I Like Thursdays: February 25, 2021

It's "I Like Thursdays" and time to fill the internet with positive energy!  Visit our hostess Lee Anna at Not Afraid of Color for more positive posts!

I like...

My husband got home safely on Sunday!  He'd been working on a "two week" job that went to 7 weeks.  It's good to have him home!

It stopped snowing!  We have a thaw and warmer temps going on right now which is wonderful.  I think the weatherman said at the beginning of the week that we still had an average of 22 inches of snow on the ground.  It's a nice thaw for us too, not too fast that we have flooding in our homes.  We are GRATEFUL!!!

Poodle wrestling!  Thank goodness Scout has her friend Kerry!

I like the communal cooking we are doing.  My "bubble" consists of my husband, Mom, and my brother Jim and his wife.  Once a week or so, somebody cooks a regular batch of something good and shares it with the others.  On Sunday I made a big batch of lasagna for my husband and everyone enjoyed it!  Mom's about to make homemade macaroni and cheese and we are looking forward to that!

I'm interested in doing applique again and did scrap practice over the weekend.  I'm tired of embroidery for now and need an evening project.  Beth suggested using Lori Holt's method and I'm enjoying it!

I finally went to the doctors about the knee.  I knew it was healing but my husband insisted.  As I suspected, the MCL is torn.  Ligament tears aren't fun because they take so long to heal but it could have been so much worse.  Doc said it will be at least 4-6 weeks before I can walk the dog again but it is healing and I've done everything I should have to help it heal.  I just want to be able to garden in the spring!

Hope you and yours are having a great week and that we all get an early spring!   Stay safe!

To-Do-Tuesday: February 23, 2021

 Well it's been a long time since I felt I could continue posting sewing goals.  My problem has been my knee so for now my Rainbow Scrap Challenge is on hold.  The pattern I chose is paper pieced and that means getting up and down too much.

The knee is slowly healing but some things still bother me like getting up and down from sitting.

I'm also not sure what I'm going to do about the Stay At Home Round Robin piece.  This is where it was when I fell:

Emily from the blog, The Darling Dogwood suggested that the white crosses looked like a picket fence and I liked her perspective.  I've taken off the side green borders and hope to surround it with pickets.  I think that I may just leave the piece like that because I like it.  Sometimes less is more.

I've worked on my embroidery but got bored with it.  I'm awaiting some templates and hope to do some applique.  The other sewing I've done is chain piecing my star quilt.  I normally don't like chain piecing but it helps with my knee right now and I only have one more star to finish today before assembling the top. 

It snowed again yesterday.  We still have so much snow in our region and we got more yesterday.

Like everyone else, I'm ready for spring!

Have a safe and happy day!

I like Thursdays: February 18, 2021

Prayers for all our friends and fellow citizens down south who are dealing with so much inclement weather.

Well it's snowing again.  Yesterday as I prepared for another storm, I decided to change the seasonal decor.   I packed away all the winter decor and changed to a spring/summer theme.  That change includes the header on my blog (above) which is the wall hanging in my living room now.  And even any wintry paintings were removed!

Still it was a better week for me.  The knee is slowly healing and I'm hoping by the end of the month I can walk the dog (weather permitting).  Today is "I like Thursday" and I hope all my internet friends are safe with the crazy weather in the states.  On Thursdays we post things we like and share positive energy on the internet.  Our hostess is Lee Anna and you can see more happy posts on her blog!

I made baked donuts last week for my neighbors and brother.  They have all been helping me so much this winter and I wanted to thank them in a Fastnaght (Pennsylvania Dutch donut) way.  If you decide you want to bake some, I recommend Ina Garten's recipe.  Very easy and they were good!

Mom's puppy Kerry continues to grow and plays with Scout daily (except on snow days).

That's Kerry on the left.  Look how big she has gotten!

Some of their favorite games are keep-away.  This day it was "Keep Away Kong" a toy that Scout rarely finds interest in except when Kerry wants it! 

This week I've been trying to do some sewing on the sewing machine.  Normally I don't do chain piecing, I like getting up and down in the sewing room but I prepared a lot of my blocks for chaining to keep my knee rested.

Of course Scout helped :)

Pretty flowers from brother for Valentines Day!

I'm so happy and proud that my niece Christina is a crafter like us!  She is my favorite like this week.  Check this out--she made this bed for her cats!!  Can you believe it?  I'm not sure if this is knitted or crocheted but I'm sure impressed with this project.  She said the cats were fighting over them!

