SSCC Arboretum

There is a wonderful arboretum at South Seattle Community College and Thursday, after I met with the unemployment folks down there (yup, still no job) my trusty Canon 30-D and I went over to take pictures. The sun was out and it was a great place to wander around and practice. Got a few good pictures but of course the joy of digital cameras means you can take many many pics and not worry about the cost of developing them !! I had fun with Photoshop too on some of them afterwards.

And yes, I'm still looking for a job. Me and a few hundred's of others.

If you want to see all my pictures from the arboretum, here they are: (If you want to slow it down or stop it, hover your mouse over the picture and the controls will show and you can change the speed) Also, if you want to see the pictures in a larger size, just double click on one of them and you'll go to the album site.

Bread and Flowers

No - not flour! That was in the last post...this is "flowers" as in crocuses (crocii? ) that are blooming in our front yard. I wandered out with my 30D and tried to get some pictures of the first flowers to bloom... and then I got "lost" in Photoshop and voila...several minutes later... there are pictures...had to post them just to see how they look and for some "cheerfulness" today. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as nice. If the weather is good, I'll take my camera along to my meeting and then go across campus to the arboretum again and take some pictures. Without dog or husband. Dog is staying home, husband will be in class.

Beer Bread

OK - today was sunny, warmish, just a gorgeous spring day in Seattle. So did we go for a walk? No. I worked on some files for my appointment with the unemployment dept tomorrow - going to talk about getting approved for training so that I can still collect unemployment but don't have to look for a job. Not sure how that will go but I got my paperwork in order. Also sent my resume out to 3 places.

Then I baked bread. It's a great thing to do to work off frustration - so I used a great recipe for Beer Rye bread...makes four round loaves and includes 3 C of beer (used ESB Ale) and also molasses, orange zest, caraway seeds, etc. Sure makes the house smell good. It's an easy recipe although you do have to be prepared for it since you need beer and caraway seeds...which are not always in the cupboard. But today they were.... at some point in the day I thought maybe I should just have drunk the beer instead of putting it in the bread.!!

Not much else happening around here. Had a great walk at the SSCC Arboretum yesterday after we went to Rockler's to get a wood "medallion" for the back of my rocker. We had Levi along and he really enjoyed the arboretum....wow, so many things to smell and dig... he was in doggy heaven. It's really a nice spot and just the right size - not so big that you get lost or exhausted or overloaded with what you are seeing. Gene is taking a Conifer class at SSCC so he was using the time to identify the trees and learn what more of them are. It was fun.

OK - bread is cool enough to cut and taste now!!

Sunshine on My Shoulder....etc etc

Yes, sunshine today...wind was still cold down on the waterfront but over on the Vashon side it was nice... sunny and not as windy. So Levi the Magnificent and I walked for over an hour. He was very good...got to meet another Westie named Larry. They seem to "recognize" each other .. not sure if all breeds do that, but Westies sure seem to.

Went shopping today and found a great red cashmere/wool coat at Nordie's for 40% off.... just what I've been looking for...can wear with jeans or slacks or even a dress/skirt (as if I ever wear them). So that was fun. Gene and I went out for Valentine's Day dinner tonight...beat the rush! at our favorite Turkish restaurant Ephesus. Yummy as usual and much less crowded than the Hallmark Holiday crowd!

And such fun - Gene and I went to Hardwick's hardware store over by the UW and I "spent" my gift certificate. What girl has a husband who gets her a gift certificate to a hardware store? I do and I love it - it's been there for years and seems to be totally unorganized but they know where everything is and what everything is. Lots of used items and lots of fun to wander around the uneven floors and narrow aisles. Never even knew that they have furniture and after looking at all my options to spend my money, I found this wonderful unfinished wood rocker...I've been wanting one for ages so we brought it home and Gene will varnish, or whatever, it when we get to NM. I've got the perfect fabric in my stash for seat and back cushions. Such fun. The ears? Levi of course had to check it out in the living room.

Got two of the pot blocks stitched and have to admit I don't see as much difference in them as I thought I would. Maybe I need to re-think some of the thread colors. But progress is being made.

Busy day but nothing exciting!! Just a nice sunny day in Seattle for a change!!

SNOW!! School Starting Late!!

Yup, it "snowed" last night.... about 1/8 inch..maybe 1/4 inch.... and Seattle is delaying the start of the school day!! This is too funny for words... maybe garbage pickup will be delayed too??? What a hoot!! You can almost see the snow...

