More Cody Pix

I just knew I had more! Finally remembered to get them off the laptop and over to my regular computer.

The church my folks are attending right now has a really sweet minister who offered to let me use his internet signal whenever I needed to send/receive work.... So this time, my Cody branch office was not the KMart parking lot; it was the church parking lot or Fellowship Hall! Pastor's generosity saved me some internet charges! Here's Pastor and his oldest son, cutting up the son's first elk, in the Fellowship Hall kitchen, with lots of tables, good lighting, etc.































This didn't seem in the least bit out of the ordinary to me, in Cody....but I bet it would raise a few eyebrows back here in Orange County! They will enjoy that elk all winter. They had cut up several roasts, and ground up elk burgers... and I think they mentioned making sausage. Local meat, grown in truly free range style.... on a natural diet of grasses, no chemicals, antibiotics or preservatives.... Yum! The vegetarian side of my brain hesitates, but the meat-eating side of my brain is drooling!

On the way home from town one night, we spotted mule deer close enough to catch on camera... Look at these cuties!












(click on pic to embiggen! All those dots are eyes!)

And here's Mom feeding another couple of cuties!












Back at the house, in the sunroom, Dad keeps an eye on the 23 deer who regularly visit the back pasture.































You can see the quilt top I was making on the floor. The wooden structure Dad is kneeling beside is a carpeted lookout platform he built for Julie and Jinx.... They climb up and look for deer, horses, bunnies.... anything that moves! Well, when they are not basking in the sunlight, snoring....

Strangely, he hasn't seen as many deer since I left. (I don't think he's found the sign I painted and stuck up on the roof "Bambi, go home, deer season has started!")

Here's Mom dishing up Five Star delicious and healthy dinners! Thank you, Mom! Lost another two pounds while I visited - Yay!
















Dad whipped out several knitted caps while I was there....
















And here, we're tackling a most unfortunate knotty problem...












Mom was house/dog sitting for a friend, and I got to meet the Big Black Labs. Sweet dogs! Sweet B I G Dogs!
























Here's a picture of the local quilt shop.... I was so overwhelmed when I got inside I completely forgot to take any pictures.












Fabric fumes, you know. Makes it hard to think.

Meanwhile, the quilt....it was growing!












We had great weather the whole time I was there.... Beautiful views of snow capped mountains...












And a bit of a gentle breeze..... by Cody standards, anyway!!












Yep, 31 mph wind and a high of 47 degrees.... it felt Way Colder than 47!!

And presenting.... the local barn kitties!!
















Here, Dad risks life and limb, to climb up the bales of hay and feed the cats in their private dining room.
















I want you to know....my sister gets it honest. This apparently is a patented family method of helping someone accomplish a chore at a great height...
















See? Here she and her hubby are employing a similar technique for housepainting to the one Dad and Mom were using for kitty feeding!

But back to the kitties...












Here Dad dishes up the gourmet dinner. And they are very appreciative!













But even More Appreciative of the nice belly scratching session after they ate!
















And the quilt top....it is done!
















I've already started an envelope to save for my next trip! Good night all! :)

I'm a Dud at blogging lately.

Well, I've been back for over a week, and my visit to Cody seems forever ago. I have tried to see the sunset here but missed it every single day since I returned. In Cody, the big picture window in the kitchen has an almost daily display, like this.












I've been a dud at blogging lately.... There's been a lot of sad at Chez Bury. Big Sad and little sad and just..... sad. But I'm hoping to distract myself with some quilting this weekend. After all, I have the last block for the Saturday Sampler to do.




























Mine will not have the center medallion, but will have four extra blocks in the middle. When the last one is done, then my quilt blocks can be joined, sashed, bordered, and the finished top can be sent off to Cotie for quilting! I have enough projects to keep me busy for a long loooooooong time, which I guess is a good thing, since Leah's Fabric Gallery is closing. (This is one of the little sads..... we won't even broach the subject of the Big Sad.)















This quilting store has been my home away from home for a very long time, and I will miss it. But I'm happy to say, Teacher Extraordinaire will be teaching at other locations, and that means the Three Amigos and the Little Amigo can stalk follow her and take more classes!

Janet Salcido is a Treasure! I hope I can take classes from her for many more years!

There was a going-out-of-business sale, and of course, I took full advantage. I scored an Eleanor Burns book, Star Log Cabin.... Love it!













I also got a lot of notions at 50% off. I replaced my 16+ year old cutting mat, got some stabilizer and iron on interfacing, etc. I got a walking foot for the Janome 1600 so that I can take it off the HandyQuilter frame and use it as a normal machine for quilting in the ditch, etc, for 50% off. I was kind of pleased with my purchases, sensible and frugal.












Then that Karen, the littlest Amigo....












She kind of lost her head, as you can tell from the picture above. She decided to forego notions, and work this sale from another angle: Stash Enhancement. All fat quarters were on sale at 50% off which brought them down into the $1.00+ range..... Last time I passed the sewing room, she was patting her fat quarters lovingly.....

I'll leave those of you who like puppy porn with a couple cute pix.... Bathtime at Chez Bury will make you smile!




























































(Sadie trying to blend in with the stairs and avoid a bath!)

