Being held captive by mosquitoes!

 The city fogger came around during the night, but they drove so quickly, I doubt the fog made it to the lawn! I took Penny out this morning and within seconds we were attacked by the giant blood suckers. Poor Penny had them swarming around her face and head while she's trying to pee. I took her to the dog park, but it was just as bad there. Back inside for the day.

I did finish the top from Thursday, and got a great start on a new pattern. The cutting took a while, but wasn't too bad. I had the block components sorted and started sewing.

Nancy and I listened to smooth jazz while we sewed our projects

By the end of the day, I had loads of components sewn and ready to press!

I had to quit to go home and make supper, so I will start again today making blocks.

Here is the finished top from Thursday.

Nancy says, "Show your face!" so here I am!

My daughter in Oregon went hiking with her boyfriend and took some beautiful photos. I would love to go there and see these places...maybe when I get back to my normal life!

Always a goof, she snapped this selfie of them at a waterfall. It reminds me of the pictures people take at the Eiffel Tower where they pretend to be holding it up.

It is just so beautiful and calming. I want to see it, too! Unfortunately, I'd have to hike 7 miles to do that. 

Maybe someday.

Lots of sewing and more rain

 I couldn't believe it when the sky went black and rain poured down yet again!! It's still gray outside and I think there is more rain to come. No respite from the mosquito plague!

On the bright side, I had most of the day to sew! I made a bunch of 9 patches from fruity fabric I bought at Walmart and went about the business of cutting them into split 9-patches. Nothing fancy, I arranged them like you see here, where they make their own sashing and cornerstones. It was fun! Now, I need to get the rows sewn and a side row of sashing and squares for the right side. (I made the bottom row, and it will be sewn on in the end).

The blocks were cut into four pieces and then arranged on the design wall. The fabrics were really cute fruit designs.

My first layout revealed the diagonal line of cherry blocks sticking out.

That diagonal line bothered me...

So I moved them around. Then I spied the diagonal line of lemon blocks!

That dilemma will have to wait until tomorrow to fix.

Nancy was working on her African animals quilt. She had these blocks done and is working on the supporting blocks. It is going to be a beautiful quilt.

The animals are cut from a panel and then framed with coordinating fabrics. 

Nancy is making shoo fly blocks for the spaces. There is a lot of sewing for this quilt!

The park is getting some more Wi-fi poles installed, and the guys came to set this one by Nancy's  house. Boy, did they get stuck!! The truck's back tires were four inches into the mud and they had to have another truck come to pull them out. We've had so much rain, the ground is squishy with lush green grass on top. Very deceiving. 

Before the rain came, my dad's PT guy came and they walked around the block. That's a really long walk for my 98 year old  Dad. He slept most of the afternoon following this workout!

I need to get going. We're having stuffed peppers and spaghetti for supper. I made brownies yesterday, and we'll have a small one for dessert. Yum!

Going home soon!

 There has been little sewing, but I'm going to sew today. My back improves a bit daily, but it is still hard to get comfortable or sleep. The good news is I will be going home just over a week from today. 

Penny has been sad because her run s in the dog park are on hold until the clouds of mosquitos go away. We were not able to even get in the gate without being attacked. These are giant mosquitos with a strip on their backs. They come like a cloud and land all over me and Penny. We high tailed it out of there and back to the safety of the house. Quick potty walks in the yard are the only outdoor activity.

I will post pictures of the sewing progress later today. Until then, here's Penny, having fun with her blanket.

Rain and pain

 Rain, rain and more rain. I am getting weary of all this rain. Places in the area are flooded, but we have dodged the worst of it. As I write this, it is pouring down again. Poor old Penny hasn't been to the dog park in nearly a week! She's a good pup. 

Afternoon nap

It took a while to get to my CT scan...the rain obviously caused a bad wreck on the highway.

See the big black crack in the concrete barrier wall? When I went by later in the day, the entire section of wall had fallen and been replaced by metal safety rails. There was nothing on the news about it, but there was a semi and a car involved.

Yesterday, I sewed at Nancy's for a few hours and made good progress! Both Nancy and I finished our quilt tops. Hers is much prettier than mine, but I like mine, too. We both started new projects, and will work on them soon.

Here is my latest Kaffe BQ2

The maker and the quilt!

Nancy made this Garden Delight quilt top

Her fabrics are the same print in 12 different colorways.

