Transformed, Indeed!

It's been a very interesting couple of days....but more on that in a minute.

On our way to my parents' place, we stopped briefly at our friends' place to pick up newspapers (for the wood stove) and a toaster oven, and at our daughter's place to drop of some plants (from Lyn) and a huge canvas I wasn't going to be using. On our way out of Guelph, we made a stop at our investor's place to drop off our tax info. As we were leaving, I saw this building. I love what they did to make it attractive and interesting to looks at.

So....what made the couple of days interesting? To begin, we were only planning on being there over night. When we arrived, my mother was looking jaundiced and very unwell, was feverish, and was hardly able to respond coherently to questions. She also had a large lump and bruise on her forehead as she'd passed out and fallen in the bathroom. My father, who is very limited in his strength and mobility, had to work for almost 30 minutes to get her up off of the floor. He also told me that my mother's surgeon wanted me to call his office, where I learned that they were wanting me to get my mother to KW's Grand River Hospital as they felt they needed to replace the stent in her pancreas again. She'd only had this one inserted 1-1/2 months ago, and they're supposed to last 3 months. She got admitted and the surgery was to happen the next day (yesterday). I was to pick her up late in the afternoon yesterday. It was shocking the transformation the procedure provided. Yes...she was fragile and tired, but she was coherent and more animated again. I have to say, it was SUCH a relief to see this transformation!!! Even so, I feel like I need to make the 5 hour trek each week now....for my own peace of mind and to do a few things to make day-to-day easier for my mother.

While we were at their place, I took a couple of photos of some art by the family. The painting of the daffodils was completed by my mother's uncle. I have always liked this painting. The painting is so old that some of the paint is coming off the canvas, but it's still very attractive to me :)

Over the course of her life, my mother has engaged in a number or artistic endeavours. Several years ago, she worked on paper tole. One of the pieces she made was of this indigenous women. Beautiful...but not even her best work. I'll have to share a photo of what I think was her best work....another day :)

My mother being in a much better place this morning, we felt that we could both head home (I had wondered if I might need to stay longer while Steve came home to go to work on Saturday). We were pleased to find that most of the ice was off the lake.

We also found this!!!

The squirrel(s)...probably the red...had chewed a hole right through our deck bin to access the seeds we store there. >:(  It's one thing when they keep cleaning out the feeders, but when they chew through the deck box!!!

As I look out this evening, there are big, fluffy flakes falling :(

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

Trying Again....Four Agreements For Life

Lol...before I "Publish" my post, I really should check to be sure I've included what the title alludes to. I usually set my title before I start typing. I didn't realize, until just now, that I totally gapped on what I wanted to talk about yesterday. So...I'll try that again. You know what they say about "If at first you don't succeed..."

Every once in a while, I visit Pinterest to see what's new. Once the novelty wore off, I usually only went to it if there was something specific I was looking for...like building ideas for a pantry shelf. The other day when I visited the site, an inspirational page came up. I saved it to my "Inspirational" board, and then I thought...why not use this as a discussion piece for my blog that day. It's called "The Four Agreements". They are definitely good premises to live by.

While I like all 4 agreements, the last one really spoke to me: ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST I always told my students NOT to measure themselves against someone else's best. Rather, they needed to measure themselves against their previous best. Those discussions about their work often became their "Next Steps"....what they could do better or differently next time.

What agreement speaks to you???

Today was SUCH a gorgeous day! We were able to keep the sliding door open ALL day!

This morning, when we had a coffee break on the deck, we could see that the dock was just barely free from the ice.

By this afternoon, it was MUCH more free :)

And then Steve noticed something that got him quite excited. You can just make it out in the photo.

There's a large, long crack in the ice that goes all the way across. YAY! Won't be too long before the ice is gone.

Because I was very busy taking care of "house" stuff today, I did not get any sewing or painting done today. And tomorrow, I am heading south for an overnight with my parents (my mother has been unwell and I want to check in and do some jobs/errands for her). While there, I won't be able to blog....their technology does not extend beyond their TV.

On that note, I wish you all a very good night....and a lovely tomorrow :)

TTFN

Four Agreements For Life

Do Pileated Woodpeckers migrate? I must look that up. We didn't hear them all winter, but have been hearing them for the past couple of weeks. Last winter, the top of a tree on the loop broke away. This year, it seems a Pileated Woodpecker (PW) has been ver busy on the remaining trunk.

