Beach Weekend

Our family beach weekend is now behind us.  We got there early on Friday and enjoyed some time on the beach.  It was a little cool and breezy, but we had a lot of fun.  Of course, you can't keep the kids out of the water.

There was literally no one else on the beach on Friday afternoon.  We let the dogs Roo and Kasey run loose to enjoy the waves.  Kasey did not do so well.  First she took off after a seagull, and ran right up over the dunes and through people's back yards.  Then she took off after one on the beach, and ran like a rocket.  I expected maybe we could pick her up in Wilmington.  Fortunately, she came back and stayed on the leash after that.

Saturday was predicted to be a total washout with storms all day.  I got up early and walked Kasey to the end of the island.  Most of the North Carolina beaches are barrier islands, separated from the mainland by the Intercoastal Waterway or various sounds.  At the north end of Sunset Beach, there is a channel that separates it from Ocean Isle Beach.  You can see some of the development on Ocean Isle, including the eyesore of a towering condominium.  The dark clouds were building.

It rained a little when we got back.  Then, surprisingly, it quit raining.  We all went out to the beach for a few hours, although it was cool and very gusty.  It was a nice surprise to be able to enjoy the beach.

While we were out there, we got a call from my brother-in-law Kenny with the first of the really bad news from Mother Nature.  He said that there had been seven inches of rain overnight in Laurel Springs where our family mountain compound is located.  None of the family was up there, but there were reports that the waters from Peak Creek had completely covered our bridge, and that the pond was in jeopardy because the earthen dam was giving way.  If that happened, our road to the cabin would be washed out.  We are still waiting for word on that situation.  There was nothing we could do about it from the beach.  We will go up next weekend and see what needs to be done.

When we got tired of being battered by the wind, we went back to the cottage and tried flying kites.  It actually was a little too windy to fly kites!

Only Lily's ladybug finally got a good ride...and then took off in a strong gust of wind and disappeared.

So, we finally came inside the cottage.  We wanted to see if it was going to be stormy again, so we turned on The Weather Channel.

Oh, my goodness.

There were lines of severe storms all across North Carolina. 

Sanford, North Carolina had been hit hard by a tornado, and a Lowe's Home Improvement big box store had been destroyed.  We continued to watch in horror as the storm went through Raleigh. 

It is a bizarre feeling to see on The Weather Channel that the storm is headed right between Wake Forest and Rolesville, North Carolina.

Our house is exactly between Wake Forest and Rolesville. 

Once it passed, we called our next-door neighbor.  He said the tornado had not touched down in our neighborhood.  The power was off, but the roof was still on.

We have been finding out much more about storm damage in the area since we have been home.  Three children were killed in a mobile home in Northeast Raleigh.  There are many people homeless as the tornado tore through their neighborhoods.  Our hearts go out to all.  There were storms all over North Carolina and other states on Saturday afternoon.

That night it rained again at the beach, but only while we were in Calabash eating supper.  It stopped before we even finished.  When we got home, there was a full moon, the stars were coming out, and there was an awesome lightning show all around the moon.  

The next morning I woke up very early and was walking on the beach at sunrise.  This time there were lots of other people walking, jogging, and shell-seeking.  There were some incredibly gorgeous sunrise views.

I like it when the water and beach turn all silvery in the morning sun.

They have roped off all the dunes at the very end of the island as it is time for birds to be nesting.

Kasey and I walked around the point and viewed the island from the bay side. Hundreds of birds were lined up on the sandbar.

You can see the new bridge towering over the island from the bay side.

It was a memorable walk.  There were many birds along the shore.  Here are some pelicans cruising along the tops of the waves.

We had to check out of the cottage by 10:00 AM, but it was so nice that Dave, Emily, Charlie, the dogs, and I all stayed for a few more hours down at the public beach by the pier.  What a difference a day makes!  It was calm, sunny, and beautiful.

