Sneak Peek of My WIP

I'm in the mood for fall....

The End of an Era

Whether you liked Ted Kennedy and his politics or not, his passing marks the end of an era in America. The Kennedy's have played a huge role in America's history. To stand up and fight for what you belive in, and do it for most of your life, says a lot about a person.

I try very hard to "walk the talk" when it comes to my beliefs. It takes a lot of energy and many times I just don't have it. Ted Kennedy, as did his brothers, spent his adult life working for what he believed would make life better for many Americans.

Yes there are other Kennedy's, but it's just not the same as "The Kennedy's" - John, Bobby and Ted.

Flora, Fauna and Merriweather

I can't believe this week is gone already. It's been eventful - I met with that customer I mentiond several weeks ago and I'm doing some contract work for her, which is very intersting. It just might lead to something bigger but at least I can augment my unemployment and make it last a little longer.

Here are a couple of pics of my three youngest hens - Flora, Fauna and Merriweather. I mean you know we have to name things after the Disney princess'!!

Here theyare as babies on my desk while I'm typing:


Here they are last summer eating yogurt:


It's Friday and that means I've gotta run to clean my friend's house. Have a great day, whatever you do with it.

A Delicious Recipe!

While browsing around in blog land last night, I visited some that I've bookmarked but haven't really looked at. Well, I came across this post about zuchinni and onion lasagne and it made my mouth water. I hadn't planned to leave the house today at all but ended up doing just that, so I went to the grocery store to buy ingredients for the dish which was created by Meg at NutMeg Designs.

Folks, you've got to try this delicious dish. It is so good!

Of course the zuchinni in the store isn't nearly as large as the one she used so I sliced up two smaller ones and only made half the recipe. I had a French bread baguette along with it and it was so good. I have just enough left for tomorrow :)

And I started a new and small project for myself, which is what made me leave the house today. I tried so hard to find fabric from my stash that would work but failed. I usually end up buying pinks and greens and didn't have what I wanted for an autumn table runner. I should have it finished by tomorrow night and will show you. It took me all afternoon to decide what pattern to use for it. That's always the hard part for me.
ttfn...

Agenda Modified

Well, so much for THAT agenda! I didn't make it to the quilt shop....again. Maybe this weekend I can try.

I did have time to stop by JoAnns for a quick visit and bought two nice magazines to look over this evening. I love me some magazines!

I did meet with the staffing recruiter and that went very well. I wasn't expecting to go through all the testing stuff and was there most of the afternoon, so didn't make the movie either.

After I was finished with the testing, I was dizzy from concentrating so hard on all the questions. Plus all I had eaten was a bowl of cereal earlier in the morning. I left the staffing agency and headed straight for food. It was late enough that Outback Steakhouse was open so that's where I went. I got a salad, baked potato and some chicken, which I eat sometimes although I try not to eat any meat. When the waiter came by to take my order, I was almost sick to my stomach from being so hungry. The meal was delicious and I left as soon as I finished eating; it was getting late. Between thinking so hard and letting my blood sugar fluctuate so much, I was wiped out.

I did make one tiny detour....I had to drive right by a HomeGoods store and I still have my gift card my daughter, Erin, gave me for Christmas. Well, I hit the jackpot. They had just put out all kinds of pretty fall and Halloween stuff. There were lots of things I wanted but just chose these two to bring home with me. I especially love the little wreath, which I'm using as a candle ring at the moment.






On another note, some spammer left a comment on my "Thoughts" post but I've deleted it. My DS addressed it in a comment on my previous post in case you are wondering what she meant.

Well folks, it's early but I'm ready to hit the sack with my new magazines. Tomorrow I'll be doing my usual cleaning job and then have the weekend off - yippee!! I'll probably end up mowing and working outside, as there is much left to be weeded and trimmed - a never ending job. But I do have a specific project in mind that I just might try to tackle.

Agenda for the Day

Well, I've decided to turn today into a restful one. Sincy my appointment is in Raleigh, I'm going to visit a quilt shop I've never been to before. After that, I'll meet with the staffing agency and then probably get something to eat somewhere. Then I'm going to treat myself to a movie and see Julie and Julia. I love Meryl Streep and anything she's in is good.

I shouldn't have whined last night; that's not usually the way I am. I was overly tired.

Hopefully I'll have some pics of the quilt shop to share with you :)

I hope you all have a good day, whatever you do with it.

Thoughts

This week has been a strenuous one and I'm glad it's "Friday" for me. I was scheduled to work tomorrow but have an interview with a staffing agency so Gail kindly let me have the day off. I told her I could work till noon (my appointment is at 1 o'clock) but that I couldn't get all sweaty and dirty, so it was just easier to give my hours to another employee.

I've been making myself work in the yard each evening till dark to try to get some of the weeds under control and have actually made some progress, but tonight I was just too tired. Instead of working, I sat and watched my chickens scratch around and eat some corn and chase bugs. They are so funny to watch.

Then I cooked myself a nice dinner and ran the dishwasher. I really should have started some of my cleaning tonight but decided to call it quits for one day. So here I am visiting blog land. I discovered Frances' blog City Views, Country Dreams and have enjoyed reading her posts. It makes me feel like I'm actually visiting with her in New York. I like the way she writes.

I used to love to write. I used to love to do lots of things that I don't make time for anymore. I am pleased if I make time to sit at my sewing machine and play with fabric. I dearly want to get to a place where I can do more of the things I love instead of just trying to survive each day.

