Weather extremes days apart

What a difference a few days can make. 

Some of my favorite little birds--the Juncos--seemed to really enjoy the snow we received on February 14. The more they ate, the more energy they seemed to have, as they hurried from one place to another in a frantic attempt to find food.

Every now and then, they would take a break. My camera caught one of them doing just that, as he sat still on a dormant magnolia tree before taking off again. Perhaps he realized that it was easy to find food here, since the humans who inhabit this part of the forest always keep several feeders full during inclement weather.

See how they scurry beneath a feeder during the only real measurable snow we had this winter?
The picture shows how dark it was during the height of the snow storm that dumped about three inches.

I just love those dark, moody days!


I had forgotten these pictures were even in my camera until I aimed my lens once again toward the front bird feeder to capture a shot of this happy Cardinal  perched leisurely near his food source.

That was just nine days later--February 23. The temperature was a balmy 75º outside.

Not only was the weather different, but so was the mood in the bird community. The frenzied feeding from a few days earlier gave way to a more relaxed mealtime.

I shared a similar mood. Both of us were perched in our respective places--just enjoying the day. We both enjoyed the weather and promise of the soon-to-be spring.

Such weather extremes, just nine days apart, are common, here in the Ozarks. Personally, I love it. I was just as content to watch the snow fall from the chair in front of my sewing machine as I was to enjoy the warm breezes that swirled around my wicker rocker on  the front porch.

The name of the game is peace. I suppose it is an earned reward, acquired simply by living through the rigors of working and raising a family. Whatever the reason, I like it!

Is there such a thing as too much computer time?

Should I worry about how much time I spend in front of my computer screen?

For such a long time I have been tied, fingers first, to the home keys on they keyboard of my PC. I used to write stories, for a living. Now I just write for life. There is blogging, tweeting, and facebooking, not to mention reading and writing emails with friends, family, and even sneaking in a little Words With Friends, or Spider Solitaire now and then. Have I ignored my life as too many days seemingly wither away?

Hell no!

Upon closer examination, withering away fails to describe my reality. I am a better person because of the hours I spend up close and personal with my computer and with it, the people, places, and things that make my life worth living.

What I actually do on a regular basis is revisit and become re-acquainted with friends, from my past and present, as well as make new ones. I am better equipped now to keep up with the politics than I was in the days when I considered myself an activist. I often engage in deep, meaningful conversations with friends and adversaries on topics of the day. I read about things that interest me and some that I discover. I solve problems. I listen to my favorite music. I gather recipes. I commiserate. I learn new things. How can this be bad for me?

It isn't!

As I drift into the autumn of my life, I realize that my mind is probably sharper now than ever before. I'm astonished at all the memories that have come flooding back to me through chats on Facebook with friends and family members that span my entire life. If I do forget something, it is likely something insignificant. I never worry about those things because my best friend Google is always eager to help me out.


I have been a computer user for most of my adult life. I've enjoyed every phase of it. Heck, I remember 5 1/4" floppy disks. The one at the left was the pre-cursor to AOL--Quantum Link. Early online activity which included bulletin boards and other interaction was accessible through our Commodore Computer's C-64. It was very exciting, not to mention very log ago. We got our first computer, a Commodore Vic 20 in the early 1980's.

I remember the innovation that was America Online. It offered the first Internet accessibility to Macs and PC's with the Windows Operating System Bill Gates developed and released in 1985. Signing on to the Internet through AOL dialup which was pretty exciting. Who can forget those often-heard words every time we signed on--the words immortalized through the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan movie, "You've Got Mail?"

I've had just about every version of Windows Microsoft has ever made. I almost feel like I know Bill Gates personally. I know I have contributed to his wealth, even as dreams of my own have never materialized.

Wealth would be nice, but wealth alone won't make you rich.
 
I feel I am rich because my life--both real and online--is filled with friends and family with whom I would not want to live without.

I've worn the letters off countless keyboards over the years, and I've owned many different computers from Packard Bell, to a home built model. We have come a long way from that first 4 KB of memory on board the Vic 20. We've transitioned from kilobytes to megabytes to gigabytes and finally to terabytes.

I'm glad for the ability to continue riding the technology wave. I'm sure I will enjoy it, wherever it takes me. So, to answer my own question, though much of my life is spent in front of the computer screen, it has been 

Old Yeller is done!

Old Yeller is on the way to becoming a real quilt.

I have finally finished my yellow quilt top. I love the design, but I'm a tad disappointed that the stars don't quite pop as much as I would have liked. I think I was so conscious of they're being too bright that I toned it down a little too much. Still, just one glimpse and there is no doubt this is a yellow quilt. I do have options for those stars too. I could embroider around them, or as a friend of mine suggested, I could simply quilt them with a darker color of thread. Brilliant. There is always a solution.

I don't think quilting would be as much fun without one or more of my feline friends. Here is Ryan checking it out. I think she likes it and has made this her quilt. Hmm, seems to me she did that with the last one too.

