Everyday is Caturday

Cole wants you all to know that at our house every day is Caturday!

~XOP~

Sheltering In Place

I know I have been quiet but we are all ok over here.  

I am not at work (we have to work from home) so my computer there is not the best for posting stuff.  I am doing a quick check in while I am at work for a little bit today 

(somethings just can't be done at home). 

 We are off possibly until the beginning of May.  

How crazy is this!!??  

Please, my friends, self isolate as much as possible.  We need this to pass quickly.

That being said, I have been working on my Mad Science quilt.  Thought I would show the progress.

These are the side blocks.  DNA and a Microscope.

 An atom and a mouse looking into a flask

Here you can see the glassware and the bunny block I am working on.

This is the bunny after I hand stitched around her to make her stand out from the background a little.

The background is all different immune cells.  I found it at Spoonflower.  

This is what the bunny looked like before I outlined her.

This is what the real orange balls look like that we give our bunnies to play with.  I think mine is pretty good.

I am making this to go in the center of the quilt.  Still working on that bit.

(My boss's last name is Kunkel)

 Progress is being made.

Mad Science quilt patterns by Quilt Genius

Bunny pattern by Violet Craft 

Letters by From Blank Pages

Just in case you need a little more entertainment to hold you over here are a couple videos of the cats.

Cole is playing "fetch" with a pipe cleaner.  

He kept bringing it to me in my sewing room and I would throw it.  

He would meow very loudly if I tried to ignore him, LOL.

Finny goes for a "walk" every night with my husband.  Then they sit together on the porch.  

He cries incessently and scratches at the window if he doesn't get to go outside with Chris.

OK Friends, everyone stay safe and I hope to be able to post more later.  

It all depends on my silly home computer.  

~XOP~

Some Keto Cooking/Baking

Hey hey, two days in a row!  

I made a few new recipes this past weekend and thought I would share.  

I made an amazing Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash casserole!  

It was SO good.  

Hubby thought it was too spicy, so I would likely use less buffalo sauce next time but I loved it!

Recipe is by Wholesome Yum.  

I love her recipes!  

If you are interested I put the link above and the actual recipe is here.

I have been wanting to make some muffins too.  

There are SO many keto muffin recipes out there.  

I settled on these cinnamon sugar doughnut like muffins.  I

 forgot to add the Psyllium husk but they still tasted GREAT!  

I used silicone baking cups but paper should work too.  

I used only 1T of melted butter to brush the muffin tops though.

  Recipe is here.  

Recipe is by How To This and That.  Pardon my butter stained copy!  

These are amazing too.  

I will have to try adding the Psyllium husk next time and see how that changes the texture.

One more thing.

I found that if you cook radishes they lose their "bite"

I made some radishes in the air fryer to go with my steak last night

They tasted EXACTLY like potatoes!!!

 I hope you enjoy my keto recipe findings.  

I am having so much fun finding new things to cook.  

I have started making my own Ranch dressing too and it is really good.  

Just like the real thing but no preservatives!

Let me know if you are interested in the recipe!

~XOP~

Science Quilt Progress

Just a quick note, many of you know my family history but if not, briefly, my older sister was born developmentally delayed with cataracts on both eyes.  

They removed the cataracts but did not implant a lens (it was before they did that, I guess).  

She developed Schizophrenia and Bi-Polar at age 13.  

She currently lives in an AFC home with really good people.  

That being said, she fell (again) this weekend and broke her collar bone.  

She also has a pretty bad concussion.  

I was so anxious (I am her guardian, and live ~3 hours away) about her 

that I just cleaned most of the weekend.  

There was nothing I could really do for her and she doesn't even know who I am. 

So I prayed and cleaned and sewed.  

If you can, maybe say a little prayer for a speedy recovery for her.

OK, on to sewing.  

I am working on the glassware portion of the Mad Science Quilt.  

I already did one side and am working on the second side.  

These will join together to make the top of the quilt.  

This is what it will look like when finished 

(this is the paper pattern)

This is the mess I make when I paper piece!  LOL, my sewing room is a disaster right now too.

I managed to get the curly-Q part done on Saturday.  It actually took me a long time to do this part.

Cole hung out with me most of the time while I was sewing too.

This is what I got finished on Sunday.  

I love paper piecing but it takes me a LONG time to make progress!

I hope to be able to work on this a little bit more this week at night.

Often I am so tired after making dinner and cleaning up I just veg for a bit, 

maybe read some and go to bed!

Do you guys sew after dinner?

I also feel like I should spend some time with hubby since I have been at work all day.

I just got a quilt back from my quilter that needs binding put on too.

Sheesh!  That's now 2 needing binding!

~XOP~

My Poor Neglected Blog

Hi friends!  I am so sorry that I have not posted in awhile. 

 Sometimes life just gets busy.  

I have not been in the mood to sew of late so there has not been much to show. 

 I know I talk about my life too but nothing very exciting has been happening there either, LOL.

I needed to make a pillow cover for my friend, Traci's, quilt shop (Something Quilty). 

 I made the Tribute Star quilt for her as a shop sample and this was made from the leftovers. 

I finally got my butt in gear and did it this past weekend. 

 I used a tutorial by my friend, Pam Gavin to put a zipper with a cover, in the back.  I

 love how the cover came out!  

This is the front.  

