So what have I been up to? I'll try to summarize...
In January I started a program at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in NYC. GREAT program that I'd highly recommend if you're interested in Nutrition and Life Style balance... their website is integrativenutrition.com. I'm proud to say I graduated in July, 2009 and am now officially a Holistic Health Counselor. Check out my website at HolisticFamilyWellness.com. The program was pretty intensive, so that took up several of my weekends each month from January through July.
I also started kickboxing more frequently, and have made it to the rank of Blue Belt. Since I do this 2-3 evenings a week, that also cuts into valuable quilting time!
Fortunately, back in early October, I was able to re-connect with my quilt friends Barb, Pam and Cathy, and we were able to meet for one of our "quilting bees" at my house. This was just what I needed to get going again... here's a few pics from that night. We've also welcomed two new members to the group, Laura and Cheryl (check out Chery's "Yankee Quilter" blog), so now we affectionately call ourselves the "Six Pack". And by the way, while it may look like Cathy is doing something profane with that middle finger, upon closer look she is holding up what appears to be a seam ripper!!
As if that isn't enough, I've got a number of things in the works at my daughter's school, one of which is a school garden. This past Sping, as a result of my education at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition, I started a School Garden created to educate the 1st Grade class on where their food comes from, and the benefits of fresh vegetables. I've been keeping a blog of that journey as well, so please take a look at the link to my Garden Blog which illustrates the entire project's lifecycle. There were several key people who helped with that initiative -- in particular, Fr. Skip and Mrs. Dunn the School Principal. How does a quilter thank people for endless hours of back-breaking work and for giving us the green light for the garden? You make them a quilt, of course! These are the pictures of the two quilts I've made -- the larger for Fr. Skip, and a smaller version which is a wall hanging for Mrs. Dunn's office (not pictured). They are photo quilts which include the many faces of the volunteers who have made our garden a reality. 
Tomorrow I'll bring both quilts to the school and ask all of the children and parents to sign the back. As you may recall, I'm a huge proponent of signing and labeling quilts. I keep track of all the quilts that I make which are lapsize or larger (runners and wall hangings don't count!); Fr. Skip's quilt is the 23rd quilt I've completed. Below is my signature and message to Fr. Skip, as well as a picture of Olivia signing Mrs. Dunn's wall hanging. I'll let you know how they like the quilts after we present them later this week!
So that just about sums up why my blog is outdated... and did I mention that after all this time I forgot the log-in details to update this page?? UGH! Thank goodness I saved older e-mails that helped job my memory!!
So that just about sums up why my blog is outdated... and did I mention that after all this time I forgot the log-in details to update this page?? UGH! Thank goodness I saved older e-mails that helped job my memory!!
All of the blogs I've mentioned in today's journal can be found in the "My Favorite Blogs" portion of this site. Enjoy everyone, and I hope to have another update soon.
Warm regards ~ Christine
