Morning Glory Studio

the 5th august weekend...

 

...is upon us! And such a lovely start Mother Nature gave us today: currently it's sunny, 81 degrees F, 37% humidity. Perfect. Unfortunately, not going to stay this way: heat and humidity are scheduled to return, starting tomorrow, and be that way well into next week. 

...we have no special plans. Hopefully my friend Margaret will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Her next stop: a rehab center for at least a week for continued physical therapy.

...the Library of Congress' National Book Festival is Saturday; I may go if Margaret isn't discharged. This is a great opportunity to hear a lot of authors talk about their work and books.

...speaking of books, I've no idea where I am on my Book Bingo card and with my reading. I shall revisit that this weekend, for sure. 

...progress continues to be made on the bébé's quilt; with perserverance, I might get it done - except for the quilting - this weekend.

...which will be good because another quilting project is on the calendar with a September 29 due date.

......this  morning I had my annual opthamology exam and the above photo is of  an eye with peripheral retinal degenerations; I thought the photo was an interesting bit of inspiration for a quilt...one day. 

...whatever your plans are for the 5th august weekend, do enjoy!

Cheers~

post script...

My friend Margaret's knee replacement surgery went well and according to schedule. We wanted to start the day  with a leisurely wakeup/get ready and plenty of travel time, so we made plans to spend the night  before at a hotel, about two miles, as the crow flies, from the hospital. So far, so good.

We made arrangements for a 5 AM wakeup call. Since hospital check-in was 6:30 am, we'd given ourselves plenty  time. Margaret awoke at 5:15! No wakeup call!  She woke me up about 5:40.

We scurried, packed up and got to the hospital with at least ten minutes to spare. From then on, everything worked like clockwork, as we'd been told it would. Always a little drama, though that was totally unnecessary. I started to set my iPhone alarm but didn't. I'll know better next time...if there is.

A neighbor down the street has the most interesting flower garden. I captured these pansies and marigolds (I think)  in those fun pots on her front steps as I took  my walk yesterday afternoon, after I returned from the hospital. The flowers reminded me of my latest finished Fower Garden block, a preview I shared earlier this week.

I am working on my last four blocks; don't think they'll all be finished by Labor Day but, fingers crossed, maybe by the end of next week...and then, maybe not. No rush (nor deadline). Now, I'm off to work on the bébé's quilt!

Cheers~

 

 

watercolor wednesday |wine bottles ...

I wondered how this photo of the wine collection on our grocery store's shelves would translate as a watercolor. Kinda fun, I think. Agree?

 

Cheers~

back to school...

 

I got up earlier than usual this morning so I could

• a) enjoy MSQT a bit before
• b) I left the house at 7:20 am to meet Kayla on
• c) her first day of school

I can't believe that

• a) she's now in the eighth grade! 
• b) I have been meeting and greeting her since she started preK
• c) ten years ago!

After

• a) the requisite camera shoot, hugs and wishes for a great day and year,
• b) I journeyed to Starbucks, for some more MSQT and then
• c) to the car wash - a long overdue item on my 2Do list that I can now cross off -yay!

Then I went to a shopping mall looking for:

• a) new slippers - found! 
• b) a robe - all cotton; not to be found so
• c) I bought two new mugs, instead. Go figure! Hey, I liked the pattern! And they were black, white and red. What's a person to do?

Tomorrow is Margaret's knee replacement surgery, at 7 am.

• a) So that we won't have to hit the road at 5 am, we are going to spend the night in a hotel .
• b) Right now, I think I could take a nap but I still have to gather my stuff for my time in the waiting room and pack an overnight bag.
• c) Guess I'd better get moving before I fall asleep at the keyboard.ZZZZZZ...

Cheers~

challenge-d...

While some of us stitched or...

...knit and sewed pieces together...or

measured and cut or...

pressed another finished Flower Garden block!!!

Others of us were just knocked out after all that work, Saturday 23 August! Whew, a challenging day!

(Watson-top- and Crick-bottom, just worn out after all that stitchin)

Good Food. Good Friends. Good Cheer!

currently | 04 ...

