New Year's Eve Mystery

Well, I've been looking through my stash and I have found some fabrics that I really don't like, so I think I'm going to use them to make the quiltville mystery. The last mystery I did I used fabrics that I didn't like and it turned out beautiful. Hopefully this will happen with this mystery as well. Some of fabrics I'm using came from the same purchase that I made my first mystery with more than 5 years ago. I bought a whole bunch of half yard pieces at the LQS when they had a big clearance sale. I thought I would start to build my stash. Well, most of the stash builder fabrics are still in the stash. I'm looking forward to doing another mystery since it has been so long since I did the first one.

I'm sick again. My cold has decided to come back. So far, it is not as bad as the first time, but it reared its ugly head just yesterday. I already started snorting salt water to try to head off the major sinus problems. So far it hasn't helped, but hopefully it will so it won't be as bad as the first round.

More snow is on the horizon. It is suppose to start anytime now and we should have anywhere between 2 and 4 inches in the morning. It has been nice not having snow for the past few days. It has also been warm enough that we haven't had to run the generator to keep the cows and horses water open. Tomorrow its only suppose to get to 24 so the generator will be running.

One of the guys who hunts on our property got a deer last week. It is the first time he has ever shot a deer. He shot at another one tonight, but missed. Tomorrow is the last day for hunting, so its now or never for anyone needing to kill a deer this year.

I'm off work for the next 5 days. I'm looking forward to sleeping in and doing some sewing. Maybe, I'll get some shopping done as well. I really need to get some groceries. Exciting times!

Wild Weather

Yesterday it was almost 60 degrees here. The snow is all gone. I actually heard thunder last night. Today the wind is just whipping and we have a high wind advisory. Its only 30 degrees out, but with the wind it is super cold. The power flickered several times this morning. The in-laws lost power this morning, so I'm glad that mine stayed on.

We had a christmas party to go to last night. I didn't have much fun, so we left early and stopped at our local bar. We go there at least once a week for dinner, so it was kind of fun to just go have drinks. It was a late night especially since the DH had to work this morning.

On the quilting front, I got all my strips sewn together and cut into blocks. I've got to iron the sashing fabric and get it cut up. I also have to get the blocks sewn together. I'm also modifying the pattern, so I've got to make sure that I have enough fabric to finish the top. I've got some charm squares that I might make into half square triangles or something. I've got some ideas, but I have to make sure they will work before I start cutting up the fabric.

My sister called me yesterday with quilting questions. It was nice to hear that she is sort of interested in quilting. I gave her my old sewing machine a few years ago and she used it for making halloween costumes and such. It finally died, so she had to go get a new machine. She makes stuffed animals with it. She doesn't use a pattern, she just creates them as she goes. She has always been the artsy one of the family. I have to have a pattern and she can't stand following one. She doesn't want to piece a top, she just wants to do the quilting. She plans on getting a walking foot & stippling foot and trying it out on scraps. It would be wonderful if she got into quilting, even though we are across the country from each other now. It would still be fun to share.

I'm trying to decide on whether to participate in Bonnie Hunter's New Year's mystery quilt. I'm not digging the colors she picked out. I've been looking through my stash to see if I have enough fabrics to do it. I've got enough of the gold fabric, but the others I'm a little shy on. I really want to change the colors to red, black, gold. I'm not sure about the other two colors that are required for making the quilt. That is why I'm undecided on whether I'm going to participate. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. You can see the requirements at www.quiltville.com.

Christmas

Christmas has come and gone. We had a great family meal yesterday. My mom's husband made prime rib and brought it to my house. My dad was with us, which hasn't happened since my parents divorced. My in-laws were here with us, as well. It was wonderful to sit down to a luscious meal and enjoy the conversation. My sister was very much missed, but she did call right in the middle of our meal. The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining bright and that helped to make a great day.

