The Promised Doll Clothes

My niece adored her doll clothes! I'm thrilled!

These items were made from pattern McCall's 5775.
Here are the pictures:

This fancy top is made from 100% cotton fabric . The pattern offered the same design in two lengths and this is the longer length - it falls to about knee length on the doll. I added the fancy ribbon on the bottom. 

These outfits were difficult to photograph! The tops are navy blue t-shirts onto which I applied the adorable Hello Kitty appliques. I purchased these appliques on our trip to Japan - too cute to pass up!  Like many doll t-shirts, they open in the back and close with Velcro. The leggings are a simple two-piece pattern with elastic at the top. Both are made from knit fabric; and surprisingly, I did not have much trouble working with the knit fabric. The cotton jersey for the t-shirts did roll a bit, but it ironed flat long enough to be worked.

My niece has two American Girl Dolls. Now they have matching trench coats! I found a yard of this teal microsuede in the remnant bin, just perfect for a leather look. These coats were not particularly difficult, but there were lots of pieces! The pattern had it styled with 3/4 length sleeves, but I lengthened them. Snap closure underneath the buttons.

And finally, another little party outfit. The top is the short version of the polka dot top above. The slacks are simple pull on slacks with a flat front and elastic in the back. Both made of cotton. I added the fancy trim along the bottom hem. 

In making these clothes, I got much better at set-in sleeves. It was fun to embellish the clothes, and in my opinion, Hobby Lobby has the best assortment of ribbon and trim of all the local stores. Better prices, too. 

The above outfit and the polka dot top were made from cotton fabric from my quilting stash. 

In addition, I bought two pairs of Ugg-like boots for the dolls, at JoAnn's.

Onward to 2011!  Many more projects await!

Some thoughts for Christmas

It is the day before Christmas....and I feel like I should write a poem all of a sudden!

The last two weeks have been very hectic; it's no wonder I have come down with a sinus infection. I'm sure I spread it around because I wouldn't stop going and doing. Since last weekend we had a college student from Japan staying with us. I hope I didn't give him this cold. I think it went well for him. We sure enjoyed having him here. Perhaps we weren't so boring to him.

This is the first year I can remember in which I failed to send Christmas cards, completely unintentionally. It was too much. I had also agreed to make a cap for a friend for Christmas, and I just couldn't. My husband is out buying the Christmas presents for the family we will see tomorrow. The quilt for my friend in Virginia sits unbound in the basement. (But, I did tell her it would be late.)

I guess my schedule with a full time job is still not under control. When I took the job, I vowed not to start anything new until after the first of the year. I still don't feel ready.

Nevertheless, the house was clean for our guest. I cooked meals two nights for our guest. I managed to send several gifts. I got all the doll clothes done, mailed and sent. Reservations for this trip to Tennessee have been made. It's not all bad.

I am thankful I am busy. I am blessed to have family to see and events to attend. I have enjoyed another great year of sewing and playing music. I have a good relationship with my spouse. I have beloved pets in my life. I do interesting work.  It's a wonderful life!

It's an annual ritual!

Depression and the winter. I think I need to find a different antidepressant. I changed a few months ago but it doesn't seem to be doing the trick.

I don't want to go to work today. I probably will anyway.

It's cold and it's dark both outside and here in this pit.

Guild Day

Yesterday was guild day and I took the day off and enjoyed some free time. It reminded me how much I miss my week days off.

I was delighted to find out my quilt, Simple Tribute, won 3rd place in the guild show in the Large Quilt category.  It's a viewer's choice award, so people who simply saw it at the show voted for it. Enough to win a ribbon!

The show was back in October. We usually give out the awards at the December meeting.

I also had a productive day at the Charity Quilts booth.

Phone call...gotta go.

No Pictures Yet

I was not as successful sewing this holiday weekend as I would have liked. I worked a lot, but did not reach my goals. I finished the second American Girl trench coat about five minutes ago.  I had hoped to complete both trench coats over the weekend *and* start quilting Ann's quilt. Didn't quite make it.  Didn't take any pictures yet, either.

Eh, it's OK.

Eight items completed, and I'd like to make 2 more. Maybe even more...but only because the pieces I've made so far don't coordinate into nice outfits.

Over the weekend, I played with my quilt guild charity quilts supplies - a guild member, D, wanted a few quilts to work on, and I prepared them for her. The tops and backs on many quilts were already paired (I had received them as such in May or June) and I picked out three projects for D. One of them was a kids quilt. When I went to package up the kids quilt top, batting and back, I was dismayed at the backing fabric. It was awful - thin, poor quality fabric in an outdated and cheap-looking kids print. I couldn't allow that! I threw that fabric away and pieced another back for the top.

Yeah, no wonder I didn't finish my doll clothes tasks!! I was working on that backing!! In my defense, this backing was mostly one piece of fabric, but it needed to be wider than 44 inches. I found a coordinating piece of fabric and sewed on strips to widen the back. I am pleased with how it turned out (and I used up more fabric - yay!!)

Another project was to pick out fabric for a different member, M, to cut in strips for a group project. It takes two coordinating colors/prints - it's a simple pattern, but makes a nice patchwork top. This has been fun matching pairs in contemporary color ways.

A third guild member wanted a hand quilting project for a relative who was willing. I found a small Trip Around the World pattern top and cut the batting and backing for her.

I still have to put together block kits and instructions for the mystery quilt project. I picked out binding for the two completed quilts I received last time. And, I need to pair a couple of more quilt sandwiches for people to pick up.

I like messing with the charity quilts supplies and projects. It appeals to the designer in me, even if it does interfere with my other goals.

Pictures soon, for real! I promise!

Happy Thanksgiving

On this chilly Thanksgiving day in Kansas City, I am staying around the house and working on my sewing. I must make great headway with my handmade Christmas Gifts this long holiday weekend. 

Ann's quilt is partially marked and layered and pinned. The inner section is will be simple diamonds using straight line quilting techniques. The quilt has three borders and I'm not sure what I'll do on them. Timing will probably have a lot to do with my design choices.

The doll clothes are coming along. I completed the first navy blue tee shirt today and I'm 95% done with the second one. I am making a muslin of the trench coat because it looks complicated and I don't have a lot of the fabric I chose for this project. The fabric is also rather expensive - a medium teal microsuede.  I found the piece in the remnant bin for half off.

I walked the dogs, I cooked two wonderful dishes for breakfast and lunch, and now I think I want a nap.  

 

Pictures soon.

Fender Bender

I got rear-ended on the way home from work today. It was a slow speed crash, nothing but my back bumper was damaged. I am fine, the other driver and his son (also in the pickup truck) are both fine. The police and traveler assistance came quickly and were professional and polite about the whole thing.  The other driver was pretty nice about it, too. It was one of those no win situations. The car in front of me stopped short. I slammed on the brakes and slid, but the ABS stopped me in time. The truck behind me was not so lucky. It was raining lightly and the road was covered with a light sheen of water. He slid right into me.

Not a bad crash, as they go, but it is still a hassle and it will probably end up costing me some money. And I'm a little shaken up.

Finally a day off

And I'm getting back to normal-ness.  So I'm sewing today and having a grand time.

