Checking in

Okay, it has been a bit longer than usual posting. I've been a busy girl!  I'm making me tired even thinking about it, LOL.  Some of you comment that I wear you out just reading about it but I'm beat living it this time!

See how well my plants are doing!  The aloe vera plant used to be pot bound in about a 3 cup pot in the kitchen window.  I finally re-potted it but the organic potting soil stunk so bad I could not stand it sitting on the kitchen table. Outside it went but I think it is loving the bright afternoon sun and the shade of the mornings. Same with the Wandering Jew.  It was three little scraggly stems, one of which had broken off and I had just stuck back in the dirt hoping it would take root.  Don't ask me where these will go over winter as Skyler will not leave plants alone and there is not a great spot for light like they are getting now.

The other thing that seems to be really growing is the whatever kind of grass I have and the bushes.  It all seems to love the heat, humidity and sunlight.  I think Robert could mow every 4-5 days lately.  He mowed on Monday and did part of my side yard yesterday.  He also trimmed up all the bushes and I got out with the rake to help him get the clippings up.  I notice today that I should go rake up around the camellia bush again.  The periphery is covered with grass clippings up about 6-8 inches again.   Tomorrow, for sure.

Anyway, when I last posted: Jane, Margarita and I were ready to do the guild program on the 4th on Dimensional Bow-ties.  When I got to the meeting, I showed my pal Bev how to do the dimensional block and she whipped up 2 of them, doing the 2nd one with little guidance from me.   Jane was passing squares and threaded needles out to everyone, Margarita had prepped the packets with pins prior to the meeting.  I had worked on the handouts, passing those out for reference or take home instructions.  She walked folks through the procedure and then the three of us circulated through the group while the ladies made up the blocks.  Bev helped the ladies that were seated in the row where I had been sitting.  The blocks were turned in for a donation quilt.  I did a small demo on the more traditional 4 patch, knot pieced in version after the group was done with the method they stitched up.

Last Friday and Saturday (5th and 6th) seemed to revolve around the treadle machine.  Paul (my neighbor's son or brother depending on which neighbor I am talking about, LOL) came by to get the treadle cabinet from my utility shed.  My mom had stripped it at some point, it needed to be refinished and he had offered to do the job for me.  By Saturday he had a better idea of what would be needed to complete the task.  He was not going to charge me for labor but I told him I would pay for the supplies and off to Lowe's we went.  Because he had found the bottom had to be re-built with layers of veneer, that was top of the list but we needed stain, brushes, glue etc as well.  We also had to run down to Home Depot when Lowe's did not have veneer in stock after all.

For several days we had consultations about it.  He called me to come over and provide the extra pair of hands while he heated and we molded the layers of veneer.  Ordinarily on flat surface you can use a household iron but this area is curved to accommodate swinging the machine head down into the cabinet.  There are three layers and we went through two bottles of contact cement.  I had to go for a glue run in order for us to finish up.  He also had to cut out the area where the leather belt goes through through each layer while I applied resistance to the opposite side.   The next day he wanted me to weigh in on the stain we had picked out.  This is red mahogany.   He had hoped to not have to use polyurethane on it but the project did not work out that way.  The wood was dry and some spots were not taking stain as well as he would have liked.

Fast forward to this past Friday (the 12th).  I had to stop for more supplies in Jacksonville on my way back from my birthday lunch out  on Wednesday (more on that later).  He thought it would be ready sometime Thursday.  I knew it wouldn't hurt for it to sit another day and dry so we agreed to meet on Friday to bring it home.  He would need help carrying it out of his workshop and get it in the truck.  I grabbed some towels to put down on the truck bed.  I had put the base together earlier in the week and swapped out the position of the two couches to make room for it in the living room.  We hauled the wrought iron sections out to the truck bed and he attached the sections.  Then into position here in the spot I had made for it and adding the machine part to the cabinet.   Isn't it lovely?

Our guild president works on old machines and I had talked to Wendell about working on it before I even brought it back from Illinois.  I know it will need a new belt and whatever it needs to clean, oil and spiff it up before I can pedal power it.   The manual found in one of the drawers seems to indicate that this might be a Singer Model 66 which according to the Treadleon site was introduced in 1902 and discontinued in 1960.  Whether or not this is a "Red Eye", I don't know.  Hoping Wendell will know more when he sees it.

Saturday (the 6th) there was a big churchwide yard sale and bake sale at Catholic church in Jacksonville where Margarita and a couple of the other Belles attend.  Margarita is on the bake sale committee with two friends.  I knew she was bringing canned goods and hoped to get more of her good bread and butter pickles and so forth.  I went too late for those so it is a good thing I went home with her leftover jar at our last potluck!  I got some Spicy Blueberry sauce, her Lemon Cream Pound Cake to go with it as well as her apple pie filling and some corn relish.  Some cookies came back with me too, LOL.  What can I say?  Margarita is a good saleswoman!  I didn't even yard shop but this was a nice setup.  Most everything was inside out of the heat in the fellowship hall.  I'll go again and check out Oktoberfest when they have it.

Tuesday (the 9th) was Bama Belles quilting day.  For various reasons there were only 4 of us there.  Brenda and I both had binding to do and I DID actually get part of one of the short sides mostly done.  I had to laugh though when Lois asked who was ready to help her pin her two tops.  I said that it is well known how much I do not like doing binding so I was in.  Actually Jane, Brenda and I all headed over to set up the table and help Lois out.  I haven't touched my quilt since then either.   My birthday was the next day so the girls took me to lunch at Olive Garden.  We shared a slice of Lemon Cream Cake--too bad they were out of the Chocolate Lasagna and Chocolate Mousse Cake.   Brenda was going to treat me, she said. but the waitress let us have it for free even though technically I was one day early and came out with 4 more forks.

I was home early and started moving that furniture around in the living room, vacuuming, cleaning baseboards and having to go on a store run for a couple more of those swivel type plug in that won't mash the lamp cords and start a fire.  I went to three stores before I found them and then I got all they had in stock so I could use them in the two bedrooms too.  By evening I stopped by the evening group down the road from me, mostly to say "hello" and see what the girls were up to.

Wednesday (the 10th) was my actual birthday.  I found this graphic on Facebook this morning and I believe it is all true!  Every bit of it.  I figured that the day as going to be fairly quiet as I had celebrated the day before with some of my pals.   I decided to be lazy and indulgent though.  If I wanted Moose Tracks ice cream for breakfast, I was going to but I had to get dressed first.  Otherwise, I might have entertained the idea of it being a Pajama Day, at least for awhile.  I rarely eat ice cream and that was good!  Later I decided I was going to go to Cecil's in Jacksonville for a burger.  I have heard for years that they have the best burgers and The Rocket, the best BBQ.  Paul had already given me his list on the phone of what I was supposed to pick up at the hardware store.  I got that stuff, dropped it off on the way home.  Other than a few phone calls and spending some time at the neighbors on a surprisingly pleasant for August evening, it was a fairly day.

