5/18/13

Passing for Normal

The past couple of days have been fairly busy.  Thursday, the carpet was laid.  Smitty told you all about that.  I left Thursday afternoon while they carpet installers were here and met up with fellow blogger Judy R.  We had coffee at Starbucks and I gave her the bobbin clips that I had previously used as my bobbin storage system.  Since they won't work with the new, larger bobbins that my new machine takes, I passed the clips along to Judy.  It was great fun getting to meet in person.  Judy came bearing gifts, which surprised me completely.  As she put it, her gifts had a chocolate theme:


Yum.  And may I just say that the pincushion will last longer than the chocolate bar did.  (Thanks again, Judy!)

Friday morning I had breakfast with Erik, which is always a delight.  It's such fun to hear news from my kids about what they're doing.  Erik and Mae were heading off to Eugene for the weekend to see the Oregon State Beavers play three baseball games.  These are some important playoffs, and since their bitter rival, the University of Oregon Ducks, was also in the mix, it was going to be nothing less than a grudge match.  (Go Beavs!)  I had a few errands to run on Friday, but I was pretty tired from the week.  I suppose I did a fair amount of work both packing up and cleaning up, but I think the most tiresome aspect of any kind of domestic re-do is having strangers in the house.  Fortunately, I could hide in the sewing room most of the time, but it isn't the same as having the house to myself.

All of that to say that I took most of the day off on Friday.  I was suffering with a muscle spasm right between my shoulder blades.  It's sort of a chronic problem, generally made worse by stress, and I haven't had to deal with it for quite some time.  So I ended up taking some strong muscle relaxants and sleeping most of the afternoon on Friday.  Under the circumstances, it was probably the best thing I could have done.  It is still bothering me today (Saturday), but not as much as it was on Friday.

This morning we got up and had breakfast with Matthew, who came up to help move some of the heavier items back to where they belonged.  Matthew, being without a car for the time being, then drove my car back to his house.  With Mike at home, I won't need a car until Tuesday, and so Matthew might as well have some wheels.  With Matthew's help, we have things put pretty much back to normal.  I took a break for a while to give my shoulder a rest, and then I managed to get everything unpacked and put back in its place.  Despite my whining about the mess and the stress, I'm absolutely thrilled with how things are looking.  I wish we had done it a long time ago.  On the other hand, these sorts of things always involve a good period of time getting psyched up.  Do you agree?

So this afternoon, I managed to get some more quilting done on the Divine Promises quilt.  All the blocks are quilted now, and I'm doing a Loopy Daisy Heart meander around the sashings and the borders.  I'm following along with Melissa Corry's video called Loopy Daisy Heart Leaf.  This is how it's looking.  It's easier to see from the back.



I have the quilt more than three quarters done, and so I'm hoping to finish the quilting tomorrow and also to get the binding sewn on by machine.  I can do the hand sewing next week.

So that's about all that's going on for now.  Next Friday, Mike and I will celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary.  We decided it would be a good time to make our return trip to The Palouse.  You can read about the trip we took there last fall after the harvest by clicking right here.  We've been dying to go back in the spring to see it all dressed in greens.  Just the other day, I found this image that really whetted our appetites for a return trip.

(image credit:  Kevin McNeal)

So we'll be heading out on Friday morning, and returning Monday evening.  Looking forward to that.  

Tuesday I'm heading down to Salem with my quilting buddy Pat to pay a visit to one of my favorite quilt shops, Greenbaum's Quilted Forest.  I need a few fabrics for my May NewFO project, and I get a birthday discount all during the month of May.  It seems like a perfect time to make the trip down. 

What's on your agenda for the weekend? 

11 comments:

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

Looking after the baby Saturday evenng while his parents attend the annual school fund-raiser where his mama teaches. Sun day I will have the afternoon to myself-a once a month welcome day alone.

Lyndsey said...

I like the way the quilting is coming along Barbara, its just perfect for that promise quilt. Like you I get stressed if we have people in the house to do work. Even with somewhere to hideout I can't settle to anything until they have finished. Hopefully this week will be more peaceful and your trip next weekend sounds perfect.

Sherry said...

Your weekend sounds lovely and very well deserved after all your redo activities. We built on our home and remodeled about 8 years ago and I am confident I still find that sticky sheet rock dust luring in corners that I was sure I had cleaned many times. Your quilting is perfect for that special quilt. Anxious to see the finished product.

Deb@asimplelifequilts said...

Your post hit home for me... we had two kids here putting our dock and boat lift in for 4 hours yesterday and that put me off my "game" a bit and they weren't even in the house! lol I love my alone time.

Dar said...

Glad everything is back to normal in your household. I know Smitty is also pleased. Happy Anniverssary to you both and you deserve a nice get away after all the work. I like your daisy quilting design. Looks like it might be easy to do on a DSM.

Anonymous said...

That Loopy Daisy is awesome....so sweet and does a great job of filling the quilt evenly with the stitching. Sounds like a great shopping trip!! Hugs, D p.s. Congrats on 38 yrs!!!!!

Diane Wild said...

Shoulder/upper back pain. Ouch. I can relate to that. Isn't it a relief to have the house project finished and everything in order again. I can also relate to that. Your quilting looks terrific. I'm going out to a dinner theater Sun. night to celebrate my birthday. Warm, stormy weekend means no outside fun.

Snoodles said...

Loopy daisy heart....looks fabulous! And happy anniversary (a little early is OK, right?) we just celebrated our 35th, so we are right up there with you! LOL Enjoy your trip!

quiltzyx said...

Have you tried Salon Pas for your spasms? I had a knot right in the shoulder blade area once that lasted for DAYS. My friend had some Salon Pas with her at work & stuck one on the spot for me. I am not exaggerating when I say that the knot was relaxed in less than 30 minutes. I've found that they work when I get muscle cramps in my legs too - you know the ones that wake you up from a sound sleep? Slap one on & cramp is gone in about a minute. Little miracles, I say.
Your FMQ keeps getting better & better & better - way to go!

Brown Family said...

any redo to the house it labor intense! Before and after! I know you are glad it is complete

Nan

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Happy almost anniversary! Hope you had fun.