TGIF

Gosh....remember how Fridays were always such a big deal when you were in school?   Working in nursing there really was never that Friday joy since hospitals are open 24/7.   Now that I am retired the Fridays aren't that unique either, but it is a TGIF day.

Since it is also Flag Day, I will show you my red, white and blue finish.  I love the way this came out and will look forward to decorating with it over the many patriotic holidays.

Another project that I have been working on was a pattern tester for Emily.  I finally have a completion to share with you.  I just love Emily's border idea and I know that I will be using this technique again sometime.  Sorry about the indoor picture, but it was too big to hang on the line.  Isn't it a great pattern? You can see Emily's version HERE.

I had a dear friend, Peg, come visit for a few days.  We've know each other for over 40 years and always enjoy each other's company.  Her granddaughter had drawn a quilt design and and Peg wanted to know if it was possible to sew it out.  She arrived with her fabrics and we sketched it all out.  She does not sew, but I think she really enjoyed the process and also did all of the FMQ on it.  She was very adventurous with her FMQ designs, including special names, hearts, flowers, stick people and a Grandma signature.   The backing is Minky so it crinkled up nicely and had such a nice drape to it. 

Drawn quilt and finished quilt - the colors matched perfectly.

My Japanese x&+ bee blocks continue to arrive and my layout is growing because of it.  I really like the way it looks - so scrappy and bright.

Isn't this a great card?

It seems like I spend a good amount of time these days filling up my bird feeders.  I now have seven 4-cup feeders for the orioles and hummers that get filled AND emptied every day.  We have two different types of orioles at the feeders - a Hooded and a Bullock oriole.  The Bullock orioles are much more talkative.  The babies are also now at the feeders.

In closing I will show you what happens when you give sidewalk chalk to little ones.  I'm not sure whether the sidewalk or the bodies got decorated the most.

I hope everyone has a great Father's Day weekend.  We will have the whole gang here on Sunday.

June Goals

I have become the world's worst blogger when it comes to remembering to bring my camera.  There really is a legitimate reason (I think).  I have downsized my purse.  I have always carried a huge purse that carried everything.  I decided to go with just a small one, but I can't fit much in it ;-(  It is taking a lot to get used to it and I do have to be mindful to grab my camera.

So....I don't have any pictures of the wonderful surprise 40th birthday party we attended for our son this weekend.  I'll have to leave it to your imagination, but the food was wonderful and it was great seeing some of his old grammar school friends again. 

Since it is the beginning of the month, it is time to set some goals.  I have so many UFOs that I could work on, but since it would be fun to have a red, white and blue quilt for 4th of July decorating, that will be first on my list.  This was a block swap back in 2009 (?) and it has remained a top long enough.

Linking up with A Lovely Year of Finishes has kept my UFOs being completed this year.  I hope to get more finished this month, but this is my primary project.

June is generally our cool and foggy mornings month.  I am sure it is coming, but the first few days have been delightful.  Everything grows better with a little warmth and sunshine.  This is my strawberry wall.  It is basically for the little ones when they come to visit so you will seldom find if full of strawberries.  It's torture for them to wait until they are red enough to eat.

The pallet keeps the berries off the ground.  I like to replant it every two years to keep the berries nice and big.  This was the year for that task.   

End of the Month Catch All

It's hard to imagine that May has already come to an end.  Where do the days go?    Since it is the end of the month it is time to account for my finishes.   I really don't have a lot to show for the month after two trips, watching grandchildren for a week, five birthdays, two graduations and daily living here.  Sheesh....

The first finish is a Schnibble from last year.  I can't remember the name of it, but I love the colors in this one.  They are so easy on the eye.  I am so glad to have this one finished.

Since a lot of my sewing was hand sewing as we were traveling, I managed to also finish this sweet little purse.  I had won the kit from Deonn sometime last year too.  It is so tiny and will be perfect for a small treasure such as jewelry. 

I am linking these finishes up with A Lovely Year of Finishes and Thearica's To Do List.

My goal for June will be to quilt my jelly roll quilt.  I am looking forward to getting it finished and enjoying it.

Last weekend we took a nice road trip to Wyoming.  There is one road that DH and I love to travel - Highway 89.  The scenery is so gorgeous as you travel up the state of Utah.  The towns were celebrating Memorial Day in the cemeteries and each one was more beautiful than the last.  The flag and tree lined towns were just stunningly gorgeous.

