pet quilts, old pics, and a few funny ones...

When talking about quilts recently, I was reminded of how I began quilting years ago. I decided to make 'pet quilts'... little small quilts that cats and dogs could lie on (and possibly save chairs and sofas from the accumulated hair). I made several of these for family and friends.

                                                                   

They were fun to make and a good way to start quilting as they were small and could be put together quickly.

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And then... since I was going through our old desk top computer looking for pics, I found some of my two oldest grandkids pics when they were youngsters. 

She is now 19

he is 21

Where did the time go?

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Also came across this cartoon... which is so me.

(forgive the shape of the pics as these are all 

'pics I took of  pics' 

off the desk computer. Gives them all a strange angle.)

And this one that I'd forgotten about

but it made me laugh...

Also DH and I saw a snake when getting out of the car in the driveway the other day. He was black and about 2 feet long. I was going to take a pic of him, but he slid under the concrete where there is a hole going under the garage. But we think he was a Rat snake. We have Copperheads and Water Moccasins too, but see more Rat snakes and Garden snakes than those. 

pic of rat snake from the web

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Quick question: 

Do any of you do Ancestry DNA? If so, you know that it's constantly changing... not your dna, but the report. Apparently as more people send in their dna (or spit into the tube), the more accurate your report becomes. DH and I did it a while back and although I never seem to have enough time (not sure why this is) to delve further into it, it is interesting.

This is my latest report:

The +2 more are France and Spain.  I think this is probably the most accurate one so far as although my dad and his family came to the States from London, his grandfather was from Ireland (O'Regan/Regan). And this is the first time the report has mentioned France (which should be there since my mom was French - D'Aquin).

Anyway, I was just wondering if any of you have tried this...

Closing this now... it's been a strange day, but not going to go into that now. I will say the weather for the first day of Fall has been awesome. I think it was in the 60's this morning!

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

Tiny turtle, quilts, and strange lyrics...

tiny Box Turtle

Found this little fella in our backyard the other day. He's one of the smallest Box Turtles we've seen and we see quite a few. They come to feed on the feral cat food in both the front and back yards. Most are 2-3 times this one's size. (Of course they must be small at some point, but we've just never seen them??) We figured a lot may be eaten by the raccoons and other wild critters by the creek. I wanted to take him in and keep him safe, but DH said to let him be as he made it this far.

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I have been working on my crazy scrap pandemic quilt. Just finished the 2 borders. Now I need to decide on a backing so I can put it all together and start quilting.

scrap quilt

And then I've also finished another jungle theme quilt... made with strips of fabric. I haven't decided on the borders for this one yet.

jungle quilt

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Going to mention something bizarre here. I woke up this morning with the lyrics to a song going through my head. Don't know why, but thinking maybe my subconscious is more concerned about the DIVISION in our country than I realize.  The lyrics were:

"America, America, God shed His grace on thee,

And crown thy good with BROTHERHOOD

from sea to shining sea."

Isn't that the strangest thing?

I wrote this yesterday, but didn't post it. Now it's Friday morning and we just got back from running an errand. Don't have anything interesting to add, so I guess I'll close for now. Hope you all have a fun-filled safe healthy weekend. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my scribbles. 

BTW, I spoke with my daughter  (who has yet not taken the Covid vaccine) about my concern (a mother worries). She explained how her doctor doesn't recommend she take the vaccine due to her Hashimoto disorder. She is more fearful of the vaccine and what it might do than Covid. And I can understand that. But she is careful, wears a mask, and takes all the necessary precautions (... but still I worry).

 

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

a boring post to be sure...

Nothing too interesting to post about this week.  Guess this could be good as perhaps life these days could use some 'not so interesting days'.

I stayed busy this week putting together a 'care package' to send to oldest granddaughter at college. Made her some home-made granola, tea cakes (which are basically frosted sugar cookies - although not as sweet), added some of my home-sewn face masks and some KN95 ones, and a few other little additions picked up at the Italian Store Eataly's at the mall.  

Yes, we made it to the mall to walk this week!  We go early just as the stores open and walk both floors. We don't shop (well, not really... we sometimes buy pizza or honey or ? at Eataly's and occasionally I stop by Bath and Body shop for coffee scented candles.) I love Eataly's fresh brewed coffee (especially the espresso), but don't dare get it anymore because of the caffeine and the acid.

