The Great Chicken Dogs Ride Again!

I was woken up this morning at 5 AM! to the dogs barking.  I was semi-alert and knew right away what I needed to do.  I grabbed my pillow off my bed and headed down the stairs to the couch just as a streak of lightening lit up the windows and an extremely loud clap of thunder erupted resulting in more barking.  I have the worst chicken dogs there are in the world! 

 As soon as I lay on the couch, Taegan jumped up and snuggled with his head on my shoulder turned into my neck and was wiggling and wriggling trying to get as close to me as he could.  His fear of thunder and lightening goes way back, many, many years when we had a large cell sit over the house one night.  He and Irish were only dogs then and slept upstairs in my bed with me.  When all of a sudden BOOM!!!  So loud that it shook the entire upstairs.  It scared me, woke us all up and put the fear of thunder into his bones.  When it begins to even sprinkle around here (which doesn't happen often) he starts quivering and waiting for the thunder.  He knows they often go together. 

Then up came Finnagan.  He comes by it naturally, too.  I found him running in the streets about 3 years ago after a major thunderstorm.  He was sopping wet and would not get out of the street to let my car go by.  I finally got out, said, "come here." and he ran and jumped into my arms.  He was sopping wet and scared.  Poor baby.  He doesn't like to get wet and has a major fear of storms, also.   

I think their fears have rubbed off on the other two.  My nervous Nelly dog, McCallum, doesn't need much to get him going and he is the one doing all the barking at the storms.  Usually the only one.  The others are too scared to even bark.  While I was snuggling with the other two, he was having a hard time settling.  He would sit on top of the boxes covered with quilts and then jump on me to the back of the couch.  Then use me as a springboard from there back to the quilts. Then it would thunder and he would bark and watch the back door and would start all over again.  Fiona, on the other hand was sitting on the arm of the sofa by my head.  Not quite touching me most of the time, but just within reach in case she needed to. 

As the rains moved on, so did the dogs onto other parts of the couch snug up next to my legs or back or on the floor right by the couch and I finally caught a few more zzz's.  I woke up with Finnagan laying on top of me and snoring.  Him, not me. 

When I got up, I tried to take them outside - it's not raining at this time - and open the door to the back porch and it's flooded!  The water is about 5 inches from the back door.  This shouldn't be like that, so I wade out and look over the fence to see what is happening with the lake and it isn't flooded.  Just my back porch.  I kennel all the dogs, go back out to the porch, unlock the back gate and whoosh, the water all begins flowing out the doorway.  The bottom piece on the fence had gotten waterlogged and swollen so the water couldn't run out off the porch.  I swept it out the rest of the way, re-locked the gate and made note of the full to the brim flower beds (minus the flowers) and forced the dogs back out onto the porch.  Of course this took some doing, but they all came out and two (Fiona and Finnagan) immediately went to the chair - the not getting wet thing includes the feet!

It has been a busy morning since then.  I zested and juiced all the limes I got in my bountiful harvest basket, (almost 2/3 cup of juice - frozen in 1 T. cubes and am drying out the zest for future dishes) Cut up and froze most of the pineapple.  Made a variation of Mimi's Mini Cini's - delicious and not as much work, but I still love the mini cini's.  A couple cups of coffee, a load in the dishwasher and now it's time to work on adding binding to a couple of quilts. ( I look out the window and notice that all that water in the flower beds has been absorbed our ground here is so thirsty it soaks up any rain we get quickly.)   I finished the binding and label on a quilt for my aunt last night (pictures next week when I can take them up at school) I hope to get the binding finished on these two other quilts this week, also.  Here comes more rain!! 

These last few weeks have been busy ones.  I made a pillow cover, a mug rug and two blocks for the KF Block exchange (I really need to re-do those) and learned to tat - I need a lot more practice on this new skill. At school we catered a luncheon, made 14 dozen cookies for one order, made appetizers for 300, had another order of 13 dozen cookies and 5 pound cakes and planned our last catering of  cake, punch and finger foods for about 40 - that will be made Tuesday and Wednesday) WHEW!!!  I will be glad when things slow down for that last week of school, except it won't be real slow, we will be pulling everything out and cleaning, cleaning, cleaning oh, yes, planning for next year's program  and taking a test, also. 

