Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Working on ...




Just before Christmas I was asked what I was working on and couldn't tell because it was for my brother (who has quite a few cowboy boots and coyotes rooming in his area) & sister-in-law. They called and thanked me so here they are!

I found the pattern online and apparently liked it so much I ordered it ... twice ... once about 3 years ago and then again this year. When I found the Christmas coyote fabric I knew I had to get busy. The directions were clear, but not easy. The stocking itself was not difficult, but the pieced front with similar sized pieces had to be carefully placed and not interchanged. I would have enjoyed templates, but that probably is not as accurate when sending the pattern online and using different printers. They were fun to make as I enjoy a challenge. I actually made 3 of them & kept one for us. There is nothing in it, but it looks good hanging at the fireplace.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Good book!

Just a quick note before we go out to dinner. I belong to a book club where we each buy a current book and then pass them around to each other. I get to read books that I may not choose. I got "Losing Mum and Pup" by Christopher Buckley and loved it! It is witty and yet reverent. I'll read other books by Christopher Buckley. Thanks!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Christmas Tree

Look at our beautiful tree! We haven't had one in 15 years ... we've decorated the house, but no tree because we have been with either of our grandchildren for Christmas. This year we have been invited to be with Cindy & Charlie.

So, now I'll tell you how we happened to get this lovely tree. We were with Paul & Lisa & Amanda & Kendra for Thanksgiving and Lisa asked me what we were doing for Christmas. I said we were staying home. Then she asked me if we would get a tree. I said that we weren't because our house was too small to have one. Lisa mentioned that there are lovely, slim, lit artificial trees available. She even pulled them up online, but nay ... too much money for a nice one ... we have plenty of decorations without one ... who needs it? End of conversation.

So I went on my merry way. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving week-end with good food and wonderful visits with people in and out all week-end.

A few days after we got home the doorbell rang and it was a delivery of this big box. Chuck wanted to know what I ordered, and I hadn't. When we opened the box it was the tree ... from Lisa and Paul and is our Christmas present! It fits in our front window perfectly!

It went together perfectly and even has a remote to turn the lights on & off. I had fun digging out all our ornaments and with the empty spots I filled in with dried hydrangeas from our garden.


Then I tried to put the angel that Cindy had needlepointed for us years ago as a tree topper, but it was too heavy and kept falling down, poor thing. That's when I fashioned a few hydrangeas into a bouquet and it is light enough to stay in place. The angel sits on the valance near the tree and looks beautiful there.

Cindy put up a small tree and asked me if I wanted to borrow the tree skirt I made for her and it works ... but I'll make one for our tree in 2010. That's what I need ... another excuse to quilt. ;-)

And we like it. It won't shed and has 3 easy pieces to put together and no watering. Great way for us to have a tree.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

1 Year Ago


It doesn't seem possible that a whole year has gone by since we were in Germany. Chuck & I keep looking at our pictures and the press conference movie on Vimeo. (The link is posted on the left side of the blog.) Our memories are still very vivid and I STILL think it was the trip of my lifetime. I'm sure we will go on others, but none as meaningful to me.

We went to Dansville on Labor Day Week-end and at a bakery vendor they had the mandelhorns that we ate all over Germany. We have to go to Germany to get THE best. And I've made 3 plum cakes, so far this season. I'm saving the recipe I got from Hannah & Clara for apple cake. Helga made an apple cake from that recipe and Ruth made the plum cake from that recipe. The photo is of the plum cake we had at the Kind's. Oh, yes, that's Helga and Hannah behind the cake. And we also had a surprise plum cake brought to us in Brake from Ulla. And this was a different recipe ... all excellent!

I had fun converting the recipe from metric and made a few ... not as successful cakes ... before I found the right amounts. None were bad enough to throw away, just not "company" ready.

And Irondequoit has it's Oktoberfest this week-end and last. We went last week-end and Chuck had Weinerschnitzel and beer and I had rouladen with my Reisling. The rouladen was as good as we had at the lovely luncheon in Ovelgönne.

I know I've gone on about the food, but what I enjoyed most was the wonderful people we met and the welcoming attitude. I was not sure what it would be like and was so glad to witness the fact that the country is acknowledging the holocaust with its museums. We saw many school groups touring Sachenhausen Concentration Camp.

It was a powerful visit for me and I, again, thank Clara & Hannah for opening the door for me!!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Souvenir

Last night I went with friends to see "Souvenir" at GEVA and thoroughly enjoyed it! If you get a chance go see it. This poor woman (Judy Kaye) was much more off key ... and timing ... than I ever was. I marveled at her voice thinking she probably had a wonderfully trained voice ... that she could sing so badly really must have been such a difficult role for her. And the actor that was her accompanist had wonderful timing for all the jokes! Everyone was in stitches and tears were running down my face. Want a good laugh? Go see this play.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

That Long?




