Pages

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Wordy Wednesday: Broken Pitchfork

Dan is so strong! He snapped the pitchfork into two pieces!

We were outside turning and preparing the garden beds for winter back on November 8th. I was sitting down taking a break while keeping an eye out on the cats when I heard a loud crack scaring me to death. I looked up and discovered Dan laying on his back with the handle in hands and the pitchfork (bottom) part still in the raised bed. I was extremely concerned because it looked like he potentially hurt himself. He was just stunned. After I was assured he was okay, I could not help but laugh! And, we came up the idea to stage a scene for a picture.

And yes, we have purchased a new pitchfork. The old one lasted us for a long time (over 10 years). Hopefully, the new one will last just as long.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Crafty Tuesday: A Finish!

"The Castle" designed by Teresa Wentzler and stitched by moi!

I finished this project late in October and took it to the nearest Michaels to have it framed. I was absolutely thrilled with the end result! This was an UFO (Unfinished Object) going on over 20 years! It is now hanging in our den. The next step is to create a built-in cabinet or shelving system surrounding this stitchery to hold my Krystonia figurines.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Macro Monday {Bagworm}

I was sitting outside (early in October) watching my cats when I spied something unusual in one of our Crepe Myrtle trees. I squinted and eventually got up to get a closer look and discovered this pest.

Bagworm

I could not believe my eyes! Where in the world did this one come from?

I had to check out all my Crepe Myrtle trees and other plants and discovered a dead one out front. I took pictures and then cut the tiny branch this Bagworm was clinging onto. If I had a burn pile, I would have tossed it into the pile and set the pile afire. These critters can be insidious and prolific eventually killing trees and plants. I think the only thing around here keeping them in check are the variety of wasps we have around here -- especially the Blue (Spider) Wasps.

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Winning Love

This is to give bloggers and their giveaways a shout out and it is my way of giving additional thanks to them.

  • On November 22, 2015, I discovered via facebook that I am a winner of a Quiltmaker's 100 blocks, Volume 12 magazine. I won this via quilt designer (and blogger) of one of the blocks that made it into the magazine. The biggest perk from winning is that I was contacted by two quilters who may also be distant cousins of mine. They are the sweetest ladies and I am so glad they reached out to me. I am needing to get a hold of a copy of Dad's papers to figure out if we are indeed true cousins. Even if we are not, we are united by the love of quilting and the fact that we are descended from people who have the same last name.
  • On December 14th, 2015, I was notified by Quiltmaker (via email) that I won five original designer blocks in the latest volume of their magazine. Let me tell you, I was absolutely thrilled. I have been trying to win some of these blocks since volume 2 was released years ago!

Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas! (And, a Finished Craft)

Completed on December 10, 2015 using instructions and fabrics from Sweetwater. I made these ornaments for the youngest members of my family, the grand nieces and nephews. I hope the kids like them. I think they turned out so cute. These are so easy to make and requires no sewing (except for threading the hanger onto ornament).

I had to refrain from posting about these cuties due to the fact that maybe some of their parents read this blog. I wanted them to be surprised too. So, this post was written in advance and scheduled for late on Christmas day.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

DIY: Cutting Board


Dan started shopping and buying wood late September and early October. He knew that I would find out; so, he told me what is what. He was going to make me a brand new cutting board for my birthday. I was so thrilled.

Once he received all the wood and figured out what size pieces to cut, he proceeded to cut them all up to the sizes he needed....

And, glued them together...

He then proceeded to run them through a planer.

By the way, I bought him one as I knew it would save him a lot of work. He was so thankful for it after he finished making the cutting board.

He then cut them all up again.

He repeated the gluing, planing and cutting a few times until...

He arrived at two solid pieces of the cutting board.

He glued those two pieces together and sanded it all by hand as the planer was not big enough for the final piece. When he was satisfied, he put mineral oil and Butcher Block Conditioner on the board.

Ta-Da! My new cutting board!

I am absolutely thrilled to pieces with it. Dan most likely will make smaller ones in the future as he enjoyed the process.

