Snowy Sunday Stitching

I finished hand stitching the binding on the Frosty's this week. Now I can start hand quilting the embroidery blocks. 

Yes, I know this is not the normal order. I did machine quilt the sashing and cornerstones before I made and attached the binding to the front. I am trying out the blue marker for the first time with this quilt. I marked lines at 1 inch intervals using a 45 degree angle on my ruler. I have 3 of the Frosty's marked for hand quilting. I'll be working on this Sunday morning while I watch the F1 race with the boy.

 

Linking up with the Slow Sunday Stitchers. 

RSC in red

 I got a little time to sew this week and prepped some reds for the split nine patch blocks. I always pull one out of the box as a reference to help with placement of the squares.

I think they turned out pretty good! 8 blocks to add to the mix.

I had some thoughts for the Table Scraps Challenge.... but I made a change from the original plan. I was thinking green and red apples, but it didn't happen.  I had these squares left on the cutting board after making the above blocks..... so in the interest of the challenge, I used them to make this red toned placemat. I had thoughts of adding a red apple to that one lighter block in the middle, but it didn't happen. It got machine quilted and I attached the binding by machine. I still need practice on that, but it is getting a little easier. As for the letters A and G.... Aren't you Glad I had these blocks sitting on my cutting matt to use this month? I was!

I'll link up with the RSC on Saturday and with Joy at the Table Scrap Challenge on Friday.

Wednesday

 I kinda did something stupid yesterday. The weeds have taken over everywhere and the ones poking out by the entrance to the front door were driving me nuts..... so I kinda pulled some of them yesterday morning after dropping Emily to school. Yup, big mistake. I don't think I got much sleep last night cause no matter which way I turned, my back hurt. I did wake up ok with Ollie cats butt against my hurting back spot so I must have slept for a few hours early this morning. I last remember seeing 3:40 on the clock. I think his weight and warmth against it helped. 

The advil has kicked in and I was able to get up from my chair at work without issues for lunch, so that is a positive! I did my normal walk out to see the chickens and collected an egg. I got 2 yesterday and none the day before. The dog likes to go out around this time with me and explore a bit. 

I have not made much progress with any sewing projects, but I did find these two things.

My pattern and fabrics for the Christmas Cactus Wreath - that I'll plan to do as part of an unbegun challenge this last half of the year. My 'hope' is to have it done and ready to display on the kitchen wall for the month of December. It is a 60x60 quilt.

I also found a charm pack of these reds to make my split nines for the RSC this week. I think I need to make 8 blocks to get my quota for the month. I cut some of the charms into 2.5x5 inch strips. 

There is also the ABC Table Scrap Challenge for the weekend. I have not started it, but I have an idea! The letters are A and G to go with the red for the month of July.  I am hoping to see some apples in my future. Come back Saturday to hear how that adventure goes!

Yesterday we had some good thunderstorms roll through late morning. An unusual time for storms to go through - normally we get the late afternoon ones with the Atlantic and gulf breezes mixing in the afternoon above central Florida for a quick storm to cool things down a tad. This storm was intense and close. It knocked the pin from the transformer across the street which left us without power for a couple of hours. The dog notified me someone was 'out there', so I walked out and checked it out. It was not raining at that point and just a little thunder in the distance. It was neat watching him use the tools from the ground to knock the bad switch off and attach the new one. Just like that, the power was back on! Which means the internet came back and then I had to continue working! It was a nice 2 hour break snuggling with this one who thinks he is a lap dog. Did you know, those new fangled recliners that require electricity to work.... don't work very well when the power is out? I was trying to find a comfortable way to sit and this recliner has the old school handle, so I was using this one and the dog decided to jump up and join me. 

Lazy, lazy

Forgot to post this yesterday!

I have been very lazy the last few days. The back is better, until I forget and bend down or turn the wrong way. No where near the pain Wednesday, thank goodness but I know it is there.

I did manage to cut a few more reds the make my second kite block for the month. 

I am unable to find the box of red scraps...and bending and tugging things around the sewing room is not a great idea right now (ummm, should have remembered that before trying to find my Christmas Cactus Wreath kit Thursday!). 

I might make the split nines this week, we will see how it goes. I think I have a charm pack of the red/tans I used for the Harmony quilt and if I can find that, will make the blocks out of that.

