Special Mail

Here I am Soggibottom crew. I made it safe and sound so stop frettin' Amie Midge. I'm just having a big stretch to get all them there kinks out of the joints.

It sure was crowded in that little box.

Midge sure knows how to pack but that was OK 'cause I was well padded when those blokes at the post offices started throwin' them there packages around.

After I got a bit fluffed up I met with that hairy dog Baxter. He's bigger than you Amie but just as nice (well, almost.) He just awoke from his nap so I just let him be. We just sniffed each other a bit - gettin' to know one another.

Then I thought I'd go see the kitty. Her name is Pixel and maybe I shouldn't have woke her either. I think she got a little scared o' me because she left right off. There was another kitty too but I didn't meet her until much later in the day.

Well, the missus over here is lookin' after me real well. She's got one of them computer things too and I sit and watch her using it. We snacked a bit on tea and honey. I guess I have to get used to all the different foods and things now that I'm in Canada. Excitin' times ahead.

The missus told me how much she liked all the stuff that were in the box with me keeping me all warm and squished - and not hurtin' when them there blokes was throwin' the packages. And here I was thinkin' it was just stuff to keep me from getting all bounced around. Don't worry Midge - I'll mind my p’s and q’s and make you proud o’ me. The missus told me to tell you that I’ll be havin’ my picture took every once in a while and we can send them to you so you and the rest of the Soggibottom crew won't miss me so much.

Well, that was a long trip. I'm off for a nap.

It's done and gone

The Asian "Doorway to China" wall hanging is complete and on its way to California as I write this. I have been asked to make another one and when I get the middle photo transfer, I will start on it.

It was hand quilted and bound with some red that I had on hand that matched the strips. I didn't have enough of the dark blue print nor that shade of red broadcloth left and so I perused my stash and found some red that had fine black splotches on it. It turned out to be the same shade of red. I put a label on the back and a hanging sleeve. 

In case no one has figured it out (or I forgot to mention it), the photo is of the Great Wall of China. Maili took it when she went to Beijing.

Now, on to something else. Have a great weekend doing whatever you want.

Fabric and ...

I really didn't buy much fabric on my trip but I did manage to get a bit. Remember this? I needed something a bit more oriental in flavour.

This is the beginning of the wall hanging my daughter wanted me to make. The idea is found in...

the October 2009 edition of McCall's Quilting.

Here's what other people have done with the pattern. The actual pattern for the quilt is found here.

Laila helped me pick these fabrics after I told her that I was looking for an Asian theme.

After reviewing all these fabrics, Maili decided on this.

But then when it was sewn together, she changed her mind and this is what the final quilt top looks like after a bit of reverse sewing.

She really liked the lighter blue that I had in my stash and thought that it went better as an inner frame for the photo.

This is what I bought for myself. A small piece of tone on tone brown and some blue that could pass for sky.

I also picked up an embroidery foot for my little Jenome Jem. Now I have to go and quilt the wall hanging.

My last trip post

I really had a wonderful time in British Columbia. Now all I have to do is visit Newfoundland and Labrador and the three territories and I will have been in all the different parts of this wonderful country.

The plane landed in Kamloops and it was a three and a half hour drive to where my daughter lives. That was after we had lunch and did some big-box store shopping.

Kamloops is kind of a hilly place. The altitude kept changing too as we drove along. My ears kept popping.

This is a dark rain cloud that we managed to avoid. I tend to take pictures from moving vehicles so my apologies if it's blurry.

These are just some of the wonderful flowers my daughter has in her yard.

Gorgeous
Daylilies
in several colours.

This is just part of the garden where we picked fresh...

sweet, garden
peas and
raspberries and ...

fresh salad with edible flowers.

There were lots of birds and animals to see on my trip too. One day this little hummingbird managed to get into the sun porch and kept trying to get out. I thought the poor thing was getting stressed out beating against the window but my son-in-law came to the rescue.

I opened the window while my son-in-law caught the little guy and set him free.

There were some of these birds too. They are young laying hens who will begin producing in September.

This young buck came to visit a couple of times.

Here he is right under the window but he never looked up long enough for me to get a photo of his face.

I did manage to see a bald eagle on three different occasions but by the time I took the camera out, it would be gone or out of range. On my second day, my daughter and I were driving down the road and a baby black bear ran across the road. I'm glad we didn't see mama bear and that we were in a car.

Click on these photos and it will give you an idea as to what the roads were like. Gravel, with a lot of twists and turns - some of them hairpin turns and ...

switchbacks where you share the roads with...

logging trucks. It gets mighty scary when you're not prepared and you start on one of those turns only to find a logging truck sharing the road, coming at you, and there is a sheer drop off your side of the road. My daughter was a wonderful driver and those truckers were all used to it. This road was on the way to Farwell Canyon and the day we went, it was hot, about 30+ C.

Whenever possible, I try to get in a tour of the mine. Here's my daughter in front of the building that houses the offices.

This is inside the mill where...

a lot of this takes place. The rock is crushed and washed and crushed again.

Here I am decked out in all the safety gear - hard hat, rubber booties on top of my running shoes, bright vest, safety goggles and of course, the ear plugs. I didn't know if it was going to be cool or warm so I wore my fleece. It turned out to be quite warm inside.

After the tour of the mill, we went down to the pit. Here's an overall shot. The next photo will be taken beside that piece of machinery you see at the bottom of the pit (middle of the photo.) The green to the right is a lake. You run into the water table at times when you dig and the green colour is caused by the minerals in the rock.

Here's the machine that does a lot of work. It scoops up the rock that has been blasted and deposits the rock in the back of another vehicle (a big dump truck) which then brings it up to be put on a conveyor belt to be crushed and washed in the mill.

Just to give you an idea of the scale of the massive scoop.

The operator has to climb two ladders or staircases in order to get to work in the cab. It is a specialized job that pays well but is boring. Eight hour shifts moving rock.

And here's a shot of the dump truck. Massive tires. The mine recycles the tires by utilizing them in the walls of the road.

Here's a shot of the dump truck in action. 24/7 the trucks move the material from down in the pit, up to get dumped and processed and then they go back and do it again.

And now for something prettier and more peaceful.

Horses on a hill. I love the zoom on my little Canon Elph.

This gives new meaning to "living on the edge." There were a lot of these houses that seemed to exist beside steep cliffs.

Prickly Pear Cactus in British Columbia. I don't know how it survives through the winter.

Beauty found on a rocky beach.

The blond bovines. I love their colouring.

Laila sitting on a log bench that her husband designed and built. This one is in the garden and there is another one beside the creek.

And this last shot of me looking down at my daughter's house from up top on the mountain. That is the Fraser River.

It was a wonderful vacation and my daughter geared it to my likes. I didn't show you the art gallery since there was only portrait photographs on display and I didn't show you the museum since you weren't allowed to take photos inside. My days were filled but in a relaxing way. Weeding, washing dishes, washing the floor and emptying out two hot houses of pots so they could all be hosed down took up some of my time too as did visiting with her neighbours. I'm just glad the weather was great - sunny and warm without being too hot.

 Thank you Laila and Gilles.