Morning Glory Studio

Friends, Stitching and Haiku...

 

(if you look closely, you can see my pen on the table; I was the scribe and photographer)

 My Thursday stitching group met yesterday for the first time this month, I believe... Between the holiday, illness; family gatherings; travel; automobile problems, etc., we just couldn't get us all in one spot at the same time...and actually, two of the six of us were absent. Thursday was an absolutely ideal day, weather-wise: Sunny; humidity free; blue skies. After a delicious lunch of salads and a scrumptious dessert - the name escapes me - (Note to self: ask Hilary), we decided to take advantage of the weather and sit outside as we worked on our projects. 

Fran remarked that the last time we sat out - a year ago - we composed a group Haiku, so we tried again:

"Friends, busy fingers

Knit, Stitch, Write, taking photos,

Relaxing, chatting..."

and then Hilary came up with a perfect Haiku:

"I keep finding threads

How many more, I wonder

Too many! I curse..."

We laughed, of course and stitched on, enjoying being outside, with friends on such a lovely day. 

I have to share with you a lovely paper sculpture made from watercolor papers created by Hilary's 4 year-old grandson. Hilary's daughter made this for Mother's Day! Such a unique way to preserve a child's creativity! 

Have a super weekend!

Cheers~

 

forward to tomorrow...

 

 

 

Yesterday we had driving rain, all.day. and-in-to-the-night-long! After spending the morning to mid-afternoon with my Thursday stitching group, I drove to meet up with Laura, my dear friend and former VA (virtual assistant), from Florida.  She has been in the area all week and this was our one chance to meet. We met outside a library in Howard County - she was there for a closing training event for new library associates (people with bachelor's degrees but do not have a master's degree ) who provide public services to library customers.

We had a fun couple hours! First - in the driving rain, we went to Barnes & Noble - yes a bookstore - sharing, as we browsed, books we've read ... and then drove to a local restaurant and had a light supper. About 6:30 pm, we left: she had at least a 2-3 hours drive and I,  1.5 hours; both in PM rush hour traffic and rain, rain, rain! I also wanted to be home for an online Q & A with  Gretchen Rubin about the Four Tendencies. I arrived with about 5 minutes to spare.

After the session, I realized I had left on my "to do" list, :

• Complete Day 17's layout and
• Write blog post.

I ran out of steam after I made the layout and went downstairs to join Norman and doze in front of the TV...which brings me to today! Shortly, in about two hours, I am going for a haircut! My hair is really.getting.greyer and wiry (I think)...  After, depending on the weather, I'll either go to the grocery store or go straight home. My money's on the latter. Which leaves tomorrow for me to finish prepping for our monthly Friendstitch Sunday gathering - I'm hosting - and I hope, a trip to the local nursery. The weather people tell us tomorrow will be dry and sunny...

I hope that all the items on your to do list are done!  And if not, just forward to tomorrow...or the next day or the next... Enjoy your weekend!

Cheers~

sometimes mondays ...

  

Cherry Blossoms Art Quilt ~ created and made by Barbara Dahlberg

 www.barbarasartquilt.com

Sometimes Mondays feature a guest speaker at our weekly quilting group meeting on the subject of  art quilting...What is art quilting you say? Essentially, as the speaker, Barbara Dahlberg, said, "it's using a variety of media: photos, paints, stitching, stencils, writing ...just about anything you can do with paper you can do with fabric..." I found her presentation refreshing, inspiring, encouraging and  awakening in me a longing, a yearning - well, maybe that's a tad strong - but clearly the thought that I should "taste it [this form or quilting] again for the first time..." 

 

portion of quilt being made for Terri's 4th grandchild

Sometimes Mondays are special because they include lunch with a friend - Terri. We've not seen each other for two birthdays - ours are two days apart - or  Christmases. Sometimes, life just gets in the way...We had a long - 2+hours - lunch, catching up, sharing pics of grandchildren and grandnephews, talked a bit of quilting, did a show-n-tell and exchanged past due presents...

Sometimes Mondays are filled  with sunshine and rain and a lovely sunset... Sometimes Mondays are just the best!

Hoping that yours was too.

Cheers~

sunrise...sunset...

 

Sunrise ~

Grey clouds whiz by. Birds

Fly high as sunlight peeks through

A gentle breeze cools.

Sunset~

The setting sun's rays

Cast a golden hue on puffy

Clouds floating over...

My friend Pat, one day retired ,was honored for the eight years she served as Lay Pastoral Assistant at her church. Members of the congregation held a lovely reception after today's 5 o'clock Mass. I am sure that she will be missed for she built a series of excellent programs for the parishioners, especially the seniors and infirmed. And now that she is retired, her plans are to add more quilt-making into her daily life. 

Congratulations Pat on your retirement and especially your service as Lay Pastoral Assistant. You done good!

Cheers~

3 on the 13th...

 

Today's Think Write Thursday prompt invites us to share  3 good things that happened this week. Here's my list: short and sweet on a 95+ degree day:

1. Starting the day before it got too be way too hot, walking and listening to Lillian Boxfish Takes A Walk  and enjoying July s flowers - these two conveniently stuck in the chain link fence.
2. Spending this afternoon wth quilting friends: we began with very tasty treats: a corn dip; spinach cheese balls; grapes; and a fresh fruit pie. All Y-U-M!

       3. Stopping , on my way home to browse at B& N ... bought the third Louise Penny Inspector Gamache title: The Cruelest Month  and an absolutely gorgeous book - The Flower Book -all about arranging flowers. The photographs are stunning! Just flipping through the pages has created all sorts of ideas from sketching to stitching to even swooning... The book also includes tips for gardening. Oh, for sure, this book is a treasure and since it's going to be beastly hot -still - throughout the weekend, I will be diving in deeply.

