Neglecting feelings

Today is a quiet day, everyone is settled at the park and I decided I would check out exactly what I had written regarding the passing of my very best friend last year.  I wrote absolutely nothing; in fact our blog has a gap of almost a year.  I knew I did not write much last year but I never realized how little I did write.  I guess putting anything to paper just made the reality of losing Myrna too much for me to handle and now facing Ray’s death is bringing back memories but I am able to actually face them now a little better.  Myrna told at the Family Gathering in 2010 that she feared she had cancer and then it was confirmed in August, there was no cure, chemo and radiation would prolong her life but not cure her cancer.  I noticed I did not mention how we all missed Myrna at the Family Gathering this year either, interesting how I neglected to mention that in my post yet we all talked about missing her at the gathering, I guess that was just another way I was trying hard not to deal with my feelings!  Shall I go back and add to my blog or leave it blank, I cannot decide.  I was also writing the story of my life for my children and I have not written a word since Myrna’s death, I guess a piece of me was just lost for awhile and I did not even realize it even though I felt something was not quit right I did not understand until now.  Ray, in your death you gave me something I did not even know I needed, thank you. 

Busy weekend

Yesterday before we got the news of Ray’s passing Woody was busy with park tasks and I took advantage of the time he was out to sew up all the blocks I cut yesterday (I can only sew when he is not watching TV as I sit at the table right in his way) and unless he is working on a leather project he is watching TV when he is home.  I then pressed all the blocks and laid them out the way I think I want them.  At first I thought I had made an error as I had too many of one combo and not enough of the other combo, how can that be, I was sure I had counted correctly.  I picked them all up and started over, laying out each side at the same time one block at a time and sure enough I had just the right amount, I had laid the blocks out in a different pattern the first try! Now I will sew them together, cut out the lining and the batting, then quilt the 3 layers together!

The park is full, some folks came in yesterday and the rest today, it is a large group and they have rented the whole campground, Woody had to remind them to keep their dogs leashed while in the park, they are allowed to let them run loose on the trails but not in the camping area.  Some thought they could let their dogs run loose because they rented the whole campground, the problem with letting them run loose is the doggie doo they leave behind, who wants to step in that and most of the group thanked Woody for setting down the rule. 

Cannot quit thinking about Ray and how his family must be feeling, I know they understand that he is in a better place but that does not make it any easier to deal with. 

Lost a friend

We got news this afternoon that Ray passed yesterday, so he is in a better place now but his family is left without this vibrant, loving, awesome person in their life as are his friends.  Prayers for his family in their time of need, life is not fair that is for sure!

Ray

Dale and Ray

The pictures are some we took last year when he and friend Dale played music at our family gathering, they have played music together since they were young.  Dale and Ray have been friends since childhood and played music for various events for years, they are very good musicians, now I wish we would have done videotaping at our gathering but at least we do have some pictures. Ray was only 64!

Goodbye Ray, you will be missed by so many, we were blessed to have known you and to call you our friend!

A New Project

I started a new sewing project today, took me awhile to decide what I wanted to create.  I like to make items that are useful or that I can give as gifts, I kept looking at all the sewing patterns that I have saved and finally choose a “Casserole Tote”.  We attend many potlucks while at our winter home so having a tote will be handy.  I have not made this before so it will be interesting and a challenge.  I am using material that was given to me by our friend Cheri in AZ and decided I would do a patchwork instead of using one colour material.  I choose the patchwork pattern which I thought would work, next challenge was creating the paper pattern, instructions directed me to create a circle with a 17 ½ “ diameter, that is a test in itself, I used some scrap paper taped together, Woody’s compass a string and pencil drawing half the circle then moving the paper to draw the other half due to the small space I have to work in.  With Woody’s help I made cardboard pattern pieces for the patchwork, cut out and sewed up some squares.  I decided that each seam will have to sewn twice, one straight then go over all edges with a zigzag stitch as the one material I am using frays very easily and even though the tote will be quilted and lined I don’t want to chance the seams coming apart when washed, that would be a disaster, all the work for not!  There will be some waste using patch worked blocks but I’ll try to keep it to a minimum and keep any worthy scraps for other projects.  I always have to stay patient when I am creating something and remind myself that taking my time pays in the long run, I am always tempted to short cut even though it usually makes more work in the end.  I managed to get some blocks cut, sewn and pressed today, a great start!!

