What I've Been Doing Instead of Quilting

Well, the sewing is just not happening. I grab a few minutes here and there, but not enough to blog about. The list of things I WANT to make keeps growing, but between house stuff, christmas stuff, and just pure laziness, somehow quilting is falling to the bottom of the priority list.

Here's a recap of what I've been doing instead:

I've discovered that home ownership comes with lots of trips to Home Depot. Lightbulbs, weatherstripping stuff, little weird screws I don't know the name of, returning lightbulbs because they're the wrong size, looking at rugs, coming back to buy a rug, command strips, garbage cans, a strip of wood to hang a quilt with, more lightbulbs, looking at christmas trees, coming back to buy a christmas tree...it's a good thing Home Depot is about 6 blocks away from me.

My sister told me about this show this summer and said she stayed up almost all night watching it. At the time I thought that sounded silly and foolish - staying up all night for a stupid TV show? Well...I did the same thing last weekend. This show has serial killers! Sexually fluid detectives! Scottish accents! Cliffhanger endings! Plus it's only like 10 episodes long, so you can enjoy your binge in a day and then go back to normal life and things like regular pants and tooth brushing. Strangely enough, I also found this to be one of the most feminist shows I've seen, which is another reason I think I loved it so much.

It's been awhile since I've read a book that has engaged me right from the get-go and that I think about throughout the day. This is a murder mystery narrated by three different women, and because they're either alcoholic, mentally unstable, devious liars, or all three you can't really trust what anybody says. This makes for a disorienting but compelling read. I haven't finished it - I have about 80 pages left, and still no clue whodunnit.

Scrappy String Blocks

So, I'm all moved in and will be posting a few pictures soon. My sewing room is set up, and I've been working on a few little projects here and there.

When I was packing up my old sewing room, I found a box of scrappy string blocks I'd sewn together almost three years ago and had forgotten about. The blocks were all finished, I just needed to sew them together into to top.



Strings are what quilters call scraps that are strips. We always have oodles of these leftover from squaring up fabric or from making blocks. These are are constructed using plain white fabric as a foundation, and then sewing the strings on top of it. Because it's two layers of fabric, this quilt top as a bit of extra heft to it that I like.

This was the first thing I worked on in my new room, and it was a perfect easy project to have to get back in the swing of things. I found a few other forgotten treasures while I was packing, so I'm working on getting some of those finished up.

The One Where I DID Buy a House!

So, awhile back I almost bought a house, and it was a whole stressful undertaking which ultimately left me all bitter and houseless, vowing that the whole home ownership thing was a senseless racket and that I was going to live in my housemates attic FOREVAH!

But that was so August. In just a few days I close on my new house, and it all went down without the stomach-aches or headaches or any icky stuff that happened last time.

This is a little townhome, located close to lakes and trails and fun shopping and restaurants. I haven't written about it up until now because it seemed like I was always waiting for something to go well - waiting for my offer to be accepted, waiting for the inspection, waiting for the appraisal, waiting for the SECOND appraisal, waiting for underwriting...and now...nothing. There are no more hurdles to clear, and in three days I'll get the keys to my new place.

The blog has been quiet lately, because, you know - packing. And it will mostly likely be quiet for a little longer because...unpacking. Once I get settled in and my new sewing room set-up, we'll be back to business as usual. Except I'll be a homeowner!

Snapshots Quilt Along: August and September

After getting back into town, I've hardly been able to sit down and sew. Part of this has to do with the fact that my jetlag has been hell, and I've been stumbling to bed at 8 p.m.!

I've been running a little behind on my Snapshots blocks, so I finally sat down and cranked two of them out last night. 

The August block is called "Like Riding a Bike". The tiny little pinwheel flowers were a pain in the neck, but aren't they cute!

September was "Quilty Cat". I'll need to sew on little button eyes, but not till after it's been quilted.

I'm hoping to get more sewing time in this weekend. Maybe I can stay up late. Till like 9 or 10 at least!

