Autumn In the Park

 

Maggie & I walk here between 2-4 times a day depending on the weather and time available. It's 1.5 miles all the way around the park so that is a significant amount of miles for both of us. Of course it also depends on how well behaved she is since her normal mischievousness is not chasing the squirrels or ducks but randomly exercising her vocal chords at random leaves blowing in the wind. That mind you is on a good day. On a not so good day it entails exercising her vocal chords and pulling me on the lead after a dog attached to a human somewhere either within oh 5-10 feet up to one half way across the park! Plus I learned a few weeks ago that not only does she love playing ball, pine cone, stick, but she is a leaf THIEF!! I was collecting leaves and she reached over and grabbed them out of my hand and kept them in her mouth and would not give them back lol. Ever since then she thinks it is a game if I am collecting leaves and carrying them home to put on the frig. She will be oblivious to everything else on those days except those leaves and me. If I collected the whole park we wouldn't have any room in the house to live but at least I could get her to mind :-D. 

Getting ready to work on holiday gifts soon. I'm thinking that between my calls at work on my down time I should be knitting something. Hmm what to make? Well I'm sure I can find something. 

R is for...

R is for REI, red highlights, and many more wonderful things..even someone special...but that is for another post. Yep I got the job! So excited because for the first time in 5 years I will have benefits again! First game tomorrow for soccer with my Oly team. Looking into being on a T-town team too. Then I will be playing soccer 2x's a week if work permits. The Road to California quilt is coming along very nicely. R is really ecstatic about having it by winter so I am sewing whenever I get the chance these days. I have greatly enjoyed my time volunteering with the Y kids but that is coming to an end soon as I am going to be working with the Sunday school kids at my church for awhile; probably until winter holiday break. So looking forward to Maggie coming home next week with me and seeing everyone at our annual family QG.

All That Jazz

I get to work this amazing musical this coming holiday weekend at our famous Pantages Theater.You can check out "All That Jazz" and how they do it Chicago style.
Been training & gearing up for this autumn's soccer season as it officially starts September 7th. So far I'm up to 1/2 a mile without being winded & my foot not hurting. My goal is to play some games with my home team Traditions out of Oly but also sub sometimes with T-town's team so that eventually next season I can play on T-town's team. Hoping that R can make it to some of my games ;-).
We both worked the Pacific West Quilt Show this past weekend and it was amazing! It was so funny to listen to him as we talked about quilts and art as he told me several stories about his great grandma Pauline and the quilts she made; how he and his brother used to snuggle under them as kids. I finally started the Road to California quilt & he knows it is for him. He absolutely loves it already and it is only 6 blocks lol! Mostly it is because it will have a lot of green in it (along with blue & orangish-red) and is made up of batiks...my favorite.
Still waiting about REI but hopefully I will know something by this holiday weekend. So keep your fingers crossed. I also am looking into getting into catering & doing banquet serving. I think it will be fun. Still keeping my eyes open for any openings at LUSH :-D. 

New Things

New place, new hair style, ...still waiting to find out about the new job...and for the new love? Well we're waiting on that too. It seems that the last one in particular is in a status of "hurry up & wait" lol. Reminds me of working for the government. It's okay though as there is a potential for some recent previous love interests to be in direct competition with the current poi (person of interest). All are in the same status though. I seem to be in a current status of working on me. Nothing wrong with that.
Looking forward to going to the Kite Festival in Long Beach this next week with friends and then working the Pacific NW Quilt Conference at the convention center. Good way to gather all kinds of creative ideas for projects...woohoo project galore..yeah! :-D
Happy that my friendships with D and K are getting better. For awhile there I wasn't sure if they would....trusting in Him to show you how to work on things always helps....trust & faith.

