Skin of our teeth...

First, let me thank you for all the lovely wishes. We had a nice anniversary with Eggplant parm and canoli for dessert.

Why are these guys smiling? Is it because they got into the Jack Daniels...possibly, but no. Is it because they found the cake mix and tins...well, that could certainly make them happy...but no.
The real true reason they are smiling is that the weather service has done it again. A week-long weather-terror alert has completely gone bust. Can I get a woot!
My sympathy to the areas below and to the west of us but we're really super glad that the storm passed to the south of us. I'm sure there will be a doozy coming up anytime soon to make up for it but, today, at the McDonald's there is much joy in the rocky outcropping that we call home here on the hill.

I had a great day out with my pal Terry yesterday. We drove to Westbury and did some light shopping and then had lunch at Panera, followed by a quick trip to the new local Quilt shop, Peaceful Quilting. One of the women who owns the place was kind enough to give us a basic run down on the long-arm they have. You can take lessons and then rent it by the hour. I think we may do that in the spring. It's only $65 for the lessons and then you can rent for $20 an hour. Putting that on the to do list. The classes are for 4 and with Terry and Pam and myself that would almost be a whole class in itself. Cool.

I got some nice pieces of Kaffe fabric and some pretty new thread in Kaffe colors to finish the garden pathway piece I'm working on. If I can get other stuff out of the way today maybe tomorrow I can resume work on that. I'm going to work on a baby quilt made from pinwheel blocks as well.

Off I go-talk to you soon

Happy Anniversary to us.

Homer...er...Roger and I will be doing a little dance today. It's out 26th anniversary. Just to illustrate what a smart cookie I really am...shhhh...don't tell him...26 years ago I let him catch me.
As per our agreement, and 25 years of previous freezing weather, we will postpone the festivities for a few days. It's freezing cold and middle of the work week. We will celebrate this evening with some great Italian food that I will go and get from a really good source. Eggplant Parm and maybe a canoli with a candle. It just doesn't get any more exciting than this...(well maybe later) but that's a story for another day.
We find that we are still in love, and best of all, we still really like each other. Who knew???

When I had a chance to day I resumed work on the Kaffe piece. I got it backed and pinned. I'm thinking of echoing the flowers in each little section, orrrr possibly doing a simple grid, orrrr baptist fans. schizophrenic much??? I'll let you know soon. Tomorrow I'm heading out with Terry for a trip to Westbury. That usually means JoAnn Fabrics for thread and backing with a quick trip to another store we've not been to yet and then a local diner that has a great cheeseburger. It's a Greek place and I always think of John Belushi doing the cheeseburger, cheeseburger, petsi. Those were funny SNLs. Also Samurai bits. Samurai deli being the best. I'm really dating my ancient self now.


Have a great evening and if you think of it...wish us a happy 26th

Check this out!

While I'm still getting my self together and doing some much-needed clean-up of the house, take a few moments and click on Interpret This.
Scroll Down-don't miss any of them.
These ladies are all amazing and their work is wonderful. I hope someone from a company like Lark Books is taking notice of this group since, based on this first effort, it would make a fabulous book filled with real talent. Every single one of these women did an outstanding job on their first challenge. I can't wait to see what's up next....hurry up....go see for yourself.
I have much to do and not much energy to do it with so I'd better get moving. I hope to get back to the Kaffe work later this week.

Snotty Bitch Reporting for Duty

Why is it that as soon as I get started with something that really interests me fate throws a wrench into my path? I blame my current situation on the visit to the Drs office this past week. No good can come of going to a Drs office this time of year. The place is a hotbed of germs and bacteria. I have the first cold I've had in a very, very, long time. In future, I plan to arrange my check-up visits so they don't fall in the first third of the year. I knew as soon as I walked into that place that I was a goner. Last night I apparently snored so loud that my husband had to abandon ship. I will stifle the small chuckle that caused me since he's been doing that to me for years. So un lady-like though. Snoring like a chain saw...cringe. I can't breath through my nose so it was inevitable. Not my most lovable moment I guess. Folks here are making a wide circle around me and leaving me alone in my nest upstairs. Can't blame them but psssst, don't tell anyone, we're all breathing the same air which means I'll be doing Nurse Nancy duty in the coming week. I'm taking my hot green tea with lemon and going back to bed. I tried to do some work in the sewing room yesterday but the head feels like all my batting has somehow wound up in my head. I, quite literally, have batts in my belfry.
I wanted to give a quick shout out to Judy from Northport, who is still hiding from me somewhere in a bunker nearby hoarding her Kaffe fabric. Smart girl.... for now. I'll find her someday and then those Kaffe's won't be safe anymore. By the way Judy, Bumble Beans lives not all that far from us. I almost got together with her last summer. Better luck this year I hope. The woman is brilliant.

Anyway, Hope you're all doing a lot better than me. Talk to you soon.