While sewing today pine cones were dropping on the roof of the fifth wheel making a loud noise, the first one startled me and scared the dogs, Muffin ran and hid, Cookie came and cowered under my chair, poor puppies.  It was not windy so I suspected a squirrel was at work, I went outside and sure enough there was a squirrel in the pine tree on the limbs that hangs over the fifth wheel, I watched him tug at the pine cones and run across the limb, down the tree to hide the cone.  The little guy was also loosening some and dropping them, which landed on our roof.  I came in a grabbed the camera but could not get a good picture of him he is so quick, but it sure was fun to watch!

Bagpipe Concert

This morning Woody was taking care of some tasks in the park and the young bagpiper was playing some tunes.  After completing the tasks Woody stopped by to congratulate the young man on his spectacular playing and thank him for the concert.  Turns out the young man’s father was in the Army in Afghanistan was injured there and sent to Scotland to recover, while there his family flew over to be with him, his son heard and fell in love with bagpipes, he has only been playing for two years but his Dad said he cannot hardly put them down.  I was amazed that he had only been playing for two years; he plays them like a professional!

No change in Ray’s condition, prayers for him and his family. 

Up and Down

Today was not a real good day, a friend (Ray) had a massive stroke Friday evening and was taken off life support today, no chance he will make it, he is only 64 and a super nice person, just doesn’t seem right that he should be taken from his family.  I cannot imagine what his wife and family are going through, can only pray for them. 

On a bright note we are being serenaded by a bagpiper in the park this evening, he can play them very well, he is wandering about playing, it is so cool.  As a young person I did not appreciate bagpipes but now I really enjoy them when played well.  Oh wow he is now playing Amazing Grace which was a favourite of my Dad’s, it surely does bring tears to my eyes thinking of my Dad and of course our friend and his family. 

Please say a prayer for Ray’s family in Alberta tonight. I don't know what else to say, life is so fragile and this is reminder to enjoy each day, as it really is a gift.  

              

A little bag

I finally finished a tote bag for daughter Michelle today and I am very pleased with the result.  I offered to make her a bag a few weeks ago after she came over with some extra items in a plastic grocery bag.  I had scraps of material from other projects which I dug out and Michelle picked out the colours she wanted plus we spent time on the internet picking out a pattern for a bag.  We made a trip to town to purchase the material for the lining and the concho for clasp a few days later.  She didn’t want the scraps arranged symmetrical which I thought was cool and turned out to be a challenge for my little brain!  I really thought it would be easier as I would not have to worry about matching seams and making perfect points but found out my mind wanted to work in symmetrical patterns, so I had to force my mind to “think outside the box”.  I really did enjoy the challenge and process of choosing the pieces of fabric, deciding how to put them together and seeing the bag come together piece by piece. 

Michelle is thrilled with the bag and it is just right for her lunch, bottle of water and other items she wants or needs to carry with her.

Dimensions are 17" wide 10 " high shoulder strap 28" and it has an inside pocket

Nasty Storm

A storm hit Onoway today including a small Tornado.  The wind ripped a corner of the roof off the school gym scattering the insulation and other debris on the grounds and over the fence onto the road.

Trees around town were damaged as well as some signs as you can see below, luckly no one was hurt.



Interesting at the park just 7 km east of Onoway we only had a thunder shower and some wind. 

Happy Birthday Tracy and other stuff

Today is daughter Tracy’s birthday, she and family are on vacation so I hope she has a very special birthday celebration!!!  Happy Birthday Tracy, much love from Mom and Dad see you when you return. 

The wildfires in northern Alberta are now out, the evacuation notice was lifted July 20^th and I cannot imagine how happy the residents are to be home.  The large fire near Zama Lake (901+ km/559+ miles) north of us decimated over 253000 hectares (625000 acres) of forest and as far as I know no buildings were burned which is awesome.  Many species of wildlife lost their habitat and of course many species of wildlife lost their lives, it will take many years for the forest to recoup but recoup it will!

