Covid Woes and Log Cabins

 I am so far behind and downright ashamed of my lack of posting.  I love to read posts of other bloggers and it is just not right to  leave mine languishing. 

I have been pretty much staying at home.  Grocery store runs and doctor appointments but not many of those.  My little sewing group decided to resume our gatherings at the guest house of one of the group.  There's only five of us but with the holidays and increasing covid infection rates, I'm just not comfortable being there any more.  So, I've bowed out until such time as I feel things are safer.

It was my turn to host my siblings' gathering back in mid November and since I'm the youngest of the bunch, we're all getting up in age.  One brother recently had a mild heart attack.  Given that, and the fact that our May gathering was cancelled, I really wanted to go ahead.  We were all set and my husband and I actually drove down to NW Florida in preparation.  Upon arriving and overnight during conversations with my brother, the prevalence of covid in the area became quite obvious.  Even some extended family members had been exposed.  It just became too much for us and after much anguish, on Friday morning I decided to cancel the whole thing.  I made those difficult phone calls to my siblings.  Some were relieved, I think, and others didn't have much to say about it.  At any rate, less than 24 hours after getting there, we got back in the car and headed back home.  Even though I wanted to see my siblings, it just wasn't worth the risk to all of us to go ahead.  I truly hope that we will be able to resume next May.

I have been sewing and reading, as usual.  My most recent finish is my first log cabin style quilt.  These have been around forever and there almost endless ways to arrange the blocks.  Here is the one that inspired me. 

I pulled out fabrics that I liked and started cutting the "logs".  Since I was not cutting many of the same fabric, I actually wound up cutting most of them one at a time so that I could get multiple lengths from the same fabric. 

The old card table comes in really handy with my quilting.  It's a moveable extra space for sorting.  I also used Frog tape to mark the sizes and location numbers.  That's something else that quilters use frequently.   Anyway, there are 546 pieces to make up the blocks.  

Its easy stitching but you do have to pay attention to the order so that the finished design comes through.  And in the middle of this project my machine decided to be temperamental again.  Off to the spa for a good cleaning and examination by the technician who found nothing out of order.  It still was a bit difficult on return, but with some tweaking of threads it returned to good working order. 

And here is the finished top.  The colors do not show well here due to the lousy lighting.  I am pleased.  Now on to the next project, whatever that may turn out to be. 

Y'all stay safe out there.  We are all so tired of the restrictions but its not worth our health to throw caution to the winds now.  

Y'all take care 

  

Bits and Bobs

Today was Mama's birthday.  She was born 108 years ago on May 8, 1911.  We lost her on July 1, 2007 at the age of 96.    I don't know where the years have gone. 

95th Birthday celebration

At the moment, I'm not doing much sewing.  But I did get two quilts finished earlier.  One is made from Australian fabrics and is way out of my comfort zone with all the patterns and colors used together. 

Its simply a variation of a log cabin block and very easy to sew.  There are eight sets of 3 fabrics used for the blocks.  There is a total of 26 different fabrics in the quilt.  I bought the kit in Oregon where I attended the Sisters Quilt Show last July.  They provided fabric and the pattern but I had to choose the fabric combinations. 

This next quilt is all hand applique, except for piecing the blocks together and the actual quilting.  I saw this quilt at a show in Springfield, Missouri a number of years ago.  I had decided I wanted to learn how to do needle turn applique and figured that by the time I finished this quilt I'd be pretty good at it.  It has taken me at least three years to do this quilt, working on a block at a time.  I did not work exclusively on this quilt but wove it in among my other projects. 

The quilt is called Across the Wide Missouri.  It was lots of work but I really enjoyed making it.  I learned a lot and still have a lot more to learn to be more than what I think is just adequate doing applique.  

It has been busy around here.  We had company for two weeks and the "kids" were kept busy with honey-do projects.  Before they came, they all requested a list of chores they could do for us.    I got a garage door opener at last, along with a lot of other chores that hubby and I just could not tackle for various reasons.  I don't think they'd know how to act if there was not a chore list for them upon arrival.  

Y'all take care

Evidence of Progress??

I went to northwest Florida last weekend to attend a family gathering.  Since we don't have ready access to good seafood up here in the mountains, my hubby and I wanted to take advantage of the proximity and headed down to the coast with my brother for dinner on Friday night.   It had been a long time since I'd been the south end of the county where I grew up so I figured we'd head out early and see what was happening, even getting to see a few birds along the way.   

