Thursday, February 13, 2014

Bear with changes

Sorry - trying to change things up a bit but running into some technical issues. It may change colors and layouts a few times before I can get it how I want it.

Rescued Stray Cat . . .


Big Sigh . . . so this is "Maggy" or Jane Doe, this is the little 10.5 #  around 1 year old black cat that showed up just after Christmas and then went away for several weeks and then came back a week ago with the persistence of a desperate mosquito.  She would sit at our door ( full length glass) and meow from 5 AM to 12 Midnight - at least those are my hours of seeing and hearing her.  We did not do any thing at first-  growing up with the " don't feed a stray . . " but it has been so very cold here like -12 at night and 10 during the day and I did not feel right to not help it.   We had a nice place in the shed for it to sleep out of the elements but clearly she  had been a pet of someone and wanted to come in.   This made it difficult for us to go in and out of the house as it was always trying to run in and for our Yellow lab Edna and  Orange cat Oren, it would growl at them but our pets have been most gracious towards her.  We have had mixed opinions here about adding a 3rd cat to the mix. 
           After talking to the Vet it was decided to take it to a no-kill cat shelter nearby . . . . until I called and talked with the woman there that was clearly having a BAD day . . .  so back to the Vet I ended up and spending  more than we had hoped in order to be sure it was a healthy cat for us and our pets to interact with.  We learned it had been spayed so in theory it has been vaccinated but we cannot prove it  . . . so we have to do all of those again.  We did the Feline Leukemia test - again although a $65.00 test it defined what risk our other cats would be at.  Still trying to find it a home in order to keep our pets in Homeostasis, feeding it  but finding it still trying to steal food- got up on the counter to eat crumbs from making toast.  we are not really sure where we are headed with this little lap cat.  She is sweet but hard to say how she  fits into the rhythm we already have. We cannot have a jumping on the counter/table stealing food cat for sure- like biting into the bread bag.  Stay tuned . . .  Our existing pets have been here 9- orange kitty,8-yellow lab,7- black and white cat  years respectively.  they do well together and the Vet is concerned about us upsetting that balance. we'll see what the future brings I guess day by day.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Workign on it Wednesday


This is a Baby Quilt for a Baby Shower that I am going to on Saturday.  I still have left to hand sew down the binding and put a label on the back of it.   This was a lot of fun to work on.  I started with the feature fabric that has cute woodland animals in subtle pastel colors.   Then I looked for a pattern that was both quick and had a piece that would be big enough to show off the animals.  This is what I ended up with. The parents do not know what the sex is  - so I tried to make it unisex with both pinks and blues.  The green on the edges will be just a tiny bit once I fold it over and stitch it down.  A Cluster of books will be accompanying it. Beatrix Potter books and several about woodland creatures and critters.  Charley Harper is another favorite artist of ours and there is a line of kids books with his artwork out now. Fun Fun Fun makes me Happy, Happy, Happy!!!  I almost always give books and a toy or quilt or other extras for baby shower gifts. Back to cleaning and finishing the Great SU Blue and Orange Quilt for Yoda's bed!

Friday, February 7, 2014

The morning after . . .

              Well living in the Northeast and especially Western NY means that we get a lot of snow in the winter. This is expected and we are prepared. Everyone owns shovels, salt, snow blowers are optional. Every town has multiple snowplows, sidewalk plows and stockpiles of road salt and gravel. We have school "SNOW" days but they are not often used. Just one this year on a day with -25 to -35 windchill. You keep your car full of gas, travel with extra water in the car and a blanket , boots, hat, mittens and snacks if you are going any distance. The best way to drive in the snow is SLOW. It is often not you as the driver but it is the other driver that you need to watch out for. When it is getting ready to snow the sky gets very dark, gray and then if it is snowing heavy it is what we call a Whiteout. Driving in whiteouts is dangerous and no fun , driving on un-treated road surfaces is very difficult and not safe. As we have watched the southern states try to deal with this, my heart goes out to them. Thick snow on the road pulls your car, icy areas and you lose traction and begin to slide- to me these are scary but many people just drive right on through like it is the middle of July.
              The best part of a snowstorm is the morning after. It is usually clear, blue sky and wonderful blankets of undisturbed white stuff. Today was exactly that, I snapped these pictures before I went to work - to fill in for a co-worker who was out ill.
What a Blanket of Snow looks like . . .

