Sunday, May 15, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
& then there was one
Yes, I am sorry. I already miss her voice (she made a noise that sounds like the opening chords of These Boots Were Made For Walking...no, really. The thrum-thrum-thrumming, not the tambourine. CleoPatton, her mate is calm-ish as I type this. The tree guys are back today & making as much noise as ever, but he never was as high strung as she was. He is pacing, but showing no sign of doing himself equal damage. What happens next is anyone's guess. Emus are not wired for solitary living, but we really don't want another one.
Poor Antonelle. Up until 5:09 yesterday she had a very nice emu life & was happy & well cared for. In the end, though, there was no reasoning with an 80lb animal with a brain the size of a chihuahua's.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Massachusetts star for June 2011
The April swap blocks are already in the mail back to the swappers; some have already arrived in their new homes. Sooo, I am a bit late posting the nudge for the June swap block: the Massachusetts Star.
Mostly I am late because of the changes to the way Facebook handles Groups. The short version is all Groups are either moving to the new format or being archived. For reasons I am not clear on (& because Facebook is free, they don't exactly have people standing by to answer questions), our active group was flagged for archival becasue it was not active enough . After trying unsuccessfully to find out how to get the "upgrade" option for our group, I began the process of creating a new QBS group using the new group tools. Naturally, once I was almost done our group was changed from to-be-archive to upgradeable. Oh well, you get what you pay for, right? Mostly it looks like a good change, certainly more flexible but time will tell.
Which brings us to now. We are at the third of the first three block swaps for the first half of 2011. The blocks are due in-house the last Saturday in June. The directions are in a previous post on this blog as well as other places on-line.
You will need two fabrics for each star. One fabric should read-as-solid & be either blue OR white OR black. The other can be red, white or blue OR red, white & blue OR any combination of red &/or white &/or blue.
In addition to the five blocks you send & get five different blocks back, you have the option of sending a 6th block. Every swap a different person is chosen, sometimes people contact me, sometimes I contact them. The 6th blocks are gathered together & go to back to that swapper for a quilt for her organization of choice. For June the blocks are going to the same person who made last years Quilt of Valor quilt. She is not the first person to make more than one 6th block; all I ask is that the previous 6th block quilt be completed (quilted bound) & a picture posted in the group so everyone can see how their blocks ended up.
If you would like to join the swap, search in Facebook for the group "Quilt Block Swap- every other month" & ask to join. If you would like to be part of the Quilt of Valor quilt send an extra block (or two or three) with your five swap blocks.
Mostly I am late because of the changes to the way Facebook handles Groups. The short version is all Groups are either moving to the new format or being archived. For reasons I am not clear on (& because Facebook is free, they don't exactly have people standing by to answer questions), our active group was flagged for archival becasue it was not active enough . After trying unsuccessfully to find out how to get the "upgrade" option for our group, I began the process of creating a new QBS group using the new group tools. Naturally, once I was almost done our group was changed from to-be-archive to upgradeable. Oh well, you get what you pay for, right? Mostly it looks like a good change, certainly more flexible but time will tell.
Which brings us to now. We are at the third of the first three block swaps for the first half of 2011. The blocks are due in-house the last Saturday in June. The directions are in a previous post on this blog as well as other places on-line.
You will need two fabrics for each star. One fabric should read-as-solid & be either blue OR white OR black. The other can be red, white or blue OR red, white & blue OR any combination of red &/or white &/or blue.
In addition to the five blocks you send & get five different blocks back, you have the option of sending a 6th block. Every swap a different person is chosen, sometimes people contact me, sometimes I contact them. The 6th blocks are gathered together & go to back to that swapper for a quilt for her organization of choice. For June the blocks are going to the same person who made last years Quilt of Valor quilt. She is not the first person to make more than one 6th block; all I ask is that the previous 6th block quilt be completed (quilted bound) & a picture posted in the group so everyone can see how their blocks ended up.
