Ho Ho Ho

I feel like it's Christmas Eve and I'm back to being a kid waiting for Santa to come!  I love Christmas and I can't wait to see all these bloggers and the Christmasy things they've made.  :)

July 31

Just Let Me Quilt

Grandmama’s Stories

Thimblemouse & Spouse

Pumpkin Patch Quilter

Bumbleberry Stitches

Baas Amazing Adventures

The House on the Side of the Hill

Geta’s Quilting Studio

Felt Free Pa Asly

CLF by Nailaa

How Art You?

Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.

Do you ever...

Get too big to sit in your Mama's lap? I think not!



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This is my daughter and granddaughter after a day of swimming and boating and "tubing". I'm at my sister's this weekend cleaning out the last of Mothers things in the apartment where my parents lived until thy died ten years ago. Ten years and I'd still like to climb up in Mama's lap.

The last room to clean is her sewing room. Lots of wonderful memories in there. She taught me to quilt and whenever I'm sewing I think of her.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Wannabe Gardener

We've been trying to have a "deck garden" this year.  So far it's been great - fun to watch, easy to care for, and we've even harvested a few things.  Notice I said few.  But those few have been delicious!  :)

We have the most beautiful zucchini blooms you've ever seen.  We've gotten 3 zucchini.  Three.  3.  III.  Lots of blooms; 3 zucchini.

And we have two cucumber bushes that have produced a limited edition of cucumbers.  One has had at least a dozen pretty nice cucumbers.  Normal cucumbers.  And then the other - only gives us this kind.

We also planted two potato plants in a pot.  Mainly I just wanted to see what they would do but I thought we would at least get two potatoes.  Either the squirrels or raccoons beat us to them.  It.

They also carry off my yellow squash before it gets big enough to pick.  But they have left us some tomatoes.  In fact, we've gotten plenty of tomatoes just for us.  Now that it's gotten really hot the tomatoes have retired for the summer.  However, I looked at the calendar this morning and it's July 21st!  Soon it will be time to plant a fall garden....more tomatoes, turnip greens, ....hmmm, I'm pretty sure there are some other things you can plant in the fall.  Wonder what they are.

Thoughtfulness

This was a gift from the bride to her new mother-in-law.

Which made me think of all the little things people do to make other people feel special and good about themselves.  This particular bride married my grandson a few weeks ago so you can be sure that I already know how my daughter, her mother-in-law now, feels about her new daughter-in-love.

A couple of weeks ago I was in the drive thru at Starbucks.  I know, it's high calorie but I got non-fat milk so that makes it ok.  Right?  Yes it does.  So says me.  (For you Weight Watchers folks I counted the points!)  The guy in front of me paid for my drink!  I have no idea who he was and am pretty sure I didn't know him.  I was so thrilled and wished I could tell him how that lifted my spirits.  A few days later I did the same for someone else.  That's a little thing but I wonder how far it went...how many people behind us did the same for someone else.  Thoughtfulness is contagious.

Quilters are the best ever at thoughtfulness.  No matter what tragedy happens, what disaster occurs, what child is sick, what cancer patient is tired of fighting the battle, what soldier feels ignored by his nation....quilters are there.  Literally thousands of quilts have been donated to others in the four years I've been blogging.  I know that because I read about the bloggers doing the organizing and the bloggers doing the quilting and I've even joined in a few myself.  And I am so thankful for their thoughtfulness.

Another place bloggers can express their thoughtfulness is over at Sew We Quilt.  On Madame Samm's right sidebar there's a button, a link to a place where you can donate a dollar or twenty to help buy sewing machines for those who desperately want to sew, to quilt, but literally cannot afford a machine.  Yes, they can sew by hand.  Many do.  But to have a sewing machine is a dream for some, a dream that sounds unattainable.  If you're so minded drop over there and click on the button.  Every dollar adds up and if you give a dollar and you tell someone and they give a dollar and they tell someone and.....  How awesome would that be!

