A sad day

Today was my baby sister, Jane's 47th birthday. I mailed her a box of books & left a message on her machine at 6:30 that she would get them in about a week.
At 8:30, my older sister, Gerry called. She had just talked to Jane's husband who told her that Jane's employee had found her lying dead on the ground about 2 hours before. Jane had had problems with high blood pressure & cholesterol, but she had told me that she had both under control.
I'm still numb. I hadn't really believed in the mortality of my sibs.

Quilting, feltmaking & dying

I've been busy quilting, making felt & dying. I've been working on my snake quilt since June. First, I paper pieced the snake:


Next, I appliqued him to the back of my background, & appliqued the tree trunks. I love that birch bark print. I used batting behind the tree trunks & snake to raise them above the background.

I layered the top with more batting (thinner) & a backing & I free motion quilted around every fern to sink the background & make the snake & trees stand out more. The free motion quilting took forever! I then cut the background fabric from in front of the snake. I'm getting close to finishing. I need to satin stitch around the snake, give him a face & handstitch the binding & sleeve to the back.

Feltmaking- Just a little-Petey gave me the idea. He was making felt (AKA mats) in his armpits. After I brush him, I always say "I've got enough fur to make another cat." Sooooo... I took some brushed out fur & rubbed it between my hands. It felted very fast. So far I've made ears. I'm not sure if I'll make a whole cat or not.

Now dying-stop reading here if you're squeamish. When we went to Seneca Lake, we were able to buy green glo-worms. I did a little net research & discovered that I could buy the worn food/dye. Fish really love these green worms.

If a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work...

...Then today was like winning the lottery. Nothing in picture for scale-the largest Perch was 11 inches long.

new Buck & deer

Yesterday our new Buck stove fireplace insert was delivered & partially installed. They need to come back to install the fitting that connects the stove to the new stainless steel flue liner & they will be replacing one of the side windows that cracked when they tightened the holding screw too tight. (Hint-maybe it's NOT a good idea to use a cordless screw gun.)

We bought the brass leaping deer & the 3 gallon jug last week in Geneva, NY at a bargain used/antique store.

Ross, Jenn & kids visit

Ross & Jenn brought Griffin & Logan for a visit on July 22nd. I've taken way too long getting these pictures up, but I think that you'll agree that it was worth the wait.








Griffin, Ross, Jenn & Logan on the porch swing.





















Ross & the amazing 4 legged Logan.

















Griffin & his long legs.















The kids loved my wagon full of rocks.


















Griffin sitting in the camo porch chair.


























Logan the Pirate, sailing past the pond.



















Medusa-boy Logan.





















Snakes are always fun.

Our hearts are broken

Last Thursday, while I was having fun in Virginia, Al, the diabetic cat, died. Charlie didn't want to ruin my trip, so he didn't tell me until tonight after I got home & I asked where Al was. He was a very special kitty & will be missed forever.

I'm free!!

I went for my post op doctor visit today & all restrictions have been lifted. I'm now allowed to drive, have sex & lift heavy objects-I don't think that I'll be doing all three at the same time though. Dr Katz told me that I can do anything that I feel up to, but I'll probably not get back all my stamina for 4-6 weeks. (What stamina?) When I showed my belly to the nurse, she said that it looks good. I told her that nobody had said that about my belly in years! I've lost about 10 pounds & I'm determined to keep going. I am enjoying foods, but I feel full with small servings.

How many hospitals does it take to remove my 1 gall bladder?

Answer-3. Late Friday afternoon, I went to my local emergency room at Bucktail Hospital, here in Renovo with terrible pains. They took blood, urine, vitals, poked my belly & said that it appeared to be a gall bladder problem, but they were going to have the ambulance take me to Lock Haven Hospital (about 28 miles away) for an ultrasound & then bring me back. After receiving some lovely Demerol, I took the ride to Lock Haven where they did the ultrasound, made some phone calls, & decided to send me to Jersey Shore Hospital (Not THE Jersey Shore, but Jersey Shore, Pa about another 15 miles.) Antibiotics & morphine by IV all night & operation at 9:00 Saturday morning. The nurses were great, I was a whimpering wimp. I was released Sunday morning about 10:30. I am now recovering at home with Charlie trying to tempt my appetite & 3 kitty nurses trying to give comfort. I'm actually quite amazed that I could feel so bad Saturday night & so much better this morning.

Tyke goes walkabout-(Slitherabout?)

Someone (I'm not going to name names, but it wasn't me.) forgot to put the brick on top of the snake's cage & she escaped for 2 days. Petey, the great snake hunter found her. Petey was giving intense attention to the base of a large dresser in the bedroom. I slid a yardstick underneath & felt a heavy soft lump, so I annoyed her with gentle yardstick pokes until she came out & we put her back in her terrarium. She spent the next few hours checking every hole in the lid to see if she could escape again.

spring's progress

View this morning. Some of the white in the background at higher elevations is snow. It was very cold last night-down to 31.9 here in the valley.