The Boys Trim the Tree

Nope, it's not Christmas yet. Aacckkkk. It's only a sunny day in Seattle so Gene was out mowing the lawn and trimming the maple tree. And of course Levi the Magnificent had to offer his advice..Bark Bark Bark!! No pun intended (bark - tree - never mind).... And the Azaleamatis is my new creation. We had a trellis on the front of the house for the clematis to climb on but the trellis has gone away and we cut the clematis down to the ground. The azaleas is gorgeous for about 3 weeks in the spring and then it is just...well, green. Lo and behold, the clematis decided it wanted to live and just grew up thru the azalea so I let it ramble over the bush and now when it blooms, it'll be purple flowers on the azalea...so I named it Azaleamatis. That thing just will not die.

The "tree-in-a-box" is one of our beloved Japanese Maples that is going to Las Vegas with us. Gene made a frame and support for it and hopefully it'll survive the 3-day trip in the truck and will have a new home. It's in a gorgeous pot that will be right at home in the Southwest - and it's turquoise colored.

Roswell - Hopefully Not

We now have a GPS unit for the car. Our wonderful Bible study group had a going-away party for us last night and they gave us a Garmin GPS so we won't get lost between Seattle and Bellevue WA....oops, I mean Seattle and Las Vegas. This group has been together for 12 years (ever since the first choir tour to Europe) although a couple of the couples have dropped out and we've taken in new ones! We've had a great time and studied a lot, but mostly have enjoyed getting to know each other and share travels, ideas, and good food!! We love the GPS already even though we've not used it....well, I did..got me from home to the grocery store. And when I decided to take my own "normal" route home, "she" was not happy. Kept saying, in what I perceive to be a condescending/scolding tone of voice "recalculating". So I took lots of turns so she could get really upset!! :) Anyway, it'll come in handy as we head southwest or southeast or wherever. Hopefully it'll take us to Las Vegas NM and not NV and will not lead us to the UFO's or whatever in Roswell!!

Move Date Set

This is my favorite sign... I just packed it although methinks I should have left it out to the end... my other favorite saying is "If you've come to see us, come on in. If you've come to see the house, make an appointment!"

June 10th we leave and June 14th we'll be moved in to our new house in Las Vegas. Talked with Mark, our trucker, today and he'll be here early in the morning on Wednesday, June 10th. We'll get loaded in one day and hit the road. Hoping to get at least as far as Yakima that afternoon - with both Gene and me driving we may get a little further. Mark's been great to work with so far and he's giving a little extra time to get there. Said he was going to have a couple of his guys down there drive over to our place and check out the roads and make sure they can get the rig under the ranch sign. Should be ok...

For some reason, now that we have a date and actually are talking about arriving there etc etc I'm getting a little more excited about it. Up to now, I guess I've been dragging my feet and feeling overwhelmed. After tomorrow's colonoscopy I should be even better!! One more doctor appt to go - eye exam - and I'm hopefully in the clear. Especially after the colonoscopy cocktail does it's job tonight I'll be clear!!

Boxes and Boxes

Oh do we have boxes...empty ones, filled ones, old ones, new ones, recyled ones... and why do we need all that stuff that is bound for the boxes? I don't really know but we must... and I have to confess I think I have more books than Gene does. Of course mine are quilting and cooking, his are gardening and history. So together we need all of them!! Making slow progress on packing... trouble is - when you fill the box with stuff you have to find room for the box.... so check out the pcitures of our kitchen and living room - I won't even show you the garage...actually it's probably more organized than this house.

Since I've packed all my cookbooks, I figure I won't have to cook until I unpack them!! But the recipe box, and take-out, are still active... so that idea won't work.

The sewing room is all packed...and I've managed to get the lovely wallpaper border off the wall..except for a few little spots that I can't reach because ... there are boxes against that wall.!! But I'll get 'er done.

