Rainy days

 It has rained every day for at least a week.  Our grass is "as high as an elephant's eye" (and this ain't Oklahoma!).  But it is a lush green, and plants outside are growing fast.  My tulips look lovely.

I spent a lot of time sewing this week and yesterday was spent at the library.  Paul and I went to set up chairs in the reading room in the morning, and after lunch we returned for a concert.  This picture doesn't do the concert justice.  The pianist was a retired high school music director, choir director, local performer, and artist, who played, sang, and encouraged us to sing along.

57 people attended, and all seemed to enjoy themselves.  It was the Friends of the Library's fourth annual concert in memory of our late president and our good friend.  Christine would have loved the whole event which ended with one of her favorite songs, America the Beautiful.

I had made a "Death by Chocolate" bundt cake and there were other goodies served after the show.  There was no cake to take home, much to Paul's regret.  I made sure he had a piece after the concert, though, so don't feel sorry for him.  I was so glad the afternoon was a success, and people who came all pitched in to clean up the chairs before I even knew what was happening.  

It's raining again today, so I baked some healthy muffins, a variation of "morning glory" ones, went to the bank, and did a little preparation for Saturday's state quilt guild meeting.  Tomorrow I have a doctor's meeting early and then will bake some brownies for Saturday (leaving one for Paul, of course!).  I'll load up the car before evening so that I can get a nice early start.

Sunny days

Good morning, friends!  Although it's been sunny and in the 70s, I've been recovering from a bad cold so moving a bit slowly.  The cold is finally gone - no more kleenex sticking out of pockets and sleeves, no more cough drops in every room, no more deciding about meds to help me sleep.  Paul had the same cold (or maybe it was COVID?  we never tested), so we've had company at least.  On the occasions when I had some energy, I worked on Light Up the Library preparations for the Friends of the Library - updating the mailing list, organizing committees, and writing the letter to donors.  The mailing list is almost ready for Nancy to generate mailing labels.  This year, I'm hoping to share the load as much as possible so that I can move on to non-Friends projects (like quilting).  Our little committee will get together soon to put the mailing together.

I did do some sewing every day, though.  Most of last week, I made string triangles in blues and neutrals when I felt like it.  Yesterday I went to the Calico County Quilters group for a two hour hand sewing session.  I finished a lily block that may become the beginning of a new medallion quilt and did a bit of Sashiko.  It's always nice to sit and sew with this little group while we catch up on each other's lives.

This past week, I got my Dear Jane background fabrics out and started on Row G.  I have quilted Rows A-C and have Rows D-F put together and now ready to sash and quilt.  I'll do that as soon as the Row G blocks are finished.  This row contains the very difficult G-6 block with a five pointed star and a little star in the middle.  I don't know why Betsy Ross suggested five pointed stars to George Washington - they are so hard to get even!  But, according to Wikipedia, no one really knows how the stars became five pointed.  Maybe it wasn't Betsy's idea after all.

At any rate, I had to add some coping strips to my star block and once again thought about what an amazing seamstress Jane Stickle was.  How many blocks or partial blocks did she throw away during the process of making her masterpiece?  None, I bet, since it was "in war time."  

Welcome to May

The days have flown by this week.  I have spent some time outside, weeding and cleaning out flower beds, and my knees are certainly feeling it today.  I will avoid being on them for a day or two.  I managed to beat the lawncare people who were spreading mulch in the beds out front and on the side facing the road.  I didn't want them to mulch on top of the weeds as they did last year.  All that did was encourage growth, and those buttercups went wild.  

Our blueberry bushes are looking very good this year.  Can't wait to eat them although I do have quite a few left in the freezer.  I don't like to put the frozen ones in my morning cereal but that might be a good way to reduce our supply.  I made some lowfat granola earlier this week, and today I made some ginger rhubarb muffins.

Allergy season is here in full force, but I keep on keeping on.  Apparently, it's bad all over.  Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I went to a nursing home and a community food shelf to deliver books for their clients to read, keep, return, etc.  The books come from the Friends of the Library book sale area which is bursting at the seams with donations right now.  At each location, I have lined up a volunteer to keep an eye on things and refresh the collections as needed.  So far it's working well, and everyone is happy.

