Sweet & Bitter

It's been a real mixed bag around here for a few days. First We had a simply perfect day out east in vineyard country on the north end. Who could imagine a day in August on the island so cool, breezy, and dry that it was a pleasure to sit outside and eat our lobster rolls and "puffers" outside. We kept pinching ourselves to see if it was really happening here in the land of humidity and sog. Couldn't possibly have asked for more...but wait..there's is more.

After our glorious lunch we drove into Riverhead to "Pieceful Quilting", a shop whose owners I have seen at a number of shows and who always have lovely goodies. What a great place & strategically located right on the river with benches and shady spots for the husband. They have 5 rooms of goodness to go through and I really enjoyed my visit. I purchased a CD Rom of "Triangulations" for paper piecing of half squares and quarter squares. I find all the triangles for small quilts work up so fast with this method that I was happy to find it. Funny thing happened-while Roger was chatting with the owner (and I had already melted into the 5 rooms -no waiting+ a nice clean powder room!)it turns out that they just franchised another "Pieceful Quilting" about 5 miles from me. Amusing since we had driven 30 miles to this one. I will have to go see what's up at that one very soon. One of the Thurs. Night quilting ladies has a birthday on Thursday...yeah, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. So that was our Friday.

Sadly we ended the weekend on a very different note. The son of one of our friends passed away after a year-long battle with cancer that tormented him for a year. By the time they found the cancer in him it was too far advanced and while they were able to give him treatments for his stomach cancer, it had already spread to the bones by mid-year. Scott was married with two very young children and an amazing wife, Lauren. I don't know how she managed to do it but she gave the eulogy for him at a memorial service on Sunday. She kept the tone light and touched on the great sense of humor that he had. It can't have been easy, she had to stop a couple of times, but for the most part she actually made people chuckle a bit between tears. Scott's parents are good friends and they had a "wake" at the local bar where Scott often enjoyed a few beers with friends. The place was jammed and my ears hurt by the time we left but it occurred to me that that was a good way for everyone not to dwell long on the unbelievable sadness. Parents shouldn't have to bury their children. I hope Scott is at peace now.

So there you have it in a nutshell. Some sweet & some bitter.

It's blasted hot today and tomorrow but the later part of the week looks better. Soon I will have to change the name of the blog to something else since There hasn't been any quilting in so long I'm forgetting how. This summer has certainly been unusual.

Back soon.

This & That

I finally got my new glasses and I can seeeeee!!

There are some things I have to catch up on and I'll be back next week with something that resembles sewing. My fingers are itching to get back to the sewing machine and some fabric play.

It's finally beastly hot like a regular August. Hot and humid and sticky. We are still in the weather pattern that is wet, gray, and oppressive though. Not a nice summer at all. I hope this doesn't last too long or we will have a winter to reckon with.
I've been checking up on what you are all up to and I see so many lovely quilts and especially love the Doll Quilt exchanges and many designer blogs that have popped up lately.
My husband is taking off Fridays for the next little while to use up some of the time he has accumulated at work. We are heading out to spend the day together tomorrow and have a nice lunch out east. Possibly find a farm stand with some tomatoes for BLTs. There is a really bad tomato blight here on the east coast that is also affecting the potato crop. We usually have beautiful Jersey tomatoes by now but the pickin's are slim and the tomatoes are hard, thick-skinned, grainy & fibrous inside. Yetch! Hope to find something better at some of the eastern farms.
Anyway, Back next week with something blog worthy. Have a great weekend.

Get over to Bumble Beans

Victoria, over at Bumble Beans is having a contest. Leave a comment and you have a chance to win a great bag made by her . The fabric is gorgeous. All you have to do is leave a comment and, if possible, put a link on your blog.
http://bumblebeans.blogspot.com/
Go see and while you're there check out all the great quilts she makes. Victoria is a very talented artist and it comes through on her beautiful work.

I'm hoping to hear that my new glasses are in today. It sure would make life a lot easier. Talk to you soon.

The Great Blueberry Masacree

I may have mentioned earlier this year that we were surprised at the end of winter to find that the blueberry bush(and I use the term loosely)had survived the cold and even had a couple of flowers in the spring. Out of those flowers came three precious berries at the tip of a very skinny branch. Not holding our much hope, since we have given over free reign to the chipmunks and squirrels, etc, we fully expected to see those three little berries scarfed up my the local wildlife some time ago. BUT WAIT...there's more. All season long we have gazed at the berries waiting for the inevitable morning when they would be gone. Yesterday, Roger got out the camera and took some photos of the biggest and, nearly ripest(??a word)berry. I told him he better eat that berry. Sure nuf, I came downstairs this morning and that beautiful berry was gone. James and I had to laugh when Roger went out to the deck and searched the ground just in case it early fell off...right. There were some might big blue jays with their wings over their beaks laughing as well. So, there are two more berries and, once again, we wait. Honestly, If I could have gone out there and glued a blueberry to the branch in time I would have. Ah well, such is the life of the farmer. Roger has several tomatoes on the one big plant. Did I mention that we have a sudden outcropping of rabbits all over the darn place? Shall we have a pool on the tomatoes? I say third week of August at least one goes missing. The fact is, we just love the critters too much. I do feel sorry for the critter that messes with the tomatoes. That may change at least one mind around here.

Here in the northeast we are having a terrible tomato blight. All the good tomatoes that usually come from Jersey may not be available this year. They say it got to a lot of them on Long Island as well. The more I think about this the more I think about a BLT with mayo on bakery bread...sigh...snif. I may have to look for those great Canadian tomatoes we found last year at a farm stand a bit west of us. They weren't perfect but if the real thing is not available, they may have to do. What is summer without the BLT?

I'm still waiting for my new glasses so the sewing hasn't yet begun. Back soon.

check this out!

Sweet Michele, of "With Heart in Hands" was lucky enough to get a copy of Gwen Marston and Freddy Moran's new book "Freddy & Gwen Together Again" that she can give away to a lucky quilter. Their first book, Collaborative Quilting is fantastic and this one looks to be even more fun. If you're a fan of the wonky, scrappy, fun look, this one is a winner. Go have a look and sign up by leaving a comment.. I have my fingers crossed to win it myself but it's up for grabs right now. If you haven't visited Michele's blog you will find yourself in for a long visit. Along with being a great quilter and all around smarty pants, she offers frequent lists of patterns for free. Anyway, get a cup of coffee and have a look see.

Mostly Booky Bliss

My recent forced vacation from creativity gave me an opportunity to get into a couple of books that I've been meaning to read and to re-read one that I hold dear. So here are my reviews of them for your possible reading pleasure.

I can't say enough wonderful things about Frances Mayes book. It's so well written that you feel as though you can smell the food, the flowers and hear the music. Evocative isn't a good enough word. I would like to give this book to everyone I care about and insist they read it while lounging on a chaise with a cool drink and lovely evening breezes washing over them. You can open it to any page and be transported to a place you would love to be. Read this book. I've already read it twice. You will thank me.

