Around Here

Around here....

We did finally have a bit of snow.  Not much, just a dusting.  But it was enough here in Boulder to count as our first "measurable snowfall" of the season.   Denver didn't even get that and is watching to see just how many records will be broken this year for the first snowfall and the longest stretch between the last spring snow and the first fall or winter one.  We've been having lovely warm weather --today is supposed to go up to 72 degrees--- but it's a bit unnerving to have no snow and very worrying to have no precipatation.   Still, we know it will snow sooner or later and we're "making hay while the sun shines," which in our house means leaving the patio door open for Turbo to run in and out of, getting the leaves raked up on pretty afternoons, and riding the E-bike now and again.    

Around here....

We had a pleasant Thanksgiving dinner at Ben's brother's house.  Paul and his two cousins were there and Dawn cooked us all a really delicious dinner.  I made apple and pumpkin pies, which turned out great.  I used Melissa Clark's Double Apple Pie recipe, substituting Calvaldos, an apple brandy, for the vodka in the crust.   

I liked Melissa's crust recipe so much that I used it in the pumpkin pie. 

Around here....

Paul got his driver's license!!  No driving photos, so I'll show you these cute ones of Paul playing with Turbo.  

When I was a teen I wanted to drive as soon as possible, since driving was how you got out of the suburbs and away from your parents.   But nowdays kids don't seem to be as interested, at least here in Boulder where it's easy to get around without a car.  One parent told me that her son said that driving here struck him as a "high risk, low fun" activity  

Ben and I couldn't really understand this attitude, but we figured that having to get to work every day would increase Paul's interest in driving and that's exactly what happened.  It all worked out great since at 21 Paul is not only wanting to drive but has the maturity to do it well.  Nice Ben is letting Paul drive his much-loved old truck for the next few months, and I was happy and not worried when Ben gave Paul the keys.   

Around here....

Colorado had a big surge in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations last month and there were dire warnings about overwhelming hospitals again.   The pandemic moved closer to home when two of our vaccinated friends tested positive for the virus.  They did their quarantine with minor symptoms and are now feeling well, thank goodness.   Another friend was exposed to someone who tested positive and is spending a few anxious days waiting to see if she has caught it.   

You can see from this chart that as of yesterday the state's positivity rate was 9%.  Here in Boulder County it's 7%, which is also too high.   

Ben and I are in the "fully vaccinated, mask-wearing, avoiding crowds" group, so we haven't changed our activities in response to this surge, but it is concerning and now there's Omicron coming right around the corner.   

Around here....

I've been clearing out my quilting studio, going through "orphan quilt blocks" and old fabrics, making room for new supplies and projects.  I had a box of scraps showing ocean and other water themes, and I also came across the fabric I had bought in a Maui quilt shop a few years ago and decided it was time to turn them into a lap quilt for myself.  Here's how the front turned out.

And here's a shot of part of the back. 

I had a lot of fun using my new Bernina Q20 to do the quilting. 

I also found some images of a moth that a friend and I had stamped with fabric paint one fun afternoon way back before the virus hit, and I decided to see what I could with them.  I centered them into blocks,  and found the perfect batik to border them with, added some straight line stitching, and am now enjoying my new table runner!    

 

I always put something fun on the back of my pieces!

It sure looks great on the coffee table! 

I guess I had a lot of time and energy in November because I also made this small (about 10 x 14") little piece which features some appliqued flowers that I stitched about three years ago as samples.  I couldn't bear to throw the happy flowers out and wondered what I could do with them.  Then I noticed that I had a big-enough scrap of the pink and blue flowered fabric which would make a perfect border.  And I had a scrap of the shiny blue fabric to use as a thin inner border.  So it all came together in a fun and quick way using leftovers I had around the studio. 

Around here....

And now it's December 1st.  Looks like we'll have another week or so of unusually warm and dry weather, but I am beginning to look forward to the holiday season and cozy time at home.   I think we'll take advantage of our 72 degrees today and put some lights out on our little pine tree outside.