My Second Blog

It's a work in progress and it needs lots of work, but I am tired of waiting.

I am tired of feeling stuck with details. It's time to direct you toward my

New Blog.

It's a working title that will most certainly change but creativity is not my strong point now.

I thought I would come up with a great title. . . I did not.

I thought I could find a more creative layout. . . I did not.

But I still want to post photos. I want to share bits of my life and photography to those few who like to read it. So here it is, with the standard layout and the working title. I have posted there since Thanksgiving in hopes of having something more interesting to unveil. I gave up!

If you want to follow the continuation of this blog just head to

http://lindaalex59.blogspot.com/

New Blog

Coming Soon,

A New Blog!

I haven't been moving too quickly but I am working to set up a new blog so that I can continue to post photos of my family, projects and adventures.

Stay Tuned!

Thanksgiving!

It's here; my favorite holiday! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I am about to hit the road with Jay to enjoy the holiday feast with my family in Mason City. The desserts are packed safely in the back of my vehicle and I am excited. I stopped for a few minutes to write a "Happy Thanksgiving" blog post before getting dressed. (I always save getting dressed for last.) When I attempted to post the photo of my oh-so-beautiful pies, Blogger informed me that I have reached 100% of my photo capacity and will need to purchase more photo space. Ouch! I cannot have a blog without photos. I do not like the idea of a monthly fee forever more for the right to post photos. There must be a solution but I cannot think of it now. It's time to think about Thanksgiving, gratitude, family and food. I have so very much to be grateful for this year; so much! I would post photos of those things but I am not allowed that luxury this morning. I will just take a moment to say how very grateful I am for this move back to the Cedar Valley that allows me the luxury of being near my family. Not a day passes that I am not aware of the gift of time with family. Happy Thanksgiving!

Ideas and Projects

 I recently finished my patchwork quilt and found myself with the itch to start a new project. I had ideas in my head that were a collection of half memories of something I saw on a quilters blog or with a friend. I started cutting strips of fabric with the idea of creating uniform squares out of randomly cut strips...some horizontal and some vertical brought together to create a scrappy quilt. I am not sure if my memory is serving me well and I know that the extra math involved is at bit much for me but I am not going to give up on this idea yet. I wake up at night thinking of the seam allowances and if 3+3 will really come out to 5 and a half inches like I planned. (The answer is yes, it does.) The sewing machine is threaded and the ironing board is out but this project may quickly take a back burner to holiday baking, planning and organizing. It's almost Thanksgiving!

Wagon Fun

My wagon is getting lots of use and I am loving it. This morning I watched Lincoln for a couple of hours and decided to get him out in this wonderful weather without opportunity to dig in the mud. It did rain this morning so things were damp. I thought that the wagon might be more fun and a nice change from the stroller.  Lincoln absolutely loved the wagon ride! When I stopped to take a photo he urged me to get going. When I held my arms out for him to come to me he wasn't interested. When I took him out anyway he let me know that he wanted back in for more. Now we both love the wagon!

Mowgli Does Des Moines

 Mowgli is a great travel companion! It worked out just perfectly that I had planned a weekend in Des Moines at a time when Mowgli was invited to my house so I just took him with me. Mowgli and Dale are pretty crazy about each other so it worked for all of us.

Actually Mowgli was home alone much of the afternoon while Dale and I were shopping so we took him out to see the sights before the sun got too low on Saturday night. He was well behaved all weekend and happy to be with us. It was fun to have time with the grandpuppy who has been feeling a bit dethroned this year.

Thanks to Dale and Mowgli for a fun weekend!

Family Friday

 It wasn't planned but Friday ended up being a very fun family day at my house. Jay surprised me when he called in the morning to see what I was doing. I had asked Ashley to come over to help me hang my shutters but it was great to have Jay and his cordless drill. We were almost done with the job when Lincoln and Ashley arrived so we had plenty of time to just hang out together. Lincoln was thrilled to play with Uncle Jay and I loved watching them. We made homemade pizza and chocolate chip cookies. After lunch I decided it would be fun to go outside since it was so nice.

 Lincoln was happy to get outside and crawled quickly across the patio straight to the garden area to play in the dirt. He really doesn't eat the dirt so much as play in the dirt then put his hands (and some leaves) in his mouth. I did feel badly...he got filthy and he was dressed so cute! But who am I to stop him from the joy of gardening and dirt!

Seasons Are Changing

 Digging in the dirt today to plant tulip bulbs and iris made me think of Spring even though it is certainly a Fall activity. A couple of mornings this week made me think of Winter. See the ice that I found when I stopped by one of my favorite riverside parks for a quick lunch? It was a reminder that it was almost past time to get those bulbs and rhizomes in the dirt!

