Thursday, June 21, 2012

A lizard named Abraham


Apologies...

Guys, I am so sorry!!  I didn't mean to be away for so long. Sometimes that's just how it goes, I guess. Again, I am sorry.

We've been up to quite a bit, lately.  Summer things.  We got the garden planted.  You'd be so proud of me, I only planted 25-30 tomatoes and the corn and green beans I reduced by about a third.  Rather glad I did as we are in the middle of a drought.  When we hoe- 'cause weeds aren't as affected by dry weather- plumes of dust raise off the garden.  So sad.  There is just no way to water that much garden, effectively. I feel like I'm on one of those survival shows, rationing out water. A cup here, a cup there. Choosing which plant lives and which might die.  Sure could use some rain.  God's will, though.  Abe was "helping" me weed around the flowers.  I thought he looked rather like a lizard on that rock. It was a lovely morning and a good time to lay around in the sun.

paper pieced zipper bag

Did I mention my sissies came for a visit?  We had such a good time, as always.  It is a real joy to have them come. Just sitting around talking, eating out and talking some more. I made this little zipper bag while they were here.  (And I, vaguely, remember sewing something else... I just can't remember what...)  This little bag is only about 2 1/2"x4" and is for the dreaded glucose meter.  But it makes me smile when I get it out, so it's all good.

Jacob and Mary


Jacob, son #3, became engaged, this week.  Now that's big news, isn't it? Mary is a lovely young lady and we welcome her gladly into our family. One thing I have to say, is that our sons have impressed me thus far in their choice of important people in their lives.  It gives me peace and helps me feel like we didn't mess up, too bad.  Jacob just got a new job as a meat cutter at a local butcher shop.  He gets to work with sharp knives, so I think he's gonna like it! They are planning a October wedding.

Melanie and Daniel

And while I'm showing off my sons' good taste in women, I love this picture of Daniel, son #2, with his sweetheart, Melanie.  And she is a real sweetheart.  Such a dear, gentle spirit. Daniel has plans to move to Boston in the Fall and so, coincidentally, he'll be nearer to her and her family who live in New Jersey. In the mean time, he's putting a whole lot of miles on that car of his.
 
Red Snappers

In quilty world... Lookee what I got for my birthday!  You know my sweet William.  He heard me mention these really cool "Red Snappers" that I saw in a local quilt shop a few weeks ago.  He did some investigating and scheming with Sandy and bought them for me.  He took me out to lunch and before we go in, he pulls a gun case out of the back of the van.  He's looking all sheepish and says, "How am I gonna sell this?  But this one is just for you." And I'm thinking, "That man will use any excuse to buy a gun!" Of course, when I open it... I was greatly surprised and not a little relieved. For all those long armers out there, I have a feeling you might like these, too.  They are plastic tubes that slide into a casing at the end of your leaders and then there's these split tubes that snap over them and hold the quilt in place while you quilt.  No more pinning!  (You get a few shorter split tubes to hold it all in place until you snap the longer ones on).  Way cool.  I thought Sarah over at www.alwayswantstobequilting.blogspot.com would especially like them as she absolutely hates to pin quilts on.  I don't think it's such a bad job, but it is time consuming and eats into quilting time. But then, I actually like to bind quilts so there's no accounting for the things we like and dislike.  Sandy got me a new ruler.  She visits and sews with me from time to time and she's been appalled at the condition of my old ruler.  But, hey, I've had that ruler for 12 years and maybe I was emotionally attached.  Maybe.  All the markings were rubbed off but I could still tell where to cut, mostly.   

Speaking of things quilty... I might get out there and actually sew. Its been a couple weeks.  Do you think I remember how?  

4 comments:

Sarah said...

Yes - I WAS beginning to think you had fallen off the face of the earth!

Tell Jacob congratulations!

Miss you and love you!

Pamela (Peni) Teel said...

Yes you will remember how to sew or do anything else in that quilting room. I'm making (larger/easier) zipper bags for the Miller reunion. I smile everytime I see those boys and their sweethearts. And, Abe makes an adorable lizard. (Is he still young enough to call adorable?)

Darcie said...

Ohmygoodness! You packed so much into this post, I think my head is spinning.

Congratulations to Jacob and Mary! (You know, I LOVE October!) So happy for all of you.

And Daniel...what a cute picture and caption of him and his Melanie!

Your little bag is darling. And why not dress up that little med device, right?! (Are those some hand dyed fabs?!)

I've seen turtles on our rocks around here, but never lizards quite as cute as the one that you spotted! ;]

Love and hugs....

Isobel said...

OK, I will try this again. Your mom said I might be interested in your BD present. That is just the coolest thing. I googled, watched a couple of videos and ordered soon after hanging up. Sounds like a great idea to me. I have tried to post this reply three times before but it just kicked me to the sign in page and then ate my comment. After the third time, I gave up and went to bed. We will see if this works...if not you won't ever see it. I am not normally a fan of lizards but this one looks really cute. Did you mom tell you Finnlee ate a lizard tail. Soon after they went to Hawaii, he was crawling across the floor and spotted a lizard...he actually caught it and of course it used its defense mechanism and shed its tail in Finnles hand. He promptly popped it in his mouth and swallowed it before his mom could get to him. Didn't hurt him at all...just upset him mommy.