And I also sent my daughter something this week that I had bought earlier through Amazon. It's a thin tile that helps you locate things you often misplace. My cousin told me about this and since misplacing things happens often enough around here I thought I'd give it a try.  You can google the information at Tile.com which explains it's use. 

Anyway, as it turns out, my iPhone 6 is not updated enough to use the Tile (ugh! we will have to bite the bullet and upgrade our phone one day soon). So I thought I'd send it to my daughter who keeps her iPhone current (iPhone 10 or 11 I think). And I'm pretty sure they are constantly misplacing keys or phones at her house, so maybe this will help.

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Let's see...??? What other 'not so important' stuff going on?  Well, I'm making chicken salad for supper tonight. I make it with apples and pecans... not terribly original or exciting, but pretty good. And the plan is to make Shepherd's Pie tomorrow... another not so exciting entree...  but one of our favorites.

I'd better close this before I bore you to tears.... Oh! we did see a hummingbird outside at one of our feeders! That was unexpected in September. We usually see them here in May. But I read that they are on their way to Mexico and many don't leave until September (who knew?) 

Also a person in the neighborhood got a good picture of a handsome bobcat in her yard last week. I copied her picture here:

well marked bobcat

That's it, my friends. I won't go into the mess our world is getting into with the vaccine and mask mandates or the abortion issue. Life has gotten a bit out of control. 

But I will say that with the health issue (Covid) taking so many people's lives, I'm all for mandates to save lives (people have the right to live). And as for the abortion issue, although I can't imagine that I could ever consider an abortion, there are circumstances that I do believe may warrant it. And I'm one of those that consider myself both pro-life and pro-choice (don't see the difference there).  (And as for the vigilante aspect of turning people in for money - appalling!)

Probably shouldn't have even said this much as I'm sure it may 'offend' some. But it's how I feel... and it is my blog.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. I appreciate having a way to express myself...  'not so important' as well as 'extremely important' issues.

Hugs (virtual),

Rian

*Update: From what I can tell, all family and friends in New Orleans now have their power back on.  I'm sure it's not up everywhere 100%, but as of yesterday, everyone we know has power again thank goodness. Many ended up in hotels in Houston until the power was restored. It's just too hot and humid in New Orleans to survive long without A/C. 

a strange week...

It's been a strange week... starting with Hurricane Ida, a migraine a day or so later, and now... I'm mellow. Why? Don't know. Just glad that even though all the crises (is that the pleural for crisis?) around the world are not over by any means, I've settled into a semi-comfortable state. It is what it is... and we will adjust as needed. 

I've also come to the conclusion (for the moment) that the world has gone nuts... and we will have to find a way to live with it. There's probably more crazy to come, but worrying about it helps no one. I feel like if we can just continue to take care of our own, and perhaps help out - even in small ways to others, then we're doing OK. 

I haven't heard from my friend whose building lost their roof during Ida since Monday. I know she's moved in with a niece and they probably have no power. So I'm hoping she'll text me when she can get her phone charged again. I'm worried that the  heat and humidity will be hard on her since she's 76. 

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Fairy Penquin

We picked up our granddaughter from school yesterday. We went for ice-cream and then home to watch a movie about a dog that saves Fairy Penquins on an island off Australia (based on a true story). It was a family movie free on Prime called Oddball (dog's name). We loved it! These Fairy Penquins are adorable! And you could walk to this island! 

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And I have to show you this. My daughter-in-law sent me this.  It's a crochet pattern for tiny cats! I would love to do this, but not sure I can work that small.  Maybe some of you out there could. If you're interested, I'll post the pattern. Hey, if you can do this, I'll trade you some Cheeky Chickens for some tiny cats....

tiny crochet cats

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Started writing this Thursday morning. Didn't finish.

 It's Friday now. 

Having strange anxiety type dreams lately. Usually I'm trying to make something work - and can't. Could be a phone, could be a gas pump, etc. Or I can't find my way somewhere... and occasionally I find myself in the middle of a crowd and realize that I forgot my mask! I know this is probably just suppressed anxiety over the craziness going on right now. And when I wake up, I tell myself to just forget it - but not always easy to do.  Are you having weird dreams?

Going to close now.  Memorial Weekend is upon us! These holiday weekends kind of sneak up on me... guess with everything else going on I tend to forget about them. I do wish you all a nice long relaxing weekend. Thanks for being here for me. 

Hugs (virtual),

Rian