Each Book Nerd block (I'll need 16 of them to border my reading panel) requires four sections to create the pages of the book. 

Yesterday I began working on section B1-B2 (anyone surprised that I chose the simplest one, with only 2 pieces?) using an  assembly line method.  It was very slow going, with my count only an anemic half-dozen to show for the day.

Naturally I am hoping to 'whip out' <g> the remaining ten for that section today.  I'd even thought that with a little bit of luck  maybe I'd even move on to the next section...  

 

However now that it's afternoon (and I haven't even started sewing yet) 

that end result IS looking less and like likely....

We got a lot more rain yesterday. The weekend was predicted to be sunny and nice (for a change!) but the visible section of the sky (from my spot on the couch in the family room) sure looked dark and threatening most of the morning. 

 Happily by later in the morning the sun had chased them off.

I wasn't able to watch ER for a couple of days because of difficulty signing back in to Hulu. Once Alex sent me the correct password (that third time's the charm!) and then I figured out how to access capital letters (because passwords are case sensitive) I figured I was on a roll - 

until (storm-caused?) buffering kicked in every few seconds and I gave up for a while.  

Good thing I still have a "fair" amount of reading material at my disposal!

I'm about halfway through The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (which is okay, but I liked The Giver of Stars better) and will have no difficulty finishing it before I find a ride to the library to pick up the next book waiting for me, The Great Alone.

For a family in crisis it's the ultimate test of survival. Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job , he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America's last true frontier.

The second shipment (of another three packages) that Sandy mailed me included several copies of Mom's book (The Great Affair) as requested, as well as several of Dad's (A. Lincoln: The Man).

This book, however, was a surprise - and will come in handy should I decide to take Andy's Evidence class again one day.

Another quilt arrived tucked into one of the boxes the hand-quilted lap giraffe one I'd made for Mom with bright Laurel Burch fabric.   I'd include a photo, but can't seem to find one at the moment.  

Last evening, still warm from the dryer, I put it to use here when I snuggled under it to watch some TV. For years it'd lived on one of the chairs in Mom's aptly named sun room so parts of it have faded somewhat (so obviously it's a good thing those fabrics started out really bright.)  Here's a photo I found on-line of the Laurel Burch giraffe fabric line. 

Two more quilts still remain on the wall in the apartment, and will arrive in future mailings along with a some other goodies  - like some of Mom's (and my) counted cross-stitch projects.

The man and woman figurines are now living on the shelf right outside the kitchen, where I'll pass by and enjoy them numerous times each day.  They will always remind me of Mom and Dad - except for the fact that Dad, with his back issues/foot drop, never went barefoot.

Unless you count that one instance (in the 80s during one of my Spring Breaks from teaching) when Echo and I joined them and Cactus in their RV for a week-long loop tour around northern Arizona.  With 3 adults and 2 Australian Shepherds in the mini motor-home it was a cozy fit at times, but none of us minded having to step over our beloved furry friends blocking the narrow aisle. 

At  Canyon de Chelly we'd elected to hike down to see the ruins.

Hike the one public trail starting at the White House Overlook on the South Rim. Allow 2 hours to hike 600 feet down and back up the switchback trail to the White House Ruin.

When we got to the river at the bottom that needed to be crossed, Dad (definitely a city fella) was astounded to discover that there was no bridge ("of course there must be a bridge!") and we'd need to hike across to the ruin.  Mom and I were fine with that, removed our shoes, and waded right in.  At first Dad elected to remain behind, but once she and I had reached the other side he did change his mind and took the plunge. 

All of my photos from that trip (and others from pre-digital years) are on slides, stored in carousels in boxes - and which I haven't viewed in years.  I guess I really ought to have them transferred to a digital format so I could "take" that vacation again!

During that week-long trip we also visited a trading post on the Reservation (that someone had told me about) where Mom and Dad, shopping for a Navajo rug, would be able to buy one at a reasonable price.  The dirt road there was "beyond" a washboard, and even driving incredibly slowly it not only rattled our bones but caused Dad extreme concern for the fate of the motor home!

Physicists based at universities in Canada, France and England assembled a basic experiment to solve the washboard problem. They filled a round cylinder with sand, started it spinning, and ran a rubber wheel along the surface. Within minutes, a washboard pattern appeared on the previously smooth surface. It did not take long until the ruts became more pronounced. The wheel hit an uneven spot and pushed some of the sand past the spot, thus creating a new uneven spot. As the wheel circled, ripples and ruts grew. The only solution Morris and his researchers found was to drive very slowly. The bumps did not smooth out until the wheel traveled at less than 5 mph. “It’s impractically slow,” Morris said.

Once we (eventually!) arrived, Mom and Dad were thrilled with the vast selection of rugs priced at just a small fraction of those at stores in town, where the middlemen had jacked up the prices horrifically.  Choosing just rug was a tough decision, but for decades afterward they enjoyed their  Yei Bi Chei pattern purchase which served as a reminder of that wonderful trip.  

In the "adventures" department, that was the same trip when mild-mannered Cactus was attacked on the Reservation by a stray dog, bitten near his eye while he was simply taking care of business at a rest stop.  Though the bite itself didn't look too bad, it was still worrisome because we were doubtful that the stray had received any of his shots (and with no collar or ID of any sort we had no way to check.) Thus we needed to find a vet and get Cactus some treatment - not an easy task to accomplish in the middle of nowhere.

Time to get off of the computer and be at least somewhat productive. Some of what came out of the 3 packages yesterday still remains on the living room couch since I can only carry a little bit at a time.

Before I could finish with that today a package from Marilyn was delivered.  Naturally I'm a tad curious as to its contents because she texted that I should "open it alone in a closet behind closed doors."

So guess what's next on my day's agenda?  

And while I may have piqued the curiosity of my readers, just hope that after I've satisfied my own I'll be able to mention the contents on my blog.  

Knowing my sister, it could be almost anything!