Yuck!

I hate being sick! I missed some days at work last week, and again this weekend had a relapse. I'm missing work again today. Getting extra sleep is definitely helping. Getting on an antibiotic helps, too.

I took this photo of a chicken planter on the back patio a few weeks ago. The snow was bright and sparkly with the sun shining that day. Now this planter, half buried in snow and in the shadows of the shed, reflects the way I feel this weekend. I've been going from feeling like I'm freezing cold to burning up the last few days. Even tucked under four blankets I could hardly feel warm enough, only to be followed up with throwing off the covers being too over heated. Yuck, yuck, yuck! Being sick is the pits.

I've enjoyed all the snow we've had so far this year - because I like snow. But I have to admit I stood by the window looking out yesterday and . . . I am longing for warm weather and green grass. I really look forward to a change of seasons. Warmer weather, getting over colds and sinus infections, seeing the grass turn green and a few new flower buds -- yeah, I can't wait for spring!

Hopping the Bunny Trail

I've been away blogging for awhile, but now am back. One of the things I have sewn recently was wedding ring bearer pillows for my niece's wedding that took place last Saturday. I embroidered the designs on my Pfaff Creative Vision then stitched the pillows together. This photo shows one of the pillow in progress.

I made two pillows for my niece to choose from. I have not heard yet from her which one she decided to go with. It was fun to do both of them since they turned out looking so different with the finishing touches on each one.

We have bunny rabbits living near us every year. It doesn't seem to matter that we've got three dogs, the bunnies have been coming around every year for some time now. Here's the evidence to prove it.

I find it kind of hard to believe that bunnies are able to squeeze under the bottom edge of our gate. It sits so close to the ground. I heard they were able to slide through very narrow gaps in fencing to squeeze through to an area they want to get to. I just never realized it was quite this narrow. There just doesn't seem to be much room to get past this gate.

It was absolutely beautiful outdoors this morning. I woke up to find a winter wonderland of ice and frost on all the trees. I just had to grab my camera to get some pictures. Granted these are not the best photos. They fall far short of ever capturing the beauty of the glittering scenery that was our yard.

The snow has been piled high all winter with shoveling off snow and ice from the back steps and the walk-way that allows the dogs to get out and about in the back yard. This view of the back door shows how high that pile is at the moment. There is actually a bit less than there had been a few weeks ago. We were blessed with some warmer than normal temps for a few days that brought on a wee bit of a melt of some ice and snow. No fear! There's still lots more outside! It'll be winter here for a while longer.

Filling my Head with Programming Info

I've been spending time filling my head with info on building websites. I had gotten away from studying my programming material. Now I am trying to refresh my memory on what I learned with classes last year. I picked up a couple programming books a couple months ago. Getting back in the swing of things in this direction has been interesting. How easily one forgets things!

The current book I'm working through is starting off okay. I'm remembering stuff from classes -- that's good, but hadn't realized it was being lost. I'm sure it is a lot like riding a bike. Once I start to get back into it, it should come back easier.

We are supposed to be hit with some cold, icy weather tonight and the next couple days. Forecasts are predicting we'll get about a quarter inch of ice build-up before the snow starts. I will likely spend the day at home tomorrow. I don't want to chance getting out on the road if it's not an emergency. I had a few errands I could do, but will wait to see what tomorrow brings.

Today was a nice, relaxing day. We slept in a bit, watched some cable TV shows and ate a leisurely meal late this afternoon. It was a tasty beef gravy with veggies over rice. Yum! There's still more left over for tomorrow, the fridge is stocked and I've got plenty to keep me busy here at home through the coming storm. Hopefully it won't be too severe.

On My Desk

The stuff on my desk seems to be multiplying. Yikes! Guess it's time to go through and get straightened up again. That's going to be one of my chores this weekend after work tomorrow. Tidy up the desk and file paperwork.

The green zipper bag was made on my embroidery machine with an Anita Goodesign design. It is one of those "complete it in the hoop" designs that sews the whole thing, zipper and all, right in the hoop. It holds a small camera and camera cable for downloading my photos to the computer. I can grab it quickly to toss in my purse when I'm heading out the door. Most of the other stuff is clutter that needs to be dealt with. Funny how clutter multiplies the way it does.

I stopped at the bookstore today and purchased a couple new titles I noticed for the first time a few days ago. Perhaps they're new, or just new to me. Both are mags from the UK. There seems to be some interesting articles in each so I decided to purchase and bring them home for a more leisurely look. I think they'll go with me in a bit as I snuggle for warmth under the covers before I fall to sleep. I don't always read in bed as it can get uncomfortable after a short time. I usually enjoy reading while seated in my chair in the living room with nice bright lighting and a comfortable footstool to prop my feet upon.

It has turned considerably colder outside tonight. I was just thinking of heading off to bed to peek through these mags when I realized I did not plug in my car when I got home tonight. I have to do that first or this cold spell will surely have the engine block frozen solid by morning.

Okay, I agree, this is a pretty boring blog entry. Seems to be pretty much the same ol' same ol' around here lately. I've got some things coming up over the next couple weeks. Should have some more interesting things to report in the near future. But for now . . . snoooooze!

