Candidates debate at the OLH

Last nice the five Democratic candidates for Governor debated at the Old Labor Hall. We watched on TV as Paul was wisely nursing his cold. He would have joined the crew to set up Wed. and last night, but I'm glad he took it easy. The last thing we need is more pneumonia in this house. Here's a recap, from left to right on the podium.

I was impressed with Susan Bartlett whose hair seemed to have gotten a touch of wind before going on camera. I'm sure she'll be mortified when she watches it back. But she made lots of sense and I was pleased to hear she believes state employees have been cut too much. She seems the least likely to win, but I always found her very supportive of libraries when I attended the Lamoille Co. Librarians' legislative breakfasts. A very no-nonsense sort of person that might make a good member of the next Administration.

Matt Dunne, the youngest candidate and the youngest person ever elected to the state legislature, was very impressive. I think he could really capture the younger voters. He believes that the cost of health care is what is killing state and local budgets, including school budgets. He advocates a state-insured system for all, which is do-able in our small state and to which we seem to have been working since the creation of Catamount Health. He offered some very interesting ideas about what to do when Vermont Yankee closes. Of course, he brought up the need for broadband everywhere in the state which has long been his "issue."

My long-time acquaintance Deb Markowitz, current Secy. of State, seemed not as well versed in the state's fiscal issues even though she has headed her agency for 8 years. Her answers were generic. She got laughs when she talked about her kids and why they don't want to settle in Central Vermont - no jobs, no dates, nothing happening. But that wasn't all that meaty and to the point. I wonder why she isn't showing her smart legal mind more.

Doug Racine, my favorite from several years ago, is still my favorite. He talked about showing respect for teachers and state workers and has a great way of criticizing the Douglas administration and Lt. Gov. Dubie (the Republican candidate) in a direct but kind manner. I like his initiatives on statewide health care. I suspect he will not win the primary because he seems so nice, yet I think he could do a lot to mend the poor morale of state employees.

My old nemesis from closing SERL, Peter Shumlin showed himself to be tough and outspoken. He is in the hot seat when it comes to Vermont Yankee, but he isn't backing down in his efforts to close it. Yet he recognizes that the employees will need help finding new jobs, perhaps out of state. I think he would be a very strong Governor, but not so easy to work with all the time. I remember that, during the SERL hearings, he took me aside to say that I was doing a great job. It puzzled me at the time but I think he believed I was listening to all sides. Last night he impressed me by saying that, while he considers Dubie a friend, he is "not up to the job" of Governor at all.

It will be an interesting summer, and I am looking forward to a debate between Dubie and any of these five people. Any one will be sure to run right over him.

Taking it easy

I've been recovering from pneumonia for the last couple of weeks. This is a new experience for me since I almost never get sick. A few weeks ago, while we were having our new floor put down, I had some flu-like symptoms but thought it had to be a cold. After all, I had both flu shots. But things progressed, and last week I finally went to the doctor when I couldn't stop coughing and kept feeling worse. I'm happy to say, I'm feeling much better with antibiotics and lots and lots of rest. I know that overdoing it too soon can lead to a longer convalescence. The doctor said rest, healthy eating and lots to drink are key.

So I've become a "couch potato," reading and napping a lot. I have read almost every Constable Evans book by Rhys Bowen and enjoyed being an armchair traveler in Wales. I'm about to start on Bowen's Mrs. Murphy series and hope it's as good. I re-read a couple of Georgette Heyer favorites - The Grand Sophy and Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle. They were just as good as I remembered them. Yesterday, I got out some knitting and am now well along on a nice variegated blue scarf. Maybe I'll give it to Axel if it's long enough. I ordered some pink cotton yarn to make a scarf for myself, and I also ordered a few more books. You know I'm feeling better when I start shopping online again.

Tonight we are missing the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band concert at the Opera House, but we are happy that our friends Karen & Chet are able to take our seats. I'm still coughing too much and too tired by the end of the day to take a chance. But Paul bought tickets for Beatlemania for mid-April as a consolation. With snow flurries and a stiff wind, I'm glad to be in today. I've also made dinner the last few nights, and tonight we'll have roasted chicken breasts, sweet potatoes, and asparagus - a perfect early spring meal.

Our house is in an uproar...

...but the new floor is beginning to take shape. Matt spent most of Mon. and Tues. prepping. By last night, he had the dining room and a third of the living room done. It looks beautiful, but we really are feeling at sixes and sevens. For days, the top step carpet to the basement was ripped up, so I felt nervous about carrying laundry down. I'll be able to do it tomorrow, though, since the new nosing is on. Paul has one clean flannel shirt left - and he wears them 9 months out of the year!

Max, our dog, keeps looking for a quiet place to be and follows us everywhere, including the bathroom. He hates noise and this is quite a noisy job. I usually sit in the living room to applique and read, and there's a painting on the bed in the guest room, so I join him in looking for a comfortable place to be. I am quilting a maple leaf wallhanging for my Saturday quilt guild to enter into the Vermont Quilt Festival special exhibit of the "Treasures of the Green Mountains." I've actually made pretty good head-way, using variegated beige thread on the background and variegated fall colors thread on the leaves (thanks, Karen!).

