The next day after the next day of Christmas

 Whaaat?  Actually we were gone for those "next days".  We trekked with the two little furkids to Washington state to have Christmas with our daughter and her husband.  It was wonderful and although our son and family couldn't make it, they had their holiday with family also.   I got an Ipod which my son-in-law and daughter helped me to understand. (difficult for ol' dogs to learn new tricks) and some really wonderful clay-fired plant markers. We also saw some sights there and the weather cooperated.

So speaking of the furkids, Hildy had to stay in the kennel here, but she does really well and we feel that we have her in a caring and safe environment.  Notice that she has decided to sit in little Spencer's bed to view the world outside and this morning she climbed up into his bed!  I barely could believe my eyes when she hopped up, turned around a time or two and plopped her 50 plus pounds in his 15 pound bed!  Needless to say, he was a little confused and kept looking at me for some explanation. They are so funny!



On one of our trips out while we were in Washington, we went to Boston Harbor.  Yes, there is a Boston Harbor there.  We had picked up some shrimp and crab for our Christmas eve seafood boil and walked out to view the sights.  We encountered a family there and after prying this fellow from his grip just under the surface, we were given a lesson on how to tell a male crab from a female and quite frankly, I don't remember which is which.  The one we ate was much larger and wonderful! 

On the next day of Christmas?

 This is Hildy watching a neighbor's cat watching a squirrel watching a flock of birds at a bird feeder across the street.  Notice that she is sitting in Spencer's bed! The squirrel escaped the cat, but managed to get a full tummy of birdseed before he left.  This is only the 2nd squirrel I have seen in this neighborhood since we have been here, but I bet he will be back now that Christmas breakfast is being served daily.

This is a table topper that I made and quilted for a friend for Christmas.  It actually turned out pretty well.  Last night we did the Christmas light tour.  I had taken a trolley tour a couple of nights earlier so knew where the BEST tacky light displays were.  One place here had 80,000 lights with a Dec. electric bill of about $600.00.
So much for conserving electricity, but I love, love, these displays.  It so reminds me of my childhood.  We had a very sparse tree with only a few lights, but we did drive around and look at other displays and it was always a thrill for a small child.  The children on the tour I took were so in awe at some of the lights.

On the 7th day of Christmas

 On the 7th day of Christmas...this is the tree that sits near the dog's dish. The dogs' tree!  The ornaments on it are for the most part animal in nature and not breakable.  Some are very old and dear to my heart.  I always put a spire ornament on my tree tops..not an angel or a star.  It is what always graced the top of our tree at home and I have collected several over the years.  This topper was given to me for Christmas last year by a young man we have known since he was a wee one.  It is plastic and I am pretty sure it came from a shopping trip at a flea market.  I love those.  It shows some wear where it was perched atop a tree in years past and was perfect for this tree.

We took our dear neighbor for lunch this week..our Christmas to her and she wanted to bring presents to our furkids afterwards.   Spencer, who really doesn't know how to play with toys did take this terry cloth bone and spent some time licking it.  (He has always licked Hildy's face..he cleans her ears, her eyes, her mouth and her teeth.) ? For whatever reason he gets great pleasure and Hildy tolerates it for the most part.  So when he decided it was OK to lick the bone, it must have been a sign of approval.
He will take the bone and put it on his footstool and lay on it, but even though the other two dogs got their presents too, Hildy would probably destroy Spencer's bone, so we make sure he is the only one to play (lick) it.  Funny critters, those furkids!

On the 6th day of Christmas

This little rustic wreath is one of only a few surviving decorations left from the Christmas gifts when I worked with school staff.  Every year, I received handmade gifts from children and friends as well as the plates of goodies and other tokens of the season.  This particular wreath is small, only about 6 inches, but it has survived the test of time and moves from one home to another. Given to me by a staff member, I cherish the memories of those Christmases at school and am thankful that after all of these years I am able to stay in touch with most of them. 

