The Aftermath of the Storm of '26

 Hello Everyone,

It's been a wild and wooly ride through the storm of '26 here at Wilder's Last Resort.  All of the downed trees took our power and Internet connection out on Monday, 2/16 and wasn't restored until Thursday 2/26. Our Internet was restored on 2/27. During that outage, I did what I could on the Timeless quilt when we turned our generator on.

I've been working on the Ohio Star blocks for the final, outer border of the medallion quilt.

I prepped as much as I could during the daylight hours.  I would trim HST, and do as much as I could with the quarter square triangles.

I've started stitching the red border blocks together and I should be able to finish that 'round' and get it on the quilt.  I was tired of making the red blocks, so I switched to working on the final border to maintain my sanity.

Here's a refresher picture so you can see the last two borders.

As the temperature warms to unprecedented highs, the snow has been melting rapidly and exposing more and more of the damage to our small community and the area around our cabin. 61 cabins have trees on top of them or the trees went completely through them.

Many of the smaller trees couldn't handle the weight of the snow and either snapped off or just fell over.  During the day, all we hear is the drone of chainsaws.  We will wait until the snow melts before we begin the cleanup when our kids can help.

On a very serious note....because apparently Mother Nature thought we needed some more drama, Thursday night (2/19), while we were completely snowed in, no power, no Internet, Mr. Joe decided to pull a full-on Victorian fainting spell at the dining room table.

One second he’s sitting there, the next he puts his hands to his head and does a perfect face‑plant directly into his plate. And just to be clear....my cooking is NOT that bad.

In about half a millisecond, a hundred thoughts stampede through my brain:
“Is he alive?”
“Can an ambulance even get through to us?”
“Oh wait—the phone doesn’t work, so how am I calling anyone? Smoke signals?”

“Should I trek to the neighbors? Mike’s a former firefighter; he'll know what to do."

As I’m frantically poking around for a pulse, Mr. Joe suddenly pops back to consciousness, looking… well, about as coherent as he normally does, so no major changes there.

I took his blood pressure, and it was perfectly normal, which is more than I can say for my stress levels. Then I got him to his recliner while doing my best impression of an old-timey hand‑wringing heroine. I convince myself he’s probably just dehydrated from all the shoveling...which I didn’t tell him to do that much of, and I was right by his side shoveling along with him.

I finally got him to bed, but of course I couldn't sleep. Instead, I repeatedly look over to check that he’s still breathing.

Friday and Saturday? Still snowed in, because why not.
Sunday, our neighbors heroically dug us out, and off we go sliding down to the Bay Area for a medical checkup.

He got an EKG, and has bloodwork completed and the doctor agrees: just dehydration. All his tests came back fine.

In my last post I didn’t share all this because we didn’t have any results yet, but now you know the whole saga of Joe vs. Fainting in a Blizzard.

I hope to never see a repeat performance.

Soon,

A hand-wringing Lynn

The Winter of 2026

 Hello Everyone,

We finally were able to dig our way out of the cabin yesterday.  We felt like two prairie dogs with bad backs digging their way through 4' of snow. The storm wasn't only brutal, it felt as though we were two-bit actors in a disaster movie. I took this picture last Tuesday while I could get through the snow to the back of the lot.  There's absolutely no way I could navigate my way down there now through the hip-deep snow.

This picture was taken on Wednesday of the front of the cabin.

We tried to keep up with the shoveling, but the snow was coming down just as fast as we could shovel. One of our woodpiles is under the big lump of snow.

This was on Thursday when the sun came out briefly. There really are two cars underneath all the snow.

This is a daily progression of the snow, taken from the master bedroom.

Thanks to the help of two neighbors, one of the cars was unearthed.

The power went off on Monday night 2/16, and we haven't seen a flicker of electricity since.  The power is supposed to be restored Wednesday, 2/25.  I'll believe it when I see the light(s)! We turned our generator on for only two hours in the morning and two in the evening to conserve our 5 gallon propane tanks.  We were rationing propane like it was gourmet truffle oil! While we had electricity, I sewed like a madwoman!

I marked and trimmed what seemed like hundreds of HST when the power was off, and would get everything organized to make blocks.

The last forty-four blocks are all prepped and waiting to go under the needle.

Many quarter-square triangles are waiting to be trimmed.

My community of Arnold is in a state of emergency.  Trees came down like matchsticks all around town.  We lost five trees on our two lots.  Two trees hit our deck, and one tree hit the cabin.  We can't really assess the damage until the snow melts. 

The snowplows couldn't get through due to all of the downed trees and abandoned cars stuck on the roadway. Downtown Arnold is a mess!  The parking lots at the post office and the grocery store are staging areas for all of the emergency vehicles.

