Sick - of Colds and Snow!

Winter has returned. On Wednesday night it snowed again! The remaining patches of December and January snowfalls had only just melted and the pond ice had started to thaw. We had even managed to spend a few spring-like days in the yard, cleaning up winter's debris. The snowdrops were blooming and crocuses starting to show colour. Tulips and daffodils were erupting. Now they are all covered in SNOW. AGAIN. 

However, since both of us have had colds for the past week or ten days, it doesn't really matter. We have been lolling about on sofas, sleeping, watching cooking shows and CNN and sleeping some more. It is the first time in nearly 35 years that both of us have had colds at the same time. My brain is still not functioning properly, we are both still coughing, sneezing and nose-blowing, but both of us are feeling a bit better and coffee is beginning to taste better than tea!

The Black Prince (Rosie's Boy-Toy) has returned for a ten-day stay while his mother is on a Caribbean cruise. He has had some obedience lessons since his last stay and tries so hard to please. He and Rosie decided to wake us up at about 6 a.m. today. Frank managed to settle them down for about half an hour, but the excitement of a new day was just too much for them and we all got up.

This miserable cold and the few days of nice weather since my last post have meant little or no time spent in my sewing room. The time I did spend in here was re-enacting the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.  (Refer to comment regarding brain function.)

However, I managed to spend a good deal of time looking at fibre art sites yesterday and found stitchinfingers. I explored their website and oohed and aahed the different groups' work, so I decided to join. It seems that I should now be adding a link to this blog to my page. I am not sure it is ready for the public domain (or perhaps I should say I am not ready to expose myself to the public domain ...). 

An Artsy Quilty Melty experiment from a few weeks ago. The base is Kunin felt topped with several layers of fused sheers, then melted with the fine tip of the Walnut Hollow heat tool. The turquoise areas are a metallic ribbon attached with fusible thread.

Life's a Peach!

Now for something completely different ... all about My Life! I have been married to the same great guy (Frank) for nearly 35 years. We have no kids, three cats (Josie, Cassie and Haffy) and a Chocolate Lab (Rosie). We are transplanted sort-of-retired city folk who choose to live in a rural area of Vancouver Island. We have learned that the very best eggs, chickens and turkey come directly from the farmer and John Deere tractors are pretty much a must-have on nearly 8 acres. 

Our property was once home to grazing animals that decimated a lot of the native growth which we hope to regenerate with native plants we brought with us from our former home in Lions Bay. We want to create a park-like atmosphere throughout the whole property so we can meander about with Rosie and a nice glass of red or white (bottled at The Mission - I highly recommend the Muller Thurgau and Amarone!) and realize how truly fortunate we are. We have a large pond and an island which is not accessible without a small rowboat. I don't "do" small boats so I have not set foot on the island, but Frank has created a secret garden using HIS stash of saved and repurposed items. He is a very talented designer and has envisioned and created some beautiful outdoor spaces. Of course, I added my two-bits worth and helped ...

We are privileged and (still) delighted to share our space with a lot of wildlife - deer, mink, beavers (well, maybe we could have done without the beavers who chewed down 6 trees when we first bought the house and which have moved across the street to continue their "damn" building), squirrels, river otters, jack-rabbits, various and assorted ducks, a Great Blue Heron, eagles, hawks, California Quail, Great Northern Flickers and the occasional pheasant. 

And frogs. Many frogs. Indigenous frogs and introduced frogs. We love to hear the indigenous frogs at night in the spring and autumn when, as we say, it's "frogging" outside. At times, the frogs are so loud they wake us up.

The introduced North Amercan Green Bullfrogs - not so much. The bullfrogs remind me of Jabba the Hut and sound like sick cows. Apparently if one is saving-native-habitat-minded, one can catch these frogs, put them in Ziploc Bags and then place them in one's freezer where they go into "permanent hibernation". 

I have some problems with this process. Firstly, the catching. These frogs leap into the pond at the slightest shadow or vibration. Secondly, the bank of the pond area can be extremely slippery. Thirdly, Beaver Fever has been caught by people (an 8 year old boy) who have purposely or unwittingly gone into ponds in this area. Fourthly, and I don't know about you, but our freezer contains tasty, appetizing food. Butter tarts. Lasagne. Pork chops. A 20 pound farm turkey. Apple pie and frozen fresh peaches from our trees. Frankly, I don't think adding dead - ooops - "hibernating" frogs stuffed into Ziploc Bags sounds all that appealing.