Last year I read a book by Ferenc Mate. There should be an accent over the e but I forgot how to do that. Anyway, Mr. Mate and his wife Candace and their little boy bought a vineyard in Tuscany complete with an ancient, fairly ruined, farmhouse. The vineyard is in the area where they grow the luscious grape that makes the best wine in Italy. Rich, deep, intense, Brunello de Montepulciano wine. My very favorite Italian wine. The book is the story of how they searched for and found the place and their adventures in getting the farmhouse restored by craftsmen who work on their own special clock called Italian time. It's such fun. Recently I went back and while looking for something similar I found the book he wrote first. The first book describes their early married life pre-kid and pre-vineyard, while trying to fit in to the small Italian village they come to live in. It is a darling book that I loved so much I couldn't put it down even when my eyes were giving me the most trouble. I have just re-read it as well and love it more the second time around. Your welcome.

Let me get the weird review out of the way. I say weird because I really thought I would adore this book and it left me scratching my head and feeling sort of annoyed by the end. When I heard that David Lebowitz, famous Chocolatier of the culinary world, had written a book on his life in Paris, I thought "what could be bad?". Chocolate and Paris, must be delicious. Here's my take on this. His book came off as a snobbish, anti-American, treatise, the like of which causes many to miss-judge both Paris and it's people. What I learned from this book is that you can't use the bathroom the entire time you are there and if you get fingered for being an American, you will be hated on sight and scorned, laughed at and made fun of for simply existing. Also, never ever ask anyone a question. It was very disappointing and kind of made me cranky. There is not a lot that is "sweet" about this life he writes about. He should stick to making chocolate.

If you have never read any Steinbeck....what the hell have you been doing with your life. I discovered John Steinbeck in one of the darkest periods of my life by reading is delightful book "Travels with Charlie", which chronicles his trips with his dog Charlie. Loved that book and it made me forget how miserable I was at the time. I followed it up with "Cannery Row" and if you haven't read that you need to give yourself a treat. It's funny and sad and beautiful. The best day was when I found my, now-worn, Penguin copy of "East of Eden". If you have only experienced the movie with James Dean, you have no concept of what a wonderful book this is. The movie is only one small part of the book and, in my humble opinion, doesn't do that justice. It is the story of generations of people of varying social status in the Salinas Valley of California. I have read and re-read this book over the years and I never tire of it.

So there you have it. I hope you enjoy them and I'd be interested in how you feel about them.

I had lunch to day with my new favorite person in my world. My son's Mother-in-law to be, Cheryl. We had a nice lunch and some fun conversation. I'm so happy for the chance to get to know her. I can see in Cheryl, why we have come to love Dani. Very sweet people. Looking forward to the party at the end of August where we will be able to meet other family members.

Well, this certainly has turned into a novel. Time to make some dinner for the boys. Hope you have a great day.

It's a vision thing.

Good News on the vision front. Here's the story and a bit of a cautionary tale. I went to my Ophthalmologist, a man I have been seeing for eye issues for years, and got some immediate answers. The cautionary part of the story is this. Don't try to save money when it comes to your eyes. The cheap will cost you in more ways than one.

I got my last Rx from the Dr. and had the glasses made. I hated the frames so much -they fit badly-I disliked the frame once I got them etc.. Thought I would save some bucks by going to one of the very famous places you see advertised on tv all the time ad simply having another pair made with free frames. Over the course of the last few years I've had some issues with clarity because of aging/drying eyes and possibly a medicine which had been prescribed for me and the dosage was upped during the past year and a half or so. Sooooo, I picked up the second pair of glasses and off I went. I felt a little tugging at my left eye(which is the weak one from astigmatism) so I just figures that it ws part of the new Rx and on I went with life. It seemed that over the course of the next few months, my eyes got blurry and things were a bit fuzzy watching tv. I also couldn't make the transition from close up to distance well. The longer it went on the more blurry and fuzzy and, frankly, dizzy I began to feel. So much so that I stopped ding many of the things I really enjoyed...hello...quilting, reading, watching old movies while sewing. Ten minutes after I got to the ophthalmologist I had an answer. The Rx, copied by the famous glasses place, was wrong on several counts. It was wrong on the distance measurement and wrong on the progressive bifocal. As soon as they put the machine up to my eyes and adjusted the right prescription I could see. I almost cried for joy. The Dr. said that these quick and cheap places just don't send their lenses to reputable places to be ground. In this case the numbers were way off and it was easy to see why I couldn't.

I'm thrilled with the news and my new glasses should be in next week. Yipee!!

I'm catching up with some things I have let slide around the house and just enjoying the fact that I'm not going blind. He did suggest that I get some liquid tears and that it would help with the overly dry eye thing. Sadly, it's an aging issue but one I'm happy to be able to deal with.

Hope fully by the beginning of August I will have my new glasses and be back to work on some sewing. I really miss my machine and I have fondled fabric so much I'm wearing the nap away on some of it.

We had a really fun time at Roger's reunion for a funny reason. The band was super bad. Imagine a bunch of elderly white guys trying to play Barry White and Play that Funky Music White Boy and you get the gist of the thing. Diane and I were convulsed. Of course the whiskey sours helped a lot. Our friends were here for a week that was pure joy. I miss them so much already. Our time went to fast.

Well, I must go and get ready for dinner with my friend Gerrie. We are celebrating her birthday this evening. Just the girls and some nice Italian food.

If you're still with me, thanks for checking in. I will get back to normal soon, Whatever that is.

Checking in to say hi!

I was looking for something pink to wear for the reunion-whaduyathink? The gloves are too much...right?

Well, I figured I should check in briefly to say hi. I don't have too much time but by way of explanation for my absence, I'm waiting for our house guests to appear, needing to make a trip to the grocery store, still looking for shoes for the reunion(strappy sandals???) and experiencing problems with the aging eyes. I have an appointment with the ophthalmologist coming up that I hope will give me some answers. In the meantime, the vision thing is making me crazy, cranky, and scared. Everything I love to do involves seeing...clearly. Not happening right now. Everything it a little blurry. Almost double vision or a halo around stuff. Maybe cataracts??? Don't know. So that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. Needless to say, nothing is happening on the sewing front. I really miss being creative in some way but even writing this is making me feel icky.

SO....I'm basically OK-lots of people with serious problems so I'll quit bitching now and get out the vacuum for one last go round at the dust. Sadly, I'm still able to clean things. Distance is not the problem. Close up is all foggy. I'll let you know how it turns out when I see the Dr. and hopefully a report on the reunion will follow next week. In the meantime, I still get around to visit you all a few times in the week. Everyone seems very busy and creative. Have fun.

