Not much going on here. Fabulous Fever game! Here’s my mess in the sewing room – ugh.
I froze canned corn and water in an ice cream bucket and gave it to my chickens today. If it had been a really hot day they would have loved it even more!
These gorgeous chickens are giving me anywhere from 15-20 eggs a day!!!
Reader quilts
I read a short blurp online that said Monarch butterflies are on the endangered list. We still have lots of milkweeds around here but with all the ditches and fields being sprayed I understand the concern.
It’s been a pretty low key day around here – unlike yours probably. It’ll be a carbon copy tomorrow! Unlike most people, I don’t want visitors dropping by – too stressful. I lived that life for almost 35 years and I’m enjoying a quiet retirement life.
Signed,
The Blog About Nothing
Linda, I hope you are able to get the care for your husband in a more timely manner. It is so frustrating when they give you appointments way off in the future when you need them now!
Your experience with trying to help your husband up off the floor reminded me of earlier this year when my husband suddenly got weak when trying to get out of his recliner and ended up slowly sliding down on to the floor. We were like the Keystone cops trying to get him up. I told him to roll over and get on to his knees so he could raise himself up using the couch but he ended up wedged between the recliner and an end table! I had to call 911 and the paramedics were here so quickly (they are just two blocks away). We then spent three hours in the ER getting checked out and he was ok. My son-in-law who is a policeman only lives about three minutes away and said we should have called him (did not think of it). He said he picks up people all the time-and sometimes they even have clothes on! Haha!
Sounds like everyone had the perfect holiday weekend for them. Some busy, some quiet. We gravitate to quiet whenever we can and this weekend was no exception. Little bit of yard work, little bit of quilt work and several naps. Perfect!
I loved seeing your beautiful chickens enjoying their corn treat out in the yard. What a great idea!
We had a very low-key weekend, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The low temps were lovely.
We are taking our camper to southwestern Michigan next week. It may be too early for the color change, but we always enjoy our Michigan trips.
Take care, Mary. Sending Hugs & Prayers, 🥰
Hi Mary- I love your chickens! We had a variety of chickens, ducks and guineas on our acreage. Loved those nervous guineas! And our collie worked all night patrolling the fences to keep them safe. I just had a week off and sure enjoyed just staying at home seeing and reading with my animals. Retirement is looking really good to me. Thinking of you in the next few weeks. Figaro, Binx and Griffin send you slobbery kisses!🩷🩷🩷
For your wonky log cabin blocks, do you have any strips that aren’t fairly straight?
You’re right, the chickens are beautiful.
Regarding Monarch butterflies, I do know that Baker Creek Catalog carried the seeds for the plants they like. And I have seen signs on the side of the road which say, “No spraying”. There are people paying attention to their plight.
Sunny and slightly cooler here today! Thank goodness!!!
San / Murphy, NC
Mary, creative minds usually have messy work areas….just sayin’. I know what you mean about sewing wonky! I do so enjoy the look of wonky block, but I cannot recreate them for the life of me. Too many years of ensuring even, straight seams. First in garment making then in quilting. I too love the quiet life. Guess I am happy with my dogs, family and friends. Don’t need a lot of hoopla to make me feel happy.
We had a busier long weekend than normal. Saturday we picked up my 89 year old mother in law and drove to Birch Bay (1/2 hr from her care home) we bought ice cream at the local dairy (her favourite treat) then drove to the summer cabin she still owns to visit my brother in law and his family who were staying there. It’s an hour drive through the city to pick up my mother in law so it ends up being a full day event. We got back home by 5:30 and luckily I had leftovers for dinner. We are looking at purchasing a few acres with two homes so that we and our son, his partner and all their animals can live on the property. We have found one but have lots of questions before purchasing. The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning up and fixing the things around the house we’ve put off all summer. It was a productive weekend and it always looks so nice when the chores are done.
I loved seeing your happy chickens. They make such a lovely sound when they are content. I am made to create in a mess; sewing, cooking, painting, it all ends up a disaster area,but that’s the way I work. I used to go to retreats and most of the women had incredibly neat tables. Not me. Mine looked like I just threw fabric pieces at it in big piles, which was fine with me. I go with the Popeye motto of life: I am what I am and that’s all that I am. (Better said with Popeye’s accent, but people wouldn’t understand it. Ha!) Thinking of you and wishing you the best of luck at Mayo.
