OK, this is two posts in one day, but I just have to share…
This video needs no explanation :-). If your can’t see it, click here to open it on youtube.
Singing in the car…
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When babies happen…
If you subscribe to the Piece O’ Cake newsletter, you know that I just sent one on Thursday with fabric and book news. Lorna was busy filling orders yesterday, Friday, when she got ‘the call’.
I’ve written before that Lorna is becoming a doula. Well, her first client called to say that her water had broken. Cutting fabric and filling orders stopped and will just have to wait until Sunday, when she’ll pick up where she left off…
Lorna has an order-filling system. I am not going to go in there and mess with her system.
This being her first experience as a doula, we got to sort out for the first time what happens with Elanor, Jack, and Bear when Lorna has to pick up and go. Jack ended up with me and Steve. Judy, Lorna’s mom, stayed overnight with Elanor and Bear. Christopher was with my mom who had minor back surgery on Thursday*.
There’s been no word yet on the status of the baby and mother so I suspect that it’s not all the way over yet. I hope Lorna loves this experience as much as she thought she would. She would be someone I would want with me during childbirth if I were doing it again (which I am not!). I also recognize that this is not something I would ever want to do, nor would I be good at it, except in an emergency.
UPDATE: The baby was born Saturday evening after a flurry of activity at the end. Baby, mother—and Lorna—are all just fine :-).
*In other news, my mom had a kyphoplasty on Thursday. It’s outpatient back surgery. I was nervous because mom’s reaction to anesthetic has not been good in the past but this time she woke up pretty clear-headed. Oh happy, happy day!
But, even though she did seem OK, we all agreed that someone should be with her for about 48 hours to be sure that she was steady on her feet. You’d think that I would be the best choice to stay with mom, but we all agreed that Chris would be the better choice. Followed by Lorna, and then Judy.
Mom and I love each other, but I am less patient with her than I ought to be. It’s that whole mother/daughter thing that needs no more explanation. 48 hours of trying to be patient with each other might kill us both :-). I popped in and out. Today she is on her own and I think she’s kind of happy that things are back to normal. Also, her back is better!
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The Boomerang Bag…
Several asked for instructions on how to make a Boomerang Bag. Magen put together a pattern, just for you! Click the link below and the PDF will open in your browser. You can print it from there.
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Boomerang bags!
Linda is the proud recipient of the January Volunteer Award from the non-profit Surfrider Perth Foundation.
Linda’s niece, Magen, is currently the president of the Surfrider Perth branch. Magen is based out of the University of Western Australia, and has just completed her Masters in Marine Biology (focusing on shark learning behaviours & recreational fishing).
Linda’s Aunt Mildred donated fabric for the reusable grocery bag campaign (Boomerang Bags). While Magen was home, she and Linda and Magen’s mom, Judy, worked on bags.
Judy, Magen’s mom
Magen and Linda
They made 76 bags! Magen is working to get the Boomerang Bag program started with Surfrider Chapters in the states and to start an Australian/USA sister chapter. Click here for more info.
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Another year…
I read the comics every day. Yesterday, two in particular jumped out at me because today is my birthday!
Close To Home by John McPherson, 1/10/15
Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis, 1/10/15
I mostly don’t remember how old I am. I spent the last few years thinking I was 57—both before and after I really was 57. Today I am 59. I thought it would feel like another non-memorable number, but I think I’m going to remember how old I am this year because 60 is going to get my attention.
It’s not that I fear getting older. In fact, I am enjoying where I am in life now, and I hope that continues to be the case. It’s more that I know the time in front of me is not endless. I am much more aware of the frailty of our existence. The older you get, the more you notice that people of all ages die for all sorts of reasons. (Side note: I wish causes of death were still listed in obituaries. Not because I’m ghoulish, but because knowing why can sometimes be useful. Useful is the wrong word but I hope you know what I mean.)
I woke up the other night thinking about the dent I’ll be leaving behind. What I mean by that is: who is going to notice that I’m gone, when I’m gone? Family and friends, yes. Quilters, yes, at least sometimes. But I’m pretty sure the world at large won’t even blink.
I am not changing the world in the same way that others have. Mother Theresa I am not. Nor am I Louis Pasteur, Ghandi, Paul Farmer, etc. I am not sure what I can do to change the world at large for the better so, rather than throwing up my hands in despair, I am going to concentrate on trying to be better in my very small sphere of influence. Perhaps the hardest part for me will be training myself to think first and speak second. I will fail at least some of the time, but I hope that those times become rarer. Here’s hoping that next year I can look back and see progress :-).
PS: I always tell my mom happy birthday on my own birthday. She did the work, not me. I just showed up on 1/11/56. It always makes her smile when I point that out.
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I took the photography challenge…
First, an update on the iPhone that took a dip in the toilet… it works just like it did when it was new! Twelve hours in a food dehydrator did the trick. Oh happy, happy day.
In other news, I am on Ricky Tims’ newsletter list and on January 4th he announced the 52 Week Photography Challenge for 2015. I’ve had very a good camera for several years, a Nikon D90, that I’ve always meant to learn how to use, but I have never found the time (or discipline) to do it. The camera works well in auto focus mode, but not well enough.
Ricky is an excellent teacher and he knows a lot about photography. The class is very reasonably priced at just under $100 for 52 different lessons. It didn’t take me longer than a day to decide to just do it.
The first class is about selective focus. I have already learned more about how my camera works (and how I should be processing photos) than I would have imagined to be possible.
I’ve taken my series of pictures for this week. I don’t claim that my composition of toys* is particularly wonderful, but I was able to move the focal point around! I decided what was in focus, not the camera. Success feels good!
If any of you are interested in learning more about photography, I would encourage you to consider this class. I can already tell that it’s going to be good. There are requirements… you have to have a good camera. Ricky recommends that you have the newest versions of Photoshop and Lightroom. There’s more, but those are the most expensive requirements. If this class sounds good to you, now is definitely the time to sign up.
* The toy figures are from a set of ‘horrified movie victims’ that I’ve had a long time. A small set is available for purchase here. My set has more figures, but I have not found it online. I did find a glow in the dark zombie set that I wouldn’t mind owning :-).
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