Category Archives: Pets I love

Textiles and Me Part2

Yes, I love textiles. There is something about walking aisles of fabric stores looking at all the beautiful fabrics, feeling their softness and silkiness. There are fabrics for every taste, every color in the rainbow. I feel the same way about yarns although I don’t use yarns very often.

Since Spring is coming(I hope) and I don’t plan on spending time in my shop sewing when the weather is warm, I have been sewing up a storm the last few weeks. I found fabrics I had forgotten I had and brought out some of the fabrics I purchased recently and began sewing.

This is a skirt I just finished. I paired it up with a little bolero jacket I made a couple of years ago.

I used a handkerchief for its pockets.

I made this skirt and paired it with a top I bought last year and a shrug I bought several years ago. I love going through my closet and finding things I haven’t worn for a long time and find they go with something else. I like wearing shrugs or bolero jackets because I am five foot one and long jackets just don’t look good on me. I can’t believe I am five foot one. I feel about six inches taller. Really. But my doctor says that’s how tall I am so I can’t argue with him.

This is the dress I wrote about a while back. The one that I am not sure I like how it fits. It may be because I am not used to wearing fitted dresses or fitted anything for that matter. I will buy clothes one and two sizes too big because I can’t stand anything close to my body. This little bolero jacket is kind of a different shape also. We shall see how much I wear this. I love the fabric though.

I just fell in love with this fabric. Kind of wish I had made another skirt from it. Maybe I will do some changing to the dress later.

I put the quilt I hand quilted on our bed this week for warm weather. Then it got cold again.

I made these pillow cases from feed sack material. I told David these are just for show as I don’t think these would hold up to washing after washing. I do love how they go with the quilt.

This is what I am wearing Easter Sunday. I am also wearing a hat. I want to start a hat revolution. Too many women tell me they don’t think they look good in hats. I think it’s just because when they wear a hat, they are usually the only one wearing one and feel like everyone is looking at them. If more would wear hats, then no one would think anything about it. As it is now, if I wear a hat, someone always says something about it because it is a rarity. I love hats and want to see them come back. My mother had so many hats. One day I will show you some of them which I have, of course. I also have a little hat I wore when I was a little girl.

I’m loving my purse. This pattern is so easy.

Now I will talk about Miss Molly Marshmallow. Look at what she is doing to poor Bonnie. Sitting on her head. I know it’s a sign of dominance, but I wish Bonnie would bite her on the behind just once. This is how she sits. Like a queen on her throne. David and I have been seriously talking about changing her name to Termite because this dog eats wood. She brings up whole logs from the wood pile and gnaws through them. She pulls branches off trees and chews them. And I told you about the big hole she chewed into our house almost clear through to the inside. David was not a happy camper about that and words like, “That dog is gong to find itself in a new home,” to ” Something has to be done about that dog,” were being said. I was close to tears. But, David repaired the hole and so far, Molly has not chewed the house anymore. I think she may have heard what David was saying. She is getting spayed in a week and I am hoping that will settle her down a bit. Poor baby.

Here are two eggs David gathered today. See the little one? See the jelly bean? What in the world happened with that chicken??? Smallest egg we have gotten since the hens all started laying. Must have been a bad day.

Here’s to fabric, dog sitting dogs and tiny eggs. Life is always interesting. Bye.

Snow Day

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Remember those days when you were in school and they called off school because of the snow? One year on my birthday we had a big snow and we listened to the radio eagerly waiting to see if we would be in class that day. What joy I felt when the announcer said, “No school today.” My birthday and a whole day of freedom! How wonderful. ,

When you become an adult you don’t get many snow days. You get to work one way or the other. No snow days for you.

Today I got up, made my coffee, turned on Charles Stanley on television and looked out at the snow falling down. We had gotten several inches overnight. I had prepared the Sunday school lesson for my pre–school class and we were even going to have a little party because the lesson was about a celebration in the BIble. I had bought donuts and cheddar penquins and bought special plates and balloons. I was all set. Then I got a call from one our deacons telling us no church today. I love going to church, but I must admit I felt like a kid getting out of school for the day. David came down the stairs dressed for church and I told him “no church today.”

I never have a whole Sunday off. Never. We spend most of the morning at church, go out to eat, spend a few hours at home and then back to church that night. It seemed so strange not to be going to church, but I had plans. I was going to finish a quilt I have been working on.

I had hand quilted all the blocks.

I machine quilted the border in roses and twirls and even a few little hearts.