Well.......let me tell you.  I got the shock of my life.  I knew south Walton County had been growing in popularity for years but nothing prepared me for what I saw.  Every single foot of the gorgeous white beaches I grew up with and loved has now been  plastered with condos, houses, restaurants and shops.  Public access to the beach is almost non-existent.  I was driving so I didn't get a single picture but you can go to some websites to find out just exactly what I saw.  Rosemary Beach   Watercolor  Seaside   and others including Sterling Properties.  Some of these have been in existence for many years, but the spaces between have all filled up.  

The traffic was unbelievable, both on the 4 lane divided highway parallel to the coast and on the inner roads, and this was on a random Friday in early November!  Knowing what happens in the summer, you couldn't pay me enough money to go there then.  Makes me so sad to see places I loved become inaccessible to a whole lot of folks who actually live in that county.    Perhaps had I not grown up in that county I wouldn't look at it as a bad thing, but I did grow up there and it hurts.  

Since I got no pictures on this trip, let me see if I can find something in the archives, so to speak. 

Hubby with friends from Germany

Oh, well.  I'll just stick to my little town in the mountains and proudly proclaim I've become a curmudgeon.   Oh, and there wasn't a bird in sight.  

Y'all take care

Sew, I Did It

Oh, where to begin.  When we left off, I had decided to give the nieces and nephews quilts at our family gathering on May 20.  Well, I did it.  I finished and delivered quilts to or for 12 of my 13 surviving nieces and nephews.  I didn't ignore the 13th one, she already had received a quilt several years ago.    So, let's show you what they got. 

Julie's Quilt 

Dana's Quilt

Eddy's Quilt 

Tammy's Quilt 

Ginger's Quilt 

Blaine's Quilt 

Robbie's Quilt 

Brian's Quilt 

Devin's Quilt 

Michael's Quilt 

Wendy's Quilt

Tera's Quilt 

In addition to these, I also delivered new quilts to the two little granddaughters. 

Sorry these are not the best pictures but I hope you can see them well enough to appreciate them.  So far as I know, they were all well received, some even with tears.  I got lots of hugs.  

Somehow, I just haven't been able to get myself enthused over a new project yet, but I think I'm getting there.  

I'll be along with more adventures soon.   Y'all take care. 

One Down, Two to Go

One visitor week down, two more to go.  My dear brother left early this morning after spending the week with us.  He jumped right in (as he is wont to do) and helped Hubby and me get a bunch of chores done.  

His truck was very handy in taking a load of debris down to the transfer station.  For us to take it would have required numerous loads and the dismantling of a large cabinet/bar.  

I actually had a list of things I wanted him to help me with and he obliged.  Got my swing put up at last.  Poor thing has been hauled all over the country.  

Hanging under the deck and outside my sewing studio. 

My Uncle Leonard made porch furniture for many years and this is one of his.  He made it in Alabama, shipped it to me in Las Vegas where it sat in the garage for years.  Then I hauled it to Florida where it got put on the porch of the garden house.  Now, it has moved to Georgia.

Brother and Hubby replaced some rotted boards in the walkway.  

New boards with one coat of stain

Then they tackled the edging for the flower bed on the slope.  It wasn't on the list, but.....

We're expecting our first temps around freezing tonight so I've been busy bringing some of my geraniums inside.  I don't know how they're going to do but we'll see.  There's one plant that will do fine and its special.  Was given to me many years ago by an older dear friend who was moving to Maryland as her health failed.  She has since passed away.  This plant is special to me and is gorgeous, to boot. 

Same plant but taken last year in Florida

It'll live inside now until all danger of frost is gone next spring.  

My salvia is still gorgeous.  The hummingbirds seem to have all gone south.  Haven't seen one since last Monday. 

This salvia is just outside my window and I love to sit here at my desk and watch the hummers enjoy it. 

I'll do my best to be back soon. 

Y'all take care.  

Time Flies

Twenty-five years ago today my Daddy died.  I can't believe it has been that long.  Where does the time go? 

Daddy at granddaughter's 3rd birthday

Look at those hands in the picture.  That's my brother leaning on the back of the chair.  I'm amazed at how much their hands look alike.  

The hummingbirds are swirling around like leaves outside.  There must be 10 to 15 of them diving and swooping.  

