Good-bye Old Year; We Hardly Knew Ye

Somehow I'm not really sad to see this year go. Heck, it wasn't here long enough for me to get to know it.

We went to church this morning then came home and had Sante Fe soup and Greek pasta salad for lunch. I just finished bathing Sophie (she was so dirty!). Vann is in his shop doing something gun-related with John H. I thought I might do some quiltmaking this afternoon, but it's a really rainy afternoon--just the kind that makes me want to cuddle up on the sofa with a good book. And since I have one (Blood & Thunder, remember?), I believe that's just what I'll do. I'll get to work on quilts first thing tomorrow. Start the year off right. I can sew while my peas cook.

For lunch tomorrow we're doing the southern soul food thing: black-eyed peas over rice, turnip greens, and cornbread. All cooked by me from scratch. I might take a photo to prove it. It's one of my favorite meals of the year. And not fattening. (We aren't having dessert.) Around here, you just must have black-eyed peas on New Years Day, or you're likely to be broke all year.

Tonight we go to Gene and Maria's to ring in the new. They'll have all kinds of goodies and drinks. I'm really going to have to turn on my willpower to get through the night. I can do it.

Happiness and peace in the New Year to everyone out there in Blogville.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/31/2006, Debra Spincic said ...

Happiness and Peace right back at ya!
-----

---

Oh Fraptious Day! Kaloo! Kalay!

I feel sooooooo much better today. The pain is almost gone in my back. Sophie and I walked a mile this morning, and it didn't hurt. I've finished three laundry loads, straightened up the kitchen and bathroom, taken a shower, and I still have energy left. Thank you, Jesus!

Then the mailperson came, and more joy entered my life. Cait sent me a Whitman's Salmagundi box...

...and a card containing a print by one of my favorite artists, Dante Gabriel Rosetti:

Now it feels like Christmas!

I coveted Cait's box from the time I saw it on her website. So now I have my very own. Thank you, Cait.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/30/2006, angelcat said ...

What a gorgeous box, wow! I tried to visit Cait's website to see more but the link won't work for me :(

---

On 12/31/2006, Debra Spincic said ...

Beautiful box! What will you put in it?

---

On 12/31/2006, Susan C. said ...

Don't know what I'll put in it. Nothing for a while. I'm afraid to remove the cellophane. It's a Whitman's Sampler and is full of candy.
Cait's box is actually an antique form the 20s, but mine is a new reproduction, filled with lucious chocolates.
-----

---

New Skill Mastered

Well, maybe not exactly mastered--but I successfully entered some HTML codes in my last post (Cait taught me how). I feel so proud of myself. Now I really am going to bed and read.

What Next??!?

Dr. W's nurse called me back yesterday and asked if I had gone to the emergency room. I had to admit that I hadn't. She was very understanding and said that Dr. W had set me up to see a spine doctor. I went today. He was very nice and explained everything in detail. I've heard that the devil is in the details; and in this case I believe that.

After poking and pulling and stretching and thumping me all over, the good doctor sent me to xray. As soon as I got back to the exam room, he had my xrays up on his computer screen. I could immediately see the problems: a pronounce curve to the right in my spine, and nonexistent lumbar discs. Beside for that, he told me that I have arthritis in my hips (no fractures, thank God) and bursitis in my left hip. (Well, no wonder I've been hurting.) I got a little teary when he was explaining it all to me, and I excused my emotions by saying, "I just didn't expect to get so old so young."

The good news is, I won't have to have surgery. The surgery for this condition, he told me, is back replacement. "And we don't know how to do that--yet," he added.

He gave me two injections: one in my left hip and one in my lower back. I think I feel a little better tonight. I start physical therapy next week and go back in a couple of weeks for an MRI. At least I know what's wrong now. I knew in my heart that it wasn't the fibromyalgia causing all my problems.

I've learned that the best way for me to feel better is to have something to keep my hands busy that I really, REALLY like to do. So I bowed to temptation and signed up for the Quilt Studio 12 x 12 Journal Quilt Challenge. With the CPS Challenge and trying to get a couple of pieces ready for the quilt show in June, I should be plenty busy. My theme for the 12 x 12 is Elvis. That'll be fun. I have some Elvis fabric I've been wanting to use---5 different prints. Just stuff from Wal-Mart, but it's truly fun. (If anyone has a source for more Elvis fabric, let me know.) Here's on of my Elvis prints:

Bought a new book today. Blood & Thunder, I think is the title. It's about the settling of the west and Kit Carson. I love Old West stuff. I have a feeling this one is going to lessen my esteem (if I ever had any) for Kit Carson, however.

