Bramble Blooms, Answering Reader's Questions

It was a record breaking 10C here on Thursday and the temps have remained above zero, unheard of mid February weather, for a couple of days. The foggy air felt almost balmy and the squirrels and birds seemed to be going mad out there. The melting had uncovered lots of tidbits for them. But back to regular winter days now. 

This is another of Robert Bateman's birds in winter...Varied Thrush. Just lovely colours.

I have these two books from the library and started The Snow Child and realized I'd read it before. 

I went on to Snow Road Station and am really enjoying it. I was surprised to see it is set in Lanark County, Ontario which is where I am living. All the names and sights Elizabeth is describing are very familiar to me. It is interesting to read about it through another person's eyes. 

It hadn't been freezing in the sewing room those warmer winter days. I had no excuse not to hang out in there. I played with Bramble Blooms borders and stitched a plain one to steady everything. Then I stitched a few new rows of flying geese to add to a row I'd found in scraps. Now I'm not so sure as I should have used brighter colours or some of the same fabrics to match the center blooms. Also they seem rather large. They are overwhelming and perhaps might work well for a very outer border.  I think I should do the appliqued border first before stitching these on. Any thoughts? All appreciated.

 I am trying for an overall look that my pot of flowers is in a window, kind of recessed. As with many of my ventures, I have ideas but don't have the skill to execute them. However, it is a good feeling to have total freedom with this and especially no time limit. Thank you Audrey, Quilty Folk, for such a great little QAL.

I found a new to me wonderful stitching channel on Youtube called Sew Tattered. Lots of great quilting and cross stitch. This episode features the annual quilt WIP Parade. Watch it at your risk as you will see something you will want to stitch. 

 Daughter gave me local fresh mushrooms and an acorn squash which I'd put in the cold room,

 Pleased with myself this morning that I remembered them. I've been simmering a chicken carcass and the mushrooms with it should make a good soup. But I have a plan to keep some of the mushrooms to fry out with bacon and maybe an egg and have on toast sometime for a quick supper. I must be hungry as everything is sounding delicious to me. BTW, I never tire of reading about your food and recipes. It is a bonus when one of your posts includes something foody.

Questions from readers...

About the wood we burn for heat...it is a mixture of hardwoods...maple, oak, etc. We use as much as we can from old/fallen trees on our own property.  And our stove insert in the fireplace is an excellent Jotul. 

I was asked why my rabbit I showed was not white now in winter.  Ontario rabbits are smallish cotton tails and only small bits of them turn whiter in winter, like tail and paws. That being said, I've taken winter photos of a few with far more white on them than the one under our veranda this year. 

Also there've been queries about the General's Sketch and Wash pencils shown in this post... Here is a link on Amazon where you can take a look and read more about them.

What is my diet? I don't follow a diet as such, just try to eat meals where I know all the ingredients that went into them. The only real constant is just about every day I eat an apple and an orange shared with Tony; blueberries often too. Yes, I'm still practising intermittent fasting so I basically eat two meals a day...all the more reason to make them as nutritious as I can. 

 I just watched a movie, I think it was The Killer with Tilda Swinton being faced by her killer and he asks her what is she thinking right now. She answers...right now I'm wishing I'd eaten more Hagen D'az (or words to that effect). So I'm thinking there should be more treats; yes to more treats. 

The day in ER was for me not Tony.  Though nothing untoward was found during the testing, they booked me for more tests this week under a cardiologist's care. They want to rule out a heart problem for sure and I'm in agreement with that of course. Yesterday was an annual hour long appointment with my gp reviewing everything history wise, etc. Later today is the first test, an echocardiogram. I will keep you posted. Wish me luck! 

 Sometimes I think what I really need right now is a day on a sunny beach. Anybody else feeling like this just about now, this far through a northern winter? 

Sharing this post with A Quiltery, It's A Small Town Life and Alycia Quilts.