Dear HGTV

I am a certified HGTV addict.  I’ve been watching the channel since the network launched in the mid-1990s.  I even changed cable providers when your channel didn't come in clear enough.  Your shows made me a better homemaker, gardener, and even a better quilter.

This past weekend, your network sent me an email saying that you were offering a “binge-worthy marathon” this weekend.  But here’s the thing, the shows you are playing, you’ve been playing almost non-stop for months.  

Why not try something different?


I suggest you air “retro gardening” shows.  There’s a famous quote (I think by Alfred Austin):

“To nurture a garden is to feed not just the 

body, but the soul.”  

Your viewers could use some comfort and distraction.  Maybe some of them have never gardened but now have time.  I recommend Gardening By the Yard with Paul James.  Years before Alton Brown made cooking fun, Paul James taught gardening in a most entertaining and enlightening way.  

My gardens before watching HGTV gardening shows

New gardeners can benefit from Paul James' show and learn to amend their soil, make compost, etc.  Many of us may not be able to buy plants this year at our local nurseries--but we can set our beds up and prepare for when we can plant.

The garden is now 23 years old and the lawn is long gone.  Everywhere in our garden is something interesting and inspiring.

Many of your viewers are seniors and many of them are truly isolated right now.  This population often doesn’t watch videos on computers (if they even have access to them).  You have shows in your archives that are perfect for these folks.  Why not air some of your garden tour shows to inspire them like The Gardener’s Journal and A Gardener’s Diary ?  

These shows will benefit not only seniors but your viewers who are experiencing a deep and valid anxiety right now.

There’s a place and a time for shows that illustrate redoing one’s backyard with a complete make-over but that time is not now.  Putting one or two of the true gardening shows on your channel per day (perhaps in the early evening when many are still awake) could provide your viewers with much needed relaxation and comfort.    As May Sarton wrote, “gardening is an instrument of grace.”  You have the tools to help heal many people right now.  I just hope you use them.

I like Thursdays: March 19, 2020

Welcome back to the new normal.  How are you holding up?  We are fine but worried about family members--one who had a liver transplant on Sunday and appears to be responding well the new liver and his wife who I took to the hospital last night with symptoms of a minor stroke.  If you could keep them in your prayers, I would be appreciative!  We are grateful that both are getting the help they need!

Meanwhile, spring is definitely here!  The daffodils are blooming and many other pretty flowers are enhancing the walks I take with Scout.  

Scout and I walk frequently but I find that longer walks are also emotionally therapeutic.  I mean just look how beautiful the world is!

On the Homefront, I like this chair cover I purchased at Amazon.  My sewing/office chair was looking pretty ragged.  All the kids had used it at one time or another but I was used to it and it just need the fabric covered.  Isn't it pretty?

I'm keeping pretty busy and of course, sewing and writing.  I finished another quilt, a donation quilt for Camp Erin.

I'm working on cleaning out the sewing room, going deep into things I haven't looked at like embroidery transfers and UFOs.

Over at the Pennsylvania Piecemaker's blog, I am spending the week sharing what kind of handwork projects suffragists did.  I'm also asking the community there to email me photos of projects they are working on (suffrage or other) to keep spirits inspired and cheered-up.  You can check things out there. 

Distractions are important and yesterday I took a "news free" day just to remind me of the good things that life holds.  And from the pup front, here is a fun story I posted on facebook this past week.  I realized suddenly that I had been poodled:

Dang, I've been poodled again. "Poodled for dog lovers like me means your poodle has (again) managed to reverse roles on you.  Case in point:  For over 20 years we have kept a string of sleigh bells on the back door.  All of our poodles learned early that if they had to go out, all they had to do was ring the bells.  It was a perfect system.  I could hear the bells even as I worked up stairs.  

But today I realized that Scout has taken it a bit further.  In what can only be defined as a Pavlovian twist to the story, she now rings the bell for me to come.  I offer to let her out and she gives me a special look as if to say, “I’ve changed my mind.  I love you and want to stay with you.  But since we are both here, how about a treat?”  

Sadly, I have to admit this approach is all too effective.  About the third time she attempted this morning, I realized that in fact, I am the one who has been conditioned to respond to the bells.  Well done little puppy.  Pavlov would be so proud of you!

Keep your spirits up and continue to sew!  Remember that mental health is just as important as your physical well being!  Love and kisses and linking to LeeAnna our hostess with the mostess!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hope you are staying home and safe!

Have a great day!

Grateful a day late

I missed the "I like Thursday" posts yesterday.  Too much going on here and I wasn't in the mood.  I convinced my husband not to fly home from Alabama on Wednesday.  Instead he drove home to limit his exposure to the virus.  I was so relieved when he got home safely.  One of our best friends who works for the company is now in quarantine after being exposed to a worker with it in Ohio.  I have to concentrate on good things now and keep positive energy in our lives.  Like this funny black poodle and her friend Happy:

 They both climbed the steps of our neighbors house to visit while we chatted at a reasonable distance from each other.  I'm concentrating on lots of tasks that limit social exposure like walking in the park and visiting Big Blue, our favorite heron.