Fun with Kaffe

The Kaffe fabrics were calling out a siren song to me for weeks. This past weekend I couldn't listen to the music any longer. I jumped right in with both feet and my new issue of Liberated Quiltmaking II and started making string blocks. They looked so darn springy that I could hardly stand it. Roger peeked in the door and said he thought I was having way too much fun. He was right and I can't thank him and BIL Bob enough for it.
Anyway, while I was working up the string pieces I soon had a whole pile of scrap bits and pieces in a pile next to me(you never really bust all of the stash do you?) After looking at the pile for a few minutes and smiling cause it was so darn sweet, I put the strip blocks aside and began just using bits and pieces randomly. It really made me think of a garden in full beauteous bounty. Big fat blooms and garden pathways. I just kept adding on stuff (Hi V. of Bumble Beans) and had a ball letting go of the matchy-matchy mindset I continually find myself in. Not that there is anything wrong with matching but I really needed to let loose and be totally care-free in remembering the spontaneity of the artist within. Is there a Tile block in my future? You betcha. I bordered it with my new favorite color right now. Doesn't that turquoise just make you smile?
So there it is. I can't wait to get back to the drawing board and make some more fun.
I had to do some errands today. They are predicting some icky weather with possible ice soon and living up here in this downhill slide makes being prepared a must. Things of importance for that purpose are known as BEM around here. My late MIL Dot invented the term BEM by default. As soon as the first flake was predicted she would marshal the army and make sure that there was sufficient bread, eggs, and milk. So, I BEMd and them did a Library run, stopping to have tea with Terry on her break. Then I grabbed up a couple of DVDs a couple of which I've seen and a couple are new to me. One that I've seen is "DeLovely", the story of Cole Porter and his wife Linda, who was the inspiration for much of his music including one of my all time goose bump instilling versions of "So In Love" which I think is from Kiss Me Kate(?) I loved his music and still do. I really love most all music and can go from Stones to Who, to Eagles, to Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald and the Complete Charlie Parker Collection. I grew up listening to and going to plays on Broadway. Nothing in that genre outdoes Cole Porter for romance. Anyway, I've always loved this movie even though it was probably seen by 5 people. It's de-lovely(sorry).
I also got The Proposal cause I love me some Sandra Bullock and a little film called DimSum Funeral, and Grey Gardens well...because I live not far from them, have always been fascinated with the story, and recently saw some photos of the restoration of Grey Gardens by Sally Quinn, who bought the property. Magnificent!

Well I'm off to do some laundry and have some lunch. Hope you're doing something fun and enjoying a beautiful day no matter what the weather.

Friday Fun

I've been having fun thinking outside the box. I finally found all my Kaffe fabrics and played around with some liberated string pieces yesterday. Fun! Roger gave me two of the books here for Christmas and ordered Liberated Quiltmaking II. It arrived day before yesterday. I love it and am enjoying going through all three books in an effort to get a little more loose with the design process. Several years ago I made a top using similar method to the pieces I'm showing here. Funny thing is, I didn't know anything about free-piecing and liberated anything. I just had all these strips and thought something scrappy strippy would be great. I gave that top away to a fellow quilter who asked for it. These blocks will be a more colorful version of that. Nothing like letting go and just having fun with design. I was really enjoying just being in my new room and working there for a couple of hours helped to point out to me what needs to be changed. Right now I'm sort of working on a very old desk top. I need a better space to sew on and definitely a better space to cut on. My back hurt from bending over yesterday. The table is way too low. Terry has a real cutting table in her basement that I may borrow to see if that would help and I need to bring down my very large drawing table, which is much more open. The desk has only a knee hole opening and I'm getting black and blue from bumping my knees moving around in a too small space.


Nevertheless, I was in heaven finally working on anything. I woke early this morning feeling so positive about quilting/sewing for the first time in a long while. Couldn't wait to get to the machine and play with pieces.

An update on the Cablevision thing. They finally gave us Food Network and HGTV back yesterday. I fully expect to have an increase in billing coming soon. Either that or they have figured out how popular FN is and turn it into a premium network soon. You know when you deal with Cablevision you're going to get screwed somehow it's just a question of when. The really cool thing about my new room is that I have only the radio in there and I'm discovering the joy of listening to music and NPR again. There's nothing worthwhile on TV anyway so I'm not missing much. When things get a bit more settled in the new room I will have a computer in there on which I can watch dvds and stuff from places like HULU. Good enough.
I'm off to have a bagel and some tea after which I plan to sew...Whoo Hoo!!

Tuesday gloom and found objects

Our temperatures are sort of early spring-like but damp and gloomy. I've been spending my days trying to gather things that have to be moved from my bedroom to the new sewing room. I keep coming across things that I forgot about and are such fun to find again.

















Here are some blocks I made probably ten years ago. I don't have any more of this fabric but there's enough blocks to make a table topper or small wall hanging. Sorry for the poor quality of the photo but I forgot to turn off the flash and I'm out of time for today.

