The Blizzard of '09

Well, I'm not getting any of it, unfortunately, but a few hours to the north of me in VA and MD they sure are!

Here are some pictures from my oldest daughter and sister - both near the D.C. area.

My son-in-law trying to get the car out to go to work a little while ago. He barely made it and will have to have somebody with a 4 wheeler drive him home at midnight tonight! He works outside guarding the Senate (or House). Daisy, their beautiful dog, is "helping".


A shot of Daisy laying in the snow completely unphased by it:
A picture from my sister's place about an hour north of D.C.
How pretty her house looks:
I sure wish I was up there with them all snuggled inside their beautiful, cozy homes!

A Little Christmas Painting

I've been itching to paint again. I've spent so much time on my sewing machine that I just haven't been able to pick up my paint brushes, and I've really missed them. I did do a couple of cute Halloween paintings, which were fun to do.

I painted a winter scene inspired by this pretty (and very expensive) pillow from Crate and Barrel. I think it turned out really cute and it was simple to paint since there weren't any details.


I wasn't sure where to put it once it was finished, so stuck him with my snowmen.

Here is a picture of my snowmen and Santa collection in my living room hutch.
The primitive Santa on the left of the shelf is one I drew, cut out with a band saw and painted myself many years ago. It is probably my favorite one.

On another note - I received some very disappointing news yesterday. My temporary assignment ended. It was supposed to run through the end of this month, but the gal who had surgery came back this Monday and they just didn't need me. I was bored to death answering the phones and opening mail but the money has helped extend my unemployment benefits by about a month and was a huge help.

While I hate losing the money, the timing is good because now I can actually finish making my Christmas gifts (only made and mailed three!). I love being home and wish I could retire, but that is only a dream.

I hope you are having a good week preparing for Christmas.

ttfn...

Christmas Decorating

My blog friend, Marlene, was in a cleaning mood recently and posted an offer for some fabric panels she wasn't going to use. I told her which ones I liked and she sent them to me! I immediately..... well, almost.....sewed these two pretty panels into pillows for my sofa. I just love them.



She sent me a few more panels, but I haven't worked with them yet. One in particular is high on my priority list, though. Thanks so much, Marlene!

One evening last week, I was searching for a Christmas centerpiece idea for my kitchen table. I remembered a site called The Inspired Room, so I popped over there and found a great idea submitted by Pearls and Handcuffs . If you scroll down, you'll see she dressed up her chandelier.
Now I'm not usually one for the "dressy" look, but this just struck me as beautiful. Of course, her dining room looks a little formal and I wanted to do this in my big, eat-in kitchen...since I don't have a dining room. My version is a little scaled down from hers, but the idea is the same.

I spent $3 for the garland and about the same for the little wreath at Michaels, plus $6 for a big spool of ribbon. I think it turned out great and will definitely be doing this again next year! It was soooo easy and makes such a statement as soon as you walk in my front door.

Ummm... I won't even bother to show you what my front porch looks like before you get into the house though.......

A Journal Cover for My Sister

Hi everybody,

I've missed posting but wanted to leave the important post about dogs up for a while. I certainly hope there are a lot of visitors that don't leave comments on my blog so that this information was shared by many.

While I was in Maryland for Thanksgiving, I started a small project to give to my DS for her birthday, which is tomorrow. I was working on it right beside her in the same room but she didn't know what it was or who it was for (he-he).

There are several methods for making a journal cover and I chose the simplest one I could find. My sister and I both love batik fabrics and I have a small collection, so it was easy to select just the right one that I knew she would love. I've never made a journal cover before and I'll sure be making more of them. I am quite pleased with the way it turned out and couldn't wait for her to get it. I took it to the post office last Sunday and it was finally delivered to her this afternoon. The Christmas mailing rush is certainly on!




I wasn't really sure what I was going to do as far as design, so I just started stitching around some of the patterns in the batik. I knew I had to add a few beads here and there but didn't want it too busy.