I even loved how the back looked. I got it all quilted except for a couple of the blocks that I had missed, but I am going to quilt them tonight and then it will be done, finished, complete! I must say this has been one of my favorite quilts that I have made.

Tonight is the finale of Downton Abbey for the season. I love this show and am sorry it is ending for the season. We all have to wait until next January to see new episodes. Waaaa.

In homage to Downton Abbey I was going to dress like someone in the show. Well, kind of.

My Downton Abbey outfit. The skirt is made from Downton Abbey fabric sold at quilt shops.

I was even going to wear this hat. I love wearing hats although I don’t do it often. People always comment when I wear a hat. Hats should come back as a fashion statement, don’t you think? The women on Downton Abbey wear the most amazing hats. Even the downstairs ladies wear cute hats. I wonder what happens to all those hats and all the beautiful clothes after the show is done? What if they auctioned them off on Ebay?

I was going to carry my new purse that I finished recently.

This is the back of the purse.

Now I think wearing this outfit another time would just be an after thought. What do you think?

I have enjoyed watching the birds chowing down on their birdseed today. At one time there were at least twelve cardinals and a whole host of other birds, titmice, chickadees, juncos, doves, squirrels, sparrows, and nuthatches eating at the bird feeder. Okay, I know squirrels aren’t birds. Just checking to see if you were paying attention.

Each calmly waited its turn at the feeder.

I love mourning doves. When I hear them call it makes me think of my grandpa’s house where I first heard them. There is a mournful sound to their call, thus, their name.

The male cardinals usually don’t share their space well, but when you are hungry, all animosity goes away.

Yeah, we had a few birds at the feeder today. We filled it twice today. It’s so hard for the birds to find food with so much snow on the ground.

I love the view from all our windows. See that house? David and I tried to buy it years ago to put a quilt shop in, but it was a home that had been in the family for a long time and it wasn’t for sale. Now it sits empty until the courts decide what is to be done with it. So sad. I am afraid it will be torn down. It does need a lot of work.

It snowed all morning and then again this afternoon. By Wednesday we are suppose to be up in the high 40’s in temperatures so this won’t last long. Spring is just around the corner after all.

All the dog toys are hidden under the snow, but Belle and Molly Marshmallow found this old rope and played tug of war for quite a long time. Molly is getting so big and Belle can’t get the rope away from her like she use to.

Who has more fun than dogs?

My three girls.

Bonnie. She will be twelve this year. She spends most of her day laying like a queen on her comfy bed in my shop. She has arthritis and doesn’t play like she use to, but she is still a sweet companion.

Belle rules the roost. Molly does not get away with much. Sometimes she gets her down and lets her know who is boss. I wonder how long that will last?

Then there is Molly. Very much a pup still who likes to chew on everything. I try to direct all her energy in chasing a ball I shoot out of a plastic gun. She loves doing that.

As I say often, feed the birds during this weather. They will reward you by staying around and singing to you in the Spring.

Hope you are warm and safe where you are. Sit in a comfy chair, drink a cup of hot chocolate and get ready to watch the last glorious episode of Downton Abbey. Bye.

Okay, I watched Downton Abbey and I bawled at the end. It’s unbelievable we have to wait almost a year before we see what happens next. The best season yet. Next season promises a wedding, maybe two or three. Who knows?

Wonderful, Weathered, Wambled, Wandering,Wacky Week in Weview

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This week has been a doozy. We have been hit with snow storms and flu bugs. Blessed with grandchildren and friends. Shop hopped ”til we dropped. Suffered aches and pains. Had really weird dreams. So, let’s begin.

We started out the beginning of the last week by going on a shop hop. A shop hop is when several quilt shops get together and offer prizes and have quilt blocks you can buy at each shop to make a particular quilt that they have chosen. Two friends, David and I left on what was supposed to be a snowy day and we were not disappointed. The roads weren’t too bad until we were a few miles from home. Then we hit a very slick stretch which made me sit on the edge of the car seat until we got home.

We had fun, though, and I got a new supply of fabric I needed like a hole in my head, but, then, I do have several holes in my head, so what’s one more? Here are some of the fabrics I purchased.

I am going to make a sun dress from this. Sun? What’s sun?

Don’t know if you can see, but there are chickens on this fabric. Curtains for the chicken house maybe?

This will be the binding on a quilt I am hand quilting right now. I hope to have it completed by Summer.

A few weeks ago I bought this top for Easter and I wanted to make a skirt to go with it.

Here is the fabric I found to make the skirt. I am so happy!

The roses in the fabric match the roses on the top. A very inexpensive outfit for Easter and that makes me glad too.