I didn't realize it's been so long since my last entry. Summer always seems to go by in a flash. With all the rain we had we had some wonderful flowers in our garden and the grass stayed green even in our sandy soil. The asters are still blooming and I love the hydrangea with both pink and blue flowers on the same bush. Thanks to my friend, Bill, I have quite a few day lillies and this double yellow one is my favorite! Now I have to concentrate on weeding. Where do they all come from?

The funniest plant we have is my tomato "tree". None of those plants produced much, but one is taller than I am ... and has only 2 tomatoes on it which are still green. The other 3 plants are green and normal size, but i red tomato & 2 green ones. Everyone in this area has not had good luck with tomatoes this year.

Monday, June 29, 2009

This and That

Chuck and I spent the last 4 days at the L. P. G. A. watching the girls play golf in the rain and the sun. I enjoy watching them go into a hazard and then get out easily and still make par. Cindy gives us tickets to this event for Christmas. Nice gift. And if you saw me there ... I'm the one that was quilting while waiting for the girls to get to where we can see them. Yes, I do watch the golf.

I've added a book to my favorites. I'm usually reluctant about a book with 2 authors, but the book was written by Mary Ann Shaffer, who was born the year I was. She became ill and then had her niece put the finishing touches on it. She has subsequently died, but has left a wonderful book for all of us to enjoy.

If you enjoy quilting and wonderful pictures of birds and flowers, Beth's blog is the one for you. She has a wonderful eye for color and design.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Paula Nadelstern!!

What a great week-end we had with Paul, Lisa, Amanda and Kendra. Our children and grandchildren are always great fun to be with.

And it was a busy time. We arrived on Fri. and went on a picnic to friend's of theirs. Good company and eats. Sat. Paul treated Chuck (a birthday gift) with a trip to Foxboro, MA to watch 2 college LaCrosse play-offs. They loved it. Kendra had a baseball game and both girls had music lessons, so it was girls day at home.
But Sunday was THE BEST for me!! Lisa took me into NYC to the American Folk Art Museum, right next to MOMA ... we kept looking for it across the street. Paula Nadelstern had an exhibit there and even though she is coming to Rochester in Sept. she will not be bringing these quilts because the show ends after her visit here. These quilts are marvelous to look at from a distance, but up close is the BEST! She uses such busy fabrics that I don't have the vision to put together, but they work ... beautifully. And all those little pieces of fabric I've been ditching? Paula uses them and they add just the right touch. If you have the opportunity to see these quilts, go. Admission is only $9.00 ($7.00 for seniors) and there are 5 floors to the Museum. Paula's show is on the second floor.

I did bring Chuck's camera just in case I could photograph them. I read all the information they gave me and looked for signs, but nothing said No Photos. So I took this picture. Then the guards came out! I told them I looked for signs, etc., apologized, shut the camera off and put it away. As lovely as the photo is, it doesn't do it justice.
After the show I went to the gift shop and they had some fat quarters. Sure I bought them! I'm taking a workshop from Paula in Sept. and need to be prepared. I'll try, but don't expect my work to be like hers. It will be fun to learn from her.

We then went to a street fair on 7th street ... it was blocked off for many streets to all kinds of vendors. We were just going to get a drink. I ended up with a skirt. We got home in time to attend a pig roast at the house of a teacher friend of Paul's. Mon. was a quiet time at home with gardening, reading and, as always, good food.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

How Did They Do It?

On Fri. we had a lovely dinner with Cindy and Charlie. We were graced by some bluebirds and other birds. Their yard is wonderful!

And then we came home. Chuck was wondering what was wrong with the garage door opener, when we realized that there was no power for most of the neighborhood. Actually, we found out that it was to about 5,000 homes. We couldn't see well enough to read or sew. When it didn't go on after an hour, I decided I HAD to read. I surrounded myself with 7 candles and did read, but it was a struggle. How did they do it ... way back before power? I am SO spoiled! The light was barely enough to read. I certainly couldn't make those small stitches on my quilt in that light. What a relief when the power came back on!

Yesterday I was at a quilt workshop taught by Carol Doak on paper piecing. She is funny and very informative. I liked the workshop and learned some tricks ... but I still don't enjoy paper piecing. Will I use it? You betcha! It is a great way to get exact blocks. I meant to bring my book for Carol to sign, but forgot.