The Belles had given me a birthday card with spending money in it at the JOY meeting, only I didn't know that till I got home.  I was busy helping out Jane and Margarita and visiting with Bev and a few people in the group so when Lois handed me a card I just assumed it was from JOY.  Wasn't my birthday yet either.  Surprise!  As it turned out I had a $20 store credit from Fat Quarter Shop.  The Dixie fabric from Cluck Cluck Sew was on my wishlist, a layer cake though, not a fat quarter bundle.   FQS had this graphic on their Facebook feed and I pointed out to the girls that this was what I was getting so they could see the pretty colors.

I had also had this book by Lori Holt on my wishlist for some time!   With the girl's generosity I was able to order it as well.   You can read all about it at Lori's site Bee in my Bonnet.  There are a lot of other projects in the book besides the neat cover sampler.  I've not really had a chance to do much more than flip through it.  It is sitting on my coffee table waiting for me.

I had been reading a Kindle book Susan of patchwork reflections had let me borrow from her.  A biography by Deany Brady and Harriet Chessman called An Appalachian Childhood and set in Susan's backyard practically.   The link above will take you to Susan's review of the book.  There is a sequel to it entitled Higher Than Yonder Mountain as well but in paperback.  Susan is mailing it to me to read.  Even though this is a true story, I read the first book thinking "I want to know what happens next!" just as I would in a mystery book series.  You can read Susan's review of the 2nd book HERE.  Susan has a gift for writing herself, IMHO.

The neighbors and I were on baby watch this week as their first grandchild/great-grandchild was due to come any minute!  I share my birthday with Glynda's cousin who is like her sister and Miss Kathryn's best friend Miss Esther so I wondered if the grandson would come on THAT day.  Nope, it was Thursday instead.  All in good time!  Robert could not keep the smile off his face Friday morning when he showed me some pictures on his phone as Oscar and I walked by the house.

Speaking of babies, here is a picture of MY family's newest grandchild/great-grandchild/my great-niece.   Lily is loving on her baby sister Emily.  What cuties!  There is another grandbaby on the way, a little boy, late this month.  Fun times!

I've not been sewing but I have been planning!  Now that I see the patriotic fabric charm packs I ordered, I may have changed my mind about what I want to do for the 2nd quilt for the Lebanon Community (Veteran's) Home I told you about in the last post.   Because there are quite a few duplicates, I could do a Charming Boxes planned scrappy, I think.  I still want to do the Circle of Squares but have not cut it out yet.  I DO need to do a 12 inch QOV block for the Fall Retreat we will be going to with the JOY group/Heritage Quilters in Attalla and try it out the smaller version for that but I want BIG blocks for the twin beds at Community Home.

I drew up the "Framed Quilt" designed by Camille Roskelly in her book Simply Retro in EQ so it could use charm square rather than layer cakes.   I could do that if I wanted with any collection I want to---Patriotic stuff even.  I was fiddling a couple other files as well on a couple other ideas but not quite ready to share that plan yet (challenge quilt)!

SOOO  Thursday-Friday when not messing with the sewing machine cabinet,  I cut out three quilts.

 I did a cut and paste job in my print out for Framed (Kindle book--had to screen capture to get an image to print--wish I had gotten the real book instead as I love several quilts in that book!)  I cut up the whole layer cake of my birthday Dixie fabric--42 blocks instead of 25 for a rectangular quilt rather than a square one.  If I am short bits for the sashing, I had gotten a fat eighth bundle of the fabric in the July Sew Sampler box from Fat Quarter Shop that I can cut into rather than use it for the little table runner pattern that came in the goodie box.  My kitted up "Framed" is there in the foreground.  As I stack cut in piles of 4, I still need to sort out the shorter sections that complete the plus signs but I can do that in front of the TV tonight when "Inspector Lewis" is on.

Behind it is another Layer Cake Lattice that I cut out from the Riley Blake Summer Songs 2 that I picked up last month at the Heart of Dixie Quilt Show in Trussville.   These come with just 21 fabrics, like a half a layer cake but I realized that most of these are directional prints.  I could correct what I didn't like about the first one I have started if I just rotated the 2nd bundle horizontally and then made my cuts.  Unless I totally messed up with the "sideways, upside down, backwards" the blocks should be all on the straight of grain or nearly so when the side bits are sewn on.   Again, I need to sort out the smaller like pieces since I stack cut.

The other box is ssssssh, my Good Karma challenge quilt.  What you see on top is NOT what is in there but this one is sorted out!  I've got enough fabric leftover for another quilt---or two probably depending on what I want to do!   See me in late October for the reveal.  I've got to start sewing--and soon! It has to be all done--quilted, bound all of that--or I don't participate.

I've been just plain busy in between that.  Errands, laundry, cleaning.  Add cleaning out the freezer (can't find something I thought was in there).  I am still trying to clear some food items out of there or at the very least, remind myself what is available in there.  I shifted some things into the house from the chest freezer.  I still need to hang a different blind in my bedroom---it is on the list.   The ladder is still in my bedroom.  I tossed the other old blinds that were up in the shed rafters, knowing I will never use them again.  Not sure why DJ saved them but they are gone now.  Looking down at the floors I will soon have a date with the mop and vacuum--or should!  Oscar could stand a bath too.  Always something.

In addition I was getting fatal exception (or whatever) messages on my HP notebook.  It would absolutely not install any updates and was about driving me around the bend.  I finally re-set it which kept my files but not my installed apps.  That took a good bit of Friday evening-Saturday morning to try to get it back where I had it minus a few files.  I found I was not able to install EQ 6 upgrade edition.  EQ5 yes, and EQ6 builds on that.  I can't put in EQ7 until I get 6 in.  Waiting to hear from tech support early this week about that.

I told Paul I would buy him dinner as a "thank you" for doing the machine cabinet for me since he was not charging me for labor.  He collected last evening.  The gang of us who gather at his house for Alabama football games all went:  Paul and his lady friend Carolyn, Miss Kathryn (his mom), the mutual friend Miss Esther and his pal and former co-worker Charlie were off in Charlie's van to Cracker Barrel last evening.   Won't be long till the first game of the season--Sept. 3rd.

This should be a fairly quiet week with no outside appointments, save one minor thing.  Oh, I've got a list of things to do but I seriously hope I can find my way into the sewing room.

Ready for a few critter pictures?