Little Spencer isn't feeling too perky tonight as he was due for a Rabies and other vaccinations and although our vet, paraded him around to all of the staff with his Christmas "gear"  as she called his kerchief, he was none to happy with the experience.  He is wanting some attention and since we have spoiled him mightily, I am off to accommodate him.

On the 5th day of Christmas

 On the 5th day of Christmas we are scrambling to get things done!  I still need to make some peanut brittle and maybe some more spritz.  As we age and are the only ones gobbling down the goodies, it has occurred to us (as we struggle to button up the pants) that maybe we should NOT make so many goodies.  But it wouldn't be Christmas for me without sugar cookies and fudge and...well...
When we were kids we always had fudge and with a cow we had eggnog.  We had the real stuff.  It was rich with fresh eggs and lots of thick cream.  I remember my dad making it for us.  I bought some eggnog, the light kind?  Haven't tried it yet so the verdict is still out.  I miss the real stuff, but the pants again won't button as it is. (sigh)

 A few weeks ago I wrote about  my purchase of an old Singer cabinet for $15.00 at one of my favorite shops here.  Teacups and Twigs is a shabby chic kind of shop way out of town and she only opens for a few weeks in the winter.  I had previously gotten a Singer featherweight, 1958 I believe and doesn't she look wonderful on this cabinet.  It is stripped of it's treadle and it's drawers, but is perfect for a perch for the featherweight, which still sews like a dream!

Spencer seems none too happy with his new kerchief of Christmas prints and wasn't cooperating for a snapshot.  However, this picture is so deceptive of this little guy's personality.  He is a clown and a communicator and a spoiled little boy.  He has grown by leaps and bounds as he has evolved from a shy unsocialized furkid to our very big dog in a tiny body with a heart to match.  He thinks he can lick a boxer or the great Dane who lives behind our back fence!  He has become a terrific watch dog and is in love with our border collie mix, Hildy.  Any animal that comes to live with us in the future will no doubt be a shelter critter or rescue furkid.  They give you unconditional love!

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.  Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."

On the 4th day of Christmas

On the 4th day of Christmas...well Roger sleeps no matter where or when, on his Christmas pillow, from the 1st day of Christmas way into next year.  Of this I am sure.  He doesn't miss any meals or any chance to snooze.  I've been very busy quilting away on some gifts for some friends.  I even considered quilting some coats for my two little furkids, but as furry as they both are, I don't think they need them.  They don't much like the cold.  Both are rescue dogs from Missouri and after even a couple of years here, they prefer warm weather but will play in the snow some.  Can't say I blame them, but really--Christmas without snow?  Having grown up on the edge of the front range of the Rockies in northern Colorado, we always had snow at Christmas that I can remember.  So our Christmas here in Wyoming have that western influence, especially in Cheyenne, and we have snow on the ground today although it has been here for at least a week.  In the shops here you will see a definite "cowboy influence" in the decor, the gifts and the spirit of the residents.  If you have ever read a bit of history, old letters perhaps written in journal form by some of the pioneers who influenced this part of the country, you may understand.  These old cowboys and cowgirls were strong people who weathered the long winters, often isolated for months miles from their neighbors.  With only a team of horses and a wagon or buggy, they ventured to town for supplies only when necessary, through bitter wind and snow.  But usually a tree was cut down on the ranch and brought in to be decorated with hand-made ornaments, popcorn strings and bits of whatever could be salvaged from years before.  The Mr. and I are both descendants of this strong pioneer stock and I cannot imagine the hardships that I know were endured in order to survive.  At this time of the year, one needs to take stock of what is important and we are thankful to be living where we can celebrate this Holiday..Christmas because of our tough western pioneer descendants.  The rope basket would probably not be a very practical use of a good lariat back then, but it makes a wonderful receptacle  for ornaments!

