Scrappy Hearts

Getting Ready - Week in the Life 2015

I am a story teller by nature. I love a good story and I believe that each day we are presented with a multitude of stories that, when joined together, weave the narrative that becomes our lives. Paying attention to the little stories is what prompts me to celebrate A Week in the Life each year along with Ali Edwards. This year I actually broke down and purchased Ali’s kit for documenting Week in the Life. I have to admit, I just love the grey binder with just the word “stories.” 

I played around bit on Saturday while Mark was packing for his flight and I have somewhat of a plan entering into this week.

I will use a full 6x8 photo for the first inside page and after that, a 6x8 page with 2x2 pockets with images and words that highlight the stories of this week for me.

For each day during the week I have a 3x8 page protector with just a piece of patterned paper.

 

The back side of the 3x8 protector has a daily sheet separated for morning, afternoon and evening. The next protector has 4, 3x4 pockets. I have randomly placed paper in pockets not sure if they will stay where they are or if I will move them around based on the stories from this week.

I am excited to document this week for many reasons. One of which is the fact that I am home alone. This is not a typical week in terms of activities and life. I have a couple of procedures scheduled for this week which will require that I am brave and I have to spend some time at school which will greatly affect my anxiety. Finally, Saturday, I will be leaving for the start of my vacation. It is just a crazy full week and I know that the stories I gleen from the documentation of my experiences this week will be memorable and good examples of how I currently “deal” with everything in my life. Here’s to Week in the Life.

 

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Thrilled to receive my first blocks in the swap my Utah friend and I have just started. Julie loves Civil War fabrics, as do I. We cooked up a scheme to create The Farmer’s Wife Sampler Quilt using Civil War fabrics. It was just about a year ago that we completed our Supernova Swap and I was itching for something new.

Our plan is to send each other 2 blocks each month along with the answer to a question about ourselves. Julie is much more up to date than I am. Yesterday I received the blocks for July and August along with her answer to the question, What is your favorite holiday and why? Just look at those gorgeous blocks!

Each block is 6.5”. We will make 111 blocks with Julie working on the even numbers and me working on the odd numbers. I sent blocks 1 and 3 out to Julie on Thursday and I am hoping that she will get them on Monday so I can share how they will all look together. In the end, we will each have 111 blocks. If we follow the layout in the book, we will each have a queen sized quilt when we are done. Such fun to see a project come together little by little with not huge time investment, at least at this point!

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Back in Bethlehem

Usually I do not over-book myself in the summer. Well, that’s a lie. I always overbook myself in the summer but there is always a very good reason. This year it was the opportunity to teach a workshop in Bethlehem, one of my favorite little towns ever!

I drove up to Bethlehem on Tuesday, the 4th, after teaching for two full days in Laurel, Md. I was fortunate to have company for the ride as my workshop co-leader’s flight was changed, for the worse. It took nearly 3.5 hours, but once we got there, it felt like home.

We immediately drove downtown so that I could share Bethlehem Brew-works with the other workshop leaders. We had such fun!Wednesday, after our training, we headed downtown again. This time we were a bit earlier and were able to enjoy dining alfresco at the Hotel Bethlehem. A delicious meal, wonderful company and a wonderful evening weather-wise.Next it was time to introduce my new friends to the Moravian Bookstore. I think we all found something to add to our collections.

As you can plainly see, I am still learning to take photos with my i-phone. My finger appears in many of the photos I took while away for a week!Thursday evening we also chose to dine alfresco, again at one of my favorite restaurants. Mark, my mom and I found the Apollo during our Christmas visit in 2013. The food is phenomenal and the weather cooperated. 

After dinner we traveled over to Steel Stacks to see if we could venture into MusikFest. We were seriously kidding ourselves. I tried showing my ID from the workshop I did earlier in the week but even though the police officer thought it was funny, he wouldn’t let us in. Oh well! We hear the music and felt the energy of the evening so I guess that was enough. 

Training from 8 in the morning until after 4 is exhausting. So, by the time we made it back over to the north side of Bethlehem, we were ready for some relaxation. We all got comfortable and made our way over to the pool.

