Looky Looky - A Thing of Beauty!

When I came in to work this past Wednesday I saw this on my desk and nearly fainted. I've been dropping (okay, throwing) hints around that I wanted one of these for my birthday and I THOUGHT somebody finally took the hint (okay, broadcast).

Wrong.

It was the next best thing, though. The artist who makes these - Dave Grunewald - is a craftsman living in upstate New York.  His website QuiltBoxes is a thing of beauty and if you go looking I recommend you tie a bib around your neck because you will drool over these things.   He also has a wonderful Facebook page  where you can read the reviews of his admiring fans (including me) and get updates on new designs.

Back to the quilt box - he actually DONATED one of these to be raffled off at the Lowell Quilt Festival that is coming up in just a few short weeks.  Talk about a stand-up guy!  I loved the feel and the smell (oh the wood!) and precise detail of this piece.  Inside is a series of divided spaces to put whatever you like - and every edge is shaped, every joint is perfect.  It is a thing of beauty I would display on mantle at home - seriously. Quilters everywhere appreciate the time and patience and devotion it takes to create a quilt. These boxes are an extraordinary complement to quilting and serve an equally beautiful and useful purpose.

The festival committee had a meeting that afternoon and scooped up the box and put it away for safe keeping.  Not that they don't trust me.  Okay, they don't trust me.  (They had to wrestle it away from me.)   I'm giving my husband one more chance to gift me with one of these things for our anniversary, and if he fails again I'll just gift myself one.  With his credit card.  Work with me, people.

Ever Get the Slows?

I am a slug.  I have achieved some sort of house-sitting-non-vacation nirvana and I don't feel even remotely productive.   That is unfortunate because I still have 2 jobs, still have to go to work, do laundry, the whole nine yards.  It is some sort of limbo not being fully in one place or the other. It  is fascinating - I've never had this sensation before.  I'm fully convinced  I will  show up at work in clam digger pants and one of my husband's old shirts, and on a day I can be house sitting I'll get up, shower, do the hair and make-up bit and go sit in the living room and make applique grapes (don't  ask) for the next quilt  project taking shape in my head.

This summer's best-selling t-shirt at Joe's store says, "Say no to pot!"  Next to that, there is a cartoon of a lobster pointing to a boiling pot of water.  It's pretty cute.  Last night there were 3 lobsters that said YES to a  pot. We steamed them, then took them out on the front porch and cracked, dunked, poked and inhaled their buttery goodness. It was delish.  Not to be wasteful, we put all the shells and bits of legs into a zip lock bag and in to the freezer.  Next time we are wanting some shrimp scampi, we'll pull the bag out of the freezer and use the shells to make a lovely broth.  Being married to the son of a fisherman has its perks - the man does things with fish that make my head explode.  It's a good thing he can because all of his bad habits at home are starting to show up at the house-sitting-house, including his unexplainable penchant for leaving cupboard doors wide open in the kitchen.  It makes me NUTS.

I wish I could go back to house-sitting-house and take a nap.  I even brought one of mom's quilts over there to crawl under and just bliss off to sleep.  I take the BEST naps over there.  I am a slug.  I have the slows.

Birthday Afterglow

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Well, my birthday  pergolapalooza is in the books. Had thee loveliest dinner under the stars & grape arbor / pergola of the homeowner where we are house sitting.  It was a perfect evening, made better by loved ones who came, brought presents  (woo hoo!) champagne & great food, sang to me and loved me long time. I felt like I landed on a movie set - it was so perfect! Lanterns glowing and swinging in the breeze, candles on the table and flowers from my garden.  Joe was a champ - grilled everything to perfection and organized the task of stringing the lanterns, etc. He has mad skills!    Later on, we went inside for cake and ice cream and stories and laughs. It was a happy house, a happy group, and we decided we need to make up some birthdays so we could do it again.  (Note to self:  I don't  think the homeowner would be as enthused.....especially if we showed up when he was back at home, huh.)

