a favourite shade of blue

a favourite shade of blue

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

tough stuff

Ray began the day in a lot of pain from the arthritis. I feel so sad when I see him suffer and now my dear Richard is also in lots of pain from ALS. We are leaving in the morning to see Richard in Calgary. I hope the two of them will be in a bit less pain. Ray seemed to suffer less as the day wore on. 

We went out in the afternoon and ended up having dinner at Cockney Kings. Fish and chips for both of us. Although Ray cannot eat potatoes so no chips for him just fish.  We did enjoy our dinner though.

I had to go to the Ostomy clinic this afternoon as my stoma was sore. So the attendant took care of it and I should be fine for the rest of the holiday.  I don't go again until January. Good thing since I wont be here LOL.

What does the title of this blog mean. I have no idea really just thought it looked good.

Too many tough things in this life right now. Winter is not a very good time.  I hope there is no snow in Calgary. I must check with Rick or Mary my friend there. Well I just wrote her a note.

We packed our suitcase this afternoon so it will be ready in the morning when the taxi comes.  If we have missed anything there are always stores to visit LOL. And I intend to visit them. I am hoping Cheryl will come with me.

Marg is coming over in the morning before we leave.  I am looking forward to seeing her. She will be bringing books I think. Good -I will have something to read in Calgary.
When we go to Calgary I wont be taking my laptop, the less we have to carry the better. So there will not be any blogs over the holiday . But they will start again in January. 

I wish all my beloved friends a wonderful Christmas season.

Merry,merry Christmas to all.

love
Nan

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Quilts and more

http://craftsy.me/1zxfrBZ


http://www.pinterest.com/pin/24277285467580634/


 http://craftsy.me/13h8uZP


All these lovely stars make up a beautiful quilt for the holiday season.  Check out the site above for instructions on how to make it.  It will brighten up your Christmas sofa :>)


 These I love as I love hexagons and they make a lovely key ring.

We went looking for boots again today . They were very expensive so we took Rick's advice and decided not to buy any. Jean said the same thing so no boots. We don't go walking in the snow anyway.

We did not stay too long in the stores but did stay for a bite of lunch. We had curry and rice . We took a while to choose but that was it , curry! Periodically we have that instead of a burger.
There are many lunch choices at the Food Court.

We did go to Sears and Ray found a lovely sweater and he bought it for himself. He rarely buys anything for himself but this was too good to pass up.It looks so cozy on him.
We had to go to the doctor this morning, nothing special just a check up for Ray. He is fine and so am I.  We are doing pretty well for oldies. LOL.

We need to pack tomorrow to be ready for our trip to Calgary on Thursday. That means washing the laundry and making sure that whatever we need is ready to go. We are tight packers and don't take a lot of clothes. We wash up what we need to have while we are at Rick's place.  If we miss out on something we can always pick it up at the big mall across from Rick's.



Adorable mug rug appropriate for quilters. I love it. 


  This is a great teapot. When the water gets hot the carousel begins to turn and the horses move. What a great idea.

Isn't this a beautiful chair? I love the workmanship on this chair.

My sister Marg had to have her cat Chrissie put down today as her kidneys failed. Sad day for my sister. I am sorry Marg.

And that is all folks. 
Have a great evening.

Good night.








Monday, December 15, 2014

visiting

I  am  so excited about going to Calgary. Seeing Rick will be great and I get to visit with Emma and Cheryl. They are Rick's friends but became mine to over the course of time. Lucky me!

I still have not found any boots but Rick says I don't really need them so we decided that we would not buy any here and wait to see if I actually needed them when we got to Calgary. No need to waste money if it is not necessary. I could buy some gifts for the little one for Christmas. 

There are some wonderful Christmas  shows on now. Last night we watched Michael Buble and it was great. Tonight we are watching Reba . And it is another great show. I am fully enjoying this. Great music , wonderful singing and the shows are lovely to see. 

