Tomorrow............

I have lots of things on my "tomorrow" list and it keeps growing. Some have already survived MANY tomorrows.

Three Heartstrings quilt tops that came home with me from Quilt Club that need to be quilted and bound.

Quilt block parts that need to be pressed.

Three tops of my own awaiting quilting and binding.

A top I bought off eBay. It was the first one I quilted on my Gammill Premier using a pantograph pattern. I've learned a lot since then. It still needs to be bound....how many years later?

I really need to find time to study the manual for this, my new toy.  Took this picture with my smaller camera and the ones above it with this new one.  Actually the picture quality is just as good with the small camera, at least to my untrained eye anyway.  They are both 12.1 megapixel cameras. The biggest difference is that this one has 35x optical zoom and a few more bells & whistles if I can figure them out.

We won't even talk about the canning and jerky making that I have yet to do. Or all the genealogy information that needs to be entered into my database. Or all the pictures that need to be scanned.

Tomorrow...Tomorrow.....Tomorrow....

Too Good To Not Share

And the Lord spoke to Noah: ''In six months I'm going to make it rain until the whole earth is covered with water and all the evil people are destroyed. But I want to save a few good people, and two of every kind of living thing on the planet. I am ordering you to build Me an Ark.''
And in a flash of lightning He delivered the specifications for an Ark.
''Okay," said Noah, trembling in fear and fumbling with the blueprints.
''Six months, and it starts to rain,'' thundered the Lord. ''You'd better have my Ark completed, or learn how to swim for a very long time.''
And six months passed. The skies began to cloud up and rain began to fall. The Lord saw that Noah was sitting in his front yard, weeping. And there was no Ark.
''Noah," shouted the Lord, "where is my Ark?'' A lightning bolt crashed into the ground next to Noah, for emphasis.
''Lord, please forgive me," begged Noah. "I did my best, but there were big problems. First I had to get a building permit for the Ark construction project, and your plans didn't meet code. So I had to hire an engineer to redraw the plans. Then I got into a big fight over whether or not the Ark needed a fire sprinkler system. My neighbors objected claiming I was violating zoning by building the Ark in my front yard, so I had to get a variance from the city planning commission.
Then I had a big problem getting enough wood for the Ark because there was a ban on cutting trees to save the spotted owl. Then the carpenters formed a union and went out on strike. I had to negotiate a settlement with the National Labor Relations Board before anyone would pick up a saw or a hammer. Now we got 16 carpenters going on the boat, and still no owls.
Then I started gathering up the animals, and got sued by an animal rights group. They objected to me taking only two of each kind. Just when I got the suit dismissed, EPA notified me that I couldn't complete the Ark without filing an environmental impact statement on your proposed flood.
Then the Army Corps of Engineers wanted a map of the proposed new flood plain. I sent them a globe. And the IRS has seized all my assets claiming I'm trying to avoid paying taxes by leaving the country, and I just got a notice from the state about owing some kind of use tax. I really don't think I can finish your Ark for at least another five years,'' Noah wailed.
The sky began to clear. The sun began to shine. A rainbow arched across the sky. Noah looked up and smiled.
''You mean you're not going to destroy the earth?'' Noah asked, hopefully.
''Wrong!'' thundered the Lord. ''But being Lord of the Universe has its advantages. I fully intend to smite the earth, but with something far worse than a flood. Something man invented himself.''
''What's that?'' asked Noah. There was a long pause, and then the Lord spoke:
''Government.''   (Thanks to Al and the Bayfield Bunch)

Almost Gone

Ah, September is almost gone...yet it seems like in just got started. Today is my youngest's birthday. He's 36. I guess if I was a seriously dedicated blogger I would have dug out one of his baby pictures and posted it...or maybe the naked-in-the-bath- tub picture....every kid has one of those, right?

Nope, and I'm not posting pictures of the jars of pears I've canned. Or the jars of apples before that. Or the jars of beef I canned today. Or the pear pies I've made. Yum!!

