the Birds & the beads!

I got these cool beads from my friend Kathy Jolman as part of my Christmas gift from her. The podlike bead, is a vessel that can hold something like an essential oil. I got a2 new lenses for my camera from my DH, & played with them yesterday & today.
I just stuck my head out the door & snapped pictures of the Redpoles,

Nuthatch,

Chickadees,
& Grossbeaks.

Inside Broccoli was being teased by the squirrel...

A Winter Saturday

Here's a quick post about what I did yesterday.

This little quilt top was made by Bonnie Walker, a member of our quilt guild, ALCQ . She donated it, & I took it home to finish for the Teddy Bear & Friends Tea that happens in November. We make little quilts to go with teddy bears or other stuffed animals, & they get donated to local organizations to be given out to kids in need for Christmas. I thought the flying geese top would be perfect for the little gray goose/ugly duckling that I had. So in just a few hours I had it quilted & bound. I have to say, I felt really rusty when I first started quilting on it. It's been a while since I'd quilted anything larger than my Journal quilts!

Broccoli was setting in our bedroom, bird watching again. The bird feeder is on the upper level above this window, so the birds frequently spend time on the ground here, by this window. When we start our landscaping, I want to put a little water feature outside this window. Moon rise was beautiful last night. The photo is a little blurred, but it gives you an idea of how pretty it was.

Winter Day in Alaska

You know winter is really here in Alaska when the bird feeder can go back up. We HAVE to take them down in spring time because of the bears.
My Brocolli cat loves bird watching.


It was such a pretty day yesterday. I spent most of the day near the fire watching tv & just vegetating. I found the Beta button last night & switched to Beta. It does seem to be easier, & I don't seem to have lost anything by switching. I had saved my template just in case, but when I logged on this morning, it looked the same on the surface, & loading pictures was much faster.
This last image is a set of 7 antique copper stamps thatI got from Ebay. There were 2 sets that I wanted, but somebody else wanted them too, & after I bid high enough to get this one, I decided I didn't want to spend that kind of money to get both sets.

Thank You

First, I want to say thank you to all of you who have commiserated with me with good wishes for my sister. She will be having a double mastectomy on Oct. 9th, so we would appreciate any good thoughts & prayers you can send her way.
Below is a copy of a clipping from our local paper. The title said this little girl wanted cards from Alaska, but what the article really said was from all over the US. Well, I know there are folks from around the world out there who might be willing to send this little girl a card, so I thought I'd put this here & hope some of you will. I'll be making one of my quards for her.

I've mostly been working these past few days, but got to spend a little time in my studio today, & Broccoli helped to entertain & chase some of my worries away for a few minutes. He went berserk over some soft Menkie fabric that I bought.



In the morning we will be heading down to Homer. It's about a 5 hour drive south of Anchorage. It'll be beautiful this time of year.We'll be staying at the Old Town B&B. I love Homer, Alaska. It is such a beautiful place. It's a small town, mostly supported by fishing & tourism, & it's full of artists. I'd love to live there, if only I could talk my DH into moving one last time.
I'll be taking a painting class from Stewart Cubley, & best of all, I get 14 nursing CEU's for it! I could hardly believe my luck when it came in the mail. I suspect it was the hand of Fate in play though, because this will be just the therapy I need right now. Don't expect any pictures of great paintings from me. This is paint therapy, it's more a process than a technique.
So I'll leave you with this image shot from my back door this evening. I'll be back October 5th.