The Charity Quilts committee was contacted by the charity we support, and they are in need of bed covers, primarily twin size.  It's a domestic violence shelter, and unfortunately it's has a full house, of late. I sent out an "all points bulletin" on the guild mailing list asking for anyone to help - have one that's done? Willing to take a top, batting, back, and finish it? Have a new store bought quilt or comforter hanging around? We'll make it get to the right place. A few members have stepped up and I'm thrilled.

I was putting together a couple of kits for my volunteers. We have so many pretty quilt tops just waiting to be finished! One person is coming momentarily to pick up two kits. I might do one myself, but I have some other sewing projects I need to get working on.

My projects are some doll clothes for my niece and a quilt for one of my dearest friends. Since I will be here for Thanksgiving with no plans, I hope to make a lot of progress on these projects.

For the doll clothes, I picked up McCall's 5775 and I picked out a few remnants from the bin to use. I found some microsuede in a dark teal color for 60% off in the bin, and I'm planning to make the trench coat out of it. I also found some poly-knit that will make some nice leggings and a T shirt. At the Kyoto fabric shop I found some adorable tiny appliques of Hello Kitty that are planned for the T shirt fronts. I also plan to make a pair of slacks and the long tunic top.  Maybe the handbag - that looks easy.

I should mention that my niece has two dolls. I need to make 2 of everything - matchy, or not.

It's a fun little project and I'm excited about doing it. I hope it goes well - I have not sewn doll clothes since I was a child, and I would consider that activity the loosest interpretation of the word "sew."  More like cut and glue.

Rain

The rain today is miserable. Cold, wet, gray. And it reminds me that our gutters are full of leaves and need to be cleaned out. Sheesh.

Makes me drink wine.

Another day off, on the Cusp of 45

In an earlier post I retorted that I was 45 years old. Not quite yet...tomorrow's the big day.  I knew when I hit my 30th birthday it was the beginning of the end. So it's happening. Jeez, was that birthday really 15 years ago? Oy, oy, oy.

Mostly I don't feel like I'm 45; however, some days I'm tired. Today is such a day. I have no reason to think I have a disease. I wonder if it's age or just losing resiliency when I'm over extended. I wonder if I lost some weight and exercised more I'd have more energy.

Let's see. I've been blogging for three years (the 3 year anniversary of this blog was on November 3).  Seems that I don't write about quilting too much on this site. I should. Here are two quilt stories.

The Challenge Quilt
This is my submission to my guild's quilt challenge, entitled "It's Easy Being Green." It is a denim quilt made from two pairs of jeans cut up and denim from other sources (see label, below). I did not win any prizes but I got positive feedback. It's heavy and warm. When it was hanging during the show, I noticed it wasn't quite true - there was a slight lettuce edge on one side. Eh.

Denim Quilt with Riley

Close up of Piecing Detail. Notice the pocket from the jeans! Fun!

Quilt Back. 

You can see the quilting a little better. 

It is a simple zigzag pattern, free motioned

Here's the label that tells its story

The Charity Quilt
This little child's quilt was donated to the guild for our charity donations. It's a whole-cloth quilt, with a cowboy print on one side and a leathery brown cotton on the other. It was minimally tied - like, eight ties for the whole thing!  That's not nearly enough. I thought it needed to be quilted, so Friday and yesterday, I worked on it. I did large all-over stipple.

Now it's worthy of donation, in my humble opinion.

Front of quilt

Close up of stippling detail. Not bad! 

Although, I might call this a medium stipple, not large.

Almost a Week Past Go Live

It's not as rosy as I'd wished. To use the President's style of speech...I want to make one thing perfectly clear - patient care is not in any way being compromised. The workflow for the doctors and nurses is problematic and it annoys the doctors and nurses. I can't fix this particular problem, but others are working on it non-stop.

Quick changes to a production system are risky and make me nervous. I don't know one way or the other, but I really hope that with every change they are running their regression tests before it migrates to production. Fifteen years in software development has left a lingering impression on me.

...calm down, of course they are running regression tests!

I have been troubleshooting all kinds of lower priority problems and questions. Mostly I am getting them fixed or answered. I feel so empowered!

Today is my day off - my first day completely off since Saturday 10/23. What will I do with myself? I'm giddy with freedom.

Is it here?

I think I had a hot flash last night. Is menopause here? Already? I wasn't expecting it.

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!

All is well...all is well...all is well...

The big software release was on Monday morning and things went fairly well. There were a few hiccups, and a couple of things we need to fix, but aside from that, it has been a pretty good release.

I'm exhausted. I can't imagine how exhausted my boss and my coworkers who were more involved are feeling. Up until the release at midnight on Monday morning, I put in a lot of extra time. I'm salaried, so this was all free for the hospital.

The sad thing is that all of the extra work from overtime will have to be redone at some point. I hope it's not me that has to do it all. The other newbie and me did the bulk of this extra work (because we could....others were doing other important things). It was a bit frustrating because the tools we were using were buggy (so we had to devise ways of getting around those bugs) and the rules kept changing as we went along.  Eh.

Tomorrow, I have the morning off for real. I'm working the evening shift, so I go in later - in fact, I'd better get ready soon - I need to be there at 1230.

Yesterday, I had to clean and get ready for quilt guild in the morning. Today I went to quilt guild this morning. Tomorrow, I don't have to be anywhere or do anything in the morning (except take the cat to the vet...but not til 9)

Mostly the work has been alright. It's fun to be part of a team and I have felt like the work is appreciated and useful. It's just been a long haul - I've been working every day since last Sunday, October 24.  I hope this is the exception for this job. At 3 months, it is hard to tell yet.

Nomura Tailor

Here are some pictures of the fabric shop in Kyoto.

Nomura Tailor Fabric shop in Kyoto.

Here, they have pieces of the fabric with price and info, displayed above the rolls. You can see and touch the samples, then find the roll if you want it. Nice that you don't have to mess with the rolls until you know you want the fabric.

Close up of some fabrics. The price is yen per meter.

In the stairwell, they had some completed projects and design ideas. Notice the holiday projects to the right. Halloween is popular in Japan, but I got the sense that they don't understand what it's really about in America. They have Christmas, too, but it's treated more like a Valentine's day.

I thought this was hilarious! But, of course they'd have Katakana and Hiragana appliques, just like we have iron-on letters! In the lower left corner are some "modifiers" you can add to your "letters." They're kind of like accents in European languages.

A brief Vent

My job is still new and I haven't learned how to deal with everyone just yet. I've met so many people and I've been terribly exhausted.

I think there's one in my group I might have a problem with. She's somewhat passive aggressive. Maybe she feels insecure? Ugh. We've had some communication issues in the 2 months I've been there and I think she thinks I'm an idiot.

But what annoyed me this time is that I get a feeling of superiority from her. Today it bugged me, and I identified what it was: she called me kiddo.

I'm forty fucking five years old.

She uses her little terms of endearment with everyone, but she doesn't always use kiddo. Sometimes it's "honeybun." Sometimes it's Fred.

We were having a discussion and I had a wrong impression about how a process works. She got this amused look on her face, and explained things to me as if I didn't get it. Well, in a way I didn't, but in a way I did, I just saw it differently. The kiddo interjection really made me question her attitude during the conversation.

Eh, whatever. I will work despite.

