Fourth of July

Over the river and through the snow to Independence celebrations and Turner's house we go!
This year the snowfall was 200% of normal in many places. The road over the Snowy Range is always open by Memorial day. You can see by the drift we parked beside why it was such a difficult task getting it opened and why flooding was such a threat and reality when snowmelt began. This was Saturday morning and by Tuesday (today) when we came home the melting was pretty obvious. We had a wonderfully relaxing 4th weekend with friends at their new home.
Back to the kitchen remodel. The fridge now sits in it's new home with the doors switched. Not an especially difficult task, but time consuming, it took us a while as some of the screws in the door were stripped. Tomorrow, it will be back to the grindstone.
On Sunday we all trekked up toward Jack Creek and our old campsite. We are hoping to get there with the camper this year, but there is still some snow and muddy areas. A picnic lunch and beautiful weather made the day really nice. This moisture makes everything so green and the wildflowers love it. The Mr. snapped this Indian Paintbrush in her Sunday best.

Back at the house as I walked the dogs out yesterday morning toward the south edge of their property, I spotted a pair of badgers digging at a prairie dog hole. The prairie dogs and ground squirrels are quite prevalent and dig holes everywhere! I have seen badgers crossing a road, but these two just stared at me and I was frantically trying to get my dogs back to the house. Badgers are vicious creatures and I was fearful that the dogs would get curious and check them out. Luckily they didn't spot them. The osprey nest there and we spotted a female sitting on a pole with a fish she had captured for supper and then flew with the remains to her nest to feed the little ones. The hummers are there and put on quite a show at the feeder. One little male in particular declared it his territory and dive bombed the intruders. Swallows were nesting in a bluebird box with 3 eggs. Our hostess who is my gardening Guru, sent me home with several plantings for my garden. I plan to get them in tomorrow and I am so happy to have them. All in all the weekend was wonderful!

"To own a bit of ground, to scratch it with a hoe, to plant seeds and watch their renewal of life-This is the commonest delight of the race, the most satisfactory thing a man can do." ~
Charles Dudley Warner

Another renovation

Three pictures of our continuous upgrade. The Mr. removed the large cabinet from this area and replaced it with a smaller, shorter cabinet which was previously at home above the fridge across the room. Then he removed the base cabinet. "Oh sure, I can do that." The Mr. can do anything. However, none of our easy projects are in fact, easy. When he removed the cabinet, it was apparent by the 1/2 inch gap in the wall between the cabinet to the right and its back which was securely screwed to the wall, that the cabinets had actually fallen away from the wall. The base cabinet which was removed, also revealed the same problem. So with clamps, screws, shims and much labor, this part of the reno is done. The fridge now sits in its new home under this smaller wall cabinet. More pictures to follow. The purpose for this renovation is to open up the kitchen to the dining area and to add a small breakfast bar. Although I love, love, my kitchen in general, I cannot see or talk (and that talking is important to our family) to anyone sitting at the table while I am in the kitchen. Call us crazy for embarking on yet another project, but my counter tops are in bad shape and the sink needs to be replaced so as we pride ourselves on what we can do and the money we can save, we are realizing that the old bodies cannot take too much more of this! (Especially the joints and muscles). The brains say yes and the body says NO! I know that the end product will be beautiful as the Mr. is a perfectionist in his endeavors.

On another quick note-my garden is looking great and I will eventually follow up on that. I woke up this morning to the most beautiful red sun. "Red sun in the morning, sailors warning."

Have a safe and fun Independence day!

Garden tour

Yesterday I drove to meet my buddy, Pat and her friend for a garden tour... walking tour that is. However, it really wasn't possible to see all fifteen gardens in the Park Hill area of Denver on foot. The old homes, all brick were of course spectacular, but the gardens were so beautiful. Roses and ground covers, exotics and old world blooms. Shade gardens, water features and veggies planted everywhere. There were artists in several of the gardens displaying and painting flora and fauna. One gardener even had a wine tasting and we were all given a four pack of petunias at one garden. We have a hill in our back yard which is quite steep and I snapped this one picture for inspiration for that area.

We would also like to put a water feature in that area, but don't know if that will happen. We have embarked on a kitchen remodel and although it has started out as a small project, it is our experience that there always are unexpected delays.

More pictures of this project as it progresses.

"To garden is a solitary act." ~ Michelle Cliff

Catch up

The "pancake" quilt is finished and is folded here on the foot of my bed so actually, it is twin size probably. When I ran out of background fabric, I declared it "done".

