Happy Jubilee Birthday

The passage of time is inevitable. I will be celebrating the 21st anniversary of my 29th birthday. Yes, I admit I will be turning 50.  Kicking and screaming inside. It's just another day, says a friend of mine. Hopefully I don't look [or act] my age.

I like to mark my milestone birthdays with friends, so I decided to have a party on Saturday. I decided to cater the food myself, except for the cake, Friday night I was a busy beaver. Both ovens were in use. Got it all cooked and made the salad the next morning. Ready to go.

And it was a FUN party and a good turnout. There were a several friends who were unable to come for one reason or another. There were a few who came that I had forgotten to invite. LOL  I even gave a speech. Here is what I said, more or less.

"  Thank you all for coming here to help me celebrate my fifth decade on this planet. Thank you to the EAA board for allowing me to use this facility. And thank you to my husband for making my dreams come true.

    As my birthday approached I realized it would come whether I wanted it to or not, I decided what I wanted most was to celebrate it with all of my friends. Funny, when I made of list of friends to invite, nearly all of these were "airport people". Six years ago when I went to my first EAA chapter meeting, I came home with a big grin, saying "these are my people".  Now, six years later, I can claim "these are my Friends".

   Jean-Paul Sarte wrote a play "No Exit" in which a character famously exclaims "Hell is Other People". Let me explain why. The play is a metaphor for a mirror. You can see your character, your essence, reflected by the people who surround you.  The character in this play is a mean, egotistical jerk so he didn't like what he saw. As I look around me, I see people who are interesting, intelligent, a little quirky, and fun-loving. That makes me feel good about myself. I like who I am. So I say "Other People are Heaven, not Hell".

    Inside the kitchen area is a table with a list of what I have accomplished in my First 50 years. There is also a page for you to write suggestions for my Next 50 years. Help me figure out what to do next!

    Before we eat, let's take a moment to thank our Creator.  Dear God, thank you for bringing us together to celebrate my birthday. Thank you for the beautiful weather. Thank you for the food that we are about to eat. Please keep us safe and bring us fair skies and tailwinds. In Jesus' name, Amen. "

For my quilting friends:  I decided my jubilee quilt was the "Broncos Crossroads" quilt I finished last December (see post here). It has 50 blocks so it seemed appropriate. I love how it turned out. The quilt is based on the "Carolina Crossroads" design by Bonnie Hunter. I made it a bit bigger, changed the border, and used one fabric for the background and one orange for the accents. 

Grand Illusion and Broncos Crossroads

Thank you, Bonnie, for an easy step #5 to your Grand Illusion mystery!  I quickly finished those four-patches and started trying to catch up with the remainder. I'm joining in her Linky Party today. 

I took inventory and discovered I have a lot more to go on this quilt.

Step #1 Broken Dishes 1 - have 40, need 60 more

Step #2 Double Diamonds - have 44 need 56 more 

Step #3 Checkerboard - have 50 need 70 more

Step #4A Broken Dishes 2 - have 23 need 17 more

Step #4B Broken Dishes 3 - have 5 need 35 more

Step #5 - Four Patches - DONE

Those double diamonds seem to be the set I feel I am really dragging on, even though my inventory shows I still have a lot more broken dishes sets to go. The piece is not that difficult either, but seems to be the most time-consuming.  With Celtic Solstice, it was both the chevrons and the birds-in-the-air pieces that were the last ones I finally finished.  (And they are DONE finally!!!)  What has been the most challenging piece for you?

Also.....Broncos Crossroads is finished!!! The binding and label were completed last night.  I intended this quilt to be a gift but I like it so much that I may just keep this one. It is also the fastest quilt I have ever done (three months).  I love all those blues. The quilting motif is swirls with an occasional star in a medium blue thread. It makes for great texture and touches all those tiny squares.  This is the first time all four corners of the binding came out perfect. Can't believe it took me so long to figure out the trick - pinning and no stitches at all beyond the 1/4 inch edge.

On a higher note, my hubby and I went flying on Saturday. The skies were clear blue and the windsock was completely limp. It felt fantastic to be back up in the air! I had been feeling down lately and after a little airtime, my mood was considerably lighter (I was feeling UP). It happens every time. Flying to me is being in that top triangle of Maslow's heirarchy of needs. Flying is my flow (look up Mihály Csíkszentmihályi).  After a nice burger at a nearby airport, we breezed back home. Aaah, it was a good day.