Day 667

Look to the west, take a peek at the moon before sunrise.

Wait a bit and look to the east, see the jet trails in the morning sun.

Day 666

Today my plan was to take pictures of the tumbleweed garden in the snow. I snapped pictures of the tumbleweeds, but of course my eyes wandered to the burning bush, a bare tree, and up-close snow. 

Yet the best picture came when I was sitting at hubby's desk at his school. (We went in today to get his classroom ready for when he returns next week.) Boy, can you image how distracting this view would be if you were grading papers?!

Day 665

A new pair of hands operated my sewing machine today. These hands right here:

This person loved the flower quilt with button centers I recently made. This person loves buttons. This person spent last night at our house, waiting out the snow that moved in Christmas afternoon. This person is older than me and related to me.

That would be my mom.

She learned more about quilting today than she probably wanted to. But it was enough for her to design and work with me in putting together this wallhanging for her apartment. The first quilt she ever machine quilted!

Day 664

Day 663

Santa comes tonight. I don't know how he knows who is sleeping at our house on Christmas Eve, but he always figures it out. Since I crocheted new stockings for daughter's boyfriend and the kitty, I'm just sure he'll show up for them, too.

Happy Holidays to all.

Day 662

Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house we go.

Not exactly. More like:

Across the desert, through the fields and over the fence they go.

It appears we have a migration happening. After several days of high winds, tumbleweeds have jumped the fence and made their way into our backyard.

And set up shop in the rose garden. Looks like our rose-turned-tumbleweed garden is now open for tours.

Day 661

Last quilt of 2012, just for me. On to the next project, one involving yarn.

Day 660

The morning started out beautiful with this sunrise taken from the parking lot of hubby's school.

Why was I in the school parking lot? Well, hubby went to a breakfast the teachers were having on this last day before Christmas break, a day that kids weren't in school. He got to see the staff again, was able to do whatever it is he does when he's around people (I suspect BS), and even got to stop in his room for just a moment. First time since May.

His day didn't end there. As soon as he came back home a little after 9:00 our Friday baking began. Prepping for Christmas morning breakfast and Christmas dinner we worked together all day and whipped up homemade:

• Zucchini Bread
• Pumpkin Bread
• Blueberry Buckle
• Apple Strudel Muffins
• Potato-Bacon-Chive Muffins
• Cinnamon Rolls
• Flaky Dinner Rolls

Everything smelled so wonderful. Being that we taste-tested several things (don't want to serve guests bad-tasting bread products!) we know everything tasted wonderful, too.

I think the prettiest things were these muffins. Just look at the yummy pieces of bacon and chive.

Day 659

What does a cold day + very strong winds all day + a car sitting under a carport all day + a dusty day in Owyhee County equal?

This right here. Poor car.

Day 658

Hubby finished up his baking goals. The last on his list was baking powder biscuits, but he decided to turn them into cheesy garlic biscuits like you might find at Red Lobster. Oh, my.

What we had with them is something you probably wouldn't find at Red Lobster.

Homemade pureed kale-Swiss chard-carrot-celery-onion-garlic-zucchini-bell pepper-cayenne pepper-beef soup. Again, oh my.

Day 657

Tuesdays are hubby's favorite night at the Mexican restaurant in town, Alejandra's. All-you-can-eat taco night. But since he's been sick he hasn't been able to partake in the tacos. Too much sodium, too much protein for his in-crisis system. With his diet restrictions gone and his kidneys much improved it was time. And boy, did he go all out! (I think six months away was just too much for him.)

His plate started like this:

 And no fewer than six tacos later it looked like this:

Day 656

That's it for the charity quilts for 2012.

22 charity quilts for the year. This one here is headed to Alaska's Operation Kid Comfort.

Day 655

I've decided I like lounging in my PJs on a Sunday. (Guess Pajama Boy is rubbing off on me.)

