My Mundane Monday

Another week ... weird how that happens.

Been keeping busy. More busy than I'd like. But what's a girl to do? Just charge ahead and hope for the best.

I finished the piecing of the queen size quilt I started last week. I had moments of doubt, but I should have had more faith in my obsessive ways. It's been a habit of mine for quite a number of years and even if I'm beat and frazzled, I still stick true to form. So the quilt is on the frame and I'm chugging along. Switched thread after the first two passes, at which point, I didn't care if the threads matched or not. And they don't. Sarah N. do you want my collection of Signature cotton thread? I will be keeping the short repeat variegated for postcards, but all the others you can have with my blessing. On occasion, I've fallen into the trap of thinking that one of those threads will match the quilt better than my favorite Medeira ones. I figure if they are no longer in the draw, I'll never make the mistake, again, of underestimating what a royal pain in the patootie they can be for me and my machine. Requires all kinds of tension adjustments and it still just doesn't look right. Thus, thread change and I feel like I can finish it, today. If I don't allow myself the distraction of an entirely unrelated project. Also true to form.

In between quilting, we got through school, lunch and naps. I'm a firm believer in naps. Not that we often sleep, but just imagine a two hour break in the middle of the day where you don't allow yourself or anyone else to do anything other than reading or sleeping. OK, sometimes I cheat and crochet. I'm such a rebel. You can hear the entire house sigh with relief. It's very beneficial to set that quiet time aside when there are this many people living under the same roof.

Then the three youngest and I ran errands. First, the apple orchard- where they got their free apple cinnamon donut. (Spell-Check didn't like that- who spells donut "doughnut" anymore?) With only $5 in my pocket they were given the choice of apple cider slushies for themselves or a bag of apples for their daddy. They didn't hesitate in choosing the apples for Dad(his favorite- Honey Crisp.) Breaks my heart they are so sweet.

Then on to the library for new books. Two each, this time, as they ran through the last ones so quickly. I was all settled in with my crochet but they were very decisive and we were only there for about 5 minutes. Kinda disappointed I didn't get my hook time in. On to a couple stores and then home- all in about two hours. Amazing.

Canned tomatoes, this weekend. The girls asked why we are always canning on a Saturday night. Good question. Gardens can be such slave drivers. Having two more helping hands makes an amazing difference, though. Eva and I peeled the tomatoes and Bekah packed all the jars and loaded up the canners. We did 21 quarts in record time. I've come to the conclusion that we operate at a faster pace than most folks. A bit of a necessity, I suppose.

I did some tutoring, Sunday afternoon, for a friend in college. English. I enjoyed that immensely. She didn't really need much help, just some pointers on the basics and some refresher lessons on how to study effectively. Love her textbook and wish I had one for myself. But the price of college books is absolutely ridiculous. $125 for a little paperback book. I guess they charge that because they can. Shame on them.

The flower was appliqued by Sandy and she used the fabrics we dyed this summer. Her daughter(the same one I tutored) drew the flower she used as a pattern. There's a little black mark at the top, but I think I'll be able to get it out- or chop it off- or applique a butterfly over it... that might work. Either way, I'm glad she didn't discard it as she'd planned.

So onward ho with that quilt and school. Hope everyone has an amazing day!