Day 215 of 365

I've heard you are either an Elvis person or a Beatles person. You can like them both, but you always like one more than another.

I'm a Beatles person. When I first discovered music in the 70s I was listening to Paul McCartney and Wings and John Lennon so I became interested in the Beatles. My memories of Elvis were not positive back then. By the time I started paying attention he had let himself go and was not very attractive. It wasn't appealing to watch him perform.

But years later I'd heard so much about Graceland that it went onto my bucket list. When we did our cross country trip a few years back it was one of our must-see places to visit. Stepping into the mansion was like stepping back in time. Same carpet, counter tops, and furniture, all in 1970s color scheme.

Only then did I appreciate Elvis more for what he had done than for what he had become. I started to like Elvis more. Over the past couple years I've even bought some Elvis fabric. Until yesterday I had no idea of how I was going to use it.

As I was cutting up all those stockings for Stockings for Soldiers, it occurred to me I might use some Elvis fabric. I was second guessing whether it would be a good choice. But Casey Kasem helped me decide. Last night I was listening to a repeat of his show from 1977. A year I remember well. How can someone forget when Leif Garrett and Shaun Cassidy had hits in the top 40? This repeat show mentioned several times about Elvis' death. (He had died just a few weeks earlier.) As I heard them talking about him again and again, I remembered the importance he played in music and sewed up those Elvis stockings.

11 more down.

Day 214 of 365

I don't know what it is about sewing that makes me enjoy it so much.

In my lifetime I've tried cross-stitch and counted cross-stitch. Candlewicking and crewel work. I've tried tole painting and scrapbooking. I've made wall hangings, pillows, padded picture frames, and Christmas ornaments. I've painted a garden scene on the side of our shed and I have scrapbooks full of pictures.

But I always come back to sewing.

Somehow attaching pieces of fabric to make some type of creation is relaxing. I love visiting fabric stores, I love buying fabric, and I love sewing the fabric. And these past few months the best type of sewing for me has been sewing for others. Sewing for those I don't know has given me a purpose.

If it wasn't for sewing for others, I couldn't throw numbers around like these. Since March 5th I have made:

• 17 kids quilts sent to either Quilts for Kids (for sick kiddos) or Operation Kid Comfort (for kids of deployed soldiers), and one to another organization
• 14 presentation cases for Quilts of Valor (for veterans)
• 2 quilt tops - one for a soldier, one for a diabetes auction
• 24 turtle pillows for The Painted Turtle Hole-in-the-Wall Camp (very sick kiddos)

57 items.

Now I get to throw some new numbers around:

• 4 more kids quilts to be done for Quilts for Kids. Two need to be quilted, two more kits are on the way.
• 5 more sets of pictures (which will equal 5 more quilts) for Operation Kid Comfort are headed my direction.

And a new project.

Stocking for Soldiers kicks off October 10. Stocking for Soldiers sews Christmas stockings, fills them with goodies, and sends them to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. While I may not have the goodies to fill the stockings, thanks to my fabric stash I have plenty of Christmas fabrics. They provide the pattern, I make the stockings. At least 80 stockings worth. (I still have more fabric, but stopped cutting at 80.)

5 down and 75 to go.

Day 213 of 365

Today was a biggie. Two biggies. They might not seem biggies to most people, but they are to me.

First one - my husband sent a text message. He's made very few calls on the cell phone before (maybe a total of 4 or 5), but has never texted. Ever. He's not big into technology. While I have a certificate in teaching technology, he thinks computers are more trouble than they're worth.

But as we sat waiting for the next biggie to start, he asked me to teach him how to text. He didn't have a clue about what buttons to push or even how to find where to write a text message. He now knows how to read a text and reply to a text. He was quite proud (extremely proud) of himself. He texted me all afternoon even though we were sitting right next to each other, and he even fired off a couple to our daughter.

The second biggie was about us, and especially me. Over the past couple years, I have been pretty much home-bound. But I've gone to the movies with friends, with my husband, and even by myself during these last couple months. I made it to a concert just this past week. I feel like maybe I'm starting to be part of the outside world again, and today nudged me a bit closer.

Last Saturday on Day 206 we had gone out to eat, and when leaving the particular establishment (Buffalo Wild Wings), lots of Boise State football fans were pouring in to watch the game. We've never gone anywhere to watch the game but our own house. Never went to a bar or tailgate party. Nowhere. We've always watched the game alone. But when we saw all the fans last week and saw all the TVs in this particular place, we told ourselves we'd visit during the next afternoon BSU game. (When I made that commitment I didn't know it was going to be so soon.) But late this morning we went in and left about 4 hours later. Had some appetizers and later a lunch/dinner combo. We (even me) had a great time watching the BSU football game with a place full of Bronco fans.

2 biggies. And 63 TVs full of Boise State football.

Day 212 of 365

My mind has a bazillion things going through it right now and I just realized I haven't given the update on my second chance day (Day 208).

The second chance for Merle Haggard? He and Kris Kristofferson went back and forth on songs, and both of them forgot some lyrics. Last time when I saw Merle, his intoxication was the obviously the reason for his poor performance. This time, once he started the song again he got it right. But they both look old (because they are). It gives hope that even at that age, you can still contribute and have some life left in you.

The second chance for me? Finally making it to a concert again? Well, here's how it worked. We had seats in the third row. The third row in the orchestra pit. Since the third row orchestra pits seats aren't permanent seats, nice padded chairs were brought in. Comfy seats, lots of legroom, plenty of space to move and adjust, up close to the stage. My body made it through just fine. I don't know if there is another concert in the near future, but this one worked out well.

The second chance watermelon didn't turn out so well. Whenever we've grown watermelon in the past we've always winded up picking them too early. Despite when we plant them, they usually get hit by the frost before they are ready. But after looking at them carefully, we found one of the biggest ones out there. The one with the creamy yellow underbelly. Stuck it in the fridge, got it nice and cold, and cut into it for dessert.

It was pink. Not just pink, but light pink. I thought by chance it could have been a different variety and gave it a taste. Uh, no. So the big, beautiful, green striped watermelon had to go bye-bye. We still have several growing in the garden, so the second chance plants will just have to give us a second watermelon before the first freeze.

Pumpkins before the first freeze? Quite a lot, including this one. From hanging on dearly to my pea fence as a green pumpkin on Day 184 to a hanging on dearly to my pea fence as an orange pumpkin today.