Here is "Hot Log Cabin for a Dreich Day." The "Threadplay" embellishment has been done. That's the lacy threadwork that created the smoke coming out of the chimneys and into the borders of the quilt. I have now done the background quilting and am in the process of hand-quilting the colourful blocks with some hand-dyed silk thread. I'm doing this quilting with large stitches, mostly to add visual interest but also to cut down on the puffiness of those blocks. I expect to be able to finish the quilting during the So and Sews' meeting tomorrow and move on to finishing the quilt by mid-week. Then I can start work on the 3rd quilt I must do before the 29th.
The title of today's blog refers to the crazy weather we've been having. From the sound of some of your e-mails, everybody we know is getting crazy weather, from highs in the 70s one day to a 30-degree plunge the next. We're having all kinds of weather too. Yesterday it was cool but sunny and then drizzly, then sunny and then drizzly. The wind has been strong and grew even stronger last night. When I got up at 6 this morning, the sky was in bands of pink and blue and the sun was just about to come up. Within 5 minutes, the sky had turned dark--almost black. In another 5 minutes, it had begun to snow. Then 10 minutes later, the snow stopped and the sun came out again. It's been like that ever since. Sometimes the snow squalls are like blizzards, with the wind driving the snowflakes horizontally. Other times, the snow is just flurries, but blown in all directions at once by that fierce wind. Right now, the sun is shining brightly.
Nevertheless, Don and Gordon decided to play golf as usual this morning. Don said they got to the golf course and it was gorgeous. They teed up and hit their first shots and then their second shots with no problem. Then all at once they were in the middle of blizzard-like conditions and couldn't see where the hole was or the ball was or anything else. Wisely, they decided to just call it quits. The thing is, to get back to the car, they had to walk right into the driving snow squall. Don said in all his years of living in Buffalo and going to college at St. Lawrence University, practically in Canada, he never experienced anything like the pain on his forehead from being hit with that driven snow. Of course by the time he'd driven home, the sun was out again.
Don has had two really good things happen in the past few days. On Friday, he went to see the surgeon about his knee. Looking at the X-rays, the doctor said he thought the major problem was actually arthritis, although he could see that there was some bit of torn cartilege on one side. Perhaps Don was just having an arthritis flare-up that day we came home from Ireland in early January because his knee has gotten better and better over the last two months. The doctor said he sees no reason for surgery as things now stand. That was a great bit of news.
Then yesterday, Don won the weekly St. Fillans Seniors' League round for the day. In fact, with his handicap, he came in 4 strokes ahead of the fellow in second place. He had 42 out and 42 back. He came home with the prize money and a big smile on his face. (The smile was bigger than the prize money.)
Yesterday afternoon, I went to visit Robbie Innes to get a lesson on how to repair my "ruptured" sock. Robbie has been knitting since she was 5 so it comes as easily to her as breathing. Every time she handed the needles over to me to see if I could follow her instructions, I was all-thumbs and felt most inept. Gradually, however, I did understand what I must do and feel confident I can finish the repair to that first sock. With the work we both did on it yesterday, the repair project is about half done. I'm also making good progress on the second sock.
The chorus had a good rehearsal on Thursday evening. This afternoon at 2:30 we rehearse with the orchestra and soloists for tonight's concert. There will be precious little time when I get home to grab a bite to eat and change clothes before I get picked up to go back to Crieff for the concert. As usual, Don and the Sutcliffes will come together and then David and Juliet will bring us both home and stay for coffee and cake (the second half of the apple cake I made for last Monday's So and Sews' meeting which I froze). I think tonight's concert will be an excellent performance and much more enjoyable to chorus members and audience alike than the previous two concerts.
Tomorrow morning, Don presents a program on distance education to the Comrie Inner Link group (the female adjunct to the Probus Club) at the WRI Hall. At the same time, I will be with the Crieff Writers' Group. Our prose assignment for this meeting is on the topic of Survival.
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