Do visit Carole's blog to see what others have shared this week...and do stay cool if it's h-o-t  where you are!

Cheers~

 

memos, mail, me ... and metro

 

 

Today I had lunch with a friend who is moving to Seattle in early July...after a quick trip to North Carolina on Wednesday. The news has been filled with news of Amazon's buying Whole Foods. Her son works for Amazon (cloud services) and my friend and her husband are moving there to be with their grandchildren - 3 years and 16 months. The move has happened very very fast and we were lucky to squeeze in today's lunch at the last possible minute. But, we are planning a reunion in October - when I am on the west coast. I've never been to Seattle and I am looking forward to the trip.

Washington DC has a great rapid transit system that moves zillions of federal and other workers in the public and private sectors and tourists and retirees - like  me - around the Washington DC metropolitan area: DC, Maryland and Virginia. I took the metro to meet my friend, riding to the farthest point north on the system ... a trip I'd not taken in all the years the station has existed - some 19 years! Guess I just never had a reason to go. 

The ride was interesting - especially all the graffiti one sees on the backsides of buildings as trains whiz along..."leave no blank wall." I really do wonder when the graffiti artists manage to get their masterpieces done...

We had lunch at a very nice restaurant that specializes in Salvadoran/Mexican cuisine. Filling and tasty. My return trip home included a nice thunderstorm; fortunately I managed to walk from the bus stop to my house in between a few raindrops...arriving to find the mail and a few packages from Amazon, that I forgot were being delivered today. A pleasant surprise and off I go to open them.

Any surprise mail delivered to you recently?

Cheers~

 

weekending...

 

(Honoré - Laura - Kathy)

As Karen of Random Reflections commented on yesterday's post: "Such a lovely way to spend time with friends."  

Our spending time with one another was lovely, INDEED! After a Saturday filled with rain - perfect for sitting around in our jammies, chatting, journaling, laughing, eating, reminiscing, sharing - today, Sunday -  dawned sunny and bright. We had a leisurely breakfast, shared a bit more, took photos of our taking photos and the selfie above. Laura and I pulled out about 11 AM and once we crossed over the Chesapeake Bay, stopped for lunch at Panera in Annapolis. We drove on to Columbia where I dropped her off at her hotel - she's staying overnight for a meeting tomorrow and then she flies out in late afternoon for her flight home to Florida. 

I suspect that I shall retire early tonight.

Cheers~

 

Currently...

5:51 pm ...

Raining all day...great for spending a day with friends

Taking a break... we and the rain...

Watching "Stonehouse Revivial" on DIY network...

Smelling BBQ chicken in the oven...

Laughing about smelling BBQ chicken...

Wearing still (at 10 of 6 pm ) our PJs and...

Enjoying every minute...

Agreeing that we truly treasure the blessings of our long-time friendship and our ability to pick up - either via email, our blog and in person, at least once a year - wherever we left off. (One of us lives in DE, one, FL and me: Washington DC.) ...

Leaving tomorrow for home; sad that our time is ending ...and looking forward to our next gathering. To be continued...

Cheers~

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 Good Food! Good Friends! Good Fellowship!

        We spent a perfectly lovely Easter  afternoon with friends. Dinner was potluck and delicious: Ham; Corn Pudding; Green Beans; Deviled Eggs; Peas; Fruit Salad.  Wine and Champagne; the latter very good! And of course Dessert: cake. Yum.

On our drive home, Norman and I reminisced about Easter and how as adults, we can and truly do appreciate the value of renewal and...

Peace...my wish for you on this Easter 2017.

recent reads | february 21, 2017 edition...

 

(just browsing)

        For a year and counting now, my three friends and I gather, every two months on the third Tuesday to share what we've read, catch up on any number of things: health; comings and goings; accomplishments; politics; etc... you name it, we talk about it, in addition to books. We've known one another for decades, worked together in the public library, traveled at home and abroad, etc. That we would gather to discuss and share what we're reading is actually not so surprising. I  guess the big question is: What took us so long?

The books we shared today ranged from the Underground Railroad to Bruno Bettelheim's treatise on the meaning of fairy tales to writing to  procrastination. We even talked a bit about movie series and  the movie: Hidden Figures.

After we feast on the books, we feast at the table. Today, we had a delicious quinoa salad, chicken salad, hot rolls and dessert. Yummy!

Our gathering ended, I decided to go to Barnes & Noble - there is a store not far from where we met. I needed to get a birthday card and gifts for a friend and I also wanted to browse a bit. I had nothing particular in mind but I did have about $85 dollars in gift cards plus my membership discount...burning a hole in my pocket. I wandered the aisles, magazine  and gift sections and managed to spend the $85 - only had to cough up $1.38. Not bad!

This is my haul (minus the gifts I bought):

• The 50% off Hidden Figures was better than the paperback edition. I bought it since I've not yet seen the movie and I'm thinking it's going to be a few more months before streaming is available ...
• With Spring around the corner, my eyes and my thoughts keep turning to our back yard, especially since we had the photinia bushes ( that had become trees ) cut down last June. I'm thinking about container gardening so the Southern Living special edition magazine caught my eye.
• Write Back Soon is about writing postcards ...since it's InCoWriMo, I was intrigued - perhaps I'll get it read by next February.
• One of the books I've been reading: Writing With Quiet Hands introduced me to the author's favorite fiction writer: Alice Hoffman. Since I'm not much of a fiction reader - my goal is to read at least one title a month (and I just may make the cut!) -  I thought I'd try one of her books...but wound up not buying, thinking I'd consult GoodReads first. Do you read Alice? Any suggestions?

A great day, always so with good friends and good books. What's on your recent(ly) read list?

Cheers~