Keeping Busy in January

I'll start with something quilty:  Well, I finished the little Doll Quilt #3.  I was going to hand quilt it, like #1 and #2, but I ended up doing some simple line quilting on my sewing machine instead.  It is a DOLL quilt afterall.  If I was making it as a wall hanging - then I would have hand quilted it. So just ignore any slight ripple you may see and the fact that it doesn't have much quilting.   I know I just showed it  - but here it is with the binding.  See - all finished!

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I am teaching a new friend how to sew and what fun we are having!   We agreed on  Bonnie Hunter's Trip Around the World pattern.  What a great beginner's pattern!  Rotary cutting, straight seaming.  My friend had never even sewn a seam on a sewing machine before.  I bring fabric with me from the states so I had plenty on hand to share.  Here is the fabric she picked out for the main part of the quilt (not all ironed yet) - not sure I have fabric on hand for the borders, but we will deal with that when we get to it!  We are also going to make a dress for her daughter, who is my son's age.  They are classmates and friends and that is how we became friends.

My friend right away was lucky enough to get a beautiful sewing machine for an excellent price over the internet, in our city (no shipping costs!).  But - it was having a problem with the bottom tension so her husband brought it over today and I took the bobbin area all apart, showed her how to clean it, how to thread it, tightened the loose feed dog and we tried again - and it is perfect!  Didn't even need to change the needle.  She walked with the baby/stroller and her husband came with the car - I just re-read that and thought it sounded a bit funny that I would say her DH brought the machine over.  Actually, her husband brought more than the sewing machine - he brought her rice cooker too and she set about cooking a super meal for all of us!  She is from Taiwan and this is what she cooked:

The trout was well salted and stuffed with sliced ginger.  Cooked in a very HOT pan with a little oil, she added a little soy sauce right before serving.  The Chinese cabbage, bok choy & carrots chopped and cooked in water (with cover on pot) with tofu and baby shrimp and a bit of soy sauce.  The chicken was sauteed in a very hot pan with pineapple and ketchup & a bit of soy sauce.  The eggs were fried with scallons (and a bit of soy sauce!).  I know she put garlic in something, but I lost track somewhere along the way.  Plus the sticky rice.  And her older son made a pumpkin seed oil cake that was very tasty!  Everything was soooo good.  The baby was just a doll the entire time we were in the kitchen.  He actually eats more than our 2  6 year olds combined, LOL!  Plus we spent all day visiting - while the kids played.  It was really fun.

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This week is bound to be as busy as ever.  Tomorrow is Sunday already - again!  My son and I like to go out to that McDonald's Cafe for our Sunday sundaes!  Then starts the school week.  I walk my son back and forth to school and that is 20 minutes each way.  2 days a week he goes to a gym for children's exercise and that is another 20 minutes each way.  It is an hour class so I wait at the gym.  I really need to put together a little project to take there with me.  Last week I waited in the cafe and had hot tea.  But I found another room I can wait in and I will just bring my own tea in my Thermos.  I love my Termos!

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 I walk ALOT, but still would really like to take a Yoga class.  I think it will be good for my nerves!  I never much like January and February, but try to stay busy and am happy that January is coming to an end and Feb. is such a short month (plus my son has a 1 week vacation in Feb.) so the days are only going to get easier now.  It is just sooooo gray every day, day after day.  I will be happy to see some sun!  In anticipation I bought a few little packages of seed this week to start out on my balcony when it warms up.  City living!

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Also this week my husband has 2 DR's appts. and I am going with him for those, but the good news is that he continues to recover and is doing well.  I went grocery shopping yesterday, but will have to go again this week for potatoes and onions as I could not possibly carry them this last trip!  If that is all I have to get maybe I will be able to go to the gardening store too - for the stuff I need for my seeds.  My friend is coming on Weds. for more sewing and then we are going to a boutique that I just love - just to look and oooh and aaah.  It will be fun.  I am sure my son will have a playdate at some point in the week.  And then of course, there is the normal assortment of housework, cooking and my endless paperwork chase that keep me very occupied.  It is a wonder that I even have time to knit or sew, but I squeeze it in here and there.  A little bit here and there really does add up!

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Last week when I went grocery shopping they had these planted bulbs on sale for 89 cents.  My son was with me and I told him we could get one as long as he would carry it home.  Oh, he was soooo very careful holding that planted bulb on the tram coming home - a real treasure indeed.  And after a few days it opened up.  He is just so thrilled with this flower - he carries it from room to room.  And yes, I do have it staked with a spare knitting needle, but that is all I had that would work.  89 cents sure does buy alot of enjoyment for my little guy.  He just loves plants - I think more than toys, except maybe Legos.

So, I am keeping busy.  By bedtime I am very tired indeed!