faster and faster

the Santa's turned out really cute.  I had some White Fairy Frost for the beard ( think it is called fairy frost - had it so long do not know now for sure).  I came home exhausted so I took a nap before going to the Weight Watchers meeting.  Sometimes I wonder about this leader we have.  She works hard at her job but sometimes she is not clear about the how and why of the program.  Apparently they are having a new program starting next week and that is why they were selling off the Food List books and the points calculators.  I guess starting a new program is a good way to boost income for WW because so many people do not think they will have success unless they have all the toys.
Tuesday 20th Nov. I went to Zumba class with Tiger.  This girl must eat red hot chili peppers for breakfast - her feet go a million miles per hour and I have a hard time keeping track of where my feet are or should be.  After class I made lunch for Bill and I and then settled down to work on the presentation of the rudiments of Roots Magic to present at 6.30pm.  Only two people showed up but Bill was the third and this is amazing since this is Thanksgiving week.
David was supposed to come up for Thanksgiving but he opted to spend his bus fare on something else.  It was a very sad and lonely Thanksgiving for us this year.
I made three Weight Watchers recipes for the feast.  Stuffing, Pumpkin Flan and Green Beans.  They were ok but I think we missed the traditional recipes. 
We decided to go driving after we rested and we went to see the Ginger Bread Village up at the Resort.  There does not seem to be as many entries this year as usual and they do not seem to be of comparable caliber.  There is one resort in Phoenix that turns out a spectacular entry each year but they were not entered this year.  the Sterling Ranch entry was remarkable.  This ranch caters to adults who are physically and mentally challenged but their entry was superb.
Friday 23 November is dubbed Black Friday.  There were no classes at the YMCA  but it was open for people to use the Gym, so  I went walking around the neighborhood while Bill worked out.  what luck, I ran into a garage sale of a quilter who was selling off her fabrics.  For a quilter to sell her fabrics is akin to giving away your own baby.  Each fabric is considered and caressed and thought about and then purchased.  At lease, I do not just rush in to the store, grab fabrics willy nilly and get them measured off and run home.  I stand there and consider which fabric would go best with the project in hand and take my time.  It looks like she took her time as well.  I picked up two bags of 5inch squares - what luck!  I am amassing 5inch squares to try out a new quilt form.
Saturday 24, I went to Zumba in the morning and in the afternoon I worked on preparing my Sunday School lesson for my 5 yr olds.  We went downtown to see the Parade of Lights - this is the first time we have gone to do this and it was pretty good all round.  We lucked out and found a parking spot at the Albertsons parking lot and the lot was jammed full.  We were not the only ones who thought to park there and walk up to the parade venue.  We got a call from Elena and the kids and they were expecting to be here around 8pm.  They eventually arrived at 9pm and Tania sat down to my computer to stress out over her homework that she neglected the whole time she was in California.  I have no idea what time she went to bed but I went to bed at 10pm.
I got them all up at 6pm and after they had showered and packed up, fed them breakfast.  Bill and I had to be to church early because we were speaking about our mission experiences and had to be there on time.  The bishop presented us with our missionary plaque that has been in the glass display case while we were gone.  Elena wanted to attend to hear our talks, but she and the kids left soon after we left the house and I hope that they got home to Durango ok.
The talks in Church went ok and then it was off to the Primary room to be with my 5yr olds.   I had the plaque on my lap and the little boy sitting next to me studied it for a while and then said " Was it a while ago that you had this photo taken?"  Thanks kid!  I did not think I had aged that much.
The Sunday school lesson went ok until we had to sing a song "Tell me the stories of Jesus".  One part of the verse that says "things I would ask him if he were here."  I asked the kids what kind of things would they want to ask Jesus if he were in the room.  I was not prepared for one answer which went like this, "Well, I would want him to tell me how he puts babies in mommy's tummy and she does not know about it."  I assured him that this was indeed a valid question and moved on.  I guess I will get lots of fresh insights while teaching this class.
Monday 26th November dawned earlier than I expected.  Bill went off to the YMCA and I went walking for a short walk prior to breakfast.  I then left for the YMCA for the Water Aerobics class just as Bill was coming home.  Just after he left for work, Kitty came over to "play paper stuff" with me and then at about 3pm we went over to her house to see what she had amassed and see if we could put our heads together to make some interesting cards by combining both stashes of paper and cutters etc.  I came home at 4pm and got ready for WW.  I gave it a good old college try this week, but it is unfair to expect too much at Thanksgiving.  Perhaps I should have stood on the scale with one foot instead of two?  Might have given me more weight loss.
The blender is still whirring away and keeping me on my toes.

