Whew! What was that all about? Some had problems but not all of you so I’m just going to chalk it up to cooler weather – doesn’t something seem to go wrong every fall? Enough already!!!
I spent nearly the entire day working on music for a very sad funeral this Saturday. Good friends of ours from church lost their 43 year old son unexpectedly and tragically. I was at their house yesterday and today – they are a musical family so the music at the funeral is important to them. Margaret and I play for many funerals and most people don’t really care what we play but this is different. They have been very specific about the songs and it just breaks my heart to hear them talk about their son and what they would like for his service.
It’s getting to be time to start moving plants back inside. Oh, what a job! I have my plant mover and my wagon but each plant has to be treated for bugs before moving back inside. Now there’s a big job for you!
Thanks to all of you who let me know the blog seems to be working perfectly again. I don’t know what I’d do without it. For those of you not seeing any ads to click on, do you have an app that is an ad blocker installed on your device? If you never see ads, that’s probably why. The income from the ads helps pay the bills to keep the blog afloat.
I just finished writing the Baby Bullseye pattern tonight. Baby doesn’t refer to a “baby quilt” but to the size of the bullseye blocks. I intend to use the one I made on my small twin built in bed that doesn’t allow for hangover.
I can’t wait to start a new project but I still have one more new quilt to bind. Remember when I put out the challenge to use your favorite fabric that you’ve been hoarding? My quilt is waiting to be bound and I’m calling it “Hoarded”. Haha!! Oh, and then there’s September’s Dirty Dozen and color challenge. So many quilts, so little time!!
So happy you’re all part of my blog!!
Oh dear. I’m not seeing any comments. Surely, I am not the first one to comment, esp at this time of day. It is after 9pm Pacific.
Speaking of time, you mentioned that it is time to start moving your plants back inside. It seems like you just put them out. It is so hot here that I forget it is almost autumn. One of these days –like maybe in Nov or Dec, the frost will zap us here and then I will know that autumn really has happened.
A funny thing…. this morning I heard odd little noises as I watered my garden. What could it be? And then I saw them… green herons. A tree full of them. If you are not familiar with green herons, they are quite small compared to the great blue herons; however, they are about the size of a small duck. It was fun to watch their antics.
Hope tomorrow is a good day for you and everyone.
Linda – I didn’t post till late this evening so you and Martha win the prize for being the first commenters!!!! I’m heading to bed – it’s 11:40 pm!
Movi g plants is a job. I don’t put my house plants out anymore because in the past they die from either the heat or the wind. I’m glad you clarified the baby bulls eye quilt name. I thought it was a baby sized quilt. We’re having cooler nights on the high desert. I love being able to have the windows open at night.
I guess we are the only night owls. HaHa…It is 9:57 here as I type this, so, Mary, you are the night owl with the mostest. Or something like that. Be careful taking those plants in. Seems like a big job for tomorrow.
Night Night
Sue – and being in bed by 11:40 is early. I’m usually sewing till midnight. I work during the day – chores, outside work, cooking cleaning, taking care of animals but after supper it’s my time to sew. I can never get to sleep so I might as well sew as lay in bed and stew about getting to sleep. It’s a vicious circle.
My car quit working the other day…no lights, locks, horn, wouldn’t start…nothing. I started to panic as everything on cars today is run by computers. Then, out if the blue, the lights flashed and it started up. The radio was off channel, dash reset, seat in the wrong place. I chalk it up to a sun flair. So, perhaps the blog problems were caused by a sun flair. Sounds good to me.
I’m new to succulents. I have a tray of very colorful plants I’d like to bring in for the winter. How do I treat for bugs and keep it. In the south window, sparse watering, repotting? Education me please.
I’m not a good farmer, but I’ve harvested over 10 pints of raspberries this year from one plant! All I did was water it. Now should I prune the dried up clumps from harvested berries?
Jo – and I don’t garden “in the ground” because it’s too hard on my back. I will post the solution. I like your explanation for your car “voodo” – ha!
I have a possible raspberry answer. If you have ever bearing raspberries, meaning a crop in early summer and one now, I can answer. The canes that have berries now will have them again in the spring. The new canes that come up from the ground in the spring will have berries in the fall and then the following spring. First thing in the spring I get rid of anything that is dead. All through the year I cut off anything that is dead looking. That keeps down disease. I also mulch with straw in fall. They are water hogs. I’m using a soaker hose and am getting loads of berries now, even in a drought. Lots of info also on line.
