So hard to believe that Chris is 37 today!! Happy Birthday to my oldest son, a wonderful father, and someone I can count on to be there when I need him. I’m so proud of him.
Thirty Seven?!!
Category: Uncategorized
A short drive
Keith and I talked about taking a drive this afternoon but I was pretty tired from having the kids here so we decided to stay close to home and drive to Amicalola Falls just to get out a bit and see some of the fall colors. Our yard is mostly still green but we have a few spots of colors, the red trees in the front I showed several days ago and now some bright orange/yellow by the driveway.
There were some pretty trees by the falls. Normally we hike up but that’s not happening for a while thanks to the broken ankle but you can drive to the top of the falls and walk just a short distance to see them.
We drove up to the lodge too and although there wasn’t a lot of color, I love seeing the layers of the mountains in the distance. The camera on my phone didn’t do this one justice but if you click on it to enlarge the photo, you might see the different depths better.
I’m a bit disappointed that we’ll probably miss peak leaf season while we’re back home in Tampa but I’m counting on still having lots of fall color when we get back in November.
A lack of credibility
Both Georgia and Florida have tried to manipulate their COVID data to minimize the significance of the pandemic on their states. Recently, Florida changed its reporting on the state health department site using a graph they call “deaths by date of death” Making it look like the death rate in Florida is declining.
They also misrepresent the positivity rate by excluding some test numbers and including others. They report a positivity rate of 5.2% while Johns Hopkins reports a rate of 12.2%. This is how the Florida death rate graph really looks.
As an RN it is especially concerning and distressing to me that the State Health departments and the CDC have lost their credibility and the ability to lead us through health challenges due to political pressures.
VOTE
Keith and I were talking about voting today … our plan has been to drive back to Tampa and do early voting. He’s a bit worried about the lines we might encounter and is leaning toward going later versus the week we get back. I want to get it done and am willing to stand in any line for any amount of time to vote for ANYONE other than Trump. Keith is worried about my ankle and me standing for long periods of time. I DON’T CARE about my ankle. I’m going to VOTE and I don’t care how long it takes. We don’t head back until Sunday and I expect it will be the middle of next week before we cast our votes but I will feel relieved once it’s done.
Mom is so Patient!
You know I do a lot of quilting for Mom but it’s never a problem because she is SOOOOO patient! I have one more of hers to quilt and I was hoping to get it done this year but with the broken ankle and needing to put on the last border I don’t know if it will happen. We used the Hunter Star GO die for this one and pieced the blocks while she was visiting me last year. She took them home, assembled them and added all but the last border and then sent it to me to finish. Isn’t it gorgeous?! It’s my favorite fall colors too.
Do Over
I tend to repeat quilt patterns … do you?! Sometimes they’re variations on a theme but other times, it’s the same quilt … I love our HeartStrings quilts and they’re pieced on a thin muslin foundation but sometimes I want to play in my strings and not use a foundation. I have made my Strips and Strings Log Cabin quilt multiple times and expect I’ll make it again … and again!
Strips and Strings Log Cabin variation. Instructions at http://www.maryquilts.com/log-cabin/ 
Log Cabin from leftover strips and strings. Instructions at http://www.maryquilts.com/log-cabin/ 
Bad Luck
If bad luck comes in 3’s then I should be due for some good luck. First, I broke my ankle last Sunday, then my brand new stove went bad this past Sunday, and today a piece of one of my crowns broke off.
The leg is giving me a hard time. Lots of discomfort. I go back on Friday for an X-ray and to see the orthopedic doctor.
We had an electrician out today to look at the outlet and circuit breaker for the stove since it tripped and would not come back on. He put in a breaker that could handle a larger load and fixed the outlet which was not attached to the wall but the stove still wouldn’t work and tripped the breaker as soon as he flipped it. He said it’s a problem with the stove and we need to get the appliance people out here. I was able to make an appointment for Friday but then we’re gone for 2 weeks. Who knows when I’ll actually have a working stove. Luckily, I have the Instant Pot, an Air Fryer, and a microwave here so I should be able to manage meals for a while. We also have a small grill.
And finally I was eating a small pretzel stick today and a piece of one of my crowns broke off. We won’t be home until next week so I called my dentist and they said it was OK to wait to get home for the repair. I’ve had a root canal in that tooth and right now I’m not having any pain so I’m hoping it stays that way. Poor Keith … with my broken leg I can’t drive so he’s going to be driving me to lots of appointments the next few weeks.
I hope you’re having a better week than I am!
He loves it
It may not look like it but Adam is VERY happy to get his T-shirt quilt. I’d actually forgotten when he got here but after a while he commented that it would be nice to have a quilt across his lap — I pointed him to Keith’s quilt not getting his hint. After he made himself clear … I gave him his quilt. Poor thing has waited too long for this one. We had fun looking over the t-shirts and remembering the trips we’d been on when we bought them.
Photo memories
I love the little notifications that share photos from years past … today this one of Mom popped up. Hard to believe it’s been a year since she visited me in Tampa. We had such a good, productive time working on lots of projects together. I did visit her in March but this has been the longest time between visits ever I think. Even when we first moved to Florida I would get back to visit about once every 3 months or so and there have been times during all the other years that I’ve visited every month or two. This is hard!
I love this photo of her with Mo that was taken during the same visit. As soon as it’s safe, we’re planning for her to come here to Big Canoe for a visit and she’ll get to see her birthday buddy again too!
I know that we take more risk than some of you by seeing the kids but we do have ongoing conversations about their precautions and all the little ones are still doing online school. It’s been hard not visiting with Mom but it would be even harder if we weren’t seeing the kids.
Idiots
Let’s just all go out to a bar and drink and dance and who the hell needs masks and social distancing?! No wonder Georgia has been a hot spot for COVID!
This is why we don’t go out and do anything … the idiots here and in Florida don’t take any precautions. I should probably not go on Facebook because it makes me crazy.
