Waiting For the Sun

Early fall days before the first frost, we wait for the sun to shine.

It has been an Autumn filled with many gray days

With a few blue sky days in between.

This last photo is a shot of our farmstead mid morning. The sun is getting lower in the sky each day. Soon we will not see it until late morning when it finally makes over the ridge to warm the valley.

More photos soon. I have a couple more shipments to fill before I can relax and fill my free time with projects of my own.

A Grateful Thank You

At last, the postcards I received from the Art Quilts Around the World - Playing Card Swap. The Ace of Clubs is from Marion in Victoria, Australia. I love the idea of using buttons for the clubs and the textural stitching in the background adds an interesting element. The Queen of Hearts is from Lynn. I saw her blog post about how she made this card and just loved it. Imagine my surprise when the queen showed up in my mailbox a few days later.

Simone from Holland sent me the Ace of Spades. It was hard to photograph all the intricate embellishments she did on the spade. It is covered in black ribbon, tulle and numerous different stitches. The Two of Diamonds arrived "naked" from Chloe, also of Victoria. I can't believe how white it stayed traveling around the world in the post. Thank you ladies!

I planned to blog about the postcards in August but my house has been in such turmoil that I could never find all of the postcards at one time.

Some of the postcards arrived wrapped in greeting cards that featured the art quilts from the artists. I love this idea! Marian's "Urban Trees" featuring her quilt from the "Trees" Challenge

Lynn's Art Quilt featuring her friend Patty

And two items from Lynn's Etsy Store. One of her beautiful photo cards and this wonderful CD:

I was her first Etsy customer when I purchased this Relaxation Bliss CD back in July. It couldn't have come at a better time in my life. Thanks Lynn!

I was one of the lucky winners of this "Winter Woolies" Tree Skirt Pattern from Tammy Tadd Designs. Tammy's mom Velda designed this wonderful whimsical pattern. Thanks Tammy and Velda! Oh and have I mentioned that Tammy's Store was one of the Top Ten Shops in the last Better Homes and Gardens Quilt Sampler magazine? Congratulations!!

A huge surprise from Bindu. Three bookmarks she sent me as a thank you gift. I love them!

Bindu is such a talented artist. She has talked about opening a shop on Etsy. I hope she does someday...

Wishing you all well!

Chris

Rising Up and Meeting the Day Again

Early Fall days in Wisconsin. Blue Skies in one direction....

Rain storms and a faint rainbows over our farmstead...

Mists rise from the rocks after the rain.

And a thin fog rises from the Sugar Creek at days end.

Thank you to everyone who sent me comments and e-mails over the last month or so. Sometimes things in life just come at you too fast and it is hard to rise up again. So many times when I was feeling blue and I would receive a message just when I needed it most. Thank you.

I am so grateful for your friendships.

The Cat Who Lived

I have to admit I have not felt much like blogging for a while. A few weeks ago our cat Cleo passed away. She was The Cat Who Lived. Cleo came from a shelter in 1992. She was the last of six cats we adopted through this shelter. She had been in an abusive situation before coming to live with us. We fell in love with her immediately, but she had a hard time feeling safe. Within a week she had stopped eating and the whites of her eyes were yellow with jaundice. When I took her to the vet I was told she had fatty liver disorder and was not likely to survive. I called for a second opinion from the shelter's hospital. They took her in for a week and her appetite returned. Once home she started to have problems again. I was talking to my sister-in-law about Cleo and she mentioned that she had lost a cat recently to the same disorder. She gave me a powdered vitamin supplement and told me to mix it in a blender with canned cat food and a bit of water. I put the mixture in a squeeze bottle and feed her until she regained her appetite. It took 3 weeks of this feeding ritual before she started to eat dry food on her own. She soon started acting like a normal healthy cat, however she never cared much for moist food after that.

She was a sweet and affectionate cat. She was the only cat I've ever owned that liked her belly rubbed. She loved to climb on my paperwork and stare at me during my workday until I would pick her up and put her on my lap. In her later years I set up a sleeping place under a lamp for Cleo. I liked to think of it as the best retirement home I could provide. Cleo was 20 years old when she passed away. We will miss her.

Parfrey's Glen

Last Sunday we spent the morning hiking through Parfrey's Glen near Baraboo Wisconsin.

It is an ancient place where you can see evidence the glaciers left behind.

Click on each picture and you can see the "wheels" of the glacier. Sandstone with aggregate layers containing granite boulders and pebbles.

A stream runs though the 100 foot high sandstone bluffs and exposes the granite bedrock below.

For a little perspective, find the hiker in the distance in the next photo.

This place is full of magic.

Best to be visited on a quiet day when you can hear the wind in the trees above,

the bird song in the woods

and the secret whispers of ancient times.