Piled High

I left work today and it was still light outside. How refreshing THAT is . . . to get off work and see the sun still shining. How wonderful that it was nice and warm along with the sun. Our temperatures were back up to 30 degrees. It was wonderful to be so much warmer. Of course the sun out and warmer temps combined to melt some snow and made it a bit slick with ice when it re-froze once the sun went down. The news reports tell of 40 car accidents and vehicles in the ditch. Even so, I look forward to having it warm up like this.

I thought I'd be able to get some good photos of the snow we've got piled up around the house since it was so nice and sunny. Unfortunately by the time I drove home, let the dogs out, and changed my clothes it was already getting dark out. So, the photo reflects that. Perhaps I'll get some better shots tomorrow. This is the view walking out on the sidewalk by our house. How's that for a big pile of snow!?!

44 Below!! Lot's of snow!

This is the coldest day I have ever experienced! It is 44 degrees below zero today in the city where I live. Wow!

My car did not start this morning so I took my husband's truck to work. When I went to go for my lunch break the locks were frozen and I ended up walking to get a bite to eat rather than driving. Okay, it was a short walk; I changed my plans and just walked across the street rather that going further. My dh came and picked the truck up later in the afternoon. By the time I was scheduled to get off work my hubby came to pick me up. Yeah! a nice warm vehicle to get into rather than having to let it warm up. Apparently we are 2 degrees away from breaking the all time record since they started tracking this sort of info.

Brrrrrrr! It's cold outside!

Our poor little chihuahuas have been very good about going outdoors and getting back indoors REALLY FAST! I had to go out to help our older female, Sugar, to get up the back stairs. She was having difficulty moving with her little feet getting so cold and frozen from the snow packed sidewalk. Poor little girl!

We've got some good news in the forecast for the next few days. It's supposed to get to 20 to 26 degrees over the next several days. It's going to feel like a heat wave out there. I'm looking forward to being above zero for awhile!

We've also got record breaking snowfall this year. Yeah! I love snow! But I'm hearing everyone talk about having enough already. I'm just grateful that the lakes and rivers will be full this summer. That will be such an improvement over the dry summers and low water levels we've had now for so many years. I guess I can agree we've probably had enough for while, but I do like snow. It's so bright and clean and pretty coming down.

Thankfully we decided to purchase a snow blower last year. We've certainly been making good use of it this winter. News forecasts inform us we only need another 41 inches to break the all-time snowfall record. That's likely to happen because we still have the rest of January, February and March to go before spring comes. I'll see if I can get some photos of the snow depth to post over the weekend. We're running out of room to pile it with the snow being so deep. I think this last week was another five inches. We've got about 4 to 4.5 feet of snow piled up along the sidewalk next to the house. I can still see over the top of it, but it is starting to feel like tunnels we're walking through. It's not that deep all over, but the drifts are pretty high!

My sweet hubby got up on the roof last week and pushed most of the snow off so the weight wouldn't be so overwhelming for structural soundness of the house. This past week they closed the Wal-mart store in Minot because of safety concerns with the amount of snow on their roof. So far it's been closed at three days they've been closed while safety engineers determine how safe and sound the roof is. Wow! That's lots of snow!

The streets are seeming so narrow now since there's only so far to push it to the side. Many places around town it seems we're down to one lane of traffic with the piles of snow on either side and cars parked out on the street making the roads even narrower. Aah, the fun and excitement of living along the northern prairies!

Square Strip Quilt

Here's a view of what I've been up to the last few days. I went to sew with a friend on Monday. This is the clear see-thru tote I took along with my materials to work on that day. I've been sewing on a strip quilt. It is based upon a quilt I saw in the McCall's QuickQuilts magazine January 2009, page 57, Cozy Cabins quilt. It's a series of squares sewn around a black center square. I've been using up some scraps that I've had sitting around for a long time. There are a variety of bright colorful fabrics as well as some other more muted tones in this quilt. It should make an interesting mix.

When I think about it, the reason I like strip quilts lately is they seem so easy to do with lots of mindless sewing and a time to download and de-stress. It's been fun getting together with a friend and chat while passing the morning sewing. I've enjoyed our times together without having to stress with trying to read a pattern and follow specified cutting directions and other instructions. It's been fun to just sew and see what develops.

This quilt is nearly done. I will be laying all the squares out to arrange them in preparation for sewing them together. I've yet to get a quilt top aligned on my quilting frame. Perhaps this will be the one to have that honor of being the first.

Sewing Basket

The sewing basket is out. I'm trying to get some work done a little at a time. It just depends upon how I work it in. A stitch here, a stitch there. Eventually I'll have something to show for my time.

I went to sew with a friend yesterday. We kind of took a break from our joint sewing day during the holiday season. Now that the new year is in full swing we will be getting together once a week again. It's always a fun time to sit and sew and chat away the morning with a friend.

Here's what's on my desk - a magazine I picked up the other day. Stuffed is a new magazine put out by Somerset Studios. It shows some of the new wave of interesting soft, cloth dolls being produced these days. I've been toying with some ideas about creating my own series of little stuffed softies.

I will be working on some quick little digitized faces I want to develop for some softies. It will be partly for a class I'll be teaching in early February, and partly just for fun. There's been a few ideas rolling around in my head for awhile now. Time to get those ideas into the development stage. I'll keep you posted.