On the 3rd day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas?  This is an old sled that I picked up in Morrison CO years ago when I was slumming with my friends.  (Again, most of my wonderful slumming times have been spent with these buddies from way back.)  I remember that we had such good time that day.  I still hope to have a kitchen garden out back with all of the old kitchen flea market pieces I have gathered.  I just need more!  This antique shop there had a kitchen garden out back that was marvelous and on the way back through the shop, I picked up this sleigh.  When not used this way, I stand it up and put shelved across the leg braces.

So---on the third day of Christmas, as you can see, it is like any other morning as far as the furkids are concerned! For me...well, the Mr. has gone out of town for a pool tournament and I have a special "friend", one of those slum buddies coming for a day to search for more stuff.  The sun is shining and the temperature is brisk, but it will be a perfect way to spend a winter day!

On the 2nd day of Christmas

 This is my lovely 10 year old border collie, Hildy and every morning she gets my paper as she carefully peruses the yard for rabbits.  She hates rabbits.  At her age though, she is beginning to feel the aches and pains of old age and old injuries, so the rabbits don't really need to worry much.  

 Red sky in the morning, sailors warning!  I love these beautiful Wyoming winter sunrises and this sky proceeded the snow storm we had last week.  So I doubt that any of you Wyoming sailors were intending to do much sailing, unless it would have been snow board sailing. 

And lastly, my quilted apples!  The original pattern was not to my liking at all so I improvised and after a little tweaking, I found that this suited my vision of what a quilted apple would appear to be.

Today, I hosted some of my old school co-workers for an afternoon of goodies, drinks and girl talk.  I truly cherish the friendships that have weathered so much...Moves, divorces, illnesses etc.

"True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable. " ~ Dave Tyson Gentry

On the 1st day of Christmas

It's not really the first day of Christmas, but with lots to do, I will try to get all 12 days in here.  I love Christmas, mostly because I get to display all of my trees and my many old ornaments.  This little guy sits in a crock amongst my many rolling pins in my kitchen so all of the ornaments are miniature pots, teacups, sifters, etc...stuff related to the kitchen.  Finally today, I did get some baking in.  Cookies, cookies and more cookies and even a cheesecake.

This week has been a sad one for relatives and friends..
My husband lost an aunt, my sister lost a mother-in-law and my friend lost her mother.  Our thoughts and prayers are with their families.
                                                                    

A few years ago, a friend gave me a "goldfish"
plant.  I am sure it has another name.  When I left Saratoga 3 years ago, I was not in a position to bring every single plant so I gave my sister-in-law my plant.  After we were settled, I got a start from her and I now have a "goldfish bloom" on mine.  Friends come and go, but I get to see this friend about once a year briefly and this plant will always be a special one...

Almost every morning I get up before the sun does in the winter.  That comes I believe, from all of those early mornings as a child when there were chores to do before we got ready to catch the school bus in the wee hours of the morning.  I find mornings a peaceful quiet time and as you can see here, so do the furkids!  Lazy canines! This is where they land as they follow me from the bedroom EVERY morning and they stay here until I fix their breakfast.  Hildy does have one chore though.  She does venture out to the front porch to retrieve my paper.  Picture to follow!

Busy hands and feet.

 Another project completed.  I told the Mr. that when this was finished, he could move on to something he wanted to do.  It seems like I have had so many projects that I needed help with!  He is much more the perfectionist and when he starts a project, it will be done right. (I am the one who colors outside the lines and perfect?  no not necessarily a priority.) I have so many things to do before I leave this earth I have busy hands and feet. I had a collection of mostly orange handled rolling pins.  Since I am no longer stuck with orange decor, I decided to sacrifice a few rolling pins for this project.  He sawed them at a 45 degree angle and didn't use the entire length of the pins.  Because there is a metal rod between the handles, that has to be removed first.  He drilled holes and inserted dowels and glued them in which later he cut off flush with the angled pin.
This allowed him to secure with a screw to the back.  Glue reinforced this also.  The rods were cut off and handles inserted and glued back .  A framed reinforced bead board about 8" X 20" now hangs in the kitchen.  Love it!

