Author: Wanda

I don’t know where the past couple of weeks have gone. I have had a migraine for one thing. It just lasted for days and days. Needless to say I was useless.  And I have fallen way behind on my reading challenges.  Some of the books I put on hold in the library never came in, so February’s Time Gone By challenge was a dud.  I have finally started reading again.  My migraine finally subsided.  March’s challenge is “Courage.”  I have finished my first book in this challenge and my review is at the end of this post.

Anyway, my guild meeting was on the 8th. It included our business meeting and then a program/demo. It’s the first meeting I have been to in quite a while. Except for our Outreach workshop.  Today was our Meet The Quilters Program in North Carolina.  At least in our part of NC.  Augusta Cole was the guest speaker and the show and tell was great.  There are several guilds in our area of NC/SC.  Each guild has a set amount of places for members to attend.  When you arrive you sit with quilters that are not in your guild to encourage an exchange of ideas which promotes community involvement, fellowship and talent.  Of course there are door prizes and raffles.

I have been sewing for my new granddaughter Isabella. She turned 1 month old on the 10th. Here she is with her daddy (my son).

Isn’t she beautiful? I have been making her fancy pants. I hate to see the disposable diaper showing under little dresses. Don’t you? I found a free pattern online. Here’s one link: https://www.madeeveryday.com/2015/05/tutorial-new-improved-the-perfect-diaper-nappy-cover.html.  This tutorial is for a plain diaper cover.  It’s really simple to make.  There is also a video tutorial to go with this pattern.  Here is a link to a pattern for a ruffled diaper cover.
http://mellysews.com/2015/04/sew-a-diaper-cover.html  The free pattern is for 0 to 3 months only.  There is a multi sized pattern for sale on the site too.

Our plans to go meet our new granddaughter have changed multiple times.  For one reason, the Christening was moved to April 2nd, for another, we have lost the place we were going to stay.  I am so disappointed.  So we have decided to leave on the 24th and drive to Orlando where my girlfriend lives and stay with her.   We will drive over to Miami Beach for a day and see the kids, then head back that evening.   We will then drive over for the Christening.  I’m not sure how much time we will get to spend with Bud, Karina and Bella, but we’ll spend as much as we can.

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself by Harriet Jacobs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book because of the March challenge “Courage”. It is the story of one slave girl’s humiliating, degrading life, and her struggle for freedom, and the courage and conviction it took to make it to freedom.

I have said this to myself so often in the past twenty years. I never felt this way when I was young and just starting on the journey of my adult life. But as I hit middle age, I began to realize that time does slip away. In the blink of an eye my babies graduated from high school then college then got married and gave me beautiful grandchildren.

Now I find that my days are filled with things I never had time for. I read a lot, I quilt, and spend time playing around with photography. I like to play on the computer. Oh the hours I can spend just playing spider solitaire! To be honest, I don’t know how I ever worked full time, raised three kids and kept my house clean.

My point is, that time doesn’t wait for anyone. Along with taking care of our bodies, we must also take care of our souls. We need to receive the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Hold Communion often. We need to spend time in prayer with Our Lord. Remember what St. Therese said, “The world is thy ship and not thy home.” We are here on this earth for a short time. During this voyage we must prepare for it’s ending.

Yesterday was the Community Outreach workshop for my quilt guild. Myself and Janet are the co-chairs of this committee. I usually handle the baby quilts and Janet handles the rest. But we do work together on everything. The baby quilts are separated from our other charities because the kits take a long time to put together. My hubby Gary helps me in making them. There were 43 of us there to work on the firehouse program quilts. We created 185 strip blocks. Janet furnished lunch. We had salad, French bread and home made manicotti. There were a few treats for after lunch too.

Our county has decided that in each fire district, one firehouse will be manned 24/7. We are making quilts for the beds for the firefighters.
I am excited about this project because I don’t think firefighters get the recognition or the thanks they deserve. I know that I could never walk into a fire and these people do it on a regular basis. They are heros!

The Witches: Salem, 1692 Stacy Schiff
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I have given up on this one. I just couldn’t get into it. The subject matter interests me, but I am not a fan of the author’s style. I know that this is basically a history book, and usually I can persevere through anything, but not this time. Too much I want to read that I know I will enjoy to keep struggling with this.

Elizabeth: Virgin Queen? by Philippa Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book explores the probability of an illegitimate child to Elilzabeth I. I found it interesting and well written.