Simple Woman's Daybook, March 23, 2010

Outside my window I see a cloudy sky with the sun trying to peek through -- it looks like it is going to make it.

I am thinking that I really haven't accomplished much today and I am wondering if that really matters.

I am thankful for the warmer weather.

From the learning rooms I am learning about traditional Welsh quilting.

From the kitchen absolutely nothing is going to come today -- it is my kitchen day off -- randomly chosen.

I am wearing black slacks and a striped shirt.

I am creating a baby quilt for Bean.

I am going to have to decide what my "quilt as desired" desire is.

I am reading "Bramwell Valley" -- silly, silly book.

I am hoping to get a better nights sleep tonight.

I am hearing Ellen Degeneres in the background.

Around the house I am systematically decluttering -- I have been watching "Hoarders" -- scary stuff.

One of my favorite things is my cat -- so demanding, forces me to think about something other than myself.

A few plans for the rest of the week is to finish the baby quilt.

Here is a picture thought to share with you:

Oh, Spring, Where Art Thou?

Today is the first day of spring. It is supposed to look like this:



This one of our pear trees, yesterday, when it was spring. However, today it is winter again, complete with snow and wind and freezing temperatures which could mean ice and probably the end of the lovely pear blossoms.

I haven't heard, officially, but I think this is probably the most peculiar winter in the history of, well, probably the entire planet. It isn't supposed to be snowing. We had the a/c on yesterday. I know this is Texas and the old saying goes "if you don't like the weather in Texas, just wait a minute and it will change". I think every state lays claim to that old saying but here it seems to be especially true, this winter at least.

So, I guess I will go curl up with my e-reader and finish the most ridiculous book ever published -- Bramwell Valley. I didn't say it wasn't a GOOD book, it is quite funny, but not my usual fare. It was, however, free from B&N and, until I have a little more faith and confidence in my Nook, I will continue to download "free". If you want to read something really, really silly, check out Bramwell Valley -- it won't disappoint.

Spring Has Sprung!

It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood -- for sure! First off, I can hear -- praise the Lord! Secondly, it is sunny and dry (trying not to jinx things here)! And, I got my hair cut -- a little wonky but cut nonetheless.

So, I have energy and I am rip roaring and ready to go to work finishing up some projects. One I can't show you because it is a gift but just suffice it to say that it will be lovely.

The second I can't tell you about either because of the same reason. However, here are some of the fabrics involved in the creation.




The third I can tell you about. It is a baby quilt for Bean! DD picked out the fabrics -- all colors taken from a set of pictures they are using in the baby room. She chose 22 fabrics as seen below and, if my math is correct (which is always suspect) it will take 7- 4.5 inch squares of each to make up the top. It is going to be true patchwork -- just a mishmash of fabrics and wonderfully soft Quilters Dream Batting. I want it to be cozy and cuddly and just the right size for the baby.


The design decision that has me a bit perplexed is the finishing. I am thinking about prairie points but then, I see a solid binding as well to sort of frame all those prints. I was going to make the squares smaller but have decided on the 4.5 in. because enough of the print will be visible -- any smaller and I think they would mostly turn into "solids" or just "textures". Since there will be no borders or anything I think I am going with either a plain, solid binding or maybe plain, solid prairie points. I dont know but that decision is a way down the road, I will deal with it then.

I am thinking I am going to use my new accuquilt cutter for this. After all the deliberating over buying the thing, I have yet to remove it from the box. This might be the perfect time to try it but......on scraps first. I generally have a huge learning curve on things of this nature.

So, that is what is taking up my time right now. Lots and lots of sewing and planning and cutting and designing and not a lot of confidence even though I have been doing this for almost thirty years! I guess I will always be a novice. Hmm..

Rebecca

Better late than never, as they say but since I was not feeling up to par, blogging was put on the back burner. However, now it is time to play catch up.

