News

I keep avoiding this post. Somehow, it doesn't seem quite right to share this information here but it also seems quite right. Some of you read my blog, I think of you as friends. And even though this information is not about sewing, or crafting, spiritual AHA! or even librarianing - I feel like I want to share this event in my life as an explanation for my absence. And, just because I want to. So there.

In late August, I asked my landlord's permission for my daughter, and her two children to come and stay with me. Those posts about her arrival were some of my happiest writing. He agreed and for the two months following her arrival he and his wife visited with her, offered to provide childcare when she achieved full-time work and in every way, affirmed their approval for her living here. Despite all that, last Monday night, he served us with notice to vacate tenancy. The notice said that I had ten days to get my daughter "out" or to surrender the property.

Of course, my daughter and I have been in a state of panic. I don't know about your finances, but mine certainly don't include extra cash laying around to front a move. Especially in ten days! Besides, I like my house! After a storm of emails, my landlord actually said to me that he never had any intention of evicting anyone, and that he does approve of my daughter's living with me. He just thinks that if I pay an extra sum of money each month, "this won't be a big issue."

I feel extorted. I feel threatened. And, I am angry. For several days, my daughter and I went through the emotional journey of being homeless. And, it's still not quite over. Turns out, that our duplex is an illegal duplex, only zoned for a single family unit. During this time, our kitchen sink has been backed up and that turns out to be the result of inadequately installed plumbing. So, while we've been experiencing all this emotional turmoil, we've been bailing water and doing dishes in the bathtub. Then, to make matters worse, our toilet stopped working as well. After hours and hours of attempts, nothing has succeeded and to this day, I have been bailing water for 14 days now.


Of course, this added tension has done nothing to support and strengthen my relationship with my daughter who feels a grave responsibility - she thinks this is all her fault. None of it is her fault, the improper plumbing would have ultimately failed anyway and an in trouble landlord would have turned my direction at some point in time in order to ease his financial burdens. Nevertheless, she and I have been arguing an awful lot and then we have our moments of solidarity and peace which have usually been short-lived as yet another plumbing crisis or new bit of information has come to light.

There may be solutions, some of them very difficult, maybe a few less difficult, but none of them easy. Our City's Code Enforcement department is now involved (they were already investigating another matter) and I'm not really sure how things are going to go from here on out. If he's illegally rented me an apartment, I'm not sure how he can ask for any rent at all, much less any extra rent. At any rate, I'm exhausted and I for sure have not been thinking about pincushions, dottie dolls or even knitting. I hope you'll stick around for the few posts that I manage and I look forward to joining you again soon on a more regular basis. I do read all your blogs, even if I don't comment - that distraction has kept me calm and I do thank you.

~Lee

Some people just have all the luck

Hi everyone - how long has it been since I last posted? I think it's been forever and there is much to show and tell. For today though, I'll just do this short, little post. Isn't that a fabulous looking car? It's mine. He's really, really old but he looks great, the ride is smooth and he's almost perfect.....except....

Well...some of you recall this post from way back. One day my Oldsmobile overheated and the engine siezed. Not 3 days later, my spare tire truck, my beloved Cochise overheated too and blew up! So, I ended up with Bennie here. A few weeks after I purchased Bennie, he also started overheating. Insert your favorite explicatives here. Since sometime mid July I've been borrowing my daughter's car and begging rides from others. Bennie hasn't run for all that time.

Today, I just couldn't stand it any more and rather than ask more kind friends to examine him yet again; I decided to force the budget and take Bennie to a pro. My pals have tried everything, and no one could discover the source of Bennie's leak. Aha! Today's mechanic discovered the problem immediately and showed me a perfect puncture hole in the thermostat hose. Wow.

Do I just have the greatest luck, or what? Hopefully I can have the hose replaced pretty soon and be on the road again.

There's lots more to share, complete with photos. But hopefully soon some of the stresses will be resolved and I'll be on the road again so to speak.

Cheers!!

~Lee

Weekend Review

WOW! I feel like I've been going all weekend but I know that's not so. I took a look at my To-Do list and tried to figure out where all my energy went.

