tripped up...

I rarely have time to sew in December.  I always end up doing something mindless like inventory.  This year, I've just decided to embrace the month off from the sewing machine and focus on plans for 2015.

  This plan will continue as I sustained a sprained ankle yesterday while crossing the street.  There was a crack in the road that I didn't see because I was focusing on traffic (despite crosswalk, traffic is awful...this is,  after all, a city).  Yes I should have gone to the fabric store instead of taking Seamus on an hour long walk...

Looks like inventory and pattern drafting will continue for now.  Unfortunately, this guy will not be happy:

And of course to top it all off, we will probably have more rain later today and tomorrow; it's tough be Seamus sometimes.  I took this photo the last time it rained.  I know this because that is Seamus' rain towel on the radiator.

Have a wonderful day!

Thanksgiving 2014

The Beards, the Bird, the Babbling....

Another amazing feast prepared by Jessica and Peter!  It was an amazing and hilarious day and the food was out of this world!!!  My son makes the turkey and Jessica is a real "cook from scratch" chef who goes local and organic.  DH is still raving about the food.  It was a great day with family!

Thankful

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday full of love and gratitude!  

Happy Thanksgiving!

First snow of the 2014-14 season!

First snow of the season fell last night.  This is not a good omen for the upcoming winter.

Fortunately, I have a lot of sewing to do in 2015. Beth and I are building a new program and it is big on sewn projects, minimal research.  Right now, I'm doing a lot of machine sewing because I'm still nursing some problems with my left arm.

I cannot even begin to express how uncomfortable I am with these loud colors but a big part of our goal for the next year is going out of our comfort zone.  I probably should have started with something only slightly uncomfortable.  But noooooooooooooo.....I had to just jump into the deep side of the pool.  This weekend I'll visit blogville and see what you all have been up to....Have a safe, happy and WARM day!

Happy Halloween!

From Seamus and I:  Warm wishes for a safe and happy Halloween!

Updates

Yes I've been remiss keeping up with the blog.  There's been a lot happening.  My Mother -In-Law took a fall last May and has been in bad shape since, passed away last Tuesday.  My husband was as prepared as you can be for your Mom to leave this world but the really good news was that his boss kept him stateside during the past few weeks so at least he was home.  
It was a sad week and yet she had no quality of life left and lived a good long life.

I haven't been sewing much lately either.  My left arm, shoulder and neck started bothering me in May and has gotten progressively worse.  I finally got in to see my hand doctor and found out I have a multitude of problems including arthritis (who doesn't at our age???), trigger finger, carpel tunnel (knew I had that), tennis elbow and an impinged rotator cuff.  Finished one round of steroids and am getting the EMG (nerve test) in two weeks.  

It's time for us to turn a page in our lives but we are just taking some time to "be" right now.  I'll try to blog more and keep up with your blogs more regularly.  In the meantime, stay well and be happy!

Exercise IS Good for you...

Seamus and I were on our morning constitutional when we discovered an unadvertised yard sale down the hill.  Good stuff---especially the quilt we got for $10:

 But wait....did I mention?

I got TWO matching quilts...

All this proves that exercise IS good for you...and your quilt collection.

I also picked up a blanket chest for another $10.  More on that later...

Autumn settles in Pennsylvania

Seamus and I are enjoying long walks during this early autumn.   I've been doing a lot of inventory and office work and the jaunts in the parks balance the hours hunched over the computer.  Here are some of our views:

Life in these here parts...

Fall is here in our little city and the flowers are giving their last hurrah.  It has become cooler earlier than normal but no one is complaining about that.  I know I haven't been posting but I've been busy with dogs, mothers, etc.  Never a dull moment here...

Speaking of dogs, Rudy has moved into his forever home and he is very happy!  He loves his forever Dog-Mommy and enjoying playing with her children and her grandchildren.  It's like he is getting a happy puppyhood later in life...

Rudy takes one of Barb's grandson for a walk :)  Barb reports that he is gentle with the little guy and even getting along with the three cats who live at his new home!

The last few weeks, Seamus reminded me of a Victorian woman who had "taken to her bed." He sulked, lived in his crate and was generally anti-social.  It isn't that he doesn't like Rudy, it was just bad timing for both dogs. I am sure they will be best of friends now that they aren't competing for "Mom."

After we left Rudy at his new home, Seamus was a new dog.  Going for long walks with me again, playing, playing and playing...and even getting into some mischief!  Here he is caught in the middle of a garden bed (he was sniffing for some kind of animal there).  I hope to keep up with the blog a little bit better now that we are experiencing Autumn.  Summer here is meant to be lived outdoors and enjoying all the wonders of nature and ...we have done that.  Until family and friends come for the plants they want, I'm leaving the garden for the bees...

  I'm ready to get back to sewing and working on our next project.  Have a wonderful day!