Well...I agree with Margie and I would like to show you pictures of the inevitable new machine but the verdict is still out. I am in the middle of making what I think will turn out to be an incredible Arizona scene art quilt but you will probably see pictures of it before you see pictures of a new machine. My 19-year-old machine is in the shop and I'm waiting to find out what the problem is and what it will cost to fix it. I was in the middle of threadpainting an old weathered windmill (meaning the windmill is made entirely of thread) when the machine just STOPPED--no cough, no sputter, no hiccup--it just STOPPED! An overnight rest didn't help. It could be a motherboard or some such thing.
Luckily, I still have my 40-year-old machine which has always been a good machine; it just doesn't have all the bells and whistles (or motherboard) of the other machine. We bought it the first year we were married. It was brand new and a top-of-the-line machine and cost a month's pay. It had a 25-year guarantee and we decided $450 spread out over 25 years was a pretty good deal. It's working well even though I really miss those very useful bells and whistles. Think of air conditioning and cloth seats in an Arizona car--those types of bells and whistles.
So maybe, just maybe, I can get by with my old machine until December. I reserve the right to change my mind. If that happens, I will certainly post a picture--guaranteed!!!!
Stay tuned...
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Yes, Virginia, there is a dark side.
Well, I guess it can't always be sunshine and roses. Sometimes it is clouds and thorns.
Today is Presidents' Day. That is a holiday for many folks. For others it is a long weekend of "Special Sales Events" to take advantage of those who are off. All those years of teaching in Tucson we were not on either side of that issue. We traded Columbus Day in October and Presidents' Day in February for the two days of Rodeo Vacation at the end of the last week in February. So instead of two three-day weekends, we got one four-day weekend. That was okay. But now, I am retired. I don't care if it is a holiday or not. I especially don't care when it is a holiday I never got. But, the library is closed today. I finished my books and drove to the library for some new ones. And they were closed. Closed when I needed them to be open.
That is one cloud.
Just as I was getting up the energy to go to the library, Peggie came out of her studio with some thorny news. Her sewing machine has died. Maybe. It might just be sick or injured. But she will have to take it into the shop for diagnosis. Danger, Will Robinson. This shop is the one that sells a nice new machine that she has helped two of her friends to buy. She wants one. She planned to get one next year. Now, when you are trying not to eat chocolate, it is a good idea to stay out of the See's store. Danger, danger, danger. And come on, her broken machine is only 19 years old. It's like wanting to trade in your '92 Buick on a 2011 Cadillac. What do you really gain there? I mean, it's not like she uses it every day.
Today is Presidents' Day. That is a holiday for many folks. For others it is a long weekend of "Special Sales Events" to take advantage of those who are off. All those years of teaching in Tucson we were not on either side of that issue. We traded Columbus Day in October and Presidents' Day in February for the two days of Rodeo Vacation at the end of the last week in February. So instead of two three-day weekends, we got one four-day weekend. That was okay. But now, I am retired. I don't care if it is a holiday or not. I especially don't care when it is a holiday I never got. But, the library is closed today. I finished my books and drove to the library for some new ones. And they were closed. Closed when I needed them to be open.
That is one cloud.
Just as I was getting up the energy to go to the library, Peggie came out of her studio with some thorny news. Her sewing machine has died. Maybe. It might just be sick or injured. But she will have to take it into the shop for diagnosis. Danger, Will Robinson. This shop is the one that sells a nice new machine that she has helped two of her friends to buy. She wants one. She planned to get one next year. Now, when you are trying not to eat chocolate, it is a good idea to stay out of the See's store. Danger, danger, danger. And come on, her broken machine is only 19 years old. It's like wanting to trade in your '92 Buick on a 2011 Cadillac. What do you really gain there? I mean, it's not like she uses it every day.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Philosophy 101
Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011 was a busy day.
Peggie left early to do her workout and yoga. I slept in.
I decided to watch Regis and Kelly while I ate breakfast, but the show was pre-empted by the president's press conference. So I watched that.
Shortly after ten, Peggie came home and suggested that we drive down to take pictures of old Spanish missions which she may incorporate into her Arizona quilts series. I am always up for a drive.
Tumacacori National Historical Park is about 45 miles south of Tucson, 20 miles from Mexico. Peggie remembers stopping there once when she was a kid. I had never been there before. I find that I am a poor tourist in my own back yard, preferring to take unbeaten paths. It was a perfect day. Sunny, high 70's, and a weekday. We love playing hooky on weekdays. The mission is still standing and has undergone some restoration work since becoming a national park in 1908. It is in ruins, really, but not bad considering it was completely abandoned for sixty years, during which time the roof of the chapel was removed by someone for building materials. It was used as shelter over the years by travelers, cowboys, Indians, and soldiers. General Pershing scratched his name on the wall on his way to Mexico after Pancho Villa. Lts. Eisenhower and Patton accompanied him on that expedition. Did I stand in the same spot, see the same sights as these three great military leaders?
