Bits and bobs from this month

This is Badger, we hit a great park to play in while waiting between husband's cousin's wedding and reception. We spent almost two hours playing at North Beach Park in Racine. This is an amazing park.

Mom knows everything. I hope they always think so. They found this feather in the yard. Who lost it? I don't know. Guess who I asked, my Mom.

This is the star jasmine plant I bought myself as a remembrance of my trip to LA with Beaver. He wants to go there for college (not yet!) and had the opportunity to meet some people who might be able to help and have his work reviewed. He wants to do set design/monster creation type work.

Every year I help a friend harvest her grapes and she helps me harvest my apples. I took home a big bag of green unripe ones she was not planning on using. I found a recipe for sour grape pickles. We shall see.

I made jam out of the rest of the unripe grapes, it is tarter that the ripe ones but these grapes are seriously candy sweet so that is not a terrible thing.

Mouse surprised us all with wanting to go out for Cross Country this year. We asked if he knew it involved exercise and being outside... then agreed quickly. He loves computers, and unless we force him would be on them all the time, so this was a surprise. He loved it and worked hard. He came in at the middle of the pack and his school took 3rd over-all. He is the one with the curly hair.

Triangle loom weaving project. I enjoyed it but will need a much bigger loom to make anything not for my girls.

Butterfly reading her birthday card from my sister. I have a beautiful new nephew.

He is moving so he is blurry but that is Beaver. He loves his team.

A new day.

Friday: Butterfly got to see her grandparents and get her birthday presents from them.  They had been sick (and still were not feeling great) so they missed her party.  She had a wonderful time, normally when she goes some where the division of kids means she is either with mouse (middle two) or with Badger (girls together) well as Nathaniel goes to dinner with his dad on Friday evening she got to go with him and it was different and odd for her.  I also took the car, better mileage, which she very rarely rides in so that was fun for her too.  Grandpa surprised her with an ice cream cake.

Saturday: We went to the farmer's market, despite the cold wind it was a good day!  Huge beets from a very pregnant woman, tiny thai peppers, cayennes, shallots (I am plant half the bag and hoping)  pie pumpkins, soap (that is helping with my skin) kettle corn, cookies, coffee and cocoa.  We saw neat clockwork looking spiders, goat cheese in 2# block that I want but can't go through enough so I am hoping to find someone to go in with me, the river looked so wild and fast alongside the market.  Definitely have to go one more time before they close for the season.  

Then a friend and her soon to be husband stopped by and we ended up chatting about garden and plans.  They are getting married in May and the florist wants $20 a bunch for lily of the valley!  They are going to come up and pick my yard instead, hopefully the maiden's veil bushes will be in bloom in time so they can snag some of that too.  We ended up finding hidden treasures in the kids garden.  Mouse had beans hanging that we have collected for seed, Badger had tiny carrots, and Butterfly had a few cherry tomatoes.  They only could stay an hour or so but it was nice.

Then Beaver and I hopped in the car and drove to the Military Miniature Society of Illinois Show where his team competed, as adults.  The oldest is 17!  All of them did well.  Beaver's piece got a letter of merit in the general class showing he needs to work to compete but that he has the talent and is competing at the right level.  I think he was a little disappointed, I was proud.  He did get very inspired, and ended up talking to one vendor who gave him two flats to try painting.  They are revolutionary war soldiers and he will have to learn about the proper uniforms and how to paint a flat.  The team went out to dinner at a nice restaurant after.  The leader wants the kids to experience different things and grow not just as a painter but as a person.  I had the best mussels I have ever eaten, Beaver had a Caesar salad.

Sunday: We got up in time for church, have not been in a while, but since Butterfly had asked if Church was in season, I figured we ought to go.  Changes!  Beaver's class in Sunday school is gone in favor of a multiple parish youth group that meets at a different time, so he is going to help out in the younger kids class.  Butterfly is old enough to start.  She was very nervous at first, but Beaver sat with her and soon her friend showed up and she felt better about it and had a great time.  The adult class was very interesting, no plan due to the death of a long time parishioner, so the priest just opened up discussion with ask me anything and let the discussion move from there.  We ended up talking about the differences between the Western churches and the Eastern churches.  I did not realize that with regard to a lot of things Episcopal church beliefs are closer to the Eastern church than the Catholic. 