May is always a busy time around here.  We went to a couple of fun events this week, including the annual Primo Maggio dinner and lecture at the Old Labor Hall.  We went with our neighbors and saw quite a few people we hadn't seen for a while.  The traditional Italian dinner was great, but the selection of Italian wines was very impressive.  I had a tough time choosing, so the bartender did it for me, very successfully, too.  Last night, a friend of Paul's gave a talk at the library, and we were glad we went because only three other people were there.  Rick did a great job, talking about the McCarthy era and how Vermonters reacted.

This afternoon we'll be back at the library to move the piano and some chairs up into the reading room for a concert tomorrow afternoon.  We can't have the program in the meeting room because it has been booked, but the reading room is nicer anyway.  It's quite a squeeze with the piano in the elevator, but we do it, and all the chairs are on trolleys, too.  We'll return mid-day tomorrow to get things set up for our singers, Carol and Doc, who will perform traditional folk, roots, and original songs as well as lead a few sing alongs.   It's Vermont Green Up Day tomorrow, too, with folks outside picking up trash.  We hope some people will come to relax after a morning of work.

Lighting Up the Library

The Friends of the Library's second big fund raiser (besides the book sales) each year has become Light Up the Library, with donations of trees, wreaths and other decorations from local businesses, clubs, and individuals.   This photo shows one of the two first floor reading rooms last year.  That's an inflatable snowman peeking out behind a tree.  I find them tacky, but the kids love them.

It looks a little different this year because we are able to spread out a bit more.  Last year, a friend put on a play of A Christmas Carol in the other side of the reading room and stored props there.  This year, the play is going to be at the Congregational Church across the street.

The library has been my home away from home this week as I've been taking in all of the items which will be raffled off in two weeks.  The fun of the whole project for me is meeting and greeting all the donors who are excited to be setting up their trees and other items in the library.  

This morning, I'm expecting two young women from a developers' office with their little tree.  Several people have mentioned what a challenge it is to drive with a fully decorated Christmas tree.  It's amazing that most things arrive intact on the trees!

Yesterday we managed to find a good spot in the children's room for a toboggan with goodies and gift certificates.  Today I also hope to set up a tree with tools donated by the local hardware store.  Then I'll run to the dollar store for paper goods for tomorrow's open house to start the season.  All this activity really does get me in the mood to do a few holiday things around the house, but on the other hand, I'd just like to take a nap today after all this activity.

A day off

Life has been so busy lately, that it's been a while since I last blogged.  I've been involved with the Friends of the Library annual meeting, the state quilt guild's fall meeting, and getting ready for the Genealogy Fair this coming Saturday.   Paul's brother Jim was here from Alabama all of last week, so we did some sightseeing and got together with family members twice.  Yesterday was, finally, a day "off" for me, and I enjoyed it immensely.

The morning started with fusing and cutting some more items for the collage quilt.  I have a lot of floral fabrics to cut for the treetops and am so glad to have those new padded Karen K. Buckley scissors.  I have some of the pieces scattered over my piece, but it will be a while before I am sure where everything will go.  Today I'll drive over to A Quilter's Garden to pick up the scissors I left behind after class.  We were all borrowing items from each other during class, and I couldn't find them when I was packing up.  They are quite sharp, so I was glad when Marie let me know I'd left them behind.  While I'm there, I may end up with a teensy bit more floral fabric, too.

Yesterday morning also found me finishing up the details for posters about the Friends' Light Up the Library project and its accompanying A Christmas Carol play.  They have been sent to the library for artwork and copying.  I wanted to get things out early as the staff is busy training the new director who I had lunch with Monday.  She seems very enthusiastic about our various projects.

After lunch, I made a big batch of oatmeal cookies for Saturday's genealogy fair.  They're to fuel the energy of the volunteers who'll be tabling (yes, that seems to be a verb these days).  We'll have tables for people to find out more about searching for ancestors from various countries and ethnicities, as well as learning how to use online resources.  I'll be introducing our special speakers and filling in at various tables for breaks and lunches.

In the late afternoon, while the furnace man was busy cleaning and getting us ready for winter, I finally found time to read the latest mystery, Home at Night by Paula Munier, a Vermont author who features Mercy, a veteran of the Afghanistan conflice and her dog Elvis.  This one takes place around Halloween so is just right for now.

Getting things done

Good morning!  It's another gloomy day here in Central Vermont, with rain in the forecast, too.  We would all like to see the sun sometime, just to make sure it still works!  Yesterday was quite chilly, but the Friends of the Library's booth at the town Fall Festival went well.  We had a lot of young families stop by for giveaway books.   It was fun being right in front of the skate park which was teeming with kids.