Skyler is acting like I put this here just for him.  The past two nights he has slept on the floor next to it.  

I had shifted the fan to the opposite end of the entertainment center so you can walk past the couch at the hallway end.  Not easy to do by myself but I managed to move it about 6 inches to the east so the fan would clear the door but now I don't know where to leave my shoes!  Skyler is over-seeing Oscar on the coffee table.

Oscar guarding the door......watch out anyone or anything that ventures onto the driveway.  Ask the mailman or the UPS driver!  He'll bark at passing cars or the neighbor across the lane and her dogs too.

........and hoping I'll follow him out to the kitchen.  I think he wanted to go walk and I was not ready when I took this.  He is whining like he wants to go now and frankly, after sitting here this long pecking at the keyboard I think we both need to GO.

Till next time---I did not proof this so apologize for clarity issues or typos.  I'll edit later if I have to.  THX for stopping by.

August comes calling

As usual I am posting in a catch-up position and trying to remember just what I've been doing for over the last week.  A lot of laundry springs to mind with these being the dog days of summer.  Seriously, towels and sweaty clothes means washing about every other day.  I can only imagine how much there would be if there was more than one of me in the household.

I sure have not been sewing since our Sew Day last week until just a few minutes ago.  I've been asked to show how to do a 3-D bowtie block at quilt guild tomorrow so needed to whip some "step by step" examples.    (no, I have not started either of the quilt's hand finishing either.  Too blamed hot to have that any where near me!)   I whacked up the cutaways from my two quilts backing for the traditional souped up 4 patch version but thought maybe the darker colors would show up better in the back row.   I know you can find video on how to do 3-D bowties--I learned how to make them back in 1999, after all.   What I found for a handout for the group was posted as part of the Farmer's Wife 20's Sampler on the Marti Michell conversion charts for doing those blocks.  She gives a bonus block for the dimensional version further down in the post.  I learned using a graphic from Debby Kratovil's site but it is no longer available.  This one will work!

You see the all blue dimensional bow tie above in the picture?   Well, of course, you do!  That is the other part of the program.  Margarita and Jane are showing how to do "3D Fabric Bow Tie Block"  which Margarita learned how to do from the linked video presented by Paw Patch on you-tube.  Margarita had made 60 of these blocks for 3 baby quilts.  She had hoped to show the video as part of the program but our tech savvy president is out of town and that won't be possible.  They planned on having the group make a block at the meeting and turning it in for a comfort quilt.  Jane had cut the fabric and threaded up the needles,  Margarita had the needed pins set up too.

After some discussion, we thought maybe be the group should divide up into half or thirds with Jane, Margarita and I leading them along the way.  BUT first she needed to show US how to do it and we would take care of that last night at evening quilt group.  Actually I got it figured out before I got there and had the block done.  BUT we had Donna, Janice, Aline and Stacy try a block or two.  That way we could see if we could talk them through the process and see what parts were confusing or could be explained better.   That gave us a chance to work on the step by step examples Margarita will use in her display too.  I told her I would write up a step by step handout when I got home and did so while I made another block.  Also Wendy our secretary/FB coordinator could post it for those not at the meeting too.  You want a copy?  Let me know in email.  It will work in connection with the video.

While I took my quilt with me prepared to work on the binding, I didn't do so but I did help Donna with an idea for expanding some backing to get more length and width for the baby quilt she was doing for a friend's pending grandchild.   Mostly just visited with the girls before I went home to fix supper.

Over the weekend I heard from my sister-in-law Jan who lives up in TN.  She is committing to make Quilts of Valor for a 24 bed Veteran's Home that will be opening in her town and needing help from quilting friends to provide twin-sized quilts.  (RWB and gold, 66 x 84 range).  It is Jan's hope that the facility feel more like home with the quilts on the beds.   She was asking for us to commit to making one quilt or participate by helping with backing, batting, quilting or tying.  I told her I would.

Here is part of her note about the project:

Last week I heard the story of a family tragedy and how it had resulted in an amazing project for veterans right here in Lebanon. Here’s Angela Jackson own words.

       

             "On June 12, 2015, we lost our 22 yr. old son, Cameron, to an accidental drug overdose.

After the shock and grief comes acceptance, but we needed more. We started searching for a way to give back to others. We were asked to consider purchasing the Lebanon Veterans Home located at 310 Cedar St.  After prayerful consideration, my husband, Jeff and I knew this was our way of giving back to the community.

Our dream for the home is to provide a place for Veterans to live in a safe home setting. We will be offering 3 meals a day, laundry service, recreation, health services and job assistance. Our plan is to house 24 men. This has given us new hope for the future, to help those who may be struggling with addiction or other issues many Veterans face in our world. Thank you for your support in our new venture to serve those in need."

After making 5-6 QOV's several years back for the Col. Robert L. Howard Veteran's Home in Pell City, I was not entirely sure just how much RWB fabric I had left.  I know when I was cutting out a Disappearing 4 Patch for the master bedroom, I was really having to dig around for darker blues and had to order some fabric.   Some new and some old--some kits.

The quilt kits from Connecting Threads that could be re-purposed from the original designs.  There are a couple more bins with blues and red but I sorta, kinda have that committed to other projects that are started but maybe something in the one labeled "patriotic" that might work.  I already know what I want to make--Circle of Squares since those blocks are larger and I think will be striking against the white background.   I blogged about that HERE in early June when Lucy told me about the blog and I started playing with it in EQ.  The original block was from toefeather blogspot but I eliminated a line from corner of each block so I could cut a rectangle rather than seam two of the same sized squares in the same print.    Some of these colors will have to go but you get the picture.

In the Windham Fabric free project section---man, you could spend hours on that site!--there is a quilt called Button Up! by Stacy Day that uses a Circle of Squares but also a round applique, fussy cut I think, that is similar.  I've not read the pattern to see if the piecing method is the same but I want probably 15 or 18 inch blocks for my version.    I do like the offset block rows though rather than straight sets shown in her version.

But still, not much production around here.  I was not necessarily in a good place emotionally for a few days having passed 2 1/2 years since DJ's passing on August 1st.  Then too I've been pondering my place in the world.  I go back to Illinois and see my family but it is no longer my home.  In some ways Lexington was never really my home anyway.  We moved right before my senior year in high school, I went one year, started nursing school in Bloomington the following year and only was "home" and weekends one summer after the first year.  Bloomington-Normal would be more likely to feel like home since I was there for most of 27 years but it doesn't. Not anymore.  I felt out of place at the wedding as it was DJ's family, not mine and he wasn't there.  I've been in Alabama for 19 years now but it is where we made our home and a big chunk of me still feels like it is missing.  I have friends but not family here.  My critters, my house and stuff is here but do I really fit in?   Guess I've just been feeling a little lost lately.  I need to make peace with this and let it go.  