I bought a few pieces of wool felt for my stash.

I found this cute pattern for a wall hanging to be made from wool and wool felt.

That little spotted hen is so adorable. Gosh, I wish I could raise baby chicks from eggs. My hens sit and sit on their eggs, but they will never hatch because there is not a rooster in sight. Do you know how warm it is under a hen? Warmer than you would think.

We love our chickens’ eggs. Had a double yolker for breakfast this morning.

We ate at a restaurant I had never eaten at before, Bagger Dave’s. They make their own sodas and everything is made fresh. I got a grilled chicken salad with mozzarella cheese and it was delicious.

We had two of our favorite people over for the night while their parents went on a much needed time out. These guys keep me on my toes. Despite the fact I have been battling a bad cold or flu bug all week, they made me forget it for a while.

I love these guys. I made the shirts they are wearing and I must say, they are almost too small already. We hadn’t seen them since Christmas and I believe they have grown a couple of inches in that time. I wish they would stop it.

We put together a puzzle, went out to eat, went to Rural King to see the baby chicks and ducks and to buy our pup some new chew toys. I am still our pup’s favorite chew toy. I wish she’d stop.

They helped me bake and ice cupcakes. They did most of the work. I just stood by and offered help. Never can learn too early how to feed yourself.

I learned more about Pokémon than I ever knew or wanted to know. I kept calling it Poky Man and they would say, “Grandma, it’s poky MON!” Some of these cards were accidently(?) dropped into the toilet. Bye, bye Pokémon cards. Reminded me of one time when our younger son had two friends over for an overnight and the next morning I found one of the boy’s clothes in the toilet. No one ever fessed up to how they got there. You never know with boys. I tell ya’.

We watched a really good movie on Netflix called Earth to Echo. We all got so engrossed in it that bedtime came and went. The ending was really good. I took the boys upstairs to bed and I think they were asleep before I got to my room. They slept all night without a peep. We all went to Sunday school the next morning. I help teach a pre-K class and the regular teacher is gone so I taught and I had the biggest class we have had for a while and on a morning after a big snow in our city. I was very pleased. I was also very under the weather. We ate lunch with our daughter’s family and then we went home and I went to bed where I had a dream that actually made me feel sick. I dreamed I had made five pies and I ate a piece from every one of them with a whole container of Cool Whip on top. I was actually nauseous when I woke up, but was so glad I hadn’t eaten all that. I told David it’s turned me off pie for a long time!

We have had snow and cold now for quite a while. I try to keep all the pets and the wild birds fed and watered. It’s a tough time for them, but we will get through.

Be sure to feed the birds. It’s hard for them to find food when the ground is covered. Bye.

Antiquing, Wood and Eggs(or AWE)

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I couldn’t think of a clever heading to this post so this is what I came up with. We have done some antiquing, mainly because I wanted to get out of the house and go somewhere besides the grocery store or church. I have to get out every few days or I will turn into a pumpkin or something.

Wood first. Many years ago when our children were young, we use to burn firewood in a wood stove in our living room to help keep our old house warm. We had an old antique furnace that I think was put in during the fifties and it wasn’t all that efficient. Earth stoves were sold back then. They were very efficient little stoves. People who had them would brag about how long they would burn with one stick of wood. Someone told us that he put a leaf in his Earth stove and it burned all night. I think he was pulling our leg. If you burn wood, you have to get it from somewhere. You either buy it by the rick or cord or you go out in the woods and cut your own. Back then we cut our own. David worked at Camp Atterbury at the time and got permission for us to cut downed trees in the camp. We had an old beat up red truck that I loved and we all piled into the front seat(we couldn’t do that today) and drove to the camp on cool Autumn days and searched for trees that had fallen down. The children would play while David cut the wood and I helped him throw it into the back of the truck. When we got the truck loaded, we brought the wood home and had to restack it again. I read somewhere once that cutting your own wood warms you three times, when you cut the wood, when you stack the wood and when you burn the wood. It’s true.

When I was growing up on the farm, we burnt wood and coal oil. There was a big black wood stove in the kitchen and it was the warmest room in the house. Getting up on a frigid winter morning and coming down from your frigid bedroom into a toasty warm kitchen smelling of coffee and food was heaven. It was a warm oasis in the wintry weather. I always felt cozy in the kitchen in the winter and Mother always had something good to eat prepared.

We cut down a big maple tree in our side yard this Autumn and David planned to split all the wood. I really thought it would take him all winter, but he finished the job this past week.

