A Weeks Worth

Please visit Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday.

I just can't post every day. It's too much for me to do so I am going to try to do a weekly post with some highlights from each day.

Monday: Last Thursday I got a call letting me know one of my aunts, my Dad's sister, has passed away. The visitation was Sunday, the funeral today. I had to miss the funeral because of an urgent dental appointment. Last week a tooth started bothering me. It had been a little sensitive to cold for a while, but not bad. Then it got a little worse so I called my dentist and made an appointment to have it looked at. The next few days it got much worse, bringing tears to my eyes at times and waking me up at night. I need a root canal in a tooth with a crown. Yippee. He gave me prescriptions for an antibiotic and a pain reliever/anti-inflammatory. They called it in to my pharmacy. 45 minutes later when I went to pick it up I was informed that their system was down and would be at least another hour before my prescription was filled. I decided to go back later. I called before I went back, the system was still down. I was pretty frustrated. Shouldn't there be some kind of back-up plan, a Plan B, for those types of situations? Well, I got a call a little later letting me that the system was back up and my prescriptions were ready. Thankful they called and got the first round of meds in.

I picked up my bag for the exchange from my friend who leads the group. I had to leave early during our meeting on Saturday to meet by family for lunch. It will be interesting to see what fabrics are in this bag! I always enjoy seeing what other people choose and how it all comes together as we go along.

School is still crazy. At least I think so. My co-worker that does one out of the six bathroom breaks (new for her this year), PE and Recess duty thinks things are getting infinitesimally better. OK, maybe. But usually by now we are much more into a routine. She told me she doesn't know how I have been able to handle doing three classes twice a day. Ha! This might be partly to blame.

It's hard to tell, but that is the moon setting this (Monday) morning. It was red and full. I don't care what anyone says about the full moon not affecting behavior, ask any one who works with young children, it does!

I am making surgical caps for my lovely sister-in-law. She recently got a new job that involves her being in the OR. She likes the more fitted caps and asked me to make her some. She had already bought the fabric. There is no pattern so I had to make one. We did a test fitting on Sunday.

Her favorite one is on underneath the test cap. My mock-up fit well, except that the side band needs to be longer. She likes the cap to cover her ears since she has several piercings in each ear that the hospital wants covered up.

So those are Monday's adventures. I should have just posted that, I guess, since it was wordier than I planned!

Tuesday: No pictures. My tooth feels ok, now that I am on a good pain reliever. I am not looking forward to a root canal, but my mother keeps telling me it's no big deal. She has a high pain tolerance. Let's hope I do too.

We got a little rain, but not enough to keep Husband out of the field.

I wish I could have gotten a good picture of the full moon this morning. It was big and round, but the sky clouded over before I got my act together.

Wednesday: This was the moon as I left my driveway at 7:30 AM headed to work.

Explains some of the behavior today.

Here is my hummingbird feeder.

Those little birds are so fast. It was gone by the time the shutter clicked.

My tooth seems to be feeling ok. I can eat and drink normally, but I can tell it needs to be fixed soon.

Today I heard one of the teachers say that they feel like the behaviors worsen each day of the week. I had been thinking the same thing. I think on Monday the behaviors are good because they are still recovering from the weekend. By Wednesday, they are starting to get tired of it all, maybe. I just know that this is the longest it has taken for students to learn the 'rules' and routines.

Thursday: Another crazy day in Kindergarten.

I received a Facebook message just as I was about to walk out the door to go to work this morning. A relative of my husband asking if I could make a T-shirt for her daughter who is graduating high school this year. I didn't have time to respond and Facebook is blocked at school so I was going to respond to her when I got home. Near the end of the day, one of my busiest times, the secretary said she texted her and asked me to text her back. I am doing bus duty at the end of the day so I am busy trying to make sure all the students get on the right bus. Parents are also picking up at this time which I am involved in also. As I am standing by a bus dealing with a bus issue she walks up, gives me a big hug and proceeds to tell me she Facebooked me and asked the secretary to give me a message and she hadn't heard back from me. I tried to explain to her why I hadn't as I pull away from her and proceed with my job. I also told her that I was sorry, my day is jam packed and I hadn't had time to respond to her, and just too busy to take on any more projects and knew I wouldn't be able to finish the quilt in time. I did recommend another person and told her I would get that phone number to her after I got home. I did and she says she is sorry to have BOTHERED me and didn't mean to OFFEND me (she used capital letters) and was really hoping that a family member could make this quilt and her cousin just loves the one I made for her (two years ago when I wasn't so busy)! I wasn't offended or bothered, but I was annoyed. I was trying to do my job. I felt this woman was pushy and showed a lack of respect for me by interrupting me at work, especially when it was clear that there was a problem on the bus. She has had nothing to do with us, ever, we don't talk, text, or anything else. And, now I am going to overthink this whole thing all evening. Grr.

