Thank You Budweiser Never Forget

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyP0JsyvYnA&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2xwK0r1Ls3xdh7d3Z0g259Ksg5DQHb2DX66Lu6_7y0bUz3fkdHNkIviAg&app=desktop

D27 Back Home

If you remember D27 was the last Decorah Eagle fitted with a transmitter.  She has been quite busy coming home for the winter.  She is quite the flier and her wings must be worn out with the miles she travels per hour. 

Anyway this a great article about her return home for the winter and what life is like for her up North in Canada.

https://www.raptorresource.org/2019/08/28/22210/?fbclid=IwAR31WWeCeDubZ9V6tT9J6ilcw8rNAfHcA-mzzlH6wy43HlwRDKqFiSGvDB4

Department of Energy

Stay out of my house.  First the government changes the light bulbs and that is crap cos I used to get 4 to a box for a little over a dollar and they lasted forever, now they are $8 each and don't last as long and oh I can't just throw them in the trash.  Not buying them now or ever.  Then you changed my toilet to low water, you do realize I have to flush more cos you can't put as much in the toilet as you used to.  Now they want us to melt.

I keep my temp at 73 24/7 365/366 days a year.  It is my right to do that, I pay my bill and yes they are high at various times of the year.  But I prefer to be comfortable.  I have to wonder how many of you at the DOE have a 2 story house, cos we all know the upstairs where the bedrooms are is a higher degree or cooler depending on what time of year it is.  Because the idiots who built my house did not do the vents right it can be as much as 10 degrees warmer in the summer. So if I am to keep my house at 85 during the day i may as well just open the windows and turn off the a/c cos that upstairs is gonna be an oven.  Since I am retired I stay home and expect that I can be comfortable. What about pets, do I let them sweat like a fat pig in the mid-day sun? 

Tell you what stay out of my life, let the market decide what light bulbs and toilets we use.  Let us decide if we want to pay high utility bills and you find a way to keep that electricity coming to my house.  And if you want to regulate utilities how about you look into what they pay for that we pay for that are not necessary such as paying for bigwigs to go golfing on my dime, now that is something you can mess in. 

Week 22 Luxury Part 1

1. What would you read with chocolate?

2. What are the luxuries in your life?

3. Are you adventurous enough to sew from a foreign book you cannot read?

 

Luxury:  conjures all kind of things to me:  but it is one of those words that means something different to every one of us.  For me there is a city about half an hour away that makes wine from honey. Yes it is very sweet and oh so good. They have a raspberry wine that is the perfect companion to a rich piece of chocolate cake.  The sugar is so sweet your teeth ache but it is oh so good and a little goes a long way. 

I would like to have a skein of quiviut someday but at $95/ounce that is one yarn that I have to save up for. It is so soft.  I can only imagine a cowl around my neck not only for the warmth but the feel.

Magnum ice cream bars:  the chocolate caramel almond ones. When you take that first bite the chocolate cover cracks and out runs all the wonderful flavors inside.  They are not cheap but I consider them a splurge (a luxury).  

A rich cup of coffee especially on a cold day. It tastes so good and warms you up, is there anything better on a snowy cold winter day?

A skein of cashmere yarn, flannel sheets, a good book, a cup of cocoa, a rich red wine, champagne, chocolate and more chocolate, a cup of coffee, scones, fig newtons, are just some of my luxuries. I dont have them very often but to me they are a treat, a luxury I allow myself from time to time. I don't need or want a fur coat, lots of jewelry, a huge house or many houses, etc.     

What book goes with chocolate, all of them.  Chocolate goes with everything, doesn't it?  

Finally

I normally have 2 hummingbirds who nest in my yard but they have been evasive for me getting a picture. Finally yesterday he held long enough for my picture now that they will be leaving soon.  I miss them in the winter but then I get to have my Juncos so it is an even trade.

The chickadees were out in full force yesterday afternoon especially after I filled the feeder that hangs on the deck light.  I love when they start in with their chick a dee dee dee talk. ONe of my fav birds and they stay all year.  The babies are so small and cute.

Sunrise, Sunset

One of the reasons I like living in the middle of the country is we have breathtaking sunrises and sunsets.  They have been particularly gorgeous this past week.  Pink clouds in the morning followed by orange/yellow/purple in the evening.

