Week 3 - Keeping Up

Third week in January....so far, the weather for 'winter' hasn't lived up to the name but I'm sure that now I've mentioned it, Winter will take the dare and roar in with a vengeance!  Last night's low temperature was a whopping 9 degrees and today it is expected to get up to 29 degrees.  Last Thursday we hit in the 60's.  It's hard to dress for the day with the temps rocking to and fro.  

I was supposed to go on a 'retreat' of sorts this weekend - it being a long weekend for Martin Luther King Holiday.  All week I'd felt a bit icky - the only way to explain it.  By Friday I knew I had something akin to a cold and didn't want to share it with my friends.  Elected to stay home. I could still work on the projects I'd planned to tackle, even though I wasn't there.  I traced one of the block for In Full Bloom, ironed on the fusible webbing to the fabrics, and cut the background. I might try to trace the basic design on clear vinyl so I can overlay it to fuse the shaped down on the background. This block is a huge basket of fuschia flowers overflowing downward. There are 2 hummingbirds hovering near the flowers.  The total size is only 10" by 21 1/2" so it shouldn't take long to get it done.  Will show a picture once it's done, I promise.

I am always updating my wishlist on Amazon.com - even if you don't want to use Amazon to purchase, they have a Wishlist section that is so helpful for anyone looking to buy you a gift.  It saves them nagging you with 'What do you want for your birthday, or Christmas, or Anniversary"...they can just look at your list and select from there.  I've even found a free app on the computer that allows me to put things on my Amazon Wishlist that Amazon doesn't even sell!  Anyway, the point is, I've had a wishlist for quite some time now and one of the things on that list was the Lego VW Camper....quite nostalgic and fun as well.  John doesn't think in fun - he is more about the practical or useful.  I finally said something to him this past November about I really, really, really, really want the Lego Camper.....Really!  I think he got the hint!  That camper has over 1300 pieces.  It took me over 4 hours just to inventory the pieces....I worked on it periodically for a week and here it is.

This is about 12 inches long and 7 inches high.  The pop-up top really does pop-up.  The back opens to reveal the engine and the driver's door also opens.  A ton of fun to make.  He also got me Mini Cooper kit for my birthday and I've not started that one yet.

I'm off to work on the Fuschia basket....thanks for stopping by.  See you next week.

2016 - Week 2

Today we had our first snow...so far, only about an inch or so with maybe another inch expected.  It's not even sticking yet to the roads since we've had such a warm autumn and beginning of winter.  This is from the morning room looking east toward the barn.  That's Garnet and Aggie stocking up on hay.

And this is looking west from the morning room.  It looks idyllic but let me tell you, it's mighty cold with the wind chill.


I've scheduled new tires for Hot Poppy this next week, and probably not too soon!  We don't want to take any chances on tires during the winter.

John and I had dinner with some friends last night.  Went into town and spent a most enjoyable evening talking to Lee and Katlin; hadn't seen them in quite a while.  I love those folks and we decided that we wouldn't let so much time pass before we do it again.  I'm writing it in the calendar to set a time to meet.  If you are like me, I check my calendar a lot and usually can get more things done if I write down what I want to accomplish each day.

I've started a new quilting project.  I know, what's so new about that?  Well, a friend recommended an online project for this year.  It's based on a quilting book that recently came out - Sister Sampler Quilts by AnneMarie Chany.  We are doing the Bonfire quilt.  As I understand the program, each month, the designer posts which block we are going to make.  We make 2 of them, but change up the fabric selections in each so we are making fraternal twins, so-to-speak.  We will do this 8 months and will end up with 16 blocks.  There is a group of 5 of us 'locally' (I say that because we all live in southwest Missouri within about 50 miles of each other) who are doing this.  Some are using batiks and some are not, some are going muted and some are not.  No one will be surprised that I am going bright, bright, bright!  Here are my first two blocks - Moon & Stars Sister 1 and 2.

This is the color palette I'm using throughout the entire quilt.  I'll use a solid black to frame where the blocks are set and probably will do my own border setting at the end.  So far, I'm liking this quilt.  

Well, I've got a banana cake to make and a shawl to finish binding off and then some sewing to do.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

2016 - A New Beginning, A New Chance to Get it Right

 Happy New Year to you all.  I was kinda sorta watching the Rose Parade on TV and I was reminded that I had been to that parade - 20 years ago on New Year's Day.  Young John was the trombone section leader and center guide for the Emerald Brigade Marching Band from Poway High School and he led that group of over 400 kids down Colorado Blvd on New Year's Day, 1996.  I don't think they were anywhere near the beginning of the parade, but, honestly, it was the only part of the parade I was interested in seeing and the only part of the parade I really remember.  We had seats way up high in  the stands and one needed binoculars to see faces.  What a wonderful memory.

