Autumn Color In MI

We have had a beautiful fall. It is fast coming to an end as we had a freeze last night and another due tonight. We have had frost before but that is different from a freeze. The frost mostly is on the grass while the freeze hits everything. I am sooo busy with last minute things to do before going to FL but I just had to get out and get some more pics in the sunshine today. Wish you could see them in person. For more pics, see more posts.

I'm off to pack a suitcase of sewing supplies now. Flying on Tuesday. Kipper is all bathed and ready to go. I carry mylap top and hope to post from FL later this week. See you then.

Memories

Libby at A Simple Girl posted pics about her recent visit to Bavaria. I enjoyed her post so much, I just had to look again at my pics from my visit a year ago. Libby mentioned the cows with bells. Here's my pic of them. The cheese from them is great. The houses and stores were decorated and full of flowers. I was told that the flowers in boxes under the windows, especially the geraniums, keep bugs away from the screenless windows. Sure great to look at, anyway. Lots of bike traffic and walkers, too. The last one is my favorite. Doesn't that look like a postcard?

More Pic From Our Walk

Here are more of the pics I took yesterday of our walk. This trail follows the river. The bridge is just to walk on. Wish I could have taken a boat ride up a river to see the fall color but I'm glad I could walk this short trail. They have build the path well, so wheel chairs and strollers can go along it. :) Today I worked hard on my yard. I had a young man to help, too. We have what must be done completed. Lots more that could be done but it will wait until spring. For y treat, I took an hour and sat on a bench by the river. It's about three miles from where I live. So much left to do before the big plane takes us to FL. At this point I wonder if it is worth it.

Third pic is taken from the bridge.

Walk In The Park

After a couple days of high winds and rain, today was beautiful. So Kipper and I took a walk on the park trail. They were having Halloween events for the children on the first part of the path. They had Jack 0 Lanterns all along the way to greet the children. Kipper is looking for them. He really enjoyed the children and the walk. They had dog biscuits at the first stop. Nice. Kipper also cleaned up after someone who had spilled his popcorn. Good dog. :) Every time I take him out to a place like this, I am so glad that I taught him good obedience nine years ago.

We are at the peak of color here in mid-Michigan now. I was afraid the leaves would all be blown off in the storms but they were still very pretty. The pictures are never as good as the real thing but try clicking on them to see more. A couple of Kipper's friends were out walking too. Actually, there were lots of dogs out, but these two are his good friends.
Hope everyone gets outside to enjoy the season change, however it is at your home.

Burrr

When I got up this morning, I said to Kipper, "Burrrrr." It was 60 degrees in the house. Later Kipper came from a run in the field and his tail said Burrr. He is just lucky that the rest of him still has short hair. I've tried lots of things to get the burrs out, including glycerine, but find the only solution is a little combing and cutting. I just noticed that this is a good pic of his "broken tail." It is a natural way Border Collies' tails bend.

What's For Supper?

These are my favorite kind of squash - butternut - and these are the shape I like them to be. Great day to bake them in the oven.

A Jack O Lantern

What a difference a week makes. Down right cold here now. Chicken vegetable soup for supper. Okay, this makes me want to get my snow bird wings a flapping.

Have you seen what Mammasparks World has done? On her October 10 post, she shows the greatest Jack quilt, including closeups. I just had to try one but no time to do it right. I just grabbed some fabric and did it. Not sure if this was how to do it, but I sewed the fabric together and then cut the Jack and then machine appliqued it to another piece already sewed together. I should have ironed on some stabilizer, probably some that glued the top to the back. And I definitely should have worked on the tension. It broke twice on me. But no time. I just made Jack. We are both smiling. "G"

I actually put up some pieces for an orphan quilt. Maybe. I found the bag of left overs from this quilt which was left overs from another quilt that I made and didn't get a pic of.

Maybe I can make the spring train. "G"

Medieval Festival

A couple weeks ago, I went to the last day of the Michigan Renaissance Festival. It's held on weekends during the fall. It was very crowded but was a beautiful day. The Raptor show was great. All the animals were rescued, even the horses. My friend Shirley and I took Kipper. He was such a good dog, even with running horses, birds flying low overhead, all kinds of noise and tons of people eating lots of things. He really seemed to enjoy going. Me too.

