12/9/16

On Ice

It was a terrible day of weather yesterday. What started as snow turned to freezing rain by mid afternoon. It was windy and cold at 26°F. which made it a perfect day to stay inside and sew. My first quilting task was to finish quilting the sashings I'd started the day before. When I mentioned this in yesterday's post, I was planning to quilt "orange peels" into the sashings. After doing the outsy-insy portion of the insy-outsy, however, I kind of liked it just the way it was. It reminds me of twisted peppermint candies.


To be sure I wasn't just being lazy, I consulted the resident engineer (home for the day because of the icy conditions). He agreed with me that this is enough quilting for the sashings, and so it will be.

While I was quilting that, I used up the first of several small spools of thread. This turned out to be an excellent toy for two very bored cats.


Notice the little gray rabbit at the lower right side of the image above. That is ordinarily Sadie's favorite toy. It came off of or out of some other toy, long neglected, but the little rabbit gets a several-times-daily workout. You can see in the image below how she spends most of her day with her beloved little rabbit. She's still pretty kittenish.


Knowing bad weather was on the way, I'd filled the bird feeders the day before. I was so glad I did because our feathered friends were out in flocks. Obviously, they were appreciative of the seed and it kept the kitties entertained, watching from Mike's office window.


For a couple of minutes I watched a poor fluffed up hummingbird try in vain to get food from this frozen feeder. When he returned for a second try, I took heart and replaced the frozen one with a liquid one. No doubt, it needs replacing as I'm writing this.


We had something of a disaster when one of the roof panels on the catio buckled under the weight of the snow and ice.


Mike went out with a ladder and push broom and pushed all the snow off, hoping to avoid any further damage.


Then he was able to move the panel back into place, but it is out of its track and still needs a little more work to put it right. It doesn't appear to be permanently damaged.


My quilting buddy spent most of the afternoon with me, bored as he was. We gave him the opportunity to venture out a couple of times. He just stood at the open door, sniffing. When we used our feet to give a little shove to the tail end of the cat, he folded up like an accordion and headed back inside.


It was a boring day for our little cat.


He snuggled up in the puddle of my quilt and napped while I quilted. This works while I'm on the left side of the quilt, but it will not work when I move to the right side today.


It takes most of a day to quilt an entire quilt block. I was hard at work on Block 2 of nine when I remembered the barm that was fermenting downstairs.


And it was ready to go.


Keeping in mind the book's instruction not to inhale the fumes, I held my breath and uncovered it. When the danger had passed, I put my nose down close and sniffed. It smelled like freshly baked bread. And look at that bubble action!


So, into the refrigerator it went to await my day of baking...TODAY!!! 

By day's end, our windows were glazed over with freezing rain.


After dealing with the barm, I went back upstairs and finished the quilt block. The sashings still need to be done, but then I'll be moving onto Block 3.


As I'm writing this, I'm waiting for an hour to pass. I've measured out the barm I need, and I'm giving it some time to wake up. Soon, I'll be mixing it up, proofing it, and turning it into my first loaf of Artos.


It has taken me eight full days to get to this point, and so I'm pretty excited to get going on it.

Our weather is warming gradually. Listening at an open door, it's possible to hear ice cracking and falling off the branches. Mike will wait it out for a few hours and then head off to work. We're expecting warmer temperatures as time goes on today and regular wet rain by this afternoon. And so it goes with Portland weather. Here today, gone tomorrow.

There's more quilting in store for me today between dealing with the bread. By day's end I should have a loaf to show for my effort.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yikes, Barbara! That is some serious ice covering your windows!
Glad that your temps will rise, and help the frozen stuff to melt a bit....we have a saying in this part of Virginia..."If you don't like today"s weather, just wait a day or so and it will change."
Love the quilting!
Glad you don't have permanent damage to the catio....
I need to make lunch so I will scoot...as soon as I am able to convince my kitty to remove himself from my lap!

Dana Gaffney said...

Just reading about freezing rain gave me a chill, I hope you don't have broken branches or downed wires. Empty spools are a great delight around here too, I throw them in my little trash can and then find them outside later that day, I can't imagine how that happens.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Can;t wait to see the new bread after all this prep work. Our storm didn't pan out thank heavans - a squall here and then and gone. BUT the bitter cold is here, too. None of us do cold!!

