Dan's Ramblings

Dan here ~

Been told it’s Thursday again so here goes. I am still waiting for the weather to feel half as nice outside as it looks. So far, not so much. Today was sunny a good part of the time but the wind howled 100% of the time. This naturally made it feel much colder than the thermometer reading. I think the long range forecast says warming by the end of May. Time will tell.

I haven’t bothered with too much clean up around the yard and the driveway yet, blaming it on the weather. If I still lived in Rangeley I would have no issues with still putting the long johns on to go outside, where I live now I feel I should be past that. 

The thing about this wind, is that there are more branches falling every day. It never ends. Maybe I need to learn to not see the branches and twigs everywhere. The trouble is I don’t see branches etc. I see a fire hazard. The woods surrounding the houses around here are mostly old with trees that were beyond their prime 50 years ago when I was in mine. I shudder at the thought of a fire around here with the amount of dead debris on the ground and the dead limbs going up the first half of most of the trees. 

I’ll probably wait for the black flies and do cleanup then. I honestly don’t mind the black flies as much as the ticks. I’ve already knocked off two this season. I wonder how many more I will find. Hopefully any more I find, I find before they latch on as well.

The other night we had about the closest and loudest thunder storm I can ever remember. There were several lightning strikes with simultaneous cracks of thunder. It was quite impressive. Carol slept through it.

Last Saturday’s class with the V-Block tool went well for most. Passable for all. We played making 2” V-blocks and all found the process seemed to work quite well. The next class is next Saturday and will be with the Wing Clipper as we make and trim flying geese. Wish me luck.

In the studio I have finished quilt #22 for 2026. Size 63” x 73”. 

2026-22

This one again featured the Diamond Rects tool and the Square Squared tool. For this top I decided on a block made up of the two types of blocks separated by a common sashing. This gave me a block, after framing, of 12” x 13”. 

I used a limited layout of double popped stars along with square squared units as all the cornerstones to make up my 3” sashing. The teal made for a nice bright quilt and all the cute fussy cuts added spice. Pleased with the results. #23 is heading down the path of a variation of #21. Time will tell how that comes out.

Here is tonight’s after sunset picture. Sure looks nice out!

Enjoy your weekend. Hopefully I don’t blow away. I still carry three of the rocks I told you about a long time ago along with all 5 of the coins. I lost two of the rocks which made me quite upset at the time. The ballast helps hold this skinny old codger on the ground in the wind. So until next time, stay safe. There are a lot of people out there crazier than me.