Thursday, February 28, 2019

Grandbabies, Pheasants, and Mountains of Snow


 Anyone else just love sewing notions??

Besides double-seaming the satin binding,
I hand sewed the mitered corners closed. I've learned from experience that babies like to stick their fingers in the corners and undo them.

Hi friends,
I was sorry to miss Terri's Wednesday Medley because I was hurrying to get a baby blanket done for grandchild #12, due a couple days ago.  (The 11th was a great-grandchild, remember? I've still not recovered from turning 70 AND getting our first great-grandchild all in the matter of a couple weeks last summer.) It's kind of late, I know, but I had ordered the fabric from fabric.com and after waiting for it to arrive, I suddenly got a notice of a refund from them. No explanation, just a refund. Okay, so that means I need to go out and find fabric. When I chose this particular fabric (shown above) in a local shop, the lady looked puzzled and said, 'This isn't very babyish.'  I told her that as soon as this child is old enough to realize that he even has a blanket, he will like the moose and bears on it. Besides, it's a gorgeous shade of green and this flannel is of incredible quality. In case anyone wants to know, it's called 'Return to Cub Lake' by Holly Taylor. And of course the flannel and the satin binding couldn't be found in the same shop. That would have been just too easy. ANYWAY, it was a delight to make and I will look for that artist and manufacturer another time, Moda Fabrics.




Now on to the matter at hand, or the matter that everyone in Wisconsin is talking about: the long, snowy winter.  This is the kind of winter I remember as a kid.


I was only four years old in this photo, but I do remember that when we were kids, we would carve thrones and dishes out of the huge snowbanks, and also make tunnels. I'm wondering why my mom didn't make me wear a jacket. But at least I'm wearing tights and a sweater. It could have been March, Wisconsin's snowiest month, typically, and warm enough at times to stand outdoors for a photo.


 The backyard

 The backyard again

 The top of the driveway, having just been plowed
by
this
guy:
Son #2


And this is the pose he gave me first time:

 Very funny, Rob!


 On the way home from town today
I love our rolling hills!


 Good thing we know what that wee bit of red means.


 So you get the picture.
We've had a ton of snow
and more expected.

 But this morning's sunrise was beautiful.
I love seeing all the bunny tracks in the snow.

Besides feeding the birds their bird seed, we're putting out corn for the other critters too. It's been a harsh winter for those poor creatures. Everywhere we go, we're seeing pheasants along the side of the road, looking for food. A month ago, we were unusually snowless (for January), and they could find lots to eat. But now, everything is covered in far too much snow.

This poor (huge) fella was sitting on an old bird feeder just outside the office window. I think he was keeping an eye on the other bird feeders, besides eating cranberries in the nearby cranberry bush.  It looks like we won't have any cranberry bushes next year. The bunnies have completely girdled all the cranberry bushes. It's a pitiful sight to see them gnawing on the bark of the bushes. They are so hungry. And yet I know it will irritate me next summer when they're eating my peas and beans (IF I plant them).


 And checking in on the Christmas tree on the porch:
Still going strong. No needles dropped yet. It's been well below freezing.

 One more glimpse of the walkway.


 Tommy & Smokey
(Tommy looking rather sassy, wouldn't you say?)
:-)


*** UPDATE ***

In the wee hours of the morning, February 28, grandchild #12, Tobias William, was born.

Praise God for this new little one!

 7 lb. 15 oz.
and just missing his auntie's birthday by a couple hours.





***


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Have a great Thursday, everyone!
Join me on Instagram: @cranberrymorning


Judy

28 comments:

eileeninmd said...

Hello, you do have a lot of snow there. Love the pheasant and sunrise images. Cute photo of you as a four yr old. I think at that age , I liked playing in the snow. Not too much anymore.
Happy Thursday, enjoy your day!

Cheryl said...

Happy congratulations on the safe arrival of little Tobias!! He is so precious . . . and I am certain that he will love his moose/bear blanket! (I do!)

Oh my goodness. Winter is alive and well in Wisconsin. The stop sign peeking out made me laugh out loud! Bless you for feeding the hungry birds!

Jenn Jilks said...

Congratulations! 70 and another grandie!
Lovely photos. We've much snow, as well. It's the cold, though, and the freeze/thaw that does me in.
(ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

Arlene G said...

Judy, once again I will say that I do not know how you all cope with all that snow!! My hat is off to you!! ICongrats on baby Tobias. I love his name. Charles and Nancy are still mulling over names for our 9th grandchild. Joshua for the first name but no middle name yet. I am pulling for a family name myself.:)

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

I'll keep that precious baby in my prayers! How tiny they are to start life! And I hope you have a warm day...inside! I would hate to have to navigate those roads! Thanks to for your sweet comments through my blog woes. I have a new post up this morning but I don't think it's showing up in anybody's blog list! I won't give up though!!! Hugs!

Dicky Bird said...

Yes, praise God, babies are blessings! Congratulations. I enjoyed all the pictures, even thou they look an awful lot like my view too! Too much snow!

Annsterw said...

Congrats on the #12 Grandbaby!!! That is such a blessing! You DO get a horrendous amount of snow - I now feel silly complaining about my couple inches! HA! Have a great day Judy! Annster's Domain

Linda said...