I am in the process of defrosting the fridge/freezer (Sunday). The model we have is terrible and the back ice part of the freezer keeps freezing over and then the fan makes the most annoying sound and it does not stop! I vacated the living room yesterday to watch tv in the bedroom because of the noise.... well, and the boy kept muttering (loudly) in the front room his wheel was not working right with his F1 game. Watching Back to the Future 3 in the bedroom was a much quieter experience with just 2 cats vying for my petting attention.  So, this is my 2-3 time a year defrosting of the fan, while I have a Harry Potter movie on. 

The kids start school in a few weeks (Aug 10!). Emily starts a week of marching band camp - 8-5 M-Th this week. Next week it is for a few hours every evening. She is out school shopping today with Grandma. Aidan is going on Tuesday for his day out with Grandma. They do lunch and then she gives them a set amount of money to get what they need for clothes, and they keep whatever they don't spend.  

Another day....

 Well, while I was walking Bear yesterday morning we met up with 3 wild turkeys on the way home. They were on our street, so I had to go past them. I did not have my phone with me..... but that would not have mattered as no one was awake in the house. Sigh, Bear saw them as 2 were running away and he is strong. Lets just say my shoe came off and I wrenched my back holding him back from chasing them. I did get him home and didn't think too much about it. Took my shower and logged onto work. After sitting for over an hour... I tried to get up from my chair. Oh boy, my back was killing me. Once I got up I was mostly ok as long as I didn't bend down. Advil was the key and yes I did ice it a bit to get through the work day. 

I have a bunch to do at work after being gone 3 weeks,  so floated working today to get things done.... but my boss never got back to me with approval so I guess I get my normal day off and the work will be pushed back 1 day on the timeline! 

That means I'll wander into the sewing room and see about the split nine patches today and maybe start a Christmas wall hanging that I have had the pattern and a jelly roll for about 16 or 17 years now. 

I did a little binding stitching on the Frosty's last night. I still need to hand quilt around the frosty's and I plan to do a cross hatch behind them in the block. I just need to decide how much space between them. I am thinking one inch and see how it looks with the hera marker. Bad photo but a bit of binding stitched down.

When I posted the animals the other day, I didn't add the boys! Peanut and Ollie have been very snuggly since I got home last week. They said they were bonded when we got them from the shelter, and they tend to be together like this when they are sleeping or looking outside. They do play and chase each other as well. I woke up with one on top of me (Peanut) and Ollie was right up next to the pillow. 

As for meals.... Monday night was some carnita's with cilantro lime rice and fresh salsa. Tuesday Emily made a risotto with the broth I made from the chicken carcass over the weekend. Yesterday was going to be Gumbo, but I didn't think driving was smart, so it got put off to today. I had purchased some frozen crab cakes from Sams so Aidan cooked those up last night with some rosemary roasted potato. He took pity on me and said he'd handle dinner when he saw me attempt to get baking sheets out of the cabinet. I added some leftover salad in the fridge from the previous night to mine. I need to pop out and get andouille sausage for the Gumbo. I think we have everything else we need. We will see how it turns out! 

Scrap Jar quilt is finished.

 Finally! Now to ship it up to Vermont. Twin size. 

Onto the next binding of the Frosty quilt.

Animals.....

 I have been extremely lazy the last 3 days. Might have needed to recover from all that driving on Wednesday and Thursday to get home!

A request was made to show the girls. I snapped some photo's yesterday. There are the older 3 - I only collected 2 eggs so one of the Plymouths (the black and white ones) is not pulling her weight!

The new girls got bigger! Still not the same size as the others so we will keep them separate. One of the Rhode islands is up front and the back on the left. Then eggnog in the middle and Blackberry on the post. Her neck is looking a bit like my Poppy but she has feathers on her feet!

I got into my office this morning and Bear came with me and laid on the floor. I went into Greg's office and got the dog pillow and placed it down. 3 turns and he settled in and is sleeping like a baby. Funny how he comes in with me while I am working now. 

This was him last night. He pulled the charity quilt onto the floor and decided to nap on it. I told him it is not his, but he is ignoring me. It will get a good brush off and wash before it goes to it's new home. I have 3 sides of the binding stitched down. 

Friday I had Aidan drive me to Sams Club to get a roaster chicken for dinner... and a few other things jumped into the cart. He was still complaining there was no snack food all weekend. I did ask before going to Aldi and while at Sams! Arrghhh.