We continued up Hwy. 189 and came across a most unusual sight in the town of Heber City.  We noticed buzzards - many buzzards - circling about in the air.  I am SO NOT a fan of buzzards!!!!  When we came to the center of town there appeared to be a buzzard party going on at the town hall.  Yikes!  They filled the trees and were literally clinging to the side of the building. 

I had a couple of nice wins that arrived while I was away.  These were both from the Sew Mama Sew hop.  The lovely cushion cover came from Chris.  Her work is so beautiful and you should check out her blog to see more of it. 

The bags of scraps are from Kim (sorry that I cannot find her blog).  These are chock full of wonderful fabrics that I can use in my scrap blocks for the Japanese x and + bee that I am participating in. 

Speaking of the bee......May is my queen month and look at the fun blocks I have received so far.

So May comes to a close.  Tomorrow we celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary and I have no idea where the years have gone.  I'm sure we still look the same ;-)

To close off for today I will leave you with a picture of our DIL who just graduated from nursing school.  She had gotten her B.A. in business after high school, but decided a few years ago to return for her nursing degree.  I know her college experience this time was a bit different with a husband and five children - one born in her last year of the program, but we are terribly proud of her.  Best of all, I got to pin her nursing pin on her at the Pinning ceremony.  She will make an amazing nurse.

A Little of Everything

The problem  when you don't have time to blog is you really have a lot to catch up on when you do.   A lot happens around here in two weeks these days.

We had a wonderful Mother's Day BBQ with the children and grandchildren.  As well, we celebrated the five birthdays this month. 

The garden continues to use a lot of my time with weeds to manage - or at least try to keep under control - and the summer fruits starting to produce.  Somehow they do not can themselves.  The peaches have been spectacular so far with lots more to come.

I seem to have a lot or oranges blooming in my flowers at this time.  I'm loving the color.

We returned LATE last night from New Orleans after a disastrous day of canceled flights and several 5 hour layovers.  At least there was no luggage fee charged!  Our own bed felt really good in the wee hours of the morning. 

The cemeteries there have always interested me.  Since the town is above sea level, the bodies must be buried above the ground.  Families or groups build structures to place their loved ones in.    They go on for generations.  When someone new dies they simply open the structure, remove an older casket, collect the remains and bag them up.  Those are then placed inside and the new casket with the newly deceased person takes the place of the older one.   They do have a one year, one day law.  The structure cannot be reopened for one year and one day after a burial which has caused problems - especially during an influenza outbreak or something of that sort.  They must be buried somewhere else and the wait of one year and one day starts. 

This one is for firemen.  Can you see the very old pumper truck on the top?

Then there was the food.  They have some of the best restaurants in the world!!!  Need I say more?  The bread pudding souffle here was incredible.

There has not been a lot of sewing this month.  Here is a sneak peek at a great border design that I have been working on for a quilt.  I'll show more later. 

Check out this incredible wall in the New Orleans airport.  Is anyone else thinking quilt????

I hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day weekend as we remember those who sacrificed so much for our freedom.

Nature's Fire Extinguisher

Our town has made the news locally and worldwide this week with a brush fire.  We are located in a narrow valley with hills surrounding us on both sides.  Last Thursday we had dry, hot winds blowing and a brush fire started on the other side of our hills.  The winds blew the rapidly growing fire in the opposite direction from us and eventually all the way to the beach.  Then it reversed course and blew back again.  Thanks to the amazing work of the firefighters not one life or home was lost. 

Last night we received wonderful rains that allowed the firefighters to predict full containment by tomorrow.  It also washed away the ash that has covered everything.

California's May snow.

We've had little ones since the middle of last week.  Five went home yesterday and we still have four more that came yesterday morning and will be here a few more days.  Needless to say, there has been no sewing this week. 

Everyone loved building these and watching them tumble. 

Future mechanics????

We took the five little ones to Legoland last Thursday.  Rather than drive the three hours home after a long day, we got a nice hotel and spent the night.

After going out for pizza we went to the beach to watch a beautiful sunset.  The fires down in the San Diego area added to the reds of the setting sun.

We passed the Armstrong Flower Fields and I had to stop and take a picture of the incredible ranunculas.  I know they are past their prime, but spectacular nonetheless.

 

Since my May is pretty impacted  (two anniversaries, Mother's Day and five birthdays), my goal for this month is simple.  I need to quilt my Summer Star QAL that I worked on last summer.