Quilting and other Things

Last week we had a couple of really hot humid days. Then a wonderful thunderstorm on Thursday evening which cooled things off. Friday when I came out of the office it was a lovely evening so after dinner I went for a walk by the creek near home. I haven't walked near the creek for two or three weeks. In the interval someone has been out with paint to decorate under the bridges and the garbage cans. I haven't been able to find out who did it but they sure did a nice job! Last month when we went walking out at Silver Creek, Karen took this photo of a porcupine. It waddled along the base of the cliff and then climbed the tree. It was fun watching it climb up and have a snack. Moving from one fork branch to the other seemed to require a great deal of coordination. On Saturday I went back out to Silver Creek for a walk. The little frog lives in the leaf litter and is less than one inch long. The snail was living on a decaying log just a few steps further up the ...

This morning was all about errands -- drop off the bag to the thrift store that's been in the cupboard for months, get groceries, get my calendar. On my way out to the car, this little guy was sitting in the tree having his morning snack. I don't think he really wanted to be my model. He was in a better location before I got the camera out. He and his apple disappeared further up the tree a few moments later. After errands, I watched the Tournament of Roses Parade and put the decorations away. This is near the beginning of the Parade (I missed the first few minutes) This is near the end. I had my lunch while watching the tail end of the parade. Then downstairs to work on laundry and the guild BOM from last year (2009 / 10). Its Quilting with Laura by Linda Halpin. I got stuck on the second last block --- Doves in the window and printed it out for paper piecing. Last night I sewed the last of the little pieces and tried to trim them for sewing the sections to...

Last weekend I went to the Royal Ontario Museum on Saturday to see the Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit. No photos are allowed in the special exhibit area. Ten fragments were on display. Not all the scrolls are books of the Old Testament. There are some that sound like they are commentaries and some are rules for community living. I think it was a total of 400 scrolls found. They’ve pieced together all the fragments and there are books available of the translated scrolls. I’d made a reservation to go up to C5 for Afternoon Tea. I finished looking at the scroll exhibit and had time to wander through another part of the museum. The museum website has a couple of pod casts that I’d downloaded so I played the Egypt one and wandered through that section. The beaded piece is a covering for a mummy. It’s a richer colour of Blue in real life. I need to learn to take photos through the glass cases. The papyrus fragment is part of the Egyptian Book of the Dead that the museum has on display...

This morning I got two of the blocks for this month's $10 quilt assignment done. Now just the applique to do -- and two weeks left. This afternoon I sat outside with my pop, a book and my camera. For a couple of hours I took pictures from my chair. Except for the iris, the others are a selection the wild life that wandered across fences, trees and the yard.

We got lots of rain this week. Thursday morning I was ready for work early and went out with the tripod and camera. Thursday evening, I played some more. These are the photos I liked the best This one was taking from the kitchen door after 10pm. To me it was dark out. The camera had other ideas. There was a faint tinge to the sky but not really this light.

Last fall I planted bulbs. These were an addition to the ones I planted a few years ago. This spring, these are some of the flowers in my garden The lily of the valley are spreading from next door. But they may have gone next door from higher up in my yard....