Another Quilt Finished

I'll say one good thing about the heat of summer - it makes me stay inside more. I've been quite productive at my sewing machine the last couple of months. Here is my completed hollyhocks quilt I posted about a while back.


I've already got my next project picked out and hope to start it today after I get home from working at Gail's store. :)

Garden Update and Geese

I can't believe how fast this week has flown by! I can't really say that I've accomplished much but I'm pretty sure I've been very busy doing something - ha ha!!

Remember a few posts back when I was complaining about living with deer? Between the lack of rain this summer and the deer trying to find anything they could to eat, there wasn't much left of my main circular flower bed in the center of my front yard. Well, right after I planted a few new plants and covered them with deer net, we started getting several storms pass through. We were getting nice rain storms several times a week, and you know what a much better job Mother Nature does watering than we do with our sprinklers. Take a look at the huge improvement in the once naked flower bed....even the tomato plant has grown back and has buds on it!





One of the reasons this flower bed is so full of plants now is due to tons of volunteer plants coming up. My salvias and vincas drop lots of seeds and if I would just be patient to wait for them, I really wouldn't need to plant anything in this bed.

While I had my camera with me this morning, I took a couple of pictures of my geese, Hansel and Gretel. They are gray saddleback Pomeranian geese and are a little over one year old. Gretel was suposed to be a girl but isn't. He doesn't really care that he has a girl name though. They are nice enough but Hansel did bite me earlier this summer. After I grabbed him up by his neck, he decided that wasn't such a good idea and hasn't tried it again. :) Hansel is the one in the front with more white; Gretel has gray above his legs; they weigh about 20 lbs each.





I'm home today cleaning and putting out some fall candles and decorations. I'm ready for summer to be over with....talk about wishing my life away!

Have a great day, whatever you do with it.

August

August is my least favorite month of the entire year. Some people hate winter and cold weather but I can deal with the cold far better than I can the heat, even though it makes my arthritis hurt so much more.

We got a few autum garden flags in Gail's shop Thursday and they have inspired me to start some fall cleaning in the house and tidying up the yard. We've had several storms the last three weeks and things are growing again but there are quite a few dead plants that need pulling up.

While drinking my coffee this morning, I found some beautiful images to share. It won't be long before we're all decorating for fall.

A Beagle Dumped at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop

A friend of mine, Rockie, sent out an email yesterday stating that upon arriving at work, she saw a small beagle laying on a pile of clothes that had been donated to the Salvation Army thrift shop, which is right next door to her office. The beagle had yarn or rope tied around her neck and front leg so that she couldn't move. Fortunately this friend (as most of mine are) has been involved with dog rescue and knows how to handle situations like this.

Now Rockie has a great gal working for her who also happens to be an animal lover. Rebecca took the pooch home to see if it would get along with her dog and kept it overnight. Today she took the beagle pup to the vet and guess what. Turns out this little dog had been micro chipped. Turns out that this little dog was registered to a New York research facility who adopts out some of their victims after using them. Turns out this little dog was adopted out to a family who decided that they no longer wanted this little dog and they dumped her.

I know for a fact that beagles used in reputable research facilities are purchased from breeders who breed dogs specifically for research purposes only. These dogs are bred for temperment - meaning they are submissive and won't try to defend themselves when subjected to whatever experiments are being performed on them. They are not given any vaccines prior to purchase by the research facility and their diets are strictly controlled. Otherwise, tests or vaccines or whatever may be compromised during "research".

I used to work for a contractor company at Glaxo-Wellcome, now Glaxo-Smith Kline. Every Thursday orders were submitted for their research animals and every Tuesday the animals arrived in a building that was set far back in Research Triangle Park under very tight security. While I never saw any of the animals, I knew what went on and only worked there for two years. When I started having nightmares about baby pigs being tortured I knew it was time for me to leave. I only took that job b/c I was desperate anyway, as it went against a personal conviction of mine.

Well this little beagle pup is now in a wonderful home where she will be loved forever. Like my friend Rockie said, she is starting the best years of her life. The gray on her face is most likely from aging prematurely due to stress. The dogs that are adopted out are usually fairly young. A lot of times people don't want to keep them b/c they are difficult to house train after living their lives in a steel cage. Those stupid people did this precious little dog such a huge favor by dumping her at the Salvation Army instead of what more commonly happens...dumping in the woods or on the side of the road. And after enduring whatever she has been subjected to in research, she deserves our gratitude and all the love in the world.



God Bless Rebecca and God Bless this little beagle dog!

Pileated Woodpecker Sighting!

I just saw a Pileated woodpecker about 30 minutes ago!!! I thought I saw one a couple of years ago but decided I had just conviced myself and that it was a red headed woodpecker instead. Well I got a clear view of this big guy as he flew across the road in front of me and landed on a big tree trunk. I was so excited that I called Gail right away even though I had just left her at work. I didn't know who else would fully appreciate what I had seen.

I'm going to have to report the sighting to the Audobon Society and the local wildlife group. I'm not sure if they're protected around here or not but sure don't want to take any chances by not notifying them.

Joining A Swap

I keep seeing all the fun being had by joining different swaps. Please tell me how I can join in on the fun. I'm ready to start some holiday fun but am not limited to that. If you wouldn't mind, please leave a comment with the information I need to get started.

Thanks so much and have a nice day whatever you do!

