Lunch with Carol Doak

When Sandy and I were in Houston we were able to have lunch with Carol Doak. After lunch, we took some time to discuss all the wonderful things about the new Apple iPad.

Mink Bears

What do you do with a vintage mink coat? You make mink bears. I was very fortunate to find Sandy Czaja, Notchlok Bears, a very talented bear artist.
My mother's mink coat was purchased from Berger's Department store in Buffalo New York in 1960. Sandy was able to incorporate the initials on one bear paw and made a small pillow with the Berger label. The red silk bow on the larger bear was made from silk my parents purchased while on a trip to Japan in 1962. I gave the medium size bear to my daughter, Marcie and the 2 small bears were sent to my cousins, Deb and Pam, in Batavia New York.

Iced Fountain

Phoenix had a cold snap February 1st but nonetheless, I surprised to see my fountain iced over the morning of February 2nd. The ice had melted by 3:00 pm but formed again and was frozen again on February 3rd. I covered some of the frost tender plants in my backyard.

Waiting for a treat

My quilting buddy, Sandy, came to Phoenix to take some classes at Quilting in the Desert. She took this picture of the girls waiting, oh so patiently, for a piece of pizza crust. Pizza crust is the only thing that they all beg for.

New Christmas stockings and tree skirt

Christmas Tree Skirt designed by Judy Niemeyer. Machine quilting by Jessica Jones Gamez. Finished size is 60” diameter.


New Christmas stocking to match my new Christmas tree skirt. My sister had a Bernina 180 with the embroidery module, I machine embroidered the names instead of doing hand embroidery as I have in past years. I also learned how to use the ruffler attachment for my Bernina.

Christmas Bells

Paper mache Christmas bells were made by my dad, Bernie Stell, circa 1945. These bells hung on homes on Woodbridge Avenue in Buffalo NY, Fairlawn Drive in Eggertsville NY and Meadow Park Drive in Sun City Arizona. In 2010, I updated the wiring on the bells and I was able to hang the bells at my home in Phoenix Arizona.

Happy Birthday Katie

Katie, my standard poodle, is now 4 years old. Katie has now become quite the expert in counter surfing and basket trashing. Katie is continuing the proud tradition of guarding the house and keeping all dragons and dinosaurs from the backyard.

Katie was born 9/2/2006