52 Photos - Week 46 - Gold

Bella has dragged me kicking and screaming and complaining loudly into the 25th Century by forcing me to learn instagram.  I think I have it now, although i am not sure how I can see the photos of the others who post to the #52Photosproject.  I have not worked out all the bits and pieces of Instagram yet.

If you want to follow me on instagram, for what it is at the moment, find me at #quiltswissy .

Is that right?  I put the hashtag in there?  If now, just do quiltswissy.  Aughh

Gold -----

This Week 46 in 52 Photos Bella  gave us the prompt of Gold.  She thought of St. Patrick's Day and the reward at the end of that lucky rainbow. 

It is still early in the day for a lot of postings on the site, but i see some fall trees golden with leaves and gold wrapped Easter Chocolates.

You know  my DiNozzo, he is one one of the rescued bassets I have.  I tell him he is the golden color of a palomino pony that is highly prized among breeders.  

This photo was taken on one of the first trips we took him on.  It was to see the bonfire structures along the Mississippi River that are lit to guide Papa Noel to the children on Christmas Eve.

He was so carsick.  You can see how he is just hoping to make it home without dying!  I guess he was thinking, look at these people, they saved me and love on me and take me on torture rides!

He is better now, but we still watch for signs of drooling and we don't take him on long rides anymore.

The golden sky in this photo was taken from the Carnival Triumph on our way down the Mississippi River in 2010.  We were going to the islands in the Caribbean with Carrie and Andrew.  It takes about 8 hours to run down the river from New Orleans to the Gulf.  And there are so many interesting things to see all along the way.

Ohhhhh!  Here is thick, rich, golden cheese....covering chili....covering french fries.



Need I say more?

52 Photos - Week 45 - One Woman I Love

As you know, 52Photos Blog is going to Instagram.  I am spending some time on it every day but for the life of me, I have no idea how to work it.  It is just one of those things that bites my butt.  I have always been able to just download a program and play with it and figure it out.  But this Instagram is not coming to me.  We shall see, maybe someone knows of a tutorial or something.

Bella chose an interesting topic for Week 45.  And I immediately knew what I would choose. 

Junior High Prom

In Monterrey CA

 It took 13 years to have her, and 30 years later she is still the only one for us.  Just like all parents, we feel we don't get to see her often enough, though  she lives quite close.  When she needs us, she always calls.  And when we finish talking, she always says, "I love  you."

I could not imagine having kids, but now I can't imagine not having her.  I am glad she was a girl and not a boy, even though we had major clashes when she was a teenager.

At LSU

Carrie and my mom

I remember one time she was about 15.  She wanted to spend the night at a co-ed sleep-in.  Her argument was that there would be lots of other kids there, not just her and her boyfriend.  And that "all" the girls were going. 

After several heated exchanges where we tried calmly to let her know we did not approve, she stormed off......sure we were ruining her life.

At some point I told her that when she was a mother she would protect her daughter in the same way.  She (not so politely) informed me that she would be a wonderfully understanding mother and let her daughter go to the sleep-in.

I called 4 or 5 of her friend's mothers and confirmed that they were not letting their daughters sleep with their boyfriends en masse.  She was not happy.   And I am sure all the parties to the party were not happy.

Today, I look at her and her husband and smile.  I know them well enough to know they would both be fiercely protective of their children.

Those kids would NOT be going to co-ed parties!
 


She is smart.  She is beautiful.  She is savvy and she is a hard worker.  What else could you possibly want for your child to become?

Her life could have gone many ways, I am so glad she chose this one.   We are so proud to be her parents.

Week 44 _ 52 Photos - Across the Street

I am so sad.  My beloved 52 Photos blog is moving to an Instagram format. I know nothing about Instagram.  So I guess we will part ways.  I will miss the weekly challenge.  I guess I will have to find me another blog that plays with photos.  And stay in my own technical age range.

