A new label

Finally, I actually had time to play with fabric and thread.  I have finished Greg’s monkey quilt with the exception of the label.  I would have posted a photo but as soon as I got everything set up in front of the garden it started to rain, again.  So instead I worked on the label.  Today I surprised myself with my superior computer skills.  ha, not quite.  I scanned a piece of the fabric so that I could use one of the monkey designs.

label printed on plain fabric

I cut a piece of the monkey fabric and placed it behind the label, matching the monkey print.

label on top of fabric

I thought that by doing this the monkeys would appear to be a watermark on the label.

I will attach the label with a satin stitch, then fold under the raw edges and use a decorative stitch to hold them in place.  After that I hand stitch the label to the back of the quilt.  Unfortunately, I ran out of time today so I didn’t get it completed but tomorrow is another day.

This seems like a lot of work for a label but I don’t usually like my printing and I think this finishes it off nicely.  After all the work in the quilt itself, I don’t mind spending a little extra time on the label.

I’ll get a completed photo posted within a couple of days.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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My last evaluation

As I continue to count down the days (45) left until I retire, I continue to mark the last time something happens.  Last week I had my last performance evaluation.  Last year my supervisor was an acting Captain.  In other words, he was temporarily assigned to my shift as the officer in charge.  He wasn’t very happy about the situation and didn’t “buy into” the evaluation idea.

However, this year I have a new Captain who tested for the position and is a very good influence on the shift and a great teacher.  He believes that every call is an opportunity to learn.  We spent an hour or so discussing my evaluation, which was very positive.  As I will be leaving in only a couple more months, the discussion regarding goals for the next year wasn’t very appropriate but we talked about it in terms of after my retirement.

There are a number of things that I will miss when I leave and I think the opportunity to work with this particular person and learn from him is something I am sorry I can’t take advantage of.  My last Captain was a great guy but not a very good teacher and I missed out on a lot of information.

I have also worked my last Wednesday truck check.  That is a day spent going over the truck and checking everything from tires, to fluids, to valves etc.   On the first Wednesday of every month we have to flush water out of every discharge gate.  It isn’t difficult; just gets everyone wet!

I will continue to make note of the “lasts” as they occur over the next 45 days.  Only 8 more night shifts and 10 more day shifts.  Then…every day will be a weekend day and maybe I can get some quilting done!

How about a couple of garden photos so this post isn’t all words, no pics.

poppy from seeds Wendy brought from Texas

daisy with ruffled edges

veggie garden 7.31.09

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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55 Days and counting…

Yesterday I gave the Chief of the department my letter advising him that I would be retiring effective October28th.  That’s only 55 days.  YIKES!  I have been procrastinating for the past several weeks, knowing that once I gave them a date, it would be official.  It took me quite a while to complete the letter because of the tears clouding my vision.  What a dork.  It’s scary and exciting at the same time.  I’m sure I have said that more than once in previous posts.

The Chief and I had a nice conversation over the next hour about my time there, about what I want to do when I leave, about how the job has changed over the past 20+ years.  The actual job of putting water on the fire never changes, except that there are new nozzles and ligher hose and foam that can be added to the water to make it “work” more efficiently.

What has changed is the amount of education that is available and even required to do the job.  I was hired as a career firefighter in 1984 with absolutely NO experience in the fire service.  That wasn’t totally unusual then but it would be unheard of now, at least in this area.  Someone could join a department as a volunteer without any experience and they could get the education and practice they need “on the job” but that would no longer be acceptable for a career position.

We also talked about how the “family” feeling of the firehouse has changed.  Even though we eat and sleep together, the bond is different, not as strong.  I don’t have any explanation for that.

I do know that once I leave, I will no longer be a part of the family.  We agreed that there is a glass door that slams shut when one of us retires or resigns and we just don’t fit any more.  They will still working the job but I will be a visitor.  That makes me sad because I know it will happen and it doesn’t take very long.  It will only be a few years and many of the people that are hired won’t have a clue who I am.

There are a few things that I feel sad about or will miss…

First of all, my granddaughter will never know me as a firefighter.  She will hear stories about it or see pictures and will know that’s what I USED to do but she won’t really know me as a firefighter.

As I drive along, no one will wave and expect me to wave back.

No one will pull over as I drive down the street.

I will get a ticket if I run through a red light or stop sign. (I do come to a crawl when I approach a red light or stop sign because you would be surprised how many cars Do Not Stop just because I’m entering the intersection with a big red truck, lights flashing and sirens blaring.)

I will miss the bond that is so strong with my coworkers as we depend on one other in life threatening situations.

I will miss the fact that some days I really do make a difference.

However, I won’t miss sleeping away from home two nights a week.

I won’t miss getting up several times during the night to deal with someone’s emergency.

I won’t miss going to work in bad weather, no matter how dangerous it is outside.

