I don't know what I want to be when I grow up.  

Do I have to choose?

Got home from my Gees Bend Quilting Retreat Thursday afternoon to find this on my back porch: 

I had forgotten an impulse purchase of a bag of 50 daffodil bulbs, and did not get them planted in November.  Found them in March, planted them in pots on my covered porch.  First bloom!  More will follow soon.  I'm the only person on the mountain with daffodils this late in the season! Ha! 

These are my quilts from the workshop:

I'll have to show you more detail after I decide what to do with them.  These two are my favorites:

I need to explain these two quilt-tops.  The top one, the little 9-patch, is a "granny square" that is inspired by a quilt that my Mom's Mom (Maw-Granny) made from flour sacks and old dresses.  I may have to build a whole quilt of these!

The bottom one is as close as I could get to a "Gees Bend" style.  I have an unhealthy obsession with symmetry, and the crazy border is the result of my trying to cut loose and cut up - literally.  Still pretty symmetrical.  I have a long way to go...

The portrait in the middle is a screen print of a painting of the Madonna, done by Victoria - she even signed it!  I also have signatures of other quilters who were inspirational and helpful (Kim and Anna Maria), including Mary Anne and China, the Gees Bend quilters.  I need to get Cathy to sign it, too - she's the reason I came on the retreat, and she is a gem - smart, engaging, sweet - and talented.

Almost three days of quilting!  Then, today, I had to start rescuing the house.  Yuck.  Anything - anything - distraction!  I found two leftover pineapples from Easter, so I decided to try to make the pineapple-infused vodka for Firebird's-style martinis.  I think it has to sit for 21 days:

Then we went to a nursery to get:

• a new bowl for the birdbath (check!)
• flowers for the planters at the mailbox (check!)
• a water-feature for the area in front of the swing in the yard (fail - keep looking)

 I need to get back to my sewing room.

Dinosaur Sciv. But we like dinos, right?

My grandmother taught me to sew when I was very young - definitely younger than 10, because I remember sewing in their old house in Belview Heights. Cross-stitch, knitting, needlepoint, machine-sewing - I have unfinished projects from every genre. I experimented with making a few clothing items as a teen, did sporadic hand embroidery projects in college (embroidery on denim was trendy then). After college, I probably had a 10 year hiatus. Then, after the girls came along, I started borrowing Mom's machine to do repair work. I finally bought a $85 Singer to make Halloween costumes. I've been using that $85 Singer since I retired last June - tried quilting on it: discovered it is great for piecing, fine for simple quilting on small pieces, and very sad and frustrating when trying to quilt a full-size quilt.

New adventure - Pfaff computerized sewing machine. Not the newest, jillion-dollar machine. The next-to-newest, last one in the store, floor-model, at-a-discount (! or not...) machine. Still pretty nifty. Stay tuned to this channel.

Dear Betty Richards Wilson, …This was a BUCKET LIST experience! I left you detailed notes about each class. I CANNOT POSSIBLY begin to tell you everything that happened. It was WILD – it was PRECIOUS – I don’t know if I have the “cahonas” to do it again. I’d like to think I’m brave enough to try. Note to self – do NOT accept a lesson plan that includes SPANISH lyrics and DANCE STEPS. As a T...ERMINALLY CLUTZY, non-ESPANOL-speaking old lady, this was more than a challenge. OK. Even though I had 2 years of Spanish, a year of French, a year of German, a short course in conversational Italian, and many, many units in church-Latin, none of these prepared me for the child in the 2nd grade class who exclaimed, “Mrs. Scivley! Johnny touched my privates!” OK – so what do you say to THAT? I said (NOT knowing exactly who Johnny was, of course) – “Ignore him, and move over here!” One of the funniest moments was when Ms. Weems popped her head in the door and said “Can you sub for…???” and I said, basically, “NO! I only do MUSIC!!!” Frankly, the thought of a 2nd or 3rd grade class of precious, precious children ALL DAY LONG freaks me out BEYOND BELIEF. I want to go on record as saying that I firmly believe that EVERYONE HAS A PLACE IN LIFE, and that I KNOW THAT MY PLACE was with 16, 17 & 18 YEAR OLDS, with the occasional 15 YEAR OLD thrown in. I am COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY AMAZED at what our elementary and middle school teachers do - they are MUNCHKIN-WHISPERERS. How does one talk to these wonderful little creatures? I tried – I sang to them. I tried to play with them. After I calmed down a little, after day #2, I think I was actually having fun. I had to laugh when one little boy, whom I allowed to go to the privy during roll-call, came back and exclaimed, “Mrs. Scivley! I could hear you ALL THE WAY IN THE BATHROOM!!!” OK. I’m loud, and I’m a little nervous. I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, for His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. Warmest regards, Suzanne Scivley

It's hard to read when there's background music playing in your head.

(From January 7, 2012)

This morning I’m wandering around in Bible.com, looking for a passage about encouragement – needing a boost to adjust my attitude – about lots of things. After reading several short passages, I settle into first Samuel and read a story about David rescuing the captured wives and children of Israel and dividing the spoils of the battle among those who were brave enough to fight. Interesting, make...s me think of the battle scenes in the Gabaldon book I’m rereading (Outlander), but not exactly what I’m looking for. So I keep looking. Wander over to Isaiah 41. Good Stuff. Isaiah 43. Also good. Then, I find what I need this morning. Isaiah 40. I know I’ve hit the sweet spot when the music starts in my head and distracts my reading to the point of – well, distraction. I’m barely in, at verse 3, when I hear the voice of John the Baptist, calling to me from Godspell – you know the song – that pure vocal, that amazing opening call to us – PRE-E-E-PARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD….! Then, in the very next verse, Handel grabbed my head and I heard EVERY VA-ALLEY… and the song changed again, in verse 5, to a raucous AND THE GLORY, THE GLORY OF THE LORD …. SHALL BE RE-E-E-VE-E-E-E-EA-LED… And the running passages start tripping through my little attention deficit brain like background music. This goes on, and I finally make it to the end of the chapter. At verse 31, my head does a weird little Google-Earth flyover, carried on the eagle’s wings, to sing with the choir at Sumatanga. Hmmm – that was 1995 at MAW, I think. I’m encouraged, now.