Also found some more Robyn Pandolph oldies but goodies. I have enough of this fabric to make a very large quilt at this point. All of this I found yesterday while Roger was home and working on the computer. I decided to keep busy staying out of the way since he worked for hours on something and forgot to save it and it was lost. Some words that would make a struck driver blush were spoken but very quietly since he's quite the gentleman when it comes to that. I'm the big mouth around here. Anyway, I though that being on another floor of the house was the best course of action and I got a lot done. Inhaled a lot of dust as well. At least I'm hoping that's the reason for my coughing jag last night.

Today, I received a list of donors for the last two weeks from the treasurer of the Pantry. The result of that is spending the day writing letters and catching up with the Pantry work. Tomorrow I plan on going back to the important stuff(hah!) Moving!! My BIL Bob is leaving for a cruise tomorrow out of Miami to Cozumel or some such place with much more sun than here. It's just a short hop and the rest of the time he will visit our cousins in Daytona and Ormond Beach. I have to have some blood work taken for a check-up next week wherein the Dr. will most likely have me arrested for being a very bad patient. Christmas was very indulgent and will, no doubt, be reflected in said blood work. I know he means well but he's about 35 and looks like Opie Taylor. I really have a hard time not telling him to go to his room and think about what he said. I will try to be better. Tomorrow.
Talk to you soon. I'll be the one with the celery sticks, salad, and water.....ugh

Where did the week go?

This week just vanished right before my eyes....poof. I did manage to take a few of those cute nine-patches and sew them together to make a mini. Then, while I was deep into a pile of stuff in THE CLOSET OF SHAME, I came across this sweet "Gracie" fabric. I really liked this stuff because it's cute but also because my husband used to call me Gracie since I was so poised and elegant(not) in my movement. Truth be told-I'm sort of a klutz and it's a blessing that I have strong bones since I can usually find something in my path to trip me or stumble across. I believe that he began by calling me Amazing Grace and from there it went to Gracie. Further truth be told, he's not a lot more graceful than me so we make a perfect pair as long as we remain on our feet. Serendipity.

I went shopping with Terry yesterday. We so rarely get to do much together lately since her job is more complicated lately and takes a lot more time and planning. All in all, no one can make me laugh like Terry. Sometimes I can hardly catch my breath. Terry works at a local public building and, frankly, there's nothing funnier than the public, unless it's the people who serve the public. She also owns a business in town so , again, the public. Good times.

I have a lot of house work to do...dull and boring housework but I don't know if it's watching "Big Love" or what, suddenly I feel the need to be Harriet Homemaker. Since I know this will pass in no time, I should take advantage of the urge. The same thing happens to me when we visit Amish country. I want to come home and throw away every non essential thing we own and polish all the rest till it shines. This, too, passes quickly. The program that really gets me going is "Hoarders" Holy Cow, have you seen that show. It's a revelation and if you aren't driven to throw stuff away by that, you need medication. As gross as it is(how can they eat in those kitchens and bathe in those bathrooms?) maybe I need to watch that more often. I got rid of several grocery bags full of stuff after watching one episode. All of us are pack-rats here. Books, magazines, collections, and other stuff( fabric, closets, bins, etc.)
it so quickly becomes out of hand and overwhelming. Anyway, I'm going to tackle one thing at a time and try not to get distracted by any pretty, shiny, things.
Off I go, talk to you soon.

Found UFOs

A while back I had the desire to try some redwork and found some old patterns through an embroidery site I can't remember. I tried to do it and then some other shiny object flew in front of my face and I was off on another tangent. Adult ADHD. Yesterday I was moving some things into the new room and I came across a couple of these. They were both unfinished(surprise) and along with them I found a whole bag of selvages I had cut from fabric I purchased during the last year after discovering Karen's Selvage blog She has the best stuff on her blog and her book is really a treasure. She made a quilt called Red Zinger out of selvages that is just gorgeous. Have a look see if you get a minute or two. I will put the redwork in a place where I have to look at it more often and it's easy to get to. Yeah...that'll work. By the way, you would have laughed at me a couple of days ago when I tried to use my sewing machine for the first time in months. I forgot what to set it on and, essentially, how to use the damn thing. It took me a little while to get totally comfortable with it again.
I stopped at the video store yesterday while running other errands and picked up the last season of Big Love. It's a favorite of mine and I'm really enjoying it. I have a lot of ironing to do today. The least I can do is provide Roger with some decent looking clothing to wear to work. Things are not a lot of fun for him there right now-hopefully the chaos will smooth out soon. I need to make some pasta sauce for later and get myself organized so I can go off to Tarjay and a couple of other places with Terry later. One of the quilting ladies is away on a trip so it's just us two. We could cancel but the weather has been semi-lovely(for January in NY) and besides...we need stuff. I need to make a list and then I need to remember the list. Sad.
If anyone is looking for me I'll be the one in the laundry room behind the iron. Bring muffins

Tuesday This & That

Two things that have occupied my time lately and one is something quilty. Some of you may remember the quilt I donated to the wounded female soldier at a rehab facility while I was a member of the Quilts of Valor team that Debra got together. Anyway, it's here to illustrate how lovely it came out after being quilted by Deb of Contemporary Quilting. When I received it back from her I almost couldn't bear to part with it. As luck would have it, I was finding many baggies full of scraps recently and came across one containing many nine-patch blocks and pieces to make many more and even a small one that was already together. Many of the fabrics from that original quilt were from collecting civil war fabric and historical fat quarter packs from Keepsake Quilting monthly mailings. I loved those fabrics a bunch and I'm so thrilled that I cam across this baggie. I needed to reacquaint myself with the pleasure of just sitting and sewing after all these months. What fun.

