Stop getting your bloomers in a bunch!

February 13, 2026

A birth certificate shows the name you were given at birth, plus other information such as time, date, city and state of birth.

If you’ve been married, divorced or otherwise gone before a judge to change your legal name, YOU DO NOT GO BACK AND CHANGE YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE – despite what some of the political and media talking heads would lead you to believe.

Instead, obtain a certified copy of your marriage certificate, divorce decree or other legal paperwork documenting the circumstances surrounding your name change. Contact the Clerk of Court in the county where the event was recorded to obtain certified copies. Costs and timeframe for document delivery will vary. Keep this paperwork with your birth certificate to document your current name.

Need a copy of your birth certificate? Check with your parents, to see if they still have it. If not, order a certified copy from the Department of Vital Records in the state where you were born. This may cost about $20 and take 1-2 weeks to arrive.

Is it fair that the onus is primarily on women to have to take these extra steps to document a name change? Not necessarily, but I’m the one who chose to change my last name to match my husband’s. Yes, it was a hassle to have to change everything after we got married 35 years ago, including my passport – which I’d obtained in college to participate in a study abroad program.

Keep your important documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce decree, adoption/guardianship paperwork, passport, deed, car titles, wills, healthcare directives, POA, Social Security card, etc.) in a small locked fireproof box in your home. You can easily grab it in case you need to leave in an emergency situation.

Why do we hang on to these documents? That certified copy of our marriage certificate finally saw the light of day again in 2021 when I added hubby to my health insurance plan during open enrollment as part of our preparations for early retirement.

Small lockable fireproof box available as mass retailers for about $35.00

Middle Georgia Shop Hop – The Farewell Tour

February 10, 2026

Back in February 2020, Boomer, Sadie and I participated in our very first Middle Georgia Shop Hop. Since retirement, Sadie and I have continued this annual event. Today, we made our last trek to visit all of the participating shops. Why? This week marks the Middle Georgia Shop Hop’s grande finale.

As usual, I purchased the two quilt block kits from each shop and got my passport stamped.* At Couture Fabrics. I found the perfect border fabric to complete my project from the Myrtle Beach quilt retreat. Big Girl was allowed to come in and help select fabric. 🙂 My “treat” was a bundle of gorgeous Ruby Star Society fabrics Sew Senoia had specially curated for the upcoming Luau Mystery 5-0 sew along that begins in March. I’d participated in the initial Aloha Mystery 5-0 last year (with a different shop) and had a lot of fun. At 4:10 p.m., I turned in my completed passport and headed home.

There’s a new shop hop game in town for 2026 – the All Southeast Shop Hop that runs 8/1-9/30 and covers shops in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Three of the Middle Georgia Shop Hop retailers and most of the participants from last summer’s Stitching Atlanta Shop Hop have switched to the new tri-state shop hop. It’ll be interesting to see the final participating retailer list once the official shop hop magazine goes on sale in June.

*Block kits collected during the shop hop will be turned into a lap size quilt to donate to my guild’s community service. I then pass along the block instructions to another quilting friend.

Ellie’s here!

February 6, 2026

My Elna 782 (same as Janome 9480) arrived yesterday. The shipping carton weighed almost 50 pounds! Thankfully, the UPS driver was kind enough to set it on my dining room table.

Ellie is the second generation after my Janome 8900. The two machines share many of the same characteristics, yet advancements in technology and product refinements with each generation (over the past 10 years) are something else. There’s definitely going to be a learning curve! Fortunately, the manual is well-written and the online tutorials are helpful. I was able to FMQ with the ASR very easily. I can’t wait to see what happens with my usual FMQ set up of a low tension bobbin case, quilting needle and Glide thread

A new acrylic cabinet insert has been ordered. I’ll experiment with 1/4″ piecing and see which needle plate works best for me. I may have to make a modification to the straight stitch plate as I did with the 8900. :-)

My machine quilting mojo has definitely returned. It took nearly five years, but I now have a large throat space computerized machine with a stitch regulator. Having the right tool makes all the difference.

In case your’re in the market for a Janome model with the ASR, The Sewing Machine Shop in Walnut Creek, CA has some inventory of the equivalent Elna models with ASR at extremely attractive pricing.