embarrassing!

what a fiasco!  and a great lesson for me!  don’t do what you don’t know how to do when it involves other people!!  i sent out the first email and i sent it thru the webpage – so, i thought, it would automatically include my information – like the page name, at least.  NOT!

  i also ended up sending it to all 300+ names even tho i thought i was sending a kind of ‘test’ edition.  seems there was an important box i didn’t check.  so the process tied up my computer for hours – and i had no idea how many had been sent when i finally had to shut it down – it had already taken itself off line anyway.

this stupid computer just did it again.  took me offline in the middle of composing this post.  i am not going to try to remember what the heck i wrote before.  i really do understand those videos about people throwing computers out the window!!

now i do remember the important part of what i had written!  what was in the newsletter!  nothing all that exciting – mostly just to let folks i was going to doing one each month.  and to let them know about the big changes in the shipping costs.  also, what the special for the month is – for nov.  it’s 11% off the total order.  plus, if you mention the newsletter, using the comment section, i will include a free ($8) pattern – just let me know which one (in the comment).

it was about here, when i went to get the picture of the latest pin, that i lost connection.  well, it’s when i found out.  so, here is a picture – just to lighten this post a little. ^_^

now, isn’t that better than all the words i was going to write about the travails of sending an email thru my webpage?!! ^_^  and there were a lot – of both (travails and words!)

 

 

 

Let the beauty you love be what you do.  Rumi

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

they’re back!

it is that time of year again, when the deer are running out of young and tasty green things in their natural habitat.  and that means, into the yards and gardens to find food and water.  ok, so in a lot of cases – WE are in their “yards and gardens”!  not as much for us, as more than half of our 2 acres is still totally wild and untouched. 

so, they have been coming mostly at night so far.  the plums are dropping and they love those – i think they get both food and water with those as they are very very juicy!  however, the last couple of nights they have been munching on things in the mound garden, which worries me.  i have this volunteer baby dogwood coming up right in the middle of that garden.  it’s the perfect spot for it!  but – i seem to recall that deer really like those!  in fact, mine got planted inside a fenced area to protect it (the mother of the baby one, i think)  sooo, i will probably have to add an ugly tomato cage around it.  they have been nibbling on the ends of the ginko tree branches, that’s for sure.

so, there is one young buck right outside even as i type!  i got some pictures, using the fancy sport setting on my camera as he started to exit quickly earlier.  turns out, he didn’t go far!  he is just on the other side of that propane tank now.  when i first saw him earlier, he was on this side, but i didn’t think to take pictures then.  he moved a little away when he saw me looking at him, didn’t run – so i did get out the camera and took these shots.  ahhh, here he comes, creeping back up onto the path. ^_^  perhaps i’ll get another chance at closer pics.  he definitely knows i’m here.  keeping a wary eye toward the window.

this is the young male i was talking about.  and i just went to the front to see if he had managed to get there without my seeing him.  and what did i find? FOUR of them!  munching on plums.  got some decent shots, i think.  will have to download to see.  will put one here if i did!

 

all of the ones with 3 or 4 deer were just too dark.  but this lady took a long look before she hurried off.   when i went to look out the bedroom window to see if they were still closeby, i discovered a squirrel on a tiny tree very close.  and he came down and started pulling at the cotton strip i have that goes around the little tree he was on and then around that pine tree that gets bent over by the snow in the winter.  of course he left as soon as i got the camera!

ok, it is nearly 10 am and i have not done one item on my list.  at this rate i will never be ready to leave tomorrow, so  ttfn!  oh, don’t forget the show in eureka if you’re up that way!  it’s this coming weekend, at the fairgrounds.

love and beauty  www.artfullyapplique.com  http://jrixman.etsy.com

 

dang cat – again!

so, now there is yet another tail-less lizard hiding out in here.  silly cat brought it in yesterday and as usual, headed for the bathroom.  trouble is, this time he didn’t go all the way in and drop it on the bathmat.  he let it go right at the doorway.  now, i had seen him with ‘it’ hanging from his mouth, so was there when he put it down.  however, there are cords on the floor there and thus, i was unable to get the container flush to the floor – and ‘it’ quickly departed to hide behind the containers of cd’s on the floor in that corner.  leaving behind its still vigoriously ‘flipping’ tail!!  oh how i hate that!  reminds me of when (as a little kid, in kansas) i saw headless chickens running around!!  uck!

