Checking In

So.  zoom, zoom, 2013 seems to be running by as quickly as 2012.  Can you believe we are on week 5?  Good gravy, how did that happen?!!

I'm still digging out from my week at Road.  So much fun.  I think I accomplished my week 4 goal, to have fun and be inspired.  It was good to meet up with old friends, and make some new ones.

Remember Sherry and Sharon?  Our paths seem to cross quite regularly, even though I am in CA, Sharon is from CO, and Sherry is from WY.  :)

I also met Anita, a friend of Jan.  We met at dinner Thursday, then bump!  Again at lunch on Friday.  I suspect our paths will cross yet again, some other time, some other place.  :)

While I was gone, some work was done at the walnuts.  We had a door replaced, to make it more user-friendly for the dogs.  They'd made a mess of the original door.

Old door:

 New door:

The dogs still prefer the people door.  They can open it with the handle.  Smart dogs.

So.  I think I was quite successful achieving my week 4 goal.  Road to CA was great fun.

Goal for week 5?  I still have two quilts-for-hire and a Log Cabin of my own that need to be finished.  My goal is to finish one of the qfh and my Log Cabin, and to get back to work on the last qfh.  Goals are good!

And now, I'm off, to steam clean the carpet at the walnuts.  The dogs have been naughty, and it's time to get rid of the evidence.

So Pretty!

The painter finished yesterday.

 oh, how the yellow makes me happy!

 Now we're all matchy-matchy!

 I wonder how long the porch will remain cleared off?

Besides watching Juan finish the touch-up painting, I roamed a few more antique malls and found this precious.

Isn't it all so pretty?  :)

Happy, Happy

I don't know about you, but fresh paint makes me happy.  Finally we were ready to paint the main house.  Before...

 During...

 Before...

 During...

The trim should be finished tomorrow.  It looks so happy!!

Chupa likes it too.  She's particularly happy that part of the lawn died.  She likes rolling in it.  ooh.  aah.

 The walnut trees are also happy, working to produce quite a lovely crop of nuts.

 I went to an antique mall today, and found this Metlox pitcher for $15.

 The same mall had a second pitcher in tangerine...for $65!  I think I got the better deal, even though I did love the orange one too.

And finally, today my SAQA piece was listed on the website.  I guess it did get there after all.  It is on page 1b.  You can see it here.

All things together make me happy, happy, happy.  :)

All Better

My webmistress fixed the website last night. whew! That was 4 hours of unexpected quilt show stress that I really did not need. Now you can go to the site and get show details in English. all better. yay!

I thought I'd show you a few more details of the remodel.

In the garage, there is space to park cars. yay! In the original structure, you had to turn 90 degrees to get into the carport. None of our cars could do it, except maybe the Metro.

We put a utility sink in the garage. It's deep and heavy duty cast iron, set in a handcrafted beech frame made by one of the boys' high school classmates.

On Thursday, they put up the gate between the houses. Actually, it's at the breezeway, to keep the dog in and people out.

It was so quiet, I heard knocking. tap tap tap. The contractors were gone. Who was working?

If you click on the picture, you might see Mr. Red-headed Woodpecker on the right side of the upper Y limb.

There he is again, I can see him...can you?

These birds are easier to spot. I saw them in Lindsay, after our quilt show meeting. There are several murals around town, really giving it some life. This particular mural is by artist Stephen Ball. It caught my eye especially, since I bought one of his paintings back in 1995, the first time I saw his work. That one is a trout, not a bird or quail, but it's one of my favorites.

And that's all I've got for you today. I quilted another baby quilt, but I still need to bind it. Stay tuned...

Finished? Finished!

Today some of the last things went in at the remodel. The finishing details, if you will.

One of the biggest hang-ups was a water source to fill a fire truck, should it be required. We're out in the country, and one of the contingencies of approval was a 5,000 gallon water tank. cha ching. We had hoped that we could be grandfathered in without the tank, but we weren't. Instead, we were allowed to attach this valve to our grove irrigation system.

This is Grant, our contractor, and the wrench required to install the fire plug thingy.

Another detail was the installation of a second propane tank behind the garage. I'd wondered how they were going to get it in there. Cranes are a lot more prevalent than I'd previously realized.

By 3pm, we had a "ta da!" The contractor was gone, and he took his trailer with him. See Chupa coming out on patrol? She's loving this new building. We still have 3 more things on the list (gate, alarm, make sure the dual pack works) but that list is small, and I'm loving it.

The workout room is complete. yay! How nice to be able to workout without exposure to the elements...if I were so inclined. I am not.

The bathroom is also complete. It doesn't matter if anyone else likes it. I like it, the boys like it, and that's what matters, right?