We are expecting another cold spell with possible snow this week.  I am working diligently on some quilting projects and will be posting some examples soon. 

Call me crazy, but I am thinking about getting another cat.  We lost our 13 year old  last year to a melanoma and with three dogs, thought that was enough.  Having grown up with the influence of a father who loved animals, we were always surrounded by critters as was the Mr.
Our animal shelter had a Black Friday cat special which I seriously thought about.  Any cat with black on it was available for adoption at a reduced price.  Instead, we took advantage of cyber Monday and bought another flat screen TV.   Yes we have too many of those too!

"Happiness walks on busy feet." ~ Kittie Turmell

This 'n that

 Gotta have a smoke after Turkey Dinner?  The furkids were given some rather large rawhide chew bones Thanksgiving afternoon to calm them down.  Hildy especially wanted to play with this very noisy new toy and it was becoming difficult to converse with the continual squeaking.  This morning, little Spencer, sporting a new haircut by the way, jumped up on the bed with the center of one of these bones in his mouth looking much like a cigar.

 Now to the craft projects.  A good quilting buddy needed a coat rack built.  She wanted a board with 3 glass doorknobs on it.  She told me she would give me 5 knobs if the Mr. would build hers..and he did!  She also took us to lunch for payment. They came from a home she lived in years ago and the old doors had been taken down, but she rescued the knobs.  I had a gun rack which was left in the house here, took it apart and used this maple board to put my five on...just for accent on the wall.  I scored this glass light globe for $5.00 last week, hung ribbon through the holes and filled it with glass globs and a silk plant. 


Below, a rolling pin from my collection hangs on the wall beside my fridge. The Mr. cut a slice from the rolling pin to make it flat, put these knobs on and it will have perhaps an apron hung on one or more of the knobs.  Love it!

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.  We have so much to be thankful for!  Thanksgiving at home was always a happy one and we were surrounded with cousins and aunts and uncles.  Mom always had the Thanksgiving meal with everyone else bringing side dishes.  With everyone there, we would draw names for the Christmas celebration which was held at my Aunt Dora's.  I am thankful for all of the fond memories and although our holiday was a quiet one this year with our neighbor to share our feast, it will be one to add to the reservoir of memories in my head and heart to cherish!

Happy Birthday Joan!

"To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition." ~ Samuel Johnson

Friendship

I have been chastised for not posting lately.  Life has been so very good that I rarely even get to the computer.  By nature I am not a tech person...I am a people person.  My dad never knew a stranger and no matter where he was, he made conversation with the people he met.  Guilty!!!  Since moving here has been a matter of leaving old friends miles and miles away, I had to make an effort to make new friends here, not that I have deserted or forgotten my old buddies.  They are just miles away.  Anyway, it seems that every day has found me involved in a new project with someone.   I spent one day learning to make a "Hot Dog Pillowcase", which I need to post I guess and this past weekend I went to Windsor and to the "Ranch" on I-25 with gals here to some Holiday craft fairs.  Great fun and great food! Last week I did a pottery piece with a friend and we checked out another shop.  I scored a wonderful old Singer sewing cabinet for $15.00 and a light fixture to fill with goodies.  (Guess I need to find time for pictures and posts of them don't I?) The Mr. put together a project for me with 5 old glass door knobs and hung it today in my dining room and is working on a rolling pin rack for me. I am working on some quilt projects and have met with about 6 friends for all day projects..new quilt patterns etc. and we take turns doing lunch..soups and deserts and breads.  The Mr. and I got the basement bedroom finished.  It needed a new floor, paint in the closet and new baseboards.   On Sunday, I spent the day with yet another friend and we made five batches of biscotti..all turned out so yummy.  So I will get some pictures and do some posting and some catch-up I promise.  Can one have too many friends? NEVER!

