I got a little bit of motivation at my quilt club yesterday.  I hadn't done any more work on the 'new' quilt at all - I just had the center part done (from July), and at the meeting yesterday, I could have had a completed quilt if I had applied myself.  lucky for me, I didn't!  This quarter's quilt is a table runner in fall colors, but......if it is made by the pattern, it is too wide for most tables.  Not wide enough to completely cover a table, but too wide for a runner.  (Of course, I hadn't noticed that part because I hadn't gotten that far!)  Most of the quilts that were finished were not done like the pattern.  I found out that it will be a much better table runner if I don't follow the instructions.  What a thought!  I don't know that I would have tried it on my own - I'm not quite ready to stray too far from the written instructions yet, but after looking at what the more experienced quilters did, I'm ready!!!  I actually finished cutting out my pieces yesterday afternoon, and got about a quarter of the way finished with sewing them.  the end is in sight!  (Of course, I also picked up material for the next quilt yesterday - now I'm seriously behind!!)

I also picked up a pattern for a purse yesterday.  It is quilted, (using a really cool technique/material to puff the fabric!) and uses a zipper, and it has a ton of pockets in it.  I love it, but I'm not sure I'm a good enough seamstress to make it.  Mom?  What 'cha doin'?  Busy???  :)  I plan to go in next week and shop for the fabric/notions for it.  I didn't have time on Saturday to do much shopping.  It is also the case of seeing the pattern made up is so much better than the photo on the pattern.  I would never have picked the pattern up to do anything with.  The colors are just 'not me' and I would have walked right by it.

Last night was Ralph's 40th High School Reunion.  One of the organizers we talked to said they expected about 70 people there, and I think that was about right.  We met up with Jeff and Joyce, and Randy and Laurie at outside when we arrived, and hung out with them for the evening.  The room was a little crowded for that many people, and even though they said they expected 70, I don't think they set up tables and chairs for 70.  It was extremely close seating.  Then we got up to get our food (buffet line food - yuck!) someone else sat at our table.  We were able to get them to move down a bit (and it took us asking 3 times!!!) for us to get all of back into our table.  It was nice to chat with Joyce and Laurie.  The guys were out and about chatting for a bit, but we left around 9:15 or so - not the liveliest crowd!  I think Ralph had fun, and I don't think he aged as much as a lot of people in the class.  Some of them got OLD!  

Here's a little bookmark I finished up Friday night.  I gave it to Meredith yesterday at the quilting meeting.

I'm stuck in a rut (again).  I seem to be just going through the motions and I need a plan!  I need inspiration!  I need to get off my butt and do something.  I think I get this way every fall.  By the end of summer, I'm ready for something different.  I can feel fall in the air - time to get motivated!

Speaking of motivating - we signed a contract to install solar panels for the house last week.  Gulp!  I hate the repayment part, but in the long run, the solar panels will really help.  Since we run our own pump for water, along with keeping the pool filters running and trying to keep the house(s) cool, my electric bill was over $500 last month,  Ouch!  The solar panels will reduce that, if not make it go away completely.  (I'm not counting on that part, but just cutting it down will help!)  The material should be here in a couple of weeks.  The panels are going on the guest house roof - the backyard has no trees, so they will always be in the sun - if there's no big cloud cover, they should be working!!

AJ's picked up a new hobby.  He's started making his own videos for YouTube.  He's bought quite a bit of equipment, moved his computer into his room, stole my black felt for a backdrop, and has me does sound pretty cool!  It's nice to seem him motivated by something that he wants to do, versus me telling him to get something done.

I'm off to my quilt class/club meeting today.  I finished the second quilt, but have not even touched the third quilt since July.  I get the material for the fourth quilt today.  When I was at Ronna's, I took a look at some of the quilts she has on display, and the one she is currently working on - wow!  I don't know how she finds the time to do that much quilting.  I haven't even found time for my little projects, and they are not nearly as complex.  Even the piecing for mine is pretty simple compared to hers, and we won't even talk about the actual quilting.  All I can say is "Wow".  Probably not happening here.

