A New Pillow For A New Chair

We bought a little chair from Ikea to put in a nook in our living room, and I thought it needed a pillow. By the way, I say little chair because it is wee. And by wee, I mean it was probably made with me in mind. It's 26" tall. The hubs looks absolutely ridiculous sitting in it hehe 

Anyhow, I'd gotten some pillow inserts from Crate & Barrel when we moved in. More than a year and a half ago. Whoopsies. Cobbler's children and what have you :) For some inexplicable reason, a couple of the down pillow inserts I got were 12" x 18". I don't know why. They somehow found their way into my house. I have no control over myself at that damn store, so I have no answers for you.

Some time last week, while wasting some time on Pinterest, I came across this picture of what I'm assuming is street art. The blog the picture is on calls them trees but I thought they were mountains hehe Whatever it is, I liked it enough to want to make it into a pillow!

I pulled out some scraps and did a mock-up, then pulled out some solids and sketch fabric, and set to work. And it's really the only thing to do when you look out the window and you see THIS...

Plus the hubs had taken my car to work so I was kind of stuck at home. I don't know why, but I don't fancy driving his car... Like wearing someone else's shoes...

I think it turned out pretty cute, don't you? I do realise this close up that I forgot to clip a few threads, but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

I didn't quite know how to quilt this at first, so I decided simple was best. I stitched in the ditch around the trees / mountains, and skinny horizontal lines that got bigger as they went up. I put a hot pink dot on the back, which somehow got hidden in every damn photo I took! Just take my word for it that it's awesome :) Hee!

This is the little area on the right of the fireplace. There's an identical odd space on the left. I've got a quilt ladder coming in a couple of weeks that'll go in the corner to sort of finish it off and give me some storage solutions for all the quilts! The leaning frames will hopefully find homes on the walls... My sister asked me if I'm doing that cool leaning-the-frames-against-the-wall decor thing. No, it's just good, old-fashioned procrastination and laziness. They've been there for longer than I care to admit... I went on quite a print buying spree, then realised I don't know where to put them all and forced myself to stop!

And the chair (it's called Gagnet, if you're so inclined) is really quite adorable. It's a bit strange yet cute, so I had to have it. I'd seen it online and decided to go have a look at it in the store. We were slightly disappointed that it was so small but both of us fell in love with it and couldn't leave without it. It was super simple to put together (basically two screws)... Truth be told, it took far longer to remove the packaging!

You might be seeing more pillows because in addition to the second 12" x 18" pillow insert, I have four 16" x 16" ones. No reason. I just have them. Pretty sure there's a 20" x 20" one upstairs somewhere. Crate & Barrel is truly dangerous... and it's just down the street. Eek.

Blizzard

I'm fairly certain everyone's heard about the lovely blizzard we were blessed with here in New England. Not cool, Juno, NOT COOL. But the hubs got a snow day, so he's thrilled lol! And clearly a little kid!

See that up there? I used to have steps on the front porch... Pretty sure.

I think we got about a foot and a bit... it's hard to tell because the snow is dry and it's been blowy, so it's all drifted. We thankfully didn't get as much as predicted, at least in my town anyway. The travel ban was lifted early, so we're all relieved because it could've been so much worse. Although we're supposed to get more somewhere in the coming week. Great.

Look at that nonsense. It could definitely have been worse but yuck. And the poor hubs fell while snow blowing and hurt his shin :( He's got a fairly sizeable lump there so I made him ice it... not exactly the most ideal thing when it's freezing, but it's better than having a swollen shin! 

Well, regardless, I spent most of my day in the sewing room :) And no, the snow hasn't reached the windows on the upstairs hehe!

S.S.D.D.

Same shit, different day.

It snowed all yesterday, then it rained (so that froze), and then more snow on top of that this morning. There's ice on all the windows because the wind also came to the party. Yay. The roads were horrifying -- I kept seeing news reports of bad accidents -- so I'm staying home today. No reason to go venturing out and land myself in a ditch. Not that I know where to find a ditch around here. Unfortunately, the hubs had to go into work today (he had a snow day yesterday), and gave himself lots of time to get there even though he has a very short commute. He made it one piece... phew!

On the upside (if there is one), the thermometer read 40°F / 4°C, which felt positively balmy hehe! It's melting the snow a little, and I keep hearing icicles and ice fall everywhere. Which makes me keep thinking someone's in the house, so I walk around going "I know you're there..." while hoping no one pops out of the closet. My imagination... a blessing and a curse. 

See the bins buried in the snow at the end of our driveway? The sanitation people actually picked up our rubbish and recycling in the middle of the storm! Go them! Also go the amazing road crews! I heard them going all night and this morning. I don't know how they do it, trying to figure out where to put all this damned snow on little to no sleep. Go plow trucks!

There's more white (I typed 'shite'... I stand by that too) crap coming out way tomorrow and mid-week. Blergh. I feel awful for people who lose business and wages because of the snow. Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about the weather except hope that the storms stop already. Be safe out there, people.

I'm going back to cutting fabric... because what else is there to do?

Snow, Snow, Go Away

This was what was dumped on us on Wednesday, maybe about 10-12". On top of what we got on Monday. And we're supposed to get a couple more inches today, and next week. When is winter over already?!?! I don't mind the cold, but when the roads get treacherous, I hit my limit very quickly. 

