12/8/18

A Day to do Nothing

There's almost nothing to say about yesterday. Sue and I walked. It was cold, but I had on my long Johns, and so I was plenty warm. Along the way, I took pictures of a few berries we saw. My point and shoot camera has an auto focus feature, and I'm a little dependent on the camera to do the right thing. It's sometimes hard to focus on small things since the camera, in its wisdom, decides to focus on the background. There was a fallen tree with some cranberry-like berries on it that came out a complete blur. I did manage to get these little red berries...don't know what they are. Little rosehips, maybe?


Also these white snowberries. Don't get any ideas about eating these. They're a food source for birds, but they're considered poisonous to humans.


After our walk, I had a few errands to run, and then I came home, ate some lunch, iced my knee, and collapsed on the couch for the remainder of the afternoon. I slept hard, waking only when Mike called to tell me he was on his way home. In my defense I'll say that I'm up before 6:00 a.m. most mornings. I hadn't slept well the night before, and so I was tired on many fronts. As I mentioned to a friend in an email earlier this morning, it seems on some rare days, I need to catch up on some sleep. This morning I was up at my usual hour, having slept well last night. Today I'm ready to get back to work on whatever catches my attention for the day.

It's unusual for a day to pass when I haven't taken a single stitch. Yesterday was such a day...no slow stitching, no machine stitching. No stitching of any kind. Today I'll get back to both. After I finish up the last of the Rainbow Jubilee blocks, I'll have no more excuses for not finishing Wind in the Whiskers. I've been dreading the quilting for more than a year. As you know, it was partially completed last month,


and it wasn't nearly as bad as all my previous piled-on dread would have indicated. The rest should be easier, and yet, I continue to dread it. Time to get going on it, finish it up, and stop thinking about it.

Since I don't have much of interest to say this morning (do I ever?), I'm linking to a very old blog post where I talked about the ceramic nativity my grandmother made for me.


That's a picture of the whole thing. If you're interested in seeing and reading about it, you can see the blog post I wrote in 2011 right here.

16 comments:

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

I don't think your post is boring. I liked reading about your walk and seeing these pretty photos.

Kat said...

I think your grandmother and I got our figurines from the same manufacturer.Mine, while not as beautifully painted, are the same. I didn't paint as many as your grandmother did but I've enjoyed them for years.

djquilting said...

Your figurines are beautiful. You must have been your grandmother's favorite to get the whole set!

Terri in BC said...

I have that same nativity set - my mom painted in all one colour - white with a pearly-gold shimmer. It's my favourite! One day, I would love to meet you - I love your sense of humour and philosophy on life.

Linda said...

I really loved your post about the nativity set. I'm amazed at your grandmother's talent. Her love and your love for what she accomplished is a beautiful thing.

Val's Quilting Studio said...

My parents have an old Navity scene that my grandmother made....it's just beautiful I'm glad you are getting rest when needed....and well, some Winter days are just quiet. That's okay....

Quiltingranny said...

Hi Barbara:
I hate to post here directly but my yahoo will not add your address. I am looking for quilters to make quilts for the first responders that lost everything in the Paradise, CA fires last month.
I can be contacted at compassionatequilter@rocketmail.com with the heading Paradise Fire.
If you cannot contribute a quilt, would you mind letting other quilters know about this need? They can find me on Facebook at Layers of Hope Quilting 911.
The quilts are assigned to families and I do not receive them for delivery. These are the men and women who stayed on the lines to help people out of the area, put fires out while their homes were burning and many didn't know how their families were until much later.

Thank you,

Jean

crazy quilter said...

We all need to recharge our batteries, today was that for me. I did end up sewing a little before I gave it up but most of the day was spent watching Hallmark Christmas movies. A few cat naps and not much else. I d take the dog for. Walk inn this grey rainy day when the drops stopped for a few minutes. Oh well tomorrow is another day as Scarlet said.

Quilter said...


First of all your post are NEVER boring--got it... so keep up the good
blogging...
What a wonderful treasure you have in the beautiful Nativity Set just warm
you heart to think of all the love and time that was put into it and yes
may it be passed on and treasured by all in the future...