This afternoon, after returning from receiving my devastating medical news, I thought I'd cheer myself up by watching a scary movie. I chose "Cold Water Manor" starring Dennis Quaid and Sharon Stone. I bought it a while back and hadn't got around to watching it. It was mildly exciting. If you like the young-upwardly-mobile-couple-with-two-adolescent-kids-buys-a-big-old-house-in-the-country-and-moves-from-the-city-and- all-hell-breaks-loose theme, you should like this one.

Now I'm going to bed and start reading about what a bad sort Kit Carson was.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/30/2006, Lori said ...

I am so sorry to hear about the diagnosis of your back problems. I hope that with the clarity about the cause, upsetting as it is, the doctors will be able to find things to help you.

---

On 12/30/2006, Rian said ...

What a relief you don't have to have surgery! Whew! I hope the medications help you. I have had back problems in the past and it's no picnic (thankfully the word "past" still prevails). I'm glad you are in the 12X challenge with us. Elvis sounds like a very cool theme.

---

On 12/30/2006, Debra Spincic said ...

I think knowing is half of the cure! Good to hear you are doing better today and that you have joined the 12 x 12 x 12 Challenge. I am still waffling on the CPS Challenge. I started a journal challenge last year and I may finish it with your group--may. . .
-----

---

Face Off

I just keep staring at that quiltlet, trying to come up with an epiphany for faces for mother and daughter. The clipart just doesn't work. It's too, what?, clippy. And the jewelry doesn't work; it's too, what, funky? And too dimensional. I don't really want my quilts to "stick out" that much. And any way, I think the faces should be more ephemeral or ethereal--or something that starts with an E. What I really would like is to have just the right faces and print them on a sheer fabric so that the background shows through the faces. I don't even thing that's possible. I could paint them on sheer fabric--that is, if I could paint that well. My sister, who is a wonderful painter, could do it--but the girl claims she's busy, busy, busy; I dare not ask her. Well, I have a month and two and a half days to come up with something.

Speaking of that--what happened to 2006? Did I sleep through most of it? Some short time ago (seems like maybe the day before yesterday), I opened this new day calendar on my desk. I look at it now, and it's all poofy with pasted in stuff, and it has writing all through it. Who did all that? Couldn't have been me? Will all the years from now on last only a few days like this one did? I better start making arrangements. I know time speeds up as we get older, but this is ridiculous. Could it be something peculiar to 2006--a glitch in the space/time continuum caused by global warming or something. (I fear global warming; there's no telling what it might cause). I just want to grab 2006 by the ears and yell, "Hey 2006! Hold it there. Where do you think you're going? We still have things to do." Or as my dear Aunt Edna (whom I love to quote) would likely say: "Hey, 2006, what did you come for--a ball of fire?" Love that Aunt Edna.

Mother & Daughter Need Faces

I've decided that Mother Sun and Daughter Earth need faces. Here's a possibilities:(printed on fabric from clip art on left; from my junk jewelry drawer on the right).

Not sure either one works. Anybody have any suggestions? Tomorrow I'll take a photo of the quilt with junk jewelry faces in place.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/29/2006, Rian said ...

Hi Susan, thanks for visiting my blog today and leaving a comment. I agree that the M & D Earth need faces, but I am not sure these are the ones. Keep looking. I aim to get your Alan Jackson album and go "almost running."

---

On 12/29/2006, Jen Anderson said ...

Do you think you could print photo images on sheer fabric? If not on the computer, maybe with some kind of transfer...
I don't do a lot of that kind of work, so I don't know how, but maybe you could get some info. I like the project so far. Jen
-----

---

New Beginnings

I decided to not wait until January to begin my January journal quilt, since I had a good idea what I want to do. So I started it last night. But during the night, I woke up and thought of some changes I want to make. So it's not totally different from the beginning idea, but different enough that I have to all the way back to the drawing board and do some erasing. I cut and sewed a little last night; and none of that will do now. Sigh.

My back is still hurting like crazy. I'm not going to Dr. M. today because 1) I just don't feel like going, and 2) I don't have any confidence that he has anything to help me, except maybe pain pills, which I'm just not ready for yet. I'm handling it by lying down every hour or so. Maybe I'll go to the doctor tomorrow. Maybe not.

Cold and cloudy here. Vann and Phillip have gone to hunting camp, leaving me and Sophie to fend for ourselves. They'll be gone for two nights--back on Saturday.

Maybe I'll have enough done with the journal quilt (if I don't change my mind again) so that I can post a photo later this evening. We'll see.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/28/2006, Jeri said ...

