A Little Fall Color and Some Hearts

I didn't get to really talk much about the things that went on yesterday in yesterday's post.  I had planned to, but I started talking about Max and then just couldn't stop.  So, here is pretty much what I would have written if I had not gotten carried away about my former pets and the one I wish I had now. 

October 16th is the birthday of an old elementary school friend.  Her name is Lisa and I haven't actually seen her in -- oh probably 20 years or so.  Haven't even talked to her in that long.  But I do remember her birthday and think of her fondly each year on her birthday.  I'm sure the only reason I would ever forget it is if I were to get Alzheimer's in the future. 

On my way to help my momma with her yard sale yesterday, I spotted a great heart shaped rock in my walkway!  I keep meaning to photograph them where I find them, but I'm so excited when I see them, that I always forget and grab them up!  This one was sitting right up on top of all the other rocks and gravel in the walkway.  Even faced so that it looked exactly like a heart to me.  I don't know how I could have missed it before. 






Momma sat down and visited a little more during the sale yesterday.  The shoppers were less frequent, but all in all her sale was a pretty good one I think.  Lovie cat visited while I was there and I was able to get photos of her.  Scroll down to yesterday's post if you want to see them. 

I did leave early so that I could watch the Rangers beat the Yankees in game two of the American League Championship Series -- which they did!  Final score was 7 to 2.  Hurray!  The next three games will be extra tough because they'll be played in NY.  The Yankees won the first game in TX 6 to 5.  It's a best of seven series.  The last two games will be played in TX, if the Rangers manage to beat the Yankees at home during their three games there.  I've got my fingers crossed already and it sure is hard to type that way. 

On my drive home, I found a couple of little spots of fall color. 

I ran by the post office and picked up a shipment of two books I'd ordered.  Four Word Self Help and Creative Is A Verb are both by Patti Digh who has the blog 37 Days.  I've read just a few pages of the self help one so far and I - am - in - love - with it!  Such common sense and fun!  The artwork is also done by her blog readers.  Really cool, huh? 

As I neared the post office, I noticed the clouds were awfully pretty.  Then I looked again and saw that the white clouds left a blue heart "space".  It wasn't as defined by the time I got to stop and photograph it, but I stopped and photographed it anyway.  In the photo, I can see other things.  What can you see?  Click to enlarge and then leave me a comment to tell me what you see, please. 








***  I'm having a lot of trouble with blogger and am thinking seriously of taking my blog to another server.  Are any of you having problems with blogger?  I can't stay logged on and I have to log on every single time I want to add a photo to my posting (a minimum of 5 times for this post!).  It's quite frustrating!  Believe me, if I do this, I will leave a link for you to follow.  I don't want to lose you!

What's Up Today?

Today, is my dear Aunt Joan's birthday!  It's one of the decade one's.  I wish I could have been with her and given her a hug today.  I love you Aunt Joan!  When I was a kid, I called my Aunt Joan, Fanny Farkle.  I don't know why.  I called my momma, Lady Fish during the same time period.  They were both good sports.  Forgive me if I've told you that before. 

Today, I found out that my dear friend Catherine became a great-grandmother again (for the second time) yesterday -- on every body's birthday.  I believe she said they named the little girl child Hailey.  Very pretty.  I told her if she ever forgot when the little one's birthday was, I'd be able to help out. 

Today, I helped my dear momma with her yard sale.  It would have been my yard sale too, if I had ever gotten my rear in gear and gathered up some things to sell, but I didn't.  The weather was wonderful for being outdoors!  I took photos of the tree I was sitting under. 

And of a plant that has cool purple berries and chartruse leaves every fall.  I should know the name of it by now, but I don't.  I saw a feral cat who had a heart shaped pattern on her side (I kid you not!), but I couldn't get a shot of it.  I'm taking my camera back tomorrow and hoping that she'll come back while we're selling again. 

At lunch, I found a heart shaped Lay's potato chip.

Later, during a slow period, I took a little walk around momma's yard.  They had had to cut a tree down earlier in the spring.  There were parts of the trunk cut into three large pieces.  As I got closer to it, I could see that it was hollow in the center of the tree.  I had forgotten that.  I went to each end and looked inside.  One end of one piece was heart shaped!  I went around to the other end, it was a different shape on that end. 

