Wednesday, June 20, 2018

There were a few drops of rain this morning and we briefly wondered if jackets were something we should think about before boarding the ferry. Pat checked the forecast and they hadn’t even predicted the small shower we did get so we left the house ready for the sun. And sun we got! We sat outside most of the way over to Comox. A humpback whale kept us company for a portion of the trip.

Peggy and Bill were waiting for us when we got off the ferry; they interrupted their camping so they could have lunch with us. We spent a couple of hours in their back yard – coffee, muffins and fresh strawberries from the garden – before heading for lunch. We had a spot on the deck of the restaurant that overlooked the ocean – a sighting of a seal and several boats. With an hour before ferry time we headed back to their yard – you couldn’t ask for a nicer place to sit with beautiful flowers, lots of shade, and a few water buffalo to keep us company.

We sat outside on the ferry part of the way back; we started out on the top deck but there wasn’t as much breeze as we wanted so we moved one deck lower. At one point, with the breeze, we were actually cool; I said that I wished I could somehow store the cool feeling and take it out again once we got to the house. I don’t know if it was the same whale or another one but we had another sighting on the way back.

The house has been closed up all day so it probably isn’t as warm as it would have been had we been here, but it doesn’t feel all the good. There is a breeze coming in though so hopefully it will cool down enough that we can get a good sleep. I hope the nap I had on the ferry doesn’t spoil my bedtime sleep.

I spent last evening sorting through my Farmer’s Daughter pieces and I think I’ll do the same tonight. I realized that this would be better use of my deck time than the cross stitching I have been doing. My goal is to have packages made up of each of the blocks so I can work on them one by one; I have a few bags where I need to do some extra English paper piecing before they can be attached.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

I don’t think it was quite as hot today as yesterday – at least today we had a bit of a breeze. I spent the evening out on the back deck cross stitching; it wasn’t exactly cool but at least it was out of the sun. I was happy to be stitching in a cool place today, although by the end of the day it didn’t feel quite as cool (at least until you walked outside).

I finished two more Farmer’s Wife blocks today – 97 of 111 are done so I may (fingers crossed) get it done in time for the quilt show in April. I’ve always said that the Farmer’s Wife and the Farmer’s Daughter had to go into the same show and, since I’ve just changed my entire thinking on the Farmer’s Daughter, that may be a stretch. As our Cranberry Hall president said in the budget meeting yesterday, “If you don’t set the bar high, why set it at all?”.

I had a Cranberry Hall deposit to make on my way home and then I came upstairs to take care of some paperwork and some tidying. We’re off to the Island tomorrow for the day – looking forward to a visit with Peggy and Bill. It will be nice to be out on the ferry deck with a breeze, particularly if it remains hot.

Monday, June 18, 2018

Although it was a quick trip, we had a great weekend with Christy and crew. We were there to watch the year-end performances of gymnastics (Taylor) and Parkour (Dylan). The kids had to be at the gym by 11 AM, the show didn’t start until 1:30 PM and lasted for two hours. They must have been so tired of “putting in time” and sitting around but they did well in their short performances. I took photos but they were moving so fast they are all pretty much a blur!

Because of all that sitting they were ready to burn off some steam when they got home. Christy and Rick hosted a BBQ down at the creek in honour of Father’s Day. Rick’s parents, his sister, husband and two kids, and his half-sister and her husband were there; everyone brought their dogs so there were more dogs than kids at the event. There was certainly no shortage of food and the kids and dogs enjoyed swimming in the creek. Rick may have taken fire starting lessons from Ray because he sure had a big one going. Fortunately there was also a small fire for roasting marshmallows for S’mores.

My allergies certainly acted up while I was there. The cotton was flying off the trees and I was hardly there a few hours before my throat was so sore it hurt to swallow. I was taking my allergy pills but even at home they only last a few hours. Just a few minutes after we left the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal my throat cleared up and I was fine. There is still a bit of “something” in the air at home but my one pill a day seems to keep everything at bay.

I had a Cranberry Hall budget meeting this morning and for the rest of the day I’ve been preparing for the Guild year-end party on Thursday. Each month throughout the year we’ve been assigned a row by row block and the complete project is due at the party. I had all my blocks done but it took all day to get them stitched together; everything was a different size and so I had to add a few fillers around several of the blocks. It is an awful looking project, but at least it is done!

Too hot to do much of anything else with the afternoon so I think I’ll relax in the shade on the back deck.

Thursday, June 14, 2018

I really wanted to do the Splendid Sampler 2 block that was released today; it was a pretty simple block and it wouldn’t have taken too much time. My deal with myself was I’d get a card finished and then I’d do the new block (x2 so I’d have a card ready the next time I needed it).

The card I was working on today seemed pretty simple; paper piecing with a bit of piecing as well. Not so. The pattern had you cut out specific sizes for the paper piecing; being as efficient as I am I cut out all the pieces for the card and another set (for my Splendid Sampler Second Time Around). Sadly those first pieces were too small; I made a note to myself and cut some more.

Again the pieces didn’t work on the angle they needed to be at. So I cut them extra large (although I had to switch fabrics so I’d have enough) and got on with it. But on the second one I missed one of the strips and that meant more cutting and starting that particular piece over.

I finally managed to get the top finished by lunch (a late lunch); I sandwiched and quilted it this afternoon. I’ll take the hand stitching to do on the ferry tomorrow (we’re off to Vancouver), along with some thread that Taylor has requested so I can fix a few of her stuffies.

We have the doll house, cabinet and furniture loaded into the truck. Since we are driving I have a couple more things I want to take to Christy’s.

I think there is time to pack before supper.