Fun and Games

Have you heard of this game, "Apples to Apples"? It's a blast.
Last night we had friends over for dinner -- a family of four, made up of Kim and Tom and their two sons, ages 10 and 13 -- and we played this game after dinner. We all had a great time. It's pretty amaing to find a game that kids and adults can play together and be on the same playing field, if you know what I mean.
The game has two typies of cards. The red cards have nouns: specific people (like "Elvis" or "Richard Nixon" and things like "my parents" and "cold pizza." The green cards contain one adjective...say, "Exotic," with a definition of the word. You go around the table and each person takes turn being "judge." The judge picks a green card and announces the adjective for that round...Let's say "Crazy." Each person looks at the 7 red cards in his/her hand and chooses one that the judge is likely to think is a good example of "crazy." (I won this round last night by playing my card "Jim Carrey." Each player puts one red card on the pile, and the judge sorts through the options and chooses which, to him or her, is most "crazy." The trick (and the thing that makes it great with kids) is that each judge gets to define the adjective in his/her own way. So what's best for "crazy" to an adult might not be the same for a kid. The player whose red card is selected by the judge gets the green adjective card to keep...and at the end, the one with the most green cards wins.
It's silly and fun and good for vocabulary building, too. We had a lot of laughs and fun discussions -- what's "creepier," a "crawl space," a spider, or the school cafeteria? The adults would have voted for the crawl space, but 10 year old Conor chose the school cafeteria as that round's winner!
A good time was had by all.

Goodbye, 2006

Before 2007 gets more than a few hours old, I wanted to continue my annual tradition of remembering some personal highlights of 2006. So, here are some of the things that made 2006 a wonderful year for me and my family:

I watched the Artful Quilters Blog Ring really blossom in it second year...Can you believe it's just over 2 years old now? What a great assortment of words and pictures and inspiration and fun from such creative quilters!

I got to celebrate special birthdays with two of my best friends, Beth and Moe. Beth had a big birthday bash on a riverboat on the Sacramento River...it was pouring rain outside while we cruised, but we didn't care. And a bunch of us surprised Moe by flying down to Southern California to attend a surprise party for her. She was so surprised that she wss 2 hours late to her own party!

I learned to knit lace for the first time and finished a lace shawl. This was quite the feat. And although I enjoy the shawl, I won't be doing that lace thing again any time soon.

I got to meet in person two people I'd admired from afar: Frieda Anderson (in a fun workshop) and Annie Smith of the wonderful quilting podcast Quilting Stash. I really appreciate the inspiration they provide. And both are lovely, friendly women.

We enjoyed a wonderful visit with our friends Silvia and Paolo from Guatemala. We miss them so much now that the no longer live near us and we treasure getting to see them when we can.

I got a new, double-wide computer monitor and it has changed my work life! This may sound silly, but it allows me to work with two screens open side by side, or two document pages. I remember vacillating about buying the extra wide screen...and I am SO glad I did. It's one of those things I use every day and it really makes computer life better.

My family enjoyed a great snowy vacation in Lake Tahoe and had the fun of seeing our lab Gemma encounter snow for the first time. I still smile picturing her bounding like a kangaroo through the deep snow.

I had two (TWO!) wonderful quilt retreats at Bishop's Ranch with the usual fun ranch hands. I'm already looking forward to the April retreat.

We watched Caroline grow and develop confidence as a creative performing artist with the Imagination Foundation. She (and we!) were so happy when they chose Caroline's idea to use a Chinese folk tale as the basis of their spring performance. Seeing this group of kids, from 9 to 14, work together to create their own theatrical work is really impressive.

I got to see Roger have the satisfaction of finishing his major textbook and hold the results of his hard work in his hands. What an accomplishment!

And we celebrated with a memorable family vacation on Maui. What a great time that was. (Gee, I'd love a Blue Hawaii about now...)

