Gone Again.......

Yes Gang..!!
I'm taking another little blogging break...

Two Reasons....

1. My younger brother.....who still lives in Florida....is having hip replacement surgery on Monday the 29th and i'm driving the female parental unit back to the ole' home stead, so she can be there with him for a few days.......of course i'll be glad to see him also, but, i'm not looking forward to that 26 hour drive there and back.......
2. I'm hurting....!! I think i've got internet neck......laptop shoulders......keypad elbows..... and mouse pad wrist.......Yep! i've stayed to long at the party......to long hunched over the laptop......to long sitting on my derriere .....and enjoyed every minute of it!!

Sooooo.......i'll leave you with a little snap shot....taken by the #1 grandson.....of the three generations, pausing outside one of the many quilt shops.....
(I'm the one trying to hide behind the female child)

Don't forget me.......i'll be back...!!
That's a promise..!!

Enjoy

Patrick's...

Covington, GA

Enjoy

The Loot....!!

This jumbled-up mess is the loot from the shop-hop.....who knew 2 semi-small plastic shopping bags could hold sooooo much.....

Here's the doggie bone fabric i'm gonna use for binding and 2 yards of thermal batting for making mug rugs and pot holders.....plus many-many new patterns ...some bought ...some free gifts....

This is the Fatty-Fatty 2x4 booklet....two five yard bundles......some charm packs.....a jelly roll.....and a little assorted yardage that caught my eye....

Some more yardage......i love the green with the chicken tracks.....some lose charms, that were in the gift bags from the shops.....and a fat quarter pack from the female child....

And the stack of papers are free patterns from each shop......this years theme patterns were "Stars"....soooooo....i've got 9 or 10 new star patterns to work with......woohoo!!

Plus needles....thread.....fray chek...(i may have bought that...can't remember)...!

All this ......... and i seem to have a problem on my hands ....... I've got $$ left over...!!!

Oh Well........maybe i'll save it for next year........Or Maybe NOT!!

Enjoy

We Bonded.....!!

Well......we're back!!

And the car has been put to bed....

This van was parked in front of Red Hen Fabrics in Marietta, GA..!!
I've heard of quilts for the car.....but ......never a "Car" quilt....!!

Isn't it cute...??!! Imagine all the measuring!!!*

Here's the female child trying to make a decision on which "free" pattern to get with her purchase......I offered her my coin to flip....

See that sign that says...."Bundles".....A Scarlet Thread in McDonough, GA had 3000 of those 5 yard bundles in coordinating fabric ready for the buying..!! They were everywhere thru out the store and they were flying off the shelves....cause ...with each bundle you got a free pattern...
Such a Deal!

I came home with 2 bundles and had to put my hands in my pockets or more would have made the trip home with me....!!

This is two of my favorites from "Sweet Home Quilt Co" in Conyers, GA......
If your reading my blog......."Hi Ladies!......we slipped in the front door on Thursday afternoon..
Loved your apple tree....!!"

We made it to 10 of the 11 quilt shops on the "Hop"...plus 2 that were not on the list and Hobby Lobby.....

Laughter abounded and a good time was had by all....

More pictures to come..

Enjoy

It's that time again.....

....time to come down off the mountain....over the river.....thru the Christmas tree fields.....to the mighty 4-lane highway....

It's time for a major field trip....!

It's time for the March Madness to begin......!

No....no.....not the basketball madness.....

The Atlanta Quilt Shop-Hop Madness..!!

Early tomorrow Mom and i will hit the road and head south to the female child's house where this madness will start.....we'll be mapping out the shops and planning where lunch will be eaten for three days of female fun....!!

Of course it will be fun seeing the son-n-law and the three boys, also......but.....three days of three generations...bonding of over fabric......can't be beat...!!

I've cashed in a bond and the mutual fund account......hope i have enough $$......and there's always VISA...!!

Be back on Monday ..... promise to have lots of pictures.....!!

Enjoy

Almost Gone.....

Yep.....looks like the snow is almost gone....
These pictures were taken Saturday....so there's even less of the white stuff this morning....

I'm sitting here with the front door open...listening to dogs all over the neighborhood bark......the birds sing......the chain saws buzz(?)......enjoying the sun shine and waiting for the next shoe to drop....

