Smokey, the CA pup...

Ah, Smokey--a source of constant wonder! The continuing saga of our bed/mattress situation is almost over. 

For any new readers, here is a little background.  When we moved to No-Name Mountain, we got rid of our waterbed (which was not the open bladder type but had a structured bladder) and went back to the world of regular mattresses.  I told DH I wanted a firm mattress to better support my back and didn't want a pillowtop because I wanted to be able to rotate & turn it.  Well, the mattress we got was the epitome of firm--can you say "board?"  We slept on that mattress for 10 years; our conversations were always about getting a different mattress and getting rid of "The Board."  With a few false starts and some in-home testing, we finally had a bed in place; no more daily calls to the company about returns of a defective base, whereabouts of new base, sleeping with one king-twin mattress on the floor (Smokey loved it!) and one on its base, return policy, and myriads of other details.  We got the luxury firm mattress, one that was touted as the Goldilocks model.  After 10 years of sleeping on "The Board," the new mattress was something dreams are made of!

One small problem though--the bed is HIGH!  Smokey, our CA Lhasa, is 14 years old and not as nimble as he once was (and he has slept on our bed ever since he joined our family.)  Or so I thought; DH said Smokey could jump clear over the bed if he wanted to.   I worried about a broken leg that could happen when he jumped off the bed in the middle of the night.  (He does have his doggie bed in our bedroom and often goes to sleep in it sometime during the night.)  So...Smokey needs to have doggie stairs so he can get on the bed..of course!  The stairs arrived, and it was time for lessons to teach Smokey to use the stairs.  Can I say that Smokey was less than impressed with the stairs and the training sessions?!  To get him to go up the stairs, you had to have a treat held at the top--and then after he ate the treat, he would jump off the side of the bed.  Not exactly the result we were hoping for!  DH persisted in the training sessions; me--I would lift Smokey onto the bed at night and lift him off and onto the floor before I fell asleep.  Sometimes I fell asleep before I put him on the floor and Smokey would jump down.  Those expensive stairs weren't working quite as planned!

DH has been out-of-town for 2-3 days now, so I've had to take up the slack with Smokey.  No more nudging DH at 5 o'clock in the morning and saying "Smokey needs to go outside" as Smokey walks the floor and jingles his tags.  Nope, I have to get up and stumble out at 5 in the morning--but I put him on his leash, and he can't snoop around the yard for 15 minutes--by which time you are thoroughly awake.  He gets to go out and then has to come back to bed so I can catch a few more Zzzz's.

So, last night I put Smokey on the bed; and just before I was entering the Land of Nod, I picked Smokey up, carried him to his doggie bed, and gently laid him down.  Feeling pretty snoozy, I padded back to bed, vaulted (the bed is high for me, too) onto the bed--and before my head hit the pillow, Smokey walked up the doggie stairs and settled down for the night on top of the bed.  No doggie bed for him--he was taking up DH's side of the bed!  And then at a quarter to 5 this morning, Smokey walked down the stairs and proceeded to jangle his tags to let me know it was time to go outside!  The faker!  DH was right--he is quite capable of using the doggie stairs to get on and off the bed!!

Projects from Desire to Inspire...

I am Pat Carter, and I live on No-Name Mountain in Alpine, WY, a small town nestled between the Wyoming and Salt River Ranges in northwest Wyoming.  We are located south of Jackson Hole, WY, at the southern end of the scenic Snake River Canyon.  Grand Teton National Park (40 miles) and Yellowstone National Park (90 miles) add another dimension to the many outdoor activities of this area:  snowmobiling, skiing, fishing and lake recreation on Palisades Reservoir, ATV, mountain biking, hiking, hunting, etc.  Wildlife abound in this area--from Petunia the Skunk to elk/deer/moose and bear.  All of the trees we have planted on our lot have been creatively pruned by the deer who call our lot their favorite dining-out spot.  The annual snowfall in this area can exceed 500 inches. 

My husband and I are retired teachers and are year-round residents.  We love it in the summer when all the snowbirds return, but we also love the winter months when the town loses its summer folks and our mountain becomes a winter wonderland.  The snow drifts straight down, and the trees shed extra snow weight in mini avalanches.  Then the sawdust flies in my husband's shop, and several of the beautiful wood turnings find their way down to my quilting studio!   

My mother and grandmother were quilters; they spent many winter hours hand quilting on a frame my father made and set up in our farm house.  I learned to embroider, crochet, and sew as a young girl, but did not make my first quilt until several years later when my high school was closed for asbestos removal in 1989.  We went to a split session, sharing space in the other high school.  I spent those free mornings taking a quilting class--and a new love was born!  This new hobby led to the purchase of a longarm quilting machine and another aspect of the quilting avocation.  I became involved in making quilts of valor, a project dear to my heart; I would often combine machine embroidery with piecing.  My personal quilts gravitate toward traditional patterns, with a twist (i.e., a basket within a basket, machine embroidery in a center block of a log cabin, etc.).  I have incorporated Sally Fields' shoes (machine embroidery found at BFC Creations) in 4 quilts--her shoes have such creativity and detail!  I'm currently trying to reduce my stash, some of which is 15+ years old--and I'm using those favorites that I have just "petted" fondly throughout the years.  Does anyone else have fabrics that are so pretty that you have not cut into them?!  My bucket list of "quilts to make" grows longer each time I visit Pinterest!

Some of my favorite fabrics have been from the Henry Glass collections.  I used a Henry Glass fabric book panel named "Why" to make a quilt for our grandson, and liked it so much that I made a second baby quilt!  (You can see the "Why" quilt on my blog:  http://tetonnuggets.blogspot.com/2015/01/stash-report-week-2-2015-11015.html

And then I was notified on August 1 that I had been selected to complete the August Desire to Inspire Challenge--thank you Henry Glass Fabrics!  What fun!  I anxiously awaited the arrival of the fabric which landed on my porch on August 8 (we are a little out of the way!).  Since the Country Cuisine fabric featured strawberries, my thoughts turned to kitchen projects.  I kept adding items to my "want to make" list, but finally ran out of time.  So, here is the fabric collection I received: 

I made a 72-inch table runner, a liner for a basket with ribbons/strawberries on the outside, and a small fabric basket for napkin rings, teabags, or whatever.  (I have little jars of jelly in it.)
 
I made a small table runner, 4 placemats, napkins, and a fabric basket to hold napkins.
  
I made an adult apron...

and 2 children's aprons.

The table runners, placemats, aprons, fabric baskets, and basket liner were all lined. 

What a fun project this has been!  The Country Cuisine collection by Isabelle Biche lends an air of spring to any kitchen, reminiscent of soft breezes, fragrant flowers, lush green grass.