(these shelves sit over my cutting counter and can hold pins, notes, etc)

listening to the oscillating fan in my craft studio - the heat and humidity have returned and this room is always too hot for my liking...

making progress, for the umpteenth time, I'm sure,  de-stashing books, magazines, PiPs (Projects in Progress) and rearranging a shelf here, a flat surface there...

concluding that I really just need to close my eyes and toss...

enjoying my new shelves in my sewing studio (it too has gone through many iterations over the years) which as a result, has necessitated all the destashing, etc...

(these wall shelves will free up the tops of the bookcases below once I get a few more things mounted on the wall)

thinking I'd better make a little more haste since I have a 4 pm appointent with my hairdresser and it's now 2:35  pm...

feeling a bit of hunger - even tho'  I ate breakfast later than usual; guess I'll finish off the apple with a bit of cheddar cheese; yep, that sounds good...

looking forward to tomorrow's stitching day with friends; we eat, catch up, stitch - hand applique, knit, needlepoint, and sew on the  machine, help each other and just have a good time ...

enjoying this, the fourth of five weekends in August and... 

wishing you a great weekend, too!

Cheers~

QWERTY...

I am one of those people who really never learned the QWERTY keyboard. I basically have my own hunt-n-peck system. At the beginning of summer of 1959, I was 16 years old, in between my junior and senior years in high school. I had two items on my summer agenda: 1- Attend tennis camp and 2-Take a typing class.

The first weekend of summer vacation, I discovered a lump in my breast, was sent immediately to the hospital, had the lump removed - it was benign. Unfortunately, I missed the beginning of the typing class and was told by the doctor that I could.not. play tennis. Bummer! Over the years, I just wasn't able (or didn't, more than likely) to make time in my busy schedule, ahem, to learn typing. To date, I get by with my own system; serves me quite well, thank you, very much!

Last week I stumbled across this new app, HanxWriter, created by Tom Hanks of all people! It is more fun with the best sound effects and  is only available for the iPad. I've been playing with the free version but I think I'll upgrade - who knows what other surprises are in store? This is a great review, FYI, of the app's features.

So, now it's time for me to return to my new typewriter and get busy with those memoirs. Lots of stories left to tell!

To be continued...

And so, how are your typing skills? If you try the app, I'd love to know what you find fun about it.

Cheers~

bridges redux...

I just love this app ...and Wednesdays!

Cheers~

bridges inspire...

On our way to and from New Jersey, we drove  over three major bridges: 

• Maryland's Chesapeake Bay Bridge;
• Delaware's Memorial Bridge; 
• William V Roth, Jr. Bridge, also in Delaware

Now, I am really no fan of bridges, especially those that span a large body of water, such as the Bay Bridge and the Delaware Memorial Bridge do. If I can drive down the middle lane, then I'm fine cause I don't have to look over either side and see water below!

The Roth bridge is a little different, tho'. It spans the C & D canal and when one approaches, it looks like a very. tall. yellow. triangular-shaped rod, reaching up to the sky. The above photo doesn't quite capture the look but gives you an idea. 

What I love most about the bridge is the farther you drive across, the wider the span becomes and suddenly, you are alongside and see this*:

 As a quilter, I love the lines of the bridge and the colors - yellow (is my favorite) and the sky's brilliant blue -  are perfect. So, this is definitely going in my quilting inspiration file. Definitely.

Do you keep an inspiration file?

Cheers~

 

*graffiti and all! I just really want to know: when do they do it?!!!

 

 

sunday in #s...

 

Yesterday, I attended a wedding (in New Jersey) and thought I'd share - in numbers - some of the highlights:

7 am...leave home to pick up my sister...

112,000 miles on my 2003 Ford Escape... 

 55  photos taken of the wedding, venue, food  and dancing...

3 flutes of champagne (I was driving)...

4 peacocks seen on venue's grounds, including...

1 albino peacock...

any # peacock feathers floating around the peacocks' pen...

0 peacock tail spreads seen...

1 stop at B&N  in Annapolis on trip home...

2 magazines and 2 planners purchased...

1 stop at Lowe's on way home...

1 microwave oven picked up - yay!...

112,298 miles  arrival home @ 7pm ...

Tired but delighted with the wonderful day, despite the early start and  long hours behind the wheel, both to and fro...So glad that I could be a part of a very significant lifetime commitment of a  woman I've known since her birth, 41 years ago.

Cheers~