Visitor to the Meadow Sage

I look out my windows a lot because there is always something going on in the yard.  Birds, possums, racoons, feral cats, butterflies, hummingbirds, Japanese beetles, lizards, an occasional snake, fox, deer, etc.  I have my own zoo.

The other day I found this beauty.

Birthday Gifts

Every year I splurge and buy myself a birthday gift, something I really want.  So this year I got 2, why not.  A friend posted this kit on FB and I just had to have it. I really only wanted the pattern and now you can get it over there, so it came.  I had an orange cat as my first and so this will be perfect.  You kind of make it like a sock, so perfect for my obsession of knitting socks.  How cute is this?

I have wanted to learn to spin. I took a class and it was a disaster, the teacher was awful. I bought a wheel as my retirement gift and it has sat because family issues came up and I have never got back to learning how.  So another friend posted this on FB and I thought maybe if I could skip the part of the feet and hand coordination and just concentrate on my hand work I can learn how to spin.  And of course they had purple, so my second gift came on the same day as my sock cat kit.  Yes it is small but I need to simplify my learning to someday get all the parts working to make my own yarn.  One of the things on my bucket list. 

Week 21 Comfort Part 2

* What do you do with all your quilts and does it bother you to see them used to the point of obvious wear and tear?

* How do you create a comfortable environment in your home?

* Share three things that add a sense of comfort to your life. (comfort being related to 'comfortable' and not the comfort offered to the sorrowful)

 

 

I have one quilt and it is wearing out but it is the only I have and will use it til it is just rags.  Someday I will have to find a new one. And no that is one hand craft I will never try, too much fuss.  My aunt tells me I wash mine too much well with 3 cats I wash it monthly during the winter when I use it, otherwise it is put up til cold enough to bring it out.

 

There are afghans over every chair or a lap quilt.  Pillows are there as well.  Books, yarn, and if you come over and I know you are on the way some type of buttery fat goodies will pop out of the oven soon.  There will be coffee or tea or cocoa as well.  

 

3 things that most give me comfort, my cats, my knitting and my books. I can pretty much escape with all 3 and drown out the world.  

Week 20 Comfort

* What brings your own gentle domestic heart comfort?

 

When I hear the word comfort I immediately go to food.  Baking powder biscuits, mac and cheese, brownies, mom and pop diners where you get "comfort" food.  You know the ones, every town has them and everyone knows where they are.  They are not healthy but who cares, sometimes you just need some buttery fatty goodness to make you feel good.

 

Afghan and sweaters are the second thing I think of.  Who does not like to snuggle under an afghan and lay on the couch when you are sick or it is cold outside.  Bundle up in a sweater, your fav and big wooly socks in the winter and stay home and drink cocoa and watch TV.

 

My dad has dementia and he only finds comfort in his apartment now.  Any place else and he gets out of sort.  His cat and my mom are there, his chair, his walker, his coffee pot and cup, cookies in the afternoon.  They bring him comfort in his world now.   

Getting lost in a book or a knitting project or some other handcraft project bring me comfort.  A chance to read a great book and forget about the world or to create something that will bring me even more comfort when I wear or use it.  Working in the flower bed, getting dirt all over me, and seeing the flowers bloom, the catepillars on the milk weed, the wild sunflowers that always pop up every year, they give me comfort.  Feeding the birds, they are such a joy to watch and when the babies arrive at the feeders well there is a new beginning.  

Th author talks about vintage embroidered dresser scarves.  I collect them and doilies.  They remind me of my grandmothers and the comfort a grandmother can bring.  The time and work that went into making them.  Did they give comfort to a time of escaping from the world and concentrating on hand work?  I don't think anyone make dresser scarves any more, but when isee one in a thrift store I always snatch it up and put it on some piece of furniture.  I love to make doilies, i have a ton of "doily" thread that I need to start using and place them around my house.  Someday one of those filet crochet tablecloths will be on dining room table. I have the pattern and thread, but the time always escapes me.  Someday. 

D32 Update from SOAR

~ D32 still needs intensive care ~
D32 was also thin, dehydrated, and anemic on admit, but D32 also has the added complication of needing to mend a broken bone in the lower right leg. Photo from 26 June 2019.

