Gee, and another year has passed....

I could say that I don't believe this, but yes, I can. I have not posted here because it is not really working with the picture thing. Ok, we will see...I am not going to write a long post, because if this doesn't work, it will tick me off. So...here is a picture of my new truck. We traded in my van and my old truck for it. We are also getting a new Casita camper in a week (yippee!) to go with it. Let's see is this works...

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Wow. Over a year...bad blogger, bad!

So, it has been a crazy year, and a crazy one yet to come. I won't rehash the year, god no, but let's just say it was busy. My in laws used to say "I'll sleep when I'm dead" and they have, god rest them, but I have never said that, and don't abide by it. I like "slow and steady wins the race". But, apparently I married into it, and it is my fate. Oh well, go with what life gives you.

I guess I can start posting pictures of quilts again, since I am still doing that! I have been posting on Facebook, and skipping this part of it, which I know I am leaving out those who don't do Facebook. I was one of those, but have caved, since everyone else is and if you want to know what is going on, I guess you have to just break down. So, on with some updates....

River is doing very well. She will be 2 on Sept. 22nd and even tho still has a ton of energy, is settling down and listening better.
This is where I would post a picture, if I can remember how! Guess I should study before I go much further. (Trying this from my iPad, if anyone has any suggestions...)

I have not done any quilting all summer until this last 2 weeks, and then it was stuff that HAD to get done. I quilted 3 quilts. I cleaned (somewhat) my sewing room to try to fit in 2 new bookcases that we got from our good friend Earl who was moving. Not and easy task. That sewing room is PACKED to the hilt. Now I am in the process of getting all those odd ball projects done that have been sitting around for one reason or another. Usually a mistake was made and I put it away. I finished one tiny duffel bag, and it is really cute, glad I finished it. One is an iPad case that was started 2 years ago, and I will finish, but not what I need anymore, so it will be given away, if anyone wants it! Of course there are about 30 quilts started in some form or another, and some kits that haven't even been opened yet. Appliqué, that is why...

We are still going back and forth to Ash River, which is getting to be a pain, but the project is done being built, now it can just run and take data for a bunch of years. Hopefully until Bill can retire!

Ok, enough boring stuff. Now I need to figure out how to post pictures! Hopefully it won't take so long next time!
See you all later!

Another Fun Filled Weekend!

I knew it has been a long time since I posted, but that is terrible!
There of course is a lot going on, but nothing has been very blog worthy...! Computer problems, busy days. Back and forth to Ash River and Ely.

This weekend we had Isaac, Andrea and the 6 munchkins (one missing, he went to grandma's instead..!) in Ely Friday, Sat. and Sunday. It was of course, a good time. Fishing, movies, shopping, fires, saunas, and of course swimming! Everyone was well behaved, even the parents! We were a bit worried about River, since she has never really been around "little people" much at all, and when she was, she was scared, but she did really well. She barked her fool head off at first, and ran and hid. She was pretty much over it when they left, but a "bit" sketchy. She wouldn't let the twins pet or hug her goodbye...but everyone else was ok...

A few stunts off the dock by Grant....

A bit cold for swimming this weekend! But only if you are over 25!

Emile with "one" of his fish. He SLAYED them! Too bad none were big enough to keep!

Jenna going for a swim with her friend...River...

River and Miko. They too had a great time all weekend...nothing but fun...

(For some reason, (don't get me started...!) some photos didn't want to load...)

 

I took the Divas shopping for a few hours on Saturday while "the boys" got the bonfire ready to light. We decided that we need to have a "country boot camp" with the girls (and Miko) for a week next year, where the girls are going to have to fish, (which means bait their own hooks, and remove their own fish), learn to mow grass, change a tire, run a boat motor, and hike at least 2 miles "in the wilderness",  and maybe a canoe trip, or for sure camping-in a TENT! We will turn them into COUNTRY DIVAS by the end! We are all looking forward to it! Then, the next year, it will be the BOYS turn, if they think they can out-country the GIRLS! Now...if we just had cows to milk.....

A great time was had by all this weekend, and I am always sad when it is over...even tho it is so quiet it almost hurts! Miss you guys!

 

And for the other things that have happened since March...!

 

...River has gone through her first class in training. She did well during class but didn't do so good on her "test". Oh well. I would have gone for the second class too, but traveling back and forth every week, was getting old.

...Bill's dad died in June, so we dealt with that for a few weeks, always things to keep you busy! His Mom is still at home in the house for now....

...I have just recently began sewing again, after all the hoopla from the summer. So, hopefully I will be able to post a few pictures of that soon...Man, it is almost October, and quilt retreat time...then....ahhh....w..w..int...t..tee...r...Not.....quite....ready....

Until later....time to start laundry!

As Promised....

