A Half-Stitched Post (Patagonia, AZ)

We are down to our last two weeks here.  As usual, time just flies by.  Four months gone...gosh, where does it go?  I started doing some spring cleaning for our upcoming travels.  Today, I tackled the windows on the outside.  I plan to wait to do the insides after we move to Benson, AZ.  That way I can clean out all the Mesquite leaves and twigs from the window's rims for good.

During one of our walks, I stopped to wait for Dan to change out the wildlife camera.  While standing on Railroad trail, I noticed strange bumps on the bottom side of a limb.  I got closer to see the bumps were shells of bugs.  I thought it was pretty interesting the way they were lined up on the bottom side with none scattered along the top.

Mr. Screech Owl has been spending more time outside enjoying the sunshine when it is available.  Not too many photos of wildlife today.  I have been spending more time around the motorhome and office. 

The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club by Wanda E Brunstetter

This was a quick and easy read...well, except for the times I could not see because I needed tissues and none were available in the office.  I sure hope the visitors thought I had allergies, so keep a box of tissues handy towards the end of the story.  I'm not going to say much because I don't want to give away any spoilers, but I can say I enjoyed reading this book.

What's more scarier than offering a beginner's quilting class and having no one show up?  Having the most mismatched group of people sign up for your class!  That's what Amish widow Emma Yoder faces on her first day teaching a quilting class in her home.  Walking into her sewing room, she is greeted by a troubled young woman dressed all in black, a marriage-in-trouble couple, a young widowed father with his nine month old baby girl, a tattooed on-probation biker and a preacher's troubled wife.  So begins a very interesting human story with hopes that friendship and quilting will bind together this diverse group of people with a lot of Bible quotes and discussions of/about God.  Not as much quilting as I had hoped for, but it was a good read.  No sex or swearing.

On The Cutting Board

The raccoon and kitty's faces are done.  The bear is almost done and that will leave the dog.  I'm trying a different way to applique the faces to the quilt.  I usually applique the pieces to the top so the picture comes together on the quilt.

This time, I appliqued as much of the critter's face before I add them to the quilt top.  I haven't decided if one technique is easier than the other.

I finally blew the dust off of two pre-cut fabric packs.  I had cut them up last summer for Project Linus quilts.  One top done and one to goooooo.

Happy Quilting!

Home is Where You Park It (Patagonia, AZ)

The last couple of days have been very busy.  Dan spent more time cleaning up around the office, our site, and along the trails while I spent time cleaning up the office.  I think the spiders were trying to take over.  Hmm, I wonder how good they are at greeting guests...

We have been walking the trails almost every day since we got here.  Mr. Owl is still in his favorite tree.

Western Screeched Owl

I don't know about the look he was giving us.  Sort of looks like a "well, there goes the neighborhood" look.

Well, there's a fine "Howdy-Do!"

Since we came back earlier than last year, it is rather nice to see the area looking green with a few flowers blooming. 

Wetland flower

The hummingbirds greeted us on our first day back by buzzing our heads.  We soon found out there was a nest in one of the trees near our door although it does not look like they are using it at the moment.  There are three of them - daddy? mommy? and baby?  Anyway, they are happy to have the feeders close to their home.  

This hummingbird is sitting on a cage that is surrounding its feeder at the preserve's office.  The bats like to drink the nectar too, but were swinging the feeder so much that it was empty every morning.  The manager hung the cage for the bats to hang onto without dumping the feeder.  It seems to be working.  I'm not filling the feeders in every morning like the manager had to do.

This big guy had to jump over 5.5 feet to land on the bird's feeder.  He looks like he was enjoying the view from above with no interest in having a snack. 

Yo Guys! Look at me!  I'm on top of the world!

Happy Trails!

Breaking News? (Patagonia, AZ)

Not the best breaking news - I broke my quilt stand.  Yep, I broke it.  I don't have a level area when I have a quilt in the hoop, but I am not quilting.  I try to balance it with a makeshift box, but it slides out and then the stand tips.  I will have to find another place or a different way to store it.  

I really like my quilt stand because it is very well made by  Hinterberg.  Plus, it is small and easy to break down and store.  I went online to see what was available and the good news - I can order another stand without getting another hoop.  So, I just ordered a new stand that is more adjustable than my old one and my hoop will fit on it.

Quiet Please!

Remember our Western Screech Owl?  Well, recently he has been spending more time in his hole during the day.  The Preserve has had a lot of visitors since the sighting of the Rufous-backed Robin.  I'm so happy the request to see him has slowed down this week.