Here is the announcement in the school district's words:

February 9, 2009: All Seattle Public Schools will start two hours late today and buses will operate on regular routes. Due to weather concerns, all schools will start two hours late today. Buses will operate on regular routes. There will be no door-to-door service, no Head Start and pre-school, and no half day a.m. kindergarten or half day p.m. kindergarten. Full day kindergarten classes will be in session with a two-hour start delay. There will no before school breakfast service available.

Good laugh to start the week! The sun is shining and what was there is gone.... this city is ... well, I can't think of an appropriate word at the moment!!

Company Coming - Better Get a Bed

Oh dear - we are going to have to do something about beds for the NM house...Bev, Barb and Carol are coming to visit the end of August... I guess the piles of fabric, covered with a quilt, won't do.... hmmm...darn, there goes that idea of decorating simply and green !! Tee Hee!! Let's see, we'll have the hide-a-bed and a double bed for them.... and we could set up a tent in the back yard. And we do have one of those air-beds too. Never fear, ladies, something will be available for you by then!! Come on down! Slumber party time.... Levi can't wait to see y'all!!

A Comfy Guest Bed

When thinking about our guest room in the LV house, I found this suggestion on the web and thought it might have some merit since most of my friends are quilters? Not sure about the rest of the folks who might visit...maybe they'll have to stay at the Holiday Inn Guest Room or the Santa Fe Inn Guest Room rather than the Casa Levi Guest Room.

Why buy a whole piece of furniture for an occasional use? Just stack your fabric stash to create a guest bed when company comes to visit. If you have a guest who likes a firmer mattress, slap your rotary cutting mat on top. If they like a softer mattress, top it with some batting. It saves raw materials, and you don’t need an extra room to store the bed even when it’s not in use.

Thread, Thread and More Thread

Not only does the pot quilt require lots of different fabrics, it also needs LOTS of colors of thread for the stitching. I went to Joann's on Wednesday and got several spools of thread and am now starting to pull spools from my thread stash. I'm sure I'll have to go back to get more....and after this, may never have to buy thread again. Yeah, right! Anyway, got the first block stitched...the Zuni Black on White block. It only required satin stitching and three colors of thread (gray, white and black) so it was a good one to start with. Finally got the Bernina to play nice and got my settings worked out for the satin stitching. It looks good and I am admitting that all the points are not perfect!!

I talked with Betty Standiferd at Southwest Decoratives about quilting my project. She is the designer of the pattern and the long-arm expert at SWD so I figured she'd be the most logical one to do it. She quoted me a really fair price and also gave me some tips on the stitching and the sashing. We had a nice, long talk and I feel like I can actually finish this thing. She also told me she was designing 8 more pottery blocks...can't wait to see those... Also the designs have been digitized by another person and Betty can stitch them onto fabric that I could make pillows from. Like putting them on Ultrasuede and making pillows for a bench or couch in the great room. What a cool idea.

Why doesn't anyone ever have thread sales?

Done!! with the 1st Step

Yahooooooooooooo............... I finished all the blocks. The last one nearly drove me to cracking open a bottle of something! But I muddled thru and got 'er done! Now to start the stitching on each one. Satin stitching around most of the designs with some decorative stuff added in also. But that means another trip to the fabric store for some stabilizer to use when I stitch the outer edges of the pots.

They really do look great and i think the hardest part is done. Still don't really want to face the sashing/border blocks but like Scarlett "I'll think about that tomorrow" or the day after I finish the stitching.

Saturday Night Excitement

NOT! We must be getting old...went out for supper tonight at Charlestown with all the other old folks in town.... :) and ready for sleep at 9:00 although I did sit up and watch Miss America..even though Gene told me ahead of time who won! But it was still fun to watch - I remember sitting up and watching it with my mom back in "the day".. some of the talent was pretty interesting back then...trampoline, baton twirling, etc..and the gowns...oh my... like debutantes and virgins! Tee Hee... and definitely no bikinis.

Got one more block done today so there is one more to go. I started working on it but the fabric choices are not feeling right and I need to re-visit the tracings of the patterns. this one has got tiny little pieces and lots of colors - butterflies...and the cutest little green frog...of course I have the perfect fabric for that one. My eyes got too tired and I left it all for tomorrow. Am really looking forward to getting this last one done and then starting the stitching....

Got bad news last night that my sister in law, Carol, had a mastectomy and has to have chemo and radiation. Damn!!! I haven't talked with her, just with David. Will call her tomorrow .. unbelieveable... this means we won't be going down to visit them until later... she won't be having much company..I just want her to get well. Will be asking all my prayer warrior friends to put her on their lists. Both her and David as he tries to be a good nurse! He did say she's a lousy patient...they have an excellent cancer center in Mobile so she's in good hands. God will bless her, I know!!

