WHERE’S WENDY NOW?

I received a text from my neice tonight asking me where I was so that she could send me my annual Christmas card. It got me to thinking about the children’s book, Where’s Waldo. 

Here’s a little trivia for you...did you know that it has been just over 31 years since the Where’s Waldo books made their appearance? I have several friends that ask where I have been..they keep checking out my blog for something new and it is just the same old news. I know it is not 31 years since my last appearance but it has been awhile.

If I show you a couple pictures I know you will guess right away...

Yup! You guessed it! Back in Arizona for the winter!

By the way you will need to look close at the first picture to see,  but one of these palm trees is not like the other.

“One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?” 

Courtesy of Sesame Street

Before I give you the answer, how many of you just sang that song? I wonder how many of you will be humming it for the next three hours..lol

Did you notice the palm tree that looks like it grew straight up into the street light pole? Well it is not really a palm tree, it is a cell phone tower!

Here is a closer look.

Some are even harder to recognize.

I think it is so cool that they try to blend them into the surroundings, Lord knows there are tons of them around and it’s hard enough trying to get a decent photo without power lines and telephone poles in them. 

Ok...see what happens when I stay away so long! I just go on and on and on!

I missed you guy(s)

I miss reading some of my favourites when I don't blog too.

So what’s new?

Me? Oh not much with me... in the midst of packing up the cottage for the season, we sold our home, and have a buyer for our beautiful place at the beach. (That all happened in 5 days) Because we had already committed to spending the winter in Phoenix, we had just 6 weeks to pack up a house we had lived in for 39 years, and let me tell you our house was not big but it was full! And before you say it, no I am not a hoarder! After all the packing, we had over 5000 km to drive besides house hunting and all the business that entails and stopping to see my brother in Northern Ontario. We stopped in to see our son and family and we were successful in finding a house we liked so we bought a new home in Ontario. 

I told Mr. O I felt like I had been thrown into the tv show Amazing Race!

What a whirlwind! 

Our new home is a couple hours north of Toronto so I am still going to be a country gal, which suits me to a “T”. It brings us closer to family although I will be leaving part of my heart behind, because I have been blessed with the most precious friends a girl could ever hope to meet. I hope they miss me so much they all come to see me! A couple at a time though because we didn't  buy a hotel! <grin>

It is a lovely brick bungalow, just 8 years old, open concept, and my knee will be very appreciative of having a laundry room on the main floor, and yes I will have space for a new quilting studio, and it too will be on the main level. 

AKA. My quilt studio!

Here is a little peek. I will enjoy the front and back deck and although it will be lots of changes ( and if you know me well, you know I am not fond of change!), but I am sure we will be comfortable and happy there. After all home is where you make it. 

I have been in our rental here in Phoenix about 10 days and I still cant remember where things are in the kitchen, and my sewing area...don’t even ask! 

I have managed to do a little cross stitching on a project that is long overdue to be finished

It is a portion taken from a painting (below)by German artist, Heinrich 

Hoffmann

I also started (barely) a lap quilt from a kit I purchased last winter from 

   www.fatquartershop.com

It will be quite pretty when finished although the pattern photo does not do it justice. My friend Denise made it last year and sent me a photo of it and I instantly knew I wanted to make it.

Isn’t it pretty? I asked her if I could use it as a screen saver/wallpaper on my phone and it has been there ever since. I decided it was time to get at it. The other thing I have to finish up is my 7 Letters quilt. If I don’t lallygag too much I should be able to finish it by the end of the week.  I really have no idea how it should be quilted, so if you have any ideas I would love to hear them. 

Well I will leave you with a few more pics I snapped while on my walk this afternoon. I walked 5 km, and Mr O biked 50 miles....what a slacker!

“DON,T FEAR CHANGE. You may lose something good, but you may also gain something great.”

Author unknown.

A PLACE TO STICK IT

I am not sure just where the days go, but I never seem to get all the things done that I plan to. While Mr. O was still working. I would get up every morn ing with him and about 5:20. He left for work just before 6 and I would have my coffee and mess around on the computer for a bit but I just felt like a got a good start on the day, but now even if I wake at 5 or so I crawl back to bed and stay there til at least 7:30, and although it is only 2 hours later I feel lazy and seem to be playing catch up all day. Today I did the regular stuff, dishes, made the bed, straightening up, and I managed to pick a few blueberries to fill up our little bowl that we keep in the fridge for morning cereal and snacking. I got half the deck stained...it’s one of those jobs you have to do in stages so you can still get in and out of the house because the deck area takes in both entry ways. It has been so hot and humid that it really was not great staining conditions but today was sunny and a bit breezy so I thought I best get it done.after those jobs were taken care of, I got to play with my fabric and sewing machine. 

I decided to take a break from the quilt I have been working on and make some fun stuff. 

I have a Pinterest Board titled, A Place To Stick It. I”m sure it would not take to much effort to figure out what the board is all about...

See that blue one in the bottom right corner...a friend made me that one in those exact colours.

Today I decided to make a few of the fun things I had pinned. 

This one “cracks me up” no pun intended.

