Mid-September Wanderings

 Here we are, the middle of September.  Still mostly staying home, wearing a mask when we DO leave home.  Dreaming of traveling to visit family and friends far away.  And always, always, having the spectre of the Plague following our every move.  Hopefully, once this year has run it's 366 day course, we can find some semblance of calm and whatever normal is going to be.  

They say we will have a vaccine to treat the virus at the earliest in November...maybe by the end of the year....or February 2021. I have never been what one would call an Anti-Vaxxer...but I also do not voluntarily get in line for an injection of any kind.  Mainly cause I'm so afraid of shots!  Yes, I'm a coward....a weenie.... a baby where shots are concerned.  I've never gotten a flu shot, and only got the shot for hepatitis several years ago because I was exposed....but I don't do shots!  So I won't be getting the Corona injection when they say it's available.  They aren't doing enough testing, in my opinion, and I am uncomfortable having my family and friends just blindly go out and get in line for it when it IS available.  But the only person I have control over is myself...and I'm not getting in that line!  

We have 20 new baby chickens as of Thursday.  We had ordered them back in June during the height of the pandemic.  Usually, you can just go out to the hatchery and pick up chicks...but during the pandemic, folks were buying chickens to raise for eggs and meat because...well, think toilet paper and you will understand why they were hoarding chickens and hamburger.  Anyway, our order came up right on time and Mom and I drove out to the hatchery to pick up John's new peepers.  

It's hard to get perspective from this picture but all 20 of them fit into a small bakery box to transport home.  There are 15 assorted females and 5 Black Australops...the black ones, once they get fully feathered, look as though they are covered in oil - their feathers are shiny and pitch black.  So beautiful.  We don't know if any of those are roosters...will have to wait till they get older to tell.  We are looking for egg-layers anyway so if they are all female, that's fine with us. 

The Presidential election is coming up again and there is so much hate and discontent in this country.  I am so disturbed by the vitriol and just plain nastiness that the American people seem to ascribe to these days.  The current trend is just so Un-American, to my way of thinking.  A friend from High School (we're coming up to our 50 Year Reunion next year!) posted this and it really struck home with me....I will post for anyone who needs it...

I am going to print this out and frame it...a very good reminder for me, and anyone else.  You're welcome!

Rather than leave this as is, and have folks maybe come away on a sad or somber note, here is something to make you smile.

And I have, unfortunately, made sure furniture is in place in exactly this manner several times...Oh, my aching pinky toe!  

On that note, I will leave you till next time.  Thanks for stopping by!

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.

2020 is Half Over - Whew

So far, we've dodged the bullets of 2020.  No one has gotten sick - knock wood - and we still have a household income and we've not run out of meat.  I'd say we are doing pretty well this year.  Hoping the rest of the year passes just as uneventfully.

We are well and truly into Summer here in the Ozarks.  It's hot and humid and just plain miserable outside.  Last week, we were expecting rain - again - and I looked outside.  Here it is at 9:30 in the morning, almost black outside...

This picture really doesn't reflect what I saw outside...the camera lightens it up so you can see...it was so dark outside, I thought it was closer to dusk than first thing in the morning.  We had a wicked rainstorm, almost 2 inches in less than an hour.  Then the clouds moved off and we had a lovely sunshiny, humid day.  That evening, I saw this outside my studio window.

Again, you can't quite see the majesty of that cloud reflecting the sunset but, believe me, it was spectacular!  

Shiloh came out of his surgery very well.  He was a bit loopy when we brought him home that afternoon, and stepped gingerly for that evening and the next day.  After that, one would never know he'd had surgery at all.  Ah, to heal like a puppy!

Most of the time, Shiloh and the Skipper are chasing each other throughout the house....they rarely are still around each other.  But one day, I looked just past John and saw Shiloh standing in the hallway, with the Skipper winding around and around his legs and under his belly....sweet as you please.  They are a treat to watch - most of the time - and this time was certainly one of them.

Our 4th of July went quietly - well, mostly quietly - over the weekend.  If you discount the fireworks going off after dark and until well into the next day.  I got up at about 3:30 - darned bladder! - and there were still fireworks going off! We celebrated with hamburgers, pasta salad, and fresh strawberries for dinner.  Since it was a Saturday anyway, we had our usual Movie Night - the one night of the week when we three get together and spend the evening watching a movie.  We recently spent almost 5 months watching the entire Marvel Comics series in the recommended order....what a treat!  And if you haven't watched the remake of Jumanji, we highly recommend it, too.  

Our oldest granddaughter, Emily, is getting married in early September in Salt Lake City.   Somehow I am old enought to be a Grandmother-in-Law...how the heck did that happen?  We are planning to go out to the wedding - first taking Mom out to Arizona to spend some time with my brothers.  John and I have rented a car and will drive up to SLC for the wedding, drive back down to Phoenix to get Mom and fly home.  Assuming that the Plague doesn't put a spanner into that plan, of course!  While the dresscode is suits and ties for the men, it has been suggested that her Papa from Missouri might wear his dress white military uniform!  Will see if that still fits.....picture to follow if that happens! 