 John made a loaf of bread on New Year's day....I woke up to the amazing smell of fresh bread.  I love homemade bread.  And it's so easy to make bread in the machine anytime we need it.

I received this cute little nativity set for Christmas.  I love nativities and haven't gotten any new ones for a while.  This one is small - the igloo is only about 5 inches across.  It's made of resin, and the animals are all so stinkin' cute - Moose, polar bear, seal, and husky. Thanks to my Utah family, my nativity collection is growing.  

I see a lot of people who are declaring a Word of the Year.  I decided to jump on the bandwagon and figure out a word that I will focus on for 2016.  Several have come to mind, but I keep coming back to KINDNESS.  Yep, I think that will be my word this year.   Kindness.  

Thank you for stopping by.  And I hope each day a little kindness comes your way.

Merry Christmas 2015

FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS

 On Sunday John and I made up some neighbor gifts...Candy Cane Dip and fresh Golden Delicious Apples and packaged them up along with the recipe for the dip and a candy cane.  I loaded them up into a basket.

 John and I boarded Eyeore, our Kawasaki Mule, and drove around the 'neighborhood' to selected houses and dropped off our gifts.  It sure was fun. 

One year we gave out jiffy pop popcorn....now to think about something different for next year.  Thank goodness I've got a whole year to come up with something. 

We had planned to go to Silver Dollar City this past Saturday - our annual trip to see the lights and our favorite show, A Christmas Carol.  When we got off the freeway and got into line for the City, there was a sign pointing to the right saying the regular parking lots were full and they were using alternative parking...John got a funny look on his face and I told him I was okay if he wanted to NOT go.  I almost got a whiplash when he immediately did a u-turn and started back toward home.  We were disappointed not to get to the city but certainly NOT sorry to miss out on all the crowds.  Our niece and nephew evidently were there already and they said the crowds were the worst they'd seen in a long time.  Instead, John and I stopped in Springfield on our way home at the Longhorn Steakhouse for a late lunch/early dinner.  We hadn't been there is a very long time and it was lovely to sit and chat while being served a most enjoyable meal.  We came home and watched Christmas movies for the rest of the day.  Perhaps we can get to the City before it closes for the season on Dec. 30th..if not, we will indeed purchase season tickets for next year and make sure we get to the festivals we so enjoy.

From southwest Missouri to wherever you live,  we wish you a most Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Blessed New Year. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Between the Holidays

Thanksgiving this year was so fabulous.  We had 2 of John's sisters and one nephew and his family to dinner.  John roasted a turkey on his Big Green Egg and a turkey breast on the Weber grill.  We had homemade dressing, green beans with onion and bacon, mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted brussels sprouts, candied sweet potatoes, rolls and butter, olives and pickles, cranberry jelly and cranberry relish, pumpkin pie, mince pie, cranberry pie, and pecan pie.  It's really no wonder folks gain weight between Thanksgiving and Christmas with the way they eat!

                         
  What a lovely group of people.  So glad to be able to share the holiday with them.

     I saw this recipe on Pinterest (if you haven't tried Pinterest, you are missing out on an amazing website - and an enormous time suck!).  Homemade caramel sauce made form sweetened condensed milk cooked in the crockpot for 8 hours, then left to cool...when you open the can, it's caramel!

 Here you see Mr. Gilligan acting as the CrockPot Guard...

 It's still got another hour and 15 minutes to cook and then about an hour to cool....hoping when I open it, I will find caramel...we sure do like caramel sauce here at Pieceful Harbor...

Today was the day to decorate the house.  Well, the great room and entry and kitchen...John has our lighted deer and angel outside to put in the front garden but he hasn't done it yet.  The inside is done.  Tree up and decorated.  Stocking hung, several figurines on the entertainment towers.  I need to pick up some candles for the advent setup but then we are done.

I've got 6 friends coming tomorrow nite for a Crafty Ladies Nite.  Each of us will demo a craft, not necessarily for Christmas, and bring enough of the items needed to make the item for each of us...everyone will end up with 7 craft items to take home.  There will be tree decorations, hand scrubs, votive decorations, a lovely candy cane dip for fruit, and - well, I'm not sure what some of the others are bringing to demo.  Then we have our library holiday party on Wednesday and Bunco on Friday....I'd say this week is our party week!

If you ever get a chance, try out Facetime on the iPad to talk with long distance friends and family.  It's wonderful.  I spent 2 hours on Facetime with my friend Shelly in California this morning.  Sometimes it's actually years between visits. And sometimes it's only 5 months-like this last time.  Regardless, it was such a treat to talk to her.

