song birds

This is all I have to show for the week.  We've been busy now the sun is out and it stopped raining.  There are flowers to be bought,  yard work to do, cobwebs to chase, curtains to wash, bedding to wash, mulch to spread....it's spring!  And today we worked ourselves to the ground.  I can't do much else because my darned thumb is still split and to do any quilting just makes it worse and is too painful.  So, I'm reading and doing little bits of applique.

The cardinals are from Erin Russek.   She does beautiful work and every year we are luck to have a BOM from her with patterns and tutorials.  Free. Check it out!

This must be how Noah felt

It stopped raining....for the time being.  Major floods at the rivers and as they flow into the lake here, we can see the mud sludge run off way out into the lake.  It's been rough for lots of people but we've been spared all but a leak in our bedroom ceiling.  Patient Husband stepped off the ark and took advantage of the sun today doing what he loves to do best.  After putzing around the yard, sitting in his chair watching a little fire in the pit.  Can you see his little gray haired head above the orange chair?

 I spray painted some furniture for the porch, washed and hung some things on the line and then stitched.

 We're having a baby shower for one of the teachers and I can't remember the date so I thought I should play it safe.  I know it's in May and this is still April so I'm going to make sure I'm ready.  I found on The Purl Bee  this baby beach ball.  So here are the pieces....

 here's the final stitching

and the ball is finished.  This measures 9 inches in diameter.    So very, very easy to do!  I went from start to finish in one movie.  I'll pair it with a book about playing with a ball and voila!

I also made a black raspberry pie.  I was rummaging around in the freezer looking for BLUEberries and found a bag of wonderful black gold from last summer.  I love black raspberries.  The sweet, the crunchy seeds, and a pie.  Oh, what a good pie it makes!! 

Guess who's coming to dinner?

We looked out the kitchen window at noon today and this is who came for lunch....in my raised beds and roses.

 There was a family of five, some more timid than others. But they all got the "all clear" signal from

this one who was standing in the raised bed.  See that tomato cage?  It holds up my peonies.  The deer are looking thin and scraggly, a bit worse for the wear this time of year. And they're hungry.  But honestly?  Deer in the yard are like mice in the house.  No, we are not hunters.  And no, I don't chase them away.  We're city transplants to the country and still find them interesting. 

Michael

Today was baby Michael's christening.  As I tried for this picture I realized I'm very glad I'm not fussy about getting FIVE wiggles looking at me at once.

Let's go fly a kite

It's spring break, it's cold, but the sky is blue and the sun is shining and we're itching to get outside.  So we took the new kite to the beach!

 It was a team effort to get it up, but....

 It worked!

 After a few pointers from daddy,

Elizabeth was on her own!

 

 

 

 

 

Last night we all went to see the new animated movie The Croods.  It was a Neanderthal meets Cro-Magnon and full of survival type scenes.   This morning, true to form, the girls were assigning roles and replaying the movie in every way they could.

 

At the beach Adelaide noticed the cliff that separates us from the beach and declared it the mountain from the movie.  In the movie this mountain needed to be climbed.  So, without a thought she and daddy climbed it.  It's a very high cliff.  She did really well ...

 until she looked back.  Then she got scared and wanted to be done.  Well, when you're halfway up (or down) what looks like a mountain, what are you going to do???  You tell daddy you "want to be done now."  And HE gets to Sherpa you down the cliff.

 It was pretty scary for Daddy, too, I think, trying to find footing and not drop his Adelaide.

Back home they gave in.

Basket of blueberries

 From this...

To a basket of blueberries. 

 

 



Easter time

 First we spent a night with Grandma and Grandpa so we could color their eggs for them. They really needed our help.

 Then, we came back on Easter and while Grandma cooked, we played with our cousins...

 ....and told stories to Grandpa.

 

 

 

And now that everyone has gone home I brought out the fabric.  The one above is going to go to someone on our retreat in October.  We each gave a fat eighth as a challenge/focus fabric and we have to use it in a 12.5 inch finished square.  The floral in the black frame is the focus for this retreater.

Next, I'm going to work on my own!  I'm excited about it.  My challenge/focus fabric is the fruity one underneath.  I absolutely love it's summer-i-ness.  For this square my fruits will be the background square. I'll have to do at least two more to make 12.