Moth Collection

Last night in MQR chat, several of us were discussing various insects. A couple of them remembered my moths from last year and wondered if I had pictures of new ones this year. Sadly, I dont. We have NO annual flowers planted, no hanging baskets. I think the moths liked them. We also have a bigger, brighter dusk to dawn light, and I have not noticed as many moths. Maybe we have more bats?? And maybe I have been too busy to notice any of it.

So…. for Tracy at www.sewthankful.com and whomever else asked, here are some pictures from last year.

These two are feeling amorous.

These are 2 tone yellow/gold… some kind of hawk moth:

These are pink and yellow hawk moths:

Look VERY carefully here:

Did you see it? Need help?? Look for the lacy wing.

Better yet, look for the head and antennae.

Awesome disguise!

Make sure you visit Tracy at her blog to see a luna moth she found in Pennsylvania while traveling through our beautiful state. (scroll down towards the bottom of the page) I wish I had known she was passing through, I would have gone to meet her for a meal or quick visit.

Catching up

My friends Sally and Paul just left.  They had to come over to see if I had been taken over by The Blob.  No, but I have felt like a blob!

I think the last couple weeks caught up with me.  I was too overwhelmed for a couple of days to do much of anything.  But several days of naps and a little retail therapy got me back into a more normal (for me) state.

So…… the addition is coming along well.  Drywall done.

Painter starts Monday.  Heat/AC should be set Mon as well.  My bathroom should be ready for us to have real showers Monday.  The drywall should be done in the bath too.  Really all that is left to do is paint, floor, lights, and trim after Monday.  And all the painting outside.  And finishing the rest of the bathroom ourselves.  And the living room wall.  And and and and and….. you know how it goes.

They started this job 7 weeks ago.  Can you believe how fast it has gotten done?  I cant.  The contractor said today how slow this job has been.  He is normally in and out of a job in 4 wks or less.  But this job has had some major differences.  The biggest difference for him is having so much of his Amish crew off because of Benny getting hurt in the accident.  He is home now, doing better.  We are so thankful for that.  He still has alot of recovery time ahead of him, but the docs thing he will be ok.

The part for my machine came today, so Steve got it on and fixed for me.  He is my miracle worker mechanic jack of all trades.  Think I better keep him around another week or 2.

Steve started haying this week.  He cut some Tues, raked Wed, (it got rained on a little Wed) raked and baled some yesterday.  Then it rained.  Alot.  He was not happy about that.  But, we didnt get flooded like Iowa either.

My babies will be home for a day next week.  I can hardly wait.  I dont get to see Neil and Yvonne and the kids more than twice a year usually.  It is always such fun to spend some time with them, regardless of how little or much time it is.  We hope we have good weather so we can visit Deer Park.  Elizabeth loved it last year, and would like to go back.   I think William should do well there too.  Lots of shade, lots to look at, and  he is happy in his stroller.

I am also looking forward to giving Yvonne her sewing/embroidery machine.  It is not a surprise, but it will be fun to share with her something I love so much.  She sounds excited about it too.

Oh!  that retail therapy??  Thank goodness for online shopping huh?

These are mostly Michael Miller.  Im not into licking fabric like some of you are, but I wouldnt pass up rolling around in some of this.  Most of the fat quarters are Fairy Frost.

And these next ones…. I have coveted this fabric for too long.  When I found it on sale, I had to do it.  I am still looking for the same kind of fabric (same fruit ladies) that are in squares, on point.  If you see any, let me know.  Only place I have seen it online is wholesale, by the bolt.  I dont want a bolt, only 2 yards.

Arent they hysterical??

So which kind of fruit butt are you??

The Blob

For the first 2 hours of fully functional central air conditioning in our house, I sat and watched The BLOB.  Like a blob, I sat.  Crap piled high around me, men still working, lots of commotion.

That movie scared me to death in jr. high.  I watched it while babysitting.  Pretty stupid huh?  It may have been the night I called my Mom and told her I was afraid and she came over and sat with me.  I doubt I told her what I had watched.  So this is the first time since then I had seen the movie.  Part of it was hysterically funny.  My fav part was the guy who was unable to decide which hat to wear when both fire siren and air raid sirens were blasting.

do you remember air raid sirens?  and kneeling in the hallway covering your head… rows of kids in front of the lockers.  or crouched under your desk.  after closing the windows and black out shades.  what was all that about?  did we really think it was gonna stop something?  did the govt think we would be safer?  or feel safer?  cuz guess what….. it didnt work.  as a kid it scared the crap out of us.  for years.  every kid knew where there was an air raid shelter.  do you now?  i have no idea where to find one within 500 miles of me.  not that they dont exist, its just that i dont know where they are.

ok, so i watched the blob.

enjoyed a/c

enjoyed my tub

and did a whole bunch of other stuff that isnt worth mentioning.  not that the blob was either.  lol

Pioneer Frolic

Every year our nearby state park has a weekend of education and fun, called Pioneer Frolic.  They have re-enactors come with their tents, wares, and skills to show how life used to be lived in the pioneer days.   Usually there are Indians too, but we either missed them today or they werent there.

