The day was perfect – 60 degrees, sunny, no wind! We don’t get very many of these so even though I had promised myself to limit my strenuous outside work to 3 hours a day, I kept working until 3 pm when I literally sat down in the chair and fell asleep with Hazel who had been outside since 9 am, too.

Every summer we talk about hydrangeas and right now is the perfect time to dig, divide and move them. It almost takes an ax to cut through the large roots but I got two large tubs dug up and planted them by the barn.

Our soil is so black and so wonderful that most anything will grow but I always plant hydrangeas where they get partial shade.

Do you think the chickens loved looking for bugs and worms in that dirt?

I will move the rocks and chunks of cement another day.

Now if it would just rain a bit these hydrangeas would leap out of the ground! Tomorrow I want to get 30 asiatic lily bulbs planted. Last spring I was still recovering from two knee replacements but this year I’m ready to roll and I’m going to make up for lost time.

We spend most of our time outside on days like this – there’s always something to do and that’s why we live in the country, I guess. Margaret, the organist, will be gone from church tomorrow so it’s all me. Wouldn’t you think that after being a church pianist for 62 years I’d never be nervous? Not so – maybe not nervous but … anxious.

Here are a couple nice finishes :

Is J. Davidsaver reading this blog post? I’ve lost your email address but wanted you to see the “Cookie” is still with me.

I don’t watch Fox News so I was not familiar with this author – thanks to those of you who commented that you know her.

Today’s eggs – aren’t they beautiful?

I think I’m too tired to sew anything tonight.

Where did the week go? Honestly the time just disappears and I only accomplish a fraction of what I had planned. I have spent hours searching for the Uncle Sam on a Bike quilt – and I still haven’t found it soooooo I’m going to make a new one. You realize that the minute I get the new one done, I’ll find the old one.

I love working in the quilt shop building! I can dig and dig, lay out fabrics for possible quilts and then I can walk away – it can be left a mess!

I ordered and already received this new book – started reading last night. It would be a great Bible Study group discussion. What threw me for a loop is that the author is the Fox News legal consultant – really? Hmmm – can’t wait to read it.

Sam, Owen and Ivy were here on Wednesday afternoon and it was just too cold to be outside for too long so I bought a tube of chocolate chip cookie dough and let Owen make the balls by hand and put them on the cookie sheet. Here’s the whole story in one picture!

Here are a couple Dirty Dozen projects:

It took me two hours to clean just this one large clump of hydrangeas – yikes!

I have wanted to hang a quilt above my fireplace for such a long time. Here it is Before.

After:

I’ve since added some white baskets and pitchers. I can now change out the quilt which is hanging on a curtain rod with clip on round hangers. The size can still vary because of the clips and honestly in the summer I could hang a larger quilt that would cover the fireplace doors.

Siri say “Hi, Everybody! I’m so happy in the chair looking out or in the dog bed or inside the roll of foam. I help Mary in the evenings when she works in the shop!”

That’s Friday, Gals! Have a nice weekend!

I read Holly’s comment about the padded envelope that can be filled to overflowing with fabric and no matter the weight or where it was headed, it was a set price. Too good to be true, right? Right!

There isn’t such a thing according to our post office. This Tyvek envelope goes by weight and distance as well as priority. The only thing they have is the priority mailer for a book which might accommodate more than one book that mails for $7.75.

Here is the Tyvek mailer:

Here is the $7.75 mailer:

I managed to get 4 half yards in it.

After the sale we will look at this again but honestly I am up for suggestions. Please don’t think we are trying to get rid of ALL our fabric! We are set to do another book for Martingale so we aren’t ready for the care center quite yet.

After my talk at church last week I realized that I have become that eccentric old lady who lives with a bunch of cats and dogs in her house and thinks nothing of cutting chickens’ toenails when needed. They told many stories about my love for animals and I realized that I had achieved my goal! Haha!

Get ready to watch Tim’s field across the road from our house – this took place a couple days ago. And just look at that fabulous equipment!

I stopped at Connie’s today after Bible Study – she’s working on Prairie and Pine. It just had to have a black dog in the yard, didn’t it? I love it – I want to make this, too!

So many quilts, so little time!!