Halloween Hopes & Gifts

I don't know about you but I believe Dum-Dums are the perfect candy. They are small. They come in a multitude of flavors including chocolate and cotton candy. And, at about 20 calories each, you can eat a bunch of them before any adverse impacts on your diet. (We won't talk about dental health here.)

I am blessed with very special friends. One such friend runs the company store at the Spangler Candy Company. Her husband is president of the company, a family owned company that his grandfather started in 1906. (Visit http://www.spanglercandy.com/ where you can learn all sorts of stuff.)

Anyway, I got to spend a week with my friend and sometime during the course of the week we talked about Halloween. I love Halloween and have always enjoyed staying home, handing out candy to all the little ghouls in the neighborhood. However, since moving to our current location, we havn't had many trick-or-treaters because our little part of the neighborhood was its own island and not very enticing to little ghosties hunting for bulk goodies.

I was telling my friend that I am very hopeful that this year will be different. We have four new houses that now tie us to the rest of the neighborhood. Some of those houses actually have goblins and grand-goblins. Of course, I would be stocking up on Dum-dums in preparation for the onslaught.

Shortly after returning from my visit with my candy-blessed friend, a box arrived on my doorstep. Inside - 600 dum-dums! It is nice to have thoughtful friends with resources.

Bring on the goblins! I am ready!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

New Digs

After months of waiting and months of construction, we moved into our new office in the downtown arts district. I was fortunate (or unfortunate) to be the contact person for the upfit of the office. I got to attend the construction meetings, make the hundreds of little decisions that came up during the construction and choose the furniture for the office. It was stressful but fun. The new office space is contemporary and cool. Above is our lobby just after our new furniture arrived. The wall in the background is a 15 foot high rock wall - all hand placed river rock. I love it.

There are lots of cool things about our new office but one of the best things is the upfit for the entire floor was a "green" construction. Special HVAC, plumbing and lighting was installed to promote environmental conservation. Special care was taken so that construction materials were from the most local resources and air quality both during and after construction was carefully protected.

Here is my new office. I am lucky to be right by the skylight and get plenty of natural light. I've been told by one of the construction workers that it sounds wonderful when it rains. I am waiting patiently for a rainy day!

Meet Shelby

Shelby is my 2-year-old Shih Tsu and one of the biggest loves of my life. At a mere 6 pounds, she rules the roost and is a constant source of joy.

She is a creature of comfort. If there is something soft, she will lay on it. Piles of fabric are her favorite. This particular day, I was sewing binding on preemie quilts. (Our guild provides quilts for the children's hospital nearby.) I have 60 or so preemie quilts in progress. (We'll talk about my UFO issues later.) On this day, though, I was binding 20+ preemie quilts, which meant cutting off the extra batting. Knowing that Shelby is a lover of fluffy things, I just tossed the batting in the floor. It didn't take long before she started nesting in it. After much scratching, digging and pawing, she lays down for her nap.

I love to quilt and feel most content when in my sewing room on a quilting mission. The presence of this small, sweet little dog magnifies that contentment in ways I never imagined.

And yes, now, there is always batting on my floor.

Gee's Bend

The Quilters of Gee's Bend appeared tonight at one of our local universities. I sent out a note to my quilting bee to see who could go. We're all a very busy group so only a couple of us were able to attend. I am so glad I had the opportunity to see these women and to hear their voices. The quilts themselves are utilitarian and in many eyes not beautiful. However, they are striking.

I went to see the quilts and to hear about these women. There were two quilts draped across a table on the stage. There were five women on the stage. Each told their story in these voices that were so rich with that "deep south" African American tone that makes you wish they would never stop the story.

Then they sang...

Each took a turn leading the group in a old time gospel song. Hearing their voices, watching their faces, finding myself on my feet swaying and clapping with them - there was more Truth there than I have found in a Sunday morning workship service in many years.

I went to see the quilts. What I left with was so much more than fabric can hold.

Learn more about the Gee's Bend Quilts at http://www.quiltsofgeesbend.com/

Eleanor Roosevelt said "Do one thing every day that scares you". Starting a blog is my one thing scary today. I imagine it will become like most scary things - less frightening with time and more fun than doing nothing.