Surprise!!!

It's only been three months since I last posted, but who's counting, right? Anyway, here's a quote from Bonnie K. Hunter's blog that really caught my eye:

And some days annoying people is what it's all about! (wicked grin)

Honestly, I couldn't believe it had been three months. Time has flown by, but now Summer is gone and Fall is going by fast. September was too hot and humid and now all October is giving us is rain and chilliness. We're supposed to get some rain, maybe mixed with a little snow, again tomorrow.

Canning and freezing is about done for another year. I might can a batch of butternut squash yet and some chicken and then put the canning equipment away. The only fresh produce we're having now is the squash, Asian pears and a few apples from the very tops of the trees. The garden is cleaned off after a very productive season.

This is the only quilt that I've made start to finish this year. Actually it was pieced last year and quilted this Summer. It's being mailed off for Quilts of Valor tomorrow, along with another one.

I got the blocks finished for two more quilts so far this year and at least two tops are waiting to be quilted. (There's also a Double Wedding Ring top that I pieced years ago that is hiding in a box under my bed that I haven't been quite brave enough to tackle yet.) I got the backing for one of them pieced on Monday, but won't load it just yet. A lady called and asked if I could quickly get a quilt quilted for her next week if she can get it too me early in the week and I said yes. Now I ask myself, "Why?"

For two months straight I took paper foundations and r/w/b strips & strings to my quilt group meetings and had the ladies help foundation piece blocks for QOV quilts. This month our hostess forgot that she was hostess & should have a project lined up for us so I went home and got one batch of blocks for the ladies to de-paper. I thank them for all their help. Now I just need to get to work and finish the quilts up.

OK, that's about it, the last three months in a nutshell.

Time Flies

And here it is July...Friday the 13th to be exact.

It was such a nice rain overnight & this morning. I always appreciate it when there's no hail or crazy wind involved. I do enjoy a good thunder & lightning storm though! Sure hope the heat and humidity stay away for a while.

Today I'm finishing up a quilt on the machine & will probably shred some zucchini for the freezer. The quilting machine needed some work but is sewing fine now. The needle up/down needs some adjustment but it will wait until this quilt is done. Seems like there is always something to be tweaked on something.

Maybe I'll soon post a couple quilt pictures here!!

Down With Epson

It's been a less than stellar month for me and electronics.

The first was caused by user error and I spent a bit over two weeks resurrecting my almost DOA laptop. It was a software problem and I knew I could fix it, but it still took time. Thank heaven I had subscribed to Backblaze cloud backup a couple years ago. It helped me get back what I hadn't backed up to external hard drives which I hadn't done since Dec. in some cases and last Apr. in others. Have to do better at that!

To top it off I was stupid enough to install the latest firmware "update" for my Epson printer/scanner. "Update" my foot!! What it does is lock up your printer so it can't use 3rd party compatible ink cartridges, only the really expensive Epson ones. The others were working great & I was happy with the results. Now, unless I want to buy a $75 set of Epson cartridges for a $90 printer I have a lovely, shiny, black doorstop. Can't even use the scanner. Needless to say, I will NEVER buy another Epson product and I advise anyone else to not buy them either. If by chance you already have an Epson printer and it will still use the 3rd party cartridges DO NOT install any updates!

Then I tried to play a DVD for the grandkids and it wouldn't play in any computer and my upstairs DVD player is refusing all DVDs. Guess it's dead too. Finally tried the disk in the downstairs DVD player and it played. Makes me wonder what sort of scheme the DVD makers have to keep disks from playing on a computer.

Between all the issues and the weather, I'll be glad when March is over.

Caught In The Act

It's a cold one, that's for sure. Our thermometer said -20 just before sunrise and it was anywhere from -22 to -24 elsewhere in town. -30 three miles west of town. 

Our two orphan kitties had been outdoor kitties, sleeping in the garage at night, until a day or two after Christmas when it just kept getting colder and we brought them in. I like to keep my Christmas tree up until a while after New Year's but the kitties decided on Saturday night that it was time to pull on the lights and pull off the ornaments....so at 11:30pm I took it down.

Caught red-handed (red-pawed?) and documented climbing in the tree after most of the ornaments were off. His sister was also climbing the tree while the ornaments were still on, but I didn't get her on candid camera. Little stinkers!