A while back I learned something from Lisa W. (then at Curves, now at Quarry Hill where mom lives, first in assisted living and now in the memory loss unit…mom lives there that is, not Lisa…she works there!):  every day say what was a good thing or the best thing that happened to you that day.  And nothing backhanded (saying that the best thing was that the day wasn’t any worse than it was doesn’t quite cut it).  So I try (but don’t always remember) to give thanks daily.

At our local quilt chapter auction this past month I bought the adorable felted wool mat and --for the first time in memory-- remembered to bring out my Thanksgiving candles, which I have had since I was about 6! I believe these are now beyond "vintage" and headed towards "antique." And that is my October Angel (my birth month) in the background, a gift from gramma about 50 years ago!

But today is the annual U.S. feast and giving of thanks.  This year, I am so glad that despite our very small numbers, the four of us are here, happy, healthy and together.  As you can see from the photo, my pleas to “wait for the Thanksgiving photo” were this year greeted with “heck no I’m eating!” <grin!>

Wait for the photo? Apparently not this year LOL! PS--notice Joshua, on the right, wearing Elmo pants! Love 'em!

Here’s the repast in preparation….I try to clean as I go, otherwise it would be impossible in our no-counter-space kitchen!  After breakfast I started with the pie crust, then the cranberry sauce, then the pie filling, then the stuffing, then putting the hot pie filling into the just-baked crust (A recipe from The Cook’s Bible, where you bake the crust separately as if making a banana cream pie, cook the pumpkin pie filling on the stovetop, then combine and finish in the over for about 25 minutes.  Helps avoid soggy crust.) Anyway, once I get that done, I clear out and hubby does the turkey. I do NOT “do” raw birds or large meat…they need to be mostly cooked before I get near them!  Then I do the potatoes, veggies and gravy.

In progress...pie made, Turkey in the oven......

As far as I am concerned, the best reason for roasting a turkey is to make the gravy that goes on the potatoes.  Half the pan of potatoes is for me (ditto with the gravy, tho I usually get a fight on that one) and half for everyone else.  Can you tell I’m Irish?  Life is GOOD!

I hope whether you are in the United States celebrating also or elsewhere in the world that your lives are filled with goodness, love and light.  And thread and fabric and time to create!  Blessings be, Sarah

OK…no pictures today (sob, I’m sorry!).  It has been, as usual, chaos, and more chaos than usual!   I am happy to report, however, there are lots of pictures and things to share….I just need to find a few extra hours in the day to process and re-size the photos, then write and blog!

The biggest interrupted by life was going to the International Quilt Festival in Houston, where I demo’d, met friends, ate Mexican (HEAVENLY!), met new friends, had fun, spent some money on fabric and paints, tried a new product that I think is gonna be awesome, and generally got exhausted and happy.

Then there are the teenager and kid and aging mom things that tend to interrupt life.  And filling out insurance claims.  And selling our house (going like a dream) and buying our new house (not so much…I’ll dish AFTER the closing is done and we own the house, but it has been unnecessarily difficult because of one person…more in maybe February or March on that one).  It looks like, at long last, that all WILL come off without a hitch (I’m an optimist), and in late January we’ll be moving to a new house about 4 miles away (same school district).

Then, on the way home from Houston, I was too tired for the level of attention required by the book I had.  So while changing planes in Dallas (which by the way is like a big city shopping mall with airplane gates added!) I went into the Barnes and Noble (complete with Starbucks) and bought The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.   Ooops.  That means I have been DEVOURING that book and the two sequels.  I am halfway through the last book, and will surface when done LOL!
Thanks for checking in, and I promise good pictures and fun stuff SOON, Cheers, Sarah

Yes, I am a calendar girl!!!!! Can you believe it?  I STILL, even though the quilt is home, I have the ribbon (now a year old), and saw the quilt with the ribbon in Houston this time last year, cannot believe that *I* really won a ribbon, and then of the 110 or so winning quilts was one of 13 selected to be in this calendar:

Robbi Eklow's eye-cathing gears quilt is on the cover

The inside cover tells a bit about each quilt:

Inside the front cover, a bit about the 13 quilts

And, drum roll please, here is Fields of Gold, a.k.a. Miss September.  I like how they brought the quilt down over the staples onto the lower page, rather than reduce the size to fit on the top half:

Fields of Gold

I swear, if someone had told me when we left Friday Harbor 6 years ago that I’d have a book, be a Houston award winner, and be in this calendar, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it…absolutely astonishing!  It just goes to prove that if you work hard, are really passionate about something, and are willing to devote the time and effort it takes to do something, you CAN!

