I'm Quilting Again!!

Yay!!! I am piecing diamonds and hexies by hand. I don't really have anything to show yet, but it is SO good to being working with fabric again!

Not much else. I recently moved and am now settling in to my new (and much nicer) apartment. The cats are crazy as usual. Work is crazy as usual. My parents came out to see me for Thanksgiving. It was great to see them!

Odds And Ends

Hello all! I have been terribly absent from this blog, which I apologize for. I have been extremely busy, working 60-70 hours a week most weeks and fitting in time with friends and family between the hours at work. I love, love, love what I do, though,  so it makes working that many hours so much fun :)

The only exciting news in my otherwise quite boring life- Munchkin (who has been with me exactly one year!) has a baby sister! Moppet came to join the family on July 14, and we are all getting along very well indeed! It as touch and go at first, as Munchkin was not at all sure she wanted a baby sister, but they love each other now and can frequently be found sleeping curled up so tight you can't tell where one cat stops and the other one starts :)

Here's Moppet!! She is about 4 months old.

She had a big day, exploring the place, and is a little sleepy now :)

Munchkin and Moppet taking a nap by mommy's feet :)

We all get along well now, and it's been good for Munchkin to have a playmate, especially since I am gone so much.

Nothing doing on the crafting side- I knit a little when I am at work, but that's about it. My fabric and sewing machine have been calling to me, but so far I do not have the time to answer them :(

Posted

It's 2:46am. I am sitting in an ambulance in the dark parking lot of a closed grocery store. My partner is snoring, and I have a headache. I'm also sick and taking antibiotics that make my stomach hurt. I start wondering why on earth I chose this career. Then a neighboring district gets the call for the baby that's not breathing. The mom is doing CPR. The ambulance crew and the fire department and the police are all getting there as fast as they can. I want to go. I want to help. My heart goes out to the poor mother. It also goes out to the responders. I know what this looks like. I've done it before. And then I remember why I'm sitting in an ambulance at 2:46am. It's because when someone needs help, I want to be there for them.

Stayin’ Alive!

Hi all! Still here! I’ve been super busy, working and settling in to my new apartment and enjoying the beautiful weather we’ve been having around here lately! I took a little drive today… it was so nice to have the windows and roof open on my car :)

Hector Falls, near Watkins Glen, NY

Aunt Sarah’s Falls, near Montour Falls, NY

I have been very busy at work, usually putting in 50-60 hours a week. It’s not bad at all when you love your job as much as I do! And I have some great partners to work with- that makes the time go by fast. Starting next week I am moving full-time into the dispatch office, picking up road shifts occasionally as they open up. I work overnights, and my co-workers and I have way too much fun :)

Ta for now! I’ve been knitting a bit, it’s hard to quilt when you’re posted in an ambulance ;)

Happy New Year!!

Hello all! Just a quick post to say everything is going great and I am still alive!

I’m getting settled into my new apartment! So far I like it. It’s smaller than my old one but the kitchen and bathroom are bigger. And it’s upstairs- much quieter! And the best feature of all? I have my very own {very small} washer and dryer! I am so excited about this. It’s so nice to not be hauling my clothes to a friend’s house anymore :)

I’m also settling well into my new job! I am cleared as a dispatcher and will be starting my regular shift soon. I am also working on getting my driver and medic clearance, which shouldn’t take too long. Then I will be able to really start helping people :)

I have been organizing my crafting stuff and hope to be creating pretty things soon. I will be working overnights in dispatch so depending on the kind of night we’re having I’ll have time to knit and/or sew. I have been watching tutorials on hand piecing quilts and I really hope I can get back into quilting again that way.

Well, that’s all for now! I hope you all had lovely holidays and the New Year is treating you as well as it is treating me so far!

Stayin’ Alive…

Just popping in to say I’m still alive! Lot of changes around here lately- it’s been a whirlwind!

Through a series of interesting circumstances I will not go into here, I have landed my dream job!! I started work last Monday at Finger Lakes Ambulance as a full-time dispatcher,  part-time driver/EMT! I am SO excited to actually be working in EMS! The job is interesting and my co-workers (quite a few of whom I have known for 12-15 years) are great to work with. AND I wear a uniform! No more deciding what to wear to work, or if those shoes match this shirt! It’s a uniform shirt, EMT pants, leather boots, reflective coat. End of story. Once I am trained I will work overnights in dispatch. No more days! I am so not a morning/day person. I am very happy :)

I also had a great week last week because my mommy and daddy came to see me for Thanksgiving! It was SO great to see them and spend time with them! We had a blast, going wine tasting and visiting a family favorite place, The Wizard Of Clay in Honeoye, NY. They bought me a birthday present from there and it’s so beautiful…

Isn’t it amazing? The crystals grow as the piece is fired in a kiln at a set temperature and each one is unique. There is no way to control the crystal growth. I just love looking at it.

