A new normal, waiting for Christmas

Mr Wazoo is so frustrating!! He won't take it easy and is always doing something else for me to scold him for. A couple of days ago, I looked out the window and there he was, up on a ladder! He couldn't raise his right arm far enough to swing a hammer, so he held the nail with his right hand and pounded away with his left hand. He's right handed. Oh well, the lights are up, and he survived without smashing any fingers.

Putting up the lights.

I know when to stay inside, and this is the time. Its cold out there! I quilted the last two quilts for newly born grandkids of one of our customers, and then sewed up the backing for my show quilt. Now, I just have to do the quilting.

Cute newborn sized flannel quilt

Panto: Yodel

This one is for a two month old boy Grandma is going to see for the first time

Panto: Modern twist

Over the weekend, I baked my little heart out and made 9 different batches of goodies. Here is a sampling of them. Yum. Not fancy, but oh so good! We'll do the cut-out ones when my daughter gets here.

 Mr W can't maneuver the rake, so he improvised and used the leaf blower to clean up the lawn and gardens. Everything looks ready for winter, even the pot by the back door got a new winter dressing!

Here is the pot by the back door. So pretty!

Pots of ornamental kale and pansies add just a pop of color to an otherwise gray landscape.

This is the garden that Mr W fell off of. The front of the garden has a retaining wall with a drop-off of about four feet, and he took a running header off it onto the yard below. Ouch!!
We'll know soon what damage was done to his shoulder. Hopefully, he hasn't done any more to it with all his fussing in the yard.

This was our first Christmas tree when we moved here.
We planted it after that Christmas, and it has grown about a foot in height already!
The yard man put lights on it this year. A real Charlie Brown tree!

We are almost ready for the kids and grandson to come, and aware of just how far away our youngest daughter is. She send her good wishes from Australia, where the temps are in the 90s daily.

He is coming!

She is not.

The trees on the mountains are bare now, and we can once again see our house from the bend in the road about a half mile below us. It makes coming home special when we see the barn quilt peeking out of the trees! And now, the kids will have twinkling lights to guide them over the river and through the woods to Grandma's house!

Dusk in the mountains

Even with the motion lights on, it is really dark here.
The tree in the living room and the icicle lights look nice!

Awww, Charlie Brown would approve.

Thanks for the memories!

The year is coming to a close, and we are so thankful for the friends, family and customers we have here at Wazoo. Mr Wazoo is on the mend. He will have an MRI of his shoulder next week and will probably not need surgery. It will involve some physical therapy, but he's good at following directions and recovering.
By this time next week, the kids will be here and we will be having fun getting reacquainted with the smallest one, who is now walking like a pro.

Last night, we had the Christmas party at my evening guild, where we had the installation of the new officers. It was a nice way to end one year and begin another.

I didn't win the table decoration, but whined enough to get one from my friend and table mate, Maryann. Thank you!

Our new slate of officers was installed with comparisons of their duties to common sewing tools.
It was a clever way to sum up their jobs. The rest of us are the stash!! 

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, and there'll soon be the aroma of cookies in the air.

Merry Christmas to all!

And to all, a good night.

Speed bump

(Written on 12/11 at midnight)
We got up this morning, think it was just another day at Wazoo. I watched a bit of TV, then went n a and took my shower. When I turned the water off, I heard the phone intercom ringing away, and ran to answer it and possibly chew Mr W out for buzzing me to ask about thread when I was wet and naked. On the other end was the quivering voice of the man I married saying he had taken a really bad fall and to come quickly. I pulled on some pants and a sweatshirt without even drying off and ran down to see what happened. Oh my goodness!! There he was, face all bloody and his clothes covered with yard schmootz. He told me his arm was badly hurt, but all I could see was the bloody face with his eye practically hanging out. I sat him down, told him to give me two minutes to get dressed and got an ice pack out of the freezer for the eye. Off to the ER we sped. (this is the least gory photo, taken in the ER after they cleaned the eye up a bit)

Time: 10:30 AM

It took awhile, but the nurse and ER doctor saw the man, he had X-rays and a CAT scan, got an IV and finally had a dose of strong pain killer. Concensus: he has to go to Gainsville where there is a trauma center and an Opthomologist/surgeon to take care of his eye. Oh goody...a Sunday trip over Blood Mountain.( the scariest, most winding, steepest road you'll ever drive on...but the only way to get anywhere from here in North Georgia) The patient had to go by ambulance, and I followed with the car.

