Tea in the Garden

Twelve weeks ago my husband and I joined in a Biggest Loser competition. Essentially we placed a bet along with several other people that we would lose a larger percentage of our excess weight than any of them would. Until our final weigh-in on Saturday, it looked as if he or I might take home the first prize. In the end he walked off with third place and I came in sixth.  Our cash prizes weren’t as nice as we’d hoped, but they were nothing to cry about. And better yet, we look and feel much better than we did twelve weeks ago. My arthritis hasn’t bothered me at all this summer, and John is showing off clothes that haven’t fit for a long, long time. Six weeks from now, all of us who’ve either kept our weight off or lost even more will enter a drawing for one last prize. What a difference a little incentive makes!

Utah State Fair Quilt Challenge

The Utah State Fair opened today. My quilt is there along with a few hundred others on the west wall of the Home Arts Building. If you're interested in competing in next year's challenge, I'd pop into the fair as soon as you can. The fabric for 2013 is actually quite pretty; it looks like a red bandana. The theme is "The Best of the West." I suspect there will be lots of clever, creative wall-hanging size quilts in the competition next September. After we looked over the offerings in the Home Arts Building, we visited the sheep, cows and goats who were just settling into their new quarters. My youngest son and daughter were zipped into big acrylic bubbles so they could roll about atop a huge wading pool. Then we headed home. Am I upset that I didn't get a blue ribbon this year? Not really. Yes, it would have been nice. But I could certainly have done worse than red.

Yotsu Kumi Sujikai (Four Paired Braces)

Our garden didn’t do as well this summer as we’d hoped. The bok choy was a total failure, and we’re not sure what went wrong. We had a passable crop of Roma and cherry tomatoes, but we harvested only one heirloom tomato. The peppers got off to a rocky start, though they may produce a decent crop before they’re done. I have just enough basil for a big batch of pesto, and enough mint for a few pots of tea. But the beets! Our beets this year are wonderful! We picked an armful on Labor Day, steamed the greens and grilled the roots. That’s my new favorite way to cook beets. You wash and trim (but don’t peel) the beet roots, halve or quarter them if they’re very large. Set them on a square of foil, add a bit of butter, salt and pepper. Seal the foil and place on a hot grill about half an hour. Delicious!

Yosegi Hakkakkei to Sankaku (Octagons and Triangles)

Just in time for Be Late for Something Day, here's my version of the Procrastinator's Creed:
1. If anything is worth doing, it would have been done already. 
2. Never move quickly, except to make an excuse. 
3. Never rush into any job. 
4. Meet each deadline in direct proportion to the amount of harm you could receive from missing it. 
5. Remember tomorrow holds many exciting possibilities, including a reprieve from your obligations. 
6. All deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given. 
7. The probability of a miracle, though infinitesimally small, is not exactly zero. 
8. If at first you don't succeed, there’s always next year. 
9. Always decide not to decide, unless of course you change your mind. 
10. You WILL take that first step, eventually, when you get around to it. 
11. The law of inverse excuses states that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task. 
12. The work cycle is not plan/start/finish, but wait/plan/plan. 
13. Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid indefinitely.