Guilty Little Secret

It is hot outside. Hot and humid. Sticky. Icky. I don't like hot and humid. My body rebels. I get cranky. So it is better for everyone concerned if I just stay inside as much as possible and enjoy my air conditioning.

That is OK with me. I have lots to keep me busy. Chores that I have been putting off while the weather was pleasant and I was enjoying being outdoors. Things like cleaning out the refrigerator. I put that one off a little too long. It looked like someone's science experiment gone horribly wrong in there. But it is done. One of the closets has been cleaned out, as well as some dresser drawers that have been waiting for my attention. Several other small projects are done as well.

Now don't get the idea that I have suddenly turned into Susie Homemaker. Not so. These chores have been done when I needed a break from this.

These are hexagons. Lots of them. Each is hand basted over a paper hexagon to hold it's shape.

Then each one is hand sewn to another to make these little flowers.

All of them will be hand sewn to background hexagons to eventually make a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. I have always wanted to make one of these quilts. Never before had the time. But what with the heat and humidity outside and knowing that I wouldn't be venturing out much until it cools down some, this seemed to be a good time to start one. Don't look for it to be finished any time soon, as once the top is finished and the batting and backing are in place, it will be hand quilted. I suppose I could machine quilt it, but I want it to look old fashioned and machine quilting just doesn't accomplish that.

Now, the most comfortable place in my apartment for me to sit and work on these quilt pieces seems to be at my computer desk. The chair is comfy and the light is good. Gives me a nice work surface. Because I watch very little television, I searched around and found a website for online radio. One of my choices was a category entitled "Old Time Radio." Which led to my guilty little secret.

I am hooked on old time radio detective and mystery stories. Those from the 1940's and 1950's. They come from a time when families gathered around the radio in the evenings to listen to their favorite serials. I remember as a little girl, listening to many of these stories. My family didn't own a television until the early 1960's. So radio was a big part of our lives. Oh, I listened to lots of early rock and roll, much to the chagrin of my parents, but it was the stories I loved. Stories like "The Green Hornet," "Dragnet," "Phillip Marlow, Private Detective," "Mysterious Traveler." They are obviously dated and sometimes hokey, but they are fun to listen to. Now and then I will find comedies like "George Burns and Gracie Allen" or "Jack Benny" or "Fibber McGee and Molly." They are still funny, even after all these years. The other evening I even listened to Orson Wells' "War of the Worlds."

So there it is. My guilty little secret. I guess I could eliminate the guilty part, as I don't really feel too guilty about enjoying these stories that remind me so much of a time when life was so much more simple than it is now. I sort of like that part.