Greetings Dear Reader, 

I know I have one reader. Thank you to my dear friend for the $100 contribution to our “Save the Greens” fund. Since my last post a travel trailer was lent to us by some very dear friends that we have known for almost 45 years. We met them at church one Sunday, 2 weeks after the birth of their first daughter, Sarah. I was expecting my first child so was eager to take a look at the new baby and introduce myself to the new mother. To this day I think she was the prettiest baby I’ve ever seen. Downy dark hair, rosy cheeks and red lips so perfectly shaped and tiny. She was miraculous. Babies! It was all new to me, mysterious, scary and exciting. Her mother was beautiful and confident. We became best friends.  Her husband, Dave was vibrant and fun and has remained so all these years later. Our growing families were our joy. We were filled with love in all good things and were faithful churchgoers at the time.  There were many other young couples at this new church group. They all were such beautiful people and we all became good friends. We loved God and enjoyed singing, praying and chatting together in that cheerful, welcoming atmosphere. Those were the days, eh? 

Hubby and I had been married about 7 months when we picked up and  moved to Truckee, California to start our life together. We visited some friends that were living in Truckee and fell in love with the beauty of the area. We were young and free, we could make our life anywhere! We chose the mile high Sierras near Donner Lake.  You know, the site of the unlucky Donner Party who ate each other one terrible winter when they were stranded in the snow and couldn’t find anything else to eat?  Maybe not such a good choice; like getting married in February and dooming ourselves to gloomy cold and wet anniversaries for the rest of our married life? Anyway, we got off to a good start those first few years in Truckee. 

Thank you Dave and Debbie for your steadfast love in Christ and for us. We certainly don’t deserve it, but are grateful, nonetheless. God is good.  Dark clouds were on the horizon for hubby and me, however. That’s another post, for another day. Until, then, dear reader, Tata.

Folks, our house fell off the foundation during the 12/20/2022 CA, Earthquake around 2:35-2:45 a.m. The gas line broke beneath the meter and the Fortuna Fire Department answered our 911 call quickly to cap off the gas line. The sounds of a rushing river were heard under the house and our dear neighbor, Neal had the proper tool to shut off the water main coming onto the property from the alley way.

We slept in our car until daybreak, thankful we had enough gas in the car to turn the heater on occasionally.

It looks ok from the outside, but the house fell down 2 feet and slid to the South another 18 inches according to the Structural Engineer. Not a window was broken, but the inside floors fell away from the walls. And it is downright scary inside!

Finding a contractor who isn't already swamped with work is proving challenging. Loans need a contractor's bid. Our dearest daughter secured a longterm  Airbnb for us to stay in, but we have less than 2 weeks to find new housing. We are on multiple property management lists and are looking into purchasing a used travel trailer. Does anyone have one we can rent? The timing of everything is a big question. If we purchase a trailer will that interfere with getting a loan to fix the house? There isn't any water or electricity to the property, so is a trailer the best thing to do? We are not prepared to put down first and last months rent and a security deposit as well as $1500/mo rent. We paid off the home years ago and are both on fixed incomes, now. So, we really are in a pickle. I saw the option on Paypal to put up a donation link on my social media sites or websites. It seems too easy and I hope it is legal. I will check it out next week and give more information, when I call my bank during business hours. If you want to take a chance and donate to my PayPal account it will go towards “Saving the Greens!” No money for building supplies or construction as we have a loan and that already and it would be fraud to receive money for that. 

Sincerely,

Lala

A return to the “Before Times?” Is it possible?

