Thursday, March 28, 2019

Really Random Thursday, 3/28/19

I spend way too much time on Instagram. One of my very favorite accounts lately is Michael Victor, @the415guy. He lives in the Bay Area and spends nearly every day exploring and taking pictures of San Francisco. He always finds the most interesting things on his walks. Case in point. Of course, I always view his photographs as potential quilt photo ops. I love that he identifies the area in San Francisco where he takes his pictures.
Maggie and I had coffee the other day. We have been friends for years. We used to meet for coffee at least three or four times weekly. Schedules have changed and I always feel like we never see each other often enough.
We were able to see a performance of Wicked last week. This is the fourth time Mark and I have seen it--the first time was on Broadway. So good!

If allowed, this girl would have sung every single song out loud during the performance. :)
My friend, Barbara, made a version of My Swedish Ex, which will be available at the MCC auction next month. It is always so fun seeing someone else's version of my pattern.
My friend, Lotti, came over the other day and we had a selvage-sewing session. You all know I LOVE selvages. This has become the cutest pincushion for one of her granddaughters.
Currently on my design wall.
The design wall from a few years ago, thanks to Facebook memories.
Haha, number 1. Lotti sent me this--I think it was most likely in reference to my selvage organization project. While I'm super happy with my selvages, I also have quite a few things that fit into these three categories. What about you?

Gabe. At bat.
Mark and I decided to take a ride through the hillside the other day, to catch some wildflowers in bloom. We may have missed the "super bloom" by a few days, but it was a gorgeous day and the drive was so relaxing.








Haha, number 2.
We spent some time with new friends the other day, introducing them to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. I think they were impressed--they bought a membership--and we had a great time getting to know them better.

I've been started on a new medication to reduce my risk of breast cancer recurrence. Medications come with trade-offs, right? It might help one thing, but then you have other side effects to deal with. Mine seems to be affecting the joint arthritis in my hands, which is depressing as it affects my ability to do what I love the most--create. So I'm adjusting to what may be the new "normal."

As I work at this adjustment, not always successfully, this quote by Jen Sincero is a good one to focus on: "Gratitude is one of the strongest and most transformative states of being. It shifts your perspective from lack to abundance and allows you to focus on the good in your life, which in turn pulls more goodness into your reality."



Thursday, March 21, 2019

Really Random Thursday, 3/21/19

Last Friday night, Mark did his presentation on fused glass. He nailed it. He was very prepared and I think all those who attended learned quite a bit. With the overhead mirror, he was actually able to demonstrate how he cuts glass, which is quite interesting.
One of our good friends had shown him a picture in a magazine and requested a custom piece. It is about 18" in length and absolutely stunning.
Here are some close-ups. Dichroic glass is really remarkable. If you are curious about the little shapes, he places clear glass on top of the dichroic. It kind of sinks into the dichroic glass during the firing phase and it's like looking through a window. Very cool.



The next morning, Janice and I went to a High Tea, a fun event to raise awareness for Central Valley Justice Coalition, the organization that Christa works for.
Yummy food.


Christa gave part of the presentation, and did a wonderful job, as always. The student art project was fascinating. Students made pottery containers. Then they were dropped and shattered. The pieces had to be picked up and put together, demonstrating how something broken can become beautiful, a wonderful tangible example for those lives affected by abuse and trafficking.
After that, I took Gabe to his baseball game. He batted once, and was in the outfield every other inning, like the rest of his teammates.
The time on the bench is not the most exciting thing in the world, as the last picture demonstrates.



What is it with boys and gruesome faces??

Haha, number 1:

Sunday we drove to Reedley to see my dad. The fruit trees are in bloom, although it was hard to get a good picture while driving. And this year with all the water, the wildflowers and poppies are in "super bloom" status. We hope to take another ride into the foothills to see them.
The mountains are stunning. I love this picture of the palm tree with the snow-capped peaks right behind it.
Recent conversation with the above-mentioned 7-year-old (as we walked to the car when I picked him up from school):
Gabe: Can I do something to earn money?
Me: It's nice outside. You can clean the furnitue on Periwinkle Cottage.
Gabe: You mean the shed?
Me: No, I mean the cottage.
Gabe: Grandma, you see that yellow cone on the playground? Just because you call it a banana doesn't make it a banana. Just because you give an object a new name doesn't make it something different....it's a shed.

His vocabulary is way too advanced for a 7-year-old.

*Sigh* The "cottage" in question... Yes, we use the inside for storage. But I still call it a cottage because of the porch and furniture. It even has a sign with its designated name. Whose side are you on? Is it a shed or a cottage?
This arrived in the mail from Sarah--I have been eyeing this fabric in her instagram feed (@cedarforksarah) and she sent me some scraps, and the very cute pin--Orange You Gonna Make Something. Why yes I am.

I am excited to knit something with this gorgeous hand-dyed yarn from Diane. You should check out her Etsy shop--so many beautiful yarns are available.
And a good friend, Janice Porter, dropped this off on Tuesday--because she also knows I love orange. I guess that's no secret...Anyway, it's a tagua nut, which is a rainforest nut known as vegetable ivory for its likeness to animal ivory. Isn't it cool?

The other morning my phone rang, and this is what showed up on my screen? Um, what?? It kind of freaked me out, so I took a screen shot, which disconnected the call (which I had not intended on answering anyway). Has this ever happened to you?
When Mark and I were at the store the other day, we saw this--snickerdoodle and brownie batter hummus. It didn't sound appealing. But it was so intriguing that we bought the snickerdoodle flavor. Verdict? Not appealing in reality...
More baseball. Levi is at an age where the games are quite competitive and fun to watch.

Haha, number 2, the way I feel every.single.morning.