As I walked back to the heart shaped end, coming around the side, I noticed that from the side, the heart shape looks like a butterfly.  So, now, I see both at the same time.  Can you see both, or only one?  Which one?

New Post Cards, a Book, a Heart Rock and a new Project

I found another heart rock in my walk way yesterday on my way to the car to go to Dallas to sew with my mini group friends.  I picked it up, scraped off the mud (we've had a little rain lately) and dropped it in my basket to take with me.  I remembered to show it to only one friend while there, Andrea.  I photographed it on one of the postcards -- it's in the last photo.  I saw this heart shaped cloud while driving home from Dallas and sewing.

While there, I started a new project.  I've been wanting to make a "grief" quilt for some months now.  I asked if anyone could remember the stages of grief and Shelley and Andrea both got online and found them for me.  Andrea's website had 7 stages: 1. denial/shock, 2. pain/guilt, 3. anger/bargaining, 4. depression/loneliness/reflection, 5. upward turn, 6. reconstruction/working through, 7. acceptance/hope.  Shelley printed out the 5 stages that I am more familiar with: 1. denial, 2. anger/resentment, 3. bargaining, 4. depression, 5 acceptance.

I decided to go with the 5 stages that Shelley found and possibly throw in a little of Andrea's findings also because I didn't want the fabrics to be too think to sew.  I found fabrics to represent the different stages of grief for me.  For "denial" I used the orange and grey originally, but that wasn't really enough.  I later added the purples they are on the top of the quilt, thanks to Maxine and Kari for suggesting it needed diagonal movement and purple.  Everything on top of the red, represents "denial and shock".  Red represents "anger", the next fabric is a blue with red and blue freckles (or dots) which represents bargaining, then the black is for "depression" and finally the yellow peeking through is for "hope and acceptance".  I'm not there yet, but I'm hopeful that I will be one day.

As you can see the top fabrics are ripped and woven through each other.  They are very confusing, just like the feelings in the beginnings of grief.  The denial and the shock are so confusing, my very fiber feels ripped apart at times.  I had not trimmed the quilt to the point that it's at in this photo when I had taken it over to a part of the quilt shop that has all the thread.  I was looking for black and grey and maybe a dark purple.  An older woman saw my quilt at that point and said "oh what a mess!".   I turned to her and thanked her.  I told her it that it represents grief.  She said "Grace?"  "No," I said "grief.".  She said "Greece?"  "No, grief as in someone has died and I am grieving for them".  At which point she just looked at me with disdain and confusion and her friend dragged her away.  She just could not comprehend a quilt that was not of a traditional making/pattern/design.  That's OK.  Someday she may feel like ripping fabric and remember my "mess" and give herself permission.   

I've already stitched a broken heart into the quilt.  I plan to stitch tears into it at some point, but other than that, I'll just stitch and see what happens.  I don't know if it will be donated to the Quilter's Guild of Dallas' live mini auction in March or if I'll put it in the show.  Right now, the only thing I know for sure about it is that is not messy enough. 

My momma sent me a book that I got in yesterday's mail.  It's Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt.  She said in her letter to me "It is amazing how it applied to both of our lives this terrible year."  She also said she felt that she was guided to the yard sale that had it.  I agree.  I loved every word of this book.  I read it very quickly and I plan to reread it again soon.  Then I may return it to momma and buy another one for myself, so that we can both have a copy.  It just feels like we'll need it.  I don't know. 











I've got some postcrossing postcards to share with you too.  The first is from Louisiana and is of the Superdome.  I didn't know the facts that are listed on the front of the card.  Fun.  Click on the photo if you want to read them yourself. 

The next one is from Spain and shows the Ebro River. 

Then I got a surprise card from a young woman that I had sent a card to in the past.  She didn't need to send me a card in response or as a thank you, but she did.  Very sweet.  It shows a fountain in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

The last one I have to show you today actually came in an envelope!  Also from Russia.  It shows a lovely hotel and speaks of hot air balloon rides!  That would be so nice.  Isn't the envelope pretty?  I love the stamps too. 

