I have pictures today and not much else. Yesterday I found my favorite hen huddled in a corner and she was dead a couple hours later. I have several crippled hens that have hung on for YEARS and yet she was laying an egg just the day before and she’s already gone. Her name was Jessica – she was a white Aracauna who laid blue eggs and I looked for her every time I went in the barn. I will miss her.
My day just didn’t go well yesterday – tried to talk to both Amazon and Xerox customer service departments and got nowhere. Each time was a person who did not speak clear English – now why would you put a person like that on the phone to field complaints???? Makes me crazy and so mad I hung up on one of the calls because it was useless.
Here’s my pile of Farmers Daughter blocks – now I get to put them together.
Connie has remade our pattern Star Crossing in new updated fabrics and once again it’s a new look for the better!
Here are the quilts from readers:
Sam and Owen came on Wednesday and since it got so cold he’s been bringing a game for us to play. So far Eve played Candyland, Hoot Hoot Owl ad this one that is sort of like the old pick up sticks only plastic pieces hung off a center “pole”. Pretty fun!
I’m of to church to practice with Margaret – we haven’t played together for over a month! No time to proofread – ha!
That wiggle worm game looks like fun! I wore (and wore, and wore) my Country Threads apron until it was threadbare; I love seeing you in yours. I’m sorry about Jessica. Customer Service has become such a thing of the past that when I actually receive some it’s a momentous occasion. It’s such a sad state of affairs .
I am hard of hearing and on such calls as you experienced with Amazon and xerox I apologize for my hearing loss then ask for an English as first language cistomer service rep. They always transfer me to one. Good luck.
Sorry about your cluck, cluck.
The quilts are lovely.
So frustrating when you can’t get your point across to someone who can’t understand you & vice versa. I have had this problem before & I have told them to transfer me to someone who’s first language is English. I’ve also asked to speak to a supervisor, they have been English speaking as well.
Connie’s quilt is gorgeous!
Cathy in IN – I repeatedly asked for a manager and was ignored.
So sorry to hear about your hen. I’m sure you will miss her. That the hardest part about animals we are fond of.
Star Crossing looks so pretty in the fresh colors. Looks like the springtime we’re all wishing for.
That game looks really fun! I may have to look for it for when Laurel gets a bit older!
I get you on the phone calls when you can’t understand through the heavy accent. I get frustrated with that, too. I think about all you can do is either hang up or ask for a manager to connect you with someone whose first language is English. You would think the call centers would “get it” one of these days!!
I’m still embroidering so the quilts have been put to the side, but my niece is taking up quilting now so I am thinking I need to get back at it! I’m going to a UFO afternoon at the local quilt shop tomorrow and am looking forward to that. I’ve missed the camaraderie of that group and am happy beyond belief that they’ve gotten a “Level Up” designation so can now have in-person classes again!! I get my first vaccine on Tuesday and I can’t wait!!
Hope you are warming up there in Iowa! We had 5″ of snow yesterday morning but much melted already by afternoon. Such is Colorado spring!
So sorry Mary and hope your piano playing cheers you up today.
I ask the customer service reps where they are located and am mildly surprised when they are actually in the USA.
My friends in Texas are still suffering – prayers for all of the people without power in this cold weather.
That happened to me in Wisconsin two summers ago after a derecho wind came through but I was warm and had Brook water nearby and people helped me with showers and water and food. So difficult when no help is near and people run their cars in enclosed garages to keep warm.
i have my Bullseye blocks ready for the next set of directions but am just making a smallish wall hanging or baby quilt size.
I “hear you,” Mary when you tell about difficulty understanding someone with an accent. I also have trouble with that and it is so frustrating. I am so sorry to hear about Harriet. Poor dear! This weather has been brutal lately but now we are having a warming trend. So happy for that. And the sun is shining today! that cheers us up big time, doesn’t it? Have a wonderful weekend.
I love Rose’s quilt with the strip-pieced blocks, especially that rick-rack print on the outer edges. In this quilt, controlled is better than random! And, Mary, I’m so sorry to hear about Jessica. I hope all your other dear creatures are getting along OK in this cold weather.
It just amazes me how different an old pattern works up when using updated fabrics! I love it. Me however I’m stuck with old fabrics that don’t appeal to me so much anymore. And even if I could afford new fabrics I wouldn’t know where to get them as all the quilt shops around where I live have closed. Every. Single. One!
I hope the piano practice cheers you up, being the church should help too.
That Owen is a living doll…those dimples get me every time.
Great show today.
So sorry to hear about Jessica, a good hen to the end.
JMHO I dread having to make any of these types of calls. I think it is done purposely so we won’t call. I now ask to speak to a supervisor in the United States. Not easy to accomplish but usually works. Good luck.
Sad to lose our pets! Know Harriet enjoyed her long life with you, my friend.
What a darling dimpled smile your young playmate has. That game looks like much fun.
Another snow day here with light wind blowing heavy dry snow from the tall trees around here. Can’t form a snowball! 25o now.
Thanks for posting all the pictures.
What a beautiful boy-child! Those dimples are killers. Still recovering from Covid and it’s taking a long time. There are so many nuances to the recovery process. I’m thankful I’m not in Texas. I feel so badly for everyone there and the suffering they’re going thru. I hope now they will pay serious attention to the power grid. Don’t take any unnecessary chances Mary, Covid is NOT funny!!!
Where can I find the Star Crossings pattern? I think it’s lovely.
Janet B – have you checked the store?
Janet B – MY MISTAKE! Wrong name! Correct name is Stars on Track. So sorry I misread – too many quilts to remember, I guess!
Mary — Thanks so much for the correction. I did look in the store, but only looked at the title. The remake is such a different look, I would never have thought that Stars on Track was the same pattern!
RIP to your faithful hen. I bet she had the best life a been could have with your care.
Mary I hope this isn’t a repeat question but the pink and gray quilt is that made with jelly rolls and/or additional fabrics ?
I may have asked previously or you stated if this was one of your patterns. Thank you Mary. That little guy is so cute with his big dimples ❤️❤️🥰
Mary, I found my answers at your online store. Got my questions answered. Thank you.
Sorry you lost a beloved hen. She had a good life in your care.
Loving those text prints in Connie’s remake.
Customer service in so many aspects of business is just plain gone. Doesn’t matter if you are a frustrated tenant in an apartment building owned by some corporation the other side of the country, a nursing home owned by investors with no health care background or a tech call to a company with no clear answer your question – it’s very annoying to stress your day. I would like to think service reps are paid well but I have a feeling it’s all about profit and not satisfied customers. Not much is easy to do anymore cause you can’t count on others to do their jobs. Thank goodness I try to stay in a quilting world with respectable folks and let my husband deal with reality like navigating insurance companies!
Sorry about Jessica. Was she old? It is always hard to lose our pets.
Thank you for the great quilt show. Connie’s quilt is so eye catching; I love it.
I think one of my my kitty “ night visitors” is injured. It is dragging a leg, we think. It is so shy, I cannot catch it and I am worried. I will try again tonight.
Poor Texas. Cold there, too, 5 degrees overnight.
I know how frustrating it is to try to get help on the phone when you can’t understand what the person is saying. I have hung up a time or two myself. But then realized that only increased my frustration, so now I politely ask to speak with someone whose primary language is English. That seems to work and gets me what I need.
Got our second covid shot today, so hope we will be able to stay safe until we get everyone that wants a vaccine gets one. One of the ladies I worked the election on Tuesday with said she wasn’t getting it because she had it last summer. But the scientists say they only believe you have immunity for 90 days following having the disease. I also heard today that there is a possibility we might need a third shot because of all the variants out there. So continue to wear a mask, social distance, wash your hands, and pray for good health. Back to sewing tonight, have 72 delectable mountain blocks to sew back together. Need to finish this so I can get to the bullseye quilt.
So sorry to hear about poor Jessica. My sympathies to you. I agree with you that it is so aggravating to call for any kind of help for our devices and can’t understand a word they are saying. I get so annoyed. I feel that we have a lot of people in our own beloved country that need jobs and wish that they could get those jobs and we could totally understand them!!! Looks like you are having fun playing games with the younger ones. I get to go over to my 3 granddaughter’s house and play games. We do this about once a week. We put puzzles together or play a “hot game of yahtzee” as they call it. We have so much laughter and make tons of memories. I am blessed.
You are blessed to have those little ones come over. My grands are getting big already and only one still likes to come to grandma’s to play.
Connie quilt colors are so beautiful! Sorry you lost your hen that layed the blue eggs.
Hi Mary..I purchased your pattern for the Scrap Roll Adventure yesterday. I am in love with the pink background fabric. Any idea what the name is. Love the pinks , grays and black together. Thanks So sorry about your blue egg hen. Im sure you become attached as I have gotten w my 15 year old dog.
Great quilt projects today. Thanks all for sharing. Owen has a great shirt–reminds me of Algerbra. How nice to spend time playing those great childhood games.
About those calls–what an annoyance when you can’t understand them. I had one yesterday–the guy asked if I had 2 or 3 thousand dollars on my credit card. I asked “what credit card?” He said they service all–and he named a bunch of cards. I decided I would lead him astray and waste his time. So, I said, “yes.” This is a lie, (please forgive me, dear Lord), and I said we just did a kitchen remodel and I have a few thousand on my Menards card. I just went on and on and asked about his deal. He got mad and hung up on me.
Kathy Schwartz – oh, Kathy! That was brilliant! I’m going to do that sometime!
It may not get you better service, but you will be able to understand what is being said:
When you can’t understand someone trying to speak English, you can say, “I can’t understand you, please transfer my call stateside”. Keep saying that line, and eventually you will get transferred.
I’m sorry you lost your Jessica chicken. I recently lost my beautiful Willie, he was fine the night before and in the morning he was gone, he must have passed just before I went to the chicken house because he was warm. Judy chicken was standing right next to him and had a fit when I picked him up, like she wanted to him to get up. I know they have an end of life like all God’s creatures but it still hurts to lose them, I think only real animal lovers understand.
Linda Schluchter- my Jessica was not all that old. I have others that I WISH would die but she seemed so healthy – like your Willie. I’ll miss seeing her every day.
What is the name of the wiggly worm game? Looks like fun. Need some new games to play when the great granddaughters visit this summer. Sorry about the hen with the blue eggs.
SUSPEND Junior is the name of the game.
Connie R – thank you! I asked Sam and she told me but you’re obviously familiar with it – it was quite fun!
Mary,
Sorry to read the sad news about your hen Jessica. My sympathies to you. Do you have a photo of her to share with us in a future post?
Connie’s remake quilt looks great in the new colors. I like your whole cloth quilt (Nancy Crow fabric) on the porch table.
Mary you can ask to speak to someone else with better English skills. I have heard that they have to provide you with someone. Sorry your day did not go well. Warming temps should help!