Israel: Day 10 & 11

We got back home late last night, and I want to make sure I do my final post before I get swept back up into work and other regular life stuff.

Our last day in Israel was jam-packed as per usual. Our first stop was the Pools of Bethesda, where Jesus healed a crippled man. There was a pretty Catholic Church there too called St. Anne's - famous for its acoustics. Our group tested them out by singing Amazing Grace.

After that we walked part of the Via Delorosa, which tradition says is where Jesus walked with his cross on the way to crucifixion. 

We started the route in the Arab Quarter, and finished at the Church of the Holy Sepluchure in the old city. We wound our way through a bazaar with lots of Arab shops and vendors and other pilgrims saying prayers or singing at various Stations of the Cross on the way. 

In the Catholic tradition, the Church of the Holy Sepelchure is the site of Golgotha (where Jesus was crucified), and also where he was buried. 

It's been the site of a church for over a thousand years, and is really a fascinating place with lots of side chapels and nooks and crannys. They've done archeological excavations and have uncovered artifacts and relics from the 2nd century. There are 7 different denominations and sects that share custody of the church now, and apparently this causes no end of trouble and arguments. 

Mickey said the church is in desperate need of various repairs but nothing ever gets done because they can't agree on who's responsible for what. In fact, they couldn't even agree on who should be trusted to lock the place up at night, so a Muslim family is in charge of that. 

As we were leaving, all of a sudden who should walk by but Morgan Freeman! We all stopped and gaped at him while it looked like he was getting a tour from some lady. 

We found out later that he was in Israel filming a National Geographic special, and the lady he was with was Jodi Magness, a famous archeologist. So that was our celebrity sighting!

We then walked to the south end of the Temple Mount and viewed some of the ruins there. 

It's a popular spot for bar mitzvah's, and there were a few going on while we were there. Some people in our group joined in with the families dancing. 

We then had two hours by Joppa Gate for lunch and shopping. Mom and I wandered through the bazaar for a little bit, but I just don't care for that kind of hi-pressure shopping experience. 

I like to browse in peace without getting harassed! And honestly, there just wasn't much there that appealed to me. Mom already got her sandals in Tiberious, which was her main shopping goal, so I can't say we were very good shoppers! We found a nice spot for lunch and just relaxed for awhile and people-watched.

I developed a yucky headache during the day, so I was relieved when Mickey said we'd stop at the hotel first before going to our last place of the day, and I just decided to stay put. It meant that i missed out on seeing the Garden Tomb, where Protestants think Jesus was buried, but I was just feeling too crappy. Mother went and said it was really special - they sang together and had a communion service. I took two Advil and a long nap and woke up feeling much better. 

We went down for one last quick dinner, then worked on packing. 

We were in bed early, since our wake up call was set for 3:45 a.m...yikes!

Our travel day home was pretty uneventful, but exhausting. I wish we didn't have to end international trips with sleep deprivation and stress - it's just an icky note to end on! But we survived and I was home and in bed by 2 a.m.

I'm still working on digesting the trip and what my thoughts are exactly with the whole experience, and maybe I'll share those on here once I have a little more clarity. In the meantime, I'm excited to catch up on sleep and to get back to quilting! So back to regular programming...but first a few final pics!

Israel: Day 9

We were back to our old routine of 6 a.m. wake-up call, 7 a.m. breakfast, and on the bus by 8 a.m., which I was happy about. That whole 5:50 business yesterday threw my nice routine off! I also really liked the extra hour of sleep we got.

After breakfast (they were making pizzas!) our first stop was The City of David, which is the site of ancient Jeresulem, and where they think King David had his palace. 

We watched a 3D orientation movie, and Mickey showed us around the ruins before leading to the culmination if the whole thing for most people, which was getting to wade through King Hezekiahs water tunnel.

King Hezekiah had this built to protect their water source when Israel was preparing for siege by the Assyrians, and now tourists can wade through it. The water is between thigh-high to knee deep, and it's also pitch black in there.