On a sad note, my mom's chocolate lab, Cody, died yesterday morning. I was on the phone with my mom when it happened. She didn't know until we hung up, so I found out when they arrived for our X-mas meal. My mom is heart broken and their young sheltie, Buddy, is just lost without his pal.

We spent Christmas eve at my aunt's house. It is our yearly tradition to spend X-mas eve with my dad's side of the family. I was able to get my work done at the office early, so I was able to get home and we rode up with my dad to his sister's house. We picked up my 91 year old grandma on the way. We had a great meal at my aunt's house and it was nice to spend time with them. We don't see each other often, so it was nice to hang out with the family. Of course, my sister called right as we were getting ready to eat. She seemed to have impeccable timing both days.

Today my mother in law and I went to the Marshall House Quilt Shop in Marshall, MI. Wow, it was spectacular. They had tons of fabric that I haven't seen at our local shop. I went crazy picking out fabrics. I bought a ton of half yard pieces. I don't have anything in mind, so I just got the minimum amount that I like to have on hand. I got several that are red and black and some grays. I just love the fabric. We spent a couple of hours there. My MIL needed to get some fabric to make the back of her quilt. She picked out a couple batiks for the borders and then four fabrics for the back. We decided that she should do a split rail on the back, so it will be a double sided quilt. Once she gets it finished it going to be about 98" x 73". She plans to use it as a couch throw, but now its big enough to be on her bed.

I got some sewing done last night while the DH was napping. I still have 5 more strip sets to sew together. I also am changing the pattern I'm using to make it bigger than what it currently is. I purchased a panel that goes with the fabric I'm using, so I'm going to add that into the quilt to enlarge it. I think with the added pieces it will be big enough to put on the bed. I plan to get some sewing done tomorrow while DH is at work. Maybe I'll get the strips done so I can start piecing it together.

Frigid Michigan

Yesterday was the coldest day of the year so far. The wind chills were well below zero and the blowing snow was horrible. I went into the office to get some work done and the roads sucked. They were alittle better when I came home, but they still have snowy patches on them. Some people haven't even had their roads plowed yet from the snow we got on Friday. We are now expecting another 2 to 4 inches tomorrow and tomorrow night. Then a possibility of freezing rain/sleet on X-mas eve. And maybe 40 degrees on Saturday. The weather is just crazy.

This morning going back to feed the animals was an adventure. Our 1-ton dually 4x4 got stuck in the snow drifts. It was quite a morning at 5am. Luckily the DH was able to get the truck unstuck while I took care of the horses. It was a stressful morning thinking that we might have to walk almost a half mile back to the house in the freezing cold. Come on Spring!! Here is a nice springy image to get us through for awhile. These babies were born at our house several years ago.

We are in the final push at work to get everything done before the holiday. It is very slow going. It seems that no one seems to know what the right answer is on how to finish up these last few audit reports. I'm not sure what the problem is. I finally just made a command decision and decided to move forward. For some reason the people in my office just don't get super motivated until the afternoon. I get to work very early so I can leave early and it really bothers me when I have to wait on people who don't get their motor running until 2pm. Several of us were at our wits end today. Alot of people were very bitchy and biting each other heads off. The stress has finally gotten to us. I'm just hoping to be able to only work half a day on X-mas eve, so I can attend family functions. I'm pushing my boss to get things wrapped up, so we'll see.

On the quilting front, I purchased the yardage I need for my Happy Howlidays quilt for the sashing and borders. Hopefully it will arrive soon, so that I can work on getting the quilt together during the holiday weekend. I'll be able to get a bunch of piecing done without it. I think I'm going to also work on cutting up my scraps using Bonnie Hunter's system. It looks very cool and it is a good way to use up all the scraps I have. www.quiltville.com

Almost X-mas

Only 5 more days to go till the big day. I was in town this morning and lots of people were headed to the mall. I'm sure they were trying to get some great deals. Seems like all the stores are having huge sales this weekend. I haven't even started shopping and I don't think I'm going to do any. I'm alittle bah humbug this year.