I think you're smart to start your journal quilt when the mood strikes! Isn't that the best way to be creative? :) I hope your back gets to feeling better soon. There's no pain like back pain. ((hugs))

---

On 12/28/2006, Debra Spincic said ...

You sound like me--wait until it doesn't hurt. I managed to wait until morning to see the doctor on a dislocated shoulder because I didn't want to go to the emergency room.

I am working on my 12 x 12 today. Is that what you mean by Journal Quilt?

---

On 12/28/2006, Lori said ...

I think your quilt looks great. If there is an accupuncturist in the area where you are, you might try it. My husband has back problems and it always works wonders.
-----

---

Home Again

We're home from a very whirlwind trip to Georgia. Ten hours driving for a two-hour family get-together. And let me tell you, even a Suburban is crowded with five people, their luggage, and two dogs. Sophie and I are glad that's over.
Now I have some awful thing wrong with my back. Very painful lower back. Can't straighten up all the way. Called Dr. W's office. L told me he isn't in today but that she knew he would recommend emergency room. If I'm going to sit in pain, I'd rather sit at home. So I'll go tomorrow and see Dr. M--if he's in. Meanwhile, if I lie down, it doesn't hurt so much, so maybe I can stay prone till I can find  a Dr. without having to resort to the horrors of the emergency room.

The last time we went to an emergency room was after V's sleep study (when they gave him ambien and he obviously had a reaction). But we thought he was having a heart attack. Went into emergency room with his blood pressure extremely low and his heart rate extremely high. They made us fill out some papers then told us to have a seat--which we kept for over an hour without anyone saying anything else to us. After that length of time, Vann was back to normal, heartwise and blood-pressurewise. So he said, "I'm going home," and home we went. That's not the first debacle we've had with an emergency room--but it may well be the worst.

Just now, Vann and Phillip have gone to take Amy to the airport so she can fly back to Dallas. Phillip and Carrie will stay until Jan. 3.

All right, I'm going back to the sofa now.

Joy to the World!

 

The Night Before Christmas

We went to church this morning; Andy went with us. After church, we had lunch with Lori and Andy at Ming Hui (Fa Ra Ra Ra Ra!). Lori came home with us so we could exchange gifts. Here are some photos Vann took. The first one is Lori and Daisy with the throw we gave them. I bought the throw, and Maria embroidered their names on it. It's very soft--for them to use when they're having some of their quality couch time.

The next one is of Lori, Daisy, and jealous Miss Sophie.

We leave tomorrow to go to Vann's family's Christmas celebration in South Georgia. A five hour drive. Coming home on Wednesday. Another five hour drive.

I've had an idea for my first journal quilt. Hope I can start on sketches when I get home from Georgia.

Merry Christmas everyone. Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with us.

Oh What a Night!

Last night was Christmas Dinner at our house. It was great. Everyone was here except for Cait and Kathryn, and we missed them a lot. There were 14 of us in all. I don't have pictures, 'cause we took them with Vann's camera and he hasn't downloaded them yet. Will post pics later. The guest list included: Jed, Joanne, Ramey, India, Buffy, Jason, Reed, Andy, Jesse, Phillip, Carrie, Amy, and me and Vann. Oh, and Sophie, of course.

Reed (who just turned one) was the star of the night. It was so much fun to watch him open his gifts and play with them. He loves tissues paper and gift bags the most. And once he gets warmed up, he can talk a blue streak. Nobody (except maybe his mom) knows what he's saying, but it's still fun to listen. We all remembered a time (it seemed to us all such a short time) when Jesse was the same age.

Dinner was good, built around some of Jesse's favorite foods. He was quite disappointed at Thanksgiving, since he doesn't like turkey or dressing or any of the things I had. But last night I had ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, and brown rice casserole--all of which he likes. He eschewed the rest (green bean casserole, slaw, sweet potato casserole, and 17 kinds of dessert), but he was happy. Jason, who is a wonderful baker, brought homemade braided bread. To my taste buds, it was the best thing on the menu--but then I'm a bread addict (one of my problems).

Today it's church, then lunch with Lori, then home to get ready to leave for Camilla in the morning. When Christmas is over, I plan to lie down for a long time.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/24/2006, Debra Spincic said ...

17 Kinds of Dessert? Holy Moly!

Well, we know what happens on Jan. 1st!

Merry Christmas!
-----

---

Sophie's Christmas Pic

Here's a photo of Sophie (a little crooked) that I took today. She's wearing her new Christmas collar with jingle bells.