Friday night was air fryer sweet potato fries and the chicken. Saturday we had bag of Shrimp Scampi from Sams over angel hair pasta and a salad. I had taken a pork tenderloin out of the freezer Friday and we had pork schnitzel last night with mashed potato and peas. 

The kids are headed to Grandma's today to see the New Indiana Jones Movie. I get to log into work for the first time in 3 weeks. I kinda miss vacation already.

Slow Stitching Sunday...

 I hope to make progress on hand stitching the binding down on the charity quilt that I'll need to ship to Vermont. It did not get any work done on it while up there. I have tried to start working on it now that I am home, but every time I start to work on it......

someone wants attention or a me pillow to sleep on! Yes, Bear is spoiled. This morning I was on my laptop and checking blogs and he jumped up and put his paw on the keyboard. I moved it over and he laid down across my lap, where my computer had been. It looks like a rainy day here in Florida, so I'll throw on some clothes and get a little weeding done (I can grow weeds really well!) and then once the rain starts, I'll try and stitch an edge of this quilt binding down. 

Linking up with Kathy and the Slow Sunday Stitchers.

RSC in red

After a walk of the dog this morning and then bringing Emily to ride Lance (horse) about half of the day was over! The temps when she got done around noon was feels like 109. Sigh, I miss Vermont temperatures. I did drink a 20 ounce water and a 20 ounce power zero. That power zero is a must for me daily with the temps down here or my electrolytes get off and my saline gets too low. That would land me in the ER so, this is a preventative measure I have been doing for years.

I ventured into the sewing room and moved a few things around to get to my sewing space. I pulled a few reds and some background fabric and cut out a few kites for one of my two red blocks. It joined the rest of the bunch. I had done a light blue and light green for last month. I'll make my next kite tomorrow and then work on the split nine patches this week. I need to make some light blue and greens along with the reds to keep up with those blocks.

Linking up with the RSC. 

Home

 Made it home Thursday night about 11:45 PM with an arrival temperature of 80 degrees and humid. Yup, Florida in the summer! I do miss Vermont.

We headed home mid morning on Wednesday and did a stop in Deerfield, MA to visit the Yankee Candle Flagship store. They have a  maze of rooms with Christmas themes from all over the world.

Harry Potter room. I do love my Harry Potter - both books and movies.

 Aidan loved it. Lots of smelling of candles happened. We might have picked up some Christmas ornaments and some candles. Then it was a long drive home. We made it to Maryland on Wednesday and managed to check into a hotel/suite where their computer system had been down since 3PM. They had a rough afternoon. I had to call and book through the phone since the online system was down. Their credit card system was also down for the evening. The room was nice and we had a good nights sleep and breakfast the next morning. Then it was a long drive home the next day - about 13 hours of driving. I checked and there are over 3,000 miles on the car from the last 3 weeks. 

It is nice to be home and the cats are enjoying all the attention. The dog is tickled pink Emily is home and has been loving up to everyone. I went through the fridge crispers and tossed and then headed to Aldi to restock fruits and veggies. I think I'll have Aidan drive me to Sams and pick up a roaster chicken for dinner so I don't have to cook. That and a nice salad and some roasted or mashed potato will be dinner. 

I really should throw in a batch of laundry and then visit the sewing room... but I think I'll pop on a movie and work on hand stitching some binding instead for a little bit. 

I'm going to have Aidan drive the car through the car wash today too.... that should be an interesting experience for him as a new driver! Then he can vacuum the car from our travels. Update - he did a great job driving onto the track for the drive through and the car got a nice vacuum.

Vermont, does not want me to go!

I think I snapped this on Friday or Saturday morning. A peaceful shot of the lake.

Friday, all my siblings and a few nieces and nephews gathered to celebrate (again, as I missed the sibling dinner out with my parents on their actual 60th wedding anniversary June 15th) their anniversary at The Charlemont restaurant in Morrisville. 19 of us were gathered. One was the photographer for us.

Saturday, we headed to the local Mountaineers baseball game (college aged kids playing in a league) where they were honoring a local legend - Louis 'Crip' Polli who played in the MLB back in the 30's and 40's. He and his wife lived 2 doors down from where my Dad grew up. He passed in 2000 at age 99. It was a very hot night and muggy at the ball game.

