It's raining cats and dogs

I don't know why we have so many pets. Oh wait a minute, yes I do! I think we are running halfway house for rejected cat(s) and dogs. (We are full up so don't get any ideas) My diabolical cat and I have grown to have a love/hate relationship over the years. Admittedly more hate than love. You'd think by now he'd have outgrown the need to ambush me. Not so. Every single evening when I settle onto the couch to watch TV or read he decides he must spend time with me. If I'm reading, of course he must try to sit between the book and my eyes. If I push him away he attacks me. If I'm watching TV he must sit on my lap however, I may not move an inch or I'm toast again. I can't win! I used to love cats but when Henry takes his final resting place in our backyard cemetery I think I'll be happy to live out the rest of my life without another cat. As my luck goes he will outlive me and I will have no peace.

Trust me. Looks can be deceiving.

Our two dogs are neurotic. They were both rescued from the local humane society. They both have separation anxiety. For some reason I am their person. When I am home they are at my feet ALL DAY LONG! I can't even go to the bathroom without them. If the door doesn't latch Gilbert follows me in and sits next to the toilet. If the door latches then they are both waiting for me when I open it. If I sew they are right beside my sewing table, when I cook they join me in the kitchen. Wherever I am they are there. Don't get me wrong. They are sweet pups but they are so needy. They need to protect me from everything, the mailman, the FEDex man, the UPS guy, the doorbell, the neighbor in his backyard, the wind, the squirrels, every person who has ever dared to walk down our street . . . oh you know. Everything! They are very barky. They think that barking makes us all feel better. You want to know a secret? It really doesn't. It makes me cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs! I do love them, quirks and all, I  just wish they weren't quite so barky and needy.

Family history

These are photos from my childhood. A photo of my sister and me and one of our parents. These were taken in the early 1960s - fairly happy times. They were taken before the infamous tour of duty in Turkey. I have always seen that as a turning point in our lives. I'll save that story for when I've had more time to collect my thoughts.

I'm just a little crafty

Last fall I ordered some nice quality felt from an Etsy shop. I love it. It is so much nicer than the felt you find at chain stores. I originally thought I would use it to make ornaments but then I got an idea to make a banner of sorts. I used Pinterest to find ideas, mostly shape ideas. I can't draw to save my life. Even tracing is challenging for me. I can embroider and use scissors. This is what I came up with:

I love my ELL students and wanted to do something something special for them. I remembered making these for my girls when they were in elementary school. I made them Valentine themed.( I did not use the fancy felt for these.):

Sewing 101

I love to sew and craft! However, I lack confidence. Recently I gave myself permission to sew and craft whatever I want. By that I mean that I don't have to pigeon hole myself into a category or feel like my projects aren't worthy because they are easy. Except for homemaking classes in 8th and 9th grades were I learned basics I am pretty much self taught. I'm definitely a self taught quilter. I learned to sew on my mother's machine which she bought in Germany. I still have that machine and would still be sewing on it except they stopped making parts for it. It now sits on display in my secret room as an inspiration to me. I now sew on a Baby Lock Grace model which is nearly the bottom of the line but still has way more features than I will probably ever use.

I am not ashamed to admit that sometimes I use precut fabrics. Apparently a lot of other quilters do, too, because you can find a huge selection of them. You can use them as is, which is what I have done, or you can use templates to make other more complicated designs, which I hope to try in the future. I like the precuts because the color guess work is gone. I am not very good at choosing colors. I tend to overthink and get very frustrated. I have started small, literally. I've been making baby quilts which seem to be appreciated by the receivers. I've been tinkering around with size and how to make one from one charm pack. I think I may have settled on a design although I may change my mind in the future. Here are my recent projects made from charm packs:

This is one charm pack with the back and binding made from the same fabric.
It makes a rather small quilt.

This is also one charm pack but I added coordinated sashing. The back and binding are a different coordinated fabric. The sashing makes it a little larger than the one above.

This one is two charm packs with a solid back and binding. It is the largest of the 3.

It's true. Time flies.

When I decided to start blogging again I thought to myself I would keep up with it this time. That really is easier said than done. For a retired person I keep pretty busy. Between my volunteer work, chauffeuring granddaughters, watching Ira a few times a week, shopping (one of my favorite activities), sewing, and I would say housekeeping but that would be a falsehood, my days are fairly full. I think I have been finding a rhythm lately and remembering what I love. I've also become more open to new things and traditions. 

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love the meal prep, planning and the family fellowship. I think it would be wonderful to have extended family join us one year. We have quite a few traditions surrounding the holiday but recently I decided to change it up a bit. We have some vegetarians in our family and they are happy to eat only sides. I have tinkered with my recipes to make most of them vegetarian friendly. The exceptions are the turkey and the gravy. 

I've gotten away from roasting a big turkey. I have started roasting 2 whole turkey breasts. You can find the recipe I use here: https://www.prouditaliancook.com/2017/11/foolproof-grilled-turkey-breast-butter-herbs.html I don't have a grill so I do it in the oven. Maybe I will venture out this summer and get a gas grill. This recipe is so good. The turkey is very moist and tasty. I make two so we will have leftovers.

This past year we all participated in the annual Turkey Trot. It is sponsored by the Lincoln YMCA and it takes place at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Park which is right across the street from the Y. Everyone else in our group did the 5K. Ira and I did the 1 mile because it allowed strollers and Grammy would have come in dead last in the 5K. We did not come in last in the 1 mile. We were respectably right in the middle.