EDIT: I mentioned this exchange to the secretary since the person wanting the quilt implied that they are good friends and the secretary told me to not waste a minute thinking about it. That she is a needy, spoiled person who has always gotten everything she wanted, doesn't work and doesn't know how have patience or how to handle being told no. That makes me feel a little better. I feel like making a quilt for her would have added more stress than I care to deal with.

On a happier note I tried to get a picture of the beautiful sunset last evening. I don't know if there is something different with the atmosphere or I am just paying more attention, but fall sunsets seem to be more vibrant. But, they are hard for me to capture with a camera.

 

The colors were beautiful, but I just get a glow.

This one was taken a few minutes later.

This one is more to the north through the screened window.

Again, beautiful colors that don't show well.

A few minutes later.

My phone decided it needed the flash, but if you can get past that the sky was so pretty.

Again, too much of a glow, but you can see my solar angel to the left, hummingbirds in the center and lampshade slightly to the right. It's a lampshade with a solar light removed from the stake and the bulb part inside the lampshade. I twisted some wire around the top of the shade to make a hanging loop. I wish it was brighter, but it is still pretty. (Pinterest idea, not mine)

Last one of the evening. The sky was much more purple, orange and red than it shows.

Here are day time pictures of the lampshade.

 

Friday: Thankful to see the end of this week.

I have always eaten school lunch, and pay for the entire year at the beginning the first week of school. I like school lunch, most of the time, and I like not having to remember to bring a lunch or fuss with heating something up. We were informed this week that the cost of adult lunches has gone up by 80 cents and they went back to the first day of school and deducted the new amount from our accounts. I am not happy. Yes, school lunch is pretty inexpensive but when I asked our cook if MY portions were the same as the students she said she was told to serve staff the same portion size as the students. We are feeding kindergarten students in my building. I don't think I should have to pay 80 cents more for the same amount of food that kindergarten students are served. Even if I am served the same amount as the high school students I would still have to pay 50 cents more than they do. I don't mind paying the adult cost, if I am being served adult portions. I really wouldn't mind having the option to pay a lower price for the student size portions, although most days it isn't enough and I am hungry by mid afternoon. My principal is checking into it. Stay tuned.

The weather was very pleasant today. Just right temperature, slight breeze. It got very windy and considerably cooler in the late afternoon. Rain is in the forecast for every day...EVERY DAY... next week. Heaven help me, I don't think I can survive a week of inside PE and recess.

Saturday: I am determined to do what I want to do, at least part of today. 

I have finished my whole cup of coffee today. Here lately I have only been able to finish about half, if I am lucky because Husband is farming. He needs a ride back from the field after taking the wagons out with the tractor and needs me to bring him back for the combine. I don't mind, but he finishes his meals much faster than I do and is ready to go before I finish my coffee. So this morning instead of hopping into the shower while he did chores I sat and played on my tablet while I finished my coffee. Then he came in to tell to wait ten minutes after he left with the tractor to come pick him up. 

 So I did...

...in my PJs and slippers! Ha! I knew no one would see me so why not?!

Now I am debating whether or not to mow the yard. I also have some other outside work I would like to do, but it is a chilly day here. It should warm up later, though. After I get the housework done I am looking forward to having a day to myself. Husband will likely be farming until early evening, unless he has a problem. Or we get that slight chance of rain predicted. Otherwise, I am on my own. Aaahhh, peaceful quiet. I am looking forward to it. Let's see, what should I do first? Relocate some furniture for the sewing/guest room redo, work on the Exchange block, redo SILs surgery cap, fuse the T-shirt blocks, work in upstairs room, work on Flag afghan, mending/alterations, some hand quilting. Maybe another cup of coffee, then a shower, then...

I decided to take a walk around the yard to see what needed to be done.
Brrr, it's chilly and windy! I won't be working outside today.
I did get a picture of this...

It's not fully opened yet, but it is beautiful. I love this color!

Here is yesterday's bloom and a bud that will probably open tomorrow or the next day.
There is one more bud that will probably open in 4-5 days and then I think this plant will be done for the year. The leaves are pretty so I will get to enjoy them for a little while.
Edit: I did work a little in the upstairs room, got more organized in the sewing/guest room, and did quite a bit of crocheting. I am almost caught up to where I was before I had to rip out.