Keeps me busy refilling feeders.  I don't fill them all the way up so that I can keep them fresh.  The weather is such that the sugar water will mold easily if left in there for more than two or three days.  

Y'all take care.  

More Maui

I fell in love with the island of Maui when we were there.  Can't really explain why I like it so much, but I do.  We stayed in a lovely little free standing cottage just about a block and a half from the beach.   We could actually sit on the lanai out back and see the ocean in the distance.  We spent a lot of time out there looking at the birds and whale watching. 

High stress living

You could walk to the beach easily if you didn't want to drag along your chairs and stuff.  As it was, we drove down and parked in a PUBLIC parking lot next to a PUBLIC beach park.  What a surprise that was.   The other lovely surprise was there were trees along the beach and beachwalk.  If you wanted sun you had it.  If you wanted shade, you had that too.  Couldn't ask for better. 

I sat in the shade most of the time and watched the whales.  Never a dull moment for me. 

We took a day to drive the Road to Hana.  The actual distance is something like 60 miles but it took us more than four hours to drive it.  We stopped frequently along the way and due to the curves, we could only travel at maybe 20-25 mph most of the way.  

While there were breathtaking sights along the way as these photos attest, there were also long stretches when you saw only the curves of the road and the dense jungle like foliage on each side.

We did stop for fresh banana bread at one place and it was still warm.  I think that was a highlight of the road trip.  Now that we've made this trek, I don't think it is something I'd repeat.    We left our cottage at 7:30 a.m. and we got back home around 5 p.m.  

We couldn't go to Maui and not take a whale watching trip.  We booked an outing with the Pacific Whale Foundation on a rigid bottomed raft.  The raft held a maximum of 31 people and we were down near water level for the trip.   There were humpback whales everywhere!!  The strait between the islands of Maui, Lanai and Molokai is a primary breeding and calving location for humpbacks.  Thousands of them come there every winter.  In the summer they travel back to Alaska to feed.  They do not feed at all while in the Hawaiian waters.  

Coming back into Lahaina Harbor 

This was our second trip to Hawaii and I loved it.  The trip itself is a real bummer due to the length of it, though.   If you've never been, I'd highly recommend saving the pennies and going there at least once in your life. 

Y'all take care. 

Growing Up Fast but Hanging On

I don't know about the rest of you, but it is very hard for me to accept the fact that I'm now part of the "older" folks.  Many years ago, a friend and I were talking and we agreed that with the problems going on, it was time for the grown ups to step up and make some decisions.  Then, I reminded him that in our mid 30's, we were supposed to be grownups!  He and I both agreed that we could be in trouble. 

I was reminded of that recently when my 92 year old Aunt Mildred passed away.  She was the last of my mother's siblings.  

Aunt Mildred and Aunt Dean

I lost Aunt Dean, the other lady in this picture, back in April.  There are no more aunts and uncles for me on either side of the family.   What I've discovered is that you always feel like one of the kids if there's a parent or an aunt or uncle around.  They are the "grown ups".    All the cousins were together for Aunt Mildred's  memorial and we're all feeling a bit adrift.  And we're realizing that not only are we now the grown ups, we're fast approaching or already are some of the "old folks".  

I stayed with my brother while I was down in Florida.  He's been the caretaker of a farm (other than his own, of course) for years but I'd never been over to it.  This trip I told him I wanted a tour.  Before heading to the farm, we had to go check on a few things.  We had to go by our family's old farm to check the traps for feral hogs.  Nothing there.  Then we headed off to check on some of my brother's cows that were pastured a number of miles away.   Got there and luckily the cows were close to the fence.  One of the cows had been limping and he wanted to check her hoof again.  He discovered that she had undoubtedly stepped on something and gotten cut.  He'll have to move her back to the house so he can doctor on her and keep an eye on her.   

Then, he decided he wanted to go see a man about a check.  The guy bought some hay from my brother and he had called wanting to exchange cash for the check.  Fine with brother but he could never catch him at home.  Didn't find him home this trip either because he was with his daughter who was competing in a rodeo about 70 miles away.  Oh well, I got a tour of places I hadn't seen in many years, including the grist mill where we always got our corn meal ground.  I have that ticking sack that was used only for the corn kernels and then the ground meal.   Oh my, the smell of freshly ground, warm corn meal!  