But in the meantime, this week is Across the Street.  I have a nice neighb or across the street.  Our girls grew up together since they moved in when the girls were about 3.  We havve watched each other's houses while we went on vacation.  We have picked up mail, newspaper and packages.  We keep an eye out for happpenings. 

Now that all the kids are educated, and gone and married and on their own, we both have had the opportioty to travel in fangtastic places across the world.  We share photos when we return from our travels and get pointers on where to go in future jaunts.

So here is what I have seen across the street every day for the last 30 years.

Hi, Nancy and Greg!  Too bad they weren't home to wave back!

52 Photos - Week 43 - Black and White

Ahh!  Something to give me a break from QuiltCon!  I love BW Photos!  They are so edgy and wonderful.  They make me feel like a such a photo snob!

 It can even make a bad bad dog look sweet!  Yes, here is one of my Bad Basset Boyz in BW.  This photo looks much better then the original.  Because the distracting colors of the quilts in the background are not stealing the show, you see the sleepy boy as the focus.  I like him when he is sleeping! 












Now this photo is interesting.  It is a subject I have given you before, the Louisiana State Capital Building in downtown Baton Rouge, LA.  I love the mist that shrouds the top of the building.  On the original photo it is largely grey and white, so the big change is the brilliant colors of the azaleas along the walkway.  It is a shame to take the color away from them!  These are a deep pink with dark green leaves.

But it does make an interesting composition.

  I left this one in its original state.  When Frank turned 60 Carrie and I gave him a surprise birthday party.  He had no idea!  That was so much fun.

So many of our friends came to celebrate with us.

The center of attention was this wall created by my Interior Designer daughter.  (She is so smart!)  Photographs from our entire lives were collaged on a wall in her beautiful home.    People were fascinated with the photos, all in black and white.

We had such a time talking about this one or that one.  Sharing with our friends who were in the photos.  It was a fabulous way to bring back so many wonderful memories.

And after it was over she gave them all to Frank.

52 Photos - Fragrant - Smells Heavenly Week 41

My week will be ruled by things I MUST do!

Last night I put together another quilt for the wedding boys.  This time a very modern, very bright Dr. Seuss.  I will show that later when I can get the batteries charged on the camera, I really don't like phone photos!

As many of you know, I love to cook.  I grew up in New Orleans.  In Southern Louisiana there are so many wonderful  things that can go into  a pot.  Louisiana is an amazing place to eat.  Those who hate the South have never taken a Food Journey here.  You would never leave if you did. Open yourself to the spices, the ingredients, the love that goes into a dish.  You will never want to live anywhere else!

I have taken a lot of classes from some top notch chefs over the years.  I have a ribs recipe that makes grown men cry!  My Italian heritage gave  me the bone structure to handle the fact that I do eat what I cook.  Well, sort of handle it!  My vision of myself in my head is quite different from the one in the mirror

Often times, Frank comes home from a hard day on the road eating lunch with his customers, and breathes in the wonderful smells the fill the house.  It must be a really tough thing to be a BASSET HOUND in my house!  Poor guys, they must think I am the ultimate torture expert, they never get table food!  Although they do try!

So..........

I  cook.  And it smells heavenly!

 I make bread, and it always smells so wonderful when it is baking.

 OMG Gumbo!  A great fragrant pot that will simmer all afternoon and I can quilt without guilt!

 I always begin with the Holy Trinity - onions, celery and bell peppers.  I always add garlic as well.  From there I decide what to cook!  If you add meat of some sort and a few spices you will have any number of wonderful dinners.

 Yes, I make my own Won Ton for the soup of the same name.  They are made like little nurses' hats.

 We are so lucky here in Louisiana.  Not only do we have fresh seafood everywhere, we have the most amazing strawberries grown just down the road in Pontchatoula.  They are HUGE.

 Some of that dough goes to make Calzones!  Gotta be true to my Italian heritage as well!

Okra, ham seasoning and tomatoes.  Side dish or gumbo.

Oyster Artichoke Soup.  One of my favorite things in the world!

Can you smell all my wonderful things?

52 Photos - Week 40 - Before and After

Ahhh.  Before and after.  Sometimes I have a quilt in production for years.  Yes, years!  I hit a difficult spot, it falls out of favor for another more exciting or pressing piece.  A deadline looms for an exhibit.  There are all sorts of reasons I don't finish a quilt.

But here is one that I worked from beginning concept to end.

The challenge was for Moon Art.  I spent a lot of time thinking of what I wanted to do.  The moon has always held a mystique for me.  I am fond of wolves and they have a strong link to the moon.  The thought in my mind was to do a moon and a wolf of some sort.  I just couldn't get the right mixture to work though.

So I drifted away from the wolf and thought more about the moon itself.  I studied the waxing moon on the last few nights but still, no idea solidified.  So many design possibilities.  There were wisps of clouds over moon, stars behind it, trees in front of it on the earthly plane.  Still, nothing emerged from the fabric.

Then I saw a show on TV about an art teacher who taught her students some math by having them write their names in a pie wedge of a large circle.  And it hit me.



From a pile of fabric, this emerged.  And grew.  And became the moon.

And me.

A mandala.  Of sorts. 


Can you see my name?  Look hard!  It is there 8 times!

Who knew it could have such beautiful possibilities?  I have always hated my name.  But tonight, I love it!

52 Photos - Week 37 - Wildlife

LOL.  This is so funny.  We LIVE the wild life!  Dogs everywhere.  Crazy dogs.  One that eats paper, fabric, books, towels, silk scarves destined for sale at Habitat for Humanity.  I think that qualifies as wildlife!

Here is a look at the REAL wildlife outside my window.  We live in the city and really don't have much wildlife, so the birdies have to qualify!

 This beauty visits my feeder regularly.  I thought it was a woodpecker,  but my more knowledgeable SonInLaw says it is a sapsucker.

Whatever it it, it is so beautiful.  I consider myself gifted when he visits my feeders.

 This is a juvenile cardinal male.  He is not quite finished molting his baby feathers.  I watched the parents raise these young'uns over the summer.

 This is a female baby from the nest.  I guess, nest mates.

Every year we have 4 or 5 breeding pairs make their homes in our yard.

This guy may be the most interesting.  Locust.  We have them sing in the trees at dusk every day.  Their song is what you hear when you think of the South.

This is actually just the shell, they shed several times a year as they grow into bigger and bigger clothes!

52 Photos - Week 38 - Teal

This week Belle's prompt is a color.  I was secretly hoping she would make it sunset since I have these beauties from my birthday on Saturday.  There is no teal in that sunset though!

Teal seems to be the "it" color now.  Carrie has filled her house with it.  All the new fabric lines are coming out in teal.  Lois' shirt on Family Guy is teal, which I never thought of before.  I wonder if she ever really washes that shirt, seems she wears it every week.

There is nothing in my yard that is teal.  Nor my house.  Nor my shirt.   I guess we are not really modern. 

I do have teal fabric, though!  You know me, I always can produce fabric in whatever color you can name (and then some).......

I am so into foxes right now.  And these cuties are one of my favorite pieces.  I wonder what makes foxes so fabulous?  

52 Photos - Week 36 - Collections

Right up  my alley.  Do you think I have a fabric fetish?  Frank thinks I do!

Most of the people who will come through 52 Photos may not understand why quilters need to have lots and lots and lots of fabric.  Frank is in that crowd as well!  But my quilter friends will understand!

These are just a few of my newest additions.  I can't even begin to tell you how many hundreds of yards of fabric I have.  I really don't want to know.  But I can tell you in 2014 I bought more than I
used. 

Yards used this year	-166
Yards bought this year	218.75
plus or minus	52.75

Yes, I do keep track of it.  It is fun, sometimes, to see the negative numbers grow.  Last year the closure of a local quilt shop did me in.  I  was thrilled to get fabric at 50% and then 60% off regular prices, so I bought a lot!