One of our sons asked everyday if we needed him.  We did need him, but he couldn't get to us. Our main propane tank is currently buried somewhere under a snow drift that might be large enough to qualify for its own zip code. The kids are coming up next weekend, and we're handing them each a shovel. Whether they help dig or use them to escape is up to them. The last I heard, there are 400 people on the list waiting for a delivery and we only have 16% or 40 gallons currently in our tank. We have to clear a path to the tank before the propane can be delivered.

If there's one silver lining to the storms, it's how our community showed its true colors.  Neighbors helping neighbors, people sharing whatever they had, everyone checking on everyone.  It was like a rugged mountain version of a potluck, but with generators and snow shovels instead of casseroles.

We adore our community and the beauty of living up here in the mountains.  But, if we're being honest, at our age it might be time to take a thoughtful look at how many more winters we want to wrestle with Mother Nature's mood swings.  She's impressive but also exhausting. Now, she is gearing up to deliver an atmospheric river of rain starting tonight!  Maybe the kids won't have to shovel!

Soon,

Lynn

Nanook of the North

 Hello Everyone,

In between major power outages lasting for 10-12 hours, I've been working on Timeless and attached the green border.

The snow started early on Monday which was ahead of schedule.  Our power went out Sunday night at midnight and didn't come back on until yesterday afternoon around 3pm.  We had the neighbors over for dinner and I fixed a delicious pot of meatball soup. We enjoyed our soup, salad, and a glass of wine or two and they walked back home.....right next door.  They no sooner got home, when the power went off again around 9pm and came back on at 4:30am.

 

Recipe for Sopa de Albondigas

Broth:
1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
8 cups beef broth or stock
4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon crushed oregano
1 teaspoon salt

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1/2 cup uncooked rice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten

Condiments to put on top of your bowl
chopped avocado
chopped fresh cilantro
chopped fresh tomatoes
sour cream
grated Monterey Jack cheese

To make the broth, sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil. Add tomato sauce, beef stock, fresh tomatoes, cumin, oregano and salt. Meanwhile mix together ingredients for meatballs. Shape into little balls and drop into boiling mixture.

Cover and cook for 45 minutes. Serve with the assorted condiments. This soup is actually better the next day. I mash up some of the meatballs prior to serving.

I didn't think to take a picture as we were ready to just dig in!

The ongoing snowblower saga continues.  Our son got sick and he didn't come up to try and fix it.  I just finished shoveling the driveway and now I need a long winters nap!  Here's the cabin from the street.  We are supposed to get another foot of snow today, more tomorrow and Thursday.

I took this picture of the deck off our bedroom yesterday at 4:30pm.

Here it is this morning.

Now it's time to quilt for a couple of hours before I go back on shoveling duty.  

Soon,

Lynn

Update on Timeless

 Hello Everyone,

I finished two of the side, green borders and then put the quilt aside to get ready for company this weekend.

I have a thought about offering this quilt as a kit in a 'pick-your-own-size' to suit your sanity level as follows:

48" includes the row of baskets.

66" includes the green border.

83" includes the red ribbon border

96" includes the entire quilt.

This idea seems to be a big hit on my FB page and Instagram.  What are your thoughts?  Is this something you would be interested in if I offered the kit in several different sizes?

Looks like next week’s forecast is proudly sponsored by “Winter Chaos, Inc.” We’re talking a real barnburner of a snowstorm; the kind that makes you question all your life choices, especially the ones involving where you live.

Time to hunker down, stock up on supplies like you’re prepping for a week-long hibernation, drag the firewood somewhere vaguely reachable, and shovel a little path to the generator. This storm is apparently strong enough to knock down trees, which in turn could knock out the power, which in turn will knock out my will to shovel.

And if we really do get 21 inches of snow in a single day, well… consider this my early “See you in Spring!” message.

Soon - I hope,

Lynn

Timeless is Growing

 Hello Everyone,

I have really enjoyed making this medallion quilt.  Each row adds so much character to the quilt, and you receive instant gratification seeing it come alive and grow into a real beauty. The little purple blocks are done and now added to the mix. 

I made quick work making all of the components for the block and put them on the block layout sheet which is included in the pattern.

Then I sewed the basket rows onto the quilt.  An added bonus is that the baskets fit perfectly (imagine that) and the quilt now measures 48" x 48".

This is the next row up which will be a piece of cake......if everything behaves and it fits just the way it should and my calculations are correct. Fingers crossed. It can't be that hard....right?

Our mechanical genius son, Kade, is coming up this weekend to attempt resuscitation of the snowblower....assuming it's not already on life support.  His Connecticut trip got pushed back a week, so I'm feeling hopeful that we won't have to wait until Spring for a daring mountain rescue.

