The Good Wife

Sometimes I think we're really spoiled.  We've been so lucky to have been able to travel to wonderful places, some of which, like Grand Cayman, have become our second homes when it comes to favorite restaurants and knowing their owners and staff.  This past vacation in the islands found us admiring a new bronze fountain outside a sparkling new shopping arcade.  The graceful forms of southern sting rays struck a chord in us because we're scuba divers and have had many memorable dives with these shy creatures.  So we sat down on the rim of the fountain, talking about all the beautiful things we had seen in these Caribbean waters, and along came a young lady who was kind enough to take our picture for us.

That was the last day of our vacation, and it was hard to come home so soon this time because we hadn't yet had our fill of diving, what with the lousy weather the first three days.  And then the airlines changed our flight times, which was of some concern to DH because he had hoped to participate in a points race Saturday night.  Some other racers  had brought his cart for him just in case he could make it for the race.  The change in schedule put us into Raleigh at 9 instead of 8, and we scrambled to get the luggage and the car and then high tailed it up to the Virginia racetrack as fast as we could go.  We didn't stop at home first; we didn't stop for refreshment;  we didn't even stop for the bathroom!  No indeed.  We went straight there, and lo! and behold!  We made it with ten minutes to spare for the final race!   You never saw a more excited man!

It is unfortunate that this time he had problems with the carburetor.  So he pulled off to the side of the track to adjust it.  During the previous week, while we were away, the track changed its policy about getting back in the race and now, once you pulled out for any reason, you could not reenter.  Imagine his dismay!  So that was the end of that race.  But, being the good wife, I stayed around and took pictures and cheered at the start of the race.  I didn't get to sleep in my very own bed, at last, until well after midnight.  Two more races to go.  I'll go to the last one with him in two weeks, and then I hope to see some chores getting done around here on the weekends!

Tomorrow I'll show you my newest quilting tool.

Well, looky here!  Armed with new timing, a non-copper gasket and a new carburetor, DH once again took to the dirt track in his go cart AND WON FIRST PLACE!!!  Atta boy!  I think I am more proud of him for patiently, time consumingly, tirelessly and systematically going through each "organ system" of his engine and finding out the (multiple!) causes of its failure to perform than I am of his actually running the race and winning!  Talk about sticktoitiveness!

I'm taking a page from his book to finish this week's customer quilts.  I have two more to do, and hopefully one of my own as show and tell,  before I can jump in the car with best bud Mary and head for the Melrose Inn, Marilyn Doheny, and Tryon, NC.  On the way, we're going to stop at the Gingher factory's closeout sale in Greensboro, NC, then to Ye Olde Forest Quilters, also in Greensboro, to Mary Jo's in Gastonia, NC, and then finally to Tryon and our week long quilt retreat!  O frabjous day!  Calloo! Callay!  ( Does anyone know where I got that phrase?)

60 and counting

Today is DH's 60th birthday.  He's in mourning.  Now, I am 6 years his senior, so to me  the 60's are no big deal anymore, and they carry with them RETIREMENT!  Well, I retired, technically, 10 years ago when my knee got busted up too much to continue working.  But that magic "65" or even "62" looms brightly just at the horizon.  He believes he is going to have to work until he falls over dead, given today's economy and the fools who are running the country at the moment, so turning 60 is a bummer for him.  Considering his lifestyle in his youth, it's a wonder he's made it this far, so I think it's tremendous cause for celebration.  In my humble opinion.

So, after putting in a full day of work, after dinner most evenings, he putters about in his man cave, rebuilding motors and replacing gaskets.  These high performance motors blow when conditions aren't perfect, and he has had his share of problems with his engines.  I have learned more than I ever wanted to know about timing wheels and top dead center (TDC)  and before top dead center (BTDC) and how many degrees it has to be for the spark plug to fire on time.  I feel like Marisa Tomei in "My Cousin Vinny", only I'm not as cute.  And my biological clock stopped ticking a long time ago.

He says he relaxes with his go cart racing.  Now for me, this is NOT the way to spend the hours -- going around in circles and getting nowhere, but it seems to hold tremendous appeal to those of the male persuasion.  And as I tell my friend, Mary, if he has to obsess about something, I'm just glad it's not a red sports car and a hot blonde.

So, you know how you wish an actor luck on opening night?  You say "Break a leg".  Of course, you don't really mean that you hope the poor guy actually breaks a leg, but supposedly it's bad luck to wish an actor good luck.  So you say break a leg.  I guess that's supposed to deflect the gods' malevolent attention to your looming success onstage.

Well, in racing, it's similar.  At least, in our household it is.  Because of all the rebuilding and parts replacements and redrilling of these motors, when DH goes bounding out of the house on Saturday mornings, heading for the racetrack, I say, "Blow a gasket!"  Now, wouldn't you know, this is the only time in his life that he actually pays attention to me and blows the gasket -- regularly -- every race!  If he can keep the darn thing running, he should win, place or show.  He's been bringing home trophies up until about 4 weeks ago when his newest engine just decided to stop in the middle of the track on several occasions.  I hope he's got it figured out now.  Meanwhile, I think I should keep my mouth shut....

And that's how he's spending his birthday night -- working on another engine in preparation for a big race this weekend.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

I have finally finished Joyce T's quilt.  Poor dear.  Hers was the quilt I was working on when my Y axis motor to the IQ broke down.  Not only did it take several deliveries of parts, but it took me several days to know that other parts were needed as I fumbled my way through replacing my own motors!  Hmmmmm.  There's a theme in this family... 

I tried out the new motors with some practice quilts and then  determined that it was safe to finish Joyce's quilt.  Here's a closeup of the pantograph I did for her.  If you click on any of these pictures, they will come up in a much larger size so you can see details better.  I used one of my favorite variegated threads by King Tut:  Joseph's Coat. 

Tomorrow is another day, and another quilt on the frame, all ready for me.  Hurray!