It's in the mail

Today is my quilting day but yesterday I hurt my little toe and walking is rather painful. If I go to the doctor he will want an x-ray (not cheap) and put on a huge wrap and tell me to come back every day for the next few weeks. Actually, there is nothing to be done for a broken toe but ice it and possibly tape it to the neighboring toe. I am more concerned as to what I will wear for shoes at camp as flip-flops feel best but are frowned on as camp wear.

Hanging on the front gate is the second installment of the birthday runners for my daughter. A little over a week ago she sent the family pictures of
her beautiful and productive garden in the Boston Fens. Although not overly creative, I was able to come up with enough different fruit and vegetable prints to assemble in four-inch blocks so she will have plenty of food on the table.

I used very thin thinsulate batting and quilted flowers in each block. For the reverse side I auditioned several large scraps and decided on this multi-colored print. Perhaps it wanted to be selected because it was almost exactly the right size.

Out of six children I have a few that go almost to the point of taking over a project ... fabric ... pattern ... even backing. Then, again, there are those who seem to be happy with whatever I come up with.

This daughter seems to be happy with the idea of the series of runners. She has not said to stop or make a different size or asked for different colors so I plough onward and have cut about half of the pieces for the fall edition. These I will take with me to camp just in case I have spare time.

Also going to camp will be the Batik quilt, now waiting in the car. I am hoping that sometime during the week I will be able to find a place large enough and clean enough to lay it out and, if possible, baste it. I plan to use safety pins first in case I don't have time to baste the whole thing. I expect it to take about three hours and might have to pick it up during that time.

The lilies are holding off as it has been dreary rainy weather. I'm not sure if I should wish for sun during camp or hope this weather delays the blooms until I get back.


As a child, my mother loved petunias but I was less enthusiastic because the sticky wilted blooms had to be picked off each day so it would continue to bloom. Modern varieties have changed my opinion as they manage to bloom for two seasons in these hanging pots.

This wall separates my house from the neighbor on the North. Although it belongs to the neighbor, I am using it for my hanging garden. To the left of the pot you can see a section of the wall that is grooved into the post. During the quake, the street-side section slipped out of the groove and I notice a number of cracks in the stucco finish along the street. One of the things you learn in emergency prep is not to run out into the street during a quake as many injuries occur from falling walls. On March 11 the wall several houses down lost big hunks of stucco and another, across the street, chunks of concrete blocks although neither wall fell.

Finally. here is another little bloomer. Since my bedroom is in a greenhouse on the roof and it gets very cold in winter and very very hot in summer, I have been enjoying raising various varieties of cactus. This is the first time that this one has bloomed. I thought it was a gonner over the winter.

Several other varieties have big buds and I expect them to bloom while I am away. Luckily they thrive on neglect so will not miss me in the least.

So ... It's off to the woods with the guys. No currant bushes there. I will miss my friends as much as I do the plants but Nikko sees her food container getting packed and is excited to go. Did you notice that round yellow sticker on the gate? That indicates Nikko is registered with all her shots so if you open the door and she runs out to bite you, no danger of getting rabbies. To tell the truth, you are more likely to get licked to death than bitten.

Perhaps next week I will have a basted quilt to report on?