I am looking out the window at the lake, the sun has come out in the last 30 minutes and the sidewalks - which were all wet when I started this post and got rained on while I was typing - are now 90% dry.  There are only a couple of small puddles on them.  Wow!  It's going to be a hot and muggy day today - another rarity along with the rain. I predict that within the next couple of hours - if it doesn't rain again - any current standing water (flower bed, streets, sidewalks, etc.) will be all gone.  This parched land is just sucking it all up.  Yea!!  We needed this rain.

May Stocking Swap

I have been fighting with myself to get on here and write this posting and tonight I finally won.  I hope all of you have been better than me and have already started your May project, the table runner.  I have not.  I don't know why I chose to put a table runner in my list of 12 items to make for this swap, but I did and now I have to live with my decision and make one.  I am not afraid of making a long skinny quilt or a table runner.  I made a table runner a long time ago as part of a challenge and gave it to my mother.  When she packed up to move to Arkansas, I got my runner back.  The challenge was to make something using the orphan block you were given (mine was the 7 sisters block in the middle) I used gold lame in my quilt to give it some sparkle and it is even hand quilted!!  Oh, My!!!

 

 

In big stitch with some kind of gold thread.  I remember that it was really hard to work with.  It really is a nice Christmas quilt that needs to be put out this year, if I remember and if I decorate.  However, this quilt will really class with my hot pink tree and my lime green tree.  This just isn't my Christmas colors that I use at my house.  Tooooo traditional for me!! 

Okay, now you know that I have made and can make a table runner.  I have even made a skinny quilt

that, if it was longer, could be used as a table runner.  My problem is, my table is always full with other stuff so table runner is not wanted or needed.  (I don't really like them!!)  Not to say that on your table it doesn't look wonderful.  I love looking a pictures of tables in other people's homes that are set and have their runners proudly displayed running down the middle of their tables.  I have a squarish table and right now it is covered.  Literally covered with fabric and clean clothes.  Both of which are folded neatly, but just can't find the way upstairs and into their rightful places.  (okay, the fabric needs to be washed first and that is an entirely different posting!)

So, what I am whining about is the fact that I need to make a table runner for this month.  whine, whine, whine. 

I have googled several table runners and I see them out there all the time, but not one has jumped off the pages and said, "MAKE ME!!"  and I truly think that is the problem here.  (okay, it's not the only one, but it is a portion of the problem) I just need to be inspired.  So, if you are working on your table runner or already have it finished - you over achiever, you - OR if you have some you really like and think might be fun to make, send me the URL so I can check it out and maybe my creative juices can get a kick start and I will be inspired to make a runner for this month. 

I am up to 6 blocks finished for the Color challenge over at 15 minutes play and if I can get a good picture this weekend - too dark here since it's RAINING!!!  (we haven't had this much rain in almost two years!) (I mean - we got almost as much rain in the last 24 hours as we had gotten combined in the entire 12 months of last year!!!) I will try to lay them all out and take a good picture of each block this weekend. 

Beads, beads, beads

I met Donniece Smith back in May when my friend Kathy and I decided to finally join the Caprock Art Quilters (their website is undergoing something and is not up and running at this time). They only meet 4 times a year, which is good since we have to drive 100+ miles to get there. She had a beautiful necklace with these funky fabric beads that she had made and told everyone that she was going to hold classes to show how to make the beads. YEAH!! I was so excited. Then when she e-mailed me the dates of the classes I was even more excited. I was already going to be in Lubbock. for the Kerr family reunion. (more on that later) I got 5 beads finished in class and plan on making more. I haven't decided where I am going to use these beads, on quilts, as a necklace, as a zipper pull for my purse, as earrings? I just don't know, but they are fun and surprisingly quick and easy to make. Here a some more of the beads I made this past weekend.