I Like Thursdays: October 27, 2022

 Happy Halloween!

It's "I like Thursday" and time to celebrate the good things in life!

The Phillies won the division championship and now they're on to the World Series!  Who would have imagined it would happen this year but we are delighted and ready to watch the series against the Astros!  Go Phils!

Well the weather got warmer--but also rainy so I've been in the sewing room!  I finished 8 tops for the kids and now am working on square in a square blocks that I found while cleaning out the sewing room!  Cleaning Bonus--finding some finished quilts I made during the pandemic that I can give gift (forgot all about them).

The leaves are falling at a terrific rate these days.  I love passing by my neighbor's house.  His maple leaves are always red and burgundy and as they lay in the green grass, remind me of Christmas.  

Another Christmas reminder was up the street.  Sometimes what the garbage men leave behind amuses the heck out of Karen (next door) and I.    Simply put-- "Christmas Coffee."

Our prompt this week was to discuss a Halloween costume that we remember fondly.  I think my favorite thing was wearing a gown that had been my great-grandmother's.  I think it was made of moire and through the years of dress-ups and costumes, the gown really took a beating.  I'm rather sad now that it is gone (my mother probably threw it out).  When I think about it now, it was probably one of the factors that made me love old things.

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

I Like Thursdays: October 20, 2022

 Happy Thursday!  Today bloggers share things we are grateful for as part of "I like Thursdays!"  The event is hosted by Lee Anna at Not Afraid of Color.  Go visit her and other bloggers!!!

Well the Phils beat the Braves (sorry Libby) and are now taking on the Padres (we lost one, won one so far).  It's exciting baseball watching for sure!  I was worried about what I would do without baseball to watch at night but I've already got a nice stack of books to read this winter.  The one I'm looking forward to the most is The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan. 

I read her book Kitchen Front last summer and a bunch of my friends have read it now and love it as well!  These books are fiction but illustrate the challenges that British women faced during World War 2.  Well researched and well written!

We had the first real frost this week and it's time to cut back plants.  Hopefully it will be warmer tomorrow and I'll get some outdoors work done!  In the meantime, I'm working away on quilts for the kids and using up tons of novelty fabric I've had for years.

Scout's back on her medication for allergies but hopefully the frost will relieve her seasonal allergies!  The cool weather has her really frisky and she loves being outdoors right now!

Our prompt this week from LeeAnna is what kind of Halloween candy we liked as kids and like now.  I liked all kinds of candy when I was a kid but this time of year I get a hankering for candy corn (I don't buy it because I will eat it).  My favorite candy over the summer was fruit Mambas that my neighbors and I snacked on as we played board games.

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

I Like Thursdays: October 13, 2022

 Greetings and welcome to this week's version of "I like Thursdays"!!!

Every week we post things we like or are grateful for and our hostess LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color shares our blog addresses.  Visit her here to read more uplifting posts! 

We came home Tuesday evening to some excitement in the neighborhood.  There was a fire truck behind my neighbor's home.  Calvin the cat had climbed a tree and couldn't get down!

Scout is friends with the two cats that live next door and the felines are only allowed outdoors with human supervision.  Apparently Andy the young man next door who is the "cat whisperer" of the family had climbed the tree to get Calvin down but Calvin kept climbing higher and higher until the fire department had to be called.  

By the time we got home, it was really dark and there was a full rescue underway  (no easy feat to even see him as Calvin is black).  Happily, the firemen allowed Andy to climb their super big ladder and get Calvin.  We applauded Andy.  We applauded the firemen and thanked them repeatedly.   As the one neighbor said, this was so much better than watching tv!

Apparently there will be no more outings of the cat, per Andy.  Better safe than sorry!  We are just happy Calvin is safe!

Autumn is here and the geese are passing through and visiting the lake.  I love watching the seasons change in my garden and at the park:

It's been a rather uneventful week (except for Calvin's adventure) but I'm grateful for a week of peace as well.

This week Lee Anna's prompt is what kind of snacks we feast on--particularly at night.  During the day I'm just too busy but at night when I finally sit down, I do like an apple.  My secret snack is Wrigley's Doublemint gum.  I've been watching the Phillies and the gum chewing seems to alleviate the tension of the game.  It's not glamourous but there it is.  I never chew gum any other time.

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

I like Thursdays: September 29, 2022

 It's Thursday and time to celebrate the good in life!

