Thursday, August 17, 2017

"Compassion and tolerance 

are not a sign of weakness, 

but a sign of strength."

It's been a tough week for most of us.  So here is what I like.  I like Susan Bro, mother of Heather Heyer.  Susan--while experiencing the worst pain a human can endure--has exhibited remarkable wisdom and leadership.  I pray for Heather's family and the other victims throughout my day.

 

Scout is under the weather.  She had cut her paw the first week of August.  We kept her quiet for a week but when we got back to walking, she began to limp. Vet is hoping it is a strain/sprain.  

She is on anti-inflammatories, rest (god help me--she is only 5 months old) and we are keeping a keen on our her brother's problems. 

 Milo--her brother who is the baby of LeeAnna--is also experiencing problems with his right leg.  It's very weird to me that they are both recovering at the same time with problems in the same leg.  LeeAnna you know, she is our hostess with the mostess for the I like days.  You can see other blog posts at her website here.

I like the new upcycled table my husband is working on.  His brother had a glass top table that crashed during one of our storms.  Instead of trashing the table, he gave it to Mr. Fix-er-upper and he is building a nice table for us.

Well I'm back to work here.  I hope you have a great day. 

 My last like is simple:

BE KIND

I like, August 10, 2017

I like having SANDRA AND DENNIS here!!!!!

Sandra and Dennis arrived Thursday and we had dinner at Olive Garden to celebrate their 32nd anniversary! We had a grand time and fabric shopped on Friday, toured a local cave on Saturday (and did some more shopping after we fed the guys lunch), and hung out here with Scout on Sunday.  This beautiful bird bag Sandra made for me and the tail is embellished with ribbons :)  

It's made of seersucker!  Her machine applique work is really impressive, I wish I was that even with my stitching.  She also gave me this little bag:

 This is my stash bag now.  I use it for fabric samples and measurements when I am shopping for specific fabric.  I love this little charm, just makes me smile everytime I see it :)

Mostly I just loved that we could get together.  There have been so many things going on as we get older and often my social plans get pushed to the side because of family responsiblities.  A photo from Lost River Caverns:

It was relaxing and fun and thank you Sandra and Dennis for taking the time to come down.   I'm so appreciative!    I'm getting some serious lobbying from my neighbors who want Sandra to move to Pennyslvania!

Scout was a big hit with the gang and got a LOT of attention while everyone was here.  She did cut her paw (we don't know how) at one point running around--so we are keeping her quiet until it heals.  

I like my neighbors and Scout likes them too.  She seems very content with visiting them instead of taking long walks these days:

Scout was weighed last week and is a whopping 27 lbs!  

Be sure to visit LeeAnna and the others who like at Not Afraid of Color!

Have a wonderful day!

Sea Glass

My favorite thing to do at the sea shore is to take long walks on the beach and collect glass and sea shells.  It's been many years since I've been to the shore so maybe that is why I am wishing I could go lately.  

Sometimes called "Mermaid Tears", I love the frosted look of the pieces and the colors are wonderful.  I'm definately in a sea glass phase so I decided to name my new quilt tops Sea Glass I, II, and hopefully soon, III.  I had talked about the blocks on a previous post.

Sea glass I

I started doing the Rear Window pattern (from Blue Underground Studios) for my goddaughter who requested a quilt in a robin's egg blue and/or green.  Then I realized I had enough blocks to make two lap quilts!  Yeh!  One for my cousin!!!  I looked at the leftover fabrics and yes--I think I have enough to make a third quilt (okay I know I do) and I don't feel like putting any fabric away.

Meanwhile, my friends Carol and Kathy are going to be working on special Christmas favors and gifts.  Kathy has been seriously ill for a long time with kidney problems and needs some kind of diversion and a craft is perfect.   We decided to play around and see how Krylon's Sea Glass spray paint looks on old jars and glass pieces.  It's fab!  Of course it helps that my husband is the King of the Spray Paint and can put a perfect finish on our project.  Having Brad do the paint means Kathy isn't exposed to fumes.  

 We like the results of the paint and will keep you posted on a crafting. 

 Meanwhile, we are having a wonderful visit with Sandra and Dennis.  We went to three different fabric stores yesterday.  Today we are going to tour a local cave and have a Mexican lunch at our local burrito bistro :)

I always find it interesting to go through a color phase.  I think I love these colors right now because they are calming and remind me of slow leisurely walks on the sand.  Our summer has been full of fun and activities but I think my color conscious is beckoning some days of sewing and restfulness when my husband goes back to work.  I hope you have a day of blues and greens and comfort!

I like...a day early

We have company coming on Thursday.  Sandra from Sandra Sews is going to be in our valley and we are going to do some serious fabric shopping and mostly play with a (now) 5 month old puppy.