There hasn't been any sewing or quilting going on.

There was a little genealogy excitement. One of the DH's ancestors who has been very hard to find has seemingly turned up thanks to a great ancestor hunter in Iowa. With her last name spelled differently than any of us had.  This ancestors father-in-law is still a bit of a brick wall. We know his name, but not his father's name.....and there were a gazillion Baileys in the NY-VT-NH area. Often several in one generation with the same name, but not even closely related.

So there you have it. My September. How was yours?

Sew, Kitty, Sew!!

I want a kitty like this!

Every quilter needs one!!  All mine do is eat expensive cat food.

Fall Is Here

While it seemed like the long, hot, dry summer would go on forever, Fall is here. Warm, sunny days with a little cool breeze. Cool nights, perfect for sleeping with the windows open a little, but the AC & fan shut off. So quiet.  It was actually cool enough last night that there was frost in places in town. Not at our place, but in the southeast part of town were it's a little lower.  I want more ripe peppers so I hope it holds off a little longer.

To me, Fall is Pear Pie time and here's the first one of the season. I suppose you could make it out of canned pears but it wouldn't be the same.

Note we've already enjoyed a good portion of it.

I've also made my favorite Potato & Butternut Squash Scallop. Another seasonal dish.  Pretty simple to make really. Sliced potatoes & squash, browned pork sausage, chopped onion, salt, pepper and cream to cover.  Bake until potatoes and squash are tender. YUM.

My kitties will be jealous, but here's some doggie pics taken during my dog-sitting stint a couple weeks ago.

Ollie's favorite spot on the back of the couch. Yes, Roscoe is missing a front leg.

Note the one ear perked up, one ear flopped over and the soulful eyes. He uses this look very effectively.

It Seems Like The House Grew

My doggie buddies went home this morning. The kids got back from Glacier NP and picked them up on the way home. I don't know who was happier...the dogs or the kids.

Oops...same picture as last post. :)

My house, especially the living room, seems so much bigger without the three dogs, their beds, their toys and the one's kennel. I miss them!!  My cats don't.

A little sewing went on today....VERY LITTLE.  Long-term projects do drag on. Maybe I need to start something new to get my mojo back. Last year I was thinking of making a Twister Halloween quilt. Now would be a good time to do it. Or would it just turn into another UFO??

This Week........

...is dogsitting week.  Son & daughter-in-law went to Glacier NP on vacation so their dogs are on vacation too.....at my house.  Since there are three of them, I'm really glad they're all good dogs.

Roscoe, Zoey and Ollie

They look content enough, don't they?  I enjoy them. My cats??  Not so much!!

Weeding

No, not the garden.  This past week has been the official "Week of Weeding" in the Northeast Library System. The idea is to encourage all the libraries to weed out their collections to make room on the shelves, get rid of things that are no longer useful to the collection and to freshen up the look of the library.  Participating libraries also get their name thrown in the hat for a drawing for a Kindle.

My goal was to get the adult general fiction shelves weeded. They had become so crowded that it was hard to put books away. I should have taken some "before" pictures but didn't, so here are the "after pictures."

These two pictures are the books removed from the shelves.  Books are HEAVY!!  (Library Boards...remember that when you look for a  librarian. She/he must be able to handle heavy boxes of books.)

They aren't all removed from the database yet. Hopefully that will be done in the next couple weeks.
I'm estimating that close to 400 were weeded.





These next pictures show the shelves "after."  Please notice that there is some space on EVERY shelf for adding more books and for face-out display.   Some rearranging needs to be done to equalize the space, but at least there IS space.

SPACE!

SPACE!

SPACE!

SPACE!

SPACE!!

Today's Excitement...........

..........not quite in my backyard, but close.  The vacant lots to the west of my house caught fire late this afternoon. Luckily what little wind there was was blowing the other way so I didn't even smell the smoke.