"Where's the treats?"

This week I'm grateful that Scout is doing much better.  She saw the doctor on Wednesday and we are trying a week without the 6 pills/day to see how she does.  She sure seems spunkier!

We got rain!  I am delighted since we had drought conditions through the last half of the summer.  The rain came in Sunday and then it just kept raining and raining...The weather finally cleared up last evening and Scout and I are looking forward to a nice walk today!

Most of what I did during the rainy days was clean and sew and work on library guild things but it was a good break from gardening.  It's still too wet today to do much in the garden but tomorrow should be a great day for gardening!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend and the weather you need!  Check out other happy thoughts by visiting "I Like Thursdays" at LeeAnna's Not Afraid of Color blog!

I Like Thursdays: September 22, 2022

 Happy Autumn!

Today is "I like Thursdays" and time to share positive things on the internet!  Our happy day is hosted by LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color and you are welcome to visit the other participating bloggers!

I'm grateful for the change of seasons this year.  Usually I feel a little sad in the autumn but I welcome the cooler weather this year and we even have been getting a little rain!

First off, Scout is feeling better.  When she started barking at squirrels this week, we realized it had been weeks since she has done that!  It's a good sign!   

And speaking of squirrels...

We love "squirrel tv"; we sit in the gazebo at our neighbors' house and watch the squirrels in her big tree.  There's a new set of baby squirrels!  The dogs don't ever notice the babies or kits in the tree but they sure love barking at the squirrels around the gazebo!

I always begin Autumn sewing with a bang because I rarely get to be in my sewing room in the summer.  I have 3 tops done and will be taking them to my favorite machine quilter, Terri, on Sunday!  I might even get a 4th top done beforehand!  I haven't taken any photos yet but will share them later.  I have a list of 15 kids to make quilts for this winter and I'm looking forward to using up more of my stash!

It looks like LeeAnna's prompt this week is what movie would make you stop channel surfing and watch tv?  Only one:  Enchanted April.  It's a 1991 film and one of my favorites.  The problem?  It's never on tv...

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

I Like Thursdays: September 15, 2022

 

Greetings!  Today is Thursday and time to post things that make us happy.  "I like Thursdays" is hosted by Lee Anna at Not Afraid of Color so join us or visit the other happy bloggers today by visiting Lee Anna's site!

This week the weather has made me very happy.  We had more rain and it is cooler in the evenings.  Autumn is just around the corner and we can feel it.  The change in temperatures makes me happy because I can spend more time in the sewing attic without wilting.  I've been spending almost all day up there!

The temperatures and in particular the rain, has brought some of the garden back.  The roses are blooming again and that always makes me grateful!

 

I just read two blogs that participate in "I Like Thursdays" and I think Lee Anna sent out a prompt on crafts we used to do.  For whatever reason, Lee Anna's emails don't arrive in my mailbox or spam box; we tend to communicated through blog comments.

Anyway, the craft that I don't do anymore that I would like to return to is knitting.  I used to knit when I was in college and found it soothing.  I even bought a skein of yarn last spring but then never got to it.  I tend to do more handcrafts in the autumn and winter just because I'm stuck in doors.  So I'm pulling my embroidery out as well these days.

Scout as a baby.  She's a "blue" poodle and was born with that wonderful gray face.

Scout has been plagued with allergies.   She had her allergy shot in August and we kept waiting for it work but she just got worse.  Unfortunately her hot spots became inflamed and infected; she is on a bunch of meds right now.  Still I'm grateful-- my groomer took the time to cut her hair short because finding things on a poodle through that curly hair can be daunting.  Then (because Jessa is a GREAT groomer) she took photos of Scout's hot spots for the vet with descriptions where the spots are located.  She's going to get better but as our wonderful vet told us, it's the worse year the practice has ever seen for allergies.  So our little girl is on the mend.

Enjoy the grateful weather!  

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!  

I like Thursdays: September 8, 2022

 Happy Thursday!  Thursday is the day we post what we like as a way to add some positive energy to the internet.  If you need more happy thoughts, visit Not Afraid of Color, our hostess' website for more happy posts!

My husband is traveling again for work and I've been happy not to have to cook this week.  It's a small thing but it's one less chore to do, although I miss him.