They are rather fixated when they get an idea in their head. Our first year living here, we had one literally "loving" himself in the window of the garage. He was flying back and forth between a tree and the window ledge. We ended up having to put up a PW metal silhouette to stop him from coming back. Hydro One had to do the same to a hydro pole on our lot....after they replaced the pole. The PW had pecked a hole in the pole large enough to nest in it. :o

Steve has been busy the last few days moving wood from the frames along the driveway to the wall under the deck and next to the slider downstairs....getting ready for next winter. He now has it all moved. 

Each year, it's a multi-step process. Most of the wood that has been seasoning for the last year gets moved into the wood shed and under the deck. The new wood gets dropped of in large piles. The large piles get stacked along the driveway, and along the sides of the garage. Following all that, some of the seasoned wood gets further split into kindling, and gets stacked into shelving next to the woodshed. 

In anticipation of some of the seasoned wood getting split into kindling, the neighbour (who supplies our firewood) brought over a wood-splitter for us to borrow....and a table to save our backs from so much bending :) Our neighbour is SUCH a sweet guy! We are so lucky to have the people we have around us!

I managed to finish all of the blocks for my Hip Hop quilt....which was my commitment for this month's UFO Club.

My plan is to use these blocks to make a lap-quilt. As I was finishing the blocks and putting them on the display wall, I began to realize that just the large blocks...with some sashing between...will make a large enough lap-quilt. I will save the small blocks for something else....maybe a baby quilt.

I've also been working on painting the barn blocks for on the property. The white and yellow sections have already had 3 coats and still look like they might need at least one more.

For the blue and white one, I'm thinking I'd like to add a darker blue for the triangles and maybe a minty green for the small squares. For the white/purple/yellow one I'd like to add some light slate blue in the triangles between the purple and white. After that, I'm not sure what to do. Any suggestions???

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

Quilt Blocks And Barn Blocks

 When I was doing my usual routine over coffee this morning, I saw this on my Instagram feed.

It reminded me of Steve and his additions to grocery lists. I learned very quickly to check my lists before leaving the house in case I needed something to be decoded. For example....do you have any idea what "bovine regurgitated by-product" is??? If I hadn't asked him, I would not likely have come home with milk.

I also saw this, and thought it was very good advice to live by. It's about flipping your perspective to the positive :)

Today, I worked on two quilting projects.....but only one involved sewing. My UFO Club project was to finish the blocks for a project I signed up for 2 years ago. It's called Hip Hop. The pattern was designed by Wanda from Thimbles & Things. When I stopped sewing today, I only have 3 large blocks and 3 small blocks left to do.

The other "quilting project" I worked on was the barn blocks I began the other day. Today, I chalked in the lines for the "seams".

Then, I used thin painter's tape to ensure those lines would remain black once I paint the sections out. It'll end up looking a bit like stained-glass.

I also got the white sections painted, but didn't take a picture of it. I'll update that tomorrow. At this point in the evening, it's time to put my feet up and relax a bit.

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

Mind Over Bladder

 For some reason, I was up quite early this morning....before 7:00 even. Steve was shocked! I have no idea why. I'm generally not up until 8:00ish....sometimes even 8:30.

Being up that early gave me the opportunity to have 2 cups of coffee before Lady Jade came over to lick my arm...suggesting it was time to hit the streets of Almaguin. 

Heading down the driveway, I noted that the "swamp" area between our place and my neighbour Lyn's has pretty much fully melted. I wonder how long it will be before we begin to hear the peepers singing. I absolutely love this aspect of spring. While the incessant sound at night of the frogs singing might bother some people, for me, it lulls me to sleep. :)

As Jade and I were passing the severed property, we noted that there was much activity going on. We could hear a chainsaw at work...even heard one quite large tree drop. Although the photo angle doesn't show it, there are bins and piles of gravel at the site as well. I'm wondering if the owner is getting ready to build.

As we headed up the large hill going out to the highway (having descended the second large hill first), the run-off was running quickly and was VERY vocal. Two cups of coffee prior to the walk, and the sound of water running along the ditch as I walked, certainly tested me. It was definitely mind over bladder (rather than mind over matter). I had a few concerns about getting back home on time. In case you're wondering, I did make it....just!

