Superman Returns

We have not had a family movie night in quite some time, but last night we all (Kathy, Paul, Michael, Debby, Tomey, Max and me) trekked out to the Imax for Superman Returns. It was an excellent movie even though I am not much of a fan of 3-D movies. We arrived an hour early to do the “stand in line” thing in order to get some decent seats. The Imax is amazing, but if you don’t get good seats it can be a real killer. We took turns holding our place in the line while enjoying Starbucks, Mexican food and popcorn. I am not a fan of waiting in lines, but it was not bad having a group share the responsibility.

Time to check out the new poles

Time to check out the new poles. Since we were both dying to see how the new poles handled, we decided to load up and head out to one of the lakes to try them out. WOW they are really nice poles and the reels are smooth. We did not catch anything, but the main purpose was to throw some lures and see how everything handled. VERY NICE!

Bar-b-que cleaning time

Max decided that since she had all this free time (no more homework) it was time to clean the Bar-b-que and what a task that was. It is amazing how dirty and greasy those things can get AND how difficult it is to clean them. She used baking soda and since Darci is all about help she turned into a brown and white dog. She was a mess and I could not get the baking soda out of her coat by brushing her, but eventually it disappeared. The bar-b-que ended up looking like new!

Later . . .

More Bird Information

I am enjoying the birds so much that I went out and bought another bird feeder. I refilled all my Humming Bird feeders and they are coming regularly for breakfast. We have a couple of Doves that are regulars and I really enjoy watching them interact. I also bought a small bird bath, but no one has decided to indulge as far as we can tell. I think as time progresses we will attract more species and hopefully they will discover the bath. I remember when my Mother was all into watching birds and I thought she was weird - well I am more like my Mother than I thought!

Later . . .

Max is Finished With School

The last paper was turned in and the last final exam has been taken! Max is finished with her degree. She managed to work full-time while going to school full-time and graduate Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Technical Management. We had a family gathering in celebration of the event. The cake Kathy brought was most delicious and the fruit tart was equally great. What a weight off her shoulders. She can play video games, do wood working, gardening, watch movies, and generally relax.

On the previous Thursday Max and I went shopping for a new rod and reel. She has been wanting to buy something nice and she picked up a really nice St. Croix rod and a Shimano reel. You cannot really see the euipment, but the rod is graphite and feels like it will have great action. Of course, she had to string it with two pound test (should be fun catching something with that). She also got some lures along with a REALLY cool little ice fishing pole that we are dying to try out. Even though I did not just graduate - I also am the proud owner of a new rod, reel, ice fishing pool and some lures. (The small ice fishing poles will be great for the grandkids). Hopefully we can make it to one of the lakes sometime this week in the evening when it is not hotter than "heck".

Speaking of hot - Kodi has staked out his area in the house. Bless his little Alaskan Malamute heart, he can almost always be found in the master bathroom on the floor in front of the air conditioning vent. The heat is killing him, but he still manages to get some play time in and pays the price by laying around panting heavily. He throws a desperate look at you when you make him go out in the heat during the day (which is every day because of my trip over the hill for radiation). I still have not found a larger pool for him, but I am going to try to find something tomorrow.

Later . . .

Quilt I Ordered

Hmmmmm I think perhaps an opps is in order. I received what I thought was a “cheater” quilt today and it contains all the material, but I have to cut the strips and blocks myself. It comes with the instructions so I should be able to handle the situation; however, I do have some concern about the backing and binding. I know there is help out there so I am not going to worry. The material is really nice and I think the colors are bright and great.

Later . . .

Confusing Day

Yesterday was a strange day all the way around. I started my radiation treatments, which I must admit was a bit weird. I have been "lovingly" titled "the one with the tattoo". This came about because they give you permanent little round dot tattoos to mark the parameters for the radiation and I asked if there was any way they could not mess up the tattoo I have between my breasts. It worked out perfectly that the tip of one of the leaves is where the mark should be. Now they add the mark every time I go in and it washes off. Thus, because they change operators frequently, I get a lot of "ah, you're the tattoo one". Emotionally the treatments are a bit harsh, but physically they are not so bad (but it is after the first couple of weeks when the skin problems begin).

