Week 4 & 5 - Already behind!

Only 3 weeks into 2023 and I'm already behind....le sigh!  I committed to posting every week and I've fallen down on the job...forgive me.  I will try to do better, really I will!

Last week we got quite a bit of snow....almost 7 inches!  

It truly was a winter wonderland and fortuantely we didn't have to go out in it. 

I finally got my car back from the repair shop - 2 and a half months!  The supply chain issues have hit all over the world and it didn't skip over the car parts.  I still don't have a front license plate holder - that's on backorder!  But Miss Sparkle is finally home! And that's all that matters.

Today was supposed to be a day for doctor appointments for mom....but the weather had a different plan.  We have snow and icy slick roads today!  The snow really isn't accumulating but the cold, wet roads are icy and slick so we have decided NOT to venture out.  I cancelled mom's appointment with the Pain Center doctor - evidently I was not the first to call and reschedule an appointment for today cause they were NOT surprised.  

I spent all of the last weekend sewing - I finished 2 quilt tops that had been lingering for a while - one was started back in 2001 (yep, you read that right!) and I finally got it ready for the quilter.  It finished at 80 x100 inches!  The other was a BOM from 2020 and I changed it up a bit from the original setting design - I really dislike making seminole pieced strips - and I'm quite pleased with the outcome on that one, too.  In the course of rooting through a drawer with kits and projects stashed away, I found 2 more quilts that were close enough to being finished that I am encouraged to work on them.  One is a Shop Hop project from many years ago that had 12 inch blocks of cartoon-like animal heads...I had all the sashings and borders in the bag as well as a flannel backing. Might as well get that one done - it's a child's quilt that I can save until I finally have a great-grandchild - whenever that happens.  The other is a BOM that I did online a couple of years ago...I used bright batiks and a white-on-white background...all 12 blocks are there so I just need to do a simple setting with sashings and cornerstones and one border and that one will be ready for the quilter as well.  Once the weather clears, I will have several quilts to send off to be quilted by the amazing Oliver!

With the weather being so horrid, there really isn't a lot of driving about so there is no news to report....we are being smart and staying home and off the roads.  

Thanks for stopping by...see you all next week!

 

Week 3 of 2023

They say if you don't like the weather here, just wait a while and it will change.  That sure has been my experience this week.  We started out with almost 70 degree weather on Monday and went to a chilly, snowy Wednesday and today it will be around 40 degrees.  We might get a bit of snow later this next week but, for the most part, our temps should be a bit above normal.  I'll take it.  As I told John, I won't complain about rain, but I sure can gripe about snow and cold!

I still haven't gotten my car back.  There was a glitch when they went to put it together after getting all the parts in.  Evidently, Ford sent a device that didn't fit my car, even though their catalog says it's the right part.  It looked to me as though they were going to have to especially re-engineer a part for my car.  The car repair shop said they could put my car together and let me have it right away, without that part, but I would have no cruise control and the light that lets me know I have a problem with the cruise control would be on constantly.  It wouldn't affect driving the car. Since I rarely use the cruise control, it wouldn't be a problem for me.  They were in the process of putting my car together so I could have it till they figured out how to bypass the issue with the distance sensor and the wiring harness.  Then I'd take the car in so they could put the correct parts on.  They called me on Thursday to tell me that the Ford engineer had figured out a fix but the part needed to be ordered for her and she would get it on Monday, with the idea of me getting my car late Tuesday or Wednesday.  I really, really, REALLY want my car back but it didn't make sense for me to have them put it all together so I could have it for the weekend and then take it back to tear apart to add the part and button it up again.  So they kept my car over the weekend and I might, just might, get it back by the middle of this next week.  Fingers crossed! 

There's a love fest going on at our house.  Angel is part Great Pyrenees and part Golden Retriever - we think.  Pyrenees are cuddlers - they love to lean into their humans and get petted - for hours.  Angel is no different.  If a human is sitting, Angel is right there helping them occupy their hands for them!

We had some major problems with the well last week.  There was a leak in one of the pipes between the well pump outside the garage and the collection tank under the house.  It wasn't totally to be unexpected, the pipes are over 20 years old and made of PVC.  There have been some cool innovations in plumbing pipe in the last 20 years.  The plumbers had to dig up the driveway along the entire front of the house in order to remove the old pipes and replace with the newer ones.  Fortunately, it didn't take more than one day so we weren't without water for long.  

They used a backhoe to dig out where the pipes were. 