Advice to all: Start cleaning out your closets and other spaces now...before you need to do so...even if you think you're not moving...but especially if you are planning on moving...and for those of you who have kids... yeah, just let them clean out your house when you're gone. :)

I did have a little free time to take some pictures of the last of the tulips that are blooming.. so pretty and serene. Have to admit I am anxious to start doing more photography in New Mexico...the light there is amazing... maybe when I'm on my Women's Wilderness Escape this fall...should be lots of things to photograph there. Stay tuned for more news on that....

Heading for the Border

The quilt top is DONE...nearly... all the blocks and sashing are sewn together and now I just need to add the narrow border to it. The border is black and is only about 2-3 inches wide so that should go fairly quickly. However, the quilt is very large so moving it around is not easy....but we hung the top from the deck and I took pictures of it by standing on the garage roof..color is not perfect..the borders are coral and black and turquoise but it's close as the sun was over on the other side of the house.. .. and we got the totem pole in some of them too. Fun. Cannot believe this thing is nearly ready for quilting and I'm really glad I'm not the one who is going to be quilting it.

Yahooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought the pattern in a shop in Albuquerque and the woman who designed it does their quilting so we are going to have her quilt it. I plan to take it there on June 18 for their 3rd Thursday "Show and Tell" day and therefore get 15% off the cost of the batting and backing for it. Since we plan to arrive in NM before that, I will just take a road trip from Las Vegas to ABQ with my quilt - maybe I'll find someone in Las Vegas that wants to go with me...

Tomorrow I put the borders on and then can start packing up the sewing room and get it ready to paint. Can't wait to start organizing my new sewing room in LV. There is carpet in there now and I really want to pull that up and put wood down to match the living/dining room wood. We'll see.

It's Done and It's Nearly Done

***************************************************************************

The bathroom and house remodeling project is done except for some staining we need to do on the new closet doors. If it EVER stops raining here that will get done... I love the new toilet paper holder...it just sits on the floor and you can move it around if you get bored "doing your business" in there.. can you tell I'm losing more parts of my mind during this whole process...doesn't take much to entertain me these days. We love the higher vanity.. but we aren't going to even use the tub/shower - keeping it clean and new for our renters.




The pot quilt is nearly done... The top two rows are sewn together and the third row is ready to sew to the top two and the parts are ready for the fourth row. It is spectacular and I can't wait for it to be done so I can put my sewing stuff in boxes and get that room cleaned and painted.

Yahooooo - we are making progress.

Miracle Tub Redoux

The Toto is in....didn't think we could afford one but the local Tru Value carries them at about $150 less than MSRP... so we have one now (For those of you not conversant with toilet talk, Toto is a brand - very low water usage in each flush and usually quite expensive). The vanity is in but that water won't be hooked up until tomorrow. Still need to caulk the tub and seal the grout etc but the mopboards are on and we're nearly done with the potty!!

OK - am I going overboard on this? I love this new bathroom but why now when we're leaving and not going to get to enjoy it for long....!

Spent part of today looking for handles for the closet doors... Home Despot and Low Prices (Lowe's) were both big dissapointments. Then I stopped at Chown Hardware in Bellevue.... oh my goodness - they have the most incredible handles and knobs and faucets etc.... anyone for a moose head handle? Or a saw? or a kitchen stove? etc etc...got a theme for your room? They've got hardware that matches. Didn't buy anything but may go back tomorrow and get something. It's where we bought the $$$$ kitchen faucet when we remodeled that... only my sister-in-law, Carol, knows how much that one costs. (Whole nother story). Anyway, I'm thinking now I could have a whole new career as a shopper for contractors....anyone want a faucet connector or PTrap extension or new Toto? I know all the places around here for them. It's been fun but we're ready for it to be useable too.