The bizarre part of the day was when my DSL dropped out and then would not come back at the correct speed. I spoke with several people on the phone and they decided to send a technician out to check the line. The line coming to the house was full speed, but hooking up to a modem either inside or outside it would not work. He did manage to get it taken care of after a couple hours of trouble shooting. The strange thing before that was all the electricity in the house went out. No breakers were popped and we thought maybe we were having a brown or black out. I called PG&E and they sent someone over pretty quickly. The breaker on the OUTSIDE of the house had popped. We did not even know we had a breaker on the outside of the house (will be handy to know that in the future IF it ever happens again).Then Debby (who everyone knows is all about help) decided that we needed to have our yard greener. She came over with food and a spreader and did the feed job. As you can see, she takes it VERY seriously! She was actually cute – must be something about crouching that works better than standing up straight! (Thanks Debby for the green grass).

Later . . .

Kodi Needs a BIGGER Pool

I suppose I really do need to go in search of a bigger pool for Kodi. He wants to lay down in the water and cool off his chest and as one can see there just is not enough room for him. It is a good thing the only thing Darci likes to do is stand in the water and get a drink. I will put going to WalMart on my list of things to do tomorrow. Got to keep the "big dog" happy!

Summer & Hot Weather Have Arrived

It was almost 100 today so we spent most of the day in the house with the air conditioning. Needless to say Kodi is NOT fond of this weather, but he does enjoy playing in the pool. We need to get him a bigger one, but for now this one will have to do. We needed to do some yard and garden work, which we waited until early evening to do. I mowed and Max worked in the garden. The flowers are blooming beautifully and the plants are growing. Hopefully now that the weather has turned hot, we will get some ripe tomatoes. We have plenty of them, but they are not turning red. They just need some heat and sunshine and according to the weather report they will be getting plenty of that!

I am happy to report the birds have been coming to visit and the dogs are not bothering them (except for a couple of dove that Darci likes to chase off "IF" she sees them). The birds have consumed a good portion of the food, which makes me think they will continue to hang around. We are talking about puting in a bird bath, which I think would be fun. I love to watch birds bathe and play in the water.

Later . . .

Meeting with "The Quilt Master"

I did have my meeting with "the Quilt Master" (her name is Lynn) and HOLLY MOLLY some of the things she has done were unbelievably beautiful! I seriously doubt I will ever advance to that stage of quilting, but it was totally inspiring to see that kind of work. I took my heart quilt top to show her and I was like a little kid presenting it for her inspection. I will have to brag and say she was very impressed with my first piece of work and she said you would never know it was an old sheet and pillow case project! She was not that familiar with embroidery machines and thought the embroidered squares were quite lovely. She offered to help me with anything that I needed and that makes me feel much better to move ahead with this whole quiling thing. I oredered a "cheater" quilt (everything I need to make a specific pattern) and am looking forward to trying that. I have not decided what I am going to do about the back on my heart top, but I am working on some possibilities. I do understand how people get addicted to the quiliting process, but it can become rather "pricey"!

I have started on another project with 8 1/2 inch squares that I am embroidering what appears to be a Celtic circle design. The top will be 72 squares and I am doing each one in a different color, which I think will turn out pretty cool. I really like incoprorating embroidery with the squares; unfortunately it tends to raise the cost of the quilt because the stabilizer is a bit costly and the thread does not come cheap. Thankfully the desgin I am doing does not require a lot of thread, so the main expense is the stabilizer (JoAnn's just put theirs on sale for 50% off).

I think I have a new friend in the Quilt Master and she knows MANY other top quilters in the area. She was just asked by the local quilt shop to do samples to display in their store and she was very happy about that. She gets the material for free and gets the sample back when they change the display.