I had a talk with Sam this morning, he is off to Toronto to spend Christmas with his mom. I am very happy he has this opportunity.
Christmas is all coming together , it will be a happy time for us all.

We went to the Bay today to look for those elusive boots and were stunned at the cost. That is when we decided to hold off on buying any. So we went to a restaurant , the Stone Grill and had a light lunch. I had mushroom soup and Ray had a salad. My soup was very good with real mushrooms in it not jut bits. It was the first time we had been to that restaurant . I think we might go back again, not might but will go back again.

We had to go to FORD as Ray had a little something he wanted fixed. The young man sat down and fixed it in a moment. It is what you know!! Not who you know.LOL




This is a different . It features circles and four patches. The circles are fussy cut  to make the quilt more expressive.



Does your dog like to sleep on your quilts? This lovely boy also loves his owner's quilts. 

Have a lovely evening folks.

  Good night.
                                    





Sunday, December 14, 2014

not enough

Download now as a pdf pattern

Sailboat is the name of this block.  

I don't have anything to talk about tonight. It has been another day staying at home and doing nothing.  I worry about things so I should really get out. That takes my mind off things. I worry about packing the suitcase for the tip to Calgary. Does that make one whit of sense?
I gave myself a manicure today, one thing done.

Tonight we are watching a show with Rita McNeil  and The Men of the Deep. These men are magnificent singers, they just finished singing We Rise Again, one of my favourites.  Rita is a wonderful singer too. 

So that is it folks .
Have a lovely evening.

Good night.
                                      

Saturday, December 13, 2014

ten

Here it is nearly ten o'clock and I just remembered the blog. I am getting kind of forgetful about my blog. My mind is often occupied with other things. I must give myself a time to work on it, say 7:00 O'clock.

It will of necessity be a short one tonight.  We stayed in all day and watched movies. We did  not have a lot to eat either, no cooking. All I did was mess around with my laptop. What a waste of a day. But I did do some laundry so it was not a complete waste of time.
Tomorrow must be better, at least we'll go out for a while if nothing else.  

I need to thing seriously about what I have to take to Calgary. At home I use shoes and slippers but still need to find some boots although Rick says I won't really have to have them. I think I'll take his word and then if I find them necessary I can get some in Calgary, and no sales tax. :>)

When you do nothing all day there is nothing to write about is there?
The computer takes up way too much time. I really have to leave it alone for the daytime. Maybe then I might accomplish something.



 http://www.quiltersnewsletter.com/…/block-friday-whirligig-… 
Nice block and here are the instructions.

And this is the end , I told you it would be a short one tonight.

Have a great evening folks.

Good night.
                        





Friday, December 12, 2014

Tuesday time

It was Tuesday that I spent as a sewing day but now I don't go to any of my things. Guild is tomorrow night but I don't feel up to going to an event at night. Hopefully the new year will see me feeling more able. The day time is fine for the most part though I do need a nap most days. 

We did not go our today again. The weather was wicked with lots of heavy rain and even some wind. My tree was waving a lot this morning.  Tomorrow we have to go to the eye doctor, both of us. I think I may need new glasses. Hope not though. They are very expensive.

I gathered up some of the books I have read and put them all in a bag for Buzz. We are meeting on Friday and I'll take them to her then.  There is a good selection in that bag.

All I did today do things on my laptop. I really need to go to work on my PC and clean it all out. I'll do it before we go away next week.

Tomorrow is guild night but I won't be going this month. By next month I should be good to go out at night. I am looking forward to that. and also to go to my Tuesday sewing group. it will be wonderful to get back to normal.


Two cats relaxing. They do look comfortable in that sink. Mom and Daughter do you think.
Adam in Houston Texas at a piper's convention. Nice photo.


Nice little pinwheel quilt with prairie points as an additional focal point.
Here they come, dogs bearing gifts. Cute!!!!!


to err is human

Big mistakes today  on my mail. I managed to put up two items that had no business being there. It boggles my mind how things can get screwed up on this blog. 



