Long Awaited Photo Op

Okay folks, here's the Ship's Landing crew! Angie at the helm, aka "The Skipper" *g*, Randy and Badger, and Dewey just chillin! This is also the second finished block (unpressed) of my Kim Diehl WIP.

Wooo Hooo

Renee, Nathan's friend


Sheila (Aussie BirdWoman) has the Country Threads magazine and is willing to part with it!!!! Yea!!!! Isn't she just THE BEST!!! :D

Gudrun asked if Badger Baby left his paw prints in the driveway. LOL It does look very wet, doesn't it? We had just hosed it down to cool it, so it was actually dry enough that he didn't leave his prints there. HOWEVER, I put Badger's and Dewey's (his big brother *g*) footprints, names and date in the last section that they poured, which will be where I park my car when I come in with groceries, etc. Just could not resist it. I grin every time I see it. Randy asked how I will feel when they are 'gone' and I see it every time I go out. They will never be gone from my heart, so I think that I will be so very glad that I did that. :)

We've been out on the boat again for about an hour this evening. Oh my goodness, I DO LOVE this boat...and I am learning to drive it to...so we can have quilt retreats, family gatherings, girls' day out, you name it, at Ships' Landing!!! :D See why I need to get me some embroidery prepped now??? (Like I don't have a single book or magazine with embroidery patterns in them LOL)

It's getting late, and I still have paperwork that has to be done for a 9:00 a.m. mediation in the morning. Sweet dreams!

Trouble with Blogger

Hmmm, I can't get Bloglines to connect this a.m. Keep getting DNS Error. So I can't go 'visiting' with my coffee this morning. :( We had a 10-min. hard wind/rain storm yesterday evening which left us without power for about 5 hours last night. I wish we could have had the rain for a looonnng time without the wind/storm part. :) And of course we were really worried about how the pontoon would do on the dock. It all got turned a bit, and one of the mooring lines broke, but we were able to get everything fixed so all was okay with that. The biggest worry I have is how I will handle a similar situation if it happens when Randy is gone for several days to a show. Will have to alert a couple of people who live nearby that I may be calling on them for help sometime in the future. :)

As luck would have it, I had just gone back to the sewing room. Can you believe that??? So I didn't make much progress at all, but at least I TRIED to sew some. LOL UPS brought a package from Fat Quarter Shop the other day---I had ordered some Celebrate Spring charm packs (cuz I'm a Darlene 'wannabe' ROFL). I was absolutely sure that I was going to make me a topper like hers, and I still am going to do that, but I'm trying to decide if I want to make a tabletopper out of the 4-patches that I've sewn so far, OR do I want to attempt to make me a shoulder bag with them. I'm not good (not at all) at reading those bag patterns but I've really really been wanting to make me a new bag. I also would like to make some simple, large bags l that I could use for grocery shopping. I'd have to have a truck load of them for the grocery shopping that I do since I only manage to go about every 2-3 weeks. ROFL

Badger Baby was the first one to walk on the new concrete driveway...as a matter of fact, he was the first one to walk on every section that was poured. LOL We have finally gotten all of it poured, now we're having to let it cure until Sunday or Monday before driving on it. It looks really nice...we lucked up with this concrete guy, he did a great job and was more than reasonable on his final bill. We are very very pleased.

The flower is a balloon flower (I think). It's just gorgeous! I planted it last year and thought it had completely died out but waalaa here it is this Spring and I have sooo enjoyed it. :)

The moth is just a beauty. We think it's called a Luna Moth, but somebody correct me if you know what kind it is. :p

Yum, had to show my charm packs that I got this week. I can hardly believe that I have already cut into one pack. Absolutely unheard of for me---could I be turning over a new leaf??? Actually going to 'cut and sew' some of this TON of fabric that's laying around here dry-rotting? ROFL

And of course, I had to leave you with a picture of 'how the garden grows' (it's actually grown a lot since this picture was taken). :)

Australian Country Threads Vol. 3 No. 10

Last night's sunset

Now what is she up to ????

I'm following in my friend, Nadine's, footsteps, and putting out the word that I'm looking (pleading/begging/uh, ok LOL) for this issue of Australian Country Threads Vol. 3 No. 10. If anyone has this issue and would be willing to part with it, OR if any of my American and/or Aussie blogging buddies might have a back issue in their quilt shops, I would be more than happy to buy the magazine (and, of course, shipping).
All help will be IMMENSELY appreciated!!! :D

Quilty Post Ahead (Well Sorta)