We headed a few miles north to have lunch at Tubac. The old presidio there is nothing but eroded adobe walls, so no good pictures. We went on up to San Xavier. This is another two hundred year old mission, but has been in continuous use during that time. I had never before been inside. (See above disclaimer about my tourist habits) Those missionaries really knew how to go overboard on the glitz! It is hard to find a square inch of undecorated wall (or ceiling). I didn't even try to count the statues. Peggie said it smelled like church to her. It smelled like smoke and burning candles to me. Same thing. Outside is a crypt with an altar. So many candles were burning in the small space it was hot inside. If I understood the latin correctly, the bodies of two priests from Tumacacori had been transferred to this site in 1935, during some of the restoration work at Tumacacori.
Ordinarily, that would constitute a full day. But not today.
On Tuesday nights the U of A Science department gives free lectures. This year's subject is the cosmos.
The audience is 90% grey heads. We old people love to learn free stuff. You have to arrive early because more people show up than they have room for. The lecturers are famous cosmologists from all over. It is fascinating stuff. Here is what we have learned from the first three lectures: the universe is really, really, really, really, really, (you get the idea) BIG! It is exactly 13,700,000,000 years old. That number is so precise that they don't even have to change it until another 100,000,000 years go by. You can mark it on your calendars.
They used to think that space was mostly empty between the stars and galaxies. Now they believe that the stars and galaxies make up a small % and that space is actually full of something called dark matter. They call it dark matter because we can't see it. And that light and gravity are not the only energy forms. There is also dark energy that is more powerful than gravity, maybe.
So, anyway, we start out the day completely self centered: work out, eat, watch tv. Then we put ourselves into perspective with two hundred year old missions and all the people who lived and died in this valley before us. And finally we try to put numbers like 13, 700,000,000 into some kind of perspective.
Retirement is not for sissies.
Peggie left early to do her workout and yoga. I slept in.
I decided to watch Regis and Kelly while I ate breakfast, but the show was pre-empted by the president's press conference. So I watched that.
Shortly after ten, Peggie came home and suggested that we drive down to take pictures of old Spanish missions which she may incorporate into her Arizona quilts series. I am always up for a drive.
Tumacacori National Historical Park is about 45 miles south of Tucson, 20 miles from Mexico. Peggie remembers stopping there once when she was a kid. I had never been there before. I find that I am a poor tourist in my own back yard, preferring to take unbeaten paths. It was a perfect day. Sunny, high 70's, and a weekday. We love playing hooky on weekdays. The mission is still standing and has undergone some restoration work since becoming a national park in 1908. It is in ruins, really, but not bad considering it was completely abandoned for sixty years, during which time the roof of the chapel was removed by someone for building materials. It was used as shelter over the years by travelers, cowboys, Indians, and soldiers. General Pershing scratched his name on the wall on his way to Mexico after Pancho Villa. Lts. Eisenhower and Patton accompanied him on that expedition. Did I stand in the same spot, see the same sights as these three great military leaders?
We headed a few miles north to have lunch at Tubac. The old presidio there is nothing but eroded adobe walls, so no good pictures. We went on up to San Xavier. This is another two hundred year old mission, but has been in continuous use during that time. I had never before been inside. (See above disclaimer about my tourist habits) Those missionaries really knew how to go overboard on the glitz! It is hard to find a square inch of undecorated wall (or ceiling). I didn't even try to count the statues. Peggie said it smelled like church to her. It smelled like smoke and burning candles to me. Same thing. Outside is a crypt with an altar. So many candles were burning in the small space it was hot inside. If I understood the latin correctly, the bodies of two priests from Tumacacori had been transferred to this site in 1935, during some of the restoration work at Tumacacori.
Ordinarily, that would constitute a full day. But not today.
On Tuesday nights the U of A Science department gives free lectures. This year's subject is the cosmos.
The audience is 90% grey heads. We old people love to learn free stuff. You have to arrive early because more people show up than they have room for. The lecturers are famous cosmologists from all over. It is fascinating stuff. Here is what we have learned from the first three lectures: the universe is really, really, really, really, really, (you get the idea) BIG! It is exactly 13,700,000,000 years old. That number is so precise that they don't even have to change it until another 100,000,000 years go by. You can mark it on your calendars.
They used to think that space was mostly empty between the stars and galaxies. Now they believe that the stars and galaxies make up a small % and that space is actually full of something called dark matter. They call it dark matter because we can't see it. And that light and gravity are not the only energy forms. There is also dark energy that is more powerful than gravity, maybe.