Let's move on.  Part of the weekend was spent replicating a lost document.  I have to keep track of my mail order purchases for state income tax purposes since many sites do not collect state tax.  I suppose that self reporting is sort of on the honor system but I cannot lie when I fill out those forms.  The 2016 document disappeared on me---poof! gone who knows where.  I discovered it when I went to update it.  Between saved emails, going back to the sites I use most and the receipts I save to track expenses I was able to come up with the data again but it was a 2 day deal tracking and verifying.  I told myself I was going to print it off at least to have a partial record that I could just re-type if I had to as well.

About the only real cooking I've done was preparing some food ahead.  I found some turkey tenderloins marked down $2.25 a package but due to outdate in a day or two after purchase as well as the lean ground beef I use in dishes and casseroles marked down.  I came home from the store and cooked that all up.  The turkey was cubed up for salads, quesadillas, etc.  The ground beef I cooked with chopped onions and then divided in half.  One half I added chopped celery for Maid Rite Sandwiches and the other half, taco seasoning for various dishes, taco rice bowls and the like.  I also did up a batch of sausage gravy.  Half of all of the output went in the freezer.  It is still too hot to want to turn on the big oven but I do use the toaster oven a bit if I have to.  The poor a/c is barely keeping up as it is without me baking! The thermostat seems to be consistently running about two degrees higher of where it is set during the daylight hours.

This week I've been to the dentist, yesterday evening quilt group, today was pretty much house-mousing it and tomorrow quilt guild.  Saturday Margarita's church is having their annual bake/yard sale and serving breakfast and lunch for a fee AND the annual Friends of the Library Book sale is I want to go.  I got the other curtain hung but I think replacing the blind is going to have to happen at some point.  The dusty pink blinds have got to go as it looks horrid with the ivory drape.  I would love to paint my bedroom a soft lilac, lavender but I hate the thought of moving everything out of there to do it.  I've wanted to do THAT for 19 years, after all.   I still mull moving into the master bedroom too and swapping rooms, LOL.

We have had more rain lately but remain about 6 inches behind the average rainfall totals.  The grass is going crazy and Robert could have mowed about 4 days after he did.  He is good to weed whack and blow the clippings off the drive.  He'll even trim up the bushes once or twice a year but neither of us is into raking up the yard like DJ used to do.  After two mowings Oscar could not get near the camellia bush to pee this morning.  That thing grows really close to the ground and the grass was just piled up all around the periphery of the bush.  I drug out the rake this morning and had a wheelbarrow full in no time at all.  That was the extent of my yard work.  Thankful that he takes care of it for me, for an agreed upon cost.

Oscar is going crazy barking at anything he is spotting out the front door.  Methinks, it is time to wear him "slap out".  I had hoped to wait about an hour but that is not going to happen today.   He is telling me the best way he can that he wants to go.

Guess that's it for now----thanks for stopping by.

Waning days of July

Won't be long and this month will be gone.  I guess since I was traveling/on vacation for about 10 days the month has seemed to fly by when I wasn't looking.  As usual I was trying to think what I have been up to since I last posted.

I got the binding on my two Prairie fabric quilts--just the machine part though I did trim both quilts and press back the binding at the evening group.  We met on Thursday evening as the church had an event planned and that always takes precedence when the fellowship hall is needed.  I never did get any handwork done but part of that was because I needed to run home for a few things the girls needed.  Aline wanted a print out for Prairie Sticks.  Since I had used two Jolly Bars, the pattern was included in both.  I had promised Margarita a couple of my extra Frixion pens as I had ordered a box of them at one point.   I only live about a mile and a half away from there so no biggie!

Mostly though, Stacy was wanting to make a Chevron quilt for her niece.  Donna had done one using the Missouri Star methodology in blues and white.  While it was pretty, Donna was a little discouraged by the bias edges that method produced and the three of us were mulling over alternative ways to accomplish this.  Half square triangles was one way---I said if she wanted to do it that way she better let me bring her some 4 inch finished triangles on a roll.  That's what I primarily ran home for BUT I grabbed Chevron top that I made for Lily to show her another way that took NO triangles.  I had directions printed off of two different tutorials including one from Happy Zombie with large pieces.  Not trying to cloud the issue for Stacy who is really still learning to quilt but show her there was perhaps a simpler way.    2 rail Super Zig--scroll down to print/download the pdf file.  Stacy said "I want the zig zags to go the other way".  I said that she should turn the paper the other way for the picture especially since she wanted to make a queen sized quilt.  The length given would be wide enough for the queen size and just double it for length.  OR I would draw it up in EQ for her later if she decided to go that route.

On Friday Aline, Jane and I were off to Trussville to the Heart of Dixie Quilt Show.  Jane's husband had offered to take us over.  Unfortunately I had one of those wakeful nights and in desperation medicated with some Benadryl.  Yes, they are saying it might cause dementia but then I didn't give a rip.  I needed to get some sleep.  Well, between the meds kicking in and the sleep mask the next thing I knew it was 0905.  I was supposed to be in Alexandria, about 15 minutes away at 0915.  If Skyler had not been meowing at me from behind the closed door, I might have slept even later!  I put a call into Jane and Hugh knowing they had probably already left the house and quickly pulled on some clothes, fed and watered the critters, grabbed some water and a cereal bar etc.  If they didn't mind waiting about 15 minutes, I would be there or they could go on without me.  They waited.

The show was small but nice.  Our friend Jill who we knew from the Pell City guild had quite a few quilts in the show  I ran off without my camera and tried to take a few with my phone but being too lazy to upload them to the computer right now.   Maybe later.   Jill had a nice bargello quilt that did take Viewer's Choice and had Judges honors as well.  We saw several of our friends from the Pell City group when we arrived as well as a group of 4 from the Jacksonville group.  We went on to Cracker Barrel for lunch.

Saturday Miss Kathryn invited me over for birthday cake and then on to lunch.  It was Paul's birthday and he chose a nearby Mexican restaurant for our late lunch/early supper.  We all went home with leftovers for the next day though fish tacos don't quite re-heat the same, LOL.  I had some tortillas on hand though.

