Friday, October 31, 2008

Long time, no post...

Happy Halloween!

So, I left my DH and DS at home to continue working on the house while I went down to Houston to the International Quilt Market and Festival from Thursday-Monday. (For those not interested in quilts, scroll down and you'll find some info on our house projects.)

On Friday, my sister and I and a friend of hers spent the day attending 14 different 15 or 30 minute classes. These classes were to introduce shop owners to new techniques, new books, new fabric lines, etc. The three of us picked out our favorite classes and went our own way until we met up for lunch. After lunch, we again went in different directions to more classes.

These photos are from a class on knitting fabric into squares that you can then incorporate into your quilt. This photo is actually using yarn to knit the squares. The squares are then quilted with different designs. It was a very interesting effect...(click on photo for a larger view)

The solid squares in this quilt were also knitted, but they were knitted using 1/4" strips of fabric. This was also a very interesting effect...
This class was on spiral quilts and introduced a new book that the teacher had just had published...
There were also classes on purse-making. I attended 2 of these. My sister went to one of them with me and ended up winning the raffle in that class. She was given the new City Bag templates from Nancy Zieman. Very cool! These are some of the purses from the other purse class I attended...
On Saturday (all day) and Monday morning we went to the vendor area and had the opportunity to see all the new items that are on the market now. There were lots of freebies and much walking, and we had a great time.

Later Monday morning and early afternoon, we walked over to the Quilt Festival area where there were many amazing quilts on display. Here are a few of my favorites...

This one won a first place award, I think. Most of the quilts hadn't been judged yet, but this one had a large ribbon next to it. Here is a close-up of the horses...
And here is the info about the quilt...
This chicken was fun, and very beautiful!
Here is the quilt info...
Another beautiful quilt - I think it was done by the same quilters as the horse quilt...
Detail of the wings...
And info on the quilt...
This quilt made me think of "Critter", a donkey who lives near Teresa, a fellow blogger and quilter...
Here is the quilt info...
This one just cracked me up!
Here is the quilt info...
So, with our kids grown, I was missing our pumpkin carving tradition, so I bought myself a pumkin and carved this jack-o-lantern this morning. In case you can't figure out what it is, it is window panes with 3 ghosts peeking out (top one is upside-down)...
Our lawn has come in nicely. This was the first area that DH planted and it looks like a real lawn now!
This is out back, the second area that he planted. It's also looking pretty good...
This is how it looks near the pool. You can just barely see the grass starting to come up. It may not grow anymore until Spring, but at least it has taken root...
The areas on each side of the driveway haven't sprouted yet...
And this area beside the garage still hasn't been seeded yet...
We had a load of topsoil delivered today.
It will be used to fill in these last 2 areas between the front door and the garage...
DH has been working on the HVAC system. He added a more efficient air filter unit and a whole house humidifier.
DH and DS also closed up the pool while I was in Houston. Next year I think we'll close it up before the leaves start to fall...
There - I hope my blog is happier now that it has been updated, and that it no longer feels like it's wearing week-old socks (see October 22nd post comments). :-D

I'm getting ready to go on a baking spree. It's time for the election day bake sale at church and I'm planning to bake apple pie, almond apple braid, caramel crunch, funfetti cookies, pumpkin pies, banana bread, and buckeyes (peanut butter balls). Yummy!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Let there be light! And fans!

It was very busy around here today - two electricians arrived at 8am and didn't leave until 4:15pm! They came with a HUGE ladder so they could access the fan in the great room. It hasn't worked since it was installed - until now!
Here it is - all in working order now...
Our master bedroom fan/light was installed. We could have used it last month when the weather was really warm. It's nice to not have a bare bulb hanging from our ceiling anymore!
And DD's fan/light also went in today...now that I'm looking at it, I think they put the fan blades in upside-down from what she wanted (they didn't ask, and I didn't even think about telling them). I think the other side of the blades are white and that side was supposed to face down. I'll have to go investigate, which I guess will require a ladder since her ceiling is so tall.
Our whole-house fan at the top of the stairs hasn't been working either. The electrician said that the fan belt had come off.
He fixed the fan and also installed a speed control for it. We finally have an outdoor light at the front of the house. This lamp was installed on top of the post out front...
We had a couple of visitors to the house today. The first one we discovered when the electrician told us that something had strewn the garbage all over the driveway. We must have had raccoons in the night. They made their way into the locked garbage can, spilled everything from the plastic garbage bag all over the driveway, and dragged the torn bag into the yard way over by the pool. What a mess!

Later this morning, I looked out and saw our neighbor's HUGE great dane out by the pool. This guy is so big that I mistook him for a white horse one day while driving down the road! He makes me nervous when I'm walking down for the mail and he comes up behind me and growls at me. :-O
I made myself a tote bag while I did the laundry last night and this morning. I'm going to head to Houston, TX tomorrow for the International Quilt Market and Festival. My sister told me I should bring a tote bag to collect all the freebies that will be given away. This bag is made out of red pet screening and 3 different fabrics.
Here's a close-up...

DH had been busy changing the heating system to a different type of filter, which is more efficient. He is also adding a whole house humidifier to the system.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Come in and have a seat...

So, on Friday while I was in the kitchen making our usual Friday night homemade pizza, I glanced out the window and saw this...

I guess the birds decided to try out the seat wall on our deck. It looked like they were settling in for the night, but after I took their photo, they flew away. I think they are mourning doves.(Sorry about the quality of the photo - I took it through the window screen, figuring if I opened the door it would scare them away before I could take the picture.)

DH and DS finally finished putting the pool table together. This is the pool table that we bought from Sears for $99. It had to be assembled though, which is probably why it was on sale for so little. DH figures that a lot of people bought one, took it home, saw how much work it was going to be, and took it back to the store!
Here is the first game played on it - you can see in the foreground some of the piles of things we still need to sort through in the basement.
We are making progress though. I've sorted through the large black garbage bags and boxes of linens that were in the powder room and in the guest room closet and in the laundry room. Most of it I've bagged up to give to Goodwill or saved for next years church rummage sale, and the rest will be stored on the guest room closet shelves, guest room bathroom shelves, or in each of the bedroom closets where the sheets, blankets, and towels will be used.

I'm so glad to see that http://houseblogs.net/ is back up and running. Welcome back to those of my readers that get to my blog from Houseblogs and haven't been able to read for a while! If you want to catch up on the posts that you missed, here's the link to my main page: http://bellsrus.blogspot.com.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

It's a Western Conifer Seed Bug...

According to Daniel at http://whatsthatbug.com/, my bug is a Western Conifer Seed Bug. I sent him a photo yesterday morning via his web site and that's the answer he sent me today. They are slightly different than the leaf-footed bug, but related.

Here is more info, if you're interested... http://www.ento.psu.edu/extension/factsheets/western_conifer_seed_bug.htm.

I opened one of the windows in our bedroom this morning while I was exercising, and there were half a dozen of these bugs on the sill outside the screen. I could also just barely see the back legs of one hiding under the window crank! I guess he's found where he's going to hibernate over the winter!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Mystery solved (I think!)...

I think I've identified the bugs that are on our house and, in some cases, in our house. They are related to the stink bug, which is why my friends thought that's what they were.

Here is the bug I photographed:
And here are a couple of photos that I found on the web...

They are called leaf-footed bugs because their lower legs usually look like leaves. Here is what it says on the Ohio State University web site:

"Certain bugs may become a nuisance in and around the home or cause concern especially when individuals are found indoors. Homeowners may confuse them with some harmful insects associated with the home or humans. Actually, most bugs live outdoors, feeding on plant sap, seeds, fungi and fruit juices with their piercing-sucking mouthparts. Some bugs do feed on the blood of humans and animals, but the great majority are of no direct economic consequence to individuals. They do not cause damage to the household, infest the pantry nor eat fabrics or wood. They do not reproduce indoors. Many accidentally enter the home through windows, doors or other small openings, sometimes near night-lights. Others may enter to overwinter. Many bugs have scent glands on the side of their body used in secreting odors."

