Tokyo Dome part #3 ... and other stuff

Each year, the Tokyo Dome show includes quilts by well-known quilt teachers.

The display has changed over the years, now the quilts are larger than before,  but usually there is a theme provided.

This year's theme was "Log Cabin".

Who has not tried making this pattern? One of my first bed covers was a log cabin quilt. It is faded now but still in use on a daughter's bed.

My camera did not do so well with the lighting but here is an interesting interpretation of the theme.



"An Autumn Walk"
by Reiko Naganuma.

"Multicolored Log Cabin"


By Akane Sakamoto.

"Townscape" by Masako Wakayama

" Old Denim Square" 

by Noriko Nozawa.

Too bad the lighting was poor but this was interesting with parts from old jeans ... many well worn.

I liked the way many parts were worked into pictures.

This quilt was hung with better exposure and very popular with viewers. 

I think every other person walking past it took a picture.

The title is "Buddy" and it was made by Yoshiko Kurihara.

"The Garden of Log Cabin" was made by Akiko Kawata.

Lots of beautiful applique.

"Flowers of Cosmos"

by Fumiko Nakayama.

Well, it is a "log cabin" basically

but these are not ordinary pieces.

Lots of Mola details in this quilt!

And here is what I am working on now.

I have completed enough blocks for my nine-patch challenge.   (one more row added yesterday)

I have not decided the layout as yet.

Meanwhile, can you guess what is going on below?

A few years I made an I-spy quilt for a friend's new daughter. Now my friend is expecting a second baby and I think (having spent my childhood with mostly hand-me-downs) that the second baby should have a quilt of it's own.

I drafted this layout of numbers and the first row is waiting for the rest.

I am trying to make this quilt the same size as the first one so the plan is to add a vine on each side with leaves in the colors of the numbers.... one red, two green, three blue etc.  The little good-luck cats are also something to count.

I spent a lot of time going through scraps thinking I would use some of the fabric I used in sister's quilt but no luck finding it. Maybe I have too many unorganized scraps or maybe there was nothing left or maybe I am not very good looking!

More Tokyo Dome quilts ... part 2

I found a few more partnership blocks among those I had photographed.

How about this musical variety?

A singing bird, a singing pineapple,
a singing elephant,  a note-worthy cat, a dancing couple, and the cow jumping over the moon.

Just imagine trying to coordinate a quilt with this variety!

And, I did mention cats ....


At least these are all singing in chorus and they have a fence of pieced blocks to keep them all together.



It would be very interesting to talk with those who took on the task of assembling these blocks.

As I understand it, each year one well-known quilt teacher assumes the responsibility.

She gets TV time where she can demonstrate making blocks in a class. Maybe publish patterns ...

then, with the help of her loyal disciples, the quilts are assembled. She must have access to a very large space to lay out all these blocks and decide what will go where. 120 blocks per quilt!
Next year with smaller blocks it might be even more of a challenge.

And another joy that came completely unexpected ....

While standing in our small group, we were approached by another blogger who had recognized  us from our blog pictures.

(Not an easy thing among that mob you can see in the background)

Jenni was visiting from Australia ...
her blog is JACARANDA. What fun to add a new friend to the equation!

We also met up with Chikako Ueno. Though I didn't get a picture, both she and Queenie got pictures of the two of us standing in front of her beautiful quilt.

I did get a poor shot of her bag, also being exhibited.

Since Ueno-sensei is not from the Tokyo area,  it is amazing that we seem to meet up every year with no planning at all.
Her group of "Team Quilt Ten" used to have a display every year at the Yokohama quilt show.
Each year the theme would change and the display included quilts from other countries who had joined that year and theme. What a pity that show has not continued, but how good to see Ueno-san is still in action.

Tokyo International Great Quilt Festival 2016 (part 1)

This show is the fifteenth year, and though each year I have filled out the questionnaire, commenting that something termed "International" should include at least the names of the contributors in English, very little progress has been made.

For those familiar with kanji ... the Chinese characters ... There is a problem that most of them can be read in a number of ways.  My own kanji that read "ju li" in Chinese  can be read "shu rei" in Japanese. Even names written in Japanese kana can be read in a number of ways because lei and rei are written the same. Since every citizen knows how to write their name using Roman letters, after 15 years one would think it would be a no-brainer to have the entry forma filled out with those characters as a backup. With NHK as a sponsor, one would think adding one more line to the form would not be so very hard.

