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!!!

Better Late Than Never.

I finished another quilt this week.  This one is for my cousin's son and his new wife.  They were just married in December.  As usual, it won't be a prompt present but my shoulder is now healed enough that I can do handwork.  I hope they like the quilt.  My cousin said they have neutrals in their apartment and I hope this works for them.  The pattern was called "ebb and flow" and was free for a while at Red Rooster fabrics (it's not on the website anymore).  I just loved the look of it and that it really features the batik prints.

Thursday, a day of gratitude...

Good morning, a good day is Thursday.  It's the day we go to the farmer's market, it's almost Friday, and best of all, it's time for "I like Thursdays" sponsored by LeeAnna.

I like mornings.  What is your favorite part of the day?  We are now in a heatwave so we get up early.

 We go for an early morning walk before it gets too hot:

The world is like the song, "crazy hazy days of summer":

We see interesting creatures (well interesting to Scout who is still learning).

and dog friends:

at the end of the walk we stop at a neighbors house for

'Coffee with Kathy'

The heat has driven me out of the garden although we have a few seas of coneflowers that I like:

I like that my desk chair is finished.  You might remember we received a set of four chairs from a neighbor.  Three we turned into a planter (two white and one black for the front step):

the last one I am using upstairs in the wreck of the sewing rooms as a desk chair:

It was time to go to the sewing room and my four month old puppy is finally settled enough to accompany me.  I know her schedule and she takes her morning nap with me as I sew.  Sorry for the blurry photo I was trying to keep her calm so she would go back to sleep.

It feels wonderful to sew again.  I'm working a variety of projects.  This week I am piecing blocks for my goddaughter Jana's quilt.  Since I am best in the morning, Scout's schedule works best for me.  Also, despite having central a/c, the attic is far too hot to work in by 2 p.m. because of the direct sunshine.  

Are you sewing?  What are you working on?  I hope you are staying cool this summer!  Hugs and have a great day!

Friday bake day

Today is baking day here!  We had a good steady rain this morning and it seemed like the thing to do.  Only two days ago a neighbor gave me a zucchini the size of a baby.  I've gotten six loaves of chocolate zucchnini bread out of it!  Two are still in the oven.

I love the recipe at allrecipes.com for this bread.  You can find it here .  What I really like is the cinnamon in the recipe, it gives the bread some zing.  People go crazy for this bread (cake) so I'm happy to have so many loaves to give away.

My poor husband used to love this bread but then he was diagnosed as gluten-intolerant.  When the last loaves are done, I'll make him gluten free brownies (his favorite).

The house is hot anyway so I'll bake away and get it all done at once.  I hope you are having a wonderful day!

I like Thursday: July 6, 2017

Greetings everyone!  It's Thursday and I try to remember to post on Thursdays for LeeAnna's "I like Thursdays".  You can find her and a list of other participating bloggers here.

I like silence.  I like thinking in quiet and after the morning news shows, I tend to keep the television off until after dinner.  It's challenging when my husband is home because he likes to talk and he always has the tv on.  I have friends that like "background noise" with tv while they are working; I've always preferred quiet.  What do you like?

I found a new hydrangea on sale at the local market.  Yes it is pink but doesn't have the red that the one my husband purchased.  I had to get this one---

 It had my name on it (and it was even spelled properly):

I'll put it out front of my dining room window in the fall when I plant all the bushes.  There is a method to my madness.  I'm trying to incorporate more flowering bushes into the garden as I get older.  It's just easier to maintain.

 I like my new seating area which is finally done and planted:

I like rain and today there is a sweet gentle rain coming down on the garden.  It could rain like this all day and I would be happy.

We continue to enjoy Scout and my husband has taken to spoiling her in a way that he hasn't with our other dogs.  He rocks her to sleep on his lap and let's her get into bed with him sometimes in the morning.  We've been socially her more and more and last week she visited Brad's elderly cousins and did remarkably well.  Yesterday we visited Beth and Bob and their dog Pepper.  I was very proud of how well she did.  EVERYONE is commenting on how calm she has become.

Scout likes to cuddle and here she is cuddling her pillow and who could not love this?

Have a peaceful and gentle day today!  

Fourth of July 2017

Fourth of July 2017

or "Fireworks Shmireworks"

Happy Fourth of July!

All dog owners worry about their pups during this holiday.  Of course we were unsure of how Scout would react to the fireworks--especially because we live on the hill above the stadium where the pyrotechnics are done.  For whatever reason, our mayor decided to do them on Sunday night and Scout was very good.  She was apprehensive at first but eventually settled in her bed and watched them going off out the window.  She seems more curious than anything about them and made me go out late last night so she could investigate.  I know I am lucky this year but that doesn't mean she won't react differently the next holiday.  But so far so good.

Today we are just going to hang out, visit Mom early (because of folks doing fireworks, Greta IS afraid and I don't want Scout to learn by association), and chill out with neighbors.

I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!