On the ride home, we saw some evidence of tornado damage along I-40.  A car twisted into strange shapes.  Woods with trees sheared off, containing road signs and pieces of twisted metal.  When we got home, we found only some branches down, lawn furniture piled up, and a few trees down in the woods.  The power was on.  We are counting our blessings.

Beach Bound

This week has been maintenance week...car, teeth, hair, nails, etc....but today we are heading for some R&R at Sunset Beach, North Carolina.  We will be crossing the new bridge for the first time.

The old swinging bridge has been phased out.  That should save a lot of time trying to access the island.  But we will miss the charm of watching the bridge swing open and the boats go through.

We are celebrating birthdays for our son Bryson, daughter-in-law Emily, and grandson Avery.  Lots of fun!

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Kasey is going to the beach for the first time...(at least the first time with us.)  I hope she does okay with that fur coat.  Memo...pack the dog brush!  Her running mate, Roo, will be there as well.

Some Journal Pages

I have been working in my various journals from time to time.  Most of my journal pages are a work in progress.  I'll paint a background, add some collage, some doodles, and some text...not necessarily in that order.

This one was my April entry in The Sketchbook Challenge. The theme was Branching Out/ Out on a Limb.

The background is painted, I added magazine page cutouts, various doodles, and stamping.

This one still might not be finished.  The background is painted.  The portrait is actually a photo of me, printed on a book page, and drawn over with marker.  The drawn tree resembles the one in the small collaged picture.  I went over the page with Neocolor II water-soluble crayons and gold marker.  The word "SUNSET"  is written in white-out pen.

I have been working on the next page forever.  It is almost entirely made of found paper collage. It reminds me somewhat of Dorothy arriving in the Land of Oz. 

Did I ever show this one?  I made it last fall during the 21 Secrets of Journaling Online class.  The background has notes to myself written on paper and torn up, then painted over.  I wrote about all the ways I waste time instead of getting something constructive done...like art projects.  The face was done with a long paintbrush with rapid strokes and no pre-drawing.

I don't think I have ever shown this one.  I did it right after making the above page.  The background has gesso applied thickly, then painted with acrylics.  The face and hair are painted with no pre-drawing.  My husband would call this one "the surly bitch with fire in her eye."  He heard that line in some TV show or movie decades ago and quotes it often.  Maybe I should add that line as the text for this page!

It's so much fun to make these.  Rarely do I know what will end up on the page when I begin.   I just do a little of this, and a little of that, until I get an idea or until I like the way it looks.  It's a great way to try out new ideas or techniques.

Have you tried art journaling yet?

Another Charity Quilt

At our bee meeting last week, Carolyn gave me the top she had completed from one of my friend Marcia's UFO's from her mother's sewing room.  Today I got it quilted on the longarm.  This is going to be a Quilt on Wheels project, to be given to a resident of a rest home by the Capital Quilters Guild.

The blue border fabric was pulled from a box of donated fabric.  It matches perfectly!  I wasn't sure about using it, because it is obviously a polyester.  I was pleasantly surprised that it quilted beautifully, and feels very silky!  The back is the same blue solid fabric.  I hope it won't be slipping off someone's lap when it goes to the rest home!

Since the patchwork was all linear and angular, I did a soft freehand feather meander.  I had Misty Jade thread already loaded from my last project, and two extra bobbins of thread.  I think it looks nice on this quilt.

Here is the quilt from the back.  I love the textured, lacy look

Now I will give it back to Carolyn for her to do the binding.  Nothing like tag-team quilting!

Just got back from picking up my car after over $600 in repairs.   I noticed the air conditioner was not working on one of the very warm days we have had recently, so I got that fixed.  They noticed something else wrong with the axle while they were underneath the car, which I suspect could be from the rear-end accident I was in last year.  Probably no way to get the guy's insurance to pay for it at this late date.  Love my car, hate paying for car repairs!

Quilt Projects from The Whacky Ladies Bee

Thursday night was our monthly Whacky Ladies quilt bee meeting at Janice's house.  Lots of great eye candy during show-and-tell!

