Axel

Monday was a very sad day at my house. 

Now there is a huge hole in our family, in our house, in our hearts.

We had to say good bye to Axel. Sunday he started downhill and by Monday morning.... he was in pretty sad shape. Axel already had a myriad of health issues, that we were keeping at bay with lots of work and some rather uncomfortable means, he wore an E-collar most of the time, but we really weren't ready to say goodbye so fast. We saw it coming... sort of like a train, but we thought we would be able to ease into goodbye.

Axel about 5 in Chicago

He was almost 13, which is not terribly old for a dog, but those 13 years felt like much longer. He was game for anything any time. He was almost my shadow. By that I mean he knew where I was all the time... but didn't have to be in my face or underfoot. If I left the house he waited for me to come home, and according the husband, he would howl and be very impatient for me to come in, when he heard the garage door go up. It didn't matter if I was gone for 10 minutes or 10 days.

He was my dog. 

Axel about 2 years old in Nebraska

These are my 2 favorite pictures of him. His presence or to be more precise the lack of his presence is palpable. I notice it. He was a big dog with a big personality. I know the pain of missing him will lessen, some day.

Of course we still have Linzi, and she seems relatively unaffected, although, I think she is just wondering when he will come home. I would like him to come home too.

Fall Color!

The fall in Kentucky was slow…. Starting. One of the maples didn’t do much in the way of turning before dropping leaves, but the other…had some very nice reds and yellows, which are nearly all gone now. I did manage a few minutes at the little local lake… and thought I’d share.

Color! Just 2 red and yellow.

Color… across the pond, really a small pond.

A bunch of trees…. With some color

Almost a 2 color, brown and yellow and a bit of green.

Many trees are bare, and those that aren’t will be soon, as the wind patterns start to change and the wind begins blowing from the north, the oaks will finally let go of their dried brown leaves.

And Linzi! She is almost 6 now.

Enjoy these final crisp breezy days…. More later, Beth

The Chicken Dance

I am still getting ready for the Thread Painting class in September. I have the elephant done, the flower basket done and the 3 flower piece done as far as it will be going…. Until after the class. I am toying with one more idea- either painted or done with TAP paper (to cheat and not have to paint)…. But before I could do that I had to finish a really fun project that I have been working on for a year. Really a little longer than that… because I started it in late 2009, but the original plan did not work… so it waited until I was ready to make it into something else.

You will remember this part, I posted it … as a top in June 2013.

 

It done and has a name… I have decided to call it “Foul Play on the Dance Floor” and it now has a label, too. The red and white checker board did not work very well with the Chickens. So I turned it into this quilt, which while it reminds me of a chess/checker board, has nothing to with Chickens, but we can still have fun with a name! The Foul in this is, aside from the design errors, the thread I used to quilt it…. OMG, I will never use this brand again… break break break… while Free Motioning… the thread did not mind the Accufeed, (Janome’s name for the walking foot) at all, though. Too bad my construction was not quite spot on… Oh well… I just didn’t want to waste the fabric… so I made it work!

and now Part II of the original design has been finished too.

The whole time I was working on it, it brightened the room. I am beginning to think, I like bright…. bright, bright!

It is titled “Foul Play at the Chicken Dance”. Anyone that has been to a wedding had done the Chicken Dance (or at lease seen it performed). There was some foul play along the way… like, after having my sewing machine service, the tech did not wipe down all the areas where grease (black grease), did not belong. So I had to remake 2 of the borders Also on the back is the leftover chicken that did not make it to the front. He has a broken heart, because as is often a case –or as so many novels and movies portray, a new relationship …. may end and another bloom at a wedding. Another foul, I did not consider… was that the wool batting would not block the front from showing through… Oh well… I wanted to use wool because I have it… (you can see the front… coming through).

I sent it to a long armer for quilting. It does make me want my own long arm even more!

       

Two of the chickens… and a bit of a border.

I was going to bead the chickens, but they really didn’t become any more special with the beads, so I removed what I had on it.

