Got It!!

Here's Wilbur checking out the squirrel we caught from the fireplace. We caught him shortly after yesterday's post when I changed the bait to dry roasted peanuts. Surprisingly, both were very calm and after awhile, Wilbur even started rubbing his chin on the cage. We took the squirrel for a ride and dropped him off by a farm on the edge of town. He ran away and seemed no worse for wear. I hope he'll be happy there and not return to my fireplace. The animal control lady said that their range is 16 miles when DH went to borrow the cage. I really don't believe he could find his way back though.

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I'm paring down my blog list a little, in case anyone notices. I'm grouping some in a different place in my computer, so not deleting entirely. I'm probably kidding myself that anyone will notice or care, but I'm always worried about offending someone. I'm going to try adding in some new blogs that I've been looking at recently, and maybe some with a little more local flavor. I've been looking for some local blogs that I like and I've found an interesting phenomenon. There are several where their entire group of friends and family must have blogs since there are so many in their sidebar. It would be a fun way to keep in touch. I still haven't told any of my friends or family about my blog. I kind of enjoy keeping it personal and anonymous and let's be honest, I'm always worried about what people will think. Hopefully I'll get over it someday!! Incidentally, I am on Facebook and have a grand total of about 13 friends!

Squirrel on the Loose

Finally something blogworthy; a squirrel has taken up residency in our basement fireplace for the last few days. I hope that it is not making itself too much at home or planning on raising a family within the walls of my home. I'm a little nervous about the amount of insulation that is showing up in the fire box. I'm envisioning the thing burrowing around within the walls of our house. Anyway, DH went to animal control today and borrowed a live trap so we can do a catch and release. This has happened about 4-5 other times since we lived in the house, so we've been through it before. We had a chimney sweep come, but even he wouldn't go up to put a screen on our abnormally high chimney. The first two times we actually had an animal control officer come to the house to take out the squirrel. The guy we had the second time wasn't too bright and got bit in the process nearly releasing the little offender into the house. Apparently they keep a record of these things, so lately we've been taking care of it ourselves. I hope to post a picture of the captured squirrel very very soon!!!

Back on the Grid

I admit to falling off the blogging band wagon for the last couple of weeks. It seems like when I've had time to sit down at the computer, I've been doing "work" related things, reading a few blogs without commenting, and going on my way. I've also been very busy, as most bloggers are, but I haven't felt an urge to post about any of the goings on. Anyway, here's a brief update on the good, the bad, and the ugly that has been my last two weeks:

*CS home from college for the weekend (two trips to "the cities" to get him)
*Youth silent auction fundraiser at church (frantic sewing, staining, and varnishing to finish projects)
*A new temp. job (coordinating soup suppers at church to serve roughly 200 each Weds. night)
*Pets (Cleaning up a variety of things expelled from a variety of places-YUK)
*Quilting (several projects finished, a class attended, some corners that matched)
*Work (Mud, cold, naughty children, a few hugs, some perfect spelling papers, sweet 3rd graders)
*Money (Actual the lack of it due to the economic situation and its affect on our finances)
*Family (Sicknesses, wellness, science fair, basketball, rock climbing, movies, friends, card club, choir and bell practice, pep band, piano lessons, paper route, driving practice, etc.)
*Church (meetings, phone calls, services, etc.)

I'm sure there's more, but I've got to get to work now. Check back for (hopefully) some more interesting posts, pictures, commentary, etc.

Random Recommendations

Here's a few recommendations for a Sunday afternoon. This is going to have to be one of those quick posts since we are going to someone's house for dinner tonight and I have to bring bread and an appetizer, neither of which I've started.
1. Slum Dog Millionaire- We went to see it last night as an outing for DH's birthday which was yesterday. We really enjoyed it, it was eye-opening, had a little humor, and really a great story with a feel-good ending. I saw a little bit of a piece on CBS Sunday Morning that said that is the type of movie that will be successful when times are hard. Everyone wants to see the poor and down-trodden triumph over adversity and maybe bring the high and mighty down a peg in the process.
2. Google Maps Streetview- If you haven't tried it, check it out. I've been using the birds-eye maps for quite awhile, but this is really something. You put in the address of the place you want to see and you are instantly on the street looking at an actual view of the house or building or whatever. I tried it out for the couple's house we are going to tonight. I know that they live on the south side of the street in a dark brown rambler and have a two story next door. I looked up and down the street in both directions, so I will know exactly where I am when I get there. I also checked out my house and my son's college dorm. It's a little creepy in a way, but cool too. Incidentally, it's not available for everywhere.
3. Brownie Pizza- A great substitute for birthday cake and something I make for DH every year. You bake a brownie mix on a pizza pan, when its done sprinkle on mini marshmallows and M&M's and put it back in the oven for a few more minutes. Then drizzle with caramel syrup. You could also add nuts or coconut or other candies, but this is the way we like it best. Yum!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Quilt Rack

Here's a couple of shots of the quilt rack DH made for me. It's kind of a prototype for the ones he's making for the silent auction at church. I really like how it turned out. It has a notch in the shelf on top, so I could put some plates or what-not up there to display. I've asked my friends for dimensions of quilt racks they might like to bid on. If they wanted one anyway, I thought the money just as well go for a good cause. Several of the kids from church, mine included are raising fund for a trip to a national youth gathering for our church that will be held in New Orleans in July. DH is going along as a chaperone, so that will leave me home alone. Providing of course that CS finds himself a summer job. It's a rather expensive trip, so I hope that this auction will be a success. Looking at this picture, it reminds me that you should sew a straight seam when attaching borders!

Iowa...it's flat and brown

I made a trip to Iowa over the weekend to visit my mother in the hospital. She was doing a lot better and was able to come home on Monday while my sister and I were still there. We got her medications set up, made some calls to her doctor, and have her set up to receive visits from a Home Health nurse, so I hope she will continue to do well. She was definitely anxious to get out of the hospital after 10 days. On my trip down, I went directly to the hospital using a road I hadn't been on before. It was little traveled and not near any towns. Every time I return to the area where I grew up, I am astounded by it's flatness. You can see for miles in every direction, seeing water towers and grain elevators for towns that are 10 or 15 miles away. I snapped this picture in the direction of my hometown; it's out there somewhere. This time of year, everything looks pretty bleak; fields of various shades of brown and black, bare trees, dirty snow in the ditches. I wish I had taken the time to get some better pictures, but I wasn't very inspired I guess. Interestingly enough, before I left Minnesota, I saw a flock of robins in my neighborhood. It's nice and sunny today, so I'll tell myself that Spring is just around the corner.

Tide Stemmed and Quilt Finished!

The stream of water in the basement has mostly stopped. DH tore apart the wall yesterday to reveal a large floor to ceiling crack. Why we never did this before is a good question, but it's done now. He plans to chisel out the crack and fill it with a special cement patch and hopefully that will remedy the situation without having to dig up my bushes and the sidewalk outside. He assures me that he won't cause the entire wall to cave in!

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I finished the wall hanging that I'm planning to donate to the silent auction for this Friday night. I'm making another one just like it to have for myself, but I still have all of the quilting and binding to do on that one. I still hope to have it done by Valentine's day. This auction is to support some walkers for a breast cancer event. Then in March there are silent auctions for our church youth and the marching band, so I'll be busy with projects. DH has also made one quilt rack and plans to make some more, so I'll post a picture of that too.