. . . I sewed, all day except for walking Lexi.  Yes, I’m still working on the Dresden quilt and yes, I think I have enough “petals” but, I’m concerned that I don’t so last night, I cut out about 30 more.

Because of the “Water Heater Incident”, I can’t find the rest of my fabric that I used to cut out the design but I found these in my scraps in the dining room where I’m currently sewing.  If I have to make more, I’ll have to TEAR apart my fabric room (where everything is stacked) to find the rest of the fabric.  I started last night when I decided that I might need more and went looking for the fabric.  I was, however, unsuccessful.

Other than that, it is coming along nicely and I’m enjoying watching/listening to “Downton Abbey” as I sew.  I’m in Season 3 so I don’t have long to go now.  I think I’ll follow it up with “Firefly”.  I haven’t watched that in a while.

Well, I’m back . . . at least for the moment.  Do you really want to hear about the mundane things that I do in my day?  Yeah?  Okay?  Well, you asked for it!

Yesterday, I went to church and when I got home, I continued the laundry that Brian had started for me.  The first load was just finishing as I came into the house from the garage.

Since I’ve been going back to church, I’ve been going to the first service at 9:45 which gets me home around 11 instead of going to church at 11.  Its the contemporary service which is the type of music I listen to most but I miss the old standards that I grew up on sometimes.  I may go back to the service at 11 but I don’t know for sure.

While doing the laundry, I worked on the Dresden plate petals.  This is the hardest part of the entire quilt partly because there are a gazillion of them and partly because they’re small.  Once these are done, I’ll be able to put them into “plates/flowers” and then, put them on the blocks of off-white background.  I’ve got sashing that I will also use for the flower centers.

The thing about this block is that they are named after the Dresden plate but they look more like a flower.  I’ve also got another one that is more abstract with different sized “flowers” in it.  I’ll put up pictures of both of them when I’m finished.  I won’t quilt them because they are for a class that I’m going to teach and its easier to hang them if they are unquilted.

Below is a picture of a quilt I just finished for a customer.  As I said in my Facebook post, I have no say about the allegiance of the customer– I’m just posting a picture.

. . . I told you about my impending hip replacement surgery which has now taken place.  I feel like I should’ve been keeping better track of my progress because I’ll need to know how soon I went off pain meds, when I threw the walker to the side of the road, and when I started walking without a cane.  Alas, I did not track that so the next time I need to get the other hip done, I’ll have no way to know if I’m too fast or too slow in my progress.

More than likely, I’ll be fast because what I don’t push, Brian, my beloved, does push so between the two of us, I’ll be off pain meds quickly, throwing my walker to the side of the road and then, carrying on without a change in my gait and no canes or other accoutrement attached to my hands (on either side).

Yes, I will be getting another hip surgery and sooner than I wanted to but that won’t happen until my right knee is done.  Unfortunately my right knee is tentatively scheduled for January and the left hip will follow within a year or so, I would imagine.

I’ve tried to figure out why I, the youngest of my family, requires being turned into “The Bionic Woman”, sans the ear implant although I could use one, for sure.  I figure weight and smoking and lifestyle had a lot to do with it.  Weight problems are rampant in my family which is but one reason that I’m trying to get these things under control.

So far, I’ve lost 34 pounds and I feel better, all the way around.  That’s more than my sisters can say although one of them (I was going to name her but decided I shouldn’t in case she would take offense) is trying to get some weight off.

But that leads me to another thought: why is my family so sensitive about stuff?  I tried, several years ago, to bring us together and, in some cases, it has happened but in others, not so much.  We have outside forces (outside of the 5 siblings) that are fighting and destroying what little connection we have and that doesn’t help.  We’re also very compartmentalized in our own families and lives– dare I say, yes, we are very SELF-CENTERED in many ways.  We’re all guilty of it.