I guess it isn't exactly lounging if I finish a kid's quilt - complete with quilting. I even took the time to quilt around the designs on the middle piece. Just look how one of the trees came out - proof that my quilting is slowing improving.

This is another one of those Alaska Operation Kid Comfort ones.

Day 654

We don't go out much after dark, especially at this time of year. It is hard for me to see when driving and it is so doggone cold.

But we just so happened to be in Caldwell as the sun was setting. Instead of rushing home before it became pitch dark we decided to go out to Chinese food for dinner. Delicious. Yet it wasn't the Chinese food that became the picture.

It was what we saw when we came out of the restaurant. As we walked across the street to the car we could see Christmas lights down at the end of the block. We took a little post-dinner walk and found something we didn't even know existed. A creek-side park, part of the city's recent revitalization, all decked out in every possible color of light.

A perfect after-dinner detour.

Day 653

Fridays are turning out to be hubby's how-to day. The day he asks to be taught something new. Inspired by yesterday's huge cinnamon rolls at Sunrise Restaurant he wanted to tackle two things.

Sticky buns and cinnamon rolls.

And boy, did he conquer both! I can attest that they both taste as delicious as they look.

Day 652

Hubby first wanted today's picture to be of the cinnamon roll. Sunrise Restaurant has huge ones! Half a cinnamon roll equals most of a plate. Yum! But I wanted today's picture to be of the beautiful bush with red berries on it outside the Mexican restaurant. Yet by the end of the day he wanted the picture to be of his school. The place the kidney specialist has cleared him to return to after the first of the year. Finally.

On hubby's last day of school before summer break - May 21 - we thought he'd have 84 days of summer vacation. 84 days of no kids. As it has turned out, by the time he starts back he will have been gone from work for 226 consecutive days. That's a long time.

He's like a kid at Christmas right now. Happy as a clam.

And partially happy about today's picture. Red berries and cinnamon roll.

Day 651

I'm outnumbered.

Guess who has joined hubby in the it's nice to relax in front of a fireplace on TV club?

Day 650

With hubby growing up around fireplaces and woodstoves he has a different opinion about them than I do. He sees them as comforting, relaxing, and mesmerizing. I've spent the bulk of the last few days in my recliner down with the flu and he keeps asking the same questions: Are you cold? Do you want another log on the fire? He'll even get me to smile a bit when he occasionally moseys up to the fire to get warm.

But we don't have a fireplace.

It's a video on Netflix. Fireplace for Your Home. A solid hour of nothing but logs burning. Another solid hour of logs burning and Christmas music in the background.

It may not put off heat but it does look real. Doesn't do much for me, but he sure is into it.

Day 649

I think hubby was hoping I hadn't already taken today's picture. I think he was hoping I would take a picture of the sock he darned, but I didn't.

I went with the fabric choices for the next kid's quilt. Certainly much prettier than a darned sock.

Day 648

A six year old boy who lives in Alaska. Has a dad in the Army, stationed away from home for the holidays. A dad who, when home, goes fishing with his son.

It looks like that six year old boy will be getting a quilt with pictures of dad - and fish - before Christmas morning.

One of two quilt tops for the Alaska branch of Operation Kid Comfort ready to be quilted.

Day 647

Alfred Hitchcock?

Nope, kitty cat who jumped on the table and sat right in front of the TV.

Day 646

When I was at my mom's place today she told me the picture of the Christmas tree I took on Day 643 would make a perfect Christmas card. She even downloaded the picture onto her computer. And that is when she realized it would be perfect - except for one thing.

The light switch is in the photo.

So I'm back at it tonight, trying to get a picture that doesn't contain a light switch. Not the easiest task in the world, as the other side of the tree has the snowman quilt hanging by it.

Day 645

My personal chef, live in housekeeper, and sewing partner (AKA Pajama Boy, AKA hubby) branched out today. While he enjoys cooking (his new hobby), he has always left the baking to me. Until today.

