Writing this early Monday morning but referring to Sunday as another dreary day – maybe Monday will be sunny. At least it’s not cold.
Last night on our 10 pm trip outside and to the barn Hazel rassled a possum in the old sheep pen in the barn. keeper sorta joined in but I can tell varmints are not his thing. It IS Hazel’s thing however and I tried a new approach last night. Instead of screaming at her to stop I praised her over and over at what a great job she had done…..and then she was happy to come to the house with me for treats. I do have to admit after the treats were handed out she wanted to go back to the barn but I didn’t think the possum had had enough time to get away.
Had a nap in my chair this afternoon and now I can’t sleep tonight – that’s always the way.
In January we’ll not only list books but I think it would be fun to do Points of Interest again, don’t you? BUT….if you send me things before I announce it in January I simply won’t post what you send. I believe I mentioned this last night – I can’t keep track of it all until then so please just wait for me.
Got the longarm running again so I’m back in business – I’ll quilt the pink log cabin tomorrow.
Reader photos
Here’s a look at foggy North Iowa
Quite foggy here in middle Wisconsin this past morning and it makes for some interesting driving conditions for those who work. I try not to nap after noon or I can’t sleep well at night. What a strange winter with so little snow for the Christmas Season.
My last group of overnight quests canceled today so I ended up with a very clean house, a full frig of goodies and not much to do. So, I pulled out Mary’s Christmas Tree pattern I ordered from her a few weeks ago and I already have 2 trees started for Laurie’s and Becky’s Christmas presents next year. I think they both think I’m nuts !!!!
Barbara – aren’t you lucky! A clean house and no company – win win as far as I’m concerned. Ha!
The yard light and tree line up for a beautiful picture. Very impressive. And remember, fog is moisture and most of us need moisture. Many years ago I loved walking home from school and having the snowflakes melt on my face. It felt so good. Not a blizzard, just lazy flakes floating on the currents. I still like it. I still really like snow covering the land, just like frosting on a cake. Then somebody walks in it.
About 5 blocks east of us is a beautiful hill. For years it was cattle pasture until winter and snow! Then the rancher moved the cattle and all the kids in Rapid City headed to the hill for sliding. We could watch from our house and it would be covered with kids and all sorts of sliding stuff. They were close to heaven. Then progress hit and Walmart built on the sliding hill. Now often I visit with people who grew up here and hear about their adventures sliding down that hill. It was VERY popular and happily remembered.
Take care everybody and don’t do anything stupid — unless it looks like a lot of fun.
Betty in Rapid City
Betty, What a wonderful memory of kids sliding down that hill. It must have been so much fun to be one coming down that hill as well as watching all the fun. Too bad so many kids won’t have that experience.
Thanks for sharing!
🙂
It’s always fun until someone ends up in a cast … LOL
My Uncle had a home in Rice Lake, Wisconsin and there was a sledding hill behind his home with a pull rope to help you climb back up. He was an engineer and put the pull rope in and maintained it. We loved sledding out his back yard with that magical rope to help us climb back up. The wooden toboggan had padded red seats and held 5 of us. It was so much fun to sled that hill. My brother has the sled.
Mary, glad to hear your longarm is up and running. Can’t wait to see your completed pink quilt.
I don’t recall seeing a comment from Jo in Wyoming lately. Hope all is well.
Mary, Love the eerie photo! I’m going to save it to my iPad.
Bright sunshine today after days of rain and wind. I’m having a bedroom painted and it feels so good. Had some damage done to the drywall and I needed help big time. They also patched and painted in the LR.
I’m so sorry to hear of the young woman who died of a brain tumor. Sympathies to her husband and children.
Love to hear of Hazel and what she gets into. Smart move, praising her. She’s just following her instincts.
I’ll take credit for the quilt picture today; I haven’t found a way to add text to a picture taken with my camera instead of my phone. I made the baby quilt for a friend’s first grandchild. The pattern is by Lissa Alexander and is on the cover of one of her Moda books, but in different colors. It was fun to make, although I did get tired of trimming HSTs.
