Random 5 Friday

Hello all my beautiful friends.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas

It's Friday and you know what that means: Random 5 Friday with Nancy @ A Rural Journal.

Let's get random, shall we?

#1-  Just We Two.  Dennis and I celebrated Christmas with snacks, movies and a country drive. It was a beautiful day here; sunny with temperatures in the 50's.



Wallowa Lake - 5 minutes from our apartment.


#2 - Long Distance.  Our children are scattered all over the country and couldn't be with us, but we did receive phone calls that made us smile. My son said the grands love their pillows, and that the whole family was impressed with my handiwork. That made me feel pretty good. Let's just admit it out loud, we like to be stroked, don't we?

Sprocket Pillows for Our Grands


#3 - Thanks, Honey. Dennis gave me a gift certificate to my favorite quilt shop, so you know where I'll be headed very soon. Especially with a 20% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket.



#4 - Scrap It. I'm still working on using up my fabric scraps. This is a hot pad I'm making (or it could be a potholder -- you decide). I'll put these two pieces together, with a square of an old thick towel for batting, and then hand quilt it. It's been a fun project because there's no pattern involved and I'm frugally using materials I already have.  The block on the left was super fun. I just kept adding little scraps until I got the size I wanted. Doesn't get any easier than that.



#5 - Fowl Play.  I've mentioned before that I might like to own chickens. While on a walk last summer I took this photo of a neighbor's chicken coop with my iPhone. I love the black and white roosters. I think they're Barbed Plymouth Rock. Can anyone confirm this?



2014 is just around the corner. I'm getting ready to launch the Every Room in the House Monthly Blog Party. I hope you'll plan on linking up on January 1st.

Wait! Was that random #6? Oh well. . .

Thanks for stopping by. I love it when you say "hi".





24 comments

  1. I am stopping by and love my visits to you. I like you visiting me too! Happy 2014 . . .

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    1. Thank you, Lynne. I'm looking forward to continuing our friendship in 2014. Cheers!

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  2. Stopping by on R5F from ARJ. Nice quilting!

    http://themonkeywranglersblog.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-days-after.html

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    1. Thank you. I'm a beginner quilter, so I've still got a lot to learn about technique. Hope you have a great weekend. Thanks for visiting and saying "hi".

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  3. Lovw the idea of the monthly parties! And I adore your banner photo. I don't live in a cottage but I've wished for a long time that I could ... maybe when we downsize? Happy New Years, Nancy!

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    1. Hi Dotti. I hope you'll come back and join me at the Every Room In The House Party. on January 1. It should be fun. Happy New Year to you, too. Thanks for visiting.

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  4. i love the pillows. do you ever do skye? i know a lot of folks enjoy that for family & friends they can not see in person all the time. sounds like a great way to keep in touch. Merry Christmas!! ( :

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    1. I have tried Skype, Beth. Thanks. Hope the New Year is very good to you.

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  5. I have lots of scraps just screaming to become...something...anything! A good winter project for sure! Fa la la...and a Happy New Year! Aloha

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    1. :) Winter is a great time to quilt. Best wishes for a wonderful 2014.

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  6. Nancy, your holiday sounds lovely....and blissfully relaxing! As one of four, all married with children, some of whom are also married, our holidays are never, ever quiet! I hosted a sit down dinner for 20 on Christmas day...I need another holiday to recuperate! :) I do know however that I would miss everyone terribly if they were far away, though, especially my children!

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    1. I miss the days of our family being together at Christmas, Kim. We have a lot of great memories. Now we're in another chapter of life that's different. Not bad. Just different. We have to create new memories. Hugs and wishes for a great 2014 for you and your family.

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  7. I love the way you're using fabric scraps! I can't wait to sew some this coming month. Looks like a beautiful day for a drive! That's what we did, too. Sweet hugs!

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    1. Diane, I think my scrap basket has no bottom. No matter how many scrap projects I finish, it seems I still have some left. Hugging you back. :)

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  8. I agree with Kim -- your Christmas sounds great to me (not a fan of crowded spaces or rush, rush to fit everything in.)

    I'll definitely want to learn more about your link up -- I want to try some new memes in the coming year so this is great timing!

    Love those pillows and your quilting. Have fun shopping! xo

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    1. Thanks, Nancy. I did shop and bought more fabric. I think it may show up in next Friday's Random 5. :) I hope you can join the Every Room In The House party. It would be fun to have you be a part of it. Cheers!

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  9. We had a nice, quiet Christmas here...we live too far from family to have visitors or to do any traveling.

    Cute pillows!

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    1. Thanks, Jill. Nice of you to stop by and say "hi". Hope you're enjoying the weekend.

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  10. Your quiet Christmas sounded quite lovely - we entertained family Christmas Eve but spent the 25th alone, except a neighbor visited the evening, which was perfect..........we could eat when we wanted and wear fuzzy socks!!!

    I'm really interested in your new home area Nancy. You say it's arid in NE Oregon and yet that pic taken of your lake view shows a lot of snow! How come?

    Sending best wishes for a healthy, happy New Year.........will you still but hunting down a cozy cottage home?

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    1. Hi Mary, here where we live the annual precipitation averages about 17". Compared to Portland, which gets almost 40" annually, we're considered an arid area. We do get some snow, especially on the mountaintops, which when it melts in the spring, creates run off and helps in the irrigation. Farmers here are dependent upon irrigation systems during the growing season. In the summer we get less than 2"of rain monthly, sometimes not even 1". We're still looking for a cottage, and will probably take another trip soon to look at property in other parts of the state. We like Oregon a lot, just not sure about where we want to settle. Thus, we continue to search. I hope 2014 is a great year for you and your famiy.

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  11. I love taking drives in the country. What beautiful scenery and a wonderful way to spend Christmas! Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you, Laurel. Happy New Year to you, too. :)

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  12. What a fun post and a great winter scene! We don't get much snow but we are getting the cold here in Alabama this winter. I'm glad you had a great Christmas. Our grandbabies are at their other grandparents right now after spending a couple of nights here but they're coming back for a few more nights' visit before heading back up north.

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    1. Sherry, I hope you have a wonderful 2014. It's been fun getting to know you, and I look forward to becoming better acquainted in the new year. God bless.

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