I feel like my life has has been a steep, uphill climb for a long time now.  The economy has been lousy for so long and has hurt many small businesses like Joe's store.  I can't get enough hours at work to make ends meet - our budget has been cut over and over.  Along with a few health issues on the horizon..... I really needed something like this to happen.  I feel renewed, charged up and ready to go back out there and face the universe.  It's so nice to have  this birthday to put in my memory book and cherish forever - do it for someone you love, if you can.  It doesn't have to be fancy, just organize a great pot luck and show up with love in your heart.

They'll never forget it, I promise.

Best Birthday Surprise Ever!

Guess who just got a phone call from the Bernina dealer with the news that my baby is back, repaired, and ready to come home?    Woo hoo!

The Final 2 in "52 of 52" - The Birthday Edition

Happy Birthday to me!  And happy 100th blog post!  I've only been doing this for about 7 months and I've had about 4000 visitors.  How is THAT for bonkers!

The final 2 of the 52  great things about being 52 are not necessarily the most important but they are the ones I notice most often in my everyday life:

1. The global village - the world is so completely connected by media and news outlets our access to anywhere  is almost 100%.   At this very point in my life, the smallest thing that happens a world away can be known instantly throughout the planet.  This is both good and bad.  It is bad because somehow the mindless minutia of celebrity chasing has become reportable news on TV news programs and newspapers I used to respect. The art of true  journalism is dead.   It is good because in the event of serious news, we are almost instantly informed and can take action. Think back to WWII when people waited weeks for letters or news.  Today the awareness and gathering of resources & aid for the earthquake in Haiti began immediately - the DAY OF the earthquake.


2. Social Norms - I have lived to see changes in social norms that I never would have dreamed possible.  I grew up in a town of 6000 in the middle of Nebraska.  (In the dictionary, under "sheltered life" it says,  " see Jo Major." )  I grew up in a town full of Fagots.  Meg Fagot was my little  sister's best friend, Janelle Fagot was my older sister's best friend, and Craig Fagot was the hunky basketball player a few years ahead of me in high school.  We had NO IDEA that "Fagot" was a disparaging (and particularly hateful) insult.  None whatsoever. It was just another last name in a small town full of people.  How is that for an eye opener.  It does bring to mind the lyrics of that song from South Pacific about prejudice:

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
It's got to be drummed
In your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made,
And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,
You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully taught!

That goes for a lot of things - for racial diversity, for sexual orientation, for class differences.  What changes we have seen! One of the things I least like about living in the provincial East is the "where did you go to college and who are your people" attitude which is practiced with an almost religious zeal by many of the natives. Your standing and status and worthiness are judged by those things.  I've learned to to see it for what it is - insecurity on the part of the questioner.  Meh.  Sometimes I tell the truth, sometimes I make up something like, "Oh  I went to a Home Economics  school in Nebraska where we learned to field dress a deer and can meat and jellies.  You know, wife stuff."

Aside from my two sisters (who I love more than my own life) I have always preferred the  company of men.  Women are frequently catty and bitchy and their own worst enemies.  My dearest and closest, most loving and supportive friends are all gay men. These guys are my rocks, my shelter, my loving, supporting, non-judgmental comrades on the final leg of my journey.  I have learned more from them, loved them more, and been loved by them more than any friends in my life.  It's like somebody saved the best wine for last, you know?  How great is that? Collectively, we are free to be open and who we are - and love who we love. It is a depth and  richness beyond belief.

Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." The  "52 for 52" has been an amazing exercise in examining my life, my world, what I have seen and lived through.  I have survived many things (like cancer and a spinal fusion), the loss of a parent, of friends and relatives and very young people.  I have seen monumental changes in science, society and technology.  I have been to places in the world I never dreamed of seeing.  AND I AM ONLY 52.

Can you imagine what the next years will bring?