Glad to have a short driveway when we get this much snow!!  It thankfully was the light fluffy type and made the removal of  the snow so much easier.

About 15 inch snowstorm on 2/5/14

Sunrise

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Book Chatterings . . . Memoir of the Sunday Brunch

This is a book that I started before the Holidays and finished in late January.  As the title says it was a memoir of the Authors life growing up the youngest in a large family that held faith front and central while running a family restaurant.   As soon as they were old enough ALL children were required to work the Sunday Brunch  . . . there just were no excuses  not to . Many lessons were learned through this experience although the ultimate lessons were going through the deaths of both parents. This was a book for me that held my interest but had parts that read faster than others. It is always refreshing to read of families in this day and age that still work-together, respect each other and hold each other up during the good and bad times.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Tea any body?

         So this was a gift from a co-worker.  She is an incredibly creative and kind person.  I love tea and I love Hands.  There is a thin cardboard base like a record album - but narrow and then the clothes pins are hot glued onto the cardboard.  She added all the tea and it could be replaced with photos.  The Hands are just fun foam.  My other co-worker got one like it but it had bright red lips as she cannot work with out her Channel Red lipstick . . . I thought this was really creative.  Marsha my co-worker is such a hard worker,  kind and gentle, a hug when you need it and always a smile and positive words.   She has a lot on her plate but finds time to do such nice things as this.   The world could definitely use more Marsha's in it.   Thank you for being such a great co-worker!   The post it hangs on is right in the middle of my kitchen - so it is front and center for a while.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Snow Rollers





      I apologize for the poor quality photos.  These occurred on 1/27-28 2014 and at first I thought that it was globs of snow from branches on the trees or on the wires.  As I traveled around i saw more of them but they were not every where. Near where I lived had them but like 5 miles north - there were none.  The weather world calls them Snow Rollers.  Honestly I got up to go to work and the ground looked like we had been transported to some outer-space land.  It was the weirdest thing to look at.  In the early hours of the morning we had, had very gusty strong winds which I guess coupled with new sow on top of icy snow gave us these mysterious Snow Rollers.   We did no get to taking pictures until the next day and then it was late in the day so that is why the quality is so poor. My first snow rollers in living in the Northeast for 50 years.

 These are stock photos from Goggle that are a bit brighter and more clear.







Saturday, February 1, 2014

Whats Happening on the Hill ?

                Well life is as full as ever. We have 2 kids that are in the college application process, one as a freshman and one as a Jr. transfer student. That means we as parents are busy with FASFA forms . . . So essay proof reading, support, application fees . . . mid-terms, starting a new semester, buying books . . .all are part of everyday life right now.

                  The weather here on the hill can best be described as blustery and bone chilling. We have had so very many days that start below zero with wind chills in the -25 region than I can remember. Living on a hill the snow is driven across the yard and drifts in to the driveway. Some years we put up a snow fence but it does not really help all that much. The wood stove is warm and cozy but the almost 200 year old house is very drafty. This time of year it is good to be the knitter and quilter in the house. Everyone needs or wants something.
Seasonal decorating keeps us inspired, this has now changed to red and valentines :> :>
Our feathered friends are gracing our feeders and we try to be diligent about keeping them in food and water. This is a white breasted Nuthatch.  They love to cache seeds that they take from the feeders.


This is a rosy breasted Nuthatch, smaller but still a lovely bird.


This is our old wood stove, it is an Irish wood cook stove and it came with the house.  The large door on the right is the oven. The firebox for wood is the small door on the upper left.   We cook on the top - great for stews and soups and we cook in it. Wood heat is such a comforting heat.  We do thankfully have alternative heat - baseboard hot water especially with this winter, but the first year we were here - this was all that we had.  There was many a night coming home from work to sit in my coat, sipping hot cocoa and watching my cold breath.

We have been having a lot of fun listening to  and following the Syracuse Orange Basketball Team.  They are 24-0 right now and every game is a close one.  Because of our rural area we only get one TV station and it does not have SU basket ball or the Olympics- boo hoo but we are trying to make do with using the computer.

 So that is a little picture of everyday life here on the Hill.