Happy November!

Wow, fall has come to the Northwest. Matter of fact, it's almost over. I feel kinda like I missed most of it this year, being in the house so much of late. So, I got out and took some photos around the yard to document the end of October yesterday. You can see from this photo that we were having rain. Most of the Trick-or-Treaters were using umbrellas! It was pouring at times last night. You can also see lots of fir tree needles. We've had lots of wind the past week, and we've got fir needles everywhere. They're even sneaking into the house.

I've been quite absent from my blog, and the computer in general, as my sister was taking her vacation at our house this last week. She was here for 4 days, and we had a lot of fun. Spent only one day out (going to the pottery & glass supply place, a gallery for a pottery show, and out to Italian for dinner), and then the rest of the time we played. I'll show you what we did in a few days.



I brought out my autumn placemats yesterday, and then thought I would show them here. I made these with a charm pack about 2 years ago, which means this fabric probably isn't available any more. I had enough for 3 placemats, and used about 1/4 yard of fabric for the borders. So, with 2 charm packs and 1/2 yard or less of fabric, you could have 6 placemats.

I may make some more of these with another charm pack. They were a lot of fun to do and didn't take much time OR fabric. I have kind of a weakness for those darn charm packs. I don't usually have much of an idea of how I want to use them, but they're so cute (and such a cute idea) that I have trouble resisting the things. (pssst. . . . I think that's Moda's general plan with these pre-cuts!)

My sweet friends in California sent me some selvages this week! Thanks, guys!! There are a lot here. Now I need a plan of what to do with selvages!

Japanese Maple in foreground, neighbors' maple in background

I'll share some more photos of my yard while I ramble a bit here.

I'm feeling pretty good most of the time. I've been sewing some crumb blocks (more on those later). DH moved my machine to a lower table level and it's easier to reach the machine now. Still no rotary cutting. I'm going to have a cut-fest once the arm is better. *grin*

Japanese Maple in the front yard

That's the way it's going lately. I'm able to do more, and go longer between doses of Tylenol. Every once in a while I have a bad day or just overdo, but I figure I'm getting better. There's still lots I can't do by myself yet, like shower and dress, but it's getting better. Poor DH is still doing all the cooking and cleaning. I just can't reach the sink very well yet, nor lift anything. I'm not too effective at the whole housework thing yet, but I'm not complaining! *grin*

Hydrangea bloom

Isn't this a gorgeous color bloom?? This is the first year I've seen the hydrangea turn like this, and I love it!

I haven't tried driving yet. Just riding in the car is rather uncomfortable, and I have to wear the sling for comfort. I don't feel confident in my ability to steer the car well yet. So, it'll be awhile, I think. DH is really getting tired of going to the grocery store. . . . even if I go with him.

Here's the Japanese Maple in the backyard. It's usually a beautiful deep burgundy that you can still see in some places, but now the majority of the tree has turned a lighter red. It's even prettier when the sun is shining.

I'm still sleeping in the recliner in the family room. Sleeping in the bed is still too uncomfortable/painful on the arm. And I have to wear the sling to sleep, to support my arm. (I wear the sling whenever I'm sitting in a chair with no arm rest or support for any length of time.) The kitties are very happy to sleep on top of me and keep me warm. Fortunately, I usually only get one cat at a time!

Here's the grumpy gargoyle that lives in our back yard. He's not looking forward to winter, because he spent so much of it buried in snow last year. Of course, he usually looks unhappy, so I've learned to ignore him!