Happy Thanksgiving 2016

 

How many feathers does the average wild turkey have? The answer will be found at the end of this post.

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving Day tomorrow. Drive safely if you are traveling, give thanks for all your blessings, and please pass me a small slice of  apple pie. :-)

This turkey was one of the first stained glass projects that I ever made about a zillion years ago. Isn't he a fine looking fellow!

The average wild turkey has 5, 000 to 6,000 feathers or more!!! Isn't that unbelievable!!!  Found that info as I was making out questions for our quiz game.

Christmas Wreath Ornament

I enjoy reading all types of blogs, especially quilting, crafting,  and vintage collecting and repurposing ones.  In a recent posting at Adirondack Girl @Heart , Diana showed a "Vintage-y Farmhouse Jute Christmas Ornament" that she had designed using some red striped jute ribbon. I had a roll of this woven ribbon in my craft supply box, and so, I thought this might be a fun project to do with my young cousins. Well, yesterday my godchild, her husband, and her two girls came to put away all of my garden "stuff" for the winter.  My pink adirondack chairs are now tucked away under the deck and all of my ceramic pots are emptied and stored away. They made short order of this work and then there was time for crafting fun.

Besides the jute ribbon, I had picked up some thin red ribbon, felt, jingle bells, and a package of these pipe cleaner branches. Our results are somewhat different than the original design since I didn't want to use a glue gun with the girls. We simply used small pieces of green floral wire to attach the jingle bells and red ribbon bow to the wreath. Next we used a bit more wire to anchor the wreath to the jute ribbon. The felt was glued to the back to cover up the wires.

We enjoyed doing this fairly quick ornament project and our results are each a bit different but equally adorable.

 

And speaking of adorable, here's a salt and pepper shaker I bought at a candy shop this week. I was picking up chocolate pilgrim lollipops for my seven little cousins whom I will see on Thanksgiving. I do a little quiz game with age-appropriate "Thanksgiving Day" questions with them and everyone gets a prize at the end.  Here's the final silly question . . . Myles Standish was a famous pilgrim, who can "standish" on one foot for thirty seconds? Of course, they all can and do. :-)

Finally, here's Emma game day ready. Go Pats!!!!!!!!!

Oh, "Deer" Me!!!

Normally, I don't let Emma out in the morning until 9:00. This morning a friend was picking me up for a guild meeting, so Emma went out about 8:00. Frantic barking immediately ensued, and I as quickly and carefully as possible hobbled my way down the backstairs to see what the heck was going on. I knew it had to be more than the usual 'Cirque du Soleil Squirrels' leaping from branch to branch driving Emma nuts. Yikes! There were deer in the woods. Two immediately took off, but this one appeared unfazed by my mini schnauzer contained in our fenced-in backyard. The deer looked at me and I sensed her saying, "Look, I'll pose sweetly for you if you will just do something about that awful barking."Deal!!! Emma soon went to patrol along the rest of the fence, and I grabbed this shot with my iPhone. 

This is the same area where I have seen deer before . . . a year or so ago. Don't get the wrong idea about "the woods." It's a not too large strip of trees surrounded by typical suburban backyards. I suppose it's a pretty safe place for them to spend the night. A family of foxes also has a den there somewhere.

Emma had an appointment at the groomers this afternoon and came home with this spiffy green plaid bow. I'll tuck it away for St. Patrick's Day.  :-)

Here's a photo taken this evening because she looked so darn cute.

A number of years ago, I won the door prize for this little cornucopia candle mat kit at a guild meeting, and I finally got around to making it.

We Are Not Enemies, But Friends

In the aftermath of yesterday's election, it is perhaps fitting to remember the words spoken by Abraham Lincoln in 1861 at his first inaugural.

       We are not enemies, but friends.  We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

 Let us hope that the better angels of our nature will help all of us to bring together this divided nation.

Election Day 2016

Well, after what seemed to be the election season that would never ever ever ever end, Voting Day 2016 has arrived.  There are no words to describe the past sixteen months. If a script was written to sum up all the ups and downs (mostly downs), no one would possibly believe it. I, myself, have watched hundreds of hours of political coverage.  .  .  but tonight we will finally learn in which direction our country is headed.

On another note, please explain to me why we enjoy quiltings. This six and a half inch Halloween block has thirty separate pieces. I had it completed then noticed that one of the half square triangles was going the wrong way. Grrrrrrr! Of course, it had to be in the middle row which meant unstitching sections of the block.

Speaking of quilters, I love this. Dory and I seem to have a lot in common. Instead of completing quilting projects that are piling up, I often can't resist starting something new!!!

Halloween Quilt Blocks

A couple of week ago when I wasn't supposed to be putting weight on my injured foot, I started working on a Halloween quilt. At our recent Herring Run Quilt Show, a member of the guild had a Halloween themed quilt based on Tula Pink's  100 Modern Quilt Blocks. Now, I already have far too many unfinished projects and the very last thing that I need is a Halloween quilt, but I started it anyway just for fun. The fabric was no problem as I had lots left over from a quilt I had made for one of my little cousins whose birthday is on Halloween. I've always enjoyed fussy cutting so these blocks were addictive. (For non-quilters, fussy cutting means cutting our little motifs from larger pieces of printed fabric.) I have fifty-five blocks completed so far, so I'm beginning to think about the sashing and borders. Here are two possibilities. I laid a few out as a sample; which do you prefer . . . the dark or the light version? All opinions welcome. :-)

A Touch of Autumn

If you follow this blog, you know that I have not been able to get out and shoot the fall foliage this year. It's the first year in a very long time that I have not photographed the crimson glory of the cranberry harvest in the Carver area. Nothing could stop me, however, from photographing this last bit of color in my own backyard.   :-)

I have been doing quite a bit of reading lately, so I thought that I would pass along two recommendations. The first is The Tumbling Turner Sisters by Juliette Fay. It is the story of a family of female acrobats trying to make a living in the world of vaudeville. 

The  second recommendation is The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald. If you love books and reading, then you will enjoy spending time with Sara the visitor from Sweden and the quirky folks in quiet, little Broken Wheel, Iowa.