Domestic Bliss

But first the good news . . . 

We got rain :)

It's a pretty good downpour and it's the second day in a row. 

No - I'm not complaining :) It has been a very dry summer, so we are grateful for whatever comes our way at this point.

And the domestic bliss . . . 

My Saturday morning started with breakfast, coffee and cleaning up the kitchen and starting laundry.

Then I moved on to baking . . .

Yes, there appears to be one missing. I guess quality control is working today :)

From there I moved on to the zucchini.

I have a sinkful of these beauties. 

How happy am I?

Last year I planted but didn't get one single squash.

This year, so far, I have nine !!!!

First up, zucchini bread.

Then . . .

 

 I moved on to zucchini pie.

I love having fresh things from the garden as I need them.

The pies will go into the freezer for later in the year.

Are you thinking about winter yet?

I usually start about the beginning of August because that's when things start to come in from the garden. This will be the first time I try to freeze zucchini pie. 

I'm going to find other things to put in the freezer to prepare for winter and busy days. I have recipe books designed specifically for freezer meals. I just need to get my supplies together. The list is started.

Well, I'm off to work on my lace cabin, bumble bee hive and a quilt label.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

Oh, the fun

As usual, my day was busy. 

I spent the morning rushing around.

First stop was a quilt shop that wasn't open yet,

so I moved on to quilt shop number two.

I was in search of my next row for the Row by Row Experience.

From here, I moved on to Mom's. I spent a couple of hours with her. Before I knew it, it was time to head home. Plans for stopping at quilt shop number one and three were scrapped because I ran out of time. There will be other opportunities.

What was the most fun about today was this little project.

 

Here's the link for the Pattern.

It's being gifted to us by the talented Jacquelynne Steves. How sweet is she to do that for us.

I made up two of these this evening. One is being shipped to a special friend who was involved in a terrible car accident and is recovering. She loves to embroider so I wanted to share something cute and fun and would help to brighten her days during rehab. If you get a chance, we would appreciate any prayers you can send up for her continued recovery.

The second one is for me :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

Respite from outside responsibilities

A restful weekend was had. I spent Saturday doing the usual chores. It was hot !! - in the upper 90s, with heat indexes over 100 and not a raindrop to be had. 

Zucchini are coming in - so I made more zucchini pie for dinner. It is so nice to go out to the garden and get what you need.

They aren't ready yet, but the first cucumber has made an appearance.

I did some work on my lace cabin.

I'm grateful for getting some time to finally work on it. It's been a couple of weeks since I prepared the block for stitching.

I have no outside responsibilities at the moment, except personal ones, until September when Bible study begins. That gives me about six weeks to get some things accomplished.

My gardens are almost completely weeded. I still have one more to finish and then some mulching. Weeding here and there isn't anything difficult and easy to keep up and stay on top of.

Monday morning found me at the service station getting new tires. I absolutely hate spending large amounts of money but am grateful that Honey Do works and provides what we need and I can just go and take care of what needs done.

While I was out, I stopped at my two favorite quilt shops.

 

I got the new Farm Girl Vintage block. It's 11 of 12, so I'm starting to think about finishes. There will be a finishing kit, but they are usually pretty costly and I've already decided I want it to be at least a queen size. I also think choosing my own "finishing" allows me to be more creative. So I found this 30s reproduction in a cute little check. I really wanted some variation of red and white gingham check. This is as close as I could come from the two shops. If it doesn't work, it will just go in my 30s collection for another project - yet to be determined.

The snowball runner will be a Christmas gift.

The red and greens are the beginning of Christmas collecting. I really don't have a good stash of those. They are starting to show up in the shops and will go quickly.

And finally, my garden block of the month for June and July. I really haven't done much work on these, but since I've already purchased five months I want to get the rest and can work on them when I find the time.

I'm off to see what I can accomplish with the rest of my day.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

Do you see it?

Do you remember the searching activity "Where's Waldo?"

You looked at an extremely busy picture and had to find Waldo.

(image from Yahoo)

We would spend hours looking for all the different images.

(Have you found Waldo in this example?)

We had a pretty nice, pleasant, relaxing weekend.

Honey Do and I got to spend some quality time together while Newton exercised a little freedom. (He's 15 now, doesn't need us and feels he can come and go as he pleases - just for the record:  NOT !!)

Anyway . . .

While we relaxed in the backyard, Honey Do on the hammock, I in my chair, the dogs here and there.

We had some interesting visitors.

Can you find him?

How about now?

Here he is . . . 

