Saturday, April 27, 2013

Boot camp !

I'm sure that's what the boys thought anyway !   Forestry here is big business.  Cones are collected and the seeds are taken out for use, the resulting pile of cones is able to be accessed by those "in the know".  They are used for the open fires that some of us still have.  We have a contact and DH is part of a team who "bag up" cones for those who need them.  We thought the boys would "enjoy" a day doing the same... Strangely, I think the DID enoy it.  They certainly met people that their sheltered lives had not previously exposed them to.  The man in charge of this operation is very elderly and not at all well, but he quietly labours on, The people they delivered to included a lady in a wheel chair who lives with a devoted and caring husband in a very difficult rural housing situation (their choice), they impressed the boys too.They did a good days work bagging up and delivering 250 sacks .

The Bday surprise  went well yesterday. We took the boys out for the Bday beakfast and their parents arrived just as we were seated.  Too soon for me to have the camera ready but I'll never forget the DGS's face. He had just been talking to them on his phone and they were telling him what a miserable and wet day it was in Aucklnad (where they live) and saying how nice it was for him to be enjoying a sunny morning in Christchurch and breakfast out with his grandparents !!!   They are having a w/end together then the boys come back here until Wednesday..

Autumn is here. The leaves are all changing colour and looking beautiful, there are mushrooms popping up everywhere following last weeks rain.

Thank you for posting the lovely photo Rosey.  That's a great web site. I go there often.  Great to hear news of Terter too.  In the good old days she posted almost daily on the BB and I've missed hearing about her life.  Please pass on my best wishes if you are in touch with her .   Lovely to see more activity on the BB this week.  Keeep it up ladies !

Enjoy the w/end.
Marion.

checking in from Fla

It is interesting how the mid-west states and planes state are having colder than normal temps.  More snow and Fla. had a warmer than normal winter.  Today and yesterday were Spring days and DH and I did more bike riding.  Both days we put bikes on car and drove south about 50 min. to Palm Coast and used the beautiful bike trails.  Today some his good friends went also.  It is 10 miles of trails, some by the intercoastal,  lovely mild breeze.  The trail through the "swamp" was shady, some small wooden bridges over what would be the swamp in the rainy season.  I would not want to be there in July or Aug. due to the heat and misquotes but for a few more weeks it will be good.  There were several more miles or trails, but by this time it was noon.  We found a cute little Italian place and I had gluten free cheese ravioli.  DH and the others had reg. Italian.
Now my legs are sore, but not too bad.  10-11 miles each day.
To make this quilty, I finished up 99% of my Tree 'O Life quilt top and took it to the long arm quilter on Wed.  The quilt store is a good 20 miles from me, on the other side of town, but not too bad after visiting my Mom.
Mom has had some more TIAs and can barely speak.  I saw her again last night.  The lady in the next bed is a God-send, she looks after mom.  She says Mom is now holding conversations at 2am with my Brother, who died last year.  Thurs. night she was evidently upset with me about something, and we "talked" and she felt better.  I think she will be in heaven in a couple of weeks.
So, to make life better for Norma (the room mate) I bring Dunkin Donuts coffee in the mornings when I visit.  Mom used to drink a cup, now she just takes a few sips, but Norma drinks all hers and is happy for my visits.
I will be starting a different eating plan soon, as the one the DR. recommended has gluten in the supplements.  Will have to juice fast for 3 days!  I will be able to drink tea, but not coffee for 21 days, but am willing, as she found out I have high blood pressure, and really need to change my lifestyle.
So, more next week!
Good to hear from everyone!  Keep quilting.
Sara in Fla.

I love posting pictures because of the colour they add to the board.  This is a photograph by author Jon Katz which he kindly and freely allows to be taken from his website without charge (Bedlamfarm.com) I love his compositions and choice of subjects.

Without infringing on personals, it was great to hear from TerTer overnight.  Fran and her DH spent some time with Terry in California on their last trip through North America last year and I gave Fran a card to give to Ter Ter which she said, she promptly mislaid but found and connected.  I hope she'll also post and say hello if she can get onto the board.

