Hitting the Restart Button...

 

After all the sales and a 5 day quilt retreat, I determined that today was restart day.  So I took it easy and spent some time in the kitchen cooking/baking.  I'm slowing down and enjoying football and unwinding from all the pressure I put on myself to produce project after project.  I was a little worried about health issues like blood pressure but today's reading is very normal so I'm good there. 

Yesterday I noticed a few things that had happened around my house that I had nothing to do with but should have noticed.  Hubby has single-handedly taken on all the fall projects of putting things away and stacking our stash of furniture and stuff for our sales so we could get our vehicles back in the garage pole barn.  He doesn't like things sitting out in the yard over the winter months so the yard is stark - just brown with plants that should be cut down but won't be until spring.  I leave them for the birds to snack on along with the rabbits, voles, mice and other critters like dear.

Christmas shopping/buying is well underway and ideas percolating for the rest.  I still have time to make a few things so that is good too.  I don't shop much after Thanksgiving so I'm feeling pretty good in that department - thank goodness for Internet shopping!!!

This morning we had a little sleet and snow and the temps have dropped so the deck is a little slippery with a fringe of icy snow around the edges.  This is the kind of day I usually decorate the window boxes out in the yard with freezing fingers trying to work the clippers and cutting branches from my five or six kinds of evergreens.  Not today though - maybe later in the week.

This year I will build bird feeder stations in my window boxes using boughs on the bottom and layering peanut butter and seed pine cones along with other things like suet balls.  I will see my birds up close and personal as I sit at my computer.

Well - I'm going to go knit or crochet something to finish off my restart day.  I want to replenish some of my burlap creations for the shop but I will take it slowly.  It's time to try to keep things in perspective after all, I am retired!

Take care,

Bonnie

Celebratin' my Birthday!

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday with my family.  It was a day filled with good food, great conversation, a fantastic Vikings football game that we won and presents!!!

My oldest daughter made these great fall candle holders for me!
They are so pretty when the candle light glows through the leaves.

My youngest daughter and family
gave me this beautiful mum!!!

My 9 year old grandson bought this TV for himself

at a garage sale but when my kitchen TV went all crazy,

 he walked in to my party with his TV for me! 

What a generous guy!  He was so proud and so was I!

 

 In the mail one day, I received a package from my sister and

inside was this Henbag (rubber chicken)!!!  My friends are so envious!

 

 

Today my friend gave me this pillow...so true and so fun!!!

 

I love presents but the best present is to spend time with my family and friends!  The second best present is when they bring all the food and I don't have to cook!!!  Yay!

 

Thanks for being there for me and for kinda, sorta loving/liking me inspite of my craziness!!!

 

Take care,

 

Bonnie



A Saturday Afternoon Movie...

TV hasn't been very good lately.  So today with little anticipation that I would find anything, I scrolled thru the listings.  I stopped at a movie called "Veronica Guerin."

The movie was nothing if not amazing...she was amazing.  Veronica was a real person - an Irish journalist who unearthed crimes of the Irish Mob, John Gilligan and others in Dublin, Ireland in the 90's.  She was so gutsy and brave after being shot, enduring a beating and many death threats.  She was a wife and mother and only 38 when they killed her on a highway near Dublin.  If you can find it, watch it.  You won't be sorry.

She was a martyr who affected change in the weeks after her assassination.  The Irish government enacted/strengthened laws against organized crime and brought them to their knees and confiscated their assets.  Crime dropped 15%.

There is so much more to this story - some from the movie and other information on the online.  After the movie, I felt insignificant and without a cause.  I need to make a difference somehow and somewhere.  Time to reconfigure a part of my life. 

It turned out to be an extraordinary Saturday afternoon.

Take care,

Bonnie

Our Trip to Cape Cod-like Lake City...

Our view from our motel - The Alaska

Bob's new truck!!!  Full!!!

View from Lake City's Rabbit Bakery! 
Great coffee and pastries and egg salad sandwiches

Now don't you think we could be at Cape Cod???  We spent a few days visiting friends, going to garage sales and just relaxing at Lake Pepin in Lake City.  We had unbelievable weather - so mild and sunny! We were on a mission to buy for our fall sale in October.  We found lots of unique stuff and filled up the truck. 

Oh ya - I spent some time at two different quilt shops - Rather Bee Quilting and Pumpkinberry Stitches.  I purchased some new patterns but only 1 1/4 yds. of fabric.  A first for me...although I ordered two quilt kits before I left on vacation.  I'm all set for my next 5 day quilt camp in October!!!

Annie was a great traveling companion - she still doesn't care for other dogs but other than that she was perfect.  She loves riding in the truck and leaves hairy evidence when she sits in the front seats while we are eating or shopping.  We lucked out that it was nice and cool so she could stay in the car when we had breakfast or shopped a while.

Annie looking pensive...

Take care!

Bonnie

Annie's Most Amazing Adventures...

Forever friends...

