Strawberry Girl

I finished my dress, except for the hem on Wednesday. 

Thursday I hemmed it by hand and got it washed and hung to dry.

FuzzyHusband and I both forgot to get a photo of the entire thing at the show. But I did remember a selfie on Saturday night. I wore my hair down, but I did it all by myself, which is a new thing for me. I've never been one for spending time in front of a mirror.

For today's matinee show, one of the other gals styled it for me. Not sure which I like more, but I feel pretty with both.

The only issue with this dress was rubbing from sequins on my upper arms where the strawberries were right next to the armholes. I will spare you the photo and say that it's a good thing I learned my own saliva will break down my own bloodstains back when I was learning to embroider. Ouch.

I did remove the sequins that were obvious problems. It should be better the next time I wear it.

My next project is sitting here on the table. Probably time to get it started.

Especially since it snowed again today.

Good Intentions As Paving Stones

I'd planned on doing an early blog post last week to commemorate FuzzyHusband's and my 10th wedding anniversary, but things were just too busy. I was too busy trying to finish this piece and neither of us wanted to deal with holiday crowds, so we've opted to wait until after the holidays to have a nice dinner out somewhere.

I did get the vest done and delivered on Saturday. Kinda bummed that I'm still too sick to see it being worn on New Year's Eve.

FH bought me some beautiful jewelry, which is a rare and wonderful treat reserved for special occasions.

He also picked flowers that were the same type he used to buy me when we were poor college students and just starting to date. So sentimental! <3 p="">

Saturday was busy right up until I passed out from exhaustion. I had a cake to bake, a wreath to finish, bags to pack, critters to prep... all kinds of things needed doing. The last wreath of the season got done whilst waiting on the cake layers to cool. I designed it for my mother-in-law specially because she loves nutcrackers.

Then I wanted to make a post for Christmas Eve/Day, but again life was filled with wonderful things that were more important.

Tuesday morning I woke up with a fever and very little voice. When we finally got home that afternoon, Ellie Bean was injured and we had to rush to the vet. She'd somehow injured her lip, and the vet (not our regular one) wasn't sure how so he gave us antibiotics and sent us home.

I slept through most of Wednesday and Thursday as the lurgy symptoms got worse. Thankfully all signs point to it being a nasty cold and not an infection.

We went back to the vet Friday, in a snowstorm, because her lip looked worse. FH was home around 2:30 after swinging by the grocery store and passing 5 wrecks in 3 miles. The roads were heinous. It took us a while to get there and I'm glad we left way early for the appointment.

 This time we saw our regular vet and she's seen this type of injury before. Apparently Ellie likely failed to stick a landing after jumping down from something, landed on her faced, and skidded. The vet was impressed that her lip didn't tear away from her face. Confident that we weren't dealing with a potential abscess next to her jaw, Ellie and I headed home in the storm.

It was still coming down late yesterday evening. I haven't even gone near the door today as I woke up coughing and have no voice. Himself has been taking care of me all day. I've slept through most of it, as rest and fluids are about all one can do for a virus.

I figured I'm likely to sleep through most of tomorrow too, but since I was awake now I'd go ahead and update the blog. So Happy New Year to all. May 2018 be kinder to the world than 2017 has been.

Purging

I've started off the New Year with a big project: I'm clearing out the storage room.

So far I've filled up the 95 gallon recycling bin twice... to be fair, the first time was topping off the regular contents. But I pretty much filled it again the day it was emptied. I have to wait for another month for them to come back. The 95 gallon garbage bin is also filled to bursting. Good thing they come on Tuesday morning.

Fabric that I will never use is being given away. Some has been traded to a plumber friend of ours so we can get our upstairs shower fixed. The rest is being picked up by a couple who hauls fabric, notions, and sewing machines up to a Reservation in the Dakotas. Not sure which one, but whichever it is, they have a sewing class program.

Lots of things have been earmarked for Goodwill donations and will likely be hauled over there in the coming week. FH just carried up the old TV to be loaded up. I'm not sure when he thinks it's going, but now it has to be loaded as it's blocking the door to the garage.

Mercedes is enjoying short trips outside to play in the snow. They are short trips as the temperature here is in the single digits... not fun when you're using Fahrenheit!

It snowed all yesterday afternoon. So far it's the largest snowfall this winter. I'm just wondering if it will stay winter or try to be fall again in the next couple of weeks.

On the quilting front, I did get my machine in for repairs and servicing. Hoping to hear from them this coming week. Even if it's, "we need another week because you managed to do a number on it." ;-)

On the mini front, I did get a few more boxes made for Tinsel Towne. They are printies I found online, but the website isn't working at the moment.

Also FH bought me a mini Eames chair in mini for Christmas. I've been wanting one for a while now. A friend gave me a doll that had been given to her.... honestly I'm not sure where he came from originally. But he's going to be dressed in a silk robe at some point and will set in the chair.

The pillow is for modesty. Someone added a few details to his body with polymer clay.

That's all for this week. I need to get back to the studio and start sorting through quilting UFO's and suchlike. Hopefully I'll be done with the major sorting and furniture rearranging in a week or two.

In Like A Lion

This is the sight that greeted us this morning. We're expecting even more this afternoon. I'd say this would be a great day to stay in and do minis, but I'm having trouble focusing this weekend. My dad had a stroke on Friday and is in the hospital...200 miles away through crummy weather. My mom was snowed in at the hospital last night.

I did get a few things done during the week that I am happy to share.

More paper doilies! I think I'm done with these until I need a specific color, or I find more colored envelopes that I stashed for the purpose.