One Grinch a-Flippin'

My hometown newspaper, The Leeds News, will no doubt win an award for this photo (see below), taken during the annual Leeds Christmas Parade. The Jim Carrey Award for Photographic Excellence, maybe? I can't imagine what the editor was thinking when he let this one through. But then, it has become apparent that when someone goes to work for TLN, he or she ceases to think altogether. Over the years, this monument to jounalistic typos and inaccuracies has been a source of chagrin as well as entertainment to the good people of Leeds. We have all finally realized that when the tagline reads, "story continued on page such-and-such)," they're just kidding. And whoever is identified in any given photo is probably somebody else. My sister and I will never forget, nor cease to laugh at, the story some years ago about the naked burglar. But the piece de resistance was the headline sometime in the 80s (I believe) that read: "Mayor Gets Plague." Well! You can just image all the calls, letters, and cards our municipal leader received from well wishers hoping and praying he recovered from the dread disease and didn't spread it to them. (I think at one point, the CDC even got involved.) The mayor, having missed reading the paper that week, was puzzled by these sentiments. He had never felt better in his life, having received the coveted PLAQUE as "Mayor of the Year" or some such. Anyway, here's a holiday wish for you, straight from the pages of our renowned rag.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/21/2006, QuiltingFitzy said ...

I hope you have a moment to send a letter to the Editor!

Happy Holidays (and cancel your subscription to your local paper!)

Hugs~

---

On 12/21/2006, Debra Spincic said ...

LOL!

---

On 12/21/2006, Sister said ...

RE: TLN Bloopers - And who knew that Dr. Marbury was an orchid grower? Turned out "orchid" was just LTN's quaint spelling of "orchard."

---

On 12/21/2006, The Carolina Quilter said ...

"Mayor Gets Plague"--hilarious! In my post-college youth, I actually used my degree to work for two local newspapers--errors like that were commonplace. So funny!

---

On 12/21/2006, Suzanne said ...

LOL. Our local small town paper used to be pretty badly edited, also, but they seem to have improved lately. Watch, I'll go get today's and probably find some outrageous blooper...

Thanks for the laugh!

---

On 12/21/2006, GranFranVan said ...

What a hoot! We call our local paper "The Daily Disappointment."
-----

---

Christmas Card from Andy

This is my favorite Christmas card so far this year. It's from Andy and Jesse. I love the colors. And the flying rabbit angel.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/19/2006, Debra Spincic said ...

Would make a cute quilt too!

---

On 12/19/2006, Susan C. said ...

I have a collection of holiday cards that I'm going to make into a quilt someday using image transfer. This is definitely one of them.

---

On 12/19/2006, Jeri said ...

Great card, and welcome to the Quilt Studio webring! I like your blog a LOT. Very nice layout and great pictures too! :)

---

On 12/20/2006, Andy said ...

Hey Mom! I knew you would love this card. It's so you. I love you and have a Merry Christmas!
-----

---

Christmas Shopping Hurts

Finally did some Christmas shopping yesterday. Amy (Vann's daughter) helped me. We shopped while Vann was at his therapy appointment. I was limping by the time we were done, but I'm glad I got that much done. I wish I could think of something constructive to do with the pain. You know, something useful or interesting. Then maybe I wouldn't mind it so much. I remember when I was a kid, Sister Joseph Frances would says you have to "offer it up" when anyone was in pain or having a problem of any kind. I think she meant to offer it to God as a sacrifice. That sounds very romantic, doesn't it? I just can't understand how that would be a fitting gift for God. "Here, Father, is a little something for you from me: a great big whopping gift bag full of pain. Hope you like it." Somehow, that just doesn't seem right. I was raised a Catholic; I'm a Methodist now. Next year, I vow to start earlier and shop via the internet. Yeah, sure.

Finally mailed my Christmas cards. And bought the ham. Looks like this Christmas is going to happen after all.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/20/2006, Susan said ...

Looking at it that way, it does seem . . . not quite right. But I think it's supposed to be you *keep* the pain, and endure it willingly, giving it as a sacrifice on your part, and a sign to God that you are in submission to his will? I don't know for sure, that's just my guess. If you figure out something else to do with it, let me know. I have a few pains I'll throw in. =) My DH always says, "Any day above ground . . . ."

Well, that makes more sense, --Susan
-----

---

Not Feeling Jolly

Well, Vann didn't jump for joy when I showed him the sketch of the house I like. He said it was too "boxy" and had too many steps (HUH?). He was super grumpy yesterday because he was in pain from his shoulder surgery, so maybe he'll like it better when he feels better. I don't care. I just wish this holiday insanity was over. I know that I won't be able to get everything done. There's so much left to do, and I cannot explain how lethargic I feel. I think I was supposed to meet some guild members this morning to deliver cuddle quilts, but I'm not sure, and I can't get either one of them on the phone. Oh well, maybe they'll call me if I'm missing something.

