coyote

There has been a coyote in the back field a couple of times recently so I am worried about letting the cat outside.

She has seen the coyote too and growls as she watches it through the back door glass.  She knows it's not friendly!

I assumed the coyote wouldn't come too close to the house but then there were these tracks in the driveway....

Some are coyote tracks...

But there are deer tracks too...not necessarily from the same time.

Sorry to show gross stuff here. This was in the grass near the driveway. I thought at first it was hair from a skunk, but then I remembered there is a rotting deer carcass out near the road a few feet down from the driveway.   I think this is hair from a deer tail.  That's probably why the coyote was passing through there...for snacking on that dead deer.

I hope the coyote stays away.  I read online they are becoming a problem.  They kill and eat so many small animals and have no predators except for humans.  Their population is growing.

Puss is very alert and very fast...and she is a good tree climber.  She'd better keep her guard up!

a quilt in the works

This quilt I am working on started as one of those clearance priced kits.  When I ordered it a few years ago, I planned to make the pattern that came with it, pictured here, but to add more borders to make a toddler sized quilt.

Back then, when I started cutting the fabric, I really started to dislike the mix of colors.  I like things colorful but these seemed to all be fighting for attention and not even coordinating that well.
Maybe that's why it was so cheap!

And that's why I had bagged it all up and stashed it in the closet to figure out later.

Well, later is now, and it's time to do something with this unfinished project.

My first idea was to use some of the fabrics and use the pattern for a 3 yard quilt like one I made last year.

That turned out just sort of okay looking so I dug around in my stash to try to see what else I could use to make it cuter.  Sashing? Borders?

What if I set the blocks on point and bordered them with this raspberry colored fabric?

I sort of liked this layout below, but there wasn't enough raspberry fabric to also fill in the edges.

What about having some blocks point left and some point right?

Getting closer...how about blocks forming a zig zag with raspberry sashing!

Nope, Puss doesn't care for this layout.

Okay then, let's try this...

Hey! This is the one! I like that it sort of forms a lattice...and that it isn't symetrical.

I sewed it all together and had enough raspberry for borders too. 

Puss approves and declares it to be comfy enough for a snooze.

I also added some stars in the sashing intersections to add a little interest.

Now it is pin basted...

...and ready for quilting.

New Year's Cleaning

It seems like a new year inspires us to clear out the old and refresh and clean our homes.

Judging by the mounds of stuff I saw piled outside the door of the Goodwill store, a lot of people feel this way.  Or maybe they just got so much stuff for Christmas, they have to clear out a place for it.

I decided to wash my kitchen cabinet doors and, at the same time, replace the shelf liner that's been there since the cabinets were new.   I stepped up in quality with this washable shelf liner that I found on Amazon.  Made in USA too.

It's easy to trim with scissors.

Chaos has been conquered and order is restored!

I realized I have a lot of weight in this cabinet.  It's Fiestaware dishes and they are heavy.  I'm never sure how much weight the upper cabinets are meant to hold. I could probably pull out a few of the plates and saucers and store them elsewhere.

Speaking of cabinet cleaning...see in the photo above how my cabinets are mounted a few inches below the ceiling?  It's the way I chose but it does collect grease and dust up there.  I can't really get up there and get my arm in to wipe it off so I just ignore it.

Am I missing something?  What does everyone else do?

I am also working on clearing out my basement.  Apparently, I never met a half full rusty can of paint that I didn't love.  But - no more...out they go!  Well, there are a few more but I didn't want to fill the garbage can up with them.

The mischevious Puss must have discovered a new hiding place when she was in the basement with me.

Later, after I came upstairs, Lonnie and I heard a crashing noise.  We had no idea where it came from or what it could be.  When I flipped on the basement light there stood a very guilty looking kitty.

She couldn't help but to lead me to the scene of the crime.

Broken flourescent lights and torn insulation...plus the light fixture was separated and hanging from it's wires!

I figure she must have climbed from the middle of the stairs on to an air duct and from there wiggled between the ceiling and the insulation.  When the insulation ripped loose, she must have jumped on or tried to grab the light fixture, knocking the bulb out.  

Such a big catastrophe for such a small cat.   I checked her little feets for glass splinters but she was unscathed.   Surely she won't try this again!

Here is something that I though was funny.  When I go to the grocery I take my own bags.  I always just put them on the moving belt first then load my groceries on there.

On this particular day, when I finished unloading my cart, I turned around to see the bag boy using plastic bags.  As I was telling him that I had brought my own bags I glanced down to see that he had bagged up my reusable bags!

He was embarrased of course and I guess new to the job.  I told him I had never seen such an effecient bagger!