Thursday, July 30, 2009

Is Nothing Sacred?



Okay, the kitten has even trespassed onto Bruno's bed.






Not right!



What? What's wrong???


Have a great day.




Hugs and kisses,






Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Treasure

These are a few of the treasures I'm feasting my eyes on today:




This little shelf, which belonged to my paternal grandmother. I treasure it for that reason alone. The fact that I have it filled with more little treasures is just a bonus.

These little beauties belonged to my maternal grandmother. Aren't they sweet?





Freshly cut flowers on the dining room table,




Flowers growing in the hot summer sun (I can actually see these from my sewing room window),



From my sewing room window I can also see this little lady who is getting fat while helping to rid the chicken yard of those pesky flies. Good job, spider! And she has very wisely positioned herself over a little flower bed where she runs no risk of interfering with humans. Yay!!

Chickens cooling themselves in the shade of the fig tree. I am well aware that they are wreaking havoc on parts of the back yard, but I just cannot bear to keep them cooped up in their yard on hot days like this. They have SO much fun rampaging around in the freedom.




And of course, Miss Chloe. She can find MORE things to do than anyone I know, and everything is interesting to her. I just have fun watching her.







I think that's what we all need to cultivate in ourselves - that sense of wonder at every new thing we see and enjoy. God has given us a beautiful world! Enjoy it.


Hugs and kisses,

Monday, July 20, 2009

The Kitty

This kitten just cracks me up! It's been a while since we've had a little one in the house and I guess I've forgotten how very active they are. I snapped picture after picture and all I got was a blur. She's fast!
I finally got one with a little pensive look to her. Don't be fooled. She's not pensive, merely plotting her next move. So far she's got Bruno and Jack both nicely under her pretty little paws and she's well into putting me and Mr. Muddling there, too. Has a mind of her own, she does.
Here in this little video you can see the little cheetah I got for Valentine's Day. Yes, she's taken that over on the pretext of missing her siblings and needing company in her little box. I'm wondering how long Mr. Cheetah's whiskers will last.
We did have a very small shower on Saturday, not even enough to get the ground wet. It's cloudy today, and I live in hope!
Have a great day!
Hugs and kisses,


Sunday, July 19, 2009

What I Love About Quilting








Let's see now, where should I start? I guess with the fabrics. They are so beautiful and there are so many to choose from. It's endless riches, yet easily affordable to sample a lot and mix and match and play with a host of fabrics. That's a pretty good start on happy right there.

Then there's the fun of putting them together in pleasing combinations - all nice and symmetrical. And then transporting the pieces to the sewing machine and stitching them together.



Choosing the material for the backing.


And then, the part that usually gives me a wee bit of trouble - getting all three layers: backing, batting and quilt top together neatly without wrinkles or bunchy bits.




And then the quilting. I really wish I were better at this part, too. I'm learning with each new quilt I make, but I'm nowhere near as good as I want to be. However, it is still immensely satisfying to me to be able to create a one-of-a-kind beautiful, useful thing that is warming and comforting.



I am so glad that the people to whom I've given my quilts have liked them and use them. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.




And I'd like to think that someday, just like this old quilt from very long ago is still used and loved, the quilts I've made will still be used and loved as well.



Hope your day is filled with things that give you joy!!!
Hugs and kisses,

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Goodies!

I received some lovely gifts in the mail all the way from Australia! Margaret of Cosmos and Chrysanthemums had a giveaway a little while ago and I was one of the winners. You should see her beautiful handiwork. I got this beautiful little messenger bag ...........




and this oh, so pretty apron. Wow! How did you know Margaret that I've been wanting a pretty apron? I just have never quite pushed it to the top of my to-do list. And now I don't have to.

This is part of the backing for a new quilt I'm making for my brother. For some odd reason he likes bats. And this is only a small part. The rest of it is a lot more mainstream. :) I'm at the good part now - machine quilting. It's a pretty good-sized quilt so it may take a while.

Hope your day has lots of good things, too!
Hugs and kisses,

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Chloe


Meet the newest member of our little family. Her name is Chloe and she is six weeks old today, which coincidentally is when she came to live with us. A neighbor is overrun with kittens and very kindly offered me one of the latest litter. (Actually she asked me if I'd take all of them, but that's not happening!) Sorry I couldn't get a better shot of her. This is taken under the bed in the sewing room.
She is one very busy little lady, and so tiny. She has investigated and crawled into all kinds of places since she arrived early this afternoon. We've had a marvelous time watching her antics. And yes, Bruno is keeping a close eye on her. :)
Now, I truly hope she'll settle down and get some rest and allow the rest of us to get some sleep, too!
Enjoy what's left of your night.
Hugs and kisses,




Monday, July 13, 2009

You Just Never Know Who Will Come for Breakfast!








When I came back in this morning after feeding the chickens and putting out food for the birds, I looked out my kitchen window. Now, I've seen all kinds of birds out there at different times and in different years, but this is a first for me. And the poor little guy must have really been hungry, because he stayed there and ate and ate for at least five minutes!



edited to add: I guess I should have said, it's a blue parakeet, obviously one that someone has let escape into the wild. :) He/she should be fine. Unless we have an unseasonably cold winter, the weather here will not hurt the bird at all. And I guess this bird has found a place to pick up a meal!





Thursday, July 9, 2009

What Have I Been Doing?

Hmmm....................let's see. I've been picking some of these,




enjoying seeing these,








brightening up the bathrooms with some of these,




working (off and on) on these,








watching Bruno exploring everything,








and trying to talk these guys into going outside.






They don't want to go. Nope, too hot. They won't go!



"We'll just watch everything from in here, okay?"









Meanwhile, outside this afternoon, it is so blistering hot that I've set the sprinkler to spray just a little, sprinkled some yummy seeds on the ground, and the girls are enjoying a bit of a spa day. :)












Hope you're having a great day, too!







Hugs and kisses,