Art Quilt group in SDiego 12-07-21

Saturday I drove to SDiego for the in-person meeting of the art quilt group I belong to down there.  Everyone was able to attend and we had a great meeting.  There was Show & Tell, including some work from the past, before the group was formed.  It is always interesting to see these earlier pieces and recognize the growth the artist has made.  I had nothing new or in progress, so I took a set of small works purchased at silent auction at the SAQA 2015 conference in Portland, OR.  Including these three.

"Bird"  Kristin Shields 2015  Machine pieced, hand applique and embroidery, machine quilted.

" New Zealand: Pukeko"  Martha Wolfe - Davis, CA  2015

Machine pieced and appliqued, hand embroidery , machine quilted.

"At the Market"  Terry Grant - Beaverton, OR  2015

  Machine Embroidery and applique.  This is done from the back. 

The meeting was at Judy Warren-Tippet's home and I supplied the refreshments.  We had a large fruit plate (which I failed to photograph) with Fuyus, green grapes, oranges, raspberries, dates, and honeyed pecans.  And for dessert after our bring-your-own-lunch we had a fabulous carrot cake from Katella Deli in Los Alamitos, CA.  It is very moist and coarse textured with all the fruits and nuts and not too heavy on the spices.  And then there is the yummy cream cheese frosting.  

It is an eight inch round cake with three layers and it is very rich, so one doesn't need a huge piece.  I brought home enough to share with my neighbor Mark-to-the-South, who takes care of putting out and bringing in my trashcans every week.  What a good neighbor who deserves a large slice of his most favorite cake. 

The traffic wasn't bad either direction and it was easy to drop off KoKo with Nancy Ota and to pick him up on my way home.  She wore him out and he slept almost all the way home.  

Altogether a really enjoyable, memorable day. 

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Pain free! KoKo & Froggy 12-02-21

Here is KoKo with Froggy in his arms.  Left paw underneath his body and right holding on to his head.  Froggy needs to have another surgery, but minor.  Maybe I can do it tomorrow.  This picture is from a couple days ago, but he had a bath and trim today so he isn't this shaggy. 

I had another epidural today and now I have no pain!  Hope I am not celebrating recklessly.  I anticipate it will come back, hopefully not soon.  I do have a headache and some nausea, but suspect that is from the anesthesia.  When we walked this evening I stepped up on the curbs without wincing.  I was very tired when I got home from the surgery center(driven by my friend Dick, Carol's husband), so KoKo and I had a nice nap.  Tonight I am still tired and anticipate a good night's sleep without pain. 

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Wordless Wednesday 12-01-21

 

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Christmas creeping up 11-30-21

Out of the fifty or so houses in my immediate neighborhood (what I call the Loop) only about eight have Christmas lights or decorations up.  

The giant skeleton has been dressed up with a santa suit.  No hat, so far.  I wonder what will they do after Christmas?   A beating heart for Valentines?  Bunny ears for Easter?The two blackbirds have flown away to be replaced by black gift boxes.  

I needed a Covid test within five days of my scheduled epidural, which is Thursday, and had to drive down to my doctor's office in Orange.  I couldn't find a pharmacy nearby with an open reservation.  I didn't think about making a reservation last week to have the test this week - duh!  Anyway it only took about an hour and 15 minutes to drive there, have the one minute swab and drive home.  The test was negative, as I expected.  I try to be masked and distanced when I am among people.   Even at the Starbuck's drive thru window.  One doesn't know these days.

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More Thanksgiving and some sadness 11-27-21

My neighbors in the cul de sac (parents of the ice cream boys)  presented me with another full Thanksgiving dinner yesterday morning.  It is the first traditional meal they have made and they took it to his parents somewhere in LA County.  They must have made a lot because I ate it last night and tonight and still have enough turkey for a sandwich tomorrow.  All of you who have to cook every night will appreciate what a boon it is to have home cooked food that I don't have to cook!  Everything was very tasty.   All I need to do is wash and return the containers.

Today I went to a memorial service for the husband of one of my Book Group friends.  He had not been sick long and she is still struggling with the shock, I'm sure.  I sometimes muse on the difference between a loved one being sick and knowing that they will not get well and the sudden loss of someone who dies or is killed suddenly.  As hard as it was to have my husband get worse over two and a half years, I would always choose that, as we had those months together to settle things and say goodbye.  The memorial today was very tasteful and praiseful.  He was an exceptional person and lent a hand to others whenever he could.  He was a avid fisherman, so I'm sure that many of the guys there were his fishing buddies.  Two sons, their wives and children and grandchildren, his sister and her daughters and four of us from the Book Group were among the many attendees.  Afterward Carol and I went out for lunch which was good for me because I wasn't ready to be alone with my memories.  

The wind has departed for now and we have not had any brushfires nearby.  Blessings indeed.  Between the wind and the sewing that I have been doing I am so dry I have resorted to lotion several times a day.  If I could only figure out something to do with my nose - humidifier and nasal spray helps, but it is still dry and uncomfortable.  KoKo's eyes need cleaning a couple times a day after we go outside.  I am almost tempted to use some eye drops on him! 

Here he is hanging out the window while we were in line at Starbuck's the other day.  The Bird of Paradise are in full bloom everywhere.  They bloom well even in a drought. 

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Happy Thanksgiving 11-25-21

My friend Liz delivered a bag of plastic containers with turkey and all the trimmings, including her delicious Jello salad which I look forward to every year.   It is a tradition in her house and certainly now in mine!   The wind has been blowing here for several days and the gutters along with my porch are filled with leaves.  Although I don't have a deciduous tree in my yard, all of my neighbors do.  Those trees are almost completely bare now - I counted seven leaves on the redbud across the street.  Why are those few holding on?  Lots of palm fronds and pieces scattered about and someone on Next Door is looking for their patio umbrella.  KoKo doesn't enjoy the wind so we have done short walks - to empty the dog!  And because of the debris in the air I wear a mask.  

Hope your Thanksgiving was everything you wanted it to be - with a crowd or by yourself.  I've added a turkey image to my turkey gallery.   Isn't he delicious>

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Walking and KoKo 11-22-21

I actually did some sewing today, but nothing I can share.  Mostly just working on UFOs and doing some repairs on quilts in TCQC.  Sleeves come loose, sometimes a few stitches on bindings are not secure, and loose threads have been missed.   I always put a TCQC label on the quilts and have been very lax the last year or so.  Out of labels and need to make some more.

KoKo and I do our two walks a day, some are longer than others.  There was a brush fire in Riverside County, which is about 40 miles away, and the Santa Ana wind was blowing toward the ocean, so we had smoke.  Didn't see any ash, but the wind was so strong I suspect it all just went out to sea.  I wore my mask, but KoKo doesn't, so we shortened our walk last evening.  Today it was still windy, but no smoke, so we did the full loop morning and night.  There are Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas decorations in yards.  I know a lot of people put up Christmas stuff the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I suspect some people are traveling so they decorated before they left.  

The giant skeleton is now wearing a fabric face, a coat and a hat!

Two black birds have been added - one at top left on his hand and one at bottom center on one of the pumpkins,  I guess black birds go with skeletons as well as black cats. 

This family took down their blow up ghost and the same day replaced it with a blow up turkey. 

Right next door to the skeleton in a basketball hoop.  He came down over the  week end, I kind of miss him. 

KoKo and Froggy are having a snuggle.  They do a lot of nose to nose snoozing.