New Possibilities

Tacoma Waterfront

After 48 hours of waiting, I finally got the anticipated call I had been waiting for. The call that said "Yes you got it!" Now some of you are wondering, just what did she get? Well, I got my own apartment again thanks to help from Mom. I have waited a long time to be able to be in a spot where things felt like they were finally turning around and I am so grateful for this opportunity. Plus, other things are starting to fall into place to and I am really looking forward to that too but will share on those at a later date. First two people who knew were Mom and R and both were happy. So again, thank you for this blessing. It will be so nice to be able to have the space to set up my quilting things again and this time I don't have to necessarily put it away at night if I don't want to ;-).

What Hangs On Trees

Say Carolina
For My Pametto State
After Rita Dove

Nothin finer than a tea drunk gurl
raised on peaches sugah honey chile & y'all
Nothin finer than her palmetto & crescent moonshine
pinched and dangling on each ear
Nothin finer than her sass
her sweet potato thick waist
spreading from Low Country to Upstate
bible belt cinched and clinched
sportin 47 patches that work
a rice cotton & tobacco shimmy
from sun up to sundown

Carolina's hot
& cotton's supposed to let you breathe
but under her honeysuckle & jasmine print skirt
all you feel is the burn of 9000 ebony
& Denmark Vesey leading the charge
whispering in quilt-stitch code
for a stolen people to rise up
sharpen their dreams
and fly

Carolina's a gumbo
sweet grass grace mixed with old money
Look down her cobblestone roads
laced with Spanish moss You feel the worlds
between the worlds Rainbow row colors
blending with auction block songs Part the veils
but don't get too close to her port waters
even if you know how to swim cause

Carolina's deep
She's a complicated Lady
look beyond the magnolias and mint juleps
she all plantation upfront & Middle Passage baggage behind
She's had a hard time carrying the weight
but Carolina don't care cause she the bomb
all muskets & cannons when she lifts her skirt
Shoot Carolina will blow your mind
with the twisted & strange fruit
she both bears & wears
Say it again Carolina don't care
She done acquired the taste,
you can tell how she walks & talks
she likes how it hangs

by Glenis Redmond 
(Orion. November/December 2012)

Another Day in Paradise

Actually got a bunch done today while K was at work. Got all the laundry done, dishes done, the bed remade with clean linen, groceries bought, found all the stuff I need to get my taxes finally done & made the appointment to get them done for next week, spent time with my best friend J, and now just relaxing waiting for K to come home. I still can't believe it is April already. Have to get ready to move again the end of next month/beginning of June. Putting in for a few Admin jobs this evening. This week's schedule keeps changing so not sure if I will be taking my trip to go see my rent's soon or will have to postpone it but I am really enjoying all the time & attention with my bestie J and most especially K. Have been contemplating what kind of quilt I would like to make for K's second quilt and I'm thinking maybe a Hawaiian style quilt. Still need to get the background fabric to start his Dad's Churn Dash quilt that will be in varying shades of blues, purples, & teals.

P is for Princess Moments & Pretty in Pink

Spring is finally here and although it has been a cold start so far we are all grateful it is finally here. I got the email about soccer starting up again. Not sure if I want to play yet but I still have a few weeks yet to think about it or I can always just pay per game instead of the whole season. I am starting a new adventure this season as a Mary Kay consultant. I worked the Mary Kay convention a few weeks ago at the convention center in T-town and befriended a lady named Heather. She is an awesome friend! Plus an additional bonus is that she is a French teacher too. K and I are going to take French lessons from her soon. She also quilts and I already have recruited her to coming to this year's QG and bringing her daughter, Joanne.
I have about half the stuff from storage moved closer and will be moving the rest as soon as I can find a place to put it. I found the storage place just need to figure out the details ;-).
So happy that Dad is doing well after the scare he gave us a few weeks ago. He is planning on coming over tomorrow and I am looking forward to that especially if he is able to meet K. Hopefully the timing works that K wants to meet him & that the meeting goes well.
I found this beautiful pic of  a partial of a Hawaiian quilt on a website recently that seems spring-like to me. One of my goals this year is to learn how to make a Hawaiian quilt.

