Wednesday Weather Report #76 - 10/31/18

Happy Halloween!!!

October 24 - 30, 2018
38 - 39 - 44 - 37 - 41 - 41 - 49 F

You'll be surprised next week when you see what color has come out of hiding for Halloween!

October 1 - 30, 2018

And I finally took a photo of the Kaleidoscope doll quilt. When I bought the fabrics, I purchased these gold and turquoise fabrics as well as the coordinating chicken fabric. I didn't have a pattern in mind so I just bought "some" of each. In other words, I am now cutting and making 1 row at a time to see how many blocks I can get out of the fabric. I'll run out of the gold before the turquoise but I know I at least have enough for one more row.

And sew...how is your weather? We warmed up this morning until the rain started again this afternoon. I hear it's supposed to stop around trick or treating time but then start again. In fact, we have a flood warning through Friday as we are expecting up to a couple inches of rain. Don't shoot me but I'm ready for another kind of weather and it starts with an "S"...

An InLinkz Link-up

It was a cold, rainy, foggy weekend...

I had "plans" for the weekend - mostly revolving around household chores, baking and bazaar preparations. It turned out to be all about the fire department and Mr Serious...

--For just about any controlled burn we throw in some training exercises first. 
--The house was prepped by the farmer by removing anything that possibly had asbestos (flooring, siding, roofing) and anything else that could be dangerous for training purposes.
--We had about 100 fire wo/men and maybe 15 trucks from 7 departments
--Castile has yellow trucks - research shows they are more visible than the traditional red trucks.

About 20 minutes after we finally started the burn

Friday night, after getting the groceries, I got one last take out meal (salmon burger with dill sauce and fried green beans) from the Charcoal Corral before they closed for the season. Then I spent the evening working on Mr Serious. I was tired so I went to bed a little early which is good cuz the 0130 rescue call took longer than normal and it always takes me a while to get back to sleep. There was another call at 0700 but since we were going to do a controlled burn at 0730, the chief asked another department to cover the call. Sadly there is still paperwork to be done whether we go or not.

11:39

11:40

11:41

For the controlled burn, I was supposed to be doing "firefighter rehab" for any firefighter who wore an air tank inside the burning house or anyone not feeling well. Despite their instructions, not a single firefighter came over for rehab. Thankfully I brought hexies to work on or it would have been an excruciatingly long 5 hours. I worked on my kaleidoscope doll quilt that I am trying to finish for our Fall 2018 UFO challenge at hexie club. I made some good progress but neglected to take any photos.

I then went on a FART to a not-so-LQS that I just found out has a decent Grunge collection to look for the perfect yellow for Mr Serious. I found a better brown and more neutrals to add to the mix but still not the right yellow. Maybe even with their 119 colors they still won't have the right yellow?

Sunday came up rainy and cold yet again. Even Z has been upset with the weather. I went to my nephew's hockey game in the morning and then crashed on the couch making exceptional progress on Mr Serious. The row that I started today will end in the top left corner. Woohoo!! Just 16 tiny little hexies until I hit that corner!!

The evening was topped off with a vehicle fire in one of the local heifer barns. We had 3 men for rehab this time and I made some new (moo?!) calf friends.  Luckily no firemen or cows were harmed but the feed truck is toast. Had the fire been worse a very large barn full of a lot of heifers could have been lost.

We will be Falling Back soon - don't forget to change the batteries in your smoke and CO alarms!!

Feline Friday - 10/26/18

Zorro's professional guidebook for obtaining more kibble from Momma:

Test bowl to see if it's really empty and get Momma's attention

Suddenly fall to the floor, famished

Throw a little tantrum while clandestinely checking under bowl for stray kibble

Rub against bowl as if it's the best crystal bowl in the world

Repeat as needed - rail against the empty bowl and then love on it until Momma relents. Don't forget the falling to the floor part - it's dramatic and attention getting.

Sadly the mission was unsuccessful this morning but I will try again tonight.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Weather Report #75 - 10/24/18

Wow! It's hard to believe that we are up to week #75 already for the temperature quilts! It's amazing how time flies when you're having fun :)

October 17-23, 2018
45 - 39 - 58 - 51 - 37 - 48 - 45 F

There has been a definite shift in the weather. We've migrated from the hotter summer reds and oranges, past the yellows and into the fall temps of green, turquoise and even some blues.

