2021 Weekly Round Up Note 2: Not Quilting

2nd Weekly Round Up Note 

On my walking, I didn't do as much of anything this week.  The violence in DC and potential future violence - and probably loss of a friend over this has really got me down.  Look it's Sunday and I am just now sitting down to record my weekly progress...  

Even so though I did manage to walk 6000 steps all except one day last week.

The one day I did not walk was my birthday.  For years, on this day my husband and son make a special cake for me - Burnt Almond Cake.  My Godmother had it when she became the president or Worthy Matron of her Eastern Star chapter. (~1970ish).  It is still my favorite cake, made more special as we restrict ourselves and have it just once a year.

I've blogged about our tradition of each getting a special cake for our birthdays before, and the recipes are on the DodgeEats blog. (I blacked out the messy kitchen....)

For the dinner I made chicken sauerbraten using the same recipe we used for NYE, it was good, but not as delicious as making the recipe with beef!  Usually I do not do any of the cooking on my birthday - just keep them company while they cook and bake. We were not able to have the grocery deliver our traditional birthday dinner of premade chicken cordon bleu. Husband and son usually bake that and make side dishes and sauce for dinner. However, since we couldn't get first choice, I thought it might be nice to experiment with the frozen sauerbraten sauce.  

I used the leftover chicken from the birthday dinner to make a pot pie the next day - very nice indeed! Instead of making a crust though I used a Pillsbury crescent roll - and that was fine and made it very easy to make the left over chicken pot pie.

No Quilting or Sewing this week.  I did think more about the blocks that I need to make as I signed up for a block exchange with the Once a Month Saturday group that I used to sew with. We are not sewing together now.   If they are doing any zooming or emailing during this shut in, I'm not in that online loop - except for the one monthly email where the leader tells us all the bad news - one lady passed away, another's son is very ill, a quilt shop owner has cancer.  Other than the last I do not know the people by name - only by seeing them that once a month.  I have tried to get to know them, and for a few I email them a few times even before this shut in.  I'm realizing though that I really have no connection with them.  But I do need to finish the 20 blocks so they can be exchanged when the time comes.  In her email she was thinking we would be able to meet in person in March!  That seems very optimistic. 

Many of the ladies work together or at least used to work together at the same insurance company, but mainly they either attend the same church or at least attend church. They share the most delicious salads at the monthly potlucks. So they are generous to allow me to be part of their group.  For some reason I'm drawn to making a wreath block.  The only guidelines were that the block needed to be 9 inch finished and contain at least a little of the fabric that was distributed.  I know a few of them have done star blocks, and at least one made some with white background, and others with green background.  Guess she was using the fabric she had to make the blocks.  We saw an example of a group quilt they had done years ago so I saw that there was quite a variety in the number of pieces in each block and how they were made.  But I really like the idea of making a wreath block - my only hesitation is deciding the size of the wreath.  I mean do I need to make it smaller so it can be surrounded with white, or just go ahead and make it so the green of the wreath is at the edge...

No paper organizing, no decluttering.  I did remember to pay some once a quarter bills and to file paper work - when I got a notice that I had forgotten to do in September that is.  Oh dear.  Maybe this week will set up files for 2020 and for 2021 finally.

I did turn off the video news and will restrict myself to only reading or perhaps listening to the news for a while now.

I'm listening to more Elm Street Quilter books on Audible.  I getting them in the order they were published according to a list I found online: https://www.fictiondb.com/series/an-elm-creek-quilts-novel-jennifer-chiaverini~2256.htm But the books were not published following the sequence of the story line.  Christmas Quilt for example has the main character un-married where she got married in the third book.  Anyway, it's a little entertaining, and the author is throwing in some American history in the stories too that is good to be reminded of.

I did do my exercise and made cookies with my son on Saturday - he thought of the idea to have a weekly bake day together during 2021.  So far we have just made cookies from mixes as I wasn't able to get all purpose flour.  But I got a bag finally so can really dream of different things to bake now!

I'm late with writing this second weekly round up.  I had planned on writing on Fridays and to cover the previous week.  I'm already into Sunday of the next week now, but still tried to keep the news about the previous week.

Hope this is a good week coming up.

Do Something Incredible in 2021! Walk 1000 Miles AND ....

 I get email updates from the View from the Teapot: Life in a Small French Town blog, and she shared how she is making the pledge to walk 1000 miles in 2021.  She lives in a beautiful part of the world so it will be fun to see the photos she shares.  I clicked to join her in making the pledge, and found the Walk 1000 Mile people have a beautiful calendar, so I ordered that.  Will be fun to dream that I'm in England....