 A look at things to come, a  very starry year.  I hope it is all starry for everyone.

As for us we had a good day. A visit with Bob and Buzz was lovely. I took the books to Buzz ,two bags of them. I think that made her happy. She will have lots to read this winter.

Ray has not been well today , he was suffering from that darned Rheumatoid Arthritis and is in a lot of pain. We go to the doctor Tuesday , hopefully she will have something to help him. Maybe a change of weather in Calgary will give him some relief. I sure hope so. It is so hard to see him suffer. He can't take much because he is afraid  of causing more damage to his kidneys.

I want to get into my room this week and clean up all the fabrics in there as well as the books. Well most of the books have left home LOL.

Isn't this  a cute little quilt for a little boy.Nice background of rectangles and the planes are great.


An old familiar tune, the Churn Dash. This makes for an interesting quilt. The block is fairly simple

.Churn Dash Quilt Pattern Free
www.download.snapscreenshot.com/
Free Download: Take Screenshots.‎ Free Download!



I like these blocks, stripping in all different colours. I wish I had a pattern. I think I could make a square of strips and then cut it diagonally to get those triangles. 




What an adorable dress, I am guessing that it is for a doll as it just fits on that adult hand. The embroidery is lovely but it is a lot of work.   I have always admired smocking,tried it decades ago but was very unsuccessful. There is a lot of work in this dress.

To forgive divine.....

That is all for tonight folks. 
               Have a lovely evening.
                             Good night.
                               
                                       






Thursday, December 11, 2014

rain

A day of hard rain. We got a bit wet out there when we had to go out. We went to the eye doctor again, the right day this time. Ray had to get a needle in his eye, the one that has macular degeneration. He needs two more  needles a month apart each. The doctor said I was fine. Ray has had problems with that macular degeneration.  But he is such a champ and never complains.

We went to New Westminster to Cockney Kings to have fish and chips for lunch. But it was packed with people waiting so we drove up Kingsway to Mr. Ho's for a Chinese food lunch. We had enough to bring home for dinner ,so no cooking tonight.

It was so awful outside and we came home. I read for a while and then had a nap.  It was a quiet day. I packed up another bag of books. I had no idea there were so many. It seems impossible that I have not done much reading this Fall. But there it is.

I have little to say tonight, but hope everyone has had a great day.
And enjoys a lovely evening.


Aren't these cute, they are Santa cookies just waiting for Christmas to be eaten.  The little ones would sure love these. Hmm and so would the big ones LOL.



Now here is a quilt that will never grow old, a twister quilt. Each generation can play this game.




Fascinating Christmas tree.


A fine use of scraps and when it is finished you have a cozy quilt.


A star in a star in a star. All scrappy and gorgeous. 

That's it folks. have a great evening.

Good night.







Wednesday, December 10, 2014

slipping

My mind is slipping. I called Bob and Buzz to see if we were meeting on Friday. He(Bob) laughed and said we already agreed to meet and you said okay. Yes I am slipping. LOL. I plead my age as an excuse.  Good though as I have a lot of books for Buzz to read.
I am trying to clean out all the books I have , at least the ones that I have read. I need room to move around LOL.  And get more books. .

We went to get our eyes checked  today only to discover it is tomorrow that we have our appointment. 
I was a bit unhealthy today anyway. Feeling better tonight so I am on the mend.  I had a great long afternoon nap that helped me feel better.

We have had buckets of rain the past couple of days which caused flooding in some places.Temperatures are too high for winter and that does not help matters any. The snow pack is melting too.


Remember I said I needed boots? What do you think of these babies?  They were found in northern Quebec and are very classy. French ladies have such style.


Do you like blue? Sleeping under this quilt will keep you warm and calm. 