Talk to you soon.

chillin'

I just checking in to say that I haven't fallen off the planet. There's just so much going on right now family-wise. The birthdays, the house fixin', the search for clothing, the lack of focus on quilting and so on. I think I'll take myself a little hiatus, as they say in the show business. Not sure what that means but it seems that when it occurs...your regularly scheduled program does not appear for a while. Every day that goes by that I don't up-date the blog just makes me feel guilty. Since I am German, I naturally come with an enormous amount of guilt-more I don't need!

So I'll be around a little to check up on you all but for the most part I'll be shopping, getting the house ready for company, and finding some clothes that fit(har har).

The next fun thing on my plate(ahem) my family is taking me out to Sushi Park for my birthday on Wed. Birthdays are a really strange thing now. I don't want to acknowledge them but I still want the fun. There is rarely a time all year that I can't buy what I want so it's not about the gifts for either of us. I do appreciate the "book money" I get from various relatives(hi Bob) so that's fun. I have been on a search for a handbag for about a year. I don't want those huge satchels with blingy crap all over them so it's not as easy as you would think. I also don't like a large, heavy, bag. Something along the lines of a classic Coach leather bag would be great. If I don't have to break the bank to buy it would be even greater. I know, dream on Dee.

Well, that's my story people. Paint chips and handbags. Sounds easy, no? Not so much. I'm torn between painting the walls the usual off white and going for some real color this time. I'll probably get lots of sample bottles and try out some color.

Wish me luck. I'll be back and I'll have tall tales to tell.

Thursday...already????

I want to thank all of you who commented so nicely on Roger's birthday. A big hug to you all and so great to hear from Judy in Northport again. Hi Judy!!How are you?

This top called out to me while I was rooting around in the "Closet" for something else. I made it to replace the cruddy quilt that I have used for myself for too many years. It was made from April Cornell charm packs and just used a simple throw-it-together method which really resulted in a less than pleasing top. I had the yardage and finally put borders on it last week. Why do I make things for others so pretty and yet when it comes to making something for myself, I knock out a careless top with nothing going for it but the fabric? I have sworn that when it comes time to make something from the Robyn Pandolph fabrics, I will be good to myself in all ways. Pretty pattern and pretty fabric. Before I put on the borders I contemplated taking all the blocks apart and doing something else. What, I don't know. But it did seem a shame to have this gorgeous fabric and no plan.
Did I mention that I got new Pandolph fabric from the Fat Quarter Shop??? Really pretty stuff. It's aging upstairs as we speak and looks like it will go beautifully with the many other fat quarters I already have. I think that at this point, I have enough to make a full bed-sized quilt rather then a smaller throw like the one above. Clearly a summer project on the horizon.

I seem to be in a bit of a slump-sewing-wise. So many things going on and events coming up. We are going to a reunion for Roger's High School class in the not too distant future (roughly 6 weeks)so I need to do two things. Loose 50 lbs and get a face lift. Barring those two things I guess I'll have to get something to wear that doesn't look like I just cleaned the bathroom in it. The casual life is nothing to complain about but it sure makes you lazy about how you look. I know we've all discussed this before but the clothes out there are for little tiny 15-year-olds. Baring my midriff and wearing very tight jeans are just not going to happen here. Along with that, little short sun dresses over little short stubby legs are also not happening. I believe I'll go with a silk shirt and slacks and maybe a tiny, pretty, sandal-type princess heel. That's a big order but I'm going to persevere. If I could find these things in black it would be a special gift from the universe. Stay tuned. Our best friends, Rich, Diane, and their lovely daughter Erika, are coming to stay with us and go to the reunion since Roger and Rich have known each other since Kindergarten. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to having them here. We've missed each other since "Roger's heart episode" last summer at their house in Pa.
I have no idea where this week has gone. Tonight it quilting with the girls night and so I must go and make a meal for the guys so I can get out of here on time.
Have a great day. Talk to you soon.

Birthday Boy

We celebrated my husbands birthday yesterday. It was a very nice, if hectic, kind of day. This morning I'm sitting here having a cuppa and thinking about how lucky a girl can get. I married my best friend. Much like a great friendship, we really have made a good life for ourselves. Not in terms of wealth and often not in terms of great health but there is no one I would rather spend time with. I know lots of married couples who may have been together a long time but really don't like each other very much.

Roger and I found each other a very long time ago. Back in the dark ages of the mid to late 70s, Roger was working in the Deli near my apartment. I would go there everyday for coffee and deli stuff. When Roger made a sandwich for me-there was a sandwich like the Carnegie Deli makes in Manhattan. One sandwich that takes two people to eat. He was in college and I was a married lady trying to make sense of my doomed marriage. By the time I did make sense of it and found that it sucked rocks, he was getting his Masters Degree and, while he still worked in the deli, I had moved to another part of town to lick my wounds. I would hear about him from people and knew that he was working in a laboratory and doing well for himself.

Time went by...jeopardy music......One day I stopped to get my coffee at another deli across from another apartment and who should I run into by my old friend Roger-now all growed up and manly and the new owner of a neat boat. I was thrilled to see him again because he was always so nice and such a gentleman.

Roger asked me to go out for a boat ride. We went on a lovely day and I didn't hear from him again for a little while. Then I heard from him a lot. We compared notes on failed romances and the general emptyness of our lives. Somewhere in those many conversations a bell went off. The name of that song was "what's wrong with becoming more than friends?" Also, would it ruin a perfectly wonderful friendship?

On one of the best afternoons of my life he picked me up and we went out on the boat. He had put a rose in a Michelob bottle and like a great engineer, he told me about how he felt and how he envisioned our future together. Over great sandwiches and beer I found myself seeing this friend take on a whole other persona. He went from good friend to the man I fell in love with. I thought to myself, "This is what it feels like to love a man who knows who he is. He was a man with a plan. I still think of that afternoon with a butterfly in the tummy.

In all my messed up life before that day, no one had ever been more clear, romantic, and reasonable. Now you wouldn't think that being reasonable would be romantic but I tell you that I held onto him like a life vest. For so long I had wondered why some people get the good life and some don't. When I listened to Roger describe our possible future I could feel myself let go and love. I knew then that no matter how long it takes, you'll most likely get the life you plan for when you stop trying so hard to live up to what other people say life should be. I had somehow stumbled into the best thing, the thing I had dreamed of. A man who knew what he wanted and knew his first priority was his family. He's what a man, and a husband, should be. His wonderful Mother and Father taught him right.

I am grateful everyday for the karmic influence that brought is back together in that deli. A chance meeting, there are many delicatessens in my area. To paraphrase a famous movie line, "Of all the delis in this town, why did he turn up in mine?" Thank God he did.

Happy Birthday Baby.

