My little wren

Sitting in her nest. There's at least 3 eggs. This morning they were hunting bugs & came close to the window where ashley was watching. Ashley hit the window pretty hard.

digital cameras

I own 2 digital cameras. A 4 year old Panasonic DMC-tz1 small 5 mp camera with 10x optical zoom that I keep in my pocketbook-fair pictures & an 7 year old sony dsc-f717 -5 Mp w/ 5x zoom (Carl Zeiss lens) that takes better pictures, but weighs 1.5 pounds.

Last week a kitty knocked my Sony off the table & It started acting funny-the flash was locked out & I couldn't turn it on, every time I pressed the shutter release, it would take 3 pictures & the battery would deplete after less than 20 pics. I figured that it was on it's way towards toast, so I started looking on ebay for another 717. I bid on a few, but didn't win. They're going for $90-150. I finally decided to go to the Sony website to look at new cameras. I fell in love with the idea of the cybershot HX1-9.1 mp, 20X!!! optical zoom, sweep panorama mode ($379.00) (just over 1 pound):
http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=16161&N=4294966339&Name=Cyber-shot+Digital+Cameras)

I was ready to order it, but decided to explore the Sony troubleshooting first. Amazing! somehow my old Sony had gotten set in the "burst mode" which I had never used. It takes 3 pictures in succession & locks out the flash. A few button pushes & it was fixed. I went on ebay & ordered a new battery for $8.00. (I am still using the original.), but it was too late... I kept thinking about the HX1 & went back & ordered it. My f717 will be a dedicated ebay camera.

Note to turkey Vultures-I'm back & I'm alive

I just spent a 3 day/2night all expense paid (or most I hope) trip to the Lock Haven Hospital.

Sorry. Vultures, I'm alive-it was only diverticulitis. I thought that I had gotten food poisoning at a picnic on Saturday, but by Sunday, I decided to go to the ER. Yep, no strawberries for me this season. Look what was waiting for me at home-turkey vultures:

Charlie's tattoo

Here it is-Charlie's new tattoo with his ball python, Tyke.

Bearclaw necklaces finally done

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of ours gave me a paw that had fallen off of his bear skin rug & told me that he wanted to comission 4 necklaces. I encased the claws in beaded buckskin & added turquoise, coyote teeth, 2 jasper zuni bears, bone beads & for the last one, 2 raccoon bacula.

So, you think that you really love garlic?

After cooking cream of garlic soup a few weeks ago, I decided to come up with a variation.

Creamy garlic mushroom soup

Bring to a boil:
1 qt chicken stock
1 chopped tomato
1T pesto
all the peeled cloves from 1 head of garlic (Yes you read that right-a whole HEAD of garlic
simmer 20 minutes & then process in food processor or blender with
2 T flour.
Saute:
12 oz sliced mushrooms
in 2T butter until done
Add the processed liquids & bring to a boil until thickened. Turn off heat & add:
1c milk or cream.


Singing "There ain't no bugs on me..."

Gumbo my way

I made a powerfully good gumbo this week. I read a couple of recipes & then winged it. Here's an approximation:

Saute together:
1/2 pound hot sausage cut in bite sized pieces (I used Italian)
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast in bite sized pieces.
Remove from pan & add:
2T flour
cook stirring until flour browns & then add:
4 minced cloves garlic
1.5c chopped onion
1c chopped celery
1 chopped red bell pepper
Chopped hot pepper to taste (I used 2 jalapenos)
2 pound can diced tomatoes & a canful of water
1t salt
1t pepper
1T Worchestershire sauce
1/4c minced fresh parsley
3/4c sliced okra
The cooked sausage & chicken
Simmer for 1-2 hours & then add:
1/2 pound shrimp
2c cooked brown rice.
cook until shrimp are done (5-10 min)

strange day

First fishing-no bites-even went to 2 of our favorite spots. Went to camp to take care of camp kitty, Muskrat. Hung out at the Eagles club looking for Al (Charlie wanted to hire him to help with the lawn.) Grocery store, home. At 4:00, reading today's paper, I saw an ad-"one day only sale thursday apr. 29 at the old Dollar Bazzaar everything $.50". Threw down the paper, raced to the store (It's been closed since 2000), spent $45.00. Decided to stop at the Keystone bar-Charlie was still there. Found out that the daytime bartender had just gone off shift in tears. I had loaned her a blue fox vest. (that I had made from a coat that I had bought at a church sale for $5.00) Her dog had gotten it & chewed a hole in it. I came home, found the pieces that had been leftover when I made it & fixed it-2 hour job, but to be honest, 3/4 hour was spent looking through fabrics to find a compatable lining patch. If the skins haven't become brittle, furs are easy to work on. I plan to wear it to the bar tomorrow morning to show her that everything is OK & nothing to stress about. I lived with too much stress for too many years to get worried about anything like that.

Home made circle stitcher under $1.00

This is my easy substitute for a circular stitcher. Start out by poking a thumb tack through a piece of template plastic at least 2" x 2". Place the tack the radius of your circle away from the needle (here 2.25" for a 4.5" circle)

Tape the plastic down.

Starch your fabrics very heavily or iron to freezer paper if you prefer. poke the tack through the centers of the fabric & with needle & presser foot up, rotate the fabric to make sure it stays under the needle.

VERY IMPORTANT!! cover the point of your tack with an eraser or a cork. (This helps to keep blood off your project.

Making sure your fabric doesn't creep toward the tack, do a straight stitch. The fabric will pivot on the tack & make a perfect circle.

Leaving the fabric on the tack, with needle up, lift the presser foot & trim away the excess fabric, pivoting as you trim.

Set your machine for a satin stitch & go around again covering your raw edge.

Finished circle-use as is or cut into 1/4s for drunkards path.

Quilt preview

This is what I've been working on this weekend. It won't get done, but I have a good start on it.
First the pattern-that I modified with EQ6. It's not exact-just a working plan -there are more & better colors.

These are the fabrics: