Gorgeous fall days here in North Iowa! How’s this for a crop of Sweet Annie? This will make tons of full bouquets and I can throw out the old ones from last year.
Remember the ad I posted last night with no business name? Must be something in the air – here’s another one.
Does anyone proofread???
I ordered laundry detergent from Amazon – some of it stayed in the box! I order more things from Amazon all the time because the store shelves are bare.
Reader photos
Good Night!
What is Sweet Annie and what do you do with it? I grew up in Southern Minnesota and have never heard of it.
Martha – Sweet Annie is actually an medicinal herb that is used to treat malaria. I grow it for the lovely smell! I hang it in my barn to ward off insects and in my garage for the nice smell. It is extremely prolific and will grow anywhere a seed drops. I think I’m going to grow it along the fence so when I mow along the edge I can keep it in check.
Thank you, Mary.
I’ve only recently heard of Sweet Annie and would love to know more about it too! I just got home saw The Full Monty at our local music theater. It was fabulous! Love all the fall reader quilts! Jan in MA
It was beautiful here today too…only a slight breeze.
I’m trying to get a fantastic quilt from the jail girls posted to the sheriff’s facebook page. I don’t do Facebook, but hopefully my friends will send me a way to access it. I hope so. If I can get that accomplished, I’ll let you all know and you can look too. 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞
Kudos to you Jo for pushing to get the quilter recognition for a job well done. You’ve volunteered there many years so hopefully someone will assist you in boosting her morale. Keep us posted.
I don’t think I have heard of sweet Annie. Not fall here yet, highs in low 90s this week 😔. Pretty reader quilts🥰, so glad Gracie is safely home!
I have to order OTC sinus meds from Amazon, cause it just seems the stores carry nothing that I need. Have even had to buy the stuff I clean my kitchen cabinets with, again cause stores only carry everything that leaves a bad white haze film. Grrr And thank goodness for Chewy, can’t find the dry kibble that Maybelline loves..
Pam J – ditto – shopping in the stores is frustrating at best!
I had never heard of Sweet Annie either?
Not sure what you’re needing proofread, but I proofread our catalog for 25 years.
Diane – I’m talking about the newspaper ads which are printed but don’t bother to print the business name. Does the business who is advertising not think about this or does the newspaper staff not catch it? Both ads I showed didn’t have the name of the business doing the advertising.
Mary, I’m concerned that you and other readers can’t find what they need at local stores and have to buy from one source, Amazon. I like Amazon but this is concerning.
Charlotte – I agree with you 100%. I always wonder if it’s because I live in a rural area – whole sections are empty – not necessarily at the grocery store but other stores. And if I wanted a different brand of laundry soap, they wouldn’t have it – the shelves would be stocked with row after row after row of the most popular kind which happens for every product in my local store. Target doesn’t even have choices of cat food any more. I went to Petco this week to buy collars with bells for the kittens and the entire display of collars, all sizes, had 2 collars!
This is why I’m a happy Amazon shopper.
Let Amazon know. I had kitty litter delivered by Amazing and they replaced it. Now I use Pretty liter that is more expensive but I only have one cat and it doesn’t stick to her fur and I know there are other silicone litter out there but so much easier for me to take care of.
Looked and bought a project bag from Connie on ETSY. Love that website
It’s nice to see your readers used your free instructions for the maple leaf and made up quilts. Always enjoyable to see what colors and fabrics people chose for their quilts. Adorable baby quilt too.
It might be lack of drivers to get the trucks out to rural areas, Mary? I don’t have any answers to this lack of everything. We’re pretty fortunate to have well stocked stores but I can say our children rely on Amazon for most of their shopping now for its convenience so they rarely make time to go to the stores for any essentials. it’s a sea of boxes daily at one kids house! Ha!
Wow! That maple leaf quilt next to the clock has such tiny blocks. Beautiful.
I think I need to get outside and do some garden cleanup. Temps are predicted near 80 here for the next week but, I know it won’t last. Our colored leaves are already at peak and, they are gorgeous. I just love Fall. Wish it could last longer.
Thanks for the compliment, Connie! I made that quilt back in the 1990’s, but still love it. The tiny blocks are worth it, and I have several other mini quilts. However, it makes it almost impossible to throw out any tiny scrap of fabric, because ‘oh, that would make such a pretty mini quilt!’ Haha.
That is crazy your store has empty shelves. Where do you shop?
Have you heard about the laundry detergent eco sheets? They look like dryer sheets, but are thicker. they are dissolvable and not bad at cleaning your clothes. I have tried the earth breeze brand. Have a lovely day!!! Kara
Kara – yes, I use them and just bought Arm and Hammer sheets to try.
Kara, I just switched to the Earth Breeze several months ago & have to say I’m impressed & will continue to use it. It does a very nice job & I see a lot less lint in the dryer screen than before. It appears those plastic bottles aren’t being recycled like we thought!
Mary, I stumbled upon sweet Annie at an antique fair in Va. luv the herbal smell.
You can buy it on Etsy by the bunch. I try to find it at the farmers mkt in Raleigh.
Planning to use the leaf pattern. Thanks for such a small size. Most of the ones in books are larger.
Happy fall
Lee
Lee – I bought my very first bunch of sweet Annie at the Country Living fair in Columbus, OH and now I have enough for the whole county!
I’m beginning to wonder if we’re heading for a world where Amazon will be the only place to shop. According to the news, more and more stores in large cities are closing down (including numerous Target stores) due to shoplifting. How scary is that?! I really don’t understand why we still have empty shelves in stores, and with the most random items. So far, all of this craziness hasn’t really affected our lives, but it does make me happy to stay close to home, read your blog, make a few quilts and pet the dog! Have a great day … it’s football night … that means pizza & wine/beer!