The Fire Dept. wasn't taking any chances. They had all of our trucks out there and all of Royal's too. They kept it contained to a fairly small spot and got it out quickly.

Since the day started out with the sewer starting to back up just as the rinse water drained out of the washing machine I can only wonder what happens next.

I also got the neutral string setting blocks trimmed for my Jamestown Landing quilt. These are 4 1/2 inches square.

I think there's 160 or so of these.

And, my one other accomplishment this week......

After picking a bunch of dead-ripe tomatoes and knowing I DON'T need any more canned whole tomatoes, I made V-8/tomato juice instead. It's amazing what three tomato plants can produce when you really only want enough to eat fresh.

I really shouldn't say those were the only two things accomplished this week because it was the NE Library System's "Week of Weeding."  My goal was to get the adult general fiction shelves weeded and I got that done.  They haven't been removed from the computer database yet, but I can at least put newer books away on the shelves or display a book face-out.  Boxes of books are HEAVY!! Or I'm just getting wimpier.  LOL

Hourglasses Done!

The hourglass units for the Ohio Star blocks in Orca Bay are finally done, trimmed & counted. Can you say, "S  L  O  W going?"  I found I had made about 50-60 extras. Didn't bother trimming them, just threw them in the "extra unit" box.

These finish at 2". (Those little, bitty pieces you wanted to see, Lori.)

Hi, I'm the real boss around here and helped write this post...now put that camera away, Mom!!

The expression kind of says it all, doesn't it?  If her legs were long enough to reach the sewing machine pedal I'd have her slaving away in my sweatshop too.  LOL

Catching Up

Seventy-four pints of sweet corn in the freezer....I'm almost recovered! :)


All those Quarter Square Triangles  I sewed up are now pressed....that took a while. Next the dog-ears get snipped off and then they all get mixed up real good and get sewed into little hour-glass units.  I read ahead to the next step....a whole bunch of Half Square Triangle pairs cut from black & neutral 2 inch strips.  This quilt has so many little pieces it may have to go on my Bucket List. It may BE my Bucket List.

Enough ripe tomatoes have accumulated that I will have to can a few. I don't really want to, but there are too many to just eat. Freezer space will be at a premium if there are any apples or deer later on and I just can't throw them away. Today I went out and pruned the plants.  They were about to squash my pepper plants and I'd rather have the red bell peppers than the tomatoes. 

The squash vines are producing way more than I want too.  I canned a lot of squash last year and only wanted a few for cooking with this year.  Let's just say that DH is an over-achiever when it comes to planting things in the spring.  I said to stick about six seeds into a hill and call it good. Not exactly what he did.  Picture me later this fall throwing Butternut squash into unlocked cars along Main St.  LOL  It's just taking things OUT that's illegal isn't it???

Yesterday

It's really quiet at work so let's do a little blogging about my day yesterday....

Sweet Corn Day!! Picked it and husked it. The silks were really hard to get off and IT TOOK FOREVER!!

Boiling water. Tons of steam. AC running like crazy to keep me cool.

Sharp knife!  Watch the fingers!

In the bag and into the freezer. It will taste good this winter.







Oh, the aches & pains after a long day putting up corn.  And since I only got half of it into the freezer yesterday I get to do the other half when I get home from work.

(All pictures from the Internet)

See....

...EMPTY!!!

Finished sewing the QSTs last night. Now on to pressing and trimming dog-ears. But first work today and corn tomorrow.

Just Living Life

That seemed like a better post title than, "No Catchy Title."  Not too much exciting going on around here. This past weekend was the annual celebration complete with parade, bbq and other activities that I didn't take part in. I did ride along with DH in his classic '55 Chevy station wagon in the parade.  Even though the weather was lovely, temps were much cooler than we've had lately, it still gets hot in a dark colored car going real slow in a parade in the bright sunshine. I'm glad it was a short parade. We brought the car home and I stayed here enjoying the AC until time to go back downtown for the bbq.

