CROHN'S DISEASE.

 One of my granddaughters has been diagnosed with this diseas.  Gosh here we are with her at the hospital, she is in isolation because of severe infection. 

There is now much learning to deal with this for her and us the rest of her life.  She is trying very hard to be brave but at 21 yrs old, she is still so young I think, to deal with this.

Do you know anyone who has it?  Can you advise us a bit of the day to day life of this illness?

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FLIP FLOP QUILTS AND MORE!

I love the look of flip flop quilts.  They say "happy" without too much thinking.   I usually just like to make the square with a pair of flip flops, but this year, I used a charm pack and made umbrellas to add to the square.

Each time I make this block, I
think of summer which we haven't  had yet!   Really!  One week does not say "summer!

The quilt is almost done and I will post it later, I made this one heavier than usual by using double batting (bamboo) which has made it quite heavy.  I'm not sure I would do this again, but what the heh, it looks good. 

The bigger quilt is a nine patch variation.  Once again, I cut into the squares and came up with something of the idea I got from Moda.  Goodness what would I do without the recipes from the creative people that Moda chooses.

I am in the city once again, this time to visit my granddaughter in the hospital.  She has Crohn's disease and has had a hard time of it for the passed year.   Coping with this is a long term situation and for the young and carefree, the disease sure puts a damper on cottage weekends it seems.

I have a windows 8 computer program.  Hate the fact that I do not have the start window on my left, and have been unable to use the picture format due to the 8 program which does not download directly.

I have used the old computer, then made a disc and only then do I transfer to my photo file.  OMG!  who planned this program?  Sure does not make it easy for people like me!  Microsoft needs to ask the users how do they like it!  Seriously!

SEVENTH IN THE WORLD AIN'T BAD FOR A COUPLE OF CANADIAN BOYS!

 Our grandson who is a sprint paddler, which means he goes fast qualified for Canada to go to the Junior World Competition which this year took place in Welland Ontario.

We were there.  Their first race
they placed third, which put them straight to the finals. 

It was a huge success for the boys, and lots of photos were taken and we asked for their autographs to put on our program.  You never know when they will be this excited again.

The grounds in Welland were fabulous!  It looked like medieval times with each country, about 70 nations were there getting one of the tents for their athletes.  Flags were everywhere and no matter who won, we cheered as this was a big deal for Canada to host.   So we showed our good spirit.

Hard to believe, but the little Mexican team drove all the way from Mexico city with their kayaks and canoes and the team did quite well.  Very very friendly kids.

Hungary with a population of less than ten million was amazing in their athletes.  Imagine a country like this which prides itself on amateur sports and the funding is about three times what we get in North America. 

Anyway, we lost our voices from the shouting "Go Canada Go" and the cheering of close races was such fun.

Am now sewing like nobody's  business, and tomorrow I am posting quilting stuff!

NINE PATCH QUILT VARIATIONS, AND WHY I LOVE THEM

I know I used to say, no more
nine patch quilts for me, but that
was before I discovered cutting them up and making new blocks.

I do not have a photo to show of the new one I have in progress since we are travelling a bit to see grandson race this week, so this one I show is from Moda Recipe which I found this spring.  So fun to make and the results after making the cuts show a totally different block.

The next one is cut on the diagonal which I made using lots of white in the blocks, so it looks so different doesn't it?

I have a third one on the go with totally different looking results which I shall post next week.

In Canada, this is our August long weekend.  I cannot remember why it is, but we have it and as Canadians, any long weekend in the summer is bliss!

We are in the city, moving to another city to see our grandson race in the Junior Worlds, in Canoe Sprint racing.  And honour he says to just have qualified to represent his country.  And wonder of wonders, he qualified direct to the finals without having to battle the tough semi finals that sure take the wind out of the energies of the young.

So, we now have two days to wait, so I am going to shop for fabrics as I contemplate another flip flop quilt, this one will have beach umbrellas on it too.  Each year I enjoy the flip flops as they are so fun to make and everyone ooohs and aaaaws over them.  Of course if one doesn't know how to quilt, it's awesome looking!

This summer is full of lists, with lots of work loads on it.  The addition to our 10 x 10 is coming along, I have three tops ready to quilt myself, and two, an Ohio Star, and the 1930 print is ready to go to the quilter as they are both too big for me to do.

I fell on my face, hurt my ribs, and pulled a calf muscle which was as painful as anything I had experienced in recent years, that took about three weeks to heal, the implant of the tooth is in, but I thank the luck stars that I had not had the implant in when I fell on my face.  

My lip is still numb from the crash...Lots of blood, but thankfully there were no broken bones. 

Getting old is certainly not for sissies as they say, and I am now pretty tough.   A girlfriend told me to tell the sweetie that she has all original body parts if he is interested.  

Enjoy the weekend, see you next week.  We are off to the races!