If we want to believe the weather people, then we are in for 30s and 40s for the next 2 weeks. The rumor mill has been calling for snow this weekend thanks to Hurricane Willa but the weather peeps haven't mentioned more than a passing snow shower tomorrow morning.

October 1-23, 2018

One of the best weather prognosticators is my resident feline and he stayed inside *again* today after cuddling very close over night. Take it for what you will - but I think he thinks it's too cold outside to explore :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Mission Monday

With the countdown beginning towards Christmas and the "bazaar" shopping season I finally got my tuchus in gear for production mode. I started with taking inventory of my box of leftover items from last year and found quite a bit left, reminding me of the meager sales from last year. Sob. Sob. Well, that just affords me the time to try some new items....such as candle mats!

Hopefully sales will be better this year as I just made a purchase from MSQC - when Tula Pink is the daily deal it's hard to resist...I picked a pattern and also bought the border fabric. No random purchases here.

But I digress so back to the candle mats...

2 done!

I got the idea from Chantal, to use the wacky web template and they come together pretty quickly. I used a cardboard box to make a template for the batting and backing. The "hardest" part is picking fabrics to pair together. The next hardest part will be deciding on a price - ugh - worst chore in the world.

2.5 almost done!

I also spent a considerable part of Saturday finishing Chicago Med season 3 and working on Mr Serious.

Just 4.5 rows left until I hit the top left corner!!

Last week I counted what I had done so far and found I had completed something like 328 hexies, which put me about a week behind the 10-a-day schedule. It's OK tho because a couple more 23-hexie-days like Saturday will get us caught up soon enough. I'm probably done with the counting - why count when I can be stitching?!

Feline Friday - 10/19/18

I'm sure these snuggly lap pictures are getting a tad repetitious and boring.

I mean we are working on 6 or 7 days in a row now (Momma lost count).

But what else is a mancat supposed to do when I can snuggle on *my* B&W fleece in front of the space heater??

Maybe if my dolly bed had an e-blanket we could switch things up a bit?!

An InLinkz Link-up

It's the little things...

...that are entertaining me today....

I love the dark bluegray skies of fall against the fall leaves.
These storm clouds were replaced with perfect blue skies in just 15 minutes.

Yesterday I discovered at least 6 blossoms open on my azalea...
the same azalea that was less than dazzling this past spring.

This morning Z and I awoke to graupel (a soft hail, reminds me of Dippin' Dots).
It wasn't there when I got home from a rescue call at 3am so it was a nice surprise.

It's a new color day!!
Welcome Blue!

Mr Serious is cruising right along...
I estimate that I'm now 1/8 done after just 5 weeks.

Wednesday Weather Report #74 and HeLP for Hexie-aholics - 10/17/18

Hello and welcome to a double dipping of hexies today!!

I wish that I had a more exciting hexie project to share in addition to my weather quilt but that's all I have today. We'll blame it on a lack of photo taking skills after staying up wayyyyy too late watching the last 3 episodes of Call the Midwife season 7 last night after guild.

Hopefully you have something exciting to share~

79 - 66 - 47 - 47 - 54 - 62 - 47 F

The color is the best I could get it for this photo but you'll still need a bit of imagination... The cutting mat is traditional Olfa green and the three 40s hexies are a gorgeous teal color. The week was looking pretty tropical, color wise, but it certainly didn't feel tropical outside. Perfectly fall like but not tropical.

In fact, I finally closed the bedroom window last night. My bed it cozy with quilts blankets and one chummy cat but the house as a whole is getting quite nippy and I'm too cheap to turn on the heat yet. I might change my mind if those snow showers actually appear tonight and or Sunday.

Speaking of snow showers, I might even get to introduce a new color Sunday as our expected high is just 38F. Zorro stayed inside again today - even he knows the weather has taken a downturn that's ready to stay.

October 1-16, 2018

And now it's your turn! Are you making a temperature quilt? It doesn't have to be hexies - it can be any quilt style. You don't even have to wait until January to start - jump in any time!

Maybe you are making another EPP project? We would love to see it!

An InLinkz Link-up

Feline Friday - 10/12/18

Did you know it was gonna be cold last night? Did you know that today was gonna be a New Color Day? I didn't either which means I really shoulda listened to Momma and come inside last night when she whistled for me.

I was THRILLED when she finally got up at 6:30 and let me inside. Gosh she sleeps late when I'm not inside to tell her it's breakfast time.

After I nabbed some breakky, I curled up in the warmest place I know:

Yes, I also helped Momma with my pawtrait!!