Blender at top speed

I went to the Lonesome Valley bazaar and it was bizarre to say the least.  This is a quilt guild and one would expect the handwork to be above average - better than say at a church basement bazaar where the ladies circle put cutesy things together to sell to raise money for their mission funds etc. I was quite disappointed in the quality or lack there of put out by the quilters.  This particular group began as an offshoot of Thumb Butte Quilters.  I went to their organizational meeting many years ago now and they decided that the Lonesome Valley guild would be a feeder group for Thumb Butte Quilters.  We comprised all the ladies who were on the waiting list for TBQ.  The only drawback was that the meeting was to be held at night and I do not drive at night.  Add to that, the meeting was to be held in Prescott Valley and was 13+ miles away from my home.  As it turned out, I was admitted soon thereafter to Thumb Butte Quilters and stayed with them for about 4 years.  I quit their group when I became the president elect for Mountain Top Quilters.  I just could not support two quilt guilds.
On the 10th November I went to the Mountain Spinners and Weavers Guild show and sale at the Hassayampa Inn Marina room.  It was well attended and the quality of the workmanship was top notch.  So many hand woven items that ranged from  shawls, to scarves, to tea towels, to table runners, to purses and an endless variety of items made from hand woven fabric.  There were some felted items there too that were spectacular.  I looked at the beading items but they were not up to the same standard as the items that are produced by our beading group.
In the evening I attended the evening session of the Stake Conference. (a Stake is approximately the size and composition of a Diocese in other religions).  This was a very inspiring meeting for all who attended.  On Sunday was the general session and it was a broadcast by speakers from Salt Lake City, Church General Headquarters and it was broadcast to each Stake Center in Arizona .  It was like having our own personal general conference.
After the conference we came home and had lunch and then we went over to the Las Fuentes Care center to see Catherine Randosh.  Catherine suffers from dementia and has had a fall recently.  They tell us that she sleeps a lot now and does not participate in the activities at the center.  I was her visiting teacher before the mission and we used to always find her in her wheelchair out in the foyer watching the world go by. We visited a couple of other ladies who are members of the church and who are now in the care center.
Monday 12th at 8am I followed Linda Cook to the car repair place.  Some one had smashed into her mother's car and dented the door.  The lady who did this was really irate when Linda's mother insisted on turning it into the insurance.  Apparently the lady had been involved with a serious accident (caused by her) and the insurance company was not happy with her at present. 
Tuesday Nov 13 I was supposed to attend Hidden Stitches - the Applique group.  I had them down for the following week, but they decided that they did not want to meet on Thanksgiving week, so I was not able to go be with them.  Bobbie was coming over in the morning for us to do cards and other paper work. 
On Wednesday 14 I went to Zumba class in the morning and then to beading in the afternoon.  At night I went visiting teaching to Rosie Shipp's house.  Her son lives with them now and the little granddaughter came up to me to be held - so I held her and rubbed her back for her.  She sad there still as a statue, soaking it all in.  She is 13 months old.
On Thursday 15 I went to Zumba class again - I really like doing Zumba.  My friend Kitty came over and she brought the massage table for me to sleep on when I have my eye surgery.  I have to lie on my stomach with my head down for one week.  In between activities today, Bill asked me to go home teaching to his assigned families.  It really became quite difficult for me to do this because I was tired.
Friday 16 was an even busier day than them all.  At 8am I went to Shepherd of the Hills Bazaar.  I have been to this particular Bazaar before and it was quite good but today it was not good at all.  The quality of the workmanship was terrible.  They had lots of baked goods for sale and I guess that is where they make their money.  I do not buy baked goods at these events because I do not know what they have put into the item.  My mother used to always buy baked goods at the St. Albans Church Fete when I was growing up.
At 8.45am I went to Zumba again.  Kelly is the class leader and she is one red hot chilli pepper of a leader.  I swear her feet barely touch the ground and I cannot keep up with her. At 10am I had a massage - I needed it.  After the massage I went to the Eagles Lodge Bazaar.  This was another great disappointment to me.  An older gentleman had sawn off the top half of cowboy boots and had put a base on them so that they would hold beer cans or soda cans.  He must have sunk a lot of money into purchasing the boots because even in the thrift stores they are expensive.  He did not seem to be selling any of his drink holders either.
I went shopping for food in preparation for the visit of Bill's niece Elena.  I had thought to go to Costco to get a giant pizza because she has two teenagers that we would be feeding.  I went down to the store and saw that the parking lot was jammed with shoppers so I ditched the idea of the big pizza and went and filled the gas tank of the car instead.  At least it was not a wasted trip altogether.
On Saturday we left town around 7.30am to go to the Temple in Mesa.  We took my friend Betty Anne with us.  She has had a heart attack and has become rather disabled.  We finally got back home at 5.30pm.  Elena arrived in Prescott before us and spent some time with the family friend that she has known since she lived in Prescott 15 years ago.  She came to our house with Ruben and Tania and we cooked other pizza's and helped the children get filled up.  Elena and children stayed with us through Sunday and left early Monday 19th.
I went to Quilt guild on Monday and stayed for a Paper Piecing class in which we pieced some Santa's.
Well, that about catches everyone up on how fast the Blender is whirring here in Prescott.

