Stand on your head today

 I have been so busy this past week that I had to actually cancel a quilt retreat that I had been planning all year.  Where has my summer gone? I have taken a class for which I planned before I thought about it too much, have had a buddy spend a weekend here, (our rock birdhouses above) (sorry I forgot to flip them) and went to lunch twice this week with friends. That usually shoots the heck out of a day.  In addition, we are planning to leave very soon to spend a few days in sunny CA with our son and his family.  I have had to arrange for the critters to board, now laundry to do, packing and met with neighbors to let them know our plans.  So the rock houses, stand on your head, are supposed to be bird houses and although we have made them in the past, I left mine back in the move and wanted another one.  This one above belongs to my friend...the funnel is topped with a drapery rod finial sprayed silver and mine below has a very long blue plastic funnel.  We also used a different adhesive which I will not recommend as I am still finding it on my skin and it has been a week.  I do not jest!!!

Now the image of the oreo pig is one I am using as inspiration for a primitive quilted wall hanging and I hope to finish it soon.  I have loved the pig chopping blocks that I have found.  I am currently working on several quilts and hope not to start another before I finish these.  I keep having ideas and I usually succeed in finishing my projects, but I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment and have only myself to blame.  I missed seeing my friends in Encampment at the quilt retreat, and loved having my friend who came to do the birdhouses and am blessed that two of my neighbors have become such good friends that they each took me to lunch this week.  I am truly blessed to have such friends in my life.

"Be a friend to yourself, and others will." ~ Scottish Proverb

August so soon

Oh my gosh, it is August already! The last part of July was a whirlwind. Our daughter and her husband came for Frontier Days and everything between my last post and the first of this month has been a blur.  We had two terrible hail storms, a picnic with many, many past coworkers, finishing the pond above and time spent with neighbors, lunches, coffee meets and quilt shop trips.  This week is the county fair and we have hit numerous garage sales on weekends. As the days begin to shorten, I am reminded that the snow won't be far behind the end of this month.  I had pictures of the pond progress, but for some reason, lost track of them.  These pictures are not very good, but this pond is in the shade most of the day and tucked next to the deck, it is pretty sheltered.  I was able to use the old pump that I have been packing around for over 20 years though and love the sound of the water falling.  I have been able to schedule two months of rooms at the library for our sewing and quilting group, and we are trying to schedule a couple of trips to visit our two kids on the west coast and don't know if that will happen any time soon.  I also have a friend coming this weekend for a crafting project. So, now I hope to get back here on a more regular basis.....perhaps?

"If you want to be original, be yourself." ~ Anonymous

Washtub coffee table

 So bear with me while I tell you some of the things I have been doing.  First I had a good friend come and stay a few days and she conned me into going to the Wy State Garden Convention with her here.  I have to admit that it was wonderful and I met so many great people for those 3 days.  We did some garage sales also while she was here.  But this post is about a project the Mr. helped me to complete.  I have been packing this old washtub around with me for over 20 years and had been trying to come up with an idea to make a coffee table small enough for my living room without spending a lot of money.  Those of you who know me know that I like to reuse and recycle so thanks to Pinterest, I decided to enlist the Mr. to copy an idea I saw.  He is so willing to go along with my hairbrained ideas. First we cut a from

piece of plywood for the bottom of the tub. I found fencepost tops at the local hardware for the feet. We went to the local Restore for Humanity and found a table with a top that would work and it was only $9.00.
He took the top of and we discarded the rest of it since it was pretty much destroyed anyway.  I then sanded it and gave it several coats of black spray paint as well as the post tops.  The screws protruding had to be cut off as they were too long for the wooden bottom piece. I sprayed the bottom wood piece with a silver textured paint that I had on hand. The bottom piece was adhered to the tub with construction adhesive as well as the new feet and each was allowed to dry several hours.  So there are several pictures here and after scrolling to the bottom, you will find my two babies modeling the new

coffee table which I simply love.

Baking again

I used to bake a lot...in fact I made quite a few wedding and birthday cakes years ago, but I also have a weakness for breads and carbs in general.  Unfortunately, those turn into sugar when they settle in your system and I have been trying to watch my sugars. I have been pretty successful so far.  However, that has limited my baking! I find that I am not the only one with this love for breads and my neighbor, bless her soul, sparked the need to find a scone recipe that wasn't too sweet.  In fact we were on the quest to bake biscotti.  How sad is it that friends have to schedule time together by checking their calendars. This biscotti lesson was scheduled days ago and last night I scheduled a quilt trip with a friend for a date the two of us could find  open.  Even that was difficult.  We just are blessed to be able to stay so busy with these friends.  So these are the scones that I tried and I would make them again, tweaking the recipe a bit.  This one had chocolate chips which I would eliminate and dried cranberries which work really well. I would also cut them a bit bigger...8 pieces rather than 12.  It was a pretty basic recipe, not too sweet, which could be adapted and I will make it again.  We did make the biscotti...carbs again...but it is also a "go to" recipe and perhaps I will post it another time.  Baking is always more enjoyable when you do it with friends.