I auditioned three shades of green Gallery Glass for my thumbprint cookies. [Bellow, center] Two made the cut... one for St. Patrick's Day and the other for Christmas. I also tried a new-to-me icing recipe for minis. It's from Angie Scarr's Masterclass book. It's smoother and runnier than the way I usually do my frosting.

I really like the way it looks on the iced cookies [Below left], but not so much for this type of cake. [Below, right] It's much easier to mix and tint than the way I usually make frosting, which is a definite plus. And there are many, many more things I can use this type of frosting for in the future so it is a winner... just not for these cakes. Perhaps with some additional tweaking I can find a happy medium.

 Finally I went out and found some more bead organizers to neaten things up around here. This one is just for St. Patrick's Day themed foods/canes. Time to try and get busy filling it up the rest of the way.

That's all for this week. Stay warm!

Artan's First Snowfall

FH got home and it became possible to take Artie outside in the snow and get pictures.

I don't think he was amused.  ;-)

Pollux had the option to come out on the deck too, but he wisely abstained.

Taking a Break

FH and I finished digging out last night and then helped our elderly neighbors dig out.  Good thing to since the wake up temperature was -10F (-23C) and everything would have frozen in place.

I'm going to sit in front of a roaring fire and stitch.  My hands and arms hurt too much to try and wrestle with wood, tools, and glue today.

See you all later!

Aftermath

 

10:30pm last night: FH geared up to deal with 3+ feet of snow on the deck, which is also the roof of the sun porch.

Snowdrift up to his hips.

Oh so much fun to clear.

My turn to work.

3:30 am this morning: You can hardly tell we worked for 90 minutes out there.

1:00pm today: Getting ready to start digging out.

The drifts remind me of the white sand dunes back home.

As far as I got on the first shift of shoveling today.  To my credit I did clear the front walk and the small steps in the side yard for the postman to use.

I didn't get the slate on the porch finished last night.  Too much time trying to prevent the deck from collapsing.  The wind was blowing all the snow from the roof onto the deck.  If you think about it, it's preferable than the snow staying on the roof.  At least this way we could not worry about the roof buckling.

FH's first round of digging today almost reached the street.  There was just a few feet left to do plus digging out halfway into the street to the single plowed path.  However on my second shift I re-cleared the deck and made my way out and around the side of the house to the back yard.  We needed to clear the path from the basement door, up one set of stairs, and around in case of fire or other emergency.  The 2+ feet of snow that was blocking the door has been moved.  By the time I got done the sun was setting.

Tomorrow we will finish the driveway and make it to the plowed part of the street.  Hopefully by then the street plows will come through again and widen the clear portion of the road.  There would be much less work for us that way.

I'm going to get cleaned up, changed into comfortable clothes, and then spend the rest of the evening on Rose Cuttings.  Ugh.

The Snowpocalypse is Upon Us

Snow is falling, the wind is howling, trees are cracking, and I'm shocked we still have power.  Last night we got about 5" of accumulated snow over the course of about seven hours.  Today we've had that much again in half that time.  The wind is really violent and there is little visibility.

FH and I have agreed that our usual plan of shoveling as snow falls just isn't going to work this time.  We're staying inside until tomorrow sometime.  He's been home all afternoon, working via the desktop computer.  The plan for tomorrow is the same.

For anyone interested in statistics the current rate of snowfall is approximately 1-3" per hour and the temperature is 22F (-6C) with a wind chill of 6F (-14C).  The wind is blowing at 30 mph.  We can expect anywhere from 13" to 19" of snow before the storm is over.

 While FH is working I've been playing with minis.  I'm laying slate tiles on the porch.  I've never done this before, so I'm not too sure I'm happy with it.  Time will tell though.

I'm using the same method that Casey used for one of her current projects.  Follow the link over to her place if you would like details.  I'm using larger "pieces of slate" though.  Every slate porch I've ever seen has large slate slabs instead of small ones.  Plus it makes the work go a bit faster.

While I'm at it, here's last night's progress on "Rose Cuttings."  I should finish the small rose and the buds tonight.  I might even get back to the stems and leaves.

I'm going to go back to work on the porch.  Hopefully the slate will be finished tonight.  I also need to put up the remaining interior trim.  It's painted and should be dry by now.  Tomorrow I will finish up any final details on slate and then start the stonework along the base.  I should see about making some steps too. 

I hope everyone in this line of storms stays safe and warm!

Hmmm..

The National Weather Service said, "This Afternoon: Widespread blowing snow and a chance of snow before 3pm, then widespread blowing snow after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 26. Wind chill values between -4 and 1. Windy, with a north northwest wind between 29 and 31 mph, with gusts as high as 47 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%."

Huh.  I see your 30% and raise you 70%.   See the snow that's blown onto the sunporch floor?  Yeah.  There's high winds.

FH's business trip was canceled.  The planes are all grounded.

But we have power, water, heat, the Packers game, plenty of food, and each other.  Life is good.

Picture Teasers

There will be more pictures as things are updated and whatnot, but here are a few that I took this evening on our final walk-through.

Front of the house. There are more trees in front and once the snow melts I know there are garden beds.
The kitchen that needs some work.
Built-in book cases in the living room. They also need some love.
FH and Awesome Realtor* looking out the living room window onto the deck.
Little D* and Hummingbird* went with us to the closing. Here is Hummingbird in front of the family room window that looks out onto the sun porch. You can also see the retro fire place that we're going to replace with a wood burning stove.
The family room also has a bar.
View of the back of the house from the yard. There are lots of deer in the area. One had even bedded down in the yard. FH is hoping to fix that problem. There will be more pictures as specific projects/rooms have work done on them.

*As always, names are changed to protect anonymity...especially for the kids.