Seeing the Sunlight

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Party ends at midnight Monday morning.

It looks as if the rain has finally stopped here in Oregon for the first time since we returned home. Of course, we've had clearing here and there, but it's rained for the most part for the past five days. I saw this picture online the other day:

It occurs to me that this is certainly true for me because a rainy day means a day of sewing. It has been a busy summer growing tomatoes, canning, baking, boating, and just generally being outside enjoying the summer. About this time I get ready to spend more time inside with the fireplace on. I start missing the meals I cook in my Dutch Oven and the way that warm cooking aroma fills the house. It fills me with joy and immense satisfaction when Mike walks in the door at the end of the work day and says, "It smells good in here!"  All of that to say that it's the time of year when I start settling in for the winter, and it's not a bad thing. Come March, I'll be climbing the walls with cabin fever, but for now, I'll just go with it, be warm, and relax.

This morning I started my physical therapy. It's too soon to say whether it's helping, but I didn't hate every second of being there. The new therapist seems competent and he did a good evaluation. He's given me some simple exercises, and I will do them. I'll go twice per week for 4-6 weeks and then see how it goes. For now I'm only going to do the therapy and hold off resuming any course of exercise. It's important to know whether any pain increase is occurring because of the therapy, and resuming exercise now would get in the way of that experiment.

Yesterday I got my hair trimmed and then drove to the post office to pick up our mail. I stopped the mail delivery while we were on vacation. It was supposed to have resumed Monday, but it didn't. (Go figure. Do things like that ever work out as they're supposed to?) So I drove the 45-minute drive to the post office only to be told that they didn't know anything...have anything...know anybody...can't tell you anything...maybe the mail will be delivered today...maybe not...I think you're getting the picture. He helpfully gave me the telephone number of a supervisor to call, presumably to encourage me to go away. Fortunately (for the supervisor), when I arrived home, the mail was at the door.

So I set about sorting it into Mike's pile, my pile, and the recycling pile. (The recycling pile always wins, hands down.) In the process, I came across this note (my apologies to those of you who already read this on Facebook):

Really. Really? Rain in Oregon? Who woulda' thunk it? Good grief. If everyone stopped doing their job when it rained in Oregon, we'd win the prize for the most unproductive state, I'm afraid. So then I started getting all huffy about the postman's creed...

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

...only, as it turns out, Wikipedia informs me that the post office has no official creed. This, coupled with a government shutdown in the United States, shattered my illusion that there is anything just or sane remaining in the world.

Fortunately, I have my friends. Also in the box was this completely out-of-the-blue surprise doll quilt from my high school friend, Marei.

Marei and I reconnected about a year ago, and it has been such fun being back in touch. And I have been the beneficiary of Marei's talent for quilting and creativity. Last month, she sent me this mug rug made from "spirit ribbons" she'd collected from high school:

And yesterday, she sent me an adorable doll quilt! Oh my goodness! She explained in the accompanying card that she'd made a sock monkey quilt for her grandson, and then used the scraps to make a charity quilt for her guild. Then...she read on my blog that I was a sucker for anything "sock monkey" and so she made this little quilt for me using the scraps from the scraps! What a thrill! Here's how it looks from the back.

And here's the label she put on it.

Oh my goodness. I feel so blessed. Thank you, Marei, for turning an otherwise frustrating experience into a moment to cherish. One of these days real soon, we are going to find a way to meet up and I am going to hug you like you've never been hugged before. I can't wait to hang this on the wall with my other doll quilts. It is a perfect addition to the collection. Love it, love it, love it! (Brings tears of joy to my eyes.)

So I heard from Erik yesterday that they are signing the papers on their house today. I don't think I could be any more excited if it were my own first home. I stole this image off a real estate site so that you can at least see the front of it.

This picture really does not do it justice. I drove past it yesterday, and it was cute as can be...on a quiet street in a well-maintained neighborhood. It is an older neighborhood, and so the streets are lined with mature trees. It's off the main drag, and so it was very quiet, and a safe place for their kitties Chester and Lucy to cat around. They chose wisely for their first home.

Now I need to get busy finishing up the little stitchery I made for them. We'll be seeing them on Saturday when they are inviting some folks over to help celebrate. Yesterday I picked up a solid navy blue for the binding. I wanted something with a little more pizazz, but then realized that a solid color will work better for my plan to sew a label onto the binding with the lettering function on my sewing machine.

So that's about it for me. I had an early start this morning to make it to my PT appointment. I'm going to spend the rest of the day sewing. But before I go, I've decided to post a picture of one of your national parks every day while the government shut down continues. Pardon me for being political, but I can't recall when I've been so disgusted with the state of affairs in American government. So, as an ordinary citizen who feels completely impotent beyond casting my vote, I'm staging this little protest. That oughta' show 'em! You don't mind do you? At least you get to see some pretty scenery. 

For today's protest, this picture of Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park, California, taken in January, 2009. And after this, I'm going to open my window, stick my head out, and yell, "Power to the People!" Who's with me?