New Year, New Quilting Adventure

~ After closing LeafLady Quilts at the end of my last show in November of 2025, I needed a project to keep me at my machine and distract from the increasingly shitty world we are forced to endure. I found it, even before I officially retired from selling - A mystery quilt. I had recently run across Bonnie Hunter's postings on Threads and learned she is of a like mind when it comes to the current political landscape and makes no bones about it in her personal posts. I'm certain she has lost some of her audience as a result but did she really need them? ( I had followed her on social media back in the 2010s and stopped because she was way more productive that I could be and I was feeling bad that I couldn't keep up with her.) Anyway, I am in the midst of trying to catch up on the clues for her Lupine & Laughter Mystery Quilt. It's a scrappy thing, just what I need to reduce my holdings. I'm halfway through Clue 4 and have happily managed to use some of my Deb Tucker Studio 180 tools to complete some of the clues. A new clue drops every Friday and if I'm really diligent today, I will only be 3 clues behind when that happens tomorrow. And 2 of the next clues are mostly assembly of previously constructed/cut pieces so they should be quick. I ran into a bit of a bog with the half square triagles for clue 3 and had to re-sew the seam and rip out the previous seam on avout 1/3 of them. (Still not completed yet but I have enough to keep me moving forward. It's a joy to not have to make any decisions on this save for which fabrics to use. I'm sticking fairly close to Bonnie's suggested color palate, some scrappy, some not. Not even sure what the finished size will be. I plan to have it professionaly quilted (Probably Lynn at Whippersnappers) and will likely donate it for a raffle somewhere. ~ Other than that, the tree is down, the house undecorated. The outside lights are still in place due to the snow load but today promises a break in the frigid temps so there might be a chance to grab those lights by Saturday. There has been some shovelling and baking and decluttering taking me away from the sewing machine. ~ I have several runners designated as gifts for friends in appreciation for their years of support for my little business. I need to package up the ones to be mailed and write little notes for all. Get those out of the house. And I'm collecting things for donation to GoodWill, so they will get a box ot a bag or two. We need a new vacuum cleaner. And I could use a new chair for the studio - the current one slowly sinks over the course of the day to where it is too low to be comfortable. (What did I expect for $10 at the State surplus sale?) I also need to print off forms for the 3 throw quilts I'm donating to Hopes and Dreams for thier ALS challenge. I donated several previously, a couple of Judy's UFOs that I finished and one of my own. ~ Tai Chi starts again the last week of the month. ~ We had a nice dinneer out on Christmas Day at Otto's on the River in downtown Augusta. I finally got the prime rib I'd been wanting for months.

The Holidays are here...

...so why don't we feel very festive? Oh, maybe because we have a 79 year old toddler in charge of our country, who every day creates more chaos we have to process. Not one segment of our lives is safe from his meddling. We wake up wondering what fresh hell he will create today and go to bed exhausted by dealing with it. I'm firmly on the side of those who have the champagne on ice, ready for when the big announcement is made that he has finally expired. It seems as if he is being propped up by some miracle of modern medicine due to the severe bruising on one of his hands. It appears as if he nods off during cabinet meetings and other public events. He's always pictured sitting behind his desk in the oval office while everyone else stands behind and beside him. He rambles and rants incoherently when he speaks. Every public event is an opportunity for him to expound on why the Dems are to blame for everything. He's a true embarrassment to our country. This week he further cemented his grip on the title of Worst Human Being on Earth by opining that two of Hollywood's brightest and most creative people were murdered because of their political views - not because of an apparent dispute with a family member who took revenge too far. RIP Rob Reiner and his wife Michele. I was reminded just yesterday that among Rob's many fine directorial efforts is one of my favoties, The American President, which contains that amazingly relevant today speech by Michael Douglas as Andrew Sheppard. This speech was the total of Heather Cox Richardson's post for today and it hits so true. We desperately need serious people in Washington. ~ Show season is over for me, as is my run as LeafLady Quilts. The last two shows were good - Topsham was the best of the 3 years I had done that show and Scarborough was good. I just need to shut down the website and the Facebook page, make my final sales tax payment and figure out what to do with the leftover inventory, as well as all my booth setup. I've had some interest in parts but need to put it out there on Marketplace. ~ We got the tree up a week ago and the cookies are all made. Party mix on its second batch. I think I completed my shopping this morning. House is decorated. I put up the outside lights one morning at the beginning of a snowstorm that has left us with a few inches on the ground since. It's been so cold but supposed to warm up for a few days tomorrow. Now to do the cards and mail them, wrap the presents and enjoy. ~ In an effort to not lose all my quilting mojo, I decided to do a Bonnie Hunter project. I'm already 4 weeks behind schedule but will start sewing tomorrow. So far it's just creating small units - LOTS of small units. I stopped following Bonnie years ago because I just couldn't keep up with her. In the meantime, she has slowed down and it turns out she is vehemently anti-Trump. So she's back on my radar! ~ Finally made it to the Wayne Stroll last weekend. Was an enjoyable morning/afternonn with Brenda. Fun things and good lunch. We also checked out Freckle Salvage. ~ D. and I went to a concert Sunday afternoon. The Augusta Symphony Orchestra presented some holiday favorite - Nutcracker, a movie medley,Brandenberg Concertos and the Halelujah Chorus, sung by the CODA chorus. A saw Gabriella breifly but we did not stick around to reconnect after. Good music and great performances. Impressive for such a small emsemble.