I was born on my grandmother's birthday -- February 28. I guess that was my one distinguishing factor. My name should have been Rebecca since there was ALWAYS a Rebecca in the family -- my mother broke the chain and named me after a popular tune. At any rate, I always thought it was special being born on MaMa's birthday.

My grandmother Rebecca Madge Foreman was born in San Antonio in 1902. She led a very unremarkable life being part of a large family with many aunts and uncles and cousins. She attended Lavaca Street School which I believe is where the current central office of the SAISD now stands as well as Pauline Nelson Elementary School, also SAISD. She won the Palmer's Handwriting contest for her outstanding penmanship. She left school at eleven to become employed at a store downtown -- I can't seem to recall the name of the store -- Joy? A bit later she went to work at the telephone company where she stayed until her marriage in 1918 to James W. Davis who was stationed in San Antonio during basic training in World War 1. Sometime later that year, after armistice was declared, she joined Jim in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I am not sure how long she lived in Scranton but the family had moved back to Texas by April of 1921 when my aunt was born. They remained in Texas the rest of their lives.

Rebecca had four children -- Velma, Bette, Jimmy and Linnie and four granddaughters -- Joy Lynn, Diana Jean, Melissa, Penny Gail, and Lori Ann. She was a good grandmother making clothes, costumes, taking care of us when we were sick, providing stability when things were shaky. She was always a pillar of strength in my mind. If there was a problem, MaMa and PaPa could take care of it.

Rebecca -- who, to my knowledge, never went by the name Rebecca but rather Madge -- outlived Jim by almost 20 years, passing away in the mid 80's. To this day I recall hearing the stories about how, when they moved to the "country" (which meant old Castle Hills, on Castle Lane) she had a cow that she milked. She also raised pomeranian puppies and had chickens. That was a side of my grandmother I just couldn't get my head around. Well, ok, maybe the puppies. I remember her having a huge, grey persian cat named Pretty -- it was a sad day when she lost that cat.

It was a sad day when we lost my grandmother but I have so many good memories of her -- going shopping and eating at Casa Rio -- EVERY Saturday, tea and toast at her kitchen table almost every day, her house, her Spanish Geranium soap -- yep, that was MaMa.

So, Happy Birthday to you MaMa. You would be 108 years old! Wow, that is a whole lot older than 60 -- you are making me feel good once again!

Buh-bye to the Most Miserable February I Can Remember

February used to be such a good month. It is my birthday month and, even though this year is a milestone birthday, I was looking forward to it. Operative word, was. Now, I am not looking forward to the birthday I am just looking forward to this miserable month being over!

When I started school, we were arranged in classes by our birthdays so, my classroom was made up of those whose birthdays fell from January 1 to mid-March. My best friend, Roger's, birthday was on the 24th, my friend Kathryn's was on the 26th and mine the 28th -- no wonder I can remember that. February was definitely the month of parties. Those were the days! Not this year, however. (Below is a photo of my 6th grade graduation with the majority of the girls in my class -- a couple were missing. )

This has been a horrible winter. We have had snow at least three times. My grandchildren have contracted some sort of illness that I believe they shared with me. My expectant daughter managed to contract some sort of stomach virus from her husband. The month is a complete blur. Complete.

So, with that said, I am quite anxious to see February depart and some warm weather takes its place. I would like to see everybody well and all my projects underway. I am getting way behind in the project arena. I want my ears to unstop and my chest to uncongest and I am willing to forego the birthday celebration in order to hasten the healing.

On that note, I am going to wish myself a happy birthday, drink copious amounts of water, swallow massive amounts of something to decongest me and take a nap!

King Aroo

I don't feel well today and even though I didn't feel like doing much, I didn't feel like being completely unproductive either. So, I set about cleaning off the desk. I feel badly about our desk. We have a perfectly good home office and yet my husband schleps the bills and payments to be made to the dining room table because he can't find the desktop. It is usually hidden under DAR papers, genealogy papers, old photos to be scanned and junk mail that neither of us looks at but feels that it might be important enough to not throw away. So, I decided to make the desktop a bit more accessible to him.