Then we raced home, quickly cleaned up and ate. My friend from the day before came over with her mother, future mother in law and another friend came.  We covered cardboard hat boxes with fabric.  They will be her centerpieces.  She baked scones and brought jam and tea and we had a bit of a tea party after we got the boxes done.  I was thinking the whole time if she leaves the scraps I am making her a table runner.  Her mom, dumped a handful or so into the garbage, when the left I rescued them.  The kids saw me, and I told them I what I wanted to do.  They raced out of the room, each bringing back a few scraps they had liberated during the day.  They offered up their treasures for the woman they view as aunt, I see her as family too, and immediately asked to help. Soon I will be helping to make her dress, my dress and the dresses of each of my daughters.  I need to make outfits for the boys too.  The wedding has a steam punk theme, so Victorian dress clothes.  

Then I fell into bed!!!

Garden News

First I have a helper - Beaver has agreed to tend my garden while I am digging for artifacts - in part this is because of the visitor in his garden but more on that in a different post. 

Shh... The Garden Gnome is napping....

Pepper plants are by each white stake.

Second, I got all the tomatoes and peppers in the ground!!! A friend always starts too many seeds, so he donates his orphans to the rest of us, threatening to compost post them if we don't take them.  So naturally we take them.  I am horrible at starting my own seeds - committing mass genocide year after year - this year I decided (and stuck to) not doing it.  I was planning on buying a few things and direct seeding everything, but due to the orphans I will not be buying any!

18 tomato plants in composting bed.

Horseradish blossoms

While digging them in a dear friend showed up suddenly and sat out in the garden planting and weeding, we even had the help of a passing Badger.  She is actually very patience and mostly helpful.  We also got a squash plant, a row of beans and a row of peas in the ground before going in to a yummie chicken stew Jim made.  After dinner and getting littles to bed, we sat up looking at wedding dress designs for her and planned.  I love that she never feels like company she shows up and I am gardening she joins in or just sits down and chats while I work, or whatever else I might be doing.  I walked into my messy kitchen and she helped the kids wash up for dinner while I got the dishes done.  It is always like that with her.  No judgment just affection. I am excited to be a part of her wedding next year and happy for her future.  I look forward to seeing her marry next year and start her life with a great man.  They are one of those couple where everyone can look at them and go well of course, they are perfect for each other!  I am hoping to put together a really stellar gift - hope chest filled with handmade stuff for the house.

A wonderful afternoon and evening.  The next morning I took these photos to share.

I hope your garden is growing well and your good friends know that they are welcome anytime! - Julia

Such a little bit

Of fuzzy lint got in my way this weekend.  I am busily working on my cousin's quilt and the machine started to catch.  After opening it up I found this pile of stuff.  So little maybe half a teaspoon, but it stopped my work completely.  Now it is gone and I have to get on with the project.  I have cut enough backing squares to make 16 squares which I consider the minimum I must get done to have a blanket to give her.  That will make a throw about 40 inches square.  After I get that done I can work on going up a row or column at a time.

Hope you are easily able to sweep the little things out of your way and get on with that which you love. - Julia

Sewing bee

I wanted to sit a spell and sew with the ladies at The Sewing Bee so here are a few things on my sewing table.

 This is going to be a snap bag to keep my knitting safe inside my purse and book bag.  Just as soon as I find where the broken tape measure I have been cutting up for spring steel is.  The lighter fabric is leftover from making handkerchiefs and the floral fabric came as part of a gift set of fat quarters from Jo-Ann's that Santa brought me one year in a cute cream tin, most of them have been used up but I still have a few pieces left. 

This is my forever project.  For our wedding, instead of having a guess book we had people sign squares of fabric.  I then decided to embroider over the names and then make a quilt.  I decided to stitch a nine patch then do the embroidery one square at a time, only doing the work by hand. My father made me a 10 foot long quilting frame that I want this to be the first project I make on it. So this project has been going on for 6+ years now and I hope to have it done by our 10th anniversary!  For that to happen I'd need to work on it more often.  

  

My cousin is getting married this summer I plan to make her a log cabin quilt.  I hope to get a square a week done minimum so you will be seeing that progress as well.  I am doing it in lap quilting style so the squares will be assembled and quilted at the same time then put together.  

What are you working on and planning? - Julia