Almost interlocking squares

 We had a hectic two weeks; everything that could happen, happened. Our plans collided with others; appointments overlapped; I had more-than-normal social events; and it felt like nothing got done.

When we moved into this house 4 years ago, the layout was everything I wanted: enough bedrooms, enough open space for the grandkids to go bonkers and the private spaces separate from the living areas.  During the first winter, though, we felt the living areas were as cold as a freezer.  I am not the toughest cookie when cold.  This year I even decided not to watch TV in the lounge at night but to get into bed on the electric blanket and enjoy the TV in the bedroom.

We had 4 humongous palm trees by the swimming pool.  Soon after moving in, hubby chopped down one.  I cannot recall the reason for this one being chopped down.  Still 3 by the pool left, and I think a cold person gets colder when older, as we really did not have a harsh winter this year, but I am struggling more.  I layer so badly, I can barely bend my elbows to work.

I made a sudden decision: the remaining palm trees had to go; they block most of the light and sun from the house, and something needed to be done to improve the situation.  Made the call, and the tree fellers quoted one day, started chopping and finishing the next.  Shame, they really worked tirelessly, and I am glad I got them to do it, instead of hubby, which would take him months.  When I decided to get them, hubby added to the list of trees to be chopped or trimmed, and since moving in, we’ve now chopped about 23 trees in this garden.

 The palms around the pool gave the look of an island resort, but I prefer comfort before beauty.  We definitely have more natural light, although I cannot say the heat has improved.  I will have to find new ideas without using electricity, as this has become a luxury in South Africa.

In between the chaos of life and the trees, I received this queen-sized quilt from out of town, and it took me 14 days to complete.  I just didn’t get time to quilt.  I forced myself to at least do one of the 56 blocks a day; if I managed more, all good, but one a day meant progress.

With the blocks done, I started with the sashing and again hoped to do one row a day, and finally I just had the border to finish.

I forgot to ask the name of this pattern, but without the sashing in between, it can count as an interlocking squares quilt, so I’ll stick to that.  When writing this post, it was 5 am, not a good time to ask someone the name of the quilt.