Wow! I didn't realize I'd not posted for such a long time. I've been busy with de-cluttering and having my DIL & DGD over to do some painting for me. They've re-painted my book shelves and helped me pick out some new decorations and put them up for me. I've gotten rid of lots and lots of old dried arrangements etc. My living room now looks a bit more up-to-date instead of stuck back in the 80's. It's been many many years since I've made this big a change in my design and I'm pleased with it. Still need to go to Hobby Lobby to see if I can find just a few more pieces to round out the designs.
And my DD is here visiting for a week and I'm loving it. So I probably won't be posting much as long as she is here. We have lots of plans to take it very easy and let her just relax. She leads a very hectic life so this week is hers to unwind and do what she wants.
So I'll check back in later.

Finished Cutting ...

I didn't think I'd ever get all the patches cut out for this quilt!
Sheesh!!!
288 little pieces. See those piles!
I've now started sewing and believe me .... it's going to take me days and days (maybe even weeks)...(or possibly even months lol) to get these small 3 1/2 inch blocks sewn together.

But I've decided I'm not in a race here after all....so my plan is to sew a bit on these and then I can piddle around with something else for awhile....and I'll sew a bit more....and piddle.
And before I know it I'll be finished.
Now that sounds like a plan to me!!

Let's see.... what to start next.......
I think I'll cut T-shirts ;)

Or I think I'll do a few of the BOM mini wall hangings.
Yeah! Those will be quick and fun.

I'll share a *make-do* gadget that I thought about while I was cutting these pieces out. I found myself needing to turn my mat to get a good position for my cuts. I do have a turn-table that DH made for me ....but it's huge and way too big for these little patches.
Then it dawned!!!
I had an old wooden turn-table not in use anymore
so I took it to my cutting table and
plopped on a little mat and Ta-Da..... worked perfectly!
And just the right size too.

I was blog hopping today and stopped in on Mamaspark's World. She had a post about her name. So I thought what the heck.... I went to blogthings site to find the hidden meaning to my name. Here are the results of my search and boy oh boy are there a lot of matches that I can see. Freaky!!

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.

You are light hearted and accepting.

You don't get worked up easily.

Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound.

It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.

You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly.

You don't stick with any one thing for very long.

You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time.

Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are very intuitive and wise.

You understand the world better than most people.

You also have a very active imagination.

You often get carried away with your thoughts.

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy.

You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

You are balanced, orderly, and organized.

You like your ducks in a row.

You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace.

People can see you as stubborn and headstrong.

You definitely have a dominant personality.

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.

You have the classic "Type A" personality.

I like playing around with designing my blog. hahaha Can't you tell? I think I like this layout a little better. Seems to have more room.

I hope you like it.

Here's a bit of pretty for you today.

Bicycles everywhere....

I had some errands to run today and while I drove downtown I saw the riders with their bikes and motor homes and trucks etc parked all around the square (our Courthouse block). They come through here every year on their ride. I really don't know the details about where they start or where they're going but I do know that the truckers would rather they stayed on bike trails instead of the highway. :)
There are several organizations that have set up food booths on the square for them and the bikers were swarming everywhere. heehee Alivia & Gina were helping serve ice cream.

I stopped at the paint store to pick up some samples and I think I've found the color I want to use to paint my shelves. I'm leaving the wall color the same after much deliberation. I tried to scan the color chip .... but it wouldn't work. So I guess you'll have to use your imagination. I can only describe it as a dark eggplant. It should be nice when done.
Bye for now ... Have a good day

I've been tagged....

By Marsha.

The rules as she stated them:
Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’V been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

Soooo here I go.

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:

I was working for my daughter in the office of her Child Care Center & Preschool. About 17 years ago she opened the center in an old church building and I helped her for the 11 years she owned it. She had to sell the business about 6 years ago when her husband was transferred to Joplin for his job.

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today

HA! (1) Well now completing this is on the top of my list. And ....

(2) maybe it's about time to get dressed

(3) cut some more drunkards path pieces

(4) sew a few together

(5) go to Mass tonight

3. Snacks I enjoy:

Pretzels

Trail Mix

bananas

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:

I would find a worthy charity to adopt.