They have booths with crafts being sold.

They have music, wagon rides (pulled by draft horses), puppet shows and other entertainment too.  If you look carefully, you can see the lake in the background in this next shot.

She was spinning wool

He was the blacksmith…dont know what he was making

Where they really do sleep.  And we had some bad storms, high winds and heavy rain last nite.

Not sure what they were demonstrating.  A hangover??

Dont ya think it would have been nice if he had put his breeches on?

Sure wish the redmen had been there.  That would have been interesting.  They only wear their loin cloths.  They look a bit like the big old fat men at Clearwater Beach, FL in their thong bikinis.

And this was the best thing of all:

I should know what this is, but cant remember.  Can anyone remind me?

Stress

Yesterday was a bitch stressful.  Only 2 of the 3 guys showed up to work.  So they were stressed and cranky.  The third finally showed up just before noon.  Steve needed to go to the lumber yard…. went to start his truck and it wouldnt start.  He came in to whine about it, but didnt call the garage.  So he took my car to get lumber.  He whined when he got home about not having room in my car for all the stuff he needed.  But didnt call the garage.

The 4 men bitched and moaned whined all day about all they had to do and wanted to do and couldnt do for various reasons.  I finally put my painting clothes on and went to paint some trim around the windows outside.  Anything to not listen to them.   Ok, so NOW who was cranky???

By the end of the day, I still only had a bathtub and no shower.  The  drywall isnt finished like the general contractor had hoped.  But a whole lot did get done.  I quilted, painted, swept out the garage (because the drywall guys “didnt have a broom”) cooked supper, did 2 loads of laundry and did dishes.  Steve finally made an appt at the garage, but had to have the truck towed there.  Simple, call AAA  Steve Gayle.  After 4 hrs of stressing about calling AAA cuz he didnt know what they would say (we have never had to call them before) and didnt know how much it would cost, I finally picked up the phone and called.  REally.  It must be a guy thing.  Drives me fricken crazy.  Ok, so now who was REALLY cranky???

The truck goes off on an expensive vacation and I dont??

The best thing that happened yesterday was the birth of a new calf.  I told Steve Chrissy was out there having a calf, but he said NO…. she isnt ready.  Uh huh.  He didnt believe me.  So imagine HIS surprise when he found out I was right.  We walked out to the pasture (the bull BREATHED on me, he was so close!)  to see the new addition.  I was not holding the camera steady enough so it is fuzzy, sorry.  But I also didnt linger.  Too close for MY comfort with only a stick between me and the bull.  So Sammi, this is the best I can do for ya!

Today I quilted again.  Steve was clean up crew in the yard and garage and took a mountain of stuff to the burn pile.  Tomorrow we are taking the day off.  We are getting in the car and going somewhere, anywhere.  We both really need it.

Here is a peek at part of Sharon’s quilt that I hope to finish someday.  This is the center medallion.

Her fabrics came from Nicaragua.  Here is one of the 12 blocks.

he loves me

What a busy day.  Too busy to take pics for the most part.

The new heater is in, and so is the tub.  The heater isnt hooked up yet, but should be tomorrow.  The tub is functional.  YAY!  But the shower wont be until the new drywall ceiling and wall are hung.  They will be up tomorrow.  The job got bigger today when they decided to replace almost all of our ductwork.  And it got bigger after they left when we found a leak.  Luckily it is a slow leak, but it means removing part of a DIFFERENT bathroom wall.  sigh… so it goes when you do some renovating in a 100 yr old house.

I painted all morning.  I worked on the outside of the house, painting the corner where the oil tank will be permanently installed tomorrow.  By 2 this afternoon,  I was whipped.  Steve was busy helping the guys tear out more ductwork, ceiling and filth.  ugh.  We were both too tired to cook, so Steve took me to supper at our nearby family restaurant.

After we got home, I tried out the new tub.  I am a shower person, hadnt had a regular sit in the water tub bath in over 10 yrs.  Not my favorite thing.  But when you are dirty, its darn good!  When I got out of the tub, I went to the kitchen and found a surprise.  Steve had done this while I was bathing.

I think he loves me.  YAY!

Worse before better

They say it gets worse before it gets better.  That was true today.  I really should have left for the day, but couldnt.  Somebody had to be here to take care of a couple clients.  And Steve was way too dirty for that today.

The heating/plumbing guys came this am, bright and early.  They dove right in… not realizing what all they had to do.  Ugh.  I bet they said more than just ugh.  Actually, I think we all said more than ugh.

No pictures of the heater or a/c for the addition.  But here are some pics of the process in the old part of the house.