As I was clearing things out, I found the little yellowed comic strip shown above. I have been carrying it around with me for some time now because it is important to me. It is the final newspaper comic strip, "King Aroo", drawn by Jack Kent. My copy came from the April 17, 1987 issue of Comics Buyer's Guide.

Jack Kent was an artist in San Antonio. He began drawing the "King Aroo" comic strip in 1950 and continued for 15 years. When I was old enough, I never missed a day of reading it. I remember my father bringing me a copy of a little King Aroo book which I carried around until it finally disintegrated and is no more.

Kent went on to write and illustrate children's books. When my children were small, I joined a book club for them and many of the titles they received were Jack Kent books which we still have in our possession. I believe their favorite was "Socks for Supper". I have since gone on to collect more for my own library of children's books. I believe my personal favorite is "There's No Such Thing As A Dragon".

As I said earlier, this little comic strip is important to me because it was important to my father. See, Jack Kent was a good friend of his. In fact, my father was his best man at his wedding to his wife June. Jack and June have a son, also named Jack, who I have spoken with via email in the not too distant past. Jack Jr. is a nice guy which I wouldn't doubt because his folks were nice people. I wish I hadn't lost his email address.

I remember when my dad learned that Kent was ill. It was a sad day and when he passed away, it was sadder still for my dad who valued the friendship of all those years, it was sad for Kent's fans and for the children who loved his books and the thinly veiled messages therein. So, when I ran across the raggedy, yellowed copy of his last strip, I just had to share it. I searched "Jack Kent" on the internet and found a very recent article written in SA Current. It is written by a woman whose blog I follow - http://www.scribblinginsanantonio.com. The link to the SACurrent article is http://www.sacurrent.com/arts/story.asp?id=70905. It is a great article and if you are interested in Jack Kent, you will enjoy reading it.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the final strip of King Aroo.

The two photos above were taken at about 7 a.m.





Be Gone Winter of 2009-10! Please!

I am feeling a very negative post coming on. I am sick of winter, I am sick of cedar, I am really sick of snow/ice/wintery mix -- in fact, I am just sick, literally. So, I would love to see a little bit of spring -- please? However, I did take some photos the other day of the Fort Worth Blizzard of 2010 and thought I would put them up. They look oddly like the LAST pictures of snow I took because I only seem to stand at the same vantage point -- my garage door or my patio. But, in any event, for all you folks who wish for snow -- here ya go -- knock yourself out. I, for one, am ready to see the back end of winter!

I know these photos probably don't look like much to my northern friends/family but they were taken early in the day. The final amount of snow tallied for the day was between 10-14 inches, depending on where you lived.

I didn't take any photos of yesterday's snow because it didn't stick and frankly, it looked like feathers and felt like sleet. It wasn't really nice except that it seemed like you were in a snowglobe as my daughter in law commented. Today, it is cold but bright sunshine and I have opened all my blinds so I can combat my seasonal affective disorder -- yay, sunshine.

Now, if I could just get rid of my cold/cedar fever/rampant allergies -- whatever it is that has ahold of me, I would be a very happy person.

February 18, 1923


On this day in 1923 a second daughter was born to Jim and Madge Davis. They named her Alma Elizabeth after two of her aunts, Alma Foreman Baker and Elizabeth (Betty) Davies Carroll. They chose to nickname her Bette, a name she retained until moving to Fort Worth in 1990 when she suddenly became "Alma" -- a name I never got used to.

Bette was short, blond and a bit on the chunky side. In this childhood photo she is standing on the left with her older sister, Velma, her cousin Florence who is holding her brother, Jimmy.

Bette lived her entire life in San Antonio, Texas where she attended Edison and Jefferson High Schools. On November 14, 1942 she married her high school sweetheart, Pat Boyett, and began a marriage that would last until her death in 1996. They were a fun-loving couple that lead interesting lives but the greatest thing my mother ever experienced was grandmotherhood --- she adored her grandchildren and, I am certain, would be quite enamored with her great-grandchildren. I am sorry she isn't here to see them -- she would love them -- I like to think she does.

