Playing catchup again

12/27/10

So with the New Year just around the corner and Christmas behind us I find myself thinking.  I haven't done a blog in a while so I decided to purchase a journal to write things in it that I do and have done so I don't have to remember later on what I did, if that makes any sense, lol.  So I think the first thing I should do is recap the last 6 months of 2010.  I will break up each event on it's separate post so this one doesn't get too long and winded.  So on to my first catch up entry.  Happy reading.

New phone

Got the Ego 4G as Christmas present from my boyfriend yesterday. Just testing some aps.

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Playing catchup

I've been kind of slack in my blogs the last couple weeks so I'm playing a little catch up.  Not much has really been going on since I last wrote something.  The biggest thing is that after almost 9 months of being unemployed I finally got a job.  They've been keeping me extremely busy.  It is for a shipping/trucking company based here in Durham, NC.  I've been catching up their billings the last couple weeks.  Mondays and Wednesdays are my long days of the week and after a couple weeks of working late I've been too tired at night and on the weekends to really do anything.  But I think I'm getting back into the swing of things and everything has been settling in a little.

Last weekend a friend and I took a weekend trip down to Leesburg Florida for a bikefest that Budweiser put on.  It's not as big as say Daytona or Myrtle Beach but it was still good size, there were hundreds of bikes and people there.  There were about 5 stages with bands and other acts through the days and nights.  We went down specifically for 1 band though, Warrant, my favorite rock band of all time.  Yes I know it's a long drive just to see them but we had a lot of fun and saw a lot of ........ interesting sites.  If any of you have been to a bikefest before you'll know what I'm talking about.  Anyway, I got to get a couple pics with a couple band members as well as their signatures, and got to talk with them for a couple minutes.  They are really cool, down to earth guys.

The weekend before that I had another playdate Meetup with Sierra and Brodie.  They both had lots of fun.  We had bought 3 kiddie pools for the dogs to enjoy and Sierra immediately hopped from one to another as Dave was filling them up.  She is a Samoyed and they are NOT water dogs, but she loves it, just like playing in the creeks.  This was the first time that we let Brodie out of the kennel to physically interact with the other dogs and I am very proud of him, he did very well.  He has not been that socialized with other dogs or people and he's part Chow and has the Chow mentality when we're outside our home.  But after a couple times of just watching Sierra interact with the other dogs I think helped Brodie see that its ok.

So that's the quick lowdown of the last couple weeks.  I've been thinking about going into my room and tinker for a while just to feel like I'm doing something productive, lol.  I've washed some fabrics for a new project I've been planning so I might work on ironing them and getting them ready for cutting but we'll see what I actually do.  So until next time.

Johnston Mill Nature Preserve

What another beautiful spring day, 80 by noon.  Dave and I took the dogs for a little hike this morning.  It's part of a Dog Meetup group that I joined back in February.  There were only 4 of us there but being that it's Easter weekend I wasn't surprised.  I love living in the part of North Carolina that I do, there's a lot of nature things that you can do, hiking, boating, etc.  There are several park systems run by the state and there are lots of walking trails and parks to go to, but they are not your typical trail, when they say "nature" they mean nature.  The trails are clearly marked for the most part but they are all dirt, no pavement, and they can be rocky, have thick tree roots, steep hills which they put "steps" to help get up them.  But that's what I like about them more than regular paved trails or paths.  I like being out in nature, always loved camping as a kid whether it be at girl scout camp or summer trips with my family.  My two dogs loved playing in the creek that we walked along which is surprising for my one dog Sierra, she's a Samoyed which are made more for snow.  I will tell you more about my animals in another post.  I've posted the pictures of today's walk in my Picasa album, which there's a link to the Picasa Photostream you should be able to click on if you want to take a peak.  I didn't really take any of the trail maybe next time.  Here's a couple pics tho from the album.

This is Brodie trying to roll in the water like he does the snow

This is Sierra just chilling in the creek.

