Blue

Yesterday I picked blueberries at a nearby U-pick fruit farm.

I made four batches of jam.  Maybe I should have put Christmas music on because...

the 52 jars I preserved will be given as Christmas gifts to the staff at school this December.

Lavender fields

 

This is the time of year when my front yard shines.  The lavender is almost at peak and when you walk past on the way to the mailbox and brush against it, you come out smelling pretty good. 

I cut some bits and pieces

for places here and there

We all love it.

Still more excitement

It seems we have a nocturnal visitor.  Mr. Racoon apparently climbed into the kitchen via knocking out a screen in the window, stole a loaf of bread from on top of the counter and took it with him/her.  But let me start at the beginning.

Friday morning Patient Husband noticed a partly eaten loaf of bread in the torn package lying on the front porch. No one would fess up to taking the bread out there.Not my daughter, not the girls, not me, not PH...and no one else was here!  We shrugged at the mystery and continued on the day.  Daughter did not mention that when she got up with the girls in the morning the kitchen window screen was lying on the counter.

Saturday about 1 a.m. PH heard another noise in the kitchen and tiptoed out to see what was going on.  He noticed the screen on the kitchen floor.  He put it back in, closed the windows tight, and came back to bed.  I didn't hear a thing either morning.

When the day started PH and daughter put two and two together and realized a (the) racoon was back.  Last year he/she climbed the side of the house to get to a different kitchen window, knocked the screen out and the noise scared him and he/she went off. We didn't know in the middle of the night what it was, but next morning with the sun shining just right on the window, we knew what it was by the footprints left on the window itself.

We're slow learners.  We still left the windows open at night.  But not anymore!  Mr./Ms. Racoon now knows there is a source of food on the other side of that screen and we know he/she won't give up. 

They are persistent critters and smart. It will take some wits to outsmart this one.  Unfortunately it will mean closing all of the windows at night.

As the pieces started to fit together I said to PH, "So. We have a racoon that comes in, makes himself a sandwich and leaves?"

Transformation

We had some excitement around here yesterday.  My daughter and the girls brought a monarch caterpillar with them and around lunchtime Adelaide came running in calling us to come see "Stripey is moving around a lot!"   We all got to see the transformation from caterpillar to chrysalis. He wiggled, wiggled, wiggled and with each wiggle changed a bit more until he was enclosed.  I told the girls they were watching a miracle happen right before their eyes. I'VE never watched this and it was fascinating to see the transformation happening.

About an hour later, another transformation.  Now he/she sleeps.

Naps are SO important.  Adelaide fell asleep reading one of her books, Mem Fox's story about Grannies.

OK, I decided on another border for the two Christmas quilts.  They are both the same but diffeent. One has scrappy sashing one had matched sashing.  I decided on two different borders.  I liked them both equally, chose the stripe first and then the helpful quilt shop worker found this polka dot so I chose both.  For the next few whiles I'll be quilting these.

Berry picking time!

Today was the first of the summer sleepovers for the girls and we met at the strawberry patch. Today is their first day here and the last day for u-pick!  I need one more pie this weekend!

Adelaide never, ever, ever stops talking.  Never. Ever.   Here, she is naming the strawberries she picked. One by one by one by one......

They are both eager and willing pickers and all we needed to tell Adelaide was to pick the red ones, the same bright as her jacket.

Elizabeth had her arms full with her cuddle, her crocodile, her basket...she's a good picker but eats about half of what she picks.

 

We took a break in the shade.  She picked a juicy big one from her basket.  I asked her to hold it up for a picture. This is her GULP smile.  The berry didn't make it and she told me this is her juicy smile.

Imp.

Meeting friends

Last night Friend Marilyn and I met our retreat quilting friends for their bee meeting.  We don't usually join them because the group lives 30 minutes from both of us and during the work week it's a late night - especially for me, who has to be in bed by 9 p.m.
    But last night was the night before the last day of school for the summer and I wanted to do something fun.  The meeting was going to be on the shore of Lake Michigan in a picnic alcove.  Not much quilting got done.  Much laughing, though.  It was a spectacularly beautiful evening and we just ate and laughed.

 

We all did bring projects, they didn't get handled or worked on, but they attended the meeting.

Janice found this quilt IN SOMEONE'S TRASH at the side of the road!!!  The border is chewed up but with a little repair she'll have a decent utility quilt. It looked much brighter in person.  The sun was intense last night.
    Last day of school!  First day of summer vacation!  I'm going to go home and take a nap!

Missing in Action

I've been missing in action for a couple of weeks.  A couple of busy weeks where I couldn't cobble together even ten minutes to visit blogland. 

  Since my cousin and I taped and photographed our senior generation we've had Patient Husband's birthday weekend and Memorial Day weekend all rolled into one.  The kids were all here and the little ones had a couple of days and nights together.  That is so important to us because my son and his family live farther away so we don't have the chance to be with Charlie and Ceci like we'd like.  So, the birthday weekend was much needed by all of us.  It was a hot one, too, so the beach was definitely part of the plan.

I purchased a chair with no legs.  It used to have legs.

.

 We saw it as a perfect throne

So we took it out into the yard

 And  asked the kids to give Grandma just five minutes. This was supposed to be the "serious" pose.  You can see Adelaide had no intentions of being serious. I don't think she knows how.

Our little Ceci is the latest and last to fit into the sink for a bath.  All of the kids loved this sink, which when I bought it declared it had to be big enough for a turkey or a baby. They all loved playing with cups and water as it came out of the faucet. They would sit until they pruned.


The minute the kids left on Monday we went into hyper-drive getting the house ready for this past Friday when I had the staff from school here for the annual EOYP (End Of Year Party).  Instead of bringing a dish to pass, which is a real hassle, they contribute to the grocery fund and I do all of the shopping and cooking for this event.  We had 35 here for dinner Friday night and it took the week to get ready for it.  First time in 15 years the weather didn't cooperate not even a little.  It was cold and rainy but they still came (it's an hour drive from school).  We ate and laughed and I didn't take cooking pics because I didn't have time to stop.  Saturday I took a four hour nap.


But before all of that cooking and activity, A couple of weeks ago I did start on a Christmas quilt for Ceci and Adelaide.  I realized that Charlie and Elizabeth got one of the storybook quilts I love making for kids, but the two little ones have not.  So, I dug through the stash and found I had two of the Mary Englebreit storybooks and cut them into squares.  This one is about finished.  I'm toying with the idea of another border.  They will both be very much the same but different.  I don't think Christmas has to be all red and green so these will be pink and green.  I found the green and black border print, which stopped me in my tracks (it was in the "this is your last chance" sale rack!!) and knew it was perfect for a Mary Engelbreit quilt and exactly what I wanted but didn't know it.  It's absolutely perfect with a pink.  If I ever find more of this I'll buy the bolt.

I'm sorry, but the new blogger won't let me turn this right side up so you'll have to endure for this picture.  I really do not like this new blogger way and find it very frustrating.  Anyway, you can see the idea of these quilts and like I said, the kids I make them for love them.

I have the second one on the table over there with the sashings partly cut, waiting for the time to sit down.  I was hoping to get them finished this week so I can layer them on the big library tables at school but I don't think that's going to happen....I can only try.