Ramblings

Today is a cool cloudy day. As I've been in and out the back door tending to dogs, fetching the laundry in, or just puttering, I have noticed that the leaves are starting to fall, leaving bare looking trees at the edge of the woods. I also noticed this as I drove back from our small town Post Office and was immediately reminded of the cool wintry evenings that are ahead of us. Seeing the trees with their lonely limbs stretched out reminds me of the "quiet solitude" that winter brings... as I step outside in the evenings to observe the stars I am struck with the extense of the Universe and the quiet calm that surrounds me (until a cars passes that is!). I do enjoy winter, although I have to admit that I prefer to stay where it is warm on most days! :o)

"The Shop Off the Back Porch"
Today we once again began toting our laundry out to the shop to be washed. Yesterday "Mr-Fix-It-Man" came to "fix" our new HE washer. It has been sounding like a plane preparing to take off during the spin cycle for sometime now and come to find out the bearing that the drum sits in is bad, so the drum and bearing both have to be replaced (IF I am understanding this right... which I think I am). It's going to be a week or two before he can get the parts and get back out here, so in the meantime we are thanking the Lord for an extra washer AND for a warranty that should cover the fix-it-process! I find it so amazing to see how He orchestrates things and provides for our needs!
Staying on top of the laundry is crucial now...

"Puppy Love"
Sayre brought in three "little" puppies after lunch... what sweet hearts! They tuck their heads up under your arm and go to sleep or, if you hold them just right, will look at you with their sleepy eyes and yaaawn really big.
Sawyer is becoming more and more attached to them with each passing day. He almost cried when I took them back to their Momma earlier.

"Mother & Daughter Shopping"
Momma and I headed out bright and early yesterday morning for the BIG Sale at Hancock's and had a wonderful time together! We got everything that is needed to finish the quilt top in addition to the other things that were needed. There was quite the sale going on... notions, buttons, thread, quilting supplies, ribbon, certain fabrics, etc... was all fifty percent off. Everything we purchased was fifty percent off AND we got an extra ten percent off each and every item at the register! We came out of there elated and ready to go hibernate in the sewing room!

I've been able to make some progress on my Fall/Winter Projects.

"The Cross-Stitch"
I began working on my cross-stitch pattern a week ago last night and quickly realized that I was going to become "hooked" on it! I've been working on it mainly in the evenings but I have also managed to find time during the day to work on a section or two! :o) Cross-stitch is a great thing to do in attempt to use the bits and pieces of sitting to the best advantage; I've been doing it while a movie plays, while a conversation takes place, during the Sunday drives to church or other places (although it can get tricky on some of the bumpier roads!), or during quick get off my feet for a minute. I LOVE it!

"Saw-wa's Blanket"
Sawyer's Christmas present is also in the works! I was able to sew the edges down last week but had to wait till I was able to get floss before I could really begin work on it.
As a side note: Sawyer knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is his!!! He meandered into the dining room last week with it clutched it in his arms and informed me that "this is mine bing bing"! I definitely underestimated his memory. Oh well, maybe if I remove it from the sewing room and keep it out of sight. I wonder if the saying "out of sight, out of mind" is really true... I suppose I'll be finding out real soon!!!

The rest of this afternoon will be spent in the sewing room as I'm working on some cooling cloths and gifts bags for our neighbor. I hope y'all have a terrific afternoon and evening!