• Friday night is a cleaning night. I'd like to get a handle on all those piles of things here and there. You know the ones - a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I did get through all those piles. I feel so much lighter now


• Really clean the bird cages and mats beneath them. I'm facing a reality that it may be time to consider re-homing my birdies. I don't much like that reality, but with kids and activities they just aren't getting much attention. Yup! This got done...now it's ready to be done again!


• Maybe re-till the garden spot and cover in newspaper. I'm coming around to the PNW mentality that comfrey is a nuisance. It's EVERYWHERE. Ha! Not a prayer - maybe next weekend


• Really, still on my list is to re-cover the sewing room chairs and put together the vintage highchair that I brought home for Chase. The reality is that he'll likely never sit there but I still want the project completed. Does anyone else do that? Uh huh! The highchair did get finished. Photos tomorrow. My camera has disappeared. The sewing room chairs are still waiting too. Geeze, one step forward and two back.


• Water and prune my houseplants - they're looking kind of sorry. Everything got watered and a few things got pruned. Doesn't look much better yet but I think the next few days will show some improvement


• Put the proper bed frame on my bed and attach the footboard. Ummm that will be different, sleeping with a footboard. I wonder if I'll like it? Oh gosh this got done - but I didn't do it!


• Finish getting my winter clothes in order and doing the last bit of organizing in my sewing room. I'll have something to do next weekend.

There much have been more. Oh! I know! We spent most of Saturday doing a wonderful birthday day with Cash. There was bowling, and shopping, and cooking, and eating, and singing. It was a wonderful day. Then I did laundry forever it seemed. I swept the front porch. And I watched two really fun movies, way late into the night on Saturday. What a fun weekend, and productive it was. Hope yours was too. ~Lee

Five Good Things

I had a look at my last weekend's To-Do List and realized that I accomplished almost everything on the list! That certainly started my day of right and once smiling, I was thinking about Five Good Things without even telling myself I needed to focus. And, my friends, I wasn't even thinking about writing my list for you; just me, thinking about some good things in my life.

• My Grandson, new to kindergarten and new to a whole new life, has been having nightly melt-downs before bed. Daughter and I decided on a plan to hopefully avoid this unpleasant evening habit and last night it sure seemed like it worked. Daughter and son spent some alone time doing some special things and it was a fun, sweet evening all around. What a relief.
• Oldest daughter sent a text message asking for the names of any she might forget from my family so that they can be invited to her wedding. She's planning ahead - a very good thing.
• The air this morning is crisp and alive. That aliveness balances the cold, grey Seattle sky.
• I had a fabulous time teaching yesterday. I love teaching.
• The clematis outside my window has been slowly turning from white to pink over the last few days. I see now that I've gotten closer to take the photo, it's not really pink at all. From my window though, it looks pink. The yard is otherwise fairly drab and that soft pink haze draws my eyes each morning. It's beautiful to see as I sit here, it lends a pink glow to my thoughts and these days, that glow is profoundly welcome.

I think this is clematis. My Mother had several different kinds of this flower and this is the same thing which she called clematis, but I'm not sure she had that right. It doesn't look at all like the other flowering kinds she grew which I know are clematis. It's more like a wispy, delicate flower. From a distance, it almost looks like a vining astillbe. I think I'll try to confirm today that it is really clematis. And, I think this weekend that I'll turn some of it into wreaths. Whatever it is called, my mother used to make beautiful, fall wreaths from it and share with all her friends and family.

I hope your weekend is filled with Autumn delights. Apple cider sounds just right, don't you think? ~Lee

Weekend To-Do

Looks like a stay-at-home most of the time weekend. I like those. Things have been slipping around here and I'm anxious to get caught up again.

• Friday night is a cleaning night. I'd like to get a handle on all those piles of things here and there. You know the ones - a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
• Really clean the bird cages and mats beneath them. I'm facing a reality that it may be time to consider re-homing my birdies. I don't much like that reality, but with kids and activities they just aren't getting much attention.
• Maybe re-till the garden spot and cover in newspaper. I'm coming around to the PNW mentality that comfrey is a nuisance. It's EVERYWHERE.
• Really, still on my list is to re-cover the sewing room chairs and put together the vintage highchair that I brought home for Chase. The reality is that he'll likely never sit there but I still want the project completed. Does anyone else do that?
• Water and prune my houseplants - they're looking kind of sorry.
• Put the proper bed frame on my bed and attach the footboard. Ummm that will be different, sleeping with a footboard. I wonder if I'll like it?
• Finish getting my winter clothes in order and doing the last bit of organizing in my sewing room

Sounds like a lot! I hope to get most of it done on Friday night so that I can focus on some cupcakes for Cash' birthday. If I stick to it Friday night we can have most of the weekend for fun, relaxed family time. This is pretty interesting to see which items stay on my list from week to week. We'll see.

