Saturday, March 14, 2009

A difficult week, but a good day

It has been a rough week.... You hear about 650,000 people laid off last month..... and 700,000 more expected to be laid off this month (nationwide) and somehow it is a number you can't even wrap your mind around.

"One" is a number we understand all too clearly in this family. Monday, Karen was laid off! Here, in our kitchen, she's unpacking her box the company quickly gave her to clear her desk.















She was one of the more fortunate ones. She got a very generous severance package and truly compassionate treatment. There is no easy way to do this, and in retrospect, her company really handled it very nicely. (It was very fast and efficient - kind of like ripping off a bandaid! She was out the door before it really sank in, and then her BFF TiJae surprised her with an impromptu dinner with about 8 of her nearest and dearest friends... A wonderful show of support that meant a LOT to Karen!)


















Now, Le Tigre is a happy dog....Her Karen is home for extra walks and nice visits to the reservoir to admire the sunset!


































Happy Le Tigre! (Happy Karen, too!)


Plus she's been trying new recipes - she makes a mean vegetable tempura dish!


















Today was the day for our "Home is Where the Heart Is" block of the month for March! We got together this morning and pooled our stashes and had a great time picking out the perfect fabrics for our blocks...















As Yvette noted, I actually finished fusing before she and Karene finished this month...













(this picture is missing some trees and steps, etc)


I finished first because I cheated! I started last Wednesday afternoon during a few free moments!



Here is Yvette's block, as she is working on it...















And here is Karene's, very nearly done.... (Her background block was back at her house, but she had some of the same fabrics with her, and used the extra fabric to help her pick her small pieces.... Worked like a charm!)



























After that, Karen and I went to visit Laurie at her new place! We had a wonderful visit with her and even went over and hung out with her friend Jason for a bit.


























I'm loving that smile!!



Now it's time to buckle down and type a bit.... so that hopefully tomorrow I can do some work on my March Tiskit a Tasket block and maybe stitch a bit on my "Home Is" block too!



:)

4 comments:

Yvette said...

OK, where were those Girlscout cookies yesterday? It is a good thing I didn't see them. LOL!!

It was fun getting our blocks together. Now the race begins on who finished them first. I have a feeling I will be at the rear again this month. LOL!

Susan In Texas said...

I'm sorry your friend, Karen, was let go. That's a tough thing, no matter how gently it's done. It is a comfort though, that our pets think of it as a completely positive development. 8-) More time with Mommie, yippie!!! I hope she can find another position soon. In the meantime,

Happy quilting to you both!
Susan
http://www.susanintexas.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

It's great to see some news from CA! Hope Karen is doing OK, tell her we love her bunches!
Loved the pix of the "Home" blocks...they are so cute! You guys are doing wonderful work on those.
Laurie looks great, too! Glad you got to spend some time with them.
Love you lots,
Jacque

Karene said...

Yes, it's always fun to see how the three amigos' blocks are all turning out differently !!! I'm so mad because I really wanted my background there to get color input on my kite border. Oh well...there's always the April block !!!