Not much 02-18-08

A busy day with not much of interest and no pictures. Catching up on bills and paperwork, taking Corky home to LBeach and, in lieu of a walk, digging up some weeds. It is a dilemma - get them out before the rain gives them a 'shot in the arm' or wait until after the rain when the digging/pulling is easier. Once they are watered I swear I can hear the sow thistles growing. I do have a gardener, but it is a mow and blow service, so weed pulling is up to me. Since rain is predicted for the rest of this week the dilemma with be solved and boots will be required.

A walk in the park 02-17-08

Corky is sooo good for me. He has to go for a walk every day and if he is at my house I have to go with him. He enjoys walking in Tri-Cities Park, I think it is because there is so much going on and so many good smells (to a dog, anyway).

There are a few odd things. Like this guy who lays on the ground and sprinkles some kind of avian food around him. He doesn't have to wait long for the geese and ducks to come a'running. Personally, I wouldn't lay on the poopy ground if Robert Redford came a'running. Which gives you an indication of my age, right?

But there are also lovely sunsets over the lake. And I do sleep a little better after even this little bit of exercise. Dogs are smarter than people sometimes.

He is ready to go home and have his dinner. Notice the oranges on the tree in the top right of the picture, these trees have been left to remind everyone of the now defunct orange growing & packing industry of this area.

House guest 02-16-08

Corky, the Poodle Prince, is with me this weekend - what a treat! Besides being good company he is so cute, just look at those little feet all tucked under to keep them warm. Of course, this is my chair he has taken over. He isn't fond of sitting on laps, but he does like to be close to his people, so I give up my chair and he makes himself comfortable to watch me sew. He will have to go home when his parents return on Monday afternoon, but meanwhile we are happy together.

They'll never meet again. 02-15-08

Twenty-five or more years ago when I was buying a stack of fabric to add to my fabric library, another customer asked what I was going to do with all those different colors. I don't know if she was a quilter, but she obviously didn't know about a fabric stash. In those days there were fewer quiltmakers and fewer quilt shops. But even then I probably didn't 'need' anymore fabric. Sometimes I think I am more of a fabric collector than a quilter! I surely can't resist the offerings at Back Porch Quilt Shop in Pacific Grove.

This is the selection I made this past Sunday. Look at all those lights - I'm proud of myself. And there are two fabrics with the little light spots/dots that Ruth McDowell recommends to give a quilt a little sparkle. The brown fabric snuck in there because I think it will work in a landscape with the light spots adding to the depth of... whatever. And.. WHENEVER!

"Heart Strings" 02-14-08

Happy Valentine's Day to you all.

"Heart Strings - I" Del Thomas 2005 12"W x 18"L

In 2005 one the the groups I belong to asked for quilts to be auctioned for some worthy cause. So, I made this one in sort of springlike colors. I didn't really care for the pale ground, but I suppose someone did because the group didn't give it back to me. I always wonder where it is living now.

"Heart Strings - II" Del Thomas 2005 12"W x 18"L

Then I made this version with a black ground and it is more pleasing to my eye. I do like bright colors on a black ground! And I like the 'streamers' rather than 'ringlets' hanging down. This is quilted with vertical squiggly lines.

Places that disappear 02-13-08

I took this photo (and a bunch more) last April when I pulled over where Hwy 152 and Hwy 156 meet east of San Juan Bautista. I've seen this derelict 'hacienda' for years and I don't know what made me stop to photograph it on this trip. Look beyond the trash and graffiti and see the once lovely tiled fountain along the pathway. A few years ago it didn't look quite so rundown, I suppose that once the state acquired the parcel to facilitate a road widening and straightening project there was no further maintenance done. At any rate, the wall, gate, fountain, etc., are all gone now to accommodate our growing need for fast roads. This particular intersection really needs the makeover as there have been some horrendous accidents here. But I'll miss this remnant of 'old California'. "Old" in California can be the 1950s!!

Trees 02-12-08

Although I have driven up I-5 to San Juan Bautista during February in previous years, I don't remember that the California Sycamores were so very white - they don't look real. They remind me of the wonderful ghost gums of Australia, white and straight, rising far above the other native growth.

This is a sign of Spring. Lots of beehives set out in most of the orchards along the way. I think these are cherries. Sometimes there will be blue signs on the fences facing the Interstate that tell what kind of orchard it is, but not in this case. Everywhere the green is showing in trees and on the ground, there are even a few drifts of bright yellow wild mustard along the way. In another month when I drive up again Spring will be in full swing.