We are in the midst of having our driveway poured in concrete (it's a really really big driveway). They started Monday, and probably by Wednesday I'm out pestering the Man In Charge. Well, low and behold!! his wife is a quilter! Yes, you read that right--she's a QUILTER!! Not only is she a quilter, but she HAND-QUILTS ALLLLL of her quilts. So last night I got a call from his wife, her name is Jean, and she was calling to invite me to come check out the local quilt guild (next meeting isn't until the first Friday in July, I just missed the one of June), and to fill me in a bit about the activities that the guild participate in. So of course, I invite her to 'come on over one day', she says she will before her husband finishes our concrete work. Well, I'm on the computer this a.m. doing a blog-run, and Randy yells in "Hey Angie, you have a visitor." My initial response is "Oh NOOO"--well, of course, my house is a wreck--you can barely walk into or out of my sewing room--you get the picture. Anyway, it was Jean. She came to meet me. :D No, she did NOT call before coming, and to her credit, our messy house didn't seem to phase her one bit. LOL Now, I ask you, what are the chances that this would be the very same woman that was in the checkout line behind me in WalMart probably about a month ago and we strike up a conversation about quilting (of course there were quilt-related items mingled in amongst the groceries LOL). Yep, you got it, the one and the same. Now, is this PROVIDENCE, SMALL WORLD, or what??? ROFL Anyway, she was delightful, the visit was delightful, she was here, what, maybe 3 hours ! (I could have sworn she wasn't here any longer than an hour!!!!), and we are making plans to get together and 'cut and sew'! Now, I haven't had ANY real urge to go play in my fabric and thread in how long? Ages!! Well, I can tell you, I was really really excited when she left, and now I'm all fired up again about, YES! QUILTING!!! So, stay tuned cause, uh Darlene, I think I'm leaving the birds and garden for quilting (FINALLY, Darlene Yells). ROFL I actually had spray-basted a tablerunner early this a.m., and was contemplating turning the sewing machine on to give it a quick diagonal quilt. So, I had been thinking more about maybe doing a LITTLE bit of quilting, even prior to my fun surprise visit! :D

Just Had to Share

a picture of a zuchinni blossom!!! And I have tomatoes on the vine!! AWESOME!!! I even have a zuchinni on the vine, and I have several tee-tiny yellow squash coming on!! You have no idea how thrilled I am! I plant stuff every year, and usually the critters end up eating the plants before they can make anything. And I also am trying to grow veggies in unamended (more or less) clay (my compost is growing but it takes time). Soooooo, this year I ended up putting most of my plants in containers just to see if I would have any more luck that way. Obviously, I'm having more luck with them in the pots than I ever have with them in the ground. *huge grins*

The Weekend Was a Success

Nathan and Renee made it here safely about 4:00 p.m. on Friday. The weekend flew by! As luck would have it, after all of the sunshine, heat, and no rain that has been our weather for the last month, we had cooler, cloudy weather with a thunderstorm thrown in for good measure. They still got on the jet ski and went for a boat ride in our little fishing boat. On Saturday afternoon, our pontoon boat was delivered, so even though we couldn't put it in the water yet (had to register the thing, pay sales tax, etc. today), it was still a nice surprise for Nathan. Now he knows it will be here when he comes for his next visit. :) Even Homer Kitty had to check out the new boat motor. :D We really enjoyed them both, and much to my delight, Renee is a massage therapist! :D Well of course ! I had to get a mini-massage!!! LOL As for food, we took them to our favorite place for 'all you can eat catfish' on Friday night, had regular lasagne for the guys and veggie lasagne for the girls on Saturday night, and lots of fresh veggies in pita pockets for lunches. So I don't think anyone went hungry. :)

Today, the crew showed up to pour us a concrete driveway, so my puttering around outside was limited, and will be for the next couple of days, I'm sure. More later.

Sweltering 92 Degrees!

So what happened to Spring? I feel like we are in the middle of August...totally wilted...and all worn out with hot weather! Is this a portent of what the Summer will bring? Sweltering hot? No rain? Brown, dead grass (what grass?? LOL), a tan landscape for the next 3 months? I shouldn't be complaining, I know, even tho we are so far below on our rainfall. There are several more of my neighboring Southern states that are in even worse shape than we are here in Tennessee. But it is really reaching critical mass here too insofar as the lack of rainfall is concerned.

So, if it's too hot to be outside, one would naturally ask if I've been in the air-conditioned sewing room, switching obsessions from outside to quilting ROFL, but I would have to tell you NO. :( Where did my sewing muse go? She seems to have totally deserted me. I did reverse sew that one border on that tablerunner way-back-when, and I haven't even quilted it. I did also work just a TAD on my Kim Diehl block, which is so close to being finished that I should just sit right down now and finish it up so I could at least start the third block. :( :) And just because we have guests coming on Friday, that's no reason to rush around slinging dust, and books, and magazines, and accumulated mess, now is it? LOL Definitely not a good reason to rush out to the grocery store (after all, the son's female friend is a vegetarian---hey, Rabbit Stitchings, what does one feed a vegetarian??? :D) and there's not even two pieces of bread in the house for a sandwich. Nah, not good enough reasons for all of that. So maybe I WILL just go finish that one block for now.