I spent some time today preparing the boards for my Quilting Barn Blocks project. First was putting on a coat of primer, and then 2 coats of black (where the seams will show through). I'll let the boards cure for a day or so before beginning painting the quilt blocks.

In between all of that, I managed to get the blocks completed for this month's homework for Long Time Gone. I'm getting short on the creamy fabrics and two of the purple fabrics, so I'm glad we are getting close to finishing the blocks. Hopefully, I have enough left for the remaining blocks yet to be done. :/

It's very hard to see that there are purples in the blocks....they look black here :(

On the afternoon walk, Jade and I met up with Lyn and Molly (Jade's bestie and Lyn's French Bulldog). We both had a chuckle and both had to take this photo.

This is Kaiser (another friend of Jade's) who belongs to our neighbours Walt and Rachel. He looks so comfy in "Dad's" chair. He's climbed up and settled in while Walt was busy splitting wood. He's such a cutie!!! Looks like Walt is getting ready to change the tires on his vehicles, too!

And on that note, I wish you a very good night!

Always Something New

 Almost every day up here....as long as you are open to it or look for it....there is something new to marvel at :)

This morning when I got downstairs, there was a low hanging fog/mist over the lake. It was truly a marvel to see.

As per our usual routine, we headed out to walk Her Ladyship after finishing our first cup of coffee and playing On The Day on the local radio station. Although there are still some mounds of snow around, much of the snow has melted away. The water is definitely running along the ditches. Where the water was running under the snow earlier this week, the snow has virtually melted and the water is running openly down the ditches. Of course, as she often does, Jade felt the need to get into the running water. Honestly....she's as bad as my kids were around spring run-off and puddles!!!

Aren't your paws getting cold, Jade???

When we got back home, the weather was so lovely that we decided to enjoy a second cuppa out on the deck. This is an almost magical time of Spring for us. We were able to sit out in our T-shirts....me barefooted, and yet there's still ice on the lake. 

After our coffee, we headed into town to run a few errands, including a new pair of shoes for Steve. Upon returning, I pretty much "couch surfed" for much of the rest of the day. I don't often have significant issues with my fibromyalgia, but for some reason, I was quite sore this afternoon. I usually just soldier on through my issues, but today I caved and allowed myself just to relax. I did still manage to join Steve  in walking Jade this afternoon. Still feeling tired and sore this evening, though.

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN

Stisted Stitchers

Today, as we usually do on Wednesdays, Lyn and I got together for some sewing. This time, however, we decided to head to the Aspdin Hall to rejoin our old sewing friends the Stisted Stitchers. Once COVID closed things down, we were no longer able to meet each Wednesday. Once things began to open up again, the group began to meet again, but neither Lyn nor I were entirely comfortable opening ourselves up to groups....especially during the winter when people are more likely to get sick. But now....Spring has sprung, and we were ready.

It's surprising how much you have to think about when you are leaving your normal sewing space. What project will I work on? What do I need to remember to take with me so that I can do the job? What shall I take for lunch? SO much to think about....because it's too far to hop home (like if I'm at Lyn's place or she's at mine) and get what you need. And getting it into the car!?!?! My new sewing machine is definitely NOT lightweight! Still, I managed all of it, and didn't forget anything :)

It was so nice to see the ladies, and to see what they all were working on. Eileen was working on rebinding an old quilt.

Eva was working on a "Whimsical Bicycle" pattern. It's not by Laura Heine, but it reminds me of her patterns.

Elaine (not Theriault) was working on Christmas blocks.

Barb was working on what I believe she called a UFO. I really like the colour way of her blocks.

Lori had a flimsy ready to layer. That hot pink adds such a nice punch of colour to the quilt.

Lyn was working on a small table runner filled with blue and white half-square triangles.

The rest of the ladies were working on a special project....a quilt in the colours/theme or the Ukraine, which they plan to donate to a family that will be coming to live in the area. The pattern they are using is stunning!

As for myself, I was working on one of my UFOs.....but I can't post the picture for it yet :)

When I got back home and got everything unloaded and put away, I was hit with a wave of tiredness. Did you know that gravity really works? Yep! The couch pulled me in and I had a nap!

Tonight...it's raining here. And according to TWN, it's supposed to be rainy until Monday :o But I am dry and comfy inside....ready to watch Jeopardy.

And on that note, I wish you all a very good night!

TTFN