On Monday, I went to run errands, going super slowly because I'm not an idiot, and my car slid while going round a bend. I missed hitting a pole (thank goodness!!!) but I did hit the kerb and it made a very loud bang. I thought I'd done serious damage to my car, but thankfully, no. I was very grateful for the parking ban on the roads because there's usually cars parked along that stretch. Phew. 

The snow can definitely stop now... it's just being obnoxious at this point. 

Look at my poor hubs... He fell a couple of times on the ice and smacked his shin on the snow blower :( And he doesn't even complain. Best guy ever. I'm so glad he didn't have to go in to work because the roads looked horrific on the news.

By the way, it took me a while to realise that the car's on the wrong side of the road lol! I grew up driving on the left side so it didn't hit me until quite a bit later! I still walk to the wrong side of the car sometimes... I just did it again today, and my poor friend was totally confused lol!

Snowfall

It's been snowing all bloody day! Chunky, fluffy snow. It's pretty and everything, but I always get a bit wary driving in it. Plus I need new tyres! At least we don't have that ridiculously steep hill to climb at our old house now. I always thought the hubs or I would go sliding backwards on our way home hehe

Yes, we're those people who still have pumpkins on their front porch. I wrote myself a note to throw them out but yeahhhhh... We checked, and there's at least two other houses on our street with pumpkins on their porches still, so we don't feel so idiotic.

Anyway, I took a bunch of photos of the snow around our house, so... Enjoy!

Blizzard Of 2013

Yikes. We got quite a bit of snow, you guys. By quite a bit, I mean a maaaaassive buttload. All day Friday, we kept watching the snow fall and fall... by the time we went to bed, we had over a foot and the wind was blowing like mad. And when we woke up... everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, was covered in about 30" of snow. The wind blew a lot of the snow in our front yard sideways so it doesn't look like a lot, but the snow on the back deck came up to the top of the tables. 

We ventured out on Sunday and I have to say the guys on snow plows did a great job clearing the roads so quickly. I wouldn't be able to figure out where to put all this snow! On the highway, we got stuck behind plows putting all that snow on trucks to be taken away because they couldn't very well just tip it over and have it fall onto the highway below. It took forever (I think we were stuck behind them for well over an hour), but I'm glad they could do it. All those guys worked hour after hour, and people who complain about roads not being cleared quickly enough need to just shut it. 

The hubs snow blowing the driveway. I think he had to do it twice because there was just so bloody much of it.

Here the hubs is pulling the snow blower and running because I'm yelling at him to get off the street to avoid getting hit by the approaching snow plow. It's a good thing I'm so good at shouting :)

And the giant snow plow. Doesn't it look back to front? But hey, if it clears the roads, it can go upside down for all I care!

Anyhow, we're all okay and we didn't lose power (thank goodness!!!). The hubs watched hours of DVDs and I sewed. No complaints from either of us :) It rained today, turning the snow to concrete, and it's super foggy out there. I'm ready for winter to be over now... please?

Snow! Again!

More snow today. It's been a 'warm' January up until this morning, so even though this is not a lot of snow, it's quite a shock to the system. You know what else is shocking? When you're standing in your backyard taking photos and then you slip and fall on your ass. And you hope like hell your neighbours aren't standing by the window watching this comedy show. Camera's fine, knee was a little wonky but thankfully I'm not hurt. To all my friends who've asked me to go skiing... NO. Standing is already a difficulty. Slapping things on my feet to go faster would be a disaster.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

I've been sick with a very shitty cold, thanks to a Target employee who coughed on me on Christmas Eve Eve. Idiot. So I missed Christmas (I slept from Christmas Eve till Boxing Day aka the day after Christmas) because of it. I'm told it snowed on Christmas. I wouldn't know BECAUSE I WAS SLEEPING. Do over!!! 

I got better on Wednesday but by Friday, I was sick as a dog again. I'm starting to feel lots better but my throat is still a bit sore and my voice can only be described as... transgender male. (No offence to transgender males.) And because sharing is caring, the hubs is sick too. He wants to smother me for my generosity. I don't blame him, to be honest. 

Anyway, while we've been sick, it's stormed twice. The last one was last night, and they said we'd get three to six inches of snow. 

Three to six inches my ass.

This is the back door. Can't quite get it open because of all the bloody snow!

But it does look pretty, doesn't it? Until we have to drive in it, that is. They showed live shots of the highway and it looked like icy, frozen hell. It's frickin' freezing today and I really hope the roads aren't too slippery because we need to run errands and get food!

The poor hubs went outside to snow blow and he looked so miserable and cold when he came back inside. Poor fellow :(

Brrrr!

Snow In November

A week after Sandy, we had another storm. A nor'easter. I panicked because last year we had one around this time and we lost power for over a week. Thankfully it wasn't much more than a few inches of snow, and because the leaves had fallen off the trees, it didn't wreak havoc. 

This was yesterday, while it was snowing. I'm sick, so I really shouldn't have gone outside, but I couldn't help it.

Not sure how many inches we got total, but it looks like it's starting to melt. While I'm not fond of the snow, it does look pretty. Although this morning the hubs had to snow blow, and he was not pleased.

While we're all okay, I wonder about all those people who still have no power or heat since Sandy. I know a little of what that feels like. Last year, while the power was out, we had no water or heat. I never thought I'd see my own breath inside my house, but the temperature indoors dipped below freezing and it was so cold, especially at night. I wore layer upon layer and still I was freezing. Horrible.

I just hope there's no more terrible weather in store for the east coast. Those poor people have suffered enough.