Along the front walk. The ditch went to the front wall, right where my studio is located. 

That blue pipe is the new pipe.  As I said, it took only a day to do it all and they came back the next day to fill in the ditches.  John used his tractor to smooth out the rougher areas of the driveway but having to dig it up disturbed 20 years worth of rock and gravel so now we have a dirt driveway again.  We will probable call the quarry and have a couple of dump trucks worth of gravel delivered this next week - and begin to build up a gravel base for the driveway in the front of the house.

Angel and Shiloh go to the groomer once a month.  Living out in the country, they have plenty of opportunity to run and get grungy with dirt and mud and other stuff.  They had their regular appointment this last week. When we went to pick them up, there was another dog there for his regular grooming. Meet Barney.

His humans own a wellness center and Barney is the Reception area greeter and therapy dog.  I gotta say, I instantly fell in love with him.  If he goes missing, they will probably come here to find him.  He gets a bath every other week and a haircut once a month. And he is so sweet and gentle.  Gotta love a big gentle dog!

Well, I have a quilt top calling my name.  I hope to show it next week.  

In the meantime, thanks for stopping by. 

Week 2 of 2023

What a week it's been!  Some good and some not-so-good.  Let's look at the not-so-good first.

Mom has lived with us for the last 6 and a half years.  She turned 93 this last Friday.  Without going into details, let's just say she has been failing all along and it's finally time for me to admit that I can no longer give her the care she needs and deserves.  She has always been terrified of people and the idea of going into a care facility is not one that she favors.  But it is time.  I had never looked into the process of getting her situated into a place I could trust to care for my mom as I want until now.  The process is daunting, to say the least.  That is my main focus until we can find a trustworthy place for her...probably here in Missouri as opposed to Arizona - Arizona is where she would prefer to go but the cost of care is exhorbitant in Arizona compared to here in Missouri.  Will post my progress as we go along.

On a good note, as above, Mom had her 93rd birthday on Friday.  What a milestone for her.  For the most part, she has her health.  And she has family who love her and want only the best for her.  

Additionally, I turned 70 on Monday last.  If someone had asked me when I was growing up how I would be living at 70, I not sure I would have been able to answer.  I don't feel 70 years old... I feel as though I'm only about 40 but my body tells me I'm not.  While it is said that youth is wasted on the young, it sure helps to have a young-ish body when you want to stoop down and pick something up off the floor!

Mr. Wonderful took a class yesterday on curing fresh hams at home.  Just like our ancestors did 150 years ago.  Here is his finished homework:

Our ham is the one on the left - 34.5 pounds of fresh pork.  It will hang in that shed till April 1st.  Then it will be cleaned, re-wrapped and hung again for 3-6 more months after which the hams will be cold-smoked.  There is no need for freezers with this method.  The other ham belongs to our friend, John P. who took the class with my John. And the shed belongs to John P. (since he's our next door neighbor, it's no problem checking on our ham regularly).  Check back in 9 months to see how our 'baby' is doing.

Still haven't gotten my car back - they tell us it will most likely be this coming week, if all goes well.  Let us pray that all goes well!

I can honestly say that that is all that happened this past week and it's a good thing...better to have only a few things happening than a whole slew of them.  This old brain can only handle juggling so many things without dropping every single one of them.  

We will talk next week. Thank you for stopping by!

2023 A New Beginning

 Let's begin as we mean to continue, shall we?  I am beginning 2023 with a goal of posting once a week (probably on Sundays) for the entire year....Fingers crossed everyone!

I am so thankful to say goodbye to 2022.  While it wasn't a horrible year, it wasn't my favorite either.  John hurt his back in late September which resulted in a spinal procedure in early November and he continues to progress toward full strength in his back every day.  I still worry about him trying to do things that put a strain on his back but, he's a man, and that alone tells the whole story, doesn't it?

I had a car accident in early November that, fortunately, did not result in serious injury ( some bruised ribs and sore muscles for numerous weeks) but my car is still in the shop - supply chain issues mostly being to blame for the delay.  With a lot of luck, I should have her back sometime this next week.  I can't tell you how glad I will be that we will be back to a 2 car family again.  It's really hard to get mom in and out of the farm truck (no running boards require her to use a step stool and someone to hoist her up into the seat) and it's getting harder and harder for me to get in and out as well.  I am really ready to have my Sparkle back home again!

Christmas was a lovely quiet holiday for us.  (John and I just today took the tree down and stored it away in the Christmas Attic above the pantry).  We had bought a new 12 foot tree last January and this was the first year we have used it.  I must say, it is a HUGE tree.  