Mother was all prepared to do it - she had her water shoes with her, and I bought her a little flashlight at the gift shop. I decided to pass, and took a different older tunnel (which was dry) which came out at the Pool of Siloam, where Jesus healed a blind man. We met up with the the water tunnelers there too, and here's how it went for mother in her own words: "My hiked up skirt was a fabulous idea, and aside from one really short spot where the water went up to my thigh, it pretty much was maybe low mid calf the whole way, and it felt refreshing and surprisingly narrow at spots. And it would have been scary without my cute little David's Harp keychain flashlight that Ruthann purchased for me for 10 shekels."

We had a short bus ride to the Western Wall at the Temple Mount where we spent about 15 minutes. 

Mother had a very emotional experience praying at the wall, and I observed others praying and peeked over at the men's side to see what they were up to (more praying!).

We then had an appointment to tour the underground tunnels under the Western wall. Our group split into two, since they don't allow large tours, and mom and I were with Mickey. They started excavating the tunnels in 1967, and it's been an ongoing project ever since. My favorite part was seeing the massive stones used to build the wall, and how they were perfectly joined so that you could barely fit a needle in the crevices. 

When we came out of the tunnels it was raining, and we had a bit of a walk back to our bus. It wasn't pouring, but just enough to be inconvienient. We drove to Yad Vashem, the holocaust museum. We ate lunch in the cafeteria first, which was very good, and then had almost two hours to tour the museum on our own. 

The museum was very well done, starting in the 30's with the organized rise of anti-semitism and Hitler coming into power, right through to the Nuremberg Trials and survivors coming to Israel and starting a new nation. Of course, the whole thing was emotionally draining, but so important, and as Mickey told us "Evil is allowed to flourish when good men do nothing". Being here with a Christian tour group made me especially conscious of this, as western Christians as a whole turned their back on the Jews leading up to and during the holocaust. Lots to think about during our rainy ride back to the hotel.

I've been having problems with my ankles swelling up, so I iced and elevated them for a bit back in our room, then took a nice hot bath to counteract the chill! We had a good dinner together, and now I'm ready for bed.

Tomorrow is our last day in Israel!

Israel: Day 8

Welł, after 8 days of non-stop sightseeing, I finally hit the wall. I'm sick and tired of ruins. There - I said it!

We hit the ground running with a 5:50 wake-up call. We got dressed and headed out to the bus before eating breakfast, all so that we could be on the Mount of Olives before any of the other tourist buses were out. The plan worked, because we were the only ones there! 

We walked down the Mount of Olives into the Garden of Gethsemene, which is now a Catholic Church.

Mickey said that in Jesus' time  it wouldn't have been a garden, it would have been more like an olive grove, grown for commercial purposes. 

Another interesting fact is that Jesus was probably more of a stonemason than a carpenter. ANOTHER fun fact: In the bible where it talks about Eagles, it's actually talking about buzzards. So there are your Bible Knowledge Facts for the day.

After our sunrise sightseeing, we went back to the hotel where we finally had our breakfast, including some much needed coffee. Breakfasts here are weird...they have normal breakfast foods like yogurts and granola and eggs..,but then they throw in crazy stuff like cheesecake and pasta and pickles. I'm not complaining, mind you, but it's a fresh novelty every morning.

After regrouping, it was back on the bus to see the Dead Sea scrolls. We saw the place where they were written and hid back at Qumran a couple days ago, so I was looking forward to seeing some of the scrolls themselves. They're housed at the Israel Museum, which is a big complex with several different buildings. We started at a scale model of old Jeresulem, so we could get oriented to key locations of things during Jesus' time.

Then we went into the special building for the scrolls, called "The Shrine of the Book". The building was designed to look and feel like the inside of one of the clay jars that the scrolls were found in. 

It was very impressive, and the scrolls were beautifully displayed, with lots of interesting explanations and displays. 

