Miscellaneous 04-08-21

While KoKo had pancreatitis the vet didn't want him going to the groomer, so he went for almost two months without a trim, although I give him a bath at home a couple times a month, so he was clean, but shaggy. 

I did have to trim his top knot a bit just so he could see.  I also put a little gel on and brushed it back. 

The groomer does such a good job and he is a smaller dog without all the extra hair. 

KoKo doesn't discriminate, if there is a lap available he will take it over.  I took him with me to Carol and Dick's house when Dick was helping me with my laptop.  Carol was watching a basketball game, so KoKo just kept her company.  The cat was lurking under a chair. 

 

Some of my neighbors decorate for every holiday.  These propped up letters have been popular this past year for holidays and for birthdays.  

Our house, on the other hand is very plain, no decorations and very few flowers.

This VW Bug parked next to me in a lot and I had to take a picture! 

#   #   #

Do I need a new project? 04-19-20

No, of course not, I probably have a hundred WIPs.  But I just can't seem to get going on any of those.  So I started cutting pieces for Little Houses, as suggested by Diane Perin Hock (one of her quilts is in TCQC).  I can't find what she posted about it several weeks ago, but I did write down the sizes of the various parts.  Each house finishes 4"W X 5.5L.  I've seen several already finished tops on Facebook and they are cute.  I started out thinking I would just do scraps, but while cutting I decided that all the houses would have dark brown to burgundy roofs, red or red/orange doors, blue sky (of course), and the fabric for the house must be striped.  This is what I have cut so far. 

At this point I am working toward 40 blocks. 

I was surprised at how many green stripes I found in my two boxes of just striped fabrics.  Maybe this quilt will be called
"Green Houses"!

But they won't all be green. 

#   #   #

Saturday Stories - First Apartment 08-05-17

After living many places growing up, including several rented rooms (do they have those any more?) Diane moved from her little grandmother's house in Arcadia to a apartment in a converted Victorian in Pasadena.   It had wonderful high ceilings and a hanging chandelier in the "parlor".  The kitchen was built from the original front porch and the bathroom was an addition onto the outside of the bedroom.  It was sort of a jerry-rigged arrangement, but it was hers!  It came furnished, but no dishes, pots, flatware, or linens.  Friends and relatives donated odds and ends and Diane bought brand new sheets for the double bed.  It was an exciting time.  Across the street and up a few doors was a "holy roller" church with loud and festive music on Sunday and one night a week (Wednesday, maybe).  She could walk to the grocery store and found a neighborhood beauty shop to have her hair cut. 

 

It was sort of the final step to freedom and she never lived with anyone again, except her two husbands (at different times!).   At that time she could move everything she owned in her own car.  The next time she moved she needed to have help from a friend with a pickup.  One time she moved from a studio apartment on one side of the street, directly across to a one bedroom on the other side.  That was the WORST move because everything had to be carried, no piling it into a car and backing up into a driveway.

Now, like so many ladies she knows, she is living with a 60 year accumulation of "stuff" and is faced with downsizing and de-cluttering.  A terrible burden to bear, but one she must deal with, and soon.
#   #   #

Looking back a few years 11-30-16

I did a road trip to Montana in 2012 driving through a lot of open country (Big Sky Country, you know), but I also saw a few old towns.  Butte, Montana, was a surprise, the oldest part of town rI took these pictures was almost deserted, but an attempt to show some history has been made.

 

Who knew sheep shearers have a union?  There were lots of sheep in fields around.

 

 Many mine headers with signs giving their active dates.

 

This chain link fence adorned with coffee mugs was a mystery.  They are firmly attached with the plastic, no-slip, ties used to bundle bunches of wires.   Reminds me of the bridge of keys in France.

 

An old building with vacant lots on all sides, spruced up and tidy with a large lilac tree.

I admit to thievery - made the car smell lovely.

 

 Way up on the top of the hill were these two restored houses probably built in the early 1900s.  Out of the older area are lots of suburbs of more recent vintage - it is just a regular town, after all.