Jen said...

I love that photo of the ice on the window. That is what covered my entire car this morning. Yesterday was indeed a great day for sewing. They closed down my office mid-day, but I had to be back in today. It is warmer, but looks nasty out there.
I think your kitties have the right idea to just stay inside and snuggle with a nice quilt! :)

DeeDee said...

It's so cold here in central NC today. The high was 40 and the wind chill kept it feeling like the mid 30s all day. No snow though for us. Bright sunshine and dry air. Sadie with her toy reminds me of our newest addition, Snickerdoodle. He has found some long forgotten mice from several cats ago that got moved from our last house with the cat tree. I don't think any of our other cats (we've had 6 in the last 14 years) played with them much, but Doodlebug has gone nuts for them. So much so that he drowns them in the water dish and has ripped off most of their fur and all of their tales. I hit the pet store today and got some replacements that will go in his Christmas stocking. My son thinks it's hilarious that Santa brings things for the cats, too. Hours of entertainment and love - our cats make us so happy!

WoolenSails said...

Looks like a good day to stay in and work on your beautiful quilting and stitchery. I think the kitties are happier inside.

Debbie

Brown Family said...

Smitty knows a good thing when he sees it. No snow for him! Your quilting is awesome. And on top of that you are making home made bread.

claudia said...

You definitely got some cold stuff there. It bypassed us after leaving you. We got a tiny bit of snow last night, but nothing to write home about! Scary Catio panel. Glad it wasn't worse. Then what would the poor bored kitties do?
I've been sewing all day today. I'm trying to finish up the Christmas stockings for my daughter. I have to get them finished, filled and sent off Monday so she can have them before Christmas! (I'm better at this stuff when under pressure!)

Debbie said...

The quilting is just enough....dense quilting does not make a quilt warm :)Hate the ice...great day to sew or bake! Your barm looks so good....know the bread will be most excellent.

Quilting Babcia said...

Snowing here too, but thankfully no ice. The arctic blast is heading our way, by Wednesday temps may be in single digits. Looking forward to spring already!

SJSM said...

Another enjoyable read. Regarding cat toys, all but one cat I know loves the springs made as a cat toy. There is a large version and a small version. The small version just waits to be sucked up by your vacuum, not recommended. The large version is a winner. There are about 6 in a bag, colorful springs(so you can see them to rescue from under the sofa). And cheap, about $2 bag. Here's a link to see the kind of spring. https://www.chewy.com/ethical-pet-wide-durable-heavy-gauge/dp/56210

Enjoy being cozy at home. You have all the ingredients to do so, cats, baking, sewing, warm abode and nasty weather outside.

Brenda said...

Here in Grants Pass, we have been hitting low temperatures but nothing close to what you are experiencing and hubby and I live higher up in the mountains also. Yet, it is so beautiful to also be surrounded by glorious higher Mountains all covered in snow! We have not had anything except rain. I am looking forward to seeing your bread and hearing about the texture and taste! Your quilt is so beautiful and your quilting is fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing all of the details! I have two outdoor cats, one who has decided that she does like to come in and take long naps in the warmth of the house especially anywhere that I have quilting going on. LOL. My one true house cat Chicca now has to be lifted up to lay by my side to quilt. She is a tad bit heavy and getting older. Have a wonderful day and I hope that the freezing rain stays away for awhile!

Angie in SoCal said...

I always read with interest your posts about the weather as my son lives in Vancouver, WA. Hope they're okay. I'll give them a call. These are kids raised in Southern California and this is only their second winter there. Your quilting looks lovely on that quilt.

Motherdragon's Musings said...

Your snow looks so refreshing compared to the heat we are having over here 38-40 degrees centigrade.

Good cat cuddling weather!

Kate said...

That's a lot of ice on the window. Glad it didn't last long. You are making great progress on the quilt and the bread. I'm behind in my blog reading, but I'm looking forward to seeing how your bread came out.

Junebug613 said...

Brrrr! The quilting looks amazing. My cats love the empty spools too. It's funny, but several of my nine, have favorite toys too. Sadly, the youngest's favorite toy, is also our newest addition's (Seamus the dog) thing to chew on! What a horrible beast! Ha ha.