After that, Mickey led us to the main museum building, and let us loose for awhile. There were lots of artifacts from all the different ruins we'd seen earlier - weapons and jewelry and pottery and little gods and goddesses and mosaics. They did a good job displaying it chronologically, and I liked looking at the spots where the found everything and recognizing the names - Megiddo, Qumran, Beth Shan, En Gedi- those places actually mean something to me now!

There was not nearly enough time at the museum, as there were whole art and textile wings I didn't get to, but oh well - it's important to save something for next time!

After meeting back up with Mickey and the bus, we headed into Bethlehem, which is only a few miles away from Jeresulem, which I didn't realize before. We went to a shop that one of Mickey's friends owns, a Palestinian Christian named Joseph. 

He shared with us how he converted to Christianity, then introduced us to his whole family who also work at the shop, and then we shopped! There were lots of nativity scenes carved from olive wood, and ornaments and jewelry. I didn't buy anything, but mother got a pretty bracelet made from Eliat stone, native to Israel, and an olive wood ornament.

I was really excited to see the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square, but instead Mickey took us to see another of Herods palaces. I must say, I'm really sick if Herod and all of the stuff he built. Mickey said that we could see a shrine any old place, but we can only see the ruins of Herod in Israel. 

In retrospect, I think he kept us out of the city center because of the violence that's been going around that area. Things were especially ramped up last night with it being the anniversary of the biblical matriarch Rachel's death.

But for whatever reason, no shrine for me! I know they don't really know the exact place where everything happened, but I think sometimes years of belief and devotion can render a place sacred even if nothing "real" ever happened there, and I was looking forward to that. Stupid Herod ruined all my plans!

I was crabby and exhausted, but once we got back to the hotel, a quick nap solved everything. We had a nice dinner, and soon it's bed. The time changes here tonight, so we get an extra hour of sleep. I'm very excited for that!

Israel: Day 7

Well, an hour ago I was determined to go to bed early and skip the blogging, but then I had dinner and got a second wind...so I guess the daily recap will continue!

I had a fabulous deep sleep after our soak in the healing minerals of the Dead Sea, and I didn't wake up until almost 8 a.m. when I heard some weird rattling at our door. I went to see what was going on out there, and it turned out to be mother, in her swimsuit coming back from an early swim. 

She had joined some overachievers from our group who decided to get up early and watch the sunrise while floating in the sea.

We packed, ate breakfast, and were loaded on the bus by 10:30. Goodbye fabulous Dead Sea!

Masada was our first stop, and everyone was excited for that. For one thing, its a place with great historical significance...but also, you ride a cable car to get up there! I love cable cars! 

We watched an orientation video, and Mickey talked to us about the significance of the site and location, and guided us around the ruins. I like when he does that, because I'm not always sure exactly what I'm looking at when I wander around ruins by myself. It's helpful to have someone who really knows stuff say "this is the bathhouse, and here's how they would heat the water", etc. 

We gathered in a shady spot and Dan read to us about what happened at Masada (long story short: Jewish stronghold, roman siege, Jews committed suicide rather than be enslaved by the Romans) and we stood at the place where the Romans broke through the wall with their battering ram.

We had lunch at the cafeteria there, and browsed around the gift shop a little before getting back in the bus and going to the oasis of En Gedi. This is where David hid from Saul, and it's a cool spot - there are waterfalls and lush trees and plants, all in the middle of the desert! We all walked to the first waterfall, and some people hiked further up to the top of the falls. I was with the other, smarter group (according to Mickey) who chose to stay back and dip our feet in the water and rest a bit.

After that it was on to Jeresulem, where we'll be for the remainder of our trip. It was an amazing moment to see a view of the city as we approached it - I spotted the golden Dome of the Rock. 

Once we got checked into our hotel, I crashed for a quick nap before mother and I headed to dinner. There are many groups from different countries staying here, and we all converged on the dining room at the same time, so things were chaotic. Dinner was good though, and now I'm definitely ready for bed! We have an early morning tomorrow as Mickey would like to get us out and about before everyone else to avoid the tourist rush.