What's the Angle?

As a former Math teacher, I often had to listen to, "When will I ever use this in real life?!"

I worked hard to bring folks in to the class to show how they used Math in their jobs.

I had a lighting engineer who showed us how to calculate how many watts...

or whatever...

we would need per square foot to meet code.

I had a hunting preserve manager who had the students compute the average 

number of deer in a specified area based on sightings.

I had a Realtor come in to explain how his fees were calculated based on sale prices.

I don't know if the kids enjoyed it, but I certainly did!

When the crane operator came to help set our trusses 

I was excited to see an example of "math" in real life!

Look at this!

It's geometry in real life! 

Here's a protractor in real life!

Angles are important!

And speaking of angles....

The shadows and angles intrigued me.

 

Worker on the Roof

I heard the roar of an engine, and then a "thump".

I looked outside and the truck (on the right) was leaving

after having dumped trusses for our garage in our pasture. 

A few hours later, the "guys" appeared. 

This "kid" worries me when I see him walking around on top of the concrete block wall.

The crane arrived, and within 30 minutes had all of our trusses on the building.

The first truss assembly is put in place.

The last truss if placed for the roof. 

The round discs are used to support the "feet" of the crane.

The license plate on the disc tickled me. 

And just like that, the trusses are in place. 

 

Contract Auto Renewal

It was our anniversary a few days ago. We renewed the contract. Neither of us can figure out how we possibly can have said our vows 53 years ago! That's insane. It hasn't been that long, has it?!!

We went out to a local eatery to celebrate: 

Yum!

What Happened to my Quilt?

I have made, and gifted, many quilts since I began the craft in 2016. Sometimes I wonder about a gifted quilt. Did the recipient like the gift? Did they use the gift? Did they appreciate the gift? Rarely does the sewist know. Rarely does one get any feedback. 

Several years ago my son approached me about making a quilt for him. He first asked if I could repair a quilt he received from a girl friend years ago - sadly, many of the fabrics had disintegrated, and repairing it would have required remaking the quilt.  

So, I began cutting and turning, twisting and trimming, and finally put together a quilt for my son. I do recall that the Mister and I FaceTimed when he went off on a foray for more fabrics for this quilt. 

A few months later I visited my friend and we used her long arm machine to quilt my son's quilt. 

So, that was 2019. Now....in 2025, my son tells me he has just purchased a new, synthetic blanket to replace the quilt I made him. He tells me that sadly, the quilt I made him has "bit the dust".  

The binding of the quilt has frayed. 

I told him that I could put new binding on the quilt.

Then he tells that some of the blocks are falling apart. 

Wow! It's amazing to see fabric really disintegrate!

Well, it tells me that the quilt I made was well thought of, well loved and used....every day/night! This makes me proud to be a quilt maker! 

Now...time to make another quilt for my dear son!

Concrete Pour

Yet another concrete truck arrived at our house today. When the block is being laid some of the concrete blocks have to be chipped so the County inspector can see that the steel rods go up through the walls. Then, the holes are blocked with pieces of plywood and concrete is poured down through the walls. 

As the concrete begins to harden metal stakes are pushed into the drying concrete along the 

top wall. The trusses will be attached to the stakes. The workers also brush extra concrete off of the walls. 

A short time later the lumber company delivered a stack of lumber and sheathing

for the roof. I wondered how he was going to get those long pieces of lumber 

though our gate; no problem - just pick it up and carry it above the fence! 

 

I Go Where I'm Towed to Go

We tow a Jeep when we travel. The Jeep is probably one of the easiest vehicles to tow, and there are very few vehicles, anymore, that can be towed flat. 

There are a number of steps that need to be completed to hook up the Jeep:

Like any pilot, I don't rely on memory. 

I have a laminated copy of this list in the car and 

I go down the list, item by item.

We have never had any surprises. That is, until we returned home from our recent NC trip. 