Sharon, take a photo with your phone camera and it will be available when you send an email on your phone. The + to the left of the screen you can choose photos. Then send to Mary via your email.
Sharon, I was going to ask who sent the adorable little quilt. It’s so cute and the colors are perfect
sharon, the quilt is very sweet. would be a perfect baby quilt also. good job. patti in florida
Yay!👏🥳 For the longarm being back in business!
Love the Hazel stories – she is just too cute!
That eerie foggy picture should be in a magazine – it was amazing. We’ve had crazy weather here – 24hrs of heavy rain, 60 degrees, and 50 mph winds – feels like spring and it’s a muddy mess
Kelli – I wish I knew where “here” is when you talk about your weather. Please identify yourself as Kelli in ———
Oops I thought I typed NE Ohio – so sorry!
confession time: i got an email from hancocks of paducah. i should not have opened it. they had a really cute kit on sale for about 60% off. made the fabric a good price and included the pattern. (i very very seldom buy kits – the last one i bought is still here as i bought it for the fabric) i also had to get 2 yards of 2 different dark purples (for the bonnie mystery) and two yards of a creamy batik with a faint print of bluebonnets of it. and it isn’t even the new year yet. but it won’t get here til there.
did want to mention that i’m sorry jeanine lost her friend who left a dentist husband and kids. and so glad that readers went to see jamie and started the fan club.
now i really must get up and work. patti in florida
Patti – I get a real kick out of you! You can’t resist a sale, can you? But we want to see what you do with it.
you will. you’ve seen some that became backs and/or borders in the past. lots of backgrounds. the background i used in the log cabins (not shown yet) was a recent purchase. see, these fabrics are downstairs. once they make it upstairs, it’s harder for me to access them. patti in florida
sorry it is a dreary foggy day in iowa. is overcast here and we did have rain most of yesterday afternoon. we needed it though. much rather have rain than storms and hurricanes. i think that january in general is a dreary month that just seems to go on and on and takes forever to get to february. your foggy tree does look like a halloween type picture.
my age is showing, i have forgotten what ‘points of interest pictures’ are. enlighten me?
i did laugh at someone (maybe sandy) saying she was busy like patti. especially since yesterday was a no sew day. i did lay out a double hearts pattern on grid paper. but otherwise i was slowly tossing and moving things. i have about 1/4 of my table cleaned off. i found the picture of quilting angels that was taken on the day we turned in our 1000th quilt. too bad i didn’t put a date on it. tho i do think i have that info written down somewhere.
which reminds me i really need to start a notebook or two about things that people would probably need or want to know when i am no longer here. i mentioned something to my sister the other day and she didn’t know that at all. it happened when she was about 1.5 years old. why would she remember it. plus things about my quilting journey and how i want things disbursed. maybe if i start the notebooks, i’ll remember to write things down as i think about them or as someone says ‘i don’t remember that.’ i have a notebook started for my son of quotes that i find interesting. he likes stuff like that.
so today is trying to finish clearing the kitchen table. friend won’t be here til like 5 or 6 tuesday afternoon. i want to try to sneak in a trip to the ortho (jewett) walk-in clinic tomorrow morning to see if i can get help there. the tramadol that i take takes close to 3 hours to kick in. to me that is unacceptable. makes it hard to get going in the morning. the cleaning crew shows up this afternoon. think i’ll send mr ed to the store while they are here.
hopefully the sun will come out soon. that always cheers me up. i’m glad you got the longarm going again. i know you want to quilt the log cabin. hoping everyone has a good day. patti in florida
Patti – Points of Interest were simply pictures around our homes that we liked or looked nice or were special to us in some way.
thanks. i thought i remembered it but wanted to be sure. patti in florida
Good morning! It is raining! Saturday it cleared to sunshine most of the day and then Sunday morning dense thick fog! We did slowly venture out and go to church and then it was clear and sunny coming home. And now it is raining.