That's Jo, one of the Friends, looking cold.  I had on my fleece jacket covered by my quilted winter jacket and gloves.   We were both happy when our two hour shift was over.  Our booth was right next to the Lions Club booth which was quite busy, too, with kids trying their hands at "corn hole" and picking up prizes.  

Today I'm trying to get things done.  I finished copy editing my friend Alan's book and sent it back to him.  It took me 11 hours over a week, reading it twice, and finding a lot I'd missed on the second pass.  I hope it is what he was hoping for.

I have some laundry going and an Indo-Dutch beef stew ("hache" my Otie called it) bubbling on the stove.   I'll most likely serve it with potatoes and peas.   An apple tart is cooling.  So I am feeling very accomplished this morning!  I'm heading to the quilting room as soon as I fold the clothes from the dryer.  I had an inspiration for Margaret's quilt in the guild Round Robin.  And if I have time, I'll put the last borders on Rows Parade.  Most likely, I'll collapse after lunch and do a little reading.  Have a fun Sunday!

A little of this and that

 Much of my time has been on the computer over the last week or so.  I've been working on publicity for the Nov. 4 genealogy fair as well as a mailing for the Friends of the Library's annual Light Up the Library program.  We solicit contributions from local businesses and groups to decorate the library with trees, wreaths, and other things during the holidays.  This year it's tricky because all of our downtown business owners suffered some sort of flood damage, with at their businesses or at their homes.  So we're trying to be sensitive in our solicitations.  It's a major fundraiser/raffle for the Friends. 

Last week, I read a couple of mysteries as "palate cleansers" in between copy editing a friend's new novella.  He usually writes creepy stuff, but this is a straight whodunit, which was a relief for me.  It has taken me seven hours to go through on a first pass, and I will now read it through from start to finish again to make sure I didn't miss anything.  By the time I finish Paul's books, I have usually looked at them at least three times and still we find typos in the final work.  So I want Alan's to be in fairly good shape when I turn it back over to him.  This is the first time I've edited anyone else's work besides Paul's, so it took me a while to get comfortable with Alan's writing style.

Today I hope to get the last borders onto Rows Parade.  One of the nine 73" rows is at left, unassembled.  With sashing and borders, it's grown to queen size very rapidly, and that makes it difficult to handle.  I hope to take it to the quilt shop tomorrow to choose a back for it and to give it to Marie to quilt.  Although I received ten yards of unbleached muslin from Paul's sister, I will save it for smaller quilt backs as it's 60" wide.

Jammin'

The Friends of the Library book sale took up most of my time since Thursday, but thankfully it's all over.  We did fine, and Heritage Days, which had been postponed due to the July floods, went very well.  People seemed happy to be together again, temporarily not worrying about sludge and stuff.  There were plenty of food vendors downtown although Al's French Fries were noticeably absent.  My neighbor's daughter sold us some great oatmeal butterscotch cookies on Friday night, so I ordered more that she delivered Saturday.  We are sorry they are gone now!  I'm not sure if she'll be at the Farmer's Market this afternoon, but if she is, we'll be shopping there.

The last few days have been filled with catching up on errands.  I also took Pauline to lunch for her birthday, had a pedicure, emptied flower boxes and pots.   I made a big pot of spaghetti sauce and plan a pot of chili today.  Temperatures are cooler in the morning these days although by mid-day it's warm enough to go without a jacket outside.  The morning fog has been quite thick, a clear indication of the seasons' changing.

I also made some raspberry peach jam from frozen fruit.  The last two batches of jam I've made have turned out runny, so I was glad to see this all jelled nicely.  I have enough fruit in the freezer to make another batch, so I just might do that soon.

Today I'm hoping to sandwich a baby quilt - another "neutral" one (ugh!).  This one's for Paul's sister to give to someone in Utah.  It won't take long as I'm planning to quilt a simple grid.

I survived the book sale

Even though Heritage Days were postponed until fall due to the flood, the Friends were forced to continue with our planned sale this past weekend.  It's all my fault.  After I announced on Front Porch Forum that we'd lost 95% of our stored books in the basement at L. Brown Printing across the street, everyone in town seemed to clear out their bookcases and take books to the library.  My co-president was in a panic, and I needed to be the voice of calm even though I wasn't all that calm inside.  

