Summer afternoon,
summer afternoon...

two of the most beautiful words in the English language. ~Emmerson, maybe...

Probably, no one enjoys the warm days of summer as much as a child. I never remember feeling miserably hot when I was young. It's just more hours of sun and play time. This is Boo. I love how everything on her is moving- but her sweet smiling face. We have been to WV and back. Both of my brothers and my sister were all there- and all of their families. I lost count after 25. We "camped." Had a good time, bittersweet, and now I am home with the aftermath. Sniffles from allergies- no place worse that WV- all the vegetation and dust, and bug bites. Chiggers. Mosquitoes. And wet laundry from the little ones playing in the creek. And this awful ache in my heart after seeing my DH kiss my dad goodbye on the neck, knowing I might never see that again. But we are rebounding. And it is such a beautiful place. 30+ acres of woods and hills and meadows. The one night we spent in the woods, oh, you should have heard the birds trilling and singing- like a sound track of an Amazon movie- it was really beautiful. Unfortunately, Evabeth was a bit of a sissy girl and after a 1 hour nap, decided to keep me up until 2:30am- when we decided that it was Daddy's turn to say 5,000 times- "It's only a tree branch falling." and "Deer can't unzip tents." and "They're more scared of you than you are of them." And my personal favorite, "Would Daddy be sleeping so soundly if you were in danger?" We spent the other two nights in the barn.

On the quilting front... My Dad liked his purple quilt, and even my Mom liked it and didn't act a bit offended that I was adding another color to her decor. I'll post a picture. I showed my DSis-il how to do a basic Stack and Whack- and I cut 36 blocks out for her. She had 18 of them sewn together before I left. She had a very pretty black and pink Asian-inspired fabric. I picked up 3 quilt tops from my Mom- to quilt for her. She said there was no rush, she just feels less guilt about starting another one, if her bins are empty. hmmmm.... I've lost count of how many quilt tops of hers that I have in my bins... yes, I feel guilty about not getting them done sooner. BUT... I have big plans to work on them. Really. I have turned down 2 separate quilting jobs in the first 24 hours that I have been home. Bill did a double take and pats me on the leg and says, quite enthusiastically, "Good for you!" He knows how hard it is for me to turn that kind of thing down, but I'm a little burned out with deadlines. And especially so when I have so many other things going on. And they wanted both quilts- well, one by the end of this month and one by the end of next month. I just don't want to live that way! My Dad is really not doing well, and it was hard to be there knowing that you very well might not be seeing him again, like that. And it got me to thinking, that there are people that I love, really love, that I'd rather be making quilts for- rather than, wouldn't it be nice to make a quilt for so and so. I'm not saying it isn't a sleep-deprived thought, I'm just saying that I'm feeling a need to make a few quilts for those very special people and I am not feeling so inclined for people that, yes, I like, but not like that.

So, I'm off to make a big pot a soup for my sweet children. and maybe some rolls. Then maybe some puttering in the garden, that always cheers me up. And then, maybe, I'll sneak off to the quilting room...