And to end… while I was trying to get some pictures of the Chix…. Linzi decided she wanted to be photographed and a not so great picture of Axel, with his totally healed ear!!! Hooray!

      

More Later-Beth

Good News!

Axel did not have to have another surgery. In the 2 weeks we waited for another surgery to repair the ear, it healed. His hematoma was drained again, and then his ear was taped down. It seems this time the healing did much better. To cement the healing, he is going to remain taped for another 2 weeks at which time he will be rechecked and we will decide if he can finally be free of the cone and tape.

There is some bad news though. The blood test shows that while he does not appear to have Cushing's or Addison's Disease, (what we thought he might have),  he is showing early signs of kidney failure, which is really very early signs of Renal failure. None of is levels came back as extremely high (what would be considered outside of the normal range, but on the high end of normal), and we are catching it early… it means that he will have to go on a prescription diet (‘kidney diet’). One company that makes it, has corn starch in it-, and while they claim, it is not corn… IT IS IF YOUR DOG IS ALLERGIC TO CORN!!! and that is the one we will have to go with, because the other company  has ‘ground corn’ as the one of the 1st 5 ingredients…too much real corn!!!

Of course as soon as I mentioned the weather (last post)…. it changed. It was grey, humid and cloudy all last week. The occasional peeks of sun were short and watery at best -but that is good, otherwise we would have had stronger thunder storms. One thing we did NOT need by Thursday was any more rain. And this week, (the last week before the official celestial start of summer) is going to feel like SUMMER. Very hot and HUMID! One of the thunderheads.

You know its hot when the robins are panting…. It wasn’t talking, it was just sitting on the fence.

More later. Beth

Whats Up?

Has it really been a more than a month since I last posted? Just goes to show I really live a rather boring life…

The weather has finally turned to more summer than spring… And so far the weather has been spectacular!!! Not too hot and humid, but I’m sure those days are coming! I have not been outside with a camera in several months… I am going to have to fix that soon!

The kids and DGS packed up and moved to a warmer climate in May. They did not like the long cold and very brutal winter here.  We hope they like Texas better, and so far I think they do… This was taken the day before they left- DGS turned 3 earlier in the month.

I have been working on a quilt, but I am not ready to reveal the whole thing. But here is a picture to tease… you.

I have sent it to the Longarmer for quilting. I just didn’t want wrestle it through the sewing machine to quilt it myself.

I have had a house guest… also quilty! She was in the area for another obligation and came early and stayed a bit late to visit.  Hi Kelly.

She also brought gifts!!! Always nice.

The other bit of time consumption and keeping me close to home, has been Axel the Monster Dog. He has once again spent too much time and money at the vet. This time for a hematoma (similar to a blood blister) on his left ear. We drained it twice and each time it came back so finally a surgical fix. He had the stitches out on a Monday and by Thursday was back because it didn’t stick! So, it was drained again and more surgery again next week.  He will have some blood tests done too, as we think he has an underlying disease that is causing the ear (and him), to not heal as well as is expected. The poor guy has been living in a cone with one ear taped down, for nearly 8 weeks and he has a month more time in it after the surgery. In the meantime he acquired and ear infection… the medication for that -ear drops- is $65 for a 15 ml bottle, (1 Tablespoon!!!).

Doesn’t he just look so sad?

I am busy working on some thread painting… objects. They are fun… I had forgotten how much dimension thread can add; to commercial fabrics!!!  Here are a couple of pictures… Nothing too revealing, since they are not yet done…

 

The flower basket is more traditional and the elephant… will have much in the way of embellishment and sparkle. I will show and share -more later!

Beth

Big News… no pictures

Well the date I alluded to in the last post is now a known thing!

