Friday, September 27, 2019

Unraveling

"To show you how dishonest the LameStream Media is, I used the word Liddle’, not Liddle, in discribing Corrupt Congressman Liddle’ Adam Schiff. Low ratings purposely took the hyphen out and said I spelled the word little wrong. A small but never ending situation with CNN!"

If you haven't read that tweet already, you should read it now--or read it again now. That is Donald Trump, our very own stable genius, chastising the news. This makes just about as much sense as "covfefe", another Trumpism. The Constitution says impeachment is necessary if the office holder commits "high crimes and misdemeanors" but I believe it should also include incredible stupidity compounded by hubris. Maybe if someone just started pulling on that comb-over he could completely unravel like a cheap sweater.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Husband's Favorite

It's fall and apple season. My husband doesn't really have a sweet tooth, neither of us are much into candy. But he does like two kinds of pie--pecan pie and apple pie. They are both fall pies anyway since that is the season for harvesting apples and pecans but these days both are available year round though clearly, for apples at least, the quality suffers the older they are and the further from their home ground.

The rule at our house for apple pie is that he can have one whenever he wants but he has to peel and slice the apples. Back in SLC he even picked the apples since there was a lone apple tree on public land near our house. Here it is:

My husband eats his with cheddar cheese. I stick to plain or with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. My poor husband found out today that he has to have a crown on one of his teeth so this will be a treat to heal that particular wound.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Do You Know Me?

As I wrote previously, I have put together a small top with some of the blocks that I purchased a couple of years ago at an estate sale. It is charming and sweet but I do not know the name of the block. I am not even sure they were supposed to be put together in this manner rather than with the large triangles meeting at the intersections alternating light and dark.

Does anyone out there know this block? Does anyone out there want this top? It's quite small but suitable for a wallhanging or a baby gift.

Not only are the fabrics old-fashioned, most of them are old too--at least around 30. The outer light blue is relatively new but a reproduction from the Mill Girls line. This is all hand sewn and ready to be layered and quilted.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Even McConnell Knows

Today Mitch McConnell said, “The president has described it as a very appropriate conversation, but I think we’ll see what the facts say.”


So flat out, McConnell said that he did not believe Trump since he clearly believes the facts will contradict Trump's statement. Of course the chances of getting a transcript that hasn't been heavily redacted and then embellished are slim to none. Trump even contradicted his own previous statement today (what a surprise) when he initially said he didn't want to support corruption by sending Ukraine the money that Congress had authorized but then said he was just holding up the money to find out if any other countries were contributing because he believes they benefit more from a free Ukraine rather than a subservient Russian vassal state.

Trump certainly does know what corruption looks like, though.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Cleaning Up Some Loose Ends

I am between projects now so I have been straightening up my sewing room and putting objects away. I have also put together a small quilt top with some of the old blocks from the estate sale. At some point I will post photos of this because I don't even know what the name of the block is. It reminds me of a few different blocks without being any of them so it's sort of like Birds in the Air and sort of like Lady of the Lake without being either of those. I would have continued making this to completion but I don't currently have any leftover batting of the appropriate size or even of a combination of sizes that I could join with the iron-on batting tape. So that top went away because I refuse to purchase batting for a project like this that is so small and so insignificant that spending money on it would be plain silly.

But I have ordered the fabrics and the batting to make the Diamond In A Square quilt for the same family that received the Lovebirds quilt this weekend. In some ways I know this young man better than I know the sister who will get Lovebirds because he came to my house and then we had lunch side by side at a local restaurant when his family came through the area after attending their youngest son's graduation ceremony at Princeton. He is still mystified as to why someone that he doesn't know, isn't a member of his church or faith, only met him once, is willing, even eager, to make him a quilt. I don't much care if he understands as long as his parents remind him of the obligation of care he owes the quilt.

All the necessary goods except the quilt backing will be in place by the end of this week. I do have some appropriately sized pieces of backing so I only have to decide if I use those or order something else. I already have a picture of this quilt in my mind, the colors and the quilting designs, so once the fabric arrives I will be good to go. I haven't made an Amish style quilt in a couple of decades but I do still like the style. Plus now that I have shown myself that a good old-fashioned hard thimble is more efficient than a soft collar thimble, I know the quilting will be the restful activity I originally adored.