I'd set up monitored accounts for my kids - grandkids and greats so they would be comfortably taken care of hopefully for the rest of their lives.

I'd build my 'dream home' with a really cool kitchen and a great BIG quilting studio on the edge of a lake with trees surrounding the whole place. And I'd have a gardener

I'd buy a fancy motorhome and drive to every state in our country and then maybe I'd travel overseas.

5. Places I have lived:

Eastern Colorado for my first 16 years and now here in North Central Kansas.

So there you go ... I think I'll tag: Mary Quilts, A J Quilts, Feathered Fibers, With Thread in Hand,
Ok so that's only four ...but I'm still pretty new to this blogging thing. I've really been enjoying checking on new blogs to see what new ideas I can learn about. And Marsha ... thanks for the tag....I've sure enjoyed your blog too.

Have a great day all and

enjoy some beauty along the way.

The height of lazyness...

We have a resident squirrel that comes to our feeder everyday.

So... I was watching him out my kitchen window as he was filling his belly at the feeder table....

after several minutes of stuffing his face....

he then jumped up on the pergola...

ran over to the end piece.....

Stopped.....

and plopped down on his belly!

He lay there just like an old man after a BIG meal.

I ran for the camera! And he waited for me to get my pics. OMGosh!! How funny!!

Drunkards Path

Yesterday I started cutting the fabric for Gina's lap quilt. Each strip yields 8 - 3.5" squares to make a Drunkards Path pattern.
18 strips of each color to total 288 squares needed.
Little 3.5" inny curves are NOT easy to cut. I think I need a new blade!! Or ten!!
I love the fabric. And this should be really pretty when it's done.
IF it ever gets done. It's terribly boring cutting the same thing over and over and over.
I think I don't like cutting. :(
So I decided I'd take a break from boring to set a couple of the squares together to see how hard they would be. And OOOOH I sure hope I get the hang of sewing these soon. Oh well....I guess I have nothing else to do with the rest of my life.
Have a beautiful day today.

Raindrops are falling on our heads......

This was the craziest thing. We were on our way to Little Mexico Sunday. There were scattered clouds around but not big and important thunderheads. See the sky? Unimportant right?

All of a sudden.....this happened.

(click to enlarge and see what's on our windshield).

So I looked around and .... Hummmmm .... Ok.... I did see a small grey cloud up there. Guess it was the little cloud that could! Cause it sure did! heehee

We went outside this afternoon and decided to trim the snowball bush that was drooping over so badly. After we inspected it really close I could see several limbs that were busted away from the main branches. So Don got his chainsaw and heavy clippers and I directed (of course) and he cut where I told him. hahaha We work so well together.

Here's the before....

and now the after.

and our view from the patio....

I'm liking it opened up like this. At least we have saved the bush. I was afraid we couldn't make it look decent but I think we did OK.

Oh....and while we were out there I noticed the Joseph's Coat Rose was blooming so I got my shots of the flowers.

This rose starts with an orange bud..... then opens and turns yellow.... then as it ages it turns pink. Cool huh?

Sunday morn...

It's cool and the doors are open and the birds are singing and.... no wind. Lovely!

Today we will go to Little Mexico on the Lake for lunch with Jo & Lu & John. Celebrating Lu's B-day. The lake is FULL so it will be nice to drive around and check it out. It's been a lot of years since we've seen it so full.

It's been a fairly quiet week here. I finished Kianna's binding and label is on finally and they are washed and dried and ready to go.

I took some of the leftover scraps and the 2nd Dora panel and made her a baby doll quilt to match hers. Since they are moving into the new house this weekend I'm hoping this will help brighten her new bedroom.

I think we'll try to get out in the "jungle' this next week and see if we can tame some of the wild bushes. The snowball needs a good make-over since the storm bent it all around and the East bed really really needs a whole lot of trimming up. I wonder how many trips to the dump it will take??? I'm not looking forward to the work....but it needs to be done and I guess it's true....it won't do itself.

Have a Sunny Sunday everyone

and look for beauty in the quiet places of your world.