Each year I see so many people taking pictures. I'm sure some of those will be shared over the internet and not to be able to give credit to the person who had created that masterpiece (and there were many) is not only sad but inexcusable.

I was so happy to have the day to meet up with my friends. Virtual friends are great and I have many, but if you ever have the opportunity to meet in person, don't have second thoughts or pass it up ... and quilters are the greatest.

Carin, better known as "Queenie" took time from her very busy life to meet up with me. I love looking at shows with Carin as we both see so much more.

We checked out the "Partnership quilts first. I liked the arrangement of the quilt displaying hers and it is not hard to spot the colors of the Swedish flag and instrument.

The quilt containing my block was rather jumbled in comparison. it looked more like a collection of leftovers than a planned product.

It is possible to buy a ticket to bid on any of the quilts but this year I didn't bother. I wonder if anyone dropped a ticket into that box.

Queenie was able to get this link  http://www.nhk.or.jp/kurashi/hand/quilt/index.html where all the partnership quilts can be viewed.
Translate the page and you can view all the quilts and see the names of the contributors.

Next year the blocks will be made smaller and I wonder what that might mean for the layouts. There were certainly many identical blocks but some creative ones too.

Tanya joined us all the way from Nikko a bit later in the day and here she is with her block.

Both Carin and Tanya have posted pictures from the show
And both of them are better than I at figuring out the Japanese names.


As you may have already noticed, the theme for this year was "Music".

Well, Tanya's block is among lots of notes and signs. Carin's is one heavy with musical instruments.



My Ohio cardinal was singing among flowers, slippers, and even a 4-leaf clover and an alarm clock. At any rate I appreciate all the work that must have gone into assembling these quilts. It could not have been an easy task as there were over 70 finished quilts.

They lined the outer walls and the aisles,

Beside each quilt is a posted list with the name and location (city) of each contributor, and below that a box in which to drop a ticket for the drawing of that quilt.

  here are some creative interpretations of the theme, "music".


Frogs ... yes, there were quite a few.

Cats ... many.

birds ... my cardinal did have some company.

Lady bug? I have never heard one sing or even make a sound.

The one hanging on the left has my cardinal third row from the bottom. The neighboring quilt is a bit better organized. Maybe the name of the block was square dance or something musical. There were other quilts with dancing legs below gathered skirts and a silhouette of a girl singing.

Though these blocks were quite similar,

the effect of many combined seemed rather pleasing.



Though I have little understanding of the process, it seems that many blocks may be made in group workshops or patterns may be offered by quilt groups or teachers.


It is interesting though that even among these similar blocks, there is creativity in the choice of fabrics and the appliquéd critters.


Hopefully I will have a chance to figure out the other pictures from the show. I hope you have visited both Tanya and Queenie because their pictures are so much better than mine.

A day of remembering

Today is a fun day to remember. My first daughter was born on February 15th.

Most of her early pictures were taken in the hospital in black and white,  in an ICU for preemies and full of wires and tubes.

At one time she was sharing a box with another baby but had to be moved to one of her own as she was pulling out that baby's wires and tubes.

Sometimes when I went for a visit to take milk, she was lying with her feet out the hand holes of the unit. Small ... yes, but mighty!

Today I sit in the same location where I sat on her homecoming. The house has been rebuilt and the path paved, some neighbors have left but some are still here and remember that sweet little girl. They even remember that it is her birthday because the tree we planted to celebrate her birth has begun to bloom.

This year they even began to bloom a few days early, and since yesterday was a warm sunny day, the whole tree responded accordingly.

It was such a joy to be the perfect mother of a perfect daughter ... probably one of the reasons she was followed by three more perfect daughters.
(the two sons were sent by God to keep me humble).

The day before was Nikko's birthday, now the ripe old age of 13.

Actually, when she was rescued by my kids from the wilds of Tochigi, the vet estimated her age at three months. Counting backwards placed her birthday on Valentine's Day.


This morning she accompanied me as usual for onigiri delivery in Shibuya.  Oh, how she loves to get pats and praise from those homeless men. Today she even shared a tidbit from someone, waiting patiently for the word "itadakimasu"
(roughly, I will partake ... her signal to accept the treat).


