30 Days of Gratitude

Edit: Oops, meant for this to post Tuesday, May 1st, but I hit publish instead of schedule.

I saw this on Facebook and am assuming it is for the May,
oh, but there are 31 days in May.
Oh well, I am going to play along anyway.

I don't know if this will show up, but I will give it a try.

The Gratitude for today is #1 What smell are you grateful for today?

Hmmm? There are so many smells I enjoy. Fresh baked cookies and bread.

I LOVE the smell of lilacs. 

Mine aren't blooming yet, but they are leaving out.

 I am looking forward to that fabulous smell!

Freshly mown grass, alfalfa in bloom, rain.

Those are all wonderful smells.

But, you know how a person has their own smell, their own scent?

I am most grateful for the smell of my husband. 

That means I am blessed that he is still with me, on this earth.

I think of my sister-in-law often and hope she is doing ok. I know she is not, not really. Her whole world has changed. She and my brother had such a wonderful connection and that is gone for her now. I know she has family and friends who love her and try to be there for her. She is keeping busy with work and spending time with her daughter and friends, but I know she is lonely and sad. I am sad for her, but I also know that she will need to find her own way and she will. In time. I hope. 

So, today, I am thankful for the smell of my husband. And, feel so blessed to have him.

http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/2018/04/design-wall-monday-april-30-2018.html

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. 

Check them out.

A Disappointment and a Happy!

 First the disappointment, just to get it out of the way.
My husband bought me a butter churn after I told him about I story I had read to the Kindergarten students a while back. His thought was that I could take it to school and show the kids how to make butter. I discussed it with a teacher and we decide that it would be a fun activity, but needed to wait until after Spring Break. Yesterday I decided I had better try it out myself to see if we would be able to churn butter in the time I had with them. 

I gathered the supplies.

Poured the cream into the jar and began to churn.
 The directions said that after about 20 minutes I should have butter.

I didn't.


After 35 minutes I still did not have butter so I turned to my trusty KitchenAid stand mixer. I had made butter with it many times years ago when we had a Jersey cow. Yum. Jersey milk is so good with lots of cream and makes wonderful ice cream, too.
Within minutes I had butter.

Since it took so long and I didn't even end up with butter from the churn I think this is not a good activity for school. I will try again this summer to see if I can figure out why it didn't work. My thought is the churn just doesn't move fast enough.

My happy is that last weekend was quilt retreat.

I have a rolling machine bag which is great for hauling my machine and a few other things that fit in there. I found this awesome cart for all the other things. It is a garden cart from Aldi!
I worked hard to finish up this...

It was windy and as soon as I walked away the wind flipped up the edges.
I love this quilt. Now to get it quilted.

http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/2018/04/design-wall-monday-april-30-2018.html

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. 

Check them out.

Saturday In the Park...

  ... a song from my youth!

I wanted to be outside working in my yard today, but it is chilly and the wind makes feel even colder. So, I am inside doing dishes, laundry, filing paperwork, mending. 

Not such great fun, but things that needed to be done.  

Here is a little tidbit of information I recently discovered. What lead me to look it up is my frustration with people ignoring all posted speed limits through the little town where my school is. And, especially going way too fast (or what I thought was way too fast) in the posted school zone. 

This information surprised me.

What is a school speed zone in Illinois?
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 625 of the Illinois Compiled Statutes, Act 5, Chapter 11, Section 605. The title of the section is "Special speed limit while passing schools and while traveling through highway construction zones"

(a) On a school day when children are present and so close thereto that a potential hazard exists because of the close proximity of the motorized traffic, no person shall drive a motor vehicle at a speed in excess of 20 miles per hour while passing a school zone or while traveling upon any public thoroughfare where children pass going to and from school.

The following is an Opinion of the Attorney General's Office (Number S-706):
This paragraph limits vehicle speed to 20 miles per hour only during school days while the vehicle is passing a school zone or is traveling on a street on or across which children pass going to or from school, and then only when children are physically present on such street or are outside the school building in a school zone. The 20 mile speed limit is not in effect when the children are inside the school building even though school is in session. 