I'll post a photo or two each week and share my walking progress here!

                      

Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays I walk and chat on the phone with a friend.  The other days I'm usually by myself, listening to a book on Audible, or checking in with family and friends.  Talking makes the walking much more fun to do. But when I have a good book to listen to that is nice too.

Here is a cool cactus in the front of a house I passed in the next neighborhood while walking.  Isn't it beautiful?  So unusual.  

Even before the pandemic I have been lucky to be able to have a consistent walking friend.  We used to meet once a week at the San Diego Zoo, or when it was hot or cold in the local Costco and walk and talk. A lot of fun.  Sometimes we would go into different neighborhoods too.  

Now we walk each in our own neighborhood and chat on our phones while we walk, three times a week!  A reason to get out of the house in the mornings.  I have asked others to fill in more days of walking while chatting with phones, but no one else wants to make the commitment for a weekly walk.  : (  

I usually walk alone for part of the time, but generally our little dog comes along for at least part of a walk too.  When the pandemic first hit Buffy would come for the entire walk, but now her health has changed, so she is preferring doing her morning exercise after I return from my longer walk.

Here is my family on New Year's Eve.  (Masks removed for the photo.) We usually walk together once every afternoon with our little dog.  These are just short walks - maybe 15-30 minutes.

Here are our Irish cousins on their Day after Christmas walk on the Leafy Loop Walk in Durrow Co Laoise Ireland - just before their new shut down was put in place. Looking forward to seeing them again, and taking walks together there.

OTHER 2021 GOALS

Meals:

BTW I'm back to keeping track of the meals we eat - putting that on my food Blog - that will be updated every week or so.  I got behind in December so didn't post all the days - but started taking photos again so it should be more fun to follow.  Tonight I made a wonderful Dutch Baby for dinner, suggested to me by a friend in Northern California.  I'll write up the recipe and post a photo on that blog soon.  I was doing a great job of eating and serving healthy food (and losing weight), but now that I have mastered several online ordering services and am not worried about being able to get food, I've been making or buying too many treats.  Guess another goal is to get back to healthy food again.

Organizing:

Carolyn from From my Carolina Home, shared she picked one area each year to really clean out in a recent post.  She has so many interests and projects going on that even though I read most of her posts, I missed that she did this annual project too.  Every January, I choose an area of the house for extensive scrutiny. Everything is pulled out, looked over, and reorganized. I have followed Flylady for some time - her method is to pick a zone in the house and work on it for a week, then the next week to move on to the next zone, and so on.  She suggests working on decluttering and area before really working on cleaning it.  She sends reminder emails, and has help for setting up a control journal to help you keep track of things.  She adapted the index card system first written up by the Sidetracked Sisters in the Happiness File.  I bought their book while on our honeymoon in New York City.  The index card were crying out to be printed with a database - the calendar reminders work much better for me.  Now one of the sisters has a website that has been interesting to see.  So now, since I have figured out how to get food, and have been working on the meals, I will take advantage of the stay at home orders, and will work on the zones - and/or will just concentrate on going thru my boxes with papers and getting them scanned or just shred them so I can have the space for a while (before starting going thru other kinds of boxes - they are never ending it seems).  I have old journals and blog posts where I document my need for going thru these boxes - but instead it seems I just get more boxes to put things in!  Well, so 2021 will be the year of the boxes for me again.  

Quilting:

Sure hope I can get in some regular sewing and quilting too.  I missed the deadline for the EBHQ Lone Robin project.  Would have been fun to post and share my top with the EBHQ members.  Many of the blocks are sewn together, but I have squares, crosses, and my choice blocks to create and add to the mix.  The blocks are still on my design wall, waiting for me to finish things up.

Friends:

The most important thing is to keep in touch with friends.  I have been trying to call people on Tuesdays or Thursdays when I'm walking on my own.  That has been nice, but it will be so much nicer to get to meet for lunch and chat in person.  

It would be really nice for more of them to call me first every once in a while too.  Sometimes, I sort of feel if I stopped calling they wouldn't miss it at all, and I'd just fall off their radar.  Hmm.  

