End of August 2020

 This may be the end of August,  it's not the end of whatever 2020 has in store for us...I suspect we are still going to have to endure stuff at least till the end of the year, or further.  I know, it's a downer, but that's what I think.  

Right?  

We are in a bit of a drought here in the southwest portion of Missouri.  No measurable rain almost all month.  We normally don't purchase our hay for the winter until closer to October but this year, it's likely to go up in cost the longer we get into the autumn.  So we ordered the amount of hay we will need to get Belle and Rosie thru the winter and it's being delivered on Friday afternoon.  That's one more thing I can mark off my list of things to get done before winter sets in.  I think the only thing left if to order enough propane to get us thru till April...I will get that done before mid-September when the price will go up dramatically.  

The hurricane down south of us in the Gulf of Mexico might, just might, affect us a tiny bit....with some wind and much welcome rain.  We won't get the damaging surges or wind but the maps are showing Hurricane Laura has enough push to get all the way up here.  The water will be very much useful.  Mom and I were talking at lunch about the folks who are being 'brave' and not evacuating, even though the authorities are strongly urging them to do so.  The storm surge is expected to be upwards of 20 feet in some areas...thats 2 stories tall.  I don't think it's brave to stay...I think it's stupid and foolish. And I will bet good money those people will be the ones moaning and crying because they lost everything and were in danger and no one could get to them right away and "Oh, we were so scared!" Stupid, stupid, stupid!  

I've been collecting meme's for a long time...sometimes one really resonates with me - like this one.

Or this one - I must be a really creative person....My studio is rife with ideas!

We are getting a bit of rain right now.  Not a lot, but it's wet!  Honestly, it may not even stay wet on the walkways for long, but we take whatever we can get!  

I am scheduled to take a 2 days virtual embroidery class on Friday and Saturday....I did one several weeks ago and honestly, I wasn't impressed with the experience.  Am trying it once more to see if it was me or maybe it was the whole idea of the workshop with 80 people doing it all at the same time - trying to 'talk' on the chat board and ask questions and waiting for the teacher to address whatever was asked...the class is designed for the least experienced person attending and that might be the reason I had such a negative experience...I am not a novice with this type of embroidery and felt I was being 'held back'.  I ended up just working ahead and listening to the teacher jabber on ...that was a 4 hour class....I hope I can maintain for 16 hours this time.  Cross your fingers for me.....

Thanks for stopping by....be safe and well. 

Oh, Good Grief!

I just looked at the date of my last update on this blog....Where has the darned time gone?  I've been home...I haven't been sick.....I'm not traveling....and yet it's been almost 6 weeks since I last posted.  What a slug I am.  

So, let's get caught up with life at Pieceful Harbor, shall we?  

There has been a lot of sewing (machine embroidery) happening here the last few weeks.  What used to be known as the Row by Row Experiene and is now called Quilters Trek started again in late June.  Not as many shops participating this year.  There is only one shop in Scotland to account for any overseas shops.  I purchased their row, sight unseen, so we will see what it looks like when it finally arrives.  In the US and Canada, not as many shops are part of the event this year.  Only one shop near me and it's a tiny shop in a town east of us...none of the big shops in Springfield.  The theme this year is simple Blue.  I'm seeing a lot of shops returning to more traditional blocks instead of elaborate applique blocks.  Lots of pineapple blocks, and log cabin blocks, and pinwheel ones as well.  It certainly makes my budget happy since I'm not buying so many kits.  

There are, however, 9 shops in Illinois who collaborated to make a quilt with their blocks.  It is called Winter's Window and each shop designed a portion of the quilt.  It will finish out at about 54" by 54" and is blue, gray, white, and black.  It's lovely and I've gotten all the kits.  Heavily appliqued.  I have one more section to stitch down and then I can put them all together.  I want a blorder on mine so I've gotten some beautiful royal blue batik to make a 3 inch border all around and it can go to my quilter.  Will show a picture once it's done.  You are gonna love it!

I've done a couple of virtual quilt classes - I don't know if it's because I love being with people for those classes or if they are designed to address folks with fewer skills and less experience than me but I just didn't have a good time doing them.  I felt as though I was always waiting for the next thing instead of motoring along as I usually do.  Not a fan of virtual quilt/embroidery classes!  

The groomer has opened up for business again and Shiloh has already been a couple of times.  He always looks so happy once he's been to see Miss Rachelle!

Isn't he a cutie!

Saturday nites are Movie Night around here...we've done this for the last 4 years since Mom came to live with us.  Evidently, Shiloh really likes the Mission Impossible movies - or else maybe it's Tom Cruise!  Whichever it is, he sure does pay attention!

Summertime in the Ozarks is usually hot and very humid and this summer is no different.  With all the humidity, when it rains, we usually get what the weather-readers like to call Severe Weather (weatherspeak for Tornadoes).  Last night I looked out the window of the studio just before the sun set and saw this!

I walked outside the front door and saw this wall cloud - really dark and full of water - forming to the east of us.  The wind was raging like crazy and we figured we might get some of the moisture since it went all the way to the west of us as well.  Sadly, no moisture last night but this morning it rained for quite a while.  That bodes well for the second cutting of hay before the winter sets in.  We need about 20 round bales of hay to feed the cows over the winter and if hay isn't plentiful, it is so expensive.  We don't have enough acreage to grow our own hay so we must buy it and have it delivered.  Thankfully, it appears we will get it at a reasonable rate this year!

Our oldest granddaughter is getting married in 3 weeks.  Emily and her Trent will be married in Salt Lake City and live in Pocatello, Idaho where Trent has a job with the U. S. Forest Service.  Because of the current plague situation, it is not advisable for us to travel nor to bring germs back to infect mom.  So we will remain here and hope someone takes a video of the service so we can see it vicariously and at a later time.  

Am working on making aprons for the 4 young girls who will be helping at Emily's reception.  Little half aprons they can take home with them to commemorate the wedding.  Got the fabric yesterday from my daughter-in-law and need to get crackin' on them so I can mail them out in time for the wedding!  

Thanks for stopping by.