It was a night to remember here in Ireland , worst storm to hit the country in decades , 

Winds of over 183km/h  and over 800,000 without power , 

We're lucky ,still have power and not much damage , eerily quiet now after a wild night ,

No reports yet of any casualties so for once people took the warnings seriously,

Shout out to our friends John and Lorraine up North and hope they are OK .

@squeakyandliza Liza, what is the  machine you need a manual for ?   Have you looked for one on line?   I had to get a manual for my oldest 2nd hand machine there before. It is possible to find one you can print off, or,  maybe someone here has a manual for your machine... ? Plus, check with quilting guilds in your area for who sews with a machine like yours. Maybe someone there will have a manual. 

Also for a walking foot, check out "love❤️ sew"  they have generic sewing feet of all kinds for machines. There's one other place that I've ordered from. I'll get it later & post it here.  But lovesew has a walking foot around 30 bucks thru them. They have all kinds of sewing notions & lots of other stuff... I hope this helps. Quick delivery for me in the past. 

@tony-h  ... oh Tony, that had to be a wild night for sure!  I was thinking about you several times since I saw your post & sent a good prayer up for you a few times. I'm so glad you are okay & didn't get blown away! 

The local fireman here had what they called "a night from hell" due to a big wind that knocked trees over everywhere & on so many homes during a bad windstorm. One camp ground was hit particularly hard. A lady got out of the couples tent & went to the restroom, when she came back, a very big tree was down on their camp & camps around them. Her husband was killed instantly in the tent. My hubby was on the responding truck.

It was a long night of rescue calls and sad stories. Living in a small desert town, big trees often don't have good and deep solid roots due to sandy soils. Plus we know so many here, so it was hard for the firemen to arrive on scene & have a friend's home blasted apart by tree. 

I hope all you know are safe & sound & I'm so glad you are too!

Oh yes, and we got a good snowfall last evening. It just looks so pretty out there. There's something about snow that sort of gives one permission to sit around sipping tea & reading or whatever hoby one does. 

@llholiday ... Thank you for saying it was fun to use the walking foot! I have one I've been itching to try but am a little afraid of it at the same time! Lol!  

My new machine has a top loading bobbin case and it's so interesting looking at my machine and seeing the bobbin thru a clear lid. It also has one of those wide area tables ? ...  where fabric can easily lay on going thru whatever foot I put on my machine. I haven't had much of a chance to use her but she sure purrs like a kitten when I do! Lol! This is my first new machine since 1980! I'm glad you're enjoying yours too. Should we say what machines we have? I'm curious.... lol

@dlkfiretruck  thanks Linda we only got the edge but there were at least 4 mature trees at least 30m high that came down quite near our house ,

Being honest I love trees but like everything else they need to maintained and kept safe esp when they are near homes .

@tony-h So glad to hear you’re okay, Tony. The reports I’m seeing online are showing a lot of downed trees and cancelled flights and ferries. Not worse, thankfully. The sea looks absolutely wild. I’m still trying to check in with family on the west coast of England and in Wales, but it looks like Ireland and Scotland got the brunt of it. Stay safe.

 Laurie 

nice day here , 3C sunshine with occasional heavy showers, went mad and bought a new phone with loads(lots) of storage for my audio-books , my back(l3) has calmed down at last so can ease off the pain meds again , hope everyone is doing ok .

@tony-h  ... so you're physically affected by weather changes even in Ireland! lol. We are seeing the results of your storm on our local Global news T.V.  station. It looks like it was pretty wicked! 

My body is rediculous when weather changes. One of my uncles used to say he didn't need to watch the news, all he had to do was ask my aunt what the weather was doing in the next few days and she was always right... Lol! 

It's warmed up here. Minus -1°c. Snow is still on the ground so far. I actually really enjoy the snow & cold weather. It's a good time to haul out the long johns & snuggle down.  Bcuz so many use salt to melt the snowy walking areas, when I take my dog in from a walk she needs to have her feet washed off. The salt can be brutal on their paws & cause cracks & bleeding. When it's too cold, minus 5°c and really frosty, my dog allows us to put little winter booties on her feet. lol, rediculous I know, but she won't go for a walk in this deep minus temps unless her booties are on. 

Winter is a great time to go thru veggie seeds and figure out the garden for spring. Even my Grand is asking if we can plant peas again. We did two packs last spring & she ate off them all summer fresh from the garden. I love to eat my veggie homemade soups in winter... 

