Winter Colds

I've been down and out with a winter cold and it's not even winter yet. Every year at this time I manage to find myself wrapped up in a quilt, sitting in my recliner watching TV while I suffer through yet another winter cold. How do I know I get them every year at this time? My good friends mother keeps a diary and yes there it is written down, same time last year a COLD.

While not feeling well enough to even get out of my jammies, I drug out that raffle quilt from last year to start the hand quilting process. You all remember the trials and tribulations of the Windmill, the changes, the cousin problem etc. With a few changes, new improvements it's not so bad or ugly and I've even taken a liking to the darned thing. So, over the past week, I've started hand quilting it with a modified baptist fan in the sky behind the windmill giving it some depth and character. The windmill itself is just that, haven't decided how to finish it to make it look like something other than the capsule from the space shuttle. I like these baptist fans, they add a dimension to the pale blue fabric in the sky area.

Called my sister for a chat and discussion of what to do about the next raffle quilt for our family picnic. Might as well start early since we have last years on the front burner for next year and funds to purchase fabric. We've decided on a family huddle of our sisters/mother to decided what to do about "the cousin" who caused so many problems last year. No stitching, just a sister get-to-gether, some hor de over's, discussion with a decision. Course we will toss in ideas of what pattern to do. I'd like to do simple, another log cabin variation and the sisters want something new. I'll toss out my recommendation, something simple and easy for those of us who haven't sewn much. Colors, something subtle as we are so diversified in our choices of colors. Some like bright and cheerful, others are more dark and dreary, other muted pastels. We're a bunch we are, all different personalities. One would think being sisters we would have similiar tastes but we're as differnt as night and day.



I celebrated my birthday last week. I can't believe I'm now closer to 70 than I'll ever be to 60. I remember at 17 thinking 35 was old, decrepit and being ready for a rocking chair. Time sure does fly by fast. Seems one day you're starting kindergarten, then next you're in junior high, graduation from HS, right behind that looking forward to turning 21. Followed fast by marriage, a few kids, their school days, graduations and marriages. Before you know it along come the grandkids and then before you're ever ready up pops that first great grandchild. You've blinked and a whole life has passed by, you've grown from that child, to adult, to seniour citizen and you haven't done all the things you planned with your life. I spent my day being sick, resentfull my DH hadn't even got me a card, instead handing me a wad of cash with a go buy yourself something, feeling forgotten and sorry for myself until my son's called to wish me a Happy Birthday. So I turned 67, just another day in the year for everyone else, but my special day, one I've always looked forward to. Birthdays aren't as fun as they used to be. When I was growing up, my parents made birthdays our own special holidays. The one we could look forward to all year long. It was better than Easter or Christmas because it was ours. I miss the birthdays of my childhood.