Day 2--Reflections

I chose a photo of our dining room table today. I was just going to go with the table itself until I saw the reflection in the glass top and thought it said more about why I chose this object.
As with any New Year, I always reflect on the past year or years.
I received a gmail from my Aunt in CA today and she was telling me about the Sunday dinner menu she was preparing. She cooks Sunday dinner for the family members who live in CA and she has been doing this for a number of years. I have had the privilege of sitting at her table graced with roses from her garden and eating one of her fabulous meals. She is having pork chops cooked Darlene style this evening, which my cousin enjoys, along with Apple Crisp. I can imagine they will have a wonderful time.
Our youngest daughter started a once a month Sunday dinner tradition last year with her two sisters and their husbands who live along the front range. They will have their family dinner tonight, the first one of the new year at Daughter #2's home. They are rotating this year. They are working on an Italian theme this year and their menu sounded delicious. We were able to attend a few of the dinners last year and it is always a treat.
So even though our dining room table is not covered with food at the moment, nor are there any guests coming, it is full of memories of meals shared with family and friends over the years and in spirit I am in CA at my aunt's table and with our daughters and their husbands and finance this evening at their table.

I'm In

Photo # 1

January 3, 2009

Even though the challenge has been underway for two days I am forging ahead. 363 photos posted would be spectacular in my view. Maybe I will post a couple extra here and there to catch up or two at the end, IF I make it that far.

This is a small section of the leaded glass in our front door. Christmas lights are hanging on the other side from the eaves.

I have not been able to capture the dancing reflections in the glass that I have seen in the evenings the last few weeks when the lights have been on, but none the less a memory of them will always be there when I look at the door.

A year ago we had a solid, steel door in place of the one we now have. The door has made a major difference in our entryway and home and how I feel about that area. It welcomes visitors and is great on this side as it allows more light into our home. Light is a fabulous thing.

Thinking About......

My daughter sent a link to the new blog she started in connection with the Flickr 2009/365 challenge, which is to take a picture everyday in the year 2009. This is her blog address--- http://everydayinaphoto.blogspot.com/ I think she takes great photographs. I used one of her underwater photos of a sea turtle in the dye painting class I took from Hollis in May '08. Still quilting it. My daughter has hopes it will hang in her office one day. She has some beautiful photos of coral I would like to paint and quilt as well. Works out well too as she is not a fan of traditional quilts.

So now I am thinking about doing this challenge thing as well. In my mind there are more than a few challenges connected with this "Flickr Challenge 2009/365". Starting off with picking up the camera each day and taking a photo, this could prove to be the easiest part. Then I would have to upload or download the photo from the camera to Adobe and do some work on it. Then comes posting the photo to this site, which can be a technical challenge for me at times and writing something about the photo. Good grief, that would mean I would have to blog each day as well AND I am already two days behind, but that sums up my life. It might take a day just to decide if I want to do this or not!!!!!!

It's Christmas !!!!

I use to love this time of year. Not sure what happened this year though. I had a few thoughts on the possibilities, but didn't want to bring too much negativity into the blog and most of my opinions on the current crisis our country faces are probably better left unpublished. They might shut my blog down.

We haven't gotten the tree up yet, but will. Heck I still have 7 days left. Not as many of the decorations are going to find their way out of the storeroom this year, but that is okay, won't take as long to put everything away. I still like the year I left them all out on the snooker table and just brought them back up without having to unpack anything. Easiest decorating I every did! Haven't purchased many gifts either and I don't think we will.

I have cleaned way too much the past month and a half and the dyeing and sewing have been non-existent. The baby quilt I am making my grandchild is still just sitting there with the dragonfly block ripped out of it, waiting for my return and the making of another one. Looks like that will be a gift after Christmas, no way is it going to get done at this point in time.

The Guild color study project is still sitting there and it was suppose to be done in November. Was I glad that meeting was cancelled. It would have been completed had I not had to get the sample made for the Retreat our Guild held in November. That piece turned out to be very distressing!!!! Let's say that it won't be seen at the Quilt Show this coming October, at least not as it is now. The Retreat was great though and everyone had some very nice projects going.
So the push will be on after Christmas to finish the Guild color study project I started this year before the January '09 meeting. Sort of important that I get this done since I am the one in charge, encouraging everyone else to get theirs completed.

I canned the last of the sauerkraut on Monday. The canning kettles have finally made their way back to the garage shelves. I didn't think I was ever going to get that stuff done this year. I did have the experience of having the side of a jar blow out the other day when processing. Anyway, we put up 96 pounds this year. I think that will hold us and those we share it with for a little while. One of the things I liked best that I put up was the Tomato Relish, not sure how much of that I am going to share.

I hope everyone has a beautiful and blessed Christmas and I pray that our country and way of life will still be around next year at this time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!

Fall is on the way

September already, where has the year gone? We will be celebrating a new year in just four, short months.

Hopefully I won't be as tired and testy tomorrow when I wake up and hopefully I will get a good night's sleep, providing the jerk in Los Angeles, CA skips sharing their political views at 1:53 A.M. again!!!! I am for the No Call list including political calls. Not likely to happen since those passing the laws are politicians and the laws currently on the books are not enforced.

The canning is progressing. More salsa, dill pickles and stewed tomatoes in the pantry, sweet corn in the freezer. I am going to make some peach salsa tomorrow. People should grow more of their own food, it would benefit them in untold ways.

Another month almost completed

I am having a hard time believing that August has almost come to an end.

I have been busy canning produce from the garden. Tomatoes are producing very well, along with the cucumbers. Even though I have only used one head of dill from our garden and have had to get dill from others who have been so nice to share. The cabbages are finally ready to eat and we have been enjoying those.

I finished making the quilt I started for my mother last December, it is for a queen bed. I dyed a single piece of fabric for the log cabin blocks, with the exception of the centers. After the fabric is dyed, I start cutting strips and sewing the blocks together. The borders are dyed with the same dye. I used a Blue, Yellow and Red for this quilt. This is the second quilt I have made using this method. I hope to dye a few other pieces this summer using different color combinations.

Still need to get the iris I dug up in July back in the ground. AND we had some wonderful moisture the first weeks of August. Over 10" total from all the thunderstorms here at our home. It was needed!!! Of course the weeds are making up for lost time now. All of the flowers loved the rain, humidity and cooler weather and have never looked better. The pastures are green, unusual sight for late August.

It's August 1st !!!!

Hard to believe that the eight month of the year has started!!!! I have been canning and freezing produce from the garden, so I guess it is time for August to be here. To date I have canned 10 pints of salsa, 7qts. of stewed tomatoes and 7 qts. of dill pickles. The cabbages are slowly making heads. Timing was a little off there this year with them. Just as long as they produce some large heads for kruat by the end of Oct., I will be happy.

To the right, one of my favorite daylilies blooming in the flower garden. They are carrying the gardens at the moment. Along with the cone flowers and rudebeckia. I have started digging the iris as some are in jeopardy of wasting away, too much shade where they are currently planted. I am going to tear up two of the flower beds and replant them within the next few weeks.