I guess the word that would best describe my mother would be that of caretaker. We were a close-knit family and my mother took care of everybody -- me, Joy, sisters, mothers, and fathers. I don't think she knew the word "no".

She was a good mother. She was always determined that our house would be one that the kids wanted to come to and she opened our door to any friend or cousin that wanted to come over. Friday was grocery shopping day and she made sure the fridge was stocked with cokes, the pantry with snacks and the record player was in good working order. She was always there to celebrate my achievements, to sympathize with the broken hearts and to encourage me as I fought my battles. She sewed dresses and costumes, rolled hair and polished nails. She raised me with a strong sense of right and wrong. She instilled in me the love of God and home. She taught me that no job was too menial to be done correctly and she taught me to care about others and hold family dear. She was a good mother and I still miss her.

So, on this day -- her 87th birthday -- I celebrate her, mourn her, remember her and thank her for all she did for me. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for her.

Happy Birthday, Mamma!

Early Bird Catches the ....Tums

Yes, I am up bright and early this morning -- 2 a.m. to be exact. A nasty case of acid reflux. Here is how it started --

In anticipation of more "wintery mix" on Friday, I decided that A and I needed dinner out. I develop really bad cases of cabin fever very quickly so I do my best to circumvent the issue by running around a lot prior to a "cabin event" so that when said even rolls around I am ready to stay home for a day. Usually my running around in prep involves things like stocking up on groceries (generally milk, coffee and tp), a quick stop at the book store for a stack of new mags to recycle and dinner out. Well, since Friday might turn into a "cabin event", I opted for dinner out last night.

We went to this place --



This place had been there for a while before we tried it -- our favorites being Rocco's take out or Red Brick Pizza. One evening we tried it and discovered it to be pretty decent pizza so we have gone there several times now and it's quiet, Tuscan ambiance is very nice -- we choose to sit in the corner by the fireplace. I didn't realize that Palio's was a chain until I started looking for it's logo -- pretty good for a chain.

After dinner I made a quick run to --



at



The mall was very quiet, being Tuesday and all, but it was enough to last me through the "winter event" -- I am not a mall person. I was between 11 and say 30 but since then, yeah, not so much.

After that, we came home, made a cuppa and sat down to watch the DVR'r segment of my favorite show



I don't know why this is my favorite show -- I dated a Mormon boy once who was a believer in polygamy and I knew at the ripe old age of 14 that concept wasn't in my life plan but still, it is a good show.

However, while I was watching said favorite show I ingested a number of these



I haven't been enjoying chocolate lately so this wasn't a good choice. I went to sleep and about 11:30 I woke up needing these
I tried to ignore it but by 2 a.m. I was wide awake, in my chair, drinking yet more tea and reading "Hide in Plain Sight" -- my new book on my Nook. Nook's, by the way, are unbelievably easy to read -- I thought it would be like reading a glary computer screen but it isn't, it is like reading a book -- so nice.

Anyway, back to sleep about 3 a.m. -- up at 6 with a whole day ahead and behind about three days worth of energy. Sigh.

Ok, this is the most ridiculous post I have ever written. It reminds me of one of those story books when I was a child that had pics in the middle of the text to help new readers. Yeah, well, I feel pretty childish right now to tell you the truth. Plus, this post is all about my weakness, indulgence and lack of control so I am not going to post on FB that I am "blogging" - instead this is just for me to look at when I feel the need to over-indulge -- a record of just what can happen when there are too many olives, too many cookies and too little control.

What will I get accomplished today on too little sleep and still sporting a squeamish tummy? Probably not a whole lot -- I don't get a whole lot done on a good day -- but I will probably find time to reactivate my Weight Watchers account which I foolishly deleted about three weeks ago because I wasn't participating. Bad choice -- both lack of participation and cancellation -- so, today I will probably be back tracking and starting over. I wish I could, for once, just achieve and not constantly be starting over but that seems to be Melissa's way -- blah.

