Hi, Donna. It's good to hear from someone in our little group. Yes, we got back home at midnight last Saturday. My darling daughter and her husband brought us a beautiful brunch Sunday morning, knowing that we hadn't had time to go grocery shopping yet.

I have to admit that I've done no quilting in the past two months. I feel really bad about it, but life just got in the way. We have really established a second life for ourselves down in Palm Desert. We golf two or three times a week and have made so many friends down there that we find ourselves very busy. I play mahjong one day a week and Hand & Foot another. We have dinner with friends several times a week. I went to the Road2CA quilt expo in late January. Then I met my daughter in Austin, TX, and we just played for four days. We went on a Caribbean cruise that took 11 days including travel time. Our son, who lives in Denver, was working in Los Angeles and San Diego quite often this winter, and he came to visit on four weekends. I got so tired of putting my quilting stuff away and taking it out again that I just put it away for the rest of the season. I don't have a dedicated place to quilt in the townhouse we rent.

So, now that I'm home, I have one quilt to longarm and four quilts all kitted up, ready to piece. But, the yard needs cleaning, and there are all those spring things that need to be done. I did accomplish one major task. I have lost 30 pounds since last October. No meds, just discipline. Now if I only have the strength to keep it off. Before I put away all the clothes I brought home from the desert, I tried on every piece of clothing in my closet and separated them into three categories - clothes that fit me that I will wear (into the closet); clothes that are too big for me but that I want to keep, just in case (into a bin in the basement); and clothes I never want to see again (in bags to donate). That felt so good. Anyone of you who has struggled with weight knows how frustrating it is to have a closet full of clothes that are either too big or too small to wear.

My husband is having dinner with some of his buddies tonight, so I think I will take the opportunity to start quilting again. I've got a pretty simple pattern all set to piece, so I'll start with that for some fairly quick gratification. Well, that's my story. I hope some of the others will chime in and tell us what they've been up to. Happy spring to everyone.

Donna, that quilt is stunning. I am sure you will make one just as beautiful. Good on you to hand applique.

I have been in choirs since I was eight years old. I had to leave my last choir a few years ago when my throat began to act up. But oh, how I missed singing in all of the Holy Week services. I sing along in my head.

Lois, so glad you are safely back. Sounds like you had a very good time away. ‘The yard awaits’. As does your long arm. And that is a remarkable weight loss!!!

Our yard is in serious need of work. A sixty foot, sixty year old pine tree in our front yard, was taken down by a freak wind storm last month. Now we have to decide what to do with that spot. In the rear yard, we had our old deck taken down and replaced by a smaller one. And again, what to do with the mess left behind. neither DH nor I can do any of this work, so the challenge is to find someone who can.

Today was the first day, I felt almost human, so things are improving and I will get back to the quilt.

Yes, anxious to hear what everyone is up to.

Theresa

Lois, congratulations! I have been through the weight loss/gain thing, too. Since I’ve retired I seem to be holding steady (though I would like to lose a few pounds). It’s great you have made many friends in Palm Desert! We’ve been in Live Oak two years now, and my sister and I are still struggling to meet people. We are both introverts, so even getting ourselves to go to gatherings is a challenge.

Theresa, I had not sung in a choir for a long time before this Good Friday group, so I wasn’t even sure my voice would work! But I think I did okay.

It is so good to hear from everyone.

Donna, that will be one beautiful quilt. You do such beautiful work, I am always intimidated by the quilts you make and almost embarrassed by the simplicity of patterns I pick! Most of them are for charity, so I guess that's okay.

I can't sing worth a hoot, but love listening to others that can.

Lois, Congrats on your weight loss. I have been trying to cut back, also and have lost about 20 pounds over the last year. The tops all see to fit, but I need to buy some new pants. I think I purge the closet ever year, but there is still too much in it! The other challenge is getting my husband to give up some of his stuff that he NEVER wears. I sneak some out from time to time, but there is still too much. It sounds like your winter was filled with lots of fun activities!

Theresa, I am glad you are starting to feel better. Yardwork is always a challenge - Don't overdo!

I've been busy with our Lions club and church activities, too. Our club meets twice a month at noon and after COVID, I became the person that fixes all of the meals (unless we are out of town). We have about 20 people who attend the meetings, so it seems like an never ending catering event at our house! I'm also the chair of our Foundation, so try to keep our financial donations on track. Our only fundraiser is running a bingo session every Friday night. In our prime, we raised about $150K / year. It dropped off significantly a few years ago to almost nothing, so we asked our Bingo chairperson to step down and leave our club. We are back on track and hope to hit $90K this year (our fiscal year ends June 30). HOPEFULLY, this trend will continue. We are also busy with church stuff. I'm a "kitchen angel" - a committee that serves a lunch to our senior members along with a program every month. ALL of us qualify to be one of the seniors at the table - I'm the youngest in our group at 72! It's difficult to recruit younger members to help out.

We also have some tree issues with all of the horrible winds we have been having in Colorado. Our neighbor's cottonwood tree split and went through our fence and theirs. We have a 100 year old cottonwood tree that will probably need to come out, as well as one on the city's property that is posing a threat to our house. They are so far behind on taking care of their trees, it might be a while before they get to ours. Oh, the joys of home ownership!

I've made 45 purses for the Sew Powerful Purse project, but need to get back to quilting! I have enough fabric to last another 30 years so I'd better get busy!

Take care everyone and have a good weekend!

Sue

Oh my goodness! It sounds like everyone has gotten so much done this spring!

Sue, I dont know when you have any time to sleep with all that you do! Is there a youth group at your church? Maybe you can recruit some tweens & teens to help with your programs. My kids did alot of volunteer work for the church when they were in youth group.

Glad you are feeling better, Theresa. I hope you can track down some ppl to do your tree/yard work.

Donna, that KKB quilt is gorgeous! She has such beautiful designs! Can't wait to see your version.

Lois, 30lbs is alot! Congratulations! I have always been a bit unhappy with my weight/appearance, but I like to eat & my DH is a really great cook...makes it hard to trim down my portions, lol!
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We are STILL waiting on canvas work and additional solar(added to new bimini top) to be completed after 10 weeks! I am about ready to call it quits ! They are supposed to be out to install everything next week(after being told that for the past 3 weeks), but we shall see.

Since we havent been able to travel far, I have been sewing quite a bit. Had some electrical trouble with my old Bernina 1090 where it was rapidly turning on & off. I was able to pull the handwheel & rear covers off to inspect the circuit board. It had a very light, almost powdery looking film of salt on everything inside! I was able to use compressed air to blow it out and the machine seems to be running perfectly again, phew!!! Idk what I would do without a machine! We have 110 power on the boat, but the islands use european, so I'd have to get a new one back from the states somehow!

Here are a few pics...

Sue, it sounds like you are very busy! It seems like your Lions Club lunch duties should rotate. Hopefully you at least are reimbursed for the food!

Char, I’m glad you were able to get your machine going. I guess salt is a problem with everything on a boat! I sure hope they come through with the repairs this week so you can get on your way.

My appliqué project is coming along slowly. Today I’m going to start making a zillion grapes. There are 26 in each of the four center blocks, and more will be needed for the borders. I have a variety of purples picked out. My plan is to make a bunch of them and throw them in a box, then pull them at random for sewing onto the block.