Caroline and I indulged our Toontown obsession and had a great mother-daughter weekend at Toonfest in Burbank. (I turned our photos into a hard-bound book via Kodak's Easy Share Gallery and made a great souvenir, too.)

I got a wonderful, gorgeous, fabulous new car! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my car. It makes me happy just to sit in it.

I enjoyed the friendship and inspiration of a new quilting minigroup--and look forward to more fun, chat, and inspiration!

I made 9 finished quilts and completed several other quilt tops...that, along with the other things I've started along the way...

I got two quilts accepted to Pacific International Quilt Festival and had the fun of lurking around them to hear viewers' comments when the quilts were hanging at the show.

We survived our vandalism experience with the support of friends and neighbors, we learned we have really good insurance companies, and we now are enjoying the silver lining of it all: two new couches, new carpeting, and a whole new look to the living room!

I saw Caroline move to a new school with bravery and confidence and eagerness to make new friends. Watching her accomplish this significant transition for a 10 year old so gracefully has really made me proud of her and pleased for her.

And truly the best highlights of the year? Those moments with friends and family that aren't big events but just make me feel great to have such wonderful people in my life.

May the upcoming new year see us all surrounded by the love and laughter of our friends and family!

Playin' Around

Well, now that I've got time on my hands, I've found some lovely ways to fool around.

In the mood for a lovely, wintery game? Try Winterbells. It's charming and amazingly addictive. And the music is so soothing.

Want something more upbeat and graphic? Try these squares.

Did you know you can play Battleship online? I loved this game as a kid.

I've discovered I'm quite good at online miniature golf...better than I am in person.

How's your aim at tossing paper into the trash can? You can practice here.

Or if you just want to mindless pop bubblewrap? Go crazy here.

Oh, and in case you need to send some holiday thank-yous before you can play without guilt? Well, here you go.

Good thing I didn't discover all of this before I got my work done.

Back to the living

Well, I made it through my massive work project. I have logged something like 60 billable hours in the last week, and I'm pretty tired. But all is done and filed in court and now I have at least a week with no work to do. Plus, there's a big check coming for all these hours so that's handy.

Yesterday, having been to bed at 3:30 am, I woke up at 10am, spent a few more hour on the computer and phone to make sure all the work got to the secretary and was ready for filing, then went back to bed and slept solidly from 1 to 5 pm. I rose, had dinner, and was ready for bed by 9pm. I sure can't do late nights any more, and when I do I take forever to recover.

BUT today I am back among the living. I have had breakfast with Roger and Caroline, I've put away two loads of laundry and have more going, I've tidied up Christmas debris and vacuumed the whole downstairs, I've loaded Itunes on Caroline's computer so she can manage her own brand new Ipod, I've put my work files away (out of sight, out of mind!) and I've made a grocery shopping list. I don't think I've been out of the house in 6 days, so an excursion to the store should be an adventure!

Something tells me I'll be crashing for a nap later...but for now, I feel quite happy to be back to real life. Oh, and I've made the blogger transition to New, Improved Blogger so we'll see how it all goes.

Can quilting be far behind?!

Let the cooking begin!

Last night, feeling fuzzy headed and bleary eyed, I emailed a draft of the pleading I've been writing to Bob, my legal compatriot, then turned off the computer and went off to soak in the bubble bath. Lovely! I was in bed by 10pm, which is hours and hours early for me this week.

But today I am in holiday mode. This afternoon my best friend in the world Beth arrives, then she and my sister and the three of us will feast on cold cracked crab, sourdough french bread, Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) and caesar salad.

My holiday surprise to everyone tonight is MATCHING CHRISTMAS pajamas, so we can all look foolishly festive (or festively foolish) while we sit around after dinner playing games and such.

Tomorrow, my folks, brother, SIL and her mom will arrive mid-afternoon. Dinner will involve herb-crusted beef tenderloin, baked shrimp, cream cheese scalloped potatoes (a new crock pot adventure), salad, and the required raspberry jello salad. Beth is bringing a Buche de Noel (the traditional french chocolate cake yule log, which will amuse my mother no end as she will surely remember my senior year in high school when she helped me make one for my french class christmas party) and Kitt is bringing apple pie.

