely woman named Kaari Meng.  Please go check out the website and especially play some of the videos. Kaari is an inveterate collector, and is so interesting you won't believe it.   Her company is known for its "boho rural style" with a strong French influence as to style.  My impression is that she got her start with jewelry design.  The company sells books, paper, jewelry, and most notably to me, textiles.  The Rouenneries fabric collection was inspired by the cotton fabrics made in Rouen, France during the 18th century.

They even have a blog! The Warp and the Weft.  Please go check it out.  I know you will be as drawn in as I was.  Don't you just love a new discovery?

Here Now

 

Do you ever get so caught up in the busy-ness of your life that you realize that you aren't really paying attention to that life?  One of the woman I work with at one of my jobs has a license plate that reads HERENOW.  Get it?  Here and Now.  She is a meditation/yoga enthusiast who takes that phrase to heart.  I have to remind myself what a good mantra it is.

I ask myself, "What's the rush?  Why hurry on just to get to the next Thing?"  It is true that my life has been fairly hectic this summer.  It is also true that I have grumbled a good deal about not having the time to sew on my quilting projects, read as much as I like, and especially, not seeing as much of my family.  I race from my morning job to my afternoon job, my thoughts focused on whether or not I will be able to find a good parking place.  Today I ask myself, "What's the point?  If I park farther away, I can enjoy the stroll on the way".  It is so easy to change the way you think about things if you make an effort.

It has been my habit to rush home after my afternoon job to face dinner preparation for my family.  I have felt over burdened and somewhat resentful.  After all, I worked all day long, and now I have to make dinner. Grumble.  Harumph.  Yesterday, I changed my attitude a bit.  I got home and enlisted both husband and son to help my with the dinner preparation.  We sipped our After Work drinks (wine for me, beer for them) and chatted companionably while we marinated, chopped and sauteed together.  Dinner was great and I found myself comfortably unwound from my busy day. 

Instead of fretting about the next moment, I made myself be present in the moment that I was having right then.  And making the most of it.  At this time, there isn't much I can do to change the fact that I have to work quite a bit.  What I can change is being Here Now and opening myself to the possibilities in the moment.

I have a friend, Susan, who is facing a major challenge right now.  While I think of her constantly, there is little I can do to besides send her my positive thoughts and prayers.  "In times of great struggle, when there is nothing else to rely on and nowhere else to go, it is the return to the moment that is the act of faith.  From that point, openess to possibility, strength, patience, and courage can arise.  Moment by moment we can find our way through."  S. Salzberg

New Stunt Sewing Project and Honey Buns

I have been invited to do another stunt sewing project for my favorite Quilting Rock Star!  This QRS has many qualities to recommend her, but one that I appreciate most is her tendency to send a bribe a little incentive gift prior to sending the project instructions.  This time she sent me four Harmony Honey Buns as my little gift!  I have never done a single project using honey buns, if you can believe it.  I have embraced Layer Cakes and Jelly Rolls with great enthusiasm, and have used them in a number of projects to date.  However, Honey Buns (a more recent offering from Moda) have slipped under my radar so far.

What shall I do with this bounty?  Any suggestions of adorable patterns I might use?

And what is the stunt sewing project, you ask?  Well, I can't tell you.  Because I am sworn to secrecy for one thing, and because I have not yet received my instructions for another!

I can show you the fabric I will be working with though.  Hold on to your hats, and don't hate me-----

Yes.  Yes it really is.  Rouenneries by French General for Moda.  Not available anywhere yet (except from Quilting Rock Stars and other Quilting Personalities close enough to Moda for pre-release cuts).  And I have some in my house.  I am keeping it on the dining room table for now, so I can see it each time I pass by the table (approximately 57 times a day).

As I say, I do not know what I will be asked to do with this most gorgeous fabric.  I have two jelly rolls, a Dessert Roll (10 5" strips of the solids in the line), and the light colored fabric in the foreground of the photo. 

I am beside myself with excitement over this assignment, whatever it may be!

OP Quilt Quilted

I just got my OP (Orange Project) Quilt Challenge quilt back from the quilter's, and I really really love it.  Sophie does too, as you can see from the photo.  She is claiming it as her own, which she does with most things new to our home.  It is as if she feels she needs to endorse anything novel, so we all realize that she has given it her approval and it is therefore safe.  She is such a protective little thing.

She did the weirdest thing this week.  I was chopping garlic and ginger with one of those Zyliss chopping things that fits over the food you are chopping and minces everything super small.  I love it for chopping things like ginger and garlic because it gets the job done in no time flat without a big mess.

