Winter what is it?

 We have had snow for a week now.   Be DONE!  Above, what is it?  3 days ago, I got up awakened by my alarm cat at 6:00 a.m.  She always wakes me up with a built in alarm clock.  I stumbled out of bed, let the dogs out and pulled the shade at the front large window to see how much snow had fallen. The furkids did not stay out long, let them in, and started my coffee.  I turned around and my eyes could not believe what I saw.  The snow was falling heavily, but at the living room window was a moose. It was walking slowly in front of the window and I could see snow flakes on his back.  He was literally just a few feet from the window, perhaps 4 or 5.  By the time I came to my senses, and woke up the Mr., and got the camera, he was trotting away, across the sagebrush.  So this is moose hind side through a lovely snowstorm.  Always awesome!

 I saw one of those market shows on TV..the kind where people buy flea market items and redo them to flip and make a profit.  Well, this project just hit home with me!!!.  As a person addicted to sewing (I am ashamed to admit that I own 5 sewing machines..each with a specific purpose), I decided to try this.  Living out on the western range, I don't have access to a big box store or a craft store and I needed some Mod Podge.  I searched for a homemade version, but I was reluctant to try anything I found.  So I decided to try a water-based varnish.  The old Singer cabinet, minus drawers, treadle and machine was found at a shop for $25.00 last year and the surface was badly scarred.  I had the Mr. cut a space out of the top and reinforce to accommodate my newest machine.  It still looked a little bare.  So following the idea I saw, I ripped up an old pattern that I had and began attaching the pattern pieces using the varnish to both adhere and seal the paper.  The market warrior used soy sauce to antique it, but I tried it and it didn't work for me so I mixed some brown acrylic paint with a glaze I had and am so thrilled with the look!  I think I need to antique to stand, but will do that when it quits snowing.

"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

That darned cat!

 It is winter here, the roads have been closed and some are finally open, but it is nasty out there! So what do you do when you are cooped up in the house?  You entertain yourself!  Me I quilt, read, hit the tread mill or watch a good movie.  Coalette?  She rips up things.  A couple of blogs ago I posted this wonderful plant full of blooms and nearly reaching the floor.  I got up and stumbling to the door in the dark (it still is a little dark at 6:00 a.m.), saw all of this stuff on the floor.  After turning the dogs out and the lights on, imagine my horror to find wilted leaves, stems and blossoms on the floor.  This is all that was left of my plant.

 This snap below was taken yesterday and it continued to snow all night and blow and blow and snow.  Really, it is difficult to say how much we got as it was a wet snow, but the dogs did not get off the patio this morning.  They relieved themselves ON the patio!!!  It is too deep for the little guys and evidently too cold for the old girl!!!!

 This morning from the balcony off my sewing room and as I type this, we have just lost satellite connection so the dishes will need to be scraped clean again. So, off to the sewing room today with no guilt feelings and maybe a good movie on the boob tube. 

"Remember, the faith that moves mountains always carries a pick." ~ Anonymous
  (and maybe a snow shovel?)

Winter this spring

 My crazy cat crawled into this plastic bag which held the batting from the quilt sandwich below and went to sleep.  I went upstairs and she was asleep completely in the bag, then I checked later and finding her head in the handle, lifted it off and by the time I got the camera, she was partially out of the bag.  Silly cat!!  I posted earlier the old quilt top belonging to a dear friend and have had to improvise the assembly process I used at my previous house.  So with a tip from a quilt show, I used blue painter's tape to secure the backing and although the tape really didn't hold very well (and maybe I didn't use enough), it worked pretty well.  I am now quilting it.

In my absence from this blog and I didn't realize it had been so long, I had my friend whose quilt top this is, come to visit for a few days.  We gathered some other friends for a dinner for her to celebrate her birthday and worked on preparing for our summer projects for our girls' retreat.  One of these will be a few stepping stones each with glass flowers in them so we planned for some patterns and purchased some glass.  I also had a sister and niece come to discuss a wedding cake I am do do for a great niece and they were able to stay for lunch.  They left just before our winter arrived this spring.  We have had snow for two days straight, maybe more as I can't remember!!! I know the roads were closed.
The afternoon before the snow began, with the wind at our backs (and fronts) the Mr. and I finished a backyard fence with which to contain the dogs and I might add that they are none too happy about this fence.  We discovered a tick in the house before we finished the fence which was unsettling and hopefully the dogs will not have as much access to the sagebrush now.  With deer and other tick carrying critters so close, I fear we are fighting a losing battle so will just be vigilant and see that the little guys get short haircuts when the snow is gone. 

"I try to take one day at a time, ...but sometimes several days attack me at once." ~ Jennifer Unlimited