Well, I'm off to sit and knit on a warm winter shawl for myself for the rest of the evening.  Thank you all for stopping by.

Fall, Fall, Fall!

I love music....especially show music.  My father was a singer and it would have been his lifetime profession if he hadn't developed thyroid cancer when he went for a physical prior to starting a new show in Hollywood in 1956...the treatments destroyed his amazing voice...music was still a part of our life growing up....dad took up the banjo and I sang with him and his buddy when they'd 'jam' on weekends.  I'm always up for a musical movie - always!  between light jazz and soundtracks, I have a nice collection of CD's.  Now, let's move forward to a couple of years ago....I'd reconnected with a childhood friend on Facebook - Jane Warman McSpadden.  She and I spent a lot of time together during our elementary and middle school years but lost contact when we went to different high schools...I'd briefly reconnected in our mid-20's but life got in the way and we lost track again.  We didn't correspond  much on Facebook and then there was a flurry on her page - I posted on the page that I'd been thinking about her.  I got a private message from a man named Gary Mauer who told me that he was one of her former students at Thunderbird High School and that Jane had passed away the day before...hence the flurry of messages on her page.  Gary and I continued to correspond for a while and I learned that he had gone on from high school and then college in Tucson and finally, had made a career in New York on Broadway.  I learned that he was going to be near my home for a concert in Bartlesville, Oklahoma this past Wednesday and made arrangements to go to the concert.  After a most enjoyable 2 hours of showtunes and laughter, Gary and my friend, Terri, and I went to a late dinner.  What an awesome evening! 

  I had made a Christmas table runner for Gary and his wife, Beth.  And the upshot was that Gary is going to send me his collection of Broadway t-shirts to make into a quilt for them...I am so honored!  

When we built this house, our dream house, we made it single story cause stairs are so hard on old knees.  There are very few places for storage except for two spaces - one above the pantry and one above our walk-in closet on the other side of the house.  John has always had to schlep one of his taller ladders into the house and set it up so he could get into the attic spaces.  As of yesterday, the Christmas attic (so names cause the only things in there are holiday decorations) has its own ladder....installed by John and his buddy John!  

It's very solid and John says it went in easy, for the most part. 

My John plans to complete the installation of lighting in that attic space soon.  Fortunately, he wired it for lighting when he wired the entire house.  Now he just needs to finish putting the lights in and we are golden for that job.  

The next space to get a ladder is the one in our closet that leads to the major storage space....that one requires a different kind of ladder cause of space...we are researching a telescoping ladder for that space.  And then to finish the lighting.  There are plenty of odd jobs to keep him busy for the next few years!

I'm off to finish the laundry, and work on a quilt, of course.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

FALL IS FINALLY HERE!

I simply adore Autumn.  It is my most favorite season of the year.  The colours, the leaves, even the feel of the air makes me happy.  And this year, I'm showing my neighbors how happy it makes me.  I spent last Sunday decorating the front porch for the first time in years!  Those pumpkins would NOT stay stacked so I used my trusty glue gun and voila!  My Goose got his outfit changed and we are set for the autumn!

There are hazards to living in the country.  When wicked weather comes along, you can't just walk to the nearest store for groceries...you have to have prepared for the storm.  Especially ice storms.  One must lay in a supply of batteries, lamp oil, food, fill in the tubs with water in case the electricity goes out and your well pump is non-functioning.  Make sure you have warm clothes and plenty of pet food.  

There are also instances that city-dwellers just don't think of - take last Monday nite for example.  I was working in the studio and heard a thunk, clunk, dragging sound outside the window, just about where the compressor for the air conditioner sits.  John was in the great room so I knew it wasn't him.  I went out and asked him if he had heard that sound....of course, he didn't - he had the TV on and where he was sitting had several walls between him and the noise.  There have been many instances of thieves stealing air conditioners and piping in the last few years and that's where my mind went.  John went outside, in the dark, and looked around...he came back in to get a flashlight and when he went out again, our neighbors across the field were sitting on their porch and yelled at John that there was some kind of thunk, clang, dragging noise that came from near our compressor...when he went over to the compressor, he found out what the noise was.  Not going into details, suffice to say that the compressor fan blades had been stationery and a field mouse was sitting on one when the fan turned itself on.  All I could say was, "EWWWWWWW".  Leave it at that!  

Recently, to promote the new Peanuts movie, there was a website that allowed one to "Peanutize" yourself....I played around with it and here you see my final picture.  

I leave you with this picture from yesterday.  It was an absolutely beautiful day in the Ozarks, sunny, temperate, with clouds skudding across the sky at a cheerful rate.  

Sorry it took me so long between posts...no excuse except blog-laziness! Forgive me!

And, thanks for stopping by.