Later . . .

Radiation Treatments Scheduled

I went for my "fitting" yesterday and all the measurements that were taken before were accurate, which means I am ready to actually start the radiation treatments. The first appointment time they gave me was 3:45 pm! That was about depressing considering an appointment over the hill at that time would mean I would not be able to get back home due to the commute traffic that bogs down going back over the hill. There was a 10:30 am appointment coming available on the 29th of June, but my doctor said I could not put off starting for another two weeks. I bit the bullet saying I would take the back roads to get home and just as I was accepting my ill fated journey a miracle happened! A 12:15 appointment appeared in the book and I was saved! That actually is a pretty good time to be driving over the hill (except for the lunch traffic). I think I may keep the noon appointment time because at least I will have enough time in the morning to do some kind of project and then be home in enough time to do something in the afternoon too.

I will not bother to tell you all the "crap" I was told regarding the side affects of the treatment. I will just keep my fingers crossed and hope that I don't get any of them. Some bad news was that I cannot use the hot tub - no extreme temperatures and especially heat.

Needless to say I will be very happy when I can put this ordeal behind me.

Later . . .

Quilt Top Completed!

I am so excited I can hardly stand it! I actually sewed my heart project together and it turned out VERY WELL! It is FAR from perfect, but I am very pleased with the end result. I have MANY squares that actually meet perfectly (and MANY that do not). Now I just have to figure out what I am going to do with it for backing and such. I am going to meet the friend's quilting mother tomorrow night and perhaps she will have some advice or suggestions. I have been quite the sewing person these last couple of days (I finished all the initial coasters and made some others as a special gift for a friend).

I have been interviewing house cleaners this week trying to find a suitable person to hire to start cleaning the house. I am not sure how I am going to be feeling once the radiation treatments start and I would like to use my energy for things like SEWING! I certainly do not want to spend the money it requires to have someone clean your house, but it will also be very nice to have it done.

I have my trial run on treatments this coming Friday and if everything is situated correctly, I will start my six week process on Monday.

The countdown is on for Max and her school - she actually only has two weeks left and then she will be finished and graduate with her Bachelors (Magna Sum Laude) - go Max!

Later . . .

Ready, Set - GOLD!

This weekend the Northern California Special Olympics Summer Games were held at Cal State Berkeley. We were not able to attend on Saturday, but Michael's team kicked some booty and advanced to the playoffs on Sunday. It was tough going, but with some GREAT teamwork Michael's team took a GOLD! They worked hard and everyone was very excited when it came down to the last game (best two out of three and it was one to one). We (Paul, Kathy, Michael, Carl, Nancy, Max and I) went out after to celebrate at a great pizza place in Oakland called Zachry's - Chicago style deep dish pizza that was EXCELLENT! Before we went for pizza, we had an excursion to the REI store in Berkeley - whew, that is a big place with TONS of outdoor stuff.

The other days of the weekend were restful. We had Ann & Warren (Max's folks) down for dinner on Saturday night. Kathy and Paul came over to join us for dessert and some conversation. Other than that, Max did homework while waiting for a call from work (she was on standby and she did not have to go, but it made us miss Michael's games on Saturday) and I did some more sewing and started a new video game (Rachet and Clank). The video game is great fun and I like it a lot. I just have to remember to limit myself and not end up with "video thumbs"!

Later . . .

Sewing Day

I spent most of my day in my sewing room enjoying my new desk/table. It is working out great and I am very happy I made the change. It is really nice to have a table that is the right height for sewing. I was going to work on putting my quilt top together, but I became side tracked with making demin coasters. I have not put them together yet, but I was doing mostly initials for my friends in Ireland. I have the insulation and the backs cut out so all I have to do is put them together and then wash them so the edges will fray (example of a washed one - but the square is not totally straight). I pulled out my instruction book and think I have finally dialed in the precise way to get my designs where I want them to be (example of another square that is actually straight). I knew there had to be a better way and I think I have finally found it.

