Good day to stay inside

This was the view outside my garden door this morning.

I didn't even try to open the door to access the compost pile.


It had begun snowing Monday while I was at school, and while I was washing up the paint pallets and brushes, the director came by and urged me to go home.

Well, there was still work to do and I ride a subway, now how was that going to be disturbed by snow? When I finally left, the snow was still falling and the sidewalks were quite slippery in places, especially on the downhill grade.
Luckily I made it to the station with lots of slips but no falls.

The train, about 8 levels or more below ground , was running but it seems every boss had nagged their employees to leave early. The usual sardine-can was crammed with people. In fact, at each station, more tried to shove in and the doors could hardly close over the bodies.
The only people I say sitting were young and dry and looked like they had been sitting a long time with a number sleeping. People were packed so tightly there was nothing left to hang on to.

I took Nikko on her evening walk as soon as I arrived home to save going out and getting wet all over again.

The sun came out in the morning but the snow had piled up to the point that opening the front door was like plowing the snow and even opening the front gate a challenge.

Nikko was very excited ... like a kid on a "snow day" with no school.

I fished out the shovel and cleared a path to the corner. One lady on the corner had "fixed" the problem in front of her house with hot water.

The snow was heavy and wet, and where people had walked since the evening, thick sheets of ice.


The snow was about a foot deep and broad-leaf evergreen trees had branches bending way down.

When we got to the park, I let Nikko off her leash.

She made three or four wide laps round and round the edges of the park before trotting back to continue her walk.

It is hard to believe, looking at her run, that she will be turning 15 in a few weeks.


My usual Tuesday schedule had been cancelled so I took the opportunity to work on the tree quilt for the conference.

I finished appliqueing the tree.

Then I found four prints that seemed to represent the four seasons, measured and cut some strips and sewed them on the border.

Half-way through I remembered I had wanted to put a one-inch strip of green on first for an inner border.

I thought of un-sewing what was done but as I considered that possibility, I realized that if I did, the seasonal prints would be too short to meet and I would have to come up with more solutions for the corners.
So, I left it as planned.
Now looking at it, I might have added some solid corner pieces with appliqued kanji for each season. Well, I could still do something like that for an outer border.

Nikko and I walked to the station area for a bit of shopping and there was quite a bit of shovelling going on ... as well as kids playing in the snow and an igloo near the train crossing. The crescent moon was out and now the wind is rattling the windows.

How nice to spend a day with a bit of sewing. Now I will have to prepare some material for leaves. I wonder what the members will like ... many colored solids? small prints? stripes or plaids? Something they could embroider veins or initials on? Well, I still have a little over a week to prepare...