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Monday, December 19, 2011

Scrappy Nines, Baked Pears and Joey

I am having so much fun working on Scrappy Nines, especially when I am in the company of the Thimbles group.  I love seeing what everyone else is working on and sharing the holiday spirit.
Mercidene (fellow Thimble) has all her nine-patches stitched together for her Scrappy Nine quilt.  I am doing them as I go, but I sure wish I had them all done waiting form me to use.  I am not very good at assembly line production; it would sure make quilt top assembly much faster.
Saturday I made some baked pears.  The recipe is simple: pears (seeds removed), raisins, 2 almonds (each pear), a shake of cinnamon and a half inch of water in the bottom of the pan.  I used the foil bits to keep the pears upright.  Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. The same recipe works for apples too.
Yummy and no guilt!
Joey has been in rare form.  It is difficult to get a shot of him, since he is seldom still.  Yesterday I was putting things in the attic; he followed me up there, and he was lost for a short period of time (seemed like an eternity).  I feared he'd fallen down a wall or something, but I kept calling him and he finally came to me.

A week ago Friday, when I was dropping off his birthday cake (happy 27 years Andy!), I mentioned to Andy that Joe jumps into the refrigerator every time I open it.  Every single time. Andy laughed and said that when Joey was a kitten he (Andy) used to put him in the fridge to keep him out of trouble. Wow. Really explains a lot.

And now Joey has learned to open the kitchen cabinets.  He runs through the house, grabs the cabinet doors and swings them open and runs off. We are "baby-proofing" with rubber bands. Seriously.
I love taking pictures of him, but his constant exploration and motion makes a good shot difficult.  I know my fancy-ass camera can capture motion, but I used my little point and shoot.  Here is what I got this morning:
Joe clearing out my clipped threads.
Joe wanting in the bookcase to rescue the "cats" trapped there.
Joe wanting to scatter Scrappy Nine parts stored in the box, but Kitten forbidding him.
She looks a little annoyed; doesn't she?
Someone told me that her kitten was uber explorative like Joe, and he never grew out of it.
Oh dear.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Thank you and Joey mischief

I had a request from Diane for a copy of one of Mom's (Linda Brannock's) old patterns (Dresden Hearts).  It took me a lot of digging in the studio attic, but I finally located the pattern and sent it to Diane. I didn't expect her to send me these beautiful fat quarters as a thank you. They are so my palette.
Thank you Diane!  I love these fabrics.
While I was in the attic, I found a "vintage" Angler. You see the date?  It says 1993.  That's probably when Mom bought it. It finally got used this weekend.
I got a couple more blocks done on Scrappy Nines from the book Spotlight on Neutrals by Pat Wys. You learn a lot about color value and print scale as you work on this quilt.  I always learn better hands on.  You can tell me something until you are blue in the face (I feel my mother nodding as she reads this), but put me to work on it, and things finally make sense. They call it kinesthetic learning (from Gardner's Multiple Intelligences Theory).
I think cats learn the same way.
I was cooking when I spotted something out of place in the dining room.
Okay, my dining room has lots of stuff out of place; it is a mess, but do you see what I am talking about?
Joey has decided his favorite daytime hiding place is on top of the china cabinet, and I caught him readying to jump up there. Sheesh. I think the Tiffany Lamp needs to be moved; his return trip could affect the lamp. I've already moved the figurines from atop the sconces.  All glass and ceramic items that can be damaged are sitting on the floor waiting for Joey to grow up.  I learned not to take a chance with breakables when Kitten broke that precious bowl the Arts & Sciences division gave me as a wedding present.
Joey is a good companion when I am sitting and reading though.

The doctor's office called me twice last week to come have another blood test.  The one I had December 2 showed my kidneys are messed up again and my potassium level is too high.  I am now keeping a health journal to see if I can identify things that are harming my kidneys and to keep an eye on my blood pressure.
Cat's paws (still attached to the cat) are good luck.
I can believe that if I want too.
It is the season of believing.
"As in mind, so in manifestation."

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Workshop, yoyos and animals

Saturday I had fun with the Spirited Quilter's bunch and Pat Wys. Pat has a book out (pictured), and we worked on making the cover quilt.  I love it. Love, love, love it!
If you are a Silver Thimble Club (Pat Wys' club) member, you may have seen me working on un-sewing some yo-yos a friend of mine made.  I gave the fabric back to her, all ironed flat, along with a Clover yo-yo maker, and we had a little lesson. Now she makes perfect yo-yos every time and she made this lovely pillow (above).  Good work Sarah!
I had a doctor visit on Friday at which he pronounced my cowboy boots unfit apparel for my feet.  He wants me to wear only tennis shoes.  I bought "comfort shoes" to wear to work as I can't seem to wrap my mind around wearing tennis shoes all day unless I am on a tennis court. (but that's just me)
Joey is getting too big for my lap.  His cuddly baby kitty days are over.  He likes to explore and play out big adventures.
The boys (below) are getting old, so they just chill most of the time.
That's okay by Joey.