There is a lot of wood there. Our son-in-law and one of our sons plan on getting some of this and the rest we will burn in our fire pit. There are three giant pieces left that David said he will have to work on. One of them I plan to make into a garden table.

My man cut up more wood we had laying around the yard this week.

Our older son gave him this saw at Christmas and it has really come in handy. We cleaned up a lot of wood in the yard and have it neatly stacked now.

We love burning wood in our fire pit. I love the smell of burning wood and it was nice having the warmth while we worked outside. Our dogs like to lay around the fire too.

Antiquing. We took a day out and went out to eat and found a really nice antique mall in Bloomington. There was so much there and I found a few things.

Feed sacks. I don’t often buy feed sacks because I think they are a little too expensive for what you get, but I fell in love with these. I got two of the grandmother’s flower garden ones. I am thinking of making pillowcases from them.

A pretty Spring tablecloth. I already have plans for a ladies’ tea with pretty tablecloths on the tables. On our big front porch.

It’s funny, but almost a year ago to the day I bought a book by this author at another antique store.

Jessamyn West is an author who was born in Indiana and the two books of hers I have are about a Quaker family during the Civil War and afterward. Friendly Persuasion was made into a movie starring Gary Cooper. I love that movie and watch it every time it’s on tv.

Eggs. Okay, my hens are laying sporadically right now because of the cold weather, but we still are getting enough for us and some to give away. One of our hens is laying gigantic eggs and I know it’s not the biggest hen because I found an egg under her that is rather small. I wish I could find out who. She deserves some extra chicken crack( I call the chicken scratch chicken crack because they go crazy over it.) Here is the giant one compared to the regular sized egg,

They are big eggs and heavy, too. I say my chicken eggs taste like butter and they do.

Here’s to AWE. Bye.

Puppy Pugnaciousness

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We got a puppy last Summer. A tiny, sweet, cuddly, puppy. Did I say sweet? Yes, she was a darling. Did I say was? She was docile. Ahem. She was for a time. Then she began to grow. She grew and grew and suddenly she became a combative, belligerent dog, kind of like a teen-ager. She is going through the toddler, say “no” period in her life and we are having a time teaching her how to be a good puppy. She does nothing in anger or viciousness. She just turns into a Tasmanian devil at the most inappropriate time and I have the scars to prove it.

She wants to be with me constantly. I find her looking at me all the time and when she is playing with Belle, she looks at me to see if I am watching, just like a child would do. She is incredibly intelligent and I can see her trying to figure things out, like how to open the back door which she could if we didn’t keep it locked.

We got Molly a new toy yesterday. You know those guns that shoot tennis balls? Molly is loving this and it is really exercising her now. I have a sore arm from pulling the lever back to shoot the balls. Molly would run after them all day if I had the strength to continue pulling the lever. She is learning to bring a ball back so that I can shoot another one. It keeps her busy and she doesn’t jump on me while she is chasing the balls.

Molly is also getting to be a good watchdog. She sits on her lawn chair on the porch and surveys her kingdom and when she sees a stranger or our neighbor out in his yard with his dog, she lets me know it. She doesn’t sound like a puppy anymore. She has a deep, big dog bark even though she is only six months old. I can’t wait to see how big she will be or high loud her bark will be. I know no one will come in our back yard with three dogs sitting there watching them. One time years ago, a doctor who had an office next door to our house had his office broken into for drugs. The night it happened, our dogs were throwing a barking fit and I knew something was going on somewhere. I just wish I had known it was going on at the doctor’s because I would have called the police. Our house was safe since the dogs were barking. When David was in the guard and was gone or when he has to work nights, I feel safer knowing I have two dogs sitting at my door ready to greet anyone who comes near.

I love Molly to pieces. I love all three of my dogs. They are good companions, good protectors and it’s just nice having dogs. I have always had dogs and can’t imagine life without them. I know when Molly grows up, she is going to be one of the best dogs we have ever had. I have said that about every dog I have gotten, and I have never been disappointed. Bonnie will be twelve years old this year. Old for a Labrador. She still has a shiny coat, a wet nose and a wonderful disposition. She spends most of her time laying on her bed in my shop since she has arthritis, but she still can show love and is a sweetheart of a dog. Belle is my sweetheart. She has been the best dog and has walked with me for years. Neither of us have had many walks lately since I hurt my leg, but I am hoping that I will feel like taking walks again soon.

I don’t know if you have a dog or not, but for me, dogs are the perfect pet. They give love, protection and companionship you can’t get with any other animals. Hug a dog today. Bye.