Tomato-Tomahhto

I've done more gardening this year than in the last 3 years and my back is telling me ENOUGH! Here is Roger's tomato plant. It's grown a lot since he planted the little thing a couple of weeks ago. There are a large number of bunnies in the yard who are keeping a close watch on it. They are waiting for the darling little tomatoes to appear so they can have a special luncheon party. Seriously, we have a Momma bunny and two small bunnies who come out daily and eat bird seed. Naturally they prefer the Goldfinches thistle seed at $14.00 for 2 lbs. to the rather plain regular bird seed of the common kind. Good thing I love watching them. We are not serious gardeners here with vegetable patches and such. We realize that we are out-numbered and out-cuted by our furry garden friends. The word is out and we have no dogs to deter their fun so, essentially, this is critter paradise. Yesterday the chipmunk stretched his little self and ate Roger's blueberry flowers. We're all about the amusement factor here. The geraniums are going in the porch planter boxes since they like a lot of sun.

I'm not getting much done on the sewing front since the planting is causing me a lot of discomfort in the back and sciatica area. The one thing I'm working on I really can't show since it is one of the two gifts I'm going to finish for gifts.

I must go and work on those things while I can sit comfortably. It doesn't last long. I'm going to be one of those old ladies who carry around a poofy little pillow for my behind. I should make myself one.

Time for a cuppa tea and a bite for lunch. Come on over and join me!

Quilting blog....Really???

Here's a shot of one of the Hibiscus I got for Mothers Day from Roger. It's the most vibrant color. James got me the pink one I showed in the last post-that is smaller but full of blooms in a very pretty pink. I've been so busy planting and cleaning and somehow never getting around to the fun quilty stuff. My fault really since I am the Scarlett O'Hara of housework. I'm very behind in the mundane things that need to be done. Housework sucks. You may quote me.

My BIL Bob is back to work today after a few days of discomfort from his procedure last week. He seemed in fairly good spirits yesterday and that made us worry a little less. One day at a time.

I've been giving the gifting of quilts a lot of thought. I think I'm going to lay off the gifts for a while. I foolishly think it means something to others because it means something to me. That's very arrogant of me to assume that others can understand the value or importance of something hand made. We just don't live in that world anymore. A blogging friend made a quilt for a silent auction at a school to raise funds and the highest bid was $40. That speaks volumes about how people value hand made work. That small bid wouldn't even pay for the materials for the finished quilt not to mention the time and care put into it. Sad.

Anyway, I have a number of things to finish and bind and I think I'm going to keep them with one or two exceptions. Then I'd like to work on a quilt I've been saving fabric for. Maybe I need something a bit more of a challenge to re-energize my spirit.

Hope you are doing something fun in the sun. Talk to you soon.

Blooming Monday

It was an almost all-hibiscus Mother's Day for me. I got 3 very large apricot ones and a smaller pink one. Well, throw in some fabulous Hollyhock plants, dusty miller, new guinea impatiens, and a couple of other I can't remember right now. That's what landed on the porch yesterday. Roger put the beautiful hibiscus into their big containers and the pretty pink smaller one into a pot and this morning I planted the dusty miller down near the driveway. It was perfect planting weather(very unusual for spring on Long Island) not humid and icky at all. Dry, crisp, and sweet. Could not have asked for a better weekend. Later, Roger BBQd some really great ribs and eggplant and potatoes. Yum. Lovely day. My son did a lot of work around the yard and some additional work for Uncle Bob which was a really big help. I can't thank him enough for that. Bob is going to have some tests done at St. Francis tomorrow and we are praying that all is going to be well with a limited bunch of crap. I'm going to make a nice meal for all of us tonight-some beer-can chicken and grilled veg. and tortellini salad for dinner. Taking advantage of another beautiful day and who knows how long that will last.

I put together the log cabin blocks and decided to make it into a wreath. I like the way it came out. Some borders and a bit of hand quilting will finish this simply. One gift out of the way. I'm taking the advice of you dears who suggested I keep more things for myself....just as soon as this is done....sigh.

Talk to you soon and say a prayer for my BIL Bob. We love him and need him to be back to normal soon. He's one of the good guys.

Soggy Log Cabin Blocks

I suspect our computer is in need of defragging or some such thing like that. It's so slow right now I could walk to your houses and chat faster than posting.

Or maybe it's just water logged like the rest of us. Hope this isn't a peek at what's to come. Soggy, hot weather go away. I know, I'm never happy with the weather unless it's 65 and crystal clear blue sky. Is that so much to ask for? Apparently it is.

Just because it's a boring blog without a picture-here's a peek at a little piece I'm making. This is the beginning of the Birthday Season at our house. Virtually everyone in our family has a birthday in the next two months or so. Several close friends included in that as well. So I'm putting together a few things that might be nice for that. It got me thinking about gifting people with my work. Maybe it's just a thing I think is nice and based on my recent baby quilt experience...maybe no one really gives a crap. Undecided about that as yet but I am seriously thinking of just buying some gifts and keeping the stuff for myself and perhaps the occasional quilty friend. Just because it's my cup of tea doesn't mean other feel the same-and I know if you're reading this you're most likely a quilt lover so I'm sort of preaching to the choir. It does seem lately that I give nearly everything away. My house is like the electrician without lights. I have one quilt on display and aside from a set few that are meaningful to me-I'm kind of sick of the rest right now. Maybe they need to age in the attic for a while while I stop giving away my work and put it up on my own walls for a change.

I was going out to the nursery to day to look for a couple of planter box pretties but now it looks like it's going to pour again...dang.

I wish all you Mom's a happy Mother's Day. Do something nice for yourself. Back soon.

Rain Again Tuesday

First, I'd like to thank all of you who were nice enough to respond here and personally to my question regarding....pork...ahem.

I feel so much better but as long as I'm being stared at by my porcine friend.over there....the subject of pork is closed for ahhh...today...snort.

It's raining here again. We really need to check ourselves soon for gills because everything is a sloppy mess. I have a haircut today and some letters to write. Hope to sneak a little sewing in there too but it doesn't look good right now since I need to make a trip to the store for tortillas and such since yesterdays enchiladas didn't get made because of that. Today is Cinco de Mayo so it worked out for the best. Must have some Mexican treat for dinner to celebrate. Wish we could have some Margaritas but Roger can't have liquor so we'll just punt. Green chili enchiladas!Yum!

Hope you have a festive day...cha cha cha.

Rainy Monday

If Amy is reading, I mailed your package today.

I'm going to ignore the rain(the endless rain) and try to keep a smile on my face. Here's something that will help. I ordered some of this lovely fabric from the good folks at the Fat Quarter Shop. They are my new best friends forever. So lovely to chat with and they have great sales and great prices on stuff. The was one of two I got to replace the fabric that I took from my Robyn Pandolph stash that I was stupid enough to use on a baby quilt. No mas, as our friends down south say! I'm putting some borders on another piece I left to languish in the Closet for too long.

Here's a fun thing if you have any of those cute charm packs and wonder about what to make with them. Over on the upper right of my blog is a link to the Moda Bake Shop. They have a pattern for nine patches made from charms. Called 9-patchtastic. Very cool and the math is already figured out for you which in my case makes it possible. Math challenged person here. Other than cutting out little tiny squares for 9-patches I would not have thought of this. It took someone who thinks mathematically to think of it. Thanks Moda Bake Shop. A very cool place. Check it out.

