Sound the alarm!

I love Murphy. How could you not? BUT she's testing us these days. I had no problems falling asleep, only to be woken by her intense barking. Something's in the backyard. Good grief, so I took her upstairs and shut the bedroom door. She doesn't like being in a room with the door shut, and I eventually let her out because she gets extremely restless in a closed space. Thankfully, I fell back asleep. 

What was in the backyard? Probably a raccoon or a possum! 

This morning, as I was sitting down at the computer, she started barking madly out the front window. What could it be this time? There's one dog in the neighborhood that she hates, but I haven't seen it lately. There's a story there which I'll tell you in a minute. 

But it's too early to walk the dog. Nope, it's this. 

A neighborhood resident

Wait -- can you see what caused her to sound the alarm? I zoomed in on that photo. 

A coyote

Looks pretty healthy and just sauntering along. I guess we won't spot any rabbits this morning. And it just saunters along the street or onto the lawn like it owns the place! 

Wait - there's more. We were just back from the walk yesterday morning, and Murphy sounded the alarm again, but at the back door. What could it be? 

Remember how I mentioned that I hadn't seen the pair of ducks that visit every year? Well, they were in the backyard! 

Mrs. and Mr. Duck!

They even went for a short swim in the pond. 

Mr. Duck is taking a swim

Then, because Murphy was making so much fuss, they stood on the rocks for a long while. Alert in case the girls went out, which they were not allowed to. 

Mrs. and Mr. Duck are enjoying the rocks

After the ducks flew away, I let the girls out, and they rushed to those rocks to see who and what was visiting. 

MOM - someone was here!!

I chuckled because Lexi stayed pretty much in the same place, but Murphy had to sniff every square inch of that space. 

MOM - they were here!

She's like a whirling dervish!!!

MOM - and they were here! 

So, it's been a crazy last couple of days, but hopefully today, or at least the rest of the day, will be quiet. There's nothing worse than getting woken up by a very loud dog barking its head off. OK -- there are worse things, but she's a lunatic. 

OH -- the story about the dog that Murphy doesn't like. Well, it's funny what you can learn just by being observant. I'll call the couple Dave and Betty. Over the last couple of years, I've often seen Dave and occasionally Betty out running with Rex. This is the dog that Murphy hates. I've also seen them walk the dog, either individually or together. On my walks, I even discovered where they live. 

There were always two vehicles in the driveway, and then one day, there was only one. The car was a bit older, so you think maybe they did like we have and went to one vehicle. But come to think of it, I haven't seen Betty in several months. And I never see Rex any longer, so perhaps Betty and Rex moved away. 

A silly thing, but if you are observant, you can learn all kinds of things! 

Anyway -- that's just a silly thing. 

More Canadian authors! Linwood Barclay - yes, I know about him and have read some of his books. I even went to one of his book signings several years ago. But here are two more Canadian authors who are new to me: Rick Mofina and Chevy Stevens. Both are mystery writers. Thanks for the comment and tip! 

I hope you all know about Bookseriesinorder, as it lists books by author or character. Wow - just checked and Rick has a lot of books. I just borrowed one of his books. He has several series and standalone books. I put one of Chevy's books on hold. This is exciting, even though I don't need to discover a new author. My list of authors is already very long. 

Another author that came to light yesterday during Monday sewing is Ma-Nee Chacoby. I've also got her book on hold. And one more author from the US, James Grippando - I just downloaded one of his books. 

I thought there was another author we discussed yesterday, but their name escapes me. 

I now have loads of reading material for the next bit. 

I'm happy to report that all the embellishments for the Trendtex challenge are made! And the majority of them are stitched to the piece. Thank goodness. The rest will happen this morning, and then I'll walk it to the post office. I want it out of my house today. I have other stuff to work on, and I can't keep getting sidetracked by that one. 

My plan to sew the embellishments on using my sewing machine worked like a charm, and hopefully, the second part, which I'll sew by hand, will also go quickly. 

Shoot - I swear there was another story I was going to share with you, but POOF - it's gone! 

Oh -- I remember what it was! I wanted to thank everyone for letting me know about the dates for 'Long Time Gone'. I think I got it all straight now. Sorting out the 80+ quilts and the year they were started was challenging. 

The reason I wanted that list was for my Concurrent show at Quilt Canada this June. It's called "Celebrating 25 years of teaching!" Of the 80+ quilts I've taught over the last 25 years, I had to curate that list down to about one-third! That was a challenge, but I had a method to my madness. I hope you can come to Quilt Canada to see all the creative work done by the students! It's going to be exciting! Because yes -- the quilts in the show are by the students - NOT by me! There are some spectacular quilts, and a wide variety of them: different colors, styles, and patterns. You won't want to miss it! 

Well, I'm off to get the day started. There is a lot to do, but the end is in sight for at least one project, so that's good. And, of course, there's more paperwork! No appointments - that I like!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!