"Masquerading as a normal person day after day is exhausting." ~ anonymous

Trunk re-do

This is an old trunk that I purchased over 20 years ago and it has followed me for the six moves since.  It was always my intent to refinish it in some manner and is in relatively good shape.  I discovered that it does have original hardware although some had been painted and the leather handles have been replaced.  The tray is missing, but the paper inside (sorry I forgot to take a picture), is in wonderful shape.  Finally I began that process this week. I first stained the wood with a can of some stain that I already had on hand and it really looks great.  Then I proceeded to paint it with another jar of acrylic paint that I found at Hobby Lobby on sale for little or nothing. The last step was to embellish the hardware with "rub and buff" .  I did spray it with an all purpose clear matte spray. Forgot to mention that it was actually pretty dirty, so I spent some time just cleaning it with some steel wool and a soft cloth and mild all-purpose cleaner.  The canvas had a few worn places but all in all not bad so I did not attempt to remove it.

I am totally please with the results and can cross one more thing off my bucket list!

Gardening in Wyoming

 Gardening in Wyoming can be challenging and I used to be much better than I am now.  Part of that can be attributed to my age, but mostly to the weather and each year it seems to become more difficult.  Global warming? Most of the people I know are not believers and feel that everything cycles.  I probably won't live long enough to see another wonderful gardening cycle, like I remember if that is true.  We have had rain, and more rain and some hail and even some tornadoes.  The tornadoes were a few miles north of us this weekend, but they did significant damage and destroyed eight homes, all rural thank goodness or it would have been much worse.  Because of the rain and hail, what I have planted has suffered and with such a short growing season, I am not sure it is worth the effort.  I do have a few pots that get moved several times a day and so far so good. I do have this wonderful African violet that is blooming and after only a year seems to have outgrown the pot. Perhaps I will have to be satisfied with indoor plants for now.

Our library group has taken a break from the library quilt and sew days for the summer, but above is the last completed quilt for a wall in one of my bathrooms...it is titled "We're on a Roll".  I have started a Wedding quilt since I received an Accuquilt Go machine and a couple  of dies for it.  It has taken a few sessions to get the hang of putting it together on the machine as this is an old pattern which was traditionally hand stitched.  I will try to get a picture of a couple of squares, which are not really square, but rounded in shape.

I had my friend of over 50 years come to spend the weekend with us and we hit garage sales, saw the movie "Book Club", and toured the botanical garden.  Had a wonderful time.  Our neighbors bought a new truck and they have two vehicles in their garage already.  With no room for the new truck, they purchased a Hail Protector and honestly, it looks like a large caterpillar when it is inflated.  They won't let me paint eyes on it, but it has gotten a lot of attention from onlookers and probably does a good job.  I will try to get a picture of it also when they inflate it again.

"Friendship consists in forgetting what one gives and remembering what one receives." ~ Alexandre Dumas the Younger

 I have been posting now for over 10 years although I have taken a couple of breaks, one most recently.  However, now with summer on the horizon...(I am really not fond of winter), I can get outside.  For some reason, the sun energizes me.  With this more moderate temperature, we can start the garage sale circuit.  I have always been a fan of recycling and re purposing...part of my genetic background I fear.  Mom and Dad did not throw away much, although I am sure that the cream separator probably went to the dump. We darned our socks, mended and took care of things.  So last week I picked up the two Pyrex bowls, a pattern I have in other pieces, for $2.00.  What a bargain!  This weekend we picked a piece of electronics, brand new in the box for $3.00. It will replace an old set of pieces that allow us to project a  television program from one tv to another wirelessly.  Yes we are tv people. Our children have always made fun of the fact that we have them in nearly every room.  I watch a good deal of public television, and we don't always watch the same programs. We also meet a wonderful bunch of people and I pick up pieces for friends who volunteer at the hospital...They provide baskets for cancer patients with all kinds of goodies.

This past couple of months has found many of our friends and family dealing with unfortunate situations and we have been a sounding board for many of them.  Part of it is most likely that we are all in the twilight years now of our life.  Makes one stop to think about the uncertain future.  The Mr. and I have been blessed, but know that there are critical decisions yet to be made for us.  This tree in my back yard is blooming so beautifully and the fragrance it emits is most pleasing.  But we have had rain for several days and when the raindrops hit the petals, they fall like snowflakes--all over the deck and the dogs bring them in on their feet. We have had both little rescue dogs to the vet for minor surgery and now they will be able to get groomed as they are shaggy. So, now with the gardens getting greener, I have planted seeds, pots and have some perennials to get in the ground.


"The trouble with gardening....is that it does not remain an avocation.  It becomes an obsession." ~ Phyllis McGintey