Now, for the pain half of the equation. I had my CT scan and I have fractured my L3 vertebrae. Rats!! I have already had two vertebral fractures resulting in Kyphoplasty both times. My doctor has prescribed  some medication for the pain, but the ibuprofen and Tylenol seem to do the job better. Still, it was too painful to sleeping in the bed, so it was back to the recliner for me. I am contemplating giving up the longarm quilting when we get home and concentrating on the repair side of things. I don't think I can lift and pull like I used to.

The next step will be to get the pain under control and get home. I hope to be back in Georgia on the 26th of this month. Until then, rain, rain go away!!

Odds and Ends

 My back injury continues with no treatment plan in sight. I had X-rays 11 days ago and have not had a call from the doctor about the results. I have called the office, and they tell me they are waiting on a radiologist to read the films. I'll go on Friday for a CT scan, but I am not optimistic about anything happening after that. I did graduate from the recliner to the bed, after taking off the soft topper and puffy mattress pad. Now the bed is firmer and I was able to sleep with pain meds on board and the heating pad on my back. Enough of that!!

Nancy is making a Garden Delight top with fabric bought at the flea market fabric shop. Its going to be really pretty.

Nancy got 12 different colors of the same patterned fabric.

This quilt will be wonderful!

I took one of my kits over to Nancy's house and started sewing. I have the blocks sewn up to the last step, and then got rained out. It rained hard all day yesterday and I was unable to use the cart to get to Nancy's. Hopefully, I will get there today (it is still raining!!) and do some sewing.

This is what the finished blocks will look like. Some Kaffe, some batik and some Peppered cotton

The rest of the blocks are almost done, then it will  be sewn into a top.

On the fourth, there was a picnic for the residents here. I made cupcakes and seven layer salad.

If you have ever made one of these, you know how labor intensive it is. My Mom used to make it for special occasions. Now I know why we had it so seldom. It was yummy, though.

Nancy and I went to Donna to the flea market last Saturday. There were only a few booths open,and one is the fabric shop. I picked up two small quilts I had quilted there. This unusual RV was parked in the lot. I thought it was worth a picture.

I have to put the binding on the quilts, and then I will gift them to two little boys we met at the pool with their Dad. The Dad works for a company that sends him all over to work. Mama is the home school teacher to the boys.

The mowing man finally did the yard. It was good timing because the day after he did this, it began to rain and hasn't stopped!

The weather guy summed it up ...

Even the birds were trying to get out of the rain!

Penny was peeved that she couldn't go run with the other pups. 

We had to walk across the street to find a spot that wasn't under water so she could pee. I hope it stops soon. Next come the mosquitos...

Let's hope I can get some sewing done before we have to build an ark!

Back to sewing!

My back is still a mess, but I am soldiering on with my activities...slowly. The blocks for the blue and white quilt have been assembled and I have the border fabric pressed and ready to cut. Meanwhile, I took out one of the layer cakes I brought as a kit and did some sewing! The blocks were a Missouri Star Quilt Company tutorial on You Tube.

                                         

There are so many mistakes on this, I am totally embarrassed to show it to you. I guess with all that's going on, my mind couldn't focus properly. Even though the points don't match and many are cut off, I still like the fabrics and block pattern. It may improve with borders and quilting.

Penny is such a good pup. She stays occupied with toys and lets me know with a sharp bark when she needs a bathroom break.

This is the top I made yesterday and today. I got the layer cake in Cumming, GA at Thread Bear Quilt Shop. The colors and patterns appealed to me.

Nancy said I had to show my face, too.

I bet you are having some unusual weather wherever you are. We have had some really hot days, and a lot of rain for this part of the country. My daughter in Portland must be especially uncomfortable. I saw on the news tonight that it was 116 degrees there today! Yikes!! She is one of the unfortunate Portlandians who doesn't have central air. She has a small portable AC unit that can be used where needed, so I guess it isn't too dire. I hope you all are faring well in your neck of the woods.

I had to snap this photo when I got in the car yesterday. Notice the outside temperature.

Try not to notice all the dust! It gets in everything. The wind is fairly steady here, and dust is everywhere.

Penny and Kizzy run and run until they fall over and roll around sniffing and snorting on the grass. I wish I had half their energy! They don't care that it's hot, they love to play.

Nancy has an app on her phone that my daughter showed to me on her phone when she was here. It has all sorts of animals (even a robot, dragon and the poo emoji) that mimic your facial expressions while you record a short message. We played with it for a while today, laughing ourselves silly. I hope it works here and you can see how fun it is. If you have an iPhone 10 or later, it is on there. Unfortunately, I don't have one. (insert sad face here 😕).

