it has begun!

After some time with the iron, making all of the fabrics as wrinkle free as possible, the work on the first of the bird blocks has begun!

4 pieces down, only 587 to go!!



Work on scanning family photos continues.

This sturdy looking bunch are relatives on my dad's side of the family

(perhaps there's some genetic component to our battle with weight?)

The man standing in the center of the picture is my great grandfather, Isaiah "Rade" Ross. The rest of them are the other Ross "clan" members: Jeremiah ("Mood"), Sarah, Amos, Silas, Susanah (Wall), Vashti, Esher, Mariah, Lodema and Sarah (don't you love the names!) I know who is who of the fellows, and Susanah is the mother of this brood (second from the right, seated), but the which girl is which is anyone's guess.

this and that

A while back I started this project

If you were with me then you may recall that it is an afghan knit in pieces

I'm using recycled yarn -- cotton from a sweater that was the DH's and acrylic from a sweater that was my daughter's

(YEAH RECYCLING!)

anyway, I hadn't worked on it much for a while -- a row here, a row there -- usually the last thing I picked up in the evening and then promptly feel asleep mid-row!

so last night I finished this block -- its number 4

on to block 5 soon -- maybe



This is my wild and riotous spending for the month

A whole $11.97 (including shipping)

it arrived yesterday -- YIPPEE!!

the plan is to use it as my exclusive repository for the family history data that I'm entering on the computer program

I had in hand already a 256MB one and a 128MB one, but I wanted a dedicated place just for the family history stuff, and since the 256MB was already in heavy use and the 128MB was just not big enough for all those files, photos, documents, etc., I decided to treat myself.

so -- I'm off and running!!

making lambs

TA DA!

the center block is now complete!! Oh yippie

So hopefully today or tomorrow I can get the blocks trimmed and the top stitched together (the rest of the top is yellow and I'm going to stitch it on the machine)

I was in my "stash" the other day and I think I have the fabric to back it, but I will probably have to go after a batting -- we'll see

Guess I'll have something for "drag and brag" at quilt group next Friday

Meantime I can report that I'm over 25% through the quilting of the log cabin quilt -- moving right along


LOOKIE!!!

we have a tomato!!

I discovered this little cutie while I was weeding and watering on Wednesday

there's nothing quite as rewarding as growing your own produce


For the next couple of days I'll be doing everything in slooooowwww mooootion --yesterday afternoon when we were out in the yard I turned to do something and got that horribly familiar "TWANG" in my lower back -- so if it goes as usual I'll be icing and heating (alternately) and wearing a brace and gulping down ibuprofen every 4 hours for a few days. Guess I'm sharing my dad's pain -- he just had an MRI on his back -- and I know he shared his genetics -- those degenerating discs in the lower back -- OUCH!!

more pictures from the "archives" --
this family group is my great great grandfather, his wife and three of their children -- he was a soldier in the Confederate Army, fought at Shiloh and survived to a ripe old age (he signed an oath of allegiance to the Union after his discharge at Shiloh and some of his siblings never spoke to him again) Can we say the stubborn in my nature runs DEEP!

I don't know who the cornet player is, but the fellow with the double belled euphonium (yes, its a real instrument, not something Meredith Willson made up for The Music Man!) is my grandfather -- WAY COOL!!

and under the catagory of strange circumstance: my grandfather (the one with the euphonium) was one half of the first graduating class of John Brown College. When I was in Canon City, CO, doing an art show in late June there was a group of 3 girls that stopped in my booth to look at my art and chat -- two of them had just graduated from college -- John Brown University!! (cue the Twilight Zone music!!!)

guess that's about it for today's ramblin' -- and about as much time in the chair at the computer that my back can take!

onward-----

a bit of work

moving along on this piece!

I still have not decided if I'm actually done cutting holes in it or not -- there are still places that I could do that

so far I like how it looks

work on quilts continues -- yesterday I spent some time with the premium book from the Colorado State Fair making a list of things that I can enter -- unlike most fairs I've been involved with, they won't let you enter more than one piece in the same catagory -- odd, but ok, I'll just enter in as many catagories as I can fit something into!

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of time sorting through a hugh pile of papers and ended up with a large stack of paper that can be used to print stuff on the back of, a stack of trash and a folder full of documents/pictures/etc. that pertain to family history.

At one time I spent a lot of time (and $$) working on family history, getting original documents, reading census records, etc. -- even made a trip to Oklahoma and Arkansas to locate some family graves and talk to relatives.

The other day I discovered that one of the cemetaries we visited is now listed on line but the listing does not include our relatives -- interesting -- I will be contacting the list owner to see if I can correct the list

Anyway, I'm thinking its time to get back to some of this activity, and I'm going to start by scanning and writing to CDs these picture/documents/etc., so I can share and preserve them.