Bare trees and leaf carpets

Election is history! So is the Melbourne Cup.  What was most interesting about the Cup was the fashions that were sported there.  I logged onto the net for pictures of the Who's Who of Melbourne Cupdom fashion forward ladies and I was amazed and rather disappointed.  Amazed at the gamut of dresses and fabrics, and hemlines that were high-water or low tide...........hard to decide.  What was disappointing was the construction of the clothes.  Some seemed to be definitely amateur and home made with wrinkles and catches where they should not have been while others were not obedient to the curves of the female body and they emphasized places that should have been camouflaged.  Most of the color schemes seemed to me to be rather cacophonous and the lines created by seams, peplums, collars, over skirts, gaping arm holes and plunging necklines did little to glamorize the wearer.  But then on the other hand, one only has to go to the Mall  here on the weekend to see equally bizarre combinations.  I guess originality is the aim but obedience to line, design, and color etc. would definitely improve the situation.
Fall has arrived here in full splendor with fiery colors on some of the maples and blazing golds on the Aspens.  A house down on the lower end of Rosser street had a magnificent yellow tree in the front yard this morning and this afternoon, after a wind sprung up, they have a bare tree and a magnificent yellow carpet of leaves on their front lawn.  the temperature has dropped considerably since this morning and it has even rained.  They are threatening us with snow from a weather system that has traveled from Alaska to here.
Yesterday my beading group went out to Prescott Valley to eat lunch at a Thai Restaurant that is not much bigger than a hole in the wall.  The food was really good.  We went from there to Jeannine's house to do beading for the afternoon.  I am quite proud of myself because I finally figured out how to do the St. Petersberg Chain.  In this group one dare not bring up anything political because it erupts in fireballs across the table so it is best left alone.  However, when I was at the grocery store, I overheard one worker lament to the other that he was really sad that Mitt Romney did not win. 
I do not know how one defines winning in a political race.  The one who garners the most votes inherits the problems of government and the one who garners the least votes, gets to go home and relax. So who won?
In any case, I still have to finish Lyla's quilt, make quilts for the boys, rake leaves, feed the birds, cook the meals, clean up the house, and resume life as best I can.  Things don't change much on the local level.
The best part of this season of the year is the eye candy at the various craft shows that are now upon us.  Tomorrow is the quilt show and boutique of the Lonesome Valley Quilters, Saturday is the Spinners and Weavers show and they have combined with the wood turners, next week is the Victorian Craft Show and the Shepherd of the Hills bazaar.  I missed these events in Maine but did get to go to the Maine State Quilt show and two shows out at the Longfellows Green House on Puddleduck Lane in Manchester.

Bronco versus Mitt - who will win?