Batting and backing should be here shortly. I ordered them online and they should be enroute via USPS and UPS any time. That is when the real cat fun will begin. I am a lap quilter, so I usually have at least one cat, on top of my quilt, and at least one beneath it. That is Ryan's favorite place--under the covers. Kasey, Ryan's twin, likes to sit in the hoop. Keni, usually hovers on the back of the couch. JR will probably try to wrap herself up in it.

Quilting is such a challenge. I think that is what I like about it. Not only are there the normal issues with cutting, sewing straight seams, etc., but there is that cat aspect as well. I can't wait to start quilting.

Related articles

• Having quilt withdrawl--time for a new quilt (rural01.blogspot.com)
• Quilting obsession continues (rural01.blogspot.com)
• My quilt is finally done! (rural01.blogspot.com)

What is going on with Grey's Anatomy?

Image via Wikipedia

What is going on with Grey's Anatomy? Is my favorite TV show losing it?

I brewed my favorite cup of hot cup of green tea, and settled into my favorite spot on the couch. It was Thursday night, the one day of the week that I relish for good television viewing. It would be first Grey's Anatomy and then Private Practice. Almost immediately, I recognized it as a rerun.

This morning I read a story in Huffington Post Entertainment entitled, "Is anyone still watching Grey's Anatomy?"  I read the story, as I wondered who would ask such a thing. I also read all the comments that followed only to realize that many are asking the same question.

Some admitted abandoning the show completely. Others complained about the characters' story lines or its lack of medical drama, or simply said it was boring.

On first thought I disagree wholeheartedly.

On second thought, I remembered last Thursday's rerun, even though the season has just begun. At least I think it is a new season--who knows anymore since episodes bounce from new to old with no apparent pattern or reason?

On the days that I don't set the DVR, and have to watch commercials, I find trying to watch a television drama agonizing, not to mention annoying. Seemingly in the middle of the action, there is a break--and I mean a long break--for a plethora of ads. I've about had it with the advertising industry which is now trying to take over the Internet.

While I was still weighing my thoughts on overall quality of the show, I leaned heavily toward disagreement  with all the naysayers. Then I watched the promo for the next episode entitled, "What if?" See the link below. 

Apparently Meredith is having a road-not-taken-moment. I'm not sure I want to see an entire dramatization with characters paired with the wrong people having totally out-of-character personalities and even dead people being brought to life to enjoy new found success. I like reality in my television. That is not to say I like reality TV. That is a different thing entirely from a television drama based on reality.

So now I'm not so sure. Until this point, I have enjoyed the characters. It appears that great pains are taken to keep them true to life.

In my opinion, Grey's Anatomy was stellar until George got hit by a bus and Izzy got a brain tumor. Since then, I've had the feeling the characters are tentative and story lines are somewhat uncertain.

For example Derek and Meredith are no longer believable. One minute he was ready to walk away from her and the next minute they are the loving, perfect couple again. Then, all of a sudden, a child pops into their lives. This kid, while adorable, seems to have come out of nowhere. It just isn't believable.

I'd like to think television drama is like reading a novel. I think some of the things Shonda Rhimes has done have been brilliant. But then the others, not so much.

I liked the shooter story line at the end of the 2010 season, but not the graphic violence. I think it was way over the top. A previous post in this blog covered my feelings on that issue so there is no need to reiterate it. Then there was the musical episode last year. I love music and love these characters, but the episode was just plain weird, in my view.

I am a TV medical drama devotee. Some of my favorites over the years have included: Emergency, Rescue 8, ER, and Trauma to name a few. I sincerely hope Grey's Anatomy comes around and doesn't suffer a similar fate as those shows. I remain hopeful.
Related articles

• Watch Now: The First 10 Minutes of Grey's Anatomy's Big Alt-Universe Episode! (eonline.com)

Making progress on Old Yeller

I've taken a little time off from working on my quilt, largely so I can try to sit up straight again, shoulders back, and without pain. When I get involved in something, I tend to work on it til it hurts. I do the same thing with Jigsaw puzzles. I just can't seem to leave them alone.

It has been a couple of days since I've worked on Old Yeller, (I think I'll call it that until it becomes a completed quilt.)
For the last few days I have been working on a book I've been writing for years. Some day it will be something to talk about, but for now, let us just say, it is an ongoing project.

I made great progress on last week, devoting an entire day to simply cutting out all the pieces that will go into my fifteen 12-point star blocks. There are only five different shapes, but some of them are used in each block a couple times. Two shapes required 60 individual pieces each. Most of the others required only 30.

Once all of them were cut out, it took two days to sew them together into units. There were eight units in the block, with an inner unit--the star and an outer unit--the background.
I have already completed the inner units for all 15 blocks.

I took great pains in trying to match the center points. I really like perfection, but it is so difficult for us humans, especially when a perfect block is dependent on both perfect cutting and perfect sewing. Honestly, these blocks are not perfect, although I did the best I could for my ability and experience. This is after all, my first star block.

It certainly is close enough though that when completed, I will be happy with it.

All that is left to do is to sew the outer four units, each which contain three pieces which are already sewn together. These are all tricky inset seams, although I believe they are so much easier than those pesky points.