Great weather for a dangerous drive! Leaving Blairsville.

Almost two hours later, we finally reached the hospital. I wish I had a picture to show you...very impressive place.

The trauma doctor and the ER nurse came and went, more X-rays, blood draw and questions. At around 2PM they came and said they had reached the Opthomologist at home and he was coming in. The Orthopaedic doctor got the new X-rays by internet (how cool is that?) and she would wait to see how the eye panned out before deciding what to do about the shoulder. Oh yeah...it's broken. Around 5PM the eye doctor came and examined the patient. He may need to go to Atlanta, says the doctor, and see the Opthoplastic surgeon. Oh please, no. Not another ambulance journey... Then, eye doctor says he has done the surgery before and will do it at the hospital if the patient agrees to it. By now, it was 7 pm and the man was not going to go to Atlanta.
The surgery was performed in the room and I was there for all of it. ( I even got to hand him a few things, since he knew I was a nurse and not intimidated by the surgical site) After a fascinating two hours, the eye was fixed and Mr W looked way better than he did at 10:30 this morning.
The orthopaedic doctor wants him to recover a bit from the eye trauma and see if some of the swelling goes down in his shoulder before deciding if he needs more surgery. We'll go back in a few days to find out the verdict.
The patient was given a pain med for the road and discharged at 9:30 pm and I drove us back home, over Blood Mountain...in the dark. We ate some leftovers...I had a BIG drink, and I tucked him in bed at 11: 30PM, thirteen hours after he fell on his head in the garden. You see, he loves his yard and gardens and had covered some tender plants the night before to protect them from frost. When taking off the covers, he lost his balance and pitched forward, taking a dive off a four foot tall retaining wall onto the frozen ground below. Whoopsie! That's what happened.
Okay, back to quilting. Yesterday, i finished the last of the Christmas orders, so we can take a bit of a vacation to shop and prepare for the kid's visit. Didn't work out like I planned, but at least Mr W is okay and we will have a Merry Christmas.
Isn't life interesting? Every day an adventure.

Brrrrrrrr!!! It is cold here today!

Tim spent some quality time with his plants before coming in for supper yesterday. We had the first hard freeze of the season, and he brought in the tenderest plants, and covered the ones too heavy to bring in. Sure enough, there was frost on the car this morning and the geraniums are looking spent.
The studio and living room are festive with flowering plants, so it seems to be a win-win situation!
The plants are under cover and safe again tonight.
In the studio, the Christmas quilting continues. Mr Wazoo came in from the cold to quilt a Harley Dvidson tee shirt quilt with a flaming motif. Radical!

Panto: Hot Rod

My day started with a small indulgence; quilting the pillow front for my daughter's winter decoration. While the machine chugged its way through a row of pantograph, I made the envelope back and finished the job!

Top all quilted and ready to sew

Finished pillow

The soft flannel on the back matches the quilt I made for her a month ago.

This is the quilt I did while messing about with the pillow project. 

Cute 30s wonky 4-patch

Digital daisy panto

This cheater fabric on the back is perfect for the quilt. I'll get the binding on it tonight.

I also did this bird quilt for the same customer. I found a wonderful bird panto on line and it looks perfect on this quilt!

I forgot to show you what Mr W did yesterday, so here is one of the cutest retro circus panel quilts I have seen. I love the fabrics...so 1950s!

Panto: Quirky

Binding done! Quilt ready to go home.

Now, I have to get back to work...I have to finish the binding on the wonky 4-patch quilt before going to bed!

Productive day at the salt mine

We took in some Christmas quilts from two customers yesterday, and Mr Wazoo jumped right on it. I had a custom job to finish, and I'm happy it is now done!

i like how the entire pattern repeats the stars in the 9 patch!

The back looks good, too.

Mr Wazoo quilted this batik quilt for a customer's friend battling cancer. I'm sure it will cheer him up!

Panto: Yodel

He also quilted this lovely winter panel quilt. What a great gift this will make!

In case you couldn't make them out, it has snowflakes on it.
Panto: Flurry

When I finished the custom job, I quilted this oriental project, made by a man! See! Men can quilt and make beautiful heirlooms, too. All this, and it was perfectly square and flat. Engineering at its finest.

 Everything finished and trimmed...time for a bit of Christmas fun. I cut out the pieces and fused this snowman to make a pillow for my daughter. Hopefully, I'll get it buttonhole stitched and quilted tomorrow after work.

Isn't he cute?!