It all worked out pretty well despite stifling heat and humidity, besides some dust and muck left over from the flood.  We had a tent outside filled with adult paperbacks, and the rest of the books were inside.   About 25 volunteers sorted, set up, lugged boxes, served as cashiers, and helped clean up.  As we were leaving the library Saturday afternoon after cleaning up, the skies opened with a cooling rain.  Ahhh!  

We still have lots of books to sell and no place to store them or recycle them as most businesses downtown are still cleaning up.  We'll have another sale in September when Heritage Days are rescheduled.  Meanwhile, boxes of books are piled up everywhere which may incur the wrath of the trustees, but we have no choice.

Last Wednesday, I finished a scrappy quilt top, 48" x 54", made entirely of strings and set in a "colorwash" manner.  I'm calling it Floody Cabin, since it's the third log cabin-ish quilt I've made in recent years.  The others, Corona Cabin and Omicron Cabin, were made during the pandemic.  

This wonky quilt was fun and easy to make once I sorted all my strings by color.  I worked on one color each day until I had 54 blocks.  I could make a few more, but I am out of every color string except black/gray.  I have an Australian print set aside for the back and I hope to start quilting it in a simple way with my Elna this week sometime.

My birthday spree at A Quilter's Garden was squeezed into the Thursday before the book sale, and it was, as always, incredibly fun.  I got many yards of basics - white/cream backgrounds, bolt ends of batik, a couple of darker fabrics for sashing, and then a few basic solids.  These should keep me busy in the coming year.  

My plan is to tackle some of those patterns I've accumulated like the Exploding Heart.  I have the background fabric all set aside but have been debating about color.  I do like this version, though, using all the colors, yet I've seen very effective ones using all reds, purples, or blues.  I guess I'll just take the plunge, and see where all the colors take me!

Visiting Capstone

 Yesterday's Friends of the Library adventure went pretty well.  We have long talked about putting some small batches of books from our book sale area into waiting rooms, and Capstone (formerly "Community Action") was our first site.  I was going to advertise on the online bulletin board that we were looking for a small bookcase for the collection, but then I was driving home one day and saw one on the side of the road.  I find it so messy when people put free stuff out on their lawns, but this time I was happy.  The lawn was across the street from Alan's house, so as soon as I got home, I called him to go over to have a look.  It was just the right size, so he got it, stored it in his barn, and later delivered it to Capstone.

Meanwhile, I picked out three boxes of books - mostly children's, but some popular adult.  Yesterday, Jo, Alan, and I delivered them.  The whole set up looks like it was made for the spot, and the staff at Capstone seemed really pleased.  They have a nice waiting area for their clients who will be encouraged to take books home, bring in some to trade, or give the books to friends.  Jo will be tending the collection weekly, seeing what people seem to want and adding new books as we go.  

A little of this n that

I finished knitting my brother's hat the other day and have all of my packages ready to mail as soon as we receive another shipment of Paul's new book to include.  This hat turned out much better than the striped one, but I put both in the package with a note that he can give away either one or both.  

I started knitting another hat using scrap balls of yarn in off-white and several blues.  This is a fairly easy pattern that I knit on straight needles and then quickly sew up.  So it's good for TV watching and not as endless as a scarf, although I do like knitting those, too.

Yesterday was the Friends of the Library's first day of setting up for Light Up the Library, a holiday display of trees, wreaths, decorations, and other items contributed by local businesses, groups, and families.  I met several donors while picking things up around town and also when they stopped by the library with things.  

One family brought and decorated the most gorgeous tree yesterday with many woodland-related handmade ornaments.  The picture is small, but there are a couple of stuffed owls, and then some other creatures peeking out from the branches.  If I didn't already have my Christmas village "tree," I'd definitely enter the raffle for this one.

Today I'll be back at the library to meet a few people setting up their contributions, including the Rotary Club and the "Barre Values" group that encourages kindness. inclusion, and understanding.  Can't wait to see what they have come up with.  My main chore today will be finding enough extension cords to light all these items up with.  After quite a bit of planning, it's fun to see all of this come together.

Time flies when you're doing nothing

Until a day or so ago, it was (for Vermont) terribly hot and humid.  I did almost nothing - no cooking, no sewing, no reading - just the bare necessities, it seemed.  A little gardening, a little house cleaning, some writing, a very little quilting.  At least I did call a friend who I hadn't talked to since early April and found she had had a stroke in the meantime.   Now using a wheelchair, Sandy and I will get together for lunch on her birthday Sunday.  I'll bring lunch and learn what happened.

