Puppies

July 29 I found 7 precious puppies. Our Great Pyrenees had been expecting puppies. I couldn't find her for a couple days, and was worried about her. Then on the 29th she came walking up to the house, and it was obvious she was no longer pregnant. I followed her and found the beautiful puppies under a shed behind the house. They are now 5 weeks old, and just adorable. I wanted to share photos of them with all the other dog lovers out there.

We are all broken

Our Great Pyrenees are great dogs. I bought them to help protect the house. However, being true to their breed, they love to go scouting about and often roam. This past spring I decided to get a German Shepherd to do the task the Pyrenees seemed to be uninterested in. She is a beautiful black and tan German Shepherd. We named her Martha. She was growing and turning into a beautiful dog. One day my son came to the house, and as any puppy will do, Martha got too close to the truck. Her left rear foot got run over. From the injury it looked like her foot got stuck under the tire, and she tried to pull her foot out. The injury to her foot was so severe it de-gloved her foot. Not only was her foot damaged, but her hip was broken. After a trip to the vet, she spent the night to wait until surgery the next day. After I received a call with a quote for the 2 surgeries (one for the foot and one later for the hip), I told the vet I probably just needed to put her down. I was devastated. I'd never made a decision to put a dog to sleep before, but the expenses were enormous to save the leg. The tech on the phone, giving me the quote, asked me to consider amputating the leg. She said many dogs do just fine with 3 legs. I told her I would think about it. After hanging up a thought kept running thru my head 'we are all broken in some way or another'.  'We are all broken in some way or another' just kept playing in my mind, and after one more phone call I decided to have Martha's leg amputated. Even now when I see Martha, or someone comments about her having 3 legs, I keep thinking 'we are all broken in some way or another'. She was a dog worth saving, and we are people worth saving (even broken). Christ is the source of fixing our brokenness.
Martha is a great dog. Her registered name is 'Mighty Martha'. She truly is a treasure, even broken. I took my grandson to Bentonville, AR to Amazeum (a children's museum). On the way up he went to sleep, and slept for about 2 hours. When he woke up, he asked if we were about there. I told him we were getting close. He said 'I'm missing Martha already'.

Long Arm University, Seattle

Getting a Gammill Long Arm Quilting Machine set up and running was only half the battle. I needed to know how to operate it. Searching for Long Arm schools I came across Long Arm University, Seattle, WA. It sounded like an adventure to a part of our beautiful country I'd never been to before. I enrolled for the class, got my airline reservation, and was ready to go.

Having arranged my schedule to leave a day early, I planned to have some time to do a little site seeing. Before leaving home I was looking on-line for local tourist attractions. I settled for whale watching. I was going to see (Orca's) killer whales!! I chose a small boat with a maximum of 6 whale watchers to get a more personal experience. After arriving at the hotel on the first night, I looked on my computer to see where I would be driving the next morning to get on the boat. To my surprise, it showed the drive to be 3 1/2 hours away!! Oh-my, I hadn't done enough research when I booked the tour. I had a difficult time deciding if I wanted to drive 3 1/2 (three and one-half) hours one way to see whales. I text my sister to whine, and asked her if the drive would be worth it. She said 'yes'. I thought she was nuts! I made up my mind to go, with her encouragement. I was dreading the drive. After texting her I got on-line to see if there was a shorter way. I found a ferry going to Friday Harbor, where the tour was at. The ferry was about 2 1/4 hours from me. I could catch the ferry, shorten my drive, and ride it to Friday Harbor where I needed to get on the boat. Problem solved! I made reservations for the 8:30 AM ferry. I would leave at 5:45 - 6:00. The next morning I woke up suddenly, and felt like I was late. I looked at my clock, and my alarm had not gone off. I mistakenly set it for PM, instead of AM. I was already late, but I headed out anyway. I set my google map for Anacortes Ferry, and took off. Morning traffic in Seattle is bumper to bumper. I was getting further behind schedule, but kept going. Arriving in Anacortes Ferry at 8:26. I figured I was too late. I pulled up at the pay booth, and told the attendant I had a reservation for the 8:30 ferry. She said I was just in time, but there wasn't enough time for me to ask questions. I'd never been on a ferry before. She motioned me toward a line of cars. I pulled to the end of the line just as it was loading onto the ferry. Once our line of cars loaded, the gate to the ferry closed, and the ferry took off from the dock! I had made it! (God watches out for those who can't watch out for themselves). I got out of my car, and walked up to the passenger lounge. After walking around checking out the ferry, I found a couple of women (looked like kindred spirit) sitting on some benches. I sat across from them, and started a conversation. We talked for a while, and I told them I came to Seattle to learn how to operate my Long Arm Quilting Machine. To my pleasant surprise, they quilted also. Now I know why I felt a kindred spirit with them (God makes wonderful women in every corner of this great country). We had a great visit. At one time during the conversation I told them about my luck in finding the ferry because I was going to have to drive 3 1/2 hours to see the whales. At my astonishment, they began to laugh. They informed me the ferry was 'the only way' to get to Friday Harbor, and there was no road. They assured me I could not drive to Friday Harbor!! (God watches out for those who cannot watch out for themselves). I enjoyed Friday Harbor and the whales. It was an adventurous day. I made it back safely to the hotel, and was exhausted.