I really enjoy reading all the comments as you do. This turns into a blog about everything and is lovely. I am in love with your beautiful chickens. I live in a suburban neighborhood and a couple of years ago there were two ducks that wandered around, and I fell in love with them. They would come when I called (probably because I fed them cracked corn) and they brightened my day. Then somebody complained about them and they disappeared. I miss them every day. I do have photos and videos of us talking to each other.
I happen to like wonky blocks, perhaps because I can never get anything perfect. My sewing room looks similar, but I have a tendency to sew almost all over the house.
A few years ago, I planted a native to Georgia milkweed in my backyard because I wanted to help the Monarchs. They spread underground and now there are about 14 plants that have come up. They have never bloomed and I haven’t seen any Monarchs! I think they don’t get enough sun as they are shaded by the house until the afternoon. I guess I will leave them for now, but soon they may come up everywhere.
I am too old and tired to have visitors dropping by. Everyone who knows me knows to call first. I know several others who feel the same. Love the blog. Keeping you in my heart!
It is so cool here right now. No rain. Just dark skies and much cooler than normal temps. A neighbor came by with a big grocery sack half full of blue plums. I fished through for the ripest ones and canned them. The others are waiting for me in the garage as they ripen a bit more. So, that was my labor yesterday and it was quiet here except for the hiss of the steam canner. Hubs worked on his boat to get ready for salmon fishing.
I cannot purchase any more fabric because I am OUT of room and can barley get round stuff in my sewing room. I have a path to my machine and cutting table, which is now piled with more stuff. I can’t figure out how it got that way. There seems to be a large pack rat in my house. Darn it!!
I love the corn idea, Mary. I might just try that if we get some warm fall days.
Thanks for the fun pictures. I too have hydrangeas, and have found a better way to dry them. Submerge the heads in water for a good hour, then cut stems on the diagonal, then slice up the stem about an inch or more. Put in water for 3 or 4 days. They will dry and not lose their color. Hello to all!
Sally – oh, I want to try that!!
Mary,
We had a quiet day yesterday. Lots of boats out on our lake, it was nice to see. Had a bonfire and roasted smoked sausage. So delicious!
Weather has been better so I’m working in the garden. Picked more raspberries and made another pie! So good.
Today begins another school year and we took Biscuit to the bus stop. The kids were so happy to see him! He could have sat there for days getting petted and loved on. It was fun.
I finished repairing/re making the liner to the leather jacket I’m repairing for a friend. Now on to the jacket itself but because I hate repairing clothes, I am treating myself by whipping up a small lap quilt! (I am easily lead astray) something fun for half a job well done! lol
Have a great day everyone! Lifting you up in thoughts and prayers, Mary.
Sunflower – you agreed to replacing lining in a leather jacket???? Why? I can’t think of anything worse to tackle. In fact it’s happening to my own leather jacket and I won’t even bother to fix it. Your friend has no idea what she asked you to do. Oh, the first day of school and Biscuit got to go to the bus stop!! I’ll bet those kids will expect to see Biscuit every morning which will start their day out happy. Has he ever visited school?
Mary,
Biscuit has visited the preschool classes my future daughter-in-law teaches at several times and we even took two chickens once! But biscuit has not been to the elementary school where the bus stop kids go to school.
The leather jacket repair is a repayment for the jacket owner. When my daughter got married last July, this gentleman made me a set of wooden steps to replace steps that were rickety. The steps connected the two levels of the dock. I may have told you, my daughter got ready for the wedding at her aunt and uncles house at the other end of the lake we all live on. Anyway, she came to the wedding on a pontoon boat across the lake. So, this man did a wonderful job on the steps and he wouldn’t take any payment. So our debt will be paid in full when I finish the jacket repairs!
Sunflower – oh, that’s just perfect, isn’t it? I do remember the wedding and if he built you steps, you can replace lining, even if it’s hard to do. What a great trade!
Love all the chickens and so many eggs! Do you sell them?
I’m with you on not wanting people to just stop by on a holiday weekend!
Another thing, I am having troubles deciding to sew or read also. Such hard decisions these days.
Have a wonderful day!