The locals are saying we've still got one more "big" storm to go...!!

OK....lets go guys......lets get it over with......

I've got things to do and places to go..!!

Don't tease me with warmth and color...if you're gonna cover the neighborhood with white again!

That would mean i wasted the weekend digging out the shorts, tank tops and flip-flops...

Enjoy

Time Change....

Miss Kitty......"I feel like i've lost something..."

Mia......"You did....You lost an hour..."

Max....."Is it out in the yard somewhere...?"

Mia......"No...silly male dog....it's in cyberspace somewhere..."

Miss Kitty......"What's cyberspace...?

Max....."Yeah.....what's cyberspace...?

Mia......"I don't really know.....maybe it's out in the yard somewhere..."

Max....."Come on....it's time for the second morning nap...."

Mia & Miss Kitty...."OK.....last one to the sunny spot on the dog bed has fleas..!!!"

Enjoy

Kitty's New Toy.......

Hummmmm......what's this thing...?

Ouuuuu......it's chewie....!!

Yeah........it stretches.....!

Snnnnnaaaappppp...!!!!

Once again.....the male child was in the right place....at the right time.....with camera in hand....

Enjoy

Brain Fog.....

....my brain is as foggy as this picture....

It can't comprehend what it's hearing on the national....state and local news.....

Seems there is this committee in D.C. that has spent the last 18 months writing a "National Education Standards" bill and is now in the process of pushing it thru the congress to make it a law.......OK ..... this could be a good thing.....?

That's the national news.....thanks Brian Williams....

However......Brain and the locals news casters .... in the next breath are telling us about schools closing or down sizing from coast to coast.....

Look it up.....Kansas City is in the process of closing half of their intercity schools.....!!
Which will bring the number of open schools back to a level in the 1800's....

The local news ...out of Charlotte.....are talking about closures and the "letting" go of up to 900 teachers....not to mention support personnel....and there's never a word about admin staff being "let" go......

I retired from the financial end of a very large school district in Florida.....i've seen the wasted money fly out the windows....

Come on guys!!.......if you can't keep the schools open.....how can you expect to maintain a "National Education Standard"....!!??

Putting the soap box away now.....

Enjoy

What Happened...??!!

...to all the bright sun-shiny weather....

The moderate temps.....the blue sky.....the gentle breezes...

Gone...!!

Woke up to rain and lots of FOG......

Fog so thick.....i can't see the road......fog so thick....i can't see the mountains.....fog so thick.....it feels wet and creepy.....!!

Looks like a hot chocolate....sitting by the fire......hand quilting day.....

Enjoy ( ? )

Wordless Wednesday.....

I love this picture..!!

Enjoy

I want......

...to thank Sharon over at Cottage Quilts.....

Today's song in my head is....

Oh.....What a beautiful morning......Oh...What a beautiful Day..!!

Thanks for planting that seed...!!!

And i've decided to just give up.....

I'm gonna just live with the voices and music in my head....

Soooo....if i break out into song in the middle of Wal*Mart....

It's not my fault......it's the voices......it's the voices....!!

That's my story and i'm sticking with it....

Enjoy

Send in the Clowns.....

What did you expect...!!??

The brain is stuck in "oldies but goodies land"

Can't get rid of all these song lyrics running thru my head......!!

Maybe it's just Spring Fever....

Happy Monday Everyone...!!

Enjoy

PS....these are the new additions to the ecosystem.....aren't they cute...?

PSS...they're "Clown" fish....hence the title...

High Hopes.....

...just like Miss Kitty with her high hopes.....

I have high hopes that Spring is just around the corner....

The last few days have been beautiful.....bright sun......high temp in the 50's......the snow is melting.......the birds are singing.......the rabbits are hopping.....the deer have come out of hiding.....and i've gone outside without a jacket!!

The the gossip mill at the beauty shop says there are two more "big" snows on the way before Spring can officially get here to the high country.....

And you know the "ladies" are always on the money with the ways of the world....

Soooo....maybe it's false hope for me and Miss Kitty...instead of High Hopes.....

Who sang that song.....???!!!!.........Yaaaaaa...it's in my head and i can't get it out....