First as a piggy...

Then, as myself!

 

What a week!

It has been a hard week for me. You all know I have been staying at Nancy's for a bit while waiting for the air conditioning to be fixed. The part came on Tuesday and the air was back on and making me happy I had one more night at Nancy's while the house cooled off, and that's where my woes began. At bedtime, I was trying to get Penny off the couch and off to  bed, but she wouldn't budge. I bent over and picked her up and POP! Something in my lower back popped, followed by intense pain radiating to my hips. We made it to bed, and I gingerly spent the night on my back, unable to turn or move around. I spent the next few days with ice packs and Ibuprofen trying to heal the problem and see a doctor. Dad had a doctor appointment yesterday, so after he was seen, I asked the doctor if he could help me. He is a wonderful guy, and saw me without an appointment, and I had numerous X-rays done. They will call with the appointment for a CT scan. At least I found someone who would take me on. I had already called several doctor's offices, and nobody could see me. They all said to go to the ER. Long story short...I am still in pain, awaiting news of the X-rays and the CT appointment.

I was able to get the blocks trimmed and sewn into fours. They are on the design wall at Nancy's.

Blocks and trimmings. I forgot to take the design wall photo!

I also finished the repair of a neighbor's backpack. 

A nice perk? Lunch at Olive Garden wit5h the owner!

Penny and I have spent time at the dog park, frolicking and burning off some of her puppy energy. I spied this fellow while we were there.

I don't know what kind of lizard this is. We didn't have them like this in Florida or Ge3orgia

He posed nicely for his close-up.

Penny finally got her hair cut on Wednesday. I opted for short on the body with a fluffy head and brushy tail. She knows she is styling'!

                                          

Here is Penny before the makeover

And, here she is with her new do.

Stylish and cool.

I was also able to catch one of the whistling ducks on the roof across the road. The bright salmon colored bill and feet are what distinguishes them from other similar ducks.

Too bad I wasn't closer.

Meanwhile...I can't leave Mr Wazoo alone for a minute. He found a place where the guy makes metal into sculptural things. Mr W seems pleased with his find; a helicopter. He has it staged  on the area where we usually keep the charcoal grill.

I hope to get back to sewing. It is the one constant thing that makes all this feel more normal. Until then, Penny took this selfie for you. Keep sewing and quilting!

Father's Day in Texas

Oh my! What a lot has happened since I last posted. On Thursday night, about 11:00, the AC quit working. It clanked and buzzed, so I shut it down and took a look in the interior part in the closet. There was frost all over the works, so I left it  off and went to bed. In the morning, it was already 80 degrees in the house, so I commenced calling AC repairmen. Fortunately, I found a place that could come right away. The guy was wonderful, and found the problem, a burned out motor. He ordered a new one and will come tomorrow with it to do the repair. Meanwhile, I have been staying at Nancy's and staying cool. Penny and I in a twin bed is a bit of a squeeze, but we're okay. Daytime temps in the high 90s.

There will be steak on the grill, some fresh asparagus and baked potatoes for Father's Day dinner. I hope I don't blow up the grill!!

I had Kizzy for the day while her owner was in the hospital having his knee replaced. His wife has traveled to and fro to visit him and try to get him home, but he has had pain complications and stayed three days! He is now at a rehab for his therapy. Kizzy and I bonded in the three days she was home alone, and she is such a laid back sweet dog, I didn't mind at all.

Kizzy made herself at home and ate Penny's breakfast and drank her water!

Penny gets the lion's share of a twin bed. Good thing I sleep on my side!

All snuggly this morning.

Meanwhile...Nancy and I have been sewing and chatting and having a good time. She made this table runner and I did the machine quilting on her Bernina as well as the binding. She thinks she'll keep it...it was going to be a gift for her granddaughter, whose birthday is the Fourth of July. Oops!

I finished all the blocks for the blue and white quilt, and when Nancy gets her project down from the design wall, I'll begin arranging.

This was a kit Nancy got from my sister. I love how it turned out!

I was a bit out of practice, but I was comfortable by the end!

I did stars and loops, then stitched around all the motifs and in the ditches.

The backing and binding are the same fabric.

Penny is always ready for her ride. After her run at the dog park, the long tongue comes out!

After her run, she 'helps' me water the flowers.

Funny picture of the week was taken on an outing to Freddy's Frozen Custard. 

I thought the custard machine looked like a face with the tongue out! Just like my Penny.