More quilting

This is my completed version of Sylvia's sampler...120 squares, quilted, and bound and washed.  Whew! Don't know what I will do with the other 20 squares, but something for sure.  And below that, the finished purse with the great fabrics I acquired at the spring quilt shop hop.  Granted, the fabrics are a little wild for me, but a gal can't have too many purses, and it WAS quilted!

Today I got my new copy of "Mary Jane's Farm", which is a bi-monthly magazine geared to all of the farm gals, real and wanna be.  The articles and pictures and ads all remind me of my roots.  Great recipes and home remedies and organic gardening tips abound as well as inspiration for living in a manner that is kind to our earth. "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!"  I have learned that what you need, and what you think you need are two very different things!  In looking back at my childhood and the way we were raised to do just that, I thought we were poor.   I realize we were in fact, being kind to mother earth.

Potholders and potlickers

 How about a hot pad? I made a table runner and wasn't crazy with the final colors on that particular chenille project, so I cut it up and made 3 hot pads in the blue above.  Below are the finished projects.  First on the left, red and green printed flannels and on the right, the one I previously posted.  The lower example shows the back when you use a matching thread. 

 From last post, the next step is to turn the edges of the larger back piece to the front and stitch down.  The edges need not be turned under, but if you trim and sew about 1/2 inch to the front(or you could use a commercial binding), take one row of stitching near the chenille and a second row of stitches about 1/16"(in the binding) from the first to make sure it is secure.  The idea is for it to ravel.  Throw the potholder in the wash and  dryer and this will chenille like magic!

With the onset of winter, the Mr. has begun to feed his chickens,( banded doves).  They roost in the tree next door and wait for him to fill the feeder with chicken scratch.  He also keeps a heated water source for them all winter.  At this feeder there were all these doves, 2 red winged blackbirds and two blue jays, all scrambling for dinner.

Crafting a potholder

 This looks weird at this point. This will be the the last step above for today. But when I post the finished project, you will see why I am hooked on these for myself or for gifts.  Start with one 10" piece of flannel (green here), one 8 1/2" piece of batting and five 8 1/2" pieces of flannel of various colors. Stack the large square, the batting and one piece of 8 1/2" piece(right side up on this piece) together and set aside.  Take the other 4 pieces, any pattern and stack right side up.  Cut diagonally in one direction and without moving the flannel, cut diagonally the other way,corner to corner cutting through all 4 pieces. Then rotate the triangles so that a different pattern is in each set of triangles.  Placing one set of triangles on top of the first piece, start the first line of stitching 1/4" from the edge and sew from center, back stitching at the beginning to lock stitches) and stop about 1/2" from the bottom edge. Click on the picture to see more easily. The remaining rows are 1/2" apart. The picture below is the first step.

 You will do all four sets of triangles. Do in a matching thread, but I did this to let you see  what the lines of stitching look like. After the stitching is done, clip between the lines of stitching through only the top 4 layers, leaving the layer next to the batting uncut. See the top picture.  Get to this point and

I will post the finishing and how neat the "chenille" process is.  I saw  a demo of a neck scarf made in a similar manner and it was beautiful.  More about that later.

Kitchen reno and Murphy's Law

Although I am very pleased with the end result, it has not been without a few disasters.  The ceilings had never been painted and in the dining room area the ceiling is that popcorn finish.  Now having lived in a few places, I have dealt with popcorn ceilings.  In fact the last place had GLITTER in the ceilings.  We did successfully paint it out, but always with the same color.  Because it usually has never been painted people remove this with a spray of water and some scraping.  It gets dirty after a few years folks!!!  I decided to paint it with the same color as the walls...a little more beige than before.  YUK!  Even with a sponge roller designed for this project, it has been a disaster.   But let me regress.  Thursday, we opted to go for coffee with a friend.  We were gone for perhaps an hour and 45 minutes.  When we arrived home this kitchen floor was a flood of water.  The dishwasher? The sink?...The Mr. went downstairs and the furnace room was flooded, it had run all over the basement.  He lost some of his leather patterns...a mess.  The culprit?  The connection on the fridge for the water supply for the ice maker had blown out!  We spent 2 hrs with 2 vacuums upstairs and down and pulled up flooring in the kitchen...at least a third of this will need to be replaced.  (We were lucky enough to find 2 boxes at the big box store today but were told it has been discontinued) Will do that when we get time.  Meanwhile, had to buy another gallon of paint for the ceiling and still haven't got it all covered.  More work for this week.  My 5 shades that I scored for the chandelier look great here but as we were painting today one of them got pushed against a bulb and suddenly we had smoke rising up and now one of those shades has a large hole in it.  If it can go wrong, it will!  We will take tomorrow off and go for a drive.

