All posts by Sherry

Calendar Day

Journal

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Right Hand of Friendship

I worked on some calendar blocks today. I had one block cut out and made two from scratch. I’m sure I have enough blocks for two (maybe more) quilt tops but I’ll wait until we go to Texada as I have a really good design wall over there. Looking at the dates on these two I’m not sure if I’m ahead or behind!

January 6 – Prairie Flower
July 12 – Illinois Rose

Pat and I watched an interesting virtual tour of Belfast this afternoon. It dealt a lot with the history of Ireland and the Troubles. This is the second virtual tour I’ve seen on Ireland and this was much better than the previous one. I guess it is hit and miss depending on the tour guide; the guide we had for the Amalfi Coast was also excellent. Check out other tours here.

Pat has an online engagement tonight and I’ll spend some time at my computer catching up on some archiving.

Spring is here

Journal

Monday, February 22, 2021

If the sunshine today wasn’t a clear sign that spring is on its way, what I found on my deck today made it certain.

I have several white ones opening in another container and I expect they will be fully out tomorrow.

Time to get out there and tackle the weeds.

The German Girl

Books

Author: Armando Lucas Correa

Although I enjoyed the book, it is the true story that it was based on that I found more interesting. In 1939, 937 Germans boarded the MS St. Louis expecting to disembark in Cuba and escape the ever-increasing anti-Semitic persecution in Berlin. Before they could board they had to purchase visas and purchase return tickets although there was never any intention to return. They also had to turn over all their possessions for this one chance to escape.

When the transatlantic liner docked in Havana the entry rules had changed and only 28 passengers were allowed to enter the city. The remainder, after being turned away by the United States and Canada, were allowed entry into the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and France. With the exception of those who landed in the UK, it was only a short time before they were submitted again to the persecution they had hoped to escape and many died in concentration camps before the end of the war.

The novel is told from the point of view of Hannah, a 12-year old at the time of the crossing, and Anna her 12 year-old great niece. Hannah and her mother were able to land in Cuba but her father, her best friend and his father were sent away. Life in Cuba was not easy for the family as they always felt unwanted. Anna’s father, Hannah’s nephew, was killed in the 9/11 towers before Anna was born. Anna knew very little about her father and during a trip to Havana the gaps in Hannah’s story are filled in.

Goodreads Rating: * * *

How much is my time worth?

Journal

Sunday, February 21, 2021

I got through a lot of my filing cabinet yesterday. There was three years of our personal papers as well as a couple of years of Pat’s business that were no longer needed. As I cleared them out I thought it would take me the rest of the year to shred the papers, not to mention that I’d probably wear out the shredder.

So I turned to my friends on Facebook to see if anyone knew of a commercial shredder. Turns out there are a couple in town but I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if they are still operating under Covid-19 restrictions. Someone said one of the groups will actually come to the house and pick it up. It is going to cost me some money, but I think my time is worth something and I’ll certainly enjoy that time doing something else.

The something else I’ve been busy with today is my cross stitch ornaments. I finished my second January piece and I’m working on the two February patterns.