I pick up the floor every night before I go to bed (mainly so I don't trip in the dark....) and first thing in the morning, it looks like this:

And one of Allison's Pokemon toys became a chew toy - poor nitoran....

 

It was sunny and 71 degrees yesterday as promised, so the garden got a make-over (got out my pitchfork, and turned the dirt, added fertilizer and fresh dirt, re-turned it) and finished cleaning out the rose garden area and added fresh bark.  A few other odds and ends of yard work got done too - a beautiful day for the yard!

 

Yesterday we had a break in the rain, and I got some yardwork done - and found my day lilies are coming up!  The rain came back in the afternoon, but I was able to get the area off the patio cleaned out and the rose bush trimmed.  I hope to get more done today - we are supposed to be sunny and 75 degrees!!

 

I needed to get a new badge for work (my badge from Columbia Bank was one of the "few that for some reason didn't convert to Umpqua Bank security system" - really???)  So, I needed a new photo for the badge.  I did one with glasses, one with out - and it's official - I'm getting old!  I need to update my photo on the blog too, so that's next on my to-do list today.

Sometimes they are just too cute to not take a picture of...though in this case I was wanting to sit in this chair.  We compromised - I brought in another chair to sit in.....

 

More of my "try new thing" progress - curved piecing for my quilt top.  It's definitely not perfect, but I'm happy with it.  

I also had a supervisor - she makes it hard to press seams though....

 

In keeping with my non-New Year's resolutions to try new things, I made bacon and mushroom stuffed pork tenderloin for dinner the other night.  It turned out pretty tasty, and very pretty!

 

I finally rehung the quilts in the hallway, hoping that the cats have matured enough that the quilts are no longer toys.  They are still playing with them, but they don't seem to be using them as ladders....yet anyway.

 

AJ and I were having fun playing with the photos he took of the cats - zooming in on Jessie's eyes.... 

 

 I made it to Spokane just in front of the winter storm.  Not too much snow, but enough to shut down the freeways due to accidents.  That made the bank shut up offices so everyone could make it home.  I walked, so it was a fun little jaunt!  It got just a bit chilly overnight….

AJ and I built a new chicken run this weekend. The pop-up covers that I had just didn’t seem big enough to keep all of the rain off the chickens. It went together better faster than I thought it would, and was pretty easy, except for all of the zip ties that have to be put on, it came with 250 zip ties….

I'm off to Spokane tomorrow for work, and I think I picked a bad time to go (even though I wasn't the one picking the time.....)  I think I'm going to be very cold.....

 

Every January I usually host a jewelry making party for friends - normally the book club group, but not exclusively them.  This year Robin showed us how to hammer metal out for earrings, and we had so much fun!  I need to go get my own supplies now!  (Yes, it's a need....)  We still worked with beads as well.  It was a fun afternoon.  It was a day of heavy rain outside and hot soups inside (Zuppa Toscana and Minestrone soup minus the pasta - I forgot to add it...) Here are some of the earrings we made - the bowl is a hand-made wooden bowl that Leona's husband made.  I keep my keys in it, and it made a great display for us!

Deb sent me some pictures from Reno showing their 8 inches of snow yesterday, so I sent her these pictures showing our normal winter weather...cloudy/rainy with green fields.....

 

James is a super sweet cat, but she is NOT a lap kitty.  Jessie is in my lap any chance she gets (and is my lap now as I type) but James doesn't ever get in my lap.  Last night, just as I was getting ready to go to bed, she jump up and lay in my lap.  I can't say she curled up in my lap - she's a big cat, but then....how can I go to bed???  I can't bump her out when she never wants to sit with me!  AJ was in visiting with me, and he eventually rescued me, picking her up and holding her for a while. 

You spend all sorts of money on toys for your furry friends, and what entertains them the most? A dropped green bean from your groceries.  I never did find the bean after they made off with it either, so maybe it was a snack too??

 

AJ's annual birthday swim wasn't nearly as exciting this year as it has been in the past.  It was chilly, but definitely not cold!  No ice on the diving board to slip on, no pouring rain to walk through....

 

I dug out a sampler quilt I started last year (or maybe the year before - don't judge me!) and decided to finish it up.  The patterns were published in a quilting magazine as an easy way to learn different techniques - with new block patterns available every two months. One of the reasons I stopped on it was because the next set of blocks were applique - not my favorite!  I decided to perceiver!  These are the applique blocks - not all finished, but at least they are started!

 

We were at 28 degrees when I got up on Sunday - I had to break the ice on the chicken's water!  

 

Ripley says "yo" to everyone.....

 

Mom's Christmas Cactus was actually a New Years Cactus this year.  It just started blooming New Year's Eve.

James must like scaring herself.  I tossed a few toys into the new "catnip infused paper bag" that the cats got for Christmas, and she pulls them out one at a time, jumping each time she pulls one out.  Even Allison was giggling at her - a new "thing" for her - go James!!  I love seeing Alli do new things!

 

One of my unfinished projects that got finished in 2023!  I bought the fabric for this when I made all the other aprons for Rhyoji this summer, but didn't make it for myself.  I'm very happy I finally got it done!!!

 

Oh, the challenges of getting anything done around here!  These were the last of the projects for 2023 I was working on - I got Kirby's quilt and the gray quilt finished (except for washing and drying - that's on hold until the dryer is fixed....)  I also got my Christmas quilt top finished and sandwiched up, and the pinwheel quilt top finished and sandwiched.  I had to lock Jessie in my bedroom to do the sandwiching, but she still let herself out.  Everyone had to help me on building the sandwich.....