Best Dad!!

I am so lucky to have the absolute most wonderful Dad in the world. He built storage for the fabric I’ve designed for Andover that also gives me a much bigger cutting surface to work on. In the first photo, Dad and Paul are working on the installation of the new studio furniture. The four cabinets are in place and they are making the final plans for installing the top.

Here is the finished cutting table from the side after installation. There are 12 cubbies on the two sides to hold bolts of fabric or bins which I haven’t purchased yet. A 2” x 22” open space is also located on each side to slide rulers in for storage. A bookcase style storage shelves are located on the end where I can keep the most recent fabric collections stored as I work on quilt patterns to feature them. A couple of stools will tuck under the end for company.

I am so excited to have this furniture in the studio and I’ll be baking something special for my dad soon to thank him for the hard work.

A Silver Lining

Lately it seems that there is more excitement outside the studio than inside. Recently my roles have included the exciting job of “the maid” - cleaning and organizing the office and studio spaces or being a “Nurse” for the two cats (Simon and Alex) who have had a few vet procedures over the last few days. So I am finding much more excitement looking out the window. What weather we have had the last couple of days, temps are like spring (60’s) thunder and lightning storms. We had a storm move through the other day that brought some hail the size of moth balls with it. I snapped a picture of the hail just to show Paul when he got home from work.

But what I really found amazing were the clouds. The sky got so dark as the thunder and lightning rolled in and as the storm move through Mary and I could see that just beyond the storm clouds was a silver lining and blue sky. I grabbed my camera to take a couple of pictures. You can see how dark the sky was and how it just opened up to blue sky. And of course what summer storm is complete without a rainbow at the end. You can almost make out the double rainbow in the picture.

As the storm passed and the silver lining in the clouds and rainbow appeared - I started to think about life and the saying “There’s always a silver lining” which I have heard my parents say more than once. It does seem to be that after every storm in life the sun shines to reveal a beautiful rainbow. After completing quilt market, getting to the jobs I had put off and tying up all the loose ends, I guess as I look toward the next few days my rainbow is coming – Thursday I start painting a new piece. I hope your rainbow shines through soon as well.

Open House

Last Thursday Delphi where Paul works had an open house where employee’s friends and family could take a tour of the facility. In the 12 plus years Paul and I have been married I have never had the opportunity to see where he spends his days – this was very exciting from me, to get to share in that part of his life. Paul is a mechanical engineer and works at Delphi in Rochester, NY.

We walked along a 1.2 mile track seeing all the different departments and how automotive parts are engineered, manufactured, quality checked and sent off to various customers. We watched a punch press shape a piece of flat metal into a part, screw machines take a piece of metal rod and turn it into another car component and Injection mold machines create nylon shells. The floor space of the facility is 1.9 million square-feet, no wonder it takes Paul 15 minutes to walk across the plant.

Two of the things I found most impressive were the white room and clean room. Knowing that this plant within a plant was built in a short period of time and some of what went into the construction of it – I just wasn’t prepared for how clean and sterile it looked. I am so proud of Paul and was so happy to get a chance to see him in his element.

A big thanks to Delphi for holding the open house.

Garden Containers

Well I had promised I would post a picture of the containers I planted awhile back…so here they are. I picked up a couple of solar garden lights at the local grocery store - if you can call Wegmans a grocery store. The lights are fun as they gradually change from one color to another at night - a fun little addition as we sit on the porch at night. The nasturtiums (smallest pot in front) are some that I started from seed earlier this spring. I just love the nasturtiums and have set 5 containers around the house, can't wait until they start blooming here in another week.

Wegmans is a food store chain that started locally in Rochester, NY, you can visit their website at www.wegmans.com to learn more about them. They have prepared food to eat-in or take home, coffee shop, catering service, wellness center, magazine with good recipes and of course food. The joke around here is "What would we ever do without Wegmans".

Have a great day.

Caught in Mid-Flight

Summer hit like a blazing fire, we went from temps in the 60s to 90s this weekend. Cleaned out the air conditioner and went for the first dip in the pool this weekend. Last night the heat got broke by a quick thunder shower but before the rain came I got to snap a few pictures of the tree swallows as they fed their young. It would have been better if the sun was out – kind of a grey sky but the pose is what I was after. I don’t get many opportunities to snap pictures of the birds in flight and wanted to take advantage of the situation. I can change the lighting in my painting but the reference for the wing position is invaluable. I had my camera (Cannon EOS digital) set to “machine gun” as Paul likes to call it and got lots of pictures I will use in a future art piece. Here is one of my favorites, you can click on the image for a larger view.

I started out taking picture to the side front of the box to capture the tree swallow as it exited the nest box and then moved to the back to capture the bird as it approached the nest. It was funny each time as it would land on the front of the nest box it would peek around the corner to check if I was a threat.

Out the Window

Okay I know this is supposed to be about what is going on in the studio but this week it is much more interesting what is going on outside. My excitement has consisted of paying the bills, answering emails and putting together the next e-letter. But, outside the tree swallow’s eggs have hatched and there are seven naked chicks with their mouths open and a “Where’s the food?” for a greeting. A second set of tree swallows is sitting on their clutch of eggs. Their nest is so pretty – all lined with feathers. It’s fun to watch them carry these big white goose feathers from down the road and maneuver to get the large feather into the small next box hole.

The bluebirds that fledged May 19th have been back around the last couple of days. Papa bluebird has started to build the second nest in the Peterson Box while mom gives the “This is how we hunt for bugs” lesson from the fence around the pool. I snapped a picture of one of the juveniles.

A family of wrens has moved in to the next box by the driveway. Their nest is so funny because they make it out of twigs, lots and lots of twigs. There are twigs sticking right out the hole of the box. They are such a pretty bird and have a pretty voice. Paul and I sat on the porch steps last night and watched the pair put more twigs in the box.

Okay enough looking out the window, time to get back to work and run to the post office.