Holiday Festivities

December 18, 2024

It’s been a quiet December. A number of local holiday gatherings have conflicted with family plans and therapy dog activities this year. The one event I could attend was lunch with my Friday Sew Squad. Unfortunately, I had to pass on this one because I had the upper respiratory ick that’s currently making the rounds. Ditto for the neighborhood holiday gathering that was rescheduled due to weather.

When not sleeping, I read and made HSTs for the Bonnie Hunter Winter Mystery Quilt. My chosen color way is blue (Bonnie used red), aqua/teal and green (Bonnie used coral) with an assortment of white and cream fabrics. As with the FG for Week 1, I had to rework the instructions to incorporate my green charm squares. The HSTs are done and I’m happy to say all the miscellaneous green charm squares in my stash were used up in the HSTs.

Half square triangles for Bonnie Hunter Old Town mystery quilt.

After four days, I felt human again. My final Monday enrichment class was yesterday. Sadie and I made our last therapy dog visit for 2024 today. One of my private sewing students completed her craft apron. The finished project is absolutely adorable; however, the project’s poorly written directions made it a true pain the posterior to make. I’ll modify the instructions with our methods for her to follow as she wants to make aprons for her crafty homeschool friends.

Student modeling her craft apron.

All the family gatherings happen between now and next Monday. This means I’m really looking look forward to a quiet Christmas at home! I plan to make good use of the three week break before 2025 therapy dog visits resume and classes at the SQTM begin.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. See you in 2025!

Our R.E.A.D. program begins

December 12, 2024

Big Girl is demonstrating what good listeners do while waiting for our next student. What you don’t see is a small group of special needs students being read to by a teacher in the opposite corner of the library. Sadie’s being quiet, listening attentively and watching the speaker.

We have four students we’ll see each week – 3 boys and 1 girl with very different reading levels and backgrounds. Sadie was so excited to get to work this morning! The front office buzzed us in and she led me straight to the library once I obtained my visitor pass. Zoomies around the library while I set up and an enthusiastic greeting for our first reader made for a great session. We worked on assigned reading passages together and students learned to use text evidence to figure out the correct answer to the comprehension questions. A little bit of test taking strategies thrown in there too, but it’ll help come time for Milestones testing next spring. This is exactly what I wanted to do in retirement.

P.S. I understand her friend Barney (the K-9 dog assigned to the school) stopped by to check on us, but we were busy with a student and he didn’t want to interrupt.

In other news:

Next week marks my final Monday enrichment class at CAA. My rolling tote is already packed for the lesson and activities. I’ll spend some time this weekend weeding my general craft supplies and gifting a couple of teachers the bulk of them. In late January, Sadie and I will return to CAA as literacy volunteers on Thursday mornings. This could morph into a homegrown read-to-a-dog program as there is another family in the school community who also has a certified therapy dog.

Our therapy dog work is definitely influenced by the academic calendar. Most school and library visits wrap up by mid-May. Summer months tend to be slower with random summer camps and corporate event visit opportunities. Sadie and I try to make one visit in June and another in July/August. Our established school and library programs typically resume after Labor Day.

Someone asked about the cost of being a therapy dog volunteer. There are certain requirements as to attire/accessories for the handler and dog. You’ll definitely need at least one logo shirt, harness/scarf for your dog and a 4′ leash. Besides the $40 in annual dues to the national organization, it’s really up to you. The more visits you do, the more it will cost in terms of dog grooming, logo attire for you and transportation costs. If you do kid and young adult visits like Sadie & I do, you will also need to budget for trading cards, stickers, pencils, bookmarks and other swag to pass out on visits. It all adds up to a few hundred dollars each year plus my time. Money and time well spent, in my opinion.

Quilting through the holidays

December 9, 2024
Stacks of Hourglass Quilt Blocks – Week 3 of the Bonnie Hunter Old Town Mystery Quilt

I’m tired. No wonder. I’ve made about 400 little bits in total for this quilt over the past two weeks. I’m all caught up and I’ve successfully figured out how to cut QSTs for the hourglass blocks using Bonnie’s Essential Triangle Ruler. Minimal unstitching and everything turned out the correct size, with only a tiny bit needing to be trimmed away. Last time, I used my Featherweight and the blocks turned out too small. This time, I used my Elnita EC30. Having the ability to adjust the needle position made all the difference for me.

I’m thankful that Bonnie Hunter offers a mystery quilt along during the Christmas season. This is my first time participating in one of her annual mystery quilts. The project has helped keep me engaged and in relatively good spirits during what can be a hard time of year. Family drama isn’t pleasant – especially when it causes a rift among family members on my side. Five years later, I will say the peace that comes with not having to deal with certain folks during the holidays is a gift in itself. This year, there are signs that some of the younger family members as they reach adulthood are interested in rekindling the familial relationship. This is welcome news.

The next two weeks will be a flurry of activity, but Christmas will be spent at home with hubs and Sadie. Christmas and New Year’s fall mid-week, so I’ll be able to stitch with some of my Friday Sew Squad at the library between Christmas and New Year’s. Are you joining the Stitchin’ Heaven crew on New Year’s Day? I’m with Team Rob and have already pulled my bin of red, white and blue fabrics. It’s a fun day and you don’t have to complete the quilt unless you want to. Last year, I made a handful of blocks, which became placemats to donate to Meals on Wheels. Placemats in patriotic colors are always welcomed by the staff.

Oh, and I’ll be working on the Bonnie Hunter Mystery Quilt until it ends in January.