As to the main workroom, there's nothing to show. The boys come from a long line of Engineers: My grandfather was a Mechanical Engineer, as is my brother, as is my middle son. The older and youngest sons are Electrical Engineers. I am very familiar with the tendency/need/compulsion to tinker. As a quilter, I understand the need for a dedicated workspace. And so, that is what this will be. Their dedicated workspace. They are currently planning and organizing and deciding how best to work their space. Maybe, in the next few weeks, I'll be invited in, with my camera. For now, I'll respect their privacy.

On another note, I always drive past a rock quarry on my way to the walnuts. A few weeks ago, I noticed a line of egrets along the roof edge. It was hilarious, but I was going too quickly to pull over and stop. I've seen them about once a week, and I haven't had my camera or I've been in a hurry, or something. But yesterday, I was going slowly enough to pull over and snap their pic. (The first time I saw them, there were twice as many, and they were all standing on one foot.)

I took a couple of pictures, and then they spooked.

And that's all I've got for you...

We Can Flush

We're close. We're very close. We're closer than close, but it's not final. The bathroom is about done, we still need something to hold toilet paper and something to hold towels. Details. The devil is in the details.

The vanity is in. It's hard to see the light fixture (I didn't realize that until I put it on the computer), but the globes are amber, similar to the woodwork. The mirror has been in the back of my closet for at least a dozen years. "You need an 18" x 24" mirror." ummm...I might just have one. I did.

Here's a close-up of the newly placed accent tile. It's "tumbled glass," and once the excess grout was cleaned off, it looked even better. It's very manly, for our manly workshop.

And with everything else on my plate, I'm finding time to work on a quilt-for-hire that must be finished in the next couple of weeks. Goals are good!

123 Letters Later

And the results of the jury are in their envelopes and will go to the post office tomorrow. If you submitted an entry to Best of the Valley, start watching your mailbox come Saturday. One way or another, you'll know about your quilt(s).

While I've been at the computer, the contractor continues his tasks. How do you like the polished, stained concrete? Not too bad, is it?

It's even better with baseboards!

Number 3 son's friend built this frame for the utility sink. I'm holding my breath, wondering whether or not the sink will fit. He did have the template. :) Tomorrow we should find out, one way or another. The frame is made from beech, and finished with polyurethane. It is a work of art, and should be installed in my living room, not in the garage.

And speaking of the garage, today we have doors.

Oh, I am so excited! There are still plenty of baseboards and switches and this that and the others to put in, but the vanity is resting in the bathroom, and the lights and mirror are on the premises. I found a mirror in the back of my closet, that just happens to be the right size and the wood matches the vanity. I knew I was keeping it (for 15+ years) for something...

No sewing today. Maybe Monday.

I've Been Busy...

First, I'd like to thank both Vicki Welsh and Lisa Ellis for sending pictures taken at Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. wow. I feel like a star! You're both terrific!!! This quilt is on to New Jersey, for their Festival this weekend. I expect it home some time next week.

While my quilts are out and about, I'm doing things like go to Costco. I had my camera with me. Costco has cute birds. :)

Back at the (walnut) ranch, Chupa has been observing a LOT of activity.

Our middle son left this morning at 4am, on a grand adventure. He has relocated from Davis, CA to Little Rock, AR, or at least he's in transit. He should get there by Saturday (his 25th birthday), and starts work at 7am on Monday. yikes! Talk about a tight schedule!

His departure was delayed a bit, as he was unable to find moving crates to his specifications. He made his own. He allowed pictures of his hands, but balked at anything more. That's okay. He has skilled hands.

This is his first crate, made of cedar fencing. He made a total of three. The other two were not quite as large.

While the people worked, the plum tree has not been slacking. There were a few bees, but apparently they were camera shy. At least I figured out how to get a clean, crisp close-up. Now if I can only repeat the process when I shoot my quilts.

The remodel is progressing. Today they finished up the shower floor. I was a bit frustrated to find out that the lovely accent tile that I chose was not ordered until Monday of this week. It should be here on Friday. It's coming from Florida. *sigh* (The door frame will go up tomorrow, after the vanity is installed. They didn't want to ding it when they polished the floor.)

"Polished the floor?" What we did was have the concrete polished, stained and sealed. After all, this is a workroom. I am thrilled with the easy-to clean surface, as well as the way it reflects so much light. This building fairly glows with natural light. I wonder if there will be any space to stash a quilter?

The contractor and his (twin) brother are in the process of installing solar cans. They are much easier to install than skylights, and add a crazy amount of light to the interior. I'm ready to have some of these installed in my house house. It would be nice to turn it from a cave into a home...

And while all this has been going on, I've almost finished a little quilt. I will show it to you after this weekend. I am currently binding it.

And today we juried the quilt show. Oh, you must come! It is going to be wonderful! We will have more than 240 quilt vying for approximately $3000 in premiums. Mark your calendars now, for April 13-15.

This post has been brought to you by the color purple...



Hope it was worth the wait!