But tonight I wrote a friend that perhaps we needed to take break when she texted (after I had texted a recipe, wished her well, and noted that it was a crummy day yesterday in DC). She wrote: Great day in DC. The whole nation got to wake up call.  I was shocked. I wrote back I didn't think it was a great day or set of events in DC. Sad you think it was.  But if you think that ok. We can take a break from each other.  My DH thought I must have misunderstood what she meant, so I ended up writing again.  DH said I must have misunderstood you.  I'm very upset and horrified at what happened in DC.  Am sorry for cutting you off.  So wonder what you meant.  She lives now hundreds of miles away so we only have contact with text or phone every other month at the most now, but it made/makes me feel so nice to know she was out there and to look forward to seeing her and chatting too.  I had enjoyed visiting her after my Berkeley quilting classes and hoped that would be an annual event forever. Fun to chat, go out to eat and to cook together too.  It was nice to see her daughters too and chat with them too.

Honestly though I have very few people who would meet for lunch on any kind of a schedule - maybe once a year at the most.  So I guess I need to somehow meet new people who would be open to doing that - along with walking and chatting and doing other things together.

Exercise:

As long as my personal trainer will do zoom, I'm doing three one hour sessions each week with her.  We made great improvements when we first started, but now that I'm not eating well - and that I'm sleeping so poorly with the political and covid situations we are just maintaining - so I'm doing the same weights and number of reps when we repeat exercises. Hoping to get to harder exercises without wimping out.  In addition to getting stronger, it would be nice to trim down a bunch too.

Family:

It has been really nice to do the almost daily evening walks together - we never did that before the shut in. Before just one of us walked with Buffy.  

We have all our meals together now.  Well, except for breakfast.  I'm the only one up for that now.  Used to be I had one lunch a week with our son - and sometimes one lunch with my husband too.  But we are all together for all the meals now.  Son did suggest we try baking once a week together after we made cookies last week.  That would be very nice indeed.

Looking forward to trips together too.  We missed our holiday trip in 2019 and of course this year too.

Master Calendar:

In addition to going thru those paper filled boxes I mentioned before, I really want to create a better master calendar to remind myself of when I need to call for insurance, pay annual memberships, etc.  I do all this myself now, but it would be good to have things set up so it's easier to go on trips and know what needs to be done before or while on the trip.

So I hope I do something incredible in 2021.

Good health and happiness.

Long Weekend: Not Quilting: Dana Point Weekend

So, my husband and I took a few days and drove up the coast to Dana Point for a little holiday.  I thought when we married that we'd be doing this on a regular basis, but that hasn't been the case.  Oh well.  We started by dropping some things off to Goodwill.

A little cat my mom used to have on a shelf.

Cake decorating books from a friend in Australia, a basket it the shape of the state my son's ex-wife was from, assorted blankets I tied with my mom.

Am empty case for dinosaurs.

I hope they can distribute party paper goods.

My mom's jacket.  Destroyed by moths.

I like the way it is designed.  Should have had my husband take a photo actually showing how nice it looks....

After emptying the trunk, we drove up Pacific State Highway.  It's a pretty road, has the Pacific Ocean on the left and houses or businesses on the right.

We stopped in one of my favorite cities, Encinitas for lunch and had a visit to their beautiful library.

I didn't take photos of the library, but it's the best.  They have a place to buy coffee (as a fundraiser), and you can settle into chairs to look at books and the ocean!

 Brave New Quilts was organized sort of by different design principles of different artists.

Quilt with Tula and Angela, had a nice combination of color theory, piecing, and fun free motion quilting.

I've heard of Christina Cameli, but this was the first book I'd seen by her.  There were lots of ideas for different designs, but for a beginner like me, there was not enough step-by-step instruction to actually do the designs than she has in the book.

Once we got to Dana Point we stayed at the Best Western.  Walked for dinner to a BBQ place, read, next day walked to the harbor, had seafood dinner, we left after breakfast the next day.  Drove up to Irvine to go to another bookstore, then back down to San Clementine for a super used book store. Then home.

The only picture I seem to have taken is the design on the duvet at the hotel...

Oh we went to lunch in Irvine, this was outside the restroom. It was huge, so I only took the corner.

and this is the book my husband checked out of the Encinitas Library!  He is teaching a class on Educational Games...

Crumb Quilting Adventure - Making an Odd Shaped Block Square | Ep. 8

I'm continuing with making crumb pieces that will eventually turn into blocks following Darlene's directions.  

Crumb Quilting Adventure - Making an Odd Shaped Block Square | Ep. 8

Notes:

1.  She prefers to make the blocks larger than they need to be so she has 'good' pieces that are cut off and can be used in a different block.