My boy got his staples out this morning. He did really good for the vet. He only flinched and squirmed a couple of times. I, however, didn't do so well. I didn't have breakfast and we were looking at the incision and discussing the surgery and everything started to go gray. The vet tech got me a cup of water and a cookie. That did the trick. I was quite embarassed, but they seem to be used to it at the vet's office.

We got about 7-8 inches of snow yesterday. It was an overwhelming amount of snow in a very short time. They are still clearing the roads today. We are suppose to get another 2-4 between tonight and tomorrow. It is definitely going to be a white christmas this year.

We bought a new fish tank the other day. We have a few fish that are pregnant. We want the babies to survive, so we are creating a maternity ward. We've got a couple babies already, but they are living with the feeder fish right now. One of the moms moved into a conch shell. We suspect there are babies in there because she doesn't come out except to grab a piece or two of food.

We are on the final push at work. I went in today, but I had the dog with me and one of my co-workers is terrified of dogs, so I had to leave. Needless to say, I have to go in tomorrow because the boss wants everything done by Tuesday at the latest. I'm sure that is because he wants to go to NJ to be with his family for the holiday. Its gonna be a few late nights at work, unfortunately. I can't wait to get this crap done.

I hope to get some sewing done this week. President Bush made the day after Christmas a federal holiday (for this year), so us federal employees get a 4 day weekend. I can't wait to have a few days off without having to worry about work stuff.

Snow

It has started snowing once again. They are calling for 2 to 4 inches tonight. That isn't alot, but it will be a tough morning. We haven't had a lot of snow this year and we are starting from bare ground. Monday morning it was 45 degrees, now we can't get out of the low 20's. The weather is just so crazy.

The new highspeed is great. I'm sitting in the chair, eating dinner, playing on the internet. A whole new world has opened up for us. We can finally get something done without it taking an hour to download a page. I did find out today that you can't be on the cordless phone when trying to connect to the DSL wirelessly. Not sure what the issue is there, but I'll make sure that I don't do it again.

Anywho, that's all I've got to report today. Been super busy at work, even working late every night, so no sewing has gotten done. Maybe this weekend!?!

Yeah! Highspeed

Today, AT&T finally got our DSL working. We now have highspeed internet and a wireless network in the house. I'm so excited. I can work/play from anywhere in the house. I'm not stranded in one place because of a phone line. It took them 5 days to get the problem fixed, but at least they were able to figure out that the original lines weren't set up for digital service and technician was able to fix it.

My sister has gotten another dog. Her husband has been wanting another doberman, since there last boy got cancer and had to be put down. They found a beautiful boy at the local humane society and decided to foster him. Fostering him was easier because if he didn't work out then they would be able to find someone within the Doberman rescue to take him. The puppy just loves him and they get along great according to my sister. I'm including a picture for your enjoyment.

I still haven't gotten any quilting done. I wanted to get one more done before the holidays, but that just isn't going to happen. Work is still in forefront of taking up my time. Hopefully by the end of the month that will be over. Winter is my time to quilt and before you know it spring will be here.

The Boy is Home

My boy was released from the hospital on Wednesday evening. He stayed with the in-laws until Friday night. We all agreed it was a good idea to let him do some healing without having to be around the herd of other dogs. He is acting like normal, just not eating as much. He slept with me all night last night. Its nice to have him home. I don't think I could have handled the alternative. They cut him from his breast bone all the way down. I took this picture because I was in shock at how swollen he was and the bruising. The bruising came from them giving him some local anesthesia and they hit a vein while doing it. The swelling is almost gone, but his skin is really stretched out. He has a ton of staples holding him together. When I looked at in the hospital I almost got sick. It make me very queasy. I have to take him out on a leash and he can't run and jump around, but he is definitely getting better. Now we just have to make sure that he doesn't eat things he's not suppose to.

