Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Little Penguin Quilts Through the Year

Thursday, December 15, 2016

I Like Thursday #9 - the Hot and Cold Edition

Last week, we took a short trip to Arizona to visit my mom.  It was beautiful down there - mid 60s during the day - a nice change from Colorado in December!

Our predicted temperature for Saturday is 4 degrees...with lows below zero.  I don't even want to think about wind chill.

                                                     Cold Clip Art

So, last week, we enjoyed lots of walks in the Arizona warmth.  Since the neighborhoods around my mom's house were all decorated for Christmas, we had to go out each night and take a look at the lights.  People decorate a little differently for Christmas in Arizona.



Since the Little Penguin Family loves birds, we are always on the lookout for them, and there are lots of birdwatching opportunities in Arizona.

My husband took this photo right out my mom's dining room window, at her hummingbird feeder.


We found lots of water birds at the Riparian Reserve in Gilbert, AZ.  At one pond, there were all kinds of these birds (I think this one is a Stilt) in the water, hunting for food, and their reflections made a fun picture!


When we returned from our trip, I was signed up to do this -


Yes, I am a bell-ringer!  I started volunteering to ring the bell for the Salvation Army last year after I retired. Several other retired teachers that I know were doing it, and I thought, "Why not?!"  I like the Salvation Army because all of the money they receive stays in the community where it was donated.  Plus, you see lots of interesting things as you stand out in front of the grocery store.  This time, some handicapped kids from our local school district stopped by with cookies and hot cocoa for us.  What a sweet surprise!

Did I look a little cold in that photo?  I was!  So, I had to come home and have my favorite lunch -


And I must have it in my favorite Campbell's Soup mug, too!

I am so lucky to have such generous quilty friends!  In the mail last week, there was a package from Cynthia from Quilting is More Fun than Housework.  I had commented on how much I liked this quilt that she had made, and she sent me some scraps from it!


Coffee, combined with fabric, and words!  Lots of favorite things all rolled into one!  Thanks, again, Cynthia!

And, finally, I thought I'd share the book I'm reading right now.


I've enjoyed Sandra Dallas' books for a long time, and this one is turning out to be a good one.  It's about the life of a midwife in a small mining town in Colorado in the 1800s.  Sandra's characters are always quilters, so woven in among the rest of the story are bits about quilts and quilting that always fascinate me. Sandra tackles some tough topics (this midwife is accused of murder), but her writing always keeps me reading!

As always, I hope you are having a great week!  Check more "I like" posts over at Not Afraid of Color.







10 comments:

LA Paylor said...

looking at Christmas lights is a big joy for me, and the cactus is awesome. I'll have to check that book out of the library, sounds right for me!
LeeAnna

Libby in TN said...

I'm going to make grilled cheese to go with tomato soup right now!

Linda @ kokaquilts said...

Love the Stilt pic! And I've just orderd the book at the library!

claudia said...

Oh yeah! Tomato soup, yum!!!
What a difference from Colorado to Arizona. It had to be hard leaving the warmth to go back to cold. Although, it's always so nice to be back home in your own surroundings after a trip, no matter how wonderful the trip is.
Your husband got a great picture with that hummingbird. We have so many birds that visit out property, I am never at a loss to do some bird watching. I love listening to their song.

Linda said...

4 degrees - OMG! And I feel cold when it is in the 40s here.
Bird pictures - awesome.
How cool that you are a Salvation Army bell ringer. I love you people! They are usually in front of our Walmart stores, and although I don't contribute each time, I love to talk to them.
I've not read Sandra Dallas, but I'll give them a look on Amazon.

Christine B said...

Loved your photographs of the birds... especially as some of them we don't see here in the UK! Hope you are nice and snug inside now! Have a lovely Christmas! Christine x

Vicki in MN said...

You will be having a heat wave in comparison to our high on Sunday of -8, yesterday they said -12!! A little earlier than usual for a cold snap. I have not heard of Sandra Dallas, I will have to check that out. Love stories that have a quilter;)

Michele McLaughlin said...

How nice to get out of the cold for a brief time! Your bird photos are wonderful!!! Love the cactus Christmas tree! :)

Kate said...

Sounds like a fun trip. Love the picture of the humming bird. They move so fast it's hard to get a good one.

Cynthia Brunz Designs said...

Your trip to warmer weather sounds heavenly! Enjoy the fabrics - it will be fun to see them showing up in your projects :)