Month: February 2014

Turkey Tracks: Snowy Owls in Maine

Turkey Tracks:  February 6, 2014

Snowy Owls in Maine

We’ve had Snowy Owls in Maine this winter.

We don’t usually see them in the “lower 48.”  They are more present in Canada.

One was rescued off the end of the airport runway in Portland, fed, and released.

Their wing span is HUGE.

And of course, they are so dramatic.

Best of all, we have some very near Camden.

Friend and internationally recognized, amazing quilter Sarah Ann Smith took at artist trip, camera in hand, this week out to where Snowy Owls had been spotted.

This picture is from her very-good blog:

IMG_0167

As her blog story tells, there are about three of these owls wintering right near each other.

I think you can get to Sarah’s blog post with this url.  If not she’s easy to google.  The entry was made on Feb. 4th and has lots of pictures of the owls.

http://www.sarahannsmith.com/weblog/?p=9029

So enjoy Sarah’s blog.  She is extraordinarily generous with her time, help, and talents.  We are so lucky to have her as a fellow member of Coastal Quilters.  And, I am lucky to have her as a friend.

Sarah is primarily an art quilter, but she can make a wonderful bed/lap quilt, too.  Her book and DVD are about machine quilting, of which she is a master.

I wonder if an owl quilt is in her future?

I hope so.

Interesting Information: Mercola Post: Widely Used Antacids Can Cause Vitamin B12 Deficiency

Interesting Information:  February 5, 2014

Mercola Post:

Widely Used Antacids Can Cause Vitamin B12 Deficiency

 

Two observations:

1.  I think that the information Joseph Mercola puts out and his free web site is a real gift.  I do NOT agree with everything Mercola says, but DO think that he has amassed a really useful archive that should always be considered.  And the points where I disagree are small.  I think REAL fermented cod liver oil is far better than any fish oil, and I am not at all sure that a lot of raw food can be fully assimilated by our bodies.  And it’s clear that too much raw food, especially fruit, causes nutrient deficiencies and a lot of cavities.  These differences are where I would favor information and analysis on The Weston A. Price Foundation over Mercola, and the WAPF folks argue that cooked food often has nutrients that are more available to our bodies.  Having said that, I love a good salad and am not suggesting that ALL food should be cooked.

 If you want to read the Mercola/Weston A. Price Foundation debate on cod-liver/fish oil, the WAPF web site has it.

2.  I am fascinated by how often an issue arises in my life and in a few days, the universe throws up useful information about the issue.  Not even a week ago, I was in a discussion about the role of stomach acid in digestion.  And in came this Mercola post.

Mercola’s post here has some new information on why antacids are NOT a good idea.  Specifically, they set into place the depletion of vitamin B12.  Can I just say that if you are not processing or cannot process and use B12, you get dementia.  And I can tell you that that is exactly what happened to my father.

There is now a host of information about how wrong mainstream medicine is with regard to the treatment of GERD, or Acid Reflux.  It’s not caused by too much stomach acid, but by too little.  (I know that I have written about this issue more than once.)  And it does not matter WHY you have GERD or indigestion, the solution is still MORE stomach acid–except in some truly rare cases.  I keep Betaine HCL with Pepsin on hand for the rare occasions when something runs amuk in my body, and I feel I have indigestion.  You can buy it at any supplement store.

 

So, if you have indigestion of any kind, before you reach for an antacid, do your body a favor and read this Mercola post.  Then go to The Weston A. Price Foundation archive and google Acid Reflux.  Then try to figure out WHAT you ate that is causing you trouble–and err on the side of bone broths and clean foods that do not come in a box or can.

Widely Used Antacids Can Cause Vitamin B12 Deficiency.

And also bear in mind that doctors ONLY KNOW what they have been taught and most don’t have time or skills to research this issue.  The drug companies are the “teachers” here, and they are making a HUGE profit on these antacid drugs.

Books, Documentaries, Reviews: THE GOLDFINCH, Donna Tartt–and MORE

Books, Documentaries, Reviews:  February 5, 2014

The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

And MORE

I promised several people I would report back on what I thought about The Goldfinch.

It’s a BIG novel–some 700 pages.

I loved it.  I loved every page of it.  I was sad to see it finished.

Many themes run through this novel.  Some are listed below:

The long-term impact of the sudden, violent loss of the mother for a child.

The long-term impact of being within a sudden, violent episode–being in close proximity of a bomb going off inside a building.

The long-term impact of having an irresponsible parent in charge of you–with no way out really.

The growing up, the life journey to maturity (whatever that is) wherein you come to grips with how much you are like the irresponsible parent you hate and how much you have refused to see that person’s good points.

The role of strangers in our lives–strangers who make a huge difference.

The depth of a friendship forged within situations that neither person can fully control and what is done to survive.  Or, to hide and just make it all go away.

The role of art, of a painting, in our lives.

Where is good really located in our lives?  And, where evil?   And can good come out of bad?

What does it mean to love without judgment?

I could go on.  And on.

* * *

So, I am reading Jeffrey Eugenides The Marriage Plot before going to sleep at night.  And, enjoying it so far.

Here’s a review:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/books/review/the-marriage-plot-by-jeffrey-eugenides-book-review.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

I’m listening to Alice Munro’s Dear Life while I quilt.  I started it yesterday afternoon–I had to wait my turn to download it on the Maine Library Systems audio book downloads.  I sewed until almost 8 p.m. before stopping to organize some dinner as I was enjoying it so much.  I love Munro’s short stories.  They are brilliant.  And, warrant listening to more than once as they are like a movie, in that the first viewing is an assault and you can’t take it all in, so you have to see the movie–read the story–twice.