Loose ends also seem to be plaguing the White House. Earlier this year, Trump avowed that he would take opposition information about any opponent and claimed that any candidate would even though it was pointed out to him that soliciting and receiving aid from a foreign government or foreign entity would be entirely illegal. He scoffed at that idea. Turns out he may have scoffed because he had already used his powers to try to pressure the newly elected president of Ukraine to launch an investigation of Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.

That is an egregious abuse of power and a violation of multiple statutes and even the US constitution. If you don't understand why, then you probably don't understand much. 

Friday, September 20, 2019

Harvest Time

Even though it is just the two of us eating, our meals are still planned and enjoyed. I learned a long time ago that going to the market with a plan, especially when our boys were younger, was key to having variety and choice in our dinners. So we always sat down with our sons, even when they were bitty boys, to choose a week's worth of menus. This allowed everyone at the table to have some input in what was eaten so if one son wanted hot dogs and the other requested filet mignon we could talk about the choices and pick sides and make a plan.

My husband and I still sit down and set a week's menus. Sometimes circumstances intervene and we rely on meals that made too much and ended up frozen for just such an occasion. We do like to go out to dinner, but not to fast food so planning ahead makes a difference to us.

Another part of planning ahead involves making seasonal meals. I know that nowadays fancy restaurants are all in to locally sourced and seasonal food, but as a child of a grandfather and a father who grew all sorts of food, I learned young that the corn needed to be eaten when the corn was ready and the strawberries needed to be eaten when they were at their peak. As a side note to those strawberries, our basset hound would come out to Long Island with us for the summers and she loved strawberries. She would wander over the road to the farm side of the property and pig out, driving my grandfather crazy because he not only loved strawberries but he loved making strawberry preserves.

Anyway, we don't have much of a farm here but we do grow tomatoes, peaches, and squash. We also live close enough to NJ which still has a variety of truck farms providing produce to farmer's markets and to some local stores. It's the end of harvest season now and eggplant, zucchini,  tomatoes, and peppers are fresh and full of flavor. So ratatouille was on our menu tonight. It was delicious with everything fresh and from within 10 miles of where I live except for the mushrooms and those come from about 20 miles from here--Kennett Square.

Because it's just the two  of us, one eggplant is too much for even ratatouille so I have been making baba ganoush with the other half. As I wrote previously, there really isn't much as satisfying as making good food whether one is growing the ingredients or simply assembling them and cooking them. My youngest son is on his honeymoon in Italy now (that was our wedding present to them) and he is extolling the wonders of Italy and I do love Italy, but sometimes southeastern Pennsylvania is just as remarkable.

The owl or some other predator came back and took the remnants of the rabbit and this afternoon a fox was ten feet from my front door eating something. Birds are disappearing in remarkable numbers around the world but my little bit of Eden still has a ton of everything. I am glad that I am old so I don't have to witness a dead world.   

Thursday, September 19, 2019

What Comes Next?

The same family whose daughter will be the recipient of the Lovebirds quilt has been promised a quilt for a son too. It's not that I know these people that well or that we are good friends, but because I am tired of my quilts ending up stuffed in footlockers or elsewhere simply because I like to make quilts. Anyone who makes quilts and enjoys the process ends up practically addicted and it doesn't seem to matter if anyone wants the quilts or not. Even a well known quiltmaker (which I am definitely not) ended up selling her quilts in an online auction and she had way more quilts and tops than I will ever amass.

But my ego still comes in to play so I can't just give my handmade quilts to homeless shelters although I am willing to do so in my will. So they keep stacking up unless I can find people who express more than a passing interest in having a home made quilt. But the next quilt for my friends' son is supposed to be a king sized Amish style diamond in a square and no one, not even me, has that much fabric just sitting around.

So I ordered all the fabrics for the project and to fill my usual quilting time I took out some of the blocks that I offered to give away in a previous entry, and started sewing them together. I don't even know what the block is called and I certainly don't know what I will do with any finished product. The fabrics are what are usually described as Civil War colors and I had to make one more block to end up with a 4 x 6 arrangement. But the result, while pleasing because the workmanship is good, is not to my taste being far too somber. So now I have to devise some border arrangement that suits the old-fashioned fabric but also suits my taste for livelier quilts.

