Hazel Finishes a Quilt, and Blueberry Notices a Bear

Hazel is starting out on Day 3 of no caffeine. Day 1 was by accident - I just forgot to pour, sweeten, and drink my coffee along with getting myself and the Blueb fed and dressed. I didn't get a headache! So I thought, it would be nice not to have coffee on my morning to-do list. So, Day 2 was on purpose. So here we go on Day 3. I'm bleary, I can't think straight, I have a bunch of stuff to do, mostly cleaning, that I can't get myself to do, even though I really want to, you know what I'm saying?

Hazel just had an espresso. It was a few hours old, and cold, but bold, and I needed it. I'm already feeling better. That's it, just one little espresso today. Much better than the usual 2 cups of coffee (either regular coffee from the maker, or Americana, wherein I add hot water and milk to the espresso that Stanley has made for himself). Tomorrow, back on the wagon. Or is it off the wagon? I can never remember.

Last Friday, Hazel and Blueberry went to the zoo. Blueberry's first zoo visit! It was a Saint Paul mom's Meetup at the Como Zoo (as opposed to the "big" zoo) in which there were 4 "Yes" and 4 "Maybe", but for whatever reason, only myself and one other mom showed up. She was nice. Her name was Tilly*. Her two-year-old daughter's name was Gooseberry*. At one point, while we were watching the seals, yet another mom next to us said something to her daughter, who was named Blackberry*. So there was a Blueberry, a Blackberry, and a Gooseberry all in a row. I wish I could tell you the actual names so this sounds less like an acid trip.

Tilly took our picture in front of the brand new polar bear exhibit.

Note that I no longer care how my hair looks.

Yes, if you are the type to be concerned, I kept Blueberry out of the sun. She gets about 10-15 minutes of sun per day, but not during peak hours, as recommended by pediatricians and other knowledgeable people.

Blueberry noticed the polar bears but was way more interested in the humans and common shrubs. I was able to capture this photo of her and a bear together. That's Blueberry on the far left (the entire far left), and that's a polar bear near her forehead. Also another one in the water on the far right. As you can see, I used to be a photographer for National Geographic.



We parked for a moment near the buffalo, and as I pointed the camera at Blueberry, I asked her, "What do you think of the buffalo smell?" And this was her response:


Kind of an amused, scared, disgusted look.

In sewing news, in case you haven't heard, I finished a quilt I started six years ago.

It's approximately 77" square, and is backed by purple fleece (it felt great to finally use up the rest of those horrible sheets), hand-tied with green embroidery thread, rather than quilted. There was no way I was going to try to learn to quilt this thing, and risk messing it up due to my lack of experience after all the time that I'd put into it already. I just needed to get the front and back attached somehow so it wouldn't flop around.

In order to get myself to finish it, I took advantage of an old tradition amongst real quilters that says that you should have at least one mistake in the quilt, for good luck. Each time I saw that there was another flaw, rather than try to make it right, I left it as is or did a quick fix so that the quilt maintained its functionality (e.g., no gaping holes) but not necessarily its beauty. So there is a TON of luck in this quilt. Most of the pieces are hand-sewn rather than machine-sewn, since I only recently got a sewing machine, so I was pretty worried about putting it in the washing machine, but it had to be done because it was loaded with all sorts of dust from years on the (figurative) shelf. But I did a gentle wash and a short tumble dry, and it came out with no ripped seams. I have a great sense of relief having this little guy done. Not sure where I'm going to use it, but I've got some ideas. I considered giving it to Blueberry but I would rather make her a different one. Of course if she wants it I will give it to her.

*Names changed.