The bear situation here has not changed, we have two bears a male and female, the male has been feeding on 2 very large ant hills in the trees just off the walking path which leads to the Watchable Wildlife Building on the shore of Devil’s Lake as well of course on the berries.  We are hopeful the bear will move on when the berries are gone.  We have tons of wild strawberries, raspberries, saskatoons, and other wild berries that bears will eat but we don’t.  We have been very diligent regarding warning folks who come to the park to pick berries and hike; we do not want any incidents.  Many of the trails are not passable now due to all the rain, some portions of some trails are totally under water, knee deep water.  Earlier this summer we had many hikers come to the park daily but the word has gotten around and very few people are frequenting the trails now. 

We are doing well, keeping busy and enjoying our summer in the park.  I do love the long daylight hours although they are noticeably shorter already but still light long after 10 pm.  There has been lots of wild weather in Alberta this year and a few tornados touched down, no major damage so far and we have been very lucky to avoid damaging hail which has fallen around us.     What can I say, we are feeling very lucky and blessed!

I am sharing an email I received from a friend, I utterly love the play on words and hope you enjoy as much as we did.

The last sentence is not a play on words but absolutely priceless!   I printed this and hung it on our Bullentin Board so we can have the pleasure of reading it every day!

My Inconclusive Travel Plans for 2012

I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!

I may have been in Continent, and I don't remember what country I was in. It's an age thing. They tell me it is very wet and damp there.

I hope everyone is happy in your head - we're all doing pretty well in mine!

Lions, Tigers and Bears, Oh MY!

Still smoky today, wind switched so later in the day the smoke thinned out somewhat, certainly better than yesterday.  Weather man says rain tomorrow but unfortunately not up north but the rain will clean the air here.  Woody sighted our bear twice today; the bear is coming very close to the campground and not running off when we spot him which is different than in the 3 previous years.  First sighting was by the compost pile, Woody was dumping some tree limbs and other compostable material, he shut off the tractor, dismounted and was just at the edge of the trees when he spotted the bear, he quickly got back on the tractor, started it up and the bear ran off, the compost pile is just inside the tree line.  Later walking the dogs on the trail he saw the bear standing up and looking at them, he had stopped walking to allow the dogs to sniff around as they love to do, he quickly returned to the our fifth wheel and told me not walk the dogs on the trails anymore.  The trail he was walking was the trail I always walk the dogs on, and I stop and sit on the bench, sometimes taking our Native Flute with me and allowing the dogs to run free while I play the flute so it is a sad that I cannot walk that path anymore.  Walking the dogs in the campground is kinda boring for me although I am not sure the dogs care.  Woody informed all the folk in the park so they were aware the bear is coming close to the campground.  We do not want any bear incidents that is for sure!

Wildfires

Woke up today to a very smoky atmosphere, there are major wildfires burning 900+ Km (560 miles) north of us and the wind has brought the smoke into this area.  The fire area is sparsely populated, two small communities have been evacuated as a precaution, I cannot imagine what the smoke must be like in those areas, it is bad enough here, especially for anyone suffering with respiratory issues.  The fires were started by lightening June 21^st.  The largest has consumed 155,000 hectares and is out of control at this time due to high winds and very dry conditions. We are praying for the wind to calm down and for rain to help the firefighters extinguish the ranging wildfires.

Family Gathering

Our family gathering this past weekend was awesome just a way too short!  We were blessed with sunny warm weather, actually got through the whole weekend without a rain shower, now in Alberta that is just not normal!  Family started arriving Thursday evening, more on Friday then the rest on Saturday.  With immediate family, extended family and a couple of friends we numbered 16, some camped for the weekend and others just visited for the day on Saturday.  Thursday evening we gathered at our site around the campfire then Friday and Saturday we mostly gathered at Tracy and Keith’s campsite, all cooking our own thing and visiting.   We had a potluck Saturday evening and gathered around the big general campfire for the evening and those that camped gathered in the shelter for brunch on Sunday morning.  Sunday comes so fast, just never enough time for visiting but seeing everybody for a short time is better than not seeing them at all.   We will see more of our kids and grandkids that live close but not the case for those who live a greater distance.  We really do have an awesome family even if I do say so myself!  Our second granddaughter will be off  to England in August if all goes according to plan, she plans on spending a couple of years  working and travelling in Europe, part of me says “no you cannot do that” then the other part says “good on ya, go for it”.  We truly do hope all works out as Dani really wants to go, she promised to keep in touch through Skype and email, etc.  I guess we will have to learn how to “Skype”!

