First Day alone in 14 months

Gee, it feels so odd to be alone in the house! Dave and I often didn't see each other all day, but we did talk on Facebook and send emails...funny since we were only one room away from each other.

Today, Tuesday 31st, Dave started at Boeing. He was excited when he left at 5:am this morning. I know he'll have a great day. He won't be able to share anything he is doing but it's pretty easy to see when someone is happy with their job and themself.

The country is having awful weather, even northern Texas is getting awful storms. Here in San Antonio we have no water and we are restricted to a sprinkler on Monday's for 2 hour use. Of course that water has to be used to water the foundation of the house so it doesn't move off it's slab. First thing to do today was to hand water my flowers. Dave  spent the last few days putting down kill for the fire ants. Since last weekend the center of the yard has split open.

The packing is going slow. You would think I would be use to it by now, but this time I'm hating it. Yep, I want to move where it's safe, but I'm tired of moving and this time it's not an adventure.

I also tried to sandwich the homespun French Braid Quilt. I might have to hand quilt this one. Homespun has a mind of it's own and the more you move it, the more it seems to grow. Just noticed the bags hanging on the tote. They are some herbs I'm drying.

The goal is to finish the French Braid and the Flower Quilt so they will be new for the move. I keep getting side tracked. I have to go to Pittsburgh this month so that will mean a shopping trip for a new outfit and shoes. I'll be passing a bead store and quilt shop to get to the mall...(side tracked)...I haven't bought any new fabric but I still like to look.

Memory Quilt

Now that we are past the job search...Oh that looks so good to see in writing!.. I've had a week of no walking due to the RA attacking my ankles so I had to find some handwork to do. Digging into the tote with all the unfinished projects I found the Crazy Quilt I've been working on for, lets see...years!  I was able to at least finish the binding before putting it back in the tote for another day.

The velvets in the quilt are all pieces cut from my granddaughter's Christmas dresses when they were toddlers or younger. There are also pieces from drapes, maybe 1940's, that I remember hanging in my grandmother's bedroom and a piece from a bureau scarf from her guest room. I used many of her things to put the top together, table cloth from Sunday dinner's, her apron and a piece from her bedspread. I must have only been 3 or 4 years old but remember that spread so well. It was shocking blue satin with a huge peacock in the center out lined in gold thread. Over time is lost it's luster from the sun and age but I cut a piece from the edge that must have been tucked behind the pillows.

I have a box of buttons and pins that were kept for me from grandmothers house that I am adding to the quilt. Her cameo from Italy and my Dad's USO pin. I think they called them sweetheart pins, pearls and my grandfather's watch fob will find it's way into the quilt. Old cotton lace and beads from broken necklaces.

Dave starts work on the 31st and then I can get back to his French Braid Quilt. When you haven't gone to work for over a year, you need to up date your clothing. So this week will be spent on shopping.

What's This ????



What wings




What style




Great color





A flight for everyone



Even our Military

EMPLOYED!!  THANKS BOEING, DEFENSE, SPACE and SECURITY!

"PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS COME"

On the Home Front

What happened to the days when you found a job offer in the newspaper, went for the interview and were told, "Thanks for coming", or "This is what we are offering"?  It's been weeks since Dave found the Job listed on the net, took all the tests, got the phone interview with 3 people...got a packet in the mail with an offer and instructions.

He took the offer that was not a firm offer until all the items listed were met. He passed the background check, security clearance, eye test/medical....and now....we wait again.

In the meantime the clock is ticking down on the last few weeks of unemployment and the stress is awful. He continues to spend 12 hours a day applying for jobs on line and praying he will be called...this is a job he really wants! It's really hard to have something you have dreamed about so close...and so far away.

As for me, I've been dealing with black clay Texas mud from our one and only rain storm. Darn dog keeps dragging it in and it sticks to the tile floors like cement.

I have also been working on the pillow project. I have one finished and one started, with 2 more cut out. Not sure about the flowers. They might end up on a smaller pillow. I might just use lace appliques but I packed those so it will be a real chore to find the right tote they are in. I guess I can always add them later.



ruffle on soft chenelle




 

New pillow project

I've been having eye issue's for the past year. Today while shopping at JoAnn's Fabric I spotted Ott lights in the discount area. Rarely do I spend money on myself but I thought the clear light these lamps give might help me to continue to sew, so I bought one! I only took a few minutes to try it out but it's really fantastic! With my new glasses and the light I can actually see the stitches again. I hate to admit it, but I've been guessing at where I've been sewing.

I also picked up some fabric's to make pillow covers to go with my new Flower Quilt that I am working on. Thanks to my friend Kathy, I will have a special pillow! She embroidered a B and a bee and was kind enough to send it to me.

Big changes coming!

Dave and I live a very quiet life. A lot of the time I'm just too sick to do anything and he has been out of a job since he volunteered to be layed off in March of last year. He took the lay off so no one with a wife and children would find themself out of a job in a decaying town where there is no work. For us it was easy to just pick up and head to a State with a possible future for him and good weather for me.

