The case of the curious cat

Cassie is the stereotype of a curious cat and it gets her into all kinds of trouble. In my workroom are two tall bookcases, standing at right angles to each other in a corner. There is a space behind them between the two back edges. All of a sudden I heard a thump and a meow. Then I hear frantic yowling and all kinds of scuffling. You guessed it. Cassie decided she would investigate that hole in the corner, not realizing she would fall 6 feet and be trapped. So she was vainly trying to jump out while calling for help.  I had to unpack all the books, and tip the bookcase to release her. Thankfully she was not harmed.


Here she is with her beady little eyes fixed on something else that will undoubtedly get her into trouble.

Beginning Quilting class

Look what my students are up to!! These two girls took my basic sewing class earlier this year, and they are now learning to make a quilt. I am so proud of them. The pic shows half of the required blocks. Can't wait to see how they decide to arrange them. Wait till you see them surrounded by the awesome border fabric they chose.

Anniversary.

MDH and I have been married 34 years today. What an adventure it has been. Our anniversaries have been celebrated in a variety of places around the world and the U.S. We have three beautiful/handsome children who are all independent now. Time to think about what to do with all this space that surrounds us at home.

Any ideas?

Super Students

In the first of three sessions to teach basic sewing, the students make a pillowcase. It is so much fun to see them get excited about their new skills. Here are some pics from the last two class sessions:

Back from the frozen north.

Alaska trip was amazing. Beautiful scenery and fun cruise. Below I'm holding a future sled dog. We got to ride in a wheeled sled, which is what the mushers use to train the dogs out of snow season. The dogs are so strong, the mushers have to move them by hanging on to their collars and only allowing two legs to touch the ground. Every dog in that place wanted to be hitched up to the sled. What a caterwauling when the mushers went out to select the ones they wanted.

What happened to the time?

It has been about 6 months since my last post. Not sure what happened. Life, I guess. Anyway, I am determined to get busy again, so expect to hear from me about my upcoming, once in a lifetime cruise to Alaska. DH and I are both celebrating BIG birthdays this year, so this is our treat. And we're throwing in our 30 aniversary, which was 4 years ago, but we couldn't do the trip then!


Have been busy sewing, teaching, sewing and teaching some more. I love it.

Sewed a four-patch-posey quilt from some very bright gold and red floral. It turned out great. Don't you love those tiny square in square cornerstones? They drove me crazy.

Also, made a quilt of valor with a friend - she did the front, I did the borders and the back and binding. Great team work. Here it is before binding:

Contributed to the guild's challenge in March. The quilts were raffled so I had to give it up. Not sure about that part. We had to use 12 little red polka dotted circles. It's called Caterpillar Dreams.

More to come. Stay tuned.

Greyhound Tragedy in Florida

Some of you may have read about the terrible, senseless, death of greyhounds at the Ebro race track in Florida. The man responsible has been arrested, as it happens on a drunk driving charge, and the whole thing is being investigated.

My personal position and the position of many of the other members of the rescue group I am involved with is this:

This is only to a degree a problem of greyhound racing. Certainly there ought to be better checks and balances in place. But, there was help all around him if he had only asked. There are many adoption organizations ready to take in hounds at the end of the season. So, it is much more a problem of a very sick man, possibly a hoarder, who is taking out some personal issue on this terrible way. There are people in all societies who mistreat animals. This man just did it on a very much grander scale. Greyhound lovers  around my area are hoping he is punished to the fullest extent of the law. Not only because of what he did personally, but to be an example to anyone else who might be thinking animals don't deserve respect. Often the punishment for animal cruelty is relativley mild.

It struck me that when he is in jail, he will be treated much more humanely in his "crate" than he treated the animals under his care. And, animal loving tax payers will have to support him for as long as he is behind bars. Doesn't seem right, does it.