Ok, this is the end of the this post -- peppermint tea and a new beginning -- after a nap. Yeah.

Ah, To Be Three Again -- I guess

Yesterday was spent at our son's house celebrating our grandson's third birthday. It was actually a pretty quiet little party. One invited family was suffering from "flu like symptoms" and decided they best not attend which is understandable and considerate. So, there were only three children there -- the birthday boy, his sister and his buddy. But, the three of them were lively enough.

The theme of the party was "firetruck" -- one of N's favorite things right now. So, Mom fashioned a firetruck cake from pound cake, oreo cookies, gumdrops and rolled fondant icing. Since she didn't want the kids to partake of too much red food coloring, she made this a Fort Worth firetruck which are blue and white. She also had "dalmation" cupcakes which were cupcakes with white frosting with crumbled chocolate cookies mixed in to make them look spotted and they were topped with icing fire hydrants made by birthday boy's dad. I didn't get a photo of those, however, but trust me, they were cute.

There were gifts galore


Balloons to be popped, friends and aunts

Gramps and Granny B


And a good time was had by all!

I Am Impulsive and Weak

Ever heard that expression "the mind is willing but the flesh is weak"? I have heard that used in many contexts but never with quilting -- until now.

I love to quilt -- if I am in the mood and things don't get all glitchy. I also have a very, very short attention span. Right now I have a quilt on the machine, two on the cutting table and one in my head and guess who isn't in the mood to quilt? Yep. I think I do ok with the cutting (to a point) and the piecing but when it comes to spreading the whole mess out on a large, flat surface (the floor comes to mind) I just go all ughy. In the first place, if I put it on the floor there is a huge chance there will be a cat in the middle of it in a nanosecond. Again, if I put it on the floor I risk never being able to get up from pinning it assuming I can get down there to begin with. So, I asked for a lovely cutting table for Christmas a couple of years ago to help with the process which does help, provided I don't want to create a quilt for my king-sized bed. I may be employing Georgia Bonesteel's techniques for quilting as I go if I tackle that project again.

However, with all these drawbacks in my physical ability and my mental prowess, I still love to quilt. There is something about creating a blanket that just sends lovey feelings all over me, probably because it reminds me of my great-grandma who essentially got me to thinking about it oh, long around 1954-55. I mean, come on, the great-great granddaughter of pioneer quilters just can't drop the ball, right? So, on I go.

I have learned a few things along the way though. I have learned that with all our new fangled gadgets for making like easier, I still liked the evenings at g-grandma's watching her piece quilt blocks with nothing but a needle and a thread and a pair of scissors. In dull light, I might add. I have never attempted hand piecing although I would love to but figure the short attention span might not be a good match for it -- I am, after all, a woman of this instant gratification generation. Still, I am a purist and think the hand piecers/quilters still have it right. However, after cutting out a quilt with scissors one Christmas and finding that all my strips were off between 1/8 and 1/4 of an inch, I gave up on the scissors and went back to the rotary cutter. That was better. However, the rotary cutter and ruler aren't my best friends -- I seem to be a bit ruler dysfunctional but it is still better than scissors -- I have just learned to jiggle things a bit to make them fit. Of course, I do lots of strip piecing and stuff like that, I don't really cut out quilt squares and piece things together -- I take the easy way out.

In any event, I caved in and bought one of these today.




It is called Accuquilt Go and is a die cutter for fabric. I have seen one used and I have watched the video. It all looks very promising and not nearly so messy as my rotary cutting. I have read many reviews and the only negative one I found was today, AFTER the purchase. I haven't tried it out yet -- I refuse to unpack it until I am further along with the ones I have already started -- otherwise I will just get even more distracted and have three more projects in various stages of completion.

I will report back in when I have had some experience with the thing but I will say that sassy pic of the lady holding it with one hand -- yeah, I had to have somebody carry the box to the car for me -- it only weighs 15 pounds but -- well, I'm just sayin'.