The last couple of days have been cooler with much-needed rain, giving me some energy.  I finished machine quilting the Heart of Vermont Sampler, trimmed it, and cut pieces for the binding.  The cross hatched setting triangles seemed to take forever.   I finished knitting the front of the sweater and am now working on the back.  It's grown a lot so is quite uncomfortable to sit under on a hot day.  I also am back working on the 3" melon blocks for the next round of the virtual round robin.  When the weather's nice - and it should be today - I like to sit outside to applique since the light is better.  I need 40 blocks and have done 12, so I have a way to go.

The state quilt guild board has decided not to hold its fall meeting which I was looking forward to.  Our speaker was coming from Connecticut, and I hope she can come next spring.  Her talk was to be on the creative process and her specialty is using scraps and selvages.  I made a quilt based on a pattern she designed and was looking forward to showing it.  Guess that'll have to wait until May now.

This morning, I'm off for my weekly session with two other Friends of the Library in the booksale room.  We have a lot of books to sort through and get ready for storage.  Then I'll go shopping for the Mutual Aid group.  We have a family in quarantine that needs supplies to cope with a child's COVID.  A friend will deliver to them.

On my to-do list for tomorrow is making a few more masks as the need seems not to diminish.  I have a lot of novelty fabric that would be fun to use and a new, shaped pattern that I want to try.

A nice weekend

On Friday night, we got a little dressed up, Vermont style, and went to dinner at the country club with our neighbors and friends, Mary and Manny.  When I say "dressed up," I mean real sandals instead of flipflops and, for Paul, khakis instead of jeans.  The country club is really in the country and is reached over dirt roads.  Manny drove so we all wore masks.  It was surprising how many others had the same idea, and we even saw some neighbors dining out on the big deck overlooking the fairway.  It was a relaxed and fun evening.

I spent much of the weekend reading Kristin Hannah's book, The Winter Garden.  It started slowly, and seemed to be a story of two conflicted sisters and their cold mother.  But a secondary story started to insinuate itself, making it a real page turner.  I really liked it, perhaps even more than the author's The Great Alone (about a family subsisting in Alaska) and The Nightingale (about two sisters in France during World War II).  I think I'll get it for my mom for Christmas.

I did take a little time out to do the usual things around the house - laundry, a little cleaning, etc. - and some machine quilting on The Avenue, punctuated by some walks around the neighborhood.  I also went over to Samantha and Vicki's to dig up some of their lily of the valley to transplant into a flower bed out front.  It gets no sun, but I notice the lilies fill in nicely among the perennials.  I'll have to keep an eye on them, though, because in Samantha's garden they are choking everything else out.  They were on their way to Stowe for a hike, as they usual do on weekends.  But it was good to chat with them a while, at a distance.

Today's tasks include getting the Friends of the Library all a few raffle tickets to sell, making an appointment for a haircut, and quilting some more.  Hope your day goes well!

And BTW, this new version of Blogger seems a bit more clunky than its previous version.  Anyone else finding that?  I suppose I'll get used to it!

Peach Melba jam

I love peaches, and I try to freeze some and use them in various other ways while in season.  This morning, I made raspberry-peach jam.  The little jars are to use as gifts while the pint ones are for Paul to put on his toast in the mornings.  I don't eat it as often, but I do love it on fresh, homemade bread.

I have a stash of small jars of strawberry-rhubarb jam also, and plan to make some potholders to go with the jams.  There are 13 or 14 people on the staff so one case of small jars isn't enough.  Every year the Friends of the Library and board of trustees hold a holiday party for the library staff, and I like to give each staff member a little something.  The rest of the jams will go to friends and neighbors, and it makes me feel good, getting a jump on the holidays.

I have been plugging away at a biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser) and am anxious to finish.  Growing up, the Little House books were my favorite, and I have a complete set that I treasure.  This biography won the Pulitzer Prize a few years ago and is very extensive.  It also covers the life of Laura's daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, who is supposed to have encouraged her mother's writing.  Or was she the ghostwriter?  I still don't know yet, but I am finding not much to like about Rose so far.  I'm anxious to finish because the new Louise Penny book is waiting in the queue.