She called me on my cell phone while I was driving home from work and she just loved it - I knew she would!

A Plea for Dogs and Puppies

I know a lot of you out there have rescued pets and help animals in some way or another. I have fostered dogs and a few cats for eight years and been involved in rescue and animal rights issues for a long time. Since losing my job in January of this year, I needed to focus on simplifying my life as much as I could so stopped fostering in February or so. Recently, I have felt the sense of urgency bubbling back up in me to start helping again. Maybe it's becuase I have this temporary assignment and things are ok for me till January, I don't know. Just now I opened an email from somebody I know who is also involved with dog rescue. In the email was this video that I watched. There is nothing gross to view except the sheer number of dogs that are in each kennel. These dogs look like pets to me that have been surrendered. Who knows why. I know the economy has made it very difficult for people to hold onto things they love...there just aren't enough homes in good times, let alone these days. The video makes a superb point about buying puppies and dogs from backyard breeders and stores. So many people don't realize where the animals sold in stores come from. They come from puppy mills. Do a search and see what a puppy mill is.

There is barely a Saturday that I can't see somebody selling or giving away puppies in the Walmart shopping center where I live. A lot are purebreds, a lot are pit bulls; a lot are mixed breeds. There is also a big store that sells all kinds of animals, including some exotics. Their puppy and kitten suppliers are back yard breeders (I know for a fact b/c they were involved in a huge puppy mill bust here a few years ago.) It doesn't matter what breed or mix they are - there are too many. These innocent animals get sold or given away many times to end up in a shelter or far worse. If you or somebody you know is interested in getting a puppy or a dog for Christmas...or any time....please get one from a shelter or a rescue group. Also, every breed of animal has it's own rescue, so if you prefer a pure bred, start with a web search on "lab rescue" or whatever it is you're looking for. I apologize for such a long and serious post, but this is one of my most passionate soapboxes and I haven't said much about it here. But with blogs being able to reach out to so many, it's a great opportunity to try to help educate folks about the pet overpopulation crisis...now more than ever!

A Couple of Christmas Projects Complete

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. I had the nicest one I've had in years. Now it's time to start panicking.

I do this every year. December gets here so quickly (I know - it really takes 11 months). I've been working on projects for a while now but only have a couple completed. I'm really excited about one new thing I'm going to try but won't be able to post pics about it for a while.

I rushed home from my temp assignment and took care of all the critters. Then went outside to spread some pine straw (pine needles for you northeners) in one area by the light of my car headlights. I can't really tell what it looks like but will tomorrow. I just needed to get them out before the rain starts later tonight. Then I ran the vacuum cleaner while dinner was cooking and now it's time to get to work on another project.

Here are my two completed projects...I'm pretty happy with them.




This isn't the permanent place for the wall hanging; I just stuck it there to take the picture.

I hope you all had a nice day today!

TTFN...

Embroidery Pattern From A Blog Friend

I just love being part of this friendly blog community of talented ladies; it's just so much fun!

Thanks tons, Marlene. I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. :)
Look what Marlene of Stitchin' By The Lake sent to me. I had admired the adorable embroidery she did and asked where she got the pattern. Low and behold, she sent it to me. How sweet is that?

My Christmas Swap Arrived!

There was a package on my front porch when I got home from work yesterday! It was from my Christmas swap partner, Laura in Arizona. I don't think Laura has a blog but wish she did so I could see more of her beautiful work.

Look at what she sent me......everything is so perfect for me. First the beautiful quilt she made. I love the colors and the sweet angel in the center. The fabrics she used are all so pretty. One of them looks similar to one that I have, but I haven't seen the others. Her points on the star are absolutely perfect and I love how she made the inner border. (What a great idea; I'm going to have to use that in something I make soon!) And Laura even sewed on sweet little star buttons, which I just love.

If this sweet quilt wasn't enough, she also sent me a wonderful book, just in time for me to take to Maryland for Thanksgiving. You know I won't be doing much after stuffing myself with all that yummy food, so I'll have a good book to read while curled up in my sister's huge and comfy chair.