Dear Life is the book club’s selection this month–and our meeting is Friday, so I’m going to be sewing a lot today.

While waiting for Dear Life, I downloaded another library audio book:  a P.D. James–An Unsuitable Job For A Woman (1972)–one of the Cordella Grey mysteries.  The depth of James is a pleasure to read/hear.

Having someone read a book to me recalls the pleasure I felt when my mother read to us growing up–which she did constantly.  The all-time favorite was Gene Stratton Porter’s Laddie, which I love to this day.  I read it to my mother not long before she died, while she rested on her back porch, and we laughed and pleasured our way through it.

Turkey Tracks: Snow Day and Diva Update

Turkey Tracks:  February 5, 2014

Snow Day and Diva Update

 

It’s snowing today.  Hard.

I’m glad and am enjoying a “snow day.”

The old  snow was grey and dirty, so it’s good to have a fresh, white coating of snow.

Diva Queenie has become very tame and very vocal.  Whenever she hears me coming, she sets up squawking at the top of her lungs as she tries to tell me things.

When Linda McKinney was here on Monday, Queenie “talked” at the top of her lungs the entire time.  Linda:  “That chicken has cabin fever.”

And she does…

She adores getting OUT of her box.

She is especially interested in the straw basket at the back door where I pile newspapers and my boots and gloves.  She gets in it and turns all around before hopping out.  She is also interested in some bowls and bits of pottery I have in an open set of shelves at the end of the counter.  She pecks them until she has them all ringing/singing/rattling and until I stop her.

IMG_0164

Can you see what she has done to the INSIDE of the box?  And WHY?

This shredding of everything began about five days ago.   And, the constant turning over of her water and food dishes.

One answer is hidden in the layers of newspaper she has shredded and lies up next to the back, right-hand side of the box.

Here’s a better picture:

IMG_0165

 

And here’s a picture against the other hens’ eggs–all but Rosie’s egg which is a BIG, dark brown egg:

IMG_0166

 

This little white egg is Queenie’s first since…November?…I think.

She has now laid two more, each bigger than the last.

All the hens are laying again as the days are increasingly longer–up to 45 minutes more daylight now.

I thought long and hard about putting Queenie outside over the past few days when our temps were in the 30s and the other chickens were outside the coop.

But, our temps over the next few nights will dip to sub zero numbers, and Queenie will not be able to take more cold.  I don’t know if she will ever grow feathers on parts of her neck again.

Plus, the other chickens have not seen her in weeks, which means she will have to endure some pecking and meanness from them–which will not be good for her.  She still has one place on her neck that has a large, deep scab.  Best to let it heal fully before putting her out again.

If we get more days with warmer temps, I will let her get out in the yard, but will try to retrieve her at night.

Otherwise, Queenie and I will just have to cope with the fact that she is feeling so much better and wants OUT.

Turkey Tracks: “Sails Up & Flys Flying” Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  February 2, 2014

Sails Up and Flags Flying Quilt

 

This little beauty got mailed last Tuesday and is now in its new home–with a beautiful and healthy baby boy–Giovanna McCarthy’s first grandchild!

100_3692

 

The parents wanted BRIGHT–and when I saw this bright boat sails fabric, I knew what I wanted to do with it.

And the parents didn’t want to know the sex, so I could not use pink in case the baby was a boy…

The neutral fabric with the flags begin to solidify the quilt in my mind.

Even though I grew up living land bound, we had sayings in the family about “flags flying”–to indicate excitement, anticipation, happiness…

100_3700

 

Here’s a close-up of the blocks:

100_3695

 

And, of the corner block–I like how this fabric is working in the quilt.

 

 

100_3696

 

Here you can see the pantograph pattern and the yellow thread a bit better.

100_3699

I was a bit stumped as to what color thread to use to quilt–and settled on this very nice yellow.  I might have been able to make pale blue work, but what if the baby were a girl??

The pantograph is Denise’s Spirals, and I ordered it from Urban Elementz, which has the most amazing selection of pantos.

(I love the binding on this quilt–it’s just perfect.)

I had originally thought to use this muted blue stripe as the binding, but it found its way to the quilt’s back instead–interspersed with the sails fabric as I didn’t have enough of the blue.  Again, the yellow thread is working just fine on the back of the quilt.

100_3698

 

I think the backing works nicely with the front:

 

100_3697

 

Finally, here’s where the quilt lived for the nights it took me to bind it.  You can see how BRIGHT it is in contrast to its surroundings.

 

 

 

100_3680

I had so much fun making this quilt, and you can expect to see more versions of it as it really lends itself to fun interpretations.

Indeed, I have two versions in mind already…

And it’s a good thing as I have THREE family babies coming into this world soon.

The idea for this kind of setting came, for me, from Bonnie Hunter’s first book, LEADERS AND ENDERS, and the first quilt in the book:   “Sisters’ Nine Patch.”  This setting is traditional, but it’s always good to be reminded how something will look.  Bonnie used cheddar orange blocks with red and neutral nine patches.

 

Turkey Tracks: This Is So Fun: Separating Egg Yolks

Turkey Tracks:  February 2, 2014

THIS IS SO FUN!

Separating EGG Yolks

Oh, you’re going to love this one.

Friend and quilter Roxanne Wells forwarded this U-Tube video.

At first I couldn’t believe my eyes.

It took me a few days to actually buy a water bottle–you all know that’s a philosophical no-no for me.

But, But, this method works, is amazing, and so much fun.

I had to stop myself from breaking any more eggs–as it was, No No Penny got two egg whites out of the deal.  The yolks went into a yogurt, fruit smoothie–made with lots of coconut oil.

Enjoy!!!

Very cool way to separate egg yolk – YouTube.