So, today is all about food. I am off to make the jello, the artichoke dip (another absolute holiday must-have in our family), and two kinds of Christmas cookies. Usually I get the cookies done earlier...but heck, they're getting baked and that's what counts. They're not even needed for Christmas, actually, but for the post-Christmas nibbling.

Caroline is ready to be my #1 helper, and Roger plans on an afternoon nap, which he richly deserves after covering most of the parental duties while I've been locked in my office all week.

Now, where's that butter? Hand me the bag of flour...

A Paper White Christmas

Here's a holiday riddle for you.

What goes rustle rustle rustle, clickety clickety clickety, munch munch munch, zzz zzz zzz?



Me.


The rustle rustle rustle? I am wading through 8000 documents for a litigation emergency. I'm not kidding. I have 7532 to go. That's MY white Christmas.

The clickety clickety clickety? Typing the pleadings. They're due on Dec. 29 and I have sworn to do no work on Dec. 24 and 25, so I'm clicking as fast as I can.

The munch munch munch? Holiday cookies, of course.

And the zzz zzz zzz is self-explanatory. Although that's what I'm doing least of this week.

Despite the work craziness, I'm enjoying the festive feeling as Christmas approaches. Caroline is thrilled to be done with school for 2 weeks (and Roger is for 4 weeks). I'm jettisoning things off of the pre-Christmas to-do list right and left with determined practicality. I can always watch White Christmas after December 25.

So, blogging is taking a seat in the way back of the bus, as is the AQ blog ring. (Sorry to all of you with blogs pending...I'll get back to it soon, I promise.)

Meanwhile, I wish all of you the happiest of holidays. Enjoy your loved ones and be glad to be together.

Everything's Coming up Cupcakes

I have gone from being sick and lethargic to being healthy and frenzied. I guess that's par for the course at this time of year, eh?

We are in full holiday mode around here. The tree is up, the decorations are scattered throughout the house ("Why is there a Santa in our bathroom?" Roger asked. His family never was into holiday decorations much, I guess) and lights are strung outside. Shopping is even almost done. My annual late night "White Christmas" movie-and-gift-wrapping fest is not far away.

But first, the show must go on. This year, Caroline has been involved in a wonderful kids' acting group called the Imagination Foundation, and this weekend is their big ensemble performance of 1001 Arabian Nights. Caroline and about 15 other kids have been working for months on this production. They performed Thursday morning for a whole bunch of kids from various schools in the community, then have shows Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon. Thursday was a special thrill because Caroline's classmates, teacher and principal were there, along with various other friends. The play is going off without a hitch and Caroline is discovering the excitement of performing with a group of friends. After tonight's performance, she said the best part was when they huddled backstage for a celebratory cheer.

And those cupcakes up there? I didn't bake those, but it sums up today. I made 4 dozen festive cupcakes and three batches of fudge (plain, pecan, and peppermint) for the theatre bake sale. Maybe I'll be able to face the family Christmas cookies next week sometime.

I am SO looking forward to snuggling into my flannel sheets tonight! 

A reassuring surprise

This morning I tried to call a friend in Sacramento, and started to dial her area code, 916. Well, my office phone is getting old and now I find that I have to press the buttons extra hard to get them to register. Well, as I was dialing I noticed that some numbers weren't registering and some were registering double, so I hung up and dialed again. As it turned out, my friend wasn't home and I left her a quick message.

Moments later, my phone rang. It was a police dispatcher. "We've received a 911 hang up call from this number," she said. "Is everything okay?" I realized that my "1" button had registered twice as I tried to dial 916, so I'd accidentally dialed 9116 before I'd hung up. I thanked the dispatcher for checking, apologized for the false call, but explained that it was my phone acting weird and I hadn't meant to dial 911.

