I Like Thursday: Wedding

My godson got married this weekend.  It was a Hindu ceremony, which was interesting.  At one point they took seven steps together with seven vows for their marriage.  I liked it:
   To respect an honor each other
   To strengthen and prosper together
   To help and serve others together
   To share our joys and sorrows
   To care for our children and parents
   To fulfill our spiritual duties
   To remain true lifelong partners

I've become familiar with the deity Ganesh from my many trips to Kripalu.  I like him, he's pretty cool - the god of wisdom and learning and the remover of obstacles.  He's also god of beginnings and thus was represented at the wedding.

I like the jasmine flowers we were given to wear in our hair.  

Dark Mug Rugs

I have a bunch of sewing projects I want to get to, but have been lacking motivation lately.  Bummer.  There's been lots of distractions with guinea pig stuff, social events, work and plain ol' daily life.  But I did finish a set of requested mug rugs this week.  Progress!

These were an interesting quilting challenge.  I've worked with dark colors before, but blacks with brights.  The quilting on those projects were either stitch-in-the-ditch or intended to really stand out.  These are dark on dark.  I quilted one the same way I did my first wonky mug rug:  each side with thread of the other side's fabric color.  Even though the fabrics contrast enough, the wine/black thread combination didn't stand out.

I tried high contrast thread, but discovered if the wonky square overlapped a lot from front-to-back, light thread looked really messy.  I did a lot of try, rip and try again.

I really liked the grey on black, so I kept that.  The other ended up with an inky blue and dark red that looks quite nice, but doesn't pick up on the photos. 

Sharing with Freemotion by the River's Linky Tuesday.

Cardboard Treat Balls

We saw a home-made toy demonstration at the Pig-a-Palooza in May.  I liked the toilet paper tubes filled with treats.  They look like a smaller version of the egg-cersizer.  I gave them a try last week.

Making them was easy.  First, you need a piece of toilet paper tube, cut to about thee inches long.  Then you cut four evenly-spaced slots on one end.  The other end also gets four slots, but staggered from the first four (so they don't line up across the tube).  Fold in the one end, tucking the flaps under/over each other.  Flip it over, fill it with something good to eat, then fold the flaps on the other end.

Terrifying Orange Ice Pack

On most warm days I put an ice pack in the guinea pig cage.  I wrap it in a cozy to keep the hay off it and to soak up some of the moisture when it sweats.  Usually the guinea pigs will ignore it - occasionally I've seen a pig snuggle up to it or sit on top.  But last Monday, there was panic. 

I Like Thursday: Events

I enjoyed the Contra Prom a lot last week.  It's always fun to wow people; the dress impressed and I never come to that dance.  So I was a surprise.  What fun.  The only thing I'm bummed out about is I didn't get a good photo - I ducked out during the break because...

I was moving drapes out of my trunk.  I can't even express how happy I am to have the Drapes of Doom out of the house.  They had been stacked in a neat pile in the living room for weeks, so they weren't that obtrusive.  It wasn't until I drove home in an empty car and walked in the door (not needing to walk around the drapes) that I realized how wonderful it was to have them gone.

I like what I see when I go walking.  I still need to photograph the saxophone-playing ant, but I did capture a giant rooster and a giraffe?!?  They're fun, aren't they?

Boston Spring Pignic 2017

The pignic had been postponed due to heat, and the alternate date dawned with a slight chance of rain and the prospect of being too hot as well.  But there was a breeze, bits of sunshine and the temperature hung just low enough to still be comfortable.

We had one of our smallest gathering of guinea pigs yet:  15 sows and 12 boars.  They came with lots of people.  There were several first-timers to the pignic, along with a handful of regulars.  A good time was had by all.

Blobby pig, chilling pig
Looking to bail, trying to avoid the grass, and the cutie I wanted to bring home

The First Warm Day of June

We've had our first warm weather this week - a few days in the 90s and 100s.  I turned on the fans.

This is what I got.

Melting pigs.

Oh, so hot.

So I turned on the air conditioning.  How could I not?

