Coffee Klatch

If we could grab a decadent looking pastry and a wonderful cup of coffee, here are a few things I’d share this Monday morning.

My husband and I are finally feeling better after 14 days. We’re down to just dealing with the occasional coughing fit. Thank you for your good wishes, and I’m hoping none of you have to deal with it.

While I was resting, I picked up a wall  hanging that I’d already done work on. It started as a panel to which I added three borders,  bound it with a two-tone binding, and did a fair amount of machine quilting. So, I decided to try my hand at hand quilting some of the remaining areas. It wasn’t near as easy as it looks when my friend, Debra at Frugal Little Bungalow, does it, but it certainly was a learning experience.

This morning I need to get to a copier to enlarge a pattern for a paper piecing project. I’m also cutting down a queen sized quilt to make a daybed cover and researching a couple of headboard projects.

It has been gray, gloomy, and cold here. It snows one day and rains the next. Most of the landscape is white so I started thinking about gardening of course.

I had beautiful Dahlias several years ago and then one year I forgot to take them out. Color them gone. I’ve enjoyed all the posts this year about Dahlias and was especially captured by Dahlia Bishop of Llandaff because my grandparents’ farm was in Landaff. During yesterday’s doom and gloom weather, I ordered some bulbs to be shipped in March. I won’t forget to take them out after the first frost this time.

Photography club starts back up this Thursday, and I’m looking at signing up for three photography classes this spring – Digital Photo Organization and Printing and two Beginning Photography classes on site at the Portsmouth Lighthouse and the Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

While looking for classes, I checked the courses at Granite State College and saw this class.

Survive your Hospital Visit! 20480  Class Size: Min: 4  Max: 40, Wednesday: 1/13, 1:00PM-3PM, Granite State College, 51 International Drive, Portsmouth

Recent research shows that when having surgery up to 30 percent of patients suffer infections, heart attacks, strokes, or other complications thereafter,  and sometimes even die as a result. In other words, you enter a hospital seeking a “cure” and as a result of receiving hospital health services you die while at the hospital or shortly after your discharge.  Best practices that you can use to improve your outcomes will be presented in an engaging lecture and discussion format.

Did you ever think you’d see a course on how to survive a hospital visit?

With only a couple of weeks left to the primary, I thought you might get a chuckle out of how many times the candidates have visited NH so far. The car rental agencies, hotels, restaurants, and our toll roads say ‘thank you,’ but I can’t wait until it is over.

Democrats – 79      Hillary Clinton — 27, Martin O’Malley — 26, Bernie Sanders — 26

Republicans – 315      Jeb Bush — 39, Ben Carson — 13, Chris Christie — 60, Ted Cruz — 16, Carly Fiorina — 47, Jim Gilmore — 21, Mike Huckabee — 2, John Kasich — 49, Rand Paul — 26, Marco Rubio — 17, Rick Santorum — 7, Donald Trump — 18

Your turn – what are you up to this week?