Saturday, October 27, 2012

Happy Birthday Ladies

I am going outside in my bare garden to sweep up,all I can do for now. I actually have leaves already on my trees, in spite of my lot. It rained the next day after they cut the garden down to zero and after a week I have new leaves. I am so pleased it is supposed to rain today so just right timing . You should have seen the birds, they have been used to flying onto my shrubs, and I had some very surprised birds when they couldn't find a tree to perch on. Hugs to all and watch that storm heading your way . Bee.

Spring morning in N.Z.

 The day started so well today that I couldn't resist taking photos of the garden.  It was sunny and warm and there was no wind... It didn't last, but it made for a good start to my day !   This is the first time that I have tried to post more than one photo at a time, it was quite simple but took longer than I had anticipated.  Even as I wrote that I realized how I now expect everything to happen instantly !  It's not that long since we had to (a) finish the film (which could take weeks or months ! (b) find a chemist on an infrequent trip to town and (c) return to collect the photos anything up to a week later !  By the time my parents got photos of our new babies they were practically walking.  Now photos of new borns are flashed around the world as soon as they are delivered..

 I seem to have no control over where this typing is going.  Obviously, I still have lots to learn..

Thank you Rosey for forwarding on the previous post. So good to hear from the birthday girl. I hit 73 myself a few weeks ago.  Hard to believe . Neither of my parents reached 70 and it didn't seem that they died young at the time...

Our friends who recently lost their dog Gemma, visited this morning.  They got very upset when they saw Holly looking so excited and rushing around looking for her playmate.  They will get another dog but it won't be a Beagle !  Any suggestions for a placid, trainable, small dog who would enjoy  having a Beagle as a play- mate ?    I have just deleted a paragraph and along with it went the photos so I think I will finish here before the rest of them disappear.   !!!    Time for an end of day glass of wine I think...Care to join me ?
  

Friday, October 26, 2012

From MaryJoG via RoseyP

Happy birthday Sara!  Today is mine; 72 doesn't seem possible.  After two cancer surgeries this past year, am happy to celebrate this one.  Certainly makes one appreciate everyday life.  We (our small quilt group of 6 friends) visited a shop in a nearby town that is closing.  Found some lovely batiks to inspire another project.  As if I could ever finish all the quilt plans in my closets.  Maybe if I get another century...  The main batik is mossy green with streaks of violet and soft splashes of a dusty pink.  Found each of those shades to complement.  Maybe a circle quilt with some NY Beauties interspersed?  Any ideas.  Seems a bit funny to have gone back to my original quilting colors.  They were all green, pink and cream.  Our guest room closet is shelved with a hanging space.  I have 22 tote bags with projects inside.  Some are fabric with a sketch or pattern.  Others are UFO's.  Am calling them my PITS, projects in tote bags...  Wishing you all a quilty day, MaryJo

Friday-10/26

Hi from windy and stormy Fla.  For those of u who don't watch "the weather chanel" Hurricane Sandy is off the coast of Fla.  Some damage and loss of life in Cuba, but it is not supposed to come any closer to us, and turn East later today.  It may go into the outter banks of N.C. or up the Del-Mar-Va. (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia) area.  There are 1,000s of football fans in town for the Florida-Georgia yearly game on Sat.  May have some light rain or wind for the game, but nothing enough to cancel it.
Today is my 64th birthday.  I am staying home in my bathrobe!  We went out of town the last 2 weekends, running to beach and over to see my Mom.  I want to relax.  Put my foot down, and got my way.  DH walked dogs, made some breakfast, and cleaned up.  Hopefully can talk him into turning off FOX news, so I can read a book and quilt.   Will let him take me out to dinner tonight.
Lots more, but time to refil the coffee cup.
Sara in windy, gray skys of Fla.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

uuuuummmm....

Having been unable to "post" for the last couple of days I thought I would try again tonight, in the hope that the simpler system had returned.  Oh no !  Yet another page to find my way through ! This time not quite as confusing but certainly different.  Wonder what's gong on ?   Maybe Eric has washed his hands of us and we've been handed over to Google  ?  For the ladies who are still failing to get through , keep trying !  The system seems to change daily.

Thanks for the lovely photos.  They do brighten up the page and transport us to other places.  Bee, you certainly hit on a good idea, threatening to use the "funeral money "  !!  That would catch the attention of family members and make them spring into action !  Hope your garden recovers.  My DH "helped" me in the garden a few years ago and it has taken awhile for some of the shrubs to recover.  His idea of "trimming" is to do it a few inches from the ground. I think it's a cunning plot to prevent me from asking for his help.  If he can't get the tractor in, or use the chain saw, he really isn't interested   !!

Rosey, the w/end happenings at your Band B left me gasping for air !

Two nasty after-shocks in Christchurch yesterday. That's disappointing, it has been quiet lately and we were beginning to think the quakes were over..  This afternoon we visited our friends who live in an already damaged house.  Each after-shock sees the cracks widen and more floor tiles broken.  There are many in that situation and it will be months or years before they get around to fix or demolish these homes.  We were diverted, several times, on the way to visit them, due to extensive road works replacing sewerage pipes and water mains, what a big job..

Marion .

