A Rough Ride

Dakin called us on a Sunday afternoon to give us the "good" news:  Bugsy and Pumpkin Spice were being adopted.  When could we get them back to the shelter?  I wanted to say:  in another week?  I had been prepared to have the pigs for at least a month, not a paltry two weeks.  I settled on Tuesday afternoon - it was the earliest time between meetings and appointments that we could make the drive into Springfield.

Rob offered to drive, which turned out to be a very good thing.  When we brought the boys home fro the shelter, they hardly moved the whole trip.  This time, we didn't get out of the driveway before they started bickering.  We joked that they were blaming each other for why they had to leave a nice cage and good treats.  But 10 minutes from home, the snapping and complaining escalated into a whirling ball of fur.

I Like Thursday: Candy, Carry Case

Wait... what?  It's Thursday?  How did that happen?  At about 10pm on Wednesday night I suddenly realized I hadn't written a post.  For some reason I thought I had one more day.

I made Easter candy.  It was a solo effort this year - so strange.  I sent a box home to my parents.  I know my mother was thrilled.

I managed to get my mother and sister up on a video conference.  I haven't seen my mother at all since before my surgery.  Not the same as in person, but it was nice.  We have another scheduled for Saturday.

I stitched more masks and sent them out.  Yay.

Getting the Hang of It

Within days Bugsy and the Punk had figured out the routine in this household.  By day five or nine, they knew the kitchen meant veggies and they wheeked at the refrigerator.  I thought they had it a little backwards, because they'd wheek louder after they got the goodies.  On the other hand, if a little wheeking got that much, just think of the results of even MORE wheeking.

Every day there was popcorning and zoomies.  The good news was - far less bickering.  Lots of energy, occasional spats, but everyone was settling in nicely.  I particularly liked the way the Punk looked like he had been tossed across the cage - or the way he "drifted" around corners.  What a goof!

Isolated Candy Making

I was going to trim down the participants for candy making this year, but I hadn't figured on paring it down quite this much!  Just me.  Working solo required a smaller number of recipes.  I picked items that would freeze or would ship well and could be scaled down easily.

The counter was a mess as I melted butter for the toffee, chopped white chocolate for paves and dark chocolate for ginger nut clusters.  Stuff scattered all over as I tried to organize what I wanted to work on first.

I Like Thursday: Loafing, Fabric, Shots

This may be a quick post.  Not because it's been a slow week, but because it's been a busy one.

I still have videos I need to edit and post.  But at least you can enjoy Bugsy and The Punk loafing.  They loved the third level in the cage.

Good news and bad news with the guinea pigs.  They've been adopted!  But not by us.  Rob says my photos, video and write-up on the Dakin site was why they were adopted so quickly.  I only had them for two weeks.  So there will be a couple of posts (catching up).

We both really enjoyed having them here.  I'm looking forward to my next fostering experience (hopefully in the not too distance future and I get to keep them a little longer).

Trial and Error

Last week, along with my mini HST's, I made masks.  Isn't everyone?  There is so much (conflicting) information on masks right now.  I finished up the few rectangular ones I had cut the previous week.  These had contrasting binding so someone using the mask can identify front/back if they took it off temporarily (see lower right of photo).  Then I started trying various fitted mask patterns.

Between the standard rectangular masks and the fitted masks we quickly learned that one-size-fits-all is not true.  The pleated masks and some fitted ones fit me, but did not fit Rob. 

Leftover HST Squares

Carry case fabric actually arrived on Thursday, but while awaiting washing that project is still on hold.  In the meantime, I have three other sewing projects in the works.  This is one of the three.

I mentioned last week that I have 298 little HST squares made up and ready to work with.  I threw them on the floor to see what they looked like.  Pretty basic.  I discovered a bunch of pieces that were very pale compared to the rest.  I collected them at the bottom.  Just as the white came from Sunshine, I had a large number of squares with blue and brown leftover from the same quilt.

I stared at it a couple of days and googled a bunch of HST designs.  After Rob told me that he really should vacuum the floor but he couldn't because he didn't want to disturb my project, I recalled I had a nice design wall I could use.  (He was sorely disappointed when I moved it.)

I Like Thursday: Friends, Flowers, Food

It's strange that as the word slows down I seem to be busier than ever.  How can that be?

One of my neighbors has an eclectic mix of decorations in the front yard.  The wire mannequin was sporting a new blue dress and tie.  I laughed when I realized the tie is covered with the characters from Green Eggs and Ham.