From left to right back row granddaughters, Caitlin, Brooklyn, Jennifer, Danielle
Front Row granddaughter Lindsey, and you know who and our only Grandson, Christopher

Mike, Jennifer, Danielle, Kelly

Keith and Chris

Lindsey

Brooklyn, Jennifer and Mike

Christopher

Brooklyn

Chris

Keith

Gordon

Tracy

Caitlin

Gary

Brenda

Bass Family



Our kids with their kids

Pedersen Family

What can I say!

Posting pictures is a pain, I wanted to add more but really it is so frustrating, posting text is no problem.  Blogger has make some changes and I am not convinced it is an improvement.

That aside we enjoyed our weekend with family and look forward to next year!

Woo Hoo Back Online

We have been having issues with our internet dish since before we left AZ and have been completely off line for over a week. We replaced the modem, transmitter and cables and finally we are connected to the outside world once again. We could download email most of the time but uploading anything was almost impossible, anyway I will catch up on my email and enjoy all the cute and interesting emails you sent while we were off line.

Hope you are having a great day. :)

Heading home

 We left our winter home May 2^nd traveling to Deming, NM where we spent 2 nights due to the fact our running lights on the fifth trailer were not working and needed to be fixed.  After spending several hours checking out what the problem could be with a service repair man the issue was not resolved.  Thankfully the signal and brake lights are working so we decided we could travel without running lights as we do not plan to do any driving after dark on our trip home.

May 4^th  we spent the night at Stagecoach Stop RV Park north of Albuquerque, NM, it is clean, well kept park but too expensive for what you get and the sites and roads are very narrow, very difficult to get into the sites, will not stay there again.  The weather has been awesome, sunny, warm (in the 80,s F) with a little SW breeze.  We booked into the Colorado City, Co KAO campground May 5^th for 2 nights allowing us time to visit our friends Charlie and Dawn whom we missed visiting in the fall on our trip south.
 We decided to take a drive around the country side as we had all day before we met Charlie and Dawn for dinner.  We ended up in the San Isabel National Forest, at a beautiful lake elevation about 9000 ft.,  a beautiful drive but it was raining in the mountains, but just had to take some pictures, the temp dropped over 10 degrees as we climbed came close to freezing, driving hack down we hit sunshine again, the clouds were just hanging over the mountains as you can see in the pictures. 

opposite side of the lake

Back at Colorado City

 

We had a great visit meeting at the restaurant for dinner and continuing our visit in the fifth wheel, it was awesome to see Charlie and Dawn they are great people.

 

We planned to head to Cheyenne, WY today but weather dictates that we stay put, snow over the Monument Pass.  Except for the time factor we don’t mind staying another day in this park; it has a wonderful dog exercise area complete with equipment, jumps, teeter totter to walk over plus other neat equipment.  Cookie loved to jump through the hoops, Muffin not so sure, she just wanted to sniff around.  This area has a covered seating area for the dog owners, very nice! There is a pool in the park but is not covered so I did not try it out a little to cool to use today.  Hope we can get back on the road tomorrow!

Pillows done!

Wow I am so excited, the pillows turned out better than I had hoped, I cannot wait to see the reaction of our grandchildren when we get home.  They are always appreciative of anything we bring home for them but I believe these pillows made just for them will be a hit!  We also have some jewellery for all our granddaughters and daughters, we like to bring back items made in AZ and find jewellery is one item we can find made in AZ as well the gems are mined in AZ so it is exceptional.  

Above is a pillow I made for our friend Cheri here in AZ.  Left are Lindsey and Caitlin's pillows.  Not sure why I didn't get a pic of Brooklyn's pillow.  I sure hope they like them!

Scenes from Hwy 82 travelling west

Went to Tombstone and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at Longhorns with  friends from the park this morning.  We took the camera so we could capture the views of the park sitting in the desert looking west towards the Whetstone and Huachuca Mountains as well as the Cotton Wood trees along the San Pedro River.  Usually we are returning to the park in the afternoon and the sun is in the wrong position for picture taking. It is a very warm day today, 78F\25.5C on our drive home at 9:45 AM. 