When I was not packing stuff and moving it to the sewing room I fell into this book by Edward Rutherford. It may not be for everyone but since I am a New Yorker and a history buff, it was definitely for me. In essence, it's the history of Manhattan Island told with characters-some real and some imagined by the author. It begins with the first fur traders in the 1600s and continues on up to the falling towers in 2001. Lots of interesting families and some great research by the author. I guess I really liked it best for knowing the places he was writing about. Mr. Rutherford has written several historical novels. A couple are about England and one of those is a novel that goes back to the first settlers of that island. I am looking forward to reading them as well.
If you are a history buff like me, you will get a great kick out of this site The Manahatta Project I advise you to get a cuppa and something to munch because you will get sucked in here. It is the most fantastic place to visit. They have created the island of Manhattan in the 1600s just the way that Henry Hudson saw it on that first day. It's a wonder to see and there is a way to click on any street in Manhattan and see what was there in those days. The maps are superimposed upon current map and when you click on a square it will tell you what existed on that street in the 1600s. I'm such a sucker for this stuff that I'm sure many would be snoring over it but I just get lost in imagining how very beautiful it must have been.

Well I've been playing around enough now and must get something done so I'll talk to you soon..

Coming to terms with baby quilts

More snow. Nature was kind last evening though. The Thursday Night Quilting ladies went out for dinner and the giving of gifts. The snow held off till overnight. Not good for the guys this morning but great for the driver last night. We went out for Italian and it was good. The place we went to has been very meh the last few times we went so I was hoping that they got a new chef. Don't know if that was the case but my dinner was wonderful. I had lobster and shrimp tortelloni. Very yummy. We exchanged lovely gifts and spent a couple of hours telling tales and laughing a lot. I really don't know why we don't make this a thing to do every couple of months instead of only a couple of times a year. I happily forked over the bucks last night. It was worth every penny and we didn't spend a moment talking about quilting. We can do that weekly. It was a while since we've gotten together so there were funny stories all around.

I still have a bit of the headache I had yesterday but I've really decided that it's the weather. Lots of pressure and dryness makes for a pain. It's still snowing on and off a little but the temps are going way down tonight so goodness knows what will fall later.

On the baby quilt front here's what I think I'm going to do and I expect you to hold me to it. There are 3 babies coming in the next few months. One of those Mommies to be is a darling young woman who grew up at the same time my James did. She's a year or so ahead in age. She doesn't like anything traditional. No blue, pink, yellow or green......no I'm not kidding. For a while I thought maybe I'd do something very modern in black & white. Last night I heard that the baby's room will be a couple of soft shades of cream and chocolate. So much for the lavender and lime green. Her brother and his wife are having their second child. I made a quilt for the first darling daughter and they loved it. The third baby is a very special one for me. My best friends son and his dearest are having a little one in the spring. I think I'll just buy something for the first two and spend my time on something special for the last couple. My friend's son is an artist and I have long been seeing some of the really wonderful free-style patterns in new, more modern fabric. I think I'll go outside the box and be a little artistic but still baby-ish. I'll figure that out soon. Anyway, having made that decision will allow me to return to making something out of the many blocks I have already done with the American Jane fabric that I love so much. I never tire of looking at that fabric and it inspires me-so much so that I bought a layer cake of it and some of the measuring tape fabric in the same line. Now to find it....
I hope to spend some time getting some bins of fabric and supplies a bit organized-or even found. Slow going.
Time to get a few things done. Hope you have a sunny weekend.

a lighter note...

woke with a nearly violent sinus thing and a bit of dizziness to go with it so I'm not off to the great start I imagined. I don't like taking stuff for that-it makes my tummy have problems back to bed I went and now the day is half gone and I'm still not feeling all that well. I wonder if it's the dryness and bitter cold. Past experiences with this type of thing made me think it was the damp but it's bone dry and screaming sunshiny bitter cold. Oh well, suck it up Dee.

Here's a picture is one of my new shelves. They will never look as neat as this again. Right now I'm revelling in the spare neatness. This is the fabric I got for a baby quilt. Yesterday I found a lovely pale aqua shade matching that focus fabric and a slightly different green that's also in the fabric. I've decided to make a whirly gig pattern. That's simple and goes together fast. Then I can move onto other things.
First I have to get this headache to calm down.....dark room...hot tea.