I need to work on my butterfly quilt as my silk thread applique is coming undone on some of the butterflies.  It seems that it is not up to much wear and tear.   I  enjoyed making those butterflies. Now I have another set of different butterflies that need to be set into a top. I do like to applique, it is relaxing. However I only do that on Tuesdays at the Kerrisdale quilters group. 

I am drinking a cup of coffee that I made on my Tassimo machine.I rarely use that machine but it comes in handy at times like evenings. The only thing is it is not very hot. 


Our daughter in Quebec sent us this photo . I think it is her new puppy. Dear old Pepper is getting pretty old. Sweet isn't he?

That is it folks. Have a wonderful evening.

Good night.               









Monday, December 8, 2014

it's time

7:03 and it is time to blog. the news is over , nothing really exciting on the news but we always watch it anyway. In school it was called Current Affairs and we were taught that keeping up with the news was a great thing. I learned well and even after 70 years I still keep up with current affairs.

We went looking for boots again with no luck. But it was good to get out for a while. We had  curry and rice for lunch and a short walk. 
We bought nothing once again. I'll buy the little ones their presents when we get to Calgary. There is a big mall across from Rick's place and we can do our shopping there. No need to take gifts across 2 provinces.
I read some of my book and then had a nap when we got home. 

We cooked a pork roast for dinner, boiled some potatoes and warmed up a can of kernel corn. I made the gravy to go with everything. I am not much of a cook but my gravy is wonderful. I love it with dinner and on bread. Dinner was great. Now I am watching Big Bang Theory and relaxing. Oh yes and writing my blog, how could I forget LOL.



LOL.

Dear Charlotte helping Grandma Carla make pfefferneusse for Christmas. Looks like fun.


Karin put this up on Facebook, little Nathan does not appear to like being Santa. He so cute.

http://bit.ly/12hH6Kf

Busy Dresden Plate looks like Joseph's coat of many colours. As you see using up scraps works well with a Dresden Plate. These scraps do not do it for me though. I like a more coordinated set of prints.

Buster is looking good today.


Arkansas Crossroads is the name of this quilt. Too much white as far as I am concerned. It is all you see.

It is time to go. Have a great evening folks.

Good night!!              

Two happy young people, my lovely granddaughter Chelsea and her friend Brad.  Nice looking couple.
                                          


Sunday, December 7, 2014

nice block

Download now as a pdf pattern

Tea for four.  Can you see the tees? it took me a minute to see them. This is a nice block.

A lazy day just staying in and reading ,watching TV and doing a bit of picking up in my room. Not a lot but it is a start.  Tomorrow I'll do a bit more.
I took the time to give myself a manicure as my nail polish was chipped and it was time. Now my nails look good. I like that. It was a day to fix me up, washed my hair and showered . It is not easy for me to shower with this hip but I do have a chair in the tub and that helps a lot. 
Other than personal care I just took it easy. I found a top in my closet that I had never worn. Brand new!!  It is black with neckline decoration. Very nice and as it was unworn I felt like I was wearing a whole new outfit. Great fun.
I have to go through my books. There are so many in my room and they need to be culled and taken to the library.  I'll keep the ones I have not read and take the read ones there.


This wonderful heritage of Clydesdales for Anhauser Busch  is about to be discontinued. Such a great loss. Ray and I had the opportunity to see these magnificent teams when we were in Florida at Seaworld in Orlando. They were amazing and so lovely to be close to. Ray loves these horses so he was very happy to be there with the teams. The horses were very gentle with so many people around them. Seaworld had many different creatures ,all wonderful and beautiful.. I am so happy we had that opportunity to experience those fabulous animals.



Great grandson and his new step sister celebrating early. Looks like a fun time.  Oh to be young.

DOGS

Time for dogs.
Sweetie Pie.


Pit Bull Momma, looks gentle enough.

I
What a lovely face. I like this one. Oh what the heck I like them all.

On this note I'll say good night.

See you all tomorrow.