A Little Bit Of Everything

Safety isn't expensive, its priceless.

~Author Unknown

Oh my, it's Tuesday!  I'm going to be off on my days all week - lol!  My weekend started off a little differently than I had thought it would.  When I headed into the kitchen Friday morning to fix breakfast, I was greeted by a strong smell of natural gas - well, the additive that they put in natural gas so you can smell it.  I hunted down where the smell was coming from and decided it was near the water heater.  DH turned off the gas and we opened all of the windows to air out the house.  Called a plumber who then discovered 5 leaks - three outside and two under the house.  Five hours later and some replaced pipes and fittings and the problem was fixed.  Later that evening we noticed a PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric) service truck next door.  We decided to talk to the tech and asked him if there had been a spike in gas pressure in the neighborhood.  Nope - apparently someone had doubled the amount of the odor agent (can't remember the name) to the gas causing lots of people to call about gas leaks.  We were smelling the odor just from our water heater running!  Come to find out by reading the Saturday morning paper, there had been over 700 calls placed to PG&E from people concerned about gas leaks - calls had also been made to the fire department.  PG&E apologized for not notifying the public of this error and the results it caused.  Downside to this - we will be receiving a bill from our plumber for 5 hours of labor and parts.  Upside - we no longer have any leaks and shouldn't again for a very long time. 

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PHOTO FACT OF THE DAY

Birthday Candles

Today is my DH's birthday!  Happy birthday, honey!!!  This made me wonder why we put candles on birthday cakes.  Many people make a wish before they blow out the candles on their cake. It is believed that if you blow out all of your candles in one breath, your birthday wish will come true. In some cultures it is bad luck to blow out the candles until after the evening meal is eaten.  Most historians agree that the custom of placing lighted candles on cakes started in ancient Greece. The Greeks made honey cakes that were round like the full moon and place them on the altar of their Moon Goddess, Artemis. They placed a candle in the middle of the cake, which made it appear to glow like the moon.  Germans are credited with the widespread celebration of children's yearly birthdays, which they called "Kinderfests." In 1799, Goethe referred to the practice of using very small candles equal to the child's age to light a cake. Many of the common birthday symbols originated in Germany, such as parties, cakes and blowing out candles.  The lighting of candles and altar fires as a symbol of reverence toward God is part of both pagan and Christian beliefs. The smoke from the flames is believed to take wishes up to heaven. In ancient times people prayed over open fires because they believed the smoke would take their wishes up to God. From this belief the practice of making a wish and blowing out candles developed.  Whatever the reason, we better have a fire extinguisher handy for all the candles that should be on my DH's cake this year :)

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QOV QUILT TOP

On Friday, I did get a bit of sewing in despite the gas issue.....

This quilt top was made for Quilts of Valor that will be donated through my quilt guild.  The guild provided the fabric and pattern and all I had to do was sew it together - all the pieces were already cut out.  The finished size is supposed to be 56" X 72" but this one will end up one inch shorter.  One of the blue borders was cut 1/2" narrower than it was supposed to be so I just made the adjustment.  My wonderful quilt holder (my DH) had to stand on a step stool to keep it from hitting the ground.  What looks like a mistake in the bottom blue border really isn't - the wind kept blowing it against DH's feet - lol!  I will be turning it in at the next quilt guild where someone else will take it and quilt it - someone with a long arm machine.

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AWARDS

Over the last month I have received 3 awards from my blogging friends.  I have really not ignored these awards as much as put them on the back burner. 

I would like to thank Amy from Harriet Homemaker Strikes Again for the Stylish Blogger Award.

And I would like to thank both Freda of The Adventures of the Empress of the Universe (don't you just love that title?) and Toni of The Quilting Pirate for the Versatile Blogger award.

Both of these awards require me to tell you seven things about myself that you may not already know......

1.  I have been married to my high school sweetheart and soul mate for almost 36 years.

2.  I absolutely hate all bugs that fly and have sticky feet (except butterflies) - I can make a real fool out of myself if one flies near me and heaven forbid if one lands on me

3.  I have the same cereal every morning - 7 days a week - Multi Grain Cheerios with just a tiny splash of milk.  Makes the start of my day easy with no decisions

4.  I started smoking when I was 13 and finally gave up the nasty habit when I was 31.  Every once in a great while the idea of having a smoke sounds good until I remember how much cigarettes cost today - OMG!

5.  I am very interested in weather and probably should have been a meteorologist

6.  I wish we could move away from California.  It's not the place I remember growing up in and it is very expensive to live here.

7.  I am very much an introvert and am very happy to spend the day by myself.  It was a huge leap to attend the guild meeting by myself.

There you have it - seven little facts about me.  Now I'm supposed to pass these awards out to 6 other bloggers,  but I will be doing this by email.  From past experience, I have found that not all bloggers like being singled out for these awards.   Thank you all once again for the special kindness you have shown me by passing on these awards to me.

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BEAUTIFUL FAT QUARTERS

Friday's mail brought my winnings from KoolBeenz giveaway #7 and the Fabric Shoppe.....

The envelope contained a 7 piece Fat Quarter bundle set of Ty Pennington's Impressions.  Isn't this pretty fabric?  And it's so much prettier in real life!  Thank you so very much, April!!

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TODAY'S GOAL

Today I will work on at least one hexie flower for One Flower Wednesday!

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GIVEAWAYS

Canton Village Quilt Works is having a giveaway.  You could win one of two autographed copies of Threading the Needle by Marie Bostwick.  Hurry, this giveaway ends tonight, Tuesday, May 31, at 10:00 EDT.

I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts is having a sponsored giveaway.  You could win a fat quarter bundle of 8 Sew Cherry by Lori Holt in red and aqua.  Ryan will draw a winner tomorrow, Wednesday, June 1.

Hawthorne Threads is having their weekly giveaway.  This week you could win a Saffron Craig Magical Lands half yard bundle.  A winner will be selected on Wednesday, June 1.

KoolBeenz is having giveaway #11.  April is giving away 30 Custom Fabric Labels from Jennifer's Jewels.  This giveaway ends Friday, June 3, at midnight.

Eclectic Quilter is celebrating reaching 100 followers.  Marj is giving away two filled Knick-Knack sacks.  Two winners will be selected on Monday, June 6.

Intrepid Thread is having a giveaway.  She is giving away a fat quarter pack of  Lola's Posies - you get to choose the colorway you like best.  This giveaway ends Monday, June 6.
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FINAL THOUGHT

Another month has come and gone.  May - the fifth month of the year.  The month named for the Greek goddess Maia.  The month of emeralds and Lily Of The Valley.  We made it through numerous birthdays, Mother's Day, a couple more TIA's (mini strokes) with my mother, a gas scare and many beautiful spring days.  I attended my first guild meeting last month - a big step for me.  I'm ready to be done with the month and to move onto June.  June will bring a visit from DD#1 and her family - I get to spend time with my grandsons!!  June will also bring our anniversary, GS#2 second birthday, and Father's Day.  I'm hoping for no surprises and stress free days.  Summer will definitely be here with the heat increasing daily.  I'm ready for summer - how about you?

The summer night is like a perfection of thought.
~Wallace Stevens