I saw this meme online the other day....it sums up my thinking perfectly!

Until next time. Thanks for stopping by.  

Middle June

This month is half over and going so slowly.  We started out with a sad thing...John's youngest sister suddenly passed away.  Well, she'd been in ill health for many years.  Kay evidently had a heart attack or another stroke sometime that day.  We as a family cleared out her apartment the following Saturday and have planned a small private family service at the lake in mid-July.  We will scatter her ashes at the lake and then have a family picnic to celebrate her life.  We are so grateful for the time we had with her...she was 61 years old and would constantly remind us the she was the baby of the family!  Sweet Kay, RIP.

Our outside temperatures are rising, as they do in June.  We have hit 90 degrees several times already.  The humidity is rising as well.  Another miserable summer.  Sigh!

We just received word that our oldest granddaughter is getting married in early September.  The ceremony and reception will be held at the family cabin near Sundance, Utah.  It would be a really hard trip for mom so we are taking her to Phoenix to visit with my brothers while we drive up to Utah for the wedding. After the wedding, we will drive back down to Phoenix to pick mom up and then fly home.  Not a lot of time to prepare for a wedding but since it will be a small, intimate one, they can get it done.  Emily and Trent will begin their new life in Pocatello, Idaho where he has started a new job with the U.S. Forest Service.  

Shiloh turned 6 months old in mid-May.  Last Friday he went in for a small procedure to turn him into a gentleman.  They wanted us to keep him quiet for 7-10 days - no going down the stairs to the dog run, only going outside on a lead and then coming back in after he's done his business.  Keep an eye on his incision to make sure it doesn't swell or get infected.  Well, the day of his surgery, we brouht him home about 3:00 and he was pretty loopy.  He probably was a bit sore, too.  He spent a lot of time laying on one or the other of his pads (there are 3 pads throughout the house for his reclingin pleasure - our bedroom, the great room, and my studio). He didn't really let me or John out of his sight. On Saturday, he was a bit friskier and by Sunday he was back to being his old self.  Sunday afternoon I let him out the doggy door to go down the stairs to the dog run...he never runs down anyway, always carefully making his way down and back up.  His incision is doing really well - no swelling or infection at all.  That 7-10 days restriction just didn't work for our energetic puppy - he's mostly healed already and full of 'piss and vinegar' again!   Although, sometimes he just falls asleep where he stops....

Thanks for stopping by!

June is Bustin' Out - Maybe Not All Over Yet

Our rain has finally stopped.  As of June 1st, we are 14+ inches above our annual average.  We are fortunate where we live that we don't need to worry much about flooding.  Our fields are a bit mushy but they are green and lush. The trees in our grove are starting to sprout beautiful green leaves - all the colors of green there are!  Out temperatures are finally starting to warm a bit - not too much yet.  And the humidity is still low so going outside isn't uncomfortable.  Give us another couple of weeks and we will definitely be living in the Ozarks in summer!  The humidity will skyrocket and it won't be worth it to go outside for any length of time until mid-September.  

Once we installed the storm door with the doggy door, it was clear that the cat was going to get outside.  Skipper goes outside as soon as I open it up in the morning.  He heads out to the barn to see the chickens and then sits in the sun all day till dinner time.  However, John called me out to the front porch on Sunday - it appears Skipper wanted to be higher than sitting on the front step or out in the garden....He climbed up in the elm tree in front of my studio window.  

He really likes being up high...and he seems to be able to get down all by himself as well.

My friend, Lynnie, lives in Arizona.  I met her thru the annual Row by Row event. While the event has been going on since 2011, I only started participating in 2014.  Quilt shops all over the country design a quilt row measuring either 9 x 36 or 18 inches square, or 12 x27 inches and make the pattern available for free to anyone who walks into their store and asks for it.  They make up kits for their patterns that are available for purchase as well.  From the middle of June to the first week in September, people can collect these patterns and kits and then make quilts from them.  Lynnie was part of a group on Facebook where people who were traveling would offer to pick up kits for perfect strangers and mail them to them.  The folks who wanted a kit from a specific shop would send money thru PayPal so that the buyers weren't buying out of their own pockets.  Lynnie was in Florida and was going to pick up at a specific shop that had a kit I wanted....the rest is history.  She and her husband spend each summer traveling the country, visiting family and camping in their RV.   They usually stop for a few days at a campground near us and we get together for lunch.  Last week, in spite of the pandemic, I got to meet up with her for lunch. 

Quiche, salad, fruit salad, and texas sheet cake with peanut butter frosting.  Add on some iced tea and you have a banquet.  

I've spent most of the pandemic lockdown working on machine embroidery items that I have wanted to do for a while.  Here is a little set of seasonal hangings - they only measure about 6 inches by 10 inches.  What fun to make. 

There were seasonal button that I added to each hanging.  I have a little wrought iron table hanger that these go on....