Shut Down Over...?

~...for now. Likely to be revisited in January. I admit that Angus King disappointed me when he voted for the new rules which include a "promise" by the Republicans to revisit the ACA rebates in December. I can only imagine the excuses they are already cooking up why they can't do that at this time. Time will tell. At least for now, peoples' SNAP benefits are restored and we have some sort of breathing room. I have made 2 weekly donations to the Sidney Food Pantry. It's so easy to add a few things from their list to my cart. ~ Work continues on the last items for stock for the Topsham show. D. has said he'd help with set up unloading. We're doing Thanksgiving at home rather than in Topsham, as Kattie is moving back in. Her relationship/engagement fell apart (no surprise) and the fiance has decamped for his home in New York. I imagine I will hear all about it if she stops by the show and I will have to make it a point to not get trapped in my chair by her, because she can ramble on. ~ I've missed half of the Tai Chi classes this session so I need to recommit to that. It shows in that I cannot remember the routine once I get home. Must do better at that. ~ We had our first show thi week - just barely covered the ground and was gone by noon. A little more last night but nothing to worry about.

Catching Up

~ In a seemingly predictable move, Vice President JD Vance has telegraphed that he "hopes" his Indian-born Hindu wife, Usha, will convert to Catholicism. As this might be an unlikely outcome, he could divorce her and that would free him to pursue what appears to be an already public relationship with the widow to assasinated Right wing conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk. Vance made an appearance at a Turning Point event this past week at which the two embraced rather intimately, leading to much specualtion. ~ Meanwhile his boss was busy touting his success at solving world wars and the economy, while the Isrealis and Gazans are still killing each other. The government shutdown enters it 5th week today and as of yesterday all SNAP benefits were suspended. Food pantries are scrambling to make up the difference for everyone. And while this was going on, Trump was celebrating Halloween at Maralago with a Gatsby-themed party for his loyalists. And he boasted about having renovated the Lincoln bathroon, replacing a 40's vintage look with too much sterile marble and gold. This a week after he completely obliterated the East Wing of the White House without permits and environmental oversight. All to ostensibly build his gold encrusted ball room that no one else wants. ~ Me, I've been quilting up a storm and did my first show of the Fall season, the SMCC Fall Festival in Portland. Did only marginally better that last year at this show. And learned that the Elfin Magic show the first weekend on December has been cancelled due to lack of participants. So I have just 2 shows left - Topsham the weekend before Thanksgiving anf the Scarborough show the Friday and Saturday after. It's fine - more time for me to bake and decorate. ~ We had the floor and railing toppers of the back deck replaced last week. It's so much better than it was and they did a great job. We're all set for winter, as far as I can see. I need to do some major deep cleaning but it will happen. Looking forward to January when I can start knocking titles off my "to be read" list.

No Kings #2

~ Yesterday we opted for the Waterville location and only made it to the rally (not the march) as there was a previously scheduled vaccination appointment for the other person in this household. We lucked out with a parking spot right across the street from the park and stayed for about 45 minutes to hear several speeches and lots of cheering and chanting. There were people lining Elm Srteet, waving and elliciting honks and salutations (mostly positive) from the cars passing by. We did our duty and were part of the record crowd - 2000 strong - at that location. ~ And this morning, the toddler in chief posted an AI generated video of himself as King, flying a fighter jet spreading feces on No Kings protesters. It seems to be incredibly easy to trigger his insecurities but this is a new low in responses. And incredibly violent because he could not find any instances of violence to call out his goons on yesterday. He thrives on the most violent of actions, thinks it makes him look strong when all it does is reinforce his insecurities. ~ Yesterday it was announced that the Dept. of Homeland Security had purchased 2 new Gulfstream jets for the Secretary's use. All this during a government shutdown. Ah, I see! The government is shutdown for the common people and our needs, but not for the elites in "power" because, well, they are sooo f'ing important. It's just like the signage for Question 2 on this Fall's ballot - "Keep Maine Safe - vote NO on Question 2". A Yes vote would strengthen the language that would trigger a person's guns be confiscated - basically a Red Flag law as opposed to the current Yellow Flag law. The "Keep Maine Safe" language is coming from the 2nd Ammendment folks who want no limit on gun ownership, no matter the cost to human life. I just don't understand it. Of course, I would take away their military-style semi-automatics in a heartbeat. No one needs those guns and they are the ones who do the most damage in the shortest amount of time, which is why they are the weapon of choice for most mass shooting terrorists. ~ Getting ready for the first show of the Fall/Winter season next weekend. Almost finished creating inventory. Then it will be on to holiday items. Getting antsy for it and ready to wrap up this phase of my life. I want to spend the winter reading!