I absolutely cannot wait - and I promise,   "60 for 60" is going to be a real pisser!

52 for 52 - Part V

Mercy, this is just rocketing toward a conclusion.  I have listed a lot of things and  looked at many events -  including things in my rear view mirror, things I'll never have to do again, and  things I enjoy in the present.  I think  the 5th decade of this list should be dedicated to ten things I have to look forward to:

1. The complete, utter and final cessation of my monthly period.  This one is BIG, people. 


2. The incredible technology that is being developed as we speak  and will be using before we know it. Check out the CNET podcasts if you don't believe me.  (It's like the Jetsons, man!)


3. The quilts I have in progress - some of them gifts - and the joy of delivering them to their intended recipients.  I can't wait to see their faces!


4. Watching my nieces and nephews start their families.  It's mind-boggling and joyful.


5. Watching myself become a more accomplished and artistic quilter.


6. Watching my husband's political interests. I'm sort of ok with him being on City Council, but if he ever runs for something of more substance there will be some serious negotiations that will have to  take place.  (Anything that would necessitate me shaving my legs and wearing makeup on a regular basis had better come with some pretty fabulous  payback.)


7. Expanding my writing beyond the self-indulgent ramblings on a blog.


8. The great books that I have yet to read - nothing like the real thing in your hands.


9. Hey - why not!  Working on a few of these 52 Ideas!


10. At the risk of sounding like Dr. Seuss, OH THE PLACES I'LL GO!  I have a long list of places I want to see and things I want to do when I get there.  I intend to travel as much as I possibly can - the world awaits!

52 for 52 -- Part IV

In our last installment, I listed 10 things that were great about being 52 because they were all in my rear view mirror.  I'd like to list 10 things that I currently enjoy, did NOT have in my youth, and make turning 52 (in just a few days!) such a great deal.

1. Microwave ovens.  Even though as a cooking tool they are pretty useless, they are good for making microwave popcorn, melting butter, warming dinner plates and serving dishes, and nuking up a quick plate of nachos. Numma.


2. The internet. A world unto itself. 


3. Podcasts - music, lectures, ITunesU, Lit2Go, comedy, books - you name it, you can download it and throw it on any MP3 player and listen to whatever you want whenever you want.


4. Shopping online.  This is similar to #2, but the fact that I don't  have to leave the house to do what I consider a chore is a fantastic thing. (Aside from antiques and fabric I am not a shopper.)


5. Rotary cutters & templates, quilting gadgets in general.  I would NEVER be a quilter without those magic tools.


6. The Weather Channel.  Seriously.  I'm a weather whore, just like my Dad. I am fascinated with weather radar. Go figure.


7. USB flash drives. One is not enough, two is too many, three is not enough.  I have my whole life on those things. Pictures, programs, projects  - you name it.  P-O-R-T-A-B-L-E.


8. GPS in cars.  I don't have one, but many people I know do and they entertain me like an 8-year-old.  Bonus - they work (more often than not) and it's so much nicer than wrestling with a map with 35 folds....


9. Climate controlled car seats. (In my family, we refer to it as "ass air." )  My husband has heated seats in his car and in the winter...... hoochie mama, it feels SO good.


10. Remote controls and VCR/DVD technology.  AWESOME.  (My dad had my youngest sister trained to hop up and change the channels on TV.  He did it with hand signals.  Honest.)  I love being able to pop a movie in to the VCR/DVD at any time.  Ditto for home movies and instructional videos.  Rock and ROLL, bay-bay.

BP - the Good One, Not the Evil One

I loves me a new exhibit opening, and this one is a beaut.

