Catching Up

I have been working outside today. Weeds were taking over my mulch beds. How can weeds grow so well and it takes great effort to keep the good plants alive? I have been trying to catch up since I was sick for 2 weeks. I still was not back to 100% this past week but I managed to do a few things. I photographed these wasps today. I was right under them and did not see them.
I snapped a photo of my hummingbird last week. I went and sat really still and waited for him to come. I could not find my tripod anywhere so I did not think any of the pics would turn out. I got a few good ones.
Hopefully I will manage to do some things this week to post about. I leave for Nancy Crow in 2 weeks so I will be getting ready for that.
Song of the day: "Silver Springs" by Fleetwood Mac

Craziness

Since friday of last week people have been freaking out about gas around here. I guess we started to run short. We were not getting shipments from Texas because of hurricane Ike. Word got out and everyone started flocking to gas stations topping off and hoarding. I have never had to wait to fill up for gas. I think I waited about 15 minutes but I needed it. I forget what the paper said about gas sales since this. They were up like crazy, so it seems we had the gas but everyone was panicking and going and getting more. Things should be back to normal this week. I guess the gas line in Texas is up and running now. It just really makes you stop and think about what you do. If times get hard how would you react and what would you have to give up. It has been hard keeping my daughter home this weekend. We just tried to make her understand that no matter what happens you have to be prepared. Just because everyone else is out driving around doesn't mean you can too. If gas is going to be hard to get you have to make sure you can get back and forth to school. That is your main priority just like people have to go to work. Maybe one day all the things we lecture her about will sink in.
This is the gas station down from my neighborhood. Both entrances have long lines of people waiting. How much gas do you waste by waiting in line for a long time? I snapped these while I was waiting at the intersection.
On another note, GO GATORS. They did a great job kicking Tennessee's butt! Hopefully they will be able to keep that up all season. They have some tough games ahead. I thought the Gator's colors of orange and blue were obnoxious but they were showing highlights of other college teams during the breaks. Oregon was green and neon yellow. My husband said I think they are green and gold. I did not see gold I saw hurt my eyes yellow.
Song of the day: "Black Magic Woman" by Santana

Not Playing Nice

I was sitting on my deck at sunset seeing if I could get some bird pictures. I did! It seems they do not play nice and get along very well. They kept kicking each other out of the birdbath. They did not seem to mind sharing food but they did not want to share the water hole! I am getting a larger variety of birds now that they are finding out about the food. Don't ask me to name them because that is not going to happen. At the bird store the lady just kept spouting out names of birds and I kept shaking my head like I knew what she was talking about. As long as they are pretty and keep amusing me I will feed them. I do love nature but I am not concerned with naming it yet. Maybe when my kids are gone.
I washed my fabrics today and cut some of the purple. It makes it all go faster when it is cut and ready to go. The purples are going to be great. It is a wide selection of different ones.
Gotta go pick my son up from hockey.
Song of the day: "Flamenco Sketches" by Miles Davis

Batiks

I received my purple and brown batiks today. Now I can make more flower blocks. Here are the 2 that I have done. I actually did the purple one first and ran out of cream. I sent swatches out to the batik shops hoping someone had some of it. Batiks Galore did, the same place I got the browns and purples from. So I threw it in the wash today and finished the purple flower. It only needed 4 6 1/2 in strips. That was frustrating getting that far then running out of fabric. Only 7 more blocks to go.
Song of the day: "Give It Up, Turn It Loose" By En Vogue

Making My Backyard Nice

This is all I have had the energy to do. I went and purchased some bird feeders and a hummingbird feeder. I caught a hummingbird in my garage the other day. They get stuck in there and fly up instead of down so that keeps them from getting out. Then they get webs on them and it makes it hard to fly. It is great for me because I have gotten to hold one twice. It even sat on the back of my hand. The lady at the store said they fly in there to check out the garage cord that hangs down. She was right when I came home and looked at it it was red. That is what attracts them to it. I put the hummingbird feeder by the fountain so I can sit there and get pictures of them. The bird feeders are out in the yard so hopefully that will keep the birds out there and away from the deck. I don't want my deck covered in bird crap!
It is nice having the dogs outside with me. Drake loves to lay in the sun. He thinks he is a model. He just stares at me like take my picture. Pal runs from me. I have taken his picture since he was a pup so he hates the camera.
I am hoping by the weekend I will have the energy to sew.
Song of the day: "Warwick Avenue" by Duffy