And look at the bundle of eight (yes 8!)Christmas fabrics she included in my package. I was just telling my sister the other day that I love elegant Christmas fabrics and it's hard for me to pick out the cutesy prints, even though I needed some for a current project I'm working on. It's like Laura read my mind. Hmmm - maybe she's telepathic?
And maybe it's not just a thought because she topped off the entire package with a sweet card and these yummy treats that I can't wait to get into - chocolate covered hazelnuts. I love hazelnuts and who doesn't love chocolate?


Laura, thank you so much for my beautiful quilt and other gifts you included. You really went overboard and to say that I appreciate it is an understatement! Thank you again for the beautiful quilt and gifts!

I Couldn't Wait Any Longer!

I've been craving pumpkin pie for two weeks. I've even had a can of pumpkin setting on the counter just waiting to be turned into a yummy pie. Well today, in between cleaning and cooking a thank you dinner for my neighbors, I made myself one. It isn't even completely cooled yet and look!

I'll share some with Laura and Alissa this evening and the rest is mine. It won't last through tomorrow...I'm a major pig when it comes to my home made pies!! :)


I hope you had a nice weekend. We're in the countdown for Thanksgiving now!!

My Car and Another Bird Encounter!

I have my little car back - yay! Thanks for all your support :)

My car had to spend the night at the Honda place, so my great neighbors drove me to work yesterday (35 miles away). My car was repaird and a nice guy where I'm working drove me all the way to the dealership so I could pick it up. The bill for this, including the towing, was $460. Not bad in itself but added to all the others in the last couple of weeks I'm in for just under $2,000. It hurts but it was all necessary. With the exception of this latest thing, it all falls under maintenance. My little car has over 231,000 miles on it and serves me well, so I'll continue to take good care of it till the time comes to get another one.

Now - I've had another strange and exciting bird encounter! While I was home Thursday and sitting here at the computer, I was watching all the birds fluttering around at one of my bird feeders when something caught my eye. There was a bird with a white head! What in the world?? I've never seen a bird with those markings so carefully went to the window to get a better look.

When trying to identify a bird, you should make note of the shape and size of their beak, notice about the size they are, and look for distinguishing markings like streaks on their breast or wing bands. Well, I'm almost certain this little guy is a partially albino Junco! The picture is very poor and I apologize for that, but he's the white spot in the center of the picture. For my own records, I wish I had a better one; maybe I'll get another chance. More and more I'm regretting selling my Nikon camera years ago.


It always makes me so happy to know that I am observant enough to have these neat experiences with nature.

And while I'm on the subject of birds, the pair of pigeons that was hanging around at Gail's shop for so long are gone. The one I had caught and released must have rested up and went back on his journey of finding his way home. The solid white one was still there every day till last week when we had those hard rains. I suspect she fell prey to something. If she was on the same journey as the spotted one, I think she would have left with him. This is all conjecture on my part though; who knows what really happened to them.

It's late; I've got to get to Gail's so I can clean her house. I hope you have a good day and are doing something fun!

Car Repairs

We all hate them. They're usually so expensive and even if they aren't, there are so many other things the money could be used for.

Last Friday I had a flat tire (third plug in this particular tire). Not that big a deal, but my spare is very old, so...took it to my local Honda dealer (their service department is great) to get it replaced. Of course, you can't buy one tire - you must buy them in pairs - so I had to buy four new tires. OK - winter is coming and I'm completely dependent on this vehicle, so a necessity that I can live with.

Two weeks prior to that, I needed new struts put on the car. While there, I had the timing belt replaced (overdue and very expensive maintenance) as well as the differential fluid replaced, also not that cheap but necessary. So my Honda place was kind enough to let me make payments. OK, I can deal with it.

Last night after work, I went to my trusty little CRV to start it up and nothing. A guy in the office kindly tried to jump start it - nothing. The lights work, so I know the battery isn't dead; it's probably the starter. I think I had to replace one in another car and believe it's a ~250+ repair.