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Singer 404

Question for you knowledgable (sp) collectors: I got a Singer 404 at a yard sale, not realizing it was strictly straight stitch, but that's okay. But with it I was given "attachments" which turned out to be a buttonholer for the 301 and an automatic zigzagger for the 301, plus a box of "zigzag and stretch accessories" for Singer model 417.  Unless I am missing something (probably my brain LOL), if the 404 only straight stitches how on earth could any of these be its attachments (unless it is something for straight stitch and happens to fit the foot)  The 404 is also a slant needle but I haven't tried putting any of this stuff on it.  Been busy trying to find a spool pin of all things, looks like I will have to find an OSMG someplace out here.  Any and all comments welcome.  (I will probably try to resell it all somehow after I find a spool pin; other than that it runs very smoothly and just needs a little cleaning up.)  Lavinia/AZ

Monday, October 22, 2012

That will teach me to keep my mouth shut

It was a long weekend here and I have been asking my boys to help me in my garden ,all the trees and shrubs were much too high and as my mobility is bad I needed help. I have been asking for this for ages and even suggested it could be my birthday or Christmas gift or even both. I urged, pleaded, conned , yelled and then had a bright idea, I suggested I use my funeral money to get a real gardener to do it. Panic stations, not about using my money just that I was serious enough to contemplate it. I now have a very tidy garden ,not a leaf on anything!!!!!! I will not have to trim anything for years, there is nothing left to trim . I should have known ,they are not gardeners just like destruction. It is Spring so won't take long to grow. The cat is in a panic the tree she used to sit in is completely bare and about 2 feet high. She was sitting on the fence where the tree used to be looking cross.Gus was in heaven, both his boys were here and he had a ball. he has now taken off to bed worn out. It has been so windy here and cold not too much like spring, but it should improve soon and I can sit outside and sew. I have found a long cord so can take my machine outside on the deck. Sounds good to me. There seems to be a lot of changes in kitchens etc. going on over in your part of the world. I would hate to have my kitchen remade, the mess the mess. No doubt the result will be wonderful but the waiting oh dear. Sara, did you ever find away to keep your furry kids asleep in the morning? my cat thinks I should be up with the birds and I am not impressed. Hugs to all, Bee in a windy NZ.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

It really is fall



The fall colors have finally come to western Idaho.  After a summer of unrelenting heat without any rain, we have begun to have freezing weather at night.  The trees and shrubs are responding in a lovely manner, from the pale yellows and pinks of the deciduous azalea to the red of the blaze maple and the bronze/yellow of the ash tree in the back yard.  Although we don't usually have the riot of color that's common in the eastern part of the country, this year is proving to be one of the nicest we've had in a while.  DH was in the backcountry last week and said that the aspens were spectacular.

Rosey, your description of the lovebirds is probably the main reason that I'd choose NOT to run a B&B.  Bad enough that you have a lady dog being interested, I can't imagine what our two big males would do!  They are inveterate crotch sniffers.

We are planning our assault on the forest for our winter load of firewood next week.  This week had been the plan, but the weatherman has decreed that we will have rain all week.  Next week should be warmer and drier.  I think this will probably be the last year that I actually go out and help with the wood getting.  Hopefully saner heads will prevail next year and we can have a load delivered instead of hauling it ourselves.

Today will be devoted to cleaning up the yard in preparation for the rains.  The tomatoes keep on bearing, but this will be the last of them.  We will empty the fountains, take up the patio furniture and move the barbeque closer to the back door.  Then I will sit inside and quilt...and quilt...and quilt.

Kathi

More of country living

I think of how blessed we are that I had an unfortunate reaction to anesthetics in 1985 and that I became so toxic afterward that we had to move from the city to the country.  I'd always longed to live on a farm as a child growing up in the city and on reflection, I'm grateful to have had my growing up life in the city but now, the country, for the past twenty-four years has been our home and we're getting to the age where living as we have, sustaining ourselves with himself being able to cut the long logs that are delivered each year for heating the house (although we have an electric furnace which is hardly ever used)...is perhaps on a time line.  I'm grateful now to have each day to live here and enjoy what we may not always have because of age and physical limitations.  Himself does one tank of gas with his chain saw every day and slowly makes his way through two puptrailer loads of logs each year.  He is getting more tired and more sore than last year but he's managing and it's healthy for him physically and mentally.

I hear people say to me, I'd love to own a bed & breakfast in the country, it looks like so much fun.  They have this romantic idea of what running a B&B would be like.  I hate to disallusion them so I tell them, yes, it's a lot of fun.  However, this morning before feeding two lovely guests, Annie the 1 1/2 yr old Aussie, stole a chunk of butter out of my guest butter dish and is now barking furiously that she has to go outside.  No doubt, butter-tummy.  And yesterday, after having two week-ends of 50 yr. old lovebirds who had met on the internet and used our guest bedrooms to 'get acquainted,' Annie picked up scents of well, you can imagine...and marked her scent on top of theirs.  That meant whipping off the quilt in the guest bedroom which I'd by now quickly figured out what she was doing, raced upstairs, caught the puddle of piddle before it leaked through to the blanket, hastily washed the quilt, took it in to the commercial dryer in town and back on the bed before the guests returned last night.  The reality is that running a bed and breakfast is not romantic at all...for me.  I'm hoping the lovebirds will take a break and we won't see them for awhile nice as they were.

Rosey