Under normal circumstances my March calendar is very full. Full of music contests to judge, honor bands to conduct, Husker baseball games and March Madness for which to cheer, theater productions to invigorate the soul, and family time to enjoy. One by one all of those things have gotten cancelled and my calendar is now empty. I have more time on my hands than I have ever had and no place to go. Even my blog topic schedule took a hit this month! So for this week I am resorting to my “This and That” list that I have been saving since last summer. Once the weather gets warmer Tom and I like to spend Fridays going to garage sales in the area. I usually look for candles, books, and items to add to my garden as well as anything related to quilting. Tom likes to look for tools and gadgets that he can use around the house. Last summer we stopped at a garage sale in Lincoln and I came away with a couple of fun projects for which I spent under $2 total. One was a pattern for a winter door hanging. The other was a kit - fabric and pattern!! - for a small paper pieced wall hanging of a Singer Featherweight sewing machine stitching a quilt. Fun projects that I may now get to work on sooner than I had anticipated!
At the beginning of May and again at the end of June there was an estate sale in Lincoln that was a quilter’s dream. This family had a huge machine shed full of fabric, batting, thread, books, notions and sewing machines at greatly reduced prices. Attempting to navigate aisles full of excited quilters was a challenge but I was able to pick up several items for my Quilts of Valor sewing club as well as for myself. I purchased thread for my long arm, three bolts of fabric, 10” square, 2 1/2” strip and fat quarter precuts, a huge bottle of Best Press, and a package of kitchen towels that I can use for my appliqué projects. Thankfully Tom came along to help me carry my treasures!
I look forward to listening to several podcasts each morning as I embark on my 30-minute walk that I call exercise. I am thankful that my children introduced me to these informational and entertaining chats. Since last summer I have added a few new ones to my list. The first is Conversation With The Cooks - a podcast featuring Husker volleyball coach John Cook and his daughter Lauren Cook-West. They post once a month on the Husker Sports Podcast and give the listener great insights into the Husker volleyball program. The second is the St. Olaf Chapel Talks. As a graduate of St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota I have appreciated this opportunity to reconnect with my alma mater as well as grow in my Lutheran faith. The third is My Creative Corner 3 with Vicki Hollaway - a quilter and a nurse who shares tidbits about her work and creative life in northern Michigan.
As per usual I always have a book that I am reading and there is one that I finished recently that was a definite highlight. It was called Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens - a story of a girl who raises herself in the swamp lands of North Carolina and then becomes the main suspect in a murder. I would highly recommend that you add it to your Books To Read list.
I hope you are using these days of social distancing to take care of yourselves both physically and mentally. I am thankful for a hobby that brings me joy and gives me an opportunity to escape the turmoil of the world for a bit of time each day. I’m looking forward to checking several UFOs off my list during this quarantined time in our lives. I hope you are able to do the same.