Appliance Trials and Tribulations

Two weeks ago today, the heating element in my dryer went out.  Since the washer was the same age, we decided to go ahead and replace them both, and for the first time I have a matching washer and dryer.  Not a big thing, really, but nice to my sense of orderliness.  I had not wanted to do a front loading washer, but after researching online, I realized it would be the best option.  So the saga begins.

The next day, Tuesday, I place an order for the washer and dryer online at the website of one of the big box stores.  The delivery date was set for July 12, so I had to find some way to manage laundry for a week and a half.  My neighbor across the street graciously allowed me to dry the two loads that I had had in process when the dryer went out.  I only have a small drying rack in the laundry room, and it certainly couldn't handle a full load of laundry.  I wandered around the house considering my options and came up with this:

The Elfa tower actually worked quite well as a drying rack.  I stacked the baskets in the closet and kept out the two that we use the most.  

Finally, this past Friday my new appliances arrived.  I was very much looking forward to having my dryer back.  Line-dried towels tend to be scratchy and knit tops tend to lose their shape.  This time we decided to go with a gas dryer, and when the delivery man brought it in, he asked if I had the hose for the gas hook-up.  Well, it seems they failed to tell me I needed that when I ordered it (they were supposed to let me know).  And, by the way, it needs to be installed by a certified plumber, which the delivery man was not.  Great....I have my new washer and dryer, and the dryer still doesn't work.  

I decided to schedule my regular plumber instead of having the box store's installer.  We haven't had much success with those guys.  So, it looked like I would have to wait until the following Tuesday.  I went back to my neighbor across the street, who had said to bring my laundry over for drying when I needed to.  I told her what had happened, and then repeated the story to her husband when he came to see what was going on.  He had connection to a plumber, gave him a call to set up something for that same afternoon, and then went to the store to get my hose as I didn't have the car at home that day.  What great neighbors!

The dryer finally is working, and on Saturday, as I did a load of laundry, we realized that the delivery guy didn't level the washer well.  My dear hubby put that to rights and we tried to do a rinse and spin cycle to test it out, as the instructions said.  Push the on button, push the rinse and spin setting, and then push start.  Nope, it would only do the whole wash cycle.  Okay, so I call the service number in my appliance info, and tell her what is going on.  First she starts asking me this series of questions:  did I use to much laundry soap? too much softener? is the load too big? and by this point I am getting a little frustrated and repeat the problem.  So, she says, the washer isn't rinsing.  No, it won't do just rinse and spin.  So, it isn't spinning.  Sigh, no it will only do the wash cycle, not just the rinse and spin.  Let me set up an appointment with a technician.  Thank you.  

We will get the quirks work out yet, but in the meantime, I can do my laundry.  Happy sigh!

A Sight Worth Seeing

Recently we had some unexpected rain showers some through in the very early morning. As we got around for breakfast, the clouds were breaking up as the sun was rising.  We looked out through our French doors and saw this:

It has been ages since I have see a double rainbow.  The main rainbow actually made the full arc, but since it was still stormy, I couldn't get out to see the whole thing.  A lovely beginning of the day, both in terms of the rain and the rainbow! 

Feathered Fanfare

Let's celebrate the 4th with a lovely quilt, shall we?  This top was done by one of the newer ladies to our group, and she is also new to quilting.  She jump right in with a bit of a challenging block pattern (Bow Tie), and then also had the challenge of running out of fabric.  She rose to the occasion, however, and did a great job of achieving balance and symmetry.  And for me, it was an excellent opportunity to practice some feathers.  

Presenting Feathered Fanfare:

Summer's Grace

Summer light
Hazy skies
Heat waves start their dance

Cicada songs
Fireflies flash
June bug's aimless flight

Bluejays splash
Robins seek
Earthworms for their feast

Cotton balls
Growing tall
Passing showers bring

Honey bees
Sip the sage
Crepes don jaunty dress

Eyes to see
Ears to hear
The gift of summer's grace

The Prayer Project

Prayer:  a time of conversation with God.  Involves both listening and speaking.  Its subject may be worship, petition, intercession, repentance, or musings.  

My desire:  to be in continual communion with the Lord as I go about the day.

This desire has also been my struggle ever since I have come into this season of having a lot of solitude to my days.  There has been the issue of my motivations--how well my day goes with prayer being a measure of my worth.  That tanked very quickly.  Then there is the frustration of structure.  I have tried both a structured prayer list and being spontaneous to no avail.  Between the two, though, I know I need a measure of structure--a rhythm of prayer to the day.  The biggest struggle is the lack of words.  Sometimes prayer flows so effortlessly but, more often than not, I just don't have the words to pray.  It makes sense that since my talkativeness tends comes in bursts with much silence in between, that it would also be the case for me in prayer.  Expressing myself in words can be challenge in general, so it shouldn't surprise me that it is the same with prayer.

Recently I learned about a daily devotional geared towards urban professionals:  843 Acres  I like the way it is thoughtful, short, and to the point; and I found myself drawn to some of the prayers at the end.  They reminded me of the Common Book of Prayer we were introduced to during our time at a local liturgical church, and some of the wonderful prayers it contains.  

Those times when I find prayer the easiest are often prompted by something I have seen or read that echoes in my heart.  The devotional inspired the idea of compiling prayers from readings and Scripture to use as jumping off points during my times of prayer during the day.    
So I have a new adventure before me:  The Prayer Project.  

And the journey continues....

East Meets West 2

Flowers and butterflies were the theme of East Meets West 2.  The pink backing and binding gave this quilt a feeling of sweetness.

East Meets West 1

Last year, for a few weeks, we had a couple of ladies from the Philippines who were in the States visiting family come to our quilt group.  Quilting was a new endeavor to them, but they dove right in.  Before they left, we had almost enough blocks to make two quilts, so we filled in with a few blocks and I worked on quilting the tops.  Here is East Meets West 1:

This pattern is again the Disappearing Nine Patch with a very scrappy theme.  

For me, every quilt is either an opportunity to try something new or to practice a design. On this quilt I wanted to try doing a flower shape with that started with a swirl. 

In the sashing and outer border I did a combination of swirls and meandering.  

We finished up with a cheerful yellow backing and bound it with a fun multi-coloring fabric. I love a happy quilt. :-)