Well, Here I Am!

Happy 2020 Everybody! Folks, things are happening in my world. I sold the home my husband and I bought in the '80's, packed up my stuff and put it all in storage. Shasta and I are now living in a little farmhouse on 8 acres in Idaho close to my oldest. It's going to be a good thing. I'm still working on making it home, and I now have my two cats here with us, so that helps. I'm amazed at all the paperwork that is involved in moving from one state to another. I'm still in the process of changing over the "official" stuff, and trying not to make too many mistakes that have the potential to cause major problems down the road. Dealing with government agencies isn't fun, and I find myself getting flustered more now than I have in the past. 

Anyway. I thought I'd share a picture of what I woke up to not long ago. This is the driveway and little tree in the front yard. My kitchen window looks out on this, and it's a nice view first thing in the morning. I look forward to seeing what changes come about this spring and summer. I have lots of projects that need to be done, so there's absolutely no possibility of running out of things to do. 

My Latest.....

So, I'm almost done with this quilt. The binding is about half done, and then it will be ready for the label. Thought you might like a sneak peak at it! These colors aren't really what I "normally" do, and it was a nice change of pace to work on it. I'm super happy with how it turned out!
~~Lori

Fiddlin' Around With Sourdough

I started some sourdough about a year ago, and have been using it off and on since then. It's not the first starter I've had, but my previous one was probably ten years ago or so. I enjoyed having it, and I would make pancakes on the weekends, biscuits, and of course, lots of bread. Then life got in the way, and I stopped using it. 
About a year ago, I decided to start another one, and I've been enjoying it immensely. Since it's calmed down a little since all my Christmas baking, and we were out of bread, I decided that sourdough bread was precisely what we needed. The recipe I started with was just a plain white sourdough bread, but one of my favorites. It requires an overnight starter, so last night I put it together before I went to bed. However, this morning I changed my mind and included oatmeal and whole wheat flour. And, just like that, it morphed into something with a life of its own. It needed a bigger bowl to give it more room, and then halfway through the first rise, it needed even more room. I divided it into my two biggest bowls instead of just one. 
Fast forward about 6 hours.... I'm happy to report that five large bread pans will fit in my oven. It's amazing how you can start with such simple ingredients and end up with heaven on a plate. It's kind of like magic.

Happy Thanksgiving, and my latest quilt

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We had a houseful here for Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted leftovers, so we cooked 2 turkeys, and had lots of other stuff, so of course we are waddling around now. Today I had the house to myself pretty much all day, so I decided to bring out my sewing machine. Want to see what I made?? I had finished a quilt top recently, and I have a few pieces of fabric left. I had been thinking of making a little zipper pouch and thought this would be a good time to try out the tutorial. It turned out super cute!

Here's the original quilt top. I bought it as a kit at my local quilt shop, about 6 months ago. Of course it sat on my cutting table until I finished up a few other things. Once I started it, I was able to finish it pretty quickly. It will be going to the quilter as soon as I get flannel for the back.

So, not much else going on here. I hope everyone is happy and healthy.

Summer Trip ..........

Guess where I just got back from?? DisneyLand! Yes, I went to see Mickey and all his friends with my sister, niece and dad. We had a great time, but are happy to be back. I took a few pictures, not tons, but enough to satisfy myself. I thought you might like to see what sort of pictures this weird woman takes when she goes on a trip like this.

There were Mommy ducks.....
 

 And baby ducks!

This is one end of a small grove of birch trees that I really liked. 

Here was a massive eucalyptus tree up above where we were waiting for the train. The base of the trunk must have been at least 3' in diameter. It was obviously well cared for. Really made me rethink some of my huge trees here. I was just in love with this tree!

Lots of different grasses there. And why not?? They are beautiful, low maintenance, and drought tolerant.

Oh, and the fences. I really like this fence. Wood and wire. Sounds like a great cd, maybe George Winston, and perfect for a mellow afternoon.

So, there you have it. Just a snippet of the weird pictures I take. It was really nice to see landscaping on a large scale. Oh, I found out that they offer a two hour, guided botanical tour there, and was all set to sign up for it. Unfortunately, it is only on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday mornings, and we weren't there any of those times. I think it might be worth a special trip there, just for that, yes??? 

Hmmmm.......

Where can I find really cute muck boots when I have feet the size of a boat?? It's time to water around here, and I'm tired of those knee-high black boots. I see the cutesy ones at TSC, but I guess "real" women don't have big feet.
I had a dream last night I was playing baseball. (I woke up when I got hit in the nose!!) Would this count as exercise?
I'm going to plant hostas under the tree in the backyard. I think it would look awesome with my newly recovered lawn chair, eating breakfast, feeling like the queen of my domain. 
How do I fix a flat tire on a wheelbarrow? Maybe I'll take it off, then go see the tire folks in town.
This is a snippet of the important issues I think about in the middle of the night. Serious stuff!
 

Things For Me To Remember

Sometimes, I read inspirational quotes. I like them. I figure I don't really need any other reason but that. Here's a few that I ran across lately.

Two that are pretty cool to remember:
"You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”—Christopher Robin to Pooh, A.A. Milne


“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”—Confucius

And two for yesterday:
 "The pain you feel today is the strength you feel tomorrow." ---Unknown

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.”―Mary Anne Radmacher

So today, I tried again. I think I'm stronger than yesterday, and more courageous, no??