Procrastination

I'm quite good at putting things off.

I have bulbs to plant, hanging planters to dump, big planters to store, and other assorted outside duties that need done.

Then, as I was getting ready to leave to meet with my reading tutor-ee, my phone rang. It was nephew Ryan telling me about a beautiful bit of scenery he had witnessed this morning on his truck route.  A pond filled with geese and a farm in the background.  He gave me the location and I thought... I'll add it to my places to pay attention too when I'm out and about with my camera.  Just as I was leaving for tutoring, I grabbed my camera bag, just in case.  I had noticed a posting on Facebook about a quilt shop in Richland having a Halloween sale, I started thinking maybe there could be a little road trip.

So, I ended up making a loop from my house to Cameron, to Turtle Lake, then South on 63.  Just South of Clear Lake I found the spot that Ryan had called about.

I suspect the geese and swans were in the closer pond when Ryan saw them.

There were about a zillion geese, and they were very noisy.

If you live close by, you might not enjoy this gathering so much.

Then I had Smarty Pants help me take back roads to get to Richland.

Town roads and country roads are busy with farm equipment so I took my time.

I ran across a couple of little bucks, only got a photo of one.

They are so camouflaged now, they practically disappear into the brush.

He gave me the stare down as I scrambled to pull over, roll down the window and take a couple of quick snaps.  I love seeing the deer, especially when they are not right on the road.

At Richland I visited the quilt shop and picked up a little sale fabric.

The shop was busy, I'm always happy to see that, I want these little quilt shops to stay in business.

From Richland, I headed back home on the main drag.

I wanted to stop in Barron at the library to check out the Literacy Council supply cabinet.

My student needs a take home book and I wanted to be sure I have plenty of workbooks on hand.

I found what I needed.

My final stop was the DQ.

It won't be long until the Dairy Queens close down for the winter,

one last cone.

When I got home there was a card on the front step left by a friend.

It was a fun surprise.

I never get any trick or treat kids here, but I enjoyed being out and about today, I saw some great make up and costumes.

I Wanda Witch you a Happy Halloween.

I still have bulbs to plant, hanging planters to dump, big planters to store, and other assorted outside duties that need done. But not today.

My Personal Plumber

My plumber, Ryan, is the brother of my niece's husband, Mark. (So,  my nephew in law's brother, got that?)  The Loyas boys are nice men and have strong work ethic just like their Dad and Mom.

I got to visit with Ryan again today. It's been a year since the water heater,  so I should be happy about that I guess. Saturday afternoon I heard a noise in the laundry room.  For a split second I thought, oh I'm washing clothes.  But then I realized that was not true.  So, I immediately flipped the breaker on the well pump. There was some water on the floor in the laundry room. At first I thought a hose had blown on the water feed to the washer,  but I ruled that out quickly. 

So,  I sent a text to Ryan. He said he would stop by on Sunday.

It's not fun to have no water. I knew I couldn't make coffee this morning,  so thought,  "oh well, I'll have some tea". Duh. It all takes water.  

After a long day of no water,  no shower,  no toilets,  Ryan stopped in.  

He quickly found another bad fitting.

We thought we had them all,  this one, on the hot water to the washer, slipped by us.

He did a quick temp fix to stop the leak and give me water, yay! He will be back Tuesday to do the rest of the work. 

I'm so lucky to have a personal plumber.♥️

Quilt Camp

I once again joined friends Mary & Sharon in Solon Springs for quilt camp over last weekend.  This year, I decided to arrive on Thursday, set up and sew but come home to sleep that night and then stay at the motel on Friday and Saturday nights.  That way, I didn't need to arrange for cat care at home but could have an extra day of sewing.  

It worked out perfectly.  

Our new sewing friend Sandy had arranged for us to have a nice sewing spot near the window and we had plenty of room.  She had arrived on Wednesday so had the pick of the real estate, which was very nice for us.  Sandy used to have a sewing pal that came with her, but with life changes, her friend no longer was able to come, so we are happy to have Sandy as our 4th.

I arrived on Thursday just after noon, and what a view of the lake.

My first project was to complete a flannel quilt top that I had cut last fall.

This pattern, Block by Block, was a kit I purchased at Pins and Needles, my favorite quilt store.

The fabrics have a vintage wool look.

Since there are no seams to line up, it looked to be an easy project.

Here's the view from my machine.

It's nice to have the light from the window and the ability to open the window for a little ventilation as well.  The window sill worked out nicely too as I could stash some of my supplies.

The quilt (seen here sideways) went together quickly to start with.

Later, I decided I had cut that dark border 1/2" too narrow, and down the road that caused me some angst.

But, I'm probably the only one that will every notice.

Mine doesn't exactly match the pattern provided, but it will be a nice quilt.

The finished quilt will be very snuggly and cozy as the backing is a wool-look plaid brown flannel.

I think I have a home for this quilt once it is done.

***

So, one quilt top finished and on to the next project.

My next project was to finish a quilt I had started at a class in August.

In August, I met Mary and Sharon at Cornucopia for a 'mystery quilt' class taught by our friend Myrna.  We were given instructions on the type of fabric to bring.

'large print'

'coordinated fat quarters'

'blender fabric'

Once we started revealing the mystery, I wasn't very pleased with my choice of fabrics.