I have another date to share first. Next weekend is IQCAfrica! The International Quilt Convention Africa. It’s a big deal for South Africa. It’s only a 3 day event. I don’t think there will be much in the way of a quilt show. But there are workshops and vendors (many from the USA). I am taking an all day workshop on all 3 days. I will be spending time with Susan Brubaker-Knapp on Friday and Saturday taking her “Dragonfly Sketching” and “Start with a Photo” workshops. On Sunday I will be doing the “Goodbye to the Grid” with Dena Crane of Kenya. I will be staying at the venue- something I wouldn’t do if I were in the states, but the traffic daily between Pretoria and Johannesburg is just too unpredictable…. and why should I waste 2-3 hours a day driving?

I am looking forward to a weekend to myself, sewing and relaxing…. no meals to cook, no dogs to look after (not that I mind), a small break before the pace picks up.

The other date? We have orders! That means we are now able to start the move. In just a bit over 6 weeks we should be back in the USA. Our next location is Washington DC…. Of course we will be in a hotel until we find a house, which might be a little iffy, since we have 2 dogs. Everyone ‘says’ they have good dogs… even if they aren’t. The good thing is, mine are -Good Dogs. Neither chews on furniture or digs in the yard…. and are generally well behaved. But we will have to try and convince property owners of their good behavior. So if you are a real estate agent; or have a house to rent or sell…. let me know!!!

To complicate things, the office I work for is being relocated to Johannesburg right now too. Next week I begin the physical move of our warehouse of parts. Not a small task!!! It took me and a crew of four workers to get everything palletized and wrapped to move. Next week we take the first load of shelves and pallets…. and begin to unload and shelve the stuff. I think it will take me 4 weeks to get it all moved, organized and situated….

As usual, more later!  Beth

The Fast Lane

Since my last post about Mark…. life here has hit the FAST lane, well that is how it seems. Sure there has been down time… but not enough to do much with and certainly, nothing to write on the blog about, and the time thieves (those little things that eat up the time… but you can’t remember). Of course it doesn’t help when we are waiting for “The DATE”. I don’t think I have mentioned here on the blog…. that we will be returning to the states. 1 year before our tour is up, and a bit earlier than the 5 year plan we came with. The DH has been offered a new position, and of course he accepted. We will be returning to the DC area!!! Of course all the headaches that come with a move are now showing up. But more about those as they become more of a reality…. Once we have a date, it should move really fast.

One of the time thieves -one of my co workers was moving… and needed some assistance. She had some scheduling conflicts… so I volunteered to sit with the movers while they packed her belongings. The next week I took her to a medical test…. and picked her up later in the day. The other was Axel, since we have been here… his allergy thing has been much easier than in the states, but for some reason he has had 3 subcutaneous cysts burst. The most recent one was on his neck…. can we just say oh YUCK!!!! The physical part is easy, but it’s the twice a day meds that take up the time… and energy.

In the quilting department (and finally some pictures)… I have completed 2 more Birthday blocks for my friends and took my turn hosting the ladies. I nearly forgot that my date for hosting was at the end of June…. whew… I made Baked Ziti for dinner and strawberry short cake for dessert. It was delicious.

At the beginning of June we celebrated Corriannes birthday. She selected birdhouses for her blocks and provided a black background and a color swatch…. we could make any size of block…. She wanted ‘bright’ primary colors.

In the middle of the month we celebrated Laetitias birthday. Her block was very specific in size and background, which she provided. She has a plan and wanted a flower. If she had provided more background I would have made another!!!! Somehow I let that block out of the house without a picture!

The small group, belongs to the larger group, the Jacaranda Quilters Guild of Pretoria. Each small group was asked to make a block to represent their small/home group. This was our block. We have all participated in the building of the block in some way. I did the quilting!!!

I also finished the last of the baby boy quilts. I was planning to ship it, but I don’t think I can squish it down enough to fit in the size box I can ship from here, (10” x 8” x 2”).

I also had to put a sleeve on the black, white & bright quilt, so it could be hung at a small show. So I spent a morning playing with a little Embroidery machine, a Brother, I bought before we left the states…. WoW how much fun can they be? I put the name of the quilt on the Sleeve, playing with several fonts and thread colors. I can see how and why some have the ‘super duper’ embroidery machines.

