the last holiday

115 days left and I become a professional artist.     195 calendar days and I am no longer a professional middle school teacher.  Today is the last time I will leave school for Thanksgiving Holidays.  This week was the last time I will decorate the library for the winter holidays.   YIPPPEEEE!!!!  I have led a blessed life.  I surround myself with books, children and pets.  And, I have a husband that makes a turkey the way his grandma made them.   10 years ago, when we were first married, George thought I would make Thanksgiving dinner.  Ha!  The Weds before Thanksgiving we finally went to the store to buy a turkey and all the fixin's.  He got up at 6 and made pie, turkey and mashed potatoes.  10 years later he continues making a giant stock pot of mashed potatoes that we never ever eat before they turn funky. This year we broke our family tradition and bought a turkey on Tuesday.  Last year we went to the grocery so late on Weds that they only had 4 turkey-lurkeys left.   And, I am  proud to confess that in over a 1/2 century I have never ever stuck my hand in a turkey's butt.

Cajun Fabric and photos

Wanted to post photos but spent evening listening to a webinar on my new laptop and was actually able to participate.  Can't wait to take an online Bernina Class now so I can participate.  Then, I spent the past 90 min trying to make travel plans to New Orleans.  Needed gender and age.  Who would have thought it would have been found under travel plans at the end of page and not near the personal information like your middle name. Duh?  But, they are done.  Man!  I wonder what fabric I can find with a Cajun Flavor.  I love Zydeco Music.  Can't wait to eat at those backwater dives off of Bourbon Street.  Did I ever tell you I lived in New Orleans for two years.  I even did a sprint at Louisiana State.    photos to follow if I don't die waiting for the next 16 days to end.  Never thought it would be so hard to finish my last year.

Creating for myself

The Cat Show was a success!  I will have to learn a new way to market myself.  Going to team up with a professional photographer and put fabric photos on purses and bags.  Got invited to a huge art show but they want $500 to buy in.  That folks is a lot of frickin money.  Just can't do it until I retire.Now I get to sew for myself.  But, wait!  I have two t-shirt quilts to finish and one on the way.  I have a baby quilt to complete for a special colleague of mine.  Where will I find the time.  I have to put my room back together first.  What a mess.  Fabric everywhere.  Pillows everywhere.  Threads stuck everywhere floor, carpet and me.  Can't see my cutting table.  Christmas fabric everywhere.  But, if you read this......you will be receiving pillowcases for the holidays.  If you have a pet would you rather have a pet bed?  118 school days left.  Can't wait for the American Thanksgiving.  George makes a mean turkey and killer pumpkin pies.  More about that later.

excited, excited.

Nothing like getting caught at work.  At least it wasn't me.  A teacher leaves his classroom to go get coffee for himself and another teacher and the AP walks into his room and he is not visible.  My partner teacher walks out of class each day to go get a cup of coffee why I do the lesson.  Busted!  My boss came in to evaluate us today.  tehehehe!!  too bad I was so crabby.  It is so sad that 14 year old kids can't multiply.  Other excitement is that I'm making lined christmas stockings w/ little animals on them.  cute, cute cute.  And, I'm going to New Orleans in 10 days to learn about being a trained for International Baccalaureate Schools.  Wow!!  I spelled:  IB correctly.  I guess I'll pass the test.  7 schools days and it's Turkey Time.  George makes a mean turkey.  Photos later.

3 hours and no break

I have got to remember to get up and move.  I sit in front of my sewing machine and get into a rhythm.  Just can't move.  Just zone out.  Just fall into a comfort zone....  Now my butt hurts.  Spent the past  hour nipping threads and cleaning up projects.  Wanted a bunch of them to have little fringes.  Wish there was an easier way then pulling threads. Spent the last 2 hours pulling threads.  But fringes look cute.  Speaking of cute have you ever watched the Christmas Bunny?  Makes me want to make a snow bunny on a sled quilt.  umm great idea. 202 calendar days and I can pull threads all day long.

Sew a little Quilt a little

Making quilt projects for Christmas.  Hope I didn't screw-up my machine making those pet beds.  Making a funny sound.  Done everything I know to fix it.  Making little mug rugs w/ cats on them.  Cute, cute, cute.  Yippee for an upgrade.  Did I hear upgrade?????  It has taken forever to download my photos unto my laptop.  Now I have a new laptop.  Photos to follow soon. Next week is the cat show.  If I don't sell my cat stuff check your mailboxes.  Cat stuff for Christmas this year.

