Thursday, May 14, 2015

Thankful Thursday #10 - Humour and Scraps

When I shared this hilarious story yesterday with Lara of Buzzin' Bumble, I realized it was good fodder for spreading some cheer...at my expense.  But hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, well, you must be a pretty grouchy person! It's going to be a bit wordy, so I will interject some garden and some quilty pics as we go.  If you persevere, I'm sure you will laugh out loud at the moron I can be all too often...

So today I am so grateful for my sense of humour!

My blog is named a rather odd name for a blog that mainly is about quilting.  It started about 3 years ago when my brother and I exchanged several pensive, soul-searching emails regarding life at the eyebrow-raising age he was approaching and I had just entered, the 50s.  Your life is half over.  Yet you have the coming half to look forward to, and, if you've been careful and wise with your spending and saving, you will have SO MUCH to look forward to.  We covered various topics but a lot had to do with age, and working and how long to work and what to do when not working, etc.  I had a few events placed in my path thanks to the powers of the Universe, Great Benevolent Presence, God, Goddess, call this Divinity what you will.  These events helped shape the path I was contemplating, that of quitting my job pre-pension-receiving age, a full 9 years before I'd be even eligible for  a full pension, of moving to the other end of the country, 2000 miles away from my family, and taking a step into the unknown.

I had thought of blogging about six months into the new path, as a way to share these thoughts, but to keep track as well of my quilting, maybe of my reading, and to chronicle new discoveries in my adventure.  Because I was beginning menopause about that time, I had joked with my brother, that this "what is life" type pondering was due, in part, to that huge life change.  I had all kinds of grave thoughts floating around in my melon.  Thus, when I took the plunge for publishing my first post, back in September 2013, the name was just that: Musings of a Menopausal Melon.  Melon as in head, not as in boobs, lol, which someone once commented that they thought that was the metaphor! Bahaha.  There's some humour already.

All right.  For those of who have been or are there, you all know what a fog your brain can be in.  It is NOT funny.  I feel sometimes as if I am kind of half asleep...very much like the early few weeks after giving birth and your baby gets you up in the night every few hours, so you are deep-sleep-deprived, and even when you are walking around in mid-day, you still feel dizzy, sponge-headed, not quite all there.

So this happened yesterday.
Rhododendron, not looking too happy after a record-setting cold February, but still it bloomed!
And yesterday morning, I lost my husband.  He shall be henceforth christened MacGyver or Triple T (Tim the Toolman Taylor) since he's a pretty private person (Triple P, ha).  He had told me he was going to do his bike ride and then go to Dayna's to cut grass.

So, I got back from walking Rocco.  MacGyver had said he'd probably be gone when I got back from our walk.  But it struck me as odd that both vehicles were still in the driveway.  Garage lights on.  Look in there, maybe he's organizing stuff to take to Dayna's, as that's where he was going, to cut her grass. (we share our lawnmower; he loves cutting grass)  Clean the main bathroom.  Still no sign of MacGyver, no sounds.  Odd.  Look in the garage again.  Okay, probably putzing around outside or visiting with a neighbour.  Clean the ensuite bathroom.  Look outside.  Still no husband.  Weird.  Mop the hardwood floors.  Look outside again, garage again, go downstairs (what if he slipped on one of the items I flung down the stairs to be put away when I go down to sew?) Nope, not there.  Okay, back outside, head to Jude's next door, maybe he's in there visiting.

My quince is really happy!
Ask Jude's husband, who is just stepping outside the door to go do some errands.  No, he hasn't seen MacGyver, he says. I said I guess I've lost a husband, that's odd, and I'm a bit concerned.  He chuckles, and says well maybe he rode his bike, haha, to Dayna's.  BIKE!! He told me he was going to do his bike ride first and then Dayna's and that he'd probably be gone on his ride when I got back with Rocco!!  OMG I AM SUCH A MORON!  I said to Jude's husband all that, and that I was glad he, too, was living with a menopausal wife (Jude is one year older than I) because he will get it.  Husband of Jude said, "MacGyver already told you he was going on a bike ride?" Yep, I said, and here I was getting all worried that he'd got hurt with all the mechanical and "brawn" stuff he does, or fallen....Husband of Jude said, "Triple T doesn't get hurt Sandra! He's beyond that."

Short term memory is not so good these days apparently.  I have to write everything down.  And then remember where I wrote it (yep, voice of experience) or remember to read the damn paper...sigh.  I am going to make a stickie note (love them) next time "MacGyver is on his bike ride; not to worry".

If I didn't and couldn't laugh at moments like these, and they occur rather frequently, I'd be one sad quilter.

