Today was my youngest brother's birthday. I remember when I moved back home some 19 years ago he hadn't turned 30 yet and here as time flies by he's just turned 48... Where do the years go? It makes me feel so old to have my baby brother pushing 50 and then I think WHOA...my own three sons are getting up there as well being 52, 50 and 42.


I got up this morning, had my cuppa, updated my games and threw my clothes on. Dashed out to the yard and let the mower drag me around all before 10:30. Felt good to get that exercise but I sure was pooped when done. Makes me wish John were home and enjoyed doing yard work with me. He loves his home but sure doesn't carry that on to the yard stuff or maintenance. It falls all on my shoulders and I've beat the game as I get my nephew out to do it f
or me.



After catching my breath from the yard work I sat down to do some paper piecing which me and it don't get along very well. Everything is so right handed that I spend a goodly amount of time ripping out because it's backwards for me.
I really like this kitty and the fabric I chose to do him in...I'm an admirer of Bengal kitties and this fabric is so like their fur.
Anyhoo, I'm doing a Row Robin with a group and this lady wanted dogs and maybe a cat or two. Some of the blocks in this RR just screamed to have a kitty on a shelf. I thought this little puppy in his blankie was appropriate for a quilt. Had fun even with all the picking out I did putting him together. My sis drafted both of these in EQ6 and before she realized she could move the templates around on the print page she did a print/cut/paste/copy and then a print. Some of the parts were distorted and don't match really well but overall am pleased with these two blocks. 2 more to go tho'.

I finished another Downy Quilts for Kids the other day and it will go back in the return mail tmr. I plan to do one or two a month as they are so easy and quick. Machine quilting is quick as well at they request a pretty tight quilt right up to the edge. I enjoy doing these and feel like I am comforting some child with CA. The fabrics are so Kid orientated that I have to giggle at some of them. This time I had scuba diving fish and crabs. I needed a name for this quilt and couldn't think of a thing so am sending it back with a note asking them to please give it a name.

I'm counting the days till John gets home around the 4th of July. Now that the truck is fixed I hope we can load the cats up and go to the ocean for a few days. I so want to walk on the beach and watch the sun go down over the ocean. I miss my sunrises and sunsets which we never get a chance to see where we live up in the forest in a holler between the mountains. The trees get in the way and all we catch is a small square in the middle of them.

The fawns have started coming into the yard. I tried to catch one on camera as I document them every year but they were so skittish all I could catch was their tails as they quickly hopped across the yard and into the thicket out back. Will have to wait till they aren't so skittish to every little noise. We can always tell the Deer who came back for apple handouts year after year as they will come so close and we can almost hand feed them. I enjoy my deer.

I spent today picking out all the quilting I had done on the latest Downy Quilt. I didn't like it and the backing bubbled way too much. I wanted to quilt a stencil and learned the hard way you need to do your quilting across the rows as you go and not do all the stencils first and then go back. The Downy quilts need to have extensive quilting due to being washed daily so I'm doing a tight meander on them. I enjoy doing these little donation quilts knowing they will comfort some child here.

Weather here has been really nasty all this month. My local farmer says we are going to have a difficult time finding both beans and cucumbers this year. I wonder why my two most favorite veggies are not going to be doing well this year. Strawberries have been late this year too.

I picked up the bug quilt for my GGdtr again and have been working on it. Her 3rd birthday is in September so really need to finish it before she's way too old to enjoy it. I'm pretty close to getting all the hand quilting done thank goodness. I need to finish it before my Son is here mid July so he can hand carry it back when he returns to CA.

I don't have much to write about but am trying to post something frequently to keep my blog updated. John is due home for his 2 month vacation in a couple weeks. I've got lots of house-mousing to do to get ready for vacation time when I never get a thing done other than cooking and laundry. It's easy to keep house when I am here by myself, only needing a swish and swipe here and there. I close my eyes to the dust that accumulates on all the flat surfaces, under and behind the furniture scrambling to get all the cleaning done in the last week before John arrives home. My time alone is for doing all the fun things I like that he doesn't. VBG

Gratitudes

My youngest son who has been estranged for years and now calls me every couple of weeks.
Good Health and Family

I don't post to my blog often. I don't really have much to report. Life goes on, my other half is gone most of the time leaving me to fend for myself. Most of the time I'm at home, talking to the Kats and hopefully stitching on something or another.

I did put in a pretty good sized garden with one of my sisters. We both have a "table garden" just a few things like tomatoes, lettuce, cukes at our houses and our big garden is out on our property in the county. It's been so wet here I'm wondering if anything will grow and not be drowned out from all the rain. The local farmers say beans and cucumbers are going to be difficult to grow this year and strawberries are iffy with all this rain.

I've been spending my time sewing. Have finished a quilt for my son's friend who is a roofer and bringing him up here mid July to roof our house. It's a volunteer job but I feel I really need to do something for him and since $$$$ are short a quilt will be nice.

I've been doing the Downy "Quilts for Kids". I like this charity group as these quilts stay in the country and if you have a local group they stay right in your area. They take very little time to put together, come in a kit and all you have to do is provide the batting and postage to mail back. It's my little donation to giving back and I do enjoy doing them up...a good change from having to use my brain. This is my second one and hope to do at least one a month.

I just finished paper piecing a block for a group I'm in. Took me 3 days to do this one block. I don't like PPing as I spend more time ripping than I do sewing. I wonder if it has anything to do with being left handed in a right hand world. Seems as if everything is backwards to me and for me.

Must get out of here.

If I have anything to be grateful for its my Family, Friends, Children and my wonderful Hubby who takes such good care of me.