This is the back and you can see the zipper cover.

LOOK, you can see the zipper I put in.  

It was a magical day when Pam had us use our #20 foot to put in the zipper too.  

SO. MUCH. EASIER!  

My friend, Liz, quilted the front to match the quilt.  

I machine sewed the binding down too so I could finish it more quickly.  

I'm hoping Traci likes both the quilt and the pillow cover!

I was also working on my DNA for the science quilt and Cole felt he needed to help me.

I managed to get the entire block made.  

I have a few more blocks to go, but progress is being made!  

Isn't this block SO cool???

I found that background fabric recently and I think it looks like DNA too.

 Pattern is by Mary (Quilt Genius) if you need to make your own DNA block.

I need to make more blocks for this science quilt so trying to get in the mood to work on them.

Should I do the glassware or the bunnies next? 

 What do you think?  

The glassware is a pattern by Mary while I am using the 

Love, Hoppingotn pattern by Violet Craft for my bunnies.

Have a wonderful day!

~XOP~

Go GREEN!!!

We received a HUGE box in the mail the other day.  

It was from my daughter's In-laws, Rick and Julie.  

I could not imagine what they would be sending in such a big box. 

 Imagine my surprise when I opened the box and found THIS!

Rick makes these for friends.  We are such big Spartan fans.  It was an amazing gift!  

A full size football helmet with our last name and the year we were married, on it.

Just look at that Spartan head on this side!!

I forgot to take a photo of the back but it has our year and an American flag on it.

I am not certain how our family lucked out in the in-law department but Rick and Julie are fabulous!

Thank you so much from the bottom of our heart for such a thoughtful and unique gift!!!  

You guys certainly surprised us with this beautiful helmet!  

I think I am going to have to try to keep it away from our son though, LOL.  

~XOP~

LARC Certification

I took a 10 week certification course last year and on Monday the university had a ceremony to honor us with certificates of completion.  

It was a LOT of information about how to be a Laboratory Animal Research Coordinator.  

This was the inaugural course and was by invitation only.  

I was honored to be asked to be a part of it. 

Rebecca Cunningham, our VP for Research was there to hand out the certificates. 

Bill Grear, our Assistant VP and Animal Program Compliance Oversite Director was there to speak.

We were awarded a certificate and pin.

Our PI's were invited and I managed to snag my boss to be my lunch date and attend the ceremony.  This is one busy guy especially since his promotion to Chief Science Officer of the University of Michigan, but he still made time to come with me and support me.  

I have been in his lab now for over 35 years.  

Retiring this year will be hard, he has been an amazing boss.

Working in scientific research is a very rewarding job, 

but recognition in a tech position is not common.  

It was nice that the university sees value in this program and I am looking forward to being able to help the university continue to make forward progress in its 

animal programs and regulatory compliance.

~XOP~

Marriage Retreat

This past weekend my husband and I went on a marriage retreat offered through our church.  

We went with another couple that are members at our church and friends.  

We had so much fun! 

 I can not remember the last time we laughed as much as we did this weekend. 

 I don't think I have ever seen my spouse talk as much as he did with our friends this weekend.  

We took our truck and our friends rode with us. 

 It was about a 6 hour car ride to Berea KY from our house.  

We stayed at the Boone Tavern.  

I would HIGHLY recommend this place. 

The beds were the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in at a hotel.

This was waiting for us when we got into our room.
Our wedding picture and 2 rosaries made locally, along with some chocolates.

The retreat was based on the Love and Respect program (you can find the videos and books online).  It was excellent.  

We learned a lot of things and am anxious to apply them in our lives.  

The priest that was the speaker was our prior so that was interesting.  

He was very insightful.  

There was a dinner dance on Saturday night and that was a lot of fun. 

I regret I didn't get a full length photo of us all dressed up but here were a couple of selfies.  

I know Chris has his eyes shut in the first one but 

you can see a little bit more of my dress in that picture.

My dress was really sparkly and it was the first time I had worn it.  

I had a bow belt at the waist and my friend kept saying I looked like a pretty package 

(when she wasn't calling me a disco ball!)

It really was a nice weekend away and some great information about reconnecting and making sure God is in your relationship.

We took the back roads down and stopped in Waynesville. 

 While everyone else walked around the town I, of course, went to the Fabric Shack. 

I picked up a few things, with actual projects in mind though for most of them.  

I went into the main shop first and found these beauties.  

I have a FQ bundle of the Pine Lullaby fabric so added a bit of yardage for a border.  

The text print is all words about the ocean/sea.

I'm not sure why, but this fabric reminded me of DNA, 

so I bought it to use for some background in my science quilt.

I checked out the annex where they have some sale fabrics, flannels and Minky.  

I found the perfect brown Minky to use for the upcoming Weiner dog quilt I have planned.  

 They also had this 108 wide Alison Glass fabric for $10.99/yard!!!  

I bought enough to back my Ocean Waves quilt 

(if I don't decide to use the Free Fall Tula fabric I already have.)  

Since the fabrics in my quilt are mostly navy and white the Tula would be my first choice, 

BUT I have heard the FF navy runs and I do NOT want to ruin all that white fabric, 

so will have to think about what to use.

All in all this was an amazing weekend and I am so happy we decided to go, & to go with our friends.

How was your Valentine's Day weekend?  Do anything fun??

~XOP~