Well, just minutes later Caroline came running up to my office (where I was engrossed in sewing) and said that daddy needed me downstairs right away. I headed downstairs, where I found a police officer in our living room. "We got a 911 call from Diane," he said, "and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Turns out that even tho I had confirmed for the dispatcher that it was a mistake, officers check on 911 calls in person to verify. The officer wasn't going to take Roger's word for it that I was fine, without seeing me. I reassured him that it WAS an accidental dial, and he left.

Isn't it nice to know that a 911 one call (even an accidental one) gets this much assistance?

Odds and Ends

Thanks for all the nice comments about my red and white house blocks. They've been fun to make.

And about those blocks? Some time ago (over a year, probably) I bought this set of templates thinking it'd make the house-construction easy. So, last weekend I pulled them out to use them. Well, although the package doesn't say this anywhere on the outside, these templates only work for the traditional style house if you applique several components. Frankly, this hugely irritates me. The block is perfectly piece-able, and the package didn't provide any clue about this change in construction technique.

So, after some fiddling (and concluding that I was too spacy to try to draft a new block) I found a paper-pieced schoolhouse block, a freebie on the Quilters Newsletter site. So I was able to forge ahead, without that nasty need to cut precise shapes ahead of time.

Meanwhile, on another note, the cats are enjoying our new sofas.



I'm getting really good at getting the cat off in a flash, by the way.


At least Willow cooperates by snuggling on the washable throw. (Isn't it gorgeous?) 

Kick start for art quilts

Look what arrived in my mailbox this week! It's a wonderful booklet called "Small Art Quilts: Designing a Series" by our very own Deborah!

I was really looking forward to seeing this, as I know how charming Deborah's work is. And I am not disappointed! It's a great collection of tips and ideas for getting started in a fun, free-form way. And, in typical Deborah-style, there are cool illustrations and fun surprises inside.


I bought an extra copy to donate to my guild's library, by the way. We have a lot of members who want to try art quilting but don't know how to start. And this would make a great holiday gift for your quilty friends! You can order them here. 

At Home

Things have been so silent here because things have been really quiet around my house.

I've had some creepy, crawly flu bug, and all I've done, pretty much, is drag myself from bed to couch and back again. I think I've watched more tv in the past week than I've seen in the past 3 months.

I'm feeling a tad perkier, but I'm still shaky.

And those red houses up there? For years I've had this desire to have a red and white school house quilt to hang in the stairwell in December. Don't ask me why, but I just like this simple traditional pattern. I've been collecting red and white prints for a few years now, and over thanksgiving weekend I figured I'd give it a start. It's another mindless sit-at-the-machine and sew sort of thing, for that little energy I've had.

Okay. That's my endurance for the morning...back to the couch for me with a up of hot tea. 

The bottom of it all

No, we don't have a pink living room floor. But this is what the living room and dining room look like today as I'm waiting for the carpet guy to come back and install the new carpet.

This will represent the final fix of the vandalism damage, believe it or not. New couches arrived last week.

Now all that will remain is to redecorate the rest of the room to match the new stuff. Ahem.

I've been hanging out at Calico Corners lately, and have acquired fabric for new valances, slipcovers for the dining room parson's chairs, and other fabric for the other dining room chair seats.

So I'll be upholstering any day now. And we should have a whole new look downstairs by Christmas. 

The lull

I'm having one of those fallow periods. I've gotten a bunch of things done, and there is nothing pressing on my plate at the moment. You'd think this would be a great time to jump in and play with one of the many ideas I've had rolling around in my head.

But I'm just not in the mood.

All last week, I cleaned and tidied and purged and filled several car-loads with stuff for the Salvation Army. So, I'm enjoying just sitting in a very tidy house.

I've finished three quilts in the last few weeks. It's satisfying to have them out of my works-in-progress pile and I've enjoyed working on them. But (strangely, for me) I'm not in any rush to start something new.