We're just beginning to get some fresh produce from the garden. Five tomatoes, two onions and six ears of sweetcorn so far. I've been enjoying BLT sandwiches.

Should have taken a picture of this one before I started enjoying! -giggle-

I went out to the garden about noon today to find some more sweetcorn for supper. If I'd gotten out there earlier I'd probably be freezing corn today. There's enough ready for a smaller batch. As it was I just picked a couple grocery bags full to put in the fridge for eating fresh. Took a look at the squash while I was out there too.  DH has been complaining that they aren't setting on very good.  I think there's way more than I really wanted since I canned so much squash last year. He always takes the negative view.

Yesterday I sewed up about half of the QSTs in the container I showed in a previous post. Maybe I can get a few more sewed up yet today since I got out to the corn patch too late in the day to pick any for freezing.

While it was so hot I spent quite a bit of time enjoying the AC and reading. My fellow book club members think I read some, shall we say, strange stuff.  I like alternative health books and books that "tell the rest of the story." 

What did I learn from these?  Pretty much everything we eat & drink and the air we breathe has been contaminated by chemicals and various additives. Green tea isn't the super healthy drink I thought it was. You shouldn't be taking statin drugs unless your cholesterol is REALLY high and not just a little over 200 like your Dr. tells you. And if you do take it you'd be best off to cut the pills in half or quarters because the overdosing is probably what causes the side effects. Also, you should take CoQ10 supplements----something else your Dr. may not have told you, or may not even know.  Statins aren't the miracle drug that their manufacturers would have us believe and they can be very dangerous.

Another thing I learned is that the profit motive in America trumps everything, including human safety.  Is your water treated with fluoride?  Did you know that fluoride is a toxin that is a by-product of the aluminum and chemical fertilizer industries? It accumulates in the body and causes brittle bones among other things, which might include ADHD, autism, violent/aggressive behavior and Alzheimer's. Fluoride occurs naturally in some water but not in the amounts added to municipal water supplies.  I was appalled by some of what I read in these books.  If anyone thinks the FDA exists to see to it that our food and medications are safe should think again.  Their main purpose is to protect the profits of large corporations at the expense of the citizens.   Anyway, these books will be showing up in the local library soon though I don't have much hope that too many will read them.  People are happier sticking their heads in the sand and doing what they've always done even if it's slowly killing them.

I'm also reading a novel by Eileen Wilks called "Blood Challenge."  Werewolf fiction. It seems to be part of a series and I may have to look for earlier books.  I also read "The Dinosaur Hunter" by Homer Hickam.  Paleontologists, a cop turned cowboy, ranchers, teenagers, environmentalists, survivalists & the Russian mafia....gotta be a good book, right?  It was.

Now, time to sew.

Summer Winding Down

It's really hard to believe but summer is winding down. School starts on the 17th. Today we held the final event for the Summer Reading Program at the library. Over half of the reading records were turned in with over 35,000 minutes read. I know there was more reading than that done, but some participants didn't return their records. Today's event consisted of a pizza lunch and handing out the earned prizes. Everybody wins something and even the kids who just earn a candy bar are happy. Two little boys who won the big bottles of pop were deliriously happy!! This picture is of the group attending today.

Our Summer Reading Program is for kids and adults.

I'm slowly getting a little more done on the sewing/quilting front. This container of QSTs is cut....the question is.....is there enough?  I need 448 pairs to make hourglasses.

We have some good clouds building up. I hope we get some more rain. Wednesday night's was wonderful, this morning's shower was nice, but we need so much more to break this drought.  This weekend is the local annual celebration and tonight is the classic car Cruise Night. If that doesn't bring rain I don't know what will.

Working On:

Neutral string blocks for Jamestown Landing.

Black/neutral quarter-square triangles for Orca Bay.

