Snake!

Matt’s family has gotten into reptiles in a big way and today Mary brought over the newest, recently arrived member - 

Luna Lovegood, a Western hog-nosed snake. 

Luna should grow to about 2.5 feet long.

Isn’t she pretty?  

I think Luna is snake #4, to go with the 8 lizards, assorted spiders (jumping and “only mildly poisonous” tarantulas), 2 birds, 2 rabbits and 2 dogs - all (except the dogs) named for Harry Potter characters.

Donovan adores them all.

Jac likes snakes, in theory, but had to be persuaded to pet Luna today. 

And me? I’m Team Jac - they are pretty to look at but not really my cup of tea. 

Yep, Still Here

Still here, still sick, ready to be over it. I was going to say hubby was pretty much done with it, but he’s still taking 2 naps a day… The tiredness and the cough are the worst parts now. 

Donovan‘s still sick too. His dr says it’s a strain of influenza, so that’s probably what Pop and I had/have too.

Had the first of two light treatments for my eye today. Such a fiasco time-wise - we sat in the waiting room for over 2 hours, then another hour and a half in the treatment room, while they restarted and recalibrated their fancy, high-tech machine over and over… They were so backlogged, I think they finally canceled and rescheduled all the afternoon appts. 😜 But… did it work? We’ll know tomorrow, after the dilation drops wear off. Crossing fingers!

Still Here

So, we had an uneventful flight home last Tuesday. Then Wednesday hubby got knocked out with a bug of some sort (who knows what all is out there right now…) and Friday I came down with the same thing. We’re both still sick but starting to feel a bit more human. 

Jac and Donovan were here Friday, so while I lay wrapped in quilts on the couch, they happily entertained themselves with video games. They ended up sitting in the hall, next to an electrical outlet since Donovan’s iPad kept running out of juice. The cutest part? Jac kept reminding Donovan to keep his voice down since “Grandma is sleeping.” And he did! (Big D usually has just one volume and it’s not “inside voice.” 😂) Hoping to be back to regular life soon…

No Pictures Pls

Somebody went to Universal Studios while we were in CO and is very proud of his Luigi costume.

“No pictures, Grandma!” says he.

Smiling despite his best efforts

“Ok, maybe just one…”

He also said I couldn’t call him “cute” or “adorable” (he is…) but “cool” was ok. He’s been annoyed that I call him “dude” occasionally, so we had a conversation about how “dude” originally meant “cool guy” and now he’s ok with that too. 😎

Heading Home

 It’s been a great (very cold) trip.

The predicted temp when we head for the airport tomorrow morning is… 6° (not accounting for wind chill.)

Farewell dessert from PF Chang’s

Hubby and I may have to arm wrestle for who gets the heated front passenger seat…

Snow Day

We went out this morning to two favorite stores - antique and fabric* - trying to beat the incoming snow storm.

My haul from Stitches, in Johnstown 

Almost made it! 

Big fat flakes started falling while we were checking out the new, and amazing, Buck-ee’s in Johnstown. (100 gas pumps!! Giant shopping area!)

Very glad Rach was driving as we slooooowly made our way home. It’s crazy how fast the roads got covered with ice and snow. 

* And why did we need to go fabric shopping, you ask? 

To see if we wanted to add to the amazing collection of ocean-themed blues Rachel put together for me to make a quilt for myself. So beautiful!

Birthday Swap

We missed our annual trip to celebrate Addy’s birthday last November, only the second time in 18 years we haven’t been in Colorado for it, 

so we decided to swap in a February trip for her mom’s birthday instead. 

LA gave us a wet send off (driving the freeways at 04-dark-30, in the rain is always… exciting? challenging? hair-raising??) 

and Denver welcomed us with temps in the 20’s and snow on the ground.

Planning to spend lots of time hanging out, viewing new-to-us TV (anybody watching Hulu’s Paradise? So good!), 

eating tasty food - like tonight’s very excellent chicken and waffles/whiskey distillery restaurant, Oak and Maple (oak barrels, maple syrup…),

doing a bit of hand-stitching, 

Looks like underwater diving helmets for Minions…

and relaxing. See y’all in a week.

Snow Globes and a UFO

Another step up Mt. Bindmore - Snow Globes is bound and done. (And yes, I did hang it at Christmas without the binding…)

Started 2019-ish (here) then cut down to a more manageable size last December (here).

