Heart panel

A while ago, the urologist picked up a groin hernia on hubby and referred him to a surgeon.  He noticed another one on the other side.  The surgeon booked a theatre and gave hubby the choice of which of two dates he wanted it done.  Preferring to do it ASAP, he chose to have this done next Tuesday.  He will have to stay over in hospital for one night and then, for 6 weeks afterwards, no heavy lifting.  The latter part will be a nightmare for both of us.

Hubby is extremely active and constantly busy with something.  If not gardening, he’ll repair, build, maintain or clean something outside.  I appreciate this.  On rainy days, when he can't go outside, I am miserable.  He stays inside, and I suppose he feels he has to help me, and I really, really dislike this.  For years, with him working 6am to 6pm, the house was my territory and mine alone.  I had no help cleaning or cooking, and suddenly having a second body around feels more like a burden than help. Oh, yes, I would love him taking over the cooking, but then he should clean up afterwards, and his idea of clean and mine are not compatible.

I am looking forward to Tuesday when he gets admitted.  The hospital has a restaurant on the ground floor, and I have every intention to eat there and not cook for myself.  I am not a big eater, and having to constantly make something for a three-meals-a-day eater gets to me.  Not as much making the food, but the thought of what to make for the next meal.

Usually when I think I’ve planned something to perfection, it never works out, so I might just end up making a sandwich for myself.  Then, I can’t see at night.  With it being winter in South Africa, it becomes dark early, and I will have to visit him in the evening.  Hopefully I’ll be able to at least see my way home.  Luckily, the hospital is really close.

This pretty panel quilt was the last of 4 received from an out-of-town quilter. Not having opened the bag containing this one beforehand, I was so pleased; even though tired of quilting most every day, I looked forward to doing this.

I am up to date with all the quilts I had, with one booked towards the end of August and another somewhere in November.  I can now use this extra time to continue cleaning out cupboards.  I have a new way of thinking.  When opening a cupboard, I ask myself whether I would like to take the contents with me should I ever move again.  Those things I don’t want to pack and take along get thrown out.

Autumn bricks

I didn’t plan to quilt on Sunday as I invited the kids for supper.  I made lamb liver cakes (similar to fish cakes but with ground liver) served with mashed potatoes and caramelised onions. My kids still enjoy traditional South African dishes, and I love making them for them, as very few youngsters nowadays grow up with or appreciate them.  Not as if my kids are ‘youngsters’ anymore. Occasionally, when they have birthdays, and I realise their age, I actually feel sorry for them for being that old.

On Monday, National Women’s Day, as I started gathering ingredients for supper, hubby said I should not cook, as we have several plates of leftover food in the fridge and we should finish that first.  Music to my ears!

The weather bureau warned about a sudden severe cold front from Monday with wind, rain, hail and snow, but when we got up, apart from being cloudy, nothing much of the forecast was seen.  I just finished cleaning the house when it started to rain.  By then, the wind had also gathered speed; soon afterwards the hail started.  It was bitterly cold!

Not able to work outside on the paving, hubby brought in wood and started an indoor fire in what is supposed to be the indoor barbecue.  He, however, is not much of a barbecue man, so it mostly serves as a fireplace.  Many moons ago, he promised to start cooking once retired, but 5 years in, I had no such luck.

With the ambience from the fire, I didn’t feel like doing anything chore-related, and we settled by the TV and watched no less than 2 movies.  I took a mean afternoon nap under a thick, warm blanket, and for once I enjoyed National Women’s Day.

With me having plenty of R&R on Monday, it was back to normal yesterday.  I got to finish this one.

Not all quilters name or label their quilts, and then I try to come up with a name, just not to start every post with “another quilt”.  This is exactly what happened here.

Second owl quilt

 I got this loaded right after I finished the first but had some grocery shopping to do and only started the actual quilting later in the day.  Being for one of a twin, the same edge-to-edge motif was used.

When I opened this and saw the blue background, I wondered if I had the sexes right.  I initially believed the red was for the boy and the other one (whilst still in the package) would be for the girl.  Now I am not that sure anymore.  It is, however, nice to see how different the same main fabric turns out when used with different colours.

I managed to finish this one too.  

I made hake with a creamed mushroom sauce for supper yesterday, and the smell had me hungry from the time I finished cooking.  I always had a soft spot for any fish dish.

First owl quilt for one of a twin

Friday turned out to be a rather normal day as per daily routine, and I appreciated it.  I did some quilting but didn’t push myself, did laundry, ironing, lunch and supper and watched rugby on TV.

This grandma made two of these owl quilts for her twin grandbabies, who are turning two in March 2027.  That I call organised!

I started with the red owl quilt for no particular reason; it was just on top of her package, and since it was for toddlers, we needed nothing more than an edge-to-edge design.  She wanted the same motif on both quilts, so not too girly or boyish, as the second quilt will be for the little girl.

I woke up on Saturday morning and started quilting before I even showered or got dressed, but managed to finish this one before 8 am.  A productive start to the day!

Terrace tiles quilt

This is only one version of a quilt going by this name and from out of town.  This quilter used to be local but, after retiring, moved away.

Yesterday I had this quilt on the frame after the interlocking squares, and hopefully this won’t take 14 days to complete.  I took out frozen soup, which we enjoyed with cheese buns and for the little one, I made pizza for lunch.

The quilt maker purchased a fleece blanket with the size noted on the tag, but when I measured it, one side was not remotely as long as the tag said.  I will barely have enough space on the sides, but luckily this won’t need any ruler work.  I might just get this to work.

It turned out to be a productive quilting day as I finished this before we had to fetch the little one after school.  I still have 3 quilts in my house and 3 more on my waiting list.

House hen is losing her feathers. Whenever I took a break from quilting, I walked into a scene like this.  It feels as if I am constantly bending over to pick up either the feathers or their poo.

Hubby is fixing and levelling the paving around the swimming pool and has selected an intricate brick pattern, having to grind through them to get them to the size he needs.  I can already see all the dust gathering in every nook and cranny.  Looking at his pattern, I think he should really consider quilting.