There are more I’m sure and they will come to me as I count down the next 55 days.  Maybe I’ll just call out sick on my last day, rather than spend the day as a blubbering idiot with tears streaming down my face the entire day.  This is gonna be a rough ride.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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Get ready for Christmas

Tea Rose Home giveaway

Isn’t this the cutest little Christmas stitchery?  The whole kit can be yours.  Just check out the Tea Rose Home blog and leave a comment.  Maybe this little bit of the holidays will come home to you.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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Finally, quilty news

It seems like it has been forever since I did any sewing/quilting.  But…it’s getting closer.  Here’s how the room looked after getting everything moved to Bill’s house…

Sewing room "before"

Here’s how it looked the other day when it was pouring rain and I moved everything out in order to start over.

Of course, I didn’t take a picture of what the bedroom looked like after I cleaned out the sewing room.

And, voila, here it is after I got everything moved back in.

Ready, set, sew

Now that’s it is back together, I will get some work done on the monkey quilt for Greg.  I got the binding ready to apply…a continuous striped binding.

striped binding

On another note, I received this beautiful half yard of fabric from Sue at Featherstone Quiltworks.

beautiful snowflake fabric

Check out the awesome selvage!  The color is a little off; it’s really a much deeper red and oh sooo soft.

Sue thought July 4 was pretty slow in blogland and offered fabric to the first people to comment on the day’s blog.  She has a great blog so stop by and give her a visit.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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Check out another giveaway

Talk about a giveaway!  Judi at Green Fairy Quilts has a BIG giveaway going on.  The wonderful gifts include a quilt, a bag, a pattern and a jelly roll.  Be sure to check it out.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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Giveaway at Two Creative Studios

Terri and Sue are having a great giveaway and here’s what you can “win”…

Prize #1: A free online class of your choice.  Choose any online or class on demand class we offer at Two Creative Studios.

Prize #2: A goody package of Terri and Sue’s hand dyed fabrics.

Prize #3: A goody package of a book from Sue and a Giclee Art print from Terri.

Go to their newsletter sign up page here and check out their blog here.

Hopefully I will have some quilty news later today.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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I treated myself

I have been threatening for several weeks months to get a pedicure.  Since I sold my condo and had a little extra in my purse, I finally broke down and got it done.  It feels sooooo good and they look great.  Even though the weather has been cold and wet I have been wearing my sandals just to show off my toes.  What a dork.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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Baby chickadees update

The birds are growing fast…

chickadees 7.3.09

It’s a little difficult to get the door open and get a good photo.  I think there are 6 of them.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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My last parade

I have been making entries to keep track of the last time I do things at work before I retire.  Today I drove in the Fourth of July parade for the last time.  After weeks of rain, today dawned partly cloudy and dry.  There was a slight breeze and it felt good to get outside and soak up some Vitamin D for a change.  The parade started at 10 and moved from one end of Main Street to a park in the center of town.  The street was lined with tons of people, probably just happy to get outside without boots and coats in July.  Everyone smiles and waves.  Small town America at it’s best.

My Captain made a statement that made me realize how lucky I am to have my job in the fire service.  “If you drove a bread truck or a UPS truck or a gasoline tanker, would people line the streets and wait to see you so they could yell “hello” or wave?”  Probably not.  That actually brought a tear to my eye, making me realize how much I will miss my job when I leave.  I forget that sometimes and just get caught up in counting down the days (74 to be exact).  I am an incredibly lucky woman.  There aren’t that many people that get to drive a fire truck and get paid, let alone a woman.  People talk to their children, point and say “look, a woman is driving that truck”.  It makes me feel especially good when they are pointing that out to their little girls.  Hopefully that plants the seed that they can REALLY do anything they want when they grow up.

Here are a few other “lasts” that have taken place recently…actually, these were not only the last time but the first time, too.

I went to the air show at the local airport.  This was the 9th year but I had never attended before, either on duty or off.

I went to a call for water in the cellar.  When we arrived, there was an elderly woman flagging us down, clearly very upset.  As we parked the truck, she started waving and running to the back of the house.  Now, normally when that occurs, we go to the back of the house to find water running out the cellar steps or we look down the stairs and see 3 or 4 feet of water in the cellar.

When we got to the back of the house, there was no water.  I figured it must be farther into the cellar.  After following the distraught woman deep into the cellar, there still was no standing water.  What the heck?  She finally pointed to a wet spot on the floor, maybe the size of a saucer.  It wasn’t standing water, just a damp area.  Her upstairs toilet was running and the condensation had collected on the pipes and dripped onto the floor.  This was the first and last time I will respond to a call for water in the cellar only to find no water in the cellar.

The number of days continues to get shorter and although I’m ready to go, I have to admit, it is going to be harder than I thought.

Thanks for stopping by…

;o)

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