Japanese Fabrics

Here is some of what I bought in Kyoto.

First is a sampling of Japanese linen fabric. Linen is very hot for Japanese designs and I haven't been able to find anything suitable in my local shops. (I would probably have better luck online.) The top print is a fun whimsical design in green and brown on beige/natural linen. The middle one is a small piece (like a fat quarter) of chocolate brown linen.

I have not sewed with linen before, so I didn't buy very much of each piece. There is a meter of the natural linen at the bottom. That should keep me busy for a while, working through my Zakka Sewing book.

Above is a 2011 calendar printed on linen. I bought this "blind" - they had a small pail with a bunch of these calendars in it, all rolled up. I could not see the design but could tell there was a variety of styles and colors. I'm pleased with the gardening girl design. Very organic looking. I hope to post close ups of the designs in the center and on the corners; I tried taking some pictures, but they didn't turn out.

The calendar has all the holidays displayed in red! Oh wait. Holidays for Japan.

I plan to hem the edges and made a sleeve for a dowel for each end, then hang it up.

What is it about the Japanese and bunnies?

I personally don't like bunnies all that much - they're cute and all, but they don't do it for me like puppies and kitties. But these fabrics were exceedingly cute! The upper one is a slubby fabric with very Japanese style designs on it - a leaping rabbit, a mountain, a wave, a bit of clamshell pattern. I picked this out for the backing my Japanese fabric quilt/wall hanging (or whatever it turns out to be). 

I have been collecting Japanese fabrics, particularly indigo dyed linen and sashiko on linen for a patchwork project. Now I have 2 meters of real Japanese fabric for the back!

The lower fabric was in the remnant bin and it was just so cute, I had to have it. I don't know what I ll do with it, and it's only a quarter of a meter across. 

I bought several other items and will post pictures soon, once I get some good photos of them.

And after a week

After a week back from our overseas trip, I'm almost back to normal. My sleep is almost normal, although I'm having some trouble falling asleep at night.

Stress from work is back - yay - maybe that has something to do with the sleep? Ya think?

Sheesh, I still haven't posted pictures of my beautiful Japanese fabrics. Bad blogger.

Speaking of blogging....
I never thought being a blogger would help me a work. But it does help, because my group has a Sharepoint website on the Intranet for the nurses related to our electronic medical record (EMR). I have volunteered to post the tip of the day and other helpful hints about our EMR system. Since Sharepoint is something like a blog and a file system, the learning curve has been gentle. My experience with reading blogs, writing posts and using web based editing/posting tools has helped.

Hm.

Lost in Translation

I am back from Japan.

It was another successful trip, but it wasn't as magical as the first one in 2008, I'm sad to admit.

First, we hit a very rainy two weeks, and we were not prepared for the cool rainy weather. I had tank tops, crop pants and skirts, and only one long sleeve shirt and one pair of long pants. I had a scarf (just-in-case) and I ended up having to wear it almost every day. We had to buy umbrellas and rain jackets, and I got frustrated being cold and wet all of the time. My sneakers and lower pant legs got soaked.

It rained on our day at Tokyo Disney Sea park. It rained on our day at Tokyo Disneyland. It rained on our travel day to Nikko. It rained in Nikko. It clouded up on our trip to Hakone. It rained all day on our day in Hakone, ruining any chance to see the spectacular views of Mt. Fuji from the Hakone sites. (Heck, on the ropeway in Hakone, we couldn't even see the ground from all the fog and mist.)

It was finally nice for our day in Kyoto, but then it clouded up on our trip back from Kyoto to Narita Airport in Tokyo.

No fair.

This time, we took the Intrepid Japan Basix trip. The destinations were more mainstream, more touristy, therefore less exotic. In fact, I didn't have to use a single squat toilet the whole time - I could have, but there was always a western style toilet available.

The exchange rate is pathetic for the US dollar (approx 83 yen per dollar), so it was an expensive trip.

Nevertheless, it was fun and I got to see some wonderful and very Japanese things. The guide for the Intrepid tour was really good.

I did not get to go to the onsen, which was a big disappointment. I got my "monthly" while on the trip (which was expected) but it came a bit early. The general consensus on the Internet was that it was tacky and kinda gross to use a public bath while menstruating, even if you use internal protection. Just to add insult to injury, my period rendered me achy and sore. At least there were private baths two of the ryokan where we stayed, and I took advantage of them - hopefully not too gross for anyone. Yes, internal protection and vigorous scrubbing before jumping in.

I didn't write a journal this time. Kinda wished I did, but I just didn't have the motivation.

Now, here I am at 4:30 am, suffering from jet lag, having awakened at 2:00 am. I feel disoriented and anxious, and I really want to watch the movie Lost in Translation, as it mirrors my feelings right now.

Note for a future post - I got to a sewing shop and bought some authentic Japanese fabric! I'm so excited!!!

Eagerly Anticipating the Onsen

In preparation for my trip to Japan, I did the dreaded bikini wax.

There is no way I'm going to an onsen in my birthday suit, looking like the missing link. So, it's t-minus-5 days till take off, time to do some grooming. It's bad enough that I'll be a giant in the onsen, a giant, blond American, but a hairy one would just be nasty.

Yes, of *course* I'm going to go! Onsens are relaxing and quintessentially Japanese. I travel internationally to step out of being American for a while, to leave the comfort zone and remind myself that there are many good ways to live in the world.

An onsen is a public bath, although the term translates to "hot spring." Often they are built on or near natural hot springs (it is a volcanic nation, remember), and you go there to soak in the tub. There is a specific etiquette to using an onsen, and it's not as gross as an American might think. You must bathe before you get in the shared tub. You bathe at these little shower stations (called sento) in full view of everyone, so there is social pressure to do a good job. You scrub yourself well from top to bottom and then rinse off. Now, you can go in the tub, which is something like a hot tub in the US.

Everyone's nude, but yes, they do separate the boys from the girls. Children end up with the women. In my limited experience, there aren't too many children.

The tub is hot, like, really hot. You can't soak for too long or you'll overheat. Some onsens have cold pools, you can heat up, then cool off, and repeat. It's quite a shock stepping into the cold after the hot. I think the Japanese think this is healthy. It's exhilarating.  Some onsen have mineral baths of various types. Some have little waterfalls.

I don't think an onsen would work in America. The necessary social conventions are not present. We Americans are slobs, and yet at the same time, we are rampantly germophobic.

I wonder if our obesity problem would change if we regularly saw each other nude, in a non-sexual community context. I think everyone might end up with better body images and self esteem if we had something like this, because people would know what real human bodies look like. Not the over sexualized, corrected, buffed bodies we are only allowed to see here in America.

Secretly, I would like to have a Japanese soaking tub in my house. Either that or a Swedish sauna. Anything to relax and warm up on a cold winter day.

Coming up

So, our next big vacation is coming up. We are going back to Japan on another tour with Intrepid Travel. This one doesn't seem so exotic, but I am hoping there will be some surprises....the good kind.  We will go a few days before the tour starts to visit friends and also see Tokyo Disney.

At the moment, I'm a bit melancholy. A repeat is nice, but now I'm wondering if we shouldn't have chosen another country this time, just for something different. I'm interested in Portugal, Croatia, Iceland, Germany, Scotland, or even Norway, although, I don't want to go to Norway until June.

