Chatbug Karen

This is going to be a quiet weekend. The roads are too icy and make traveling a bit treacherous. I don’t want to chance going into the ditch even though I am anxious to get to a fabric store and search for some purple and green fabric. Hubby said he saw a truck owned by our utility company in the ditch. Seeing that big truck laying on it side would put me in need of an AED aka automated external defibrillator. I don’t need that much excitement.

I have been catching up on quilt blocks for our local quilt guild meetings. I love making each block to see how it turns out. My last block turned out a bit darker than the 11 other blocks but I think it will be alright. I hope it doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. Can you tell which block I am talking about?

When I walked across the sidewalk to the gym today, I felt my feet trying to slide out from under me. I leaned to the left and then to the right and managed to stay upright. It was close though. My husband had told me how slick it was and I should have listened. I spent the rest of the day tip toeing while walking on any sidewalks. I wasn’t wearing any fancy Christian Louboutin shoes. I was wearing dependable, skid resistant shoes with rubber soles. Not the prettiest shoes mind you but very dependable for a gal who has the nickname, ClutzyK.

Why did I have to go out on such an icy day? I finished a purse for a patient customer. You see, I went to grab the purse she purchased from my Etsy site and discovered I had already sold said purse. Yikes! What to do, what to do. I felt like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. I contacted the customer and she said she was fine with me making another bag as long as it was similar. Shewy! I had just enough fabric to make this bag. I hope she enjoys it. I really like the way it turned out even better than the first bag.

Is everyone back to work at your house? We are still enjoying the holiday season with our children who arrived on the 27th and 28th of December. We opened our gifts on December 28 and had our Christmas dinner last night. Hubby cooked a turkey in the fryer. Yummm!

Friends of ours have started their college grad job search and others have started their new jobs. One friend’s daughter is relocating to San Antonio! I am envious of her chance to leave this bitter cold winter weather. I just came back from the mailbox at the end of our driveway. Brrrr! Now my nose is running and my glasses are fogged up. Ha! The only thing I like about winter is having different clothes to wear. Bring out the sweaters!

Here is my Granddog, Chandler, in his new sweater:

Here is Elsie:

and Brody:

I have worked with computers for probably 20 years and I am still afraid of them. This morning I received an error message that told me my virtual memory is low. What the heck is that? Do I need an sd card to move my information onto?

On to more normal things. We woke up to fog today. I was very surprised that the schools did not delay the bus pick ups like they usually do. It is so dangerous to drive in fog.

Extreme Makeover, Home Edition was in our county. They have been working in the rain since last week. It has been very exciting to read the progress report each day. They had so many volunteers that the workers were put on other jobs in the area. There are so many places that need help whether it be painting or plumbing. I hear that the episode that was filmed here will air some time in December.

What a difference a day makes! It was so cold yesterday that I thought we missed fall and went right into winter. Thank goodness the sun came out today and it was much more like fall. We mowed the yard and cut down some of the flowers that had dried up for this year. I emptied the bird feeders and put them away for the winter. I hope the birds have flown south.

As I promised, here is a picture of the table runner I made.

Closeup of the topper so you can see the fishing flies.

I am also making one for our house. After laying the unfinished topper on our coffee table, I thought it looked small. I decided to add borders. Adding borders after quilting the topper is a bit like using acne treatment after eating a greasy hamburger. It is difficult but I think it will be worth the extra effort.

What a wild day. I am so glad our work day is over. We weren’t able to get to the customers house today because a tree had fallen into their driveway. We had called to see how their area was before heading out but they had not noticed the tree had fallen. “rolling my eyes”

It started with the weather reports last night. I know not to trust the weather man down to the hour he predicts a storm because more times than not, he has been wrong. I refuse to plan my day because a storm “might” ruin it. However, it is best to be prepared just in case he is right. Buy.com had a good sale on winter wear.

I am not fond of cold weather and so I really bundle up. I am so glad I have a parka and warm gloves. My gloves are really made for snow skiing but I use them for every day running around. I would like to have a pair of warm boots. I have been drooling over the Women’s Earth Dakota Vegan boots. They have ripple traction soles. That is so important for a big clutz like me. They also have a fleece lining to keep my tootsies warm. Yes, I think I need these boots. I hope Santa brings me some Christmas money.

I am keeping everyone affected by the hurricane and high winds in my prayers. Southern Indiana suffered through the high winds and many are still without power. My son finally had electricity restored to his apartment near Cincinnati this evening. He had been doing his homework by candlelight. My daughter is safe at home in Florida after spending the weekend flying in a tanker to the southern part of the US. The Coast Guard is always ready to assist when they are needed. She is tired but safe.

Many lives have been affected by the horrendous weather of late. I pray that everything can be restored to some semblance of order and lives can go on in peace once again. May children find calmness and forget the fear they had when the high winds were blowing around them. Shame on the parents who did not heed the warnings to leave town. They had more people to think of than themselves. It is time to move on to getting things cleaned up and repaired. I wish there was more I could do.

One day we have shorts on and the next day we are wearing jeans and sweatshirts. My poor tulips don’t know what to do except brave the cold. At least it didn’t frost the magnolia blossoms this year. I think my blossoms were enjoyed the longest this year since we planted those trees. Here is hubby last night. Do you think he was cold?

Our weather has been lovely this week. It has been blustery, cold, foggy and wet. The great thing about it is that all of our evening appointments, for the past two nights, have been canceled. That means that hubby and I have been able to watch two nights of American Idol! Yep, we have watched Randy, Simon and Paula try to keep straight faces as they listened to some of the worse singers in the world. It has been hilarious. The only thing I would add to our cozy scenario would be, to have a tv mount in our bedroom so that we could be in our pajamas while enjoying all of this hibernation.

The howling wind is rattling the doors in our house. My dogs cannot seem to relax. They think someone is outside trying to get in. School in the northern part of our county has already called for a two hour delay in the morning. That area is having problems with flooding. It is a dangerous time to be traveling. I appreciate being able to stay home.