Nothing quilty happening just now so here is a true quilty story. A relative of mine was seriously ill. His teenage granddaughter came to see him. He lay on the couch with a cover on him. The GD noticed that his feet were sticking out so she tried to pull the covers down over them. Her granddad said "It's just not long enough." She replied that she know how to fix it. She left and returned later with an extra, extra long fleece quilt. She had bought two long pieces of fleece, put one on top of the other and the cut and knotted the edges together . Now he could have one end around his ears and the other wrapped around his feet. Maybe I'm being inaccurate using the word quilt to describe this cover but, to me, it seems to be the right word. It was warm, comfortable, made with thought and love and received with gratitude and love. If that isn't a quilt, what is?

Singing Today

First, I'm singing Happy Birthday to Finn.

And singing Oh, Canada to Joyce at J's Quilting, Quilt Pixie and the rest of my Canadian quilter friends. I'm probably singing the wrong song and should be singing Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother's House I Go. Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

And singing, hum, what to celebrate Columbus Day here is the USA? Maybe Hail Columbia, which was our unofficial national anthem until 1931 when The Star Spangled Banner became our official one. Bet you didn't know it is our official entrance song for our Vice-President? Or maybe I should be singing Columbia, Gen of the Ocean, another early unofficial anthem. It is used for the Voice of America radio broadcasting. For everyone over-there, we Americans don't much celebrate Columbus Day. Schools and businesses go on as usual. No parades or special events occur. Celebrating it began October 12, 1892, on the 400 anniversary of Columbus arriving in the "New World." President Roosevelt designated it as a federal holiday in 1937 and in 1972, it became one of our "Monday" holidays, so this year we celebrate it on October 8. Most years it does not fall on Finn's birthday but for this year she can say they closed the banks and federal offices, including the post office on her birthday.

Anybody know any songs about great fires? Today is the anniversary of the big Chicago one in 1871. Did Mrs. O'Leary's cow start it by kicking over a lantern or was it the ashes of Peg Leg Sullivan's pipe, while he fed his mother's cow? While many people have heard of Chicago burning, most have not heard about the extent of the fire on that day. The fire, called the Peshtigo Fire, was the worst recorded forest fire in North American history. It raged through Wisconsin and Michigan, destroying millions of dollars worth of property and timberland and taking between 1,200 and 2,400 lives. So, what caused it? We know what conditions occurred to make the land a tinder box. These included a prolonged and widespread drought, logging and farming methods that were clearing the hardwood trees, railroad right of ways cut through the land to carry the steam engines with sparks flying, and the increase in sawmills and use of wood and sawdust in buildings, sidewalks and streets. But why would such an expansive area burn on the very same day? Remember that although Michigan's Upper Peninsula is connected by land to Wisconsin, this fire covered much of the mid Lower Peninsula which is removed from Wisconsin by Lake Michigan. Yes, Chicago is connected by land to Michigan but remember all these fires started on the very same day. One theory, which I believe, is that a comet or meteor struck the area, sending sparks over the Wisconsin, Chicago, Michigan area. This idea is not a proven fact but it makes sense to me.

Have a good day and sing a song!

One Hot Day

October 7, 2007, and it is hot and humid here in mid-Michigan. Not exactly weather that makes me want to get ready to go to FL. Actually it got above 80 for the official temp and tomorrow is to be 88, then high of 70 predicted for Tuesday and 60 for Wednesday. We'll see.

Second pic is of the last of the clean up from cutting the trees. I hired a young man to do most of it. I even borrowed two of my neighbor's cans. You can't see them but there are two 5 gallon buckets of walnuts, too. And they continue to fall all over my driveway, garage and even on the house. Yard waste pick up is tomorrow. Now the yard can be mowed.

Just had to play for a while this afternoon. Made a wonky star. I'm not sure this is how they are supposed to be made. Any suggestions? It gave me more ideas to try. Humm....