 The garden needs to be cleaned out and that is also a good solo task.  I do it every fall but then it gets full of leaves from my neighbors trees.  Some of the daffodils in the neighborhood are blooming and ours are about to pop:

My sewing machine is back from it's yearly tune-up and I'll be doing a lot of sewing as well.  It is clear to me that most of my lectures for the upcoming moths will be cancelled--and should be until we can meet safely.

Somehow we all have to keep a sense of humor as much as we can.  This video of an Italian grandmother's thoughts on coronavirus made me laugh and I hope you enjoy it too!  I love Nonni!  I don't know how to post a video but here is the address:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mzThYPuzs4

Stay safe dear friends!

I Like Thursdays: March 5, 2020

On Leap Year Day I realized the crocuses were arriving!  Sure enough, we had flowers by Monday.  It shouldn't surprise me too much, but I'm always excited to see the crocuses arrive!  Spring is only 13 days away!

"Young Bessie" is my Pfaff and favorite sewing machine.  She's at the repair shop for her annual tune-up and spa/cleaning treatment.  I have plenty of binding to do here and am too busy with my lecturing to sew right now so the timing was perfect!

Speaking of quilts, I took two tops to my friend who does machine quilting and stopped on the way home to visit a flea market.  I got a bolt of backing fabric for $10!!  Yes a bunch of my quilts will have the same backing but I'm happy for the bargain.  Then I saw this meme and it made me laugh and laugh:

Another find was this old photograph of our railroad station in it's hey day.  I particularly love that you can see the old trolley in the photograph!

Well Miss Scout wants to go for her walk so I've got to get moving here.  

Have a great day!

I like Thursdays: February 27, 2020

The unseasonably warm weather has continued here in eastern Pennsylvania.  This week I noticed that my neighbor's aconite was blooming.  Although I prefer the warmer temps I worry about what March and April will bring (we've had snow in both months some years).  Hopefully it will just be an early spring.

My mom has been decorating for St. Patrick's day and spring at her house. This rabbit makes me smile, it has a similar expression on it's face that reminds me of Scout.  My mom REALLY gets into the holidays.  She decorates her bear in the foyer for every holiday.

For her birthday this year, mom wanted a groundhog stuffed animal which I got her.  I was pleased to see it still on display and decorated as well:

I've been feeling better and taking Scout for more walks.  We are spotting more blue heron in the area.  I always like seeing them when they fly overhead.

Two more quilts finished in February:

Donation quilt for Camp Erin and below is a quilt for my best friend's mom, Caroline.

 This fabric is sooooo Caroline.  

She loves pink and even wears pink sneakers.  

The dark red is a color that is featured in her house at different areas.  I hope she likes it!

My wooly bully puppy Scout.  I brush her a few times a day but her hair is so long that it tangles up right away.  She gets groomed in March (thank goodness).  We wanted to wait and make sure she didn't have another seizure.  She's doing well so whatever happened in January seems to have passed.  I keep trimming her as well but here we are.  Looking like the bunny on my Mom's dining room table (this is the look that means:  when are we going for a walk--it's a very serious subject here).

Next week I start traveling and lecturing again so I have a lot of work ahead.  Hope you are having a wonderful week!

I Like Thursdays: February 20, 2020

Good Morning!

The last ten days are a blur as I was ill but I'm feeling better today and ready to face the world!  That is something to like!

 The days are getting longer and that is something to love!  But it has been unseasonably warm here.  It's not hot but it's warm enough to confuse the plants which are awakening at a rapid rate.  My real fear is that we will get snow in March; the plants will survive snow but I have a lot of travel scheduled for the month and I don't like driving in snow.  Still, it is wonderful to hear the birds sing and see the sunset at 6 p.m.

I found this little wallhanging yesterday.  

I made this years ago.  Back then I belonged to a yahoo group and we had a challenge to make a textured wall hanging with vintage embroidery.  It won some kind of prize at the time.  I'm posting this more to remind me about sewing different things that make me happy.  For this year at least, my sewing is going to consist of binding quilts.  I don't really have time to start or finish a bigger project.

This made me laugh when I saw it on facebook.  It still tickles me:

I'm still working away at upcoming lectures I'm giving on suffrage this year.  This week I posted a fun story on circus suffragists.  You can find it here.  

Have a great week!

Be sure to link up at LeeAnna's for more positive posts!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Just an aside because so many of you asked about my husband's cell phone.  No he did not receive it in the box!  He called Toronto Airport and they have no idea why that package was sent to him.  The very nice Canadian representative was very apologetic and actually spent a few hours searching for his phone (which she found) and that is coming in the mail soon.  

Have a wonderful day!  Hugs to you all!

I Like Thursdays: February 13, 2020

Good Morning!  It's I like Thursday and time to post some positive things in our lives!  Be sure to visit LeeAnna for more positive posts at Not Afraid of Color

I don't have much to share this week.  The last two weeks I've been walking Scout and doing research.

Happily, my husband got home last week from working in Canada in January. 

One funny thing is that he lost his cell phone in Toronto Airport but a nice Canadian found it and gave it to the lost and found.  Brad was told to fill out a form and they would ship his phone to him.  The package arrived yesterday.

Somehow I don't think those baby wipes, tiny sneakers and headphones belong to my husband :)

About the only sewing I accomplished this week was to finish binding this baby quilt.  It's the second finish of 2020:

 I  like the cute bunnies on this fabric!

That's all I have for this week!  Have a blessed and happy week!