late in the day yesterday, i was putting up some ‘heat blocks’ at the big window and then went into the  bathroom.  while ’sitting’ (sorry ^_^) i looked back and there was the lizard sunning himself in a tiny patch of sunlight – not more than a couple inches from where my foot had to land as i walked into the bathroom!!  however, as soon as i stood and reached for the container, he spotted me and once again – thanks to stuff (cords again!) on the floor – eluded the  container and headed back behind various stuff!  i don’t really mind – am hoping he eats some bugs while in here!  but, would rather mr. pepe didn’t find him and finish him off!  i don’t spect he’ll make much smell if he bites it while still hiding out!

i think they most have some kind of release mechanism that allows them to let go of their tail when the cat is attempting to hold them down by it!!! ^_^  seem to find a lot of detached tails outside – from the outside cats’ hunts.

ok enough of that.  thought i’d share the progress on the commissioned piece.  i did not do the piecing.  i am simply (hah) adding my motifs to the 3 circles.  here is how the first one is coming along. 

this is how it looked end of yesterday.  have added a bit – tho precious little relative to time spent!!  it’s a little freaky how fast the days are passing!  and how long it takes me to applique sometimes!

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com  http://jrixman.etsy.com

 

tooo funny

just had to post this picture!  but, first, to explain:

before we left in the rv, i bought a new bed for sophie.  then, realized it was a little too big, so exchanged it with the one here in cottage (which was the perfect color for rv anyway ^_^).  sophie never got to use it before we left.  and while we were gone, mr. pepe, the  cat,  decided it was his!  so, since we’ve been home i have had to chase him out and then convince sophie to get in.  had done that at least 3 times this morning and then looked down to discover this!

as you can tell, while sophie is NOT thrilled about the arrangement, she at least held her ground this time!  she just now (10-15 minutes later) crawled out from under him and onto the floor – and mr p is happily snoozing in the bed.

ok, i’m off to the quilt shop to meet with lady who has finished a big applique project that i had ‘helped/advised’ her with and she wants to show me what she was able to do!  love it when that happens! ^_^

love and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com

 

a beauty

got several pictures of this lovely creature.  it seemed quite ok with me being there clicking away.

and speaking of critters and such – been a busy yard lately.  saw a fox walk across the other day – in broad daylight.  good size, too.  of course the deer have been very frequent visitors lately, tho not a sign of the twins again.  and the squirrels – my, my.  they normally stay in the trees and out of what we call ‘yard’ – still our property, but just wild.  sometimes they get close to my cottage up there and drop those huge pinecones on my roof!  these days they are coming all the way into the plum trees out front.  and this morning, there was one on my little porch!  headed for the fountain for a drink, i spect.  been very hot and dry!  the plum tree in front had very little left on it when i got back – way less than the other one.  i thought it was the lack of sun that was having them fall.  now i think it’s the squirrel taking them.  just saw him steal one a little bit ago. ^_^

and yesterday it was definitely ‘exciting’.  BIG brownish red dog in the yard.  thought it was the same one that shows up now and then, but he was acting quite different.  not as laid back and mellow.  and roxy definitely not just ‘ignoring’ him.  fortunately the little dogs were both in here.  his tongue was half the size of mocha’s whole body!  i went up to ‘help’ candace deal with him and realized it was NOT the same dog we usually see.  this one had been neutered and the one other is very obviously still intact.  this guy was being a bit of a pest.  candace tried calling the pound, didn’t have much luck getting to a live person, so decided to stop there on her way to the store.  the new building is essentially right down the hill behind me, and on placerville drive.  she called me from there saying they wanted me to ‘keep the dog here’ so they could ‘drive by’.  huh??  can’t even do that here – drive by, i mean.  at that point, i thought he had left.  saw him walk around here, and past the shed out back.  thought he had gone down the hill.  discovered him back on my front porch a few minutes later.  he had followed me down here and discovered the big drinking fountain – which he really wanted to get into!  hot!  ok, (already) long story shortened – i called, got to an agent and a little while later a woman ‘deputy’ (is that what they are?) came for him.  by then he had taken up residency by my fridge out there, so barked at her as she came down the path.  silly dog.  he left with her nicely.  not his first trip to the pound from what they told candace.  have conerns that if he gets loose again he might come back.  while he seems harmless i know how these little dogs are and he may not be as docile as the other one.  HE just completely ignores them.

beginning to feel like i live in a zoo. ^_^  beats the city any day!!!

