Sunday, January 27, 2008

Slightly More Variety.






It's still Very hot here. We worked last Sunday cause rain was forecast for Monday and Tuesday AND we did indeed get some gentle misty rain which lasted nearly 48 hours and amounted to 40mls. But the heat continues, so the benefits won't last too long, but we are grateful all the same.


After further searching I think the correct name for the flower in the previous post is Huernias pendula - a close relative of the Stapeliads. That flower is just finishing but there is a 2nd bud. Apparently the extreme heat will have helped it to flower.


We are catching up on mowing, gardening, housework etc before starting back at the first block with the Kiwifruit next week.DH got up early yesterday to dig a row of Heather potatoes before it got too hot. I went out mowing lawns then too. Best time of the day, or evening, but all the jobs don't fit into that time space really.


Yesterday afternoon I had just got my scrappy quilt out and was cutting some borders when visitors arrived - so much for that. Last evening I put the first one on and cut some 1 inch darker green strips to go on next. It is still a tiny quilt but was not intended to be large. I am going to have to be extremely careful when I get to sandwiching and quilting it as you can see in the photo, the way it is constructed, it has extreme stretch in one direction. So far I think it will be okay as I am aware of needing to stretch it taut before quiting ( fingers crossed )

Now a little animal content. This was never intended to be a blog with animals but Percy Peacock found his way in here - By the way Meggie he only comes on short visits now - he discovered the young neighbours up the hill across the road, are even more of a soft touch than us. They feed him cat food and all sorts of treats. They have many, many PET animals ( are animal crazy );there's cats; a dog; chickens; ducks; a cow; a goat some doves and goldfish. Maybe Percy likes the company. ( We are quite happy for him to be there ). Our small black cat ,nearly 12 years old, a slight, jumpy, from the wild, little fellow (who adopted us at a few weeks old, when his wild cat Mum died ) is not well. He has been sneezing for some days and is very skinny ( never been fat ). He is still eating a bit and seems happy enough but has truly bad breath and bloody mucus ( sneezes - yuk )- so something is wrong. IT may be cat flu???? ( anyone have any experience with that? ) We rang the Vet but only got the receptionist. The Vet did not ring back ( as she said he would ) so now we have to wait till Tuesday ( long weekend ) to take him in. I am not sure if he should go there if it is cat flu? So Incubus ( his real name) or Inky or Bad Boy Bubby or just Bubby may not be with us much longer. He has always had that natural immunity wild cats seem to have and never gets infected sore scratches if he fights. So he may survive this. A neighbouring cat sometimes tries to steal his food, so maybe that's where he caught it?

We are invited out for dinner tonight to my Cousins' place with about 4 others so that will be lovely. Any company is to be appreciated. I'm glad I have my blogger friends popping by leaving comments !

4 comments:

NZ adventure said...

When I''m quilting a "stretchy" quilt or one with lots of bias edges on the long arm, I iron a very light stabilizer (one brand is Light and Soft Fuse On) on the back of the quilt. It is made for machine embriodery applications, but works well on quilts without adding bulk. It would be best to do it on individual blocks, but it is a bit late for that on this one. May keep you happier when it is time to hoop it.
Georganna

Digitalgran said...

That quilt is a beauty. I'm not a quilter as such but I have saved a copy (for myself) of the 'how to' you posted a while ago. If I do quilt I want to try that one. I hope this is OK?

Unknown said...

Ali - I do so love that lilac/green combination - it's so fresh and mouthwatering

meggie said...

A very full & interesting post.
It does sound like the cat may have caught the cat flu? Inconsiderate of the vet not to call back, but I wonder if s/he got the message.
I had wondered about the Peacock, nice if you don't have to listen to him being mournful!
Your quilt is looking lovely.