Got all those triangles cut today and a good batch of the string blocks sewed. The pile has built up pretty good and I need to count them to see how many more I need to make. I know there aren't nearly enough triangles cut so I have more strips matched up, ready to cut more.

Dog-sitting

Such a dirty little face.

This May Not Look Like Much.....

....but it's keeping me cool!  Not quite as cool as the old one did, but it was a 10,000 btu and this is an 8,000 btu and I was lucky to get it.  (It doesn't spew smoke so that's a plus.)  Quite a few stores were sold out and most of what was left were 6000 btus which just wouldn't do the job.  One store told me they probably wouldn't get any more in because it's the end of the season. Haven't they been listening to the long range forecasts??? It's supposed to be hot & dry until Halloween.   Anyway, I absolutely LOVE Sears because they at least had one close enough to what I needed at a price I was willing to pay.  And a big thumbs down to Alco that wanted $400 + tax for a 7800 btu.  :(

It Fought The Heat......

and


     the


         heat


              won!!!





Yep, when the AC starts smokin' that's a bad sign.  That's what the big window AC in the living room did earlier this evening.  So I've cranked up the little window AC in the sewing room/guest room as high as it will go and have a box fan trying to suck some of that cool air into the rest of the house.  I hate the thought but I'm going to have to go AC hunting.

Wow! Second Post Today

Maybe I'm just making up for weeks that go by with none.  Actually I'm having a hard time typing with my fingers crossed because the window AC is making a strange noise. Now would be a heck of a time for it to die.  Bet there isn't a store in the area that has any left.

Just wanted to show some quilting progress. These bags represent 892 blue/neutral HSTs...plenty for Jamestown Landing, with some left over.

Next up is making 168 neutral string-pieced 4 1/2" squares for setting pieces.

I love string piecing. I already have the string-pieced parts of Orca Bay done so I guess for that quilt I'll have to start cutting and piecing MORE HSTs. To be honest, my sister Quilt Club members think I'm crazy making quilts with so many little pieces.  :)

In the last post I mentioned the power co. calling last night about the possibility of shutting down the power for a while. I forgot about the other interesting call my DH answered.  It was from Trans Canada wanting him to press "1" if he approved of the Keystone XL pipeline which is slated to come through about 3 miles north of us. I asked him if there was a number to press for disapproval and he said he didn't think so.  Why on earth would we approve of something with  its potential for pollution?  When the company won't even tell us what chemicals they're putting in that nasty tar sands oil to make it flow?

In my opinion they should build their own refineries in Canada and build a pipeline to the coast so they can do their exporting to China & India without the United States taking  the risks for very little return.  Or are government officials getting a good return for selling out the middle of our country? We sure won't see any of it. The landowners along the route are supposed to be satisfied with a one-time payment.  How about annual rental for the use of their land??  Jobs? Big lie. Certainly not for people along the route. Tax income for local areas?  The first Keystone pipeline hasn't lived up to the estimates in that area either.  What about pollution in the areas of the refineries when this chemical laden crap gets there?  People who are stuck living near the refineries are already sicker and have more cancer than other places. They don't need even more chemical fumes.

Well, I guess now the world knows where I stand on that little issue doesn't it??  I think it's important that people speak out. It's time for our government to man-up and tell Canada they can deal with their own tar sands oil and leave us out of it.

Just for good measure, they need to man-up with Mexico too and send the illegal aliens packing. This country is in bad shape financially and we can't afford to take in everyone.  Mexico doesn't. Just ask the Central Americans who get caught there illegally.  There's a saying in rural America, "Good fences make good neighbors." Might be something to think about.

Is It Hot Enough For Ya????

Yep, that's the kind of silly question we ask each other when it's this hot. Like anybody has to ask. It's been around a 100 here the past few days, tomorrow is supposed to be 105, Sunday 102, right on through Tuesday.  The heat index warning runs from this afternoon to Tuesday night.