Meanwhile, Weather Underground keeps increasing the snow totals like it's trying to win a prize.....or gold medal!

Bob, husband of my dear friend Candace and full-time fountain of questionable wisdom, suggested that Mr. Joe spray the entire snowblower with WD-40. (Isn't WD-40 extremely combustible?????) If that fails, give it a good whack with a hammer.  And if that fails, pour Vodka in the gas tank.  To clarify; the snowblower's gas tank, not Mr. Joe's!

With advice like this and Kade's impending arrival, I'm optimistic the Great Snowblower Saga will finally come to a close this weekend....one way or another.

Soon,

Lynn  

 

Retreat Preparations and Updates

 Hello Everyone,

In my last post I showed you my friend's Calico Cottages quilt she entered into the Independence Hall Quilt Show......Diane won a well-deserved Viewer's Choice ribbon!

We went out for lunch to celebrate after the guild meeting. Mr. Joe met up with us down at The Bistro and Diane took our picture to show off the fall colors in the area. 

Speaking of fall colors, our dogwood tree is spectacular this year.  The tree is located right outside the windows in our great room, and we get to enjoy it all day every day.

I’ve been busy prepping for my final retreat of the year, which kicks off this Sunday. Three quilters are arriving early—this Friday, just two days away… YIKES! On Saturday, a few of us are heading to Yosemite for a little adventure before the stitching, laughter, and creative magic officially begins.

As part of my retreat prep, I’ve done just a touch of autumn decorating with nothing too elaborate. These days, I find myself thinking, “Whatever goes up now has to come down soon… because Christmas is just around the corner!” Still, it’s nice to enjoy the cozy colors and little touches of fall, even if only for a few fleeting weeks 

I also cut six more kits for Country Charmer yesterday.  Whatever is left over after the retreat, will go into my Etsy shop after the retreat. 

Speaking of Etsy shop, I'm slowly adding new listings for DIGITAL DOWNLOAD in my shop.  As I track the orders, I'm noticing many sales outside of the United States to Australia, France, Germany, Italy and the UK.  I feel this has been a very positive decision and quilters seem to be happy to have easier access to my patterns without the huge shipping costs both inside and outside the US.

This week I've added digital downloads for Bridle Path and Heritage to my shop.

Digital download for Heritage is located HERE.

Bridle Path DIGITAL DOWNLOAD is located HERE.

Yesterday I tackled the cobwebs in the cabin. though honestly, they could’ve passed for Halloween decor! I also began swapping out quilts and gave the master bedroom a deep clean. One of my favorite things is creating cozy little areas to showcase different quilts, moving them around until each one finds its perfect spot.  I'm having a tour of the cabin during the retreat, so it has to be spotless.....tell that to Mazey so she won't leave trails of golden hair around the cabin. She sheds so much, I'm surprised she's not bald!

I'm off to begin my workday of making those pesky cobwebs disappear.

Soon,

Lynn

  

Living in a Zoo

 Hello Everyone,

There are days when we feel as though we are living in a zoo.  Here's proof of that statement.  Mr. Joe and I just sat down at the dining room table when two cubs and their mom ran up a tree right by our deck.  I love the grumpy face on the bottom cub.

Mazey was outside on the deck and was nose to nose with mama bear with only the thin bars of the railing separating them.  I ran out and called Mazey and quickly got her into the cabin, but not before mama took a swipe at her and growled.  Mazey heard the urgency in my voice and ran back inside the cabin unscathed.  I was sure that I'd scared the bears away......but that was not to be the case.

Mama proceeded to curl up and take a nap in a bed that was "just right" in the drainage pipe.  

The branches of the tree were just perfect for the cubs to take their naps.  This is the only time I ventured outside to get a picture.  The rest of the pictures were taken inside the safety of the cabin.

We were expecting friends to drop by after lunch, and they enjoyed the show.  I'd texted them ahead of time and alerted them to what was going on.  I should have charged admission to the zoo!

The cubs ventured down from the tree after napping for over an hour and a half.  They went over to mama and started nursing.

This little one had very interesting markings on his chest.  It looked so cute when it stood up.

Mama checked us out one more time. Take a good look at her claws.....scarey. 

Then she gathered up her kids, and headed over to the neighbor's cabin.

She was very interested in their garage door.  Bears have been known to rip off garage doors to gain entry.

The surprising thing about this encounter was that we couldn't scare the bears away.  Normally if you make enough loud noise they leave.  We have to be on extra sharp alert when we are out in the yard from now on, more so now than ever before.  

Just another day in our mountain life.

Soon,

Lynn