Legs and back hurt really badly all night. Didn't get much sleep. Hurting and stiff this mroning. Very tired. Hard to think and organize my to-do list.

Found out Cait & Kathryn aren't coming for Christmas. Should I feel glad (a tiny dab less to do) or sad (I won't get to see Cait)? I don't know. I just want to go back to bed.

Gotta go to P.O. and mail some very late packages and Christmas cards. Do grocery shopping, buy gifts, wrap gifts, and the ever-present, froozing laundry hamper runneth over yet again.

My Dream Home

I've found plans for the house I want. If we could build this house, it would be the last time I ever want to move. On the right property, I would have no stairs to climb, unless I wanted to go to Vann's basement. I could drive into the garage and unload groceries or whatever directly into the house--no stairs. In this house, it's a tough climb just to carry in groceries. And then my office and sewing room are on the second floor (really third floor counting basement). A one-level house would be such a good thing for me.

The back bedroom on the right, behind the laundry room would be my sewing room/studio, spilling out into the laundry room with my computer probably.

Click on photo for larger view.

I love that the family room and kitchen aren't divided. In my house now, you have to go through the dining room to get to the kitchen. Less chopped up would be better.

I also like the exterior. It looks real country and cozy. I wonder what it will take to talk Vann into this. I know building a house, then moving would be a major hassle; but I think it would be worth the pain to get into a one-level.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/17/2006, Rian said ...

Good luck with your house plans. I just moved (last week) after over a year of househunting. Was it worth it? Yes!!

Welcome to the ring.

---

On 12/19/2006, Susan said ...

This looks like a beautiful house. Maybe your husband will like it better later. Leave it lying around for him to look at? He just sounds grumpy today. =)

---

On 12/20/2006, Ramey said ...

Thanks for listing Leonard Peltier's Art Website.
Merry Christmas!

---

On 12/22/2006, Andy said ...

Maybe you can give me a good price on the old house when you talk Vann into building the new house.
-----

---

I Can Still Walk!

I walked Sophie twice this week: a mile each time. Once on Thursday, and once today. Of course, I was incapacitated all day yesterday. On the sofa all afternoon. But I'm pretty proud of myself, even though it's hardly a drop in the bucket to what I need to be doing and hope to be doing within a few weeks. I've signed up with the Quilt Lounge group, a support group for quilters for diet and exercise. I even gritted my teeth and posted my real, true current weight and my goal weight for the end of the first quarter of 2007. I was really uncomfotable doing this. bit I think it will help me do something about it. I don't think I had even admitted to myself how much I weigh until I posted that. I hope and pray that I'm able to get my weight down, my activity level up, and kick the fibromyalgia monster in the butt in 2007.

My Christmas Meme (Pass it on, if you like.)

Favorite Christmas Songs:  "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer," "In the Bleak December," Merry Christmas from Dixie" by Alabama, "Ring Silver Bells."

Egg Nog: Good or Disgusting? Disgusting, bordering on vile.

Santa: Myth or Fact? I believe.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays??? Whatever trips your trigger.

Favorite Christmas Memory: It's a tie: 1)When Kenneth came home drunk and fell down the apartment steps and squashed Otha's (whose b'day was on Christmas or Christmas Eve, I forget which) birthday cake; 2)when Charles (my cat) pulled the tree down on himself. His rear end went completely up under him as his claws fought for purchase on the hardwood floor. He cleared the area just microseconds before the tree hit the floor. He stayed under the bed for hours afterward. That was my last attempt to decorate a tree with glass ornaments.

Favorite Christmas Dessert: Lane Cake, Mockingbird Cake, German Chocolate Cake

Dressing: Cornbread or white bread? Cornbread, of course, with plenty of sage.

Favorite Christmas Movie: "A Christmas Story" and "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" (which is really a Thanksgiving movie)

Give your pets gifts? Certainly

Favorite Tradition: Going to Mae & Jerry's Christmas Pickin' Party.

Have you made a Christmas Quilt? Yes, four.

When do you put up your tree? This year, I haven't so far. Usually I have it up by December 15.

Favorite thing about Christmas: It's when we celebrate the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Wrapping Paper or Gift Bags? Definitely gift bags since the hands developed carpal tunnel, fibromyalgia, and arthritis.

Christmas Newsletter: Good Idea or Height of Conceit? See post "Starting a New Tradition."

Have your ever been caroling? No, I like to do my caroling inside where it's warm.

White Lights or Colored? Colored

Tree topper: Angel that I made in 1979

Oldest ornamet on your tree: I think it's the chain that my daughter made when she was 6. (She's now 40.)

