Thursday Catch Up

 It has been a busy morning so far. Kids were dropped to school. Then I stopped on the way home and picked some blueberries at Ashbier Farms. I tried the Farthing this year - they were the first 6 rows and I am trying to be good to my ankle which is not hurting so far today! They taste just like the ones I remember picking on the point up in Vermont when I was growing up. Sweet but not too sweet. I think I will try and make blueberry jam today with some of them. I picked 3.5 pounds at $4 a pound. 

I'll be heading back with the kids at some point... and maybe next Thursday morning as well. I freeze them on cookie sheets and then pop them into quart freezer bags. I might try a blueberry pie this year too with the next batch.

Then I tilled the garden between the rows. It needed it. The garden is producing pretty well this year - I guess the added chicken fertilizer is helping with the very sandy soil we have. We enjoyed some swiss chard and fresh peas with dinner of Risotto last night. I had to make a double batch (2 cups of arborio rice to start) and there was ONE spoonful left. One! I guess my family really likes it. I was planning pork chops with it but 2 of them said they were happy with just the rice so that was dinner! Tonight - will be chops on the grill and leftover grilled veggies I think. I do have to pop to Aldi today to get milk and creamer and 'snacks'. Snack are their fruit and grain bar and granola bars. Seems I have been out all week and it is causing issues with packing lunches! Asparagus is on sale so that might get added to the mix for dinner. My green beans should be ready for their first pick tomorrow - they are purple =). The beets are looking great and I picked the last of the radishes so I'll plant another row of them. Looks like the tarragon, basil, cilantro and a little parsley is coming up. Nothing from the dill. The spinach got picked and is being part of my mushroom and spinach omelette in the mornings. Emily's rows of carrots are looking good as well. She grows them for horse treats!

I did a little sewing last night and got the 16 patches sewn into a top. This will be 32x40 - perfect size for one of the hands2help charities. 

I also sewed the churn dashes into rows of 7. I just picked them up and sewed so who know's how it will look ... I had laid them out last night but it looks like the cats were unhappy with the look and decided to move things around a bit in the night.

I'd better get my shower done so I can go shopping and then I get sewing time! I hope to pin and simple quilt the 2 colorful charity ones today. Hope was the key word in that sentence!

Sunday.....

The hand work I have been busy with so far this morning is of the weeding variety! We picked up things from Lowes yesterday but by afternoon it was too hot and I was chauffeuring the girl to Grandma's for an overnight. The boy was sneezing since it is pollen season and someone has not been taking his allergy medicine the tail end of the week. I got home in time for dinner and the boy insisted we work on the triangle bed out front. It was in the shade so we finished weeding all the pesky things out of it. A break for dinner - leftover steak from the grill, potato salad and prosciutto wrapped asparagus... then back outside. Leaning over was causing issues with his sinus headache so he had placed the flowers and I dug and planted them. It looks much better. Needs mulch and more flowers to fill in but the kids have a plan. I think the boy will be mowing the lawn tomorrow - it needs it.

This morning, we spent 2 hours in the garden tilling and pulling up the weeds. The weeds down here in Florida are the ones with huge roots and trailing vines that get all tangled up in the tiller. I was on hoe and pull weed duty while he did the tilling in the areas that were already prepped last weekend by the kids. By noon - it was hot! Only a little part in the lower left hand part needs to get done at this point.

Time to move inside and get the stupid fire ants off and cool down. Hubby headed off to work while we were outside. Now that a shower and lunch are done... it is time to measure the cat and mouse quilt (61x71), prep the backing and batting and find my videos on how to load a quilt onto my Grace EZ3 frame! I'm hoping the leftover backing will be sufficient for the umbrella quilt to get pinned after that.  That is my afternoon plans and they are Aidan approved!

Grandma will return Emily this evening.... maybe. She just called and is considering another night with her.  I'll be doing hand work - I have a couple of Ella Maria Deacon blocks to get finished and I see the month #7 blocks are out this morning. They sure do look challenging! Don't mind the wrinkles, they live in the to go bag. That trip quilt under this does have it's binding all finished. I just need to make and attach a label and then have the kids hold it for a photo shoot sometime this week.