The report from Kay on 1 July 2019: D32 is still behaving like he is in the nest. He has made no indication of wanting out of the crate. Now that D32 has progressed to eating cut-up food on own, the crate and bedding are cleaned frequently. (The noting of 'he' is a pure guess at this point!)
We know it's difficult to see D32 still in an intensive care crate, but this is the level of care he needs right now.
Raise your hand if you've ever broken your leg or has had to care for a young person with a broken leg? It's not fun to be in a cast, to have our daily routine altered, and to not play with other children, but that is the level of care needed. In due time, the bone is x-rayed for the doctor to determine the amount of healing, the cast is replaced, and activity restrictions may be changed. Even once the cast is off, appropriate physical therapy will be needed.

Week 19 Style

How has your personal style changed between your teenage years and today? Or do you still follow the same basics today?

* What do you find challenging about embroidery? Are you confident making changes to a pattern or do you prefer to follow it the way it's written?

* With regards to quilt making, have you been inspired to create a quilt from difficult fabrics in your stash?  What was the source of inspiration and were you happy with the end result?

* What have you purchased direct from a maker that has become a treasure?

Knitted Vests: I have always wanted to make one, but never have, guess I have never found a pattern I cared to try or I had other things with a deadline.  I am putting this project at the top of my must knit list.  It would be easier than a sweater because no sleeves.  You don't see a lot of them today, are they old fashioned or not in style, or no one wears vests anymore.  

Embroidery:  I can I just am not good at it because I have not done it much. I keep collecting Jenny's patterns thinking someday, well someday needs to come because I have a stack that needs my attention.  I just have other things on my list, maybe I need to clear that list for vests and embroidery.  I do find when I go to antique stores I look for dresser scarves and doilies which i love and use. I know it is old fashioned but I don't care, I love them.  I often wonder who they were made for, why were they given away, did no one want them any more?  

Quilts: Not for me, too much fussy perfection involved.  I have cut out squares to make a Halloween quilt and like everything else they are sitting waiting to be sewn.  I just have too much on my plate to get all these projects done.  

Craft Fair: I love to go to these to see what others are doing and get ideas.  I try to buy at least one thing but that is hard to do.  A couple of my friends have booths so I try to go and support them.  I also like to hit the hand made embroidered tea towels and get at least one or two.  My aunt made me one a couple years ago and my hand embroidered ones are very thread bare.  But they are the best because someone actually took the time to make them.  A couple years ago I went to a Tea Fest where a pottery artist was trying to get in the market.  She had 2 purplish bowls that were so cheap I bought them.  I see she is in business and her prices have over doubled, so I feel fortunate I got them cheaper and they compliment the purples in my bedroom.  

It is too bad that kids today don't understand what goes into making something.  The time and love and trials and tests and wondering if anyone will buy it or like it.  It is sad they are not taught to actually know the satisfaction of making something.  It is a skill that needs to be taught again, so go out and teach someone something they can make.  Self satisfaction of a job tried never gets old.

Animal Farm Meet 1984

So Animal Farm is beginning to get more and more interesting by the day.  We all know they basically banned anyone who showed support of the POTUS.  I was pointed to a video last night.  It was very enlightening.  Animal Farm says they have over 8 million members yet when you go in and do some looking only about 600,000 actually have any information in their profiles, so what are the rest of the members doing?  Also when they came out with the "banning" of he who shall not be named they said no new memberships.  Really then how do you explain the hundreds of new accounts the past few days, and oh look none of them have anything in their profile. So who are these new members and how did they get in if new accounts are banned.  I think the pigs have got a hold of some rotten whiskey cos they are making no sense now and just making stuff up to cover their behinds. 

Last night this happens:  Hate speech just like making Animal Farm inclusive for all.  I know they can do what they want they own Animal Farm, however I think the rules have got a bit out of sorts.  If you hate the POTUS you can stay, if you support anything the POTUS does you have to hit the road.  Animal Farm has a monopoly of sorts for the craft world in the arena it supports, mostly knit and crochet.  Why do we have to include politics. If I see a pattern I like I used to not care who created it.  Now I want to know which way they lean because if they believe I am a white supremacist and practice hate speech then they do not get my money or business.  I don't care if you are giving free patterns away, want no part of it.  I vote with my money since 2008. 

Is Animal Farm interfering with the upcoming election, why are they all of a sudden doing this now that the left army of candidates is wandering around the country.  Is the head pig being funding by George Soros, or some other lefty group?  Who is the puppet master behind this?  Be careful out there the left is doing everything they can to cheat and win the next election because afterall we deplorables need to be squashed like a bug so they can take full control. 

Updated Community Guidelines on Rav. Posted at 5:56pm EST on 6.30.19