2.  For pieces near to the end size, try putting on paper and drawing what shapes you need to add to make it the correct size.  'Build it out'

• Anticipate how it will look after sewn (remember you will lose fabric with the seam), try to have a straight edge (rather than sewing two pieces on to make it straight). So either trim it so it's straight, or plan where to insert a little piece so the edge will be straight.
• Maybe try a little piece of 'sashing' so the meeting of two pieced units is not full of seams!
• Have generous ends so they line up, put straight edged fabric on top to use as the sewing line.
• Place the new strip so it is wonky, so when you sew it on the block pieces get squarer.

Now that I have larger units sewn together I was able to use these tips right away!

First here is my larger than needed piece of work.  At first I thought to put the cut lines at the side.  In looking at it though I thought how the bottom seam then would have a lot of seams.

So I moved the template down.  This way I would get three pretty good pieces to be used in another block, and what remained was interesting too.

Cut, and I have the block!  Also see the larger pieces that can used in another block!

Now here is a piece that needed more to be the correct size. (Instead of using a piece of paper, I used the template.)  It is tall enough but needs material added to the sides.

I found two pieces that looked like they would be perfect.

But then I remembered the seams would take away a lot of fabric, so the extra pieces that had seemed so perfect, just weren't!

These next pieces were larger, but when I put the cutting template on the top, I could see again the seams would make it too small.

I remembered Darlene's suggestion to use the double strip piece as a sort of sashing to help minimize the number of seams when pieces were joined...  This arrangement seemed perfect so I took the pieces to the machine...

But the way I placed the fabric made a little corner be too short.  I had to add fabric.  I added so it was slanted.  The first piece wasn't enough, so I added another one.  I also sewed a piece of fabric to the part that would be cut off...

And here I have the block with three bits with parts that are large enough to add to another block!

Even though I didn't use the paper idea, using the template and being reminded about the seams really helped.

On to Episode 9 for more inspiration!

Aside:  My husband tells me the wind currents will not send the Brazilian smoke our way.  I searched and can't confirm that for myself.  But who ever will be getting that smoke will need to stay inside on some days to protect themselves...

Crumb Quilting Adventure - Sewing Vlog - I Make Mistakes | Ep. 7

I'm continuing with making crumb pieces that will eventually turn into blocks following Darlene's directions.  

Crumb Quilting Adventure - Sewing Vlog - I Make Mistakes | Ep. 7

Here are the tips from this video:

1.  Use the sewn together strips as the base, and add various parts of blocks to that strip.

2.  Add interest by sewing a strip on another piece so it's on a diagonal.  Then add another strip or piece of a unit to the other end so you end up with two pieces.

So I did my version of this with these two groups of fabrics.

And this is what I ended up with!

I think the sewing to put strips together is a great one and I will get going with doing more of that.  Since I do not have larger pieces of fabric put aside for this project, I will use the strips I have.

On to Episode 8 for more inspiration!

A non-quilting aside.  

It is 90 degrees here this evening.  To do our bit, we are old-fashioned and only use fans in the house.  We have several window air conditioners but huddle together when we use them.  We haven't turned them on (except to check that they work) for several years now.  Today I put ice packets in front of several of the fans, so the wind is blowing the ice temperature toward the room, and that seems to help.  But can't do that easily in the sewing room so I'm turning off the iron and sewing machine for today.

I wonder when the smoke from Brazil will make its way up here?  And if it will be strong or diluted.  Several years ago we had two very big fires around us a few years apart, and we followed directions and stayed inside.  We could see the flames, but it was separated from us by several blocks, streets and gullies.  We saw an ember blow on top of a neighbor's shake roof and ran over to help them put it out before it took down their home.  Days later, when I did go to the store, there was enough ash swept up in the parking lot that it looks like snow.  The air was clear, but it was difficult to breathe.  We had enough food and electricity to keep things cold so that wasn't a hard environment to live (in the house looking at the fire and listening to the news) as long as we stayed inside. Everyone got new roofs after those fires. The second set of fires were farther away, but there was one out the front and one in the back yard so I really felt surrounded!

Can't remember when it was but once the electricity went out. (It was 2011!) Not just the city, but in our entire county, or maybe it was the southern part of the state!  What a mess the traffic was.  We couldn't cook.  We couldn't go out to a cafe as they were closed.  We couldn't watch TV.  That was really difficult to live thru.  And it was only maybe 12 hours starting at 3pm.  We had and have flashlights handy in different closets just in case.  But it was scary and uninteresting. Our son's friends came over for company, we tried to play cards to entertain ourselves.

We are using public transportation most of the time now.  A very un-Southern California thing to do.  But we investigated and now have pretty much mastered the system, and it is quite nice.  During a good month I probably drive two or three trips.  But I don't know if that is enough to do for the environment.  I guess we could plant some trees, but the use of water here for so long was restricted, something in me thinks it will be again. We should get a new, more environmental car soon.  After I go thru and get rid of our garage and storage boxes!