My son started his new job today. I'm hoping it goes well since he left a place he really liked very much to work here. More money and it's about a mile from our house and benefits he didn't have before. Cross your fingers. I'm kind of afraid he's going to be bored and I really hope I'm worrying for nothing. That's what Mom's do. We are saying some prayers for Dani's Grandmother who is not well at all and for my BIL Bob who has gone to N.C. to visit relatives for a few days. Dani's Grandmother has had a rough few years and I haven't even had a chance to meet her yet. I hope she gets much better soon. Bob is struggling with a couple of health issues right now. His latest problem is just one more thing to deal with. We hope he's relaxing on his trip. He can sure use some of that.

I'm holding down the fort and getting the usual laundry, ironing, and cooking done so I can sew a little. Chicken enchiladas for dinner. Does anyone know if it's safe to buy pork? I'm going to get pretty tired of chicken and the usual stuff soon. I miss the loin of pork on the grill but I'm not sure if it's safe. We never seem to hear anything about that. Dang swine.....

Anyone for a trade? & Bunny Adventures

THE FABRIC EXCHANGE IS DONE-THANKS AMY!

I got these darling fabrics from Keepsake in my Medley of the Month. They are very sweet but I have sworn off the baby quilt making until I have a grand kid of my own. My feathers are a little ruffled in that area. I should learn my lesson a long time ago but I still insist on making things for people and so my ruffled feathers are all my fault. Anyway, these darling Moda Pampered Pooch fabrics would be sweet for someone who is making a quilt for a little one. What I need is background fabrics in any type of off white, cream, beige, white on white...like that. I will trade my 6 fat quarters for yours. Let me know.


The other day V of Bumble Beans took pictures of her city surroundings and reminded us to look up. It made me pay a little more attention to my own. I don't have skyscrapers and such but I do have the occasional interesting wildlife.

About 2 weeks ago Roger discovered a bunny feeding on bird seed in the yard. He's a good sized bunny and lives in the thicket along side our house. It's dense area that is alive with birds and chipmunks and such. Now it appears to be the home of Mr. Bunny, who by the way is quite adorable. As bunnies are wont to do, Mr. Bunny likes to eat the tender young things growing in the area. Since it is a large yard and full of green shoots and tender vines I suspect he really likes his new home a lot. A few days ago I noticed the hillside volunteer tulips had bloomed again this year. They are bright red and the squirrels must really like that color since they have moved a larger number of bulbs here over the last couple of years. We didn't plant them and, at this point, there isn't another tulip on our property so I know they were filched from another yard and brought here by furry little paws of some sort. Anyway, I thought they were so bright and pretty and then off to the grocery store I went. About an hour later I came home and 3 tulips were dead headed with only an errant red petal laying on the ground...hmmm. Yesterday, the bunch of 5 had two blooms left. Apparently, bunnies consider tulips something akin to Fritos in the people world. Nice little snacks. So here are the pictures of the remaining tulip petals and a shot of where I think Mr. Bunny has made his little house. The pics are clickable.

I really love watching the critters around here so it doesn't bother me that they lunch in my yard. I do think that the chances of growing tomatoes this year have become a little more slim. I hope they don't like Moon Flowers because it isn't really summer here unless we have our Moon Flowers. I guess we'll see how this develops since Mr Bunny is very brave and hangs out in the open where, I suspect that, Mr. Hawk is keeping a close watch on his lunch....nature often solves it's own problems for me around here. I'd be sad to lose him though.
That's all the news from the hill for now.
Let me know if you want to trade-I could send out a package on Monday.
Back to the sewing.

Got Wheels???

Hey...knock knock....hey! I'm trapped in my house...without a car. The upside-I'll probably get something done. Why is it though that when you don't have a car that's the moment you MUST DO SOMETHING IMMEDIATELY but YOU DON"T HAVE A CAR.

I know it's a mind game but weird nevertheless.

James is having his Baby#2 (car) painted this week and so he is using my car. Dani (gorgeous daughter-in-law to be)is his Baby #1 but she doesn't need painting. He is starting a new job next Monday and it involves more money and a ridiculously short commute(about a mile)so he is loading up the various pieces of the Baby #2 that have been worked on or abandoned for newer car stuff into my SUV and taking them to a dumpster. For the last few days he has been very sick with a stomach virus not of the swine variety(thank goodness).

We are all fine so far. I just got a little stomach bug and I'm fine now. It was so little in my case that it didn't even effect my consuming a couple of slices of pizza last night. Italian food is like mothers milk right? It cures whatever is bothering you. Good for colds, flu, viruses, etc. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I'm working on the Blocks for the American Jane and I think I've gone as afar as I want with it. I also sewed up some Log cabin blocks from a nice assortment of fabrics I got in a Keepsake monthly shipment recently.

The last picture is a gallon bag of cut selvages that I have been saving since I found the fabulous Selvage Blog of Karen Griska. If you haven't had a look go now and do so...I'll wait...Jeopardy music......Isn't it cool. Seriously you can spend a while viewing the amazing creations of people from all over who decided that selvages are so pretty you can't bear to throw them away. That and because I needed another fabric passion(ahem). She asked for people to show their collections of selvages and mine is so meager that I am shamed but want to remind everyone who knows me to save their selvages for me...Terry. On the right side of Karen's blog there is a pattern for flying geese using selvages that is very cool looking. I must try this when I get enough saved.

Anyway, May is just around the corner and everyone I know has a birthday in the next two months so I better get going on some gifty things.

Of course, I could avoid all this if one of you would come and pick me up for lunch-I'm buying???Anyone????

Nine Patch Quilt on e-Bay.

Nine Patch for "Love Without Boundaries"

Today, I am posting an e-Bay page for the quilt that Victoria (aka Bumble Beans) made from nine patches that we donated. The bidding could get you a great, very colorful, quilt. The money will go to a great organization called "Love Without Boundaries"-really worthwhile cause.

Here's the direct link to the page to bid if you can.

If you haven't been over to visit Victoria, don't miss her wonderful, very artistic, work on her blog. She's very generous with ideas and challenges. A very innovative artist-don't miss the fun. Right now there is a challenge to quiltify a work by Matisse. Great eye candy.

I've spent too much time these past few days checking out blogs that are new to me from the amazing list on Amy's blog. This Quilt Festival idea was a touch of brilliance. Last time I checked there were over 500 people linked there. Fun!! The only problem is getting something done and peeling yourself off the computer. I set the timer and walk away when it rings. Otherwise the family would find me here still in my pjs when they come home.

Getting dressed and sewing now....really!

Silk purse from Sow's Ear

I've been watching, with amazement, the line up of links on Amy's blog for the First Annual Bloggers Quilt Festival. What a great idea this was and how much fun it is to see everyone come up with their stories and posts about their favorite quilts. It's inspiring and fun.