An elderly woman came into the store today to buy a couple of plants and was telling me how she is trying to get a friend of hers interested in gardening. She's been in several times recently and told me bits and pieces about this before. When I told her she had more patience than me, she said she didn't have anything else to do with her time. She said she was so happy being retired and by herself and that it was the happiest time for her.

I am envious.

Another Quilt Finished

I'll say one good thing about the heat of summer - it makes me stay inside more. I've been quite productive at my sewing machine the last couple of months. Here is my completed hollyhocks quilt I posted about a while back.


I've already got my next project picked out and hope to start it today after I get home from working at Gail's store. :)

Garden Update and Geese

I can't believe how fast this week has flown by! I can't really say that I've accomplished much but I'm pretty sure I've been very busy doing something - ha ha!!

Remember a few posts back when I was complaining about living with deer? Between the lack of rain this summer and the deer trying to find anything they could to eat, there wasn't much left of my main circular flower bed in the center of my front yard. Well, right after I planted a few new plants and covered them with deer net, we started getting several storms pass through. We were getting nice rain storms several times a week, and you know what a much better job Mother Nature does watering than we do with our sprinklers. Take a look at the huge improvement in the once naked flower bed....even the tomato plant has grown back and has buds on it!





One of the reasons this flower bed is so full of plants now is due to tons of volunteer plants coming up. My salvias and vincas drop lots of seeds and if I would just be patient to wait for them, I really wouldn't need to plant anything in this bed.

While I had my camera with me this morning, I took a couple of pictures of my geese, Hansel and Gretel. They are gray saddleback Pomeranian geese and are a little over one year old. Gretel was suposed to be a girl but isn't. He doesn't really care that he has a girl name though. They are nice enough but Hansel did bite me earlier this summer. After I grabbed him up by his neck, he decided that wasn't such a good idea and hasn't tried it again. :) Hansel is the one in the front with more white; Gretel has gray above his legs; they weigh about 20 lbs each.





I'm home today cleaning and putting out some fall candles and decorations. I'm ready for summer to be over with....talk about wishing my life away!

Have a great day, whatever you do with it.

August

August is my least favorite month of the entire year. Some people hate winter and cold weather but I can deal with the cold far better than I can the heat, even though it makes my arthritis hurt so much more.

We got a few autum garden flags in Gail's shop Thursday and they have inspired me to start some fall cleaning in the house and tidying up the yard. We've had several storms the last three weeks and things are growing again but there are quite a few dead plants that need pulling up.

While drinking my coffee this morning, I found some beautiful images to share. It won't be long before we're all decorating for fall.

A Beagle Dumped at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop

A friend of mine, Rockie, sent out an email yesterday stating that upon arriving at work, she saw a small beagle laying on a pile of clothes that had been donated to the Salvation Army thrift shop, which is right next door to her office. The beagle had yarn or rope tied around her neck and front leg so that she couldn't move. Fortunately this friend (as most of mine are) has been involved with dog rescue and knows how to handle situations like this.

Now Rockie has a great gal working for her who also happens to be an animal lover. Rebecca took the pooch home to see if it would get along with her dog and kept it overnight. Today she took the beagle pup to the vet and guess what. Turns out this little dog had been micro chipped. Turns out that this little dog was registered to a New York research facility who adopts out some of their victims after using them. Turns out this little dog was adopted out to a family who decided that they no longer wanted this little dog and they dumped her.

I know for a fact that beagles used in reputable research facilities are purchased from breeders who breed dogs specifically for research purposes only. These dogs are bred for temperment - meaning they are submissive and won't try to defend themselves when subjected to whatever experiments are being performed on them. They are not given any vaccines prior to purchase by the research facility and their diets are strictly controlled. Otherwise, tests or vaccines or whatever may be compromised during "research".

I used to work for a contractor company at Glaxo-Wellcome, now Glaxo-Smith Kline. Every Thursday orders were submitted for their research animals and every Tuesday the animals arrived in a building that was set far back in Research Triangle Park under very tight security. While I never saw any of the animals, I knew what went on and only worked there for two years. When I started having nightmares about baby pigs being tortured I knew it was time for me to leave. I only took that job b/c I was desperate anyway, as it went against a personal conviction of mine.

Well this little beagle pup is now in a wonderful home where she will be loved forever. Like my friend Rockie said, she is starting the best years of her life. The gray on her face is most likely from aging prematurely due to stress. The dogs that are adopted out are usually fairly young. A lot of times people don't want to keep them b/c they are difficult to house train after living their lives in a steel cage. Those stupid people did this precious little dog such a huge favor by dumping her at the Salvation Army instead of what more commonly happens...dumping in the woods or on the side of the road. And after enduring whatever she has been subjected to in research, she deserves our gratitude and all the love in the world.



God Bless Rebecca and God Bless this little beagle dog!

Pileated Woodpecker Sighting!

I just saw a Pileated woodpecker about 30 minutes ago!!! I thought I saw one a couple of years ago but decided I had just conviced myself and that it was a red headed woodpecker instead. Well I got a clear view of this big guy as he flew across the road in front of me and landed on a big tree trunk. I was so excited that I called Gail right away even though I had just left her at work. I didn't know who else would fully appreciate what I had seen.

I'm going to have to report the sighting to the Audobon Society and the local wildlife group. I'm not sure if they're protected around here or not but sure don't want to take any chances by not notifying them.

Joining A Swap

I keep seeing all the fun being had by joining different swaps. Please tell me how I can join in on the fun. I'm ready to start some holiday fun but am not limited to that. If you wouldn't mind, please leave a comment with the information I need to get started.

Thanks so much and have a nice day whatever you do!