There's a local person whose name is Ketcham (not kidding) who will pick up the HagenFrogs and take them to Vancouver Island University for whatever it is university students do with frogs. (I don't want to go there - not VIU - the frog possibilities.) I was in Grade 12 when it was still apropos to dissect frogs. My science lab partners (yes I remember their names) decided that I was best-suited to do the dirty work. On the last day, before we had to say "goodbye" to Mr. Frog, I announced (quite loudly), that I had done enough dissection and it was someone else's turn.

In addition to the forest, pond, secret garden, frogs, cats and dog, we have 2 hazelnut trees, 8 apple trees, 3 cherry trees, 1 yellow-plum tree, 1 peach tree, 1 pear tree and 2 butternut trees. When I was very excited about rural life (and a few years younger), I planned to make tasty preserved jams, jellies, salsas, pies, sauces, etc. and would grab my basket (or "panier") (after hanging out laundry on a clothesline for that fresh, outdoorsy smell) and prance gaily about the orchard, singing folksy songs ... sparrows and bluebirds perched on my left shoulder, kittens, bunnies and baby bambis dancing and frolicking about my feet. 

Apparently, no matter how tasty and delish, the canned/jarred/bottled comestibles sit in sterilized Mason jars in the cupboard - uneaten. So, next year ... apples will be stored in boxes. Pears will be stored in boxes. Nuts - yep. Nuts to the nuts! Peaches will become smoothies and whatever is left from the fruit crop will be fed to the deer when it snows. I love being an earth-mom kinda girl, but I hate spending my time over steaming kettles and boiling cauldrons making stuff that no one eats.

I hope Ree Drummond at thepioneerwoman.com forgives me.

Love to my family and friends. 

Three-Dog-Day

We had a three-dog-day today. Dianne and her friend Mary came by on their walk with their dogs Rosa and Molly respectively. After they left, Becky and Kae-Lee came for a visit with their new Chocolate Lab Cain who just moved in with them yesterday. He is two years old and very rambunctious. Rosie is exhausted after a sunny, blue-sky play in the yard with her new dog friends. 

Official Gardening commenced today! Not only was it a sunny, blue-sky day, but it was also warm enough to spend some time outside doing yard work. Frank pruned the peach tree and the wisteria while I started raking amongst the trees.

We had our trip to Duncan this morning.  While Frank got what he needed at the marine aquarium store (and what he "needed" included two fish!), I wandered off to Fabricland, but left empty-handed. On the way home, we bought some halibut for dinner tonight and scallops for dinner on Friday.

I poached the halibut in water with a glob of Meyer Lemon Chutney and some lemon pepper and sprinkled spinach and asparagus with soya sauce, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil and cooked it in the microwave. I had made extra Thai black rice last night, so I heated the leftovers and added a dash of chili oil. I put some fresh cilantro and Thai sweet chili sauce on top of the halibut. We both had two servings. It was delicious and colourful!

I added some beads to one of the trading card pieces last night. I will take more pictures of this experiment in a few days. In the meantime, this is a picture of the other side of my altered book.

Another ArtsyQuilty Melty Experiment

I really liked the blue/green/rust Melty Experiment from the other day, so last night I decided to make another one. Although I did not take any pictures last night, I took this one before I started to do anything with the piece. There are several different colours of red, orange, teal and yellow scrap pieces of sheer fabrics placed over a foundation of black Kunin felt covered with a scrap of some slightly metallic gold cotton/nylon blend that shrinks badly and is quite heat-reactive. The gold fabric has been fused to the felt with fusible web and the sheer fabrics have been fused either to the gold fabric/felt foundation or to each other - just enough to hold everything in place. At this time, the piece measures 9"x12" and the only non-scrap piece is the felt. Now, on to some free-motion embroidery and embellishment.