Does anyone know why I can't get my pictures to move around the written parts like you could previously. They all wind up in one blog wile I'm writing and then they're in the wrong order because they can't be moved. It used to be simple like right click, hold and move. Now they won't move.
I'm off to figure out what's for dinner and find a non-sunny place to sit. Talk to you soon.

RANT

If you don't live in the NY/NJ area or the tri-state area that includes Connecticut this is one time that you should be jumping for joy. We are, how shall I say this, inflicted, cursed, damned, with Cablevision. Until very recently that was the only way you could get cable television. I give away my age when I say that I'm still pissed that I have to pay for tv to anyone but nevertheless, if you want a clear picture and semi-regular service when you turn on the box...it's a Cablevision world I live in. I'm given to understand that it's now possible to get something else but I haven't heard any great things about them either. The problem is that Cablevision is a monopoly here. It's their ball and they can make you stop playing if they want. I have friends who tried the Dish. We live next to the ocean on an island that is damp and prone to thunder and lightening storms. Dish doesn't make the grade.
About a year ago Cablevision took away a number of our stations...just like that, some 9-10 stations disappeared over night. Six months ago they took away several others like Lifetime, travel channel, AMC, We, and a bunch more. No notice...just gone. Mind you, we are still paying the same bill-only with many less channels. New Years day Cablevision got into a pissing contest with the Food Network, HGTV and something else I can't remember. THE FOOD NETWORK.....GONE into the ether- No warning. Here's the reasoning from both sides. The Scripps Howard Co. that makes FN & HGTV wanted to raise their rate for sending those things to be re-broadcast by Cablevision. The current price that Scripps was getting for FN is around 15 cents per viewer-HGTV is around 40-ish cents. Scripps wants more money. I don't really blame them and I'd gladly pay a bit more for the FN. Here's a link to an article in the NY Daily News explaining it far better than I. My really angry point is, since Cablevision took all these channels in the last year and a half-why the hell can't they pick up the cost by including it in the volume of mega bucks they got when many others decided to pay for more expensive premium packages so they wouldn't lose the aforementioned networks I listed above. I have such hatred in my heart for this company. My friend called their office to complain and ask why they took even more stations off the air to regular subscribers and she was told, in a snotty tone, "because we can!"
Anyway, I'm sort of pissed at Scripps too. They simply removed their connections and are running an add every five minutes on all channels blaming Cablevision. There's plenty of blame to go around. They didn't need to make the channel unavailable either. They could have continued to allow broadcasting while negotiations went on. It's like to very evil twins are destroying everything in their path to get the biggest piece of candy.
I know this is a small blip in life in light of all that seems wrong in the world today but it just seems to add that piece of straw that breaks the elephants back. We pay a LOT of money for the privileged of getting a bunch of crappy channels. Now the cable companies monitor your viewing so they know what makes you happiest and they will be charging you a premium for it. It's happening in my neck of the woods but you can be sure it's coming to your hometown any time now. Other cable and dish companies are watching Cablevision and they see what one can get away with. What I can't figure out is why this isn't in some way illegal and fodder for a class action suit. We signed up and pay for a service that is now missing up to 15 of the channels that were in the package we signed up for. Where is the pro-rated bill for all those missing stations?

Cablevision, and to a certain degree Scripps Howard, are horrible companies but that seems to be the nature of the beast and it's a bully that can't be beaten. I really hate that and I hate not having ANY recourse to this problem.

Sorry for the rant but it just boils over now and then. We will resume our regular programming tomorrow. I got some baby quilt fabric today to add to the cute stuff I bought before Christmas. I needed a couple of soft colors to add to the mix and I found them today.

January sloth..sort of

Something about the whole turn of the calendar, combined with the deep freeze that surrounds us right now is creating the hibernation instinct in all of us lately. It often happens this time of year. We just burrow down and have these sleepy days. The bitterness of the past few days and the howling wind is causing that effect to triple. It's just not natural to get up when the wind is screaming and it's 16 degrees outside.
We did have a wonderful holiday together. My guys were all off for a few days and while they did some guy stuff, I got some movies I hadn't seen. I have a DVD player in the bedroom as well as downstairs but for some reason(sheer laziness) I never figured out the method for getting the player to work with the new big screen tv upstairs. First thing that would happen is that I would want to tear my hair out because there is also a cable box. Right there that makes 3 controllers. About 5 minutes of that and I wanted to fling all 3 controllers out the window. The result of that was having to ask the guys to help me. Even though they did, I didn't use it often enough to remember the secret magical sequence of voodoo that were required and the result of that was not watching a Christmas gift of 2008 until two days ago. I got a boxed set of Elizabeth Gaskell BBC DVDs. The best of the bunch is "Cranford", with Judy Dench, who I adore in anything and is wonderful in this. "North & South" is also very well done. I'm still on the second disc of "Wives & Daughters", which I find a little looong and just slightly annoying. The characters are quite pissy. Sorry, but that's the only word I can find that fits. Of course, it could be that I've just over-dosed on the whole drawing room thang...and need to take a break with something different. I should have interspersed it with the viewing "The Tudors", which I also adore and I spend two evenings with season 3. I must say that season 3 is a bit gruesome and less appealing than the last one but that's to be expected since it covers the sorrowful Anne of Cleves and horrible murderous Oliver Cromwell, who came to a really ghastly end. I know I'm the last to see it on earth but I also rented "Julie/Julia and hope to see it later.

