The Mystery Object

Here in the town I live in, Yorba Linda, we don't have snow...but we do have rain. Occasionally it does get cold enough for the rain to freeze! During this past December, I experienced such a morning. I leave every morning at 5:30am. One morning my windshield was covered with ice. I didn't know what to do. The windshield wipers were no good, so I tried to wait for the defroster to work. That took too long. I thought about using something like this...

...but figured that would be a little dangerous. Next I considered using a credit card or a spatula. No time. So I took of driving and eventually the ice began to melt and I made it to my destination safe and sound.

Later that day I put a comment on my Facebook 'wall' about the experience with ice I had had that morning. I received many comments from friends giving me suggestions about what to do next time. Later that evening, at a ladies dinner at my church, a friend (who read what I had written on Facebook) told me she had a gift for me. It looked something like this one...

Do you know what this is?

We had a good laugh about it. Later, I returned to my seat at the dinner. With a big smile on my face I showed the ladies at my table the gift I had just received. I held it up for all to see it. I expected them to laugh about it too. But their reactions surprised me. With puzzled looks they asked, "What is that?" I said, "It's an ice scraper!" One said, "Oh is that what one looks like?" I forgot that I was sitting with California natives, who had never even one!

Well, on Christmas morning, look at the gift I got from Daughter #2....Another ice scraper. But this was is fancy one! It's from Brookstone. I think my daughter gave it to me as kind of a gag gift, never thinking I would actually ever use it. Unless of course, I found ice on my windshield here in Yorba Linda again! But guess where I got to use it?

In Utah in January, when I got to visit my grandson! Here I am scraping the windshield. (Actually this picture was posed. My DH did the scraping for me while I waited in the car with the heater running! But he really did use my ice scraper!)

And this is my grandson with his mom, Daughter #1, in Utah in his new snowsuit. Poor little guy lives in the freezing snow. The snowsuit's a little big, but I'm sure he'll grow into it soon enough!

That's right, in Yorba Linda we don't have snow, but we do have rain (and ice)! Here's a cute little wallhanging I worked on a customer of mine. She did all the piecing and applique. I did the maching quilting.

She requested that I make the raindrops and umbrella really stand out. So I added a little extra batting. I call it "faux trapunto."

When she came to pick it up, she was very happy with it. I loved it too!

Now get back to work, Vivian!