In between these few quilty things…. I have entered a baking contest at the Embassy 4th of July Party. And I won! THE Category (Brownie/Blondie), THE Extra Ingredient (macadamia nuts) and THE Overall Best Dessert!!! I submitted the Blondies and the Decadent Chocolate Brownie. Woo Hoo! I have sort of established myself as a baker here. I usually make something for the bake sale table and for the quilters, I take the dessert to the hostess. Sometimes its extravagant, like cheesecake, but sometimes as simple as snicker doodle cookies.

A Sad Post

My cat, Spaz, is at the Rainbow Bridge. He’s been a part of many moves and ventured 1/2 way around the world with us. I didn’t want to bring him with us (to South Africa), because he was already an old cat, and I felt the flight would cause too much stress  for him. I don’t think he was bothered by the flight as much as the 10 days at the kennel waiting- while our house was readied. He was accustomed to moving, since we move frequently!
Spaz, came along in 1995. I was working for a national retail Pet Supply chain at the time. While visiting a store in Chula Vista CA, I saw Spaz, at 6 weeks old. The manager had rescued a litter of kittens that had been abandoned and said they would be ready in 2 weeks. He was the only part Tabby part Siamese in the litter. I came back 2 weeks later and took him home. DH wasn’t happy but I worked for the chain and could get supplies at cost and some vet care done as well for next to nothing. Of course the work relationship ended shortly after that… but that is another story, really not worth telling.

When I brought Spaz home, we had a 4 year old Yorkie “Juju” and we had adopted an adult Rottweiler, Shayna a few months earlier. Our neighborhood was a little ‘iffy’ at the time, DH worked nights then -so we thought a big dog would be a good thing. . The yorkie wasn’t really interested in Spaz, but Shayna loved the attention and would let Spaz hang on her face! Climb, run, jump and attack…. from every angle. It was so funny to watch those to play… that little light colored kitten and that huge dark Rottweiler making hugely ferocious noises. Juju on the other hand… was your typical grouchy yorkie. Spaz out lived both of those dogs and was really happiest when we didn’t have any dogs….. but then we got Axel. Axel just never “got” that the cat wasn’t a toy! Spaz was too old to want to play with a dog, so he decided to not have anything to do with dogs. And because he thought Axel was too much, Linzi was classified the same. Although Linzi seemed to have the same level of interest in a cat as the cat in a dog.

Spaz’s only job, from the beginning, was to purr, decorate the furniture and to look good from the beginning. His only real responsibility was to take care of any mice that made it into the house. He must have done a good job, because we haven’t had any mice in the house since bringing him home. Just like the dog thing, he wasn’t much into people either. Just me, (maybe the DH by default if I wasn’t home).  He was happiest when I climbed into bed each night and he got to settle down next to me.

There is a huge hole in my daily life now that he is gone. He was an extremely easy keeper; but it’s the little things … like a fresh sip of water every time we used the bathroom tap, adding food to the bowl because the bottom was visible, making the bed with a cat on it and a greeting at bedtime.

Spaz is waiting for me at the Rainbow Bridge now, along with all my other furry friends…  and someday we will ALL be reunited.

Beth

Time is getting short....

Ok, today is for tying up all the loose ends.

Axel 'the monster dog'-


is going to the kennel, with a stop at the vets for a months worth of food and a stop at Petsmart for a regular E-collar. He has some major allergies, one of which is mold and with all the rain in the north eastern part of Illinois.... mold is in the air. So he is worrying his feet.



Making sure that the cat, Spaz -
has all the things he will need...(the pet/house sitter came by yesterday for final instructions and key), clean litter, food and water.



Checking that all the stuff outdoors is either nailed down or put away, so that it won't interfer with the mowing crew,



and



last but not least my visit with the Chiropracter and massage therapist.... (which is done).



I still have to finish filling the suitcases and a little light house keeping before I leave, but I think it's all under control.