Contemporary Broderie Perse: An Elegant Revival

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Opening today at the New England Quilt Museum,  this is a contemporary take on a beautiful technique.  BONUS - the quilts from the permanent collection are of the vintage variety, so you get the best of both worlds!   This from our PR maven  Christina Inge:

Combining collage, fine appliqué, and fine quilting, broderie perse, also known as cut-out chintz appliqué, presents a high point in the art of quilting and deserves the admiration and attention of all who appreciate fine needlework.  The technique emerged in the late eighteenth century when chintz fabrics were very expensive and only the very wealthy could afford whole cloth bed coverings made from large pieces of chintz.  By cutting motifs out of a small amount of fabric, the quilter could rearrange them onto a large field of inexpensive plain cotton to imitate the designs on larger fabrics.  Plain cream or white fields filled by fine quilting surround the trees, floral sprays, wreaths, urns, birds, and baskets appliquéd with tiny whip, buttonhole, or reverse buttonhole stitches.  The style, which was very popular in the Middle Atlantic States and the South into the 1840s, largely disappeared after the 1850s. The exhibition, curated by Anita B. Loscalzo, presents 30 contemporary broderie perse quilts and several antique examples in order to familiarize viewers with the style and its history.

I'm still working on my little no-faux-bro but I think there is a workshop scheduled in October and I really should take THAT before I sit down and attempt this technique. (Especially after seeing some of these quilts up close - wowza!)

52 for 52 -- Part III

Continuing my birthday series on 52 great things about being 52, this next batch will list 10 great things that I no longer have to deal with now that I am 52 and the world has gotten faster, more efficient, and evolved the many little things that make my everyday life easier.

1. Bonnet style hair dryers.  Remember those big plastic bubbles with the elastic around the edge?  It looked like a ginormous shower cap that had a long hose that plugged in to a little round hairdryer.  They were hot, clumsy and really doofus looking.  I used to take the cap off and stick the hose in to my cold bed to warm up my sheets.


2. Scotch hair set tape.  I think they still sell it, but not to this girl.


3. Rollers.  I had LONG hair and I tried every roller on the market - pink spongy things, wiry meshy things, plastic things - you name it.  About the time I was in high school the miracle age  of the electric hot rollers arrived on the scene and changed lives.


4. Garter belts. Not the sexy-wexy kind.  I"m talking about the early 70's when if you had fishnet stockings (innocent back then) and you had to hook them up to one of those garter belt thingies.  Mom wore a girdle so she could hook on her nylons - and she didn't NEED to wear a girdle, but if you wanted to wear nylons.....


5. As long as we're on the subject of belts - sanitary belts.  Oh the horror.  Thank heavens I was a late starter.


6. Calculators (how new and exciting!) were the size of a toaster.  Not easy to slip in to your purse or briefcase.


7. The magic of double-knit polyester. My mom did a lot of sewing with that new miracle fabric, but I remember sweating it out if the temps got a little warm. PS - I have photos of people wearing so much polyester that if anyone lit a match.......


8. Babysitting for 50 cents an hour. My mom would not let me charge more because as a woman with 6 children she knew how important it was to get the hell out of the house and the fact that they could barely pay a sitter should not stop them.  I liked babysitting, but I remember how hard it was as a 7th grader to stay awake until 1 or 2 AM.    One very cold and harsh New Year's Eve the couple came home so drunk the husband passed out on the sofa and I walked home.  Good times.


9. Bonnie Bell 10-0-Six Lotion.  It was supposed to be a cosmetic makeup  toner thing, but it burned like paint thinner and chlorine.


10. Hand washing dishes.  We had a family of 8 and no dishwasher - unless you count the daughters.  I remember standing over that sink and swearing like Scarlett O'Hara, "AS GOD IS MY WITNESS, WHEN I AM OUT ON MY OWN I'LL NEVER WASH DISHES AGAIN."   And by gosh  I think I've had a dishwasher ever since.

So how does that fit in with 52 great things about being 52?  They are all in my rear view mirror!