I will complete the blocks in a day or so. Then I can concentrate on my alternate nine-patch blocks. That should be a snap. Then I get to worry about what kind of backing and batting to use. ARRG! More decision making. Then there will be the big decision about a quilting pattern. That will be when the fun part begins.

It is so exciting when all the pieces come together. I'm anxious to see a completed quilt top, not to mention a completed quilt, though that is months from now.

I just thought of something--Imagine trying to explain the quilting process to an alien or someone who never heard of quilting. We take perfectly good yardage, cut it into tiny pieces, only to sew it back together again. Sounds silly, but won't it look nice?

Quilting obsession continues

My quilting  obsession continues!

I just created a quilted table runner over the weekend. It is just a little something I put together to blend the green of the kitchen and dining room with the mauve of the living room. The fabric in the picture looks more brown than it actually is. It does look more pink in person.

I think it turned out rather well. It was fun to do, gave me practice piecing fabric and working on my  ever-necessary sewing skills, as well as satisfying a  practical purpose. It doesn't get much better than that, I don't suppose.

I was surprised at how little time it took (even though it took the better part of two whole days). First, I cut the pieces and sewed them all in one day. I hand-quilted the center, using a feather wreath motif. The following day I stitched-in-the-ditch on the sewing machine along the strips and hand-sewed the binding.

I'm glad to have added a touch of color to the counter just behind my kitchen sink.

My next project is going to be ongoing and is a little more ambitious. As previously mentioned, I decided to make an all yellow quilt.

I am stepping way out of my comfort zone for this project.

I have collected all the fabric I plan to use, and as I previously stated, I have created a design I like on Electric Quilt 5. I set out to make a sample of the main design--a star that is way more complicated than anything I have attempted before. This green block is actually my second attempt. I used Murphy's Law--"if anything can go wrong, it will"--at just about every step. When I first put it together it was puckered and refused to lay flat both in the center and beyond it. I took every seam out and realized I had cut four of the pieces wrong. I cut two at the same time, not taking into account that the angle was wrong on the second piece of the folded fabric. Ah, more learning by mistake.

I cut four new pieces and it went together just fine.

I like how it turned out, so after a  couple more days, (which turned out to be yesterday), I decided to jump in with both feet. There were a lot more learning experiences resulting in seam ripping again and again, but here is the completed first of my future quilt. I'm going to call it Sunshine on my Shoulder.

I can't wait to make the next 12 of them. They will be alternated with nine-patches of varied yellow fabrics. On the second and fourth rows, I will turn the blocks to form a secondary design with that wacky polka dot fabric.

I know a lot of people aren't fond of yellow, but I happen to love it. I can't wait to have a bed full of these stars shining like sunshine every morning when I wake up. Feel free to tell me what you think.

Next quilting lesson - paper piecing

I'm not sure what has come over me, but I believe I'm trying to become a quilter.

On the recent quilting board I joined the other day, I decided to participate in a block of the month project. The finished quilt will be a sampler, with 12 blocks, one to signify each month. This month, the theme was a pre-chosen block had a chill about it. The one that was picked was called snowblossoms. It was to be done by paper-piecing.

I never did paper piecing before! If learning from mistakes is the best way to learn, I should be able to teach a class by now.

The first thing that happened was my sewing machine began sewing backwards. I have no idea what that was all about. I looked in the owner's manual and online, but the only advice I saw was to unplug it and plug it back in. Who would try a computer solution would work on a sewing machine? I did--it didn't work. Someone wrote that the problem could have something to do with the polarity in the plug, whatever that means. Someone else said it could be the foot pedal. I have no idea what it was, but I took out the bobbin, put it back in, lowered the feed dogs and raised them again, re-threaded the machine. Lo and behold it began to work properly again.

I should have known this was not going to be a good day for sewing. I spent the entire day trying to 'get' paper-piecing. The block was fairly simple, or so the board participants said, but you couldn't prove it by me. It seems that everything that could go wrong, did, from sewing the piece wrong side out, running out of bobbin thread, to cutting off an important corner, and who knows what else. I was so exhausted by time I got all of the pieces cut out that I decided to finish it in the morning.

That was this morning and I did just that. I wasn't happy with the block however. So, I decided to try all over again. I just finished what I think is a pretty nice looking block. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. By the way, I took this picture of the block with my favorite tool beside it--the seam ripper. That sucker got a real workout!

I'm not sure I like the paper-piecing technique, but then it may be too early to tell. I did learn a few tricks along the way, like cutting the pieces close to the size needed and making sure to press each addition to the piece with the paper still on so it doesn't shift. I'm sure there are plenty more tricks to learn. Only practice makes perfect.

I'm not sure paper piecing enhances accuracy. I still had a couple pieces that were less than perfect. It is also very messy with bits of paper, fabric pieces, and of course threads all over. I found that it also created lots of waste, yet I can see where cutting more precisely at the beginning would help with that.

It was a fun experience though and I look forward to trying it again. So here it is Jan. 4 and I already have my January block completed. This might just be good for me. So, on to February.