Tuesday (or Early Wednesday) Thoughts

See the new flower on the side of the blog? How funny to take the quiz and then find out the "flower" I am is one I have been growing and have a picture of. Purple Coneflowers!

Today was a long day of medical tests and Dr. appts to have him say I am "normal" for my age! Come back in a year. Whee!!!

Last night and tonight I worked on the baby blanket my husband asked me to make, will make TWO and maybe be ahead of him. The winter must have been very cold, :p lots of babies the next few months!

And weather, the weather prediction for tomorrow is 101°. And it was 97°today, no wonder my petunias looked droopy.

Monday Goals

Well, I'm not going to have much for goals. The next two weeks are full of volunteering, errands, and we are spending a long weekend with our daughter and husband. Last night I did finish the tossed salad quilt (woohoo!!) Tonight Ken asked if I could "quick make a baby quilt" for another pregnant co-worker of his. I have a simple pattern I've been wanting to try, so maybe if I cut out TWO of them I will keep ahead of him!!

1. Look for border fabric to go on baby quilt
2. cut out another baby quilt (or TWO!)
3. more lemonade and sitting admiring summer!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, it just seems to be flying by!

Sunday Stash Report

This week I didn't buy any fabric, and I didn't finish anything. Drat! But I am inching my way to some finishes. The tossed salad is down to the binding, the baby quilt's blocks are done and set together, now I just need to buy some fabric for borders. The chunky churn dash has it's borders on, I went with the same teal blue as the hour glass blocks, I am liking that top the more I play with it!

I will work on the binding for the tossed salad so it can be "done done". And I may look around my stash for some backing for the chunky churn dashes. Hmmmm. No idea what I might find.

My garden is keeping me busy, yesterday I harvested 1 large pail of summer squash, so made a cake and some quick bread with some of it. Some I chopped and put in the freezer for winter. And the rest will go to one of Ken's co-workers. I will have more in less than a week, looks like a bumper crop. Isn't zucchini ALWAYS a bumper crop??? Wish the tomatoes would hurry up, I love tomatoes!

Monday Goals

With summer in full swing, I'm having a hard time achieving my goals. But if I made my goals each time--would they still be goals??

1. Finish the quilting on tossed salad top
2. Get baby quilt to borders stage
3. Put borders on Chunky Churn Dash

I think that is enough for this week, I have so many other things to do this week that aren't quilty. When I am stuck in the house this winter, I will work harder on my goals. Oh, can you hear it?? I think my deck and a glass of lemonade is calling!

Sunday Stash Report

This week I didn't buy anything, nor have I finished anything.  Drat!  Pulled out some blocks I won in the block lottery and put them together with some hourglass blocks, still deciding on the border.  Maybe some more of the blue/teal I used in the hourglass blocks would pull it together. A bit of a breeze today so getting a good picture was HARD!

I am still working on the baby blanket, maybe I can get that top to the borders yet this weekend. And I am determined to get the tossed salad top quilted, I have to piece in a little section of batting today.

My little garden is producing green zucchini and yellow summer squash, I have been busy working with that. And there are so many green tomatoes on the plants, I can hardly wait for them to ripen!!

And flowers, how I love summer!! My Malva is determined to bloom thru my deck steps.

My "dead" trumpet vine from this spring is blooming.

I just love these pansies!

Wednesday Ramblings

I didn't know that "taverns" were such a localized slang term!!  Sorry everyone!  I think other places they are called BBQ's.  You brown and drain hamburger, add chopped onions and green peppers, brown some more, add salt and pepper, a small squirt of mustard with a large glop of ketchup, and a little white sugar and brown vinegar.  Now this is all "to taste".  No measurements here.  I have made this same recipe since I was little, and I remember the ingredients are in pairs and there are eight of them beside the hamburger!~  You cook it slowly until it is thick and served on hamburger buns, preferably with a slice of cheese and hamburger dill slices.  'Course my husband will eat ANYTHING that looks like a burger, it's his favorite meal.

I haven't done any sewing the last few days, had another Dr. appt but nothing major found.  LOL--GOOD!!  So today I will nap a bit, and then head back to my camper as I volunteer tomorrow at the visitor center.  I did get my 4 patches sewn together, the stars are all made for the baby quilt.  I have hung the blocks on the wall and am in the process of getting the rows together.  Whew!!  This baby better not be too early or I won't be done!  We are going to visit Laura Beth and Nick in August, and I would like to have it done by then.  But as I was setting the blocks together, I realized I had no border fabric!!  Oh dear, I might have to go shopping again!  What a tragedy. 

Monday Goals

What shall I make for goals this week? Most my goals aren't quilty right now!