February may be a short month but it is a big one with birthdays starting with my Granddaughter, Naomi in early February, and ending with my #3 daughter at the end of the month. (And her flowers are about to open too).

Taking the good with the bad

Any chance to get together with my children is good and the support of family under sad circumstances took away some of the pain.

Here are Jon, Ken, and Marie in back and Kimie and Julie in front. We had just finished a lunch break and Kimie was headed out to the station to get the Narita express on the first leg of her return to Oregon.

At the return to the hospital for the evening visiting hour, we were met with unwanted news.
It had been noticed sometime between the 8th and 9th of January that Paul had suffered a stroke, as his left arm was not moving. A CT scan verified the issue but unfortunately the treatment for pneumonia and stroke were at odds. A second CT scan on the 11th showed the whole right brain was involved and the end would have not been positive. He passed away peacefully shortly after, surrounded by family and our pastor.

The following days were a blur but through the kindness of the pastor of the Japanese church where we were members in the early 60's, a Christian cremation was arranged.

Paul, whose passion in life was being a bridge, had ended with one more between the two churches.

There have been so many hoops to jump through and my Japanese skills are sorely inadequate. Norie needed to get some home time and Marie, who has lived in Boston since her college days, was most helpful in dragging me around to assorted offices to get things done ... figuring out which bills had not been paid, reporting to the bank and ward offices, and sorting paperwork.

Jon and Julie Jr. were the next to return to their families and work.  I really needed to get some of my life back too and made a date to meet with Tanya and Carin (AKA Queenie) at the Tokyo Dome quilt show. They have both made some great posts on the show and it was such a joy to be there together. Once a year is NOT enough!

I am so grateful for all my families, kids and relatives, my church and choir family, my school family, and my Scouting family,  ... and even my precious blogging friends.  This is not the way I would have chosen to find out who my real friends are and I can never thank you all enough for your kind words and prayerful thoughts.

Last weekend I went as planned to the Women's  Conference and enjoyed a prayerful time with old friends and new. I taught a hand quilting basics class and enjoyed the results ... some students going on to make a second project.  Marie and Ken were the last to leave the day before and Nikko and I are getting back to the schedule, though she now walks with me instead of running beside Paul's bike.

There are still months worth of problems to sort out ... debts, taxes, paperwork... still, Piper is singing and the plum tree is getting ready to celebrate the February birthdays. Without my in-house translator of quilt show names of quilters I am wondering if I can put any posts of the work.

So ... that is what is happening in chilly Tokyo for all who have wondered.
Tomorrow is another day ... "Scout Sunday"and I have promised to give the children's message. Life goes on.

Not much time for blogging

The New Year has started out pretty crummy.

The 31st my husband spent at church, helping to prepare the new year's breakfast items for the homeless out church serves.

the 1st he was off to work with she serving of that meal and, though I expected him early to help with preparations for our own family celebration, he came late in the afternoon rather dragging and went off to take half an hour nap which lasted the rest of the day.

Next day he read an article about when you might have pneumonia, and decided to go to the hospital. He called from there to say he was admitted. I was, by then busy trying to tidy up his things as well as mine and suggested we call off the party. No, no. all the food was bought.

Sunday after church I got a call that he was in the ICU in serious condition. I went there and found that small hospital was not a place that could give him the care he needed and though they insisted it was dangerous to move him, we contacted the University Hospital and got him moved.

So ... I have spent most of the time since then in waiting rooms. Now all six of our kids are here and I was able to skip the 12:30 to 1:00 visiting time and stay home to take down the Christmas tree and toss some of the rotting food.

Waiting room time got more 9-patch blocks done. My muslin scraps come in a variety of whites, some whiter than others. I laid some of them out and am wondering if the whiter fabric is going to make it look bad.

Meanwhile, the salmon-pink cactus is still putting out blooms.

Like me, it has yet to move beyond Christmas.



and ....

this tiny flower appeared on the tip of a three pronged bit of cacti I had found and dipped into rooting hormone and stuck in a pot of dirt I just happened to have on hand.

A tiny thing but hanging in there.


Maybe a symbol of my year so far.

 

Design-floor decisions

 Using leftover muslin from the last few quilts and my overly full tin of two-inch blocks, I decided to join the Celebrate Hand Quilting 9-patch challenge.

Now that the blocks are piling up, I need to figure out how this quilt will go together.  The fastest way would be to cut the remaining scrap muslin into six inch blocks and alternate the lay-out.

