My Life as a Sherpa

It's all about packing and hauling these days. We're pretty well packed for the move. The kitchen continues to be a challenge.Most of the miscellaneous stuff is packed except for stuff on the walls that I will take later.All of this stuff stays behind for the sale except for the cute little table and chairs which is new and the box of stuff on top of it which is going with her.I hired the kid from across the street yesterday, and we got all of the packed stuff carted over to the new place along with some small tables and a lamp. Donna is helping me put in shelf lining on Wednesday, and I told Mom we were going to unpack her kitchen on Thursday. The movers come on Friday morning to do the furniture.

In the meantime, I'm packing up my house for the carpet installers who arrive tomorrow morning.I still have the office and my bedroom to do.But in the process, I've gotten rid of more stuff -- to the mission box, and to take over to Mom's for the sale.

Barbara is coming in the morning to unhook the computer and TV's. I won't be back online until we figure out how to get it all re-connected. Send lots of kind thoughts our way this week, please!

Even so.....

On Saturday we had our 54th day of 100+ degree temperatures for the summer. That broke the dust bowl record by 4 days. That night a dry cold front came dropping the temps by a blissful 25 degrees -- but still no rain. Despite the temperatures and an unnatural reliance on the false rain of the sprinkler system, even so, the garden looks pretty good for late summer.

The Move and the Move it Foreshadows....

This afternoon I worked with Grandma for a couple of hours in the sorting and packing process. The goal at this point is to identify what is going with her and what will be left behind for the sale. It was painful for both of us, and we have language issues which don't help. When I say "Is it going/" She hears "Is it going away, as in to be sold?" What I'm meaning is "Are you taking it with you to Sunflower Gardens?" We had numerous variations on that theme and my attempts to establish a generally accepted terminology was unsuccessful. At the end of the afternoon, we had accomplished a good deal, but there is lots more to be done. I hauled the photo albums -- all zillion pounds of them -- off of her top shelf, out of her house, into my trunk, and finally into my basement.My Back hurts. And, of course, you girls can figure that the next time they move will be when you lug them out of my basement and to wherever they will land next.

I also brought the boxes of baby afghans to store in my basement. She has carefully labeled each of six boxes with one great-grandchild's name. In each there is a baby afghan to go to their child.One afghan per grandchild. She said she was not making more than that no matter how many kids they might have! And she has not

The Week that Was

After my last two busy weeks, this one was supposed to be calm and peaceful. But then the painter came a week early to do the ceilings.The purpose being to cover up the water damage in the kitchen.Turns out that it's a really big deal to paint "popcorn" ceilings.It took them 4 hours to get everything taped and draped off. And about 20 minutes to spray the ceiling to get the stains and look like this.Then the handy guy had time, and it was cool enough to get rid of my poor dead tree that was the victim of our 17 degree cold spell last winter.He hooked up his truck to the tree.And then it was just a hole in the ground.To end the week, I had a birthday. And wasn't it a lovely one?!?

Guests for Breakfast

On Friday night I hauled all of my quilting stuff from the car down into the basement. On Saturday, I hauled tables, chairs, etc. from the basement upstairs to set up for the Sunday School class breakfast that was at my house on Sunday.Everyone brought food, and we ate all over. Some braved the heat and humidity to enjoy the porch.There was a table set up in the "library."Several of the men settled in the living room and stayed the whole time.And the women took the kitchen table first thing. I think there were 20-ish people here. They left, and I hauled all of the tables and chairs and stuff back down to the basement. By noon, it was all cleaned up and back to normal, bringing my very busy two weeks to an end. I then put my behind in the chair and didn't move for three hours.

4-Day Quilt Retreat

Tuesday through Friday I attended a quilt retreat that was held at a conference center near Hesston. There were 54 women, almost all of whom stayed overnight. They slept four to five in a room and shared a bathroom and shower. Needless to say, I did not sleep over. Oh, no, I was a commuter. Home with the cats and my own bed each evening.Everyone brought their stuff -- sewing machines, lamps, extra tables, irons, comfy chairs, cutting boards, rulers of all types, equipment, temporary design walls and TONS of fabric! It was a very interesting experience to watch these women load in and set up camp.And so, all day we quilted. The sleep over people quilted late into the night too. Nothing but the soft sound of women's voices, occasional outbursts of glee at a finished project, some occasional laughter and the sound of sewing machines. And this is me at my tidy little camp site. I didn't realize how much different it was from everyone else's until I looked through the photos I took.My four day accomplishments don't seem too impressive. I learned how to make pillow cases. Anyone need any? And I mastered the techniques for making these very tedious blocks. Seven blocks and two setting triangles in four days. How long do you think it will take me to finish the whole quilt???!!

New Reader

Welcome to Randy as a new "regular" to the blog. I finally figured out how to add him to the e-mail notification, but it took a while. Couldn't find the right place for anything. There is a max of 10 e-mail slots, so I took myself off to add Randy. No room for anyone else, unless one of you decides that you don't need to receive e-mail notifications, but would rather just check the site periodically. If you do, that won't hurt my feelings, you know.