Sunday, December 30, 2012

Sandy Claws

Blue and Iggy have gone to their forever home to live with Janet, Shadow the dog and Oliver. It was traumatic for them at first but they have settled well and are busy eating her out of house and home. Iggy is particularly concerned about his next meal, this is common with strays. Blue amuses himself by tormenting Shadow and pestering Oliver.



This is Sandy, he is about 12 weeks old in this picture and was named (before the storm) for the color of his paws and tummy. Click to enlarge the picture.

The first time I saw Sandy I thought he was a rat. He was living in the storm drain across the road from my house and he was tiny, much too young to be away from his mother. It took me weeks to catch him, unlike Bella who was too sick to run. Fortunately he was not truly feral, just scared and once trapped he transitioned to pampered inside cat very fast. He is still shy with other people and disappears under my bed the minute he hears a knock on the door.

I am told that cats are considered disposable in South Dakota. Unfortunately the same is true in Hawaii. That doesn't make it any easier for me to accept.


Y'all come back!

Saturday, December 29, 2012

A New Year's Wish 1940

Seventy three years ago, on December 27th 1939 the Kansas City Star published a new quilt pattern submitted by Mrs Clarence Welker of Millersville, Missouri. Shown at right.

Back then we women generally didn't get to have an individual identity unless we were spinsters (Def.#1 & 2) but I digress. Della Welker's pattern is shown below.



As you can see the pattern is a simple one and Della called it Thrifty because she was able to find "the three kinds of print and the one-tone pieces required for it" in her scrap bag.

Equally as interesting as the pattern to me was another snippet in the same paper entitled "Our wish for 1940" Bear in mind that there was a war going on in Europe at the time although America would not go to war for another year, until after Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941.


All things considered that would be a good wish for 2013 too.

Y'all come back!

Monday, December 17, 2012

My Design Wall This Monday



There is more going on at my sewing machine table than on the design wall this week but the meme at Patchwork Times is design wall so here it is!

On the right are the 'leaders and enders' stamps made with fabric from Lori's trashbox. This now will have an additional row of squares around the outside. Row 4 is waiting to be pressed. The plan is for seven rows of five blocks.

On the left, one row of Winter Rose. This is a variation of the Rosebud block and the pattern I am using is by Country Threads. I have wanted to make this for some time. It calls to me.



The fabrics are all Moda, the reds from Three Sisters Papillon line and the tan is called Seeds from Meadow by Blackbird Designs, all bought online in closeout sale at Hancocks of Paducah


Y'all come back!

Monday, December 10, 2012

Bella and Sandy


Click to enlarge


This moment of sweet tranquility did not last long. See Sandy's sandy colored paws? His tummy is an even paler shade of cream. All that fur between his front and back legs belongs to Bella.

Bella did not seem to mind him using her as a cushion but pretty soon he couldn't resist the temptation to bite her toes. That turned into a wrestling match. All Bella wanted to do was sleep so she left. Maybe that was what he really wanted. With katten who knows?


Y'all come back!

Saturday, December 8, 2012

A Little Tree

My friend Lori loves Christmas decorations and every time we go shopping these days we spend an inordinate amount of time in the seasonal decorations aisle.

Personally I have been pretty "bah humbug" most of my life, despite selling large amounts of Christmas stuff for years. Maybe I am getting senile but this year I am not as bah humbug as usual.

First I fell for a reindeer with a sweetly goofy face.
Click on the little ones to see the big ones


Then about a week later I found a three foot tall pre-lighted tree at 50% off, AND a bunch of shatterproof or katten proof ornaments, also at deep discounts.

I get plenty of knee bend exercise now. In addition to picking up Boysie's toys I get to pick up and rehang the ornaments several times a day.

Dottie pretty much ignores the tree, at a year old she is far too grown up and dignified for such nonsense. Her idea of a good time when she is not eating is to stretch out in front of the infra red heater.

Sweet Bella decided after being sprayed once with water from the ironing spritz bottle that she wasn't that interested either. She was far too busy washing the water off herself to bother any more.

Sandy Paws the storm drain kitten is made of much tougher stuff. When I sprayed him the first time he climbed up the tree. That was interesting. Now he just shuts his eyes and hunkers down, never letting go of whatever ornament he has grabbed.

When he is not playing destructo cat he likes to sleep close to the tree. On my chair. Not on the lovely new soft blue geometric animal bed. I guess he thinks if I like it so much I should use it. Yah.


Y'all come back!

Friday, December 7, 2012

Let it Snow

Today we had the first snow of the season. Not too much, barely an inch and I think maybe we are done. I took this when it started snowing, the pretty yellow chairs I photographed early this summer still make a graphic statement.


Have you caught the ear-worm yet? Just to help you along here are Vaughn Monroe and his Orchestra who recorded it way back in 1946.


Y'all come back!

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

The Gas Man Cometh

There are so many good things about living in a very small town in South Dakota, one of which is how nice people are. Of course there are a few bad eggs everywhere but on the whole your genuine South Dakotan grows up with a "you-betcha" attitude and an innate kindness. I often think there is more Aloha in this state than in Hawaii any more.

Winter is coming.

My little house has a gas furnace coupled to a heat pump. The system is very energy efficient using heat exchange until the weather gets below 20 degrees, then it is all gas. I cook and heat water with propane too. I last filled the tank in mid February and was down to about 25%.

So far the weather has been much better than I expected. Sunday it was 60 degrees and I enjoyed the sunshine on my front porch. Today it is cloudy and chilly with a mean wind. By Monday we are forecast to have snow on the ground. I have been watching my propane levels and dithering.

The prospect of snow made up my mind. This morning I called and within half an hour my tank was full.

There is a fine line between filling too early, gas is more expensive if you buy less than 150 gallons at a time; and filling too late, you do not want to run out. Running out leads to all sorts of humbug, line pressure check testing etc.

Kent, the gas man (shown at right - click to enlarge) tells me letting your tank run out is actually dangerous, most gas explosions happen with empty or near empty tanks. I learn something new every day.


Y'all come back!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Boysie's Toys

Today I put Boysie's toy basket up out of his reach for a few hours.

My husband and I created a monster.

Twice a month we go grocery shopping. On these days Boysie is left home for five or six hours. Because my husband is a softy he always buys Boysie a toy. Always. The dog has this figured out, left alone = new toy.

This is a policy that has not changed here in South Dakota. If I leave for more than a few hours a toy is expected. Treats do not count.

Boysie is not at all shy about looking for his present, he wants it "right now" and will go through the grocery sacks to get it.

Like a small child he has favorites and knows when one is missing. On the right are the "queekymans", naturally they no longer squeak.

The blue one is the favorite although the orange will do in an emergency if the  blue one has been mislaid. Also like a small child, the best place to keep your toys is everywhere, including my bed. I spend a lot of time picking them up, they are quite hazardous underfoot, under seat too. A Nylabone underbum will make you sit up quite smartly.



This advertisement is one of Lori's favorites, I wonder if Boysie would agree with the beagle?


Y'all come back!