Cheers!

Such a Boob!

OH man....I got this Beautiful ATC in the mail today. Isn't that just the cutest thing? I'm always so touched when I get sweet little gifts in the mail. And, in this case, a tiny bit humiliated.

You see, my mother for several years in her life, made lovely little "paintings" by using dried flowers. I remember at the time being awestruck by these small trasures and I so wish that I had one now to remember her. I had not known, as a teenager (gasp!) that my mother had ever sewn anything by hand. She did all sorts of crafts - mostly using dried flowers. She made baskets and taught basket weaving, she did floral arranging and had beautiful gardens. But, somehow, in all of her talents and gifts, I'd never seen her hand sew not one single item. Even suddenly torn hems were oft repaired with a bit of whatever kind of tape she could find at hand. So, when I glimpsed by mother, hand sewing tiny, delicate dried flowers onto a fabric background, I was awestruck. So, when I saw the swap for beginners flower ATC; I was anxious to join in.

Did I mention that I have never yet, no not once, created a paper craft that I've been pleased to call my own? Okay, I've made a couple of pretty passable Christmas cards but in general, I've no talent, skill or experience at paper crafts. But, I so wanted to try my hand at this flower gig. I fancied myself creating something like my mother had so beautifully crafted - only on a much smaller scale. Truly, a beginner's attempt.

The more I thought about it - the more intimadated I became. I thought perhaps I'd make a fabric ATC...but I let myself run out of time. I thought about it and worried about it, considered this design and that; looked all over the web for designs I might copy and finally simply had to "do SOMETHING." My swap was late to go into the mail, and then returned as I'd copied the address incorrectly. By the time my item was returned, I'd received my swap in the mail.

This is what I created


I almost didn't put it into the mail that second time around. Almost. But then I remembered this. My mother was doing flowers for a very large wedding. She asked me to help. We sat, she and I, in the empty hall behind the church where the affair was to take place. I watched her and I sweated. With just a few twists of her wrist, reaching here, tying there, grabbing this and that, she created just perfect bouquets and arrangements. She must have seen me struggle, she must have sensed my doubt. I knew well enough about floral tape and wire and how to technically create a bouquet. But! Hers were so beautiful! Finally, time running out, and exasperated with my hesitation she said to me (with more than a slight edge to her voice), "Relax, LeeAnn! How can you go wrong with flowers and ribbon?"

Indeed.

Weekend To-Do List

My boarder has secured his own living situation. It's amazing how the absence of just one quiet person can make such a difference! Maybe by Sunday night my sewing room can look (almost) like this again and my daughter and I can re-organize our space. I am eager to begin to making this place our home. I'm hoping that very soon I can get back to some un-finished projects. There's that pincushion with little teeny, tiny stitches that I started, and of course, the Chase blanket and a couple of over-due swap ATCs. So! Off we go, organizing again so that life can get back to normal - whatever that is. Hopefully pics of FOs coming soon.

Finish washing all the bedding left behind by my boarder - this requires a trip to the laundromat I think

CLEAN really CLEAN the bathroom

Get all my books back on the bookshelves which are now back in my sewing room (I already tried to get Grandson Number One to organize cookbooks and not cookbooks - he made a laudable attempt!)

Re-build the shelves in my sewing room which were emptied to create a bedroom for my grandsons

Finish bringing down the items from the upstairs closet which were once in my sewing room and get the onto the shelves

Move my sewing table back into place

Move my cutting table back into place

Clean bird cages (no bold, no caps!)

Make something yummy for dinner at least once this weekend

Finish covering the sewing room chairs

Finish putting the highchair together

It's not as bad as it sounds. The grandsons will help!

I hope you're all having a splendid weekend, that it's not too rainy and that you visit your local farmer's market before it's too late.