I usually see a student or two walking and they do need to cross a highway to get to the school so I still think people need to slow down during the morning and afternoon times when children might be walking but, everyone seems to be in such a great hurry. Thankfully there have been no accidents. 

So... my husband's father grew up in a house a couple of miles down the road. The husband and wife who have lived there for the past 20 years have decided to move to Florida. They will be living in a mobile home park and have to downsize drastically. A few years ago when my Mother-in-law was in the nursing home the husband stopped me on my in to ask about my I (heart) 2 Quilt decal on the back window of my car. He told me about a longarm machine and table that he rescued from the dumpster a few years before. He took it home, cleaned up all the parts, put it together and has been quilting beautiful quilts with it ever since. The quilts are beautiful, I have seen some. Since he will not have room for it in Florida he decided to sell it and I may have bought something special for ME!

Well, I wrote him a check so I guess I DID buy it! He is including all the accessories he has 

which include the bobbin winder, needles, bobbins, lots of other stuff. He also GAVE us 

(two of my quilty friends went with me to look at it) as much of the fabric as we wanted.

Problem is, it is a FOURTEEN foot table. That's big! And, see that window in the picture? 

That's how it got into his workroom, upstairs, in his shed. It will have to come out the window. 

The turn to the stairwell just isn't big enough for that length. I am considering having it cut down 

to 12 feet, but I am not how complicated that will be.  I am also considering buy a 12 foot table. 

I can probably justify it because the cost to me for his set up is very well worth it.

The other problem is husband went to the field this week and I really don't want to 

stress him any more than he already is by having to figure out how to move it. He hasn't seen it yet. Thankfully, the guy still has a quilt on it that needs to be finished. I told him to take his time since I will need to arrange help and rearrange my house. I am hoping he will be able to wait until June 

since I will be out of school then and things will have slowed down for husband. 

Going from 9 inches of quilting space to 22 inches will be awesome!

 

Friday, Friday

It has been mostly sunny and a little warmer this week. Yay!

Today is starting out sunny, not as warm as yesterday with a little more wind, but 

I am NOT complaining. I love the sun and it is great weather for outside recess. 

I will be taking my math groups outside for some fun learning activities today, too.

The secretary started posting the number of days left in the school year on her 

window that overlooks the hallway. We are down to 22 days remaining. 

I think ALL of us, students and staff, are ready for summer break.

Some of my crankypants rantings for this week are:

-while do people congregate in doorways to have long conversations? 

That makes it impossible for other people to get through. 

And, even worse, they don't move, even after several people have tried to get through!

- the staff restrooms are tiny. The garbage can is under the paper towel dispenser just inside the door, yet there are paper towels on the floor all the time! I don't know how they miss.

This happens in the student restrooms also. 

My questions are WHY? and, do they do this at home? Doubtful, so why do it in public? 

That is just rude and disrespectful, if you ask me, which nobody has so that is just MY opinion.

The toilet paper dispenser, middle left. The toilet is just past that with the sink to the left.

I am a little sad about my plants. The weather has not been right for them to get planted outside. 

We have had below freezing temps at night several nights in a row and these plants are not big enough to withstand that yet. I have them in a sunny window and water them when needed.

The Tiarella Sugar and Spice is blooming with a couple more buds at the base.

The Agastache Black Adder is doing well, also.

 

But, these two, the orange Butterfly Plant and Echium Red Feathers, look really sad.

I am especially unhappy that the Butterfly Plant is not doing well. My brother had planted one 

at their house. When I saw it this past summer in bloom I thought it was just beautiful. I am 

hoping to find another one for sale that is more established in a bigger pot. I am also going to 

ask my sister-in-law if I can get a cutting from the one at their house.

http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/design-wall-monday-april-23-2018.html

 

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. 

 

Check them out.

April...seriously?