Since being hospitalized, I’ve heard from one sister on a semi-regular basis and another sister occasionally but not the other sister at all.  I’ve made my overtures but I’m done.  My brother and I keep up on text and email so I’m not worried there either but we have really had some major damage caused to our relationships AGAIN.

This time, someone else can do the repair because I’m DONE.  Oh, well, Mom & Dad– I did try.

I am getting my hip replaced.  The doctor told me in 2011 that I’d only make it 2 years and then I’d be in a wheelchair when I came to beg for the surgery.  Well, I am still seeing  that surgeon (he’s too good at this not to!) but its been three years and I’m not in a wheelchair.

I’m looking forward to it though because that will mean that the only pain I have for awhile is the pain from the surgery and then I’ll be pain free after that pain goes away.

You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to that!

Of course, then, in January or February, I’m going to get on my knee surgeon’s (different doctor but in the same practice) surgery list for my right knee and THEN, I’ll be done for five or more years.  My right hip is in pretty good shape and hopefully I’ll get a respite from surgeries for joints for awhile.

Yes, I’ll be stopping when I’m only three-quarters bionic but I don’t care!!  I’ll be almost pain free and that’s what counts!

. . . or am I?

I find myself reading other blogs by quilters who piece quilts but also create art quilts and I wonder if that is me.  I read and see different things in my field of interest and wonder “Who am I?  Is that me?”.

I can’t quite figure it out, I guess.  Maybe that’s best because I can enjoy both worlds that way: Quilter and Artist.

I don’t make much money at this quilting thing I do but I enjoy it and it covers what I spend so I’m not digging into savings to do it.

I guess I need to figure it out.

Today: I’m going to play “Teacher”.  Its fun and I enjoy it but I don’t know if I enjoy it enough.  I have three and a half months to decide what to do since I can’t do any of any of this stuff until I get past my hip surgery.

Everyone needs a rest now and then.

. . . or as close to it as I can get these days.  It seems that the farm that I grew up on is no longer a farm (and thus, no longer my home) because it is a 30-house subdivision.  Yeesh!!  The school that I attended as a child through the ninth grade is a grocery store/ shopping center/ gas station.  Saying that “I got a fill-up there” has new meaning, eh?

I guess what they say is true: You can’t go home again.

If you do, you’ll just be shocked, disappointed and overwhelmed with the amount of change.  Of course, then there’s the thing that doesn’t change.  I’ve Googled several “prominent” people from my grade school and junior high days and they have NO presence on the internet– NOTHING, NADA, ZILCH, NIL.  How is that possible?

Granted, most people don’t move more than 20 miles from the homes that they were raised in but they couldn’t post a travelogue of their lives?  Oh, wait– you have to go somewhere other than the Burger King that’s five miles from your home in order to do that!

Yowza!  How do you live that kind of sheltered life?  Do you pretend that EVERYTHING that you see on the television is “Hollywood”?

GO OUT AND EXPERIENCE LIFE!!!

I left here on April 30 in the rain at 6am; it stopped raining outside of Toledo at 3pm– Yes, 9 hours of rain to drive through . . . it was a lovely time.  Then 4 hours later, I arrived at my sister’s house and spent the night.  We went to the quilt retreat (see review of the hotel below) and had fun at the quilt-part of it.

I left the quilt retreat on Sunday as planned at went to my brother’s house to spend some time with he and his wife and their lovely dog, Zorba.  I love Zorba– he’s the best 4-legged canine nephew I have!  (See Larry, my sister’s cat– Zorba’s the best CANINE– you’re still the best FELINE!)

We drove to Beaulah and Frankfort, Michigan on Monday and saw the gallery of Ann Loveless who won first place in ArtPrize in 2013.  Wonderful work and I enjoyed talking with her husband.

Tuesday morning found me on the road again, driving through Allendale, where we grew up, and back to my sister’s house.  I have to tell you: The house where I grew up is no more– the barn is gone and EVERYTHING is changed, including the new 30-house subdivision on the land!!  ARGH!!  Nothing looks the same!!