Sunday: This is our weekly shopping day. We like to go early in the morning before most people are out and about. This week was a farm store/W-M week. It was a frustrating time at the check-out. There was a person checking out with quite a few items, a person behind them with only a small hand basket of items (we let him go in front of us because he had so little), then us with quite a bit and at least two people behind us. Guess how many lanes were open? One, the one we were in. They did finally open another, but that is just ridiculous, in my opinion. I feel like we are being forced to use the self check-out lanes, something I refuse to do. Not because I can't figure it out. Because that takes away jobs from people who need, them, again, my opinion.
AND, why do they double bag items? If there are so many items in the bag that there needs to be TWO of them why not just put fewer items in two different bags? Still using the same amount of bags. Also, might be easier (less heavy) for a person to carry. Just my two cents. Other than that it was a nice day.

Something New and a Redo

Sunday is our shopping day. This time it was to the farm store and W-M. We were almost done when husband said, "The last one! You need this." I have seen these before, but wasn't willing to pay the price. This one was less expensive and probably not as well made, but it will work for me. My husband is so encouraging and understanding about my quilting. It went together easily and quickly. It also got filled quickly!






I finished my block for the Exchange. I had some trouble getting it to fit together before realizing the HSTs needed to be trimmed to 2 inches. I am not sure I like it, but that may be influenced by the fact that I had trouble putting it together. I had trouble getting seams and points matched to my satisfaction and had to redo most of them several times. It looks a little wonky/wrinkly in the picture, but I promise it looks better than this in real life.
 



The original was done in Christmas fabrics. The block is Arrow Crown.












I picked up the Flag Afghan again yesterday evening and decided I was not happy with the look of the color change carry over with the blue and red/white. So, I ripped back to where the blue started and made a slight change in the way I was doing the color change. 

I did the ripping out last evening after Husband went to bed. He doesn't like to see me take things out. I just let the yarn pool on the floor around my chair.  This morning he said, "What happened?!" and shook his head. I will get caught up again, it may take a while, but I am much happier with the way it is looking.


Small Quilts and Doll Quilts is hosting Design Wall Mondays. 



Edit: Blogger is making me crazy. My post looks good, then I publish it and it doesn't look like I expected. I try to fix it, but it still doesn't always come out they way I want. Oh well.
 

Saturday, After a Long Week

I am tired, physically and mentally. I love children, really I do. I like this age group the best. The learning that happens from mid-August until the last day is amazing to watch. I love the look on a child's face when something 'clicks', that 'Aha' moment, that second they 'get it'. It is priceless to me. I have many duties at school, from checking the students into breakfast, recess, bathroom breaks (that is a 20 minute period for each class, twice a day where I read fun stories and review phonics and math) to putting them on the bus at the end of the day. For 1 hour during the day - three 20 minute sessions or groups - I work with 5 students at a time on their math skills. Students who are struggling in the classroom, who cannot count to 10, or recognize numerals to 10. I try to make it fun and interesting for them. This week I have been accessing students to see where they place with their math skills. I will start groups on Monday. I look forward to helping these students grow and learn.

That being said, I am tired, and frustrated, by the lack of growth I am seeing in learning the routines of school. At breakfast they get 4-5 items - a carton of milk and/or a carton of orange juice, a bowl of cereal OR breakfast bar OR muffin and a 'cracker' (could be a small bag of animal crackers or a package of goldfish crackers). Everything is in a sealed package/bag and must be opened. In packages similar to these, but not exactly these products.

Usually by now most students have learned how to open at least some of the packages. This group, no. Every day I tell them to raise their hand if they need help. I am happy to help, but I can't if they don't let me know they need help. And, they just sit there and don't even try to open anything, at all. They don't know the bathroom routine. I have to remind most of them every time, every time, what to do. They don't know how to line up. They kind of mill around in the hallway. They need constant reminders for everything. I know they are young, 5 turning 6, but this is unusual. Many have been to pre-school where they are exposed to this skills and routines. I am tired.

Add in the heat, with no A/C, and I have no energy left at the end of the day. I feel lucky to be able to fix supper! So today I am playing catch-up. I made myself mow part of the yard yesterday when I got home since I was waiting for husband to finish in the field. I knew that would leave me more time today for other things - finish mowing, cut volunteer trees, remove garden debris, Exchange block, dog bed cover, media cart alteration - along with the regular laundry, cleaning, etc.

I finished the mowing and worked on the other outside chores for a while. I am not close to being finished, but I was sweaty, my knee hurts and I have heartburn from all the bending over. I am in the house for the rest of the day.

Before

After

While it is hard to tell and my flower bed will never be award worthy, I did make some progress.

It is hot today, but there is a good breeze. But I got tired of fighting the wind.