I like the change of seasons. Most of the leaves have fallen so it is feeling like late fall around here. Digging in the dirt reminds of of all the new life that comes after the deep freeze. It would be nice if I get some pink tulips in the Spring but I am most hopeful about the purple iris. They are my Grandma Stone's iris that I got from her years ago. While I was living in Des Moines these were safely growing at my sister, Cindy's house. I went there in September and split her iris, took some home and planted some of my daffodils in her yard. It's something to look forward to in the Spring, but first we have winter!

Non-toxic Chalk

I love sidewalk chalk and Lincoln loves it too! I like to draw on the cement and he likes to eat it. I checked the label and was glad that it was non-toxic. I tasted it to check out the appeal but it really had no flavor; didn't even taste chalky! So today when I decided to pull out the sidewalk chalk with Lincoln for the first time, I might have been a bit too rushed. He did make a few lines on the cement but more often it was in his mouth. I think we will wait till Spring to try again.

Shutter Progress

This morning I set up the garage to do some major spray painting. My past experiences with spray paint are not good but I want this green covered for a few bucks, so I got brave. I draped a couple of bar stools with old shower curtains, put on some old paint clothes and opened the garage. Four cans of paint later, most of the green is gone. I just want to do one more light coat on each of them and it will be good enough. The directions say to wait 5-7 days for them to dry well before putting them back up but I really wish I could do it tomorrow before the temperatures drop again.

Patchwork Quilt 2012

My patchwork quilt is complete and I enjoyed almost every moment of making it. Last January I started cutting 900 little squares and now it's a quilt . . . a family quilt. It took me less than a year. Maybe its my 2012 patchwork! I love all the memories in the fabrics; memories of my children, grandma, nieces, nephews, friends and more. I did purchase the backing and the batting but the quilt top is quite an assortment with many thanks to Jill, Sandi, Kelly, Grandma Stone and a few more.

 Picnic anyone?  I hope this quilt sees picnics, parades, wagon rides and story books. As much as I enjoy the finished project I do realize that I have many romanticized ideas of a patchwork quilt.

I have a few ideas for the next quilt already. I wonder if they will all look very much alike. Eventually I will run out of my scraps but I have a decent pile left in my sewing room. Something about this mish-mash of color and patterns just feels so cozy and homey to me!

Weekend Balance

 As I get ready to settle in for a cozy and quiet Sunday evening I looked through the snapshots I took over the weekend and realized it was a nice balanced weekend. Today Lincoln and Ashley joined Linda and me for the first UNI women's basketball game of the fall. It was Lincoln's first basketball game ever and I can safely say that he enjoyed it very much. He carefully watched the players run up and down the court, socialized with our friends and thoroughly enjoyed the band. Who knew that boy could dance? He loved it! I have so looked forward to sharing sporting events with Lincoln. This is fun.

 Saturday evening Dale and I were also at the McLeod Center to see the UNI women's volley ball team. Who knew that I liked volley ball? Not me! I have really grown to appreciate the sport this year and enjoyed the game very much.

AND I made headway on some much anticipated home improvements. Have I mentioned that I am thrilled to have the green shutters off? Thanks for the help, Dale. I like getting things done, getting out some and spending time with people. It was a very good balance.

Good-bye Green

 Photographing the new tree in the front yard put me over the edge and I needed to get rid of those green shutters. I have disliked the color of the shutters since the first time I pulled into the driveway. Saturday afternoon I grabbed my favorite screwdriver and my sturdy ladder and headed out. It was surprisingly easy to remove the lightweight shutters. Dale came out to help and they are safely stacked in the garage awaiting my decision about paint. Do I paint them and put them back up? What color do I paint them? I want less contrast...a lighter color. I like black shutters but most of the neighbors have black. I don't love and need shutters...so less contrast would make them less prominent, right? I have done some on line research; was considering tan/beige but now I am leaning toward white. I was some great examples of white shutters on white houses...adds texture without the contrast. I would gladly leave them off, but take a look. I can wash off some of the dirt and fill the screw holes, but I am thinking it will look like a house that used to have shutters. It may take a while to make this decision but the good news is that there are no longer dark green shutters on my house! There is still a green door going into the garage, but we won't talk about that yet.

Update:

After I posted this entry, I went outside with an extension brush, bucket of hot soapy water and a hose to clean the front side of the house. It made a huge difference getting rid of the dirt that built up under the shutters over the years but when it dried it is obvious that the rest of the siding has faded some in the sun. I expect that the shutters will reappear a much lighter color. I washed the shutters and researched spray paint. It's an outdoor job so depending on the weather it may be late fall or spring when it is completed. That's ok with me. I am just so glad to have most of the green gone.

The tree spade truck difficulties backing up the front yard and spun their tires in the grass. Obviously I will be working on grass seed again this spring too. I am also very anxious to get some foundation plantings; bushes, grasses, flowers etc in front of the house below the bedroom windows. All in good time!