This is the bottom section - it measures 69" across the widest portion.

Finished construction - it took 4 hours to put together.

Christmas morning.  It's a lovely tree. And I am so glad we got it up into the attic till next year.

Today is New Year's Day....the beginning of another trip around the sun.  May you have a most Blessed 2023, filled with laughter, fun, love, good food, good friends, and a surprise or two. 

Till next week....thanks for stopping by. 

Surprise !

 Yes, it's really me.  I've spent a lot of time watching flosstubes and stitching while watching. And you know how sometimes your mind wanders and you think of stuff that you normally wouldn't?  Well, my mind went to the Blog....and before I could forget about that thought or poo-poo it, I decided to run, not walk, over here and put on a blog post.  

My car is still in the shop.  The total to repair it is just a smidge less than $15,000.  Yes, you read that right.  Folks have asked me why they didn't just total the car.  Well, the economy has ended up increasing the value of vehicles to such a point that it was less expensive to repair my car than to total it. I call the shop once a week to check in with them.  This last week they were waiting on just one more part to arrive and then they could start the repairs.  She said it won't take long cause cars these days are kinda like Legos - pull our the bad part and plug in the good part.  Of course, the part they are awaiting is one of the first ones they need to put in and the other parts can't go in yet.  She is hoping they will get my car back to me by Christmas.  Thank goodness our schedules are not conflicting so far....using the big farm truck hasn't been a problem.  Actually, it keeps me home a lot more cause I don't want John to be without wheels if he needs anything for the farm.

I've been cross stitching a lot - A LOT!  Have finished several pieces in the last month.  

An artist trading card...measuring 2 inches by 3 inches.  

Another ATC.

This was a stitch-along that started in June 2022 and the final clue came on November 18, 2022.  Each shape took me a day to do so I was able to keep up with it.  I will frame it in an 11" by 14" frame - someday. 

A free chart from one of my favorite designers....it measure about 4 inches squarre...fun to stitch.

These little snowy barns took me about 2 hours to stitch each of them.  They are on perforated paper and then mounted onto those little sleds.  They will hang on our Christmas tree - when we get around to putting out the decorations. 

This fox is the first chart in The Year in the Woods stitchalong.  Each month a new animal was released.  I started the fox in December 2021 when it came out.  And I finished it just this last week.  Naturally, I didn't work on it consistently or I'd have finished it sooner.  All 12 of the animals are so beautiful....am hoping to work on others more diligently this next year.  

We had our Thanksgiving dinner here at our house again this year.  We were 9 at the table. John cooked a turkey, a turkey breast and a ham.  Together with all the usual trimmings, we had quite a feast.  The weather cooperated so there was no snow or ice to hurry folks away right after dinner.  

Belle's new calf is doing quite well.  It took almost 2 months to determine its sex....a little girl.  It was finally decided to call her Cinder - she's all black so it fits.  John is taking Babbette to the vet this next week to see if she is pregnant - if she is, her calf is due sometime around the end of March, the beginning of April.  Our herd is growing!

In case I don't post before the end of the year, please know that I appreciate you all...thank you for following me, in spite of the scarcity of postings.  Merry Christmas and a most Happy New Year to you and everyone you hold dear.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

 Well, the we went off Daylight Savings Time early this morning - at 2:00 a.m. to be precise.  While I love it when we change times in November cause it gives us an extra hour to sleep in, my body doesn't really care for it.  I've been 'off' all day and it's only noon.  It will take a couple of days to get acclimatized to the time change...thank goodness I no longer have to deal with going to work as well as the change in time.

The last couple of weeks have been - well, challenging is a word that comes to mind.  Last weekend, I had to deal with John's back - we have scheduled a procedure for this coming Tuesday that, hopefully, will give him 100% relief immediately.  Then we had to take one of the dogs to the vet cause she tore a huge hole in the bottom of her paw.  That was all on one day. The next day mom required a trip to the ED via ambulance - the results of which were "We just don't know", from the ED doctor on duty.  

I followed the ambulance into the hospital so I would have transportation when I left the hospital.  By the time I got there, parked the car, and made it to the ED, Mom was 100% pain free and not even sure why she was there.  4 hours later, after x-rays, lab tests, and a Cat-Scan, we were no closer to knowing why she had been in so much pain.  So I brought here home and there has been to recurrence.  