Measure of a Man

K and I were recently riding together on the way to work when he played this for me and it's an amazing song. Rawr :-)

"Measure Of A Man"
by Clay Aiken

If one day you discover him

Broken down he's lost everything

No cars, no fancy clothes to make him who he's not

The woman at his side is all that he has got

Why do you ask him move heaven and earth

To prove his love has worth?

Would he walk on water

Would he run through fire

Would he stand before you

When it's down to the wire

Would he give his life up

To be all he can

Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?

If by chance all he had to give you

Was three words wrapped around your finger

Would that be deep enough at the end of every day

And how will you ever know

If a man is what he says?

Why do you ask him to move heaven and earth

To prove his love has worth

Would he walk on water

Would he run through fire

Would he stand before you

When it's down to the wire

Would he give his life up to be all he can

Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?

He never gives up

Lets go of his dream

His world goes around for his one true belief

Is that how you know

Is that what it means?

Would he walk on water

Would he run through fire

Would he stand before you

Would he will be your anchor when the dark unfolds

Would he always love you the best that he knows?

Would he give his life up

To be all that he can

Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?

Would he walk on water

Would he run through fire

Would he stand before you

When it's down to the wire

Would he give his life up

To be all he can

Is that, is that, is that, how you measure oh...

Is that, is that, is that, how you measure a man?

Sunshine

It's sunny out and I love it! What's even more important is that there was finally a resolution at work that was satisfactory for both the company and me. Plus last night I got to spend the evening with my best friend from the group and a special someone before he had to go to work. They came over for dinner and watched a movie. It was a nice night and today is going pretty well too. I heard back from the local tribe about possibly doing some volunteer work as well as doing a storage class working with watershed data collection. Still waiting to hear back from the coordinator about doing that. Trying to gather more potential pet care clients over the next several weeks as we are headed toward spring and that means the beginning to travel season. I am still trying to learn some new programming languages and put together projects for a professional portfolio to be able to share with future employment opportunities that come up. Next week on Monday I will be trying my hand first time at Karaoke with my close friend LJ. She's an awesome singer and I often get together with her regularly just to listen to her sing but since I am currently spending time bettering myself, I figure why not try something new. Besides at some point in the near future I'd like to take K with me so he can hear me sing :-).

Who Am I?

Been trying to work on figuring out who I am lately, dropping my guards, and letting the sparkle shine through for others to see. Not exactly as easy as you may think. Some of you are probably thinking 'we know who she is though' and you would be correct but at the same time not because all of us are constantly evolving because we never stop learning. Bottom line is I am trying to overcome my fears..to let go..and be me. Working out at the gym daily is helping..going to a bible study for women is helping..trying to get on with a new temp agency is helping..going to church...hanging with friends..eating healthy and getting enough sleep...all going in the right direction. Most importantly though, believing in myself and knowing I am a phenomenal woman. Knowing it is okay to say that I am a phenomenal woman with humility.
Now if only I had more dresses and could get my hair trimmed... :-).

The E in Geo is for Epic Moments

It's been an interesting start to the new year with family visiting :-), some headache situations at work, the room mate moving out-well not permanently just staying closer to her college-and finally finding time to begin geocaching. Absolutely love the days when I can wake up, put on my hiking/geocaching attire and head out the door to go off on a day long adventure of looking for "pirate booty". My first find was literally just down the road about a mile and a half in front of a local restaurant. Totally epic moment!
The house is literally too quiet at night most nights except for the ones where the friends come over and spend the evening role playing and visiting...just having fun. Makes it nice for all of us to just kick back and relax.
My foot is finally starting to feel better with the new ortho supports in the shoes. I was able to officially speed walk a mile today during a light drizzle in about 18 minutes. Definitely will have to work back up to my running again but it is nice to feel hopeful and not be in so much pain with literally every step of the way.