A Typical Fourth of July Celebration

I saw from my sister Kathy's blog that I was supposed to comment about our holiday. Well, we spent it doing what most people probably did... we visited and ate and played dominoes.


And what did we eat? Your usual July 4th fare. Biscuit-Topped Lemon Chicken. Cheddar biscuits baked over creamy lemon-pepper sauce chicken. And Kathy made fabulous Almond Green Beans. I was glad there were some left to enjoy later.


And then, of course, we finished up with an ice cream sundae bar. Blackberry Dark Chocolate, Strawberry Creme, Mint Chocolate Chip and Extreme Chocolate Moosetracks ice creams with your choices of caramel, strawberry or chocolate sauces with peanuts, walnuts, M&M's and Oreos.

All enjoyed by me, Kent, Stephanie, Kathy, and Sam, Jessie and Tristan Mazurek. We had a great day!

And for my creative outlet...

I'm so proud of my latest completed project. I picked up a cross-stitch that I'd started in 1998? I decided to complete it for my new kitchen, wherever that may be. I'll be making a kind of "hope chest" to put together some new things to look forward to when we finally move. Here is the completed piece! Ta-da! I want to make a frame for it like one I made for a quilted interpretation of our mountain sunset. I used a soft wood and then put it through the bead blast cabinet in Kent's shop to give it a very weathered look.


And I spent the afternoon at my sister's, enjoying some conversation and company. While Kathy sorted through kitchen cupboards, sorting through what she wants to take when she moves, I used her enormous island to cut out a dress. I really like this pattern, even more so after reading the directions. The top edge of the bodice gets a drawstring and the waistband gets a double drawstring. So even though it appears to be pretty fitted, you can adjust it as need be. I wonder if that was actually a common practice in the days when this dress would have been in style. It sure make it versatile over a range of measurements. Of course my hope will be that I'll need to cinch it up tighter with time.


And here is a sneak peak at the fabric I'm using. It had a border with roses that have the look of being oil-painted. I cut the pattern out so as to capture roses on the right and left front yoke, the sleeves, and the hem. Kathy had a great idea to cut the front yoke pieces so that I can hand applique the leafy bottom edge of the rose clusters onto the bodice. I'm looking forward to getting to work on this.


And of course I always need some hand work for the evening. Since I had such success finishing the 12 year old cross stitch. I decided to work on the one my friend, Mindie, had given me when I last visited. What you see here, with the exception of four words, was stitched by her. Now I'll finish it and whenever I look at it, I'll enjoy knowing it was worked on by both of us.

They're Growing on Me

So those seeds I started? It didn't all go as beautifully as I'd planned. Had it gone as I imagined I'd have squash vines twining around me feet and small green tomatoes hanging heavy next to an abundance of beans. As it is, I am pleased that we had something to transplant to the greenhouse. We did that last week and everything seems to be pretty perky. Always a good sign. We have beans coming on the plants. I'd been pinching them off the seedlings for weeks already but I'd say they are adjusting to the new digs. And the tomatoes and squash are putting out new leaves. I'm still hopeful if guarded about getting something edible out of this venture yet.


For instant gratification, we have a new geranium. This one is supposed to be showing my poor, old wintered-over geraniums how to look. This one is a real beauty. Not featured in the pics, two pots of morning glories that I started from seed. They throw out about one bloom each day so far. Beautiful little plants, though. And my favorite old tea kettle is planted with cosmos and morning glory. I'm also trying my hand at square foot yardening. I love to recycle so I used an old porcelain coated drawer from my potting bench area and planted Kentucky fescue grass all around two mystery flowers. I started them from seeds but I no longer remember what they may be. So I will enjoy my square foot yard and cut my grass with scissors. Clearly I've been on this mountain too long.

Picnic in the Park

We had a really nice church picnic last Sunday. It was relaxing, the weather was perfect and the company was exceptional. My favorite part? I would say it was the sleeping baby I snuggled. I find that so soothing! Tristan seemed to find it soothing also.

Sabbath Stroll

A lot has been going on in the last couple weeks. But for all the busy doings, we make it a point to enjoy a sabbath each week as well. Here is a collage of photos from a stroll we took last week. Lots of blooms and butterflies (or moths, I'm no Gene Stratton Porter). It was a lovely day and we enjoyed getting out for no particular reason but to mosey around in the woods.

Breaking News: Teen Cat Tries Pot

Exclusive photos reveal how deeply in trouble this cat is!




Yes, the mystery of the potting soil on the sofa has been uncovered. Socks had decided that this was a great place for a nap. My squirt gun had other ideas. Note to self: when squirting cat who is sitting in pot on three-legged stand, contents may become upended during exit phase.

Speed boat nearing the shore

Ok, I just included this because it played tricks with my eyes when I saw it. Kent and I were sitting on the deck when a plane flew overhead and suddenly I could see a boat speeding on a blue lake nearing the tree-lined shore. So am I nuts or can you see it too?

Click on the photo for a larger view if you need help visualizing...