Many of the visitors wanted to see the owl as well so we explained what he was doing and where he was located.  Would you believe some visitors witnessed someone banging on the Owl's tree trunk?  What is wrong with people?  Do they really think he is going to come out to see who is knocking?  

What really amazed me was how fast this information got around the Birding Community by word of mouth not online.  We had people showing up within a couple of hours and talking to us about the incident.  That warmed my heart to know there were so many concerned people out there worrying about our Owl.

Our manager decided to rope off the area to protect the tree as well as the owl.  People can still see him, but from a distance through the branches. So this is the last good clear view I have of Mr. Owl.

Here's a couple of nature photos:

Doves in the White Sycamores

 

Tuesday Treasury!

Delightfully Dizzy! (Patagonia, AZ)

I finished making the Delightfully Dizzy quilt top.  Every time I thought I was done making blocks...I decided to add more. This challenge turned into a lot of fun!  I finally ran out of squares to make more blocks and the quilt is only lap size.

This is going to be a fantastic springtime quilt.  I can't wait to finish it now.

 

I had so much fun, I could not resist adding appliqué to the top.  I did manage to control myself and I only added one flower to the top corner.

appliqué flower

Close-up of stitching

More Photos from Our Walks

Sonoita Creek

Western Screech Owl's soaking up some rays during his nap

Don't give me the Doe Eyes!  I'm not going to give in!

Spotted Towhee - talk about having "Red-Eye"

Mama and Baby Javalina  Time to go Bye!-Bye!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Old Cottonwood

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We are waiting for our son, Shaun to drive down from Albuquerque today, so we are going to have our turkey on Friday.  Yes, I can roast a turkey in our roaster oven.  I can also bake Croissants in it.  It is electric and it can sit outside on the picnic table while it is roasting.  Later, the oven can be my warming oven.  I'm using a crockpot for our mashed potatoes.

I'll probably get most of the dinner prepared while waiting for Shaun to get here.  Small space so I have to do some careful planning and I might be able to make two dishes at a time - depending on what is involved.

Here are some pictures I have taken since we settled into our winter home - Patagonia-Sonoita Creek Preserve.  One morning I took a walk with frost on the ground.  The birds seem a lot busier in the mornings.  Flying all over the fields, but I managed to catch one resting before he realized I was taking his photo.

Good Morning Sunshine!

 There is a resident Western-Screech Owl living in one of the tall Cottonwood trees.  He was catching some morning sunshine when I stopped by to take his photo.  He is the first Owl I have ever seen.

Western-Screech Owl

Yes, I am keeping one eye on you

 They have a walking trail that is about 2 miles long depending which loops are taken.  I plan to walk as much as possible while here.  I have been so lazy about exercising lately.  So, this seems like the perfect place to start getting back into shape.

Tarantula - one of many 

Sonoita Creek

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Excellent book!  Now you are probably wondering how I finished another book so fast.  Well, I was listening to this one on my iPod.  (Yes, while reading the other book.)  There are four narrators which is quite different from most audio books with one or two narrators.  Their southern accents were perfect.

Most of you probably know the story already thanks to the movie being released.  I hear it is very good too.  I can't wait to see it, but I'll wait until the DVD is available.  I prefer to sew while watching a movie.

There are three main characters.  There is Skeeter, a young white woman raised by and closer to a black maid then by her mother.  She has a college education, but is not encouraged to find a job half as much as she is encouraged to find herself a man to marry.

There is Aibilene, an older, very experienced, and very observant black maid with a big heart.  She helped raise 17 white children.

And there is Minny, a younger black maid always getting herself in trouble just because she speaks her mind.

These three women give you a walk-in-my-shoes view of what the South was like living in the 1960s during the Civil Rights movement. A troubling time not just for the Southern Blacks, but for any Southern White person willing to agree that it was time to change.

I'm not doing a plug and I am not getting anything for telling you this.  My brother told me about this great membership club to help me save money on audible books.

Audible.com is a great source for finding audible books for a decent price and they are affiliated with Amazon.com.  Instead of paying $25 and up, as a member, you only pay a monthly fee $14.95.  In return, you receive 1 Credit and with the 1 Credit you can download 1 book to my iTunes.  So for $14.95, you can download a book.  They often have special deals for their members.  Such as getting 3 Credits for under $11.  Or getting a $10 reward if you buy 4 books within a month's time.  Not bad for the new releases and over 10,000 books to enjoy.

I use my iPod to listen to my books.  I haven't tried burning a disc, but I'm sure that too can be done if you are wanting to listen to a book in your car.  iTunes, of course, saves everything so I never have to worry about losing my books if my computer crashes....Knock on Wood!