Dinner is Greek style. Greek herbed grilled chicken, pita and tzatziki and a salad with feta and olives. Boy and Mom approved!

Linking up with Slow Sunday Stitching.... where it is probably smart to turn off the tv and internet and pull up some stitching and audio books or movies and practice some therapeutic stitching.

I'm looking for good audio books I can get through the library with RB books. I have read all but 1 of a cozy mystery series by Joanne Fluke. The outstanding one is on hold. I listed to Firefly Hill, which was really good. I think I also did a mystery something about pirates and skulls and a tea shop in NC. It was interesting. I am currently listening to The war of the worlds by H G Wells. When actually reading I like the historical romances but I like listening to the mysteries when I walk and wait in the car lines. I also listened to the podcast of the Hand Pieced Quilt Along last year..... a couple of times. It was a good one too. Suggestions welcome.

Garden produce......

I survived the field trip. No stress as the group stayed together.. unlike LegoLand. It was a good time and they learned about the old Christmas traditions around the world and hand dipped some candles to take home. We got back to school a few minutes before release so I collected Aidan and took the kids home.

I popped out to the garden and there were lots of beans ready for picking. I cooked a few up on Sunday night but more where ready today. I have a huge pot full ready to cook for dinner. I also got some swiss chard picked. That bit of rosemary will go into the rosemary roasted potato, onion and pepper. I think that will all go well with the baked cod for dinner =)

Tomorrow I really need to go out and weed... and plant some more things. I think the lettuce will be ready next week, scallions/onions are happy and all four of the garlics have shoots up! I should try a beet and see how big those are - the tops are looking good so something is growing down there.

Girl Scout leader meeting tonight - cookie training! Yikes - next month we start taking orders. It will be  a busy January and February.

RSC in Green....

I got a little sewing time in this morning and was able to make my Dresden plate in dark green. Sorry the photo's are all washed out. They are more vibrant in person.

I cut the rest of these scraps into strips last week. They are sitting in piles of 1.5,2 and 2.5 on the edge of my ironing surface. I pulled a few of the 2.5 inch strips and cut them into 12.5 inch strips. I sewed them together and now have a front for a place mat. I had a bunch of 5 inch squares of light greens left over from Greg's quilt.....7 years ago! I sewed a few of them together and have a backing. I should be able to finish this one off tomorrow before I start quilting the Hunter Star graduation quilt on Saturday. It will be a nice little practice piece for that.

I've also made progress on the trip around the world block. I need to prep some more squares starting with a white round so I can finish this one off in the car line next week.

I just got back from helping Emily's class select their books from the scholastic book fair. It was fun watching them search for books. When I got home I picked a few things for my lunch - lettuce, cherry tomato's, a scallion and a small cucumber! I added some cheese, ham and turkey then made a new to me Italian dressing a la Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman. Very yummy. I know what I'm having for lunches the next few days!

Head on over Saturday morning and see what other green scraps are being used up this week. I hear thunder..... so I'd better go cut and draw lines on some white squares for the car line today. One line pick up when it rains means if I get there at 1:30 for the 2:05 pick up I am just inside the fence and not out on the road waiting.

Slow stitching Sunday...

No progress on the hand quilting this week..... I have 24 blocks completed out of 49. Here is a shot of the quilt as it is this morning.... and of course someone wanted a picture with it as well.

I hope to get a few stitches in on this midget appliqué block today in between finishing up the garden planting with the kiddo's.

I got one old garden tilled and planted with peas and beets yesterday, put in the cucumbers and a zucchini hill in the new one and weeded around half the shed flower/herb garden and added four giant sunflower seeds I found, some chives and some snap dragons for color. I found the lavender bloom, the oregano plant and the bag balm I had in that very overrun with weeds bed. Hopefully I can keep it a little better tamed this year. I need to get some basil and parsley seeds to put in there too.  I need to pull the rest of the grass runners out of the other half of it today while the kids help me to plant the rest of the garden that is tilled.

Head on over to Kathy's Quilts and see what other slow stitching is happening today. I see some hand quilting on the Hugs and Kisses quilt this afternoon as we take a rest for the boy so he does not overdo with his cold. I wonder which movie he'll select?