As I left work on Monday afternoon this is what my car looked like...

...icicles! And, more rain, freezing rain, snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow.

What we are getting is nothing compared to other states, but I am really tired of all this.

April, seriously, straighten up and behave!

Not much sewing going on here. 

I altered the media cart cover after a fitting and it fits much better. 

I still need to make the hole for the cords on the top. 

I had a lovely Saturday with my quilt buddies at a local quilt show. 

They are a great group of ladies and we always have good conversation, good food, and quite a few laughs. I am blessed that husband understands that I need this time with these wonderful people. 

He always asks how 'the ladies' are and what I purchased.

The status of the sewing room has not changed. I need my son to go through some more and either take it or get rid of it. Hopefully this summer when we both have more time for that I can make some progress on getting a bed in there and more organization done. It is amazing how much stuff a person can accumulate and not realize what a burden it can be.

Quilt retreat is this week starting Thursday. We are really short on subs again this year so I am only able to take Friday off this time. I will go Thursday after work and then be able to attend every day through Sunday. Again, my husband recognizes my need for this and is willing to fend for himself for those days. I make sure there are plenty of food options for him to heat up.

I need to go back my rolling bag with projects. Guess I need to figure what those will be!

http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com/design-wall-monday-april-16-2018.html

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. 

Check them out.

Saturday Already?

I can't believe it is Saturday already! Where did this week go?

 

As expected, the new policy did get smoother every day. It is working really well.

We only had one parent, that I know if, who was upset. She voiced it verbally and 

inappropriately in front of children. It is sad to me that some people feel the need to be 

so hurtful.As I tell the students - it is ok to feel mad, but it is not ok to hurt people. 

We had to be inside for recess two days this week because of weather. We probably would have had to be in yesterday, but it was field trip day! We Gallivanted Around Town. First stop was a one-room school house that was moved from the country to the edge of town several years ago. We learned how students of all ages were taught in one room, by one teacher, that the teacher had rules to follow and certain chores to do that were part of her job, that the school was heated with a wood stove, that the students used and shared little slate blackboards and chalk and other fun facts.

Next, we visited the local electric company and learned how to be safe around downed power lines. The linemen demonstrated how they set poles in the ground, how they climb them and how the bucket goes up and down. They had some of their equipment - trencher, 4-wheeler, and I don't know the other two things - set out in the shop so the students could get on them.

Then we went to McDonald's for lunch and a small tour of the kitchen and cooler. 

Of course, that was the favorite place of most of the students.

Next up, was the local food pantry where they got to bag up some items that had been 

donated  in bulk - put 10 granola bars into a zip bag, and tour the area where food is stored. 

They learned out the food pantry helps families who don't have enough to eat. 

Last was the library. The students were split into 3 groups to hear some 

Irish folk music, listen to a story, and do a craft. We all had a great day.

Today is cold, but at least the sun is shining.

The drama with my husband's family continues. I just don't understand how family 

members can treat each other they way they do. It makes me so sad, and frustrated.

 

There seems to be a problem with the plumbing work we had done last week. The water pump keeps kicking in and it should not do that unless water is being used in the house or barn which means there could be a leak somewhere. The plumber came back out to look at it and thought the pressure tank just needed more air, but that didn't help. He also looked at the bathroom sink drain and informed us that if we replace the pipe we will have to install a vent pipe through the upstairs room/attic and roof. It will be costly. This was not code when the house was built, but is now. 

If we leave the pipe as is we don't have to add the vent.

Since I had the closet cleaned out for the plumber I have decided to try to 

get rid of some things that we no longer need or use. That is so hard!

I would like to have a work with the person who installed the shelves above 

the hanging rods in all the closets in this house. They put put the shelves too 

close to the rod making it hard to get the hangers on and off the rods.

This picture shows seven coats hanging in the closet. When I finished with the hanging coats there  are 15. Three of them I am hoping my mother will want. They are not ones I will wear anymore.