 

The thing is, when you use this thing, you have to press the plunger down rapidly, and with some force.  The plunger has blades at the bottom, which does the chopping job.  It makes quite a pounding noise, which could prove to be alarming to any smaller creatures in the house, such as over-protective dogs.  Sophie had warned me in the past, that my use of this object was deeply disturbing to her.  She will growl when I take the device out of the cupboard and then bark and bark when I begin the chopping.  It is sort of amusing actually.

Or so I thought.  This week, when I got the thing out of the cupboard, she was suspiciously silent.  "Look", I said to my husband and son.  "She should start barking any second.  It is so funny to see her".  No response from Sophie.  Hmmm, I thought, guess she is over it.  However, when I commenced my loud chopping/pounding she sprang at me quite unexpectedly and bit me on the butt.

Not hard, but hard enough to startle the dickens out of me and make me stop the pounding. A good nip to get my attention.  Ah Sophie, thank you for once again directing my behavior in the right direction.  Ouch.  My husband and son collapsed on the floor in hysterics of course, and will laugh til they have tears in their eyes if you remind them of the incident.  It is so fun to have Mom look like a fool.

Back to the subject of the Orange Project quilt that Pat Sloan sponsored back in February.  Here is a better picture.  Actually, none of my pictures are coming out very clearly today.  Must be the light.  The fabric collection is Sonnet by April Cornell for Moda.

Here is a close up of the quilting, courtesy of Debbie Thornton at Prairiequeens.  Nice, huh?

The colors of this quilt are so putting me in the mood for fall.  Like my sister Andrea, I tend to rush the seasons, tiring of the one I am in towards the end and wanting to get on with the one coming up.  With any luck, I will get the binding attached and sewn on this weekend.  I am anxious to use this quilt on one of the brown leather chairs in the family room.

Whoop-dee-doo!  I have half a day off today, the ENTIRE day off tomorrow, and half a day off on Sunday!  Sara and Ryan are coming down with Remy and I expect to be in a state of bliss to be able to have the whole family together under my roof.

Have a great weekend Friends.

Around the House in Late August

Time to get out the end of summer, transition into fall decorations people.

I just bought this cool plate at Williams Sonoma and have it displayed on my "Bird Cage".  I bought the Bird Cage about 20 years ago and paid for it all by myself.  It was such an extravagance at the time, mainly because it is a piece of furniture that has no function what so ever.  It is purely decorative, and takes up a heck of a lot of space.  I love to decorate, and this thing-a-ma-bob is just the ticket for seasonal displays.

This is End of Summer, with the new Tuscan plate and the Italian rustic bowl full of small apples.  It makes me happy to switch things around, and this piece of furniture lends itself to that perfectly.  The bottom section, under the bowl of apples is a wine rack.  The upper part, which is out of the picture, is kind of a cupola thing, with a brass doohickey on the top.

At Christmas, I have my Murano glass tree collection displayed on it.  At Easter, the bunny collection comes out.  I have a lot of fun with it, despite its inherent uselessness.  In my present house, there is a deep niche between the fireplace in the family room and a built in desk, where the Bird Cage fits perfectly.  I was going to tuck in this arrangement of Teddy Bear Sunflowers, but I opted to put them on the bookcase across the room instead.  Gosh, decorating is fun.

Fancy Schmancy

This past week has been Concours d'Elegance in Carmel/Pebble Beach.  It is an event that brings millionaire car collectors from all over the country into our area for exhibitions, races, charity auctions and assorted sundry events all involving expensive, antique, unusual and rare automobiles.  People from Salinas, where I live, cannot afford tickets to the main event, even though the admission price has been lowered from $220 to $150 this year. 

Carmel, where I work, has been pretty impossible this past week.  You could not find a place to park your own ordinary car to save your life.  Bugattis, Ferraris, Lotuses, and even the odd Maybach or two were everywhere you looked.  Men with cameras everywhere snapping pictures.  I have had to park blocks and blocks from the store where I work, and while walking to work isn't so bad, walking back to the car with sore feet after a day standing on them is another story.

My husband, son and I got invited to a fancy party during the past weekend, where many of the guests had been participants in the week long Concours festivities.  The party was awesome, especially for People Watching.  My gosh, did I ever see some fancy clothes and jewelry.  One of my friends has been dating a local jeweler, and he pulled a "Harry Winston" and had her decked out in diamonds on her neck, wrist and ears.  Wow, I have never seen such sparkle.  Can you imagine being a beautiful woman, yet being eclipsed by the glitter and gorgeousness of your jewelry?  Think about it friends, maybe there is such a thing as too many diamonds, if that is all people look at, and you fade into the woodwork.

