Stormy weather continues 01-06-08

I drove over Bastanchury Hill again early this morning and took this picture from the same spot as the one I posted on Dec 03, 2007, just about a month ago. But now the trees are bare (except the myoporum to the right) and the sky is full of clouds heavy with rain. It has rained off and on all day, but no problems so far in Orange County. And no power outages.

There is a bird..... 01-05-08

Years ago I started putting a bird somewhere on every quilt that I make. They are mostly all different - fused on, drawn with fabric markers, quilted in, hand embroidered and part of the fabric print. Here are few examples.

"Calm in Chaos" fused on the front of the quilt.

"Marsh Dawn" (fiber art postcard) inked with fabric marker.

"Woad" part of the quilting stitches.

Sometimes people want to know where the bird is on a particular quilt and I have to search hard to find it. Unless it is part of the design or printed on the fabric I put each little bird wherever it will fit with the intention that it will not be obvious.

Weather not bad 01-05-08

Just a quick post to say that where I live in Orange County did not have much rain during the night - about a half an inch - and the wind was not as bad as what we have had in the past few months. However, the weatherman says that more is on the way. If it follows the same track it will likely miss us again - or not! Eventually all these storms will move to the east and hit some of you. Stay warm and dry.

Latest book read 01-04-08

I can't go a day without reading. I've had this affliction all my life and don't really want to have it cured. I just finished Khaled Hosseini's "A Thousand Splendid Suns". It has some heart wrenching parts, as did his "The Kite Runner", but it is a wonderful story, beautifully told and with characters that I cared about. I wish there would be a sequel to tell more about what happens to Laila and all the rest of the family. I must admit that I don't know a lot about Afghanistan - the native textiles are wonderful, the land is unforgiving, there has been constant war for many years. Seeing the inside of a family, even a fictional family, and the changes made by the wars is very sobering. How much do we value our freedoms and how quickly could they be shattered? If you don't mind having your heart 'wrenched' I recommend the book. It has been raining here, but not hard.

Bougainvillea 01-03-08

Not a lot in bloom in January, but in SCalifornia there is always something. This is the stalk of a bougainvillea vine which grows like a weed here. I love the twisting vines and the wonderful colors produced, but the plants require constant pruning and have nasty thorns.

The flower is the small trumpet shape with the tiny white 'hat', surrounding it are the colorful bracts that come in many colors from white to wine red and from pale yellow to apricot. This is the most common color - Diego Red.

Grown on a fence or trellis the plant becomes an enormous mound of color. Now there are hybrids that are bushes, rather than vines, which are very popular in desert landscaping.

Heavy rain is predicted for this weekend. I hope the forecasters aren't crying 'wolf'. Homeowners in the firestorm areas are sandbagging and piling hay bales in preparation, lest the hillsides become mud flows.

Missed a day 01-02-08

Here it is only the 2nd day of the new year and I have missed a day on my 'daily' blog. I'll keep trying to do better.

New Year's Day 01-01-08

Here is dawn of the new year. It isn't blurry because I was hungover, but because I couldn't hold the camera braced against a post - it was too windy! It howled all night and all day and started decreasing about 8pm tonight.

Corky seems to like his new bed, but I have a hard time finding him when he has his black nose and eyes buried. He caught up on his beauty rest while he was here and today I took him back to his parents in LBeach. I miss him, but it will be easier to sew without his assistance!