Finally....

At long last I can say it is done...except I will wash it before it is used.

 Notice I am not showing real close-ups of the quilting.

The quilting was an experiment I won't do again any time soon.

Each diagonal row of  blocks is quilted in a different design.  The sashing has its own quilting, and the border has meandering.   The quilting was challenging enough just because of the size.  It is approx 84 inches wide and 94 inches long.  

Stitching the binding down is usually one of my favorite parts of quilting, but this was a challenge.  The thread wanted to tangle and knot up time after time.  Even with using beeswax.  And if I was not careful, there would be a knot I did not catch...I had to take out several stitches two different times because I missed one.  I honestly don't know if anyone else would have even noticed...but I knew, so I took them out.  I don't know that I have ever had to take out stitches on my binding...

Anyway, I am so glad it is done...I still need to wash it.  

Photo overload...

 I give you fair warning this will have several photos...

They were so far away I thought at first they were swans.  All most all were sleeping as I walked down closer...

As I got neared the bank opposite then, they gradually woke up.  Even thought I was still a good distance away.

The spring of the year is the one time I have the chance to see White Pelicans in the middle of Indiana.  These were down in the Goose Pond area...not far out of Linton.

 I was so glad to get to see them.  There were another group of them way farther on.  And we did not make it to another pond that we see them on.

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On top of them, I heard Sand Hill Cranes yesterday here at home, but they were so high up, they looked like a thin cloud till they turned at an angle.  I came in to get the camera but by the time I was back out in just a few seconds, I did not hear them, nor could I spot them.

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It is not every day that the following happens..

Causing trouble...

 So, I took Roger to the Physicians Assistant at the ENT's office to check his ear and remove any wax.  I was not allowed to go back with him, but I told the nurse what he was there for.  He was back there just a few minutes, and out he came.  See that little bitty dome shaped piece.  That was what was in his ear.  I hate to think how long it has been there.

In real life it is  a  bit bigger than a B-B....for those of you have not ever had a B-B gun, B-Bs are not even a quarter inch across.  Anyway this piece is called the dome.  They fit back in his ear and are out of sight when in use.  I can only remember him losing one that we did not find.  My memory is not the best and I hope I have forgotten one.  But thatthe one I remember was over a year ago.  

Anyway, Roger said, "I can hear so much better!"

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This is a pic Lorelei sent me one morning...I am not sure whose lap Rosie is on.  She is sure a loving little dog.

Then my other daughter sent me this pic, along with others of Delta and Copper.  Look how tall and how skinny Copper is.  He is all energy.  

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I have a little feel good story for you.  My windshield wiper messed up a while back...kind of like it was sticking.  Just a bit more than how they do when the window is not good and wet.  Then it seemed to work just fine and I thought well, that was it.

Earlier this week, I had to run to Terre Haute to get the serum for Roger's allergy shots.  On the way there, it really went all goofy.  It was raining...and I almost turned around and came home.  But the sky was beginning to lighten up like the rain was about at an end so I went on, picked it up and came home.  We brought it home cause it has to be refrigerated.  I brought it in to stick in the fridge, and when I went back out, Roger was standing there with the whole wiper blade in his hand.  Not just the rubber insert...he said when he raised the arm, it just fell off.

So off to Napa we went...he went in with me, and told the guy we wanted both wiper blades...he took the old one in.  I had to go to because it is times like when the Napa guy asked what kind of vehicle we had, Roger cannot answer.  So I told him...

I went in there hoping someone would come out and put them on, but I was not going to ask.  We are so short that it is not just an easy job.  Sure enough, he went back and got them and said, let me put them on for you!  He was tall enough till he could reach and do both wipers from one side.   Of course we told him thank you, and that we appreciated it.  And went back in to pay, and he told me they were on sale...I honestly wondered if he was just giving us a sale price because of our age.  

Anyway.  People just do not realize how much little touches of kindness can mean.  If that had been me putting the wipers on, I would have had to get something to stand on, or what I normally do is open the door and stand there on the floor board...for lack of a better word.

Birds....

 Today has been a day...I had to get away for a few minutes...I will explain in a bit.  I needed to run to Walmart, so before we went there, we did a drive through of the strip pit area.  I was hoping to see some wildlife... all we saw were a few birds.  I was thankful to see them, but I don't think I will ever get used to the lack of life that is there now.  

This girl, I think it is a female Ring Necked Duck...kept diving and diving.  Every time I was about ready to take a photo she would disappear.  Edited to add Ginny thinks the one above is Pied billed grebe...I feel pretty sure she is correct.   

This is the male Ring Necked Duck...at least I am pretty sure that is it is.  If you know different, please feel free to correct me.  Both photos are cropped.   This male was a good distance away.