@dlkfiretruck nothing quite like eating what you have grown , I normally have lettuces and onions ready to harvest from around May to September , I would plant peas but they only make a quick visit through my digestive system but fresh peas do taste good ,

That's great putting boots on your furball , a lot of people don't realise how vulnerable they are to the cold ,

Here's our golden girl in full flirt mode with her Berner boyfriend

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5FfqgDjissRv4tAX7

1. GM everybody . That sounds good Tony . Growing your own stuff can be rewarding  . I usually have some kinda hot peppers going . Have had Carolina Reaper , Pekin , right now I have Jalapeños and Habenero's . Have also done Hatch and Anaheim  i mostly like cooking with them . You have 2 good looking pups there . 

@njewell1 Hey Robert , the goldens ours the Berner is her buddy ,I honestly don't know what i would do without having a dog , they really make a house a home , I was thinking of growing some chili's this year , cant seem to buy them at the same spiciness , I like a little bit of a kick buy i think i would end up in the ER if i tried a Carolina Reaper

Hey Tony . Didn't you put a picture on here when you first got your  pup the golden . Think i remember something like that  . Dogs are definitely family and great company we have a Shih-Tzu a little guy . Goes with us or me everywhere we go . Had Shepard's and Rottweiler's and misc in the past . This ones more compact Lol . We also have citrus . We have a Meyer Lemon a Blood Orange and a Midnight Orange . The Reaper and all the chilies have to be in moderation for sure . 🌶🥵 . Ya know it's good when the top of yer head sweats 

Hey Robert I might have put a photo of Ellie on here when we got her ,

After we had to put our last golden Alfie to sleep , I said never again ,

But less than six months later we got our Ellie and she's a real velcro dog ,

We have her with us 24/7 and as I'm sure you know they are the best therapy, no matter how you feel they always make you smile ,

Love Shih Tzu's ,they have great attitude  , but being honest there isn't a dog I don't like .

Miserable day here today , heavy rain with sleet, 5C but feels colder ,

Would be a great day for a pub with a nice log fire 🔥, 

But will have to settle for a good book and the fire 🔥 with a big hairy golden on the couch with me .

@tony-h I agree about growing your own food being rewarding. I had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, so I made a lot of tomato sauce. I get giddy every time we eat it. I also made a lot of jam - peach, haskap (from my own berries), mulberry, and kiwi from the vine I planted several years ago - finally had enough little kiwis to make one batch of jam. 🥝 Dr Seuss would get a kick out of green jam, I think.

 Laurie 

@tony-h We just had a windstorm pass through last night - 80km/h gusts.

I'm fortunate that we removed a large tree out front years ago. When we had strong winds, it seemed like only a matter of time before it would come crashing down.

Once I could see the ground BULGING as the tree swayed in the wind, I knew it was time to get it cut.

Fortunately, our backyard trees, while huge, don't have their leaves, so the wind doesn't catch them with full effect.

Posted by: @veganostomy

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@tony-h We just had a windstorm pass through last night - 80km/h gusts.

I'm fortunate that we removed a large tree out front years ago. When we had strong winds, it seemed like only a matter of time before it would come crashing down.

Once I could see the ground BULGING as the tree swayed in the wind, I knew it was time to get it cut.

Fortunately, our backyard trees, while huge, don't have their leaves, so the wind doesn't catch them with full effect.

If you have trees near houses they need to be maintained , only here in Ireland people don't want to pay to maintain them , tree surgeons cost on average about 2000 euro a day but then again if a tree hits your home in the middle of the night there's a good chance it might kill you,

I think after this last storm we had people's attitude might change , a lot of our infrastructure is still above ground because away from the main population areas its mainly single homes so its not cost effective to bury the cables ,

its been 5 days since it hit but there's still about 200,000 homes without power and 30,000 without water , we are now getting help from the UK and France but its a slow and dangerous process but hopefully people will be reconnected soon .

GM all . Tony I'm hearing about the storm you all had over there in Ireland  . High winds people without power and water for days . Hoping things get fixed for you all soon and hope everybody made it through with no injuries  . Seems like weather things are happening all over in different countries . Crazy times we're having  . Sending prayers for all of you . 

We left Toronto last night in a blizzard and -13C; arrived in Lisbon in a rainstorm and high winds, but 15C.  Aaahhhh…..feels so much warmer than home. Forecast for sun tomorrow.😎

 Laurie 

@tigerlily hey Laurie the thing with Portugal is that the rain does stop ,enjoy the heat , and have a  Pastel de nata for me .

bright sunny day here 2C but not much wind so a lovely day

@tigerlily You left at a good time, Laurie! -7 in Toronto tomorrow, but we get a "balmy" 2 degrees Celsius today 🤣