I did stop and spend time with the family that bought my mother’s (and father’s) house after my father died.  They were lovely and gave me a brief tour of the house and the yard.  Then, I drove through Allendale which is weird– I got gas at the school I attended.  Okay, the school’s gone but I still got gas at the site of where it was located.

I drove the rest of the way to my sister’s and met one of my adorable 2-legged great nephews, Tyson.  He is ADORABLE (did I mention that?)  I spent 9 hours with him on Tuesday and then we all went over to his house and had dinner with his parents.  Matt, Tyson’s father, and Sarah, Tyson’s mother, were wonderful as usual– they are wonderful–I love them so much!

Wednesday we spent the day with Faye and her kids; I believe, Kurt, her husband, was sleeping as he works nights these days.  Anyway, I had so much fun with Kaden and Amelia and got to know Maggie Clare– I love them so much, too!!!

Thursday I spent with Karen and Ron (mostly Karen) sewing and chatting and then I packed up the car and tried to sleep.  I succeeded fairly well and drove home on Friday.

SOOOOO HAPPY TO BE HOME!!!!

When we arrived on Thursday, May 1, there was general mayhem and chaos behind the desk.  We were told that there was sewing places for the retreat on all three floors of the hotel.  In fact, there were only sewing places for quilters on 2 floors and, after we spent 2 hours sewing, we had to move to one of those locations.

Thursday night, I took a shower– NO HOT WATER.  I notified them on Friday morning and was told it was fixed.  On Friday night, I took a shower– NO HOT WATER.  They sent a maintenance man and he told me that there was air in the pipes and that it should be fixed.

Saturday night, I _*finally*_ had a hot shower– of course, it doesn’t matter much when you’re leaving the next day.

When I asked the manager about a possible credit– not a full refund– for not having hot water, he told me that his maintenance people said “you were just making it up”.

I have stayed in hotels AROUND THE WORLD– Why would I make up no hot water in Mackinaw City, Michigan??  Cripes!!  No one wants to be there THAT badly!!

I was told to contact Mackinaw City Chamber of Tourism, the owners of the hotel, and apparently, they don’t care that we got ripped off with no hot water for two nights– apparently, that’s standard fare and I just got the bonus of being insulted on top of it.

Thanks so much!  (NOT!!)
Marcia Bilbrey

PS:  Yes, I blog and will re-post this review there as well as cutting down MCCT as much as possible on Facebook.

Why is it that an otherwise intelligent man or woman who has an inquiring mind about everything from politics to science does NOT ask someone with a great deal of knowledge (albeit, book-learning) about God and Jesus Christ and all of that.  It has nothing to do with religious affiliation so I don’t care if the person that they are asking is Baptist, Catholic, or Jewish– JUST ASK SOMEONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know several people who claim “to know it ALL” but they don’t know about God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and think they are ABOVE finding out.  Really?

Nope, I don’t think so and you really need to find it out so I would find someone who has a degree (even better, SEVERAL degrees) in theology and the requisite book learning to answer your questions.

Just saying.

Thank you, Lord!

I was to be religious.  I thought I had embraced it as a young woman but I didn’t, really, until a few years ago and the face-slap (not literally) from my oldest sister.  “Marcia, you know what you have to do– start reading your Bible and PRAYING!!”

It worked.

I have read through most of the Bible and, in keeping with the season, yes, I’ve read the Gospels and their accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.  As I read, I visualize what I’m reading but I never visualized it as well as was depicted in the History channel’s version that aired last year.  That was a visual version– that’s what I see when I think of the crucifixion now.

The impact that that one event has had on the world then and now is beyond our comprehension– really.  What it means to us as Christians today; what it meant to Christians at the time of the occurrence.  None of us can fully comprehend the whole situation.

God sent his Son to be born on earth, grow up, minister to thousands of people, and then die on the cross (one of the most horrific deaths possible) so that we don’t have to die to sin for an eternity.

Wow.