So, I was stranded 35 miles from home and animals waiting to be let out and fed. Fortunately, my daughter wasn't working late and could come and pick me up. She didn't really know where I was working so had to drive about 35 miles in the dark and rain to find my temp work place. My car was left in the parking lot and is probably being towed at this moment to another Honda dealer for repair today. Good thing I've been fiscally responsible most of my life and have an available credit card! I have a great neighbor who will drive me the 25 miles to pick up my car when it's ready later today. I'll have to bake something for them as a thank you.

The good news - it's a gray and drizzly day - perfect for staying home and working on my projects, so I'm not too upset.

On a completely different note, my swap partner, Kathy Link, received her package from me Tuesday and has posted about it on her blog. I'm so happy that she likes it! Thanks for making me a movie star, Kathy!!

Out Of Control!

If I'd thought of it, I could have used this for a "silent Sunday" post...but I didn't think of it.

I've got projects going everywhere! The pics speak for themselves :)

Starting Some Christmas Sewing

Now that my Christmas swap is completed, I can move on to some other projects. This evening, while watching the wonderful CMA Awards show (I LOVE country music!!), I started working on a little Christmas project. So far, I'm really liking the way it's shaping up.

And YAY Taylor Swift - she just won album of the year! The girl is 19 years old!!!!


I hope you all are warm and cozy; it's cold, windy and rainy here tonight thanks to Ida. Now, back to the show!

She Did It Again!

Look what my sister made me! While visiting last week, I told her I was currently obsessing about crows and black birds. I had made her a little orange pincushion and black bird similar to the one I posted about earlier and this is what she made to thank me for it.

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!?

Another Pic of My Christmas Swap

So what do you think...will she like it?

Christmas Swap Update

Yay! I've completed my Christmas Swap quilt and will mail it Saturday! It's been fun to make but I'm ready to move on to other projects. If I was keeping this, I'd have beads all over it, but I thought I'd be a little conservative since it's for somebody else.


Back to the sewing machine to stitch a little something extra for her.

BTW - my new temp assignment is great...nice people, good environment, lots to do, and not a bad commute. I'm happy :)

A Quick Trip

I did something that I don't do very often - take a trip without planning it.

I've been missing some of my family members who live about 6 hours away; I haven't seen them since spring. Last Friday morning, after an interview, I headed up the highway to visit with them. My newest little granddaughter is 8 months old now and we don't know each other at all, so I had to work on that.

Since this trip wasn't planned, I had to take Princess and Zoe with me. Princess doesn't travel well; the stress induces seizures. My wonderful vet prescribed Valium for both of them to hopefully knock them out. Well, Princess didn't have a seizure but the drug barely did anything for either of them. My vet warned me that dogs can take this stuff like candy and to experiment with it on her. I ended up giving her six pills (we would have been in a coma) and all it did was make her unsteady. The whining and panting were horrible and non-stop. Before I even got to D.C. I called my vet and made reservations for Thanksgiving for them. No way am I going to put her through that again.

My sister and mom came to my daughter's home and we visited for a while. Then my DS and I went to Jinny Beyer's quilt shop. She didn't have a lot of displays or patterns and such, but oh my gosh, what gorgeous fabrics! I don't make her style of quilts - a very good thing I guess - but couldn't leave w/o buying a few 1/2 yard pieces of pretty stuff. I can't wait to get sewing on it. I tried taking pictures of them tonight but it's too dark and they don't show up. I wanted something to reflect the autumn colors so I got a cranberry print, a dark gold, a dark green and a dark brownish fabric. One of the ladies in the shop picked out a couple of the pieces; I would never have picked the dark brown one. We built on the beautiful cranberry print that I fell in love with. I'll post a picture of them next time.

So the interview went great and I started a new temp assignment that will run through December. I have a good feeling about this company and hope that maybe something will open up for me, so keep your fingers crossed. I'm going to bed; I'm still wiped out from all the running.

ttfn...