After the breathtaking walk that Paul and I took (see the pics here), the twelve middle school teams (at least I think it was 12 teams) began to arrive.   Each school was allowed to select its seven best boys and seven best girls for the “varsity” race of about 2.2 miles over the hilliest (and therefore slowest) course in the region; the rest of the teams were invited to be in the fun run, a bit more than a mile, after the main races.  Since not each team had enough students to field a full seven in the varsity race, the field for each (boys and girls) was in the upper 50 range.

Coach Morse (aka the 6th grade social studies teacher!) talks to our very large team

The girls ran first....about halfway down the photo you can see a long line of girls.....far in the lead, as usual, was Camden-Rockport's Jacquie

Each team lined up in the tent, then was announced and ran past the spectators, up a small hill to the starting line; that's Eli in the middle

And they're OFF and running! Talk about a thundering herd of boys!

And away they go!

The pack of about 56 boys soon draws out into a long line headed down the to lagoon, peninsula, up the hill, up another hill, around past the start for another loop and repeat on the hills....

Look at that sunlight! What a place to race! The gray line shows the boys spread out on the trail

Heading into the woods and out to the little peninsula

On the right, our fastest runner is Ben W. Tho small, he is unbelievably fast, and has won most of his races this season!

Eli is on the left, with hair spray painted red--go Schooners!, heading out for his second loop around the course

Ben sprints up the final hill (GASP!)

This photo shows how steep that hill is. Eli is the one in red, and he actually OVERTOOK the boy in burgundy and black (one of the fastest kids in the region) on this hill! Alas, in the last 30 yards, the boy ahead in this photo overtook Eli just at the finish line!

Headed to the finish line! Eli had his fastest race of the season, on the toughest course, had his his highest finish amongst his team for this year (second only to Ben--there have been other team members who have been faster than Eli up to this race) and actually outran one or two of the kids who were thought to be Ben's stiffest competition!

Eli and Ben after the race. Ben and his twin Kyle have been Eli's best friends since we arrived in first grade. It has been so heartwarming to see them grow, mature, come into themselves as 7th graders turning into young men. Ben finished second (a boy from Belfast I think won) and Eli finished 5th!!!!!

The Camden-Rockport Girls team wins the Championship!

Eli gets a ribbon for 5th place (out of a varsity field of about 56+ boys!)

Ben W. receives his second place trophy (and I think he set a personal best time too!)

The Camden-Rockport boys win! the championship

What an incredible season!  The C-R team had such depth that many of the kids who didn’t make it into the top 7 for the varsity race were actually faster than kids from other schools who led their teams!   Even the slowest of the kids finished all the races, with love and support and encouragement from their teammates!  Mr. Morse, one of the awesome-est teachers ever, was just as outstanding as a coach.  He researched on his own time issues the kids were having to figure out what they needed…in Eli’s case, his side cramps indicated he needed to hydrate in the mornings on the day of a race.  How amazing is that, for Mr. Morse to do that for ALL of the kids?  It goes to show why they dominated and what makes Mr. Morse so wonderful as both teacher and coach.  And it was a good race all around for the Great Salt Bay course, with the winning boy (from Belfast I think) and winning girl (Jacquie from Camden) setting course records…WOW!

BOTH the boys and the girls were not only the Champions, but they both had undefeated seasons–every meet they were in, they won! And in addition to being outstanding athletes, their sportsmanship and grace were tops.  Well done to everyone:  kids, coaches, bus drivers, parents…what a season–one that will definitely go down in the school record books!

There has been so much going on, that these photos were taken about a month ago.  But Maine in autumn is so beautiful, and the kids did SO well in cross country, that they deserve a blogpost or two even if it is late!  Paul and I (at my nagging) went for a country drive the morning of the championship meet.

A typical crossroads in rural Maine. Don't blink, you'll miss it.

Rabbit Path Road (dirt). I am not kidding. That's the real name.

Sometimes the trees open up and you get a vista like this one, to the west, with the russet blueberry barrens in the mid-ground

Another byway

And one of the funniest signs I've seen ever. Yes, Mainers DO have a sense of humor!

Across from Cows**t Corner, the typical deteriorating Maine barn (still in use)

We arrived at the Great Salt Bay preserve, where the meet was being held, early, so decided to go for a walk….How glorious can the world be?????

Breathtakingly, achingly beautiful--this former farm is now the Great Salt Bay preserve. Maine is wonderful in protecting its beauty; there are nature preserves everywhere!

As you can tell, a front of crisp and wet air was about to arrive

Looking across the lagoon

From the far side of the lagoon looking back to the old farmhouse and parking

LOOK at those clouds....time to pull out Charlotte Ziebarth's book on digital photo manipulation for art quilters and play with this photo!

Part of the Cross Country race trail, mown for safety (no mole-holes!)

About 3/4 of the way around the loop we walked, looking at the march and old farmstead

Tho not the best year for color, there are still spots of brilliance

Be still my beating heart....autumn is my favorite season!

Next post I’ll actually talk about the race!