What else can happen on this adventure?!!

Oh My! I haven't posted in five days It seems like every day something else bizarre happens.  I have been sewing at Nancy's a few hours a day and finished another top. We listened to all sorts of fun music, from Japanese Kodo drummers to 40s swing. Penny has had a couple of runs in the park, but the mosquito invasion continues. The park has been sprayed at night a couple of times, but then we have the monsoon rains and the mosquitos come right back. The heat continues, too.

Early on, Nancy finished the second block in her quilt and put them on the design wall. So nice!

I made a bunch of my blocks and also took them out for a spin!

There were lots of blocks yet to be sewn, so I was motivated to return the next day.

Nancy's workstation shows her progress.

On my way home, I snapped this picture of the decoration outside Nancy's door. She tells me it is motion activated to chirp when someone walks by. It was turned off when I spied it there. I plan to test it before I go home!

All the rain has been a balm to Nancy's plants. She has a cozy patio to hang out on.

Penny looks at the action outside, wishing she could go run and sniff.

Later in the week, Nancy finished the blocks and auditioned her quilt. I like the secondary pattern the pieced blocks make.

Not me...I was still sewing blocks!

At the end of another day, I left it right here.

Blocks finished, I sorted them into a pleasing arrangement.

And got them sewn together the next day!

The designs on the fabrics were cheerful and pleasing. My quilt has a secondary design of squares!

I found the pattern in a Fons and Porter Love of quilting magazine.

Nancy added two borders to finish her quilt with some pizzazz.

She was pleased that she had only a few tiny mistakes in it.

The lady and her jungle quilt.

Yesterday, Nancy and I took a road trip to Laguna Vista to visit a fellow quilter and antique quilt buff to see her quilts. Her home was beautifully decorated with furniture her husband made and lovely quilts to set the pieces off. It was a wonderful treat to see the quilts, meet the cabinetmaker, and marvel at his skill.

After our visit, we all went to Pelican Station for lunch.It is on the water just a bridge crossing from South Padre Island. During our delicious lunch, we were treated to quite a lightening show, followed by a downpour all the way back to Hatrlingen.

Fresh fish in the case at the restaurant. I had butterfly shrimp, scallops and calamari. Ooh la la!

Beach goers scrambled to exit the island once the storm was close enough to be a danger.

Back at home, it was happy time on Tuesday when Mr Wazoo stepped off the plane! I admit it has been a bit of a struggle here with my back pain and all the things that need to be done. He started right in on the yard, trimming back the grass with the weed whacker and pulling weeds. Rain showers slowed the progress, but the yard looks better.

I had to go to the doctor's office and pick up my records, and a truck threw up a stone, cracking the windshield in the shape of a tuning fork across the driver's side. It is about a foot long and right in the line of sight for the driver. Several calls later, we were deflated by the fact that it cannot be fixed until Tuesday.  I changed our hotel reservation to Wednesday, and rescheduled my doctor appointment back at home.

We'll move out Sunday so my brother and his wife can move in, and stay elsewhere until we leave next Wednesday. After everything else, what are three more days?

If you are hesitant to get the vaccine for Covid, I strongly urge you to save your life and get it. The rise in non-vaccinated people getting the variant is scary and real. I don't want any of my quilting sisters to die this way. Please!! Everyone get your vaccine!

 

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!