I Found It!!

The little black bird on pumpkins is on Cherry's Jubiliee blog. I was trying once more to locate where I had seen this adorable little pretty!

Ahh - now I can concentrate on other things :)

Does Anybody Know Which Blog?

I'm hoping somebody can tell me where I found this cute little bird on pumpkins. I saved the picture but don't remember which lovely blog I found it on and I want to go back for a visit.

I'm sure one of you knows, because that's probably how I stumbled upon it. :)

I have searched and searched to the point of being obsessive. Thanks so much for helping me keep what sanity I have left!!

Angels and Friends

I met my friend, Alyce, last Friday for lunch. We hadn't seen each other for a couple of months and our schedules finally allowed us a quick visit with each other. I was feeling discouraged again, so it was the perfect thing to lift my spirits. We met at the Cheescake Factory where she treated me to a yummy lunch, and we had a nice visit with each other.

Alyce surprised me with a little gift. She isn't one to go shopping or make frivolous purchases - she's a New Englander through and through! She said she went to HomeGoods and when she spotted this little treasure, she thought of me. How sweet is that? She knows how much I love birds and nests. She said she bought one for herself as well, and another one that is holding a heart (I think). I just love everything about this beautiful angel!





Isn't she beautiful!? I will think of Alyce every time I look at her, and remember how fortunate I am to have her as a friend.

Gray and White

If there is something open, Smudge will jump into it!

Black and White

Princess, Zoe and Topaz always near...

Pigeon Update and Cameron Purchases

Well, I haven't been able to locate the group that this pigeon belongs to. I've spent hours tracking down different organizations and heard from three different people - all with different opinions about the bird. I've worried about it's safety, and the other bird's that is still hanging around at Gail's store.

One guy told me the birds were racing birds but couldn't identify the group by the band number. Another told me that it looked like a performing bird, not a distance flier. Another one said releasing him wouldn't do any good; that it would still be lost. great.

My reasoning is that since the second bird (the one I caught) appeared a week after the first bird had been hanging around, they must be racing birds and on the same course. These competitions run through October in a lot of states, so it's possible that's what's happened here. It's getting late in the month and the nights are really getting cold. Not to mention predators. White animals stick out like a sore thumb and are such easy targets.

I've learned a fair amount about pigeons, both performing and racing, since catching this guy. I think I'm not liking the "sport" of racing. Basically, the birds have a homing instinct and are released far off somewhere with the task of getting back to their home loft. Sounds like a game of survival to me. I don't think I like it at all.

Anyway, I took the pigeon back to Gail's store this morning and sat him on the ground in the exact spot where I caught him...after giving him three kisses goodbye and telling him I hope he makes it. He didn't fly away - just went up to the top board on a display for the large pots. His friend was there all day yesterday, I was told, so at least they'll keep each other company.

To end on a more cheerful note, here is a picture of my pretty shelf and a better picture of my ladder that I bought at the Cameron sale a couple of weeks ago. I really like them a lot. The shelf is newly made; the ladder has some age to it.





I hope you're having a good day. The weather is gorgeous here today!!

An Eventful Year With Birds!

Another encounter with a bird! How odd this year has been for me and birds!

Yesterday, I went to Gail's store to pick up a paycheck. While there, she told me that there had been a white dove hanging around all week. At first I thought - oh my gosh, no way could it be my baby dove that I lost over the summer! But Gail said the dove was solid white and mine have salmon patches on them. Well, I hung around for an hour or so but no sighting of the dove, so I went home. I worried about that bird half the night. It's gotten pretty cold at night here and they aren't equipped to survive on their own.

Well today a little after 1 o'clock, Gail's daughter called me to say that the dove was there, and she had brought a friend along. I told Alissa to hurry and get her shoes and coat on and we were going to try to catch these birds. When we got to the store, both birds were sitting together in the area that we keep bags of mulch and flower pots, in a protected area. I had taken my fish net with me (used to catch wayward chickens) and successfully got the "new" bird, who is spotted like mine. The solid white one got spooked and flew onto the top railing of a display. I hoped she would come back down to the ground, but she flew away.