In the second photo, I have added Kreinik braid and blending filament, Fiesta rayon floss, Cresta D'Oro metallic yarn (which I used up!) which I twisted together and stitched with Madeira metallic thread (purple and overdyed brown/rust).

Before I stopped for the night, I added some copper Fyre Werks and some copper foil using Bonash powder and did some melting. Then I cut it up to make trading cards, post cards and two little teeny-tiny pieces that will probably end up in the garbage!

Today we ran some errands - which included taking the power head from the vacuum cleaner to the fixing place and having lunch at The Cactus Club, some grocery shopping, a trip to the Age of Aquariums to indulge Frank's hobby, and home in time for tea. Since neither of us were particularly hungry, we had nachos for dinner. Age of Aquariums did not have what Frank needed so we are planning to go to Duncan tomorrow. The marine aquarium purveyor in Duncan is right next to Fabricland!  How very convenient.

I finally saw one of our formerly-invisible barn cats today.  Oh lordy!  It is absolutely ginormous.  I did not see it, but the other cat was further back in the barn. Frank says they look like litter mates. I think we will try to live-trap them and get them spayed (spaded???) or neutered and then they can live happily ever after in the barn.

MORE Excuses!

Today's excuse?  It's too tidy in here!

OK already!  Enough!  

My sewing room is now as tidy and clean (dusted, vacuumed, windows washed, Christmas fabric put away) as the rest of the house. I am afraid to go in there because I don't want to mess it up.

I have a plan (and the ingredients) for dinner - chicken breasts with a white wine/mushroom gravy, asparagus and rice.  While I was thinking this dinner plan through, I thought perhaps a dollop of Dijon. Imagine my surprise when I found a Rachel Ray recipe using almost all the same ingredients as my plan. I have made the mushroom gravy. I think this may turn out to be delicious. (Update:  It was!)

Sadly, the vacuum cleaner is not working properly and needs to go to the vacuum cleaner fixing place.  A terrible state of affairs since I still have that one room to go and it is VERY dusty. Then, of course, the rest of the house will need vacuuming again ...  Happily, the vacuum cleaner fixing place is in the same mall as The Cactus Club ... and we haven't been there for several weeks for wonton and Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc!

I shall leave this blog for a while and return later - after I have created something.

Well, it turns out I did not create anything, but I brought out a piece of painted fabric/paper that I made this summer with my friend Becky.  I cut it into ATC size and ended up with about 20 cards.  I then started to put Kreinik braid and beads on two of them - until I jabbed the needle straight through the grown-over holes in my middle finger. I had forgotten how much that can hurt! I just packed all the paraphernalia up and put it away. Now my sewing room is back to where it was a few hours ago - tidy. I am beginning to think the creative switch that was turned on about 4 weeks ago has shut itself off again ... and I have not been for a walk for about four days.

I need to start taking pictures of things that I have made and putting copies in my altered book/ journal. The above is a picture one of the covers. It was made with pieces put together from a class I took with Pat Crucil (curved piecing) and with Barbara Shelly at the Thread Bear in North Van before we moved to the Island. I love it!  

I understand from a news clip that a Birmingham, England has eliminated the use of apostrophes on their road signs. I wish they had eliminated periods some years ago!

Finally Finished

The painting is finally finished (at least in two rooms) and we have put all the furniture back where it belongs (or where it fits). We are very pleased with the results. I spent four days washing windows, cleaning decorative objects, vacuuming cobwebs, and rehanging pictures and carvings throughout the main rooms of the house. I then spent much of yesterday doing the same thing in the spare bedroom. The bathroom is immaculate and the dishes have been loaded into the dishwasher. The only two rooms left - our bedroom and my sewing room.  I will probably do the windows in both rooms tomorrow and then see where inspiration takes me. Oh, and the laundry needs doing.

Today was a couch-potato day while we watched the Steelers win the Super Bowl.  Helen left Prince here for a while and stayed for tea when she came to get him.  He will be here for a sleep-over on the 11th.

Becky and Colin came up for a "munchies and Rumoli" evening. We bought nacho ingredients. They brought nachos! It was fun!

I have not spent much time in my sewing room for the past ten days or so, due to the ongoing painting project and I have not been for a walk for the last four days. I need to get back to both.