We have begun our kitchen remodel project. It will be slow as there are so many other things to do in the summer. There are also those unexpected delays. Our first was today when the Mr. mowed the back 40, but in the process, chopped up not only the drip line, but also severed the inter net cable. It was installed when the weather was ugly and the cable company has not come to bury it. This will be only the first of many setbacks. Then there is the necessity of taking time off for a little fun. After all, we are retired and need to play a little. I plan a garden tour for the weekend and Independence day is next weekend and the Mr. got a new snazzy pool cue which needs to be put to test, right?

I am trying to get all of my craft projects ready for my August retreat with the "gals". Today, I started on the birdhouses and yesterday I cut out pickets with the scroll saw for the teapot birdhouses. I also got paving stones and started another backyard walk and I am working on a shelf from which to hang my flannel board for quilting. The Mr. couldn't resist taking a snapshot of the furkids snoozin' on a lazy summer afternoon. The little guys don't shed, but Hildy does a couple of times a year and so we have leather furniture!

Garden update

Just a quick update on my gardens.... Veggies are coming, slowly! Now that summer really seems to be here, the best thing for this stuff is the sun. So, the carrots, the lettuce, spinach, radishes, cauliflower, cabbages, broccoli, zucchini, turnips, beets, peas and cucumbers seem to be OK. However, the tomatoes, not so much! I do have more out front and they seem to be doing better. We will see! Also, I got more herbs today and some ground cover in addition to some perennial poppies - the orange ones. I am convinced that I need to put in only those plants which are pretty much native to our region. My wonderful neighbor gave me columbine, lovage, sedum, and lots of coral bells last fall in addition to some other plants. The coral bells are already blooming along with the columbine! I will have lots to share!

This and that

Nothing in particular today to share ....just a few little tidbits. With the weather in the mid 80's this weekend and no rain, we were finally able to work out in the yard a little. I began dragging all of my garden junk out into the appropriate spaces. To me it is like arranging furniture. Each year things go in a different place depending on how the gardens are looking. The columbine are blooming and the purple one, which is really called a blue columbine was a gift from a dear friend several years ago. I couldn't bear to leave it behind when we moved so I dug it up. There were two originally and now I have four. With a little breeze blowing, the yellow and coral one (a little blurry) was one of two given to me by my next door neighbor last fall and both of them are blooming!

Because I have been able to get outside, my quilting is suffering and I so want to finish Sylvia's Sampler top. Oh well, a few rows at a time. My little boys need a good grooming and today I was able to get them both bathed at least. They are shaggy, but 'til next week, I hope to keep them clean and untangled. The garden? Well, the carrots are up as is everything else. It is a little early for a follow up picture since things are still so small, but soon I will post the progress. That is if I can keep the rabbits from devouring it. One night I happened to look outside and discovered a rabbit INSIDE the fenced garden! I quickly let the dogs out and the rabbit jumped through the fence. Our solution at the moment is a radio out there 24-7 and so far so good! But I am skeptical. Time will tell.

Tomorrow is the last quilt shop hop day and we plan to go to Estes Park and Lyons, again across the border to the state south of us. Yes, I will have my purse, my money, my phone and my plastic.

Shop Hopping

Two new terms to describe this generation ...CRS and Boomer-itis. I am finding out that we don't remember anything important and pertinent to the present, but can remember every detail of something that happened 50 years ago. Those injuries happening to the baby boomer generation as we try to stay in shape by going to the gym, running for our health, and exercising the old joints and muscles are keeping doctors and surgeons busier than ever.

CRS----yesterday, my quilting buddies trekked to Laramie and Windsor (across the border) to visit quilt shops and get our quilt shop hop passport stamped. The wind blew, but the sun was shinning and the temperature was in the 70's. I didn't drive on this trip, but half-way over the first leg of the trip, I realized that I didn't have my purse. I had water, a jacket and my bag with which to hold my treasures of new fabric and notions...but no purse, no money, no passport, no phone--no plastic! I had forgotten it!

We had a great day, visiting wonderful shops and I begged a passport from one shop and was at the mercy of my friends for lunch, and the DQ Blizzard we always treat ourselves to, but no fabric in my bag to bring home!

Our next trip is planned for next week and if I don't injure myself and get Boomer-itis, I will try to get my CRS under control and not be embarrassed.

The pictures above are blocks and construction of the quilt I referred to as the pancakes I was sewing. I am behind on this blog so will post the finished quilt and a little more about the construction next time.

"Friendship is the golden thread that ties all hearts together." ~ Anonymous
(And it is the purse that feeds the stomach that forgot hers)