The wind was pushing my debris collection container across the driveway, even with it was pretty full! You can see the banner at the end of the ramp is blown straight out. So I came in to do more laundry and hopefully get some other projects done.

I made a cover for a media cart at school, but the magnets were not strong enough to keep the flaps in the back closed. The magnets hold for a little while, but slowly slide down and off the so that the back, and all the wires, are exposed. We don't want little hands getting in there.

The music teacher found some magnets that are suppose to be stronger so I want to get that taken care of this weekend.

I got started on, but need to finish up my block for the Exchange since we meet next Saturday. This will be the first meeting for this new exchange. It will be fun to see all the medallions, blocks and fabric choices everyone made.

The block I am making is called Arrow Crown. Also in that picture you can see some Halloween fabric. That is for a cover for the dog bed I made for my son's dog. I would like to get that done soon since my son wants to meet some time before October 1st to get his hunting clothes. You can also see bags of pieces for the In A Pickle quilt that I haven't touched since I blogged about it earlier. I also have not touched the Flag Afghan all week. Maybe this evening. So... lots to do, not enough time, or energy. I think I will go take a shower now. Or a nap, I really want a nap!

Oh, Monday, I Am Not Ready

Things at school are settling down, a little. Not as much as I had hoped. The Kindergarten group this year is a challenge. I am tired.

And, now I have a cold. I could feel it coming on Friday with a scratchy throat. I tried to get a lot of rest over the weekend, taking several naps and going to bed early. Today is going to be a long day, I think.

 

edit: I wasn't able to finish this post before heading out the door to school. It WAS a long day, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

 

Since I didn't have much energy I did a lot of sitting around, but I managed to get more done on the Flag Afghan.

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got a good start on the blue.

 I think I am about half finished, but I am sure the stars will take some time.

 

I got the pieces cut for my block for the Exchange.

 

I was going to go with the dark pink, but...

...changed my mind and went with purple. The yellow/gold that I ordered arrived Saturday.

 Pieces are cut and ready to sew.

 

I took a look at my volunteer cantaloupe and found one ready to eat.

 

It is small, but it smells wonderful so I am sure it will taste great! 

  

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts is hosting 
Design Wall Mondays and  

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to 

finish '18 in 2018'.  Check them out.

Making Good Use of My Time

Today we had excessive heat once again so school dismissed 2 hours early.

I tried to make good use of the extra time. I cut all the shirts and started arranging them in rows.

Hmmm... need to space the blacks and teal/blue shirts further apart.

Better, but it still needs some rearranging.

There, I think this is it. The T-shirts that seem really long or like there are two of the same color one above the other are the front and back of a shirt and will get sewn together. There are 11 of those.

When I got home from work I found Husband doing this...

This field is right behind and to the side of our house. So when I got home I walked over to see how he was doing. The A/C in the combine quit almost immediately he told me. I was a little worried about him being in the combine with no A/C, but it isn't long until he is in the tractor to take a load to town. The tractor has A/C so that helps.
He has had it worked on a couple of times so it is frustrating that it still isn't working.

I was feeling a little bad about him working so hard and me having time to do what I want, but I was working on the T-shirts at the wonderful big table that is in the garage - with no A/C. I know, no comparison between fun quilt stuff and hard farm work, even if it is hot.

I have been sent an email that school will dismiss early again tomorrow. I hope to get a good start on fusing the interfacing to the backs of those T-shirts.

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts is hosting 
Design Wall Mondays and  

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to 

finish '18 in 2018'.  Check them out.

Measuring and Thinking

On this HOT Labor Day I have been busy.

I have pulled weeds, planted a purple Aster, and mowed. By then it was HOT so I came inside to shower and cool off. I started to crochet a row on the Flag afghan but a friend stopped by to visit with my husband.

I have almost 3 rows finished. When I first started this it was taking about 35 minutes to do one row. Now I am able to do a row in 20-25 minutes.

After a quick lunch I decided to get busy on some quilt projects.

I wanted to get started on my block, Arrow Crown, for the new Exchange quilt, but decided to wait. I have 3 more gold/yellow fabrics ordered and I think I may want to use at least one of them in this block.

I am using black instead of white for the background, gold/yellow for the black triangles and points, dark pink for the red, and possibly the lighter pink for the center. I am also thinking of replacing the green/white print for black, or maybe a lighter pink.

I am using solids and black.

Here is my center medallion.

I measured the t-shirts for a quilt.

I need to work on the lay-out now.

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts is hosting 
Design Wall Mondays and  

What a Hoot Quilts is challenging quilters to 

finish '18 in 2018'.  Check them out.