Orange

 I have been away from this blog for several weeks.  The quilt show in Jackson and the trip was really a blast...too much to tell here, but the day I came home I became really sick.  I don't know if I got a bug (no one else got sick) or if I ate something nasty but it laid me out for days!!!  I have a cast iron gut normally, but this was no fun.  Then it took me days to catch up on things and friends and the furkids and the garden.  Today, I dug the last of the carrots below and still have one batch to put in the freezer.  The cantaloupe  above was a volunteer in my garden and had lots of small melons growing.  However, this one was the only one that was mature enough to harvest before the frost hit and it was absolutely delicious!

 Last weekend we had our first snow...7 inches in fact.  It was extremely wet and with the wind, broke lots of trees and branches, but the California poppies below, as well as one delphinium and some cosmos are still blooming.

I have been meeting with my fellow quilters and have learned some new techniques, one of which I will share for those of you who want a neat craft project in the near future.  I also finished my Sylvia's Bridal sampler and will get a picture of that.  Glad to be back and hope to stay healthy for a while.
"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." ~ E.E. Cummings

Kitchen progress and friendship

I have been vacant from this blog...mostly because I have been playing.  Let no one tell you that retirement isn't great!  At least I am finding it wonderful!  All of those things I dreamed about doing, not big things like taking a cruise or traveling abroad, but the little things I never had time or money for when we were trying to scrape a decent life for ourselves and our kids, I am doing!  My dreams have never been huge.  Having been raised by parents who went without so many things in order to give us the necessities in life, I began to realize at an early age what the important things were.  Money doesn't buy happiness, but you can have a few laughs with the benefit of money I guess.  I am rich because I am loved, have a warm, though modest shelter, my health and my friends and family.  My friends---I have been playing with my friends.  I have tried to keep a journal without much success and I try to make it known otherwise how much I value the people who let me share their lives.  I spent a few days the week of the 20th with my dear friend of over 40 years and we had a great time just being "us".  Before that I went to a quilt show with 3 other friends from here and then to Ft. Collins to a fresh market and antique show.  Then we had other friends stay a couple of weekends with us and we always hit the flea markets and antique shops and last night took another friend out for dinner for her birthday and next week I will be going to Jackson Hole for a quilt show with my friend again from Rawlins. In between those great times, the kitchen project is still getting nearly finished!  The garden is about in and I understand that snow could be on the way in a week or so.
The job is not complete, but the progress is evident in these two pictures.  Trim work, ceiling paint and that will just about do it!  The Mr. has been working so hard on this project and I am sure he is anxious to be done. Hard to believe that the fridge used to be where this new counter space is.

Mother Nature's wonder

 We took a drive this week to get away once more at least before the weather gets really bad.  We have had snow in the high country already!  This is between Cheyenne and Laramie in the Curt Gowdy area.  One wonders what keeps this stone of several tons balanced here as it has for many years without tumbling. Although the past couple of days have been a little chilly, the trees here had not yet begun to show the fall colors, but I imagine that soon Mother Nature will paint beautiful fall colors everywhere. 

