Winter

Summer's almost here...
We can now see the deer
moving around the back yard.

Yep, won't be long.

We got this in an email last week and it is how I feel right now. We had snow again over the weekend and even though it didn't pile up too badly it still had to be scooped and moved off the sidewalks and driveway.

The large drift in the back yard just outside my sewing room is still about 7" tall and the entire back yard is covered in at least a foot of snow. I am so tired of looking at white and will be glad when this winter is over and the snow melts away.

I have jumped to a new project this week that I can't show you yet so will have to come up with things to blog about so you won't forget me. The other projects I have bounced around between are on hold for a little bit so I can do this for a friend. It is exciting to be sure and you will want to stay tuned for the reveal, hopefully by next week some time.

This is twice recently that I have held you in great suspense isn't it? I am sure you are all sitting on pins and needles to see and read about what I am doing.

Well off to stitch this mystery.....
Lynn

A New Ride

This is the car (Ford Crown Victoria) we have been driving for many years - actually this isn't a photo of our car but a photo of one just like the one we owned. It had 140,000 miles on it when we traded it off for a new car last week. It still looked good and had not had too many problems so far but it was time to get something newer before it did.

Last Friday we came home with a brand new midnight blue Ford Edge. John has wanted to get a SUV for some time and I was the one dragging my feet. The Ford Edge is not technically called a SUV but is labeled a Crossover. Guess it is a cross between a SUV and Station Wagon.

The interior looks like this but is light tan like the second photo. Like anything now days there is a lot of technology built into the Edge. It has a built in navigation system, satellite radio, weather maps, plus lots of other features. One thing it can do is sync my cell phone to the car and I can make and talk without using the phone but use buttons on the steering wheel to call or answer calls.

One of the things I have really enjoyed is the seat warmers. These cold days it is nice to turn them on and get toasty warm in just a few minutes.

We had ordered this car several months ago and it came in just last Thursday. We had to squeeze in a trip to the dealer to pick it up on Friday before we left on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia the next day. You didn't know it but I was gone for a week and posted my blog entries before I left so you would have something to read while I was away. Love that feature on Blogger. (Bet you wondered why I dragged out the border discussion on the split 9 patch quilt over several days.)

We left on Saturday driving the new car to the airport then left it there and flew to Atlanta, Georgia until Thursday this week when we flew home. John had a convention and I went along and hung out with a friend while her husband and mine were in meetings. We did get to see a few of the sights in the city before we left and had some wonderful dinners at local restaurants!

The Edge is a little different to drive than our old Crown Vic but it sure is nice. I think I can force myself to enjoy driving it! Probably the hard part will be finding it in a parking lot after shopping.

I am trying to play catch up now here at home - you know how it is after you have been gone for a while. I did get the laundry done and the backing fabric pressed for my split 9 patch quilt but that was about it yesterday. Today was a wash out though as we went to watch our granddaughters bowl in a tournament with their dad. They were so excited and got scores better than their averages so that was fun for them.

One thing I hated about being gone was missing watching some of the Olympic events. We did see some after we got back to the hotel each night though. I really like watching all the events so have parked in my chair in front of the TV the last two days.

Home again,
Lynn

Horse on a Snow Mountain

John took Bart on a walk today around the yard and decided to climb on one of the many snow piles. These are not just snow drifts which could be soft and cause the horse to sink in but they are the piles that are very firm as they were piled and pretty well packed by the loader and tractor. This pile has melted - I know it is hard to believe but it was about twice as high at first. There is still a lot to go yet though.

Actually I think he wanted to play on the pile of snow like the grandchildren love to do. He looked over at me standing on the deck to make sure I saw him just like they do too.

Well, Bart didn't mind climbing up and walking on the pile but when John wanted to lead him down he decided that really wasn't what he wanted to do. John tried several times to coax him down, climbed back up himself and gave him some reassurance. Still on top and it didn't look like he would come off the pile of snow. He wasn't upset, just refused to climb down.

John finally walked him around and back the way he came and he went down that way so back up they came for more walking around. Maybe he would walk down the way John wanted now - NOPE NOT GOING TO DO IT! After all it looked pretty scary for him.

I knew John would not stop until he got him to come down where he wanted him to and kept working with Bart. He got him to back down then up they went again and this time he went down front first. Guess he decided it wasn't so bad after all. After going up and down several more times they walked back to the barn for Bart to get some hay as a treat for being a brave boy.

Lynn

Pieced Backing

Since this is a year of using my stash and the fact that I don't have many large pieces of fabric I am piecing the backing for the Split Nine Patch quilt.

I have laid out the fabrics I want to use for the backing. I lay them out over the top to make sure I have it large enough to make the backing then I will starch and iron the pieces and square them up before I stitch them together. Will show you when I get that done.

Does anyone else piece their backing like this? If you do please give me any hints you may have. I am thinking since I am machine quilting this piece all the extra seams really won't make much difference.

Until Later,
Lynn