It's a hard job to keep Momma warm but someone has to do it.

Oh yeah and our temp today is just 47, which is turquoise. Woohoo! Happy New Color Day!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Weather Report #73 - 10/10/18

I've been watching the weather app live as Hurricane Micheal makes landfall. It's hard to believe this storm is so close to being a cat 5 and headed towards the Carolinas. I hope everyone is safe and safely away from the path of this monster. Except the silly weather people out in this weather. Is news really that important to risk your life as a cat 4/5 comes ashore?

It is a theory that the storm has pushed warm weather our direction and this week's temps really do support that theory.

60 - 65 - 55 - 73 - 60 - 74 - 81 F

Yes - I had to cut one more red for this week. Given that the highs in the coming days will be in the 40s I don't think I'll need to cut any more reds until next year.

October 1-8, 2018

I've made some more progress on Mr Serious...

I didn't do a post on the project last week but I had posted a picture on the tab above which I'll copy here for comparison. The tiles are 11.5". I've finished the maroon down to the bottom of that section and I've now finished the red to the right side as well so it's time to work towards the top. Woo hoo!

 

On the left was last Friday and on the right was today.

And now it's your turn - how is your weather today?!

An InLinkz Link-up

Feline Friday - 10/5/18

Sometimes, after prowling outside all night followed by a fresh fast food breakfast...

... it's nice to cuddle with Momma for a quick cat nap.

An InLinkz Link-up

Wednesday Weather Report #72 - 10/3/18

First, lets catch up from last week...

September 19-25, 2018
68 - 67 - 66 - 53 - 58 - 61 - 69 F

And then this week...

September 26-30, 2018 68 - 60 - 66 - 60 - 54 F
October 1-2, 2018 53 - 69 F

Yes, there has been quite a down swing in the weather the last couple of weeks but give it time, we are expecting orange (near red) over the weekend which is One. Last. Chance. to get yard work done...

The Quality Control Officer decided to help with photographing the complete month of September.
He's always so helpful and I love him to pieces!

It's hard to believe that we are beginning month 5 already!!

Yipp, I still need to change the 2 neon greens in the June column to the new darker green. I'm also trying to decide between another darker green for 40s or a teal color. The teal would make the color differences more obvious but the 2 contrasting greens would be more consistent with last year's color scheme, which is only important for comparison purposes. I am leaning towards the teal...because one change won't make that big a deal in the grand scheme of this project.

I don't have a picture of Mr Serious yet for the week but progress has been a little slow going due to other commitments in the last 5 or 6 days. Not to worry tho as I have a house sitting gig with my neph-dogs over the weekend and that means lots of TV binging (they have millions of cable channels and the dogs don't care what I watch) and stitching. Must remember to bring the Ott light!

And now it's your turn to share your weather! Have your temps been dropping as well? Are you socked in with pea soup fog like we had on Monday? Are you in the midst of an Indian Summer? Do tell!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Bibliophile Files - 10/2/18

Hello and Welcome to another of my monthly book lists. It's a short one this time given that last month's report was a week late. Well that and I have spent lots of time in front of the DVD player so that I could work on Mr Serious. I'm now watching The Handmaids Tale ... scary and riveting at the same time.

FINISHED
     The Book of Speculation - Hmmm...another circus book. I'm sensing a theme this summer. This is 2 family stories (1700s and present) woven together over time. Sadly the ending was a tad bit of a let down.
     Stiff: The Curious Live of Human Cadavers Yeah, it sounds morbid but the author adds a lot of levity and you'll be surprised what cadavers (or parts thereof) are used for.
     The Gary Ghost - yikes I nearly forgot I finished this book while on vacation. I enjoy the series but the book didn't draw me in like normal. Maybe it was driving in new territory and not paying enough attention? I'm not sure.
     Never Never - WhooHoo - a new Patterson series that takes place in Australia. The audiobook reader had the perfect accent.
     The Snow Child - A story in Alaska based on a Russian Fairy Tale. They told us what happened at the end of the fairy tale but I had expected a different ending to the book.


IN PROGRESS
     The Astronaut Wives Club - I know it was the time and it was all about perceptions of the new astro-program but NASA seemed pretty bully-ish with all of their demands of these women. Luckily they bonded to support each other.
     The Nightingale - this was put on hold some weeks ago when my turn at the library e-book ran out. I just got it back so it's time to buckle down and finish it.

And now it's your turn to share what you've been reading. Anything counts: novel, magazine, quilt pattern or cereal box...