Personally, I feel that quilting and a quilt board has a life and I know the fun and great times we had with Eric & Sue's former internet board.  Unfortunately spam killed the board, along with people who weren't quilters and one dog breeder who loved stirring up trouble on that board with her postings just to watch the feathers fly...Not always do people continue to quilt, either.  For me, it has been a passion that has endured over the years but it doesn't happen with everyone.  My quilting is part of me and who I am, along with my Aussie dogs.

So it's great to hear from Dot and Terry and I hope both will add the occasional post here when and if they can.
Rosey

Checking in...

Well, it has been ages since I posted here.    I finished the one cheater panel baby quilt (Winnie the Pooh... I just had to have it LOL) and am planning the next baby quilt.   Pinwheel blocks seem to be everywhere right now,  and I have a pattern for a 3-D pinwheel that uses prairie points sewn into the seams to make it 3-D.   I'm not describing this well,  but the pattern is from a quilt guild  project several years ago,  and they are cute.   If and when I get it finished,  I will post a picture, and I'll post a pic of the recently completed W-T-P quilt soon.

I've made DDIL a few maternity skirts and tops, and am currently working on a dress for her right now.  She is so short, compared to me, so it feels like I'm making doll clothes.  Which reminds me,  the kids found out they will have a girl, so there might be doll clothes sewn in the future, too. 

It has rained here all day long, today.   We've gotten over 2 inches and the ground was already saturated before this began.   Good thing I went ahead and mowed the lawn yesterday.   It is cold outside, too, so  this is perfect weather for hibernating.  And sewing.

No other news around here.      Hugs to everyone!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Okay, I found where to put the 'new post'.  Hope to catch up with some of the old timers from the old board.  All is well here.

I've never spread grass seed before but I'm about to do so here in Annie & Meg's dog run, however, I am seeding it with clover.  I'm told that once clover catches, it's pretty hardy and spreads.  Fortunately we have an alternate dog run on the property which Meg was introduced to today.  It's a different shape, about as wide as it is long so the two girls had a great time chasing each other and Meg, who is eleven months old, enjoyed eating her way through whatever she could find that seemed tasty and threw up just before supper...of course, not in her bed but Annie's.  I'm raking the dead grass up (this is last year's picture, nothing is as green as this yet, here.  And it's pretty bare.  The dogs have worn down the grass considerably.  I'm told Kathi's DH is an expert in lawn care.  Do I scuffle the ground up, Kathi, then throw the clover seed down willy/nilly?

Nice surprise this afternoon...Dot from Oregon contacted me.  She is in touch with Bertie and others.  I'm hoping she'll find her way to registering on the board and posting.

Rosey

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Thursday morning here and finally some warmer temps on the way....winter hashing around and with nasty extra snowstorms making April so far a month of cold and snow

Grandsons keep us busy.....the two oldest are very excited about their new brother who is due at end of June. That will make 5 grandsons plus we have a 13yr old step grandson and 11year old step granddaughter...

DH is itching to get motor home out and get it ready for summer.  I do wish he would consider doing the bathroom Reno first

But he has found me a Singer Featherweight  machine and I am impatient for it to arrive....have wanted infer almost 20years.....but somehow I suspect he is still wanting his fishing boat

Anyways, a late start to my day, but must get going, Yorkies r due at et's office for vaccinations. For some of u that might remember we did have 5 Yorkies.   The 2nd oldest oneRocky passed away last December. He was 14 1/2 years.   And our oldest one "Little" we had to make the hardest decision in March and sent her over the rainbow bridge.   She was 10 days away from her 19th birthday.....

So we still have 3 which is crazy enuf but oddly it seems a bit easier.




Wednesday, April 24, 2013

More by luck than judgement....

I'm pleased to see that I am still able to get onto the site !   I hadn't tried for awhile,  and all this talk about people not being able to get on, had me worried...