I've thrown my little blog into the mix with my favorite quilt. Many years ago I made a quilt with fabric I really loved in a sort of scrappy mix. It was long before the quarter inch foot and more precise methods of cutting. In short, I kind of winged it. The resulting top looked every bit the experiment it was. No two seams lined up and even though I loved those fabrics, it was a mathematical mess. Tic Toc Tic ...time marched on.....the quilt lay folded and forgotten in the Closet of Shame. One day, I was reading my friend Debra's Blog and she called for any quilters who cared to join in making Quilts of Valor for injured returning veterans. I sent her an e-mail explaining all about the pretty mess that was folded in the Closet. She asked for a picture to see just how bad it was. I didn't even have enough fabric to finish the top and bottom borders. Nothing I said discouraged Debra. She told me to send it on to her to see what could be done. At some point she sent it to Deb Geyer, a great long-arm quilter who had volunteered to quilt it. I really hoped that Deb wouldn't hate me forever after seeing the mismatched seams and blocks of different sizes. When It came back from Deb to me for a binding I nearly cried. It was so beautiful. The quilting made a silk purse out a real sows ear. It was quilted with feathered wreaths and feathers in the borders. I momentarily regretted giving it up. As it turned out, the quilt went to a re-hab hospital to a young soldier who had lost an eye in Iraq. I took a number of pictures before sending it on and it makes me smile eveytime I see them. I hope it gave as much comfort to the young soldier as it gave me. You really never know how much the quilting makes the quilt until you see what an expert can do.

The pictures are clickable and I urge you to do so to see what a professional job is like.

After this experience I had another similar top in the Closet and donated it as well. Again, Deb made magic with the quilting but that's a story for another day. Hope you enjoyed this one.

Thanks to Amy for making this possible. After seeing the links-it must have been a full time job these past days.

Springy Happiness

While I was out and about this morning I noticed that pale yellow and green hazy shade that comes right before everything breaks into a riot of color. The forsythia are blooming everywhere and when the warmer weather they are promising comes this weekend, every little green shoot is poised to blow up into pretty green leaves. I had a morning full of errands with Library returns and dvds that were overdue and trips to the Pantry to pick up mail. I found a couple of possible good reads. The first is a book containing the Kimono collection of a Japanese woman. Each page is an explanation of the fabric and a close up of the pattern and fabric and general information on the Kimono. It's very beautiful to look at. Also, for a little dish, I picked up a new biography of Fred Astaire called "Puttin' on the Ritz" I found a copy of the sequel to "The Witches of Eastwick "called "The Widows of Eastwick" that could be fun since that was always one of my favorite novels by John Updike and I loved Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Devil in the movie. Who could ever forget the fabulous Veronica Cartwright in the cherry spewing scene. Even though the movie took great liberties-I still watch it when it's on just to see Veronica in that moment of complete lunacy. She was recently a Judge on a Law & Order. I love seeing her pop up. Last, but not least, I got the last disc in "The Tudors" and can't wait to see more of that. We watched "Doubt" and thought it was very well done. James saw "Seven Pounds" and loved it. I haven't had a chance to see that yet.

We had Leg of Lamb for Easter dinner and for dessert we had Lemon Blueberry Cake from Copenhagen Bakery. It was very hard to wait for dinner to be over so I could get my hot little hands on all that lemony lusciousness. Other than that it was a quiet and peaceful day.

On the sewing front....not so much. As I've mentioned to some blog friends, in order to get any sewing done I have to get my act together early in the day because I use the kitchen table to work on. I have to clear the decks for family dinner-so I just don't get that much done. If I would ever clear the decks upstairs, there would be room under all the crap for me to work uninterrupted. Yeah, any day now. We are looking at some major overhauling of the old place so I may have to face the horror very soon. We need to rip out carpeting and put down hardwood upstairs and the whole house needs painting. Downstairs the kitchen floor needs replacing and the parquet flooring needs either re-dressing or replacing-that's an unknown as yet. We need a flooring guy to come and tell us what can be done. Our house suffers from CHAOS Can't have anyone over syndrome. So that's where we are right now. I believe it's called LIMBO.

I hope you're getting out to enjoy the season. Talk to you soon.

There's no such thing as normal...

One of these days life will resume something resembling normal. Right? A therapist once told me there's no such thing as normal. She was Indian and sounded like Apu Nahasapimapetalon. I can still hear that lilting voice. Normal for me is not having to see another Dr. for a long while. That's what makes me happiest. I will strive for a Dr.-free month ahead.

I forgot to mention the other day I got a yard of the ruler fabric and a layer cake of American Jane. I've been away from sewing for a few days again since I had to go and have a redo of my mammogram. Whenever I get it done the left side always reads problematic. They tell me I am dense...well at least there...on the left side...quiet down back there. Anyway, I get it taken care of this morning and we can all take a deep cleansing breath now. All is well with the girls.

My nose is healing V e r y slowly and I have broken out in adolescent acne and a cold sore on my lip. Worry usually leads to both these things for me. It just looks ridiculous at 60. I would like to ask the powers that be if if we could come to some sort of truce. ENOUGH NOW???

When I left the radiation and sonogram I thought I would have a quiet day sewing. James came home from work with a pain that turned out to be acid reflux. He's medicated and sleeping now and I wish I had followed my first instinct and gone shopping a few towns over rather than going home. That'll teach me. Always go with your first instinct. Natures alarm bell.

I'm hoping the weather stays just cold and not snow. We have had a few left over days of winter creep in. The only good thing about April snow is it's gone in the blink of an eye and next week it will be 80 so I'm not going to complain.

Hope things are good in your neighborhood. Back soon and ready to greet the Easter Bunny.

More little Blocks

Let me just say that if you are unfortunate enough to hear the words electro-cauterization and nose in the same sentence spoken by a Dr.....run...run...run like the wind. I took a pain-killer last night after said surgery and still woke up with pain at around 4 am.

Today it's starting to hurt less and so I put in a couple of loads of wash and then got back to the American Jane mini. I'm enjoying these blocks so much. Everyone is different and cheerful. The photos are not doing justice to how bright and happy this design is. Makes everything(except my nose) feel better.

The second picture is a pile of fabric that came in a Keepsake medley. It's much prettier than it appears in this picture. Not sure what the plan is for them yet but I'm percolating and idea for a simple throw our of charm squares. I'm going to blame my bad picture taking on my diminished capabilities-painwise. I think I'll get a cup of tea to soothe my throat since I'm breathing through my mouth and my lips and mouth feel like the Sahara. Then I'm going to make a couple of more blocks and chill out in front of the tube. The 4 am wake-up is getting to me.

Before I go, I just want to thank Kay, of Out of the Basement, for the nice award that she gave me. Kay does beautiful work and reads great books. Those are two things that mean a lot to me. I wish we lived closer but in lieu of that I always look forward to what she's up to because it's always well-done and thoughtful. Plus she has fabulously adorable twin grandchildren. She recently finished a red and cream star quilt that if to die for. Kay, I think, is one of those people who make you look better by just hanging around with them. Thanks, again, Kay.