 

MEMORIES OF QUILTING.

 This is one of the first quilts I made.  It actually, I thought was lost till I saw it at my daughter's house the other day.

She had saved it from the packing of one of the boys who was moving and loved the colours.  Using it on her little patio has given it a new life.

We celebrated our Fourth Annual Pot Luck supper this passed Saturday with about 60 people in attendance.

My friend Helen contributed the "best dish" prize of this beautiful quilt.  Won by a guy who made killer ribs.  But, the competition was fierce as you can imagine with a beauty like this up for grabs.

Each year the best dish gets a quilt.  It is quite the feast as  you can imagine.  Me?  I would have chosen the chicken wings, or the desert which was blueberry cheese cake.

Lots of stuff is going on here at the cottage, we are adding a new addition to our bedroom.  Having a spacious 10 X 10 bedroom is not without restrictions, ie, no cupboards, little room for a dresser or storage, so an addition 144 sq. feet is going to be amazing.

As we live here now, warm seasons of course, we need space to put stuff, and a closet would be wonderful.

It has been a slow process, with the sweetie getting older and vowing to now only build boats in a bottle after this room is finished.   We have had some help from friends and neighbours, but it is the grunt work that has been so helpful, you know carry the lumber, move saws etc.

Much more will be done, but we are off to the Junior World Championships this weekend to watch grandson race as he represents Canada.  The honor of representing his country has been graciously accepted by our lad, and he has thanked many people who have helped him along the way, the first being his mom who made many sacrifices for her boy.

See you next week.

NO BLOGLOVIN FOR ME!

 I have done everything possible to get on bloglovin but to no avail.  Did everyone pay to get a domain that would be recognized I wonder?  I just cannot do it!  I get an RSS feed and it disappears.  Any suggestions?

Then, of course who is seeing the blog
if everyone has gone to bloglovin...
yuck!


I have been laid up with my calf
strain, although it is getting better.  Saw my favourite doctor on the lake today who gave me more advice....stay off it and wear the heal splint he made for me...free of charge too....and he said his advice was that too as he didn't think I would follow it.

I am!  I now have the splint attached to my shoe.  Walking
funny, but it does help.

I went fabric shopping on Thursday, the shop had a 50% sale, but no fabric called my name although I did what the ladies in the photos are doing...I ended up buying batting which was part of the sale.  I now have enough for the next couple of years.   So I better get sewing.

A tragedy on this lake, for the first time in I think six years we have had a drowning on the lake.  A young woman, eighteen years old.  Very tragic as she refused help from a couple, who even though they thought she needed it could do no more than offer assistance. 

They did call the police as they were very worried about her, but the police did not find her until it was too late.  So very sad for us all in such a small community that we are.

We have had the most terrible of springs!  Honestly, I do not complain of the weather at the lake, because it doesn't matter, I sew, I do not sit out that much, but for the people that do go out....namely my sweetie,  the rain has been awful, but the black flies worse.  The last couple of days have been pretty good, and our deck is ready for staining, but the deck must be dry.   Of course rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, again.

Our resident robin with the babies is having the time of her life feeding her young and the hummingbirds are getting fat from my feeders and the bugs (black flies) that are here.   The dragon flies have arrived too, so those pesky bugs are going to be gone!

Enjoy the weekend.  Such as it is.

I'M AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN!

I haven't been here for ages due to my body taking one ache after another!

Honestly, the plans in my head have not materialized to the hands working it all out!

I was in the city to get the implant of the tooth done, when the dentist said that that implant would not fit properly, and that I had to go back to the surgeon to have more work done.  It has been since November 2011, that I have had the front tooth out, the partial done, the surgery, and here I am 2013, still without perfect teeth!

I hate going to the dentist, palette needles make me whine, cry and basically send my heart racing.   It had to be done, so that is where I am now.  Healing once again, then the final work done.

Not to be outdone, the legs decided to do their work and pull a calf muscle just as I was getting out of the car on the last sunny day we had eight days ago!  I nearly fainted with the pain, and practically had to be carried to the boat!

So, just so I can moan a bit more, the leg swelled, the ankle turned black, (I thought it was the black sock sweating colour) so, I have been resting (R) icing (I) compressing (C) elevated (E) for the past week.   Today is day 10, there is an elevated pad in my shoe so that I don't strain it.

This has been a spring gone by, no sunshine, the bugs are horrendous to the point that one cannot emerge from a building without being surrounded by black flies (almost like no seeums) so we stay in the cottage.

Rain has been flowing and it has been very cool.

The good news, we have eight hummingbirds, who are eating like crazy, a robin that is nesting at our cabin (photos to follow when I can go out) the loons are happy with all the fish near our docks and last night we noticed the fireflies out and beaming their lights for us to see from our window.

Feel sorry for me.  I have things to do and time is wasting.