What do I like this week?  I like that things turned out okay for Greta, my mom's poodle.  To make a long story short, there was a wound on her tail which seemed mighty infected.  We were afraid it was a contagious infection like staph (or worse) but she is going to be okay.  It was a cyst that blew up and did get infected so she is going to take it easy and do antibiotics for a few weeks.  She's not contagious.

Greta, Brad, and Scout last week.  Obviously, we were concerned because little baby had been around her but it all turned out okay.  Whew, that was a few stressful days.

I like the new message board my husband made for my sewing room.

I have shutters on my windows in the attic and it goes nicely.  Also, the red piece you might remember was an homage LeeAnna made in honor of Seamus.

I'm not canning anymore so we upcycled a canning basket for some plants in the garden:

It's a busy week so that is it for me this week.  Be sure to visit the other I likes by visiting Leeanna's Blog :)

Wanted

Who got out of her crate last night and chewed my shoes?

And then when confronted with the evidence, wagged her tail as if to say,

"It's so nice to see you at 4 a.m."

I like Thursdays, July 27, 2017

Welcome to the one day a week I force myself to blog and express what is good in our part if the interwebs.  It's "I Like Thursdays" hosted by LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color.  Be sure to check out all the other sites and bits of happiness at her site.

This is the late addition and here is what I like...having my computer/iphone repaired via the internet.  Just completed and happy to have it done.

I like my brother Jim:

Scout likes him too.  Jim and I are "Irish twins"--only 11 months apart.  We are very close and he and his wife live down the street from us.  He is cuddling Scout while Greta observes.

I like sewing but haven't been getting much done.  Scout doesn't seem to want to be in the sewing room much.  Even when she is tired, she prefers to sleep downstairs in her own bed.  It's a poodle thing.  She likes her routine and I've got to adapt our schedule or let her sleep in the crate.  She is way too young to be left alone on the first floor.

A rare nap in the sewing room.

Speaking of Scout, she is growing leaps and bounds.  Lately she has found a toy that she likes--an old can that was in the garden that I used to shovel soil into flower pots.  Scout is obsessed with it.  It doesn't have any rough edges and she thinks it is the best toy in the world.  

I got a little sewing done.  I finally finished the 99 blocks I needed for my one goddaughter's quilt.  These are the blocks.  Not sure when I will be able to piece them together.

It's been raining and raining here.  Today I filled three garbage cans full of weeds and there are plenty more but it is about to rain again and who knows when it will clear up.

I hope you are enjoying your summer and have a wonderful day!

Wagon Wheel Embroidered Quilt

 I picked up another embroidered quilt at the flea market.

 I was charmed by the embroidery.

I suspect that some of it was done by a child or children.

 Check out the brown puppy fabric surrounding this dutch girl.

 For whatever reason, I'm thinking these embroidery patterns were offered by Walkers or Betty Burton.  I know I've seen the little Dutch Boy and Girl before.

 And then there is this fellow.  I'm not sure what he is.

Onion head boy?  Baseball head boy?  I can't remember although it seems vaguely familiar.  Was it the Reds?  It's an unusal image :D

It's raining again this morning.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Good Rain

It rained last night.  It was a good soaking rain and I am grateful that I don't have to water the garden.  Even if it is humid, the earth seems more relaxed with the lower temps and damp earth.

 Out back, I'm allowing a succlinet to take over the gravel.  I like the look of it--it reminds me of moss covered paths in an English garden.

 And I imagine it is easier on Scout's feet when it is hot.

 It will be a good day to sew but first we are off to take a nice walk and wear the baby out.  She loves her "walkies" and exploring the neighborhood.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

I like Thursdays, July 19. 2017

I like my son :)  and he came to visit last weekend.  Here he is cuddling Scout and they are both hamming it up for the camera.  Peter is an artist and a creative force of nature.  I asked him, "what is with the Martin Van Buren sideburns?" and he laughed and said it was a chubby wolverine look he was sporting.  Okay then....

I love these flowers.  My neighbor's son got married last weekend and I volunteered to keep an eye on their cat, George.  They brought me one of the centerpieces as a thank you--isn't it scrumptious?  Best wishes to the Bride and Groom!

Scout is in another devil dog phase.  But otherwise she is fine and dandy although none of us are doing too well during the current heat wave.  We don't know what is with her ear, but it is frequently turned inside out, I think it is cute.

Before the heat wave hit, I worked out front in the garden and put Scout in her playpen there.  she seemed to enjoy watching the birds and squirrels.  She was a good girl.

Favorite things I like in the garden this week:

this little blue flower is called "Blue my Mind" and is an Evolvus hybrid.

The Swan is finally blooming:

 It's a hydrangea with HUGE blossoms.  I adore it.

It's too hot to sew in the attic so I am embroidering on the first floor.  I found this website recently and love it, hope you like it too:

https://rhondadort.com 

Her work is very inspiring! 

 I found this photo on facebook and it just spoke to me.

I hope you have a wonderful week and stay cool and comfortable!

Now head over to LeeAnna's for more wonderful posts about the many things to like in our world!!!