Be It Ever So Humble

We are on and off house sitting for the next month  but I came home today to get a few things, check email, and brush my teeth with my Braun Oral B Master of the Universe toothbrush that I love and miss so much.  It's so labor intense to use one of those old "manual" toothbrushes!  : ) The house we are babysitting is in a spectacular setting and really lovely, but very formal. I can't seem to arrange a nice place to sit and sew and clip threads (just hand sewing) without feeling like the FORMAL POLICE are going to bust me for soiling the perfectly arranged room by littering with little bits of thread.

So I'm back here for a few hours and it is nice to be back in the home house - be it ever so humble (and it is).   My purple hydros are blooming, the day lilies are blooming, and the white snowballs are juuuust about getting there.  I think they call it "home" for a reason, and I'm appreciating that more fully right now.  Your stuff, your junk, your bits and pieces all combine to make the nest that you can fully live in, relax, mess up and enjoy.  I love my home.

52 for 52 - - Part II

Continuing my self-selected birthday assignment, I'll reveal the next 10 things in my 52 for 52 series about how life gets better with age.

1. I have a  much better bucket list.  Not because I've done many of the things I wanted, but I have taken things off the list because - meh - they weren't so special.  I have replaced them with things like, "Make a trans-Atlantic boat crossing" and "Stand on the Great Wall of China someday."  Really good stuff, you know?


2. I have little to no anxiety about entertaining.  It has come with years of practice, enjoying and watching others do it, and largely ignoring Martha Stewart's practice of setting the table with a variety of impossibly assembled  antiques and hundreds of dollars in floral arrangements.  I love my Lenox china (after 22 years, no small feat) and I have enough greenery and variety from my own garden that I can put together a pretty respectable (if not knockout) table, including individual salts,  lovely vintage linens, and buttery napkins that cover the entire lap. I can also whip up an Opera Cake without breaking a sweat, so  suck on that, Martha. (I'm sure she could too, but I do it without having staff.)


3. I'm much better at telling people what I think.  Not in the nasty way - but in a firm,  diplomatic  manner that indicates I can also do it in the nasty way if things get much worse.


4. I'm not chained to department store cosmetic counters anymore. I always thought the 'best' stuff was the high-priced stuff.   Paula Begoun has great reviews of all kinds of product lines, and the stuff she sells herself is pretty darn good.  I do miss those Clinique Bonus thingies every once in a while, but what I save on buying department store stuff  can be spent on other treats.  I'm not saying it's all bad, I'm just saying there is other stuff out there that is just as good and half the price.  I'm liberated from labels.


5. Two words - fewer periods. The end is in sight.


6. Self-awareness increases exponentially.


7. My spiritual life is better - not because I'm closer to the end of my life than the start of my life, but because years of living life deepens and enriches the soul.


8. I'm moving closer to being a "glass is half full"  type person.


9. I used to roll my eyes and pray that I would never become one of those women who wear hats and gloves and dig around in their gardens and tend their flower beds. Now I have become one and it rocks.


10. I still write - and  receive - bread and butter notes.  The best ones are from friends who have had us for dinner (and been here for dinner) a zillion times.   Every note ends with warm, loving and sincere thanks for the evening and gratitude for the love and friendship we share.  Email, tweets and texts just don't come close to the elegant act of love that is sitting down with a pen and some really nice stationery and putting it all down in writing to read, re-read, and savor.

Monday Design Wall

Or, in this case, design bed.  Whatever.

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I thought I had finished my Christmas cathedral windows table runner slash thingie, but now that I look at them as a group  I realize  they do not  all "go" together.  One set is more shiny and gold-threaded than the other.  Who knew?  They all came from the same collection.  This means I'll be making two table runner slash thingies.  I can put one in the front hall under a big glass vase that I usually fill up with holly and cut greens, so that is easy.  The other can go on the dining room table or find a home somewhere else , it's not like there aren't  plenty of halls to deck around here at Christmas.  I just thought I was done - and I'm not! Back to the layer cake of holiday prints to find - and this time I'll pay more attention - the ones I need to complete the set(s).