Chase

My momma called me a little while ago and told me that my little town had been on her local news.  She lives outside of Houston and I live 70 miles, give or take, south east of Dallas, so this was indeed news to me.  She went on to explain that "they" were filming in our area.  Filming?  In my little town?  Are you kidding me?  What in the world is there to film in this little place?  So, she told me just a little about a new TV show that will be starting soon called "Chase" that is filming all over Texas and has been in my area filming.  Whoa!  As it said on her news report, that's "the biggest thing to happen around here since the local school went to state with its 6 man football team" several years back!  She said some of the local kids were going to be on the show.  Pretty cool!

So, I googled.  Chase is a new series that starts September 20th (next Tuesday) on NBC.  It will air at 9 PM central time.  I have no idea if I'll like it or not, but I do like police shows, so there's a good chance I will.  I've already set it up on my DVR to record all the new episodes.  After all, I have to watch until the little town in which I live near (and get my mail) shows up! 

*I don't actually live in the city limits.  This is a rural area and I'm just a bit outside the city limits, but I do get my mail there and my water is from there.  It's the closest I have to a town at this point. 

I Really Like to Post

I really like to post on my blog. I mean I really like to do this. I feel like I'm talking to a group of friends, even if I have no idea if anyone is actually reading any of it. My goal is to post every day. I do miss days of posting -- sometimes, many days in a row. Then I'll come back and post three times on one day. I'll get lots of ideas and I don't want to end up with them flying out of my little old head. You'd think I'd keep a book for post ideas. I've thought of that, but there never seems to be one handy when I think of an idea, although I have at least half a dozen blank books around here somewhere. And if you have a peri-menopausal mind like mine, you know that I can hold a thought about like a colander holds water. You young ladies will understand this one day. Don't worry. Your time is coming. Anyway, that forgetfulness is my life at this point.

So, when I was visiting Tracey's blog Quietly Kickin and Screamin yesterday and she mentioned the blog Sunday Scribblings as a place to go for ideas and inspiration for blog postings, I headed on over. They post their new idea on Sundays (just like their name says) and since I looked in for the first time on Friday, I decided to just take a look around and grab an idea that suited me. This is what I'll try to do whenever I want to write and I have no idea of my own in the future. This idea comes from June 12, 2010 -- Superhero(ine).

I have a couple of real life Superheroines and a Superhero. The first is my Momma.

She went to work in the early 60's when most women were still stay-at-home moms. At least most of the moms I knew were. Then when I was 8, our dad went to work overseas and she basically became a single parent. When he returned, they divorced, and she became a real single parent. She raised my sister and myself with patience and grace. She made sure we had the things we truly needed and enough of the things we wanted to feel special and for life to feel magical at times. But she also made sure we didn't get everything we wanted. I think that is a gift, in and of, itself. Momma didn't drive back then, so it wasn't easy for her to get things done for us, but she did. She always found a way. Even if it meant riding three different buses in each direction to do it. She is the most patient person I know and she has the ability to stay out of arguments that my sister and I would have. That ability irritated me during the arguments (because I wanted her to side with me!) and I admire it greatly now. Momma and I have always had a good relationship. I'm grateful for that. She is my biggest Superheroine!

My other Superheroine is my friend Catherine. She is without a doubt the most honest person I have ever known. She will not give her opinion unless she is asked for it, but baby if you ask for it, you better put your big girl panties on and be ready the real, honest answer because that is what you are going to get. She never answers in a rude or cruel way, but she does answer truthfully and completely. I love that about her. Lots of folks can't handle it. Like some of the people she has worked with over the years. She doesn't play office politics. She's honest. There are many, many other things I love about Catherine. Things that I admire, but her honesty is the thing that makes her one of my Superheroines.

My Superhero is my son.

He got married very young. Right out of high school. A couple of weeks after graduation I think. He went into the Air Force just a couple of weeks after the wedding as a way to continue his education and to provide for his young bride and himself. He became a father after about a year and a half of marriage. Before long, two more kiddos came along. He reenlisted in the military, knowing it was the best option for his family. He plans to make it a career at this point. He is a good provider for his family. He is a recent widower and he is making sure his kids are OK. He is taking care of things. He knows he can call on us, but he wants to do it himself. He is a good man. A kind man. A good father. I cannot begin to tell you how proud of him that I am without dissolving into tears. My son is my pride and joy and it's because he's done it all himself. I'm happy to help him in any way I can. I want to help him. I hope that I can take some of the pressures off of his back at times. I wish for him joy and happiness, peace and love. He is my Superhero.