Close Encounter

My husband and I walk a 2 mile circuit every morning, often starting before the sun is up especially as the days grow shorter. This morning, leaving the house around 6 am it was quite dark and by the time we came around the back end of the circuit coming to our house it was still pretty dark. I don't know what the word for that dawn light is but there must be one analogous to gloaming since that only pertains to dusk. In any case, the woods are on our left side as we turn on to our lane with a very small rise between us and our house so anything at the rise gets silhouetted. Both of us said, "What's that?" I told my husband I thought it was an owl although he thought it might be one of the foxes. We took a few more steps and we were both sure that it was an owl but it wasn't moving, just standing on the ground looking at us. We got closer and it still didn't move and we knew it was a great horned owl staring at us as though it might attack. A couple more steps and we found out why it didn't want to leave.

It had killed one of the many rabbits that roam the woods and our yard and didn't want to lose a good meal. We got within about three feet before it turned and flew into the woods. This owl was so big I have no doubt it could carry the rabbit away and probably our terrier too.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Finished and Soon Off to England

I finished the quilting on the latest project that I am calling Lovebirds Looking For Direction. After I get it packed up it will take a long and odd trip. First it goes to Utah. From there it goes to England. I believe the young woman lives in London but I am not positive of that having only met her once and quite briefly at that. She doesn't know it's coming so that makes it even more strange.

Just as my husband snapped the picture the sun came out full strength hence the shadow on the upper corner but you aren't missing much.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Yet Another Critter

I glanced out of an upstairs window yesterday afternoon and saw another inhabitant of our 100 acre wood. Strolling across the edge of our yard, heading for our tomato patch was a very large woodchuck/ground hog. I had never seen one in real life before, only on TV or in Groundhog Day but there was no mistaking what it was.

Monday, September 9, 2019

Hogwash and Nonsense

Several times recently people have tried to hijack posts to publicize ridiculous and dangerous health ideas. I try to delete these comments as soon as possible but I can't stay up 24/7. I do not endorse any health information from any source other than a licensed and board certified physician.

Friday, September 6, 2019

So Who Is Really Paying For The Wall?

Trump promised that Mexico would pay for the wall and some of his voters believed him because they believed that he was not only the great negotiator but a hard-headed business man rather than some government flunky type guy. But the first orders have finally, after nearly three years come through, and guess what--you, the American taxpayer are paying for the wall. Luckily that doesn't mean that Donald, or Donald Jr., or Ivanka, or Eric, or Tiffany, or either of the ex-wives will be paying since they are like Leona Helmsley(only little people pay taxes). They have tax shelters and tax lawyers who make sure that they will never pay a cent in federal tax.  They haven't paid tax in years and may never have to since they were the kind of people who wrote those tax write offs in the first place. Trump and his children and his wives pay very little tax and that comes from other taxable goods like clothing.

So who does pay for the wall now? Well the money comes out of Department of Defense funds so it clearly comes out of your pocket. Trump doesn't pay tax so it will never come out of his pocket. But what does it mean when the Department of Defense has to take money from projects that were already bid out? It means that places that were expecting Defense Department money to upgrade their facilities will now have to either find new money somewhere else--keep in mind that it is the Department of Defense so most of these projects can't just ask local government to cover it- or they have to go without the upgrades that had already been approved and budgeted. My former state of residence, Utah, will lose out to the tune of $54M of expected contracted projects. That's small change compared to Puerto Rico, an American territory whose inhabitants are American citizens and have been since the turn of the last century, which will lose $450M dollars in funds designated to help them recover from Hurricane Maria.

I have no doubt that that last little item pleases Trump since he clearly doesn't know and doesn't care that Puerto Rico is America. You know what else is America? All the military bases around the country and around the world that will lose money and need construction now. That includes West Point and the Air Force Academy as well as multiple schools on bases around the world.

But whose money is it? It was designated for the military so they will be starved, but it comes from your pocket. This time it's $3.6 billion. Next time it will be more. But it will all be your money while Trump's tax bill continues to pay off rich people and he himself doesn't pay taxes. Not a dime from his pocket but hundreds from yours.      

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

If It Weren't So Sad, It Would Be Funny

Everyone knows what I mean when I say, "If it weren't so sad, it would be funny." In this case it's Trump using McAleenan, his new DHS chief as his lickspittle to hand him the clearly altered weather chart that "proves" that Trump was correct when he said multiple times that the storm was forecast to hit Alabama. I am not even talking about how Trump not only lied multiple times on camera and on Twitter despite all the scientists and meteorologists refuting his statements in just as many multiples. I am talking about using a high ranking government official as a flunkie to make your lie look more official.  Simply using his Sharpie to alter the map doesn't make it official--and everyone knows Trump uses Sharpies rather than regular pens (really?) and so has a ready supply.

