it's summer, what can I say?

I've been pretty lax about posting lately.  However, it is summer, and I've got a case of those "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer"...without the crazy part.

Things have been moving along.  I painted the hallway last week with paint leftover from painting my bedroom.  Still need to do the baseboards and trim, but progress comes one step at a time.  And I made some curtains for Elise and Lily's playhouse (no pictures).

And I've been working on some signature blocks for a swap on the HGTV message board.  The signups for this swap were about a year ago, and I thought, why not?  I'd have plenty of time.  Right.  We have to have 62 blocks turned in by the end of August, and I've finished sewing 25 of them.  And I still have to sign them.  Sigh.  But I'll get there.  At least they don't all have to be alike.  Here's a sampling of what I have so far.

Then the other day I was out with one of my quilting buddies, Linda, and we visited a couple of our LQSs in the area.  (That's local quilt shops for those of you not in the know.)  We each got a book called Kaleidoscope Symphony  by Marilyn Foreman.  As I was looking at it, I knew the concept was similar to a project I started from the HGTV message board several years ago, but alas had not finished.  Now with the book, I'm enthused to do something with the blocks I've already made. Basically you take a fabric that has about a 12" repeat, stack four of the repeats on top of each other, and cut out a square through all thicknesses.  You then have 4 identical squares that you turn and stitch together to form the kaleidoscope effect.

Here's the book:

Here's a picture of what I have on hand as a UFO.  At the bottom of the pic is the original fabric that these squares were cut from.  Oh, and you'll also notice my foot in in the picture so you know I'm really the one taking the picture.  The squares are sitting on some coordinating fabric that will be worked into the finished piece.

Now to make the day complete, I must say Happy Anniversary to my sister Karen and her husband Troy.  53 years today!  Woo hoo!

Have a good week.  : )

back from the beach

As I did last summer, I went to the beach with Elizabeth and her family.  We were on Padre Island, and enjoyed some splashing in the water, playing in the sand, and seeing the sights in Corpus Christi.

Elise did really well on the trip.  She handled the long drive in the car by keeping entertained with technology.  She has her apps, and knows what to do with them.  Sorry if its a bit blurry, I used my phone and it may not enlarge the best.   Notice her bandaids?  She's reached the age that I don't think there will be a day without at least one bandaid...needed or not.  :)

Surf was up at the beach.  We saw a surfcamp class at one end of the area, and noticed that they walked on down by the pier to go in the water.  It didn't take long to figure out that the waves cause you to drift down to their starting point.

Lily and David got out with their boogie boards and played quite a bit.  Elise wasn't thrilled with the water coming in to cover her feet, so Elise, Elizabeth, and I stayed out to build sand castles.

Elise is somewhat like her mother at that age, and not always wanting to cooperate or automatically smile at the camera.  Here's a family photo.  :)

One day David surprised Lily with letting her get her ears pierced.  He thought it would be fun for her to be able to tie the memory in with her beach vacation.   Here's the before, during, and after shots.

And Elizabeth told me that she's heard of a new trend to take pictures of your feet when you travel if you're not thrilled to have your picture taken.  I've actually done this before, but here's this year's beach picture of yours truly.

Yep, that's me.  I've been to the beach!

happenings

Things seem to stay busy these days.  I just finished watching Elise for the school year.  I'm available to give David a break here and there, but basically its now the "lazy days" of summer.  Lazy?  More on that in a bit.

I went to Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, and contributed a small amount to their local economy.  I do remember now why it's been 7 years since my last visit.  Las Vegas really is a town that requires some walking to see it right, and I don't have the stamina for that.  But, we did have a good time (I went with niece Tammy, and met up with Nolene and Joe who were vacationing there).  We went to a chocolate factory, made the hike from the Excalibur over to the M&M store via New York, New York, enjoyed the dinner/show presentation of Tournament of Kings, and remembered that Wheel of Fortune is my favorite slot machine.  I enjoyed some relaxation at the hotel when the others made the trek up and down the Strip.  Nice little get-away weekend.

This week my cousin Mary made it into town.  She's been on a cross country adventure from New Mexico to Florida and back, and managed to come through our area for an overnight stop.  As we visited, along with John, Nolene, and Joe, we figure its been well over 40 years since I'd last seen her.  Its ironic that as I was going through some papers this morning, a couple of years ago I had commented on one of my writing exercises that Mary would be a relative I'd like to get to know better.  She had polio as a child, and as would be expected has faced a lot throughout her lifetime.  Encouraged by her doctors to get an education because as she got older her limitations would increase, she not only got her Bachelors degree, but also her Masters and PhD.  She is semi retired, working part time teaching at  a college to give her "play money" for adventures.  Just a couple of weeks ago she posted pictures in Facebook of her para-sailing!  An interesting woman, and a strong advocate for the disabled.  This world could use more Mary's. 

Now about that comment of "lazy days".  Ha!   I decided to paint my bedroom, so Friday night I started the cutting in process.  Saturday I was up at the crack of dawn, and went to work.  It was a lot of trips up and down the tall ladder, but by early afternoon it was done.  I'm planning on putting in tile flooring, both in my bedroom and bathroom, so getting this done was the first step. Well let me clarify that....I'll have someone put in the tile flooring!  I do know my limitations.   Knowing that job will be coming up, and hopefully soon, I'm tossing some things out, and taking others to the Salvation Army drop-off point. 