I am taking a minute for myself here !  I seem to have been running around in circles for awhile. The grandsons arrived last Saturday (was it ONLY five days ago ?!?) The DH had to be away at a funeral from Friday to Monday (that was no help at all !) I had to drive to the airport three times in four days... the grand-daughter and boy friend arrived on Tuesday and stayed until last night, this morning I am feeling tired and there's still a week to go !    DGS has his 16th Bday on Saturday and his parents are coming down to surprise him ...they will be here for two nights I think . We are taking the boys into the city for a Bday breakfast, supposedly to meet up with the other grand-parents, and his parents will be there !  I hope it all works !

At least the sun is shining today. We had rain for the first three days.  DH plans to light a big bonfire after lunch and then give the boys some driving lessons.  They will enjoy that.  The younger DGS hurt his toe the first day here, so all the expected time doing Rugby training hasn't eventuated..    Anyway, enough of that. I know I'm lucky to have family visit but I do find the boys a bit difficult to entertain...

ANZAC day here today when the bravery and sacrifice of the troops in wartime is remembered.  Is it remembered in Canada Rosey ?  There are many dawn services here and mostly they are well attended.

Good to hear news from Jane. I had been wondering how things were for her.  It will be such a shame if this page dies through lack of use.  I'm always so interested to read of the lives of others . If we were teenagers we would be able to set up another, easily accessed page but, alas, I have no such talents. !  I should ask my grandsons, the younger one knew how to find our password without asking us for it.... that didn't please the DH any...!!!

Better go and them all,
Marion.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

From Jane in the North Carolina Mountains

RE: jammies




I'm usually in my jammies by the time I eat dinner.

In a rush this morning. Been quilting with a small group at a nearby Lutheran church which is relatively close to home. The pastor there is very generous with the excellant facility and she joins us for lunch now and then. Only two members of the group are members of the congregation. There is a kitchen attached to the room. The large meeting room has the typical 8ft. long tables and good light. Once a year we make loads of rather crude quilts with donated fabric for the Lutheran foreign ministries. O1ne of the women is 94 yrs old, quilts everything by hand without glasses and drives. She and her husband quit spending the winters in FL because the drive was "getting to be a bit too much". I told her she is my idol. Most of what we do is charity baby quilts that the guild in Franklin donates to hospitals, head start etc. and quilts of valor given to veterans reaching as far back as WWII to the current folks returning from the middle east including those that are hospitalized.

In my opinion we shouldn't have any other returning vets and stop trying to change the culture in the Middle East. Bring those kids home. If they threaten us then bomb the daylights out of them. If they continue to abuse each other give them about 1,000 years to civilize. How long did it take Christians to civilize? They were still burning witches at the stake and torturing Quakers in this country in the 18th century, I guess I should add gassing Jews in the 20th century.

Now I've had my rant of the day.
From Jane via Rosey

Monday, April 22, 2013

Posting for Mary Jo

Side Note:  Does Eric ever check this website or answer emails directed to him from quilters who would like to post on the site and can't?  Here is Mary Jo's note to the board:

Thank you Rosey, for posting for Jane. I've wondered how she is doing. I can't get in to this site to post either. We moved 11 times in our first 14 years together, flipping houses. I had way too many email addys to remember which one was used to join this group. Know it was from Bend, Or.... I can't access the group as the sign in page will not accept anything but that old addy. Like Jane, have written Eric to no avail.

We soon will hit year 24 and have not moved in 8 years. We moved twice that last time: in the spring in Arizona and that fall to Idaho. Told DH that any more moves would be made by him alone. Twice in a year is mind boggling. It was the right time to stop renovating as the real estate market went down and has not recovered. We had fun buying homes needing TLC and living in them while fixing. It was difficult to get all just the way we wantedto move on to another fixer upper.