I sympathize with the little girl who is featured in a viral post on Youtube - I also am tired of hearing about Bronco Obama and Mitt Romney.  Enough already!  I watched this little girl in tears explain her angst over the election.  to her, his name is Bronco Obama and the news clips do show him prancing onto the stage.
The prognosticators have consulted crystal balls, hog entrails, woolly worms, crystal skulls, Ouija boards, endless polls, witchdoctors and any and all superstition laced actions to try to determine who will be the winner. Tomorrow we will find out and one person will be the President (not until all the recounts and the Supreme Court decision I suppose) and the other will whine over the loss.  Just like the Super Bowl or the World Series, the teams duke it out over a period of time and then one team gets the glory and the other team returns to the locker room to ruminate over what might have been.  to borrow a line from "Man of La Mancha",  'too much thinking shrivels the brain.'
This was a wonderful weekend for me.  On Saturday I made the first block for Lyla's quilt and it goes together well. I only have 55 more blocks (7 X 8 blocks make this queen sized quilt for my little darling).  I divided up my day by walking in the morning, sending Bill off to work, sewing on the quilt, going shopping at the new natural market to order a free range turkey for Thanksgiving and to pick up the free 8oz pack of cheese as per their coupon - I chose Feta - work on my Sunday School lesson - have been asked to teach the 4 and 5 yr old class for the rest of this year and in January I get a new batch of 4yr olds to be taught by, (and I do mean be taught by these little kids),then just as I was going outside to rake the leaves up in the front yard, Anne from the Archives Search Room called.  What a wonderful surprise that was.  We talked for about an hour and I am now caught up on all the happenings in the Archives.  It was like taking a trip back to Maine.  She said it is cool there - read that 40degrees is the high for the day while we begin the day in Prescott at 40degrees and climb to73 degrees today.  Phoenix will be 91 today - of course this info comes from my phone.  Went out and raked the leaves.  They are completely dry (we live in a desert environment) and so when I put them in the leaf bag they rustle and take up lots of room until I kneel on them and squash them down with my hands to make room for more. I don't weigh 200pounds, but these brittle leaves are no match for me kneeling on the bag and squashing them down.  One really big bag and half another bag is the take for this session.  I am waiting for the other tree to doff its leaves and then I will fill up the second bag.  I also talked to my friend Sue for the best part of an hour as well so I am caught up on all the news of the church in Augusta.
Tomorrow is election day here but more importantly it is the running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Race Track, in Australia.  There is everything from office betting pools to big time players who bet on the outcome of the Melbourne Cup.  For the few minutes it takes the horses to run the race, the whole of Australia comes to a grinding halt to listen for the winner.  Many fortunes are at stake on this race, some are made and many are lost.  On the other hand, the fashion show is a sight to behold.  I doubt if it comes in second to the Kentucky Derby fashions or those of Ascot so it is a safe bet that the Ladies in their finery are just as interesting as the horse that wears the crown of winner.
So, on the eve of the presidential election, some people are overcome with angst over what should have been or what could have been but tales of graft and coercion at the polling places will surface I am sure.  the people who suffered at the hands of Sandy the Hurricane may be too distracted to even go to the polls so the outcome in those affected states swing the pendulum and in January they will gear up for the next four years of whoever will be the president of the USA.  And so it goes.

White Shirts - at last

I had spent much of Tuesday  wandering around Arizona MIlls Mall.  I was looking for white short sleeved dress shirts for Bill now that he is going back to work a day or so a week.  all the white shirts he had during his years of working had become rather grungy and starting to fall apart from use and washing.  No, I do not go down to the creek and smash the shirts onto a rock with a smaller rock as is portrayed in some pictures.  I do have a washing machine, but over time the white fabric just yellows and looks bad - especially when you wear a new white smock over the top of the shirt and tie you are wearing for work.  After all, you do have to look professional at all times.

I went into many stores that I thought might carry white short sleeved shirts.  We live in Arizona where it is hot almost all year and short sleeved shirts should be in abundance.  Or at least one would assume this to be the case.  But, in keeping with the rest of the country, they only have long sleeved shirts this time of year, so it can be said that the white short sleeved models are as scarce as hens teeth.  I wandered into the VanHeusen store and asked the stock question and lo and behold, they had a range of sizes and two of them were Bill's size.  What is even better is that they were 30% off due to the fact that they were out of season..............who cares about the season?  We have two white short sleeved shirts and my heart is happy.  Incidentally, 3 weeks ago I put all his white shirts in the trash because they were grubby and looked awful........and it was not right to give them to Goodwill or some other charity group.

As I drove into the parking lot, I noticed that the lawn was filled with doves pecking at whatever they could find to eat.  There must have been hundreds of them eating dinner on the lawn at the Safeway Headquarters.  I picked Bill up at 5pm after his training session, and we eased out into the 5pm rush hour and crept at a snail's pace towards I-10 and on our way to Tucson.  I have a quilt on display there and I wanted to see it.  We also had made contact with our friends Joe and Maryanne who had been in Pennsylvania the same time we were there.  It was wonderful to reconnect with them.  Their son Joseph has just returned from a mission in the Phillippines just two weeks ago.  The last time I saw him, he was a baby.  They now live in Oro Valley, just outside of Tucson.  We ate dinner together at their home and had a wonderful walk down memory lane, talking about the people we knew.  While they were in Johnstown, there was a quilting contest in the community and Maryanne had made a quilt representing family and that quilt still hangs in the Relief Society room of the Johnstown Ward.

We found our motel and gratefully fell into bed.  We really lucked out.  We had a two room suite that even had a small cooking area but we were not geared to cooking.  This particular motel had a wonderful desert landscape in front and in the courtyard. 

Wednesday morning we went to the Arizona historical museum to see my Slot Canyon Quilt on display there.  It is the first quilt that one sees when entering the area where they have hung the quilts.  That made me feel pretty good.  It had been entered into a quilt show some years ago and the category was "Original quilt".  I found out that it had been given the nod but that politics entered into the fray and one of the founding mothers of the organization received the ribbon for her 9patch quilt.  I asked how this 9 patch, a very traditional design, got the ribbon and they said, well, what makes it original is that she put a trailing vine around the outside.  I notice that her nine patch was not in THIS show.