This next one is prepped and ready for blanket stitching...I think it may be numbered among my favourites.

As you can see, some are cottons and some are wool, so I am getting a nice variety.

Some time back several different bloggers and professional quilters had a bit of a challenge going on. Make a pin cushion a day for 30 days. I thought it seemed like a fun idea but never seemed to get around to joining in the fun. Well I decided that I wanted to try a few of the ideas I had pinned and this is the result.

Carrie Nelson has a new book coming out that I may just have to add to my library. 

Back at home in my sewing room I have a wicker basket filled with thimbles and pin cushions. I have donut pincushions, cupcake pincushions, scrappy ones, bottle cap ones, wrist ones, but I thought I could add a few more to the collection. I also have a little space left on my bookshelf and This book may be just the ticket to help me.

I closed things up around midnight, and wondered in to record the events of the day. That’s all folks. That’s as exciting as my Saturday nights get.

WHAT DAY IS IT?

We had a very rainy Thursday and it was a welcome change from all the extreme heat we have been tolerating lately. After coffee, breakfast and my morning routine, the plan was to try to finish sewing the remainder of the prepped pieces into blocks. My goal was to finish all 36 blocks today.

Today was a good day for a crock pot supper...once the meal was prepped, there was nothing to do but sew and wait for things to cook. I had prepped several batches of cabbage rolls earlier and frozen them in batches and today was going to be a cabbage roll day! 

Don’t you love having prepped meals in the freezer . Perfect for a busy day. I have a friend who says it’s like having money in the bank, and I totally agree.

Cabbage rolls and date squares for dessert, not a gourmet feast but good hearty food! 

Before I go on about my sewing, I have to show you my new travel coffee cup. A couple weeks ago my daughter texted me that she found an online shop that had several designs of YETI cups on sale for half price. They one I just had to have, so I said, “if you put in an order, order one for me too.”

Mine arrived today!

I just know my coffee will taste great in my new cup, and it is perfect for sewing days not just for travel! 

I sewed most of the afternoon away only coming in for bathroom breaks and checking on supper. I was making progress. After supper Mr.O offered to do dishes and I went back out to sew.

I was motivated to keep at it as I saw the blocks starting to pile up. 

Finally the last one was done, and I shut things down for the night, with a plan to come in and write a short blog post before bed. My goodness, when I looked at my watch it was well past midnight and Mr O had gone to bed! (Time to turn the calendar page!)

As I said, my plan was to finish my blocks “today” and even though this is officially Friday, my blocks are finished and it is still “today”

Enough Already!

I’m sure I am not the first one this summer to say it, but it is been just a tad warm! Enough with the extreme weather! When we arrived home from Arizona on the 20th of April, we still had a ton of snow.

I’m sure you wouldn’t be surprised to know that Bathurst had the record snowfall for Canada. Over 13 feet up till the first day of Spring but we had a few more storms after that. We still had snow the end of May and although it disappeared quickly, we totally bypassed Spring and went headfirst into a heatwave! We are into our second month of above average temps and I for one, would not say no to a two or three day stretch  with maybe 25 degree  temps. Thankfully we have AC in the trailer but my sewing area does not and I have been neglecting my quilting this summer. I have a few handwork projects on the go, and when the heat gets too much, I stay inside and stitch. 

All of the centre is stitched and I have to cut and stitch the “tongues” to place all around the outside.

I also have another wool and embroidery project on the go.

When I don't feel like stitching I work on knitting a pair of socks. I am on the home stretch...one sock finished and the other one is over half done. The heel is turned and I am working on the foot.

This week I decided to bite the bullet and tough it out so I have been working on a project that my sister and I started in Arizona in February. She is using browns and greys, taupes, creams with rich red/orange for her accent colour. I on the other hand decided to use approximately 100 different colours and various light prints with a black accent. Although they are the same pattern they will definitely look different!

I have 13 blocks finished and up on my design wall, and I’m pretty sure I am going to love it. However I have a long way to go before seeing it finished.

Please excuse the slightly nasty looking ironing board cover. So far I have cut and pieced 588 strips of fabric and then cut them up again into squares. BUT I am a long way from done. 

I have another 539 strips organized in groups and ready to sew together. 

If you have a mathematical mind you are probably way ahead of me, if however you are like me, you need to be told that both these numbers are divisible by 7.  588 divided by 7 = 84  and 539 divided by 7 = 77

I just saved you a few minutes, because you were probably looking for your calculator to check and see if I was correct. 😉

All totalled the quilt should have 2,401pieces according to the pattern. In case you are wondering, yes that is divisible by 7. It is a pattern by Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co.

My goal is to have this quilt all assembled and ready before we close up the cottage for the season, so I hope we get a break in the weather soon. It is too warm to quilt in the heat of the day so I work late into the night.(that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it) I am going to have to kick it into gear though.

This has been a nice refreshing beverage with 0 calories, that I have been enjoying in this heat. I was a Perrier girl but I think this one has won me over!

Icy cold!!! Can you see the beads of sweat on the can? If you try it, let me know what you think.

Well friends it is 1:45 am and I have lots to do tomorrow. We’ll talk later.

the