Breakfast?

On these cold dreary rainy days I like hot oatmeal with raisins and a hot drink for breakfast to help chase away the wintery blues.

Didn't work this morning though because, after seeing Kristine off to work, checking on the chickens and taking Morgan for a walk, I ate my cereal and went back to bed.

Well, it is dark all day and I guess I'm tired and getting rid of this cold and my sleep switch is confused by not having any sun around. That's my story.

I like my oatmeal with milk (cream if I can get it) and sprinkled with brown sugar. If there is no brown sugar to be found I like maple syrup or honey.

I love this oatmeal even though it takes ten minutes to cook. It is stone ground and has a great texture and flavor. I'm getting hungry looking at the photo.

My favorite hot drink lately is ginger tea. I peel fresh ginger root, chop it up and freeze it so it is always ready when I want to add a few pieces to my cup.  The ginger tea is very simple to make.

Here is what I do:

1. Add about an inch worth of ginger root to the cup.
2. Add juice of one lemon (or how much you want.)
3. Add boiling water.
4. Add honey to taste. 

I guess it is what I would have called hot lemonade with ginger before I read about ginger tea.

I like the peppery taste of ginger and it really does warm me up.

I have been playing around with crocheting trying to remember how to read the directions and how to make the different stitches.

What I really need to do is move the furniture around in my room so I can make a large enough clear space on the floor to lay out the quilt layers and baste them together. I think a lot about moving the furniture, but I haven't come up with the will power yet to get the job done. Tomorrow?

And always at the back of my mind is the whole disaster going on in Japan. Maybe that's why I went to sleep. It was a good way to get away from thinking about the whole terrible mess.

This article (Reuters) or this article (PerthNow) quotes a Russian Chernobyl nuclear clean up specialist, Iouli Andreeve, who does not inspire confidence when it comes to believing news about radiation leaks in Japan and about possible radiation making it to different parts of the world.  Nothing I can do about it, but I sure wish I could get information that didn't sound like double talk.

If those plants really do melt down then everyone is in the radiation stew pot.

I can understand why the powers that be down play the eventualities because what are people supposed to do, where will they go? ... if people panic there will be a bigger disaster. I'm not going to worry. Can't do anything anyway. I think I'll go hang out with the chickens.

No eggs today. The chickens are confused by the dark days and all the rain too...

Rain Came And Keeps On Coming

Rain is forecast everyday up to the 24th (10 day forecast) and then who knows... more rain? I hope there are not too many rain related problems on the mountain because there are already mudslides on the highway. I heard a lot of sirens today.

I took this photo because there is smoke coming out of the chimney. There is something really nice about seeing chimney smoke on a cold rainy day. We don't usually see any smoke because our wood stove burns the smoke up after it gets going nice and hot. The stove smokes when we first light it or add more wood to the fire.

The chickens are not happy with having to stay in their coop and pen even though they are dry they would love to be out tearing through the leaf litter. I really am amazed by all the rain... and maybe snow.

The chickens give me such a look and talking to when I go out to feed them in the morning. It is going to get really soggy around here.


Let us out!

I am drawn to find out more about the earthquake and tsunami. For hours I stay away from the news, but finally give in and check to see what's happening. I guess my own experience with a large earthquake, becoming homeless, and perhaps not ever really getting over the disorienting scary experience has left me prey to having to find out the latest news.

Anyway, I'm posting a link to some before and after photos of the coast

 There is a 2nd page.

ABC News - Before and After Photos

I wish I had been blogging in 1989. I could have put together some interesting stuff to post . Wish I could get those images out of my head and digitize them. Maybe someone will come up with a great invention in the future that will enable us to capture our memories and save or print them. I've always thought that if someone can think it up, then there will be someone/s who will be able to figure out how to do it.

 The rain was very heavy last night. We don't often get that loud pounding rain. It will be interesting to see if we actually get more snow toward the end of the week.

3 eggs today 

What to do, What to do?

Here is the top half of the quilt.

I'm down to cutting the last piece.

Should I use the silver blue or

the more colorful flower print?

I spent way, way too much time trying to enlarge

the katakana characters for my daughter's name.

Next step is to try out the freezer paper method

and see if I can make fabric letters.

Never used the freezer paper method.

I'm still playing around with the fabric flowers.

I've decided tomorrow

I need to lay the whole quilt top out on the floor.

Because that is the only way I am going to be able

to figure out what color strip to cut.

I have this idea running around in my head

about a tree of some kind

appliqued on/over the quilt top.

Something to tie the quilt together.

Maybe stitch the silhouette?

Or needle turn?

Or something fishy?

I'll have to wait until tomorrow and see the whole thing.

I'm getting to this scary place

where I don't know if I like the choices I made.

I do like how the colors go together.

I remember a quilter telling me that it is very hard

to make a quilt when someone else is picking the fabric.

I'm out of my safety zone.

Sometimes something really neat happens

when I try something new.

Here is a photo of my drinking water!

This lake supplies the water for our little town.

And it is a great place to picnic!

Smiles