I also ended up with a smaller decorative (still functional) board with the leftover pieces from the bigger project. Dan really maximized the use of every little piece of wood. I really love this little item too.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Slapdash Saturdays

I apologize in advance because today's links seem to be all quilting and sewing related. If you're not interested in sewing or quilting, skip reading the rest of this post.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Wordy Wednesday: {Dan's} Ugly Busted Toe

I was in the bathroom when I heard / felt a noise like something falling in the bedroom. I did not think much of it because no other sound came with the noise. When I came out, I discovered Dan somewhat curled up on the bed holding his foot. I immediately got concerned as I did not know what happened. He busted his toe while playing a game of "chase" with Abby Gail. I have to say the guy was extremely stoic when his banged his toe. I would have been yelling, screaming, hollering and crying....

Anyway, the game of "chase" usually involves me telling Abby that I am going to get her. She almost always gets excited with tail held high and starts running when I start going after her. She still has not gotten the clue to turn around and chase after me. However, she does turn around and playfully "tags" me on the foot most of the time.

By the way, this was a game I played as a child with my rotten yellow cat and he had it down to a T. We would chase one another for several laps before both of us would get tired and flop on the floor. Abby is the first cat that took to this game somewhat since the rotten yellow cat of my youth. All the other cats exhibited no interest in this game.

So, Dan apparently decided to give "chase" a try this past Sunday (November 13, 2105) and ran smack dab into a leftover piece of board in the bedroom from our remodeling efforts.

{November 14, 2015}

Needless to say, I do not think he will be playing "chase" again in the near future.

It does look a tad worse on this morning. It is dark all around including the bottom of the toe; but, the wound is healing nicely. (I am still helping him wrap up the toe with a bandage in the mornings.) I think the worst of it is over and it is just the healing process now.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Abby Gail and Her New Trackball Toy


I am just popping on for a few to show off Abby Gail once again. You see, she has this toy -- a trackball type toy -- that she stole, more or less, from Gracie.

She would go nuts with it from time to time. She loved the thing until I got her an even better toy. The new one challenges (and entertains) her a bit more than the old one.

I have videotaped her going nuts. If I didn't put it away, she would play with it for hours and even in the middle of the night. She doesn't know when to stop.

Here are a couple of videos of her playing with her new improved toy. I am going to be off for awhile. In the meantime, enjoy watching Abby Gail play!




Saturday, October 31, 2015

Slapdash Saturday


Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Wordy Wednesday


It was a cold, windy and rainy day at the track, Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas. We were attending the Formula 1 (F1) race. With that said, I am thankful that remnants from Patricia the hurricane spared us Texans from destruction other than flash flooding.

Since I knew that it was going to be a bad weather day, I opted to take just our water camera. There is a selfie picture of Dan and I; but, his face got plastered with the date time stamp. (I need to remember to disable this feature.)

Better than nothing, correct?

The day cleared up somewhat by the time the race began at 2:00pm. Both of us were hurting about halfway through the race and decided to call it quits. My poor husband was violently shivering. The jacket he wore failed to be a rain coat; so, he was soaked through to the skin. I vowed to purchase a new rain jacket for us both soon.

As for me, I was damp all over, the poncho I wore failed due to the wind. I also wore boots that were supposed to be snakebite and water proof. I think my jeans just acted like a wick and my feet were eventually wet. Fortunately, because I decided to wear layers including long john pants underneath my jeans, I was not too cold in spite of being wet.

On a different subject, I am taking a blogging break. I dealt with sickness last week and barely have the energy to do stuff I want to do let alone blog. I have a Saturday post that I will schedule. But, other than that one post, I have absolutely nothing planned.

And, to be honest, I do not feel like preparing pictures and writing up posts at the moment. I know that it most likely will be a little while before the desire to blog returns. It usually does after being down with a sickness like I had last week. It took all I had within me to go to that race last Sunday and I am glad I went with my Dan. All I want and desire to do is my usual chores and cross stitch. Yes, I am still plugging away at that huge UFO (Unfinished Object). Did I ever mention that I despise back stitching? Well, I do.