Western Pine Cone Leaffooted Bug
"Adults, nicknamed Pine Seed Bug, are about 3/4 inch long, elongate, moderately heavy bodied (resemble squash bugs), reddish, dull brown with a faint, white zig-zag straight line across the center of the wings. The hind legs are flattened (leaf-like) at the tibiae with a white dot on the upper side. They have well developed scent glands with odors pleasant (like pine) and not so pleasant. Individuals can become a nuisance when crawling up the sides of buildings during the autumn months (September and October). Sometimes, they cluster in small groups of five or so, with as many as up to 100 on one house at a time. Bugs can take flight readily and can make a buzzing noise if disturbed. Some overwinter in the house and re-emerge on warm, sunny days during the winter and spring months. The nymphs (immatures) feed by sucking nutrients from the seed cones of pines, Douglas fir and incense cedar. This feeding damage does not hurt the tree, but reduced seed production may result from heavy infestations. Usually a single generation occurs each year. "

We certainly have a lot fir and pine trees on our property, so I'm sure that's why they have decided to hang out around here...

Fall has arrived!

My apologies for not keeping up with my blog lately. I have absolutely no excuse, except that there haven't been a whole lot of changes around the house. Now, gas prices on the other hand, have dropped down to $2.99/gallon locally!

So, does anyone know what this bug is? I've had a couple of people tell me that it might be a stink bug, but they weren't certain. It's a fairly flat bug when you see it from the side. There are many of them outside our house and a few have found their way indoors. They are fairly slow-moving critters, so I don't freak out when I see one. (you can get a better look by clicking on the photo)

DH put sealer on the deck which has really brought out the color of the wood.
The grass that DH planted out back has sprouted and he planted grass seed near the pool and along one side of the driveway.
We've been enjoying some more gorgeous sunsets lately!
And the leaves have started to change color. DD was home for fall break this past weekend and we drove up to the outlet mall in Grove City, PA, about an hour north. There was much more color on the trees there than here. It's amazing how that small distance can make such a big difference in how many leaves have turned.

This photo was taken from the deck, looking behind the house toward the river...
These trees are out near the pool...
And the trees on the side of the house haven't turned quite as much yet...
Our bathroom tiler is supposed to come back and put a tile backsplash around the tub. He was planning to come on Friday, but I got a call from the KD that the tiler was in the hospital with epoxy grout in his eyes, which prevented him from opening his eyes. I haven't heard anything from them since then...

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Join the Army of Women!

Visit http://www.armyofwomen.org/ and register to participate in breast cancer research studies. The goal is to have an "army" of 1 million women (with or without breast cancer) from which to obtain research study participants whenever a new breast cancer study is started. Participation is always voluntary. If you meet the criteria for the study, and wish to participate, you just reply to the email.

Please spread the word to as many women as you can! Email your friends and relatives, promote it on your blogs, advertise it in your church bulletins...

Thanks, everyone!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Bookshelves, crafty things and more grass!

Goodness - it's been almost a week since I posted! I've been working on the tall bookcase shelves in the great room. I've never been very good at figuring out how to decorate shelves, but they look better like this than with cardboard boxes stacked on them!
I still need to arrange the things on the shelves in the closet next to the tall bookcase. I unwrapped all the breakable knick knacks when we moved and put them all on these shelves, out of the way. I moved some of the things onto the tall bookcase shelves and will arrange the rest of the items, plus probably put our photo albums in here. The shelves behind the closed doors at the bottom have plastic bins with my greeting cards, paper pads, pens, markers, etc.
I've also been putting my sewing studio to good use. I've been planning a ladies' luncheon for Thursday of this week. Here are the place cards that I created (with an obvious Autumn theme)...
And I made this scarecrow decoration. It is an embroidery design from http://www.embroiderygarden.com/.
Our grass is getting taller and denser. The other areas of the yard that DH planted are just starting to sprout. He planted those about one week after he planted these areas...
I also made myself a new purse. It's been about a year since I've made a new purse, so it was definitely time!
Here's a close-up of the embroidery...