Classes began Friday morning, and ended Monday afternoon. There is no way to tell all that we were taught. It was 4 days packed with tons of information. Everything from loading the bobbins, patterns, thread, business cards, work orders, fabric quality, dealing with difficult customers, binding, templates, etc.  It was definitely information overload. I met 4 wonderful women also interested in long arm quilting. Some of the ladies had machines, and some were just checking out the possibility. Each of us was at a different place in our quilting journey, but each of us had passion for the quilting process. It was a great group of women! Our teacher, Cindy Roth, made each of us feel right at home. The classes were in the most perfect atmosphere, at her kitchen table. Cindy opened up her home, and treated each of us like we belonged there. Such a relaxing way to conduct class. The added benefit I was not expecting, was at the conclusion of classes Cindy provided each of us with cd's to refer back to when we had questions about anything taught. What a great gesture and a great treasure. Instant information when we run into a problem.
Longarm University, Seattle, WA

If I were someone considering getting a longarm, or if I had a longarm, I would seriously consider attending the Longarm University classes. The days are packed with information from educated instructors that have been in the business for years. They can answer any question you have about a longarm business. It is an all inclusive set of classes for anyone considering a longarm business, or just anyone wanting to learn about the longarm machine.

Ireland

Last fall I decided to take a trip to somewhere I'd never been before. I did a little research and decided to go to Ireland. After contacting a local travel agency the trip was booked. It would be a 7 day introduction to Ireland, July 2015. The months leading up to the trip gave me plenty of time to prepare for the trip, however keeping my grandson 4 days a week evidently took its toll on my planning capabilities. Leaving the states and arriving in Ireland I realized I was 'not' prepared. When I had gone by the travel agency to pick up my travel documents, and receive information to make my trip go smooth, my grandson was asleep. I called ahead and asked the travel agent to meet me outside in 100 degree heat and hand me the documents. The short stop to get documents was not an adequate amount of time for the travel agent to go over all the details, but I felt I could handle it. I took the papers and left. Not until I was on the plane to Ireland, did I finally finish reading the documents. Was I ever not prepared!! (God takes care of those who do not know how to take care of themselves)

Ireland welcomed me into their beautiful country, even with my lack of preparation. The tour guide was patient with me the first couple days, until I worked out all the problems I created by not reading my documents. For my first trip alone to a foreign country, everything went great. My trip was blessed because of women I met from Tennessee, and one woman from my home state Arkansas. We hit it off when we stepped off the bus at the first hotel. I felt a kindred spirit with these ladies. They felt like home. They felt like family. I never would've thought such good friends could be found while visiting a foreign country. I so hope we can go on another trip together some day.

I had hoped to find some fabric in Ireland to make a quilt with. The only thing I found close to fabric was woven wool. My hopes of making a quilt from Ireland materials did not happen. However, I had a great time. Here are some of the things we did while touring Ireland:

1. Went to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College Library in Dublin

2. The old library at Trinity College Library in Dublin

3. We had a banquet at Bunratty Castle, County Clare

4. Saw the Irish National Stud in Kildare, whose breeding fee is $100,000+, and most of his foals sell over $1,000,000.

5. Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary

6. The 668 foot Cliffs of Moher

7. Galway seaside tour (beautiful)

8.  An active working sheep farm and tea at 150 year old traditional farmhouse with a thatched roof.

9. A drive around the Ring of Kerry, which was a 100 mile panoramic drive along the southwestern tip of Ireland.

10. A drive to Blarney, County Cork, to make an important stop at the magical kissing stone. Those who kiss it are suppose to be blessed with eloquent speech (it works!!)

11. A tour of Waterford Crystal. 

12. Avoca, where we went to Ireland's oldest hand weaving mill (but no quilt fabric).

13. Glendalough, the site of a very early Christian monastic site. This place was beautiful. It was founded in the 6th century. 

Whew! It was a lot to see in a short amount of time, but I wouldn't have done it any different. For a first time trip to Ireland I think it was definitely the trip to take. It was a lot of beautiful miles. I would highly recommend Ireland! 

A little trivia.... Who knew the national symbol of Ireland was a harp?

Blarney Castle

The magical kissing stone at Blarney Castle - Those who kiss it are blessed with eloquent speech!