Off to see the wizard

Not really off to see the wizard, but we are looking forward to spending Christmas with our family. Packing for one little 15 lb dog is like packing for a baby..really!!! First of all we have records of vaccination, we have a bed, a carrier, toys, treats, dishes, dry food, canned food, comb, brush, coat, diapers....yes, actually what is called a belly band, and tooth paste and brush (and pooper scooper. Then we had to find a pet friendly motel. Hildy is being boarded and she does really well as we have boarded her since she was a baby. Quite frankly, I think she will enjoy the vacation away from the pest. He constantly wants to play and she has no patience with him.

I finished the class project and it is now on the end of the bed as you can see. I am pleased with it although if I had it to do over I would used a different color thread for the actual quilting. As the new year is around the corner, so will a new project be forthcoming. I am anxious to embark on another project and will continue to post projects and picture of our 4 legged family members. Merry Christmas!!!

No power

Saturday became our second day of marathon baking.......until the power went off. I have a new gas range now which I love and was so anxious to bake goodies in it. Before Sal arrived, I mixed up a batch of sugar cookie dough, was baking oatmeal raisin cookies and had started on biscotti. However, we needed to check the accuracy of the oven temp so had purchased a thermometer at our "kitchen shop"....which is a wonderland of gadgets, but that is another story. The Mr., being the tech person that he is, had to fidget with it until he had it registering as it should. We began rolling, cutting, sugaring, dicing nuts etc. happily on our way with the oatmeal cookies out of the oven and the biscotti in when the power went off. It came on and went off in three short spurts and came on again. Finally it was out. After about 15 minutes, we came to the conclusion that we were stuck. Now the range is gas, but it takes electricity to make it actually work!!!! Don't ask for the details. I don't care!!! The Mr. and I bought a generator last spring on a spur of the moment when we discovered them on sale in one of those middle isles, where everything is on sale. "It would be great for the camper!" said we to ourselves. Well guess what.....it was great for getting the range back in business too! Of course, we had one of those bright orange extension cords strung from the patio, through the garage, the dining room and directly up over the counter to the range, but we got cookies!!! The power was off for 2 or 3 hours and this will be another chapter to relate in "cookie marathons" to come.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." ~ Theodore Roosevelt

Under my tree!

I have been busy quilting by machine this class project and I would really like to get it finished before Christmas!!! It has given me the opportunity to try out some quilting techniques and discover which ones I will keep trying to improve as well as which ones to scrap. Free motion quilting requires a good amount of skill I have discovered and will only improve with practice, practice, practice. Sal and I made more goodies this past weekend, sugar cookies and rum balls from a recipe my sister gave me. Yummy!! The rum balls were fantastic!! Thank you Joan....they were especially good with the 150 proof rum that Sal dug out from the depths of her cupboards. They got better as we sampled more and more. Anyway, my dear neighbor reminded me that I had not posted a picture of Spencer lately and she needs a doggie fix I think so here goes. Notice the rawhide bone which he had confiscated from Hildy and tried unsuccessfully to hide in the Christmas tree skirt. He spent the entire evening under the tree.

Just when I think I have figured out this "blogger thing" so that my text and pictures jive, I find that I am just as confused as ever!! Discovering "facebook" though has opened up a new opportunity to connect with old friends, classmates and most importantly, family members with whom we have lost touch. I barely can find time to "blog", so I really don't have time to play games or "farm". We used to farm for real and that was hard work....no thanks!!! But being able to stay in touch with family across the country has been amazingly enjoyable!!

"You will never "find" time for anything. If you want time, you must make it." ~
Charles Buxton