I Like Thursday: Sunny Times

I like the rumble of thunder.  And sun showers.  We've had plenty of rain this spring.  Thunder-bumpers are fun.  I've been surprised by two sun showers in just over a week.  I managed to photograph the latest one.  Big HUGE drops.  The way the sun was hitting it, it looked like it was raining only on one side of the deck, and tons of blue sky overhead.  What fun!

I like my hair braided in pigtails.  I get this done every time I get my hair cut.  Makes me feel like a little kid.  Whee!  This is what they looked like the next morning - still pretty good

I got these done in time for a contra dance, and had a number of people comment the braids and pigtails made me look like a kid.  Just ignore that gray - mission accomplished.

Rob liked the way it looked the next day when I pulled out the braids - lots of curly hair (I updated my avatar with that picture).

Squares and Strips

There's been a lot of distractions that kept me from starting my next projects.  I got a chance last weekend to change that.  I cleaned out my sewing machine from the Drapes of Doom (I deliver them on Thursday - yay!).  I cut strips and wonky blocks and actually sat down to sew last night.  How nice!

I'm working on a set of dark wonky block rug mugs.  They're layered up and ready to quilt.  I'm trying to figure out what thread I want to stitch with:  something that will show up, but neither leap off the fabric or get lost.  I'm still learning what works best for that.

Uphill Battle

I walked into the living room to find Boadicea perched on the ramp obviously wanting to partake of the third-level hay, but not wanting to run the gauntlet past Wedgwood.

"Would you not like to share, Wedgwood?  There's room for both of us on the third floor."

"No," says Wedgie.  "Can't you see?  I'm comfortable here and the hay is blocking your way."

"I'm sure I could squeeze by.  There's lots and lots of hay; we could both eat it."

"There's not that much.  I've nested in a bunch of it, so you can't eat that.  The rest is all mine.  I don't want you up here."

I Like Thursday: Kripalu

I spent a long weekend at Kripalu in Stockbridge, MA.  A weekend of yoga, hiking, friendship and generally chilling.  I liked that a lot... and there was a lot to like.

I like that we got a dorm room just for the eight of us that chose dorm accommodations.  One of the girls likened it to being at camp.  It made for a gab-fest up until lights out.  I liked the camaraderie.  

I like the food.  Nope.  I love the food.  We laughed that we seemed to go from one meal to another.  I ate strictly vegetarian the whole weekend; it was delicious.  I took photos of a few ingredient lists in the buffet line, hoping to make them myself.  There was chai every morning.  What a treat!

Chick Yoga Weekend XV

Fifteen years of Chick Yoga Weekend.  I don't know where the time goes.  We had a large number of gals this year, most were new to the group.  I spent time telling the story how Chick Weekend started, how we got where we are now.  I thought of those who couldn't make it - people were asking about you!  We've had some fun times.

Kripalu has been a lot of things to me over the years.  The place itself has changed a lot, too.  But it is always a haven of love and tranquility.  For that I am very grateful.  In the beginning, it was a lot about taking classes and learning about myself.  Now I tend to spend more time simply reflecting and enjoying the company of others.

I Like Thursday: Keeping Busy

It's been a busy week (and I'll be repeating some of what I've already written about).

I like the hay field across the street.  The seed heads are purple, which looks great against the green.  It was hard to capture the color, but trust me - they're purple.  There's a few purple clover blossoms in that photo, too.  The whole field is quite pretty.

I really, really like my Singer 15-91.  It handily took on the Drapes of Doom.  I had no problem sewing with heavy thread through layers of velvet, jute and denim.

I like that I have my sewing room back.  The floor is no longer covered with piles of drapes.  I'm so excited every time I walk through the room.  Ah!

I like the Molly Murphy mysteries.  I tried the Tea Shop Mysteries, and it wasn't my cup of tea.  But I've really been enjoying Molly Murphy (her Royal Spyness is pretty good, too).  I've just started Hush Now, Don't You Cry.  Thanks Lee Anna for the suggestions!