This year comes to a close

My quilting group, Crazy Quilters, got together for our holiday party. We joined with another group, Sew Busy, to have a pot luck meal and play games.

Lots of goodies on the buffet table!

Chips and desserts too!  That big cake is a cheesecake. I absolutely had to have a small slice of that.

One member even brought her fancy punch bowl and put together a holiday punch recipe.

We all played a dice game to bet with fabric fat quarters. The winners take all.

Some members bring in their unneeded sewing items, some wrapped, for door prizes. This time there were even a couple of potted plants in packages.

I won this jar of M&Ms by guessing closest as to how many were in the jar.

Yes, it was full at the time but I've eaten a few.

It's a battle dealing with diabetes at Christmas time. The little bag of Hershey Kisses was a holiday treat from the leader of my non-fiction book club.

Then any sense of control over eating sweets went out the window when I received this box of Sharps saddle candies (like Turtles) from the pizza company.

So hard to resist and it's a good quality candy. At least I was able to send a large portion of these home with the Sasquatch.

I got another fun package in the mail that didn't raise my blood sugar...a fabric order from Connecting Threads.  They had a huge sale in November and all these fabrics were $3 per yard. It took them over a month to get caught up shipping orders.

They always package the fabric folded inside-out. Here it is refolded and ready to put away. I certainly didn't need more fabric but who could pass up such a good deal?

I finally got concerned enough about an issue with my heart beating too fast (I have a-fib) and I was also feeling a new fluttering sensation occasionally.

I went to my cardiologist and he had the nurse fit me with a Holter monitor to wear for 3 days.

These monitors are so different than just a few years ago. They used to be a black box sort of thing that you wore from a strap hanging around your neck.

Now it's a stick-on device that you remove at home after 3 days, then just mail it in the included box. So easy. Okay to shower with it on too.

Last year I cleared out and donated a lot of Christmas decorations.

I now just have a few of my favorite and simple things left. 

Just right for a quiet peaceful holiday.

The Sasquatch made some festive holiday drinks to celebrate.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Lots of snow days!

 Snowfall on December 2nd let us know winter season is here. 

Pretty to look out and see every branch and little twig on the trees frosted with a layer of snow.

The sky was gray and gloomy. All color erased - almost.  

And the snow stayed around, with a long cold spell.

Then, on December 8th...more snow! Big fluffy flakes fell quickly!

So cozy to sit in the recliner, covered with my Christmas quilt, watching the snow come down.

On December 12th...more snow!

Quite a bit! You can see how much accumulated here on the chair and flower pot on the back porch.

I'm so glad I don't need to go out in it for any reason...or worry about having the driveway cleared.

The highway department has done a great job keeping the road  here cleared.

One more light snow fell on December 14th. Not so bad because the forecast was for warmer weather so it would all be melting.

Poor Puss found it very irritating...you can tell by how she has her ears turned back. She doesn't like to walk through snow with her dainty little paws.

The Sasquatch and I made a big batch of fried fish. He has been trying out some Weisenberger products so we used their batter mix and hushpuppy mix.

Both were good! The batter clung to the fish and stayed on while frying.

The hushpuppy mix was tasty.

The fish was a big package from Costco so we each had leftovers to eat the next day. 

I forgot to take a picture after it was all cooked.

We had originally planned to do the frying outside on an electric burner but it was too cold to get good results like that...so yes, it left a fried fish smell in the house for a few days.

After we finished a jigsaw puzzle, the Sasquatch bought another that will be a real challenge. It's Van Gogh, Starry Night, and it's double the pieces...2000!

We turned the dining table sideways to make it easier to work on.

Puss keeps us company near by in her bed by the heat vent.

She looks pretty cozy!

Late November

 There has been a bit of activity in the field next door.  They made an attempt to mow down the brushy growth next to the property line.

It was too thick and dense to handle with that equipment.

Looking out the window...you can see how close that property is to my driveway. 

Another day I looked out and saw a truck pulled in there with a garden shed on a trailer. 

I thought at first that it was good news, and that they only wanted a hunting shack over there.

But nope...it was only a shed delivery company parking there...to deliver a shed to the house across the street.

That shed looks like it's missing a wall, but now the homeowner has hung plastic sheeting on that side. I guess for a greenhouse?

Not very attractive.

I need to mind my own business, I guess and focus on happy things.

We did have a lovely rainbow on November 18th. Sort of unusual to see them at this time of the year. I can't remember ever seeing one in that position in the sky. In the summer I see them more over to the right.

Looking out this same window one morning, two small deer munching around on some of the remaining brush line.

The ladies in my quilting group have been busy and productive sewing squares that we will use to make a couple of quilts for donation in 2026.

The mix of everyone's bright fabrics will make a cheerful happy quilt.

The blocks are just laid out here...not joined together yet.

For the first time ever, I got a Buckeye off of my tree. Only one and it's a small one.

The tree has bloomed several times but as far as I know, never developed the buckeyes.

