Thursday, February 6, 2014

I sat and knit last night so all those decisions from yesterday were still waiting this morning. I started my morning by doing my Guild reports. When I checked my notes and e-mail there were a few things that I needed to add to the blog. I generally do the “money stuff” as it comes in, but when I get updates and notices by e-mail I’m seldom at my computer so they pile up over the month.

One of my friends was selling a photograph album via the Swap and Shop Facebook page. When she described it I could think of a couple of options I could use it for so I called her to get more info. She wasn’t asking a lot for it, but she gifted it to me. I picked it up before I left for my shift. Now that I’ve seen it I think I know what it will become, but it will likely be a gift so I’m not telling!

Then I was off to the Red Cross for a long shift. The new computer arrived so I got that set up and then waited on Red Cross support for an hour and a half. While I waited I was able to get all my washing up done though. I called support a second time and they finally returned my call. I only needed a slight bit of clarification about the network settings and then I was able to do the rest on my own.

Setting up the printer and fax machine took longer than it should have, but I’m on a Windows machine and I’m so many versions behind in my Windows knowledge that finding things took awhile. At the end of the day I was able to type and print some new cheat sheets on the new set up so I knew the printer was working. I had the Nanaimo office send me a test fax just to be sure that was working.

Now there is just enough time for a quick supper and then I’m off to the Guild.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

I promised myself I would spend the morning cleaning and getting ready for the House Concert this weekend. If I worked all morning I’d have most of it done and then I could do some sewing.

Our House Concert guest is sensitive to a number of things – deodorizers, air fresheners, cleaning products, gluten, cow dairy. You might think all this would be a good excuse not to clean but, although it wasn’t mentioned, I’ve no doubt dust is among that list of sensitivities. So with micro fibre cloth in hand and a bucket of just plain water I did my dusting and prepping in the living room. All the rugs are vacuumed and in place, and I’ve set up a few chairs. We don’t have a very large crowd so far, so I’ll add chairs as I need them.

While I was cleaning the sun was streaming in the windows, making all that dust even more noticeable. I was thinking of Dad and how he would have liked his walk on such a sunny day. I decided that once the cleaning was done I would walk to the Post Office because I had a parcel to mail. But I was also waiting for a FedEx parcel pickup so maybe I should drive because it would be faster. I was finished my cleaning for the day and having my lunch when the FedEx people picked up the parcel. There was no excuse now – best to walk.

Of course the hardest steps to a walk are the first ones out the door. I thought perhaps I should drive so I could pick up some of the groceries we’ll need for the weekend. But no, I can do that tomorrow after the Red Cross. Well maybe I’ll drive because I want to pick something up for supper. No, I have a head of lettuce, some tuna, and a few other veggies to make a tuna salad with. Okay, I’ll walk!

And a lovely walk it was. I finished up the binding on my 2013 Community Quilt. I’ll stitch the label on tonight and it will be ready to present at the Guild meeting tomorrow night. Which reminds me I need to get my reports written. Maybe I’ll do that tonight because I have the computer to deliver and set up at the Red Cross tomorrow and I should get an early start. But the reports are almost finished so maybe I have time in the morning before I go to the Red Cross to get them done. Maybe I just need someone here to talk to and all these voices in my head wouldn’t be so loud!

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

We’ve been enjoying some sunny days, but it is cold out there. Well, cold for this part of the country. I had to put gloves on to run across the street this morning for tags for my garbage bag. When I left the sewing bee this afternoon the thermometer in the car said the outside temperature was -1, and at that point the sun was still shining. After the bee I walked down the hill to one of the galleries to pick up a gift, and there were a few flakes of snow in the air.

I worked on my two community quilts today. I have committed myself to making at least one community quilt a year. I finished sewing the binding on the back of my 2013 quilt. I’m going to do a fully machine stitched binding but I had neglected to take the proper colour of thread with me. Although the binding is a variety of colours I thought it would be best to use the same colour thread to stitch the front of the binding as I had used for the quilting. I hope to have this quilt finished for Show and Tell at the Thursday meeting.

My lego quilt is my 2014 contribution and I’m using it to learn some border techniques. The quilt will have three borders on it – I have one and a half done so far. I want to get this one finished quickly so I can start quilting;  I’m going to use either a spiral or circle pattern for the quilting. That is a technique I’m planning for one of my own quilts, and everyone says we should use the community quilts as practice pieces.

I’ll cover up under Margaret’s Quilt tonight while I watch TV and work on Pat’s socks.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Quiche was on the menu at BOND today. I’ve made it a couple of times with limited success. The first time I made it I used frozen pie shells. They went together well, but cooking for the group meant I needed six pies and the oven will only handle four at a time. The second time I used frozen tart shells and, although they worked well, they were fiddly to make.

I decided to try a crustless quiche today – ham and Swiss cheese and broccoli and cheddar. We had ham left from the BOND Christmas dinner so I defrosted it over the weekend. The recipe called for a large pie plate, but because I was making two double batches, and because I didn’t have enough big pie plates, I used 10″x13″ roasting pans. I allowed for extra cooking time but it was over an hour before they were ready to serve.

There were a number of new ladies in the group today and, as we were all introducing ourselves, I apologized for the late lunch (at that point the quiches were still in the oven). One of the coordinators made the remark that I’d never been late before. That was kind, but I’m not sure it was true. There were only a couple of pieces left over so they must have tasted okay, or else the Mums were starving by the time they were served!

Since I’ve been home I’ve been running up and down stairs for mail and answering the door. We had mail through the front door slot and I checked outside because I expected my Ott light to be delivered. Sure enough it was there, along with a courier card for the computer for the Red Cross. I called them to arrange an alternate delivery. The driver was on his way back into town from Lund and he’d come by right away.

When I checked messages on the phone one of our concert people had called. When I called him back he said he’d be here in about half an hour to pick up his tickets. I had just sat down with a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang and the courier was at the front door. I hauled the computer upstairs, sat down for a minute and Murray was at the back door for his tickets. When I thought it was safe to play a game or two on my iPad there was a knock at the back door – another courier with a parcel for Pat.

I’m exhausted – it will be an early night (if I don’t get caught up in my book).