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

at home

safe and sound – ok, not so sure about the sound part.  had a bad night due to the fact that mr pepe decided to stay away until waking me around 6:00 this morning.  i hate it when he does that.  i mean, doesn’t show up soon after i get home.  i always worry that something has happened to him while i’ve been gone.  or, he has traded me in on someone more available. ^_^

it was a very long drive home.  i had to come the longer way in order to stop in south lake tahoe to pickup fabric i had ordered thru the shop up there.  i didn’t have time to dilly dally, which meant no resting.  i left bend about 8:00am, stopped in k. falls only long enough to get directions and didn’t stop again until carson city – for gas.  “only” $4.09, wow, what a bargain.  yes, 50 cents per gallon does add up!   so, arrived in south lake just after 5:00.  went thru a mighty thunder storm in reno – very very heavy rain that turned to hail for a bit.  freeway flooded – the whole bit.  then ran into high winds.  and coming down around the lake – the rain again.  it was so weird – i mean raining so hard you could barely see and so much water on the street you couldn’t see the markings.  came around the corner of the lake and by the time i was back in calif – no sign of rain at all.  in fact, penny said, when i talked about the rain in reno, “it didn’t rain here”.  oh yeah, you just weren’t where i was!! ^_^  it is about 4 miles from the border to her shop on tahoe blvd.  amazing.  she admitted the lights had been flickering due to the lightening.

left there and headed out for the last hour drive to get here.  there is construction.  that held me up a bit and created a parade of cars all the way down the mountain.  not slow, and not bunched together – just many cars going the same way. ^_^  needless to say i was sooooo glad to see placerville exit!

i realized the mountain picture i put in here last time was really hard to see.  so here it is as processed the way i usually do.  i will use the thumbnail option in hopes that you can actually SEE the mountains.

this may not actually be any better.  oh well, still a pretty sunrise. ^_^

the next pictures are ones i just took.  deer.  and these two look like yearlings.  so, maybe she didn’t lose those twins, maybe they just stopped traveling with her???  definitely a male and female.  i used the setting on my camera that allows for rapid capture, so to speak.  (sports setting) so here are the 3 i got.  they are very skittish as you can see.  he came back a few minutes later and i tried it again.  not as successful.

                                        

                                     ok, tried to get them all in a row.  sometimes i do have trouble with the inserting.  and now i’ve lost the second one. grrrrr. see if i can put it here.

so, there you have it.  if you look closely you can see the female’s rear as she exits right.  he is gone down the hill, behind the tank. ^_^

and now i must see if i can accomplish something today.  do need to get ready for my 3 minutes on stage tomorrow at ncqc.  more about that tomorrow.

hmmm, heard that hawk screeching up there when i got home late yesterday.  there it is again.  sounds like someone blowing a whistle.  wonder what that’s about.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

new twins!

no, didn’t get a picture, but

just saw a beautiful sight outside this big window.  momma deer has twins, again.  they are still tiny – still have lots of spots.  so cute.  and still very skittish.  didn’t have time to take a picture as they took off soon as i got near the window.  sophie had been indicating something out there.  didn’t see anything out front, then heard the rustle on the side.  sure hope she has better luck raising them this year.  lost them both last year, not sure to what.  cars?  tough surviving with all the new construction – home depot, houses and highway.  had seen a lone large buck cross the yard just the other day.  dad? ^_^

ok, time to get back to it here.  last day.  need to leave very early a.m.  no later than 6:00 if i drive straight thru.  earlier if i want to stop and rest a bit on the way.  will have 4-5 hours of setup once i get there.  tough life for an old broad.  (now when’s the last time you heard that word?) ^_^ (remember all the hub bub about it way back then!?)

expect to have wifi in the hotel in bend, so will talk to ya then.  or just “come on down” (or up, as the case may be)  riverhouse hotel is where the show is.

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

smoke and bats

interesting life i lead. ^_^

the smoke is heavy in the air – from fires all around us.  you can even smell it now.  scary !!  just talked to erv and he said it’s mostly brush fires, not trees.  sure glad i don’t have asthma.  most be really tough on those folks. 

as for the bats – well, i awoke just after midnight to discover something flying around my bedroom.  turned on the light, and there it was, circling the fan.  hmmm.  pretty good size – close to sparrow size with maybe shorter wingspan – tho not much.  ok, get myself and sophie over to the door and out.  did that. (as well as turned off the fan) then decided to peek in and see if it showed any signs of actually looking for the open window.  WHAT?!  now there are TWO!  that is not the way it was supposed to go.  then, as i watched, one of them flew ‘into’ the wall and just literally disappeared!  like when a magician makes things disappear – just gone!  well, there is a (length of)space between the wall and ceiling, less that an inch wide i’m sure.  and that bugger landed right by it and was gone – like, poof!!