We are going out for lunch with our daughter to a New Mexican place in Sioux Falls.
Glad you got your long armer going! You will get lots accomplished today! Love the pictures of Keeper and Hank playing. Hazel was the queen on the table! Love that sun room you have!
Have a good day. We are supposed to have a wintry mix today.
Have a good day everyone!
* I should have proofread—- should read “is now a dentist”. His wife died from a rare brain tumor.
Doing laundry here today. It is foggy again here, but not real bad—visibility pretty good, but staying home till later this afternoon. Going to a visitation for a wonderful 50 year old young woman that passed away on Christmas Day. Her husband worked for my husband in construction and also walked beans for us, and is not a dentist in our town. Leaves six children behind; five in school yet. Very sad, but a very godly young woman.
The New Year is upon us. The years fly by anymore, don’t they. Have a wonderful day.
I like your picture of the fog and light. Also like the quilt today.
Jeanine – only 50 years old? Oh, what a tragedy for her husband and kids. How will they ever make it without her to navigate all the activities, etc? Sounds like that family might be a good candidate for encouragement/sympathy cards. What do you think?
I really don’t know the family, only the husband left without a wife. I’m sure the cards would be an encouragement, but I would have to get the address as I do not have it. I will try talking to his mother today and see what she thinks. I do know his parents as we went to church together. I’m sure we will see them at the visitation. I know it will be a large funeral and visitation. We plan to go early. I will let you know what I find out. The oldest child is a boy and is married and due to have a baby soon. The other five are all girls, but I think the oldest is probably about a senior in high school.
. So sorry for your loss. Much love to you and her family. I wish I could get out to purchase cards and stamps but my mobility is limited. Sending virtual big hugs
How sad for this family to have such a tragic death at this time of year. Could we lift them up with cards? I cant but think of those children in this most difficult time.
Kim – I’m waiting to hear if cards would be welcomed
Yay for the longarm working again! Love the pictured quilt today too.
The eerie photo of the fog around your place would make a cool fabric panel if you were into Halloween quilts. Sure is an interesting picture you captured.
Dreary days make good nap days; I fell asleep in my chair also so am awake this evening/morning. Jack was just out running figure eights in the yard. He wasn’t at all interested in coming back inside until I shook the treat jar at him and he was in like a shot. I had my nose in a book (#3 in a series started at 11pm Christmas Evening) and really should go to bed but finishing the book would be much more fun. Guess I’ll be a grown up and go to bed after I finish reading emails instead of staying up until 3am to finish it like I did with the first 2 books. It’s hard being a reader!
DebMac, it’s hard being a reader of a GOOD book. My current book is a struggle and I’ve been trying to read it for over two weeks. It’s really easy to go to sleep with it. If I wasn’t so bullheaded I would have quit a week and a half ago! Lol
pat, i’m slowly teaching myself to QUIT reading a book if it can’t keep my attention. i will give it between 50-100 pages. after that, if i’m still not into it. too bad. too many books i still want to read. i give you permission to quit reading it. i’ll assume you give me permission to quit reading also. patti in florida
but it so much fun to actually keep reading the book to the end. i’ve done this more times than i can count. sometimes i have to say ‘at the end of the chapter, no matter what’ or i’m still up at 4 am and don’t want to get up the next day. i love a book that makes me want to keep reading. patti in florida
I worked in a library and lead 2 book clubs so have read a lot of books that didn’t really capture me so to speak. Since I had to lead the discussion, I had to read the books. However, I did not have to fully read the others so my usual method was to read as long as it held my interest and then jump to the last 8-10 pages. If I liked how it ended, i would usually go back and read the entire book. It didn’t bother me to do that.
DebMac – interesting. If I have purchased the book I make myself read it no matter what but if it’s from the library I give it 50 pages and if I’m not hooked by then it’s done.
Our book club called Novel Idea is just that – we all read what we choose and then talk briefly about it without giving away the whole plot.