Weekend Stitching

Next week one of my daughters is going to have a knee replacement surgery.  Yuck.  I tell her she got my Dad's knees from the gene pool - not his best feature.  Surgery itself isn't so bad, but the rehab after...not so much fun.  So this weekend I made her this little pillow to focus on when she's bending that new knee, and bending that new knee, and bending that new knee.....

Doesn't that make you smile?  It might not stop the pain but a smile never hurts!

Morning

Only a few vegetables from my deck garden this morning but oh what a perfect day for picking them!




And now I'm off to the sewing room!



Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Silent Mornings

Early in the morning I go out onto the deck, my tea in one hand and Bible in the other. I hear birds all around me, chirps and caws and quacks and whistles. In the distance I hear the whistle of a train and when it fades the faint roar of a diesel truck. Three squirrels run up and down a tree, chattering at each other, or is it at me? A family of wood ducks wander the far edge of the yard looking for breakfast. A man and his dog motor quickly by on their way to their favorite fishing hole. It's the kind of morning silence/sounds that provokes inner thoughts of where the day might lead...

I wish my list of UFOs would be silent but like the morning cacophony on my deck they call me.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I Love It When The Time Comes Out Even

What?  That doesn't make sense?  Have you ever had biscuits and gravy?  You eat your biscuit and there's gravy left.  So you get another biscuit, you eat half and run out of gravy so you have to get more gravy.  My dad used to complain about that all the time!  Of course, he was just wanting another biscuit.  :)

Last night I finished the stitching on this rooster tea towel just as the show I was watching on television ended.  The time came out even.  :)

The color looks different on the second one but the first is truer to the real colors as I stitched them, although neither is really accurate. The colors on the rooster are red, gold, green and blue. I put the bottom picture on so you could see that I used one of Moda's tea towels with a stripe on the edge.  I like these even though the weave is quite loose, which makes it kind of hard to stitch sometimes.  The pattern is called Rise & Shine and is from Yesterday's Charm and includes the iron-on transfers.  There are 7 patterns in the packet, all of chickens.  Tea Towels are a comfort to stitch - they are quick to finish and don't require a lot of brain power.  They are perfect for those days when you want to stitch something, but just don't know what!

Yesterday We Had Company For Dinner

A lot of company called for a lot of Shrimp Gumbo.  Have you ever seen a pot this big?  Me either!  My husband cooked it and it was downright finger-lickin' good.  His mama would be proud....it was her recipe.

There's This Cupcake Shop....

called "The Fat Bottom Girls."  I've never tried it but someone brought a few to a gathering I went to yesterday.  All I can say is delicious, awesome, sinful and wow!  I could probably say more but I wouldn't want to be redundant.  Does redundant mean repetitive?  Cause that's what I meant.

There's Red Velvet, Salted Caramel, Italian Cream, Peanut Butter and one more I forget what it is....I only tried the Salted Caramel but oh my goodness have you had this?  Because you should.  You definitely should.  Today.  If not sooner.

A Little Red, White and Blue

A few things I found hanging out around my house today:  :)

Of course there are a couple of red, white and blue kits hanging out in my sewing room too.  Don't blame me - it's a sickness I think.  Collecting kits I mean.

Claiming My Blog?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Here's hoping this claims my blog for Bloglovin!

AWOL

I know....I said I was back to blogging on a regular basis and then what did I do but disappear again!  I went to visit my sister and her internet was here one minute, gone another.  I never thought I'd be this tied to the internet, but then which of us thought we'd be blogging like this even five years ago?

You all know how I love the blog hops from Sew We Quilt and I couldn't even read and comment each day.  :(  But Madame Samm has done something really wonderful for those times when you only have a few minutes and want to see it all very quickly.  She has put all the posts from all the hops on Pinterest!  If you had to miss the Stamp On It Hop like I did you can find all of the gorgeous stamps HERE.    Check them out - you'll love it!