Friday, June 21, 2019

On the First Day of Summer

Rain Drops on Cobwebs

On the first day of summer, it rained in the morning!  It is afternoon, now, and we are having a day of June Gloom with overcast skies, cool temperatures, and no sunshine to speak of!  I went for a walk and, then, did a tour of my garden.  I took photos of the garden and will do a garden post, later.  

I had a phone call from my aunt (step-father's sister), this morning.  She was returning my call from earlier in the week.  I told her that I had the Princess Mary Christmas Box and her father's medals with me and asked her if she would like to have it.  She told me that, as much as she would like to have it for sentimental value, she wanted me to keep it, because, in her opinion, I appreciated it more than anyone else in the family!  However, she did ask me to send her a photo of it and the medals, and she said she will show them to her niece with whom she lives and ask her if she wants them.  That sounds good to me.    

I also asked her about a second medal I found in the box with the initial of someone else (not her father's initials) engraved on it, and she said it must have been her father's brother's, who was killed during the war.  She also said that there was a family story that her father was thought to have been killed, as well.  I will write to her and ask her for more details.  She also said that she had some family records, but, no one was interested in them!  I know the stories my step-father told me about his family, but I don't have any documents (other than his birth certificate).  Maybe I will ask aunt to send me copies of what she has.  Genealogy might become my new hobby!  LOL!

I am having a quiet day, today.  Yesterday was relatively busy.  I had an appointment with my financial planner, in the morning.  She gave me an update of where things stand and we discussed a few details.  All that took less than 10 minutes.  Then, we spent another 30 minutes or so just chatting about various other things!  I now have a request for a quilt, from her! 

On my way home from the appointment, I stopped by the public library in the adjoining city.  I had joined their library, years ago, but I hadn't been there to borrow a book for some time, now.  Yesterday, when I went in, I asked if my card was still valid and the librarian looked it up and said it was no longer valid because it had been inactive for over a certain period of time.  But, she issued me a new library card and I borrowed three library books!  

In the afternoon, I went for my blood test (and took the photo of the car park patio set up).  

After I came home, I had lunch, went through two more file folders, watched some TV (news, mostly, but, also an episode of Dr. Phil which featured a woman who was a hoarder), and read one of the library books.  Cousin P called and I chatted with her for a bit and, later, called friend R, who, in the course of the conversation, asked when I was going to make a quilt for her!  Two requests for quilts in one day!  I now have an excuse to go to the fabric store!  LOL!

Speaking of quilts, I washed this one that was on my bed, earlier in the week, when Dancer threw up on it:

Star Quilt
The pattern for this quilt was in one of the Christmas books I decluttered a few days ago.  I made this quilt in 1990.  When I washed it, this week, I noticed that the edge of one border was starting to tear: 


Torn Border Edge
I folded the quilt and stored it for now.  I need to sew on some new binding to repair the torn edges.  There will be lots of quilt making and quilt repairs this summer!

Today, I am grateful for:
- Rain for the garden
- My finances are in good order
- Phone conversations with family and friends
- Warm knitted shawls (did I mention it was a bit cool, today?)
- A relaxed day



Garden Preview - White Agapanthas

How is your Friday?  Are you enjoying the first day of Summer? 

10 comments:

  1. Hi Bless, We have the June gloom here, too. The garden loves it, though. I don't mind. I prefer it to the intense heat. You sound very busy and happy. Isn't the library wonderful? I just watched a Dr. Phil episode on Youtube today about a mother who was a hoarder. I spent three hours cleaning after that! haha!

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    1. It's supposed to warm up, this weekend; upper 80s on Sunday, they said. Yes, the garden loves the milder weather. Libraries are the best! I wonder if you watched the same Dr. Phil episode as I did? It was a woman who rescued dogs and other animals and it was her daughter who asked for help for her mother as she was being evicted. I had a neighbor who was a hoarder. Fortunately, she didn't have pets, but, her house and her garage were crammed to the ceiling with stuff! I know I like to hold on to things, myself, but, hopefully, I will never get to that point!

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  2. The quilt is so lovely and bright and cheerful. Perhaps Dancer thought he was paying it a compliment.
    How nice that you are able to keep the medals, although I do agree with your aunt in that they should be with someone who is able to appreciate them. X

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    1. I think it was more accidental, on his part; it looked like he was up on the bed when he started and then, got down to the floor.

      Well, aunt called this morning and she had a change of heart. She had spoken with her niece about it and they had decided that they would like to have the medals, after all, to pass down to one of the grandsons or great-grandsons. It is as it should be. I shall mail the box off to her, next week. I have one or two other items I might include in the package - items that belonged to my step-father. Aunt can pass them along to his nephews.

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  3. If you finish what you've started, do you already have enough quilts to pass out to your requests?

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    1. I do, Live and Learn. :) In fact, that might be just what I will do!

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  4. That is a beautiful star quilt. One day, I will quilt again! We are having June humidity. Btw. I don’t know if you’ve ever watched “19 kids and counting” (reality show about a mom and dad with 19 kids), one of their kids is called Jessa and they nickname her Jessa Blessa. I’ve actually started to cal you that. At least Blessa if not Jessa. Have a great weekend.

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    1. Thank you, Akasha. I have heard of that show but, I've never watched it. I like my new nickname! LOL! Hope you, too, have a good weekend. Take care.

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  5. We had no rain at all our whole camping trip! Really amazing considering where we live actually had floods! I'm so thankful.

    Be careful of the genealogy thing. It's addicting! I started doing a little and would find myself getting lost for hours and sitting doing nothing else. Husband's aunt does it and it's taken over her whole house! She has records of family everywhere.

    Have a good weekend!

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    1. Sharon, I'm so glad you had nice weather during your camping trip! Well, maybe I won't get into genealogy, after all - my aunt called back, this morning and said she'd like to have the medals, after all. So, I'll send them on to her and leave the researching to her and her nieces and nephews. :)

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