He'll probably be easier to spot in the original photos once you know what you are looking for.

I was in awe of him - I'd never seen a dragonfly that looked like this. Gorgeous.

 

Speaking a out gorgeous . . . 

Spotted these two at my house and mom's last week. It's been pretty warm, so we are starting to see butterfly and hummingbirds. Very excited about both visitors.

I was blessed with more quilty mail. A box of scrap fabrics arrived last week. I finally got some time yesterday to sort and organize. These two cute bundles were also included. Don't you just love when quilters clean house? :)

I'm working on 9- patches then we'll see where it leads. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

Sunday Respite . . . or not

My day started as it usually does on Sundays . . .

I'm up about 7 . . .

I take the dogs out . . .

make coffee . . .

go to church.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

Sunshine . . .

temperatures in the mid 70s . . .

nice breeze.

I've spent the last two days catching up on the finally preparations for Vacation Bible School.

It's all done until I get to church Monday and spend the morning with first, second and third graders.

I haven't spent much time on anything else. I caught up the laundry on Saturday in between cutting out shapes. I should be good until about Tuesday.

After dinner and dishes, I did some preparations on a new project.

Yes, another one.

This one actually started in January. I saw a post on Facebook and fell in love.

These are called Calendar Girls and I have a monthly subscription from Stitches of Love.

I have been receiving some other "quilty mail".

 

I ran across this pattern and kit last year in an email advertisement. I thought about it for too long and it sold out. The vendor was wonderful and shared information with me so that I could still purchase it. I finally did. It was horrifically expensive in my opinion. First, the designer/vendor wanted a minimum purchase of of $20.00, the pattern was only $11.00. 

So I decided to get the accessory kit - it was $20.00 !!!!

On top of that they charged me $10.00 plus for postage.

When the package arrived, the postage sticker said $3.21.

After going round and round with them and not having the difference refunded to me, I have decided not to purchase from them again.

In the meantime, I've gone through my stash and pulled my fabrics. I managed to gather everything I need to complete the project, except time at the moment. Hopefully it will get done before the holidays.

Have you heard of Fort Worth Fabric Studios?

Every Friday they have a new fabric bundle on sale for as little as $20.00.

This is my most recent acquisition :)

I have a design for the quilt top chosen.

Another favorite subscription is called Sew Sampler from Fat Quarter Shop. Lots of fun and interesting items. There's always a fabric bundle (this one is from Crayola) and a pattern to use with it.

There were some tool items (a two inch square ruler and quilt labels) and some extras (ribbon and a pen).

I saw this fabric and fell in love with it. I don't know where I'm going to use it, but I had to have it.

 

**

Anyone that knows me, knows I am totally and completely in love with penguins. I found this free pattern and started searching for the fabric. I found 99.9% of it and made adjustments for the last piece, but it's still in the same range. I had to purchase the black from another company, but I got it and that's all that mattered.

It's flannel, not cotton. So it's going to be a fun little quilt to sew up for myself. I love all the quilts I make for my home, but this one is just fun and whimsical.

A few weeks ago, Honey Do repaired a little chair for me on Saturday.

I rummaged through my fabrics and found this pretty, embossed upholstery fabric that was gifted to me from my sister.

Total cost of the update:  $ 0.00 :)

I'm planning it for my guest bedroom.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.

What a difference a few days makes

 

July 4                                      July 8

I can't believe the growth over the past month. We haven't had all that much rain, and could definitely use more, but we've had temperatures in the mid 80s into the upper 90s. 

That hot-house effect is affecting my garden and I'm not complaining. I'm doing my best to keep up with all I'm responsible for and the temperatures.

My diligence with the deer repellent is paying off.

 

The palmera vine is thriving.

 The hostas are blooming even after some serious munching.

 

The coneflowers are blooming and budding even though the deer have nibble here and there, the plants are fighting back with my help.

This is the $5.00 clearance rose bush. Absolutely thrilled  with this beauty.

Gladiolas are deer resistent, so they haven't had to struggle.

Our winters have been so mild that I haven't even dug up the bulbs to preserve them. I'm thrilled with the multiplication of the plants. They will be moving next year to a new location, but I love how beautiful and filling they are. I've got enough that I've even been cutting them and bringing them indoors.

Vacation Bible School is finished for another year. I managed to find some time to work on the scrap box of fabric.

 

I've sorted through everything and made various piles.

I have my first batch of 9-patches begun. With the temperatures in the 90s over the weekend I should be able to get quite a bit done from this box.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wishing you a day filled with countless blessings.