I just got the wonderful Journal Quilts book from Quilting Arts and I've really been enjoying looking through it. There are great creative ideas on every page. Still, I've not rushed to my studio to try anything.

I think I just need to rest and recharge.

I'm reading. I went off to the library today to return the latest stack of books and found the Friends of the Library sale in progress. I came home with a new stack of books (hardbacks for $1 each!) so I have good reading ahead.

I've been watching Monarch of the Glen, a wonderful gentle series about the trials and tribulations of a modern-day laird of a run-down but charming castle in Scotland, courtesy of Netflix. And today, I started "Seamless," a documentary about the fashion industry which I suspect was the creative seed for Project Runway.

So, I feel a bit unsettled, but I'm remembering that these times are necessary for the busy times ahead.

Maybe I'll get my bag of Melody's fused scraps tomorrow and see what happens...

Monday's Agenda

As you can see from the view out my office window, it's a grey, rainy day today.



I love being inside and cozy on rainy days. (It's not the gorgeous snowfall that Gerrie and Kristin are enjoying, but it's good enough for me!)

I'll be doing some legal work this morning...



Then maybe some machine quilting to finish the garden quilt.



Not thrilling, but a day of contentedness.

Inch by Inch, Row by Row

I finished my second fruit and veggie quilt last night. It's called "Inch by Inch, Row by Row" from that lovely garden song. This pattern comes from Kaffe Fassett's Quilt Road book, and is a pattern designed by Mary Mashuta. It's chaotic and colorful, just like a real garden.

This morning, I took both fruit and veggie quilts outside to photograph them. I don't have a good place to photograph large quilts so I rig a temporary spot by pinning them to the shades that roll down and protect our patio from bright afternoon sun. I didn't take the time to make these look as square as they really are.

Here's the other fruit and veggie quilt, called "Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables: It's the Law!"

Pointless Sisters' work

No quilting activity from me today, as I spent the day cleaning a big closet and various drawers. I'm in spring -- um, fall -- cleaning mode around here.

However, Ann H., the official photographer of our guild's art group (aka The Pointless Sisters) sent me a disk of photos from the last few meetings, as I'd promised to post them here. The Pointless Sisters is a subgroup of the Santa Rosa Quilt Guild, and it's open to anyone in the guild who is interested in art or contemporary or non-traditional quilts. It's a diverse group, and we have fun show-and-tell sessions.

Ann W.'s piece (from a Sue Benner workshop, I believe):



Caroline's appliqued and hand-quilted masterpiece, which is hanging at the Quilt Festival in Houston as I write this:



I don't know who made this, I'm sorry to say, but it's cool, isn't it?


A small landscape by someone (sorry, missed this meeting!)



Jane's fractured landscape:



Jane's play with dimension:



A broderie perse fence scene by Caroline:



Cathy Z's split circles



Janet's arabic lattice (notice all those coffee fabrics):




Janet's Twisted Sister quilt (she's in a long-time minigroup called the Twisted Sisters so this was perfect for her)



Selma's result from a workshop with Karen Combs at our guild



Genie's asian fabric quilt



Sandy's applique in progress

12
13

Good news

The news this morning confirming the election results from last night started my day off very well, thank you very much. For the first time in years, I'm feeling hopeful about this country's future again.

And with that happy feeling, I headed off to my art mini-group with Pat, Rita, Ann and Cathy. Today we talked about our individual goals, which was a helpful and inspiring discussion. Each of us has pretty different goals, but we agreed that articulating them and discussing them from time to time will help each of us stay on track.

My goals? I came away with a newly revised list:

** Eliminate negative thinking about "unfinished projects" and regard those things as "works in progress." I know that I always work on a bunch of different things at a time, and if I am going to do my best work, I sometimes need to stop and let something sit before pushing forward just for the sake of finishing.

** Continue to make progress on the works in progress I have, and weed out the things that don't require any more energy from me. I have some "wips" that have taught me what I set out to learn and won't be improved from more time on them. It's time to let them go and move on.