In September I'm taking a workshop from Paula Nadlestern. Wow! Our quilt club really is entertaining some wonderful speakers. I'll not forget my book for Paula to sign ... I hope!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

More D. C.

I tried to do this all yesterday, but "it" wouldn't let me access any more of Chuck's lovely photos. GRRRR!! It still won't! So, if you wish to see some of D. C. go to the D. C. link.
I did not include ALL of them because there are too many. It gives you a taste of our trip. We were impressed with the wonderful memorials and museums. We especially liked the F. D. R.

And the Holocaust Museum. It must be experienced. I wrote to them ahead of time and sent them my blog site. I got a response and they said they would like my story, but just the WWII memories. I pulled out those parts and brought them to the Archive Department and they couldn't have been more appreciative. They also suggested that if I have any documents, I might consider giving it to them and I am considering doing that. It would be a permanent way of preserving them and accessible to all family members ... even those that may not be as interested, yet. After all, it took me until I was in my 70's to put my history together because it wasn't "history" to me ... just my life. I do have all the documents on disk for family to access now, but the paper was not archival or acid free in 1930's and 1940's so it would be better preserved there.

Beside the memorials and museums we visited the Saudi Arabian embassy, but were not allowed to take cameras or our cell phones in, which was too bad. It is a lovely embassy, as they probably all are, but some of our group got to put on the native outfits that are worn in Saudi Arabia and one of those participants wondered if anyone had a secret camera so he could be photographed in his outfit. They did get a photo taken by a Saudi from the embassy and then emailed to them. They explained that the outfits are for comfort in the heat and blowing sand. Their talk was very interesting.

We met a couple, attending the Elderhostel, from Asheville that is acquainted with a former teacher friend and we had dinner with another former teacher. We did not connect with another friend as we were on the go and no other free time. We really will have to go back.

Now we will enjoy the flowers that are springing up here and then THE quilt show.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Washington, D. C.

We just got back from Elderhostel's Discover Washington, D. C. program and enjoyed it ... even with the rain or grey skies. We haven't been there since 1966, so it was time. Our guides were informative and the activities were smoothly run. There were several lectures in the mornings ... I think to get the morning traffic out of the way. We went in early on Wed. and even though we were close to D. C, it did take us longer to get in.

Jefferson was our first monument and one we missed on our last trip. The George Washington was one we did not go to, but saw it from every vantage point. Here it is on our last day with blue sky.

The next was the Kennedy Center. What a magnificent facility that is! There are 6 theaters in it and the art is donated from various countries or organizations. We went back again on our last night and saw "Ragtime" as that was included. I saw it in Toronto 12 years ago and enjoyed it just as much this time. There are no artificial flowers and we saw many floral arrangements throughout our tour. This was our entrance, The Hall of Nations. We didn't see the concert hall, but could catch sounds of the Pittsburgh Symphony as they were practicing. We did get to watch on opera practice ... couldn't take a picture of the staging as that's copywrited, but got the chandelier. This one can't be lowered to clean.
Next was the White House ... not inside. We got to see that on our previous visit, but with today's tight security it's not easy to get in.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

TV & quilts for the June GVQC show

The call came last Wed. from the delivery people that are going to deliver our new HDTV. When do we get it? The next day? No, Tues. What? After the Oscars? So we wait. Next year those wonderful outfits will look lovely.

But I have gotten a few projects done. I'm just finishing up a bit of hand quilting on the "Northern Neighbors" wall hanging I started in Alaska. I'm quite happy with it. I used a pattern from a magazine and machine pieced and appliquéd it. Then I took the sections with animals in them with us on our Alaskan adventure and did the hand quilting. I bought the border fabric in Alaska ... they have some WONDERFUL quilt shops. Chuck will tell you I didn't miss seeing any of them nor did I pass up the wonderful opportunities they offered. This is Chuck patiently waiting outside one of them.

When I got home I pieced the other blocks and after putting it together tried my hand at machine quilting parts of it using rayon thread and also metallic threads. I used some old table linens from my grandfather and my mother. They are thread bare, so are great for the occasional laundering and preserve the monogram. They feel good when doing the hand quilting!

I bought a pattern for a small wallhanging of a dog sled team that I thought Cindy would like and she now has it hanging in her office at work. I'm going to show it, too.

Oh, whew! The power just went off for a couple of minutes and I was afraid all was lost. It wasn't!

And the other entry I'm putting in the quilt show is the reversible picnic tablecloth I made using food on one side and red & blue prints on the other for patriotic holiday picnics.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

TV

We decided to help the economy and update a very old TV with HD, so very shortly before Christmas we treated ourselves with a 42 inch Vizio LCD TV, which fits perfectly on our 39-3/4 inch shelf. It was ... notice the past tense ... beautiful! Chuck was so happy to see all those sports players sweating up a storm. We bought it at Circuit City, which has since gone belly up.

