I Like Thursdays: November 9, 2017

I feel like I have a lot to be grateful for this week. 

My first thankful item concerns my friend's grandson who was recently hospitalized.  Michael had a heart transplant when he was only a year old.  He spent his fifth birthday in the hospital.  Gratefully, he is now stable and we just learned this morning that he is not rejecting his heart.  God is good!

Scout.  She continues to improve but our world is considerably smaller since she is in the new phase of heat.  She can get pregnant now so our walks are limited to small areas of our neighborhood where we know the dogs and we are constantly on the lookout for boy-dogs approaching.  Fortunately, we have Greta to play with at my Mom's.  The two dogs have been playing daily and Scout is no longer intimidated by Greta.  They are best pals!

My neighbor and sewing compadre Carol are going to have a table at a local craft sale on Sunday!

The sale is at St. Catharine's of Siena on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.   Carol will be selling her aprons (she made a ton of them one winter when she was stressed out) and I will be selling my greeting cards.  If nothing else, we should have fun!  Here's a blurry photo of one of my racks:

Carol and I have a new project for the 2018 year.  I was inspired by professional quilter and writer, Eleanor Levie.  I like Eleanor a lot and have a number of her books.  She was at our guild again this past year and I was so inspired by one of her quilts. It was a journal quilt and each week she finished a different block to reflect what was going on in her life that week.  Here is (still another) blurry photo of the quilt.

I'd like to try to try some new techniques and play with around this idea.  Carol is willing to join me.  I'm hoping it will be a lot of fun!
I finished another scrap quilt top last week.  It combined scraps from three different quilts I made for teenaged girls:

Tomorrow is going to be unseasonably cold and our annuals will finally die.  The high will only be 37 F degrees and the low in the teens.  Sounds like a day of sewing and baking to me!  Have a wonderful day!

As always, be sure to visit the other I like posts by visiting LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color!

I Like Thursdays: November 2, 2017

I like that Scout is doing better.  She had a reaction to the antibiotic and was a very sick little girl for a few days but she is finally doing better!  

She is back to her  wriggly self!   💖

Nicole was home!  She loved her bright quilt and we had so much fun together last week.   She is my cousin that was in Houston alone during the hurricane.  We were all so worried about her.  Yes, she is much younger than my son.  My mother was quite a bit older than her siblings and my aunt and two uncles grew up more as siblings (one of my uncles is 6 weeks younger than me).   I just wish she lived closer!

STILL NO FROST!

It's November 2nd and most things (including annuals) are still blooming! 

Hydrangeas in November!  The weird thing is that many our trees are still green and usually we are in full color and raking.  I'll take it, we had one cold day yesterday and I realized that I'll accept a warmer fall.

Speaking of cold, I LOVE silk long underwear!  If my legs feel cold, I feel cold.  The silks make me all warm and toasty.

I like a new addition to our "I like Thursdays": What About Rheema

This blogger lives north of me in the Poconos and I'm enjoying her blog :)

Be sure to check out all the other bloggers at LeeAnna's blog and enjoy some positive energy today!  Have a wonderful day!

Scout

I'm hoping for a quiet weekend. Things here have been chaotic and I would like to get some sewing in if possible.

Scout went into the vet to get spayed on Wednesday.  She was supposed to get fixed earlier in the month but then the ER said that my arm was broken and it was set incorrectly.  I cancelled the spaying and also some lectures anticipating that I would be restricted by a cast.  WRONG.  By the time I could see the orthopedic, I learned the radiologist report was incorrect --REALLY incorrect.  I wasn't broken or requiring the surgery my husband predicted.  So I lost money on cancelled lectures, had to reschedule Scout's spaying, and have been generally annoyed by this whole situation.

My brother and others have been advocating to wait on spaying Scout because there is now some medical thought on the benefits of waiting.  However, I live in a city, in the middle of a park region and two houses from a rat terrier stud.  I DO have to worry about stray dogs that are dumped in the park and irresponsible dog owners.  I don't want my sweet 8 month old puppy to get pregnant and I certainly don't want puppies.  Ultimately, the vet said the prevailing medical thought is that the pros and cons are about equal.  So I rescheduled Scout's spaying for the next available date, last Wednesday.

I've been on pins and needles that past week worried that she would go into heat and breathed a sigh of relief when we dropped her off.  Generally I have good instincts and this was another time when those instincts were correct.  The tech vet said "have you noticed any of these signs of heat?" and I hadn't.  But I also told her it wouldn't surprise me if the vet told me she was going into heat.  I held my breath and hoped for the best.

The doc called early in the afternoon.  He had checked her for signs of heat and hadn't seen any.  Scout was put under anesthesia, shaved, and then ....they found she had a bladder infection and there was ACK, a sign of bleeding at her vulva.  The surgery was cancelled and we picked up Scout after the anesthesia wore off.  Yeh I had to pay for the anesthesia, etc.  

So now our girl is in heat and boy is this a pain!  I've had to cover everything in my house (the bleeding isn't that bad but still).  We tried a diaper on her but it traumatized her even more and we gave up on that.  The whole process is longer than I knew.  After this ten day phase, we have to worry even more about her getting pregnant.  I've read that dogs generally don't want to mate during this first phase, it's when the second phase begins (and no spotting) that instinct kicks in to mate (another 10 days).

Scout can only be walked during low dog traffic times and even so, I'm carrying pepper spray with me just in case.  The good news is that she is getting along better with my Mom's poodle, Greta, and they are playing every morning.