This silk flower arrangement survived the cut and is still in the room. When I transferred from one department to another at work, either in 1998 or 1999, my co-workers gave it to me.  Surviving several moves, a few of the flowers have started to shift, but I just couldn't part with it.  I dusted it off,  moved it to another wall, and there she'll stay.  By the way, the wall color is Cup of Cocoa, a Behr color at Home Depot.

Guess that's all for now.  Makes me tired looking at what I've done, so I think I'll take a nap.  ;)

she did it!

My sister has e-published her book, Confessions of a Redneck Romeo!   Check out her blog about availability from Amazon, including a special offer.  I admit I'm partial, but I do think you'll enjoy it.

Been a bit busy this week, but found time to make a little dress for Elise.  I was given the fabric over a year ago from one of my quilting buddies, Linda, but just now got to it.  Good thing I didn't wait any longer, she's growing so fast.  Maybe she'll get a few weeks wear out of it!  ;)   She was so sweet when she told me "it's beautiful".  Awwww.  (she's sitting down in the picture, it's not as short as it looks)

I know I usually get a post out on Friday, but it's coming out a day early this week.  Have a good holiday weekend everyone...and thank a vet.

chicken soup

I'm not known for cooking a lot,  but there are a few things that I enjoy and prepare regularly.  Lately, this chicken soup has been a favorite.  

I've had this recipe for several years...long enough that I can't remember where it came from, and I don't still have the original written copy.  Usually I just wing it, and it seems to work.   I don't want a huge pot when I'm finished because I'll  be about the only one eating it, unless I happen to take a bowl to my neighbor or give one to Elizabeth for her lunch, so I just use one chicken breast.  You could certainly use more if you want to.  Even with a giveaway or two, I still have several bowls to enjoy for a few days.   Its flexible enough that you can add or delete whatever you want.

Chicken Soup or maybe a version of Tortilla Soup

1 chicken breast (or more if you prefer)
1 1/2 - 2" of water to cover      
boil chicken, then shred it and put back in the water; removing bones if necessary

add the following, and simmer awhile:

1 can chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes and  chopped green chilis (I use the store brand of Rotel)  (optional)
salt and pepper to taste, if any
1 Tbsp chili powder or to taste if you want more
couple sprinkles cayenne pepper (to taste, and definitely optional)
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
2-3 ribs of celery, chopped
1/2 onion, diced or chopped

 then add and cook until these are heated:
1 can great northern beans, drained
1 can carrots  (if using fresh, add them with the bell pepper, celery, and onions)

can be served with any or all of the following:

grated cheese          sour cream             sliced avocado     
tortilla strips (in the area of croutons at the grocery store)

Some may not think of soups as summer fare, but this tastes good and is a nice break from sandwiches.  Or heck, even have it with your sandwich!

Here you see it just cooked, served up, and embellished with cheese and tortilla strips.  Yummo.  :)

Alaskan purse

Last summer I took a cruise to Alaska with niece Tammy, and of course happened to visit a couple of quilt shops.  I picked up fabric, as well as patches at various tourist sites, with the vague intention of some kind of quilt commemorating the trip.

Almost a year later, and the fabric was still tucked away neatly in the bag along with the patches.  Truthfully, I just don't need any more quilts and my heart wasn't tuned in to the idea.  Then the other night a little light bulb came on in my head and the idea of a purse or tote bag showed up.  Yesterday I dug through the prints, and most of them are fat quarters (I know I'm repeating myself here, but fq's are 18" x 22" cuts), with a couple of one-yard pieces.  I went through the patterns I had for totes, and none of them really "hit" me.  Then I saw the Gracie pattern, and I thought that just might work.  Having made it before, I know it's not complicated, and it would lend itself to some piecing to come up with what I'd want.

So, here we have it.  One side has a print of the trees (remember Alaska is the second largest rain forest in the world), and the other side has a river rippling over the rocks.  (My creative writing teacher would be proud of the alliteration.)   There are also some whales on a little batik print.  The patches worked in nicely, and the handles pieced together to coordinate.  

Wah-lah, another project done!

Parks!

One of Elise's favorite things to do is go to the park.  Friday we got out, ready to visit a new-to-me park that Elizabeth recommended.  The skies were overcast, but the air was nice and cool, just fine for playing.

After one misturn and a small detour, the park came into view.  As we approached, a fine mist landed on the windshield.  By the time I pulled to a stop, they were good size sprinkles.  Within seconds, it was a downpour.  Had it not been for the detour, we would have been soaking wet I'm sure.

Since no new pictures were forthcoming from this adventure, here's a previous park visit.

I have a couple more to add, and will try to slip them in later today.   Edited to say, for some reason I'm having a hard time getting my pictures from my phone to the computer.  May not happen.

Also I want to add a picture of a wall hanging I've completed for Angela.  I've mentioned it to her, so it's not a big surprise, but here it is.  She likes coffee a lot, so I thought of her when I saw this pattern.

Then I made this little sewing caddy the other day.  They go together really quick, and are convenient for keeping supplies together.  I'm sure they could be used for other crafts as well.  Thanks again Sherry for the class you taught on this.

Okay, maybe this posting is finished now.  Have a good weekend everyone!