Christmas Win

Many thanks to Vicky, the LA quilter and her sweet dog, Penny for picking me to win the give away for 2 charm packs of Simplicity by 3 Sisters.  I love the soft colors and am thinking I see a girly quilt.  It's always fun to get fabric in the mail.  It makes my day every single time!!!  Thanks again, Vicky!! Quilting bloggers are wonderful people.

It is snowing today.  I'm just hanging out and watching it come down.  You may have noticed that I haven't blogged as much this year.  I hate to be a complainer.  I've been struggling with joint pain.    Yesterday I had an appointment with the orthopedic doctor.  Xrays show that I am bone on bone in my knees.  I got a steroid shot in my left knee.  I slept well last night and didn't need the walker to get up and going this morning.  I know this is just a delaying treatment, but I'm thankful for it at the moment. 

I'd love to hear any knee replacement comments or advice from my followers.   I have lost some weight and been doing exercises.  I intend to keep up with that.  I guess 35 years of working on concrete floors has taken its tole.  I know being overweight hasn't helped either.  I really need to get serious about controlling my weight.  I suppose I thought I was indestructible--not really, just in denial.

I know DH misses his helper in the morning with chores.  It just hasn't been possible and I'm thankful that he understands.  My housekeeping has suffered too.  I'm hoping to get caught up the next few days. 

 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all!  The fun has begun at our house.  DD 1 and friend are home for a few days.  We wrapped a few presents today and baked cut out sugar cookies.  DH joined in the frosting and decorating too.  We had a lot of fun.  Of course, we are missing DD 2 and her new husband, who were unable to make the trip home.

I bought myself a Christmas present on the Craftsy site.  They are having a BIG sale on classes.  I bought Leah Day's class.    She posted on facebook that you could get the class for $19.99 if you used her special link.   I'm such a sucker for a bargain.  I like the idea of being able to watch the videos any time and having access to them always.  I really want to work on my Free Motion skills and I hope this will motivate me to do it.

 I also purchased the knitting socks class.  I've always wanted to learn to knit socks.  I ordered yarn too.  There are some wonderful classes on their site.  I'll see how I like this way of learning.

So 2013 will have some new things for me to look forward to.  I hope you all enjoy your holidays with family and friends.

Wordless Wednesday

 

1986 

Feline Friday

IF I believed in reincarnation, I would want to come back as a well loved cat.  Our Puss has the life I want.  She has had us wrapped around her paw for 13 years.  As you can see in my previous post, the weather has gotten colder here.

As soon as the house gets a little cooler, Puss takes her nap under our bed covers.  It doesn't matter how well I make the bed she can get under the blankets.   I always have to laugh when I see that "bump" in the middle of the bed.

 

This winter I think she is starting to feel her age.  She hangs out by the heat vent more.   This vent happens to be right by the furnace and is nice and toasty.  Love this kitty!

Merry, Merry

It looks a little more like Christmas around here outside any way.  Last week-end we had 6 inches of snow and a one day blizzard.

It was pretty hard to see and the wind chill was the coldest we have had it.  Mother Nature reminded us that it is winter and we better be ready for it.   Of course, the first thing that happened -- I had to call DH and tell him I didn't have any water in the house.  That also meant the calves probably didn't have water either.

Just look at all that wonderful wet stuff--yeah, moisture for this dry, dusty country.  It was nice to get the dust settled! 

It doesn't matter if it's cold or blizzarding--the cattle have to eat.  When you live at least 30 miles from a store and 80 miles from a Large store, you learn to keep extras on hand.  Thank goodness we had an extra well switch on hand, so we could get the water running again.  DH had to scoop a foot of snow off the well cover and use a ladder to climb down in the pit.  The wind was howling and I was handing down the tools.  I'm very thankful it was such an easy fix!  There was no time for pipes to freeze up or cattle to get thirsty.  Just another day of fun on the farm.

I had a few minutes this week to whip up a new scrappy Christmas table runner.  "Whip up"  is rather a joke tho.  That first strip of fabric got ripped out twice before I finally got it right.  I wanted to quilt as I went--oops the bobbin thread needs to match my backing.  Then I realized I needed to start with two strips (right sides together) after I resewed one strip down.   This ole girl can't whip anymore it's been too long between projects.   I'm proud that I got it completed in two days.   It looks so much prettier in person--sparklier!  Plain and simple but looks very nice on the table. 

I've been trying to work on some Gypsy Girl every now and then between this and that.  I have to admit at one time I was a "quilt snob"--actually rather ashamed to admit.  Now I realize that sewing any fabric together is just good therapy and fun.  I don't need to make quilt blocks or a fancy pattern.  I just "need" to sew.   Sewing for the pure love of fabric and color is sometimes enough to soothe my soul.

No promises on getting back to blogging regularly. I have good intentions, but the days go fast and I go slower every day. 

Silent Sunday

 

It was a good year

for opossums.

These are just two of the babies that have shown up this last month.  Last night there were a total of six possums (three babies and 3 adults) on the deck looking for food.  I've gotten better about making sure the pans are empty by night fall.  I'm sure there is some kind of food available to these little guys other than my expensive cat food.

The cats don't seem to mind sharing. 

I did get a blanket made for a new baby boy of a friend. 

I used flannel and the tutorial from Fresh Cut Quilts.  There is also a video on youtube called the self binding baby blanket.  It makes a quick and easy little light weight blanket.