I was on my way into town to teach a workshop on Wednesday morning and stopped at the library to put a couple of books in the dropbox.  As I pulled way, the sun was directly in my front windshield and I proceeded to drive right into a cement-based lamppost.  Tons of damage to my car - undriveable - and a very sore chest area on me.  Fortunately, I had my seat belt on and the airbag did not deploy or there would have been so much more physical damage.  Had the car towed to a shop that is going to repair it, John drove me in to teach and the day went on from the.  I had some developing discomfort from the impact - which I expected - and I called our doctor to make sure there wasn't anthing that I was supposed to do - their recommendation, since it was a result of a car accident, was to go to the ED.  Do John picked me up from my workshop and took me to the ED.  They checked me in and said it could be as much as 5 1/2 hours ....I had John go home and take care of his farm chores and feed the animals and feed mom.  I was only at the ED for 2 hours when they released me after doing x-rays and an EKG.  He came and picked me up.  I drove to my workshop and finished out that obligation and came home.  It's been quite a pain-filled few days but the ED doctor said there was no internal damage, only general bruiding from the seat belt and to continue taking the pain meds I have been taking for my arthritic knee and in 5-7 days I should begin to feel better.  Today is day 5 so I should see some improvement soon.  In the meantime, the insurance company has been working with the repair shop and they believe they have an agreement for repairs.  John and I will stop there tomorrow to see how long it will take to get my car back - total repairs so far are aroung $6600.00. Depending on how long it will take to get my car back, we may decide to get a rental car. 

I saw this car in front of me at a stoplight coming home on Thursday. It's a good reminder that not all things have to be looked at dramatically!  

John sent this picture to me while I was teaching on Thursday morning.  It seems Belle had her calf.  We haven't determined if it's a boy or girl yet but it's up and running across the field and nursing and Babette is being a good big sister.  Will be albe to know within the week if it's a boy or girl and can then name it.  Welcome, little calf!  

Thanks for stopping by.  Will check in soon. 

 

Several years ago I made a pact with myself to post on the blog every single week, usually on Sunday.  That worked really well.  Every Sunday, the blog post was the first thing I did.  Last year, I decided that I didn't want to be tied down to doing a blog post by a schedule and I just knew I would be able to be consistent with writing, even without a set day.  Well, we can all see that was a total disaster!  I have not been consistent - in fact, one might say I didn't even post monthly, much less weekly.  I believe I will go back to the Once a Week Blog Post schedule....starting January 1, 2023.  

In the meantime, let me catch you up on what's been happening here.  

Autumn has arrived here in southwest Missouri.  The leaves on our grove of trees have turned so many different shades of red and orange and yellow.  I love the colors of autumn.  The last few days we've had tremendous winds - sometimes upwards of 50 miles per hour.  Needless-to-say, the trees are almost naked now.  We have had daily temperatures ranging from mid-40's to mid-80's with nighttime temps as low as 21 degrees - breaking a record low that was set in 1917!  Today the temps are expected to be in the high 70's to mid 80's.  Rain is predicted for tomorrow - something we dearly need.  By the end of the week, temps should be dropping down again to be mostly normal for this time of year.  

I've been working on counted cross stitch projects.  Some are miniatures of famous paintings.  

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci. This one measures 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches.

Mt. Fuji by Kamisaka Seeka

This is an autumn bookmark by Maryna Risnichenko.  Those colors are amazing. I loved stitching this one. 

Mom and I went down to Branson recently.  We met my friend Fran there and we all went to lunch at Scooters - a small cafe attached to a miniature golf course.  The sign on the door made me giggle.  You can't pee for free!  A very clear way of saying the restrooms are for paying customers!

We've had our winter hay delivered.  They 'drop' it in the circle at the beginning of the driveway and John put some of it down by the barn and took the rest of it next door to store it at our friend's property - on a gravel pad to keep the hay from sitting in mud and damp.  John can go over with the tractor and pick the roll up with the spike on his tractor and transport it here for the cows.  The two cows - Belle and Babbette spent the last few weeks grazing on our neighbor's property, allowing our grass to recuperate from overgrazing.  Yesterday they came home for the winter - Belle's calf is due to be born within the next couple of weeks and Babbette isn't due till after winter.  It's better for Belle to be here at home rather than having her calf next door and then John trying to get her and the calf transported home.  

Well, that's about all for now.  Hopefully I can get another couple of blog posts in before the end of the year.  I am fully committed to returning to Sunday blogging in 2023.  

Thanks for stopping by.