Yep, that was black mold.  He said they find it everywhere they ever pull out an old tub.  EVERYwhere.  Not just at my house.  Somehow, I took comfort in that.  So the black mold is gone.  GONE from my house.  YAY!  And so is that little tub. YAY!  YAY!

Yep, that was a jackhammer he was using to remove bricks that were under the wall.  The whole wall will be moved about 2 feet to make room for a standard sized tub/shower.  But he had to get through the brick to make room for the plumbing under the tub.  And the existing plumbing under there had come DISconnected, so the tub drained right into the gravel and down into the dirt….and tree roots.  So that is all cleaned out too.  YAY.  And new plumbing will make the shower water drain INto the septic tank.  YAY.

This is the expanded hole.

They also decided to rip out the ceiling and redo the existing ductwork.  YAY.  The fan is there to dry out some of the floor where it got wet and where they cleaned up some spilled fuel oil.

So…. I quilted today.  Quilted through the smell of fuel oil, the sound of jack hammering, the dust and filth of removing partial wall and ceiling and tub, and guys in and out.  And I survived.  YAY.

And best of all?  Tomorrow I might have a new tub installed.  YAY!

The other best thing?  We found a guy to lay the tile AND paint the inside.  YAY! YAY!

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We are on baby watch… I have bets on tonite, since it is a full moon.  This will be Chrissy’s first calf.  We are hoping all goes well when the time comes.

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Artistically, I have been immersed in Laura Cater-Woods new book “Idea to Image: Tempting Your Muse”.  I am also starting a class with her this weekend.  I am looking forward to it.

Master of Deconstruction

Steve is a master of deconstruction.  He used to dismantle old buildings in Cleveland.  Demolition crew.  Loved it.  Hard, dirty work.  Interesting work.   Dangerous work.  That is how his hand got crushed.

So tonite he had to be the master of deconstruction again.  He needed to remove a wall so the heating/plumbing contractor can replace the old heater with a new one.  And replace the tub.  Our present heater has been in since the 1960’s.  And the tub?  An RV tub, which means tiny.

The great ugly wall is shown below.  When replaced, it will be 2 feet forward into the living room.  It will also be built with the pine panels like the rest of the living room, eliminating that ugly barn siding.

The master at work:

Doorless bathroom now.

Old heater on left.  We found brick under the carpet.  Not sure how a new tub will work with plumbing.  Some of the brick may have to come out.

Sure hope I dont have to go a week with no shower.  That wouldnt make me happy at all.  Lets hope the guy shows up in the morning.

Tim Russert 1950-2008

Tim Russert died today.  Our home is changed forevermore.

That may sound silly to some of you.  However, Steve and I are both news junkies.  Steve is a political freak and watches all the political shows every Sunday morning.  Tim Russert was on tv in our house several hours of the week, every week.  Since it is an election year, Tim was on more often.  He was so excited a week ago with political history.

Several months ago he moved me to tears, with his thrill in getting to see the pope and sharing that experience with the world.  I am not Catholic, but could see how important it was to him, how moved he was, how gratified and deeply inspired he was.

We will miss Tim.  We are both a little shocked at the moment.  While we are just his fans….we cared about him.  We believed him, trusted his information and integrity.  We are saddened.  He changed us in life.  His death has changed us again.

Fancy Scarf Tutorial

Yesterday I made a fancy scarf.  Why?  Because I can! (And because I was reminded by Deana’s pretty red wrap she made recently that I hadn’t done anything like this in a long time.)

I may decide to use it as a door prize when I do a talk and trunk show Saturday.  I will be the guest speaker for the Women’s Auxiliary of the Mid-West Tool Collectors Association.  They are holding their annual meeting at the Erie Convention Center.  Isn’t it nice that they invited me to speak?  I really enjoy doing events like this.  Since the theme of their Luncheon is “Fancy Things for Fancy Ladies”, I decided to make a “fancy scarf”.

For the last 5 or 6 years I have been combining techniques learned from Bonnie Lyn McCaffrey (like those in her Fantasy Fabrics book), as well as techniques used in lace making on the embroidery machine, and converting them to longarm and traditional quilting methods.  So a combination of these techniques were used to make my fancy scarf.

I used Solvy as a base, just like in machine embroidery lace.

Then, using some of Bonnie’s techniques, spread out some yarn, Tintzl, and organza.  Bonnie “captures” them between layers…. which is what I am doing on a temporary basis here.

Laid a piece of tulle over the top.

And stitched as desired.

Remember I said it was temporarily trapped?  Hopefully that is enough stitching to hold all the yarn, tintzl and organza onto the tulle, because the next step was to take the scarf off the machine and rinse it in tap water.  Then I hung it up to dry.  The water disolves the Solvy completely.

So here it is done, and dry.

That was easy!  Next time I plan on using a piece of organza as the base.

I would love to see yours if you try one.