Billie
Henderson, NV
where summer won’t let go. 107 today
Billie – I don’t sell eggs but I give them away at church, the hairdresser, family and friends. I’m going to have to start putting them in the garage frig.
I read a FB comment in one of my groups the other day. She said she always rubs food grade mineral oil on her eggs when she starts getting an abundance of them. It preserves them better than any other method, she claimed. Then, she stores them in her garage fridge for winter when her chickens stop laying. Better, even, than glassing, which I would hate doing.
Our Labor Day was low-key too. I finished longarming a quilt and did the binding on it and another smaller one, both for donation. We took Miss Molly for a good walk and ate a crock pot supper. Just the kind of easy day I like. Today is my sewing group and I’ll pick up fried chicken on the way home. Old age sucks but retirement is pretty good!
Your sewing room looks pretty normal to me! Constantly cleaning a sewing room hinders creativeness. It’s not me. And I did not start my cleaning in my sewing room as planned as I needed to get to baby quilts again. Those great grands keep coming! I finished up an applique’ last night too–hand stitching pleases me in the evening.
It’s sew day here at my house but not sure anyone can come today. Maybe my bestie. I will be sewing whether they come or not.
I’d rather sew string blocks than wonky blocks which are harder for me. Will you sew the four blocks together and sash them next or what’s your idea? I have Buffalo Bills mug rugs to make today but first meeting a friend for coffee as I finished a valance she wanted for her kitchen window. Straight sewing so easy to do and it makes her happy decorating her house for fall.
I thought I’d be a person who stayed to myself and read when we got our new camp spot but I’ve enjoyed meeting the variety of people who’ve gone out of their way to welcome us. All are diverse (I call them a cast of characters now and they know it so we laugh together ) and so respectful of each other that it showed me I don’t want to avoid meeting new people. I have my home church friends I finally saw last weekend after being absent for several months as I thought I’d only be at camp during the week and be home on weekends. Well that didn’t happen as I liked seeing new families and hearing their stories on why they like being outdoors exploring. I’ve not rejoined my guilds and I have turned down other social events lately as I do not like my calendar filled up every day as medical appts are enough of an obligation for me.
I thoroughly understand the way of thinking regarding medical appointments. They wear me out and I just want to go home and nap.
this Brenda is also worn out by appointments.. When I try to analyze it and think that the majority of the time is spent sitting in a car and then in a waiting room chair, a return trip home sitting in a car I find myself baffled by being so tired. Is it that the inertia of sitting doesnt allow for some good circulation or just the boredom of it all is exhausting ???????
I also have trouble with making wonky blocks. Don’t know why because many times my “regular” blocks come out wonky!!!! Oh well. I love the colors you are using in your blocks. So pretty! We had our grand dog over the long weekend so I didn’t work on anything special. I pieced a backing for a baby quilt my daughter made and then I started making fabric apples. I sew a few during the day and then stuff them in the evening. Mindless but fun. I will give them away to friends and will donate some to a small hospital gift shop. Love the frozen corn idea for your chickens. They look so happy pecking away at it. Have a great day Mary and everyone.
Your chickens are beautiful & I agree wonky blocks are hard to make! Been chilly here the last couple days, like fall!
Went with a friend to her son’s house yesterday, they have a beautiful house & a lot of beautiful flowers & plants! They took us to lunch & a little ride, it was a nice day! That Fever game was exciting, I was afraid they wouldn’t pull it off but they did!!
Quiet day for me also. Ended up sewing all day…… which was good as I’ve been in a bit of a sewing slump. I also struggle with the wonky blocks. A while back saw the cutest cat quilt at a quilt show that the blocks were wonky…… Oh how I struggled with it!!!! Just not in my dna I guess. Glad to see that I’m not alone.
As I am retired also, I share your feeling of quiet days. Had too much of the craziness when I worked and I am savoring these quiet do as I wish days. Enjoy you day!!!