Bama Belles had a Sew Day planned for Tuesday so I was trying decide what block for sure.  Okay, that re-sized version of Four Patch Pinwheel looked like the best bet.  Between that and what to fix for the potluck it was good to finally arrive at a plan.  Initially I was going to do a version of Tex-Mex sheetcake but someone else had said she planned on coming and would bring dessert.  I did Carrot-Craisin salad and Creamy Cucumber Salad instead.  Not without mishap though.  I did the Carrot Salad dressing first in the blender and then rinsed it all out since the cuke salad took something more savory.  Not once, but twice, I had the milk and vinegar mix running out of the blender.  The first time I thought I had not tightened the base enough.  The 2nd time I realized that the rubber ring had dropped off somewhere.  I poured it all in a bowl thinking I would just use the hand mixer but then spotted that the ring had fallen off into the dishwasher.  I had visions of having to track another one down from Hamilton Beach Wave Action to the point of looking for the model number for next time.  Still might not be a bad idea to have one in reserve.   That mess made for an unplanned load of laundry too.  (The only other cooking I seemed to have done this week is roasting some turkey tenderloins and chunking it up for salads this week.  Too blamed hot to have much appetite for anything but lighter fare and re-heating leftovers.  Does a small bread bowl pizza count as cooking?)

I also cut a couple quilts worth of background rectangles!!   Right after I finally put the sewing room quilting set up away, that is.  Only sat that way since Thursday.  You never know, I might have decided to work on binding on that setup.  (Naw!)

This first photo is Aline's Ribbon Candy quilt she was turning in.  That was the block from our last sew day.  I spotted another top of it in the closet that needs to be pinned but yesterday was all about sewing, not pinning!!  Next time it will probably come home with me to add to the stack.

Here is the block output.  37 blocks and 8 of us were piecing.  Beverly has some health concerns that make sewing away from home a challenge but she came for a bit to visit and do some hand work.  Fun day!  Good food, good times with my buddies doing something we love doing and doing so for others.

One of the piecers was Brenda's granddaughter Kallie who I think is 9 or so.  How old are you in 4th grade as that what year she and her twin brother will be going into.   Brenda took a picture of her with the 6 blocks they teamed up to make.   Later Brenda texted me to say that Kallie told her on the way home that "days like today are what memories are made of"  Sweet!

Looking at the blocks from the other end of the two tables.  Anymore and I would have started pinning them on the table drape!  Pretty, huh?  If I make three more blocks, then I have enough to make two quilts of 12 in horizontal sets with sashing and two quilts with the blocks on point.

This week has also been the week that I had to have some of those tests I had postponed in order to leave when I wanted to on my trip.  Monday was the dexa-scan that you do bi-annually.  Today, my annual mammogram and some followup tests to see just where that thyroid function is and adjust my meds if need  be.  I've been busy though.   I'm beat!

 I had decided that I was going to ditch the pink Priscilla curtains in the bedroom in favor of some room darkening curtains but that meant the dust ruffle that matched needed to go as well.  The stuff I had ordered came in a couple days ago but today was the first day I had time to work on it.  Though I had purchased a cafe rod I thought I might use, in the end I took it back as I thought it would jut out too far from the wall and the curtain would not wrap around the side as I had hoped.  I found one Eclipse Room Darkening Wrap Rod that I liked on my 2nd trip of the day to Walmart.  I was going to have to use some wall anchors to mount it though.  Remembering the last attempt I made to use molly bolts on something and then losing it in the wall with a large hole I still need to patch, I ran over to the neighbor's to ask Robert for sure how to do this. Drill, pop the plastic piece in the wall and then screw it it, right?  He got the right sized drill bit, handed me his portable drill and said to go for it.  It is up BUT with only one panel.  I didn't read the small print apparently and only got one panel!  I thought curtains (with an s, plural) meant there would be two panels,  not one.  It at least will cover the window till the 2nd one arrives.  I may replace the mini blinds

I laundered the sheets, old dust ruffle and curtains and had to deal with Skyler.  He would NOT get off the mattress pad.  I tucked the last corner down and let him realize that he needed to move out of there.  I was not playing with him and my attempts to remove him where met with biting on his part.  When he realized he could not get out, he started meowing.  Mean Mama maybe but he was being such a pill!  He got the picture and left before I started with the top sheet and quilt.   I laundered all Oscar's bed/ crate stuff/toys which smelled too much of dog to the point that I replaced the bed pad completely.  He had torn a whole in the foam pad cover I had made anyway so it needed to be swapped out.  He is actually willingly going in his crate today.  Hope that works come bed time!

I vacuumed the whole house including the drilling mess I made putting the curtain rod up.  Oscar was barking at the vacuum again as I could not find him when I started to have him go outside for a bit.  I could not get the filter and cup thing to line up properly at first and a piece fell off of somewhere---still don't know where from---but it didn't affect what I needed to do apparently.  I may go look at the floor model at the store to see what it might be next trip to the store.  The grocery list is mounting so I'm bound to be going back in the next couple days for that.

It has looked like rain a good bit today but so far only sprinkles when Oscar and I walked after supper.  A couple days ago we had a thunderstorm come roaring in and had 2.5 inches.  The yard is green again but some weird kind of grass that took over when the old dried up brown patches filled in.  I told Robert it looked like he had been bailing hay or something when he mowed on Monday.  I don't know if the drought situation has reversed itself or not but I do know it has not been a good year for tomatoes around here.

AND one final item, Baby Emily arrived yesterday morning!  When I told you about seeing Kristine and Lily on the 14th for lunch and relating things about my trip to Illinois, I had said that Lily's sister would be here sometime in the next two weeks or so.  It was the 26th.   Here is my sister Diane with her newest grand!   She also has a grandson on the way, due sometime late next month, going from two grands to four this year. Consensus is that she has a lot of soft hair like Daddy's side of the family and toes like a family trait.  Emily weighed in at 8 lbs. 6 oz and 20 inches long.

I am not making any plans for tomorrow but certainly hope I sleep better tonight than I did last night.  None of the three of us were sleeping well---not Skyler, Oscar or me.  I tried both beds, with and without the cat.  When I got in my own bed and closed the door, Skyler just meowed and pawed at the door.  We tried the other room---no dice.  Let's do better tonight, boys!

Thursday check-in

Yeow is it hot out there! My thermometer hit 100 at one point but may have been about 4 degrees according to my ABC3340 weather app but still, what's a degree or so at that point? Currently it says the humidity is 88% and the dew point is 73% at 77 degrees. I am sure that heat indices are up there.

I DID walk this morning but as early as I could get out there. It was not too bad as the sun was hiding behind the clouds till the last laps. I laid off Monday as I had breakfast out scheduled and a boatload of laundry and errands to do. I also did not go Tuesday or Wednesday but I had read on Facebook Monday evening that the local Fire Department was doing a controlled burn of the old Senior Center building on the park property. They expected this burn to go on through the night so I stayed away. I have a problem with smoke! It was still smoldering on Wednesday when I went by so I passed again, settling for a couple trips in the lane.   This morning there was just littlest waft of smoke but the breeze was not blowing either.  The concrete blocks are all that remain of the building and I assume those will be bull-dozed down at some point.

