Halcyon days....???

Well - on occasion...like winning this fabulous jellyroll from Barbara Brackman recently - Lately Arrived From London - a collection long coveted but not available at our LQS(s)...

Our quilt study group is headed to the new Wisconsin Quilt Museum in Cedarburg, later this coming week...will try to get some photos and report back to you. Of course, a "few" quilt shop stops along the way so maybe additional yardage can be located from the Lately Arrived From London grouping...more later.

Read on for less than "halcyon days."


Our guest room is undergoing a total refreshing...selling the "somewhat" uncomfortable hide-a-bed sofa. A new queen size bed coming in, decluttering, and freshly painted walls. With a bum shoulder and arthritic hands, most of my painting days are behind me. We have a young painter who has taken control of this project...he moves like lightning, and really, really loves hard rock music...Now I know how the phrase "boom box" got its name...our walls are flexing with the sounds bouncing off of them...this is my Saturday morning. But, a small price to pay to have someone paint ceilings and walls. 
What started the whole project?

...A poor plumbing job when the house was built finally did its number on the guest room ceiling - a slow leak from the shower over the years, unknown to us until things became visible. In addition to being a qualified rotary and fixed wing pilot in another life, Mr. Outback is also a journeyman pipefitter. He has saved us bundles correcting someone's earlier incompetency. After cutting an opening in the ceiling to get at the  pipe fittings, installing new, the ceiling is being repaired and the painting can begin... 

NOTE BOOM BOX ON FLOOR - RIGHT NEXT TO MY SEWING ROOM!!

Added compost to our 6 raised beds; finishing digging up sod (Mr. Outback was truly, totally exhausted) and pouring gravel and placing new stone edging around the house - moving furniture, spring cleaning...where are those Halcyon Days promised for retirement? And where is the time for any sewing? 



Slow progress - but getting to the end...3 borders are done and onto the 4th...soon, soon, soon...

LEFT THE EXTRA LENGTH BIAS STEMS ON - AM NOT CUTTING ANYTHING OFF YET!!!!

I am so thankful each day to have such good friends to share frustrations and also laughter with. What blessings they are. And speaking of friendships...

When you say your prayers tonight would you put in a good word for a dear friend and stitching buddy - "Dee" - she is really going through a rough spell following surgery...know there are a lot of positive thoughts floating around out there and she sure could use some sent her way...Thank you.

Have a good weekend.

Thank you Marilyn!

Divide and Conquer...

"If you aren't killing plants...you aren't really stretching yourself as a gardener..."

One of my favorite fun quotes which is on a magnet in my potting shed...it makes me laugh every time I read it.

Well...this gardener really stretched herself this weekend. There is a small area next to the south side of our deck that was so overgrown...

 ...daylilies and siberian iris plants that showed more leaves than flowers in recent seasons.  Crab grass & wild raspberry vines which had intruded from an unknown source and 3 different clematis vines that really were not creating a visual delight...Add in some misplaced iris bulbs and you have a jumbled mess. 

So out came the shovel, pitch fork for dividing, pruners and other miscellaneous tools...let the killing digging commence!!

At the end of the morning, a couple of small divisions were saved and the rest of the area looked like this...

 A basically empty canvas, uh? Off to the greenhouse soon to add some old fashioned color! (Oh, and those other castoff divisions - not gone to waste - they have a new home at the edge of our south field and can spread as much as they want.)

And in the sewing room - yikes! - another mess...it has been way too many weeks since new 3" houses have been built...other things have popped up and then trying to sort through this bin of scraps was dragging me down...

This afternoon was rainy - a good day to sort and I didn't need a pitchfork for dividing up everything...

 A little better, don't you think? 


Maybe this will help to get me back on track - have to go find some empty bins now to keep everything separate...

Back later - and have a good week conquering your own tasks!

Unknown Stories...

Having been mostly absent from this semester's Alphabe-Thursday... the weekly postings and visits have been missed. Tardy to class but here is the letter "U" for - Unknown Stories...

Needing to clear accumulated cobwebs from my end-of-winter brain, I put on a comfy old barn coat and a knitted cap, grabbed the camera and headed up our walking path. It is rare to find a few moments of total alone time...even our shelties were close by Mr. Outback as he added to the future year's wood supply. As my walk began, I could hear the whine of the chain saw in the distance.

Gradually it faded and the sounds of nearby birds took over. A wind, high in the budding tree tops, joined in and I left the known path to head into the woods. As muddled thoughts cleared, my attention was drawn to what was around me...twigs and dried leaves crunched under my feet (careful where stepping as I have used up my allotment of broken wrists.)

The outlined path across our field - deer, bears, turkeys...do they cross in the night or when our backs are turned?

An odd growth pattern in an otherwise normal looking pine tree?

 

 A little stream borders the property - where is its source? 

Speckled leaves announce that trout lilies will soon be in bloom - legend has it that they are timed to the beginning of trout season...

A moss covered rock...deposited eons ago as glaciers moved across the land.

An industrious woodpecker's activity is discovered...better here than on the side of our log house...

One of the numerous mounds of rocks that dot our property which was originally farmland...and a reminder of a long ago farmer who persevered in clearing the fields for planting...

On the pond...Mrs. Goose warms her nest of eggs out on the little island...how many goslings will we see this season?

 And Mr. Goose paddles nearby guarding his territory...

As I return home, my head feels clearer and it was good to stretch the limbs - to explore on a cool Spring day, take in the wonders of Nature that are so close at hand and think about their Unknown Stories...

Be sure to visit all the other "U" postings over at Miss Jenny's - .http://jennymatlock.blogspot.com

Give us this day...

As we greet Easter, a crystal clear blue sky is reflected in the pond...

Thinking of so many blessings in my life - family, treasured friends, both near and far...

Days filled with choices and the freedom to choose...

And a loaf of daily bread...

Pumpkin Challah Braid

Wishing each of you a beautiful Easter and all the joys of Spring.

I Sew Tired.............

What's wrong with this picture?

Do you think I might have cut my bias strips from the wrong side?
Something doesn't look right - had even sat down by the machine and started sewing the strips together...perhaps just a tad tired? Threw them in the trash can and then decided...hey! Maybe someone could use a good chuckle...

Cut some more strips...

These look better, don't you think? Need more bias stems for the 2nd Cherry Tree Border...
 Just in case you are wondering if I have totally lost it...did manage to make a little bed caddy for Mr. Outback. We have a new 5th wheel RV and "my" side of the bed has a very clever little nook for storing the Kindle, reading glasses, etc. So guess who wanted a place to store "their" Kindle (yes, we are His and Hers) and reading glasses...found this free pattern online and it worked up very quickly over the weekend. 

Good thing it didn't call for binding cut on the bias!

Wishing you a week filled with smiles and chuckles...and maybe a handful of jelly beans...

Off to fix dinner and perhaps get to bed a bit earlier...back later.