2021

 I have been absent from this blog for several weeks.  Several reasons for this absence include some family issues..(not with us here in Washington; we are fine), and sheltering has limited my ability to do much except shelter. (there are others of course)  Depending on the ability to get a vaccine which now is questionable as the so called stockpile does not exist and other factors regarding Covid, it may be a while before things return to normal.  I have however gotten quite comfortable staying home and finding that I rather like my time to do whatever I wish.  I am reading and painting in my art journal as well as doing some other journaling.  We do visit with our neighbors over the fence and with masks if that warrants and I have realized how many of my previous friends have been opposed to this safety measure.  It has been an awakening for me and shocking to some degree.  I am also considering leaving this blog for a time and making this known at this time.  Stay safe and be smart!

Merry Christmas

Went to my daughter's last week (she is sheltering and it is about the only place we go). She showed me the amaryllis, 3 in fact that, she had planted and were blooming.  This above is just one and isn't it beautiful?  She is such a remarkable gardener.  I have never attempted to do this, but for Christmas it is just amazing!

We have been sheltering still, doing some small construction projects...well the Mr. is doing that and below you can see that Bogie crawled into one of those plastic shoe box size containers.  The Mr. had just a couple of small tools in it to assist in removing some old baseboards and the crazy cat thought it would be a great bed.  He doesn't realize that he is getting too big for these things.  Every morning the two of them play under the tree with  whatever treasures they find to hide there during the night.  They amuse us so much! 
I have been working on a quilt that needed to be finished still and baking some cookies, but this Christmas will be different for lots of folks, and we will not be traveling.  I did not even send cards this year for the first time since I have been married, but will answer some of those we receive.  We are blessed, but some of our family are struggling with illness and with the vaccine now on the near horizon, surely our new year will be a much better year for all of us.  My neighbor said it has been a year from hell and for some, that's a good description.  

Merry Christmas and a better New Year is our hope for all!
 

Sheltering still

It has been how long now since we began sheltering?  I find it difficult to find anything to blog about as each day seems to start and end just like the previous one.  We have opted not to send Christmas cards and I did mention in last year's letter that it might just be the last.  That was before the pandemic emerged with a vengeance.  We order nearly everything we can as so many others are doing and the strain on the delivery people is apparent.  So many of our orders arrive late in the evening and with the holiday upon us, the demand for delivery has increased.  We do everything we can to acknowledge the service workers and the health care workers who especially are becoming overworked.  Mail carriers have increased loads and postage is not really an essential for the most part.  We receive very little mail of any significance since we do most business on line.  I plan to communicate with friends though as time goes by.  

    That brings me to another important item.  At least it is important to me.  My friends know that I like to stay in touch, but we have had some dropped calls recently.  In fact..a lot. Not knowing exactly what the problem was and not getting a definite answer from my carrier, we opted to go with a new phone.  I really don't like to spend money on phones, but they are essential.  It seems now, that we simply have lousy service for some reason.  This issue became a burr under my saddle just recently as I never had a problem in the past year.  We have purchased a signal amplifier for cell phones and it arrived last night (delivery personnel again) ~ bless 'em.  That will be an adventure getting it installed and determining if it will improve things. Wish us luck!

In the past, I have written about our kittens, who have now become almost full grown cats.  At least they eat like cats!  They are so darned entertaining and above you can see that Bogie found a shoe insert in my closet, drug it down the hall and into the living room.  He will wrestle with it and pack it all over the house.  They love the Christmas tree skirt..not the tree especially, but they hide things under the tree skirt.  Then they literally get it bunched up and pulled away from the tree trying to find the treasures they hide.  I heard that cats don't like oranges but when I hid orange peel under the skirt, they just made a game of hunting for them and playing with them.  

With my new sewing machine, I am finally getting some of the quilts finished. This panel was purchased years ago, but it is getting quilted. And by the way, that machine is a big improvement over the old one which was pretty good actually.  Life is good, we are healthy and happy and getting pretty accustomed to a life of leisure since we have very little obligations now that staying home is the norm.  This will not last forever folks..mask up, social distance, wash your hands and don't be selfish in thinking this is an inconvenience for you. 

"To the world you just may be one person, but to one person you may be the world." ~ 

Josephine Billings
 

Christmas with kittens

I have had cats for years, mostly indoor/outdoor cats, but never two kittens.  Although they are about 7 months and nearly full-grown, they are still playful kittens.  The tree went up yesterday and I knew that I would not be able to have all of my beautiful glass ornaments and icicles on it.  I have had several trees at one time for Christmas in the past, so I have had a lot of different ornaments and culled a lot before we moved.  I did get plenty of unbreakable decorations on the tree and the cats love napping under it and trying to play with the lower ornaments.  No harm done!  But above I made a few new ones after getting instructions from a friend for the hats and I used batting for the mittens.

These kittens are a lot of fun though and they have been a blessing during this time of sheltering.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving, although I think the turkey got a little too done.  Erica and Jeffery came and we are all acutely aware of masks and sheltering.  So many are not taking precautions even now as we lose more people. 

I have had so many calls dropped from my phone this week..actually every call has dropped once or twice.  So, we did truck out safely to the Verizon store and I did get a new phone.  Turns out, the calls are still dropping.  So----it must be our provider.  But on the other hand, nearly everyone I have spoken to has had the same issue...perhaps not as often as me but it is so frustrating.  Covid?  I am sure that there are so many using all of our technology now that some systems just overload.  There are vaccines on the horizon and I will be in line for sure. I was about 10 when the polio vaccine was available.  My father had us in line for that as soon as it was being given.  My grandmother's neighbor had a daughter in an iron lung with polio and he would take me to look through her window to wave to her and tell me that I wouldn't have to be in one of those with the vaccination and we weren't allowed to play with her sister.  I have known several people who were affected with polio.  Some of the long term affects of Covid are now becoming apparent, and there may be more. 