Through it all, I seem to have developed a cold. I don't have a stuffy nose, just aches and chill. It feels like flu but I had both flu shots, so if it is, it should be a mild case. At any rate, ibuprophen and Vitamin C are keeping me going.

Vacation is now a "staycation"

Well, as with "the best laid plans of mice and men," our elaborate vacation plans have gone totally awry due to the weather. After having almost no snow since Christmas, we had 20" yesterday. Today it's raining. However, New York is expecting a foot of snow today, and we are apparently in for more snow tonight and tomorrow. We were supposed to be heading to Montgomery, AL, today; driving to Naples, FL, Sunday; and heading home via Ft. Myers next Friday. But our flight to NY today was cancelled and we couldn't get seats on flights tomorrow. Saturday was beginning to look doubtful, too. Since we had so much driving time built into our vacation, we just didn't think we could do it all comfortably in the time left. And we were so looking forward to seeing Jim, John & Rebecca, Brenda & Frank, and Carole & John!

Looks like we'll be staying home during the flooring project which begins Monday. Almost everything has been removed from the first floor, but now we'll be able to help Matt move things around as needed. If we're lucky, we'll have a few nice days to go x-c skiing (Paul) and snowshoeing (me). We had some books we wanted to read, so we'll go stock up, and I can keep working on Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. I received a great package of batiks today from my Dear Jane secret pal which I can incorporate into the blocks. There's always a silver lining when one is a quilter!

Back to SBS

Our house is in a bit of an uproar since almost everything in the living and dining rooms has been moved upstairs or down to the basement. We are having our carpet removed and hardwood floor installed, beginning Friday. It should be lovely when finished. We were advised to take everything off the walls, too, since all the pounding may make things fall off. So knicknacks and pictures have been tucked away, too.

That activity and the fact that I've worked hard to finish some UFOs means that I'm back making Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks. They are each 6" finished, and each is a nice, short project. I have made a dozen in the last few days, and it's been fun most of the time. I have been spoiled by Dear Jane. In that book, each page has a drawing of a complete block, so I can decide for myself what technique would work best - rotary cutting, applique, paper piecing, etc. I can easily trace the block onto freezer paper, too. In SBS there are patterns but no complete blocks to trace, and sometimes I disagree with the technique suggested. Some of my blocks have ended up too big and some too small, because I've deviated from the book's pattern. But I'm not doing any over - there are 144!

I'm enjoying choosing colors for each block, using whatever fabric I think would look good. In this way, I'm using all those fabrics I bought just because I liked them, with no particular project in mind. Some of them were favorites from past projects, too. But I seem to have lots of fabric that I must have been saving for a rainy day - well, this is it! And I'm liking the results so far.

Asian Jane is on its way to Mary

After two years of playing with a lot of Asian prints in all colors and a whole lot of solid black fabric, my Asian Jane finally was finished yesterday, with the back pieced and the binding ready to go when it returns from the quilter. I love the back, a teal green Jinny Beyer print which will be yummy to sleep under. I took the quilt top to the guild meeting last night to prove I had completed another UnFinishedObject, and today I put the top and back in the mail. I don't expect to see it for many months as Mary is the owner of the Machine Quilters Expo and extremely busy. But her work is great - worth the wait. The big purple quilt is also in her capable hands.

At the guild meeting, a couple of my applique students brought their Works in Progress to show me, and they really were doing well. It was good to see what they'd done, each very different but very nice, too.

Right now I'm gathering things to show at a workshop I'm doing March 12 at the library. It's called "Repurpose your clothing," and I'll show items made of old t-shirts and blue jeans. I'm making a few potholders and place mats backed in blue jeans, and I have some rugs and tote bags to show. I think I'll demonstrate how I cut a pair of jeans apart to preserve its useful parts. I will also show how to cut up old t-shirts for yarn, and I have been knitting a few potholders and a rug with some yarn made with "Life is Good" t-shirts from the quilt I made Nancy before Christmas. If I was better at crocheting, I think I could make some very nice items. I will wear a jacket made out of a sweatshirt, too, so people can get an idea about that. There is never a dull moment in the life of a quilter!

Finished quilts!

I have neglected to post photos of quilts I have finished, so here goes. At left is "Christmas with Jane and Sylvia," which includes Dear Jane blocks accumulated through several swaps and a few extra I made. The back has some Sylvia's Bridal Sampler blocks that I received in a swap also. I decided I didn't need two Christmas quilts, so have combined them. The back doesn't look as good as I'd like, so I'm just going to show the front. I see the photo is upside down. Hmmmmm.

Next is the round robin quilt I did with guild people last year. I am going to call it "27 Flavors of Purple" since Laurette told me that the "piano keys" border she made includes at least 25 different fabrics. I quilted both of these quilts myself on my home machine, and I am pleased with the way this one turned out. It has a wavy edge which took forever to bind. It isn't a really big quilt so will look nice layered over another quilt.