1. Finish the baby blocks into a top
2. Fix "oops" on tossed salad and finishing quilting it
3. Work on a UFO

Yup, I think those will work. Right now I am making taverns from some burger (Ken LOVES tavern--silly man!) And for supper I will make steaks, burgers, and stir fried veggies. YUM! I have some bananas sitting here saying "make something with me" but I am unmotivated. Later I will putter in my flowers. Sit and enjoy lemonade and iced tea on my deck. Ahh---summertime!

Oh, I have been working on my baby quilt blocks, I have all the long legged stars done, and most the 4 patches made, so it won't take a whole lot more to get it done. And I found this glass bowl with ivy leaves on it, I bought it simply because I remember my grandmother serving cucumbers in it in the summer. I'm sure she used it for lots of other things, but that memory is so clear. And then my best friend sent me this pyrex pot, I had one and broke it. I love vintage glassware!

Sunday Stash Report

I bought a primitive seasonal panel, that's it. And I haven't finished anything. LOL I am within INCHES of having the tossed salad quilted. And then I hit a small glitch. I cut the batting a smidgen too short. I mean like maybe an inch?? I really think I didn't cut it too short, it took more batting than I thought to smooth out all those humps! I don't want to make the border smaller, so I will piece a bit in. And it was going so well!

And I've also cut out Laura Beth's and Nick's baby quilt. Today I plan to work on that.

My garden and flowers are growing like crazy, must be the "dirt" I hauled in for them! The tomatoes are waist high and have tomatoes and blossoms all over.

My Jackmani clematis is blooming it's heart out, even though I cut it way back earlier this year and the carpenters had to stand on it to build the deck.

And my summer squash have babies and blossoms!!

A trumpet vine I thought was dead this spring is getting ready to bloom.

And here is a Purple Coneflower I started last year from seed. They are supposed to be hardy prairie perennial, I think they must be because they got NO care last year. And now they are up and at least 4 foot high and blooming.

And remember the perinneal sweet peas, well they are covered with blossoms and more to come. And the other plants that were smaller or I started from seed this year are coming along too.

Motivation Friday

Well, my goals were sidelined by a unexpected stay in the hospital. But I'm out and about now, and looking at my books and patterns for ideas for a baby quilt. Found a good book at The Thimble Box in New Ulm MN. Its by Atkinson's Designs and is called "Lessons from Mama". Laura Beth liked a pattern in it called Star Patched Quilt. Will think on this tonight.

I got two tomatoes from my garden! Maybe tomorrow will bring grilled burgers with fresh tomatoes. YUM! And the yellow summer squash and the zucchini are starting to bear, soon there will be fresh stir fried veggies.

Monday Goals on Wednesday!

Not too many goals for this week, it's summer and sewing takes a backseat to sitting outside reading in my lawn chair! But here goes---
1) Finish quilting tossed salad quilt
2) decide on pattern for DD's baby quilt
3) pull hair to DNA test mare I want to sell (oops--not quilty!!)

Small goals for this week, I do have some customer quilts to work on and of course stuff here at home.

Sunday Stash Report

Okay, I admit it, I caved while I was gone this week!I bought fabric for my daughter's baby quilt,

backing, she has a giraffe "theme".

fabric for a different baby quilt, and some to share at my next guild meeting. (If you go on a trip and just "happen" to visit a quilt store--you bring back fabric that represents your trip and give everyone a charm cut from it). This looks like snowflakes and I think that represents Minnesota!

I was checking the stack, and figure I bought about 21 yards! Ah well, first grandchild and all that! I started the week with two days of Dr. appts and tests, then rushed home, packed, and left for a funeral in Minnesota (hey Mary, I was close to you!) and then stayed overnight with Laura Beth and Nick. From there we drove back to SD and I repacked, did a little laundry and left that night for my camper. Here are a few pictures of the mom to be--due about September 20th.

Laura Beth in her new rocker you want a picture of what??!!~!

4th of July

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I love my country and I'm thankful for all the things I DO have. God bless America and all those who keep her safe and free!!

When I think of America, this is the America I believe in.

'Colin Powell, keynote speaker at the Wall's 25th Anniversary.'
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush. He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.'
You could have heard a pin drop.
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Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intend to do, bomb them?'
A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electric power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day; and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck... We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'
You could have heard a pin drop.
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A US Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included admirals from the US, English, Canadian, Australian, and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks, but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.
You could have heard a pin drop.
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AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.
'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically.
Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.
'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.'
The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.'
'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!'
The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained, 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any damn Frenchmen to show it to.'
You could have heard a pin drop.
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GOD BLESS AMERICA AND ALL IT STANDS FOR.
THINGS MAY NEVER ALWAYS BE PERFECT, BUT IT WILL ALWAYS BE AMERICA.