The coast was lovely - cool and damp.  Not so damp that we got rained on, but....damper than Redding!  I only went down to the beach once while we were there - that was enough for me to take Alli.  Between her lack of fear of the ocean and her bum knee (she is still limping quite a bit, especially if she has been sitting for a while - like for the drive over to Ft. Bragg) I decided that one trip would be enough.  It was enough to get her drenched at least.  We went to Van Damne Beach - just south of Mendocino.

Alli needed a bit of help to get through the soft sand down to the water.  Once she made it to the packed sand, she was off and splashing in the waves.  Then, she was down on her butt in the waves.  It didn't take long for her to loose her balance with the bad knee and sit down in the water.

I spent some time out on my sister's back deck while I was there (while Alli was otherwise occupied - napping, I believe :)) It was so nice out there in the morning.  Just a bit cooler than I was used to, but the sun was out.

Here's a picture of her house from the front.

And a picture of her new toy - hers is on the left.

She had some nuthatches come in for a drink out of her goldfish pond while we were there.  They are so agile and jumpy!  They were fun to watch flit in and out - grab a quick drink and jump back up, and I even got a couple of good pictures of them.

Here is one 'bottoms up' getting a drink.

Mom, Allison and I went to Ft. Bragg for the weekend.  I have Monday off for Columbus Day, so we left Redding Saturday morning and drove over.  It was a beautiful drive.  Most of the traffic that was going our way was traveling at or above the speed limit, so we made good time.  After we got in, Mom, Alli and I ran down to the beach for a short walk.  

For whatever reason, I thought Alli would be a bit more hesitant about the beach - both because of her bum knee, and because it was a different beach.  Boy was I wrong.  She saw those waves and was ready to head right on in.  The beach in Crescent City had a more gradual slope, and therefore the waves were a bit less powerful.  About the 5th wave that hit was a big one, and she went down.  Both of us ended up wet - me from the knees down and Alli from the neck down.

She still had fun, even after getting wet, so....it has been a good trip.

I finished it!  I didn't exactly follow the instructions, but I finished the lace scarf - and crocheted the edge of some gloves to match!  The yarn has sequins built into it, and is gorgeous   I'm happy with how this one turned out.  Next time - I'll actually read the instructions all the way through.  I did make it narrower than the pattern, but she also made half of it at a time and joined in the middle, so the pattern is the same way when you wear it.  Mine is definitely unique now!

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Dawn and I went to "Art in the Park" on Sunday morning (before it hit 101!)  It isn't even close to what it used to be, but it was better than it was.  Once upon a time, there was a huge craft gathering, and then I understand the organizers priced everyone out of the market.  They didn't have anything for a couple of years (it is held in conjunction with Ducky Derby - they drop the ducks in the river on Sunday at 1:00).  Yesterday was pretty nice - a group was playing blue grass music, they had a small car show and quite a few crafters - almost all local.  I bought AJ a print of a watercolor - I couldn't resist!

Look like anyone you know?

Poor Allison!  She was minding her own business last night, spinning in the living room (after supervising Mom in the kitchen - dinner is late, what's the hold up?) and she fell.  No one was in with her, so we don't know if she tripped on something or just had a foot skid out from under her while she was spinning or what.  She was pretty shaken, and didn't look comfortable when we got her up and sat her in her chair, but....no big bruises or lumps or obvious broken bones or sprains.  She landed leaning up against the hearth.  She seemed to bounce back pretty well last night and ate dinner (when it was FINALLY ready!) with a good appetite.

This morning -  a different story.  She is limping very badly on her left leg, not wanting to put a lot of weight on it.  She can walk unassisted, but would rather be holding on to someone or something.  She still doesn't look real comfortable when she first sits down, but once she's been down for a while, she looks pretty normal.  I'm going to assume she is okay, and just watch her.  I gave her all the ibuprofen I had last night, so I'll pick some up at the store today.  That should help, along with moving around a bit.  We'll see how the day goes!  Poor baby!  This is when I really hate that she can't talk.  Is it her back?  (Remember, she was leaning up against the brick hearth!) Is it her knee?  Her hip?  Just a bruise, or something more?