This dove was just right beside our vehicle....

We are seeing a lot of the American Robins any where we go....I thought this one had a redder than usual breast.  

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Okay, will tell you about the day.  I knew I had to run to Walmart, but figured I could do that and be done and have time left to do either things I needed to do, or to sew.  To being the day, the cat got me up way earlier than I normally get up.  That should have given me a clue to the day.

Roger was up, but kept staying in the bedroom.  I had no idea what he was doing.  I went ahead and got my war paint on...and I don't mean make-up.  I mean a medication and sunscreen.  He still wasn't out.  I thought to give him a couple more minutes and then go see if something was wrong.  Here he came....he had lost a hearing aid!  

So, I went in there and looked and looked.  I looked under everything, I tore the covers back and looked in the bed...I looked behind the bed...I looked in shoes...I even took stuff out of two drawers.  Remember the two drawers part.

He said he had had them when he went to bed...but his memory after the stroke is not always the best.  Though I do think he would have noticed if he had not had both hearing aids on.  I went and seen if he had left one by the stationary bike.  I called the restaurant we stopped at yesterday to see if it had been turned in to the lost and found.

During this he had me stop and run him through the McDonald's drive-thru...

He got done with breakfast, and was kind of wanting me to start looking more.  I had been looking most of the time he was eating.

I told him I had to go to Walmart...he wanted to go.  So we went, but I grabbed my camera.  Going through the strip pits takes my mind off everything.  It is one place I can usually go and just forget everything.

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Came home and he wanted to start on the hearing aid again.  I got him to go on and ride the bike, and I went in to the bedroom.  I thought I would start on the drawers again.  I went to the third drawer...I had opened it earlier but it looked so neat, I had only lifted one t-shirt and thought there was no need to go farther.  This time I went to the bottom of the drawer and there it was!  Laying there in the corner of the drawer!  I was so relieved to find it.

That all took up a huge portion of my time here at home...I have not accomplished much of anything at all this day.  Did not even do my normal Friday chores.  I haven't sewn a stitch, but the night is not over.  

Just a quick little post...

 

It is fun getting a pic like this to start the day off right...Lorelei never takes a serious picture.  I think it is good that she does not take herself too seriously.

Here we have Copper's adoption photo, and how he is now.  Not sure if this photo is real new...but you get the picture.  I look at that adoption photo and could almost cry.  Look what a little boy he was.  We were over there Sunday for lunch...it had been a while since we saw him, but he was tickled to see us.  Sarah and Jeremy came to eat an to pick up Lorelei.  Copper was glad to have his tribe all together.  He would play, he would lay and watch us all, as in the photo below.

I know I have posted a similar pic but this one was taken Sunday.  Anyway, he would play, and watch us, and then every so often he would come to the table where we sat talking, and he would go around it to check on each of us.  He would nose in under our arm, or hand, till we had to acknowledge him.

I think I told you he sasses his mom...he does not like to be told no.  He will stop whatever he is doing, but he talks back.  I did not notice, but his mom said he sasses Lorelei, too.  I honestly think he recognizes that she is more his age than ours.

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I was going to burn up some of the limbs, etc that has fallen in our yard.  And clean off the flowerbeds good, but soon as I headed out the door to do that, the wind started just whistling.  I did pick up a lot of sticks, but rather than do the burning, I broke down boxes.  

That is about it from this little corner of the world...I am going down in the basement to check on laundry, and maybe sew a stitch or two more.  Hope everyone is having a good week.

Treasures

 These are diaries from my husband's great grandmother.  There were more in the possession of his grandmother but we do not know what happened to them.    I would give anything to have them.  It is just little bits from her day to day life.

I don't know if you can tell what it says there in the upper left-hand corner, but it says 21 below.  There were several days in a row where it was anywhere from -18°F to -21°...they lived in Wisconsin.  Not Indiana.

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I made 3 more of the Economy blocks yesterday...

Again, nothing planned.  Just finding scraps that were big enough.

I am finding it hard to stop making them.  But I really do not want to make a full sized quilt with blocks that finish 4 inches across.   My original thoughts were to maybe make a small quilt 3 blocks across and 4 blocks long.  It is apparent that it is going to be at least 4 blocks across and 4 long...maybe longer.

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I need to get in there and clean the room up.  Lorelei is coming this weekend.  The other morn she texted and said she was coming over this weekend.  She proceeded to tell me she had got another hoodie and wanted the band cut off...was that bad.  I told her no...that was fine.

But I have stuff everywhere, cause along with making these little blocks, I have been cutting 2 1/2 inch blocks from scraps that are big enough for a future project.  So it feels like a tornado has been through.  So guess I will go get busy on that.