Sick All Week

Just when I get back into a rhythm something happens. I was doing so good getting into my studio and sewing them bamm I get sick saturday night. When I went to bed my right hip was hurting. No big deal, I get aches and pains here and there. Sunday I woke up aching everywhere. Monday my head was about to split open, all my joints hurt, and my hands and feet were burning. I went to a walk in clinic. They could not tell me anything from the tests they ran in the office. They sent some of my bloodwork out to a lab for tick related illness. I just got the results from that today, nothing! It has been a week and my hips still hurt. They said I probably just have a virus. It is frustrating when you do not know exactly what you have. I have never been this sore and achy. If I go out I load up on motrin. Which is what I did today.
My daughter and I spent some time together today. We stopped by a friends house, picked up some algae stuff for my fountain, and went to lunch. I am always amazed at who I see around town. There was a group of people walking in the restuarant. I noticed a very tall girl in a red dress coming in. As soon as she took her glasses off I recognized her. She was the model that married Peter Brady, of the Brady Bunch. Then about 4 men later he walked in. Too funny, Peter Brady!! Every star I have seen is always shorter in person. My daughter was trying to get me to notice the christian singer that came in and I was trying to get her to notice them. That is the afternoon gossip around here.
This flower was the last thing I was working on before I got sick. I am going to do 9 blocks all purple with cream backgrounds. I figured that is a good way to use my batik creams I have been collecting. I ordered some more purples and browns today. This one flower is about 24 inch finished. It will be another big one. I got my 2 1/2inch strips of batiks that I ordered last week. They look great with the creams.
Song of the day: "Daisy Jane" by America

Soldier Quilts

Since wednesday I have been sewing about 6-8 hours a day. I have been getting some things done but my back is suffering. Friday about 20 ladies from the guild got together and worked on soldier quilts. Kathleen the lady in charge of the committee organized the gathering. We made quilt as you go quilts. My little group of three worked on some blocks. We got 48 done, they were 9 3/4 in. finished. Saturday they were going to put the sashing on them and be done. It is a really great technique for getting quilts finished quickly.
Kathleen has taken the soldier quilts to heart. She is a retired military wife. The committee has donated approx. 150 quilts in the last 2 years. They have gone to Walter Reed, Brook Army Medical Center, and local affiliations. If she hears of a family in need she donates a quilt to them. It has been a rewarding experience for her and others involved in getting the quilts out to the soldiers and their families. This doesn't include our regular charity quilt group.
This is Kathleen and her daughter, who stopped by to help. They had a nice hot lunch prepared for us. How can life get any better, sewing and eating with friends!!!!
Song of the day: "Viva La Vida" By Coldplay

Before and After

Here is the finished product. Much improvement! We have not been enjoying it for the last couple weeks. It has been so humid outside. Some rain is supposed to move through tonight and drop the temp. and the humidity. It is nice when we can have dinner outside. It took the dogs a little while to get used to everything. Even though the dogs can go out now all by themselves I still have to stand out there and keep them from peeing on everything. Both are male and they just follow each other and pee over top of whoever peed first. Crazy!!!
In the spring I will landscape around the fountain. Not too much. I did get some lavender the other day to start. It smelled so good!
I am going to sew tomorrow. Ladies in the guild are getting together to work on soldier quilts. They are providing lunch so I am there! I do not know how many quilts we have donated so far. I will find out some facts tomorrow.
Song of the day: "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry

My Dog Matches My Deck

I actually got a little sewing done this weekend. I met with my sewing group last thursday. That was a great time. Just getting together sewing, talking, and eating. I did not get anything accomplished but I came home inspired to sew. I now have almost all of my poinsettia blocks together. This will be my x-mas quilt. I will post a pic when it is together, borders and all.
This is Pal. He is a prisoner on the deck. He has to be by me at all times. He was not happy that I shut the gate on him. It made for a good picture!
Song of the day: "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics