New Year Ambitions

I hope that whomever stumbles across this sad excuse for a blog (I don't post often), has a prosperous, happy and healthy 2014, filled with everything they enjoy and deserve (and then some)!

Sometime in November, Diamond and I worked a spot at Holidays in the Park, for Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay, and Mrs. Claus was there!  She was very sweet and delighted to let me take her picture with Diamond.  I have a picture from a few years ago with her and Diamond and she remembered us (well at least Diamond).  

We had a busy December. It seems that we were busy from October 1 - straight through to Christmas, between work and the holidays. I don't really know where the past few months went. I'm relieved they are over and am looking forward to a slower pace for a bit. I got slowed down, all the way to a stop for all of last week. Some nasty bug hit me and Bruce and we literally spent almost the whole week in our recliners, sneezing, coughing and dozing. Thankfully, whatever it was seems to have been banished by lots of vitamin C, soup, liquids, cold medicine and rest. 

On December 14, we participated in our first boat parade. When I was growing up, my Grandmother had a house on the water, on one of the inlets along the inter-coastal waterway of Madeira Beach, FL. Almost every year until I was 17 or 18 (and was working in retail), we would go to her house and watch the boat parade. I never knew how many others had the same tradition. Some people throw huge parties to coincide with the parade. It's really a big deal. So here's our boat in the parade. 

This picture was taken by a friend of ours who, unbeknownst to us, was throwing one of those parties. Apparently all of the party guests were chanting "BRUCE BRUCE BRUCE" as we went by, but because of the noise of the motor, generator and Christmas music, we didn't hear them.  It's hard to see, but I'm actually driving the boat at this point, Bruce is in the white shirt, my StepDad, (who is also a Bruce) is Santa, hidden behind him, is our friend Gary (who was grilling burgers for us at the time), seated are Bruce's mom and my mom.  We invited my grandmother to come as well, but at 97 she wasn't up to the 4 hour ride and chilly temperatures. We had a lot of fun. The picture doesn't do the lights justice. On the top of the boat is Santa in an airplane, and we had lights mounted on our outriggers that flashed in sequence, like a runway. It was pretty neat.  

The parade route started out at John's Pass, which is a big tourist attraction around here with tons of shops and a waterside boardwalk. There were literally hundreds of people on the boardwalk watching the parade. I tried to get a picture of it, but because it was so dark, you can't see anyone. We were really shocked at how many people were out on their docks, or in their yards, even in waterside parks, waiting for the parade. Here's the parade route.

It's hard to see, but the line that is thinly highlighted in yellow, is the route. We went in and out of all the inlets. Some of the larger boats, like one of the sailboats, didn't go down some of the narrower inlets. It took nearly four hours from start to finish. Thankfully the weather was just right. We also didn't know it, but along the parade route, certain houses had judges and there were little boats out in the water every so often that had judges as well. There were two size groups and we won 3rd place for small boats (24ft and under)! We won $400 and a bottle of wine and a gift certificate to a local seafood restaurant. Not bad for first timers. Bruce is already scheming up next year's theme. 

Here is Bruce (on the right), accepting his prize, being presented by the Mayor of Madeira Beach (center) and the organizer of the parade from the Madeira Beach Municipal Marina(left).

I apologize for the crappy cell phone image, but the lighting was bad and I had to take it fast. 

Christmas was good. Christmas Eve, we finished last minute shopping and wrapping. In the evening, we headed up to my StepMom's sister's house for their traditional celebrating. Here's me, receiving a gift from my Dad and StepMom.

 

 Yes, those are shocks for my truck, I'm kind of low maintenance (according to Bruce). And that is Bruce, photo-bombing.   I just realized that my "silly" grin looks a little demented.  Ha ha. 

I am spoiled and loved and received a lot of lovely things. I actually had forgotten that I asked my Mom for these.

I was so excited to get my needle nannies!  I've been trying for a year to win one. Now I have my own! While I was sick I finished a Black work Mermaid, but I am going to be starting a new cross stitch, and working on a couple of quilt applique projects where I can employ these little cuties. 

Speaking of little cuties, I just have to share my adorable, 97 year old, Grandma. Here is how she showed up on Christmas at my Mom's house. (I'm blaming Bruce for the fuzzy shot, because I asked him to take the picture and didn't check it to get a better one). I'm upset that I didn't get a better picture of her all dressed up.  I was calling her Cindy Lou Who all day (from the Grinch).

 I've gained enough wisdom and self knowledge to know that me making resolutions is pointless. I never stick to them. I am not above setting some goals for myself though.  This year I'm getting a little ambitious (or optimistic).  

One thing I would like to do is start posting more. I doubt it will happen, but I'm going to try. I've gotten rather lazy about it, figuring that no one reads this anyway, and so I've only been posting at the end of the month to link up with sensational Barbara over at Catpatches. She hosts the monthly NEWfo Linky party. 

 For January, I'm going to attempt to:

Finish the adorable "Arnie" quilt that's been sitting in Limbo in the UFO pile for I'm not really sure how long. I am afraid it may be since 2008. YIKES! So I really really need to finish it.

 I don't have all that much left to do to it.  Then there's the last 4 Hello Moon blocks, which I can do in a weekend, or a couple of week nights. My Mom asked me to make her a cover for an special pot lid for Christmas, but I didn't have the time. That should take an afternoon or a couple of weeknights to do. And then there's my dog vest for the rescue I need to finish. I'm ashamed that I started these in late September or early October and then we were so busy with work, that I completely pushed them aside. 


As for the rest of the year, here's a quick list of items I hope to get finished, in no particular order.

Holly's quilt - WIP
Scotty Quillow -WIP
Paper Piecing  monthly wall hangings (x10)
Dog quilts for Dalmatian rescue auctions (x3) - need quilting
Sheep quilt - needs quilting
Quilts for Blake, Luke, Samantha, Alaina
T-shirt quilt for Bruce
Cross stitch Mermaid
Frame finished mermaid cross stitch (x2)
Embroidery gift project (it's a secret)
Kitchen renovations

All of that, and of course, start some new things. I used to make a resolution (until I got so very wise), that I wouldn't start any new projects, until I finished the old ones.  How silly. It's impossible to not start new things, when there are so many tempting projects out there, just beckoning to be made!

If you live somewhere cold, I'm sending you warm wishes and hope that you have your very own lap warmer(s) to keep you nice and toasty this winter. 
 

Thanks for stopping in! ~Amy

Stitching and fishing

Riley and Oliver said it was about time I updated this, since I've been  busy sewing, planting, fishing, critter snuggling and unfortunately, working.

I really liked seeing the "Hello Sun" blocks that Barbara at Cat Patches made, so I joined in the "Hello Moon" Quilt Along. I have made the first four blocks and I am pretty pleased with them. Quilters who sew for enjoyment will understand that one of the first things you have to learn is how to let go of perfectionism. Not that we don't want our work to be perfect, because we do, but we have to learn that it's ok if it's not perfect. I had to remind myself when doing the stitching around the edges of the applique. This is my first attempt at fusible applique and I wasn't thrilled with my stitches at first, but now I have accepted them as a learning experience and they add to the character of the pieces. 

So for my April NewFo submission, here they are:

So there's some of the sewing I mentioned I was doing, now here are some pictures from fishing. Our target catch for the day was redfish.  Educational note: The red drum, also known as channel bass, redfish, spottail bass or simply reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico.We ran into a friend of a friend, as we were puttering around in Tampa Bay,  who told us of a good spot to try. This dock was it. 

You may have noticed that something is wrong with the top of the boat in the lift.  A pair of Osprey decided that the T-top of the boat looked like a lovely spot to build their nest. Normally, Osprey build their nests in tall trees, near water. This is a very low spot, considering their normal preferences.

They are protected birds, so maybe the owner was afraid to make them go away, or maybe he is a fan of the beautiful birds and doesn't use his boat much anyway. We also found it amusing that the birds built their nest around a plastic owl that is supposed to frighten birds away (seen on the left in the photo below). Obviously, the Osprey were not impressed or intimidated by the owl.

 The female was sitting in the nest, while her mate kept bringing more building supplies.

Since we got right up next to the dock, the female moved closer to keep an eye on us. You can tell she's the female by her "necklace". 

Our friend's friend was right! I caught my first redfish! Actually it was the only redfish we caught all day. And I out-fished both Bruce and Tim. In this rare photo, I'm in front of the camera.

 Here's a close up of the male Osprey as he was coming in to land. They are really fantastic looking creatures.

Here's the "after" shot of the redfish.. Ha ha.. Bruce cleaned and cooked the fish that night and it was tasty.

 In other news, I finally got Bruce's clothing cabinet assembled and squared away, so I have begun trying to get my fabric stash organized. Riley, my ever diligent helper, had to check out the dresser to see if it was a good fit for the fabric.

Thanks for stopping in! ~Amy

Getting caught up

Foto Finish: Show Us Where You Live

As many pictures as I take, apparently I need to take more, so I can be better prepared for future Foto Finishes!  Here's my entry for "Show us where you live".  I took this photo several years ago from behind our shop. There was a small canal, and thankfully this big boy stayed on the other bank. Alligators are quite common in our lakes.

With our house guest here, I haven't been able to get on my computer much, so I'm really behind in my posting.  My brother came down to visit my Dad, who had a mild stroke back in July. Dad's doing ok and seeing lots of doctors to try and figure out the cause.  We took Todd out on the boat for the afternoon. We went out to Egmont Key, just off the coast from Fort Desoto. Here's a few pics from the the trip to island. 

  

The lighthouse was built in 1858 and is still in use today.

 

 An Opsrey in it's nest. The pillar is what remains of an old building on the island.

  

This is one of the Sea Turtle nests that were on the East side of the island. They are endangered and protected. It was good to see so many out there, since the oil spill hit many of the northern nesting sites. The tracks on the sand are from a Gopher Tortoise that live on the island. They are also protected. 

  

Some kind of hermit crab hole. I liked the way the tracks left a pattern on the sand.

One of the brick roads that still remains.

  

A Gopher Tortoise. We came across two that day. Both were more interested in eating than having their pictures taken.

My big brother, Todd. In true big brother fashion.  

Thanks for stopping in! ~Amy

Scallop harvest 2011

 

Here's my entry for Foto Finish

 The theme is "Summer's Here"

 This was taken last year on our first scalloping trip. Looks like it should be a Coca-Cola ad. We had so much fun. The scallops are about 8 - 10 feet down and the water is fairly clear. We snorkel along until we see one (or two or three) and then dive down, grab them up and stuff them in a bag. Regulations allow 2 gallons (in shell) per person, with a 10 gallon limit per boat. We got our limit and then almost no one wanted their share, so Bruce and I ended up cleaning 8 gallons of scallops! We went two separate weekends, so we had scallops to last all winter.  Thank goodness for those vacuum sealing bag systems! 

Here's me, with a scallop. We had one of those disposable underwater cameras. The pictures weren't great, but this year I have my new fancy camera, so I'm excited and looking forward to when we go this year.

Here's half of a scallop shell, after it's been all cleaned up. Only a few were this pretty. I kept a few of these and sent some up to my friend in Maine, for her shell collection. You can't really see the edge well here, but those little suckers are sharp. They cut right through two layers of thick trash bags.

 This was my other choice for the Foto finish. Must have the dive flag out if you're diving or snorkeling. Safety first!

Our friend, Mark, with his haul. He was a scallop gathering machine!

 Looking at all these makes me want to go again. Bruce has been getting the "new" boat all geared up. Just has to figure out the Bimini top, so we don't get fried and we'll be ready!  For now, I have some sewing and laundry to do and a lawn to mow. I have to get some items finished for the rescue's 3rd annual wine social and auction next Saturday. 

I did finally get the blue chalk out of my niece's quilt, so I'll be posting pictures of that next. 

Thanks for stopping in! ~Amy