Now she is crocheting a large blanket for her couch:

I'm so excited that someone in the next generation is joining the handmade club!

Have a safe and happy day!

Happy Valentines Day!

 

Have a sweet and lovely day!

I Like Thursdays: February 11, 2021

 Well I missed last week's post mostly because I was exhausted and sore.  Scout has been ill too and we've had some sleepless nights.  She's on an antibiotic now and has pain medicine for her infected glands.  We still have some rough nights but I think she is on the mend.

The snow continues to fall here in our valley.  We received another 2 inches last night.

I wouldn't be happy with the snow but now with my sprained knee, it freaks me out more.  But here's what I'm grateful for this week:  wonderful neighbors and family who have been helping me out.  Last week I asked my neighbors next door if their son could just dig some of the snow from the backyard for Scout to have a place to do her business.  Then my brother took me and Scout to the vet.  When we finally got back, there was a wonderful path and backyard space cleared out for her.  All three of the family had dug out a wonderful space for her.  They wouldn't accept any payment and have been coming over routinely every time we get more snow.  

The neighbors across the street have been digging out the front and although I pay them to do that, I am so grateful to have their assistance.

Lastly my brother who lives down the street has been doing all kinds of things to help keep me and Scout going.  

I am grateful for the kindness of all these people.  It is awful to be unable to help myself or even use my sewing machine but I know this could be so much worse.

Other things I am grateful for:

A sweet valentine from my friend Pam who always sends the most charming cards!  I also received this heart postcard from my friend Sam!  Such happiness in the mail!

My brother took Scout and I to my Mom's for a visit.  It appears that Mom's pup Kerry is part goat.  The higher the snow mound, the more she loves traveling up it!

Scout and I enjoyed the Puppy Bowl on Sunday.

She preferred the sections of the program that featured the kittens.

We were glad to watch the puppy bowl.  As it turned out, Ruff Vs. Fluff turned out to be a much better game than the actual superbowl 😁

Stay safe and have a great week!

Checking in

I've been recovering from a fall on ice I took earlier in the week.  I'm lucky.  I'm sore as heck but I can move so no breaks.  I have all the supplies I need and the last few days, my brother has been picking up Scout to have play dates with Kerry.  

For now, I just need to rest.  That means avoiding the steps to the sewing room so no sewing this week.

 Unfortunately, more snow is arriving tomorrow.

42 days until spring.  I freaking can't wait!

Snow Days

 So the snow began Sunday afternoon...

And it just kept snowing...

And snowing...

We got somewhere between 27-30 inches.  I kept paths and a bathroom spot cleared for Scout in the backyard.  My kind neighbors took care of the front.  I shoveled 7 times just on Monday.

Today I have to do clean-up in the house.  I can also finally take Scout for some mini-walks outside.  I'm not sure how much sewing I will get done this week.  

Have a safe and happy day!

Try, try, try again

 It's snowing!  I want to thank the mid-western states and the southern states for this week's pretty snow.  From what I heard on the tv, the two storm fronts will converge right here in the Lehigh Valley and slightly north of us.  Should be a fun coupld of days!

Today I attached my third cross border for the Stay At Home Round Robin.  This week we were to add crosses as our borders and you can actually see what some of the good quilters did over at Emily's at The Darling Dogwood blog!

  I freely confess, I had some real challenges with my choices.  One border was too busy.  Then I decided to imitate Diann at Little Penguin who imitated Pat at Life in the Scrap Patch but the colors I used were too strong.  It seemed like everything I  tried distracted from the centerpiece.  I undid stitches more than anything.  Anyway, I was looking at Roseanne's piece (go to Darling Dogwood) and decided to somewhat imitate her.

This border is still not right to me but I'm going to reduce the side pieces (easy enough) once I see what the new border is tomorrow.  I also want to embellish this piece and want some spots were I can put buttons and doo-dads.  So at least this part is done now.  

Have a safe and happy day!

More Rainbow Blocks!

 Finished off my rainbow blocks of pink today.  I'm doing blocks as part of So Scrappy's Rainbow Scrap Challenge!  I'm hoping to make a baby quilt with my blocks.  I'm so grateful these are paper pieced.  I have enough challenges with other projects right now.  

Looking forward to the new color for February!  YELLOW!!! Yippee!