Fort Worth, A Great Little City!

Yesterday, we went to the rodeo with all the family....we have been going as a group of 12 to 18 for over 16 years now.  We used to go out to eat all together after the matinee, but all the restaurants have gotten so busy it was hard to seat a large group without waiting forever.  And since our oldest daughter's birthday is February 1st, we have been coming back to our house and having dinner here for a few years...celebrating her birthday and our rodeo tradition at the same time...seems to work out really well!

The Fort Worth Stock Show used to be the Fat Stock Show...meaning the big, beefy cows and hogs, etc.  But with all the emphasis on healthy eating the past few years, the powers that be changed the name to just Stock Show...and the look of the calves and all being shown have taken of a different look from when we were kids....very straight backs, lean bodies as opposed to big, thick chested animals.

Yesterday was really warm!!  The temperature was at least 80 degrees...and the Stock Show grounds, the midway and all the exhibition halls were really crowded!  I had been having some allergy problems and being around all the dusty, hay-filled barns and then the rodeo arena didn't help much...this morning I was a mess with stuffy nose and sneezing fits, but by now I am quite a bit better.  If it wasn't so much fun to go and be with everyone I would skip going!

But according to the weather...we have worse winter ahead....possible ice/snow/wind...yuck!  And it is to be the coldest yet...below 20 degrees!  I guess I need to change my "out my window" picture!

This and that!

I have been working with all the pictures I have downloaded to my new Mac laptop...For some reason, many of the folders of pictures that I had put on the external hard drive for storage were duplicated...sometimes more than once. So I am trying to get them all straightened out on this computer.....there are literally  thousands of them!

This picture from an old slide was taken when we lived in Alaska in 1964-66...we had only been married a few months when Dick was transferred there courtesy of the Air Force.  And then we made a return visit to the area a year ago...46 years later.  Since the quilt I am now working on is from the fabric  I got in Juneau, and has totem poles on it, I thought this was appropriate.  I have the kaleidescope  nearly finished...just need to put all the sections together, then add some sides and get it quilted.  I haven't decided whether I want to add beading or not...will see.

Busy week coming up...Friday night we are going to dinner and a concert with our daughter's in-laws, Saturday we are all going to the big Fort Worth Stock Show Rodeo, there will be about 12 of us, then out here for a BBQ dinner to celebrate my oldest daughter's birthday and other daughter will be spending the night as she lives about 80 miles away....a little far to drive back home late;  it is always good to see her for a long visit anyway.

 Then Monday, I have the studioQ bunch here...that is my art quilt group..Monday night is our granddaughter's National Honor Society Induction.  Tuesday there is a Diabetic Support Group meeting which I may attend..not sure.  Wednesday, my third class for Diabetic Education...Dick has been going with me which is a big help to have an extra set of ears to hear all about it.  Thursday is our poker bunch, meeting for dinner and card playing. And I think that is all for awhile...so maybe I can get some really constructive quilting going!!!

Cold!!!!

We are having our first really cold weather this year....it is now 32degrees at 9:00 AM and I know that may not seem really cold to some, but to me it is COLD!!!  It is also very gray out which makes it feel even colder...fortunately, I am lucky enough to be able to stay home and just feel sympathy for those who need to get out!

I am listening to Diane Reames on NPR as I write...the discussion is about the lack of civility in politics...perhaps instrumental in the craziness of the Arizona shooting tragedy...I personally believe there is a definite connection....we all need to realize that our words can be heard by all...the crazies and those who are sane, and it is an obligation of those especially in the public eye to be very careful of how they voice their opinions to incite others to their way of thinking!

And now on a happier note!  Work on my Kaleidoscope continues!

                                   Phase I of my Kaleidoscope  

                                      Phase II of Kaleidoscope
                                      

                     Layout of paper piecing for Kaleidoscope with phase III on paper!

Each phase I complete seems to create the need for another phase.  I am working now on phase III.. I design on paper first, then break it all into a paper-pieced project...so I think phase III is going to be the last!  Most of the fabric I have used is from our trip to Alaska last year...2009.

Good start to the new year!

Kathleen hasn't gone back to school yet, so on the days her daddy isn't working from home, either I or her grandad have gone in to spend the day with her.  I was there on Monday, and we had a great day catching up on the first season of "Glee".  We got through about the first six...will finish next week.  That is really a cute show...I especially like it because I KNOW the music!!

I have a new toy...for my birthday, Dick had gotten me a little arm band radio with ear plugs to listen to while at the gym working out and walking.  It didn't work very long so I took it back and upgraded to a SanDisk little clip on called a Sansa....it is about 11/2 inch by 21/2 inches...unbelievable!  It plays FM radio and will hold up to 1000 songs!  It is so tiny, it just clips on to my sleeve...so light I hardly know it is there...I am in awe of today's technology!!!

While sitting in the doctor's office yesterday, waiting my turn, this little ol' lady struck up a conversation with me.  She is also in awe of technology, but not in a good way!  I think it is too bad when people won't even give it a chance...but there will always be those who do not like change!!  A definite sign of OLD age!! (but not always....I do know of a few much younger than I that don't handle change well!)

A New Year!

2011!  Wow..if it goes as fast as 2010, I may just spin out of control!  My main goals are similar to my birthday goals of my 70th birthday...and so far...one day into the year I have been working on completing a quilt design...my kaleidoscope. It is a growing concern!!  Every time I finish one phase, I decide to add another!  But I am liking it...it is fun to work on something that one really likes!

Spent New Year's Eve with family...eating and playing games..we played "Taboo"...a very fun game that is very good with a crowd and all ages.  Then today, talked to my bro in Illinois and my daughter in McKinney...so all in all, a very good start.  Kathleen is doing so wonderfully after her surgery...will still be home from school for a couple of weeks.

And the TCU Horned Frogs won at the Rose Bowl, beating out Wisconsin!!! yahoo....go Frogs!!  Very good game!!!