On a quilty note, my guys got out to the Home Despot and got a great set of shelves for my room. I set up the machine, the cutting mat and I'm almost on the case. I have to unpack fabric and get it organized on shelves in baskets. Stuff like that will get done tomorrow. While it's bitter out, at lest it's not snowing so I'd better get some things from the store for dinner and make a couple of stops. Brrrr.

Stay warm if you can. Back with pictures soon. The camera is not co-operating today. For once I can't blame Blogger.

Snow Day

We had a little snow.
What are these mutant looking creatures with antennae in the drive? Apparently they have brought Homer and the donuts...all is well.
Would have appreciated this more in a few days but we're stuck with it. I only hope it's not a taste of things to come. Last year we had not a lick of snow and this year I was foolishly hoping to be in the global warming belt. Alas, there's so much that we are running out of places to put it and it's only the first fall.
Today is the winter solstice. I wonder if running around a tree nekkid and chanting would help? I'll have t round up the usual suspects for that. Well, maybe not. Don't want to scare the neighbors too much.
That's James there up to his knees in the stuff about two minutes before the snow blower belt broke. The mechanics around here got it fixed but today a new belt will be purchased ....just in case.
Roger is home since the Lab got over 2 feet of snow. If we could have known about the closing before 6 am this morning it would have been sweet. He's out doing errands and I'm trying to catch up with wrapping and cleaning. This time of year I always here the voice of my Oma saying you have to have things sparkling for the New Year. Well, I must keep in mine that Oma used fear as an incentive. That's just not my style. We have too much stuff and too many people in too small a spaces. It's a huge house but badly laid out. We need to knock down some walls in the new year. I'm ready with my sledgehammer poised......anyone???? Someday I would like to reacquaint myself with the pristine look of the house after my grandmother had inspected with white gloves.

I'm going to end now because Blogger is causing me to say bad words and wave my arms around in the air like a crazy woman. I can't move the pictures and it keeps freezing and I have too much to do.

Lastly, Before I go, I want to shout to the rooftops that our delightful Dani is graduating from Stony Brook University tomorrow. Now the real fun begins-looking for a job. We love her and are so proud of her for all the really hard work she's done. YAY DANI!!! James was lucky enough to get a ticket to the graduation tomorrow. Glad he gets to see is girl get her degree.

Merry Christmas to all my friends who celebrate that and Happy Holidays to everyone else.

It's ALIVE!!!

I'm just snowed under with work for the Food Pantry. We are so blessed that people have just donated an amazing amount of food and money this year. I have only managed to get some of the things that need doing around here done in between thank you letters and such. Every year I vow that we will come up with another method of doing this paperwork and before I know what's happening, it's December. I confess that I've thought of several ways to make it simpler but they seem so impersonal.
My sewing room still awaits completion(jan. for that) and my house has a pre-lit but empty tree standing around waiting for someone to take pity and decorate it.
I went out yesterday and tackled some of the shopping and then the grocery shopping. I'm having a bit of trouble with my right knee. Trying to ignore it but some days it won't let me. I'm sure that will be the next thing to break down on this aging carcass....grrrr.

I'm checking in to let you know about a blog friend that makes beautiful things for sale. I wish that I had been able to advertise for her sooner but I hadn't ordered anything before. Suzan(the reluctant quilter on my sidebar) is an amazing sewing genius. She makes the most beautiful handbags and totes. They are elegant and made of lovely, top quality, fabrics. The workmanship is so wonderful. I can't recommend her bags enough. When I got mine I was blown away by how pretty and how much she fussed over the fabric and details. Do yourself a favor and check out her pretty Hazelnut Hill blog for a video and buy yourself something pretty...you deserve it! I'm going back after the holidays for more for myself. Alas, the one I ordered is a gift(one I'm having a hard time wrapping up and giving away) so I can't show it here. Anyway go there and check it out when you can.

Finally, before I go back to the letter writing...sigh...I wish you all the blessings of Christmas- the joy of Hanukkah , and a Happy Festivus for those of us who, like George, are completely annoyed by it all. Seriously, peace and good health to all.

As a special Holiday gift Blogger is being a special pain in the ass...can't get anything to work right.

Monday This 'n That

That's off the list. Now it's on to the curtains and some relevant furniture. Whew!!