Looking north, Whetstone, AZ in front of Whetstone Mountains

Our winter home,  Tombstone Territories RV Park across the river valley

Dropping down into the San Pedro River Valley, the Cotton Wood trees are so green against the desert landscape

Looking south as we head west on Hwy 82 the Huachuca Mountains in the background

Pillow tops

As I mentioned in the April 2nd post I was excited to try out the new sew on transfers.  Well I certainly had some challenges creating the pillow tops.  I had grand ideas but they did always work and I am still learning what I can do with the pictures once I get them printed and ready to sew on the project.  I choose the pictures then sized them to what I thought would be good sizes for each project, not giving too much thought to the pattern I wanted to use, I then designed the pillow top around the picture.  I had fabric that I wanted to use but designing the pattern is always a challenge for me, again I ask for help from Woody, a second opinion always helps and besides he has a good ideas when it comes to design. 
Anyway here are the first three I made.  The tops are not finished, I need to buy the pillow forms before I add a border so I can size the border to fit the pillow forms

This is my first attempt.

. 

Second attempt, the picture is not square and I am still debating about redoing.

Number 3, getting a little better.

 I had fun creating these and one day I will get the pillow inserts and finish them! I choose the pictures for their action and look of pure pure fun!

Make up my mind eh!

My goal today was to finish my current sewing project so I could start on some items I want to create for my grandchildren or at least 3 of them for now.  I found these cool sew on transfers, they are cloth with a paper backing and made to use in an ink jet printers.  I can choose pictures then print them out on the transfer sheets and sewn to anything I want.  I am going create cushion tops with the picture being the focal point of the cushion.  Well that was my goal, I did not finish my current project, I really was not sure I liked the material that I had chosen for the sashing, I waited until Woody got home so I could have a second opinion, he agreed with me that the colour was not really complimentary to the pillow top I had created.  In the meantime I started the new project, I cannot wait to see how this picture printing on fabric turns out.  I will post some pics when I complete a pillow top.

This and that

Well almost a week has passed since my last post, not doing too well at keeping our blog.  I find it difficult to stop a project whether it is working on a DVD slide show or creating a sewing project or knitting.  I usually knit in the evening while watching TV but sewing is a daytime event and when I get started I find it very hard to stop.  I promise myself I will spend at least an hour on my blog daily  then during the day I think, I will just finish “this” (this being housework or other chores) and then I will sew for an hour or so,  then sit down and write some notes for our blog.  I somehow get sewing and if Woody is gone I do not quit until he returns which is usually late afternoon.  Watching the birds is also a fun pastime, we have many different species of birds that frequent our site and they are such fun to watch, chasing each other and now they are starting the mating rituals, I saw a pair of Pyrrhuloxia the other day the male feeds the females as part of their ritual, it looked like they were kissing!  The male below is a pretty bird; the female lacks the red colouring.

Friday I took the dogs to their grooming appointment in Sierra Vista while Woody drove Cheri to her Doctor's appointment, we met back at Cheri's in Whetstone visited for awhile then Woody and I drove back to Sierra Vista, went out for lunch and did some shopping, we bought some needed items as well as a new keyboard for me.  My old keyboard was on it's last legs, many keys had the letters worn off and some keys were not working well.  I really do love my new keyboard, now that I have taken some time to use it, it has many new features that I appreciate, example a button on the keyboard has a music sign on it, push the button and my library of music pops up, and other cool things like that! Oh yes,  the keyboard and mouse use 1 USB port so now I have all my extra devices plugged in, no more unplugging and plugging in my extra DVD/CD player. We also bought new hinges for our bathroom door, Woody had purchased a new door knob (which was threatening to lock up and not unlock) and some new hinges (the hinges were worn out due to us hanging to many jackets on the hooks on the door) but he decided we needed heavier hinges, so now we have 4 heavy duty hinges on the door.  It is a good thing he is a good handyman, it seems there is always something needing looking after.

Yesterday my dear husband bought another telephoto lens for his camera, with the new lens he can zoom in further than before, it really is cool to be able to zoom in and capture photos like below.

 

This guy looks like he is directing traffic!

We have many of these little finches.