Job Searching and Reading

Well, the week has flown by. I've been spending a lot of time job searching and making phone calls. There are lots of jobs advertised but so many people looking that it's really difficult to even get a response from applying. And forget trying to get a decent salary. :(

I did meet a woman (customer) who came into Gail's shop Monday and low and behold it looks like I'll be doing some contract work for her. Who knows where this will lead - somewhere, I hope! I'm very excited to get started; we're meeting next week to discuss all the details.

On a completely different note, my older daughter, Erin, gave me the first two books in the Twilight saga to read. I really wasn't interested but took them. Then I came across one of my blogs a couple of weeks ago and saw where the author had started reading Twighlight and raved about it. I can't remember what blog it was (I apologize) but thought - what the heck. Let me look into this. Boy am I hooked! I'm kind of a slow reader but I've finished the first two books and purchased the second two yesterday so I can continue. And like the other blog author stated, yes the story is based around a teenaged girl, but it is so good that the age difference doesn't really matter to me.



Well, it's Friday again - I'm off to clean a friend's house. And no, I don't do it out of the goodness of my heart; she's paying me. It helps us both.

Have a good weekend everybody and keep your fingers crossed about this contract work thing for me!!

ttfn

Halloween Table Topper Complete

Yay - I finished something! My Halloween table topper is complete; I stayed up late to get it done. I'm trying really hard to make time to do the things I love.




I'm off to clean a house for a friend; it will be another long day.

More Pics from My Sister's Visit

Hey everybody,

I wanted to post the rest of the pictures from my sister's visit last week. I intended to take her to several quilt shops in the area, but I swear, Thimble Pleasures is my favorite shop and we just didn't need to go anywhere else. We really had such a great time during both visits. All the staff is so friendly and quite talented. Several of them design their own patterns, as well as teach classes there. They are moving to a larger location this week and will have even more delicious fabrics to chose from. I can't wait to go over there Saturday to check out their new space.

Now for those pictures...

Karen (left) and Diane (right). Karen designs and teaches, as well as acting as their webmaster. I'm not sure if Diane teaches but I can tell you she is one of the funniest ladies there!! And very sweet to boot!
.

Another shot of Karen



Just a few of their batiks; they have a huge (and gorgeous) selection


A small glimpse of the main room


Alissa keeping herself occupied with some toys in the corner

..and she requested this one

Susan checking out a pattern...or something...


A wall hanging class example:

...and another

...and another...!

And now for the fabrics that Susan purchased. Disclaimer: She told me to let everybody know she has a "disease". I told her that lots of others have the same "disease" - hehe. I just love the way they fold the fabrics after they cut them. Diane said you have to be able to fondle your fabrics and this way you can see them all at once :)















That was our great shopping spree at Thimble Pleasures. We had such a good time and I can't wait to do it again with her, although she might feel differently after me taking her there. :)

We Interrupt This Sewing Segment.....

to bring you an update on "Living With Deer".

Yes, you guessed it, I got sidetracked today. Last week Lowes had their perennials on sale 3 for $10 and I bought a few to try to replace the deer damage. I intended to get them planted before my sister arrived but ran out of time. Today I went outside and got to work. First I had to cut back the spent yarrow and pull out all the dead stuff. One side of the bed is completely bare but has lots of little salvia volunteers.

The deer usually leave those alone so I transplanted a few of them. They'll grow big and fill in the entire bed by the end of summer....hopefully.







Now I know this is the worst possible time to plant anything, and between heat and lack of rain, things are usually looking pretty bad around here anyway. But I couldn't stand it so caved in. I bought some beautiful varieties of coneflowers - three yellows and one pink. I also got a couple of pink penstemmons. I got them all planted and then covered them with deer net - the only sure way to keep them safe. The deer have never bothered my coneflowers or lantanna before but have done a number on them this year.





And since I was dripping with sweat already, I tackled some weeds in the perimeter bed. Didn't get finished but it's looking much better.

I completed Alissa's snuggle quilt and it's all ready for her. I'm going to work on my Halloween table topper this evening before going to bed. I hope you all have a great weekend.

Sew Much Fun!

Let me start at the beginning of the visit. My DS made me the cutest little kitchen towel. She said she ran out of time and didn't get the button sewn on but I can do that. She has a very fancy embroidery attachment to her machine and does beautiful work on everything she touches.




She also brought her handbag patterns and completed the Claire Handbag by Lazy Girl Designs



Her bag - I wouldn't have the patience to make one of these.

An inside shot

Alissa stayed with us for a couple of days and Susan made her a cute little bag without any pattern from some scraps. She is so talented. Alissa was thrilled, as you can tell by her face.


Here is my little Halloween table topper. I took a couple of elements from a pattern I borrowed to make it. I wanted to make a cute pieced house block but had a lot of trouble trying to make it into a 6" square. I'm going to applique a black cat on the right side of the roof and sew some crooked boards on the house. I still need to embroider a spider and some other elements but am quite pleased with it. I'll post a completed picture once it's all finished and bound.



On the second trip to Thimble Pleasures we took Alissa with us. She almost immediately picked out some cute fabric that was perfect for a quick snuggle blanket so I bought enough to make one for her. This blanket will stay at my house to make it even more special to her. I've sewed some buttons on it and all that's left is to bind it, which should be done tomorrow if I don't get side tracked with yard work :)


Well friends, that's the sewing we did this week. My DS has gone back to her own home and I miss her. It was so nice to have her here with me and share something we both love so much. We're definitely going to have to do this again!

I have lots more pictures of our trips to Thimble Pleasures and will post them next time. (I can't find where I saved them!!!)

Have a great day tomorrow!