I'm hoping to feel a lot better tomorrow. I'll be back soon.

The Fun Continues

Really, these American Jane fabrics are so much fun. Especially on a bright spring day. It's gorgeous outside. Made a little side trip to get my hair cut and mail a package and drop off some Rxs at the pharmacy. Then I hurried home and sat myself back down and made a few more blocks. I just love Sandy Klopp. She must be a bundle of fun. How could you not be a happy person and design like this. It brings back memories of playing with paper dolls.

I have a nice piece of brisket BBQ-ing in a slow oven for the better part of the day. It's sort of like pulled pork..but beef. On buns with shredded lettuce, onions and such. Yummy!

I've kind of ladeedahd the day away today so I better get a few things done. On Thursday I have to go back to have additional cauterization on my nose. It just started bleeding again-like Niagara Falls. I'm beginning to think that maybe that's the reason I'm so darn tired all the time. I don't want to give you TMI but with these kinds of nosebleeds maybe I could use some iron or something. I 'm really afraid of having to have my nose packed this time. It was a suggestion of the Drs last time and I really don't want to go there. Wish me luck. I must have the mega blood vessels in my nose because when they try to take it from my arms I have NO veins...none. Just call me paleface.

Onward to dinner prep. I'll check in as soon as I can. Hope your having this kind of weather. It could stay this way forever.

The Badness of Dee

Here's part of what I've been up to these past days. This was a Quiltathon weekend so I dug into the goody box I received and challenged myself to use nothing but color. No background beige or white. Where I would have run into a problem is that the fabrics I received are all in pieces and, perfect for a relatively small paper pieced project, but not enough for a border or any plain blocks. So...I did the only thing left to me to solve the problem...snif snif...I had to call the Fat Quarter Shop and order a jelly roll of American Jane fabric....soooobbbbbb. I reconciled my badness by telling myself that I was helping to boost the economy...yep, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Anyway. I printed the pattern off my Carol Doak cd and in it's original form it's a square block. I removed the "keep proportions" option and made it into a diamond in a square. Fun.

Aside from that, I made the mistake of getting the second season of "The Tudors" so pfffft, there goes the week. No, seriously, I had to go for my mammogram and some other stuff got added in there as well. Maybe it's spring, I don't know, but I'm in a very Scarlett O'Hara mode right now that has me unable to focus much. I was glad I started the paper piecing since it made me focus on that at least. With spring, comes the sunshine and suddenly everything in the house looks shabby and in desperate need of painting and fixing. That's probably where Scarlett snuck in. It's just too big to contemplate-I'll think about that tomorrow. I wonder if I could get Melody & Dave to come up for a visit and bring paint, ladders and tools?? Hmmmm...only if I could convince them here's a meeting of the Botanical Society at my house. Now that's funny!

Enjoy the day. Back soon.

Great Mail and Good Reading

Interesting story. About a year and a half ago, I did an exchange with another blogger. I sent her a bunch of quilting books I was no longer using and in return she was going to send me a bag of left over scraps from a Kaffe Fassett quilt she was working on. She asked me to have patience because she was finding it hard to finish with family obligations etc. No problem says I. Send it when you can, I'll be happy with whatever you send. Time goes by. Her blog never gets up-dated and the mystery fanatic in me wonders what ever could have happened to this woman. Not for a minute did I feel angry that she didn't follow through because I was going to donate these books to our library anyway. I just couldn't stop thinking about what happened to her. It's funny what this blogging thing does to you. You really form an attachment to people even if you never meet. We find out things, sometimes personal, about each other and form these friendships that are very close in some ways...but not close in other important ways. I really couldn't imagine what happened to her. If she had up-dated her blog or closed it, I would have just put it out of my head but that didn't happen. The abrupt stoppage seemed to hang there like something profound had perhaps happened.

Yesterday, I was cleaning up my in-box of the hundreds of messages that I allow to hang around much too long and I came across an e-mail from her. Even though I deleted about a hundred other messages, I just couldn't delete hers. It still was a mystery unsolved. Last night my husband came home with the mail and he had a good sized box under his arm that he said was for me. Last week, I won a pin cushion from a fellow blogger but this was a pretty big, and heavy box for a pin cushion. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was a box from the lady of the Kaffe fabric. It was loaded, as you can see, with scraps and even fat quarters of Kaffe fabrics. There are also a huge pile of American Jane fabrics and, my hand to God, yesterday I had the Hancocks catalog in my hand to order American Jane in a jelly roll since I love the fabric and adore the lady who designs it. Cue the Twilight Zone music. I was so excited I couldn't wait till dinner was finished so I could get my hands into the box and play. What a great box of goodies. She included a pattern for a quilt and a nice note. I was so delighted, and a little freaked by the coincidences, that it was a very exciting evening for me. I'm still twirling with delight at my good fortune and so appreciative. I will send her a note of thanks because I'm un-sure if she reads my blog and I want to express my happiness at this lovely box full of goodies. I honestly can't wait to get my machine out and play with these pretty things.

For those of you who are mystery readers I may have mentioned that I'm a big fan of Jonathan Kellerman and his Wife Faye Kellerman. I just finished reading "Bones" by him and picked up this new one(above) by her the other day. She gets better all the time. I'm just getting into it because I have a number of distractions so I can't just sit down and read cover to cover, which is what I usually do with these books.

I hope you have as fascinating a day as I had yesterday in your world. It was really a WOW. Talk to you soon.

If Stacey is reading, I tried to send you an e-mail but it came back un-deliverable. You can e-mail me on my bio page but I can't seem to contact you. Sorry. Let me know if you have a blog. Your page is not open to comments or contact.

Some Good News

I thought it would be nice to share some very good news. James got his biopsy results and he doesn't have Crohn's Disease. That's the best news in a while around here. He has to be more focused on his diet and that can only be a good thing. Our visitors are in Manhattan until tomorrow. They went in for the St. Paddy's Parade and a show on Broadway. Peace is restored for the moment. I'm working on some business for the Pantry and catching up with the laundry and such.

Our weather has gotten really nice for these past few days. Spring is on the way. Love it!

Why is it that when you can't get to the sewing machine you come up with a fountain of ideas that you would love to try immediately. Oh well, I'm taking a few moments to click around and see what you all are up to. I saw a BOM on someones blog that looked like fun

I saw it in the original form as you see in green on the left. Then I saw someone else had made it in different springy shades and I like both ideas. I should probably think of this as a Christmas project to work on now....you know, before
Christmas(heh). Here's the candy colored one. Isn't it adorable? It's paper-pieced and I can't remember where I saw this so I apologize to the very talented person who came up with this great idea. If anyone knows who is offering this would you let me know so I can send my mea culpa and an apology...and lots of praise. If I do make this I'm thinking I would start with the fabulous hand dyed gradations that I bought from Darcie last year. I would need to add something additional but the colors I got from her are luscious. So that's what's on my agenda right now.
I know I said I wouldn't blog till next week but I wanted to share the good news about James and say that my nose is healing nicely. Thanks to all of you who left nice messages. I'll talk to you soon.