Off to bed now so I can get up on time to get to church for choir warmup at 8:25. It's cold out and some flurries but here it just seems to be raining.. at least the burn ban has been lifted with this change in weather..

LMS

And blocks to go before I sleep....

Moving the slide show of blocks up to this post to keep it at the top of the blog... so glad I decided to document it.

Making good progress on the blocks but am getting really tired of the messy sewing room. But why clean when I am still cutting and pasting etc fabric and Steam a Seam and making a general mess out of my space!! I have a pretty good process down now, however, so hoping to get all the blocks appliqued by the end of the weekend. Been aiming for one a day.... the hardest ones are all at the end.... then I get to clean up the mess and go on to all the stitching on each block.

Still haven't decided what to do for the sashing... not terribly fond of the one that is in the pattern...especially since it has 130 little blocks to make AARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Have to figure out something different me thinks.

The inaguration is over.... what a day! Can't imagine how tired they all must be... and what is must be like to live in the White House for the two little girls.

More Blocks....

Today is sunny and beautiful here in Seattle. I was determined to do at least one more block although I'm tired and just feel like doing nothing! Oh the life of a "sort of retired" person. Ha!! I have finished 4 blocks now and started the 5th one but am stymied since the picture of the block is not really clear and the directions give me colors that don't appear in the picture. I think it's because so many of the dark colors look black... so it's time to stop for the day and get a fresh start in the daylight tomorrow. Iv'e got #1, #4, #7 and #8 done (counting from left to right on row 1 and then going to row 2) and am starting on #3. The bird looks black but supposedly the body is "green mesh"...whatever that means...

Have to admit that I'm hooked on all the inagural coverage on tv... what a time to be alive. Just realized today that this really is an historic event... I mean, I know it's historic but really thought about it today and came to the realization that we all we've had are white guys for presidents...different backgrounds in life but still all white guys. And here we are with a man who is making us realize that there are many colors in this country and around the world and I just thought it must be great for those who aren't white to see this... hard to explain but he really does reach so many people on so many levels. I'm thrilled... felt that he would be President some day after his speech back in 2004 at the convention... I remember saying that to Gene. Just didn't think it would be this soon. What a heavy burden he is inheriting and certainly needs our prayers and good wishes. God Speed Mr President.

Bountiful Blessings (aka The Pot Quilt) Slideshow Started

Started a slideshow for the pot quilt and hope that as I add pictures to it it will update on this site. Have half of one pot done...need to cut out the rest of the designs for this one today and then start the next... not sure yet if I will do the stitching on each block as I get it done or wait and do them all at once. Probably best to do them as I get done... we'll see....the WIP.

Adobe Angels Video and other stuff

We now have our computer updated with Office 2007, lots of memory, new video card, new dual core processor, etc etc so it's fast and plays well with others!! And a new laptop so we both can be on the net at the same time. Now we still need to get the wireless set up and a couple of little things fixed but the balky old system has been given a transfusion!!

So I reinstalled Photoshop and made a slideshow of the Adobe Angels pictures...hopefully I can embed it in this post.




Started working on the pot quilt...one block half done but I do have all the block backgrounds done.. it's going to be an "interesting" process.... I may have more gray hair at the end of it... Had to make a run to the quilt shop this afternoon for some fabric...how can I not have the right color of brown????? But nothing I had really worked for the pot design so Levi and I went for a ride and I found the perfect brown plus a couple of others that will be great for the turtle block and one other that needed a dark peachy color. And then we went down to Alki and took a walk. It was quiet down there..some folks walking and a few kayaking but the best part was the sea lions that were out in the bay "talking" - could hear them as if they were right by the shore. It was magical to hear them.

Rain and Renters

OK - it's raining again.... better than snow? I'm not sure. But I wish it would stop for a few days.

Our potential renters have decided not to move to LV. Evidently he couldnt' handle the altitude so she turned down the job. What a bummer. But we made a little progress anyway...got all the locks keyed the same today and the electrician is going to fix the vent/fan in the back bathroom and Marylena has someone coming to hang the blinds in the bedroom windows. So those are good things. She's tracking down a couple of other leads on possible renters. We'll see. Like Scarlett O'Hara - I'll think about it tomorrow.

Yet Another Applique Quilt

I think I need drugs!! Why? I started another quilt and this one is hand applique... aacckkkkk. Not sure why I am doing this but figured I needed something to take with me when I go...wherever. So I started this folk art quilt which I think I posted about before. Anyway, I've got the black blocks cut out and the first block started...I'm starting with #11 (middle of bottom row) as the pieces are fairly big so I can get used to this handwork again.