A Miracle Tub

Wow, what paint will do. We decided not to put a new tub in the bathroom to hold down the cost of the remodel and painted it instead. Well, Greg painted it. Amazing results...it looks like a brand new tub..shiny, white, clean..... and smelly. The fumes are a bit much so we have the new fan running and the doors and windows open as much as possible. Hopefully it'll be a good decision to do this.... so far so good. I miss the old yellow tub and toilet and sink NOT!!!!!!

Yesterday, after Greg left, we started in on the painting. I put the primer coat on and finished that, took a break to let it dry and started in painting at 9:30 - Gene had to rescue me part way thru as I just could not get up on the ladder again... or the edge of the tub. So he did the high parts of the walls and I rolled on the rest of the paint. Done at 10:30 pm. The paint is not white...off white...like heavy cream...sort of. Anyway, Greg approved of the paint job this morning and we are nearly ready to get the toilet and vanity and all the bits in.

Lots more to do but the worst part is done me thinks.

A Day of Rest

Saturday - a day of rest....at least from the bathroom remodel/shopping for stuff for the bathroom/driving to Ballard and back a couple of times/etc etc. And that was just Gene and me who are the "go-fer's" for Greg. The room is coming along great and I never realized how much was behind the walls in a bathroom...plumbing, insulation, pipes, backer board, Red Guard, and then adhesive, tile, floor tile, etc. We have all the parts - now just have to be patient while they all go together... what a mess....boxes all over, name it - it's in the wrong place. Today I'm trying to just focus on "regular" life and forget all the mess. not working...although I am making tomato sauce from all the frozen tomatoes (another story for another time).... we pulled out the appliances in the downstairs kitchen away from the walls so Greg can mud the 70's disco wallpaper and I can paint over it so had to take all the frozen tomatoes out of the freezer and do something with them. have no idea how it'll turn out - the sauce, not the painting.

So things are moving along on the pot quilt too. Am trimming all the blocks to their correct size and then can start sewing the sashing onto them. Hope to have the top done by next weekend!!! Then can put it away until we move and clean up the sewing room!!!!!!!!!!!!

Demolition Derby Day 1

Today they start the remodel of the bathroom etc. So far they've removed the vanity/sink/medicine cabinet and are starting the removal of the tile... Greg just showed us water damage on the wall where the faucets were...oh crap! (No pun intended even though this is a bathroom!). Let's just hope it's not too bad... all I can see are $$$$$$$$$$. The house is a mess what with packing boxes and packed boxes... demolition derby and regular life going on. The dog is thrilled to have another person in the house but we're trying to keep him from "Helping" Greg too much. Right now he's asleep in his chair in my sewing room and I'm going to try to get more of the pot sashing done. If you don't know what "pot sashing" is, see previous posts.

Great weather at least so we can have the doors and windows open and get fresh air in today. Supposed to be around 70... for two days and then down to the 50's again....We'll take it.

Pots on the Wall

The blocks are back on the wall in my sewing room and I am finally working at putting the 113 little blocks into strips that will eventually be the sashing. I never was really sure that I liked the black fabric for the sashing and border but we agreed last night that it is the right choice. Very "putzy" work but at least I can now see some real progress.

Weather has turned much nicer here in Seattle and we are enjoying some sunshine. This morning we talked with the guy we've hired to move us to NM - the $$ makes me shudder but I guess I wasn't too surprised. We think he'll do a great job and the fact that he actually knows where our exit is off I-25 outside of Las Vegas, means a good deal. Doubt that too many other truckers would. Date is not set but it will be the first week of June.

Our remodel of this house will start Monday 20th... I'm the "go-fer" - good way to save money on that.

Happy Birthday to Levi - He's 8

Our baby is 8-years old today (15th) ... wow, how time has passed.... he's still puppy-ish so we have a hard time thinking of him as "middle-aged" in people years. I'm taking him to Mud Bay Granary today for a shopping trip... he always gets an N-Bone there... maybe 2 this time.

The First Family has a "First Dog" but like everyone else who is owned by a dog, we think ours is just as special. I have to admit that "Bo" is absolutely darling. The girls will have a ball with him.... and I think every President and First Lady need a dog... hopefully this one is better behaved than Barney was!!