GOT TO ADMIT IT'S GETTING...WORSE!

~ Now we have a threat of armed National Guardsmen being deployed to Portland - the left coast one. Such a gentle, peaceful city. Yes, they had their moments of civil unrest in the past but they are nowhere near the "hellscape" a certain orange buffoon is making them out to be. As usual, he exagerates to inflame and foment unrest to appear strong when all he is doing is compensating for his weaknesses and trying to deflect from whatever is contained in the Epstein files. With this week's release of info, it appears as if Elon was a visitor to the island of misfit pedifiles along with another high profile advisor to the President. He is aiding and abetting all sorts of criminals, along with himself. It won't be pretty when it all comes tumbling down. ~ Closer to home, I have finished the current creations and am ready to start on a couple of tree skirts as well as the remainder of the scented trivets needed. Then on to some holiday runners and placemats. The garden is mostly put to bed, save the leeks which can remain through the first few frosts. I have a stash of green tomatos put up downstairs and plenty of ripe ones in the kitchen. I made a small batch of tomato sauce last week along with 5 pints of applesauce yesterday. I've frozen peppers and have a zucchini (purchased) ready to grate for bread and muffins. We're still eating lettuce from the back porch, and there is a smallish bag of the last of the chard ready for a dinner this week. All in all, despite a couple of disappoinments, I'd say the garden was a success. Oh and 4 pumpkins that surprisingly showed up after the rain a couple of weeks ago. None of them are huge but should should yield enough for a pie. ~ D. is still chasing after healthcare changes - his PCP moved to Falmouth after Inland closed and his cardiologist moved to Skowhegan and then passed away a couple of weeks ago. So he's starting from scratch. I'm so happy I made the choice to stick with Maine General years ago when I ended up with a PCP I was not happy with who was associated with Inland, especially when Inland joined Northern Light. Like D. I would have had to travel to Bangor for some of my care and I wasn't willing to do that. I hope he can get settled soon. ~ Other health news - I got my flu shot 2 weeks ago when I saw my PCP and got my COVID and pneumonia last week. I took Tylenol (no fear of autism for me!) after which helped immemsely with the arm pain. I was a bit sluggish the day after but bounced nack quickly. I should be fully immune by the time show season starts for good in a month.

Our Differences Divide Us..at What Cost?

The past 24 hours has been consumed with news of the assasination of a very conservative right-wing influencer. (Oh, how I wish we could banish influencer as a job in this day and age!). I will not name him, but these are some quotes attributed to him: If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified. – 23 January 2024 If you’re a WNBA, pot-smoking, Black lesbian, do you get treated better than a United States marine? – 8 December 2022 Happening all the time in urban America, prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people, that’s a fact. It’s happening more and more. – 19 May 2023 If I’m dealing with somebody in customer service who’s a moronic Black woman, I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because of affirmative action? – 3 January 2024 If we would have said that Joy Reid and Michelle Obama and Sheila Jackson Lee and Ketanji Brown Jackson were affirmative action picks, we would have been called racists. Now they’re coming out and they’re saying it for us … You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person’s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously. – 13 July 2023 ~ And on women - "And I would also tell young ladies, you can always go back to your career later, that there is a window where you primarily should pursue marriage and having children, and that is a beautiful thing." Less than 48 hours later, his assassin has been arrested, thanks in part to a parent who did the right thing and listened to his son and then called the authorities. While I do not condone this sort of violence at any time, I will not spend any time or emotions on greiving for this person, who did nothing but aid the MAGAs in driving a wedge between many factions in this country. We used to be able to co-exist quite respectfully and actually get things done in the US Congress and state houses across the country. But no more - it's all about owning the other side and "Gotcha" moments and performance instead of actual results. Never more true than on display this morning in the press conference announcing the arrest than with the current FBI Director, Kash Patel. (A loyalist hire if ever there was one in this administration.) He named every possible person who might have assisted in the result and proved himself again a complete toady to Trump. The governor of Utah wasn't much better, although he did call for peace and calm, after a few words of praise for the deceased. This man was NOT a true Christian, he was not a true debater. He WAS a powerful influence on the young people he targeted with his performances. I hope hisotry will show what a negative influence that was. I am all in for free speech but not hate speech and not lies. And the misplaced largess of this administration to expend government finances on a) lowering flags to half staff for this "Influencer", b) send the VP out to Utah to have him return the body and family to Arizona on AF2, and 3) suggest he should lie in state in the Capiol is just plain batshit crazy and another example of owning the Libs. Oh, and release the Epstein files NOW!