Many blessing to you and family …

Love your blog always..
MaryLou

piecefulwendy said...

Like the others have said, I don't find your posts boring. I like to hear from you each day and find out what you are up to. The nativity set is beautiful and the story behind it even more so. What lovely pieces, done with such a fine hand. The velvet effect and the gold on the camel are just amazing! What a neat treasure to have. It brought tears to my eyes as you mentioned her last words. Those moments are so special. As for me, I managed the grocery store run yesterday, although I went in a different door and it threw my shopping pattern all off. Haha. Came home to do some sewing, but it wasn't to be. Too many other distractions. I did get some organizing done in the room though, and a post written for Monday.

SJSM said...

It is always a pleasure to open my email and find your post. The day has started in a positive vein. Writing about nothing is still a pleasant few moments spent catching up on your day. Our day was packed with setting up Christmas decor. The rafter garland is up, the elves are in their place and the tree is set up, lit but not decorated. Today will start that process plus a few other Knick-knacks such as the duplicate nativity your mama made just done in jewel toned colors. It must have been a idea that spread far and wide back in the day. I did get some sewing done. I finished another rope basket and I made a "pillow bed" https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/make-kids-pillow-bed-easiest-cheapest-way.html. My 8 year old niece came to visit twice in the last few months. I only have one guest bed. We tried a pallet on the floor (which I remember many childhood nights sleeping upon when visiting relatives) but was informed by Matilda that it wasn’t the best nights sleep. The next time it was the sofa cushions on the floor and that was okay but no cushions on the sofa after she went to bed. Kinda hard to sit on the sofa and talk without cushions. Ergo, I looked for another solution. I saw many posts about sewing together pillow slips to make a bed but decided on the it’s always autumn version. It was quick and easy. Next visit Matilda has a new bed to sleep upon. I just need a few more standard sized pillows to fill the slots. Her visit will be after Christmas Day and we will do the next installment in her sewing education: sewing a knit T-Shirt. At least I hope she is willing to do a T Shirt. She may want to continue making stuffed animals.

Enjoy your day.

Natureluvr57 said...

I had to go read about the nativity set-I don't think I was following you back then. That's a timeless set. I did ceramics in the 70's and 80's and had my own kiln. Mom and I made a set for us, then about 5 more complete sets for my Aunts. I'm glad their daughters wanted them when they passed away. Mom is the last one out of 11 kids. Yes, we made the camels blankets to match the kings coats. I don't remember the gold being hard but red glaze was a pain. Some of the sets had an angel that was kneeling but ours has one you hang from a nail. Do you have issues with cats getting your Christmas tree ornaments and stuff you sit around? That's why I didn't put my nativity out. I could clear off a high shelf they don't bother and put it out but it looks better when it's not as high. I'm still trying to get use to our 4 rescue cats. One is a bully to two others, one is always into everything. She used to rip pieces of the leaves off my African Violet but she finally left them alone. A friend gifted me a lovely Frosted Fern and within an hour she was ripping pieces off the leave edges. She doesn't eat them but she's like a little shredding machine. Now I have to try and find a place for it where she doesn't go. Never a dull moment.

quiltzyx said...

The Snowberries look kinda like marshmallows, don't they?

It was lovely to read again about the ceramic nativity that you Grandmother painted for you. She did such beautiful work painting them. I'm glad that you still have them to enjoy.

(I know that the gold and opalescent paints are quite, um, malodorous. I've never used them but have been near an open bottle.)

Auntiepatch said...

What a beautiful Nativity she made for you! How special it is that you have a collection of her wonderful work.

Judy1522 said...

Your nativity set is beautiful. How fortunate for you that your grandmother gave you the whole set.

QuiltGranma said...

Yes, those are rose hips in the first picture. See the leaflets just almost out of focus? That helps one make sure that is what they are. I've seen robins and even squirrels eat them in mid winter, spitting out the hairy middle. Good source of vitamin C. Are those wild blackberry vines and leaves in the picture too?