Pups, Patterns, Planting and Pain

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What do all these have in common? Not much, except for the pup and pain bit. Let’s just say Molly Marshmallow and I have had a few altercations in the past few days. We are trying to teach her not to jump up on us and bite our heels as we walk and it has been a very slow process. Add to that that Molly simply loves to dash at the fence where the chickens are encaged and we are ripe for some excitement. Add to that that she slipped right by me when I opened the gate to where the chickens were and began chasing the chickens and all heck broke loose. I’m just saying. David was splitting wood up in the front yard and he said I yelled so loudly he thought I was right next to him! I mean the neighbors a quarter of a mile down the road probably heard me. Molly was dashing from chicken to chicken and she got either Penninah or Jemima down. I could just see chicken feathers, chicken heads and blood everywhere and that’s when I went into action. I happened to have a plastic bucket in my hand I was using to carry water to the chickens and I winged it at Molly with all my might. It knocked her for a loop and she went behind the compost pile to hide and that’s where David found us. Me holding Molly at bay and as I looked back, I saw the chickens nonchalantly sauntering into their other pen. I ran and shut the gate and that’s when Molly ran out. That’s also when I realize I had hurt myself somehow. I had pulled muscles in my right leg I didn’t know I had. I suddenly could barely walk or stand on my leg. I don’t remember falling ,stumbling or otherwise during the excitement, but I did something. David had to help me into the house. I was just getting over a pinched nerve I had at the back of my knee since Thanksgiving and now I am crippled again. The thing is, it feels better to walk than to sit down or lay down so maybe that is good. I will have to keep active.

Anyway, Molly seems to be a little more subdued these last couple of days. She actually sat beside me and allowed me to love on her and pet her all over without trying to bite. She really is a sweet dog and doesn’t mean any harm, but she needs to learn that her teeth are not for biting or eating chickens. And the chickens? Those dorks don’t have a care in the world and have forgotten all about it. Me, however. Pain city. This too shall pass.

” I didn’t mean to hurt you, Mom.”

Look at that sweet puppy. Wouldn’t hurt a flea. Ahem. All the dogs have learned to sit and wait for their dinner. No, they are not looking at David with adulation. They are looking at their food dishes and wishing he would hurry up and put them down. See how big Molly is getting? She is the one in the middle. I can hardly tell her from Belle from the back anymore.

The hens have been laying a little lazily lately. Alliteration. But, still, we have plenty of eggs. I made egg salad the other day. I don’t know why, but I use to think making egg salad would be hard. Here’s how easy it is.

First I boiled the eggs. Boiling eggs is easy. Let them come to a boil and then let them sit in the hot water for about twenty minutes or so. If you ever boil eggs and the yolks are green, it’s because you have boiled them too long. Put the eggs in cold water and peel them. Fresh eggs do not peel easily. If you want pretty deviled eggs, use older eggs. My eggs are always fresh. Since it didn’t matter how pretty the eggs were in this dish, I didn’t mind that they looked this way.

I take a potato masher and begin mashing.

Until the eggs are mashed finely. I add salt and pepper. Not much.

Then mix in mayonnaise(I use Miracle Whip). Stir thoroughly. I don’t like a lot of mayo in my egg salad. I want to taste the eggs. There’s a fine line between too dry egg salad and too wet egg salad, but that is up to you and what you like.

And there you have egg salad. It doesn’t last very long around here and I can go out and get fresh eggs any time and make it any time I want to. That’s the blessing of having your own chickens. I always tell people if you have chickens, you will never starve because you will always have eggs and if you raise chicks, you will always have chickens. I fixed chicken and noodles yesterday from chickens I did not know personally. My chooks will die of old age.(Or murder from a pup.)

Seed catalogs are coming in almost daily now. I’m pretty sure what I am going to plant this year. Pumpkins, tomatoes and flowers. I really don’t feel like having a big vegetable garden this year.

I get a lot of my seeds from Wildflower Farm. It’s based in Texas and sells seed by the pound. A pound of zinnia seeds goes a long way. I had zinnias planted everywhere last Summer. I also had lots of sunflowers which the goldfinches loved. I will probably plant some of those again.

I have been working on a new quilt top. I love the pattern in this one. I need to make forty-two squares. Here are just a few of them I have already made.

I call it Garden Quilt. This will do until I can plant my real garden this Spring. Bye.

Threads of Time

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Okay, does it seem like Christmas was ages ago? We had our final family gathering last Saturday. I never get tired of seeing my grandchildren. It hit me, though, how quickly they are all growing and soon will be adults. So any time I can spend with them is golden for me and David and I hope we can do it more this year.