We try to carry on as normally as we can, being aware of our actions, but staying vigilant.  When my phone allows, I stay in touch with friends and family who understand the situation.  Things will get better.

"Masquerading as a normal person day after day is exhausting." ~ Anonymous

 

Sheltering days

I have been quilting on a Janome straight stitch machine for about 10 years and have completed numerous quilts (too many to count or remember), and it finally began to give me some unwelcome issues.  I also had another much more complicated machine that I really didn't use much, but it wasn't designed for quilting the way that I needed.  Don't get me wrong, it was a really nice machine, but since I have been home most of the time, I researched some and the Mr. and I decided that I would get a new machine.  I gave my daughter the fancier machine, and actually, this one does everything that I need and it does a great job of replacing the old quilter as well as replacing the fancier stitching machine without the embroidery functions.  We did order it from Amazon and it arrived as expected even though it was delayed by a storm in Utah.  I am excited to use it and with all of the available videos on UTUBE, I have been able to get instructions.

 This is a quilt that I started in Wyoming and even before I could get a good picture, "Bogie" decided to check it out for comfort. I did quilt it with the machine above, but it was a learning experience and is just so-so.  The cats like it. I am saddened that our nation's residents are dying at rates so high at this time of the year.  In the past I have encouraged friends to wear masks, but encountered those at home in Wyoming who seemed to doubt the science.  Please, please, don't have large gatherings and take precautions.  Remember to thank the health care workers who are being pushed beyond limits and don't complain for the inconvenience of wearing a mask.  The life you save might be your own or a loved one.

Thanksgiving will come next year again, if we can survive the doubters and the misinformation.  This disease doesn't kill only the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions.

Quiet on the home front

 There is nothing much happening in my life and I am blessed for that.  Blogging while sheltering is pretty difficult. The election is over and I surely hope that we will all feel the need to be kinder, cease the violence and name calling and unite to end this drama and work together to control the epidemic.  With deaths mounting daily and cases increasing at a rate not seen since the beginning I hurt for the individuals infected because of the careless attitude of others.  

My pinecone did explode as I was told! I went to check it one morning last week and fall apart and when I tried to pick it up, it just fell apart.  The tree outside still has all of the cones on it still, but they are brown and I anticipate the explosions to begin anytime now.  Weird!

 I tried to count the number of quilts I have made with my tractor of a sewing machine and it is in excess of 45.  That includes the piecing and the quilting and tons of other sewing and mending.  It has begun to wear out I fear and it is only a straight stitch machine.  That means that I need another for any other stitching I want to do.  I do have a beautiful machine that does most anything including some embroidery.  However, I don't really use that feature and two machines require space that I really don't have since we downsized.  Although I am in a bedroom of a decent size, I really do not need two machines if I can do both with one.  The Mr. has ordered me another machine which will be here this week.  It has a larger throat, 10 1/2", and will sew through 8 layers of denim.  In addition, it has 170 decorative stitches and is the same brand of the machines I now have.  I like these Janome's and this one also has a metal body..not plastic.  It is similar to my straight stitch in that I can free motion with it. So since my other machine is in excellent condition and was serviced just before we moved, I am giving it to my daughter.  I have been ripping out stitches on the quilt I have been working so hopefully I will be able to finish it now.

"What you sew on Sunday, you rip on Monday" ~ (In my case...all week)

Sheltering

Sheltering at home does not give me a chance to get out much so not much is happening to post.  Everyday is pretty much like the next day and they are not eventful and I am not complaining.  We have been watching lots of television as there are so very many choices with all of the apps now available.  We are loving the British and Australian detective shows as well as the many Canadian series.  I told the Mr. that with these kittens, we have become those old "cat people" since we spend so much time with them.  Having them has been a lifesaver however as they are so funny and provide much entertainment.  I do walk when I can and the fall colors just give me so much to see in this wooded area.  I don't think we will have "trick or treating" kids, but people are sure decorating their yards.  There is always something new to see on our walks.  A few weeks ago I posted the cone below in it's green state with the sticky residue and above you can see the progress. The sweetener packet will give you an idea of the size.  The tree outside here is full of these cones and I am told that they virtually explode when they are ready to fall.

We have not had smoke for several weeks, but we are  having spectacular sunsets.  This is taken from my back door looking west toward the pacific out over our fence.  I thought that we had beautiful sunsets in Wyoming and we did, but without the benefit of smoke, this is still pretty. 

Yesterday morning I was out trimming my hydrangeas and my next door neighbor came home after walking his dogs.  I took take care of these dogs at night when they were gone so they know me.  I said "hello" and he asked me if I had time to give them a little love.  One of the dogs is very shy but the large mutt, Shelly, was tugging at the leash trying to get to me.  She loves to have her belly rubbed and I just couldn't give her enough.  She would have me spend much more time with her I am sure, but seemed to calm down after some "belly attention". I still miss my two little canines but these two kittens who are nearly 6 mos now are pretty special.   

Please remember to wear your mask and social distance.  Listen to the scientists as this virus can be so deadly and you may not know who has an underlying health issue.