ONE FINE QUILT

This quilt is by Deb at http://quiltgal.blogspot.com/

She lives in Canada and when I saw this quilt, I just thought that the colours were amazing, the quilt itself set with the setting just made "one fine quilt" so I am posting it here for you to see.

I visit her blog just to look at this quilt which is so bright...you know I love bright colours don't you?

We, that is my main man and I were planning to have coffee and the Toronto Star in bed this morning just to relax and be like the old days of staying in bed and reading the paper on Saturday mornings then have a brunch and the day would go from there. Well no such luck, it's now 9:45 and still no paper. Ah well next week...

It's a sunny sunny day in Whitby, yipee, and another walk is in store for me to enjoy. You know if you face the sun, close your eyes, even on the coldest day, you can feel the warmth on your lids. It's wonderful to feel!

I am making a list of the projects that I want to make for next year. I do have one for the boys that will blow their socks off and since they might, I say might loosely read this blog, I can't tell you but if you write here, I'll tell you on your blog. I think it would be a fabulous idea for any boy 6-60 for sure.

Lisa posted on my blog, saying she loved the Missouri weather...I first thought she wrote misery weather, but she loves winter. I am going to try and think like she does. Looking out the patio door this morning and seeing a bit of fresh snow does make it look like a winter wonderland. So I am going to try and look for the silver lining on this day.

Kelly's banana bread turned out amazing. It did make two loaves though and I 'll post it next time. Yummy yummy and she says it's calorie free......yeah right.

WINTER IN CANADA

I didn't write this poem, it comes from another site.

I'ts winter in Canada

And the gentle breezes flow

seventy miles an hour

And it's 40 below.

Oh how I love Canada

when the snow's up to your butt

You take a breath of winter

and your nose closes shut.

Yes the weather her is wonderful

So I guess I'll hang around

I could never leave Canada

I'm frozen to the friggin ground!

I loved this.

Now I think this is a funny poem and certainly pertains to our usual weather here in the frozen north. However today is a balmy day and it was fun walking in the sunshine.

I don't know what it is, but I'm not in a quilting mode. I have the bright quilt on the machine, needle in the down position and ready to stipple some more, but just don't feel up to it. Maybe tomorrow I will. I saw where crazymomquilts aka Amandajean has done 34 quilts this year. 34!

I thought I was going blazes with 10 done and another couple to finish, but I hold nothing on her.

She says her quilts aren't that large so can make a lot of them, but she's sore from all that quilting!

Well hurrah for those of us that are just humans doing a little bit at a time. I am more concerned with getting a pattern to work than sometimes in the end product. Oh yeah and not cutting out enough squares etc to make 5 quilts! My new year resolution is to try and do the math with some semblance of normalcy. Really, I must read where it says "total".

I am going to make Kelly's amazing banana bread recipe today. She usually "doesn't follow the recipes Nana" says Courtney, but Kel wrote this one down, so here's hoping it works as well for me. If it does, I will post it even though I don't do the recipe thing.

I do have a recipe given to us by Monica because we threatened her for years for this particular recipe. Now Monica is not a cook persay, she just looks beautiful and is always helpful, but she does have this secret recipe that she brought for years to gatherings. Well after about 10 years she finally gave it to us. Dawn and I couldn't believe how simple it was.

So if you ask me for it, I shall send it privately. It's that good and that easy...

The banana bread is a different matter. If it works out, I'll definitely post it here.

I smell the rotten bananas waiting to be cooked!

A NEW YEAR GIFT TO ME!

I gifted myself this morning. I bought a new issue of Better Homes as it has become my new best favorite magazine. I still love Fons and Porter but gosh these last couple of issues of BHG just are the best.



I have so many ideas for the new year and this just helped me plan!



Courtney has the flu, and an ear infection to boot. This morning we went to the doctor's to get the diagnosis. We were treated by what is called a

Practical Nurse who has vast experience in

diagnosing patients and even issuing prescriptions.