That’s exactly what my husband does with our raspberries, and we have been rewarded with large quantities in the spring and again in late summer. In fact, we have been enjoying lots of them again the past few weeks, all in spite of the heat this summer. We bought new red and black raspberry plants about 5 years ago and planted them in 2 raised beds. Makes picking raspberries so much easier. The berries are now around 5′ tall instead of needing to bend over. He also put in a soaker hose last year and just leaves it in the raspberry bed year-round. Our winter weather may cause the hose to crack but so what, it’s a soaker hose. Makes watering the raspberries much easier so you do it more often and get more raspberries.
Mary I might try to make the Baby Bullseye quilt. I am sitting at the airport waiting to fly off to Michigan. I will order pattern the end of the month when I get back home. Happy Fall to you! Love your blog💌
Liz – you can order at any time – I’m always here. Have a good trip to Michigan – the temps will be just a bit different for you, huh?
Mary, thank you for your blog. I so enjoy reading it in the morning as I sit with my coffee. So much better than watching the news – doom and gloom there. 😳 Tackle the plant moving as one would eat an elephant — one bite at a time. Hope you have a good day.
Sending prayers and blessings to your friends who just lost their son. Way too young of a man to leave this earth. Hugs to you all.
Good Morning Mary,
I do not get any ads on your blog, I don’t know why. I get lots of ads on Jo’s Country Junction blog.
What do you do to de-bug your plants.
So sorry for the loss of your good friends son, sad.
Your bullseye quilts are wonderful, the dot fabric gives them life. It looks like snow is falling in front of them.
Love your blog Mary, you tell it like it is.
Yes, I too would like to know how you treat the plants for bugs.
Hugs to that family.
I don’t get any adds on your website, but I do on Jo’s country junction. I was wondering on those that comment they don’t get the comments, are they getting it in their email and they haven’t opened it to your web page. If so, they don’t get the comments. I have noticed that. I have plants to bring in ,too and will take them to the greenhouse to repot. We got a short shower yesterday afternoon. Wish it would have been more. I am hoping to be done with canning soon and getting more yard work done before it freezes. Need to get my garlic planted for next year and will mulch with my peony plants for the winter. Happy fall you all!
Am going to start bringing in my plants also. Will be looking forward to your thoughts on debugging them. Sorry to hear about your friends son. Tragic at that age. Seems around here the Lord has been calling home more people I know. My mother in law lost another roommate in the nursing home. Thinking of you and all the work you do. Take some time for you.
Mary, what is interesting is if I read your blog on Facebook there ar all kinds of ads to click on. So I clicked clicked and clicked 😂😂
Joy – THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT!
You might want to check with Jo Kramer. She has had similar problems with people not being able to view parts of the blog. I don’t have ad blockers. I haven’t had problems viewing your emails. I have Apple devices. And, I did have trouble viewing parts of her blog. It doesn’t all make sense. Love your blog anyway.
I’m getting ready to move my plants inside also – I’m tired of watering them every day. Part of me says just let them go and then I think about next spring how sad I’d be if I let them all die. Such a dilemma. We’re at least 9″ of rain below normal here in CC. Everything looks dead except the plants I’ve been watering. Not sure it’s worth it. Have a great Wednesday.
Gloria – this is what I’m doing for the next few days – I just can’t let them die – I have several that are over 50 years old – Hoyas.
I have an iPad and I haven’t had problems with the blog. Seems like iPads usually have issues, but not this time! I got to go to Madison to the Great Wisconsin Quilt Show last week (we also went to visit our son, who is doing his medical residency at UW). I really enjoyed the show. The AQS Grand Rapids show starts today and I’ve gone to that for years, but the last couple of years it’s been much, much smaller. We wouldn’t have driven that far if Evan wasn’t in Madison, but it was a good show . I bought a modern churn dash pattern from an Iowa quilt shop that was a vendor (there were a lot of Iowa vendors)! Can’t remember which one, but Country Threads came up and she said she loved to visit when her kids were little…she could shop and they played with the animals! She wasn’t aware that you have a blog—she’s going to check it out.😍
Sue – I can’t believe there’s somebody out there that doesn’t know about the blog – ha! Did you tell her it’s the blog about nothing? Yes, the kids loved the animals.
Found their card! The Meandering Thread, Theresa Porter, 13202 Rocklyn Drive, Urbandale, Iowa, 50323.