If you would like to join the swap, search in Facebook for the group "Quilt Block Swap- every other month" & ask to join. If you would like to be part of the Quilt of Valor quilt send an extra block (or two or three) with your five swap blocks.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
April showers, May flowers, Mothers Day & so on
I made ten & donated them all. I just could not see myself making a whole quilt of them & the handful I might want for a bouquet I would be happy to make for myself. It seemed like good karma, but then I learned my mom really wanted to win that one. So much for good karma & Happy Mother's Day mom.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Jewish Studies thru Zoology
It was graduation weekend here last weekend; we are still recovering. The graduating undergraduate class of the college of liberal arts & sciences is so large that, although the ceremony is held in a largish space, they still have to have to hold two ceremonies. Physics comes in the second wave which begins with Jewish Studies & ends with Zoology. This particular college within the university also has the largest number of non-majors taking classes within it (the cutbacks in public education that have been happening over the past several years means that even the cream of the crop don't have some of what used to be basic college-entry-level skills; the smartest person in the world cannot learn to read if he never sees a book). The average undergraduate here takes five years to get out
In other education news this week, the rule designating the percentage amount to come from an individual teacher's paycheck to a retirement fund over which they have no control, no say & no oversight took effect here in Florida. In our case, this means the man who is part of a team of three faculty members responsible for a lecture, office hours, online homework etc. for 600+ pre-med students per semester, as well as raising through grants & other funding sources enough cash to cover his research (equipment, graduate student salaries, etc.), his own salary if he expects a check during the summer & let's not forget the 40% allocated to the university for administrative support, space, electric, etc. just took a 3% pay cut. I know things are tough all over, but the in this country educators make on average exactly the same amount they made in 2005, no cost of living increases, nada. From 2000 to 2005, teachers were lucky to get cost of living raises which might explain why only one teacher out of every three teaching in 2000 was still teaching in 2005. I could not find stats on those still teaching in 2010, but it is I doubt that many returned to teaching even with the economic downturn.
OH & it is Teacher Appreciation Week. Trust me, they are feeling the love...all the way to another profession. Except for the ones who are taking jobs in other countries. Right now, the single biggest next-employer for former colleagues we know is South Korea. If you think your healthcare is expensive when you are being gouged by US companies, wait until you get the bill when another country holds the patents on your diabetes home test kit, cholesterol medication, etc. As for everything else, most states are already lowering the education requirements for public school teachers. It turns out you cannot require a person to pay $$$ out of pocket for a job that pays less than $. Which means that chances are good that the teacher who stays in teaching is making money someplace else. Maybe it is from a spouse, maybe it is from patent licensing, maybe it is from dealing in crystal meth.
In other education news this week, the rule designating the percentage amount to come from an individual teacher's paycheck to a retirement fund over which they have no control, no say & no oversight took effect here in Florida. In our case, this means the man who is part of a team of three faculty members responsible for a lecture, office hours, online homework etc. for 600+ pre-med students per semester, as well as raising through grants & other funding sources enough cash to cover his research (equipment, graduate student salaries, etc.), his own salary if he expects a check during the summer & let's not forget the 40% allocated to the university for administrative support, space, electric, etc. just took a 3% pay cut. I know things are tough all over, but the in this country educators make on average exactly the same amount they made in 2005, no cost of living increases, nada. From 2000 to 2005, teachers were lucky to get cost of living raises which might explain why only one teacher out of every three teaching in 2000 was still teaching in 2005. I could not find stats on those still teaching in 2010, but it is I doubt that many returned to teaching even with the economic downturn.
OH & it is Teacher Appreciation Week. Trust me, they are feeling the love...all the way to another profession. Except for the ones who are taking jobs in other countries. Right now, the single biggest next-employer for former colleagues we know is South Korea. If you think your healthcare is expensive when you are being gouged by US companies, wait until you get the bill when another country holds the patents on your diabetes home test kit, cholesterol medication, etc. As for everything else, most states are already lowering the education requirements for public school teachers. It turns out you cannot require a person to pay $$$ out of pocket for a job that pays less than $. Which means that chances are good that the teacher who stays in teaching is making money someplace else. Maybe it is from a spouse, maybe it is from patent licensing, maybe it is from dealing in crystal meth.
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