My Bestest New Quilting Gadget

Okay I am not making this up.  Today I checked the caller ID on the phone and it gave the name of the place where my Bernina is being repaired.  The message light was blinking.  I hit the button, expecting to hear my baby was back and ready to be brought home.....and...... FAIL.  Evidently the repairman is going to go out on medical leave and so all repairs will be delayed for two more weeks.  Rats.  I feel really bad for the repairman - I can't imagine what would necessitate 2 week medical leave and I will certainly say a few prayers for a speedy recovery.  It's kind of a moot point - even if the Bernina was back, I wouldn't be in my sewing room in these temperatures.  It's freakishly HOT, day after day.

So lets lighten the mood with a website that will make many, MANY quilters very happy.  It's a wonderful site  by Incompetech Creative Industries. Check it out - it is fun to just play with and see what you can create.  This site will generate grids, graph paper, hexagons, circles - you name it, you can make it.  The finished product is a one click download of a PDF of your new file.  I chose to make a 1 inch square grid on 11 x 17 paper so I could lay out my cherry blocks.  I taped a few sheets together and have this WONDERFUL surface to lay out and align the cherries, play around with placement - it's GENIUS!   And it's  free!!  You can change the line weights and colors, too.

You're welcome!

52 for 52 -- Part I

To celebrate my 52nd birthday  I decided to make a list of 52 great things about being  52.  This is the first installment.  Since my birthday isn't until later in the month, I will take the luxury of time to ponder on those things that make me the happiest and do this in installments.

1. I never, ever, ever have to buy another freakishly stupid, ugly bridesmaid dress for as long as I live.


2. Ditto for shoes.   I now wear what feels good and looks a little sassy  - or lumberjack-like, if I feel like it.


3. I am  more passionate about art, color, textiles and hand-made crafts than I could ever have believed possible.


4. I still have my wool couture Channel going-away suit from my wedding, and it still looks stunning.  (I cut up the gown ages ago. Meh.)


5. When I start looking at better lingerie and feeling uncertain about my old stuff, my husband always says,  "Oh honey, just be naked - that's all I want!" and he means it.


6. I get to listen (and laugh) when my sisters talk to their children and they channel my mother. It's awesome funny.


7. I never have to sing at another wedding. Ever.


8. I have started letting go of my wedding issues - of which, obviously, I have a LOT.


9. I can still speak a pretty passable Italian - which comes in handy at the shop when Italian tourists come in and plot to get a discount and get all shaken up when I respond to them in their native language that the "Signora does not give discounts."  (BTW -  it happens more often than you'd think. )


10. I've finally stopped having that reoccurring dream where I'm on a college campus and I can't find the building or room of my next class and it is the day of the  final exam. Oh yes - and I've never been to one class.  Talk about performance anxiety - I always woke up a little nauseous after that dream.

How Hot Is It?

Miserably.  Wretchedly.

It is day two of a predicted series of hot, humid days and I can't begin to wrap my head around facing any more of this.  This morning I turned off the AC window unit in our bedroom so I could pad down the hall and turn on my iron.  (I needed to iron the cherries on their mylar circles so I could pull them & bring the mylar circles with me today to the store.)  By the time I finished ironing those little circles and clicked off the iron, I had sweat running down my back in little streaks.  The upstairs of our house  is always hotter than the main floor, but in weather like this it becomes ridiculous.  I went downstairs to the living room where the  little R2D2 air conditioner had been running for about a half hour - my husband is an earlier riser and thank heavens for that.   I sat there and cooled off and could not think of a thing in the world that sounded good for breakfast - including ice cream, and that is sayin' something.