 Yesterday I got a call from a sewing teacher saying her weekly classes were going to begin again at our favourite quilt shop.  I was ecstatic. I have not heard from anyone, locally in the past 2 years. It was a lovely feeling of hope, like life was coming back after a terrible winter and I’m seeing new growth for the first time. I had settled in to my life of isolation, with brief visits to the market for groceries and chatting with the postal clerks behind plexiglass for the obligatory questions of  “ anything harmful, hazardous, liquid, perishable or fragile?”  If I’m energetic, I will stop them in their spiel of, “here is your tracking number.” and circling the spot to fill out a survey about my visit to the Post Office that day. I’ve already given everyone the highest marks and typed the names of the individual clerks in the comment section. Doing my small part to thank the only people that have kept me connected to the human race in the last 2 years. Family, have we ever appreciated them more? I have 2 adult sons living at home, various cats, dearest hubby a daughter that keeps in touch through iMessage and phone calls. To them and all my digital friends I say, “Thank you!”

A new kitty, Peerie has been a welcome addition to the household since June 7th, 2022

Time for a new Post: Yes, I'm Still Breathing; I can Hardly Believe it Myself.

It has only been a few years since the last post. The Corona Virus has kept the world in lockdown since March of 2020. Some people were sick maybe as early as December 2019. Most of the activities of our daily lives have been put on hold since March 2020. We've been vaccinated now and the CDC says the masks can come off. California's mask requirement was lifted yesterday, June 15th, 2021.  Today, I went for a walk with my adult son by the Eel River for the first time in over a year. It is time to say goodbye to some unhealthy habits that mysteriously began with the lockdown. Besides a lack of exersise, Hubby and I began eating bag after bag of candy orange slices. What was that about? We craved sweets like never before.  Both of us put on ten pounds that we didn't need.

It was nice to have a big tv, the internet, Netflix and Amazon Prime for entertainment; and Facetime on our iPhones for keeping in contact with my daughter whom I could not hug for over a year. I am a compulsive crafter, artist and do anything but housework person. So it doesn't take much for me to be able to entertain myself. Above is a digital drawing using Adobe Fresco and the Apple Pencil on the iPad. Also....

silly things on paper:

I dye yarn:

Organizing information is another pastime, like this handy graphic I made to help me remember the Kitchener Stitch. Feel free to copy it and print it up on some card stock to keep it handy in your knitting bag.

I designed a knitted crop top for my daughter called, Autumn Crop Top.  I didn't finish it until May of 2021, so she modeled it in the Spring. 

I can't change the name of the Pattern because it would not be suitable for the drawing that I originally made when the idea first entered my brain. All my ideas start with a picture in my imagination, then a drawing, then a name before actually creating something. Then all the problems have to be sorted out. Like making the pattern understandable so I can repeat it the next time.

Other designers are better at making patterns than I am. Here is a crop top by Boyland Knitworks called Soldotna. It was a very popular pattern for many knitters. I made two for my daughter using Malabrigo Yarn.

My sweet cat, Goku, died and I had a terrible flu at the end of January and into February,  2020. It left me so breathless I went to the Dr. in March. She ordered an xray, but the Covid lockdown began in earnest and I never made it into the lab for a test.

Other cats have kept us company.

Raziel, and Chrono:

Living through fire season for the last 3 summers has been difficult and sad. As July and August approach Californians get more and more tense. I wish there could be a huge building project that would take the floodwaters of the Midwest and deliver it through a pipeline to the Southwest to help us with drought and fires. Simplistic, I know, but it would still be nice to save that water, somehow.

Sun Bonnet Sue Applique

Sunbonnet Sue appliqués with embroidered bouquets. These fabrics have been collected from scraps of fabric used to make skirts, dresses, shorts or costumes for my one and only daughter. Each scrap is a memory of an occasion in her life growing up. It will be a memory quilt for her. I better hurry up and finish it before we are both old ladies!
On a side note, it is Election Day 2016. It's been 97 years since women were allowed to vote! Maybe a woman will be president? Will it be a victory? Only Time will tell.

My daughter's shawl looks lovely on her. Thank you, Bev of Boo-Knits for a beautiful design called Painted Memory.

Boo Knits Design, Painted Memory

My daughter's shawl looks lovely on her. Thank you, Bev of Boo-Knits for a beautiful design called Painted Memory.