Some quilt pictures.....ok, and more dog pictures....only because I found some on my card, which is unusual for me, since I am good about getting picture off the card and on my computer, and fixed up quickly...mostly. Guess I forgot some!

It feels so good to get things off the "To Do" list! First, I finished Caitlin's quilt, a pattern from Atkinson Designs (one of my fav designers...) done in Halloween fabrics, since her birthday is on Halloween and it is her favorite holiday! I was collecting the fabrics, since they were so CUTE, I don't "do" holidays, but I AM a collector of fabrics...(I probably showed this in a different post...)



 



And the back....I wanted to use up all the fabrics, since I won't be collecting more...I hope...I do love the way this turned out...

This pattern was great for these fabrics. I will make this pattern again for sure. It is a good one for doing focus fabrics....

...and matching pillowcase....(use it up!) Oh, and quilted with a spiderweb quilt design by North Country Quilts in Tower...Perfect!

Then, Jay (a friend who works with Bill) got a new truck, and needed a seat cover for the back seat, since he has Maverick. Since Mav is technically MY DOG (yes, Jay, get over it! He just happens to be LIVING with Jay...) and he should be riding in the front...I said I would make him one. Of course, if Mav doesn't get to sit in the front, then I should take it back! Kidding...maybe....well...



This too, is an Atkinson pattern called Minnesota Hot Dish. I wasn't real fond of how this turned out. It is with a set of Connecting Threads fabric, and I liked the fabric, but I like more contrast in the background. I am all about contrast...
So-dog quilt. Muslin back, binding is attached, just not finished. Then I need to cut holes for the seat belts, and add straps and buckles...

And last but not least....

 

This too, is an Atkinson pattern (I am sensing a theme here...) "Between Friends", out of the Happy Hour Book. I wanted to use my black and white fabrics. Of course THEIR quilt looks nicer then this, and I am not too thrilled with this at all. Again, not enough contrast for me with the strips to show off the green. Oh well. Dog quilt for the couch. Which is fine, since the one I have on there, is getting worn out. It is my very first quilt, hah-Atkinson pattern-Yellow Brick Road! Did I mention she is one of my favorite designers?! 

 

And now what everyone has been waiting for....drum roll....MORE dog pictures!

I think there was a "Billy spotting"....(taken through the fogged door...River, Mav, Willow...)

Yep, pretty sure....!

...and "The Man" has finally arrived! "ABOUT TIME! Took you ALL FRIGGIN' DAY!!!"
O.K., you can go now...

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

King of the Hill

River LOVES snowbanks. Her favorite thing right now is to catch snowballs, snow chunks, ice chunks, whatever, she doesn't care...

 

She stands at the ready...





....and goes for it!



Nice half twist...I give her an 8.5....(a mom can't be TOO biased...)



Of course there is the easier-just catch it on the fly....

But the beauty of it all, is all the exercise she gets plowing through the snow, and I get to stand in the road!
I am not sure WHAT she will do when the banks are gone, it is her favorite place to go to the bathroom too, weirdo!
I really hope she likes the water, because swimming is great exercise too! ...And I can stand on the shore...(not that I don't need the exercise...BUT...)
She had her "surgery" last week, and it went well. No "Cone of Shame" for her. Although, she has to wait till next week before she continues her acrobatic lessons for the year (as the snow will probably be here till JUNE...)....She was groggy for the couple of days, but now, she is a dog that has been laying low for 4 days...and she is FULL of it! Of course, no jumping and no running, so she has to be on the leash for a couple more days. I know I ALREADY can't wait for her to be able to chase the snowballs again. She has energy to BURN...and the best part...she can't get PREGNANT! No more worries for mom...bring it on boys!
( I am hoping to get quilts pictures tomorrow for everyone who is sick of dog pictures! Oh well...that is my life...dogs and quilts....and if you expect much else, you don't know me very well!)

My Baby Is Growing Up....

...Not sure if that is a good thing or not...the part where she is now letting me go back to sleep is AWESOME, but all her "cuteness" of puppy-dome is leaving....
she is now about 45 pounds...a lug when she sleeps on my chest....

  In the last week or so, she has been THE BEST girl! I never thought it was going to happen, but all of a sudden she turned a corner, and for almost 2 weeks now, she hasn't chewed on anything, or did any "puppy" things. And, like I said, is letting me go back to bed after she goes out in the morning! She plays by herself without getting into any trouble, (so far of course, I am not THAT naive!) it is almost weird. Like seeing your teenagers become responsible adults.
We really have to get on the regular training, but she is doing pretty good. I have to find a training class to take her to. I can do it, but it is different when they have to learn in a different environment.
  Today, we went for a bit of a walk on the lake, I had my snowshoes, and she was confused as to what to do, as no one was "ahead" of us, to run back and forth to. Normally, Bill is ahead of me, and she tears back and forth between us. Her funny thing is, no matter where we are, when we turn around to go home, she-Just goes home! Full speed, "I'm outta here!".  It will be interesting if she continues to do this.
   So, today, I took advantage, and kept calling her back, so I could get pictures, since that was how the lighting was.