Of course, when cutting the two inch scraps, I had leftovers that could be made into one-inch blocks. Well, not wanting to waste fabric ... why, I feel that way I don't know but I do toss anything smaller than a one-inch square.

Anyway, those bits have turned into three inch 9-patch blocks.

So ... the plot thickens. If I decide to use the small blocks between the large ones, I will need to cut the remaining scraps into 3 x 6 pieces. Of course that also means some of the larger scraps might have to be chopped up to make more one-inch blocks and the quilt gets a bit busier.
As far as the quilting it would mean filling many 3 x 6 areas rather than fewer 6 x 6 areas.

Of course I could figure out some kind of a border to use up the smaller blocks. Straight or on point or using solids might work.

I rather imagine when I cut the leftover muslin, there will be some scraps that are small and I could use for the smaller blocks.

One other layout on my floor is adding fabric to those little blocks and putting them between the larger ones.

That would take a lot more piecing but it would also eliminate the amount of area to quilt once the in-the-ditch work is done.

I am now running out of small scraps to cut so I really need to figure out how the layout should go.


If it is any help in deciding, I have no plans for the piece I am working on. Probably large areas of light fabric would not be very good as a baby quilt. It is already too big for a table runner so probably a single bed cover is the best plan ... if I don't want to buy more muslin (and I don't).
No plan ... no deadline ... just take-along work for the new year.   advice welcome.

Norie's family came for Christmas and it was so nice to have help in the tiny kitchen.

Leia had school on Christmas and arrived later in the day with her father. Since she will have holidays through New Years, the children were assigned projects of their own choosing to finish and report on. Leia got out the craft book and found instructions for a pin cushion.  She measured and sawed a section from a heavy cardboard core of a wrap tube. She had to go through my collection of saved tubes to find one of the correct dimensions.

After covering a small cardboard circle with fabric and also the tube, she glued the small circle into the bottom of the tube.

Then she measured and marked a circle of fabric for the upper half.

She stitched carefully along the seam line with tiny even stitches. I have taught adults hand piecing and their stitches were never more small or even than those Leia was making.

When she finished, we used excess scraps of batting to stuff the top and she gathered her stitches tightly and glued the finished top into the upper part of the tube.

The pattern called for a bowtie on the side so I pulled out my boxes of saved scrap ribbon. Sure enough, she quickly found a good length of purple ribbon to go with the three purple fabrics she had dug out of the scraps from Ben's big boy quilt. That was quickly tied into a bow and  ... as in the instructions, she cut the ends with V cuts.

Her goal .... get her homework project out of the way so she can enjoy the holiday ...

Does she look happy?

Kind of a blurry picture.....

How about this one?   there was time left over to enjoy the turkey dinner.

Hope you go into the new year with all your projects finished off too.

I think I will need to take a few lessons from Leya.

Not much to blog about

According to clues around me, Christmas is coming.


My cacti began competing with each other about a week ago.

One pot at the back has a pale whitish pink.

One to the left is a bright red.

And one at the right has a rather orangey salmon pink. That one I first saw blooming one summer in my brother's home.  I had never seen one that color and brought home a cutting wrapped in tissue in a zip-lock baggy. Actually I have never purchased a Christmas cactus. My first one came back in 1963, a pressed flower in a Christmas card. That cutting went into a pot and flourished, giving off many cuttings over the years.
Actually, other than the one I brought back in my luggage, all these have been grown from accidental fall-out. I have a few pots with several varieties sharing the pot ... Fall-out found on the floor of my little greenhouse-bedroom.

Right now I should be working frantically to finish up a gift for my second daughter and get it into the mail. Sadly, that gift is going to be way late. Even the tissue box cover is only in the drawing stage and the door decoration is also still on paper.

The past week I have had a really bad cold and cough. My main activity has been filling the wastebasket with used tissues. Finally, at the end of the week, I let Paul talk me into a trip to the doctor. I usually just let a cold run its course but the coughing was cutting into my sleep.  At last I have been able to get some sleep and today have begun hunting things that got moved to make way for the little Christmas tree, decorated by my granddaughter.

I cut a lot of the scraps of muslin left over from the backing on the tree skirt into blocks.

Well, I marked and cut the smaller pieces into two or one inch squares. (The larger scraps are still waiting to see what I will need on a new project).