Hope everyone had as great a Thanksgiving as we did. There was enough food to feed an army and all of it was wonderful. We could barely button our britches( Oh alright, we have problems with that anyway) but this was special circumstances. Dani's Dad,Chris made stuffed artichokes to start, her Aunt Alison made whipped sweet potatoes with a brown sugar and nut topping that I could have just eaten by the bowl full. Wow was that good. Like dessert for dinner. The various kids were so funny and it was so nice to see Dani's Grandfather looking so well. All in all a great evening. The best dog in the world, Henry, was very funny. Henry is a Puggle who will lick your skin off snuffle snuffle, lick,lick...love that pup.

The day after was a quiet sleepy day. Saturday my husband decided to help me with things around the house that I hardly ever get to. while I sorted through clothes in my bedroom to give away(what a pile of stuff) and finished edging the paint in the sewing room, he straightened the kitchen bar top that becomes the catch-all for every piece of crap that comes through the door. He thinned magazines(gad what a lot) shredded papers, made the kitchen look so much better. Why do I feel so guilty when he does that. He washed the kitchen windows and I was actually annoyed with him. Probably because it was something that I should have taken care of a month ago. I felt awful and ashamed for letting it get to the point where they were really hazy. Must be that small German voice that comes along with guilt and shame, two very German voices in my head that I never get rid of. Thanks Oma.
We finished off Saturday by piling into Bob's car for a meal at a very small local Mexican place called El Ranchito. Six tables-real Mexican food. Delicious.

Sunday I went out and came back with a small turkey and we did another Thanksgiving. Really good and the house smelled so good. Plus I have left overs for sandwiches etc. This week I have to make a couple dozen cookies for Trinity Episcopal Santa Fair on Saturday. They are having a cookie walk. You pay $5. for a bag and then you can walk around and fill it with your choice of many different kinds. I'm making peanut butter and peanut butter chocolate chip. I also saw a recipe on Tommy's blog for crushed Oreos dipped in melted almond bark. Still tossing that one around in my head. I guess I'll see how the week evolves. Wed. I have an appointment with the Dermatologist for a new face...har Really, I have a small, itty-bitty, spot on my pert little nose that has turned white and I just want to have it looked at. Many years ago, when I worked for a Derm. I remember that something turning color was bad but something losing color was not so good either. My skin is cooperating nicely by breaking out in various different annoying things that hopefully will last till Wed and not vanish Tues. and come back Thurs. It's also time to have some sun damage on my arms checked out while I'm there. Seems like a couple of these freckles are bigger than usual. We'll see. After the appointment I'm heading to Tarjay for sheer curtains for my new room. The excitement it building now. As always in December, I'm looking at a few hours of letter writing for the Pantry too.

A VERY TALENTED, DEAR, DARLING, FRIEND of mine has come to my rescue regarding the bad circulation in my paws. Sometimes, when I write those letters, my hands really are cold and the arthritis really gets painful so I have been coveting a pair of those fingerless gloves that will cover my crabby mits. She e-mailed me yesterday and showed a pair that were on the needles and coming my way in the near future. She's the best. My adoration is well-founded.
Well, it's time to get a few things done before the guys come home. It's raining and dark out...I'll start by turning on some lights.....Talk to you soon.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

I'm taking this opportunity to voice my gratitude for the many gifts I have been given.

I'm thankful for my family and the relative health of all of us. We each have something that has compromised our health this past year and with grace, and modern medicine, we have come out still standing.
I'm thankful that my son has found love and look forward to watching this sweet time unfold for him. Love really is grand.
I'm thankful for Dani who loves James
I'm thankful for Dani's family, who are gracious, kind, and smart. We have been invited to share Thanksgiving with them and are looking forward to a fun time with lots of their traditional foods. I've been asked to bring mashed potatoes and gravy, which I suspect has more to do with James than them. James doesn't feel it's Thanksgiving unless there are mashed potatoes and a gravy lake. I will apologize for allowing this forever.
I'm thankful for friends who make my day happier. Friends on line who I have enjoyed getting to know and for all they share with me both personally and creatively.
I'm most thankful that in 1984 I looked at Roger and saw that he would be the best husband in the world. He was already a true friend so it was a good bet. One I'm happy I made to this day.

I hope that you have a wonderful holiday with lots of good food and someone to enjoy it with.

I have finished painting the sewing room but am so overwhelmed with Food Pantry work right now that I must, once again, apologize for nothing quilty to show. We have gone from 100 to 140 families this year and the work never ends.
Anyway, the room is coming along and I'm learning to love the idea and the paint color. I think I would have liked it to be more blue but it is done and I'm not doing another color right now. I need curtains and a table for cutting/small ironing board and machine set up. One day I will sew again.....really.
Blessing to you all.

Nor'easter

It's been like living in crazytown around here. The weather is whatever it decides to be on any given day. Fall, late fall, winter, early spring...whatever. I'm certainly not looking forward to the snow season but maybe we could have the same sort of temps for a couple of days running. Just a small voice out here in the wilderness asking...pretty please. I love the 65 degrees but not when it's 35 the next few days.
As you can see by the photos we have had that swamp creating thing called a Nor'easter in my neck of the woods...or beach as is more appropriate for me. Here are some pics of the day that my photography staff(Hi Honey!) took on Saturday morning. We've had much worse than this so I would rate it as a semi-nor'easter...har matey.
The pics are clickable.
The pictures by the harbor look normal but believe me, that's not normal. On Friday, when I was in the village the water was over the bulkhead and into the parking lot. Rarely is there a time when you can step out of your rowboat(should you have one) onto the dock.














