Saturday, March 10, 2012

phew !

Not second, but third, so at least they will get some points out of it. DD and family were on their little boat, out on the water by the finish line, so had a very exciting time ! DH and I go to Auckland tomorrow so look forward to seeing the sailor and inspecting the boats.

Marion.

"All lined up, with nostrils flared..."

So says one of the sailors on one of the three boats fighting for second place, in this leg of the Volvo Ocean race. (the first place is already taken !) Seems incredible that, after 5,000 miles of difficult sailing and 20days of extreme racing under their belts, everything will be decided on the finishing line...My nephew is on one of those three boats, so it's all a bit tense around here !!

Bee, well done to your little dog ! What a hero. A nasty experience for you though. I hope the police made you a cuppa before leaving you on your own again...

Marion.

awake!! at 3.15 am

I am so impressed with my Gus. I always wondered what he would do if anyone came up my drive in the dead of night and now I know. All h##l broke loose. He woke me up and I saw torches outside my bedroom. My security lights moved with the high winds and were not working and the boys are coming today to reset them, I was asked to come to the front door and after asking and seeing the police uniforms I did just that. Gus was still sounding off and I was asked to hold him, which of course I did. They had been given my addy for someone they were looking for. After Gus realising I was quite happy with my visitors he took off back to bed leaving me with the police. He was snoring by the time I tried to go back to sleep which, as you can see, didn't work .I am now on my second cup of coffee and have stopped shaking. It is a great feeling to know my own security works so well even if he made sure he didn't lose too much beauty sleep. Hugs Bee in a very dark NZ.

My Y2K quilt.


I have it hanging in the hall and it gives me a lot of pleasure. FRAN.......if you look carefully you will see your square ! Each signature square is surrounded by the fabric sent by that quilter. I placed two fabric squares together, drew a line from corner to corner and stitched either side before cutting on the line. This gave me two squares made up of two triangles. I reduced the size of one until it was the required size and put the other one in a box..(as we do...) This year I have made a quilt top, out of previously rejected blocks, and I have bordered it with those squares.. What a good feeling. They had been in that box since the turn of the century !

Do the maths....80 signature blocks surrounded by 24 different fabrics = 2000 bits of material !! Clever eh ? It wasn't my idea but it worked and I was very pleased with it.

Marion.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Y2K

So now it's 12 years! How did that happen?
My squares are yours Laura, I found them.
I'd say they are about half and half, 2.5 and 3inch.
(I started to cut them down)
I remember when I did the swap I mailed them
to the organizer and then she fell off the face
of the earth for about half a year. Out of the blue someone
contacted us & said that that person had gotten really
sick & the swap was back on.
Somehow I just never could come up with an idea.
So there they sit.
email me with your addy & they are on their way!
easystitches at yahoo

Monday, March 5, 2012

Sarasota, Florida



Sara's posts about the new condominium have kept me amused over the last while and the everyday annoyances and challenges of moving into a new place, particularly when one has been told to move out of a longtime home and into something 'easier' as she mentions many older folks doing..where you won't have stairs, lawn to cut, snow to shovel and where there will be less work for you 'mom'....My last move was nearly 24 years ago and I'm sure that I would find moving out of our present home nothing short of an aggravation as I live with a packrat. But Sara's posts have reminded me that I have this photograph of Sarasota Bay taken from the Ringling Bridge in downtown Sarasota, one of the prettiest cities along the west coast of Florida. Sara is on the east coast. On the west coast one sees the sunset and the sun sinking into the ocean, on the east coast one sees the sun rise. At this time of year I'd like to hop on a plane and fly south.


The tornado destruction looks absolutely horrible in Indiana. And now snow. It's hard to imagine natural disasters, such as this and the earthquakes in New Zealand, unless one is living in them. We caught the tail end of the tornadoes up here in Southern Ontario on Saturday with very bad weather and 70,000 people out of power around the south central Ontario region. High winds, ice, trees down, lots of damage but thankfully just a pinch on what the folks in the mid-west US have had to face.


Off I go to put on my nightgown and sit my fanny in front of the television set...it's my night to watch Midsommer Murders, one of my favorites; another, Doc Martin.


Rosey

so glad everyone is safe

I was in my own little world since Thurs. night, didn't even know there were any tornadoes anywhere. Glad we are all safe!
Had a bit of a melt-down Thursday evening when for the upteenth time I couldn't find something. This was the Valarian root I've been taking for help with sleep. It was at home on the kitchen counter, and I was at the beach in the condo. The doggies were not happy, I was not happy. We bought a queen size bed, I wanted to put the dogs in their zip-up dog kennel to sleep at night, they whined, so DH let them get in with us. On top of me mostly.
(The cheese would come in here) On Friday tried to find a 36" towel bar to match the others we had bought at Bed, Bath, etc. The company doesn't make them that size. So, on Sat. we bought 2 18". I now realize why the elderly get so anxious after moving out of the family home into a "nice" place. Can't find anything. Trip over boxes. Trip over dog. Wake up, don't know where I am, try to find bath room in the dark-Oh-hit wall.
On the good side-found a couple of great restaurants--shrimp so fresh it was just out of the water.
Re-connected with some old friend, bought a blender and had frozen drinks on the balcony.
Walked up and down the stair case several times just for the exercise. 16 floors each way!
Saw 2 amazing sunrises over the Atlantic ocean.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We will have to get a king size bed- and I get to pick it out. Things are almost finished. The throw pillows are going to be colors I like because I'm making them out of fabric I chose.
OK, hope you get better soon Jane-take good care of the body parts.
Sara in pollen filled and windy North Fla.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Tornadoes..

So pleased to know that you ladies are safe. So sorry to hear of the awful devastation and loss of life. Tornadoes must be terrifying. To actually be able to see them coming must be very scary indeed.

My sympathies to our Australian neighbours too. Lots of flood damage over there. Loss of life and property. We had a "weather bomb" here yesterday. The North Island was hit the hardest with heavy rain and gale force winds. More damage but no loss of life as far as I'm aware. An unsettled time around the world. Lets hope the coming week will be easier.

Jane, I'm sorry you are in so much pain. Wishing you well.

Marion.