This & That

Yesterday I met Linda for lunch in El Dorado. We did a little pig-out at Freddy's Frozen Custard -- LOVE their hot dogs! Then we went to WalMart where we got 2 folding tables for me to use in the basement along with bedding for Logan to take to school and cards and present's for Grandma's birthday. Then we stopped by a nursery, but it was too hot to be admiring plants for very long
NOTE: Is everybody necessary remembering Grandma's birthday? Of course it will be Shelby's too -- not to be forgotten either!
This morning I spent 1 1/2 hours at Grandma's house trying to teach her how to play a DVD. This is at least the 3rd time we've had such lessons. No success yet! IF she tries it this afternoon on her own, I'm sure I'll get a call to come straighten things out when she loses her cable signal, can't turn the TV on, or whatever it happens to be that she'll get messed up on.
It's too bad it took me so long to develop this incredible level of patience, isn't it?

Sooooo Embarrassed!

What AM I doing here??!!???It's election time and we have both a senate and a congressional seat open. And once again I find myself so very embarrassed to be living in Kansas. The Republicans have gone berserk-o! Each is trying to out-conservative the other. One says he is best loved by the NRA, another proclaims to be the darling of the TEA Party. Everybody has to prove that they are the MOST pro-choice, and they boast of how they have and/or will oppose EVERYTHING proposed by Obama and/or Pelosi.

The sad thing is that these are the arguments that work with the general population of the state! Who ARE these people that I rub elbows with every day! At election time I really miss being in Chicago. I feel much less threatened by crooked politicians than I do by ultra-conservative ones.

Dog Days of Summer

Yep, it is definitely the 'dog days of summer.' And just like this guy, keeping cool seems to be the omnipresent preoccupation.

The heat has turned me back into a quilter again. About once a week I get out in the very early morning to do a bit of maintenance in the garden. Otherwise, I hide out in the basement. I've been having great fun learning to use my new quilt design software. You can see one of my practice pieces on the screen.

I've also been dealing with scraps. The quilt on the ironing board came from the scraps left over from the three dormitory quilts. On the design wall are two pillow shams made from the scraps of one of the quilts I had in the quilt show. All are ready to go to the quilter now.

And I'm completely out of projects! So this afternoon I'm going to be in the basement looking at fabric, thinking, and deciding what I want to do next.
Stay cool!!

Good Fun in Bad Times

I just finished watching the live Jimmy Buffet concert going on in Gulf Shores, Alabama. What a very good time! He is such a happy guy! There's no way to watch & listen to him without smiling. He closed with one serious number about the oil crisis, but the rest was all fun, fun, fun.

The rest of the day has been less noteworthy. It's still 90 degrees at 7:30 and the humidity is yukky. I went to see God this morning and have been hiding from the heat the remainder of the day. I made a bit of headway on a quilt project and spent some more time learning my new quilt design software.

Hope you all have had a good week-end.

Hanging & Whacking (not related)

The Geeky Boys were here last weekend and hung my TV on the wall. At times like this I wish I had a handy person around so that I wouldn't have to pay through the nose to get things like this done. However....they left when they were finished. I did not have to cook their dinner, wash their underwear, or see their face(s) on the pillow beside me when I went to bed. All in all, I guess the price is worth it. And I do love how it looks. A HUGE improvement over the monstrously large entertainment cabinet that dominated the room when I first moved in.

The monsoon has moved on, but the clouds continue. I did get out to do a bit of gardening at my house yesterday and at Mom's this morning. Below is a little whacking lesson. On the left are the whacked veronicas -- about 10 inches tall. On the right are the staaggled veronicas that had gotten to 24" or more. They will conme back in about 3 weeks and be blooming again.

June turns into July

On Tuesday I went to Topeka to help Barbara celebrate her 65th birthday which was actually on the previous Sunday. I took a birthday cake but forgot to take the photo before we ate 2/3 of it. Thus a pic of Barbara and a birthday cake remnant. Behind her is the quilt I gave her last year which was for a few birthdays in a row.
Carrie got here late Thursday night. She stopped on her way back from Salt Lake City. From my days of traveling, I know what a sacrifice it is to be gone from home even a moment longer than necessary. Three cheers for Carrie for visiting her Kansas relatives. AND.....it was her birthday! (And, of course, Kellie's also.)
We went over to Linda's on Friday morning. It was a nice day as you can see from the photos with Linda's daylilies.
Nice sister photo, huh? Linda is down to one little dog, 1 large dog and 1 humongo dog. Their little Cricket had to go to doggie heaven recently. So, here's Linda with her remaining little dog, Emma.