First, here is another finished charity quilt from our sew-in day at Quilts Like Crazy in January.  The rail fence patchwork is another UFO from my friend Marcia's mother, Anne Vernon.  Kathy took it home and added some borders, machine-quilted, and bound it.  This will be donated to Quilts on Wheels.

Kathy also makes baby quilts to be given at baptisms at her church.  This one has gingerbread cookies.

Here is Carolyn's quilt top made from farm-themed fabrics.  The pattern is called "Warm Wishes." (BTW, I have Armoire Envy over Janice's beautiful painted furniture piece behind Carolyn and Irene!)

Irene's Show-and-Tell was this lovely quilt top made from Bernina block-of-the-month squares.  She used a Marti Michell ruler to make the stars in the sashings.

Lori has been doing some weaving on her new loom.

Janice showed a gorgeous paper-pieced wallhanging from an Eileen Sullivan pattern.

Charlie and I went to the mountains on Friday.  What a difference from the previous weekend.  It was just the two of us and Kasey, and our neighbors Ricky and Mary.  It was very nice on Friday, but Saturday we had rain and storms off and on.  That lead to some interesting cloud shots

The rain was good for the new Christmas tree seedlings that Charlie planted on the hill by our driveway.  They look good behind all the daffodils.

Sunday was warm and beautiful.  We took a long Gator ride up the mountain.

Kasey is loving the chance to run free and cool off in the creek.

It was a nice weekend...I hope yours was, too!

Christmas Tree Quilt

Here is a Christmas quilt that I just finished for my customer Teresa's mother.  Aren't these ladies kind to get their holiday quilts made so far ahead of time!  They are definitely beating the Christmas rush!

Again, there is a contemporary fabric selection with non-traditional colors.  The chocolate brown background fabric has lovely, lacy snowflakes in a light aqua color.

I used a similar shade of thread called Misty Jade by Signature, and did a snowflake meander.

This would have been fairly simple, EXCEPT

the trees are only attached to the quilt at the trunk and base of the tree.  The triangular portion is doubled fabric that is open at the sides.  The very tip of the tree is attached only with a stitch.

So, when you try to move into the sides of the trees to attach them, there is a very good chance of getting the machine foot CAUGHT.  I mean CAUGHT, as in getting stuck in there.  Or the sides of the tree would flip back and get stitched down.

I tried various methods of preventing this, even spraying temporary basting spray into the cap of the can and painting it on the sides of the trees.  Mostly, I just held the sides of the tree tight between two fingers as I approached with the machine.

Anyway, it is pretty cute and it is done!

Yesterday morning was so beautiful that I decided to walk along the nature trail at Falls Lake.

It was very nice.  There are, again, some big granite clusters on the hill rising above the lake.  It almost had the feel of being in the mountains. 

You can go right down to the lake via several paths or a service road that leads to the US Forestry Service boat area.

There was only one fishing boat in the area.  No other hikers.  Very peaceful.

This trail starts below a wooden stairway near the Visitor Assistance Center on Falls of the Neuse Road.  It is an easy walk.

It is nice to have so many beautiful places to walk my dog and enjoy nature.

I mentioned that I started using Don Sullivan's Perfect Dog system on Monday.  Kasey is not too happy with the new behaviors expected of her.  After all, she is three years old and has been allowed to get away with some bad habits by myself and her previous owners.  She knows the commands Sit, Down, Stay, and Come, but does not always choose to obey them.  I think she will overcome her stubbornness in time if we stick with it.  It is already a big relief not to have her pulling on the leash when we walk.

Well, not very much!

Mountain Home is Home

I got a nice surprise in the mail today.  One of my art quilts that has been on exhibition arrived back home.

