Scary or what?

 Halloween is coming so what is scary is not the first two snaps here, but the bottom one.  Above is some of my fabric folded around the magazine boards, the ones that my daughter ordered for us from Amazon.  I had gotten cubes for storage and have seen the comic boards used to organize fabric, but most of those were too small for my project.  These are 8 1/2 by 11 and are perfect for the 12 inch storage units.  When the fabric pieces are folded salvage to salvage they are approx 22". So folded again once and the stiff paper boards inserted inside the fold, the fabric can be folded more until all is on the board.  Then they can be stacked upright and I will post another picture soon. These come 100 for about $15.00.  Now below is another attempt at cookie baking and success!  This time the peanut butter recipe I had always used was just right.  I saw the movie "Julie and Julia" again this weekend and love the fact that Julie persevered in trying every recipe in Julia Child's French cookbook and if you have seen the movie, or read the book, you know that there are some very questionable recipes in the book.  I would never even attempt most of them, let alone try to pronounce them.  Tomorrow I am again trying to make cinnamon scones.  I have more than one recipe, one my neighbor in Cheyenne left with me to try so.....we will see.

The picture below, is the scary part.  The Mr. bought a new pool table and it was delivered Saturday.  He also ordered a new light for the table and in order to install it, the light fixtures had to be installed

in the ceiling, which is vaulted.  The vault is not centered in the room and because the room is just large enough for the table with access to play properly with cue space, there is not room for much else.  It is a regulation 7ft bar table and he has installed the light, but he had to put the ladder on the table and the kitchen stepstool against the table.  Remember, this man is almost 75 years old, so for me-- YES! this was very scary.

On a sad note...in a few previous posts, I have a picture of my two little dogs, Spencer and Roger, both older rescue dogs.  They have lived with us for 10 years, but Roger, the white dog, went to
Doggy Heaven on Friday after having to deal with more bladder stone issues.  We all miss him and the difficult part was going next door to tell my 12 year old neighbor, Lisa.  She has been coming on Tuesday afternoons to walk Roger.  I told her she could walk Spencer, but he has limited use of one hind leg now and I know she will be careful with him.  She so loves the dogs.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself." ~ Josh Billings

Figgy pudding?

 When checking clips today, I ran across the above picture of Erica's fig tree in her back yard.  I took this snap when we were still staying with them and she actually had half dozen or so figs on it which she plucked and I ate for some of my lunches.  There were probably not enough to make a figgy pudding and I am not sure what a figgy pudding is, but I used to make those old fashioned fruit cakes each Christmas season and always used dried figs.  Now I know most people don't like fruit cakes and in fact make fun of them, but they are extremely expensive because they take a pound of everything and a dozen eggs and a bowl of huge proportions. (I happen to like them but don't send me any.) . I don't think I had ever seen a fig tree, but this one needs to be moved according to Erica and probably pruned.  It is extremely leggy and most of the leaves are at the end of these weighted branches.

 My sewing room is finished and I will probably continue to tweak it until everything is in the right place.  Being smaller than my previous room, it is a bit crowded and I have had to downsize to some degree, but so far it works and today the Mr. got my television hooked up.  We now have xfinity and got a ROKU box so I stream everything from the internet and our box in the living room.  Really I don't understand it all, but it works and that's all I need to know, right? 

This is what is left of an old fir tree stump in the back yard.  There are two stumps in the back yard which were left when large trees were cut down.  They are mostly rotten and we spent a little while today after the rain quit, trying to chop away some more of this stump.  These trees here in these yards are so large and when the homes are built in a wooded area, some of the trees are left to continue to grow for years.  They smell wonderful and provide so much shade and we feel as if we are living in a forest, and I guess we are.  However, rather than shovel snow, we find that we are cleaning up needles and pine cones.

On another note, I have completed a few more of the blue and white squares and have my wedding ring quilt on another machine and am slowly quilting it.  I hope to get some of these UFO's finished by the first of the year and can start some new projects then when I plan to check with a few of the quilting contacts I have made.  We are still sorting things and trying to dispose of those things for which we have no room.  We have made several trips to Goodwill and to Habitat for Humanity's Restore and have more to take.  Hopefully by the first of the year, we will be finished except for a few projects that we need to do in the house. 

Puppy Love

 Our Dogs are reaching the ripe ol' age of at least 12 years? and with a new sofa, they have not been allowed on the furniture.  Don't feel sorry for them, they have nice plush beds.  We also pitched the small stools they used to jump up on the bed.  Yes they are spoiled.  I have a Lane Cedar chest that the Mr. bought for me on our 1st anniversary nearly 57 years ago and in this home, it is at the end of our bed.  3 days ago after carefully making the bed and putting all of the pillows in their place, the little guy with only 3 good legs jumped up on the chest and limped to the pillows where he immediately made himself a comfy spot under the pillows.  The Mr. and I just looked at him and did not have the heart to make him move.  Then yesterday, Roger decided that if it was good enough for Spencer, it would certainly be fine for him.  This shot was taken this morning just as we finished making the bed and my camera was close by so ..........