But I did get 9 squares sewed up and I had brought them along to Solon.

Mary and Sharon urged me to finish the quilt so I set to adding the sashing.

Once I got that far, I could see there was a fun quilt emerging.

I ended up with a nice quilt top and learned a couple of new techniques along the way.

This will have a sunflower backing on it and will likely end up in my living room.

***

Last fall, Sharon brought some hardware to quilt camp for us to make a clutch bag.

We never got around to making it, and decided to get to it early this camp to be sure we finished it.

She also brought some fabric that looked like cork for us to use.

My cork was blue.

 I had scraps of fabric for the interior from this year's Shop Hop.  These coordinating fabrics were all about Wisconsin, showing wildflowers.  I love this fabric.

This was really a fun project and it was much easier than I expected.

Even setting the zipper was a breeze.

We each made one, and each were so nice.

It was fun to do a group project.

***

I also sewed up binding for a quilt that is ready to be bound and then used, as well as binding for the 2 new quilts I sewed.  This is a tedious step so it is nice to do it at camp where there are some distractions.

I sewed up a bow tie for great nephew Ivan.

He's interested in dressing sharp, so will add this to his collection of ties.

My last project will be shown later.

I did do lots of cutting and am planning on getting the sewing done this next week.

***

It was a lovely Sunday morning on Lake St. Croix.

Packing up the car after camp is never the fun part.

This time, as I was reaching to unplug my machine, I leaned a little too hard on my acrylic sewing platform.  The one arm broke right off.  I have it taped for now, but hope I can glue it back to usefulness.  Ugh.

 Just after this mishap, I dropped one of my acrylic rulers and it shattered, so that went in the garbage.

It was good I got away without anything else happening I guess.

****

My car was packed full for the ride home on Sunday afternoon.

I swung by the Sandcastle on my way home.

I needed to pick up the hot-water-on-demand unit to replace the battery.

I had just enough room in the car for that big unit.

All was well at the castle.

 A quick stop at the Nelson's in Gordon to wish Craig well on his new hip and I headed for home.

By the time the car was unloaded at home, I was pooped.

We are getting closer to election day.

Please Vote!

Chicky

From time to time, my piano teacher has asked me to do a little chicken and sheep sitting when they go out of town. Today I checked in on the animals at the orchard. Everything was fine and I took a couple of snapshots of them to show you. I'm kind of fascinated with chickens and if they weren't so needy I might consider having some. The sheep are kind of funny little critters but they weren't too interested in me today.

I might have to go back, on a nice day, with my good camera and do a photoshoot with those sheep and those chickens.

Charli

More volleyball.

This time Charli, who is in 7th grade.

She definitely got the tall genes, lucky her.

Charli looks so much like her Mom Kaija it is uncanny.  

She's a quiet girl, the oldest of 5 kids.

It's really fun to watch her play.

I wonder what is going on in her head as I've watched when she is getting some post game advice from one of the fans and she never lets on.

We have lots of years of fun Volleyball to watch with Charli!

Emily and her fans

Emily's last regular season game at Luck was a losing effort, but the girls fought hard and we saw 4 exciting sets before it was done.

Tournament play begins on Tuesday.

Great Aunt Wanda, Aunt Heather, Uncle Kyle, Dad Aaron, Mom Angie, Great aunt Lois, cousin Gage
Cousin Ruby, Sister Megan, Grandma Lois, Emily, Cousin Stella
Cousin Jude, brother Ivan

Seniors:  Katie, Emily, Addie, Katie, Elisabeth and Nancy

Senior Katie was recognized for her 1000 kill shots, Emily looks on

Poster on the wall of the gym

#15 in action, this girl can jump

Emily digs it out

It has been a fun season, I hope we get several tournament games too!

Go Cardinals

Holland

I was lucky enough to spend some time with Jude and family yesterday.

Today, Heather sent me this poem that Jude's geneticist recommended to her.

Jude continues to remind us that 'Holland' is a place very special in it's own right. 

Jude takes the breathing treatments & feeding tube in stride and loves to show off his strength and football skills.

2018 10 13

So, while he might not have been born according to expectations, 
Life is darn good with Jude's joy.

Emily

My great niece Emily is a senior this year at Luck.

She's an accomplished volleyball player having played for several years on a traveling team as well as school teams since she was a youngster.  

Parents night at volleyball

Emily with Mom Angela, Dad Aaron and little brother August.

Emily with Mom Angela, Dad Aaron and little brother August.

Emily with Mom Angela, Dad Aaron and little brother August.

Emily is good at the net

This year, as a senior, win or lose,  Emily handles it well.

Emily simply sighs and says it isn't what she had hoped for.

I'm even more proud of Emily for handling her play time with grace and continues to be enthusiastic about her team and their accomplishments.

Serving is one of Emily's strengths, she has racked up many points from the service line.

Emily is also involved in band and drama.

She's a good student and a wonderful big sister to her little sister Megan and little brothers Owen, Ivan and August.

Emily has her own style.  

She's not shy to change it up, new hair color & fun clothes.

She's very interested in what we used to call Home Ec, now it is Family and Consumer Science.

I have a feeling that Emily has untapped potential that will surprise us all.

Go Emily!