The Celebrate Hand Quilting facebook is in the midst of a "9-patch quilt adventure" and I guess there might be a way to use the challenge to get rid of the excess pieces in those two tins. The only  other alternative would be to get new tins.
Anyway, this can be a good no-brainer take-along project until I get my act together.

Waking in the middle of the night, I recalled another project that is nearing a deadline.

I promise my graduating Webelo Scouts each year, that if they make "Eagle"in the future, they should let me know and I would carve them an eagle neckerchief slide.

Most of those scouts are here in Japan for only three or four years, then move to another country or back to the states. I think scouting is a good way to make friends and keep connected and my promise has been a great way to keep in touch and celebrate their achievements.

I wish I had kept a list all these years of how many eagles have flown across the sea. Matthew, who earned this one will have his Court of Honor next month. He left here long ago, still a cub scout. His father was my Pack committee chairman. It is always hard to think of these boys, all grown up and heading off into the big world because they remain in my mind as they were when they left.

Once, while at a training session at Philmont, in the states, a young man came up to me and said, "Mrs. Fukuda, don't you remember me? I am Kevin Blake." Indeed, I did remember Kevin, but in my mind he was still little cub scout with a squeaky voice, coming up to my shoulder.... Not a six-foot something young man.  Would I know Matthew if I should see him today? Maybe not, but it has been a joy to share a small part of his life.

Time to get out the sandpaper and sharp tools, cut those feathers, and add the paint. Time does not stop for the sniffles.

The camera speaks!

My camera seems to be enjoying it's elevated position from case to handbag. Suddenly it is calling out to me as I pass a world of beauty.

When nighttime temperatures dropped to a new low, the Japanese Maples  turned on the red button.

 Wednesday I met with my friend, Shigeko for a day of beauty.

We went to the Nezu Museum ...
No pictures of the exhibits ... and viewed ancient treasures in the form of scrolls telling old stories.

Some were mounted on folding screens and many of those tales I have viewed as Kabuki plays.

There were some scrolls where the pictures were so tiny and detailed, it seems they must have been painted with a brush with only one hair!
The title of the exhibit is "Pictured Tales: From Courtly Narratives to Medieval Short Stories".

After viewing the main exhibit, we visited the other
Galleries seeing ancient Chinese Bronzes, Buddhist art, fan-shaped paintings, and tea ceremony implements.

Then, as if that was not enough walking, we went out to enjoy the beautiful garden attached to the museum.

The sky was a beautiful blue and the trees have reached their prime in color.

There were paths going in all directions and we needed to make a choice  ... left or right or straight ...every few steps.

The garden was also a show place of art with sculptures and lanterns well placed at every turn.

This stone fellow seems to be contemplating the beauty around him.


















And how inviting is that path leading upward?

Those trails were almost like a maze.

High above in the trees, the Hiyodori (Brown-eared Bulbul) were calling out as they enjoyed the scene.

The black pines were wrapped with belly-bands in preparation for winter.


As I understand it, the insects winter in the straw bands rather than burrowing into the tree bark and the straw can then be burned in the spring.

I don't know if black pines are in great danger from insects, but the red pines are suffering greatly from pine blight carried from tree to tree by the pine-bark beetle.

It was a wonderful treat from my friend to enjoy all this and as we left, we noted the next exhibit will begin January 9th.

"Pine, Bamboo, and Plum: Auspicious Designs in Celebration of the New Year."

These little straw decorations along the garden path represent plum (can you see the shape of the flower in the twisted straw rope?) and the other might be pine or bamboo.

They seem to be saying, "Come back in the New Year to our show".

And Tuesday night, I grabbed this picture of the tree skirt on the floor at church.  When I returned home, I added the ties along the open edge and at this moment it is winging its way to Oregon.

I had to chuckle about a week or two ago when Quilt Inspiration (Check them out ) posted a terrific selection of tree skirt patterns. A little late for my use ... I had to come up with a pattern of my own .. but had I seen them, I would have had a hard time deciding on just one.

Now it is on to my Christmas presents (the tree skirt was actually a birthday present requested in February). Nothing like a deadline or two to keep me moving.

Looking with new eyes.

Years ago, I was contacted by a Scouting friend. He had a friend who had a newly adopted grandson from Russia and was looking for a way to interest that boy in reading. The boy had read a book about "Flat Stanley" and she was looking for others who would participate in a visit from one sent by this boy.

Having been a non-reader as a child, I was eager to help and before long, Stanley arrived in a post.

That began a year of adventure. Suddenly I was seeing things all around me that I had hardly noticed before. The camera and Stanley went with me daily. We saw all kinds of things  ... some ordinary and some unusual ... and took lots of pictures. Each week we sent off letters and pictures to Ivan, telling him of our adventures.

A year or two later I had a second visit from Stanley. Since Ivan was a Scout and it was scouting through which I had met him, I took Stanley with me to the National Jamboree. Here in the picture is the up-dated Stanley enjoying a display of patches. I think he was happy to see a patch from Russia.

The thing that made me recall the adventures with Stanley was a post from one of my blogging friends.  JoAnn at Scene through my eyes always has wonderful photos of all kinds of things.
Recently she posted a scavenger hunt of random and beautiful pictures that illustrated items on the list for the month of November. I checked out the list of words for December and wondered how difficult it would be to join the challenge.

Last night I carried my camera as I went to choir practice, thinking of some of the words on the list. I was surprised how many I could spot on just one trip. Perhaps carrying a camera is part of it. Taniwa, always seems to have a camera with her and posts wonderful pictures.

Maybe like the days with Stanley, I can see things in a new way. For now, I still need to figure out how to store and organise my pictures on this new-fangled laptop.

And now new decisions in the tree skirt.
I quilted trees into the kite-shaped points but they really don't show and I wonder if I am just wasting my time.



I had thought of quilting bells inside some of those inner shapes but am now beginning to reconsider.


Perhaps just straight lines about an inch inside the seams would be just as effective.

What do you think?



I bought green binding for the edges.

Well, I'm off to the sewing group today.
Maybe they will have a few suggestions.

Signs of the times

Have you ever thought of crows as something dangerous?


A friend was once walking through the park on her way to school and saw what appeared to be an injured bird on the ground.

As she went closer, it seemed to be a fledgling crow.

Suddenly she was attacked by the little bird's parents, dive bombing to peck her on the head.

Even as she ran away, the crows followed her all the way to school in constant attack.

Here is another sign of caution in a park.




It is only a warning ... no advice of what to do should you get attacked.

And here is a blurry picture of the culprit ...

A Japanese Jungle crow.

Actually we also have Carrion crows, the difference being flatter foreheads and thinner beaks.

These guys are not only dangerous, they are very smart and quick to take advantage of clueless humans.

Once while camping, I saw a crow flying over the campsite carrying a small shopping bag.

What was in the bag? The ingredients of the Scout's planned dinner. (removed from the top compartment of the backpack. And, that is not the only time it has happened on a camping trip.

When we lived in Suginami-ku, the trash collection area had a green net that was to be spread over the waiting trash. One could hear the crows discussing the possibilities from early in the morning and sure enough,  every morning on collection days, they managed to pull out the smaller lighter bags or those that had not been tucked well under the net and spread it all up and down the street.

When I recently visited the old neighbourhood, I saw they had given up the net and substituted a folding mesh bin.

This opens into an oblong bin with a drop lid on top.

The biggest problem was apartment dwellers, probably dropping off their garbage on their way out to work. Not only were those bags too light to hold the net, but easy for the crows to carry off.
In the end, it was the homes that were at the collection site that had the questionable pleasure of sweeping up the scattered trash.
After doing my duty twice a week for many years, I had to smile when I saw the up-grade.

One of my friends complained that the city has a crow problem ... well. in my estimation, it is a people problem. Our current neighbourhood still uses the big net but people around here are much more careful about keeping the net well tucked over the pile.

And here is another sign.

I wonder what this one indicates.

Is the building behind a school?
Not the one where I work.

Maybe if I follow that arrow I will find my home.

There is not a lot to show on the quilting front. The snowflakes are just about all quilted.
I am hoping I can get to the border before long.

As I work, I am contemplating what to quilt in the segments of the star. (I already quilted along the seams) I have ideas for that kite-shape but have yet to try them out. With the Christmas prints, the quilting may not show anyway. Once I begin I don't want to have to take any of it out. Hopefully a picture will follow before long.  The door hanging for my second daughter .... well ... not yet begun.
Where does all the time go? Crows got it?