Eh, I think it's pre-travel stress.

I need some time away from my husband though, so I'll be able to enjoy our time together on the plane, in Tokyo, etc.

I will bring my Aunt Millie's garden applique work to keep me busy. That, and my Kindle and my iPod. That should keep me occupied during the long flight, in addition to the movies, meals, and hopefully sleeping.

Anyway, I'll have a hiatus from my blogs while I'm traveling.  We leave on 9/21.

Shop Hop Frenzy

I'm becoming more Internet savvy.

Whoa, wait a minute. How is that possible? I've been on the Internet forever (so it seems) and I think I know everything about it. Yeah, right! It's not humanly possible to know everything, with all the decentralized development at the corporate and grassroots level.

This is not a dissertation about the net. The fact is, I don't always use all that's out there, mainly because of my casual use of the net. That, and my ego that thinks I surely know it all.

Somehow, and I can't remember exactly how, I stumbled upon the fabshophop, a virtual shop hop through online quilting shops. Fabshophop is consolidator site. It connects hundreds of small quilt shops around the United States that have a web presence, and provides promotional services for them.

It's all about eyeballs. The more eyes see your site, the more sales you get (roughly).

They have been running a promotion that imitates a live shop hop. You go to each of the participating shop/sites and find the bunny icon. When you click on it, you register for prizes. Most shops have a shop-hop icon on their home page and give a fairly obvious hint where the bunny is located.

Here, I thought I was so cool and wouldn't find anything new in the shops when looking for the bunny icon. Well, no! A few shops totally delighted me - particularly the one called Wilson's Calico Corner that has a Penn State affiliation. Not only do they have Penn State fabric and themed kits, they offer some adorable quilting gifts.

Did I mention I'm a Penn Stater? I do, in fact, bleed blue and white, in a subtle but very loyal way. "For the glory of old State..."

I found a few shops that featured designs I like. And I actually built a favorites list on FabShopHop.com to save all these special shops.

An old dog learns new tricks.

And now I'm in a quilting frenzy. Looking at all the projects, patterns, fabrics, accessories, I've gotten a little dizzy with the excitement of all these projects. I want to quilt, right now!! And, in this treasure hunt you can also find downloadable patterns for a nine-patch sampler. I love nine-patch.

Despite my feverish desire to sew the day away, the weather is awesome today in Kansas City, and dear husband and I really should get out of the house. We'll spend the afternoon at Powell Gardens and having lunch out. It's good practice in the care and feeding of a healthy husband.

Posting because it's time

The new job has totally jumbled my schedule and I'm still learning how to live in an 8-5 world. I don't know when to take relaxation time, when to work on chores, or when to work on projects. I don't know when to post to my blogs. I'm trying, but life hasn't quite fallen into a regular in rate and rhythm.

My life is in atrial fibrillation.

At least it's not in a fast re-entrant ventricular rate. It's just irregularly irregular.

That's nursing humor. Heh.

I finished quilting the first kids quilt and it came out very nice. Now, I'm working on the second one and I hope to get it done over this weekend....or at least the quilting part. For my quilting, I stitched in the ditch along a few lines to stabilize it, and now I'm adding vertical lines of loops.

A little bit of hand applique got done and that's good. Soon I will post a picture of my latest Aunt Millie's Garden  block, which I call "Liberty Flower and Tulip."  After I'm done with this block, I will certainly be good at acute angle points and oval leaves!

Oh, and I just realized! This is my 200th post!

More on the new job, and a few ramblings

I started the new job last week and I survived the first week. It's actually very nice and I like it a lot so far. Change, for me, is difficult, so I'm trying to be kind to myself during this transition - not too much pressure to be productive in my non-work hours. I may not be able to post as much as I'd like.

And now, the ramblings...

I saw the movie Eat, Pray, Love this weekend. I totally enjoyed it and I think they did a nice adaptation of the book. I started rereading the book....and I'm addicted again. I'm so into self-awareness and self-actualization.

I participated in a quilt workday on Saturday in which I made two tops. I was a total goof when I attempted to make one of my quilts in the "simple" manner by stitching around the edges and turning it inside out. When I turned it inside out, the batting was on the outside and the backing was on the inside!

So, I thought I'd do the right thing and rip out the stitching and do over. 

And then....I did the same damn thing! I stitched, turned, and ended up with the batting on the outside AGAIN. What a dork.

Since then, I took it home, fixed it for real, and I've been quilting it in a pleasing zig zag pattern. It has come out quite nice. The fabric selection in the kit was very contemporary - mauve, plum, orange, pink and white in retro-modern . It sounds strange, but it really works!

Here I am with a four patch, part of the second quilt top I made.

A New Job

Today I started my new job. It's a desk job. It's back in my comfort zone.

I think it will be awesome. No, really! The positive energy in that office is palpable. There's enthusiasm, even if they're over worked. They're friendly and relaxed, and they do team builder things.

I was nervous about the job - will I like it? Will it end up frustrating me? Will I be happy? Is it too much?
Oy, I'm responsible for 16 units - more than any of my coworkers have assigned.  I will serve on committees. I will attend meetings. I have a pager and I have my own phone number.  Back to professional-land.

I'm glad my first day went well. My new boss even hugged me - now that's something else.

Maybe, just maybe, I've found it....where I belong.

What does a quilter do in Charlottesville, VA?

I visited some family in Charlottesville for the past 4 days. Naturally, as a quilter, I can't stay away from the fabric shops entirely, and indeed, I got a lot done on my Aunt Millie's Garden applique. I'm starting on block number 5, can you believe it?!?!

The main quilt shop in Charlottesville is called Cottonwood. It is located across Emmet St from Barracks Road shopping area, more towards the north end.

In a town where Talbot's clothing might be considered a little too edgy, Cottonwood toes the conservative line on traditional style quilts and fabrics. Their fabric selection is extensive, focusing on traditional colors and patterns. They have a small but well-chosen selection of children's prints.  Moda is well-represented in their collection. I was impressed by their tasteful Holiday selections for Christmas and Halloween, and they featured some nice fall themed bolts at the front of their store.

They connect to a Bernina store, and I assume that is where they hide the thread. I didn't see any in the main shop.... and I didn't venture to the Bernina side. Didn't want to risk being accosted by a lonely salesperson, then I'd be forced to confess I'm a Pfaff user.

Cottonwood offers a well-curated selection of patterns and books, including some fabric purses and non-quilt projects. They have a little, but well-stocked section containing wool for felting, hooking, and applique. Their notion section has the essentials, but it should be noted for the excellent selection of needles for hand work (betweens for quilting, applique needles, all in the better brands). There is a spacious room for classes in the back.

I've stopped in this shop on previous visits to Charlottesville. I like it, and you never know what you're going to find. One time I found an adorable purse pattern by Lazy Girl Designs, and I've made that purse three times already. (It's the Veronica Pocketbook.) This time, I bought two fat quarters of green to add to the greens in my applique. Additionally, I was intrigued a display they had including some Moda canvas fabric in black, gray, white, and chartreuse, accented in fuschia pink. I think this color combination might be  "the next big thing."