Introductions

 Silly as it seems, I was very excited to introduce Lincoln to my new tree. When he and Ashley came over this afternoon I took him right out in the yard and sat him near the tree. The guys from Jordan's nursery had come back this morning to stake the tree, fill their tire tracks and add mulch. Lincoln was quite interested in the mulch. I just love watching him explore nature.

Tree Day

My tree is here! It was so exciting when Jordan's called to ask if they could bring the tree on Wednesday. The timing wasn't great for me. I was in Cedar Falls with Briana and it was Halloween but we made it work. Briana was a good sport and took the drive to my house with me just so we could see the tree arrive. It was exciting for me after taking so much time and energy to find the right tree. I went to several nurseries, two or three times each before I found what I wanted. This has taken me months.

I like the tree but it's the trunk that I love; the clump style multi-trunk look. I think it's why I love river birch but decided that I wanted something that wouldn't get quite so huge, so this gnarly looking trunk with so much character was the one for me. It's an Amur Maple and I love the fall color. . . another huge priority!

It's good to have a tree in the front yard after it being so bare for months. Now I just have to do something about the green shutters!

Grammy Shoot

Recently when I helped Ashley out on a very quick ten month photo session for Lincoln I asked if she would snap a few shots of Lincoln and me together. It just amazes me what she can get in a minute or two! The photo above is the one that I posted on facebook but I couldn't resist posting a few other shots, especially the funny "out take" shots. I just love his expressions.

 He really does love my kisses; really! You just can't tell in his one.

Hand Stitching

I once tried hand quilting and didn't enjoy the process (or the pain) at all, but I do seem to enjoy hand stitching the binding to the edge of the finished quilt. I don't have to push the needle as hard so my finger doesn't get as sore and I love having the quilt draped over my lap while I stitch. I have started making smaller stitches so this part lasts just a little bit longer! Bummer that my fireplace isn't working or this would be a perfect evening. I guess I need to call the man . . . the fireplace man!

Maple Syrup

A couple of years ago when Dale and I were visiting the North Shore of Minnesota, I regretted not taking the narrow road to follow the rustic handmade sign to a maple syrup farm. When we were back there a month ago, we did take that road and I was not disappointed. It's a family run business and the man in the cabin took our money and we walked away with real local maple syrup and great memories.

 This morning I finally took the time to make some waffles and photograph the results with Wild Country Maple Syrup. We all love waffles and the syrup is a very nice touch.

Once again we were rewarded for going off the beaten path. It was a narrow path with room for one car. Oncoming traffic meant that someone had to pull over to the side, off the road and let the other pass. Everyone had cameras and patience for the slow trip. Late September on a maple farm is about the most amazing fall color that I have ever seen. It was certainly a beautiful road all the way to the maple syrup!

Fast Weekend

 Happy second birthday to my great nephew, Brecken! Dale, Ashley, Lincoln and I made the trip to Cedar Rapids to help Brecken celebrate and it was so much fun. I always love seeing family and it was so nice to see Brecken so thrilled with his "garbage birthday party." He is fascinated by all things garbage so he was happy and intent on sorting and resorting all the clean empty containers into the recycling bins that were hauled down by his grandparents. He was very fun to watch and it was a great celebration. His mommy, Kaley, my niece puts on a great party!

 Sunday morning Ashley called to see if we wanted to come over for their pumpkin carving and Dale and I were both game.  Lincoln was adorable but less interested than I expected. He did fling some pumpkin guts to the wall and explored the insides. Ashley did lots of carving and Travis found interesting designs. I think that their front porch will look great for Halloween.

Sunday afternoon Dale and I went to the Oster Regent Theatre on Main Street, Cedar Falls. I have seen a few live productions there but it has been years. My favorite experience there was when we first moved to Cedar Falls back in the early nineties. It was still a movie theater then and we went to see the newly released film, Sister Act. I guess they show movies from time to time so for nostalgic reasons I wanted to go. It was a small crowd but a great venue.

Finishing Touches

 I have two projects at the point of just needing one or two finishing touches. I started the quilt at the beginning of the year and the stocking was started about ten days ago...yet both are now nearing completion. I loved making the stocking and it went so quickly. It's for Lincoln to have at my house since everyone has stockings here! I just need to add the loop for hanging then I will do more photographs. It's my goal to have the quilt done by November 12. I am trimming the edges this morning and need to make the binding. I bought binding last time and I will never do that again...not very nice to work with and doesn't wear well. Now I just need to remember how to make binding! I hope this quilt feels cozy because it's getting cold outside and I will get to curl up with it while I hand stitch the binding on. I am looking forward to that step. I just love having Fridays off to do this stuff!!