** Play more. I tend to make everything a big project, rather than just letting myself experiment and try out new ideas and techniques. Maybe experimentation will lead to a bigger work, but maybe not. And that's okay.

** Explore my series topic with playfulness and adventure. When we started getting together, we all wanted to try to work in a series format, whatever that meant for each of us. I decided to explore my fascination with circles. I've been keeping a notebook with ideas and sketches, and I've done a few smaller things or have "wips" on the topic.

** Recognize what I *do* accomplish. Frequently I decide that on a particular project, I'm going to work on something (whether it's trying a new binding, or try some different quilting patterns, or experiment with fabric combinations). I'd like to be better about documenting what I've done with photos and notes so I can remember to recognize what I did manage to accomplish in my quilting.

** Let go of ambivalence at sometimes making quilts from patterns. Considering how certain I am that the quilt process is for me and me alone, I still manage to react to (and absorb) some quilt artists' view that it's not valid if it's not constant, original work. From time to time, I have to mentally step back and think about what I'm doing this for. I don't want to be known as a great artist. I don't want to have people seek me out to teach. I simply want to create quilts and quilt art and enjoy the process. Sometimes that means I'm creating something wholly new and original. Sometimes it means that I'm having fun by putting my fabric choices and taste and personality into traditional quilt shapes and patterns. Both are satisfying to me, that that's okay.

I came home to learn the news about Donald Rumsfeld's resignation and the increased likelihood that the Democrats have won the majority in the Senate as well as the House.

It has been a very good day.

My country

I want my country back.

I want to be proud of my President and my government, instead of feeling ashamed at the narrow-minded, ill-informed, and arrogant man who currently fills that office.

I want to see America’s reputation in the world rise again, so that we’re viewed as a truth seeking, truth speaking, and honorably acting country.

I want to see our government acting to protect the lives of children and minorities and underprivileged people.

I want my government to place real value on education, by making sure that every child in this country gets an excellent one.

I want to see our elected officials not only talking about what is right, but doing what is right.

I want my country to be a leader in the world that other countries will want to follow, not be a bully nation.

I want my representatives to be smart, not devious.

And maybe today is a start.

Nantucket west

I've been working on a Nantucket theme in our master bathroom. And today, I added the picket fence.



I've always wanted to try this sort of wall mural stencilling. I found this fence stencil some months ago, at Beverly's I think. Having finished a big work project last night, I woke up this morning with the urge to give it a try.

There are actually two smaller bits of fence on the walls on either side of the door (behind me as I took this picture). It was pretty fun, actually, although I do think that my shadow grey is a bit too dark. I'll live with a bit before I decide whether to go over that color in a lighter grey.

I have a wonderful delphinium stencil that might make for nice flowers behind the fence...but we'll see. I've been looking for a good climbing rose stencil, but haven't one so far that I like. They're too "americana" or too victorian or, well, too something.

Tonight, I'm sore but satisfied. I think I'll go soak in the tub and admire my handiwork.

PS. Thanks for all the good-luck-with-lice wishes and suggestions from everyone. We have managed to avoid them, which is a pleasant relief.

The Scariest Halloween Ever

So, you think your Halloween was scary?

I've got you beat. We've had the creepiest, most horrible Halloween surprise EVER.

A ghost? A haunted house? Bats in the attic?

Nope.

HEAD LICE.

When I called in to school this morning to report that Caroline would be out sick again, the secretary told me that not only are a whole bunch of kids out sick with this same bug, but also that an outbreak of head lice has been found in the 5th grade.

No sign of them on Caroline's head yet, but (knocking on wood) I've never had to deal with this and I'm a bit uncertain about how to tell the difference between the lice nits and plain old dandruff. I've been looking at pictures on the internet (yuck) and now I'm ready to do another check with my lighted magnifying glass.

Keep your fingers crossed for us that we've dodged this bullet.

[7pm: No nits in sight after careful inspection. Phew. Makes you itch just thinking about it, doesn't it?]