I left the net at the store and gave Gail's daughter a lesson on how to use it if the bird should show up again (which I think it will).

These birds have bands on their legs and I've been trying to track down who they belong to.

Here's a picture of the new guy. I think he's a pigeon, not a dove. He's noticeably larger than my birds. His eyes are very different from my birds' too. His has a very light ring around the iris; my birds'are solid black.


So this summer, I lost one of my baby doves; had an encounter with the baby wren that got stuck on a glue board; an orchard oriole that got caught inside some deer netting that I had over a holly bush, and a poor goldfinch that drowned trying to drink water that was too far down in a big pot I had a goldfish in. I didn't post about the latter two incidents. Oh, and it wasn't an encounter, but I've seen the Pileated Woodpecker twice now - once right beside my property!

On an unrelated note, here's a picture of my old ladder that I bought at the Cameron sale a couple of weeks ago. I have it on my front porch. It looks really cute with the jack-o-lantern plugged in.



I hope you all had a good weekend!

Bloggie Friends Are So Nice!

Recently, there was a virtual quilt show in blogland. I didn't get to visit all the participants but stopped clicking and froze when I came across Rose Marie's entry. It is absolutely drop dead gorgeous! I love leaves and bright colors and she incorporated both in this beauty.



I left Rose Marie a comment on how pretty it was and she wrote me back. I then asked her who the designer was and where she got the pattern so I could buy one for myself. Well, turns out she got the pattern from an old 2002 magazine. She looked for it but said she must have tossed it out ages ago. Disappointed, I started studying her quilt thinking I could figure out the design myself. When I wrote her again asking the size of the blocks, she told me that she looked again and found the old magazine with the pattern! And even better, she's making a copy and mailing it to me. How sweet is that???

Thank you so much, Rose Marie! I can't wait to start on this after the holidays are over with. I'll post my progress when I get going on it.

Yes, bloggie friends are really nice!

Fall/Halloween Decorations

Well, I've got most of my fall decorating finished, but still adding little touches here and there. I thought I'd share some pictures with you.


This is a long shelf above my sliding glass door in the kitchen:

A plate I painted years ago on the long shelf:

The fireplace in my den:

A little side table in the living room...this is so pretty; the picture doesn't do it justice:

Here it is with the flash on:


And my wreath on the front door with the cute little witch sign. I love this! I'll be painting my front door and shutters a new color within the next few weeks.


I finished the little wall hanging for my sister's grandson and it will be mailed tomorrow. He'll get to enjoy it for a while before Halloween :) Now I want to make a couple of fall wall hangings out of a beautiful panel fabric I got at JoAnn's a while back for Thanksgiving.

My first day on the new temp job was easy. The software isn't difficult; just has lots of little boxes to pay attention to. I have a lot to learn but it won't be a stressful job. It's too quiet in there though; nobody visits with each other; no soft music; no official breaks; and I punch a time clock....and actual time clock. I can't remember when I've ever done that as an adult. But...it's a job and who knows what it might lead to!

It's getting late and I need to get things ready for the morning now that I'm back in an early morning schedule!

I hope you have a good day tomorrow!

Halloween Wall Hanging

Hey everybody,

I still haven't taken pics of my goodies from the Cameron sale last weekend, but hope to this week. I've been trying to get my mums and violas planted so they can get established before the ground gets too cold for them to grow any more.

I've been working on my Christmas swap and like it so far, and sewing winter rye seed so the geese will have something to eat this winter besides expensive grain. Plus Alissa and I are making things for her little Halloween party in a couple of weeks.

Here is a picture of the wall hanging I made her - nothing fancy, but cute. I'm working on one just like it for my sister's little grandson.

I start my temporary position tomorrow and am quite excited about it. I hope you all have a good day tomorrow!
ttfn...