I took the day off yesterday.  I went to the grocery store, and did the normal cooking and cleaning for the day, but other than that, I took the day off.  Alli and I (and occasionally AJ and Dawn) watched movies all day and I crocheted.  I had a scarf pretty close to done, and then I looked at it again, right before I went to bed and ripped 6 inches out - I should have quit working on it earlier - I was nodding off on the couch - not a good time to crochet!  It is a very pretty pattern, and it is yarn that I bought a couple of years ago, and never found the right pattern to make something with it.  It is a lace weight yarn with sequins - in a peridot green.  I don't know that I'll get it finished today - since I didn't do anything yesterday, I really need to do something today!  The good thing is that Randa was here on Wednesday, so the house is clean, I just need to do all those other things that I don't want to do.  I need to work on my last quilt, but for some reason didn't feel like it yesterday.  Today I would like to go to the Ducky Derby at the park - they are having an "Art in the Park" display today, and if we go in early (it is supposed to be 102 today) it should be fun.

Ralph and I tried out the restaurant at the Tucker Oaks Golf Course last night - the Sand Trap (of course - it is at a golf course!).  I've thought about going there forever, but just never made the effort.  Our subdivision backs up against the golf course, so the restaurant is just at the end of the subdivision.  Last night, for whatever reason, I suggested we go out.  Of course, this was after I already started dinner for AJ and Allison, so I fed them first, and then got Alli all set for an hour of 'babysitting' from her brother (which means he would listen for any loud crashes, other than that, she was on her own!)  Luckily, Dawn was due home soon, so Alli wouldn't be abandoned for long.  The dinner was very good!  I ordered the seafood basket, which was fried fish, shrimp, calamari, and french fries.  Everything was great!  Ralph ordered a very large steak (he even brought some home with him) and had a dinner salad (that was loaded with goodies) and a baked potato.  It is a nice little place - probably a dozen tables, and there is a separate bar area.  I have a feeling that if you go in more than twice, the waitress would be calling you by your first name.  Too bad it took us 11 years of living in the neighborhood to go and try the place!

Work was 'interesting' this week.  Lots of surprises and oddities - which are sometimes good and sometimes not.  I had to do quite a bit of research into how to do things.  (You want us to do what???) I do enjoy that part of the job, but I like a little more time, if possible, to test things out than I had this week.  I also scored high on the staff satisfaction rating this week.  Since I was researching 'stuff', I found a few things to enhance their workday, and changed some settings in some programs and streamlined some procedures.  Usually, whenever I change things, I get the "I liked it better the old way", but this week, for whatever reason, everyone liked the changes - what a shock!

Guess what I finished last night....my second quilt!  It turned out better than the first quilt, but.....there is still lots of room for improvement.  I like the color scheme better for this one, and there was definitely an improvement in my skills.  By the end of the year, I could be getting pretty good!  (or at least not quite so bad???)

The kitties were having fun yesterday morning.  I missed the best shot, though.  Picot was watching Rufus who was just around the corner from her, and Indy was watching both of them.  By the time I got the camera, Rufus had left the scene.

I got some updated pictures of Tank on our walk yesterday.  He's lost a bit of weight in the last two months - he actually has an indent where his waist is now.

Here's a photo of him right after he came here.

My babies were having fun too!

I finished up my project for an upcoming baby at work.  Chris Jr. is due in about two weeks, so I'm actually ahead of myself!  I made the star ripple afghan for him, and a pair of baby booties, and I crocheted around the edge of a couple of receiving blankets.

Fall is officially here!  We still have hot weather, but it is cooling down at night.  The mornings are so wonderful.  Dawn and I went to a wedding yesterday afternoon (Kandis, one of the ladies in the book club) and about melted during the ceremony.  It was comfortable in the shade, but the ceremony was held in full sun.  The location was beautiful - Mercy Oaks.  There is a beautiful fountain in the patio area - it was a beautiful wedding!  The words of the ceremony were just beautiful - very symbolic, and, once again, just beautiful!

I have several finished projects I hope to take pictures of later today.  I have the whole 'baby present' done for a co-worker that is expecting his first baby in a couple of weeks.  I made the star ripple afghan and a pair of baby booties, and then I crocheted around the edges of a couple of receiving blankets for him.  I am washing the last of the blankets this morning, and hope to get the whole thing put together this afternoon and take it to work tomorrow.