ok, i realize this is just not going to end any time soon, cause next time i look, there are 2 again.  so i decide to give up and go back to bed.  before i did that, mr pepe made his entrance thru that open window – which got their attention, so they flew kind of close to investigate – which nearly got them in trouble.  but soon, pepe tired of watching and just came on in.  later, when he was on the other window sill, and after i had returned to bed, but not turned out the light – one of them got a little too close to pepe and i think he managed to touch it, but didn’t hurt it, i guess.  it flew a little lower for a couple rounds and then disappeared again.  geeezzz.

eventually i just turned out the light for good – after a few times of turning it back on – and finally went to sleep.  no sign of them in the morning light.  however, i must assume they are living in my walls.  i have  decided to consider it ‘green’ mosquito control. ^_^  next time (?) i will get camera and take a picture. 

as i said – at least interesting. ^_^

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

eek!!

well, this is how my day began!

kind of stepped on this poor thing on my way to the bathroom!  didn’t come down on it, but my foot brushed over it – which is how i discovered it!  hadn’t been there long as it felt warm as i carried it to the compost bin – wrapped in a paper towel!!  dang cat!!

 

 

 

 

and now i must  attempt to get some more work done.  tom got home late and not in good shape after a trip to the dr. because of his back.  he was a little dopey from meds, so no work done on the rack – except i did get him to do the one cut that was the fix for the slight design flaw. ^_^  i will do my best to finish it today, i think.  there is a game tonight, so there won’t be a lot of time available.

did a quick mini kit inventory so i at least know what i need if i so choose.  will probably see where i am fabric-wise and then choose whether to bother cutting.  still need to make the trip to off max for the copies for the last two new designs – the tulips and the #17.  kits are cut and folded for those.  covers printed – just waiting for the actual patterns!

love and beauty   www.artfullyapplique.com

 

last days

in crunch time again – before 6 weeks on the road.  have finished any sewing i will be doing for awhile and today i must switch gears and concentrate on kits.  also need to take the latest two masters to off max for copies so i can put the patterns together!  have covers all printed and ready.

yesterday was a busy day – in many categories.  the lovely awning is back up and despite its appearance, it is indeed LOVELY!!  lowers the temp in here by at least 10 deg, maybe even more!  and i don’t lose all my view like i do with those blinds down. (which keep out only part of the sunlight and none of the heat)

then there was the celtics’ game!!  very exciting and was (as the announcers said) probably great fun to watch for those who didn’t care who won!!   as for us loyal fans (of either team!) – a real nailbiter! or heart stopper!  at least got mine beating really fast!! ^_^  now it’s on to detroit – the last hurdle before the really really big series.

and then there was the display rack. hmmm  been a few design flaws along the way.  the one last night looked pretty serious at the time, but i have now seen how it can be quickly fixed.  tom was even less enthused than he was on sat.  at least then he seemed even a little really enrolled.  yesterday – well, it was late (after game and other chores he had had to do)  and tom is definitely not the weekend warrior in the project category.  not his idea of a fun weekend – to say the least.  too bad, cause he is so good at anything he tries.  part of it could be that he is in physical pain of some kind most of the time.  he just doesn’t talk about it or let it show.  i only am reminded when he has to resort to either ice packs or the vibrating massager chair lining thingy.  his job is truly torturing his body.  sure hope the daycare thing works out well enough that he can quit!!!  progress there remains slow due to lack of funds.  a common theme these days!

and then there is still the rv ‘repair’ – the installation of the emissions monitoring sensor.  i will bring the rig home sometime wed and just keep it here until i leave very early fri a.m.  there is a game thurs night, so expect him to do the work wed night.  while it is here i hope to clean the inside a little and do some rearranging as well as all the packing.  going to be home sweet home for a couple of weeks,

oh, one last thing – the great furry hunter was at it again this morning.  i should know by now that when he comes in that back window and heads straight for the bathroom that he has brought in a playmate!  i thought he was just thirsty – then heard the sound of plastic bottles being bumped around.  went to check and discovered a small furry critter looking less than thrilled.  seemed unharmed, just terrified.  i had to rush to the kitchen for a container and hope it remained frozen in place. (really must just take one with me when i go to see!)  it did and i was able to capture and release it way in the back ‘yard’ (just wild area) and under some big metal platform thing that’s back there (not on our property).  considered taking a picture, but figured ya’ll know what a field mouse looks like! ^_-

ok, gotta get to it here

love and beauty    www.artfullyapplique.com