Last but not least, and mostly due to my new job, I am moving from Fairport, NY to Canandaigua, NY in January. I am excited, and it will be a LOT closer to my job. Right now I have a nearly 30 mile commute. Once I move it will be about 10.

I haven’t been crafting at all and am considering de-stashing on Etsy. I’ll let you all know if I do that since I will have good prices ;)

An Autumn Day

Today I grabbed the new camera and went out exploring! It was lovely and clear this morning… I wish it was still like that now, but this is Rochester… :)

I started very bright and early…

I stopped up at my friend Wayne’s house to get a shot of the beautiful sunrise…

Then I headed up to Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area to get some lovely photos of Honeoye Lake. The view from there is truly amazing. Even my new camera could not do it justice!

It also has a great view of the city of Rochester, which is about 40 miles away. It was a great opportunity to try out the zoom lense!

I got another (and much better!) photograph of the moon…

And then I headed to my favorite place in all of New York- Taughannock Falls State Park! This place is breathtakingly beautiful. Here are the falls from a distance.

And a little closer up…

And a close up!

In scanning around for other shots I found this lovely fall scene..

Then I drove up and around to hike the upper rim trail at Taughannock Falls State Park.

My last stop of the day was this delightful waterfall that is just on the side of the road near Watkins Glen! I love waterfalls and this is a particularly beautiful one.

Well, that is my tour of my beloved Finger Lakes region for today!

A New Toy

I have been saving for a while now, and I finally splurged- on a new camera! it’s a Canon EOS Rebel T2i SLR digital camera. The package I bought came with extra lenses and batteries and stuff. My friend Don has a similar camera and he’s been helping me learn how to use it.

I got a lovely picture of my beloved Munchkin…

I just love the resolution of the new camera! This was taken from clear across the room with a zoom lense.

I tried my hand at photographing the moon. It came out OK, but it definitely made me realize I need a tripod! I took about 50 pictures of the moon and this was the only decent shot. I guess I’m not very steady :)

Tomorrow morning is supposed to be clear (a miracle in Rochester lately!) so I am going to head to my favorite spot down in Honeoye to play with the camera some more. There is a place with a spectacular view of Honeoye Lake and the city of Rochester and I am hoping it will be clear enough to get some really great photos!

Autumn Trip, 2011

Hello all from lovely Plattsburgh, NY! Right on Lake Champlain and minutes from the Adirondack Mountains (and about 5 hours from home), it’s the perfect place for a mini-weekend vacation, and that is just what I am taking!

I drove up last night after work and this morning I headed out bright and early to get to the mountains! I wandered around a bit (intentionally) but eventually wound up in the Lake Placid area. Beautiful!

I saw lovely waterfalls… (at High Falls Gorge, near Lake Placid)

And lovely autumn foliage… (near Lake Placid)

And then I came to a T in the road. If I turned right, I would just be on some road headed somewhere. But if I turned left, I could drive my little Honda to the tip top of Whiteface Mountain! I am sure you can guess which way I turned… :)

This is about 1/2 way up the mountain…

And this is about 3/4 of the way up the mountain…

And this is from the summit of Whiteface Mountain!

Yep- I really was there!

Then I went to Little Whiteface Mountain and took a gondola ride up to the top of it…

Same lake, different mountain!

A view of Whiteface Mountain from Little Whiteface Mountain.

My favorite photo from the day (of over 250 photos!). This is from the gondola on the way back down Little Whiteface Mountain.

Tomorrow I am leaving early so I can go to Fort Ticonderoga on my way home. More photos to follow!

My Little Munchkin

I have been adopted by a cat!

Her name is Munchkin and she is 3 months old. I found her at Lollipop Farm, the Rochester area Humane Society shelter. I ♥ her so much!! I had about a dozen names picked out for when I got a cat but when she crawled on my lap and into my heart at the shelter somehow the name Munchkin came to me and I went with it. It really suits her- now. I imagine when she’s full grown it will be a bit of a joke ;)

She is settling right in to my apartment, walking around like she owns the place and playing with random things like power cords and tiny little pieces of fluff and freaking me out by cramming herself into the tiniest spaces possible (where I can’t find her) then falling asleep.

She is also a very loving little lap kitty, and even though I’ve only had her since about 6pm tonight my lap seems to be her favorite place to sleep :) I am glad. I love lap cats and none of the cats I’ve lived with in the past have really been lap cats.

She’s also not afraid to express herself ;) She actually fell asleep like this! I was laughing so hysterically I woke her up.

I love, love, love my new friend :)