Dawn and I are meeting up with a couple of the book club ladies this afternoon to see "Messiah on the Frigidaire" - a play that another of the book club ladies is in - actually - she has the lead part.  I missed her last play - I just procrastinated too long.  I'm determined to see this one!  I do like live theater, I just don't get there much.  Having Malorie in my department at work, and having her involved in the local theaters means that I am seeing much more than I used to, just in support of her.

P.S.  I just found out via FaceBook that Kandis's house was broken into during the wedding.  They came home last night to a broken front door, blood on the porch from where they broke the window on the door, and three very scared kitties.   They are missing some stuff (electronics, jewelry, a couple of checks that were sent for the wedding), but everything else is okay.  What a terrible thing to come home to after your wedding!

Talk about starting the morning with a bang!  First, I hit the snooze button on the alarm - never a good idea, but I stayed up too late last night watching the baseball game.  When I did get up, I went in the kitchen, and started gathering items for Alli's lunch, and then I catch a movement out of the corner of my eye.   Picot was reaching across from the secretary toward my glass full of plant cuttings on a plant hanger on the wall.  Yes, she can reach it.  No, she can't 'just' touch it.  The glass, full of begonia cuttings and water, crashes to the ground.  Two cats go streaking down the hallway.  Ralph comes dashing down the hallway to see what happened.  There is glass, water, and plants all over the kitchen floor.  Can I just go back to bed now, and start over?  The only good thing was that the dogs were outside, or it would have been even more of a disaster in here.  As it is, I still have to vacuum to catch all the glass.  That will wait until Alli is on the bus, which should be here in a few minutes.  Then I can try to get my house back in order!

Finally!  Both time to post, and a finished project!  Last week was a whirlwind.  I went to Susanville after work on Thursday (a nice drive, but I forgot what it was like to drive in the dark in the mountains - it had been a while!)  Friday morning, Mom, Alli and I headed to Reno for some shopping.  Our first stop - Ben Franklin's - was a major disappointment in two ways - they are closing!!!  Everything was 40% off, which was nice - I stocked up on some yarn for decorating gloves for Christmas, but they didn't have any thread.  I was looking for a specific color - I had a doily done except for about 8 inches around on the last row.  I needed Aunt Lydia's Copper Mist, and no one in Redding had the color.  Neither did Ben Franklin's.  Bummer!  I did manage to spend $43.00 on yarn though - not bad!  We drove all over Reno looking for furniture for Mom, and thread for me.  /we didn't find what Mom was looking for, but I did find what I was looking for - at Joanne's.  I finished up my doily last night and pinned it out.  It is about 24 inches across - I didn't measure it exactly, but my blocking board is 25 inches across, and it covered most of the board.

After our Reno trip, I had pizza with Cindy and Susan at Mom's house - it was nice to have a chance to catch up a little bit.  Susan lives in Redding, but I don't see her much.  She spends a lot of her 'weekends' in Susanville, so I usually catch up with her there.  Cindy lives over by Reno, and I don't see much of her either!

Saturday was Mom's last meeting as Worthy Matron in Eastern Star.  She had the '1876 Team' come in and do the opening and closing ceremony the way that is was done at that time, complete with rocking chairs.  I had not seen it before, and it was very interesting.  I did agree to take an office for next year - as long as they understood that I wouldn't always be at the meetings.  Mom has been providing the refreshments for most of the year, and since we had a lot of visitors (the entire 1876 Team) she had done sandwiches before the meeting, and soup and sandwiches after the meeting.  I don't mind the cooking and prep work, but cleaning up after the meeting is a pain!  I'm glad that 'we' won't be in charge of that next year!

I stayed overnight at Mom's and came home Sunday morning.  A beautiful drive, and I saw antelope in the Bogart area!  The first time in years that I had seen them there.  How cool!  Alli was great the whole trip, but I think she was very happy to be home.  She rocked so hard in her chair, I was afraid she was going to send it through the wall!  Everything was back to normal.