In spite of the heat I did a little baking yesterday afternoon as Glynda had given me a large zucchini. I am nuts!!  I figured I would at least peel, seed and grate it up to see how many cups it yielded and could always freeze it to use later. I had enough for two batches of Mom's Zucchini Bread but only made two loaves of it.  If you should try the recipe, it makes a very stiff batter or mine did anyway.  I should have used my Kitchen Aid rather than the hand mixer.  Instead I added most of a individual container of unsweetened applesauce to the recipe and next time I'll use some grated apple too.  Since I had just grated up the zuke, I think that it had not had a chance to pull the liquid off and that may have accounted for less fluid in the mixture.  BUT often recipes will tell you to salt it, let stand, drain and rinse it off.  This doesn't mention any of that step.   I shared half of one loaf with Miss Kathryn (and Paul who was over for supper) and took the other half to Glynda and Robert.  The other one is sliced up and quick frozen.

While I was hunting through the notebooks for the recipe print-off, something happened which saddens me.  Oscar was whining and scratching at the front door, a little agitated.  I saw Kit Kit, the neighborhood cat was out there so I figured that was all it was.  He persisted.  Then I spotted what was wrong.  She had moved to a different spot but was obviously in distress and not moving.  The poor thing was drawing her last breaths and not a darned thing could be done for her.  I called Robert since I knew he would have to bury her with Mooch and the other departed dogs in the back acreage.  Miss Kathryn was just getting home from an appointment and I called her next.  The cat had been fine that morning at feeding time and it was just a regular day for her.   Kit Kit was definitely an outdoor cat but Miss Kathryn fed her primarily and she was in and out of her home.  Glynda, Robert and I guessed that perhaps a snake had gotten her or she had gotten into some poison as she was a confirmed bird, mouser, frog chaser/kudzu patrol kitty.  Later I ran into Glynda and Robert at the grocery store and she said their nephew who lives behind Miss Kathryn had hit Kit Kit with his truck (he thought) as she darted under it running away from a dog in the subdivision near us.  The accident could have happened to any of us since she often was under vehicles in the shade and was not afraid of anything.  Meet you, Pippi and Tyson Tubbs and all those good dogs at the Rainbow Bridge, Kit Kit.  She was feisty but a good cat who showed up, pregnant, back in April, May 2014.  We three paid to have her spayed and Glynda found homes for the babies.    I hate that this happened!

Well, on to other things.  While I have plans to do some closet purging in the near term, I'm going to pass on that for the time being.   Yesterday I was looking into some quilt ideas that take some pieced bands.  The quilt group and I are going to have a sew day with a potluck next week.  I've got a pile of used color catchers to use for a base if I chose so.  Railroad Crossing springs to mind as does two quilts from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company called Ashcombe and Grandmother's Scrap Bag.  I see a few of these images on Pinterest but it does not look like the link is active for Carrie Nelson's website.

Another possibility for 2 or 2 1/2 inch strips is a re-sized version of Ann Pahl's Four Patch Pinwheel.  Lois has done one of these and it makes a cool scrappy quilt and would not have to be on point.   Pineapple Blossom would work too.

 
I'm dithering, LOL.  I found that bolt of muslin from Jane in the closet and had I narrowed down what I personally want to do, I would cut some squares for us to use next week.   Leaning most to RR Crossing so that means just plain setting squares.  That quilt I started hand quilting is around here somewhere that I could pull for an example.  HMMM which closet??

I appreciate Jennifer labeling the bags as to how much batting is left after quilting my two quilts.  She also had provided a huge TJ Maxx bag to hold the quilts and I assume put the next one in there for her.  I started to say "that's not my bag but the other one is" when she told me what she does.  Later when I unpacked all the batting bits from the car and the bags I discovered the notations.  Good idea!

Here are the two tops.  Yeah, they look a bit blend-y laid out on the bed but part of that is because they both use the same Corey Yoder Prairie for Moda.  I have Jelly Rolls of the same stuff to make another--that neat Firecrackers Quilt from Fat Quarter Shop.  I love this line--can you tell?  Jennifer paid me a compliment when she said how nice it was to have square and well made tops to work with as I guess she has been working on some of those older, found tops.  I love the loose stipple on both of these as that is exactly what I wanted done with them though I had left the quilting up to her knowing that she prefers not to use pantos.

Since I am still a bit dampish around the edges from walking, I had swapped out the sewing machines and set the tables up so I can put the binding on.  It has been awhile since I've quilted/bound anything in spite of all the recently pinned tops and more to BE pinned.  Try May 2015 when I finished up that commissioned 100 Good Wishes Quilt.  I've always enjoyed piecing for more than quilting, though I love to hand quilt but I have quilted a ton of donation quilts since back in 2000.  Life changed and I can't stay in that sewing room for hours anymore.  I am probably going to have to close the door to keep Skyler off the quilts as I work and hope Oscar behaves himself in the meantime.   I'll have a hand project for the evening group and can leave the machine out of the car a bit longer, LOL.

and sew it goes...............

What a week + some!

The past 10 days or so have quite a week for my family--and I was present for some of it!

Great niece Lily, shown here on a recent visit to great grandma's, turned two.  Low key party since Kristine is expecting Lily's sister to arrive sometime in the next two weeks.

Our little miracle boy Wyatt had his first birthday!  His grandparents and parents had a open house to celebrate and thank their prayer warriors.  According to my sister, they expected maybe 50 people but had maybe 300 well wishers.  Standing room only and people lined up waiting to come in.

This guy, my youngest brother Phil turned 50 making me officially OLD!  The best recent picture I could find of him was on his last trip to Land Between the Lakes, KY.  Yep, he's the fisher person.  Also niece Beth turned 21!  Lots of July events.

AND, DJ's grandson Josh, shown here with his mom LuAnn for the mother-son dance, got married to his long time love Lauren!  I've got a picture of the couple too---later in the post.

That was just the introduction to the post, LOL.  Obviously I have not posted since early in the month and 4th of July weekend.  I was getting the house cleaned up, doing laundry, last minute errands so I could pack and packing, printing off driving directions.  You know how it goes!

I took off about 6:30 on Friday the 8th thinking "Paducah or Bust".  This trip was not undertaken without a bit of trepidation on my part.  I have only driven back to Illinois once in 19 years all by myself.  If I drove, it was switching off with DJ or like in December, go as far as my brother's home in TN and ride the rest of the way up with them.  Mostly I have flown back.   This time I needed to get up to my parent's home in central Illinois but I also needed to be down in Edwardsville, IL later in the week for the wedding.  Plus there was the treadle sewing machine to carry back if possible and a big roll of quilt batting Mom was passing on to the Bama Belles.  I had to have my car this time.  Suck it up, Buttercup and drive!