The flip flop in the photo is a big hit this year!  Mine would say "Bring Whine"...lol

LET THE SEASON BEGIN!

This is the official BBQ season opener at cottages in Ontario.

This dog just loves it all! I am sure many of you have already begun with the BBQ thing, but here at the cottage, this is it.

On Monday afternoon, I shall feel like this bear.  Poofed from
entertaining.  We are expecting that there will be no vacancies in any of the rooms at this inn.   Bliss for us who have been alone, almost, for the passed couple of weeks.

The photos are from Cottage Life, which is the premier cottage magazine here in Canada.

There is always funny stuff on the web about we Canadians being boring...well we do have a good sense of humour too. Click on the photo...lol

For the first time in years, we are expecting an enjoyable weekend of "abundant" sunshine.  Sounds almost too good to be true!  We shall see.

Enjoy you weekend.  Hope it is as good for you as it will be for me.

NINE PATCH VARIATIONS

 To make up for lost time sewing, due to very cold weather, I've been sewing up a storm!

Nine patch quilts, which I swore a few years ago that I wouldn't do any more, have taken on a totally different aspect with a few cuts here and there.

This one was done with diagonal cuts through the completed 11 1/2" squares, then repositioned to make more nine patch.

The second one has cuts through parts of the blocks, at 1 1/2" around the blocks.  Straight cuts and then repositioned once again, using the same nine patch.

Each is done with just a bit of
creative juices flowing, and Moda Bake shop recipes.

When I was in Florida I bought the fabrics used in both of the quilts shown, and these super duper little binding holders from Missouri Star Quilt Co.  They really are amazing.  99cents to which I thank Quilton who sent
an email saying buy these!  Really
worth the money!

Did I mention that we want to add a 12 x 12 addition to our spacious 9 x 9ft master?

We really need to add cupboard space now that we live here for such a long time.

This beautiful pine, that we have had just outside the bedroom, had to come down to make room for the foundation.  It took about 15 minutes to make our view look like this.

Sadly there was no other way to build or we wouldn't have cut it down.  Pine does not burn well inside, so the tree is being cut into logs for Helen's shore, and the rest will be cut into pieces to eventually mulch in our "forest" area.

The weather has finally become spring like.  Today, not a cloud in the sky, light breezes and the hummingbirds have survived the really awful weather  too.  Life is good.

COTTAGE LIVING

This company called "Yummies in a Jar" is a small but mighty company that makes awesome jams and jellies locally.   The taste is awesome!  Some of the jams have unique names which I will get when next I go to Robinson's General Store, in Dorset. That store is small but had just about anything
one would need from soup to
nuts and bolts! 

Robinson's, was voted the best General Store in Canada one year.  Really a great place to shop and visit and this year,  

they brought in local products, the jams and also local maple syrup.  How lucky are we?

 

I am sewing up a storm.  Still don't have the mojo working on the fingers, but am doing what I want to do...hence the little sign today.  You should
do what makes you happy too!

We have had glorious weather, and yesterday sitting out after dinner, the dog went crazy....sure enough the pesky beaver appeared!  We wondered if the water being so high if the den had survived.  Must have cause the little guy was looking for his small trees to chop down.  Heh!  This is wild country, so he deserves to live free!  Even though he helps himself to lots of saplings.

I have completed a baby quilt, only hand sewing on the binding to do and made blocks for a disappearing nine patch.  It is very very busy, which is my meaning that white needs to be added to finish it.

ONLY THE LOONS ARE NOISY!

 Honestly, this morning around 5:30, I was awakened by the sound of loons!  Now, I must say, because we are so far out on the lake, you know about six miles, we don't get the loons out here too often.  Well, the lake is calm, the sun was rising and so
were the loons.  It sounded like a chorus, till I remembered that the original name for our lake was "Echo Lake".

I am sure that there was only one or two, but the echoes across the lake were loud enough to awaken me.

What with all the flooding and high water levels, I found the photo of this fabulous floating cottage on Cottage Life.  Don't you just love it?

I found this photo somewhere this weekend while looking for quilt patterns.  This is how I feel this morning after using my sewing machine for the first time in six months!   I sure hope my Monday mornings are NOT going to be like this.  I am so rusty from not sewing 1/4" seams.  Not too rusty for picking though!  Imagine that! 

I have taken a rest from the stress of putting little pieces of fabric together to make big fabric.  Small quilts before the big ones are going to be made till I get my fingers used to the idea of sewing once again!

Quilton posted this on the weekend.  So cute, it must be somewhere.... But I wish I had it at my spot at the marina.

BACK AT THE COTTAGE!

 We are home!  This is what the sun room looked like after two days of bringing our "stuff" back, and putting it all in the sun room with the winter storage.

Each year, in the fall we fill the sun room with the patio furniture, bbq, and anything else that is usually outside in the summer months.