Today, on my day off, is a day that will go down in history for us. I thought the day he first used my sewing machine to make those potholders was miraculous. But today took the cake. Took the bread, I mean. Today is the day he baked bread. For the first time. Ever.

Back on Day 33, I made some delicious rosemary bread. Today he added garlic to the recipe and made some super-delicious rosemary garlic bread. (Beat the taste of mine, that's for sure!) He also ventured into the french bread baking department.

What a guy!

Preparing the French Bread

Rosemary Garlic Bread

The Final Products - French Bread, Rosemary Garlic Bread

Day 644

Any new parent (or grandparent) will tell you their baby is the cutest one out there. I'm starting to fall into that way of thinking about the cat. It probably comes from the empty nest syndrome, but how can you resist such a silly cat?

She thinks she has to protect the gift wrap while I do the wrapping. Just look at those glowing eyes - they'd scare off any wrapping paper thief.

After being disturbed when I kept taking wrapping paper out from under her, she decided the TV needed some protecting, too.

Day 643

Too tired from going to work today, I put off my picture until after dark.

That was a mistake.

I wanted today's picture to be of our Christmas tree. While there aren't any presents under it yet, I thought it would be pretty all lit up. So I snapped my picture after dark with the lights shining bright.

That was a mistake.

It didn't show off the ornaments. The ornaments are important this year. For when we downsized, we downsized Christmas too. All those boxes of ornament sets that I really didn't care much for - gone. All those ornaments that I didn't have much attachment to - gone.

What remains are the ornaments that I absolutely love. The ornaments that have stories behind them. Stories of our lives.

While this picture doesn't showcase all those special ornaments, I did use a special editing tool to give it a 1960s look. Being I was born in the 60s, I imagine that could be story in itself.

Day 642

I intended to get in the sewing room this morning and work on the new kid's quilt I have planned. Unfortunately for me someone else beat me to the room. (It wasn't hubby.)

This little one took over the ironing board, the new fabric I was planning on using, and the little pencil sketch I made of the design.

I didn't have the heart to wake her or pull any items out from under her. She slept there for hours!

Day 641

Years back we bought plum-colored throw pillows for the couch. It didn't take long for us to amass enough green-colored furniture to make the plum pillows obsolete. I whipped up some green slip covers from my fabric stash and we were set.

That was more than ten years ago.

But as of this week those green pillows are no more. With the new dark brown chairs in the living room it was time for another change. Off came the green, but living with the plum again just didn't feel right. Hubby thought about sewing up some brown ones (I think he might actually like sewing!), but I had another idea. 

Pillows to match the quilt that is hanging on the living room wall right now. The quilt from Day 622.

A new joint sewing project between the two of us has resulted in these:

Day 640

It came down to a question my husband posed. Do you want to get better?

As usual, yesterday's appointment with the rheumatologist was a mixture of good news/bad news. The best news was that the ultrasound on my hands showed no new deterioration of the joints. That also meant I didn't have to go back on the chemotherapy and the injections and the anti-malaria drugs for the time being. Unfortunately the ultrasound showed something new. Carpal tunnel syndrome.

It shouldn't be a surprise. With all the typing I do at work and all the sewing I do at home it would be surprising if something didn't show up. But that's only part of the continuation of issues. Pain is still high so he's increased meds for that. My blood work from yesterday still shows way-way-too-high inflammation rates so we're starting something new.

Steroids.

Every time the doctor has brought up steroids I've declined them. The side effects have always worried me and after seeing hubby on them the last few months I've become even more leery. But when hubby asked, Do you want to get better? I only had one answer.

Yes.

So after trying to stave off steroids for years, I guess I'm going down that road. And I'm not happy about it.

The only thing I'm really happy about right now is the next sewing project for us. Some applique, some additional fabric, and a soon-to-be festive set of pillows for the new living room. (If you've been reading the blog over the last month or so you might recognize some of the cut-out pieces and will be able to predict what the design will be.)