While the roads are basically familiar to me, parts were not.  I hate driving in most of TN specifically around Nashville though I am not crazy about the I-59/I-24 W exchange as you merge in from the left and I almost got hit there one trip.  Next trip I may try going towards Chattanooga east and then turn around at the first exit to head back towards Nashville, LOL.   I-65 is not too bad till you get up near Franklin, TN and you just feel hemmed in by vehicles.  I can take two lane, mostly familiar roads to get over to the interstate.   This time I took a slightly different road which angled up towards Priceville instead heading into Cullman at a right angle.  It worked out well and put me on the interstate just slightly south of Decatur, AL---about 30 some miles to the TN line from there.

So I drove, and drove some more, white knuckling through Nashville and all the merging and surprisingly, not a lot of road construction.  I knew from my maps to stay near the left lane and just hung on.  I was in Clarksville, TN for lunch--just like DJ and I always did.  I drove right past the Hancocks of Paducah exit and kept driving.  Finally I stopped for the night in Mount Vernon, IL.  450 miles behind me.

Saturday I did the stretch from Mt. Vernon to Lexington.  197 miles though I stopped at my brother's home since he is just a few blocks off of the blacktop you take to get in the back way off I-74.   I had not told them I was coming.  I had only decided what days quite recently, moving two appointments so I could go to see my family first and do the wedding on the way back to Alabama instead of the other way around.  Apparently my parents had not said anything either.  I caught Jen and Laura by surprise then.  She invited us to come back the next day for supper as my nephew John was home from Missouri State that weekend.  He was not going to summer school but stayed down in Springfield to work.  Teddy will be attending there come fall.

Sunday my parents and I went off to my dad's family reunion in his hometown at a local restaurant.  At one time there were 42 first cousins in his generation, now down to 6.  I didn't know anyone there until two of my 2nd cousins arrived with their spouses. Paul and Karen are close in age to a couple of my younger siblings.  Dad was the youngest in his family and my grandpa was the 2nd oldest child.  We never lived close to his family till my senior year in high school.  Visits back did not coincide with family reunions very often.  Large families, lots of cousins you never met or don't remember if you did.  Still, it was fun, the food was good.  The restaurant packed up the leftover chicken etc in carryout containers so folks to take home if you wanted.  Less cooking in coming days!

That evening we went back to Phil's for dinner.  Ted was working at the pizza place and Jen ordered a small pizza just so he would come home to deliver it and we would see him, LOL.  The main menu was grilled hot dogs and brats but she had all the toppings for making them Chicago style or chili dogs if you preferred.  She had watermelon salad, a pasta salad and made my favorite Rhubarb Meringue dessert.   We were playing a sharing your memories type game after we ate and had the best time!  Jen packed up leftover containers for us to take--my parents said she often does this---definitely less cooking!

Monday we went to Peace Meal for lunch and that evening I went down to my sister's for supper.  Filets, baked potatoes, salad and creamy blueberry pie using a recipe she says she got from me.  (It is on allrecipes, LOL from someone names Susan Meyer.  I just sub lemon yogurt for the sour cream is all).

Tuesday I was trying to make connections with a friend for lunch but he came by the house to say that he had to make a delivery out of town and we rescheduled for Wednesday.  At the time Dad was trying to figure out how we could get the treadle machine in the car so we were out on the driveway looking at the car.  The cast iron base and the cabinet were on the garage rafters while the Singer machine was in the attic.  He climbed up the ladder to get up there somehow and used a block and tackle to lower it down.  No way would it go in either direction because of how the car trunk sloped.  I said "too bad the sides won't come off or will they?"  I spotted a couple of screw slots and using a pair of vice grips, Dad got them off and into the car.   This was taken when I returned but you get the idea.

One roll of batting went in the trunk---that machine was not going anywhere!!  I was afraid to open the trunk for fear the thing would start puffing back out from being crammed in there, LOL.

You don't dare take the twine off either for the same reason.  This is 96 wide 4 oz. poly batting, a partial roll.

Two shots of the back seat---the cabinet for the treadle went on the back seat with a 2nd roll of batting in that big yellow bag, tied down and crammed in behind the seats.  I add two more bags on the way back home as Jennifer the long arm quilter had called to tell me my quilts could be picked up the first day of the trip!!  One bag has the two quilts and the other the leftover batting.

I had stuff in the front seat too but not near as crammed full as the back seat!  No way I could have had a passenger or any kind or size!

We knew it was all going to go after packing the car and a few small packages of batting are buried up there atop the cabinet.  I could see out the back mirror easily which is all that mattered at that point.

I tried to get my old wi-fi device hooked up to my parents computer without much success.  The software installed but I must have missed a step or key component.  My chromebook recognized it but then it was the one I used to use but no internet to be had.  I just made a daily stop at the public library to clear my mail and the like.  Thankfully, they provide that service.  I did try though and hooked it back up like they had it.

Wednesday I met Tom for lunch at the local Kemp's Upper Tap.  He would have taken me there last August when I was back but they were not quite ready to open. Good burger!  Good visit with Tom.  That evening Diane, her husband Rick, Kristine and Lily and I were planning to meet for dinner at Schooner's in Bloomington but there were severe thunderstorm warnings about the time we were to leave.  We postponed till Thursday.  We shared their King tenderloin and beer battered onion rings that I crave since I can't get anything like it down here in Alabama.

I went down to Bloomington a little early on Thursday to do the "nostalgia" tour.  I went by the places I used to live and work, minus one stop in Normal.  I even drove out to the mobile home park where DJ had lived for a time. I may have turned down the wrong street at first and was a little confused since there is more housing there than used to be along the route but I found the lot.  I had gone right past the home he had built near Downs when I went through the country to my sister's on Monday.  I picked up a couple of Avanti's gondolas for our supper (and my Friday breakfast, LOL) on the way back from lunch.  

I left for Edwardsville on Friday morning--the wedding was at 5 and the hotel was near there.  I-55 is familiar road after all those trips to St. Louis to baseball games though I had never been in the town.  Josh and Lauren had both attended and graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville last year.  Josh is working on his masters and they were both working at a local restaurant but they are moving down to Florida soon to be closer to his mom and dad.   I got myself all turned around driving to the wedding and wound up several stop lights north of where I needed to be.  I had time earlier and should have made a trial run, kicking myself.  No one knew where the venue was at the two places I stopped to ask.  My phone map was little help and was not talking to me when I messed up either.  I finally spotted it after my 2nd goof-up and could tell the road access was behind the building.  Then I couldn't figure out where the entrance was as the first two doors were locked.  I was not the only one who was 5 minutes late!  We found the correct door together.  (Her husband had a sock snafu so they were running late).  We were seated just before the bride was about to be escorted down the aisle.