Scout is still a teeny weeny puppy.  She only weighs 36 lbs (versus Greta at 79) but the vet is confident she is 85 % grown at this point.  She will just be a smaller standard poodle.  She seems to be responding well to her antibiotics and I am keeping an eye on her for infection as well.  She appears bewildered by what is going on inside of her and is more clinging.

We will get her spayed after Christmas and for now, we are just dealing with things as best we can.

But I'd be lying if I didn't admit:  I'm still really mad at the ER hospital.  

I like Thursdays, October 26, 2017

Welcome to the weekly check-in of positive energy!  Our hostess is LeeAnna from "Not Afraid of Color" and many wonderful likeable things are posted on this day.  Please check out the others at LeeAnna's blog.

Scout got bathed at Jessa's this week and Jessa had a nice new handkerchief for her.  This fabric Jess bought with Scout in mind.  It has little black poodles on it!  She got the fabric at Joann's and apparently they have the print in aqua, red, and orange.  Oh yeh.  I'm getting some.  I'm already crazy about aqua and have a stash of red poodle fabric anyway.  Check it out!  You can see it here  online.

It's autumn!  That means beautiful colors, sweaters, and of course...

In the spring and fall a big part of my cleaning is pulling things out and deciding what to keep and what to donate.  Here's what my sewing room looks like when I'm in the midst of this chore.  I actually enjoy this.  It was a tradition at my grandmothers' to do this in the fall and spring and I adopted the task even as a young girl.  Didn't wear it in the summer--GONE!  Fabric I'll never use--GONE!  Afterwards, I feel like I'm starting the winter (or summer) with a fresh slate.  It also means I can find things with more ease.

Other things going on?  Well Scout is in heat and she has a bladder infection.  It's a long story and one that I don't want to go in here but we are dealing with everything.

I hope you are having a wonderful week and have a colorful and happy weekend!
Cheers!

I like Thursdays, October 19, 2017

Every dog we've had has found a special place of their own in our home.  Paddie had the long window in the living room that was "her spot", Teddy had an ottoman he lay across, Seamus--well Seamus was easy but he did enjoy his bed.  Our Scout found her spot a few months ago in the dining room. She likes to lay on the blanket chest and peer out from the dining room window.

 It's fun to come home and see her awaiting my arrival:

The Durrells in Corfu are back on television!  Thank goodness for PBS because many of the new shows in the fall line-up just aren't appealing to me or my family.

I finished this scrap quilt last night.  I've been working on it for a while.  I made this one for my cousin who just weathered the Hurricane in Houston.  Her favorite colors are blue and orange.  She came home last night and I hope to get it to her tomorrow.  I love that it is reversible:

It's almost Halloween and I don't know where the time has gone.

I hope you have a wonderful week!  Be sure to link up to LeeAnna at "Not Afraid of Color" for more positive posts!

"I like" Thursdays, October 12, 2017

Well it's another day to dwell on things we like!  Be sure to join LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color to visit all the participants of positive energy.

This has been a busy week for me so my list is brief:

I like ephemera!  Last Saturday I went to the paper show and picked up a bag of goodies for my collection.  Two favorites I got where this print

and two victorian ladies cut carefully out.  Here is one:

Love the plaid!

I'm lecturing again this week and next so I haven't been gardening or even sewing much.  However I do like looking at other people's gardens.  Autumn isn't my favorite time of year and it reflects that in the garden so I'm checking out what neighbors have done to get ideas.  Here are some I like:

That's all for today.  I'm off to the dentist and hope you have a wonderful week!

Poodle Ballet :D

I love how graceful poodles can be and these photographs just made my heart sing!  Enjoy!
Check out this poodle ballet.

All Ready for the Autumn Season!

Scout was at the groomer and doesn't she look pretty?
Jessa (our groomer) shared these photos with me.  Thanks Jessa!

"I Like" Thursdays, October 5 2017

LeeAnna over at Not Afraid of Color instituted this day of positive energy.  Please join her and the others sharing happiness on the internet!

It's baking season!

There's finally enough nip in the air to heat up the ol' oven and get baking!

The temperature has been fluctuating and we've gotten a nice second bloom from some plants.  It would help if we got rain but at least we have no watering restrictions!  Speaking of gardening, I was cleaning up some leaves and found this large European Hornet dead on a stepping stone.  Isn't it amazing?  I like learning and enjoyed reading about it! The thing was huge!  I probably would have thought it was a dragon fly if he had buzzed by.

I continue to try to reduce the number of scraps in my stash, apparently to no avail.  I like how other quilters have been agreeing with me on this matter.  Why do you end up seeming to have more scraps than when you started?  It's like a magic fairy tale where the drawers never dwindle of fabric.  Or maybe it is like a Star Trek episode, "the trouble with tribbles" comes to mind.

So this week I used the Missouri Star Company's "Two Step" quilt pattern.  It was super easy and I think I am going to use that pattern for a Christmas quilt as well.

This was fabric from three different quilts that I made for teenaged girls.  The fabrics went well together but even though this is a nice sized quilt, I have this many strips left:

Drawer still looks full, doesn't it?  So I am going to make 4, 9 or 12 patches (or a variation) until the drawer is empty.  I'd rather have blocks to store than strips at this point and I'm sure I have something in my stash (black or white) to use with the patches.  Another top is WAY more preferable at this point!

Yesterday we had an unexpected visitor, my 84 year old aunt decided to stop by early in the morning.  She is the sister of my Dad and the only relative I have left in that family that is of an older generation.  I'd like to age like her.  She is always busy and hasn't left anything (including cancer, loss of loved ones, limited funds)  stop her from what she feels compelled to do.  She lives for her grandson and the church and is always on the go!
I hope you have a week full of blessings and positive energy!  Have a great day!