 Wednesday night at midnight the power company shut power down for a while....due to more demand than they could meet I heard.  They called customers last night to announce that it might be shut off again after 10pm  for a while. It never happened so I'm assuming customers were conserving power or a few irrigation systems got shut down.  The electric grid is overburdened already yet farmers are given grants to switch over from diesel or propane to electricity. Does that make any sense?  We're also under water restrictions, voluntary so far, but if the irrigation systems keep running 24/7 it might become mandatory.  If we can't water our garden and have to watch it burn to a crisp while those systems keep running I will be POed for sure. Running them every other day would be plenty.






Go outside any time after noon and you kind of feel like the fellow pictured to the right. My remedy is lots of lemonade and not doing any cooking in the house after breakfast.  Told the DH the other night that it would be nice to have a grill with a burner so I could cook more than two things at once for supper. I do have an electric hot plate, but using it and the toaster oven at the same time might not be such a good idea. They're both on the the same circuit, along with some other things, so probably all I'd accomplish is to throw the breaker. The gas grill and the toaster oven in the garage get used every night.

There's been a little sewing going on. The bags hold HSTs for Jamestown Landing. I'm hoping that the strings of HSTs will be enough after they get pressed and counted. Pressing is an issue in this hot weather too. I just hate to add more heat to the house. The window AC struggles in the late afternoon as it is, but I've turned the one in the sewing room on too and will chance it as soon as I post this.

So long until the next post unless I melt into a puddle of goo.

The Start of Another Week

Ah....Monday....what can you say?!? I spent a good part of the day at work putting together the library's annual report to the Village Board. It never ceases to amaze me that I can have the year's spreadsheet and the state report in front of me and come up with a third set of figures. So I just picked one and went with it!!! Ended the work day with a Library Board meeting at 4:30 and then the Village Board meeting at 7:00. I'm happy to say that the library is fully funded for another year and I still have a job.  Now on to the rest of the week!!

Let's see....Club meeting at the coffee shop in Creighton in the afternoon tomorrow. Antelope Co. Library Assoc. meeting at the library on Wednesday morning and a potluck for Quilt Club in the evening. Work on Thursday. Maybe I can sew again on Friday. Hope so. I have about a 100 HSTs left to do for Jamestown landing.

Hope you're getting to do the things you want to get done this week.

Big Bang Boom!

Hope you're all having a nice 4th. It's a hot one!!!  Read a post on FB about a family driving around last night to see fireworks. The first ones they saw set a ditch on fire. She said it was exciting.  Could get way too exciting way too fast!! We'll enjoy the neighbors' fireworks again this year. They always have really good ones.

So far my 4th hasn't been overly exciting. Slept in. Went to the library and installed the new blinds on the new storeroom window. Moved the shelf unit back in. Sorted through some stuff in there & in one of the storage closets. Made a few trips out to the dumpster. Stopped at the C-Store and got a sandwich for lunch.  Now I'm trying to decide what to do with the rest of the day. Nothing outside, that's for sure. Just too hot. And I'm a weenie, I like my AC.  There are HSTs that need to be pressed but I hate to add to the AC's job by having the iron on. The poor thing struggles to keep up by late afternoon anyway.  Oh well, I'll think of something. :)

Your e-Book is Reading You

Here's a kind of creepy article I came across: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304870304577490950051438304.html  It looks like "big brother" just might be watching after all. Apparently, when readers download books to their e-readers the e-readers are sending information about the owner's reading habits back "home." It makes me real happy that my Sony doesn't have either wifi or 3G connections. 

BIG Quilts!

Here's the two BIG quilts, all quilted. I showed them on the machine before but here you can get a better look at them. Very eyecatching.

I asked my friend about the pattern name. She said one like the bottom one was hanging in a quilt shop where she took a class. They were selling kits, but she didn't want to buy one. They wouldn't let her take a picture so she memorized it as best she could and re-created it.