March

goodbye, Jack

A week ago today we said goodbye to our best friend, Jack. He'd been a part of our family for over fifteen years & even though we knew this day was coming it made it no easier to bear. I didn't realize how big his personality was until it was gone. He didn't greet us at the door every time but instead stayed in the comfort of his chair & whined at us until we stopped to pet & greet him. He still enjoyed two walks a day. They'd become shorter & slower and I'd learned that I had to go in whatever direction he chose or else I'd just be dragging him by the leash. His favorite foods were peanut butter & chicken. We buried him in our back yard to keep him nearby. I'm not sure why I removed his collar; we'll never have a dog that can wear it like Jack did.

clothespins for sewing

I may not be taking a lot of pictures lately but I have been doing a little sewing. I found the pattern for these fabric baskets here and decided to make one for a possible baby gift (don't know if a boy or girl yet; someone I work with). I found these Clover clips at Hobby Lobby that have come in handy with this kind of project. I made the smaller basket & when finished ends up being 5" across & 7" tall when folded back like shown. She doesn't say what the seam allowance is but I figured it out to be 1/4". It is a great pattern with the ability to alter the size easily to fit your needs. Instead of finishing it like she did I put the lining inside the outer basket wrong sides together & folded down the top edges 1/2" then sewed them together.

Sher's clothespins

I've rather gotten out of the habit of blogging lately. I can't say it's because there is nothing to photograph because there is always something interesting out there. More it is the winter doldrums I think. These photos were taken last summer at Sher's home. New to you & a nice change from the snow. We only ended up getting six inches or so yesterday. A snow day for the schools. (I miss waking the boys up to tell them there's no school.) Sher had a great collection of clothespins on her line. I commented on her colored, plastic pins & she said they were not as good at the wooded ones. I enjoyed capturing them with my camera anyway.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is traditionally about love & romance. To most of the people I had contact with this morning at work it is just another day. But I heard this song for the first time a couple of weeks ago on KZUM, our community radio station, & I loved it. An appropriate song for the day! (This is more action than I saw at my own high school dances though.)

road 24

I know I can be predictable. Boring. You've seen these tracks before. But my goal is to stop by monthly to take a few shots. And it is February already. Another visit to see Dad. We enjoyed a good lunch at the Kensington & got caught up.

On further review I realize I am about seven miles off from the previous photos.

passing the torch . . . er, sewing machine

I had the pleasure of eating lunch today with my nieces, Becky & Angie. They chose Lee's Chicken which has not updated its decor since it opened. But we love its cozy ambiance & of course their fried chicken.

In a moment of inspiration (or weakness) I offered Becky Mom's sewing machine. She is learning to sew with a hand-me-down machine that keeps breaking down. I know Mom would love to see it go to one of her grandkids & I know Becky will love having it. I made sure she could thread it & wind the bobbin before we packed it into its case. Don made sure it wouldn't pop open with some zip ties. She'll carry it on the plane with her when she flies home. I'm looking forward to hearing how she fares with it.