These two shelves show the coats that I was able to fold up. The bottom shelf shows four, but there are seven there now. They are puffy winter coats in various sizes. On the top shelf there are two puffy vests, a few sweatshirts and a couple of wind breaker type jackets.

It's nice to have these when the Texas relatives visit and don't think to bring warm, farm appropriate clothing. Happens more often than you would think considering that they all used to live in Illinois!

I dislike cleaning and trying to get rid of things is hard. Too many memories or some other excuse, but we just have too much stuff for this house. I used to stress over the amount of fabric and craft items I have, but I am thinking of those things more as retirement funds now. I know a time will come when I won't be able to just buy what I want because I like it. I am stockpiling for that time! But the other stuff - clothes that don't fit (and probably never will again) or are out of style or not comfortable, multiples of kitchen items, things we have 'just in case' - that stuff has to go. It is hard for me, but harder for my husband to let go of stuff. Sometimes I have to sneak it out of the house!

Sometimes I think my husband has a fear of being cold and starving. 

My closets are full and my freezers are filled to the top. I have to remind him 

when we go grocery shopping that there is very little room for frozen items.

After my brother died my sister-in-law wanted me to have some of the plants that 

people sent her. One was an umbrella plant that is doing well. I am sad about this.

The other was a beautiful Peace Lily that is not doing well, at all. It is droopy all the time, 

the leaves turn yellow and brown and fall off. It seems like it needs a lot more water than the 

other plant, but now I think it is water logged. I also figured out that our softened water it 

not good for it. Husband has been bringing me jugs of water from the barn, but it is just not 

looking any better. I was hoping for warmer weather so I could put it outside on the porch to 

dry out and then replant it. I think it may need new soil.

On a happier note, my new little plants are growing and doing well. 

But, they need warmer weather so they can be outside.

 

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

Monday

I have no pictures today.

We started the day with several inches of snow, slick roads and fog, but it is all gone now.

 

All the school districts around us did not have school today, we did.

 

It was a good day, though.

 

I wrote this about a new policy starting at my school on March 10th...

"The school where I work will be instituting a new policy beginning in April after we come 

back from Spring Break. This policy will not allow parents into the building during student 

drop-off and pick-up times. It will also not allow parents into the classrooms unless they have 

been invited by the teacher and that must be pre-arranged."

Surprisingly, it went well today - Happy Happy.

Most parents seem to be on-board with the change and there were no major issues. 

I expect that it will get smoother each day.

 

Even though temperatures are still on the chilly side it was a sunny, windless day 

so we were able to get outside for recess - Happy Happy.

 

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.

Happy Easter

 

 

Since we had the plumber here and we have another, less urgent, plumbing issue I have had to clean out the hall closet and under the sink in anticipation of an appointment to fix the slowly draining bathroom sink. That mess ended up in the only mostly unused space we have right now...

 

 

... my new sewing room. It's going to be a long time 

until this room is set up they way I see it in my head.

In case you are wondering why I needed to clean out the hall closet, 

well, access to the pipes for the bathroom sink is in that closet. 

 

 

Access to the pipes for the shower is in the bedroom closet which is on the same wall as the hall closet. Just follow the mule head rug into the bedroom and find the closet door on the left.

I had never seen this done before, but it may be a pretty common thing.

 

On the wall you can see pictures of my son when he was young. My favorite is the bottom one. 

He was a year old when this was taken. What you can't see in this picture is that Daddy was 

driving the tractor down the driveway and Son was waving and making vvvrrrooommm noises. 

Happy Thought for today is that my plants seem to be doing well.

The Butterfly Bush is growing quickly!

And, the Echium Red Feathers is getting new growth in the center. It is hard to see in this picture. 

It lost several of the outside leaves, but seems to be recovering.

And, another Happy Thought...

 

...I love chickens. I don't know why, I just do. My husband ordered this lovely 

hen and rooster for me. I think they look great in the bay window.

 

 

See what other quilters are up to at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to finish '18 in 2018'. Check it out.