 I forgot to flip this picture of these quilt strips but they are the pieces for the remaining 12 squares for the quilt block I put on the last post which I am determined to finish so yesterday afternoon I set about to cut them all.  Now how long will it take me to stitch them?

Before I did that, the Mr. had a couple of small projects that needed to be done.  First, we had four bar stools in the last home and decided to bring only two.  These two were at a taller bar in the basement and we should have brought the shorter ones.  In the past this has happened so he simply cut 4 inches off each of the 8 legs and now they work here quite well.  In addition, the room where I sew is a small bedroom and the lighting is horrible.  I have 3 lamps, one at each station but it was still not good lighting for sewing at all, so as in the previous sewing room, I had a stained glass fixture which I made eons ago which worked well and he installed it yesterday also.  Now I have lots of light.

Also yesterday, since we have nearly cleared the garage for the car (the rain has begun), he ordered his new pool table and light.  It will be delivered in a couple of weeks and that will be the last room to be furnished.  Most of what is left to do are some larger projects in the house, but nothing pressing and as with any older home, upkeep is always ongoing.  More about that later.

"Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail." - unknown

As promised

 As I promised, I am blogging a bit more often.  As each day passes, I see a great deal of progress in getting our belongings placed and in becoming residents of Washington.  In my wildest dreams I would never have imagined living here.  Most of my 74 years has been spent in the Rocky Mountain regions of Colorado and Wyoming. With the exception of the 3 months I spent in California after my birth there and the better part of the time the Mr. was in the service, it was in Pierce Colorado where I was reared and in the southern part of Wyoming where our children grew up and where we worked and retired. (that's a long sentence) Anyway, I am finding it an easy transition so far and it is beginning to feel like home.  Just getting our "stuff" here is a big part of that.  I have gone through all of my sewing "stuff" and have made a vow to myself to either finish my UFO's or ditch them.  With that in mind I have carefully sorted and actually found all of the patterns (thank you Becky) to my myriad of quilt blocks for quilts started and never completed.  I had neglected to keep them with the blocks when I packed.  This is a large block so perhaps it won't take too long to get them done.  There will be 20 so I only need 12 more. hmmmmm....

Now something else I have to adjust to is the altitude or lack of.  Again, as I have nearly always baked at altitudes higher than a mile high..I made or attempted to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Yuk! Although they don't taste too bad, they looked and baked unsatisfactory to what I think a chocolate chip cookie should be. Gotta get onto that as my cookie baking season is nearly upon me and I have discovered great neighbors here where I can distribute my wares.  I can cook some, but I really love to bake (and eat my goodies of course), so it is imperative that I solve this culinary dilemma. I will pick another quilt pattern next time to decide if it will be scrapped or finished and I have a black and white project with which I am several months behind.

"Today I will live in the moment unless it's unpleasant in which case I will eat a cookie."

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?

Oh my gosh, that was one of my Dad's favorite little riddles.  Here, it seems that everyone burns wood and I don't know if it is because they always have, or if there is so much of it available.  Years ago, we took the truck, a lunch, the 3 wheeler, chain saw and the kids to the forest and spent all day (for more than one day), cutting wood.  It was a lot of work, but it was nice to get out in the country and we did heat the house a lot in the winter with a wood burning stove.  In this house, we have a fireplace which is not the most efficient method, but we decided that in order to have an alternative heat source in the event of a power outage, we would order some.  As our daughter and son-in-law ordered theirs last month, we thought we might be too late.  On the spur of the moment, the Mr. checked on line yesterday and found a new listing, called and the wood was delivered and dumped within 30 min. Now the work begins.  It will be hauled to the back yard and covered to keep it dry and it will be nice on a cold winter day or night to enjoy a fire. 

To update our progress on the move....the furniture did arrive two weeks ago, the boxes have all been emptied and we hauled a truckload of flattened cardboard to recycle.  Then we hauled a couple of pieces to Habitat for Humanity Restore and about 6 or 7 boxes and bins to Goodwill.  That is what became of the excess goods because of the downsizing to a smaller home.  We do have the essentials and are waiting to purchase a pool table for the Mr.  My sewing room/spare bedroom is in business now, most of our artwork is hung and we have received notification that a check for the 30+ days the furniture was late is on the way.  We now have health care with Kaiser and have a Dr.  My intention is to blog more since I won't be spending 10 hours a day unpacking and trying to find a place for everything.

"Wood burns faster when you have to cut and chop it yourself." ~ Harrison Ford