No Shelves! 07-05-08

Sorry, I thought I would have a pictures of assembled shelves, but I discovered I cannot "DIY" and need someone to hold two uprights while I arrange the first shelf. And nobody much was home today. Just Corky and me. Maybe I can catch someone tomorrow after they return from church or wherever they have been over the weekend.

Racks for fabric boxes 07-04-08

Yesterday, before I picked up the Poodle Prince, I bought some racks that I hope will hold the plastic boxes of fabric. I didn't want to fasten anything to the walls since the living room will now be my workroom.

Here are four poles 74" high, there is another set of four elsewhere.

And here are eight shelves - I suspect I will have to buy additional shelves because I don't want to stack more that two boxes high on the shelves.

Tomorrow I will see if I can assemble these things by myself. If not, I can always ask one of the neighbors for help. I have great neighbors who are always willing to lend a hand and they also keep track of me since I live alone. I have a healthy fear of falling off a ladder and waiting for someone to discover me - which is why I always have my cell phone in my pocket. The old "plan ahead" mindset.

Corky's Pillow 07-03-08

Corky will be here until Monday evening. This is the first time he has tried his pillow and he seems okay with it.

I tried to make him look some place other than right into the camera.

To avoid these spooky eyes that reflect the flash. Anyone know how to avoid this problem?

Quilts for Corky & QFO 07-02-08

The other day I posted a picture of Corky's new pillow and got back some comments from readers whose dogs like a pillow. And also comments from two people who have cats with quilts, no pillow.

This is Corky's quilt (34"W X 46"L). It is like a G'ma quilt which stays at G'ma's house. This is a Camp Del quilt, he only uses it when he is here. It has a sentimental meaning to me because the blocks came from the estate of a dear friend. She had made hundreds of these 4-1/2" blocks, possibly for a king sized quilt, and there was extra fabric with the blocks. I still had some left in the box when I started having Corky here, so I sewed up a quilt for him. I think Betty would be pleased.

Most of the blocks went into quilts made by a group I belonged to. Called QFO, short for 'Quilts For Others', the group met monthly for about eight years - we sewed, visited, and had lunch. But the time came when too many of us couldn't do it anymore and the group disbanded.

The group made many quilts with this pattern -it doesn't have a name that I know of. We "invented' it, but it may have been around for years and none of us had seen it. It is an easy pattern - rotary cut and strip pieced - so we used it a lot. And I am still using it. It was fun to made a few scrappy versions with all the same color backgrounds, but not the same fabric, and the narrow strips in lots of different colors. I liked it and I hope the receiver did also.

These are six inch blocks - the quilt is 41"W X 53"L.

A Special Little Garden 07-01-08

I always enjoy driving by this little streetside porch and garden which are located in a not great part of town. It seems so coordinated, but casual rather than formal. I love the blue umbrella especially. The palm looking plant in the lower left is sometimes called Sago palm or Sago fern, but it is actually neither. It is a Cycad, a very ancient species of plant with its own division - the Cycadophyta division of the Plantea family. In the center is the "blossom" or cone. As the plants grow larger they are coveted by landscapers and can be transplanted rather easily because the root ball is small. Several decades ago the Fullerton City Hall/Police Station had a wonderful bed full of Cycads that had grown quite large. One night someone dug them all up and took them away. I understand that nobody said anything for a few days, thinking there must be a reason the plants were removed. Nobody would steal plants from in front of the Police Station. Or would they? The crime was never solved.

Organizing 06-30-08

I have been working at 'digging out' all day and feel that I haven't accomplished anything. I imagine that is because there is so much to do that I hardly make a dent with one day's work.

The one thing that I actually finished today is this little pillow for the Poodle Prince. His old one came apart in the washer a few weeks ago and he does like to have a pillow. I sewed the cover together last weekend and today I stuffed it and sewed it closed. It felt so good to actually be sewing something. Even something as small as this. Tomorrow I hope to sew some cut squares together and free up a design board.

Corky Cam 06-29-08

Corky's papa installed a "Pet Cam" at their house, so now I can check to see if Corky is home alone. I took this digital picture of my computer screen and it isn't very good. Actually I took about twelve pictures and this is the best one! Look just at the top of the little stairs, he is laying on his platform where he can see out the front window. He is confined to this room when nobody is home.

These two pictures were captured with SnagIt8, but the resolution is not good enough to enlarge. He is expecting his parents to be home so he kept looking out the window and then toward the stairs.

He stands with his front feet on the windowsill to observe the world outside his window. What a guy!