What a day!

The eclipse and our party turned out just great.  Folks started arriving around 2, many bearing cookies and other goodies.  We all ate a little and took a little outside.  Most brought lawn chairs, and we had extras, too, so everyone could sit, put on glasses, and watch the sun and moon perform their miracle.  (This photo was taken by Anna, the daughter of a friend).

Paul, his brother Jim, and I wore our special Barre eclipse t-shirts, and I gave one to our friend Diane for leading us in You Are My Sunshine... not once but twice.  

As we were sitting there, commenting on how quickly totality seemed to approach, I thought I couldn't think of a nicer group of people to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event with.  We have awfully nice neighbors!

Right before totality, we could hear dogs barking, the street lights came on as the air around us dimmed, and the wind picked up.  It got downright chilly.  Over to our northwest, the distinctive Camel's Hump (mountain) was surrounded by sunset/sunrise.  I wish I had taken a picture.  We see it all the time, but never like that.  As totality arrived, we all cheered, and we could hear other small groups in the neighborhood doing the same.  Diane said to look for a flash of light around the corona - she called it a "diamond ring."  She pointed out Saturn (or Jupiter?) and Venus which were not visible until totality.

As totality passed, we slowly went inside to warm up and get a little more to eat.  Some people stayed outside until the sky was perfectly normal.  I went inside and enjoyed talking with people I hadn't had a chance to chat with before.  After everyone left and I did some cleaning up, there were plenty of goodies to munch on, so that was our dinner - hummus, veggies, fruit, crackers, cheese, cookies.  A perfect end to a perfect day!

Row F and more

I finished Row F of Dear Jane yesterday, and what a challenging row it was!  I hope Row G is easier, but first I'm planning to work on a few other things.  A big snowstorm is coming later today, so there will be plenty of time to sew tomorrow.  We hope it doesn't start until later this afternoon so that the "Senior Day" program at the library about the 1927 flood will still go on.

Here's Row F...  There was quite a lot of paper piecing here, some fusible applique, and even some hand applique.  Like Jane, I had to make a few blocks a little larger or straighter with added background strips.  

I decided to add the charcoal grunge sashing between the blocks, so I'll start with Row F and go back and sash the other rows.  It shouldn't take me long because I've been carefully measuring each block as I go.  I'll double check before stitching, though.

My plan is to quilt this in sections when my Elna comes home, so I'll leave the rows sashed but not attached for a while.  I've been keeping the blocks clipped together by rows in a large envelope, and once they're sashed, they can hang on a hanger in the closet.  

I made a delicious loaf of maple oat bread over the weekend and will most likely make another tomorrow.  It has a touch of whole wheat flour and some cinnamon, making it extra yummy.   I also made some granola because Paul's brother Jim seems to eat cereal for breakfast, and he's arriving Sunday.  

In between sewing and cooking, I started reading The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett who wrote a favorite of mine some years ago, World of Wonders, about the Amazon.  I'm reading a large print edition which is really easy on the eyes, but so far isn't as good as some of Patchett's earlier books.  My hold for the e-book of The Guest List by Lucy Foley came up from the library, so I've had to switch to reading that for a while.  It's very soap-operaish with unlikeable characters, so I'm not sure if I'll finish even if it did win "best mystery" on Goodreads in 2020.

As I write this, we are having a lovely red sky, a harbinger of things to come. The weather folk say it should go on for several days - rain, snow, sleet, wind, and everything else.  Yesterday, in advance of the storm, I started shopping for things we'll need for our Eclipse watch party Monday afternoon.  I'll do some more over the weekend.   We've invited neighbors and good friends and are hoping for sun and melting snow so we can go in the backyard to watch.   Mainly round foods are on the menu:  moon pies, black and white cookies, fruit with yogurt dip, Diane's lemon squares, round chips and salsa, punch, wine, soda.  Should be fun!