The picture of the flag in the park is another good indication since that bulkhead of rocks is normally a long way down-even at higher tides.

I really love what Roger did with this photo of the salt marsh which is normally not under water. There is a small inlet/creek which feeds this marsh and usually it is full of birds and rushes and you can tramp around on it. Not so much today.

Well the only other interesting activity around here is a really good one. Yesterday we painted the ceiling in my sewing room. We were unsure if the one coat would cover well but it did a nice job. Now on to the walls on Monday. To celebrate, we went to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant last night. James had a Margarita and I should have but was so tired that I figured I'd be useless if I drank so I just had another fabulous meal. BIL Bob had the paella, I had chicken chile rellenos, and Roger had some sort of enchilada dish with 3 varieties. Man, is that place good. A few years ago I got a cookbook based on the recipes of Frida Khalo. In it was the recipe for this chile dish. It had all sorts of thing stuffed into the chile including nuts and, to finish, was sprinkled with pomegranate seeds on the cheese topping. The only thing missing from my dish last night was the pom seeds. OMG it was so many kinds of wonderful. I could eat there every day. Thank goodness it's a little drive because other wise I would be sneaking over for lunch. People who think that places like taco bell are authentic Mexican are so deprived. It's very hard not to make yummy noises while you eat this delicious food. I love the people who work in this place as well. They are so lovely and they all look just like they stepped out of a Diego Rivera painting. Two thumbs up to Quetzalcoatl-or as the rest of the family call it Q

Well this Sunday is quickly drifting away from me. I am making meatballs and spag. for dinner and I better get going on that. Thanks for stopping by even though there's nothing sewing going on. I hope to remedy that in the very near future even if it's only to get out the machine and make a few things for the church fair on Dec. 5th. They are having a cookie walk wich I will contribute to. You pay $5 and they give you a bag and you go down the row of cookies and pick what you want. I also saw a really cute pattern for some tissue holders that in only 4 easy steps and I'm told that the little kids love buying them for Mom's for Christmas. Easy Peasy-that's the ticket. I think it's in the latest issue of Quilts & More. I also saw on Dorothy's blog where she made some crayon holder rolls that look very easy and with some nice bright fabric would be little kid friendly for bnot too much money. All things to consider....

Anyway, have a great Sunday!

Chowdah!!

Once again, I've been missing in action. I can't seem to get it together. Hoping that next week will go better. Roger has gone to work for at least a half day for the past few days. He's finally beginning to feel much better.Not complaining but my day just seems to get away from me when he's just leaving at 10-ish. Normally by that time I've got aload of wash and myself done and I'm ready to head off to errands and such things as the Library, the Pantry, or whatever. The last two weeks have been taking place down the rabbit hole.
Today, I did get to the store and decided that it was a good day for Chowdah!!. Do any of you watch the Simpsons? The mayor of Springfield(who sounds like JFK) has a fight with a french chef in his kitchen and they have a shouting match, each yelling their own version of Chowder. The chef calls it chowdair and the mayor chowdah. So it goes around here and yes, I am 61 and I watch cartoons...wanna make something of it?
Anyway, I digress wildly...I'm making soup! Clams, shrimp, mussels, tilapia and scallops. Creamy, New England, Seafood Chowdah.
Aside from that not much is happening. I may just give up the whole sewing baby quilts thing and buy the babies gifts. There is a plot (afoot, har) to keep me from being creative in any way. The latest distraction is sort of my own doing. I dropped s dish on my foot and for the first few hours it just felt a little sore. Yesterday it developed into a pain that I just can't stand. Shoes are not my friend. The dish fell onto my big toe-not the nail part but up nearer to where there would be a bunion if I hadn't had it removed years ago. Can those things come back?Well, now that sucker is bright red and reminds me of the days before removal when I could hardly walk without pain. Not nice, and since I don't do well with pain killers, I', not a happy camper right now. It's back to the flip-flops and it hurts less when I'm off it.
So, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I will finish the soup for dinner and stay off my foot so I can go to the Thurs. Night Quilting Girls. We haven't seen each other for weeks and even though I haven't a thing to show, I'm dying for the latest dish and my two friends are great at that. I get more dish on Thurs. nights than a couple of months without them. It's a small village and there are some really strange people around here lately. Ho Hum, small town life....
Besides, they are both fabulous bakers and there's often a chance of getting something delicious with my tea and dish.
I have soup to make, wash to dry and elevation of the foot to accomplish so I'll try to get back soon. I was hoping to get some pictures of the fabric I've purchased and received in the past few months of idleness. I will try to get to that so you don't have to listen to my whining without a reward of eye candy.
Talk to you soon.