Happy Birthday Levi!

Levi's Birthday

Wow, a week from today Levi will be 8 years old. As one of our neighbors said the other day, "he still seems like the new puppy". Hard to believe our wonderful Shih Tzus have been gone from our lives for this long. Still miss them so much. Levi has brought a different kind of life to our lives.... Brandy and Bo-Lin were so sweet and behaved so well...they came when they were called, you could put them outside without worrying that they would leave the yard and they didn't bark at airplanes! But Levi... all of the above but opposite. He's a hoot and has brought us much joy and laughter and frustration. So next week we'll celebrate his birthday.... he was born on April 15th 2001 which was not only Easter Sunday but also Tax Day so his first owner gave him a Biblical name, that of Levi the tax collector in the New Testament. Lots of folks think he was named after the Levi jeans but nope, he's our Biblical tax collector boy! Happy BD Levi the Magnificent!

Done!!!!!!!!

I am DONE with all 113 of the small blocks for the sashing on the pot quilt!!! And now have to start cutting and piecing the triangles for them.... 400 or so... can't exactly remember. And not sure I want to even read the
directions at this point. But they are done....took about 3 yards, total, of turquoise and coral fabrics and the blocks all fit into two small containers... they probably all need to be squared up also!! Someone bring the Guiness! or Dom Perignon... I need it.

Beautiful weather here in Seattle...near 70, sunny, and perfect days for being outside in the garden and deck which we have been doing...lots of yard work and cleaning up...so we are both a little exhausted. Our contractor will be starting the upstairs bathroom remodel and a few other little things on April 20th. We have decided not to take a road trip now to NM...will just save the money and put it all toward one move in June. Good idea we think.

Off to bed now after a 3-hour choral rehearsal for Good Friday...

Bonsai and Blocks

Well, we've had more rain and even some snow today.... when will it end and become spring! The daffodils are blooming as are the cherry trees but when I saw snow in the rain this morning I nearly went back to bed and hid! But since His Highness, Sir Levi, thought it was time to get up, we did. That dog thinks he runs the house..

And what am I accomplishing today? Not much other than working on the blocks for the sashing on the pot quilt. I have 10 done... well not totally done... they still need the setting triangles added to it, but I figured I'd make the 113 blocks first and then add the triangles. Spent most of yesterday afternoon cutting 1" strips of the coral and turquoise and then sub-cutting them into 1.5, 2.5,3.5 and 4 inch pieces. And now am starting to figure out the process for turning all those dang little strips into these blocks. Sort of mindless sewing but it's going to look great.

Monday we took a drive to Federal Way and the Weyerhaeuser campus to see the Pacific Rim Bonsai gardens before they close to the public on April 1. This absolutely stunning and valuable collection of bonsai is being closed due to the economy. Why couldn't the execs at Wyrhsr just take a cut in their bonuses to keep this collection going. It's a wonderful place to visit and so inspiring. Managed to take a few pictures and had fun playing with them in Photoshop. I'll miss the garden...we always enjoyed taking our visitors to see it. Some of the trees are over 1,000 years old.. evidently there is an auction of 50 of the trees on June 6th.. Gene wants to go and see it... would be interesting to watch the bidding. The time and care that goes into bonsai is amazing and I just think it's terrible that we will be loosing this wonderful space and place. Hopefully whoever buys them will treasure them for many more years. Maybe I'll try this in my old age...add it to my bucket list!

Sure and Begorra - The Blocks Are Done

Well, they may not be Irish but they are done! I should raise a Guiness or three to that milestone.

Finished all the embroidery on the 12 blocks about 11:00 last night - Love, love, love the Kokopelli block. Now I need to find fabric for the sashing and borders. Long story...