Beautiful Spring Day

Yesterday was a beautiful day in central North Carolina, well all of North Carolina really.  Even though spring was official last week, yesterday was the first day that really FELT like spring.  It was around 75deg, sunny, not a cloud in the sky.  So a friend that I use to work with at my last job and I decided to spend the afternoon together.  She picked me up around 10:30 and went out to lunch.  Then after, with cameras in hand, went to a garden in the center of Durham (well, almost).  The garden was created as a memorial to Sarah P Duke, one of Duke University's benefactors.  It sits on about 55 acres of wooded land and is divided into 4 parts, the Historic Core, H.L. Blomquist Garned of Native Plants, Culberson Asiatic Arboretum, and Page White Garden.  There's roughly 5 miles of walkways through the gardens.  The Asiatic side boasts a large pond which is great for the mallard ducks that reside there.  There is also a cute white bridge that crosses over the narrow end of the pond.  At first it looks like a wooden bridge but as you get closer the base of it is actually concrete but the railings are made of wood that has an Asian feel to them.  See picture below.

The other side, the Historic Core (which I think is known as the Terrace Gardens) is the more formal side of the gardens, and once you see it you will understand why it's called what it is.  It has a lily pond usually with huge lily pads (they were working on it getting it ready for the season when we went) and another small round pond with at brick bridge at the end of it located in the "south lawn".  The landscape is a combination of stone work and softscape set in a radial pattern from the huge tellis in the center of it which whisteria drapes over it when in bloom.  Here's a pic to sort of give you an idea.

I tried to capture the beauty of the gardens as best I could.  There were a lot of people there as it was Easter break for the kids that we didnt think about so it was hard trying to get pictures with no people in it.  We're hopefully going to go back in a couple weeks to see what else is in bloom and we made the decision to go first thing in the morning when it opens up so there's little people there.  It's a wonderful place to just sit and relax at.  Some people come with their dogs, others just sit on the lawns and enjoy the sun and good weather.  A lot of them are students which makes sense that it's right there on Duke grounds.  I've never been to Central Park in NYC but I have to believe the feeling you get from this place would be like going to Central Park.  Stepping into the gardens transports you back in time when things felt simpler and life is slower, it's like a whole other world inside a concrete jungle.  It is recognized as one of the premier gardens I

If you are interested in seeing all my photographs from Duke Gardens please click my little Picasa icon over to the left of the page.  That will take you to my Picasa site that has all my photographs I took over the last couple years when I went somewhere.  If you want to see just this album click here http://picasaweb.google.com/jlmac1973/DukeGardens3312010?feat=directlink

One note about my photos tho.  There are several photos that aren't worthy (over/under exposed, fuzzy, etc) of posting but I still kept them because they're a learning tool for me for future outings.  So given that Happy Looking.

(Wow, I should be a writer, lol)

Ok, so here's my first real blog.  This is my current project that I've been working on.  My gramma saw this pattern from in a magazine, American Patchwork & Quilting, can't remember which issue, I'll have to find that later.  She got the idea that me, her and my mom all do our own rendition of the quilt.  Needless to say it's been a couple years since we've started, lol.  I'm about half way through mine, I'm working on all the applique blocks.  Gramma is probably about half way through too.  And mom, well she's still thinking about it.  YUP, I just called my mom out.  LOL.  Anyway, I love working with batik fabrics so I had to do this in all batiks.  I saved the applique blocks til last because I'm not that great at it, but since I've been working on them I've gotten a little better.  Here's a glimpse on what it's going to look like.  Please leave me a message and let me know what you think.

New to blogging

Hi all, my name in Jennifer.  This is my first blog so I'm not quite sure what to write since I've never really been a blogger person.  I am on MySpace and Facebook just so I can keep in touch with my family and friends.  I decided to start this blog to "document" my quilts and other crafts that I am making.  I would like to start selling some of the things I make maybe turn it into a possible business in the future.  So if anyone has any ideas on what to include in my blogs please let me know.  I hope that y'all stop in often and see what I'm working on.  Thanks.