If you had one Christmas wish (besides for peace on earth): To spend one more Christmas with Mama, Daddy, and Kenney.

That's enough of that. Anyway, I can't think of another one. Merry Christmas to all.

Word of the Day

It seems the word "meme" has been around for some 30 years, but to my knowledge, this week is the first time I've encountered it. My earlier post "Have You Ever" is a meme, which I didn't know at the time I posted it. So mem is my word for the day. Here's the definition, according to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page.

The term "meme" (to rhyme with "theme"), coined in 1976 by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, refers to a unit of cultural information transferable from one mind to another. Dawkins said, Examples of memes are tunes, catch-phrases, clothes fashions, ways of making pots or of building arches. A meme propagates itself as a unit of cultural evolution and diffusion — analogous in many ways to the behavior of the gene (the unit of genetic information). Often memes propagate as more-or-less integrated cooperative sets or groups, referred to as memeplexes or meme-complexes. The idea of memes has proved a successful meme in its own right, achieving a degree of penetration into popular culture rare for a scientific theory.

Proponents of memes suggest that memes evolve via natural selection — in a way very similar to Charles Darwin's ideas concerning biological evolution — on the premise that variation, mutation, competition, and "inheritance" influence their replicative success. For example, while one idea may become extinct, other ideas will survive, spread and mutate — for better or for worse — through modification.

HUH???

Anyway, as I understand it, a meme can be a chain letter or one of those "getting to know you lists" that you receive via e-mail from time to time. So my next post will be my very own Christmas meme. Look out!

Can't blog; gotta work!

Vann left yesterday for hunting camp. He'll be home tomorrow evening. I must take advantage of this time alone to get a bunch of stuff done: altered booked spread finished, Christmas cards addressed, Christmas shopping done, work on my quilt show entries, and do the freakin' laundry that's spilling out of the hamper. Not sure it's humanly possible to do all that by tomorrow night. Well pick one, Susan!

Here are some Christmas postcards I made last year. If you haven't gathered by now, I've done little in preparation for this Christmas.

I love making fabric postcards. I made and sent more than 400 of them while I was list mom of the Fabricard site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fabricards/. And I received about that many. I have them stored in boxes, awaiting the day when I think of something to do with them.

OK, I guess I've put it off long enough. I have to go walk Sophie, then get to work. WORK WORK WORK! Such a pushy word.

Starting a New Tradition

The tradition of the Christmas letter has always appealed to the side of me who likes to write; but the side of me who detests the idea of expecting my friends to read several pages of what we and our children did all year (like they really care), makes me nauseous. This year, I think I've found a compromise: I've written a Christmas letter in the form of a poem, stuck in a little humor, and kept it brief. In case that doesn't work, maybe I should include a note relieving its recipients of all obligation for having to read it. Here 'tis. (Click on poem for a version large enough to read--if you really want to read it.)

Walking

Diane suggests that, for the sake of physical fitness, we might keep a log of how far we walk on our blogs or on the journal quilts group site. I hereby state that I walked to the mailbox and back today. --Susan

Have You Ever?

I borrowed this from another quilter's blog; and she had borrowed it from still another. I have a fondness for lists. That's the only reason I can come up with. And it was fun going through to see just how much I have done with quilting. The bold/face entries are things I have done. Try it if you like.