The in-laws left for Virginia this morning. They are visiting their daughter's family for the week. It is amazing how much we rely on them to help us out. I have to make sure that I leave work on time this week because I don't have anyone to let the dogs out for me if I'm late. Also, my father in law waters the horses and cows every other day. It is a huge help to us, so the help will be sorely missed this week.

I picked up the new Quiltmaker magazine this week. It has an article from Bonnie Hunter on how to use up all those pesky scraps. I'm going to have to use her system because I have a ton of scraps that need something to do. I've got scraps from the very first quilt I made. I've just been throwing them in a huge basket all these years. Now I have something to do with them.

Oh, also the cow that escaped earlier this week came home. My husband went out that night to see if he came back and he was standing at the fence waiting to go in with the rest of them. Thank god.

Work is still crazy, but hopefully this next week we will be able to wrap up all the work. This past week we had a lady for our headquarters reviewing our files. Things went well until Thursday. We reviewed a group of files and found out that they were all wrong. We are now trying to figure out if they can be fixed or if the work will have to be terminated. On a positive note, the President has given all executive branch employees the day after Christmas off. Now hopefully our review will be done, so that we can all enjoy it.

Major Problems

It has been a heck of a week so far. My oldest dog had emergency surgery last night because his intestine was blocked. He at something he shouldn't have and it got stuck. He eats stuff all the time without issue, but this time it caught up to him. He is still in the hospital and getting pain medication. Hopefully he will be able to come home tomorrow.

Things continued downhill today. Work was very busy as usual. I had to leave early because the farrier came out today. The horses acted horrible. My husband let the dogs out when he got home and two of them took off. It took awhile before he found them. Then one of the cows got out and, at this time, he is still out. He disappeared into the woods, so hopefully he will be waiting at the pasture tomorrow morning.

Other than all that, things are okay. My mother in law just finished a quilt top using batiks. She bought the pattern at a local quilt shop and it is very nice looking. She did a very good job for being a new quilter.

End of the Week

The work week has finally ended and I only worked two days of it. I do have to work from home this weekend to try and get caught up. Ok, that's enough whining. Well, one more thing to complain about, THE WEATHER. It is so stinking cold, you'd think it was the middle of January, not the beginning of December.

Here is a picture to brighten the freezing cold day. This pic is some of our fish in our fish tank. We have a 160 gallon tank filled with cichlids. They are very pretty for being fresh water fish. We recently added some new fish to the mix. They are much smaller than the older fish, but seem to be holding their own. It is amazing how fast they grow in a tank this size.

I started working on a new quilt the other day. I've got this super cool fabric that I'm totally in love with, so I wanted to get started using it. It is Christmas fabric with dogs on it. Its called Happy Howlidays. I was hoping to get the quilt made before Christmas got here, but I don't think its going to happen. I'm doing a super easy quilt called "Bars of Gold" with the fabric, so maybe I'll be able to get it done. I've got to get a couple of yards for the background. I went through the stash a couple of times and couldn't find anything that I wanted to use or that I had enough of. I guess its off to the quilt shop for some fabric. Wish me luck on getting it done.

Back to Work

I've been off work since Thanksgiving due to being sick. The doctor told me to take off thru today. I can go back if I feel better tomorrow. I need to go back because the work is starting to pile up. I brought lots home, but haven't gotten much accomplished.

Before I got sick I was able to finish the butterfly quilt. The pattern is called Fields of Flowers, but since I used butterfly fabric I'm calling it Fields of Butterflys. Diana of Tranquil Quilting did an awesome job on the quilting. She used a pink thread and did like a swirling daisy pattern on it. It looks great and its nice and snuggly. I've used it as a nice wrap while I've been sick.

Thanksgiving was nice. My mom and her husband came over as well as my in-laws. We had a very nice time enjoying a wonderful turkey and lots of side dishes & desserts. Christmas is right around the corner.