So, anyway, we start out the day completely self centered: work out, eat, watch tv. Then we put ourselves into perspective with two hundred year old missions and all the people who lived and died in this valley before us. And finally we try to put numbers like 13, 700,000,000 into some kind of perspective.
Retirement is not for sissies.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Birthday, Arizona
Yep.
Arizona is the Valentine State. We are 99 years old today.
Next year will be the BIG CENTENNIAL. Every event that happens anyway will have centennial tie-ins. I can see it now: Sam Levitt's Big Centennial Sale will be so successful, it will be held over until March of 2013.
Otherwise, no big events here this week. I went out looking for pretty rocks Sunday, but didn't find much. Peggie finished a couple quilts for a customer, took a painting class (and has a piece of painted fabric to show for it), met with other fiber artists in Scottsdale, and has finished what she thinks of as her first art quilt. Now that she has a phone (read hand held computer) that can cook and clean (or I can) we hope she will become more prolific and get some of those head-filling ideas into fabric. She has lots of ideas.
The important thing is how much fun we are having. We actively enjoy not having work hanging over every minute of every day. We both really loved our work. We are amazed at how much we love not having it.
Arizona is the Valentine State. We are 99 years old today.
Next year will be the BIG CENTENNIAL. Every event that happens anyway will have centennial tie-ins. I can see it now: Sam Levitt's Big Centennial Sale will be so successful, it will be held over until March of 2013.
Otherwise, no big events here this week. I went out looking for pretty rocks Sunday, but didn't find much. Peggie finished a couple quilts for a customer, took a painting class (and has a piece of painted fabric to show for it), met with other fiber artists in Scottsdale, and has finished what she thinks of as her first art quilt. Now that she has a phone (read hand held computer) that can cook and clean (or I can) we hope she will become more prolific and get some of those head-filling ideas into fabric. She has lots of ideas.
The important thing is how much fun we are having. We actively enjoy not having work hanging over every minute of every day. We both really loved our work. We are amazed at how much we love not having it.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Happy Birthday, Ariana
Today is the day. Three years old!
Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday Ariana, Happy birthday to you.
Your Grandma and Grandpa love you very much. We will come see you in six weeks.
Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday Ariana, Happy birthday to you.
Your Grandma and Grandpa love you very much. We will come see you in six weeks.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
On the short list..
Here is a list of all the exciting things we've done since Jane left:
1.
That's it.
We are back to regular lives. Albeit regular retired lives.
Like the rest of the country, we had some extremely cold days this week. For us, extreme cold is the low 20's. Unlike the rest of the country, we had no ice and snow, no airline cancellations, no road closures, no power outages, no stranded motorists.
Peggie has returned to the studio and Ariana will get some nice birthday gifts from Grandma.
Speaking of nice gifts, we got another Diamond Organics box. It had apples, pears, kiwi, citrus, potatoes, carrots, and half a dozen bags of assorted greens. We may have to get a box like that sent to us in Skagway this summer when we are craving fresh produce.
Did I mention we got new phones? Peggie has a smartphone. It can sing, dance, and tell jokes, while she surfs the web, sends email, and downloads apps. It has GPS, Google, and I'm pretty sure it can cook dinner and clean house.
I have a cell phone. I can make and accept phone calls from almost anywhere with no wires! But I don't have a data plan. The only time I need to know where I am in relation to the nearest Starbucks, Peggie will be right there to look it up and get directions. The only time I need to read or send email, I will be at home with a good old-fashioned computer. When I want to read a book, I will go to the library, not to Kindle. When I want to feel like a cool-with it-modern man.....
well, we all know that isn't gonna happen.
1.
That's it.
We are back to regular lives. Albeit regular retired lives.
Like the rest of the country, we had some extremely cold days this week. For us, extreme cold is the low 20's. Unlike the rest of the country, we had no ice and snow, no airline cancellations, no road closures, no power outages, no stranded motorists.
Peggie has returned to the studio and Ariana will get some nice birthday gifts from Grandma.
Speaking of nice gifts, we got another Diamond Organics box. It had apples, pears, kiwi, citrus, potatoes, carrots, and half a dozen bags of assorted greens. We may have to get a box like that sent to us in Skagway this summer when we are craving fresh produce.
Did I mention we got new phones? Peggie has a smartphone. It can sing, dance, and tell jokes, while she surfs the web, sends email, and downloads apps. It has GPS, Google, and I'm pretty sure it can cook dinner and clean house.
I have a cell phone. I can make and accept phone calls from almost anywhere with no wires! But I don't have a data plan. The only time I need to know where I am in relation to the nearest Starbucks, Peggie will be right there to look it up and get directions. The only time I need to read or send email, I will be at home with a good old-fashioned computer. When I want to read a book, I will go to the library, not to Kindle. When I want to feel like a cool-with it-modern man.....
well, we all know that isn't gonna happen.
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