Sunday, we had some visits from my sister and brother and one of my nieces. When it started raining, only my brother David and his wife Donna stayed as we were playing cards. We moved onto Michigan Rummy and then taught them Domino's. Turns out, my Mom really likes playing Domino's. We might have been playing the last 2 days! The rain kept falling all of Monday and as of this morning we had one tick shy of 8.5 inches of rain. It made things quite exciting as we were to leave on Monday morning. Instead, I was stringing rope around 2 different trees to tie up the boat after I unhooked it from the dock. My brother drove out  (drove through a covered road that was closed right after!) and helped to anchor it as well with a cement block and then the kids added 5 cement blocks onto the dock to keep it in place. As you can see from this mornings photo - completely under water including the pipes! As of noon - the pipes at the end of the dock and now visibale above water. 

It did make for easy access into the kayak to paddle and check out how others fared around the lake.

This morning - those are the middle poles on the dock and the top of the railing to the steps.

A shot looking back at Emily as she got her kayak into the lake.

The beach was under water up to the wooden fence. 

Barre and Montpelier are under water. My siblings houses there (3 of them) are up high and are fine as is my parents home. My other sister is in Marshfield and she is currently stranded but the house is fine. The bridge at the bottom of her hill is washed out and the road from her area to Montpelier in one direction is washed out. The other direction to Cabot was under water. There will be lots of roads to fix after this storm all over the state. At least the interstate is open again. It was closed yesterday afternoon until this morning with water over the road near Montpelier. At that point - either way out to head home was blocked. Technically, I can get out now but I'll make sure the water is headed down and the parents are good through today and will head home tomorrow.  

 

A trail ride and bingo kind of day.

 We started the very hot day (high 80's feels like 91!) on a trail ride in the mountains of Vermont. It was Aidan's first time on a horse. Notice the huge horse Ms. Emily is riding! 

Then we stopped at the grocery store and picked up a few things before heading back to camp. A quick lunch and then it was time to get into the water. Both kids were floating and swimming and I got mostly wet and in a tube for about 45 minutes. Then the kids wanted to go out and jump off the boat. So we did!

Dinner was in the crock pot - silly us had planned corned beef and cabbage and veggies days ago before we saw how hot it would be! Oh well, there was not much left. A quick clean up of the dishes and then it was off to Bingo. A dollar or baked good to get in and 2 cards for $1. High stakes! Mom won one game and I won one game. The kids were both one number away from winning at one point. Mom and Aidan picked a baked good - so muffins and a bit of cake came home with us. 

My siblings took my parents out on June 15th for their 60th wedding annivarsay. It seems they want to go again with me and the kids so tomorrow 17 of us will be going out for dinner to celebrate. 

Wednesday at the lake

 

Emily and I went for a paddle in the kayaks this morning. This is a photo of the camp from the water.

I love seeing the lily pads and flowers near certain camps.

After lunch, we headed to the cascade trails up the road about 10 minutes. It is a good mile in the woods along a babbling brook with different waterfalls. They have been getting lots of rain, so the water sure was running today.

We topped that off (since it was so hot) with a maple creemee!

Emily made pasta to go with the leftover sauce my brother left from yesterday. It was very hot today. I am missing my AC just a little bit!

A quiet day after the 4th.

 The quiet morning after a busy 4th of July! I was the only one up this morning early (a little after 7AM) to enjoy the peaceful lake with the birds chirping to each other. 

A photo from each side of the camp looking at the lake. Perfect Kayak weather. Maybe I'll get dressed and take a paddle.

We had 17 people and 2 dogs out to the camp for the holiday. All of my siblings (I'm youngest of 5) and their spouses and a few of my nieces and nephews. We tend to spend a lot of time out on the screened in porch!

A game of Rumicube going on here.

We added the Vermont flag to the flagpole and this was right before the storm went through. 

A nice rain to bring down the temps a bit (and clear out the company!) 

I have yet to do any of my hand work projects! Must get off the phone games and get a little stitching in. I did fix the pillow and need to do a few stitches to close up the hole in the couch from a critter over the winter. Mom also wants some crochet tops to some towels to hang from the stove, so I need to pull out the crochet hooks today and get that done for her. I think with the rain, it will be too muddy to hike the mountain, so I put Emily off until Friday. We will pop over to the mile walking trail by the brook with waterfalls later this morning. I have our trail ride scheduled for tomorrow morning. The temps are going to be hot - in the 90's so we will be down on the water I think. I only got to wear jeans and a sweatshirt one day so far! Oh well, it is much nicer weather than back in Florida!

The Dish people got the new dish installed Sunday in the rain, and Mom now has her local channels. She is a happy camper!