It was a very good experience and Courtney will have to forgo her training schedule for the next few days to a week. She was more concerned about her training program being put on hold than her illness. In any event the girl is in bed, with amoxicillon and moaning and groaning as teens will do. Her mother is practicing being patient. Not a small feat for mother and daughter both. I love them both so much and can't wait till they become fast friends again instead of mother and daughter, just like Kel and I are now. They are so funny together...

Oh my it's cold today, so cold that my walk with the dog was short. It's only 14 above zero F. That's cold in any country, but here in Canada, well we talk of the weather. It's in our psychy.

I wonder what they talk about in, say, Australia. Surely it's not the weather. Must be how may bodies were roasted on the beach on Sunday would be a better topic. You know I hear it's the only country that the roasters turn over by themselves... sick joke.

See you next year

HAPPY NEW YEAR HATS.

Did I ever tell you of these hats? Aren't they something?
Wouldn't they make wonderful New Years Party Hats?

Well Andrea who is Helen's daughter at the cottage bought these at a charity auction.

There's actually four of them, but these two came out the best. They are handmade, really quite functional and so absolutely individual creations that we couldn't resist posing with them on one afternoon!

There are lavish feathers, silks and veils interspersed on the caps. So comfy too.

Imagine wearing something like this to an opera or some fancy outing. But who wears hats today? Hardly anyone except to an evening wedding I suppose.

Anyway, Andrea just couldn't resist these and they are now carefully stored in lovely hat boxes. So very elegant.

Well almost the New Year eh? What's the plan for the next 12 months till we do this again, for me it's just trying to do appliques in quilting. I know it's just a matter of doing the first one and then moving on. I saw some tea cups that looked interesting or maybe umbrellas put on a blue and white background. Lots of ideas. Finishing the red quilt will be a priority for sure.

Courtney my granddaughter who went to the Laurentiens to ski has been sick since getting there, she says she has an awful cold, possibly and ear infection too. So the whole gang is coming home today as I hear that there are a couple of others not feeling well too.

Kelly is awaiting the teenage patient as I write this and has drops for her ear and cold tablets for the stuffy nose.

We keep a pretty low profile for New Years Eve, usually spent with a few friends. This year we are just going across the street, to have chinese food, play cards and try to stay awake till midnight. I am such an early riser that by the time 9 pm comes around, I'm almost ready for bed...as a matter of fact hardly anyone ever calls after 9 pm as they know we go to bed early.
But I'll try this year to be up till midnight.
Happy New Year to all my family and fellow bloggers who have made me so happy visiting this past year.

ALMOST NEW YEAR

I've bought fabric and have picked the pattern and have cut the 9 patch that is 3 1/2" squares. I love the fabrics I've chosen for the quilt that I'm making. It's from Better Homes and Gardens, most recent issue.

This is the quilt.

I'm loving this pattern which is easy and fun to do.

I finished all the 9 patch squares yesterday and today the 9" squares will be cut and the quilt placed together. It's for a nephew.

Picking out the colours for this has been easy and

putting the blues and orange together just makes it a really fun and bright piece of work.

I also bought some sudued fabric because it was

so pretty and I don't know what I'll do with it,

maybe a lap quilt or just a throw. I loved the

Victorian feel of the colours. Yeah I know I

like more modern stuff, but this just caught

my eye at the shop.

I'm having a hard time placing all these photos, but at least

they're here.

Yesterday the winds were so high that it made walking quite

treacherous. When I walked Wilson he was almost blown away from me. He felt it and actually looked around to see who had moved him....so funny. The weather was warm in the morning which is when I walked.

The trees from the Cullen ravine sounded like a roar and I could see the trees moving in all directions. By afternoon it was about 10 degrees colder and still windy. The chill factor must have been high.

I remember the "Christmas" winds in the Virgin Islands at this time of year, always called this by the locals as it seemed as if this was the time of year that it became quite blowing on the seas and sure enough when I went on the web cam in the islands yesterday I could see the masts of the sailboats going in all directions.

Of course the weather was about 40 degrees warmer, and there had been a few boat reporting trouble because of the winds. The seas on the atlantic side of Tortola were moving well.

Jerry went to the lake to see the waves. They were huge! He didn't walk out to the pier because it would have been dangerous and no one else was walking there either.