Category Archives: Notes from a quilter

I’m going to miss football…

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I grew up in Oklahoma. I loved going to football games in high school! Cool, crisp night and everyone was there. Boys, girls… lots of romance in the air. Seriously, how could a person not love that!

My first date with my husband, Steve, was at the 2nd OU game of our sophomore years. I don’t remember who OU played, but I’m sure we won. That was a championship year! Steve and I went to every home game as undergrads and many when he worked on his Masters degree.

I’ve watched and enjoyed NFL games for nearly 30 years. I have been Cowboys fan and that has not been easy for the last 17 years.

But now I’m done. I can’t watch football any more. It’s not actually because of the domestic abuse cases that have been in the news. Bad as that is, be honest, there is a lot of domestic abuse out there and it’s not all football-related.

No, I can’t watch football anymore because of the recently released data that shows that 1/3 of all of the players are going to suffer brain damage. And worse, there are more and more kids dying from hits taken on the field… 3 more last week. Honestly, how could I have been surprised. The physical abuse suffered by players has been right there in front of me for years… but now there is hard data to back up what we all should have known.

diet-you-can-take-a-look-back-in-time-to-the-roman-gladiators-20140718084517-53c87c2d499c5I am reminded of Rome, back in the day. With gladiators fighting and dying to provide a show. It was a spectacle, and you know that the watchers enjoyed it. Football feels like that to me now.

There’s more that’s wrong with football, lots more, but this is what has tipped the scales for me, and for Steve.  By watching the game, and enjoying it, we have both begun to feel like we are condoning the injuries to the players. Neither of us can do it any more.

Until the game changes, until players at all ages are more protected, we are waving goodbye to football.

 

How old are you on the inside?

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I watched another TED Talk yesterday, this one by Isabel Allende titled How To Live Passionately. It made me smile, nod, and get a bit teary-eyed. I think this is something most of you will enjoy…

If the video doesn’t work for you, click here.

I remember a time, some years ago, sitting with my grandmother, who was in her 90s (but didn’t look a day over 75!), and my mom. We each agreed that we felt a lot younger on the inside than our age would suggest. Isn’t that true for everyone? I still don’t exactly feel like a grown-up, and I suspect that I never will.

 

On giving things away…

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When I was teaching in Ft Wayne, I complimented one of my students on her lovely blue earrings. She said her daughter sold jewelry and often gave her pieces and would I like to have them. Well, yes, I did indeed like them enough to want them and I offered to buy them but she said no… and at the end of class she gave them to me! I love them and really appreciated Joan’s generosity.

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FYI: These are made by Silpada and if you are interested, you can click here to contact Joan’s daughter, Amy.

The thing is that it’s especially nice to be generous, and it’s also nice to accept generosity. I try to do both well. In this case, I will remember Joan every time I wear these earrings, which will be often!

 

Outside at the Woods…

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This post is mainly for my Mom, who asked me this morning why I hadn’t show pictures of the outside. The property is not really visible from the road. As you drove over a small hill, from the road, this is what you see. There’s the new shed on the left. The Woods house is down in those trees. You can see the front of Steve’s pickup, which is backed up to the door of the screened-in porch…

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Here are some recent before pictures of the porch. Trust me when I tell you that these before pictures are way better than it looked a few weeks ago. I should have taken pictures of it then. Sigh.

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Today, Steve finished cleaning up the porch. Yay! All it needs is a welcome mat!

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There is a bit of loose screen to fix—later, when it’s cooler out.

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More from The Woods house…

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I wish I had taken some before photos of the living area of the Woods house back in May… you’d really be impressed now! But I didn’t. You’ll just have to take my word for it that a major transformation has taken place.

Mostly we threw away the stuff that just had to go, and then I cleaned up the space. Everything with upholstery was too dusty and dirty to keep. The carpet remnant was gross. Some of the chairs and tables were too rickety to trust… It’s all gone now!

The walls in this part of the house had one coat of paint already, but the ones I could reach got another coat of bright white paint. The wood walls and high ceilings are going to stay the way they are.

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The turquoise is the new coffee table, at least for now. It adds a nice pop of color and it’s already there. The wood chairs are solid, but the webbing in the seats had rotted away. Steve cut plywood to fit and I found cushions at Lowe’s. They are very comfortable now!

The upstairs is big and will mostly be used for beds. It gets hot up there in the summer.

There is a wood stove that will be wonderful on cold winter days (and nights). This area is way, way cleaner now than it was just days ago.

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The black chairs will have blue cushions to match the other two chairs. I spray painted the old, stained lamp shade white—it’s on an interesting lamp on the table. There is another shade that I’ll spray paint when I go back to paint the bedroom.

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The dining table and chairs are solid and comfortable.

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Steve and I both are pretty happy with the results of our efforts. This is a nice place and should see more use now :-).

John Flynn is riding again…

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John Flynn has been getting in shape in between shows and snow storms and is ready to ride in Bike MS. Mile by mile and dollar by dollar, Bike MS is changing lives. That’s why he registered for Bike MS and why he’s asking you to support his fundraising efforts with a tax-deductible donation.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to creating a world free of MS, but they can’t do it without our help. It’s faster and easier than ever to support this cause. Simply click here to visit John’s page and make a donation.

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Your donation supports cutting-edge research and programs and services for everyone impacted by MS. Ending MS means no one will receive an MS diagnosis again. Every dollar helps.  Every person makes a difference. And, because John goes above and beyond in all things, he has made this quilt that one of his lucky supporters will win!

Please support him by making a donation! He promises to keep his supporters posted on his progress. Click here to go to John’s Bike MS page to make a donation.