The mother of one of the people that Max works with is a quilter (it would appear that she is a VERY GOOD one) and she has offered to give me some advice, techniques, lessons or whatever. I am VERY excited about hooking up with her and the really cool part is she only lives a few blocks away. I plan on giving her a call next week and at least meeting her.

Later . . .

Some Changes Over the Weekend

Saturday afternoon we went over to Kathy and Paul's to go with them to the bicycle shop (Paul bought a new mountain bike and Max wanted to get a new seat for her bike). One of their neighbors was having a garage sale and I spotted the above table. The table I have been using for sewing is too high and has that ripple type plastic top. When I saw the table I could see the image in my mind of my sewing machine, lamp and computer all sitting on the table. The desk even has a drawer, which will come in handy. When Max finishes school we are planning to do some remodel in the sewing room, but for the time being I think this will work well. I have yet to try to sew and that will be the test.I have been wanting to try to change the dining room around and utilize more space - so we moved the hutch to the other wall and then were able to move the table further out into the room. We removed the leaf and still have plenty of dining space. The most important part is the chairs can all be moved out with ease and it is easier to move around the table and especially out the sliding glass door. We will not have to deal with someone moving their chain onto the vent (and that will be great). We have to do something with the blank wall that is left and will have to wait for Duane to get us another picture to go with the two we already have (that means I need something from you Duane).We had to make a Lowes trip and I ended up with a new bird feeder. I have been wanting to put one in the yard and see how it works out. I am hoping the birds will come and Darci will not chase them away! They also had a whole batch of Ott lights and Max bought me a really nice one for my sewing room table. The light it puts out is amazing and I really like it alot. I am anxious to put some organizing in my sewing room. I was reading my "Dream Sewing Spaces" book and got a few good ideas to make things a bit easier for me.

Anyway, it was a good weekend. Tomorrow I have my first appointment with the oncology radioligist to set up my upcoming treatments. I am not looking forward to it, but I also want to get it behind me.

Later . . .

Heart Layout

I am totally excited that I finished all the squares and decided to lay out the quilt on the table. Once it was layed out - I decided there was just TOO much white. I found some old pillow cases and cut some additional squares to give the project some color and I think it turned out really well. The small picture shows what the center of the quilt top will look like. The addition of the colors really made all the difference in the world. If I had not added the colored squares, it would have been necessary to do more embroidered hearts. I think this is the final layout, but then I never know what will strike me. I may actually start sewing the pieces together tomorrow. I am a bit aprehensive considering I have never done anything but that little sample piece before.

I have ironed all the embroidered pieces, but some of them just do not want to lay flat - that could present a problem, but at least they were cut to the correct size AFTER the embroidery - so the seams should all match (and that would be in a perfect world).

Later . . .

Empty House

Duane and family took off on Tuesday and this is a scene I will be truly missing until we meet again! It was wonderful having everyone here and we all seemed to have a good time. I am not sure if we will be able to make the trip down to see them for the 4th of July (we do it every year) and participate in the EXCELLENT ribs that Duane cooks. I will have to see what the status and schedule for my radiation treatments will allow.

I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday doing laundry and putting the house back in order (not that it was a mess, just things changed and moved around).

At least I know we will have Devin and Desirae for a couple of weeks the first of August and that I am REALLY looking forward to.

Later . . .

The Rest of the Hearts

I spent most of the day working on more hearts - I now have the 28 embroidered hearts that I needed, but I have not cut the additional 60 squares that I need to put this project together. I am pretty excited to start piecing the blocks together - so I will be cutting squares tomorrow! This has turned into a really fun time and quite the learning experience both with my embriodery machine and learning the tricks of a rotary cutter, quilting rulers and rotary cutting mat.

Believe me, I will keep posting about this project until it is done!

Later . . .