Thank heavens it was quiet here yesterday, especially after the way the weekend started. My husband ended up on the bathroom floor for over an hour Friday night. I was able to pull him over to the bed on a bath towel – tank heavens for my pine floors, never would have worked on carpet. I piled pillows and quilts on the floor to get him to a height where he could get the top of his body on the bed then I pushed him by his legs up on the bed, lifted he left leg up on the bed then he could wiggle up into bed. He was so dizzy he couldn’t hold his head up so I finally, against his protest, called an ambulance to take him to the hospital. I wanted him transported to UofM but without being stable, he went to the local hospital who did nothing because they couldn’t talk to his neuromuscular specialist in Ann Arbor. I’m calling them today, the specialist is doing an extensive EMG himself on the 10th but we aren’t scheduled back to get the diagnosis until the 31st of October and I refuse to wait that long If I need to get hospital equipment to get him off the floor and around everywhere plus in and out of the shower, I need to start doing that now. We spend way to much time getting him off the floor and my back shouldn’t do any of that.
I so love your chickens and long to have chickens again some day. Those eggs are the very best and honestly, I loved my happy chickens roaming the farm.
It’s starting out cool and quiet here. It should be in the mid 70s so I will be stitching on the front porch with Miles laying near me and Nelson and Sammie running after whatever they see move. Have a great day – I love your almost wonky blocks!
Linda,
I hope you’re able to get a fire lit under these medical people! Will pray for you and your husband that you can get somewhere. It is so frustrating!!!!
Thank you Lynette. This is maddening, I’m at a loss of what to do but will muddle through somehow.
Linda – oh, I understand this far too well. When Rick falls he wants me to grab his belt to help lift him but he weighs 100 lbs more than me and the next time it happens I think I’ll have to call for help. The long waits for medical are hard – this week has been looming over me for a month now and I’ll be so glad to finally get back to Mayo.
Yes, the eggs hardly resemble eggs from the store! I would love to look out my windows and see my chickens around the yard but I’m so terrified of the predators! They have a huge yard and seem happy but as I’m sitting in the porch I would lose my mind if a predator dropped down and grabbed one of them before my eyes which did happen several years ago. There’s one small group I call The Four Friends – they always roost together in a separate area. When I start recognizing personalities they became almost human to me. I think you understand, Linda, and maybe someday you’ll have chickens again. I hope so.
What a fun treat for the chickens! And I love you blocks! The color choices are so beautiful and very calming. After rushing around for so many years, I love the quiet of being home and relaxing. Thanks for sharing your daily life – i look forward to reading it every day!
It sounds like everyone has a plan. We went to hardwood floors in the bedrooms about 20 years ago. Love them because I couldn’t vacuum under the beds decently. Now a quick dust mop gets the dust.
Mary, maybe it’s just here but the eggs that were $2.49/dozen two weeks ago have gone up to $4.19/dozen. The crazy price increases have me baffled but what do you do without eggs? So you pay the price and grumble.
We had beautiful weather lately and it should hold for the next week. The weeds are calling my name to come out and pull them. Hopefully today.
All the lovely quilts sure give me a lot of ideas. Now just waiting and watching for the school buses to come. Fall is just around the corner along with daylight savings.
Have a great day everyone.
Janet S – I never even glance at the eggs in the store – I wonder what they cost around here. Yes, what do you do without eggs. I notice the snack times in the store – Fritos are now $5.89 for a small bag!!
Hello. It was a low stress day here. The weather was beautiful. We spent most of the day working outside. I haven’t been able to get out to work in the flowerbeds all summer, and it showed. Deadheaded flowers and transplanted a few that were being overtaken.
Lots of bbq’s going in the neighborhood. No sewing for me today. I love the wonky blocks. Your colors are so calming. Vicki has been busy. Nice work! Beautiful chickens. It looks like the frozen corn was pretty tasty. Good idea!
Enjoy the rest of the week!
Hi Mary, haven’t been able to reply for a couple of days ,nothing exciting happened here,been busy getting a quilt ready to pin together, so that happened this morning, now l want to work on that quilt, not finish the string stars.Heavy down pours yesterday, more rain today,but ok now. Going to see the movie Thelma tomorrow and catch up with a friend .Great idea corn with frozen water for ghe hens.Take care everyone, best wishes from Sandy
I really struggle with wonky piecing too … I can’t stand having stripes, plaids, polka dots, etc. that aren’t in a straight line. I don’t care if they’re printed off-grain, I need to cut them so the pattern is straight. Maybe that doesn’t bother everyone, but it drives me nuts, lol! Your chickens look like they enjoyed their corn treat … lucky girls! Have a good week!
