VOTING IN A SMALL NEW MEXICO TOWN...

Yes, voting has happened. I love the whole "go to the polls and vote" thing! It is a bit different maybe here than in more cosmopolitan areas. Our polling place is in the local catholic church. We drove there and entered the polling place about 8:20AM. As I looked around I noticed five volunteers and 4 people at the table ahead of us. No line! There were 12 cardboard box voting "booths". Some were set up on a long table and the rest you would stand to use. Here is a photo of me voting in this most special of elections.

Here was the process:

I walked to the table and the first lady asked for my name and year of birth. She looked through a sheaf of papers stapled together, found my name and asked me to sign next to it. Then I was passed along to the end of the table where I was handed a slip of paper and the ballot. I was instructed to give the slip of paper to the lady protecting the actual voting machine and she motioned me to a "booth". The ballot was about 14 inches long; political office seekers on the front, bond initiatives on the back. I was directed to make my selections and completely fill in the oval next to the name. After I completed my selections, the lady protecting the voting machine told me to just "slip the ballot into the machine". It could go in right side up, or up side down, or top end first, or bottom end first. It didn't matter. I thought this machine was to read my ballot but it seems it should have been inserted a certain way for that to happen (?). I don't know. It was curious to me that I didn't have to provide any form of identification. Is that a good idea? And, I was disappointed not to get an"I VOTED" sticker to wear. After we voted we both completed an exit poll form. Very smooth, very low key, very quiet. Did I really vote?

This is Roy completing the exit poll survey.

Yes, the votes are counted. I am relieved. I am encouraged. I am hopeful. I feel lighter.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO.....

Huh. Maybe it won't take me all winter to complete this quilt! Each circle is hand-stitched to the next one and the biggest one is hand-stitched to the quilt block. Hand stitching is one of my favorite things to do so I am really enjoying this, even though it is a slow process. So, 34 more to go!

HIDDEN TREASURE...

During the Tree Removal Project yesterday Roy uncovered hidden treasure. Growing up right in the middle of that very thick juniper tree is a very tall and very skinny pinon tree! We LOVE these trees! Beside it is a smaller one. Roy managed to remove the juniper and save both of them although we will need to leave the stump in place. It does look a little bit like Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree. Now that it can see the sun and breathe lots of air, maybe it will fill out. Yeah, we love Pinon trees.....

SUNDAY YARDWORK...

When your "yard" is 41 acres, Sunday yard work takes on a whole new dimension. It was a beautiful fall day here in New Mexico and time to tidy up a bit before Winter really sets in. The plan today was to move/level out a large mound of dirt on the north side of the house. The best way to do this is to use really big machinery. (Thanks Jim!). So Roy on the "big machine" moved the dirt around and I finished it off with the garden rake. Then it was on to the east side of the house where the fire pit was in need of cleaning out. All the debris has been removed and additional rocks placed around it for fire safety, a big concern here. It looks much better! You can see the view we have of the mesa in the background. Today Roy also removed a juniper tree that was too close to the house. It's a party when Roy has a chain saw with a new chain and a tree to remove! It has opened up our wonderful view of the mesa. We still need to cart off the branches which will be finished this week.

A CRAYOLA QUILT.....

I have started a quilt project that may possibly take me through the entire winter season. Quilting happens in my family. My grandmother quilted. My Mother quilts. Most women in my family quilt. It must be genetic and it usually starts to happen when the leaves start to turn. We just can't help ourselves!

I went searching for a quilt pattern and discovered that the majority of the quilt patterns involve squares and triangles. The stress of getting tiny triangle points to match up was just more than I could handle. THEN, I found a wonderful quilt pattern site with hundreds and hundreds of quilt patterns, all free and with templates to download! If you are interested in making the same quilt you see here, go to www.quilterscache.com and you will find it on page 36 of the quilt patterns.

I found a quilt that uses circles. No points involved! The purpose of this quilt pattern is to use scraps of fabric that you already have and the whole idea is to try NOT to match fabrics in any way. The freedom of randomness. What a joy! Here are the cotton pieces from my stash, all washed and pressed and ready to become the "Crayola Quilt".

These are the pattern templates for this circle design quilt.

The design is placed on quilt squares measuring 16 1/2 inches and using a dark fabric. I chose black.. Here are the first few circles and the curved diamonds. These are the first four pieces I started with.

This photo shows the back side of the pieces. Each piece will need a piece of interfacing sewn on. Cut a slit in the interfacing and turn the piece inside out. This creates a smooth edge on the pieces.

This is the first finished quilt block. You will notice that the graphics are off center on the black fabric. I think this is because it needs to be that way so that an additional diamond piece can fit correctly between large circles in adjoining blocks. Because of all of the colors, I am using only red for the small circle in the very center. This, along with the black, will be a unifying color. I will need to make 35 more of these blocks if I want a queen sized quilt. What have I gotten myself into? I have to think of this as 36 individual projects. I can manage that! Now, go make a quilt!

A PLETHORA OF CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS!

I have finally finished making the Christmas stockings for the Bethel House holiday stocking project. These will be distributed to local groups and businesses to fill with toys. I have to confess, it makes me feel good to know I am helping to make so many children happy.

In the spirit of the season I encourage all of you to make some kind of contribution to a charity in your area. If you don't know how to volunteer, there are many web sites that will direct you to a particular need in your community. To get you started, here are two. http://www.1-800-volunteer.org/ and http://www.networkforgood.org/. I have to tell you, it is a real "feels good" moment when you realize you have done something to help or bring happiness to another person.

IDLE HANDS AND SCRAPS OF YARN

I had the yarn, I had hands doing nothing..I know winter is coming. Behold the 6 foot scarf in fall colors!

POSSIBLY ON THE HOME STRETCH!

Roy is plastering the ceiling in the bedroom. All we have left are the ceilings in the closet and the laundry room. When those are done, all of the big home improvement projects will be finished. Our home is getting to be really nice! It makes us smile a lot!