We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on the kitchen remodel.  I haven't posted pictures as things are going at a snail's pace..but we take time to play.  The new sink is here and the laminate for the counter tops came in and all of the painting is done.  Have a light fixture to get shades for and install.  I rewired and combined two pieces to make a chandelier to hang above the table so if I wired it properly, it will be forthcoming.  Several years ago I was given a partial set of silver.  I had contemplated making wind chimes or something with these pieces until I searched for the pattern and discovered that the 7 place settings, plus sugar spoon and butter knife were pretty pricey.  (Prices to replace these individual pieces which are still available caused me to re-think that idea.)  At an antique shop recently, I spoke to the owner and she explained what she had done with similar pieces.
Since I already have silverware of my own, I decided that I would like to display this pattern.  A garage sale frame for $1.00, a piece of fabric left from the newly upholstered bar chairs, and some silk ribbon and- Voila! 
We have been very busy...the garden is mostly harvested and in the freezer...I have some cantaloupe which are volunteer from the compost are ripening - a gift from Mother Nature I guess-(hope they aren't listeria infected) and the tomatoes are still on the vines. 

"Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." ~ Albert Einstein

Fall?

 These glorious sunflowers line the southeast side of the vegetable garden and will be fodder for the birds soon. I love the colors! There were so many seedlings this year that I planted some on the south side of my home and they nearly reached the top of the garage. But in spite of the temperatures in the high 80's and low 90's, my weather predictor tells me that fall is just around the corner and then snow.  Living in Wyoming, it is just a given.  We would like to go camping just one more time, but since we are still on the kitchen project (we sprayed texture this week and what a mess that is), who knows?

Our quilt guild held a show this past weekend and with over 100 quilts, both old and new, it was a large undertaking.  Having never participated in this sort of event, I volunteered to work and it was enjoyable, although it was work.  Hanging the quilts on wooden structures, some as tall as ten feet for the larger quilts was a bit frightening. Had one gone down, it would have been a domino effect.  It was a great success.  We are busy with the harvest, beets, turnips, cabbage, zucchini and the rest and I will be happy when the garden is empty, but that will surely mean fall has arrived.

"Gardens are a collaboration between art an nature." ~ Penelope Hobhouse

A walk through the woods

Because the temperatures predicted for today were in the 90's and because we can, we decided to take another day to play in the high country. Still wanting to explore more of uncharted territory for us, we loaded the crew up and packed a lunch for a day trip. Near Rob Roy Reservoir, we drove up a dirt road and noted several really good camping spots. As we rounded a curve we encountered these two bull Moose leisurely having their breakfast or brunch...maybe their coffee break. I threw a picnic lunch together and water for the dogs in the truck this morning along with the camera, but forgot exactly where the camera was at first. By the time I remembered where it was, these two were starting to move. We did get some great shots as they lumbered across the road in front of us..totally ignoring us and in no hurry to get away! This alone made the trip worthwhile.
We stopped to let the dogs play and had our lunch in the shade of the trees and continued our adventure. It was uneventful after that, but I marvel at the beauty of the mountain countryside and always find it relaxing and peaceful...the calm before the storm. With a little nip in the air in the early morn and with the children all going back to school, it reminds me that the snow storms will be here before we know and I will be longing for another walk in the woods.

More summer fun stuff

Here are a few of the teapot birdhouses we made...each of us was able to have at least two and some three. Click on the photo for an enlargement.

Sunflowers this year are so pretty! My garden has produced pretty well this year, considering that I wasn't sure what I would plant and since it was my first year, I have learned a lot. Next year I will dress the cabbages in panty hose to keep the white fluttery creatures from using them as foliage for reproducing. My daughter warned me and I kept putting off the task, however I was able to harvest my first head yesterday along with the multitude of zucchini and broccoli.
The Mr and I and dogs spent this past week camping. Weather was great, scenery beautiful, bugs were plentiful and in spite of a flat tire and cured plant seeds sticking to the dogs, it was a nice few days away from the rat race. We have a big quilt show here this next week and I suppose I will do more garden gathering and freezing for winter, but we may take a day to play again before it gets too cold to do so. Kitchen remodel on hold 'til bad weather or time permits.