Have You Ever?
1. Taken a quilting class
2. Paper pieced
3. Hand quilted
4. Hand pieced
5. Created your own pattern
6. Published a pattern in a magazine or book
7. Gone on a quilting retreat
8. Gone to a quilting convention
9. Met someone who wrote a quilting book
10. Combined your quilting with some other craft
11. Done any three dimensional quilting - like fabric origami
12. Made something using Thimbleberries fabric
13. Made something using batiks
14. Dyed your own fabric
15. Made a landscape hanging
16. Made a New York Beauty quilt
17. Made a baby quilt
18. Made a wall hanging
19. Made a journal quilt
20. Submitted your journal quilt for viewing
21. Made a fabric postcard
22. Made a artistic trading card (ATC)
23. Exchanged artistic trading cards
24. Mailed your own postcard
25. Made a lap quilt
26. Made a twin size quilt
27. Made a full size quilt
28. Made a queen size quilt
29. Made a king size quilt
30 Donated a quilt to charity
31 Sent a quilt out to a quilter
32 Thrown away a UFO
33 Given away a UFO
34 Cut up a UFO and made something else with it
35 Ripped fabric instead of cutting it
36 Made a quilt exactly like the pattern, with no changes whatsoever
37 Done any Sashiko
38 Quilted your own quilt
39 Did free motion quilting
40 Put any embroidery or beads on your quilt
41 Given away your quilt to a stranger
42 Swapped fabric
43 swapped blocks
44 participated in a round robin
45 participated in an ostritch round robin
46 kept a journal about your quilting
47 written a letter to someone who made an antique quilt
49 kept a blog about your quilting
50 participated in a gift exchange
51 sent a quilting random act of kindness
52 joined a newsgroup about quilting
53 made a quilt using a pattern from quilterscache
54 joined an online block of the month
55 made a block of the month quilt
56 subscribed to a fabric of the month club
57 bought fabric at an online store
58 bought fabric from ebay
59 own more than one sewing machine
60 have a room dedicated solely to sewing
61 hide a fabric purchase
62 finished making a holiday gift before July
63 spent more than $200 in one quilt shopping trip
64 made a quilt using a book from the library
65 worked with someone else to make a quilt
66. joined a quilt guild
67 become president of a quilt guild
68 taught a quilting class
69 helped someone else get the quilting bug
70 taught a child to sew
71 made a Dear Jane block
72 Made a miniature quilt
73 watch QNN - quilters news network
73 subscribe to a quilting magazine from your own country
74 subscribe to a quilting magazine from another country
75 buy fabric from another country
76 swapped completed quilts with someone else
77 asked for quilting help online
78 gone to a quilt shop to ask for quilting help
79 bought fabric at a local quilt shop
80 traveled more than 100 miles to go to a quilt shop
81 used nontraditional fabric for a quilt - something other than cotton or flannel
82 made a quilt using instructions given to you on a blog
83 make comments on someone's quilting blog
84 meet a quilter in person after only having talked online
85 had a quilting retreat in your home
86 own quilting software
87 made a quilt you designed on your quilting software
88 done any quilt research - history, interviewing quilters, etc.
89 had any quilt related subject published anywhere
90 donated a quilt to a museum
91 bought a quilt from a thrift store
92 made a quilt using fabric from a thrift store
93 made a quilt using photos
94 made a pastel quilt
95 made a quilt using brights
96 made a quilt using ethnic fabric from another country - African, Asian, etc.
97 made a quilt using leftover blocks from other quilts
98 had your quilt in a magazine, newspaper, newsletter, TV, etc.
99. submitted your quilt to a quilt show
100. won any ribbons with your quilts
101 had more finished quilts than UFOs
102 made a quilt using reproduction fabrics
103 took a break from quilting that was longer than a year
104 made money with your quilting
105 had a job in the fabric / quilting industry

Why?

Why is it that when I feel the worst, I have the most to do? I'm late with my CPS altered book, I still don't have the first quilt finished for next year's quilt show, I have to deliver cuddle quilts to shelters on Friday, the laundry hamper runneth over, my Christmas cards lay unaddressed, I've done hardly any Christmas shopping, haven't even put up a tree or hung the wreath on the door, and I hurt all over so much that the very thought of hanging an ornament makes me cringe.

The weather is warmer; I should feel better; but I don't. After almost four years (?), you would think I would have learned to live with fibromyalgia by now. But I still can't accept that it has robbed me of so many of the things I love to do (sew all night, for one). Damn! I'm in a bad mood this morning. Think I'll go and take a hot shower and see if it helps.

---

This post was migrated from the old blog. To see the comments on the original post, CLICK HERE. To add a new comment, click "Post a Comment", below.

On 12/13/2006, Sarah said ...

I hope the shower helped - try some tea or cider - and some Christmas carols! Take a break!

---

On 12/15/2006, GranFranVan said ...

I'm so happy to have found your blog. I sympathize with your challenge of adjusting to living with the big F. I have several health situations that have changed my life in the same way and it is frustrating. But I have to be thankful that I can still do as much as I do with low energy, stiff painful hands and an oxygen tether at every step. I used to spin plates and now I break plates.
-----

---

Antique Whitman's Sampler Tin

Just had to post this beautiful antique Whitman's Sampler tin (circa 1920s) featuring art by Alphonse Mucha. I nabbed it from Cait's website.

Space Shots

I had a wonderful idea this morning while working on a quilt block. It's a sort of a star block, and while I was sewing it, I really wasn't thinking about what I was doing, so I sewed a whole section upside-down. Instead of keeping my attention on my sewing, I was pondering how to execute my idea for Peace Quilts for the Journal Quilt Challenge. I had Moodscapes (satellite radio channel) on and was really in the zone. After picking out my seam and just as I was beginning to restitch it, a piece started playing that caught my attention. I looked up; the info on the tv screen told me that this was a piece by Anuvida and Nik Tyndall called "A Dream in the Sky." I had previously been watching a show on the Science Channel that was showing spectacular shots from the Hubble telescope. One, I remembered, was called Pillars of Creation. Another was The Cat's Eye Nebula.

