Quilting and Tornadoes

I just completed this table runner. Get a closer look by clicking on the snaps. The main thing I wanted to do was learn to stipple quilt. This is done by the use of a special foot and lowering the feed dogs of the sewing machine. I did a good deal of "ripping" as it took a lot of trial and error in order to get the hang of moving the fabric without the use of the feed dogs. After all was said and done, I finally got it finished and perseverance won in the end. (It did, however, try my patience.)

Now..the serious business of weather. I wonder how many of our ancestors took a quilting project to the "cellar" to keep a young girl occupied during the threat of a tornado?


With the destruction of property and the interruption of life as we come to take for granted, Mother nature humbles us continually. For as long as I can remember, tornadoes have always been a part of spring weather, especially in Weld county where my family lived. As a child, when the air got so very still that you could here the wings of a butterfly flutterby (well almost) in the spring, Mom would begin to pace. She had grown up in a part of the country where tornadoes were very common and very violent. I remember Dad making fun of her as she would usher us to the cellar on the rare occasions that she actually spotted one of the funnel clouds. He had grown up in that very same area and only once in all of his many years, had he heard tales of tornado damage there. As school was about to be over for the summer to begin, we would quite frequently see those small funnels on the horizon, but being mostly rural and dry land, damage was rarely reported and they hardly ever touched down. In Weld county the destruction of property and injury, including one death yesterday was horrific! The swath of damage even extended into parts of Wyoming here in Laramie and Cheyenne. As we embark upon this Memorial Day weekend, let us not forget those who have given their lives for our country during war-time causes past and current, and those who have given their lives as Mother nature continues to take at her discretion.

In my kitchen hangs a tattered piece of quilt passed to me from Dad. It once graced our bed at home I am certain. This quote frames the quilt: "Quilts like families tattered and torn, are held together with stitches of love." As with the old quilts, those families affected yesterday by the destruction will struggle to get their lives together with stitches of love..

Happy Birthday

Spring has brought blooms for my Birthday!! How wonderful after all of my complaining about the long winter. This past week a group of school retirees and some of those dedicated saints still teaching, were summoned together by another soon to be retired teacher. The purpose of the gathering was to celebrate a birthday of our beloved ex-principle. Unfortunately, he has had some health problems and that puts a real damper on spirits, especially to one who seemed invincible at one time. It was wonderful to see old faces again and catch up on things and hopefully we did bring a little sunshine into the life of the birthday boy. Thank you Patsy!! Mr O's birthday and my birthday are a day apart and we are the same age. Enough said!!

Below is another glimpse of my backyard now that some of the plants are beginning to emerge from their winter naps. Again, I apologize for the poor photography. Not my forte.



We took the dogs to the lake for some exercise this afternoon and take advantage of the beautiful weather. They got booster shots this week and weighed. Winter took a toll. The beagle is nearly obese and the border collie is a little chubby also. However, she will slim down as she loves to chase the ball in the lake.

The Mr. is taking me for a birthday dinner this evening so will make this short. Everyone have a good weekend!


"Flowers are love's truest language." - Park Benjamin

Hiatus

As you can see here, we have an abundance of birds at our feeders and these finches keep our feeders always a source of entertainment. The kitchen window has no ledge outside, but they are always trying to cling on and do try to fly in quite often. We have quite a few of the American finches also which are such a pretty yellow. We have robins nesting in the limber pine out front and bluebirds in the boxes out back. There is a feeder outside the living room windows also and needless to say, the cat loves to watch them from inside. I don't want to know what he does when the bugger goes outside. Hopefully he is too damn lazy to do much harm, but he has always been an outside/inside cat and howls unbearably if he is forced to stay in. We are in the ol' wild west after all. Last week I spotted a fox trotting down the middle of the street and he cut across west of the house to the north where he played in the sagebrush a while. We have the stream to our pond flowing again and we introduced some frogs to the pond last summer. The Mr. heard one croaking, so they evidently survived the winter.





