Posted: No Sewing

After sewing nearly round the clock for two straight days, I took a day off from the sewing room. That isn't to say I did anything productive, but it was good to come out of my basement sewing room and into the light. We had a nice day of weather yesterday. By "nice day," I mean it didn't rain. It was still plenty cold. Not as cold as you folks back east. Oh my gosh...I feel sorry for you in those temps. I can't even imagine it.

So, anyway...there was a little bit of sewing in the form of slow stitching. I started on the newest Appalachian Memories block.

It's waiting for me downstairs as I write this, and so I'll get more done on it today. My biggest goal for yesterday was to get out for a walk. For this, I have a brand spanking new bag of horsey treats.

With a few of those loaded into a zip-lock bag, I was ready to head out. As I was leaving, I noticed Miss Sadie on hummingbird patrol.

Pause here for a moment to admire my clean windows. The window-washer guy hasn't been here since last summer. That's hummingbird poop, if you must know.

Knowing Sadie was guarding against marauding hummingbirds, I felt safe leaving. So, off I went. The first thing I noticed was that the daffodils our neighbor planted along the shared driveway are already heading up. Mine are barely poking above ground.

And then, at the top of the driveway, I saw the horses. And they saw me. Here they come!

We talked for a few minutes while they crunched on their treats, and then I went along my way.

So here's something, and this drives me a little bit crazy. (Haven't you noticed?) What is up with this word "POSTED"? The Google has left me sorely disappointed on this question. Why is it necessary to deliver this message preceded by the word "Posted"?

Matthew and I discussed this while we were walking on New Year's Day. Matthew thought it meant something along the lines of "Hey, You! Yeah, you!" Or maybe..."I've got something to say!" Or maybe..."Listen up!" Or maybe, "Hey, A$$hole! Yeah, I'm talking to you!"

But, you know...I'm reading the sign...there's no reason to yell.

Why not just say it straight out? Here's one. No "Posted" before the important part of the message.

Or why not just keep it short and to the point like this one?

That message comes through loud and clear.

Okay...so that's the end of my random rant of the day. I should probably create a label for random rants so that I can find them and update them.

As for things of interest, the water droplets are still about the best thing going on these walks. The one below is moss growing on a fence post.

Here's a blue spruce sparkling in the sunshine.

My goal was to reach the top of the hill because I had an idea I would find a carpet of clouds there. As I approached, I could see the clouds rolling over the hilltop.

From there...

It's one of my favorite sights. It looks as if you could just walk right out there. Don't though. That would not end well for you.

Everything is green with moss right now.

Here are some nosy neighbors.

They don't need to put "posted" on their sign.

I liked the contrast of colors in this next image.

This bird was singing and singing and singing. It's hard to say what kind of a bird this is. My friend, Judy the Birder, would say that it's an LBJ (Little Brown Job).

When they paved the road this past summer, they first made it wider. That meant cutting away at the banks on each side until they appear dangerously close to collapsing. Later, they came through and sprayed seed on the sides, and now this stuff is appearing in great quantities.

By then, I was nearly home. Our neighbor's cat was ahead of me.

And that was the end of my walk.

Here's something: My friend Carmen sent me this little pattern from Bonnie Sullivan. I love her stuff.

I'll use this to make the wall hanging. Carmen even sent me the packet of laser cut applique pieces. Cool! I've never used these before, and so it seems like quite a luxury.

And look at those little beads and buttons. Squee!

Well, that's going to be fun. Thank you, Carmen. This being a Christmas piece, I think I'll wait until a little later in the year to start on it so that I can work on it during the season.

Today I need to make a trip to the grocery store. My list is fairly short, and so it shouldn't be too traumatizing for me or anybody else. There are a few housekeeping chores on tap, and then I hope to get back to my sewing. Today I'll start quilting the Alley Cats Quilt Guild. I have some ideas about what to do now. Being a small quilt, it shouldn't take too long.

The long weekend is over...time to get back to business.