Sara, I've been gluten free for 2 years. No more diverticulitis, IBS or ulcers. As a bread maker, I've been very disappointed with making gf (gluten free) bakery items. Can do great cake, banana bread, waffles, pancakes and brownies. Breads, cookies and pie crusts don't work for me. Too crumbly and grainy. Two ready made gf products are great tho, Rudi's and Udi's. Both are available in our markets in the freezer section and on the shelf of some shops. I take my own bread when eating out to have more selections. Other allergies are less now that the gulten intolerance is under control. Had to eliminate dairy long ago, then shellfish and eggs. It does make cooking a challenge. Don't give up, Sara...

We hope to drive home this weekend, a 3 day trip. Hope being an optimistic word. An alternative is to fly. Fred, the cat, is not eager for either. #1 son offered to fly down and bring the new van home after school is out. DH has had 6 trips to emergency in the past 3 weeks and a hospitalization. His TIA served notice that he is very likely to have a 'catastrophic event' within 6 months. He is very weak but breathing better. His bronchitis is on the mend but asthma is a constant. He had a stroke in January but fully recovered. At 87, he's had a great life but doesn't seem to realize the extent of his limitations. He tells me daily that he's getting stronger and wants to get back into the gym in a few days. Good attitude.
Quilting has not been on the priority list as a result. Am enjoying handwork on wooly projects and finishing UFO's. Have packed up 2/3 of the quilt room and gave away lots. Gran was so right when she said, 'Getting old is not for sissies!'

Blessings,

MaryJo

Checking in on a Monday evening

Hey Y'All!   Just returned from a long weekend in Savannah, GA.  Didn't eat at Paula Deen's restaurant, but did eat at her brother's place--"Uncle Bubba's".  With my celiac it is kinda booring eating out, but did manage grilled shrimp, grits with cheese, and some corn on the cob.  At the wonderful B & B where we stayed there were people from everywhere.  A couple from Maine, 4 women from Kansas on a girl's weekend, and a couple from England.  (this weekend was a treat for our 35th anniversary, which is today).  We talked about the Boston things, and the England couple said the London marathon was to be Sunday, so I guess it went off OK.
The Maine couple had never had grits, so I tried to describe them, the consistancy of oat meal, but it is corn, eaten with butter for breakfast.  Or, as they did in South Carolina when we visited the grands, red-eye gravy.  Which is basicly grease.  Yum.  The couple was flying to Boston Thursday evening, then driving to Maine, they were hoping to get home.
We had a much needed rest, time away, and did several bike trips.  I climed the Tybee Island lighthouse, 178 steps.  Stoped several times for air in little poke out window areas.  Going down was creepy, as it was darker, but I made it.  DH thinks we are still 30, did a rails-to-trails bike ride that noon, 12 miles total.  Good thing the B & B had a good soaking tub.
I will get results of all the blood tests this coming Thursday.  Thinking new doctor is going to put me on a strict vegetarian diet, which is OK, as long as I can have coffee or tea in the morning.
Looks like Fran in OZ and Bee are checking in.  Fran is going to be a busy woman.
Bee- tried to comment on your reading--I am always looking for a good read.  Sort-of-Agatha Christie type, as the lib. calls it "cosey" clean but good.  I just finished A week in Winter, by Mave Benchly.  Didn't know she died after writing it!  I had never read her books before, and I like this one.  About Ireland and a B & B.
DH is in a meeting tonight, so going to have gluten free pizza.  He won't be home until about 10:00 PM.
DD and SIL are ready for spring.  I hope the Red River doesn't flood as much as they think or it will be a really busy spring for SIL with the crop adjusting.
Sara in Fla.

Jane Brown sent an email in yesterday.  I was glad to hear from her given that she lives in the mountains on her own.  She cannot get into this webpage to post and I wonder why.  She tried connecting with Eric and had no response.  I don't understand why she can't connect from her server to this one.  Yet, in trying to order fabric from Batiks Plus last week, I couldn't get into their site either.  It kept rejecting me for two days.  Finally, I got accepted into the site and then couldn't go from one shopping cart item to the next.  I finally had to do it through their search section.  Lovely fabrics on the site but maybe my server wasn't compatible with theirs.  I don't understand these things.

Nice to see you post, Marge.  Wish more would post from the former board.

Rosey