Candy – sometimes, depending on what I’m making, I also want those lines to be straight. The first plaids I ever worked with were Roberta Horton plaids and they were even wound crooked on the bolt so it was difficult to cut for the customer – had to cut with a scissors and follow the grain.
It’s good to see a messy sewing room. Makes me feel better. Organizing is difficult. There’s never enough space or storage – for me.
Very low key here too. I did smell someone’s barbecue on my walk and heard the happy chatter of kids in the county pool on the last swimming day of the year. School already started here but it will be the first day for the grandkids in New Hampshire.
Oh gosh the Fever game. I really didn’t think they could pull off a win. There seemed to be a lot of turnovers. They did it. Yay!
So the invasion of the crickets has begun. How they get in the house is a mystery to me. Now until a freeze we hear and see crickets upstairs and downstairs. I’ve always tried in the past to grab them with my hand and toss them back outside. They are quick and try to hide from you. They’re pretty successful. I don’t like killing them but there gets to be quite a few. Always something. And they’re loud too.
Your chickens are really pretty. Wow that’s a lot of eggs. I love eggs but do you share the extras or sell them? I suppose they will slow down as the days get shorter. Already dark here at 7:30. Next month will be a return to standard time and that’s always a killer for me. Hate the shorter days.
Your log cabin. Yikes couldn’t do the wonky way.
Thanks for sharing. Prayers.
Pat in Md
Pat in MD – The Fever really made me nervous during that game but wasn’t it exciting? I loved it! The season will soon be over. I don’t think we’re invaded with crickets so much as Japanese beetles the minute the soybeans are harvested. I’ve had an invasion of pantry moths – I should write about that. Yes, I’m having trouble with the blocks but I’ll persevere – because it’s something new for me and I want the pretty pink quilt. I keep seeing Duckworth quilts online, named for JoAnn Duckworth who posted several online and they just look charming to me.
Mary, you found a reason for canned corn! I’m glad the chickens like it. They are beautiful.
You say you can’t sew wonky-half the time I can’t sew straight! I have the quarter inch foot and all the gizmo’s that are supposed to keep you on the 1/4 inch straight and narrow but I also seem to wander off especially at the end of the seam.
I have labored all day working on trying to clear out our closet, bathroom and bedroom to the bare walls due to demolition/construction starting next Monday. We discovered termite damage in one wall and decided while we were having that repaired to remodel the bathroom with a walk in shower instead of a tub and new tile flooring. SO, along with that we decided to make the closet bigger, and also install hardwood floors in the bedroom and closet as I absolutely hate carpet now. I want to completely change over the rest of the rooms from carpet to hardwood eventually. It was so hard to find someone to do the work in a reasonable time frame and at a reasonable price. I know materials and labor prices have gone up (a ridiculous amount-in my opinion) but several of the contractors wanted more than we gave for the house and five acres originally 35 years ago! Well, I will climb down from the soapbox and go to bed now-I’m really tired.
Debbie, I put in hardwood floors about 20 years ago. My sister changed hers to hardwood about 10 years ago. They are clean when you wash them, otherwise, the dog brings in lots of sand and general crud. We both have foot trouble from no shoes on the hard floors. Neither of us are fans of shoes, but now I have to wear shoes all the time with orthodox inserts. House slippers, outdoor shoes, dancing shoes, tennis shoes, boots, everything has to have inserts. Plus no more bare feet or just socks.
If I could replace one part of my body…it would be my feet.
Good luck with your construction and wood floors.
Debbie – I need/want a couple things done but nobody to do it. I had a contractor come late last winter to look at building me a garage in the back for Red, lawn mowers, etc. He said he’d send an estimate – I’ve never heard a word from him since so I’ll just get by shimmying around Red because it’s so crowded in my garage.
My friend and I went out to a couple quilt shops today, a few people out, the one shop was very busy. The clerk was amazed when my friend said it was after 1. We had breakfast out, then an early dinner. This is a busy week for me, playing today, tomorrow is an impromptu birthday party for me, then Wednesday I’m off to Kansas City with friends for the ANG seminar. Busy busy. I also came back today to the yard mowed and the new desk chair put together! Winter will come and I’ll stay home, but I’m just enjoying the playing!
Dee – Happy Birthday! Sounds like you’re celebrating the whole week. What’s ANG? You mean somebody mowed your lawn for you? Wow!