I always like to take pictures when we are together although sometimes I forget because we are having fun. But this time I took several pictures of the boys. My granddaughter was home feeling poorly so she wasn’t with us. Taking pictures of boys is like trying to herd cats. You can’t get them to hold still or smile. Here are a few pictures that I took.

Here they are with their Enderman and Creeper from Mindcraft. I learned more than I ever needed to know about Mindcraft while researching how to make toys for the boys. I’m still not sure I understand it, but they knew exactly what they were when they opened the packages so I breathed a sigh of relief.

Boys in motion.

I like this picture. Rather elfin looking I think. I knitted all the younger boys scarves and hats.

Eating the new sweatshirt I just gave him.

This young man is thirteen and wears size twelve shoes. Or, as he told me, he can wear eight and a half shoes also. Huh?! Just know his foot is about twice as long as mine. And he is still growing. He’s on the basketball team. His grandfather on his mother’s side played a lot of basketball and he is following in his footsteps.

My lovely daughter with her oldest. We had a grand time and I look forward to seeing them all again. My younger grandsons are already asking me when Grandma’s camp is going to be. We want to take them caving this summer.

If you live in the northern states you know we are being hit by Artic air right now. I almost got frostbite this morning cleaning out the chicken house and feeding them. I keep candles burning because it just makes me feel warmer.

I brought my sewing indoors as the dogs have taken over my shop for the duration of this cold.

I am getting ready to quilt this quilt. It’s kingsize and I’m not sure whether I will hand quilt it or do it on the sewing machine. I think it’s called Granny Squares. I pieced it a year or so ago and am just getting ready to finish it.

It’s been a nice quilt to use up my bits and pieces of fabric. Since I have quite a stash, I could make several more of these.

Each block has a different color scheme.

This will be the backing. We sold this when we had our quilt shop. I have loved it ever since and wanted to use it in something I will keep.

This week I had the joy of teaching a friend and her two cute daughters how to piece a block and learn some quilt basics. They decided to make pot holders. After a lot of cutting, sewing, tearing out a couple of times and sewing again, they almost finished them except for a border or two.

It brought back memories when I use to teach quilt classes at our store. It is so rewarding to see someone who does not know about quilting learn about it and find out it’s fun. Their pot holders show their individuality. Pam picked Christmas fabric to match some new dishes she received.

Tiffany picked bold, floral fabrics that made a beautiful pot holder.

Danielle picked homespun fabrics and I really liked how her pot holder turned out.

It was fun and made me want to teach classes again. See behind Danielle? Molly and Belle watched us continuously. This was usually their naptime and didn’t know why I wasn’t letting them into the shop.

I got this cute mug Saturday. My grandchildren and their mom and stepdad went to Cleveland where the Christmas Story house is.

I love this mug. It holds about two cups of coffee…………

or hot chocolate. If you are in the freezer this week, stay warm, drink hot chocolate and enjoy your indoor time. This, too, will pass. Bye.

Catching My Breath

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We took down the Christmas tree and other decorations today and, surprisingly, I didn’t feel sad about doing it. I feel like I have been on a roller coaster for the last three months and I look forward to one month of doing as little as possible. I won’t have to clean for company, cook big meals, hunt for gifts, or do any of the other things that come with the holidays. Our holidays seem to start at Halloween and don’t finish until a week after Christmas. I love it all, but I am ready for some slow down time. It was nice getting the house back into order and the sun is shining brightly in the window where the tree once stood.

Soon I am hoping to start a Bible study if I can get a few women who would like to join me. If not, I will study by myself. I am either going to do Beth Moore’s Daniel study which I have done before or her 1st and 2nd Thessalonians study. I have done almost all of Beth Moore’s Bible studies and learned so much, plus they are very enjoyable and fun too.

I have two quilts I plan to start quilting, one by hand and one on the sewing machine. I also have two that I plan to piece. There is a shop hop in February where I will collect more fabric for these two quilts. If you don’t know what a shop hop is, it is several quilt shops who get together and have prizes and treats for the quilters who shop at their businesses on the special days. They usually also have quilt block kits which you can buy and if you buy them all you have enough for a quilt. I usually don’t do this as I like to pick out my own material and patterns. They sell a shop hop pass which puts you in the running for prizes at each store. One year I won $50 worth of fabric which was really nice for me as I don’t have enough fabric. Ha!