I was seated with the best man's parents and grandmother.  I had meet Bruce and Nadine several times over the years but not met Grandma Grace.  Scott and Josh had been best friends since age 5 and t-ball.  Scott and groomsman Cole were friends of Lauren's from school and actually introduced her to Josh at a party when they were 15.  It took!  After 8 years together as a couple, they are now wed.  DJ would be so proud of him and so happy that Josh has a soulmate.   

Coincidentally, July 15 which will be their anniversary marks the anniversary of DJ and I moving to Alabama in 1997.  Yep, the 19 years I mentioned earlier.  Wow!  Where does time go?

Saturday was the big driving day again.  I took some backroads out of Edwardsville to get to I-64.  My parents and I had poured over the maps before I had left and avoided some confusing google directions.   Nashville was huge traffic jam where 1-24 E hits the turn off for I-65 S.  I was going to go back on I-24 to Chattanooga but there are spots where the two routes and even parts of I-40 run together.  Had I known what I was doing and not been in a far left lane I could have exited on Briley Parkway and saved some of that hassle.  It took well over an hour to get past the bottleneck.   I kept driving, thinking maybe I would stop in Manchester or Monteagle for the night.  I hit the "Sammy Snake" section just about 4 miles from Monteagle and it was pouring down rain.  That clinched it!  I knew the windy steep downhill section that followed was best done the following day and I had driven one tenth of a mile shy of 400 anyway and was about 40 miles from Chattanooga.  

Sunday it was just 147 miles to drive---I needed to stop in Attalla to pick up my quilts before I headed home.  I had to laugh though.  Both times Jennifer has had to call me I have been out of town, like WAAAAAY out of town. Last time I was in Florida visiting Tracy and Luann and this time sitting at the Clarksville, TN Steak and Shake.  I hardly ever really go more than a couple county area away but this spared an extra trip to meet up with her.  

 After a quick stop for gas and a few groceries, I was home in time to go to Emily's (my former neighbor/Glynda's daughter-in-law) baby shower that afternoon with Miss Kathryn, Miss Esther and Carolyn.   After the shower, we drove over to Paul's to drop off Carolyn but came in to say hello.  We were joking with him that we were ready for supper and whatever he was fixing, LOL.  It was a joke but next thing we know he is out grilling hot dogs, I'm helping with the french fries and Esther went to get some buns.

Yesterday I met Aline and her husband, Jane and her husband at the Oxford I-Hop for breakfast.  I was able to drop off the one roll of batting at the meeting place and run a couple errands since I was close to the exchange.  The laundry is done, car is all unloaded thanks to Paul last evening.  He is going to refinish the cabinet part for me but we put it in the shed for now since he can't get to it till sometime next month.   Now to re-load the stuff in the car that normally goes in there--what DJ called my quilt shop on wheels, LOL.

Now that I have talked your ear off, I do have some stuff to do around the house.  Some things still need to be put away.  Some paperwork dealt with, etc.  My critters are barely wanting me to get out of their sight.  Oscar was under my feet as I have been sitting at the kitchen table and I kept nudging him accidentally with my feet.  I finally got his little bed from the living room and he sacked out in it near me.  Skyler is being exceptionally meowing and clingy too.  I'm guessing they missed me a bit but then I missed them too. I am thankful to Glynda for tending them so I could make this trip and they can stay in their own home.  

Till next time-----

And now it is July

Think this is what they mean by dog days of summer?

Oscar seems to have fallen in love with his little bed in the living room.  Wish he felt that way about his real bed!  Last night he managed to not only move a yard away from the wall again but also made a left hand turn while he was at it.  I think he wore himself out with all that rocking and rolling around 2 a.m.  I put ear plugs in and did not give in to let him out or scold him.   He has been napping a good bit of the day, snoring softly but it really is a bit warm to be out.   ( 95 to 98 range at the moment.)  Yesterday the temps were a bit lower, the humidity was down as well so it did not seem too bad.  The a/c would actually shut off for a bit.   We'll go walk when the sun gets down closer to the tree line and shady areas can be enjoyed.

Not to be outdone, Skyler was keeping me company on the couch.

He is not fooling me though.  He wants to be ON the bag of knitting as there are several washcloths in there that I need to work the stray ends into the piece and it crinkles!  The pattern is in a sheet protector in the bag.   This little booger decided to hop in the dryer when I was doing laundry earlier today.   Just because it is empty and warm does not mean you do silly things like that!

Nothing to see here!  I feel a bit lazy like these two.  Don't feel like sewing --though I did get the 2nd arm on the stack of Layer Cake Lattice blocks earlier in the week, they still aren't pressed or up on the design wall.  I had appointments and quilt groups this week so haven't just been parked on the couch.  Typical errands and home tasks.

Baking, of course, is out and really any oven time to speak of.   The most "exotic" thing I've managed to cook is a crockpot of black beans which took about 3 times longer than the recipe stated, even with soaking overnight.   I am considering doing a pizza crust sometime this weekend but that only takes about 12 mins plus pre-heat time.  Or not.  Ambivalent.

 I binge watched Seasons 1-7 of Inspector Lewis on Amazon Prime over about 6 day period because there was a deadline to do so.  The final season will air on PBS come mid August.  Some I had actually seen, at least parts of them, though I may not have released just what I was watching when I tuned in.   That's where some of the knitting came in.

Mostly I've been piddling about here at home though.  I've been reading but still have an Mary Kay Andrews book to get through ahead of the bookmobile stop on Tuesday.  I renewed all three books last time but surely I can finish up in time!

Nothing really planned for the 4th.   Still, that is better than LAST year when I was prepping for a colonoscopy, LOL.  Some jerky neighbor has already been shooting off some of his fireworks--like, 4 days ago.  I do not look forward to this as it upsets Oscar, akin to thunder to him.   I know the general direction it is coming from but not which house is involved.  Since the county is in moderate to severe drought,  conditions are dry enough in spots for grass fires.   Occasionally the debris travels into MY yard and then I get to pick up their mess.  They also keep at it till after midnight.  I know I am off in the county but you would think there would be a cutoff time for disturbing sleep regardless of address.  SIGH  Happy Birthday, America.

So I hope you have a safe holiday weekend especially if traveling.  Guess I'll go unload the dishwasher and switch over the last load of laundry.  Boring but necessary, LOL.