I haven't used a plastic bag for storing food all year, unless it was already used so I washed it out before using it again.  It was been rather easy to switch to using glass containers to store left overs in the frig or freezer. Glass is easier to clean too.

I remember when plastic bags at the grocery store were first started being used.  And liquid soap.  1973-74 when I was at university in Sweden.  It was such a new thing.  The first liquid soap there came in containers shaped like a bar of soap. You'd squeeze a drop on your hands then sort of rub them on the container.  Funny.  But think of all the containers that are floating in the ocean now.  : (   I am glad California sort of forced us to use reusable bags for grocery.  It's pretty much second nature to put a few in my backpack so they are handy in cases when I stop at the store in between the trolley and the bus on the way home.

A bag from store I went to in South Africa. Says it all. 
I think of it as I go thru things to get them ready
to donate or give away.  Freecycle is great for
things that Goodwill won't take.  (Opened
containers, food, non-working items)

We always have days here that are 90 degrees.  I just thinking of all these other things now.

We are planning another trip to Europe next summer.  For a family wedding and to tour a bit.  To make up for the flight I have to not drive for 8 months.  I read that in an article about the Swedes cutting back on their flights to help with the environment.  It cost so much more in time and money to take a train, but I guess the bigger picture is that it needs to be done more....

Oh gosh, and we are going to Eastern Africa in the fall.  I should never drive again, or eat meat!

Not Quilting Trip: Minneapolis! (Day 2-4 of 4)

Day Two

The second day I walked to the Art Museum and then thru downtown while Bernie prepared for the presentation.  That night he was still working and although we didn't talk,  I mostly stayed up with sympathy.

View of city from the Art Museum https://new.artsmia.org/

The beautiful and huge central library. https://www.hclib.org/about/locations/minneapolis-central To get to it one walks into a door from outside, then the library has open walls.  Have to go into it though to catch the elevator to the reading and book floors.  The escalator led to meeting rooms and locked areas with books.

Day Three

The third day was his presentation.  I walked over the Mississippi walking bridge to the campus with him to the campus.  I didn't have badge so walked around there for a bit.  Went to the student union for coffee and a bagel, and to the art museum that is on campus. Then I met husband, walked him thru the art museum quickly before we went to lunch and then caught up on some sleep before meeting his co-speaker for dinner.  We walked thru campus and a new part of town to get to the restaurant.  It was a nice meal, then we walked back (she Ubered).  

View from the Univ of Minneapolis student union steps.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Minnesota

Interior of campus art museum.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weisman_Art_Museum

View from the campus art museum. Looks back toward our hotel.  We walked the covered walking bridge to get to campus. It was probably the same distance to walk to that campus (about a mile) as it is to walk to SDSU, but walking to SDSU (for us) requires walking over the freeway and listening to (and avoiding) the whizzing cars.  

View from campus art museum.  This was the covered walking bridge over the Mississippi River!  Each year the student groups refresh art/advertisements for their clubs on the inside.  There is also an outside walking place too on both sides.

Day Four

The last day he had to spend time getting us checked in for the flight.  He used CheapOAir and it is always so difficult to do things with them.  We had breakfast at a place he wanted to go to - ended up not doing breakfast meal but had the Ethiopian lunch where you scoop the food up with the bread.  It's nice.  I have had a few times when we were in Boston for the sabbatical in 2013.  The flight back ended up being very nice.  They had snack food for sale - which even though it's sort of a short flight was really nice to dig into!

  

I now have a favorite candy bar!  Didn't know I was going to like it so much or would have picked up more to share at the airport.

Hope I get to return to this part of the world!

Not Quilting Trip: Minneapolis! (Day 1 of 4)

Had a very quick trip to Minneapolis the end of last week.  The first day we left San Diego in the morning and arrived around 3:00pm.

We took the handy light rail directly from the airport ($1!!! for three hour ticket) to the Cedar Stop and disembarked.

   

It was a beautiful, sunny and clear day.  It was a pretty quick walk to our hotel.  Passed a handsome public housing building that caught our eye.  Turns out it was used in the establishing shots of the last few years of the Mary Tyler Moore show!

House of Balls  Didn't go inside, it was next to the light rail station.

Mary Tyler Moore lived here! Riverside Plaza

We napped for a few hours when we got in.

Views from hotel window.

Had dinner at an Indian Restaurant that was just a few blocks away.  South Indian cuisine from the Malabar region (seafood).