For those uneducated in the many ways to buy fabric now, these are called Jelly Rolls.  They are forty 2 1/2 inch by width of fabric (generally 41 inches) strips.  Manufacturers do this so you can get a little bit of the entire collection of that designer.    


These are from Moda and originally sold for about $40.  Each one will make a lap or full sized quilt when you add fabric for the background and then of course the backing and binding. 

That is another level of eduction for non-quilters.  When a quilter makes a quilt for you, it can cost $150 to $300 for just the fabric, more for the batting and thread to piece the top.  That doesn't take into account the time of the quilter or the wear and tear on their machines.  Then it costs about $150 to $300 to quilt the entire quilt.  The quilting is the sewing lines you see on the quilt top 

So when someone gifts you a quilt, you are being trusted with a work of art that is worth way more than most people are willing to pay for it. 

One time, a quilt of mine won Best in Show and a viewer got very upset when I turned down her offer of $150 to buy my masterpiece!  To say I was insulted, is an understatement!


Not that I would have sold the Elephants of Sri Lanka anyway!

Gallery 36 - 52 Photos - Natures Gifts

A quick post here, something came up and I gotta run quick!

the photos are from the butterfly House on the way to Buchart Gardens in Victoria Canada.  We went there this last year in the spring.

Amazing creatures.  Amazing beauty.  Weird legs!

I would love to do a quilt like the bottom picture.  Maybe one day!

( I just looked at it in the line-up.  My flamingo is the perfect literal compliment to the hibiscus two up!)

Week 34 - 52 Photos - Favorite Photo in 2014

Oh, man.  What a thing to do to me!  Favorite photo?  How am I going to choose just one.  Everyone else has that same problem I am sure!

I have been going through photos and photos and photos.  There are so many.  Nature photos, vacation photos, family photos.  And finally, I knew it immediately when I saw it.

This is DiNozzo.  Not just DiNozzo, it stands for  so much more.  All the dogs we see who don't make it to people like me.  About 9,000 in the Baton Rouge area, if you add in all the cats in who are euthanized each year as well.  (Sidebar:  For your tax deductible contribution this year donate to the small local shelter, not the HSUS or ASPCA where most of the money goes to salaries and advertizing. )

DiNozzo is a dog who should not have survived.  He was a product of a puppy mill breeder, who pumps out litter after litter.  We can't do anything about them because we are not enforcers of the laws, we are a private non-profit rescue. 

DiNozzo was thin and weak.  But he was healthy.  He was not the first from this  person, nor was he the last.  There were two before him and two after him, before McGee landed in my hands.

McGee came a year later.  This time he was more starved, weaker.  He had 43 blood sucking ticks.  Worse yet, he had heartworms.  We were not sure he would survive. 

He did, and I have spend about $5000 keeping him alive. Even now, he thinks he is ravenous and needs to fill his stomach immediately with whatever is handy. He eats fabric, metal, plastic, paper.  Soft things, hard things.   My things, most of them.  He has destroyed so many of my books, papers, patterns.  And they don't always come out in the normal manner.

These bassets are not my chosen breed.  Nor were they what I wanted after I lost my beloved Greater Swiss Mountain Dog Dutch.

But they have grown on me.



Besides, who can resist those faces?

52 photos gallery 32 RED!!

Oh, boy!  I am so on top of this RED gallery this week!  I have had a very impacting Red Moment this week.  So appropriate!

We have some red berries on the nandina bushes.  38 degrees this morning, perfect skies.  On Sunday I decided to take my stack of new quilt books and inhale them on the back patio.  The Bad Basset Boyz were running around terrorizing squirrels, or maybe it was the other way around.

Walking out to the back patio I DROP the iPad.  It just slips off the stack in my arms.  AUGGGGHHH!

I have like an acre of grass and gardens with one little flagstone path.  Yep, the iPad.  Down, down, down.  Like that proverbial slow motion moment. 



fell right on the flagstone.  it hit perfectly on the edge of the case, shattering the screen and shorting out the insides.  They could not get it back together because the case was bent to a trapezoid.

So now I have the newest iPad Air.  I really didn't want an iPad for Christmas, but I guess I got one!

52 Photos Wee 31 - What Makes You Happy?

Love this one, it makes me happy!  LOL.

I am going to ask you, my readers, what makes you happy?  Leave me some notes at the  bottom here.

This is what makes me happy.  Frank with me.  Dogs healthy and happy.  Working for a cause we both believe strongly in, raising money to spay and neuter low income and homeless animals and find a few homes for some lucky cats and dogs along the way.  And just being able to do all that.

Some people say blessed, I don't.  To be able to do this is far more.  We both have spent our lifetimes working and providing a good home for our family and making good choices in our lives.  It was us and only us working toward that dream, with no help from government or rich inheritances.

No divine intervention here, we worked HARD to make it all happen!

52 Photos - Gallery 30 - Look Down

When I am in the house and I look down I see lots and lots of short dog hair covering my tile floors.  No matter what I do to sweep or vacuum daily, it is there covering the dark floors.  A never ending supply of dog hair. 

Mixed in with the dog hair is fabric strings and clippings.  In my dining room, where the long arm is set up, I just finished trimming a tiny edges of all the circle so they won't show behind the white of the background fabric.  Oye!  Lots of fabric bits and pieces on the floor!


When I am outside these days, underfoot is nothing but leaves.  Leaves and grass that is not sure if it will warm tomorrow or freeze tonight.  At least we don't stay cold or freezing and we certainly don't have snow!

But my favorite looking down photo is from a trip to the Gulf Coast on our 40th Anniversary several years ago.  Here we are, standing on the seawall looking down into the murky water. 

One might think the water in the Gulf looks like the Florida blue all over.  Not so, here in Louisiana and on most of the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coast it looks like this.

52 Photos - Gallery 29 - Vintage Buildings

Bike rides in the city!  We ride in the summer, winter, fall and spring.  It doesn't matter if it is cloudy or fair, we ride a lot.  Usually our rides are about 15 to 18 miles long on the weekends and up to about 5 every other day during the week.   Oh, but we dolike to go at a leisurely pace!  We tried to ride for a while with the big bike club and they ride at 20 mph plus, plus, plus.  Not what we enjoyed doing. 

I am trying to get a couple of us together and forming a new "club" of riders who like to do what we do and actually enjoy the ride.

When you are street level and going slow you get to see much more than when you whiz by in your air conditioned car.  We have so much history here.  Some of it was destroyed in the War Between the States but what remains, we can walk into and feel the souls of those who walked before us. 

The Old State Capital was built in 1847 on the bluff overlooking the mighty Mississippi River.  Now it sits several hundred feet off the river as the river has moved.  The style is called "Castellated Gothic" because of the cast-iron decoration of its crenellated battlements and turrets.  Whatever that means, it looks like a medieval castle of sorts.  During the Civil War it was used a a prison until one of the Union troops set the building on fire.  It was reconstructed and the huge curving staircase (where lots of high society brides get their wedding photos done) was added to the interior.  The building served as the seat of Government for the State of Louisiana until 1932, when the NEW State Capitol Building was completed.

Louisiana Governor Huey Long was a very very interesting character, who was hugely proud of his state.  During the Great Depression he used WPA workers and money to build a new State Capitol Building.  It was to be the tallest of all capitols in the States at 450 feet and 334 stories tall!  And it still is!  If you walk through the marble hallways of the first floor, you can still see the divots in the marble where Huey's bodyguards shot his assassin 62 times.  Those bullets were a-flyin' !  

There is an observation tower on the very top, that all schoolchildren from across the state visit during their 7th grade year.   


On the other side of the Capitol Building is a beautiful park where Huey P. Long is buried.  He was pretty full of himself, wasn't he!

We have a beautiful city and it is fairly safe to ride in.  We stay off the main roads and ride on the weekends in the city.  I have a lot of photos for future galleries of Belle's 52!



ere HHere is the link to the 52 Photos where yu can see other old buildings