Monday, October 24, 2016

I’m almost ready for our concert tomorrow night. We have a Sold Out show, with a waiting list, so I’m happy about that.

I started my laundry this morning while I got some packages ready for the mail. I intended to have my Hallowe’en treats in the mail much sooner but the cards took longer than I anticipated; or it may have been a case of having less time to work on them than I anticipated. They all should arrive before Hallowe’en though and that is the main thing. In fact there will be two packages going to Maple Ridge; at the bottom of a pile of things I was sending to Saskatoon I found something I missed adding to Dylan and Taylor’s package. Rather than open the box and repackage it I just sent another envelope to Taylor.

After making my stop at the Post Office I went and got groceries. One of our performers is a vegetarian so we are serving a veggie chili with quinoa. I’ll also make a corn bread for those of us who can have gluten but the performer who can’t will have to settle for some gluten-free toast (provided she will accept a shaken-out toaster). She isn’t celiac so we have some leeway. We’ll have an extra person for dinner as well; one of my quilting friends lost her husband recently so I asked her to come to dinner and be our guest at the show. I’ll pick her up and drive her home so she can relax for the evening.

Pat and I cooked the chili after lunch today so it will just be a warm-up tomorrow night. We did that last week and found it worked out well; the cooking dishes can be washed and put away well in advance, and the meal tastes just as good (if not better) by sitting for a day. I’ll make the corn bread after I get home from the bee tomorrow.

I’ve got the beds and bathrooms all cleaned and ready. We’ll set up the chairs in the living room tonight (our concert area) and I’ll be off to quilting tomorrow. Neither rain nor house concert can keep me from the bee!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

For my birthday Pat enrolled me in a Cedar Basket making class; I spent the past two days in the workshop and completed my first basket. Traditionally you are supposed to give your first basket away but mine won’t go far as I’ve given it back to Pat. I always appreciated the work that went into these woven baskets but I will appreciate it even more now. The class was taught by a young Tla’ammin woman with her mother lending assistance; lunches were provided by the General Store and were delicious on both days. Of course you could serve me bannock with pretty much anything and I’d be happy.

The slats used for weaving are made from red cedar, and the darker strip at the bottom is red cedar that has been soaked in a rusty nail bath. The twining has been done with yellow cedar (on the bottom and the top), sinew (around the button) and raffia (the purple). The design was completely left up to us; there are certainly elements I would change if I had the option but I doubt I’ll make another one. The materials aren’t easy to come by and they take a lot of prep work – all information that we weren’t given. I know that the yellow cedar is more valuable as it is grown at higher altitudes; the red cedar is gathered in the Spring when the whole family go out to collect it. The button is mother-of-pearl but I used it to represent abalone which is very rare so I only added one to each side.

It has been a busy week and here are some of the other things I’ve had time to work on.

At the Tuesday bee I put the final border on my Blossoms quilt.

I enjoyed the evening of Rework, even though the stitches were not new to me. I’m not sure how I’ll finish this off; it is meant to be a heart ornament. I traced the cutting line but then started my embroidery on the line. I may have enough border to still cut out the heart shape or I may finish it off in some other manner.

My busy days are not over yet. I’ll be cleaning (a little) and cooking for Tuesday’s House Concert. One of our performers is vegetarian and gluten-free so I’m hoping to get my vegetarian chili made tomorrow and I’ll make gluten-free corn bread to be served hot from the oven. I invited a quilter to be my guest at the concert and will pick her up in time to have dinner with us. Wednesday is our Cranberry Hall Board meeting; Saturday and Sunday I’ll be taking part in the Community Quilts weekend at the Guild.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Last night’s event was frustrating and annoying! It didn’t help that I was already tired before heading out in the rain for my embroidery workshop. I wasn’t familiar with the location but when I Googled the address I realized it wasn’t going to be hard to find. Carola and I set out in plenty of time; the instructor had said she’d be there by 5:45 and so that was when we arrived. We found a spot in the parking lot and headed out in the rain for the front door; it was shut tight. Carola noticed a sign saying that for entry after hours we were to go around the building to the back entrance. That door was also locked. We asked everyone we saw about the class but no one knew anything about it.

At that point, because no one else was looking for the event, we decided to check in at the University as it was co-sponsoring the event. When we got there Carola waited in the car while I went to investigate. I found a couple of people who weren’t able to tell me anything but I eventually found someone who confirmed that the Fibre Space group was definitely in the building we had just been at. So we drove back and started over.

This time when we arrived there was a car parked (illegally I think) right in front of the front door. We parked and headed back to the door but it was still locked. We were lucky that someone was passing by and let us into the building. When we found the designated room there was a note on the door saying the class had been cancelled because the instructor had injured her back.

By the time we got back home I was fuming. I wrote an email to the instructor asking about three things. Why didn’t they advise us by e-mail since they had managed to send out the supply list to everyone just a week before? Why was the cancellation notice not posted on the outer doors? Why was no one else around looking for the class? Her response was that they had notified everyone by phone and email and the note on the door was more for the daytime group. This was the second class in a series of five or six, but the only one I registered for. It was an administrative error that my name was added to the first session and, after the first session, I had been listed as a “no show”.

The instructor is doing the class next Wednesday but I won’t be able to go because I have a Cranberry Hall board meeting. She and I are trying to work out something but whatever we do won’t happen until after I get back from Houston.

Today was meant to be an office day but since I didn’t have a lot of time (and I had a lot of office work to do) I finished the stitching on the last Hallowe’en project. These “little” projects took much longer than I expected so I’m behind on my Advent Calendar. As far as I know there are no quilting deadlines (and I’ll miss the next meeting) so I’ll continue to focus on cross stitching until it is done.

We’re off to the movie this afternoon and I have my redwork workshop tonight at the Guild.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

We had a great concert last night. Both Mary (Flower) and Nathan (Tinkham) had been here before; Mary for our very first House Concert and Nathan came with Cindy Church for a Cranberry Hall concert. It was like having “old friends” join us and they were both very appreciative of our hospitality. Mary did a wonderful job of promoting our House Concert series at the show last night and I think we’ve picked up a few more followers because of her.

I offered Butter Tarts (because I had more than a few) for dessert at supper last night. Mary had never heard of a Butter Tart; Nathan and Pat tried to explain to her what they were. When I brought some to the table she wasn’t sure how to eat it. She was surprised they came out of the foil and weren’t as messy as she assumed they would be.

After the concert I offered some Pumpkin Slice (because I had more than a bit) and the entire concept of a slice was lost on her. She envisioned a slice of pumpkin similar to a slice of orange – not tempting! She opted for a bagel and cheese before going to bed. This morning I jokingly offered more pumpkin slice and, after an explanation of what it was, she took a small container along for the road trip back to Victoria.

Obviously political views are not the only difference between Americans and Canadians! Nathan had a good explanation for Trump supporters; Trump allows all the closet bigots and chauvinists to come out of the closet. We traded a few Trump jokes and stories around the table.

I’m off to my Sashiko and Boro embroidery class tonight. This afternoon, while I do a couple of loads of laundry, I’ll work on (and maybe finish) my last Hallowe’en cross stitch project.