Heatwave!

Summertime highs have finally arrived to our part of Pennsylvania!  I started the week doing some inventory of my quilts including the quilt that features this block.  Now it is too warm in the attic for inventory so I'm cutting fabric for future quilts.  It passes the time until we can go out and play in the garden.  Seamus doe NOT like the heat and has to be coaxed to take a walk these days.  We get up early (very early) and head to the park to walk and play so he gets some exercise.
How do you keep cool in the high heat?  

Monday Wash Day

It's Monday and yes that means Wash Day!  Today I'm hanging wash out.  Might as well take advantage of the heat, and to be honest, I don't like running the dryer when we already have the a/c running full blast.  

I did some sewing early this morning but even with the central air, the attic is too warm by 10:30 a.m.  So I'm back to puttering around the house and doing some much needed cleaning that I've been neglecting.  So I'm back to wash, cleaning baseboards and dusting.  

Stay cool and safe if you are experiencing the same high heat!  Have a great day!

July Update

It's summer and I'm not doing as much sewing as I normally do in July.  The reason?  It's been beautiful here in Pennsylvania!!  We are just now experiencing some of the hot and humid weather we connote with the month of July.  I've been spending a lot of time hiding out on my swing, walking Seamus or the always needed weeding.

Yesterday I went to the Paper show at our local Agricultural Hall.  It's full of musty old books, magazines and ephemera and I like to go whenever it is here.  Here's something summery I picked up:

I hope you are having a wonderful summer!  Stay cool and safe!

Turtles at Second

We've had quite a wildlife week here! 
Bird on a Wire:
 Last week I was puttering around the garden when something landed above me.  It was a small hawk and he didn't move when he saw me below him.

He was so close!  It is a low wire.  I couldn't believe he wasn't leaving.   When the storms started and we was still there, I told my husband "that one is in trouble."  He was.  We found him under the wire the next morning.  We don't know if he had some kind of illness or if he had been attacked by crows (common around here).  Either way, it made me sad.

Turtles at Second:
So on Sunday, I took Seamus to the baseball fields for a nice walk.  Our friend Mary and her dog Bindy were there.  They are our neighbors and the dogs get along well.  Mary was upset because she had spotted a large turtle on the baseball field and she was afraid it would fry in the heat.

Because there are a lot of snapper turtles here, I asked my husband to return to the field with me so we could move the turtle before the neighborhood kids come along and possibly get their finger cut off. :(

Fortunately, it was a box turtle and she was in distress but not the kind Mary imagined.  She was laying eggs in the sand!

It was fascinating watching her and when she was finished, we helped her get back to the creek. The field is weeded over but there was still good sand under the grass.  So we have a batch of turtle eggs incubating at second base and we will keep an eye for when the little ones hatch (2-3 months).  

Otherwise, I am doing some sewing but mostly absorbing as much outdoor time as I can.  There is always work to do in the garden and I'll post more photos of the garden tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Greta updates...the Goldilocks saga

Greta went home yesterday.  She seemed relieved to be home.  The first week at our house was like vacation and fun time for her.  But the second week, it was obvious she was looking for her place in our home.  

Of course when she came over two weeks ago, she had immediately taken over Seamus' brand new bed (doesn't Seamus look a bit peeved?):

I had to chase her out of Seamus' crate (a sacred and safe place for our dogs).

And then there was Thursday, when I actually left the dogs to do some errand and came home to find that somebody had peed on my couch!  It wasn't a lot of pee and I could clean it up but it probably reflected the dog that takes medicine for incontinence.  

 It must have been the same dog that DH found on the couch when he was with them Friday and went downstairs for a second and then couldn't find Goldilocks Greta until he looked on the couch.  She was curled up fast asleep there and must have decided the couch was "just right."  

"What's a feller to do?"

So Seamus and I were relieved to have her go home.  Last night, I took Seamus on his evening constitutional and it was as if the whole neighborhood re-greeted him.  People (and their dogs) were out and he got to visit with a lot of his friends (and especially dog friends) that he couldn't see when Greta was here because she isn't always appropriate with little dogs (she thinks they are rabbits).  Lots of doggy kisses were given to the gentle giant.  He was a happy man when he got home, had his treat, curled up in his (fairly) new bed and fell fast asleep.   Life returns to normal...

I won!

I won! I won!  Martha at Q is for Quilter recently had a giveaway for stencils and I was one of the fortunate winners!  Thank you Martha!  Another pleasant surprise was that the stencils are from the The Stencil Company in Natrona Heights which is in the western part of our state.  I am really enjoying handwork this summer and these stencils will really come in handy!  Thank you dear Martha!!!

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Invasion of the Greta Poodle and border question

Greta has come for a two week visit.  My mother is away with her brother so we were nominated to care for Greta.  Seamus was at first excited she was coming home with us.  But the bloom faded off that rose quick enough.  Now he just looks at us as if to say:  "She's STILL here!"

Greta is not going to want to go home.  She never gets walked unless she is with us and we've had two cat sightings in our back yard (one she actually got to chase).  She loves to go to the park in the morning (above).  Plus people are always coming by and she likes all the stops we make during our neighborhood walks to chat with Seamus' friends.  If she looks similar to Teddy, it's because she is his sibling.  They came from the same litter.  

How are you spending the Fourth of July?  I'll probably be home sewing.  I was working on a checkerboard quilt that incorporates a jelly roll I won at a local quilt show (yellow, grey, and white fabrics).

I found a pattern in a friend's magazine that looked similar to the jelly roll I had and I liked the checkerboard effect.  I was all set to add the last border of checkerboard, when I realized I would have a lot of blocks left.  My solution?  I think I will forgo the last border and use this flowered print that I had in my stash.  If I do this, I actually have enough to make 2 lap quilts which would be a fun present!  Do you like the floral with this?

Stay safe and cool!  Happy Sewing!

Happy Canada Day!

I love Canada and I love Canadians!!  So does my son and daughter-in-law and they just recently returned from another trip to Ontario and Montreal.  They bought me this nice mug (goes with the red themed kitchen I have and today's celebration):

Jessica gave me the mug on Monday which was also the second anniversary for her and Peter.  Here she is opening the picnic quilt I made them:

 One of my favorite things about this quilt was the ticket fabric I found for backing it.  They got married in a theater and a raffle ticket played an integral part in their ceremony.

I'm staying home and cleaning today.  Not that exciting but the valley I live in was hit pretty hard by storms and possibly tornadoes.  A lot of roads are closed right now so it's as good time as any to clean and then sew.  Hope you are all doing well!