What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

It has been busy week this week, with several gatherings for the holidays. It is the season for indulging, and Oliver is happy to have his sandwiches with chunky peanut butter. He’s put on his winter layer, and is quite chunky himself, LOL!

After the tea last week, I had several dozen cupcakes left over, so I brought them home and threw them in the freezer. When the pickleball group decided to do a potluck, I was all set! Not that I mind making food for friends. I do like to cook, but I know not everyone does.

This ...

We are having a wonderful year for Autumn color this year. The oranges and reds finally came to a peak right at the end of October. The colors were so vibrant, that I couldn’t stop taking pictures of our forest. My Aussie and Kiwi buddies were asking for some photos on a Zoom call a few weeks ago, so here you go, gals! Our driveway down the mountainside was glorious.

Looking across the valley, the large trees near the house are lovely too.

In the valley, color comes through the fog in the early morning.

On the edge of ...

I'm not any busier than any of you, and I seem to keep up with everything, but somehow I can't manage to post on a regular basis. So after neglecting my blog for 10 days, the things I intended to write about pile up and you get a hodge-podge post with lots of odds and ends.We made an overnight roadtrip for a bull sale a few weeks agoThen, one day I drove to a quilt shop in the mountains for an

Well, it has been quite a week. The temperature was so cool one morning this week, that I put on long pants and a sweater before going downstairs to the kitchen for a cup of the industrial grade jet fuel that I call coffee. Did I say cup? I meant 3 cups. Three oversize cups, just to be clear. As I lingered, enjoying the cool air, someone we all know showed up for breakfast. I got a chance to try the new camera that My Sweet Babboo bought for me. My old one died, and it has been a few ...

Oliver has been getting a bit bolder, coming up to sit on the front mat that says Wipe Your Paws to look into the sliding glass door. Alms for a hungry squirrel? Please, nice lady, is there perhaps a peanut butter sandwich nearby? Now, I ask you, could you resist this face?

Well, neither could I. Little beggar. I made him get off the veranda, then he got his sandwich. Bad enough he has learned where to come beg, but I have no desire to have his fleas (if he has any). He has also been on the outside kitchen ...

In the garden this week, the apricot gladiolas have come into full bloom. There are a bunch of them dotted over the mountainside behind our home. Some, I think, were planted by the previous owners of this house, but some must be squirrel planted as there are more of them every year. I have dug some up and transferred them to the front flower bed, but they still persist in the back. The first blooms on the bottom of the stalk have faded, but there are more buds to come.

Lovely color, aren’t they? Some years they bloom at ...

So many things to chat about today! Several projects were made this week, with specific purposes in mind. First, a dear friend is moving away, and I wanted to make her a special card. It will have a little gift inside. The card is a trifold, with stamped thread spools on the front with ribbon and a cord with a bow.

Inside, two sentiments let her know she will be missed, but is wished well in her new home.

I finished two fabulous books that I recommend highly! Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus – A woman with her own mind ...

Last weekend I heard a pitiful little cry just west of the chicken yard (the chicken coop is about 30 yards south of the house) and when I went to investigate, I found a tiny little kitten. I looked over and didn't see a mama around, but I wanted to give her a chance to pick him up although I did check him over to make sure he wasn't hurt. The mama kitties will often move their kittens and for

It has been a full week of wildlife visitors, with lots of animals and birds stopping by. I give treats to some, and some I have to hold my breath not to scare away. There is a small herd of five female deer that live in the forest on our property and the adjoining properties. We don’t see them often, but this day My Sweet Babboo came in to tell me they were on the hill behind the house. We didn’t dare go out, as they would bound away, so I got the camera and took a photo ...

It has been another week of appointments and meetings, with little to show. Last night it was raining and this morning was foggy when I awoke. The clouds are supposed to lift later and warm up a bit. It was a dreary dawn, but I do love the layers that appear when the fog settles in the valleys.

Last night, I had some fun presenting my Scrap Dancing program to the Shelby Foothills Quilt Guild. They are a small but mighty group, and such fun to be with. It is nice to have a live audience again, that interactive feedback ...

We were housebound for four days this past week, which meant a lot of projects were either finished or new ones begun. A few Zoom calls took up a bit of time, and I got a bit more progress on the epic historical novel I’m currently reading. Just before the snow started, I got this photo of Oliver on the retaining wall, and noticed my daffodils are coming up way too early! It was so warm before the snow, they are confused. I think they’ll be OK, daffodils can take the cold.

On the feeder, a huge pileated ...

The Autumn leaves hit their peak around our place this week, just stunning. Using my good camera and zooming in on the valley, you can see the bright gold and orange in the early morning sunlight. Driving around the area is gorgeous now, with a lot of crimson red, deep rust and gold leaves everywhere. Settle in for a long and picture heavy post!

Our driveway up the mountainside is covered in leaves, the rain and wind this week brought them down in huge numbers. But enough still remain on the trees to enjoy.

The oak is a russet brown ...

It is the last Sunday of the month, and Autumn arrived this week with beautifully cool days. The garden is winding down, but I am still harvesting a lot of tomatoes! This was a couple of days worth, with lots of little cherry tomatoes and another Cherokee purple.

The hydrangea is covered in dark pink/green blooms as is usual for it in the fall. Here and there are lighter color ones, but most are the darker ones.

I have one beautiful lavendar one that has been blooming for over a week now. It is a lovely pure lavendar color ...

Here we are, the beginning of August, the dog days. It has been way too hot for my taste lately, but there is a cool down in the forecast for this coming week, and I hope it is real. Oliver and Charlie came by for a sandwich more than one day.

Oliver seems to be getting a bit older. The life span of a squirrel is pretty short, and I’ll be sad when he isn’t around anymore.

My candy stripe verbena decided to bloom again, lovely purple and white flowers.

I just love purple. The hydrangeas have a ...

Morning coffee on the veranda is a calm and serene beginning to the day.  Bird song fills the air, and fresh mountain air brushes past in a gentle cool breeze.  I breathe deeply, and enjoy the dappled sunlight through the forest, shinrinyoku.  Again, I reflect on gratitude, and the concept of shoganai – a situation over which one has no control that I explored in my post on Gratitude during my Japanese Inspired February series.  Certainly that applies nowadays.  On this Mother’s Day, I reflect on the memory of my mother, and the special relationship I have with my mother-in-law ...