If I lived in C'ville, likely I wouldn't shop there exclusively, since it's not precisely in my taste. It's one of those quilt shops you count on being there - while you might not find the latest trend, you will be sure to find high quality fabric and something in every color. But you know, I bet you could put together a thoroughly modern color pallette / pattern grouping if you chose from among their collection with an innovative eye and unconventional spirit.

Charity Quilts

As I've said before, I am chair of the Charity Quilts committee in my guild. It's fun and frustrating all at the same time.

The fun part is the treasure hunt in the charity quilts stash. We have a ton of fabric, lots of crochet thread for tying, some notions, and a few quilt kits. Some of this fabric is high quality. Lots of it is unknown quality, some is crap.  It is semi-organized by color and fabric type. Some of it is very old. When you search through a box, you never know what you're going to find.

The frustrating part is managing how much fabric there is and developing ways to get people to use it on charity projects. Additionally, no one seems to like to quilt these projects - that's the bottleneck. We can get people to make blocks, make tops, and bind quilts. We have a backlog of about 50 tops with backs that are ready to be quilted.

I'm trying to organize some projects out of the gigantic stash.

I have a committee who helps me with the organization and putting projects together. However, what this group really needs is vision, direction, and motivation. That's me.

Yesterday, my bee members came over and helped organize the stash, as much as we could in two hours. We got so much done! Yet, at the same time, it was frustrating because no one wanted to throw out anything. Lots of statements like:

• "Oh, you could use this in a nine-patch!"
• "You could fussy cut this little piece."
• "This would be a nice Amish quilt."
• "Oh, don't break up that collection of fabrics! It could be such a nice quilt!"

Then they lovingly place it back in the box. Well....? Who could make that nine-patch? Who could communicate the vision? Who could design a quilt that uses the fussy cut blocks?

The implication is that I'll do it. Well...? Phooey! I'm going to work on the projects I want to work on because there are too many projects in the stash for one person to organize. It was a little annoying to have them return the burden all back on me and suggest that I'm not efficient or creative enough to come up with a project for every little scrap.

I know, that's not really what they were saying. They weren't wrong in their suggestions, just not supportive of my point of view. We have too much fabric to handle in a practical way, we don't have a good method for organizing and storing it, and we don't have enough labor to use it efficiently.

Some of these fabrics have copyright dates in the 1990s and earlier!! One kit was a shop-hop project from 2000. If no one has touched it in 10 years, then I think it needs to be broken up and added into the stash, not be kept together as a kit. And it's easy for them to say keep it when 20-30 boxes are not in their houses.

OK, I've had my rant. As long as I'm strong in my viewpoint, I'll be fine, and I will definitely have some fun with this office.

I have made a mystery quilt project and a fun Curious George project. There are copious strippy piece blocks to be made. Yesterday, we picked out 7 quilts worth of yardage to give to a Girl Scout who is doing a quilt related Gold Award project. Last night I found a collection of 10 inch squares - "Layer Cake" size! New project!!

This office appeals to the quilt designer in me. Let's see what I can come up with!

Job

I got the offer, finally.

I asked a few questions. They answered them.

I accepted the position.

No one (at work) knows yet.  It will become public on Monday..... oy.

---

Equilibrium upset!! Change! Oh no! Nervous! Excited! Scared! Relieved!

---

The salary in the offer was a little better than I expected. I tried to "do the right thing" and talk about my desire the change jobs with my supervisor at work before I accepted and she was informed via HR. It was an attempted courtesy. Yet, she was not available most of Thursday and all day on Friday. So, I went ahead, accepted the job, and will wait for Monday to let the world know.

I have butterflies in my stomach already, and it's only Sunday afternoon!!!

Guild day for July

Today was guild day, and it was such fun. The reason it was fun was that I gave of myself and it was received well.

This year, I'm chair of the Charity committee. We make quilts for clients of a shelter for victims of domestic violence. We have an extensive and overwhelming stash of fabric. My instinct is to try to organize it, but it's really too large to organize before moving forward. Organizing will come in steps as we do more projects.

The committee came over a week ago and we put together kits for guild members to take and make. Kits are much more fun, and much less intimidating than a whole pile of fabric. We have block kits and top kits and quilting kits and binding kits. Something for everyone.

At the meetings, Charity Quilts usually sets up a table with displays and projects. I worked very hard on this display yesterday and it came out quite nice. I used one of those tri-fold displays boards you can buy at Wal*Mart and used some scrapbooking techniques and materials to create an overview of the committee and the projects. Color, organized display, a touch of design: it all worked. People are getting interested.

I got lots of positive feedback from members. They respond to the positive energy.

The other major activity at the July meeting is the garage sale. I got rid of several things and I picked up a few bargains. I had the top bid on a Thimbleberries quilt kit called Snow Garden Wall Quilt, which someone had bought and then decided not to make. Only $10!

Another find was a pattern for a kimono by Folkwear. Check out that site - a very different collection of patterns. You don't find them every day.

Aunt Millie's Garden: Block #4

It's not done yet, but I'm getting there! Here's the fourth block of Aunt Millie's Garden project. I call it "Windswept Flower."

The upper right quadrant is actually done. I need to add the centers to the rest of the flowers and the center medallion.

No offer, but lots of work done

No job offer yet. Like a dork, I carried my cell phone on me all day on Wednesday and Thursday at work, just in case I get the call.  Experience has taught me that human resources and organizational shenanigans take a lot more time than you think they should. I am not worried. Yet.

If I need to worry, then I need to get back to work on my contingency plan.

Interestingly, my boss was out of the office all last week and now, I interact less with the minion, and it was a nice week.

I had a very productive two days off so far. Chores done, errands run, and getting some work done on the charity quilts stash.  I also took time to play by making an adorable little fabric basket from my newest book, Zakka Sewing.  Look! Kawaii, desu ne? (cute, isn't it)?

My guild challenge quilt is completely basted - I need to decide how to quilt it now. The design of the top begs for modern/contemporary style quilting, but I haven't worked out the entire plan.

Charity Quilts is a happy, chaotic mess. The boxes contain dozens of semi-started projects, hundreds if precut squares, semi-organized categories, non-quilting-related ephemera, but what we need is focus. I don't think I can go through everything and pick the best projects. My strategy thus far is to pick a box at random, see what's in it, clean out the crap (if any), and build some projects from what I find. I have created two group projects.

First group project is a mystery quilt. I have the plan in mind, but I will parcel out portions of the project and put it together without letting the participants know the big picture. This will use up several dozen charm squares in red and blue.

Second group project will use up a bunch of squares cut from Curious George fabric. I made a double square-in-a-square pattern featuring the Curious George precut squares. I may nix this project if the rest of my committee thinks the block is too complicated - bias sewing can be tricky. Otherwise, I'll advertise this as an "intermediate" level block.

Hm, there's an idea - provide group projects at different skill levels. Neat-o.

Seems like the more fabric I work with, the happier I am.

That's all for now...

Stunned

I will get an offer the the Nursing Informatics job in the next day or two. They are working out the details. I am stunned.

Now what will I do? I must....trust...my...gut.  Take it or not?

Gut says yes.

Brain is scared.

Change is always scary.

Solstice

Today is the the longest day of the year, and for a child of the light, it is the day we live for. It looks like Mother Nature will smile upon the South Kansas City area with sunlight and clear skies.

Of course that could change in a matter of hours.  I'm staying hopeful.

Today is also the 25th anniversary of the church I attend. I am participating in the service and it will probably take up all morning. I hope I play clarinet well today. I couldn't attend either of the rehearsals and this is quite scary to perform without rehearsal!  Yipe!

Perhaps it is the mark of a professional, though.

Although I'm not. I'm an amateur with lots of studying behind me.

Someday I hope to travel far north and see what it is like to have no night time at all. Canada, Alaska, Iceland, Norway, Ireland, even - any of those could be fun.

Speaking of travel, my friend asked me to join her on a trip to Hawaii next year. I told her yes!!  We hope to go in February. No one ever asks me...I'm usually the one doing the asking.

Still way into my sewing the last several days. The Etsy Meetup party (on Friday evening) was a lot of fun and inspirational - see my pictures and write up on my commercial blog, rikrax.blogspot.com.  I've been pouring over the book I bought at the store - what will I make first?!?! I worked a lot on my NC State Quilt, and the top is nearly done. I'll post pictures soon. It's a Christmas gift for a friend....and I don't think she reads my blog so this shouldn't spoil the surprise.

Becoming an online personality...

I started another blog. It's just around the corner: rikrax.blogspot.com.  I am planning to use that blog to become a presence online. I want to promote my Etsy store, but also become an online resource for specific kinds of crafting. Sure, there are plenty of crafting websites out there. But, I want to bring my unique perspective to the world.

This is all still play for me. I wonder if I can make some money at it? I wonder if I can become valuable to a population of readers?  Wonder what it will feel like to be successful at it? 

Cool.

I'm experimenting with becoming my own brand, as was presented at the O You! conference in Kansas City in October last year. Martha Beck talked extensively about this idea, and about finding the intersect of all of your passions and making it work for your life, either as career or mission. Either way, these things are your passion and to achieve a deeply satisfying life, you must live them.

The new blog is for playing with design, art, craft, opinion, recommendation, review. It is to be focused. It is my public persona.

I am still attached to this blog, though. I want my therapy blog, too. Maybe some day I'll have to take it down, to protect the public image. After all, I've written some intensely personal things here, not all of it complimentary, and certain people could figure out about whom I have written. 

We'll see. The Internet is vast; let's see how much of a niche I can occupy.

Are you kidding me?

My first week of non-charging, and yesterday was the first such Friday. Fridays are usually hellish, with 30 some patients scheduled for 22 beds, usually with 7 or 8 patients staying over from the previous day. All the labs are up and running with 2 EP docs and 3 cath labs.

Of course, when Superior Charge Nurse was in charge today, we had 10-12 patients scheduled and only 3 over nighters.   Plus, we were fully staffed and the Minion had one of her many vacation days. Only 2 labs running.

What the f***?

Life is so unfair. Even *I* can handle that kind of day.

I am an idiot. And when push comes to shove, I need to be a lowly nothing. Whenever I try to be something more at work, I bump up against my own incompetence and end up frustrated and embarrassed. The fact is, no organization has been able to channel my gifts, and I have not been able to apply my gifts and skills in a way that pleases an organization. I do not want to study politics. I want to do what's right.

Therein lies the conflict.

Therefore, the only thing that will keep me employed and keep me from going insane on the job is to keep humble. No more ambition.

Remember why you became a nurse. Not to become a leader. Merely to serve.

In that regard, I don't think karma will allow me to get the IT job.

What's next?

Why haven't I posted?

It's been a difficult 2 weeks. My job. I finally had my melt down at work...I knew it was coming, but didn't know how to divert it without being a total asshole.

It wasn't that dramatic to the outside eye. I went to the breakroom and sobbed for about 20 minutes. Then I waited another 20 minutes to try to look normal again (to let the redness and puffiness of my eyes recede). Then I went to the boss and told her I didn't want to be the charge nurse any more.

She agreed and I'm done with charging. I feel like a quitter, but the pressure and stress was making me nuts. Snide comments, anger, negative attitude, barely able to talk politely to anyone. That is not why I work, to become a mean girl. If that's the end of my potential for success there, so be it. Who cares. I work for me and my joy.

On to my second interview with that semi-IT job today. We'll see what happens.

It's Easy Being Green

My previous post referred to our guild's challenge for the quilt show in October. Here are my first blocks:

They have been fun to make: no rules, no specific cutting or piecing. I just cut a bunch of strips and I throw them together within a few guidelines. I want one strip of the dark blue on each block. (It may not be easy to see in the pictures - one of the dark strips is a bit darker than the others.) Each block has an even number of strips, so one "end" has dark strip and the other has a light blue strip. The "background" (light) denim is the fabric from the two pairs of jeans I cut up. The medium-dark blue denim is left over from a dog bed I made a couple of years ago. The darkest blue is a remnant bin find. So far, I have 10 blocks.

I am loosely following a pattern from an instruction kit called Quilt It Kit. I received the kit as a gift a few years ago and I pull it out every so often when I need a little different kind of inspiration. The projects are very contemporary and simple, but they are well designed.

Sewing along merrily, I am running out of denim from my jeans. I could stop at a wall hanging or lap quilt, but I really want a throw or bed size quilt. The colors fit in my guest room nicely. We'll see. I could add plain blocks. I could add wide strips of solid denim. I could find some more jeans in a similar color to cut up. We'll see.

Work-life balance

Work has been so crazy, I haven't had much time to work on anything else. This past week, for some reason, the patient load dropped off. I think it had to do with most of the MDs being at a conference. It was actually pleasant to be at work again. My resolve to leave weakens...

I had my interview and it went very well. I don't have the ideal experience they want in nursing but I think I clearly showed my energy, enthusiasm, and knowledge regarding well designed and usable software systems. I got a second interview, which has not been scheduled yet. To some degree, it will depend on what they want - others may have more med-surg nursing experience but few can top my background in the computer field.

It would mean a 5-day-a-week job working semi-normal hours, like 8-5 or something. It would be a return to a flexible schedule. This is a salaried position. These things are appealing in one way, but I am nervous about changing anyway. I like my weekdays off. I like working 12-hour shifts, mostly. I like the patient interaction.

Trust Karma. I must...trust...Karma....

So, I am better rested now and I can spend some time on my hobbies again. I worked on the Cherries Jubilee wall hanging quilt again - deciding upon and quilting the sashing areas. I've decided to start a quilt for the guild challenge - a recycled items quilt - by making a denim quilt. I cut up 2 pairs of jeans and I bought some denim from the remnant bin.

Yesterday I did a photo shoot with a friend for some more hat shots. I hope to post them soon and maybe sell a few more caps online.

And, I went shopping. I have wanted to buy some shoes and clothes recently, but I haven't taken the time. Now, I took the time and I feel relieved to have gotten that out of the way.

With the lousy weather this weekend, I am able to get these indoor things done without the pull of yard work and gardening. No need to feel guilty because I am not working on the yard - I can't anyway!!

Off to hobbies....

Love and Hate

Work continues to get worse and worse. Why does it always happen this way?

I don't know who thinks it's OK to schedule 23 patients in a unit with 22 beds, and not even account for those staying over night. There must be some logic I'm missing, and I'm a logical person.

But, I love the coworkers (well, using the term love in a general way). We have each other, and it bugs me to watch us all get hurt repeatedly. We try so hard. We get few kudos. We get lots of stress and pressure from the other units.

I hate having to leave, but the leaders will reap what they sow.

So, I'm going in for an extra shift Friday to help out my coworkers, not my manager. I have an interview on Wednesday. This is so unnecessary and so wrong.

And once again, I am taught that my gut feeling is right on. When the power was transfered on the management of this unit back in December, I was concerned for the unit, even though I couldn't define it specifically.

Retirement Party

Yesterday, my group at work had a retirement party for one of our colleagues. She worked at the hospital for 31 years and was ready to call it quits. It was a wonderful get together, something that people don't do as often as they should.

The Gifts

I suggested that a great gift for her would be a scrapbook. I made the suggestion knowing full well that I would have to make it. At least I had a co-conspirator who took almost all of the pictures. We were right: the scrapbook was a hit.

A scrapbook for someone's retirement is a wonderful idea. We didn't have access to photos from her work life prior to her employment in our unit, but we made a snapshot of work now, when she completed her career. I used a great book as my guideline: Scrapbooking Made Easy. This book gave me ideas for all the page layouts and embellishments. In fact, I copied many of the pages outright.

Most scrapbooking sites and books focus on: weddings, births, family heritage, graduation, vacations, or milestones of growing up. I didn't find many suggestions about retirement and work life, so I improvised.

Here are some other tips if you are thinking of making a retirement scrapbook:

• Title page: with title, a quote or phrase that is meaningful to the situation, and a nice picture of her with one or two favorite coworkers.
• Search for retirement quotes on Google.
• Dedication page: a few sentences of dedication written by a trusted colleague who can write from the heart. Also include names of those who helped make the scrapbook.
• Table of contents: which outlines how the book is organized.
• I organized this book by topics: our unit, the units we work closely with (and have close working relationship with), other coworkers (such as former colleagues), and extracurricular activities.
• A section for each item in the TOC.
• An ending page
• Appendix pages: the recipient can place a few more pictures or mementos on these pages. Another good idea is to attach vellum envelopes or sleeves to a page or two, into which the recipient can tuck retirement cards.
• Use a scrapbook kit or a coordinated line of products for a cohesive look. You can buy these at Joann, Archiver's, Michaels or any other major craft/scrapbooking store.
• Don't skimp on the text. Tell a story.
• Label photos with people's names. That becomes priceless as time goes by.
• Find an outgoing person to take the pictures (if that's not you).
• Use online photo printing. I used Costco's: you upload the photos, order the prints, and go to the store to pick them up the next day. I would guess other photo services do this, too.

If you don't know how to scrapbook, many craft stores have free classes. You really don't need to be super crafty or creative to create attractive pages. It helps, but as long as you can cut a straight line, glue neatly, apply stickers, follow a page layout template, and either write neatly or print out text on your computer, you will succeed. And, there are tools available to help you with these things!

Warning

If you want to do a good job, this will take a lot of time: maybe 1-2 hours per page. My book had 20 pages. I started working on it in January. Yes it's laborious. But it's so personal, so special. If you think it will be well-received and if you really like the recipient, of course you should do it. Go for it! Work in teams if you have to!

Somehow I also got the responsibility for buying the other gift with the remaining money. I went to Things Remembered and found a pretty necklace. I got it engraved with her initial on the front and the date and occasion on the back.

The Dinner

We went to a chain restaurant that had a private room we could use. We had about 30 people there. This allowed us to be a little rowdy and noisy. Everyone ordered off the menu. Everyone paid for themselves - they were kind enough to allow us to have separate checks. We took good care of the serving staff who had to put up with a group of 30 women!

The Toast

And, because I am a bit sentimental, I prepared the following toast for our guest of honor:

May you always have work for your hands to do.


May your pockets hold always a coin or two.


May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.


May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.


May the hand of a friend always be near you.


And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.


I found the above blessing on the Internet when I was searching for quotes on retirement for the scrapbook. It was sweet and added a nice heartwarming touch to the evening. People thought I wrote that myself! Oh my, I'm not that creative!

Like I've said before, I'm really good at applying ideas. That I did, with most lovely results.

And, OK, OK, yeah, I liked the attention, too

Simple Tribute

I've talked about my quilt a bit. I think it's time to show some pictures.

Here is my quilt as it hung for the play earlier this week.

Here is my quilt with the quilt that was hanging next to it.

Yes, I did.

I did apply for the job. I heard through the grapevine that a favorable and informal recommendation was given to the hiring organization by a colleague. That's really nice, and when I heard, it did warm my heart. But, no request for an interview yet. My application was only submitted 3 days ago, anyway, and these things take time.

My quilt is being used as part of the scenery for a musical put on by some college students. It's pretty exciting. A few more people have seen my work! I need to go pick it up this evening, since the show closes tonight.

Post number 180.

I'm almost at 200 posts to this blog. Imagine that.

I was going to write a fifth post on my "cultural experience" series, but I changed my mind. This post was going to be about the one difficulty we had with the program and particularly the J family. It was hurtful, but you know, all it will do is make me look bad and emphasize how whenever I do something, there must always be a problem. Nothing ever goes 100% well for me. Usually I wallow in the self pity. Today I think I'll try to forget it.

Maybe it's Polyanna of me. Maybe it's denial. Maybe I'm just trying to keep a good attitude.

Moving on now.

OK, I got the message. It's time to move on in my job, for real. Life is too short to work someplace that does not bring me joy. I had a very bad day last week, and stupidly, I have sealed my fate with my boss. I am done. Thank you God for clarifying my dilemma, and to my coworkers, I'm sorry. It's my life, and as much as I like you all, I must pursue my own joy. To my patients, I'm sorry. To the patients I won't get to take care of, I'm sorry. There are plenty of great nurses out there, you don't need me.

Well, probably you do, because there aren't enough great nurses, but you need to help change the system so that people like me are kept at the bedside. You don't, though, so you get what you pay for.

There's an office job posted that catches my interest. Tomorrow I swear I will apply for it.

Quilting

My Simple Tribute quilt will be on display for the first time this week. It's serving as a backdrop for a play at a local theater. I sewed on the hanging sleeve yesterday. I need a label, which I will do today or tomorrow.

My online shop:

I'm working on a new product line with success. I've got to work the kinks out and make some to post. I also bought a new pattern to use to develop "doo rags." Inspiration has come to me.

This weekend I made two cap with a Kansas City Royals theme. There seems to be no major league baseball fabric manufactured currently, and I've gotten several requests for KC Royals hats. My solution: I found some Royals patches on the Internet, ordered them, and I'm sewing them to the caps. They have come out really nice. One is the look of a baseball cap. The other has a logo on light blue. I hope my clients like them.

Embroidered patches are fun to use.

Cultural Experience - Part 4

We only had our student for a few days, so there wasn't much time to play together, with her busy schedule of school, field trips and planned events. Here are some of the things we did with the limited time we had:

The first week, when A was staying at the other family's house, we wanted to participate as much as possible and show our support for her and for the program.

We attended the welcome dinner, which was the first day they arrived. They looked very frightened when they filed in. They were paired with their families to eat a sandwich dinner. We had arrived early to the event and settled in at a table, hoping the other family ("the J's") would sit with us. The J's arrived late and there was no room by us to sit so they found their own place. No, they didn't invite us to move or join them. But, since they arrived late, there wasn't much space near them, either.

We got to know some of the other families. That was fun. When their students joined them, we chatted a bit with them and their students. We made an effort to go over to the other family and meet them and meet our student, A. She seemed shy and nervous, but very polite.

On Wednesday of that week, there was a bowling/dinner event. We came to watch, visit, and say hi. We did see A, and what a transformation! She was confident, well-rested, happy and enjoying herself with her new American friends. Some of the J family was there, too - no adults, but the daughter who was in the Japanese class ("D") and two of her sisters. One of these sisters, who was about 20 or so, had her little boy with her, much to the delight of the Japanese girls. It was fun to watch them interact with each other and between the Japanese and the Americans.

Many of the Japanese girls found one of the American boys to be very handsome. Lots of giggles and pictures. It was adorable.

On Friday night there was a pancake dinner. I was working that day, so I couldn't go. Husband went and he hung out with the J family and some of the other families we had gotten to know.

Sunday, A came to stay with us. That afternoon, we went shopping, per her request. This is when we had the cultural misunderstanding I mentioned in a previous post. Dinner was at Sweet Tomatoes. After dinner, a fun trip to the Price Chopper grocery store for food for the week and entertainment for her. That evening, we watched The Princess and the Frog on DVD. That movie is new in Japan, so A got to see it before all her friends did!

(We put on the English subtitles. That seemed to help her understand the dialog.)

Monday after school, it was a lovely day, so we took her to the dog park with our dogs. It's fun to go for a walk and watch the dogs run and play without a leash. There are dogs everywhere! She liked seeing so many dogs, some like her dog in Japan.

Tuesday evening we went shopping at Target. Later in the evening we hung out at home. She taught us to make origami cranes and chopstick holders. We shared pictures and talked about Disney, and Tokyo Disney.

Wednesday was the group dinner to say goodbye. That took up most of the evening.

Thursday, husband took her out to dinner (at Taco Bell, per her request - oh so American) then they went to his college level Japanese class.

Friday, A and the group went home to Japan.

Cultural Experience - Part 3

As you know, we are vegetarian. What did we serve our omnivorous exchange student, A?

(I'm using her initial for privacy and convenience.)

The first night, we went to Sweet Tomatoes for salad dinner. She had soup and a little salad. At that point, A was nervous and shy with us - it was our first meal together and she ate like a bird. After dinner, we went to Price Chopper and picked out some items for the coming week: fruit, eggs, fruit juice, bread, and cheese.

For breakfast Monday, husband prepared pancakes with fruit juice to drink and grapes. Lunch was at school.

Dinner was my mother's "famous" macaroni and cheese casserole. It's decadent with bechamel sauce and Land O Lakes American Cheese, topped with breadcrumbs and baked. Also had a tossed salad and I made some simple Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.

Simple Strawberry Shortcake is a shortcake biscuit with sliced sweetened fresh strawberries. I make bisquick shortcake. She was more comfortable with us by now and enjoyed a second helping of mac and cheese - she even asked for the recipe!!

Tuesday breakfast was an omelet, toast, with fruit and juice. Lunch on the field trip. Dinner was just student and me (since husband was at his Japanese language class), and I made a frittata of egg, potato and southwest style vegetables like green onion, pimiento, and corn. Asparagus was on the side. Yum. I made chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert.

Wednesday breakfast was French Toast. Lunch was on the field trip for the day. Dinner was the Sayonara Dinner for the exchange group, including lasagna and baked pasta catered by the Olive Garden, with sides and desserts provided by the families. I brought mini corn muffins.

Thursday I had to work, so I didn't participate in breakfast. Husband made pancakes again - because student had said she liked pancakes. Lunch was at school. Dinner was with husband, and they went to Taco Bell, at A's request. They went to Japanese class together, since I was working.

Friday morning, everyone got up crazy early to see me off to work. We had bagels and fruit and cheese. Goodbyes.

I think the food situation worked out well. She really liked the mc and cheese, and she asked for the recipe. I copied it on a nice sheet of paper, and did some of the conversions of measurements to metric. She also liked the chocolate cake on Tuesday night - so much so, she asked me to bring it to the potluck on Wednesday, to share with her friends. I think she talked about it with her friends.

The cake was an ordinary boxed mix with frosting from the tub. It did turn out unusually good, though. I am in the habit of making half a cake mix at a time, so this was only an 8x8 pan size cake. You just estimate the amount of mix and use half of the add-ins (oil, water, egg). You bake it up in a 8 or 9 inch round, an 8x8 square, or a few cupcakes. When you're a small family, this works well.

Despite the fact that we eat off the mainstream, we can provide "normal" foods that are extremely healthy. Our student ate well with us, which counteracted the processed snacks she enjoyed all day with her friends.

Cultural Experience - Part 2

Hosting the Japanese high school student was great! She was very nice, she seemed to appreciate what we did for her, and it was awesome for us to get to know her.

She certainly does know how to shop. She especially liked buying food, cosmetics, and clothes. We took her to a mundane Price Chopper because we needed some more groceries for the week. And there, she got so excited about the flavored Oreo cookies! They can't get mint Oreos in Japan, so she took 4 packages, for presents for everyone at home.

Interesting. She also bought chocolates - we encouraged her to buy Russell Stover, since it's a Kansas City brand - and a big bag of Twizzlers. She put back two of the Oreo packages.

Earlier that same day we had gone to several shopping centers. There, she especially liked Victoria's Secret, but curiously, she focused on lotions and perfumes from the "Pink" side of the store. She had been to VS earlier in her stay with her previous host family, and had bought some clothing at the store at that time. She also liked Dick's Sporting Goods (present for Dad), Forever 21 (clothing for her), and Tommy Hilfiger.

Later in the week we went to Target. There, she picked out tube after tube of mascara (at least 6 tubes!), eye shadow, powder foundation, and false eyelashes. Also she bought a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese - very American, I told her.

To her, all of these items were insanely cheap. And culturally, it is important that she bring gifts for everyone when she returns from travel - family, extended family, her classes, her friends, etc. She had a suitcase stuffed with gifts when she went home.

We had one incident of culture shock and hurt feelings. When we picked her up on Sunday we decided to go shopping first. Being a 40-something old person, I thought she'd be happier if I kept out of her business while she was shopping. She thought I was bored with her! Husband did the same thing....she thought we both were bored. She was used to friends and family being in her business, admiring her choices, helping her pick things out, sharing opinions. We thought she'd not want us, with our uncool old-person tastes, around her. We hurt her feelings and she was certain she had offended us.

What a terrible way to start off with her host family! The poor thing....I felt bad that we'd upset her.

However, it took us a while to figure out what was wrong. Once we did (actually, husband figured it out - he's more astute about Japanese culture than I am), we changed our behavior. When we went to Target, I made sure I stayed with her and showed her things and commented on her choices, etc. It went much better.

There's a lot more to write about, but I don't want this post to get too long.