This week I had a friend and her two daughters over to learn how to piece a quilt block. They made pot holders. It was fun to watch them as they learned some of the basics of quilting. I was rather a work horse and made them rip out pieces that were not quite straight, but I knew they would not be happy with the finished result unless they did so. I know I have had to rip out a lot while piecing especially when I was first learning how to quilt. Anyway, they almost completed their pot holders, including quilting them on the machine and adding binding. I took pictures and will try to show them on my next post. I think they were happy with their handy work. I know I was proud of them and how much they accomplished.

Now I am enjoying just sitting here watching the snow blow off the garage roof. It is frigidly cold here with the wind blowing steadily. Have to wrap up including your nose when you go outside unless you want frostbite. If you live in a warm climate and are reading this, I envy you, just a little right now. It is sunny which makes for a beautiful day, but even the chickens are staying inside and they hardly ever do that. Belle, Bonnie and Molly Marshmallow sleep warmly in my shop when it is this cold. They are nice company when I am working out there.

Hope wherever you are you are warm and cozy and looking forward to this brand new year. Bye.

2015

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Happy New Year. Yes, I’m a day late, but I was busy New Year’s Day. I had to watch all those old Twilight Zone shows I have watched dozens of times through the years. I can remember when I was a girl and Twilight Zone just started and how we all gathered in the living room to watch it every week. Rod Sterling or is it Serling, always introduced each show and the Twilight Zone music would come on and give me the shivers.

While watching Twilight Zone I did what I have done every year since I was a girl. I made pillowcases. My mother always said we had to make pillowcases on New Year’s Day. I don’t know why. Luck? We needed them? Tradition? She just wanted me to do something? Anyway, I make pillowcases on New Year’s Day.

I made three and I also finished a new ironing board cover.

I can never find pretty ironing board covers and I iron a lot since I sew a lot and I like having pretty ironing board covers on my ironing board. They are so easy to make and I can change them out when I get tired of one or the old one gets too raggedy. I wear out ironing board covers and irons regularly as I use them so much. There are days that the iron is on all day. I am very pleased with this one. The fabric had lines I could quilt on and I finished it in a couple of days to include cutting it out, quilting it and putting in the elastic. It fits really well. Better than any store bought ironing board cover. How many times have I written ironing board covers in this paragraph? Belle keeps check on me hoping she can come in and sleep for a while in the shop. A lot of the time I have three dogs sleeping in here while I work. Belle snores. Loudly. I want to record her and let you hear her sometime.

I also painted lampshades. I read a blog where this lady painted her white lampshades to make them look like Tiffany glass when lit. I’m not that good an artist so mine aren’t elaborate, but with the shades painted, the lamps give off a softer light.

I may never have a white shade in my house ever again.

I also had to eat cabbage(sauerkraut) for New Year’s. Once again a tradition my mother started. I put a little brown sugar and some celery seed in the sauerkraut and it is delicious. Sauerkraut and sausages. Yum.

Tomorrow we are having Christmas with three of our grandchildren who were in Chicago Christmas day. My grandsons are into Mind Craft things and so they got some Mind Craft things, but then I got it into my head to make some Mind Craft dolls. This is supposed to be the Creeper. Since my grandson doesn’t read my blog, I can show him.

This is his face. His whole body is supposed to be made out of pixels, I think, but there was no way I was sewing that many little squares on fabric. Hope he likes him.

I walked around today looking at our outside decorations. We are leaving them up until January 6th for the twelve days of Christmas and then they will be put away for another year. I really loved decorating our new front porch.

It was a busy day. Oh, and I dyed my hair. What color?? You will have to wait and see.

Hope you have a very pleasant, healthy and prosperous New Year. Whatever it brings, just know there is One who watches over us all and wants the best for us. Happy New 2015! Bye.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

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It is, you know. The most wonderful time of the year. The season of giving and peace and love. Oh, you look around the world and see all the evil that is going on, but what you don’t see very often because it doesn’t make a good news story, is the good that is going on. The nurse in the hospital who gives a lonely patient a little extra time and patience, the boy on your street who helps his elderly neighbor clear the snow off her walk, the man who pays the tab for a soldier eating at the next table in a restaurant, a teen-ager who calls his grandma and asks about her day. There is a lot of bad, but if you look, you will see the good also. There will always be sin in this world. Jesus said there would be wars and rumors of wars.

We can all make this world a little bit better. It’s the small things that count. A smile, patience for that slow driver in front of you, a kind word, a pat on the back, a hug. What if everyone decided that they were not going to be the problem, but the answer? That we would all decide we would get along with our neighbor, that we would look on the bright side of things for a change, that your life really isn’t so bad if you can get up in the morning and do something for others. It’s time to stop being so self-centered. To stop wondering when things are going to get better. You can make them better.