We got rain again and that is always something to celebrate during this drought!  On Sunday when Scout and I walked around the lake, there were hardly any ducks and no geese left.  The lake was so low that I'm sure it wasn't providing food for the water fowl.  After the rain Monday and Tuesday, everything was back to normal, even the egret was back!

It was so cool yesterday that the a/c never had to come on and I opened a bunch of windows and aired out the house.  It was delightful!

I like when I realize that a quilt isn't working before I go too far.  This week I started on an owl quilt for a neighbor lady.  Her best friend (also a neighbor) helped me plan it out and I had cut all the fabric and began assembling the project.  After two rows I realized that it wasn't going to work.  Our friend is a big bold woman who loves color and wild prints.  A simple black sashing wasn't going to work, even if the fabric was her favorite tones.  So I ripped everything and began all over again.  

Now I'm just adding different sashing to each block in colors and fabrics I think she will love.  It will be a wild quilt but we are sure this in more in keeping with our friend's personality.

This past week I was so proud that I had used up so many scraps this summer.  Then I began to work on this quilt and man, am I generating scraps again!  

Scout still loves her fan and each time we return from a walk she has to sit in front of "her fan" to cool off.  

Wonder how she will react when the fan is put away in the fall?  We've had fans blowing through the house all summer.  It's helped lower our electricity bills as well.  The one night my husband got up in the middle night and he couldn't figure out what was off--it was a cool night and the fans weren't running and he missed the white noise. 😁

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!

I like Thursdays: September 1, 2022

Happy first day of September!

It's Thursday and time to celebrate the good in life!  Please join the other participants by visiting our hostess Lee Anna at Not Afraid of Color!

Happily my husband is still at home and that is always a good thing!  I know once he is called out again, he'll be traveling a lot!

We are grateful for a brief rainfall we got the other night.  It was only about 1/8th of an inch but it was better than nothing!

Other things I like:

Tinkerbell, Scout's best friend!

Both dogs are picky eaters.  We came across an unusual but effective solution:  the dogs eat dinner together every evening.  We're not sure if it's the competition or the competition that gets them to eat but we're grateful for solution to both our problems!  Tinker has a light breakfast meal as well---and now Scout goes down to see her in the morning--otherwise she won't eat.  😂😂😂  Whatever works!

***

I'm grateful for what my friend Linda called "Scrap Summer!"  I've managed to whittle down two deep drawers to one and it's so satisfying to have more room!  Right now I'm working on placemats for the kids in my family and I'll be glad to have them done.  I should have birthed the placemats but instead here I am attaching binding to each of the 15 needed.

The placemats have scraps on one side.  The other side will have a little ghost appliqued on it.  These go with The Little Ghost Who was a Quilt book we got for each family.

I also made 55 little-ghosts-who was-a-quilt for our kids and also my friend Amy who is a children's librarian and will be doing a program on the book in October.  The kids can put a face on the quilt like in the book.  But...I know some of the girls in my family will be using their quilts for their Barbie dolls! 

For years I've made a lot of donation quilts and items for charities.  Through the next year, I'm determined to make sure that each of the little ones have a quilt that I made for them.  I should have been on this earlier but it is what it is.  At least I have a goal for the next 12 months.

Well have a beautiful day and I wish you a safe and happy weekend!

I Like Thursdays: August 25, 2022

 Happy Thursday!  

It's time to post about things that make us happy for "I like Thursdays" hosted by Lee Anna at Not Afraid of Color.

I haven't been posting but there has been a lot going on.  Today is a good time to remember the good things in life.

I like watching baseball with my husband.  Actually, I like watching baseball without my husband too.  For those of us that have stood by the Phillies for decades, this is an exciting time with new and impressive players.  My favorite player is "Long Ball Darick Hall."

Despite the dry conditions, we have been getting a good crop of tomatoes this year and we have them with every meal.  All I needed to remember was to pick them as soon as they begin to ripen before the squirrels get them!

We finally got rain this past week and one can feel the difference in the garden.  The birds are singing more, the bees are more active, and the plants have perked up considerably!

Scout is doing well despite her allergies flaring up.  She had another allergy shot last week and we are looking forward to that kicking in so her case of the "itchy-scratchies" settles down!  She has really learned to ignore Mom's dog Kerry who is always trying to rough house with Scout.  About the only time the two dogs seem to be  dynamic duo is when we are eating and we get this audience!

Wishing you a safe and happy weekend!