Busy weekend

We've had a fairly busy weekend so far.
It started Friday night with dinner at Itai and Inbal's. Inbal is an excellent cook and the meal was delish. Saul and Miriam were also there until Saul left for a hockey game. In our after dinner conversation, I mentioned quilting and it turns out that Miriam quilts (quilted) and we're going to get together to quilt/needlework together. We were there until after 11 p.m. and anyone who knows me knows that that's about three hours later than I usually go to sleep...And then when we got home I couldn't fall asleep and can never sleep in, so I was working on only a few hours of sleep.
Last week, Menachem (the Mr.) fixed the parquet flooring in the living room. It had lifted due to water damage from overwatering the plants. (We have a cathedral ceiling in the south facing living room so there are ideal light conditions for growing plants. It is a veritable jungle.) Fixing the flooring involved removing the tiles which had lifted, replacing them, sanding and varnishing. The sanding covered everything -- curtains, furniture, plants, floors, pictures, etc. -- with a thin coat of dust.
Yesterday, we started tackling dust removal.
This meant taking down the curtains and washing them. Not easy because Menachem had to get up on the extension ladder on each side of the window several times and with his knee problems, it was both painful and difficult. We also had to move all of the plants to the kitchen so we could manoeuver. We started at about 10 a.m. and haven't finished yet because we also had a few errands to run.
I took my sewing machine in to get it serviced. I've had it for about 16 years and it has served me well. I'm trying to learn machine quilting (stippling, meandering) and can't get my stitch tension right. I'm not sure if it's me or the machine so I took it in.
The machine repair person has a place in mid-town Toronto and we're up in Thornhill (about a 30 minute drive). Why shlepp so far, you ask? Because he's really good and knowledgeable. We bought a serger from him a few years ago. Not that it was the smartest purchase because threading it is complicated and I don't really do that much serging. He showed me a quilting model machine but I resisted. I'm on my first quilt. I don't think I need a machine will all the bells and whistles just yet.
After we dropped of the machine -- it should be ready mid-week -- we popped in at my mother's for a short visit. She doesn't sleep well at night so she was a bit groggy from napping during the day. Devora has ordered internet for her which she should get this week. It will be interesting to see whether she uses it...
We had a call from Alissa (my first cousin who is mother of Sari, the bride for whom the crazy quilt chuppah is being made). Her son is buying a computer and wanted advice from Menachem who is a maven. At the same time, we made a dinner date for last night. We came home and continued hanging the curtains. It took a long time because again, up and down the ladder, and since they're loosely draped over the curtain rod, getting the folds to hang properly.
We went out with Alissa and Mel to Anton's, an Israeli-Russian restaurant at Bathurst and Steeles. We ordered a large combination salad plate -- three types of eggplants, beets, carrots, mushrooms -- and Menachem and Alissa and Mel had lamb shishlik. The salads were enough for me because we hadn't eaten lunch until 3 p.m. and I wasn't all that hungry. After dinner, we went back to their place for coffee and conversation. And then tiredness from Friday's outing kicked in. But I did have a good night's sleep last night and will tackle the rest of the living room/dining room/kitchen today. And maybe start cutting the fabrics for Sari's chuppah.
I also hope to get some photos posted so keep posted!