After riding over what felt like half the county, we finally went over to the farm so I could see where he spends an inordinate amount of time and energy.   As we drove around, he showed me all the projects he's working on, including the new fences he has put in this year and the watering system so that all the pastures have well water.  He's got part of the pasture land plowed up and ready for rye and clover to be planted. 

And, I had to see some of his cows that were in those pastures. 

After visiting the bovines, we headed off through the woods to the old pond.  (Yes, there is a new pond also.)   I thought we'd gone most everywhere but he assured me that there were other places to go but they required the Purple Onion (the old battered 4 wheel drive Tracker) or the 4x4 buggy.  Since we were on the "good" truck, he wouldn't take it those places!

We stopped and he checked the fish feeder.  The second he touched it, the water was suddenly splashing with fish wanting food.    There's a small floating dock there for fishing or just hanging out.  Brother says he'll just sit there sometimes, taking it all in for a while. 

I headed back north on Sunday.   Somehow, these weeks just keep flying by. 

Y'all take care. 

Uh Huh, a Post at Last

Hey, everybody.  I've missed all of you.   We've had a busy time lately.  Shortly after the quilting retreat, my stepson and his family came.  They love being at the beach so they rented a condo over there and we just saw them frequently.   The girls (4 & 5 year olds) are growing like weeds. 

Fun with Uncle D and Buster last year

 Their older sister has just finished her freshman year at Iowa State.  Can't believe that kid is nearly 19 already.  It was a really nice visit. 

This was the first trip they've made where they drove from Iowa to Florida.  We knew they were in for a surprise and just about the first words out of Andy's mouth were that he had a whole new appreciation for all the trips his Dad and I have made to Iowa.  I think they've always just figured that since we were retired and "didn't have anything better to do" we could just drive up to Iowa.  Now, he knows its not quite so easy or so much fun.  

Andy helped his Dad with some tree trimming and cleaning which was a good thing.  I'm not fond of hubby being up on the roof these days. 

Up on the roof..........

I've been terribly remiss in that my camera has stayed in the bag way too much.

Anyway, after they left we spent time working around the yard and house and preparing to come to the North Georgia mountains for the summer.  Very shortly after we arrived, my stepdaughter flew down to spend a few days with us.  I think curiosity got the best of her in that she wanted to know what the area looked like, since we are looking at cabins up here. Her visit gave us our first opportunity to see the Atlanta airport from the land side instead of being a passenger on the way through.  It's a totally different experience.

Y'all take care.  

Quilts Full of Love

Since I'm behind times anyway, I might as well just carry on. 

In addition to the birding trip in April, I also had my semi-annual quilting retreat.  I was the coordinator for this one and there was a learning curve.  I think I've about got it figured out now.  

Just after our last retreat, we decided that the two ladies in the group who are veterans needed their own Quilt of Valor.  The owner of our retreat center, Elizabeth Mathews, is the Alabama coordinator for Quilts of Valor.  So, all sneaky like the word went out for blocks.  They were collected and put together by two different members of our group and were presented to Sara and Char at our retreat.  Boy, did we pull a good one on them. 

Sara's Quilt of Valor

Char's Quilt of Valor

These ladies never suspected a thing beforehand.  

In addition to these two special quilts, another quilt was presented to one of our girls who lost her husband back in February.  The call was put out on our online forum (not just our retreat group) and over 80 blocks were hurriedly made and sent to Char who put it together and quilted it.  Then she came over to present our gift to Margot. 

Margot's quilt 

By the time all three quilts were presented, there wasn't a dry eye in the building!!!   We love these girls so much.  

Aw, heck, I might as well go on and tell it.  In addition to Margot losing her husband in February, another local quilty friend Nancy lost her husband on March 20.  Then, to top it off, yet another local  friend Winnie (who is also a friend of Nancy) lost her husband suddenly on April 12.  She was working at the quilt show when he had a massive heart attack.  All that would be bad enough, but then I lost one of my favorite aunts on April 26.  All those losses together in so short a time just about did me in.  I still don't think the loss of my aunt has really sunk in just yet.  I know that these events have surely gotten my husband's and my attention. 

Here's my Aunt Dean and the king sized quilt I made for her three years ago.  These were the colors she wanted (batiks)and she was thrilled when I gave it to her.  She used it on her king sized bed all the time. 

I guess what I've had reaffirmed for me is that we should never take a day for granted.  We should cherish each one of them and cherish our friends and family.  

Okay, enough for now. 

Y'all take care.