Also need to take a break from this one, whilst I search for fabric, and make a quilt for the soon-to-be-born daughter of our real estate agent. We met Jen many years ago when she was holding an openhouse across the street and we've kept in touch since then and she will handle the sale of our Seattle house when we're ready. She's given us tons of advice and I thought it would be fun to do something for her....so of course, a baby quilt. I found 8 blocks that i had done for some earlier project and they are perfect for a little girl so I'm mixing them with some baby duckling fabric and making up as I go along. Nothing spectacular... but we wanted to thank her somehow for hanging in with us so this seemed perfect. no pictures yet.

So now on to the contiuning saga of turquoise, coral and black fabric. Ah, Cherrywood's would the perfect fabrics but they are so expensive... I'm going to mull this over, over a Guiness..or a pint 'o tea!

2 Blocks Left - Check This One Out

I finished the Red Clay block today. (Click on the picture to see a larger view) Started it last night and totally I think I must have about 5 hours of stitching in it. Changing thread and bobbin thread is time consuming! Plus my machine was acting up...I'm sure it's not me! Anyway, after several unkind words, at one point, I just un-threaded it and re-threaded it and took the bobbin out and put it back in (sort of like re-booting the computer) and then it played nice! And this episode was at the end of the process...

Love, love, love this block. Just adding the thread designs has made it spectacular. The color in the pictures is fairly close but you don't get the depth in a picture. Betty said when she quilts this she will trapunto the pots... they will really "pop".

So now I have two more to do, hoping to get them all done this weekend. Then I need to decide what kind of beads/stones/etc I will add to the eyes and a few other places. Oh, yeah, and then on to the sashing blocks...all 103 of them. Would be nice if I actually had fabric picked out for it.

Weather is perfect for quilting today...i.e. RAIN and WIND! Yesterday was gorgeous..sunny, warmish, really great.

Pot Update

Progress is being made.... I have 8 of the pots embroidered! 4 more to go. It gets easier as I do them but the last four are the hardest of them all...lots of details. But I can see the end... have decided that rather than fuss with trying to get my Bernina to do the eyes and flower centers, I'm going to either use hot fix rhinestones or some sort of metallic "beads" - saw some that will work at the Sewing Expo so I think I'll use that sort of thing. Not a lot..but they'll add another dimension.

Still need to decide on the sashing pattern. Am going to use some stash fabric and make up a few of the blocks the pattern suggests and see if I like them or not. And will try a brown/black color instead of solid black which is too harsh for my taste...

..more snow today but it came in the form of ice/sleet/snow and now rain... been snowing up in the mountains I guess but we really haven't gotten much of anything to worry about!

Still planning on a trip to NM right after Easter and I'm actually making some progress on cleaning and emptying and tossing and donating stuff. Still way too much stuff !! And in all the mess I've managed to loose my watch... it'll show up but for now... oh well when one is retired, one does not need a watch.

Relatives

Well, Miss Froggy has found a sister, or mother, or aunt...we're not sure. But "she" lives in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. As you can see from the picture, she obviously has led a different life...an inside life... out of the sun. Miss Froggy is demanding a makeover so we'll see what happens. They both have Westies to love them though.

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

Acckkk... it's a frog in an "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini"...and why you ask? Well, she's a family heirloom. Which will surprise all my family that reads this.

Many years ago, when my mom and step-father lived in South Texas, a friend of my mom's gave her this ceramic frog . Originally "Miss Froggy" was wearing a yellow polka dot bikini, but time and sunshine and age got to her. I "inherited" her and now she's going to go and live in New Mexico with us. If you look closely, you'll see she has acquired the Seattle suntan...green moss - from living outside on our front porch.

In order to prepare MF for her next journey, Gene filled her with concrete and a steel tie wire for some structural strength, as along the way she has also "lost" a couple of parts that glue doesn't seem to hold. Her bikini is faded (no spots) so I will eventually paint some dots on it.... But she will have a place of honor (quit laughing) at our new home.

As Kermit the Frog once said "It's not easy being green".