It is always a mess in that room.

One day later, with a sore back for both my sweetie and me, we were back to almost normal.

There is a calmness when this room is done.  It is sunny (hence sun room) with the green colours making everything peaceful.

We are back!  The first night we arrived, we had McCain's Pizza!  It was all we could manage after the travel and unloading of goods.

In the morning, I awoke to this! Calm, calm lake, reflections of the other island across from us.

The neighbours to the east of us on the other island arrived about 10 minutes before us.  And of course with beautiful weather in the mid 20s C, (mid 70sF), there were many more people on the lake this weekend.

There is a lot of damage to many docks due to the high water this spring on many of the lake in Ontario.  We talk of weather, being Canadian and all, but flooding, well we usually leave that to the big river people.  So high water means many docks just went floating, lots and lots of logs and debris in the water, so everyone I am sure is coming into their docks with pieces of logs, or whatever to get it off the lake. 

The BEST of the best things is that yesterday afternoon, a hummingbird appeared at the feeder which I put out as soon as we got here,  This is the earliest, for me at least, that I have seen a hummingbird.  A lone male, and very very skittish too, as he would not land on the feeder if I so much as moved an inch.   He was so hungry that he landed and drank to his heart's content. 

Helen also arrived yesterday with two beautiful quilts!  I will post those soon.  She had them quilted for her as they were too big for her machine.  Lovely, work done by her long arm quilter.

This morning, we are going to take a tour, I must take better shots of the lake with a bigger camera, as it will give you an idea of the beauty of this place. 

Quilting works will start tomorrow!  Wahoo!!!!!!!!!!!1

NOT QUILTING AT THE COTTAGE

 

While we await the ice to leave our lake,  there has been so little to do in the sense of doing any sewing etc.  I am frustrated, but nothing we can do till nature takes its course.

Many areas of Ontario are flooded, and ice is out, but not at our lake, only daily updates that the ice is still there.

This purse is a cake!  Yes, we went to a birthday party and this was the cake made for the fashionista that we know.  It was made by a friend's mother!  Isn't that amazing?

I, who has nothing to do, surfed Pinterest and found this lovely little sign.  So cute!  I should do one for our dock where I put my boat!

Another photo that I thought was
so cute was this one. It was called BBQ Season!  Oh yeah, we await that for sure.

I have had doctor and dentist appointments.  Don't let anyone tell you that implants don't hurt and that they don't take time.  The time for me is almost two years by the time all the work  is done.  And pain....I could be a spy!

So I am lazing around like this dog.  Life is good at our friends' house which after almost three weeks is  pretty good considering that we are seniors, and pretty established in our ways.  Still, having our own little space in the "cellar" as my friend Mary calls it, is wonderful with sitting room, private bath, and bed so comfy.  Almost like home.

So, we await the thaw!  My sweetie says tomorrow, I say the second of May which is my eldest son's birthday. 

I have bought a new computer, don't need to share anymore, an Acer, at Walmart, for $348.00 how good was that?  And, even though I said that it would never happen to me, a new Iphone which I need a degree today to work, but buttons don't scare me, so I can at least answer the phone and have managed to activate the texting thing...keeping up folks, just keeping up.

WHY ME! AM I THE ONLY ONE?

Am I the only one who has trouble with putting my blog on Bloglovin?

Honestly, I have tried every which way to get the new reader to accept my http://quiltingforfunandmorefun.blogspot.com on their site.  It comes back that there is no recognition of such a blog.

No matter what I did yesterday to make and "Rss" feed it still does not accept me.  It is very frustrating. 

Crispy sent me instructions, which I followed to a tee and still to no avail.

Please send help if you can.  I can not be the only one!  Am I?
ahttp://quiltingforfunandmorefun.blogspot.com

BACK IN CANADA...WHERE IS SPRING?

 This morning we awoke to terrible weather, again.  Honestly, we crossed the border to return home only to have the worst spring weather ever!

Not only that, but that means that we will be staying with our friends at their house in the Toronto area.  Today it is freezing rain, hard rain, just plain Canadian spring weather at its worst!

Die Winter Die!  I want to return to my sewing machine and start quilting! 

Our island is blocked by 24" of remaining ice!
It sucks!

We travelled through Savannah area and came upon this open door leading to a little shop.  Is this not the best strippy stairs in the making?

I loved it and it was all hand painted, with a bright blue door  at the bottom.  It had even flip flops, fish, circles, squares and lots of applique looking designs going up.  So well done!

We are happy to be almost "home".  Our friends have been very gracious in opening their home to us. 

I'll try to be a good guest.  Cause you know.....after three days guests can be like fish!

Stella D'oro lilies and us!  My wonder dog just loved all these flowers in Georgia that were beginning to bloom the first week of April.  Beautiful!

Enjoy your weekend!