Oh, Judy! What a lovely visit I had with you this morning. That baby blanket is incredible! You are a true seamstress. I think you’re brilliant to choose fabric that will live past infancy!
I’m sitting up in my warm comfy bed sipping coffee as I look at all those drop dead gorgeous photos of your snow. Amazing and beautiful to look at but I’m sure it’s a lot for y’all to deal with.
That sweet baby, Tobias! How blessed his life will be born into such a wonderful family!

ellen b. said...

Congratulations on #12! God bless him and keep him...
Yep...that's a lot of snow. Makes ours look miner. We got 3 more inches overnight.

Lorrie said...

That blanket looks warm and cozy and the print will be a lot of fun for the little guy once he gets a bit older. Tobias is a cute name! Congratulations to all. I like snow, but a couple of weeks is enough - and we've had that this year! You have received mountains of it. Wow.

MadSnapper said...

I have just stopped laughing long enough to get back in my chair, your question about does anyone else love NOTIONS, not me to the floor. you might remember how much I hate cooking, well sewing comes in above cooking.. I do like the blanket, it is beautiful and I love your answer about the babyish remark. I love looking at your snow pics and the beautiful hills, and would like to see them, but not while all that snow is there. Looks like your handsome son has a good sense of humor...

Mrs.T said...


Congratulations, Judy! What a handsome little fellow Tobias is, and I do love the blanket. I tend to make a flannel blanket for new babies, and I seldom choose a "babyish" type print. I like ones that are more interesting, and I find that parents do, too.

Your snow piles look just about like ours. We are running out of places to put the snow!

Amazing photo of the pheasant and cranberry bushes. That could be a prize winner someplace. It would make a great Christmas card, too!

Julie's Creative Lifestyle said...

Congrats on the new grand baby! Wow, that is a lot of snow. So nice that your son did the shoveling and cleaning up the snow. Do be careful driving on those snowy roads. In a few weeks it will be the start of spring. Yay!

podso said...

I like the color of your son's jacket. How nice of him to come and plow for his parents! And congrats on the #12. A dozen, but I'm guessing you may have more. Your sewing notions box is so tidy. I'm still using my mom's old basket that I made her in grade school. It's not the tidiest arrangement. Just thinking of how watered the farmland will be after all that snow melts!

Robin said...

What a precious grandchild!! I know he will bring to much love and happiness to the family. Congratulations!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

He's so cute and precious. Congratulations! You are so blessed.
Love that fabric in your first photo. So awesome for a boy. I know what a pain the snow can be but it does look beautiful. The poor animals. So glad you are feeding them. The pheasant is beautiful.

Chatty Crone said...

And my birthday yesterday too. He looks beautiful. I can't believe all your snow out there? It is so pretty for pictures, but looks so cold! Nice your son to help you!

Debby Ray said...

Oh what a darling little guy Tobias is! Congratulations...love his name! And yes, he will absolutely LOVE that adorable blanket (which you happened to do a wonderful job on!) when he is old enough to know what a blanket it...LOVE the green and brown animal print! What a bunch of snow...WOWSERS!!!

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

Judy, I had to put my shawl around my shoulders while reading your post! So much snow. Bless your son's heart for plowing the driveway. The equipment you must need to live in your area. I love the sweet blanket you have made for the grand baby. I like the fabric very much and I bet the child will figure out a way to get its fingers in the corner. Congratulations on the arrival of sweet little Tobias. God Bless him and your family. ♥

Terri D said...

Congratulations!! God bless that little one and I know he is blessed to be born into your beautiful family! That snow - oh my, that snow. Please keep putting out seed and corn for those critters. Bless you for that!

Rose said...

Congratulations on the new grandchild...I love the name. He is adorable. I enjoyed all your pics...I love instagram, but still nothing quite like a good blog post filled with pics.

Rose said...

I meant to include that Yes! I do enjoy sewing notions....specially old ones that belonged to my mom or my husbands's grandma.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

Judy, yes, I love sewing notions, even though I haven't done any real sewing in decades. My hand sewing is pretty rough! Tobias is adorable, and he is sure to love his unbabyish blanket!

Cindy said...

Congratulations on the new grandchild! What a doll he is! The snow is beautiful but I think that's a little too much for me. We got about 10 inches here in Seattle this year (very rare to get even that much!) and that was a perfect amount as far as I'm concerned. Stay warm!

Carla from The River said...

Congratulations Judy and Family!!
Tobias, I like the name. :-) Is there a story about his name at all, passed down from family or anything?

We are asked about Atticus all the time ;-) so now I get to do it. LOL

I love the photo of the pheasant. They are beautiful birds, the color God created for us to enjoy!!
Have a good weekend,
Carla

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

The snow does look very pretty Judy but I suppose it has great challenges as well Love the photograph of you as a 4 year old and the new baby is gorgeous.

Wendy said...

Congratulations on your new Grandson. I'm sure he will appreciate his blanket, especially considering you had to go out in all that snow to get the fabric! I think if we had that much snow in winter I would be hibernating lol. I guess by now though you are so used to it that you wonder why those of us who don't have to deal with it think it's such a big thing lol

Vee said...

Lots and lots of snow. Thing is, once warm weather comes, it goes so fast. I am hoping that the stop sign gets shoveled out some in case someone new wanders by. Warm congrats on your new baby grandson. What a nice name he’s been given. Here’s to a springy March.

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