Today it is foggy out, but it definitely has become fall. I am going to move my plants from under the deck today,I will have to treat them for bugs of course and I know a few will need repotting so this will take a day or so. I have a family of Jade plants, Swedish Ivy, two Christmas cactus, a couple of aloe, an ajuga, and a spider plant to clean up. They loved being outside! I am collecting cosmos seeds each day, and will gift a few seeds to our son and daughter, the flowers did so well this year despite the lack of rain, we watered, of course! I am working on the checkerboard border for my (your pattern) The Black Hen, and have a few more things I am looking at for ‘what’s next’! We went to the Clay County Fair in Spencer IA on Monday, stayed for the grandstand performance of the Association, Peter Noonen and Herman’s Hermits! Such fun to an evening of oldies and such joy and happiness in the crowd! We knew every song, of course! I have an iPad and do get the ads.
Cynthia, a question for you…. I was given a beautiful aloe plant last spring. It summered happily on the front step in morning sun. Soon, it will need to come inside. My house is fairly dark. Not sure I can get it in a window even. I’m not sure what to do with it. Will it survive inside, do you think? Mary has such an ideal plant room! Thank you for any hints you can pass my way. —Lindah in northern CA
I think Christmas Caci are pretty hardy. It should get light from your room when you have your lights on, you can always get a plant light from Amazon, I would think there are smaller sized ones, as everyone does not have a greenhouse of plants. My plants are going into windows to the south. I have to look them over as I need to get larger pots, the aloe ones are spreading out. Also have to check in my garden shed to see if I still have one bag of dirt (artificial dirt) to add to the pots. I am not reporting my cacti as I did this last year and I don’t think they bloomed. I have quite a menagerie of plants. I am gifting one jade plant to my daughter, she said she would accept one. My Christmas Cactiget natural light as I do not have enough room in the windows and with larger pots, more will just be in the room in the basement on a cart with wheels that I pushed to have a tv on it.
Lindah – get an inexpensive plant light – available on Amazon.
Cynthia – and I’ve had to miss the fair this year. Boohoo!
I only see the adds if I click “comment” I try to click and click the adds. I appreciate all you do so to me it’s a way I can support the blog I enjoy reading.
I read the blog on my I- phone. I do not have an add blocker.
Just thought I would share what works for me. You do not have to comment each time. But it allows me to click the adds.
Thank you Mary for all you do.
Janet – thank you! The blog is far from free so I appreciate your help.
I have no problem seeing your blog & I have an Android phone & tablet. I’m wondering if the occasional problem you have could be due to any upgrades (maintenance) they’re doing on the websites. Things went a bit wonky early this morning with my TV as Spectrum was doing some maintenance work. But after a reboot all seems well. I do click on the ads every time I open your blog. Such a small thing that we can do to help pay for the blog we all enjoy! Question on bringing plants indoors. Is there a way to save a beautiful fern by trimming it back? I don’t have a basement & don’t want the mess of falling leaves in my house. This thing is massive & would love to save it for next spring/ summer. Thanks Mary, for all you do! Love the blog!
Alice in SW Ohio
He was a high school friend of my sons and yes it is very sad indeed. I will be out of town and so am hoping it will be online to watch – I know the music will be beautiful! What a great family and such a tragic thing to happen to them all. Oh Mary I am cutting down flowers and bushes and I know how many you have – I am thinking of just letting some of my succulents go this year….
Mareen – I’ve been cleaning up plants and de-bugging them – what a job! And this is a hobby?????
What do you spray your plants with before you move them inside?
I’m curious what do you use to treat your plants with before bringing them inside for the winter. Do you have a specific process for treating?
I always look forward to your blog, Mary, so hope it will not continue to give you problems.
I seem to have lost my quilting mojo.
I’m so sorry to hear about your friend’s family loss. How good of you to work so hard to “get it right” for his service. Such a special gift for the mourning. My okdest son is the same age so I cannot imagine how hard that must be.
Marsha, maybe you could try a small project like a table runner, or something smaller, with cheerful colors, sometimes doing large projects gets me down and I just don’t feel like working on anything, then a small project is what I do! Just a thought.
I think the baby bullseye will make an adorable baby quilt. I made a big one years ago. Fun process.
I feel such sadness for your friends who lost their son. I hope it gives them some peace to hear the music during the service for him.
I get ads to click on once I leave your email sent to me and go read your blog through my internet. I get usually 5-8 ads I can click on that way. It’s also the only way I could comment or read comments.
Strange thing Monday night while we were watching tv. We were watching ABC
Evening news and suddenly it switched to another channel. We both looked at each other as neither of us had the remote in our hands, saw it on a table just sitting there and chalked it up to big brother in the sky.
It’s so sad for the family to bury a son so young. I can’t imagine their heartbreak as they plan music and his service.
So sorry for your friends that lost their son. Last week a friend of mine died unexpectedly. This week a good friend of mine lost her brother suddenly. I know your special music will help them through this rough time.