I am so sorry to have been such a laggart about my blog this month. I make promises to myself to be more religious about posting, and what do I do???? Desert it just like it did my quilting!! :D I'm going now to see if I can unearth that block. The photos are Homer Kitty having a snooze in the shade and pea gravel (go figure), my herb bed which I'm working on enlarging, and let me tell you that little picture does NOT do justice to how much dirt I moved!!!, and my little sweetheart, Badger. I'm going to unearth more photos eventually of my "boys" so I can share some of Dewey too. :D Hope every one is well and enjoying all of your most favorite things as we swing into Summer. (All photos enlarge with a click)

Happy Mother's Day

Oh, what a beautiful Mother's Day!! I have been out giving my plants a drink; it's going to be quite warm today and sunny. I decided to go ahead and plant my veggies in pots, so I spent all day yesterday doing that. Still have a few tomatoes to put in pots, and of course, I plant a pot then have to stand and ponder forever which pot I want to fill next. :) Another one of those days that I went out with the coffee as soon as I rolled out of bed and didn't come back in except for brief 'pit stops'. :D More of the same is on tap for today! :)

Sending champayne wishes and chocolate dreams to all of you mothers! Had this perfect picture of my 'baby boy' , Badger, which I had to post today of all days LOL, the flowers are a patch of Maiden Pinks that I planted from seed last year, and of course, another shot of my Indigo Bunting.

Summertime Temps

It's supposed to be 87 deg. here today. That is a summertime temperature, not Spring! But hey, I'll take it. :) I'm still enthralled by the birds. I just do not want to stay in the house right now, so once again I have to tell you that I've been outside from dawn to dusk. Yesterday evening I had TWO Indigo Buntings come for their 'supper'! Oh my goodness! Was I thrilled or what??? Of COURSE I got a picture...that one will be shown at a later date. :) And I've had a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak that last couple of days. Now, Sug (my seester) has had the MALE RBG ( am I jealous or WHAT??) LOL I haven't had him come to visit yet, but surely there's one here, right? After all, where there's a female, there's usually a male tagging along somewhere in the sidelines, right??? ROFL

That's a 'purple finch' having a drink after his meal. Isn't he a beauty? And the other picture is of my seedlings. They have really grown since I took that photo. I still don't know where to put my veggie garden. My darling husband DOES NOT want me to put it where I want it to go, so I'm at a stand-still in that regard. They really need to be put in the ground soon, tho. Either that or just throw all of them into pots. We'll see.

We had a wonderful day last Sunday with our friends from Knoxville. They brought the most yummy cake and mini-cupcakes from Magpies, a bakery in Knoxville. Then we prowled around outside looking at my plants, picking up some wood pieces from the lake bank for them to take home and use as 'yard art' *grins*. It was a lovely day. Oh, oh, oh, and they brought me a 5-gal. Lodge dutch oven as a gift! I was thrilled! I've been wanting one of those for ages and just hadn't bought it yet. So, thanks again, Joanie and Debbie! :D

I am going outside while it's still cool. Gotta play in the dirt, you know! LOL

Birds Everywhere

Sorry for posting only pictures with no explanations. I was in a hurry to at least get SOMETHING posted. :D Elaine asked if that is an Indigo Bunting...YES, YES, YES! Aren't I the lucky one? He's absolutely gorgeous! All of the photos can by enlarged by clicking on them. He visited the first time on May 1 (I think), and has come back every day since for breakfast and dinner. :) And we have scads of Gold Finches. They are the most lovely little things...just twittering and singing and doing acrobatics. :) We've also had a pair of purple finches, a Cardinal, lots of Swallows, Bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows, and a pair of Juncos (I think *g*), and my sweet little Hummingbirds. There's one little Ruby-Throated Hummer that tries to guard to feeders at the same time. LOL He stays quite busy trying to hoard the 'food'. Kinda reminds me of myself with all of my fabric and quilt books. *g* I have been outside...for days and days on end...and loving every minute of it!! Oh, and Sheila (aubirdwoman), that IS the same moon you see, I see'! LOL And I'm afraid I'm not as young as I can get away with letting you think I am on this blog!! ROFL

Libby, I did go ahead and stick some veggie seeds in pots, and now I have cherry tomatoes, cucumber, summer squash, zuchinni, and lettuce all sprouting! I was thrilled that they came up. Now I just need to get me a veggie patch tilled up.

I have to run to the produce market now for some fresh fruit. We have friends coming for lunch tomorrow, so I better stir up the dust in this house, send those 'bunnies' scurrying, and sling my books and magazines in another room and shut that door. :D I do hope all of my family and friends are having a wonderful weekend. We are having some much-needed rain this morning, but tomorrow is supposed to dawn bright and pretty. :)