We were graced with cool water and a beautiful sunset.The photos do not do it justice.Friday afternoon was only a half day of training. I bid goodbye to my new friends, grateful for the opportunity but happy to be heading home. My summer officially began the minute I arrived home.

 

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Finally it happened! For the most part our living room is clean. In my book that means free of clutter, for the most part. It was just so relaxing to curl up on the couch last night and sew. The kitty was by my side, there was a cool breeze blowing through the sliding door and the air smelled terrific! It was my first relaxing evening in a very long time. Unfortunately, it ended when I realized I had sewn my quilt block together, backwards! Oh well, relaxing is over-rated!

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Marlo and Me

It’s been a long time coming, but MY summer has finally started. I spend the better part of July teaching and preparing for IB workshops. I spent the first week of August traveling to present workshops. Now I have time to relax, catch up and prepare for the school year. While all of that happens here at home, I have the company of a very special cat, Marlo.

Marlo moved in with us when Jessica decided to spend her summer in Philly. He arrived with his mother and it was not the best arrangement for poor Marlo. His mother was a little overbearing and frankly, a bit cranky around him. She is loving her new home where she is the center of attention and Marlo, well, he is getting used to being here with just the humans.

Last week threw him for a loop with just one human occupying the house. Jessica came home for a visit and he certainly enjoyed that. But, overall, it just wasn’t the same. Yesterday he skitted around the house everytime I moved or did something he didn’t expect. Last night he was forced to endure a houseful of women and 31 bags.

Today, ahhhh today, it was just like he remembered. He spent his day parking himself as close to me as he could get without actually touching me. He sat beside me while I sewed at the kitchen table and he parked himself at the sliding glass door while I was working at my desk. When I went to the kitchen to prepare lunch, he lay across the threshold protecting me from any intruders that would happen to walk through the door. 

Yup, me and Marlo, Marlo and me. Just hanging out enjoying each other’s company.

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Marlo moved in with us when Jessica decided to spend her summer in Philly. He arrived with his mother and it was not the best arrangement for poor Marlo. His mother was a little overbearing and frankly, a bit cranky around him. She is loving her new home where she is the center of attention and Marlo, well, he is getting used to being here with just the humans.

Last week threw him for a loop with just one human occupying the house. Jessica came home for a visit and he certainly enjoyed that. But, overall, it just wasn’t the same. Yesterday he skitted around the house everytime I moved or did something he didn’t expect. Last night he was forced to endure a houseful of women and 31 bags.

Today, ahhhh today, it was just like he remembered. He spent his day parking himself as close to me as he could get without actually touching me. He sat beside me while I sewed at the kitchen table and he parked himself at the sliding glass door while I was working at my desk. When I went to the kitchen to prepare lunch, he lay across the threshold protecting me from any intruders that would happen to walk through the door. 

Yup, me and Marlo, Marlo and me. Just hanging out enjoying each other’s company.

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Columbia, Maryland

As a workshop leader for IB I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit many schools and places across our wonderful country. A week ago Sunday I traveled to Columbia, Maryland for a two day training in Laurel. The picture above is the view from my room. 

The lake, running trail and surrounding area was just gorgeous. We were able to complete the work for our presentaion while taking in a spectacular view. The community around the lake was conducive to relaxation and connecting with nature. I am only sorry I did not get to stay longer! I will definitely have to travel back this way to explore the area a bit more. Oh, perhaps I should take Mark also!

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Celebrating This One

Saturday evening we ventured to my sister’s house to celebrate the coming home of Miss Olivia. She had attended a 4 week “pre”-college program designed for high school students at the University of the Arts. 

She had a great time while she was away. She talked all about the program and what she got to do, as well as dorm food, life in the city, hanging with like-minded people and forming new friendships. She couldn’t talk enough about the amazing people she met, that’s her word, amazing. She did not want to come home! We’re glad she acquiesced. We missed her!

It was such a good time hanging out together. Saturday was always pasta night when we lived together at the beach. So we had pasta with Mema’s sauce, yum! For dessert, s’mores. Just like old times.I am so grateful for nights like this. 

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