What wonderful material, it suddenly occured to me, for Peace Quilts. These views of the Universe should point out to us just how tiny we are in relationship to the cosmos. If we blow ourselves up and pollute ourselves to extinction, the Universe will go on as if we were never here. Maybe we'll make a tiny blip on the big picture, but the Force that keeps the cosmos in motion will morn our passing and start another project, perhaps. That Force sent us a messenger a few years back to show us the way to Peace, and we all know how that went. So I think it's up to us now.

But I digress. I've decided that I'll use the shots from Hubble and other space shots as inspiration for my Peace Quilts. Now all I have to do is narrow the choices down to 12. The above shot of the Cat's Eye Nebula, which could be a Peace Rose, is definitely a keeper.

Quote for the Day

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.  ~Mother Teresa

My Workroom Floor

Journal Quilt page entitled

"My Workroom Floor."

                             My Workroom Floor Tag

Peace Quilts

I've decided for sure that "Peace Quilts" will be the theme for my journal quilts. It's an important topic--one of the most important--and something I think about a lot. However, I don't plan for my quilts to be blatant political or religious statements, but rather evoke feelings of peace and love--to be calm and absent of any conflict or hassle. Does that make sense? I want them to be visual catalysts to inner peace for their viewers. Ooooo, shoot! That's sounding very uppity and artsy-fartsy. Maybe I can explain it better after I've made one.

MR. WINTER IS HERE! Boy is it cold! (How cold is it?) I went outside a while ago and saw a squirrel thawing a nut in front of the dryer vent. (Big laugh) I love cold weather. I even hope somewhat futilely every winter for snow here in North Alabama. But since the fibromyalgia thing became a fact of my life, cold temps don't set well with my aching body. Well, actually, any change of the weather can put me down. But I still prefer cold to hot. And I love the cozy feeling of staying inside on a winter day, reading or sewing and consuming large mugs of vanilla-flavored coffee. One of my dearest dreams is to someday spend a winter high up in the Rockies (with plenty of firewood, fabric, and coffee).

Party & Snooze

Today was the day of our annual quilting bee Christmas party. Our bee, The Piecemakers, normally has 12 members, but we're down to 10, and only 8 of those were at the party. We had fun. Did Dirty Santa then has a delicious lunch. I came home, fed Vann, put a load of laundry in, then sat down on the sofa to rest. I woke up some three hours laters. Now I just feel groggy and tired. Need to get going on some of my projects, but all I want to do is go back to sleep.

When We're Hungry, Love Will Keep Us Alive

Had a wonderful experience tonight. Friday, I bought a copy of The Eagles Farewell 1 Tour DVD, and tonight we watched the first half of it. Vann got tired and wanted to save the second DVD until another night. I had seen the abridged version that has been on tv a couple of times, but the DVD is much better because nothing is cut out and there are no commercials. I am so wild about Eagles music. They are all incredible musicians, but together they're unequaled. It was filed in Australia. I like the plain, no frills set--nothing to distract from the great Eagles sound. Joe Walsh does a very interesting song about his experiences getting sober and how he stays that way--"One Day at a Time." I guess my favorite from the first DVD would be "Lyin' Eyes" or maybe "Already Gone." And, of course, I love "There's a Hole in the World Tonight."  "Hotel California" is on the second DVD.

I'm up late tonight. It's after midnight. I had to finish and print my book club newsletter so I can mail it tomorrow. It's already late. Book club is Friday. I'm tired now, so I'm going to bed.

"And just remember this my friend, when you look up in the sky, you can see the stars but still not see the light."

"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and never even know we hold the keys."

Journaling on the Peace Train

Saw Cat Stevens in tv interview this morning. He has started back singing and has more or less recanted his support of the Ayattolah's (sp??) violent philosophies. Whatever, Yusef. You've given me yet another, even better, idea for my journal quilts--symbols of peace: dove, peace sign, Jesus, olive branch, maybe even a peace train. It's certainly an appropriate subject for the times we live in. This might be it--but I have to think about it some more before deciding.

So Many Ideas!

Ideas just keep popping into my head on how to make my journal quilts. How will I ever choose one. In addition to the scrap bag idea, here are a few more that are rattling around up there:

• Base each quilt on an Eagles song.
• Make each quilt be a tribute to some family member or friend or pet.
• Each quilt represents a different geometric principal.
• Each qult represents a favorite author.
• Christian symbols.
• The Universe.
• Dogs I have known.
• Cats I have know.
• Favorite movies.

See there's no end to it. Gotta go; hubby calls.