I Won!

Look at what I won over at jensfunlittlethings.blogspot.com  It just came today. Isn't she just a sweetheart?  Thank you Jen.  I can't wait to try them all these great recipes.

I spent most of the day yesterday working on the veggie garden. I haven't felt those muscles since high school. LOL Who needs a gym membership? Think of it this way: my muscles think they're getting toned, I'm getting a tan and I'm saving money on groceries. And I'll try to remember those things when my muscles rebel next time I'm in the garden. Haha!

Here It Is Again One Flower Wednesday

  I really enjoy keeping up with One Flower Wednesdays. Check out all our gardens at http://journeyofaquilter.blogspot.com/ I've decided to probably only make one flower a week for the summer instead of the two I usually do. I'm going to start adding the path to my garden, maybe one section a week until I've caught up with all the flowers I've done so far. Here are my flowers for this week.

  I'm also starting to get back into making some art. I've been so into quilting lately that that area of my creativity has been neglected. This morning I made a gift tag to go along with a birthday gift for my 29 year old (again...hahaha!) oldest daughter. I can't see spending a ridiculous amount on a card when it is better spent on a gift and adults may think that a card from the dollar store gives the impression that the giver doesn't care enough. So my alternative is to start making cards for each occasion. I think it's so much more personal. And the receiver may even want to save the memento. Here's my tag.

Tomorrow I'll be out in the garden. It's been so wet that the weeds are growing faster than the veggies and there are plenty of them. In fact, the poison ivy had gotten a head start with the latest heat wave. Here are a couple of pictures of my front perennial garden. Two years in the making. Hopefully this year, the third, will be the grand finale.

 It's been so hot for the last three days that I haven't been venturing out much. Imagine my surprise when I went out this morning and found my Irises had broken out in bloom. Whoohoo!

  Hope you all have a great day!

It's Hot Out There! And I'm A Winner In a Giveaway!

  Okay, I admit it. I'm in my air conditioned house, not out in the garden. It is supposed to hit 91 degrees today and, yes, I am a wuss! I have to walk out to get the mail and I'm putting it off until later. Hopefully it will cool down after suppertime.
 
  What did you do on Memorial Day this year? I'm sure some of you went to the beach or camping or out for a drive. And last but not least, there were the parades. Me? Inside, painting birdhouses. I have a stock of craft supplies, including unfinished wooden items. These birdhouses, which I got from the $ store a while back, have been languishing in a box in the closet. What can I say? I needed the box for something else so out of the box came the birdhouses to sit on my desk for a week. Couldn't stand it anymore so out came the paints. I decided to paint with a bit of whimsy. What do you think? I plan on hanging them in a maple tree next to the garden.  After I took this picture, I glued screening over the holes to keep the bees from getting inside and building bees' nests.
 
  But I've save the best part for last on my blog today.  At www.jensfunlittlethings.blogspot.com I was the winner of a Gooseberry Patch cookbook giveaway. I'm so excited and can't wait to receive my cookbook. Thank you Jen.

Oh Goodie! It's Wednesday

  Here it is again. Wednesday comes around so fast. Time to post my new flowers for the week. Aren't they purdy?

  Forgive me but I'm in one of those moods. I'll try not to rant. Facebook was miserable last night and refused to post links to a National Geographic article. Can you imagine? National Geographic being censored by the administrators at Facebook. What is the world coming to? Apparently I complained loudly enough and the right people must have seen it because 2 or 3 hours later...voila!... link accepted.

  It's going to be a busy afternoon so I'm getting this post out earlier than I usually do. First, stop at the bank, then on to see my 93 year dad on the other side of town, take him for a ride and buy him an ice cream cone. Then to the garden store and stop at the grocery store. On my way home I'll be stopping at my daughter's place and raiding some of the plants I put in the garden when I used to live there. Of course, her coffee pot will be on and we'll chat a while. Finally, home and back to the garden until the bugs chase me inside. What a life!

  Lastly, here's my finished mystery quilt I did with my quilt guild.

One Flower Wednesday and My Yarn Stash

  Well here is is Wednesday again. I accomplished two flowers this week By Tuesday morning at 10:30 AM. Can you believe it. I just started chugging along and there they were. Hooray! 
 
  And the following picture is for Rosie. I got nutsy this morning and decided to take a picture of my handspun yarn stash. Most of the natural colored yarn is being saved for a wonderful afghan pattern that has blocks knitted with pictures of different sheep in it. Some of the rest is earmarked to be knitted into a sweater and the colored yarn I'm thinking of weaving scarves with and selling them on line this fall. And if you look close you'll see the dark green yarn with beads at the right foot of my spinning wheel. That will become a fancy scarf for myself. I admit that I spin yarn just for the fun of it. I never have any idea how I will use it, with the exception of the natural colored yarn for my afghan. Why do I have so little you ask? Ha! There are two more cedar chests full of fiber waiting to be spun. Oh, did I hear there another fiber festival to go to? Don't tell my husband. Haha!

Goodness This Week Has Passed Quickly

  Unbelievable how fast the last week has passed. Here is is Wednesday night 8:30 PM and I'm finally getting to posting this week. The only excuse I can use is that the weather has been beautiful and without rain for a few days. That means into the garden this gal goes. There's always a lot of cleanup work to do and checking to see what perennial survived and what didn't. There are a couple of plants still limping along and it remains to be seen if they will survive or not. Some of the garden in front of the house is still a little damp to work in but yesterday I was able to weed and edge 2/3's of it. Now to the garden in the side yard. What a mess! I raked up around the area where my husband cut down a tree. More tomorrow if I can still move my muscles. By the time I get it all done I promise I'll post pictures.
  In the meantime, here's a picture of the marsh marigolds down our road.

And finally, these are my flowers for One Flower Wednesday. I just love the colors I chose, don't you?

Yahoo! Wednesday Again

 I was so distracted today that I almost forgot to post on my blog. Shame on me! Thirty lashes with a limp noodle. Haha!
 And now drum roll please. Here are my two flowers for this week:

 At my quilt guild we are working on a mystery quilt. I've finished piecing mine but I haven't had time to sandwich and quilt it yet. However, I thought you might like to see it anyways. It measures 48 inches square.