Silly girl...

On Facebook, as some of you know, I mentioned that for my "late" New Years Resolution, I was going to start doing the things I forgot I love to do. One of them is get out and take more pictures. Sometimes I feel like there is just nothing to shoot, but I know we can all find SOMETHING, even if it is something we might not be interested in. That is usually when we get the surprises. Anyway, for those who don't know, the other things were Snowshoeing, Skiing, biking, hiking, and the like. It won't happen all the time, since I hate the heat, and I HATE the bugs, but, I am going to try to do it a lot more then I have been. And, we got rid of the Direct TV, so maybe I will blog more too....

The good news, is River is growing up and she is still alive! There were a few days (ok, MANY) where she almost didn't make it. I am a dog lover to the max, and I just about choked her a few times! She could be a bad puppy, testing, testing testing. Typical, but DANG. She goes through her "spurts" where she just does everything bad she knows how to do! Chase or wrestle with the cat, go eat cat food or worse...(and we have it blocked, but the cats have to get through...), chewing on things, shoes mostly and her crazy digging on the couch or dog bed. There is more, but you get the idea. And she would do this at 6 in the morning, before breakfast, and/or after...Now, anyone who knows me knows I don't do 6 in the morning, and having a bad puppy at that hour is just not a good recipe for success. BUT, the good news is she IS growing up! AMEN. (And yes, there was a lot of praying going on! O.k., and cussing...) She is now 4 1/2 months old, and is starting to "get it". She (usually) stops doing bad things when we tell her to, (on her good days) and has learned to fetch, and sit. We are working on leash training, she mostly does O.K., but like to do this weird thing about trying to walk between my legs...(??).
 (here is where I would insert a picture, IF the stupid Blogger would LET ME. I hate blogs posts with no pictures!)
I took her with me to go to the car dealership on Friday. We had to get the van undercoated and whatever else they do. They gave us a loaner, and we did some shopping, but it was supposed to take 3-4 hours for it to be done, so we "camped out" in the waiting room, and I had a blanket, toys and entertainment for her, not to mention she did get a "bit" of attention from everyone who came through the door! She was VERY good, and after she let everyone pet her, she settled down and just watched people. I was nervous, especially in the loaner, as she really hasn't been in the car alone without the other dogs, so I was hoping she wasn't going to wig out and chew anything. She did fine. She will make me nervous for a while.

Other news: obviously, we got a new van. I got sick of Bill bitching about how he didn't like the new car, so I made him buy something else. I didn't care WHAT it was, but he was buying something ELSE. We drove the Rav4, the Chevy Equinox, the Toyota Venza, and the Sienna van. They all had the same gas mileage, towing capacity, the same engine, etc. and it was between the van and the Venza, but duh, twice as much cargo space, and with the dogs, that is a good thing. Not to mention we like to bring our house with us when we travel! And even if I did have pictures, I couldn't post them anyway, since IT WONT LET ME. So, go to the website and pick one with leather and navigation, and that is tan, and you get the picture. We LOVE IT. but then, we loved our other van too. It is by far the nicest vehicle I have driven or rode in-bar none. Some may beg to differ, but whatever. We love it, and more importantly, the dogs love it! They have way more room then even the truck, and it will pull the Scamp, so if we decide to get rid of the Airstream, we will not HAVE to buy a new truck...

Other news...Cathy and Mark were just here for the court date of the Guardianship of the parents. All went well, and Mark and Bill will now have guardianship. The judge was impressed, and said they were an "abnormal" family, (big surprise there!) and that very few can keep their parents in their homes as long as they have. Good thing the parents saved well, or they wouldn't be there either.

We went to look at a house in AR today too. It is new, small, but nice-2 bedroom, one bath, and an attached heated garage that could be a SEWING ROOM. Of course, then we would have to attach another garage, but hey-works for me! and it is all on one floor, so when we are in wheelchairs, we can stay in our home! Well, we hope anyway...BUT, of course Bill has to make the mental decision to sell Everett. The house is up on the hill, with great views, and we wouldnt have to pay lakeshore taxes, but be very close to the lake! We will see how it plays out. There is not very many places here to buy that are not "cabins". I am in, it is 2.5 acres, in the woods with no neighbors so far, and won't be too many, even if they sell all the surrounding lots, which could take years.

I guess I will post again later and see if I can post pictures. What is happening, is when I pull up the "insert picture" icon, it appears the "browse" button has disappeared, where you can search your computer for pics. If anyone knows whats going on, give me a clue, please.