More machine embroidery - Last winter, my favorite designer came out with what they call the Bella Box.  You bought it not knowing what was inside.  It was jam packed with exclusive projects and included all you needed to complete each project.  The cost was close to $100.00 and we had to wait for almost 2 months after we ordered it before we got it.  Once it arrived, it was worth the money and the wait.  There was a small pillow, an embroidered apron, some coasters, and one other item that I can't remember now.  Along with the projects, there was a coffee mug (or hot chocolate) and a pretty little zipper bag. They put together a limited number of kits and once they were sold out, they were gone!  The announced in March that they were doing a Spring Bella Box and I jumped at the chance to get another one.  This one would be shipped in mid-May.  Mine arrived right on time and I had agreed not to open mine right away.  There were 6 of us from my favorite shop who ordered it and we agreen to all meet at the shop and open at the same time.  Mine arrived on Thursday and on Friday we all met at Shawn's Sewing Center.  We all wore our masks and sat 6 feet apart and on the count of 3 we all opened out boxes.  

Wow!  is all I can say.  They outdid themselves.  There were 7 projects with all the wherewithall to make them except for thread.   They introduced some new products that haven't even hit the stores yet....and showcased some items that are already in the product line.  I decided to work on one right away...and boy did it come out cute!  

The project itself is the little pen holder made from embroidery leather.  Made in the hoop except for actually constructing the bow.  It has elastic that goes around the journal cover so you always have a pen handy.  So Stink' Cute!  I've said before and I'll say it again, Kimberbell never disappoints!  

Thanks for stopping by! 

Even More Social Distancing

With everyone still social distancing, the days seem to meld into one another and there just isn't anything to separate them.  We get up, we eat, we watch TV, we eat, we watch some more TV, and then go to bed.  When we awake, we do it all over again.  I throw in some knitting and sewing and machine embroidery...mom throws in some reading and some online solitaire.  Mr. Wonderful is still working - he IS essential personnel! But there isn't anything to make each day special.  Probably, that's my own fault.  Whatever!  I am just getting tired of not being able to jump in the car and go to the yarn shop or Hobby Lobby or even the library.  I'm really DONE!  

Okay, rant over....breathe.....I'm almost over it.  

John and I had been talking about the idea of getting a new car.  Since he has a company vehicle and doesn't need his own anymore, we decided we would trade in his car and my car and get a new one for me. If he needed to go somewhere, he can always use the truck.  We mostly use the truck for farm hauling - feed store, lumber hauling, that kind of thing.  But it's perfectly beautiful and doesn't look like a 2005 vehicle. We both agreed that I wanted another Ford Edge...the 2008 Edge was such a great car.  It wasn't showing any signs of needing to be replaced...but we knew that we wanted to do it BEFORE we needed to do it.  Car prices continue to go up...John is still working so his income would be nice on a loan application...we decided that NOW is the time.  We found exactly the car I wanted - 2020 Ford Edge Titanium in Starry White....so many excellent features that I wanted (backup camera, bluetooth phone, foot-activated rear liftgate) and even more that I didn't know I wanted till I got them.  Took us about an hour to decide we wanted the car.  Went home, John made arrangements for the loan, That was Friday the 8th of May.  We got the check on Tuesday the 12th and picked up the car on Friday the 15th. I just can not get over how fast it happened and what a lovely vehicle it is.  

I have not only the backup camera, foot-activated rear liftgage, bluetooth phone, and water sensing front window wipers.  I also have blindspot alarm, remote starting, electric seats for both driver and passenger, seat position memory settings for 3 different drivers, and driver lane alarm and correction.  I'm sure there is probably a door with warm chocolate chip cookies and another with cold milk somewhere in there but I just haven't found it.  Here is a picture I snapped of my new car, which I've named Sparkle!

I'm sure I won't be over the initial love affair anytime soon...you will hear more about her.

Today is our youngest grandson's birthday.  He is 10 years old today.  He is smart, funny, loves Legos and sciencey stuff.  He never hesitates to tell folks how important they are to him (like his grandparents!!!) and has a wicked sense of humor and the quickest wit that I've seen in a very long time.  Deadpan and hyterically funny.  What's more, he is kind and compassionate and an all-around really nice person.  We love you, Big H.....happy birthday from Nana and Papa. 

Missouri is slowly opening up after nearly 8 weeks being closed.  Not everything is open but things are starting to open up.  Hair salons and nail salons, restaurants, bowling alleys, but not bars, concert halls, music venues, or movie theaters.  We took mom out to dinner the first night our one and only restaurant opened to the public.  All of the servers wore masks and gloves.  Only half of the tables were available to the customers.  But I was still uncomfortable having mom out in public.  I've taken her out a couple more times but each time I've just not been totally at ease.  I don't mind taking her with me if I need to go to the store - she sits in the car and reads a book while I'm getting what I need...at least she has a change of scenery and some fresh air.  Until things settle down a bit more, the picture below is still my mantra:

My favorite yarns shop recently posted some new items they'd put in stock...I could NOT resist these awesome stitch markers.

Bottom middle is my favorite! 

Hoping anyone reading this is safe and well and healthy.  It's becoming a dreaded cliche, but we ARE all in this together and we will ALL get thru it together.  There will be no new normal, nor a before normal...we can all decide what normal is for each of us.  

Thanks for stopping by....See you soon!