How to Spend a Sick Day

Oh.  Here is sweet little Morgan reading a story to her cousin.  This is before the runny nose (which she refuses to blow) and the fever.  She has the flu -- which kept her home from school and the indoor campout they were having.  She was not happy.

Conversation this morning....

Me:  Morgan, we need to take your temperature.  If you have a fever you can't go to school.

Morgan:  BUT MOMMMMM!

Me:  You can't go and get your friends sick too.  Put this under your tongue.  When it beeps, you can read what it says.

Thermometer:  BEEEEP!!!

Me:  What does it say?

Morgan:  Ten twelve.

Me:  No, honey.  That's 101.2.  You have a fever.

Tears commenced.  Medicine was taken.  A phone call was made to school.  But after she got over the initial anger she was happy sitting on the couch watching Nickelodeon and playing on her iPad for the rest of the day.  And I got to get a start on the quilt I'm making for the school auction.

Yes, I got suckered again.  This is my last time as room mother though so I probably won't have to do another one.  I've made one for Morgan's class (last year) and now I'm doing one for Brooke's class.

I was all happy before Christmas break when I was getting all the kids to trace their hands for me.  Ahhh.  Thirty-six kids.  What a nice, even number.  Perfect for designing.  Life was good.

I should have gotten more done over winter break but I just didn't.  Oh well.  Plenty of time left.

Then came Monday and Christmas break was over.  Brooke came home from school and said, "Guess what -- we got a new girl in class!"  Now the parent who doesn't want to pay more in tuition next year due to dwindling enrollment was happy.  However the quilter whose math just got all screwed up was saying swear words under her breath.  Thirty-seven is not a good quilt block number!

So I met the new girl while working at the school during lunch the other day and she's very sweet and I traced her hand too.  See?  If I had done it over break like I planned, it wouldn't have been an issue.  It just would have been done and that would be that.  But nooOOOooo.  Not me!  Procrastination does not pay!

Here's my rearranged design.  It just means a little more work with the school logo in the middle and a little more embroidery.

I got the fabric washed and almost all of the hands cut out.  I somehow missed a couple of kids but I'll track them down next week.  I do "lunch duty" every Tuesday and watch Brooke's class.

I have the blocks cut out and ready to embroider and then applique.  I'm just doing fusible applique so I don't have a bunch of edges to turn but I'll have a lot of curves to stitch around!  That will be on the agenda this week.  As long as the flu stays away!

I hope the flu hasn't gotten to your house!  Now I gotta get back to all this!

New Year * New Blog

It's almost the new year, right?  I guess I can start my resolution now.  What is it?

Weight loss?  No.  I worked my rear end off (literally) over the summer and fall to get myself "bathing suit ready" for our Florida vacation in October.

It's getting back to blogging.

I was so good about blogging on TQS (www.thequiltshow.com) for so long -- until last April.

I used to have fun things to write about and projects that I was working on to share.  And then I didn't.  My studio sat empty (unless you count the spiders that took up residence) while my calendar stayed full.  So I just didn't write.  I got some "where are you" emails from friends which were so appreciated, but I just didn't have anything to write.

So now I'm getting back into the swing of things.  Starting the year off right.  I may not blog weekly like I used to do, but I won't go eight months between posts either.  I decided to start an "outside" blog since this won't really be all quilting.  It will be family stuff and gardening as well.  We'll see how it goes.

One of the hardest things about starting this blog was the name!  It's like naming another child!  I swear it took me longer to come up with a name than it did to write this.  My favorite flower is the lilac.  I have a large bush that grows in my front yard right outside my bedroom window and for a few weeks per year, the flowers and the scent are amazing.  And that's where my life happens -- up on a hill, in a quiet, older neighborhood, in my tiny green house, behind the lilac bush.

Here's a quick rundown of what we've been up to since April....

We sold Dave's modified (his choice -- not mine)...

and took that money and drove to Tennessee...

where we bought our '68 Corvette.  Dave has always wanted an older Corvette.  He wanted black but I told him that was too boring.  Safari yellow is much more fun!  (Yes, it's a "stick" and yes, I drive it!)

Morgan learned how to ride a two-wheeler.

And I did some gardening.

The whole family went to Florida at the end of October  - which cancelled out me going to Houston...

but our "Amazing Nine" quilt got to go and hang!

And all of a sudden it was Christmas!  Morgan got a Barbie Dreamhouse...

Brooke got an iPad Mini (but should have gotten a "How-To" book on doing hair!  She honestly thought that look worked and didn't mind it being captured on film.)...

and Katelyn got a car!  (Morgan has decided that Santa shrunk down the car to fit it in his sleigh and who am I to argue with a 7-year-old?)

 So it's been a pretty busy and exciting year.  I hope to have more to post soon!  Thanks for reading!