In the past 13 months he has applied for over 1500 jobs. Finally, this week he was offered a job that he will love if he gets past all the medical and background checks...he should have no problems with them, but until he is actually hired we'll just keep praying.

In the past year we didn't really know our neighbors but the recent attack against our property made it important to find out if it was just one act or if there is actually a problem in the neighborhood. We were told that in the past this was a military neighborhood with no problems but after Katrina it became a place where they moved in victims who did not embrace the fact that Texas gave them a home. Instead they brought with them the violence and bad acts of their past.

In the past 5 years almost every home on my block has been robbed or had a car stolen or they were assaulted in some way. In the past month 3 homes have experienced violence against them. I realized the house 2 away from ours was empty but I didn't know it was because his home was broken into and he picked up and moved because it was not the first time. Another retired military fellow told us he doesn't walk his dog without carrying a machetti...that's scary!

I rented this house over the internet. I told the realestate to move us into a GOOD area since I would be alone and didn't want to have to worry. They only wanted to rent the empty house and didn't care about my safety. I don't consider it safe when you have to sleep with a loaded shot gun next to your bed, but after the stories from the neighbors and the recent assault on the neighborhood, it's the only way.

This new job will keep us in San Antonio but there are nice area's and it won't take long to move there. The north edge of the city seems to be the best area. I never let the grass grow under my feet so yesterday I started to pack! Clear the walls of quilts and wash them was the first start, and fill totes with my dolls. It pretty much cleaned up everything of mine except the sewing/quilting stuff. I even broke down the kitchen and packed items I won't need in the next weeks.

This time we are looking for a single home with at least 3 bedrooms. We have reliable help this time. I'm not looking back. Instead I am looking forward to having a sewing room.



Many little quilts all washed to move




Bare walls and packed totes




Soon the house will be filled with these..oops, must take down the curtain!



Violent act

We lived in Lancaster, Pa. for years, among the Amish. We had no fear, left the keys in the car and lawn tractor, never locked the garages or barns and went to bed with the door unlocked in case someone needed to come in. Often we would wake to a pie on the kitchen table or some yummy home made breads.

Then we moved to western, Pa. Again we often left the doors unlocked at night, and keys in cars and garage doors unlocked. We had 15 years of good living, trusting your neighbors and feeling safe.

When we moved to San Antonio Texas a year ago, we realized we were on the very edge of the city where things might not be as safe as we were used to, but living on a golf course made us feel some what safe. I guess we shouldn't have left our guard down.

Since we moved here a year ago we have parked our small trailor at the curb between our house and the one next to us. My son did put a lock in the connector so no one could just hook it onto their truck and drive away. Someone was watching. Maybe one of the people who mow the lawns or maybe someone who picks up the trash.

Wednesday night while we slept, that person or person's tried to steal the trailer. Finding the lock on it, apparently they had someone try to sit in the truck rear and hold onto the trailer as they pulled away. It was too heavy and down the street they dropped it as you can see the scrape marks where it bounced to a halt in the street. They left it where it landed.

People steal, that doesn't bother me so much. But in an angry act of violence to pay us back for not getting away with the trailer, the criminal returned to the driveway and slashed the tonneau cover on our truck, ripping and slashing it in jagged cuts. For some reason they didn't do more damage. Maybe they heard me opening the door to take out the dog or maybe the next door neighbor pulled up, coming home from his night job.

If you remember my posts from a year ago before we moved, you'll remember the tonneau cover was a project my son and I made together for the trip. It wasn't a loss as I was able to patch it back up. It was a violation against my feeling safe living here. Even with the outside lights on and the police making several passes each night, I haven't slept one night. I know we were being watched. There was no way to know which house the trailer belonged too.

The lease arrived a day ago. I don't think we can sign it. After planting a beautiful garden, getting a new fence and patio furniture, I think we have to move. I feel so violated, and I was born and raised in the city of Philadelphia!  It's personal because he returned to the driveway and just didn't pull away when he realized he wouldn't be able to steal the trailer. I keep checking the locks on the doors and last night I felt very unsafe when the dog wanted to go out. He didn't get what he wanted but he left his mark and I can't get over it.

I have experienced one other act of violence against us. When my son was murdered over $20.00 that caused us to move from Philadelphia, Pa. to Lancaster, Pa. I can see the same kind of rage in this slashing. My son was beaten to death with a baseball bat. Anytime another person targets you, the fear that goes with that won't stop unless you change your situation. Maybe I'm over re-acting because of the loss of my son, but the fear is real.

ADD ON:
We were just outside talking to some neighbors. They told me that the house 2 down from me was broken into a few weeks ago. The man owned an ice cream truck and had his garage lined with freezers to keep the products in. While he was out, they took his freezers.  He has since moved! Now I don't feel so bad about being scared since he reacted in the same way I am feeling...I want to run away from here.


The finished new project




The act of violence


















The patch