I decided quite a long time ago that I was not going to look at the glass half empty. My glass is always half full. If I don’t feel well one day I think I am no better than anyone else and cannot escape the trials of man and accept it. I have lived through tragedies, sadness, pain, separation, and most of the other human ills. We all must face these things at some time in our lives. It is how you face them that counts. I know people who have the most awful diseases who wear a smile on their faces in their adversity. There is one thing they have. They have Jesus in their heart. It makes a difference, you know. At this season rest in the knowledge that God loved us all enough that He came down to earth as a tiny baby and lived among us for a time. He died a wretched death on the cross and took every one of our sins upon Himself. He died but He arose the third day and now lives in heaven. One day He will come back for those who believe in Him. I believe. He makes my life complete.

I love Christmas because I can give presents to friends and family. I love making gifts and this year I went all out. I can’t show most of what I have made, but I have already given some things away so those I will show.

I made felt ice skates for the children in my Sunday school class and filled them with candy and little toys and stickers.

I have a friend who loves cats so I made her this little ornament out of felt.

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The lady I help in Sunday school got this because I told her she was an angel.

Another friend keeps bees so, voila! When I found this pattern I immediately thought of her.

I was on a roll and made another ornament. I may make more before I’m done. I love working with felt.

I’ve been knitting up a storm too.

Hats and scarves for the children in my Sunday school class.

A year or so ago, a nice lady from my church gave me a big bagful of quilt blocks, embroidery floss, a whole quilt that she had cross stitched and several other goodies. She said she gave it to me because she knew I would get some good out of it since I love to quilt. There were enough of these school house blocks to make a full size quilt So, I did. I asked her who had made the blocks and she told me her grandmother. I knew I could not keep this quilt for myself. It belonged in her family so this Sunday I gave it to her. It made me so happy to see her smile. The quilt was probably started in the 1950’s and now sixty some years later it is finished and the family can enjoy it for years to come.

I think my brothers had pajamas made from material like this back in the day.

There were plaid blocks.

One block was made with a satin or crepe de chine. Is that spelled right?

Yes, I have been a busy beaver. And I have enjoyed every bit of the making.

In other news. Molly Marshmallow continues to grow and grow.

Doesn’t she look adorable here? Wellllllll. This dog loves wood. She chews on wood every chance she gets. She has chewed on our house, around the windows, the wooden deck benches. She goes out in the yard and drags up pieces of wood and chips them like a beaver all over our back deck. She climbs on top of the woodpile, I don’t know why. Maybe she is planning on working her way down it. Anyway, today I took hot sauce and a brush and painted it all over the back of our house. Molly immediately started licking it up. Finally she decided maybe it wasn’t so good. I am going to hot sauce everything I don’t want her to chew. She loves chewing the heels of my shoes as I walk so on will go the hot sauce. I hope I have found the remedy to her constant chewing. It’s not like she doesn’t get toys and rawhide bones to chew. I just hope she outgrows this affinity for wood and me. I still love her, though and get a lot of laughs from her antics. If you walk by me and I smell like hot sauce, you will know why.

I look at this face and I cannot stay angry with her. She is a puppy and chewing is what puppies do.

My Santa rests on the couch before the big day. He’s been asked at the store for stickers and other toys. Little children think he’s the real thing.

A big package came to our front door the other day. David and I had gone to a Christmas party and when we came home there was this box sitting on our front porch.

It was for me!!!!!!

Do not open until Christmas. Oh, no! I feel like a kid again waiting for the big day.

I knew it had to be from someone I knew who knew I liked chickens because this was on the package……

A rooster made out of what looks like an old quilt. Interesting. Hmmmmmmm. Well, I guess I will just have to wait until Christmas until I can open it.

Couldn’t let Christmas go by without dressing up one of the hens for the season. This is Ada and she’s the only one who will allow me to pick her up now. She got a little squirrely toward the end of the photo shoot and finally flew out of my arms, but David got a good picture of her.

Must go. Just four more days. Hope you are ready. It will come whether you are ready or not. See you on the other side. Merry Christmas. Bye.

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Snicklefritz

So glad you came. Come sit a spell and read about the tale of my life.

Category Archives: Pets I love

Textiles and Me Part2

Snow Day

Wonderful, Weathered, Wambled, Wandering,Wacky Week in Weview

Antiquing, Wood and Eggs(or AWE)

Puppy Pugnaciousness

Pups, Patterns, Planting and Pain

Threads of Time

Catching My Breath

2015

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year