So, until I blog again, I wish you all happiness and health!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Wordy Wednesday {Sulking Cats}


On this day (July 17, 2015), I had two sulking cats. For the life of me, I cannot remember why all the rooms were shut. But, both of them were NOT happy cats.

I have not seen them like this before or since this day. Gracie (bottom picture) had never got up on the coffee table before nor has she since this terrible (to them) day. If looks could kill.

Abby Gail rarely gets inside the bottom "tunnel" of the tree house. {She prefer higher places.} I have not seen her in that space since this particular day.

Monday, October 19, 2015

Macro Monday {Checkered}

Vesta Crescent or Vesta Crescentspot (Phyciodes vesta)

Shot at Garner State Park on June 1, 2015

Note: One of my field guides, copyright 2012, lists "Phyciodes vesta" and has this exact butterfly pattern pictured. However, upon further research with another butterfly I snapped (and had difficulty identifying), I believe the correct classification is "Phyciodes graphica". The common name (Vesta Crescent) is still the same. Yes, I wasted bandwidth. But, at least, I feel better about the identification of this butterfly.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Feline Friday {A Word from Gracie}


Hi, my name is Gracie and I'm taking over this spot for the day because my human mother is too busy celebrating her birthday. Yes, the crazy lady takes a whole week and even a month to celebrate.

Anyway, I'm hijacking this blog. My human mother rarely gives me the time of the day on her precious corner of the interwebs. But then, I hate it when she focuses that camera on me. So, I guess it's my own fault that I don't get the spotlight as often as Abby Gail does. Well, I'm changing that now. Today is all about me!

Speaking of the crazy lady, my humans think I'm weird. Why? Because I don't have a regular or a favorite sleeping spot. I may choose to sleep in my human dad's office on top of a box filled with jeans that human mother claims she will use to turn into blankets some day. I'll believe that when I see it.

Other times, I'll sleep on one of the steps on the elliptical machine that my humans rarely use. Sometimes, I'll choose to sleep with them at night and other times, I choose to sleep elsewhere. I may sleep on the small cat tree my human mother purchased for her room to keep us happy. I once discovered a blanket tossed on my human mother's crafting table and made a bed out of that. She wasn't too happy with me; but, she let me sleep after disturbing me with taking of pictures. *sigh*

I surprised my humans and caused them a lot of worry several days ago. Why? Because I chose to climb to the top of the huge cat tree house in the den and I did it while they were present in the room. I sure showed them!

They were so worried about me getting down. They dragged the smaller cat tree out of their bedroom placing it in front of the big one. Pfffhhhhttt! I don't need that thing. But, don't tell them this, it sure does makes it easier for me to get up and down the big tree.

They thought I was a bush dweller because I liked to sleep in low places. Well, I proved them wrong. I love the variety of perches. I've been sleeping on the highest perch lately. It makes my humans both sad and glad -- sad because the highest perches were where my sister, Chessie, slept all the time and glad the tree is being used once again.

The only thing that I do regularly without fail is holler to go outside in the mornings and again when my human Dad gets home for the day. I absolutely love to be outdoors. And, I adore laying and snoozing in an abandoned red chair. Oh, I do let my sister, Abby Gail, use it from time to time albeit grudgingly. My humans have a hard time getting me to go back indoors. If I could, I would stay out there all day.

Well, my human is about to show up and I better get off before she discover that I hijacked her blog. And besides, I'm getting tired. I need to bathe myself and take a nap. So, I'll bid y'all a good day and lots of happy meows.

PS. I'm going to use one of her signatures in hopes of making her think she blogged this even though I did. Do you think that would work?

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Today I Am...



    ::celebrating:: 51 years (young)


    ::watching:: the sun rise (while the cats explore


    ::lighting:: candles – the ordinary Yankee Candle kind


    ::determined:: to keep plugging away on the cross-stitch project


    ::eating:: Pizza (homemade gluten free) for dinner


    ::looking forward:: to attending Formula 1 Racing with Dan in Austin, Texas