I am also grateful for my plentiful scraps and for Scrap-a-Palooza.

So this too happened yesterday:
Another Scrap-a-Palooza quilt, pattern #8 of Cindy's, so much fun!

I couldn't decide on a layout.
Option #1
Option #2
Option #3

But I chose option #2, not totally on purpose; think I was hoping for option #3 because I liked the zig zag that occurs in the middle.  However, I must have reversed one of the blocks despite the painstaking way I chain piece them together:
Gremlins are at work in picmonkey; the first pic was rotated, and it is not in my iPhoto; I redid it and now my watermark is rotated!


This really helps to keep things oriented correctly.  The problem arises when you transport a block or two off the design wall and forget which end was up or perhaps set it down on the desk in the orientation you think is correct, but it isn't.  Whatever. I like it.  This is going to a senior at a residence in town I found who will accept wheelchair lap quilts.  The residence across from me has no residents in wheelchairs. The lap quilts need to be about 28X36"; this one will be 30X40".

It is loaded onto the Avanté, and I am planning an easy meander, just so Avril and I can get reacquainted.  I should have a finish for Friday! And another goal checked off the Q2 FAL list!

And finally, this is also happening, as a leaders and enders charity quilt #2 for the seniors.  It's another of Cindy's Scrap-a-Palooza quilts, the latest, and my eighth, of her series of 15 so far. They are addictive!
But first, some Yin yoga is about to happen.  Then more quilting.  What a blessed life I lead.   :-)

I am linking up to Quilting Jetgirl who started a Thankful Thursday of her own last year (mine I started in May; here is my first post) but hers is with a linky! Great idea, and you know what they say about great minds.  I'll also probably be linking up with some of the other linky parties, see buttons on the sidebar.

Remember last week I shared my creative space, a fun game of "you're it" that Julie at Pink Doxies started?  I tagged Judy at Quilt Paradigm.  You must go check out her creative space post and drool/ogle over/be inspired by the room and organization this girl has, as well as the latest quilt on her design wall!

I am also linking up with NTT at My Quilting Infatuation, a first for me.  Another new button on the sidebar!  And...just found out, that the annual Quilt Bloggers' Festival begins tomorrow!  I will be entering once again.  This is so much fun, so inpsiring to see all the quilt candy out there, and a great way to find new blogs and meet new people, and yes, I speak from experience.  Now let's go create, shall we?!

7 comments:

  1. Hope you are having a tension headache free quilting experience on Avril (get it? tension. . . quilt tension. . . sometimes causes headaches. . . I'm explaining it for you menopausal melon ;) oh, and would it be menopausal melenS if you were referring to your boobs??? LOL)

    So glad you found Triple P! Did you share with him that he had been lost? haha

    The strip quilt looks wonderful! I just love how they look. . . just hate sewing them!!

    I don't know that I would call it organized but the space works for me :) And you must remember that it was cleaned up some. . . the tops of those tables are not typically quite so tidy! Creating is a messy business at my house! ;)

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  2. Thanks for linking up! I don't know that it takes going through menopause to have those moments... Does your husband know that he was lost and found before he got home? ;)

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  3. Well I like the layout you ended up with the best, so maybe you only thought you were 'accidentally' rotating the blocks as you sewed them together - it was all a deep covert plan by that melon of yours...

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  4. I've experienced those moments before, but I usually blame it on chasing after my three boys (or pregnancy brain when I was expecting one of them). Your string quilt looks really nice. I keep wanting to make one by strip piecing. But I know there wouldn't be as much variety if I did that. Have fun quilting.

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  5. Thank goodness your husband was "found"! Your Scrap-A-Palooza quilts look great. Love the blue string!

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  6. Oh my gosh Sandra... hahahah - that was a major case of brain fog! (I haven't gotten through my emails yet, so this is my first time reading your story.) Did you tell Triple T what happened when he returned?

    Well... at least you did not call the police. Can you imagine? Well... actually, now that I think about it, I CAN imagine. I once reported my car stolen at a mall. It was winter and the parking lots were full of slush, but the security guards and I searched all over that parking lot. (I had a toddler and a baby in a stroller too) We finally gave up and they went to go and call the police. It was right then that the light turned on in the attic. I had driven my husband's car that day and not mine. We had been looking all that time for the wrong car. Was I ever embarrassed. So it is okay if Jude's husband thinks you are a bit cuckoo. We all are from time to time.
    Love those two quilts you are working on for the seniors! Especially the string blocks - great colors!

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  7. Great post, lovely flower pics and beautiful quilting!!

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