Stuff Continues to Happen

O.K. I'm being polite and not using the phrase I would like to but nevertheless it's all too much stuff lately.

I miss my sewing machine, which has been covered, relegated to the basement, and left in the dark...much like me.

We have family visiting for a few more days and so there is just too much going on that is of no interest blog-wise. Cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, dinner out, etc. My son had his colonoscopy last week-he has ulcerative colitis and is taking meds for that-he is otherwise doing well. BIL Bob will have treatments for his illness begining next week. Multiple weeks of radiation. We love him and will do our best to help him keep his chin up during this. As for me, I had to have the cauterization to my nose again last week-bad nosebleeds, blood vessel that will not heal. Too much information???Just shoot me! We will all survive and spring is on the way. Tralalala.....la.

I'll be back with better chat next week when I attempt to resume normal activity around here. Miss you all and I haven't even had a chance to read around and see what's up. Talk to you soon...don't forget me!!!

Stuff happens

You know how life goes along smoothly for a long time and then one thing happens and then another and then something else and then you put your hands up and say Whoa Nelly? We are in the Whoa Nelly phase for the time being. Several health issues have popped up for us. My son has to have a colonoscopy next week-he's been having some stomach issues. My BIL Bob has had some health problems that require more than a band aid-actually they require some prayer and hopeful thought. My other BIL Richard is coming next week for a visit(don't even get me started on that subject) and it just seems like we need some serious attention to things around here that are not blog-worthy. I seriously doubt that I'll have much time for any form of sewing in the next week or so. That said, I hope to have time to read around the blog world and see what everyone is up to even though I just can't seem to find anything worth writing about at the moment that isn't about these health problems and who wants to hear about that stuff anyway. How's that for a run-on sentence?

I would ask you to say a little prayer for my BIL Bob, who means an awful lot to us here. I'll try to get back with news when I have some. Meanwhile, sew something fun for me. Back soon with good news I hope.

I blatantly stole these snowdrops from the Internet. There are some in my yard just like them but I haven't had a moment to get out and take any pictures. Monday we had a snowstorm and it was 20-today nearly all the snow is gone and it was nearly 70 yesterday. Same today. I even have to fan on upstairs in our bedroom it was so warm. Mother Nature-Whoa Nelly!

Brrrrrr

Baby, it's cold outside! We got the worst of it yesterday. More than a foot and now the temps are really down and it's windy.

We really haven't had a major snowfall in a couple of years so I guess we had this coming. That's James trying to find a place to throw some more snow so he can get to his car and un-cover it. We got there eventually. Not until it was almost dark out. Memo to snowblower users...the snowblower doesn't like bluestone.It just wouldn't quit snowing. Bah! Last week I had on a light shirt and the windows open. This will take forever to go away. Well, at least the sun is out.

All the "boys" finally went off to work and I'm doing some cleaning before I tackle some sewing things.

I made a quick little table topper for a friend that needs some light quilting and a border. As soon as I finish the border on another little piece that needs mailing out.

Blogger was very bad yesterday-in fact, the whole Internet experience was pretty bad yesterday. It's somewhat better this morning but not great.

I need to get going so I'll talk to you soon.

Lost & Found and manners

That describes both this small piece and the state of things around here for the last couple of days. We had some health issues for my BIL Bob. He's alright now but the past few days have been no fun for him. He's home and happy to be here and resting up so things are getting back to normal again. While I was wading through various piles of fabric and assorted stuff I found this little quilt that is all ready to be machine quilted and bound. I made it from a package of pre-cut 5 inch squares I got a long time ago. It's been hanging around forever under some other stuff. so I'll give it a quick bit of work and a place around here somewhere to hang out.

I am, once again, behind in my work for the Pantry so I really need to catch up. I was reading JudyL's blog these past few days and it struck me again how mean people can be about things on blogs. As I said to her in a comment today, I will paraphrase my Grandma and just say" if you can't say something nice, click away to another blog" These posts are supposed to be about the things we have going on in our lives and want to share. There are some who apparently see it as boastful to express our delight in achieving a life-long goal or getting something we have wanted or even being financially sound. If that offends someone, I'm not sure what that says about them. Read something else. JudyL is one of the hardest workers and most helpful people it's been my pleasure to read about. She really enjoys life and I guess there is a certain kind of person who sees enjoying life as being uppity(is that a word?) Lord knows, life is uncertain and harsh in so many ways. It's a treat for me to read her positive outlook on life and those who have been reading her blog for a while know that she got to this point in life the hard way. Keep the posts coming Judy. It's just sad that there are people who would be so nasty but I guess when you take on writing this way you have to expect to come across a few witches to stir the pot.

I have to get dinner going now. The guys are on the way home and no doubt hungry.

See you!

Baby News & Wonky Stars

I can't decide what I like more-the wonky stars or the polka dots. I really love polka dots. I see a larger polka dot quilt in my future.

We had a really quiet weekend. Seriously, it was like a lost weekend-without the booze. Everyone here was in a sleepy-nap-taking mood and we all went with the flow. I did make a nice dinner for BIL Bob Saturday. I made a pork butt into pulled pork and it was very good. Carrot cake for the birthday boy and, sadly for him, we sang to him. I'm sure his ears are still ringing.

On the what's new front...our great neice made her first appearance on Saturday. Welcome to the world Katie Ray. Well over 8 lbs and Mommy Kristy is a very small woman so an 8lb baby probably took a lot out of her. She and Dad Adam are doing fine though. Wish I could show you pictures but I'm not sure how thay feel about that so I'll wait till I'm sure. Really cute baby though. Pudgy cheeks and adorable face. Everyone is very excited.

Anyway. I spent the day working on the binding for the quilt which I hope to mail out to Katie Ray in a day or so. Now I can put a label with her name and the date on the back.

I also played with the wonky blocks and I'm so in love with this type of block. It's a snap to make and always looks like a party.

Not much else going on around here. We are getting ready for a visit from our nephew David and new Grandpa Richard, my BIL who lives in Washington State. They are coming around the St Patty's Day holiday for a few days. Haven't seen David since he was a little boy. He's around 20 now so it will be interesting to see what has become of him.

This and the fact that the dust bunnies are taking over the house will keep me busy for the next while.

Hope to talk to you soon.

By the way, on the followers list there is a Sandra listed. I have no way of contacting Sandra but "Hi!" anyway. Let me know how to contact you. I love a good mystery and you've got my attention. Does your last name begin with a C ....? Are you a local.

Fess up!

I forgot to mention-I got an e-mail from a very nice person with a new quilting site that lists quilters blogs and has lots of other good info and ideas-check it out!

http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/