After pulling into the driveway, I proceeded back to unhook the Jeep.

(There is another list, on the back of the laminated 'Hook up" list

that I use to go through the required steps to get the car out of Neutral.)

I did not get past the first step: "Apply the electric park brake."

It would not engage.

Nothing would. There were no lights. There was no action.

Uh oh!

We unhooked the car from the RV and moved the RV into its new RV barn.

The next morning I crawled to the back of the Jeep, climbing over various things we had stashed in the back seat and into the far back. The battery for the car is located near the lift gate, under a full-size tire. Don't ask me why I know! I carried my cell phone, as a flashlight, and/or to recruit help if needed, and a small flat-bladed screw driver. The tool, I was told, that I needed to open the lift gate (which is usually controlled electronically.)

After crouching in the back, viewing a YouTube video, I felt so accomplished when I heard a "click" and the lift gate popped a bit so that I could push it open. 

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, the Mister was talking with Jeep/Chrysler. We had intended to either:

A. Jump the battery 

 or 

B. Put a charger on the battery to bring it back to life

or

C. Call AAA to come and help us get the car running.

However,  plan D was the recommendation of the Jeep/Chrysler dealer:

D. Call a wrecker* and have the car taken to the dealership.

We opted for Plan D!

*This Jeep is a plug-in hybrid with all manner of computers and monitoring systems. 

Jumping the car might cause problems with something electrical. 

Dealerships have equipment to "read" the systems and locate errors in the systems. 

Bye, bye car!

Today we received a call from the Dealer. We could come get the car. I was absolved of any crime! The battery had died as it was defective. Evidently it had nothing to do with our towing it, or my hook-up process. And, the best news? The battery was under warranty! Our Jeep had a free ride to the dealer, had a bath and received a jolt of new energy! 

Showy

While visiting in NC one of my sewing friends from the area mentioned that many ladies in the group were going to the quilt show in Rutherfordton. The Mister and I had to do some shopping anyway, and Rutherfordton, NC is one of the areas where we often shop, so......

There were many pretty quilts on display.

Many were very traditional. I loved the color choices in this one.

Here's a different take on a quilt. 

I have not tried making a quilt with large motifs,

nor one with so much negative space needing quilting!

This is a "Dear Jane" quilt. 

Jane Stickle created a quilt with many designs during the Civil War,

and quilters are still using her designs in modern day quilts!

This quilt is make up of 195 different block designs.

I was drawn to the quilt on the left. 

The fabric in the background has some iridescence to it.

Several of us examined the quilt, and never could

determine how the quilter accomplished the color variation 

from yellow to black.

The quilt on the right had one many awards at previous shows 

and was on display only. 

This quilt was created using needle turn appliqué designs.

Here is another needle-turn appliquéd quilt. 

I fell in love with the motifs along the border.

The dense quilting around the designs

really made the appliqués pouf.

I think the creator may also have added additional 

batting behind each appliqué design.

And, if visiting the quilt show wasn't enough creativity for the day, we stopped by the Lake Lure Arts and Crafts Festival for a quick walk through.

It was a beautiful day for a show.

We wandered around looking at the variety of crafts/arts on display.

The young gal who welded these items was a delight to talk to. 

She had some jewelry pieces made with copper.

The copper came from wires she found on the roads after Hurricane Helene.

She said she can't afford to buy much in the way of raw materials, 

but does repurpose a lot of found metal! 

The gal who made art out of the pages of books was busy,

so I didn't get a chance to chat with her about her art.

I caught a glimpse of this fun shirt at a tie-dye booth. 

I liked the flannel checked shirt with its fun colors! 

I didn't notice the quilt block design in the front until now.

I wonder what that was about?!

There was one thing I noticed at this show that I don't see at shows in our area:

Pretty fall leaves on the ground and decorating the trees!

And just like that, our time in NC has come to an end.

It's time to head back home and get on with our day-to-day lives there!