                    Actually this is a short story of our adventures with Annie.

Today was Vet day again...Annie's ears are clear but she will have her two upper back teeth pulled next Monday.   One is fractured and broken off and the other has deep fractures.  They hurt when she eats her food and hard treats.  Hopefully next week she will be pain free.  She's on soft food and treats for three weeks.  We just added water to her regular food and she's loving it.  So that's all good.

Tonight Hubby went out to close the garage door across the yard and took Annie with him - she's doing pretty good off leash.  I grabbed a couple of Dove chocolates, opened the shades since the sun wasn't coming in the kitchen windows and checked Facebook.  I glanced up and see Hubby running through the opening to our west field.  Now I see Annie behind him, watching him run.  I put my shoes on and go outside to see what is going on and Hubby runs by yelling "Annie, Annie, Annie!"  Well, its more like "ANNIE, ANNIE, ANNIE!"  Then I see Annie running along the outside of the fence in the same direction that Hubby has run.  I scream, "ANNIE, ANNIE, ANNIE!" as I see Hubby ducking through the barbed wired fence at the road.  I yell at Hubby - "What are you doing?  Where are you going?" 

Now Annie has stopped, has turned around, has come over to me, and I have her by her collar.  I try to call Hubby and no answer.  He doesn't hear me...or at least isn't answering me.  I don't move because I don't know if Annie will go towards him which is towards the road or not - so I stay where I am holding her collar. 

Now I can hear his shoes on the gravel...so I tell him that I have her.  He still doesn't hear me.  He was coming to tell me that she was gone...


After closing the garage door, he couldn't see Annie and started calling her but saw a black dog-like animal running through the field and thought it was her.  Now Hubby doesn't run anymore...but he was running because he thought it was Annie chasing something toward the road.

He never saw the animal he was chasing once it went through the fence at the end of the field because of the brush - his relief at seeing her with me was more than priceless.  Annie just looked at us wondering what had just happened.  She melts you with her soulful eyes. 

So here we are - old - with a middle age dog (6 yrs. old) - with so much energy that she would catch those bunnies except for a bush or fence where the bunnies can hide.

We've bonded - we're weary - we're a family.  Whew!  I hope we live through this time of adjustment and trust.

Hug your dog and take care,

Bonnie

Sweet Annie...

Annie joined our family five days ago.  She is an Aussie Shepherd/Shepherd Mix.  The shelter thought she was about 5 years old but today the vet and groomer believe she is older - like seven years old.  She is in good condition for a stray but has a chronic ear infection and today we found out she needs to have her largest tooth pulled.

She's so fluffy now after her bath!!!

Having a dog is a big responsibility - financial and day to day care.  Loving her is the easy part.  We feel so lucky to have found another dog that fits into our lives so perfectly.  She is a gentle soul - we will never know her story.  I can't help but think that someone is missing her terribly.

Annie's favorite place to relax is under my enamel table
by the back door where I kick off my shoes!

She spent 1/2 hour with the vet and almost two hours with the groomer.  Her coat is shiny and soft and wavy now.  What a pretty, intelligent addition to our family.  She can sit, shake hands and stay. 

Sweet Annie

The groomer gave me some suggestions about training her to be off her leash.  She would love to chase the rabbits that have made our yard their home!  So I will get a long rope and begin training as soon as this heat subsides.

The shelter named her Sweetie because that is her nature.  We changed it to Annie because that fits better for us.  So name recognition is first...then the hard part begins.  In one direction, certain times of the day, our road has lots of fast traffic .  In the other direction, lots of sounds, fields, and places to explore.  She has lots of energy so we have to build a trust between us.  When she comes to us when we call her, we can begin to let her off her leash.  The scary part because we don't know if she ran away or was abandoned or ...

So we have our work cut out for us but what a good project we have ahead of us!!!  We are smiling again and fuss over her like a kid.

Take care and adopt a dog if you have the time, love and financial means to do so.

Bonnie

Garagin' Upnorth!!!

We were up early today and on the road by 7:45 a.m.  Back to the church in Brainerd where we found lots of good stuff last year.  In and out of the car many times at many garage sales.  That elusive wooden table was not to be found...but we did find a school desk with a lid that lifts, many great picture frames, a couple of nice mirrors, three new yummy pink pillows, two birdhouses, 11 doilies, and some really nice baking pans.  I paint those and use them when making jewelry...a muffin pan is the best to sort beads and findings. 

It's been so rainy at the cabin that I've had to disassemble my craft room twice...didn't accomplish much but had some thinkin' time to make a list of things I want to create when I get home tomorrow.

I did finish this table runner...carted it around to a quilt retreat or two and now its done except for the black snaps I will sew on for embellishments.

Great fabric with typewriter keys...

Basket of unfinished pinkeepers...

Flowers waiting to embellish something...

Meeting my birthday girl daughter at the thrift store so got to dash!!!

Take care,

Bonnie