Chinese Whispers

[Rita C.]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[E.M. T.]

Rita....Fun to hear Ruby is up and treadling ! The machine Bonnie Hunter was using on Quilt Cam
last nite is like mine...Improved Family Singer 1888...with the funky bobbin arrangement ! and all !
Works great for 125 yrs old ! I know Ruby will give hours of pleasant stitchin' ! :wink:

[wendy w.]

I bet you feel really special using the old lady. Do you dress appropriately?

[E.M. T.]

:lol: :lol: :lol: You'll never catch me in all those petticoats and huge skirts !! :roll:
Tho' I think the original owner...my great grandmother...was a more conservative woman and a
farm wife who likely wore a lot of calico ! in more modest amounts. :lol:

[Lorna B.]

Surely Congress can learn to play together in the sand box and the pass a budget sometime soon. This government shutdown is for the birds. I had to furlough 5 of my 6 civilian workers today. I got to keep one! Fortunately the contractors are not affected and the MoD (Ministry of Defense) employees are not affected either. My husband who tele-commutes with the FAA in Oklahoma was also furloughed.

But I also learned that the following services will be affected:

* Post Office (finance mailing section will not be able to accept parcels/letters for mailing. Incoming mail will not be received until further notice)
* Housing office will be working with minimized staff
* Military TDY travel and training may be canceled or curtailed
* Military pay for the 15 Oct (mid-month) payment processing may be delayed

I've already talked to Renata and she will hold the quilt she is mailing to me until we know the mail is flowing smoothly again. As she said, the backlog will be horrendous.

Lorna

[Renata L.]

Lorna, I truly feel your pain on the furloughs and the curtailed services, especially as you're preparing for accreditation. Getting back on track takes ramp-up time in so many areas, I hope this situation will be short-lived and that recovery will not be so arduous. My sympathy to your husband too.

Nancy, I'd been in touch last week with Lorna because I wanted to send her your quilt, finally! So my plan was to take it to the post office yesterday but after getting my car inspected yesterday I decided to postpone until today--a true blessing in disguise because Lorna gave me heads up about mail stoppages at her installation and the quilt was still in my possession as of this morning. So, I will continue to have it in safekeeping, pull it out and admire it periodically, just enjoy it until we get the all clear that postal services are back on track.

[E.M. T.]

Oh, c**P ! Hadn't tho't about your mail being interrupted !!, Lorna ! RRRRR :evil:
All will be well in time..... :roll:

[Nancy R.]

I have complete trust in you, Renata! No worries on my end!! In a year full of natural disasters, our government is an unnatural disaster!

Nancy

[Lois B.]

What a pain for you, Lorna. I wonder if our regular postal services will be affected.

[Lois B.]

Phew - I'm quilting at last! (well essing, still it is a good feeling)

[Lois B.]

Until the invisible thread snaps and you carry on sewing because you can't see it has snapped :roll: :evil:

[Nancy R.]

Lois -

The regular mail is not supposed to be affected. I didn't get any mail yesterday so can't attest personally, but I expect to get some today.

Nancy

[Lois B.]

I didn't get mail yesterday either and I dropped a really, really important check in the mail yesterday. I hope it goes!

[Renata L.]

I didn't get mail yesterday either and I dropped a really, really important check in the mail yesterday. I hope it goes!

You don't have to worry about postal services here in the States, Lois. USPS does not receive tax dollars for its operating expenses and relies exclusively on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operation. USPS is open for business during the government shutdown. Postal employees do not fall under the same federal system for their pay either, so they are not affected by the shutdown. US military installations overseas are under other constraints and so commanders have to decide what services are going to be affected in their area of operation. Hope this helps allay any concerns you might have.

[Lois B.]

Thanks, Renata. This is all so confusing.