Showing of the backing fabric

Very happy with it, super wonky quilting and all. (I learned a lot…) That makes 4 quilts completed so far for the Finish It QAL. Whoo!

Remember my National Parks quilt (here)? It’s once again my tv watching/going places hand-work project.

I’m adding a round of simple embroidery to every park we’ve visited. Eventually, maybe, each block will be done? Probably not since I think at least one is underwater and I don’t see me taking up scuba diving in my old-ish age. 

 

Finished Hearts

Got this back from my longarmer pal on Friday, determined to have it finished and usable by Super Bowl Sunday.

Made it!* My version of Patchwork Hearts (pattern link) was created entirely with whatever was in my stash, from the combo of reds/pinks/purples on the front,

to the bees and honeycomb for the hearts,

and the pretty purple leaves in the backing. 

The thing I most worried about? The “omg, am I sure this goes with the other colors??” binding choice - I *love* it, hubby concurs, and there was about a half-inch width of fabric left afterward, so it was obviously the perfect choice. (I need to stop obsessing over whether my color picks are “perfect”… 😜) Happy, cheerful, colorful… I love this first quilt finish of 2025. 

*Still need to wash it to achieve max softness but I’m not positive some of the reds won’t bleed, so….. putting it off until after our Colorado trip. Crossing my fingers I’m worrying for nothing… 

Wheels of Fortune

Finished this Friday but didn’t get pretty pictures until today. I’m still counting it as a Week 1 finish for the FinishItQAL (which ran through Friday.)

42 x 42”

Love these colors. Love the illusion of curves. Love that it’s done and I can hang it up and enjoy it. 

The backing is pretty too

I bought the fabric, Carolina Lilies, in 2022 and tried using it in several patterns with no luck.

More angel wings quilting

Most of the fat quarters eventually ended up in the stash, but in August 2024, I uncovered a bag of snowballs and other pieces left over from 2022’s unsuccessful Around The Lake QAL. I used them to make Wheels, Carolina Stars (still waiting for binding) and Big Blocks (gifted.)

The only block I made for Around the Lake. Maybe it wants to be a pillow??

And there’s still more pieces and uncut fabric waiting for another project(s). Definitely got my $$ worth out of this purchase!

Sneak Peek

Picked this up from my longarmer pal today. So pretty!

Sweet Bailey waiting for me to put the camera down so I can PET HER. 

Planning to put the binding on this and at least one other small quilt this weekend.

Butterflies or angel wings?

Wish me luck!

Rainy Day Jacarella

Jac’s third grade play, “Character Matters”, was today. 

Jac’s no longer the shortest in her class, but it’s close. 

She played Cinderella, dressed in a tiara, “old” dress and apron (because “Grandma, she’s not a princess yet!”) 

Cute play (they always are) and good snacks afterwards (Jac’s favorite part.)

After school, Leia and I made lava cakes, then we all sat on the couch, hanging out and listening to the rain. It was grandma heaven. 🤩

Days With Jac

Jac and I are homework buddies so we pick her up from school Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and she usually spends those same nights with us. Which gives me lots of time to collect Jackie-isms…

Ready for the rain in the new hat and new-ish coat Pop got her (she finally grew into the oversized coat.) High stylin’ and very pleased with herself. 

Cooking adventures…

Me: leaves the kitchen for 2 minutes after waiting for the instant pot to (finally) get up to pressure and start cooking. 

Jac: Grandma, I turned it off for you because it was counting backwards. 

Me: … thank you? 😳

I love that she thought something was wrong and took action. She’s a smart cookie. 

Jac, struggling to peel a potato: Potatoes are all ready for their natural predators. They have a really tough skin. 😂

Bunnies and Bling

First step in conquering Mt. Bindmore for the Finish It QAL- the flowerpot bunny quilt is done!

Started in March 2022, it’s been sitting in the pile - and hanging on the wall each Easter - since that April. 

Each of the grands picked their flowerpot and bunny eye color (here, here, and here), then Jac and Donovan giggled their way through some hanging pix (here). Glad to have this finally, really done. 

Due to the type of lens that was implanted with my cataract surgery (light adjustable), I get to wear these pretty, sexy (not!) glasses, both indoors and out, for the next 2 months. 

So what does a crafty girl do with ugly? Bling it! Decided to try sparkly stickers before breaking out the bedazzler (afraid the heat would damage the plastic) and to my surprise, they are staying on! 

I’m already tired of the weird looks people keep giving me but now I can pretend they’re just admiring my artistry…