Went to maximum security prison today.

Had a 3 hour tour of Allred Prison.  If you don't behave in the state of Texas you end up at Allred.  We saw general population and then the segregated cell block.  I know people who have closets bigger than these cells.  A steal bed w/ a cheap mattress a toilet and small table.  And, you have a roommate.  You are allowed snacks if you have a family giving you money but nothing personal on the walls.  Clothes and shoes are provided and your clothes come back from the laundry and you could be wearing your neighbors socks and underwear.  It was really humbling.  You have rights and you have rules.  So, many rules, so many doors, so many guards.  I don't ever want to be arrested and I am grateful I got to go home.  I will never be able to understand what it must feel like to hear a judge say "25 years".  We had the chew toy and K-9 dog tonite in class.  Photos to follow.

sew and cut

Sew and cut.  Cut and Sew.  Iron like a presser.  Measure, measure, measure.  The old saying goes:  Measure twice and cut once.  Geez!!!  that's just what I did.  But, I misread the directions.  Now I have these lovely scraps to incorporate into a new quilt. Yikes.  That means I have to buy more fabric to coordinate with my scraps.  What a great discovery.  I just love fondling fabric.  I would sell my soul for a room full of fabric.  An afternoon at a quilt shop.  what a lovely way to spend a day.  127 days and still making beds for cats.

Who changes the rules

Everything is routine and life is not in chaos.  Who changes the rules?  Go to a store.  Find the same brand of green beans and then somebody changes the label.  Buy the same dog food for years and someone changes the color.  Buy all these fancy new rulers, helpers and books and go back to the way grandma made the block.  Up and downs.  Around and arounds.  And, darn it, I'm forced to upgrade again.  I'm so glad I have my baby Bernina and have had her guts replaced.  10 more years and I won't have to upgrade.

measure, measure, measure

It is so irritating to measure and measure and then iron and measure and put the darn thing on upside down.  I used to be so afraid of sewing pockets now I'm putting pockets on table skirts.   Won't lose the scissors or remote anymore just slide into a pocket.   If I could only put a pocket on the side of my head I would never ever lose my keys.  Who would have thought I would have 10 pairs of scissors to go with my 10 different rulers.  I use them all the time for different purposes.  Yikes!!!  I need a bigger room.   Photos to follow.

It is so nice to.........

It is so nice to wake up at dawn again.  It is so nice to come home and have a dog waiting for you wagging his tail and whispering :  you are home now.  It is so nice to sit down at a sewing machine and quilt until I drop.  It is so nice to appreciate everything I have and everything I have lost.  It is so nice to understand the digital world.  Just finished a book about color, photoshop, layers, vectors, pixels etc.  A book made for  just quilters,  It will be so nice come June that I can spend hours quilting, using vectors and staying in my jammies.  132 days 4 hours and 17 minutes.  can't wait,  can't wait

the woes of being a teacher...........

Reading how do you make a child read:?  Does it really matter what a 14 year old read as long as it is enjoyable?  I was just thinking...........    The rule is:  you are reading or you are not reading.  5.0 you are reading.  6.0 you can read anything. 
Anything above 6.0 is about content sometimes vocabulary.  Content:  such as sex,   drugs, alcohol and violence.
Most enjoyable books for our kids are around 5.0-6.0.  Some have 100 pgs some have 300 pgs but its still 6.0.     Even Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet is under a 4.0.  I even called AR on it.  It took a week to get the answer.  Many phone calls from me and customer service but of course they were right.  I would hate to be a parent now.  Such horrible violent, worthless sex out there in books.  Kind of sounds like that Game of Thorns I (yappers)  quit watching.  132 days left and im spending the nite making cat beds.

$$$Money Honey$$$

Just got paid but I am broke.  Could it be I paid for quilt classes?   Type in their names.  National Trainers coming to Dallas.  Susan Brubaker Knapp and Laura Wasilowski.  I am so excited.  Perfect my techniques.  Got to borrow $20 from George so I can go to Fort Richardson.  Civil War Re-enactment.  It's good to have no money.   I  will have photos of my finished quilts to show this weekend.  It's good to have no money. Me and George watched "Monsters University" last nite.  It's really good to have no money.... Do you remember Dolly in "the best little whorehouse in Texas"?  I'm watching that now as I finish another quilt:  Yippeeeee  No Money!!!! Hell ,  who am I kidding?????

Was I ever this young?  Spent a summer working at a zoo.