Love Sweet Annie! Looked everywhere this Spring and Summer for a plant and none could be found, next year will order it! What a large beautiful crop you have! Cute leaf quilts today!
Carmen – where do you live?
Sounds like we are lucky. Walmart does pretty good at keeping the shelves stocked, but it looks like the hoard hit by Monday morning with all the weekend shoppers.
Oh, what fun seeing just how small we can go on some blocks. Love miniatures. And I have a very hard time throwing small scraps. After looking at the piles, I have decided to go thru the scraps and all but the nicest will go into stuffing dog beds for the shelter. That will make a lot of room. Scrappy quilts are my favorites.
The weather is beautiful and the Buffalo roundup at Custer State Park will start about 4:00 AM tomorrow morning. Take your winter coats as it will be about 40 degrees at the start. It would be wonderful to be there and feel the ground shaking, but seeing it on TV is alright. There will be a LOT of people from all over the world there. So much will be going on and they can climb Crazy Horse on Sunday. Lots to see and do.
Take care. Betty in Rapid City
Betty, I wish I could experience the buffalo roundup. Sounds like something really special to see. And, being able to climb Crazy Horse would be so inspiring. You live in a very special area.
Yes, I get goosebumps just thinking about it. The big bulls probably weigh about 3/4 ton and the ground just shakes when they are coming in. I think you can key in Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup into the computer you will be able to watch it — just not feeling the ground shake. It is very impressive.
Betty
Betty – you mean the public is actually allowed to climb Crazy Horse???
Yes, twice a year! The first part of June and October they have an authenic Volks March. People come from all over. To get the miles in, the path winds all around the bottom and then goes up the back side to the top. The last part going up is very steep. When you get to the top you are standing on the outstretched arm. The view is fabulous. My cousin came out in 2008 and we climbed it. We came down on the road. The road is how they get the equipment to the top, etc. Luckily it was cloudy when we went. I don’t think I could have made it if the sun was shining. I’d get too hot. It took us 4 hours but that was because David had to wait for me. When we got home, he took an hour nap and then drove to our Aunt’s in Sioux Falls. I was done for 3 days!!!
Betty
Betty – I’m sorry but I have more questions – what is Volks March? Should I go online to see this road you’re talking about? And “to get the miles in” – what does that mean? Did you walk to the top?
I think a Volks March is German. There people who go on them all over, my cousin included. It is an organized sport with rules that regular people can do. It can be about 6 miles or longer. In order to get the mileage, they had us winding around in the trees working our way up the hill. Yes, we walked the total miles all the way up and back down. There were probably about 1500 people the day we did it. It is a very popular thing to do. I’m going to send you some pictures that I took that day. You will understand more when you see them.
Oh, there is another group of people that RUN all the distance of the march. Personally I think they are show offs! Maybe you could find more information on what a Volks March is and where they are held.
Betty
Betty – oh my goodness! A volks march is an organized hike – to see all those people walking all the way up that mountain is nearly shocking! I’m wondering if we weren’t at that visitor center when we taught out there many years ago. And I see this is a special year – 75 years! I feel so much more informed now, Betty – thank you! AndI remember you said to bring warm clothes because it’s pretty cold starting out.
I guess I am pretty fortunate too. Our little local grocery store has most things I need and what they don’t have I go to Sioux Falls for and that is 25 miles away.
Harvesting is on again. Hope it can keep going for a bit to get the soybeans out!
Joy – when the soybeans come out are you inundated with Japanese beetles??? I’m dreading the day Tim takes the soybeans out across the road.
Love the teeny tiny maple leaf blocks!
Mary we haven’t had trouble here with beetles the past two-three years. Maybe an occasional one here and there but not like before. Home defense does help. I would spray around the house and around the door frames with that stuff, Jay just goes nuts if one gets on him! They stink so bad! Our son Joel lives south of Fairview, SD and he has a terrible time with them in the fall. They live up above the Sioux river and have lots of trees surrounding them. Ugh!
There was a line of rain showers to the west of us this morning but it looks like they skirted to the north, thankfully! Son Scott says, every bean we get out and to the elevator cannot get hailed on! It’s a race! Last night they combined until about midnight when everything available to hold soybeans was full!
I’ll be delivering lunch to the field. That’s my job. 😝
Joy – the bedroom Hazel and I use is on the west and the sun beats down late in the day so I always go up in evening to check out the bugs. Last night there was only 3 but Hazel is obsessed with them! Yes, they stink and she eats them! I like to read in bed but sometimes it’s just easier to turn out the light! I have taken the curtains and the shades down temporarily due to killing the beetles – I’m so ready for them to be gone.
Mary, if you or anybody else are interested, go to Crazy Horse Volksmarch and you will find pictures and videos that people have made during their climb up the mountain. It is very interesting. The video I watch was made by a red headed man and his mother ‘s climb. He said it took 3 1/2 hours to make it to the top and that is the time David and I had, too. Not something you do every day.
Betty
I love the pictures of cars parked over the line or practically sideways! Every time I see one parked like that I think of you! Seeing these pictures have made me more aware of how I park.
Mary,
Very warm here in southeast Michigan and looks like we’ll have it all this week. I’m continuing with garden cleanup but only work in the early morning til about noon. I let my chickens out of the coop between 6 and 7 am, then work in the garden. My raspberries are coming on and I’m picking about 8 quarts a day. Freezing lots and sharing many too.
Went on a sunset cruise on the pontoon boat tonight. The sunset was nice, the orange color reflection on the water was gorgeous.
Nancy, the Winnie the Pooh quilt is darling! Great job.
I love reading your blog, Mary. Take care and have a great week!
Sunflower – 8 QUARTS A DAY?????