Anyway, I digress.  There were amazing cars every where we looked.  My son grabbed my camera and snapped some pics of cars that were just parked at the party we attended.  I have no clue what they are, but that's just me. 

Everyone has their hobbies, and let me just say, I am so happy that mine is quilting.

New Dress Code

These are my favorite summer shoes.  They are espadrilles made by Andre Assous, and have conformed themselves to my unique feet.  If I took them off, you can see the little depressions my toes have made in the bed of the shoes.  I love these little shoes.  They have adorable rope soles with just enough of a heel lift to look stylish, but still feel heavenly.  I can stand on my feet for 10 hours and my feet do not complain because they are snuggled gently within the pillowy wonderfulness of these shoes. 

I have always had Problem Feet.  About 15 years ago I had surgery to correct six hammer toes, which had made my life miserable since I was about 12 years old.  I had big gnarly knuckles on my very long toes, which rubbed on all my shoes and caused blisters, callouses and all sorts of other painful and unsightly foot issues.  My feet were quite unattractive and caused me a lot of discomfort.  The process of correcting the hammer toes involved taking the middle joint out of those poor six toes and fusing them together into straight little sausages.  Now those toes have a slightly pudgy and out of whack looking shape, but no more problems with the aforementioned afflictions.  I will never have beautiful feet, but what an improvement.  Six of my toes now have a faint scar, and do not bend anymore, but oh my goodness, what a blessing not to have pain in my toes from the misshapen mess my toes used to be.

Now I can wear cute shoes without incident.  I am even happy enough with my feet to show my toes, which in the past, I never would have done.  I can wear just about any style of shoe, and you all know how much I love my shoes. 

Working at retail means I have to be on my feet for extended periods of time.  Plus, since I am in Fashion Retail, I have to look Cute.  No clogs or clodhoppers for me.  These little black espadrilles have been my best friend this summer.  Until this weekend.

Talbots is changing its sales associate dress code.  We all gotta dress up more, doncha know?   As of September 1, no more sandals, no more open toed shoes.  No more cute comfortable espadrilles.  Oh no.

I don't actually have to wear heels, but I do need to wear attractive, stylish, closed toe shoes.  Ack.  My toes want to be Free.

Sophie update:  She is fine.  A little darker than usual, but fine.  We ended up not taking her to the groomer to have her fur shaved off.  The last bath seemed to have done the trick and she is not leaving oily tracks anymore.  A bit of oil must have gotten into one of her eyes, which was irritated for a day or so, but that has resoved itself too.  Did you read Susan's post today?  What is it about these fierce little dogs named Sophie?

Oil Spill At Our House

istockphoto

Ok.  I don't know what is going on cosmically, but things around here are totally out of whack.

My son likes to change his own motor oil.  Great.  It is an economy.  He saves a bundle not going to Jiffy Lube.  So what does he do with the dirty motor oil he drains from his truck?  Oh, he leaves it on our side yard of course.  We have been asking him for a l.o.n.g. time to get rid of it.  He meant to do it any time now.  But he didn't.

This afternoon Sophie discovered some prairie dogs nesting in our wood pile.  She dismantled the wood pile and managed to kill yet another prairie dog.  Ah, but there was one more in there.  She completely knocked down the wood pile, and tipped over some of the dirty oil containers while she was at it, trying to catch that one last critter.

When my husband got home, there was Sophie, all proud about the dead prairie dog, but also covered with dirty motor oil.

This is no joke people.  Animals can die from licking the oil off of their fur or feathers.  Plus, with all that black oil on her, there is no way she could ever come into our house again.  So, my husband started bathing her at 5:00.  When I got home at 7:00, he had just taken her out of her third bath in dishwashing liquid.  She was still oily.

We filled the bathtub AGAIN and DH got in with Sophie, who I must say, was being a great sport about three hours of baths.  We scrubbed her and scrubbed her, and then at 8:00 when I started to use my dryer to blow dry her fur, she was still oily.

She is dry now (but still black and oily), and in her crate, and tomorrow she is going to the dog groomer, where I have no clue what they will do with her.  Shave her bare?  How else to get rid of the oil? 

It is a mess I tell you.  The perfect capper to a pretty sub-standard week.  I have really been trying to be positive, but I may have reached my limit.

Next day update:

Sophie is pretty tired today from all the fussing over her yesterday afternoon.  One of her eyes is all bloodshot--she must have gotten oil in it.  Lucky for us she loves water, so all the baths we had to give her were tolerated very well.  We seem to have gotten most of the oil off of her, but her fur is darker on her paws, back legs, and on her face.  You can see from the picture that she is not her usual color.  Her back  end is supposed to be the same red color as her head.   She is curled up in her favorite spot for her morning nap--on my unmade bed.