I feel as if I have taken a leave, but honestly, the weather has had me in a funk. It has been a little depressing, not to mention that I have been wanting to do some things that my isolation doesn't allow. With gas skyrocketing even higher, I fear that will even further prevent me from getting out of town. Don't get me wrong, summer is on the horizon and I love summers here, but it is the only time I can get out of town and I am frustrated with the long winters here and the lack of things to do in the winter. If you happen to be a snowmobiler or a ski bum, or grandchildren to spoil, winters can be the most delightful time of the year I suppose. It is the middle of May and is still snowing and was about 27 degrees last evening. Yuk!!!

This is one of the bird houses which I am starting to paint finally. I want to put animals in the windows and along side of the barn.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!! The Mr. and I went for lunch and if you click here on Erica, you will see what she did for me from Seattle. I did get lovely cards from Mike and Maggie and from Alexis. My birthday is soon and I have a friend (and twin) here sharing a birthday this week with me so we went to lunch today. Happy Birthday Ginger and Virginia!!!

My garden club met this week here and had a plant exchange....some of the members are still dealing with accumulations of snow so a plant exchange was a bit risky, but I did get some new plants and did get them in the ground. I made some blueberry cheesecake bars and one of Paula Deen's recipes for orange brownies. Yummy!! If you are familiar with the "lady" you know how she cooks. This recipe was no exception. You know a pound of butter in everything. They had a cream cheese orange icing. TO DIE FOR!!! This recipe will definitely go in my cookbook.
In spite of this cold damp spell.....

"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own." - Charles Dickens

May Day snowstorm

With the first of May upon us, we had another snow storm which closed roads here and on the eastern plains of Colorado. May baskets? Give me a break!!! I do remember making May baskets with my grandmother in the early 50's and maybe even as far back as 1949. She lived in a small town just 4 miles south of us and since I was the oldest grandchild of her youngest son, I suppose I spent a lot of time with her. I have fond memories, too many to list here, but we always made May baskets filled with goodies which I would then deliver to the neighbors in the block. I would carefully place the baskets on the step, ring the bell and run back to the safety of grandma's front porch where we would watch for the reaction of the neighbor. Does anyone still do that?

We have been so busy. We went to Cheyenne so the Mr. could play in a tournament and pick up some remodeling items (garbage disposal, light fixture etc.) Well, we came home a lot poorer! Having sold our camper trailer last fall, we knew we would be getting a new one. The mall had an RV dealership and we just stopped to look. Ha Ha! We are now the proud owners of a new travel trailer and went back on Wed to pick it up. Because of the last two days of snowy weather, we haven't even got to look at it inside. The robins, bluebirds and the finches have been scrambling for food with snow everywhere and my feeders have been a source of nourishment for the finches. Busy little guys they are!! The house finches with their red top feathers look like they have crew cuts as the feathers on their heads stick straight up when they are wet. We have a nesting pair of bluebirds in one box and the robins bathe regularly in the pond in spite of the chilly weather.

Being in a city with access to fabric this week, I was able to get some more for quilt projects on the horizon. Below is a snap the Mr. took of me while I was trying to layer the rosebud pattern to prepare for quilting. I have started the free-motion quilting process and find it relaxing, but very time consuming. I love piecing but quilting is not my favorite. This quilt will probably grace the bed in the trailer as it is my first free-motion project and has been a learning process. Not something for the county fair for sure!!
My friend, Barb, just got back from Hawaii and is thrilled to be here with snow to deal with I know. We have chenille bedspreads with which to do something and think we will make some baby quilts. They make such soft quilts, and we have collected so many. My friend Debby had a tough time when her last heifer was calving. In distress and not able to get any help for the heifer, she turned on Debby and injured her. When all was said and done, the calf did not survive and Debby may have some back injury that will require some recovery time. She was hospitalized and is home with a back brace I think so will check on her and I do wish her all the best. She is such a hard worker and did not deserve this!! I had intended to get some pictures of some of the calves this week, but that will have to wait.

"Let us not forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts will follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of civilization."
- Daniel Webster