About the middle of Jan. we started having a few problems and we called Time Warner (TW) our cable provider, who fixed the problem, even though they never saw exactly what was happening on the screen. They came over at least 5 times and redid wires and checked connections and really worked their magic. But we kept having picture issues. Of course we would turn off the TV and finally we were told that the next time the problem occurs we should leave the TV on and call TW because they could read our cable box from their office and reset it. They did, but told us they were not getting bad readings. And whatever they did worked ... for a 1/2 hour or so. Mark, a technician who was here a few times, came back again & rechecked ... again. When he hooked it up this time he said, "Whoa! This isn't our problem!" He finally saw what we were experiencing.

Next I called Vizio and they ran me through a few paces ... unplugging the TV, holding the power button, plugging back in with & without cable. Nothing worked. The next step was to take digital photos of what we saw and email them to Vizio, then wait 48 hours, call them back and after they could evaluate the situation from my email pictures to either send someone to repair the TV or send us a new one. So today I called ... after quilt club.

They looked at my pictures and we are getting a replacement TV! No arguments! Except it will not be new, but reconditioned and the warranty will start from the day we bought it in Dec, not when it gets delivered in 7 to 10 days. So we will see, but I hope it was just one lemon we got.
I really have lots of praise for Time Warner. They were excellent about sending out technicians to try and help us and in the long run it wasn't even their problem.

Now I'm going to relax by going to my quilting room and work on finishing my "Northern Neighbors" quilt. Perhaps I'll even do a little laundry, while I'm in the area. Sometimes I have to do some housework.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Brown Hair?

Chuck & I need to renew our passports, so I filled out my application. Where it said hair color I entered "brown" same as with all previous passport applications. Then Chuck said, "when should we go for the photo?" and I said not until I get my haircut.

The last photo was not my best, as I had chemo 6 months earlier. Wow! That was 10 years ago! Remember when the word "cancer" was mostly a death sentence? I LOVE the new technology! Go regularly for check-ups. I had no symptoms; it was just my normal review. It worked for me.

Anyway, I had my hair cut and was looking at my lap full of cuttings. Guess what? My hair is salt & pepper! When did THAT happen? It's OK. At my age I'm entitled. Laurie, my hair dresser, said it fits me & don't color it ... not that I planned on it anyway. And I just added my jacket photos. It sure shows my REAL hair color. I've got to amend my passport application!

We are staying home this winter; and winter is here. It is all the way up to 12° from 7° when I first looked at 8 this morning. And where is Chuck? Cleaning driveways! Brrrr! Pat HAD to tell us it will be 72° in Tucson.

Me? I have started several quilt projects and want to get them quilted (by hand) to display in the quilt show the first week-end in June. It will be a big show. I do have 2 pieces completed and not given away ... my travel jacket and a small wall hanging of dog sledding in Alaska, which is in Cindy's office at Lollypop Farm. With any luck, I may get the other, bigger Alaska memory quilt done, too.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Too Long Since Last Entry

I thought I'd write about the trip and feelings related to it ... and that would be it. Yesterday I went to quilt club and Beth said, "Claire, you haven't been keeping up with your blog!" So I guess people DO read them. Thank you!

In November I had the privilege of giving a talk about our Germany trip and my past to (one of 2) my book club and tried to do it in 45 minutes. That turned out to be almost 2 hours because they kept asking questions. They were attentive and didn't fall asleep. I made Rote Grutze with Vanilla Sauce and I had some marzipan to share. Maybe it was the food. On New Year's Eve I gave the talk again. I'm amazed that I still get emotional.

The memories keep coming because I keep getting packages. We went to Colleen's for Christmas and when we got home there was another package waiting for us from Ulla with yet another article in a local paper with a great picture of Bernd and me. (Read my entry from Oct. 19 to reference the news articles and Ulla) I took the article to quilt club and Ro Hattman translated the article for me! I could decipher some of the article, but not all, so was very happy that she could do the translation. It also says that after 69 years the 73 year old ....

And in Brake on Nov. 9, Thomas Bücher (Oct. 16 entry) wrote 3 articles relating to the 70th anniversary of Kristalnacht with some references to our family. He also did an article about Ulla's work. We are so glad she received the recognition she deserves.

My next venture is to put all these momentoes into some kind of archival safe order. It's winter and a great project for this time of year. I should do some housework, too. Nah! Too many books to read and quilts that "need" to be made.