I didn't have much respect for McAleenan anyway, but Trump's dog and pony show removed what vestiges remained. Trump's ego is NOT more important than accurate information about dangerous storms. One of the bigger problems with hurricanes is people not paying attention when attention should be paid. That used to be a larger issue when the forecasting was not as accurate because the forecasts were so overblown that people ended up being complacent.

But since Katrina, people have been paying more attention. Just because right now Dorian doesn't look as dangerous doesn't excuse Trump's shenanigans.

Trump isn't a leader--he's a clown looking for approval from the cheap seats.

Monday, September 2, 2019

Previous Quilt Design

The new/old house remodel is not the first time I have incorporated quilt designs in a house remodel. Nearly thirty years ago, I remodeled our house in Salt Lake City incorporating a quilt design in the kitchen island. This house was built in 1904 and was designed and engineered by its owner who was a mining engineer.

The house had been a private residence until 1954 and then gone through multiple changes, not all positive. It was a private nursing home for a long time until the safety laws regarding private nursing were changed for the better. By the time my husband and I purchased the house, it had been abandoned for three years with the sort of depredation that happens when that occurs. So there wasn't a kitchen at all--no cabinetry, no appliances. The original kitchen space had been a bathroom when it was a nursing home so there were holes in the floor for the toilet discharge and vents in the ceiling as required even back then.

I  designed my own kitchen based on the placement of the kitchen and the doors and windows. I don't have any architectural training but I know how a kitchen should flow. I did use a licensed contractor to get our remodel done and we followed all codes.

Anyway I put an island in the space that incorporated the stove top--a Creda--and had it topped with tile with a dogtooth border. We did cover up the holes in the floor with slate flooring but kept the remnants of the original fir floor. I had never had a fir floor before but found out quickly how soft fir is. You could drop a nickel on the floor and end up with a profile of Thomas Jefferson. This was not a huge problem until our house was discovered by a TV show that was filmed in Utah.

Trust me, when the location scouts say they want to use your house, you should think twice. The money is very good but the damage left behind may not be what you want to deal with. Everything always got fixed, but sometimes the damage was enough to make you weep.

As a side note, we sold that house when I knew the market was going south in 2006. The poor house did not fare as well as we did. Two moronic investors purchased it thinking they could get money from the government for "saving" an historic property for commercial purposes. I told them there was no way they could use the space for a bed and breakfast but they didn't listen and ended up fighting off foreclosure by leasing it to a meth dealer who used the basement as a meth lab. The police raided the house and ultimately the place had to go through the whole meth mitigation process.

If that isn't bad enough, the people who bought it out of that debacle (oddly enough at more than $1M) started a remodel, ended up getting divorced because the husband ran off with the architect and left the wife and kids in the house. She stayed in the house but as part of the remodel she put in a jetted tub that required cutting through some of the original floor and original joists. One day she took a bath in the tub, stepped out with one foot, and ended up crashing into the first floor.

So be careful what you wish for. Sometimes the dream house isn't.

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Remodel Includes Quilt Design

Our new/old house is being remodeled--not a full house remodel because two bedrooms and one bathroom are staying the same, at least for the time being. But nearly 100% of the downstairs and the master bedroom and en suite bathroom and dressing room are being done. When we purchased the house it still had a kitchen and bathroom from around 1975 and those were very dated and worn. Additionally, since we wanted to utilize the space that was originally where the horses and carriages entered the stable, we had to knock a entryway through a brick wall. The original room has 16 foot ceilings and great wooden beams. We are putting up a wall to make a "garage" at one end and then the part with the new doorway will be mostly left as is (brick walls and Belgian block and cement floors) but will have all new lighting and include the new heating and cooling systems mechanical parts.

The new kitchen is going to be one large space but with two distinct areas--one for the cooking and cleaning up and one for breakfast, lunch, baking, etc. I got a large Wolf range to cook on and those come with red knobs as standard. So I decided to do a tile backsplash behind the range and around that end of the kitchen using the classic Diamond in a Square from Amish quilting. Here are the colors of the tiles as well as the colors of the two sets of cabinetry.

The green tile is the field. The blue tile will make the diamond part with corner accents of the wine color. Then there will be four patch accents above the counter around that end of the kitchen. The upper wood color is cherry but stained in hazelnut and the bottom blue wood is the other end of the kitchen where there will be a small table and four leather chairs--two green and two blue. I will post pictures when the project is done.