I went back upstairs & flipped on the bedroom AC so I could shower and dress. On Tuesdays  I belong to my husband's store - he goes to his Rotary Club meeting and then does errands, mows the grass, etc.  I don't mind it too much, and as there is a window AC unit in here I am pretty comfortable.  On the way here, however, I was doing my morning prayers (so I pray in the car, so what....) and I got to my predictable long list of daily intentions when I felt compelled to throw them out the window and just ask for help for everyone who really suffers in this heat - the elderly, the infirm, those with no air conditioning whatsoever, those without even a fan, and especially those in crowded conditions that make an already miserable situation unbearable.  Stop for a moment and think of those poor people and offer a little prayer of your own to whatever  higher power guides your life.  Seriously.

The enlightenment I have experienced  will not, however, stop me from bitch slapping the next person I hear say, "Oh dontcha just LOVE summer?"  Seriously. The other side of this is that despite the fact I live on the coast, it's not like I can go for a swim and cool off.  The ocean water here is completely frigid - it is impossible to walk more than ankle deep in the water without experiencing shooting pains and numbness from the icy North Atlantic.  This pool of melted glaciers gives us a nice sea breeze but it would sure be swell to be able to SWIM in it before September - when, coincidentally - after heating up all summer it becomes semi-bearable.  Ha ha ha another one of God's funny jokes.  It is also  further proof that God is not a woman/ female spirit.

Out of Body Independence

Last night I had the most surreal, authentic patriotic moment of my life.  I was sitting in the family room whipping up another bushel of cherries for my current project and watching John Adams on HBO.  I have such a fascination with this series - and I am (well I was not) a history buff.  This is one series you must see - even if you need to purchase the DVD.   Ever man, woman and child in this country needs to watch this series.  I don't care if you pledge a political party or not, if you have a religious belief or not.  This has nothing to do with that.  Watch this series. You will be humbled, awed, educated, inspired and gain a profound respect and gratitude for what these people did to form this country.

Back to the subject.  There I was, sewing away and watching the founding fathers argue over whether or not we (the freakishly small and weak colonies) should tell King George and the most powerful country in the world to kiss off.  As the program progressed, the gritty and horrifying realities of the Revolutionary War were portrayed with battles, bloodied men, and LOTS of cannons.  About this time the fireworks started going off over historic Gloucester Harbor (the site of the battle of Gloucester in 1775)  and the BOOM BOOM BOOM of the fireworks meshed with the BOOM BOOM BOOM of the cannons in the war.  There I was, watching the birth of our country and hearing the celebration of that birth outside my windows.  Gloucester harbor's  booming cannons of 1775 were replaced with the booming fireworks of 2010.  It was a profoundly moving moment.  I don't think I have ever in my life fully  realized the importance of July 4th until last night.

Happy Birthday, America.  And a shout-out to the founding mothers, too.  Even John Adams admitted he would not be worth his salt without the counsel and wisdom of Abigail.

4th of July Fireworks

Happy 4th of July !  This is a picture of our gift shop window all ready for tourist season.  The little patriotic wall quilt that is  hanging from the weathervane was made by my mom.  She was a quilter who took her odds and ends and leftovers and made them in to little wall hangings, table runners, etc. and sold them in our store under the label Major Stuff Quilts. She did pretty well with them, too!  It was always nice to make a note beside whatever sold and catalog where it was going to find a new home. We had people from Ireland, England, Australia - all over the world purchase those little quilts and take them to their far-off homes.  Mom really got a kick of seeing her handiwork travel all over the planet. Bonus - she used the  money to buy more fabric.  Talk about a win-win.

The 4th of July is also special because it is the day I met my husband.  The couple trying to get us together tried (and failed) about three times until we both managed to get to the same party at the same time.  People find out we met on the 4th of July and ask, "So, was it fireworks between the two of you?"  It's a tough question to answer. Basically, my reaction was, "Meh, he's ok."  Joe's reaction was to purchase my engagement ring two months later and wait another 4 months to propose.  This is one of those rare situations where I was wrong and he was right.  This 4th marks the 23rd anniversary of our first meeting.  Thankfully, 23 years later, there are still fireworks!