Today I sent the rental agreement off to Marylena for our new renters in LV. Will be really glad when they move in and we can rest easy knowing someone is living in the house and watching over it till we move. They wanted it for 6 months so now looks like we'll move early August.

Being very domestic today and making scalloped potatoes and ham for dinner....best go and see if it's done!! Windy and rainy here in Seattle today. I had a good time down at Alki photographing the waves crashing over the bulkheads.... will miss the water but looking forward to more sunshine.

Make a Smilebox greeting

Too Much of a Good Thing is Wonderful

I think Mae West said that... doubt that she was talking about adding crystals to a quilt but why not. Jean W and I played with the Bejeweler today and added about 50 sparkly crystals to the Adobe Angels quilt. It is now done and they are perfect. What fun. I had a 50% off coupon from Michael's so got my Bejeweler for $5.98!! Course the crystals were another expense but this was such a cool idea Jean had. And afterwards we celebrated by taking ourselves to lunch and to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream. Now I have to make the Las Vegas Chick and really make her "sparkle"!!

The quilt before and after bling:

Christmas in Seattle

Yup! We had to cancel our trip to Mobile. NWA cancelled the flight on Monday 22nd and the earliest they could get us out of Seattle was Saturday 27th. Just didn't make sense to book that and hope we could get out... so we cancelled. What a depressing day Monday was. Not only were we bummed, but so were David and Carol. I think I shed more tears that day than the day I got laid off! But the snow keep falling and we kept shoveling and on Tuesday managed to get thru the ice and snow to pick up Levi. Sure hated to cancel his little vacation as it meant the gals that take care of him had to give up some income. But they were very nice about it. So all three of us spent Christmas in Seattle. Went to Steve and Mike's for drinks and hors doeuvres on Christmas Eve and then to Judy and Dick's for dinner on Christmas day. So nice of our friends to rescue our Christmas and us. We will certainly remember what is supposed to be our last Seattle Christmas.

The city has done an absolutely awful job of clearing streets...they refuse to use salt and the plows actually have rubber blades. It was horrid. But now the warm-up has come and all the snow is gone. Yesterday (Saturday) I finally got my car out of our garage and I got to go shopping. Had to get the oil changed and to the fabric store. Today I must go to the grocery store.

Good things about the snow storm...some pretty pictures, a warm house, 4-wheel drive Rodeo, and not being stuck at the airport. It could have been so much worse.

So I've been working on the Adobe Angels wall hanging. Am ready to quilt it and then on Tuesday I'm going to Jean's to add some bling to it and see her quilt that she finished. And then we are taking ourselves out to lunch!!

Also found some great recipe software in my surfing the net and installed that last night. I might finally actually really get all my recipes off 4x6 cards and into the computer. It's called BigOven and is rated the highest of all the recipe software out there. And developed right here in little ole Seattle by an ex-Microsoftie. Am so excited as I was disillusioned with MasterCook. Even got all my recipes that were on MC imported to BigOven files. Now if I could just find some software that would organize my sewing room I'd be in great shape.

So that's all for now..We are feeling better, the sun is shining off and on today, the Vikings won the division and the roads are clear. We spent Christmas with some wonderful people who I am calling "God's Plan B" and are truly blessed. Looking forward to more adventures to come. Proably Mardi Gras in Mobile end of Feb and a week or so with Skip and Sara in Perdido Key.

Still Snowing - Enough Already

OK - it's Sunday night about 9 pm and I am TIRED OF THE SNOW ALREADY!!! All we want to do is get to the airport in the morning and have our flight be on time. With NWA who knows. They canceled the flight this morning that we are going on tomorrow (hope that makes sense)... maybe they didn't have a plane to take out of here. .
We have had - just guessing - about 10 inches of snow.... have shoveled about 8 times...not as windy as they had predicted but we have gotten our love HA HA HA of snow shoveling over with. Bring on the sunshine. Even the window facing east was all frosted over this morning (outside) so we know it was windy and cold.... Gene managed to get both of our cars down the hill thru the snow and around the corners and hills and up the alley into the garage where they will spend the week in comfort and if, by a miracle, the plow ever came up this street, our parking area is clear. Course if a plow did clear this hill it would be a first. Never in 16 years have we had the city plow this hill. But don't get me started on the state of the roads in this city. Sure, they could plow all the streets by the stadium today so the football game could go on, but city streets? HA!

We have a town car coming to pick us up at 10 a.m. for our 12:35 flight...will check in the morning, early, and see what the flight status is. If it's canceled, well, we'll figure out something to get us to the south. Maybe fly to ATL and drive to Mobile? Nope, I'm thinking positive thoughts and some of the prayer warriors are doing their bit too to get us out of here for some sunshine.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!