High Hopes.......i've got high hopes...
high in the sky....apple pie hopes......!!

Coffee.....in need coffee.......

Enjoy

Challenge #2....

Here's what the super nice brown box on wheels delivered to my back door on Thursday....

(sidebar.......the delivery man comes to my back door.....cause my front door is 15 feet in the air and he doesn't climb stairs if he can help it......soooooo...i run down the inside stairs and meet him.....
It works for us....!!!!...)

Anyway.....ordered and received my second..."Quilts for Kids" kit..

this one is girl fabric........all pinks and flowers and polk-a-dots....

I'm gonna name it.......Letter Garden.....don't ya just love it...??!

This is what i was doing as the brown box drove by my window.....making a "Quilt for Kids" from fabric i had pulled from my stash......

The colors are some what subdued compared to the kits......but.....it's coming together ...it's quite and soft.....perfect for a shy little girl.....

This one is named.....Friendship Garden......

What's with all this "Garden" stuff....???!!

Maybe the brain is ready for Spring......the rest of me is......

Enjoy

So much to do......

....soo little time left....

I have exactly 30 days left of winter break..!!!!

YaaaaaaaaH.........I'm got so much left on my "To Do List"...!!

Yep.... in 30 days it's back to the flowers......native plants and trees.....wildlife.....telephones.....visitors......campers......bikers....hikers.....great co-workers and pesky rangers.....

In 30 days......It's back to the river and the mountain.....

In 30 days .... i can no longer sleep late.....watch the snow fall in my jammies.....sew all day....spend all day trying new recipes......reading blogs...... or a book....

Oh......did i mention......that in 30 days......I've got to go BACK to work!!!!

But....on the other hand.....

In eight months ....... i'll have another four months off....

Ahhhhhh.....the light at the end of the tunnel.... :~)

Enjoy

Release......

Our little feathered friend......the Purple/House Finch......flew away at approximately 8:30 this morning......

Seems he just needed one more day at the Twelve Acre Bird Spa......

He was a little wobbly on the wing......flew in circles a few seconds and then over the house he went....and made a b-line for the hardwoods....

Hope you have a long good life little friend.....

~~~~~~~

NO SNOW!!!!!....in the forecast for the next seven days...!!!

Enjoy

Overnight guest.......

See this little guy....??

We've noticed him for the last few days .....hanging around the bird feeder......which is not so unusual.....except he sits there for long periods of time, eats and then disappears for a while....

Then yesterday....during the snow storm.....he didn't move...

The male child went out to investigate and came in saying....."the little guys eyes are closed......seeds are frozen to his beak and i walked right up to him.......I think he's blind!"

Wellllll........poor little guy was so wet with snow .... that seeds were frozen to his beak......and the winds were so strong he had his eyes closed to protect them......

Could not ...... could not......leave him outside......frozen bird pops on the front porch is not a pleasant sight...!!!!

Sooooo.....he spent the night in the cat carrier.......on a high shelf in the laundry room......with a snug warm towel and jar lids filled with seed and water.....

CityBoy took him outside this morning.......the little guy flew to the chain link fence and perched.....seems he can't fly very well.....

He's back in the carrier for another day of R&R......if he's no better tomorrow, we'll find a local animal rehaber......

Stay safe....warm.....and enjoy!!

Waiting.........

Here's Mia.....the mountain Diva......

she's waiting......what's she waiting for.....

She's waiting for more of this.....

Yep......once again we're playing the waiting game.....

The weather guru's are saying ......"it's coming.......sometime today"

OK.......define "sometime"........is that morning.......afternoon......eveing....???

And how much are we going to get...??.....and.....What's this melting before it hits the ground crap....??

Should i go out today or not....??!!

Inquiring minds want to know...!!

Stay safe....warm.....and enjoy.....

The Ecosystem......

Good Morning.......beautiful little coral....

Hello....funny looking little fish.....the male child says you'll be bright yellow one day....

Ahhhhhh.....the snails and hermits are up and crawling around....

Peek-a-boo.......Mr/Ms shrimp......not sure what you are.....

The salt water tank is alive and doing well.....!!

Enjoy

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