The Sasquatch and I have started working on a jigsaw puzzle. It's something different for us and a good thing to do on these evenings when it gets dark so early.

This one is 1000 pieces.

It's fun and maybe better than sitting like a slug in front of the TV. 

The Sasquatch has already picked up the next one to put together. It's 2000 pieces!

Early fall

 Plumbing!  Seems like I never go too long without some sort of plumbing problem.

I just recently finished paying the water bills for the leak in the line into my house right before I left on vacation. Two months worth. Usually my bill is only their minimum charge per month of $38.

I had heard that the water company would give you a break on your bill when you had a major leak...but no, they don't.

Then another plumbing leak. This time - a shower faucet.

I wanted to switch to using an independent plumber, rather than one of the bigger companies, with their inflexible price lists.

I used Hornback Plumbing, but I learned they have also been bought out by a large service company.

Good service though...on time, polite uniformed plumber. The repair was finished quickly after he had to leave to pick up parts.

I would use this company again.

I haven't made soup in a while so I made a batch of beef, cabbage, and bean soup.

The weather is still nice for sitting and stitching on the back porch.  I finished the Swedish Weaving dish towel.

Some inside sewing too...quilting this throw size quilt.  It's not a patchwork quilt...just some fabric I like with a border sewn around it.

I layered it with batting and this IKEA fabric for the back.  The IKEA fabric is more of a heavier weight decorating type fabric. Easy enough to quilt through though.

I've been seeing some pretty fall color...

The sun was really lighting up this dogwood tree with firey red color.  I can't quite capture the effect with the camera.

One sunny afternoon after a cool spell, the lady beetles were swarming and looking for a place to overwinter. They were all over the back of the house and screen porch. Hundreds or thousands of them. 

So far only a few have made it into the house.

No big problems yet with stink bugs getting inside the house yet this year either.

 I really hate those things. Puss hates them too! She always has to sniff everything she sees...but she knows to give stink bugs a wide berth!

A finished quiilt

 This little quilt is one that I've worked on now and then over the last couple of years.

It's one of those "Three Yard Quilt" patterns. I bought the bundle of fabric at a quilt show years ago.  When I got home I asked myself why I had chosen that black and pink combination. Impulse buying, I guess.

Anyway, it's now a finished quilt, about 46" by 58".

Machine pieced and machine quilted with my usual meandering design. I used a light pink thread for the quilting.

This quilt wasn't made for anyone in particular, and I already have several throw quilts of my own, so I'll probably donate this one.

I pieced some gingham fabric together for the back. That big crease is just a fold line.

I was considering adding some hexagon pieced motifs to the plain pink squares but then decided against it after I stitched a couple together.  

The bright pink flower on the dull pink background - not a good combination.

Puss did a short modeling session with the quilt, even though it's not one of her favorites.

That's okay because I'll give it a machine wash now before donating it.

Late September

 Summer is winding down and I'm certainly glad for the lower temperatures.

I did some pet-sitting for the Sasquatch's cat, "Kitty" while he was out of town.

She is a sweet and friendly cat and eats like a lumberjack! 

I went to an event held by Kentucky Wild to pick up a tee shirt for the Sasquatch.

Kentucky Wild is a membership conservation program sponsored by Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.

There were lots of booths to visit...including one that sold nice looking native plants. I managed to walk away without buying any.

I picked out a nice blue tee shirt for the Sasquatch. 

I arranged for the pool company, Dale's Pools, to winterize and cover the pool.

Thay are fast and reliable. Things always look a bit sad and dreary when the cover goes on. I miss that sparkling water, but it's nice to get a break from pool care.

See those 3 tall zinnias right in the middle of the photo above?  I certainly didn't plant those there. They came up on their own so I just left them. I've been walking around  them all summer.

Below is a pretty plant I'd like to have more of next year. It's a Mole Bean. The Sasquatch started them from seeds. Attractive leaves and blooms, then the brightly colored seed pods develop.

The plant with the red bloom below, is a Cardinal Climber that my friend, Izzy, gave me.

She was worried that it might not grow large enough to develop blooms this year...but it took off quickly, climbing and mounding and covered with pretty red blooms.

I thought I had a photo of it but I only have this one that I took with a Morning Glory blooming close by.  I just love the bright  colors together!

It's been good weather for sitting on the back porch in the evening and doing some sewing.

This is a "Swedish Weaving" project - a dish towel - that I'm learning in a class at the extension office.

It's kind of an old fashioned craft, but fun to learn something different.

I've also sewn the binding on a little quilt.

 

Of course my little companion, Puss, is napping nearby...such curled up cuteness!

Then I made a problem for myself with some un-sewing!  I wanted to remove the back pocket flaps from these new capri pants I'd bought for the cruise.  They seemed to just stick out bumpy and lumpy.

The flaps were really tacked down good and I see threads are broken in the fabric.

Sheesh! Now I need to figure out how to fix this.