I am off to make laundry detergent and finish billing my clients. Tomorrow's another day!

:)

Weather Bulletin

Reporting to you from Cody, Wyoming....

Where the temperature is 24 degrees.....

And the wind chill factor is 8 degrees.....

I'm loving it!

Got my work done, and Quilting will happen this afternoon!

:)

From Cody

I’m in Wyoming enjoying a few days with Mom and Dad! Yesterday, we briefly visited the new Veteran’s Memorial while we were in town. I thought it was a really nice one and this is the portion dedicated to the Vietnam veterans. Here’s a picture of some of the memories various visitors have left as they came to pay their respects. Up close, we could read letters and see pictures of some of the troops honored by this memorial.












A sidewalk led to other memorials to other wars, WWI, WWII and Korean, etc.
















This next picture is for Julie…. (Our “Jewels” who is on our transcription team.)

Julie has a sweet black lab, Hauxs, who loves to ride in her little golf cart over their property, down to the mailbox to retrieve the paper, etc…. My mom and dad scored a golf cart recently that was on sale beside the road somewhere… It’s convenient to hop in it and run to the ranch next door, etc, so Mom gave me a ride yesterday. I tried to talk Jinx and Julie (my parents’ furbabies) into going with us, but they were having nothing to do with it.













This might be because of my mother’s reputation for fairly speedy driving in a former life. I was, however, able to talk Spot into going.



























Spot is an antique doorstop dog who has been in the family for about 70 years. He has a constitution of iron….. or some sort of metal! He was perfectly content to ride along, and get some fresh air, before being returned to his rightful place on the bookshelf, holding up some books!

We’ve been running into town from time to time, to pick up internet signal, and to grab a bite to eat at some really great local restaurants. This morning we went to one of my favorite breakfast spots, Our Place, and I had a western omlet and their fantastic coffee! Fantastic flavor, and fantastic price!












I was at Walmart this morning almost before the sun was up…. We rise with the roosters around here and I must have been sleepy and not paying attention, because I “slipped” in Walmart. Worry not…. it was the kind of slip where you “fall”……
















And when you get up…
















You find yourself holding a pile of fabric…. neatly cut and ready to add to your stash back home!

We went up to feed the chickens a little bit ago….












I enjoy chickens! I think they’re cute, for starters, and who can argue with the value of an animal that gives you (eggs) something worth more than it costs you to feed it?












While I was there, I found the answer to the question “Where’s the beef?”












I can vouch for the fact that some of it is at the Double Doc Ranch, because I got to talk to it!

We checked in with a few of the horses while we were there.… they look forward to the occasional treat and pat!
















Once I got home, I put in a little time at the sewing machine. I have the Brick Road all laid out in order around the sewing table (look at Mom’s machine - she’s had it as long as I can remember, and I love it!).












I started sewing them in order and laying them out on the floor in the sunroom.

See what is happening with the colors?? It was completely unintentional that they would line up in diagonal rows of similar colors, but I’m loving it!

I will try to blog again tomorrow!

Christmas Mystery!

This is a collaboration between myself and Dad.... I had the copy cat idea. He has the wood shop and the skill!

I was supposed to pick up these wooden parts in Wyoming next week, but there is a pointy metal part for each one, not seen in the pictures below, which Dad thought could be problematic getting through the terrorist screening process these days.... After all, I so fit the profiling criteria for a terrorist. Especially before I get my make-up on. So he sent them to my house this week, thereby giving me a head start on the finishing process!

Since they weigh about a pound each, and airlines are really inordinately particular these days about how much luggage can weigh....this means I can actually pack underwear for the trip. Believe me, by the time I throw my entire business and laptop and footpedal in the suitcase, there's not room, or weight, left for much else!

Using the same techniques I did on the birdhouses, I am adding some "pretty" to these blocks of wood.

I can't tell anyone what they are..... until Christmas! (although I bet someone will guess before then!)

Ho-Ho-Ho!! :)

UFO Alert!! Do I smell fire?

Michael went out for a walk today, and in the time it took him to pound around his regular route, he spotted a wildfire that doubled in size while he was walking!




















We jumped in the van and went to get a closer peek (being the star lookie-lous that we are) and were happy to see there were already water helicopters (for lack of a proper title!) dropping water from a nearby reservoir on the fire!















(I promise if you click on pictures you will see flames in one, and water 'copter in the other!)




















It was quickly contained, thankfully, and I went back to my sewing room....

So for the UFO....















I got the binding on Wiffie's quilt, with the Grandmother's Garden stitch, all around the edge....















And its done!!
















Sadie checked it over, and approved (or left in search of a chew toy!)















And I have sixteen squares left over, with some black material. I decided I'm going to send the squares to Wiffie. She can make decorative quilted pillows for her new bed, to match the quilt, or she can pass the blocks to Jackie, to make another baby quilt... Tis up to them!

YAY for UFOs!!! Tomorrow, I hope to cut the last Saturday Sampler block and I'll have all four ready to take to Wyoming....

PROGRESS!! :)