This quilt has been part of the Breaking Traditions exhibit organized to raise money for charity.  Sponsored by Lynn Krawzcik, it raised money for A Place to Bark, an animal rescue organization.  The theme was "Home."  My quilt was named Mountain Home.  I made it during a previous online class with Pamela Allen.  The challenge for that lesson was to create an art quilt that was a personal symbol.  If you have followed this blog at all, you know that creeks, mountains and wildlife are a big part of my life.  We have to cross Peak Creek to get "home" to our mountain cabin.

The owner of yesterday's customer quilt has not seen her quilt yet, and is heading out of town on a trip.  I don't want to reveal her quilt via the Internet until she has seen it or given permission, so it may be awhile.

A few days ago I started training my new dog, Kasey, with Don Sullivan's Perfect Dog system.  I saw it on an infomercial, and decided to spring for it after several bad experiences on walks.  Kasey is an almost perfect house dog, very sweet-natured, but is occasionally aggressive to other dogs when we are walking on greenways.  She also barks aggressively whenever someone rings the doorbell or knocks.  And, she does not always come when called if she is off leash.

The system involves "correcting" your dog by yanking on what he calls the Command Collar.    Apparently it is uncomfortable, but it has not made Kasey yelp with pain or anything like that.  You are supposed to start with gentle correction, raising the level of correction until the dog complies with the desired command. 

On Day 1, Monday, we had a perfect walk.  You are not supposed to let the dog pull on the leash at all.  Kasey responded to this with no problem.  No pulling.  We also did the Sit Command.  She already knew Sit, but we added a hand signal and she has to sit until released.  Very good marks here, too.

Yesterday, I added the Down Command.  The dog must drop down when given the Down Command and hand signal.  This one was a little harder.  I had to make her drop down.  Now she knows it, but is not consistent yet.  They are also supposed to stay down until released.  She is getting the hang of it.

Today, I thought we would walk through the new Heritage neighborhoods near us, which have nice roads but no traffic yet.  At the intersection with Rogers Road, traffic was backed up in all directions due to road paving, so I made a U-turn and we went to the Mill Bridge Park via the back way in Rolesville.

Normally, if I get there before lunch, there might be one other car in the parking lot.  Not today.

 We got there just in time for a special event.

The parking lot was full, and there was a fire truck and police car at the far end.

I was not sure I wanted to test our new skills in front of about forty people including the mayor and police chief of Rolesville.  We took the trail that forks to the right of the main trail and stayed along the creek and woods.



Since that walk was fairly short and the morning was beautiful, I decided to try a new trail.  This one begins at the back entrance of Main Street Park in Rolesville. 

I have been on the Main Street Park trail when it was just a paved loop through the woods behind the playground where I take my grandchildren.  It has been greatly expanded, and was a lovely walk.  Rolesville is an area where geologic forces have deposited huge expanses of granite on the surface.  The park entrance from the Granite Falls neighborhood is lined with big chunks of granite rock.  Shortly after commencing the trail, there is a vast expanse of granite.

You can walk onto this rocky area.  Dogs can drink from the puddle from yesterday's rain.

The trail has markers every one tenth mile.

They have added many wooden bird houses of assorted sizes.

The trail continues on to the Main Street play ground, and loops back around.  The part nearest the playground has exercise stations and equipment along the way.

This nice bench and planter area was built by a Boy Scout for his Eagle Scout project.

Farther on there is a frog pond

and a new wooden bridge.

Behind the elementary school is a large picnic shelter.

I was quite happy to find these additional trails. Kasey did very well about not pulling.  We met one man walking two dogs.  She started to do her aggressive barking, but I was able to easily get her to sit quietly until they passed by.  Much better!

It is nice to see the trees starting to leaf out again.

At my house, the camellias are just about to finish their bloom time

but my azaleas are getting ready to burst open.

There is nothing any prettier than the combination of azaleas and flowering dogwood.  This is a native flowering dogwood in my backyard.

The loropetalum (Chinese Fringe Trees) are in glorious bloom.

and my bulbs are blooming all along my shrub border next to my front porch.

I hope you are enjoying your day, too!