the split continues

   and yes, I mowed the lawn in the rain yesterday afternoon.   in my navy paisley flannel pants and a lavender tee shirt.  the office lawn, in downtown St. Peter at 3:00 ... it was a sight. 

 thank you for honking ...

1/2 got done before the lawn mower started to plug  up ... didn't like the wet grass.

  more time sitting today.  i'm less stressed.  it'll get done.  one way or another.  toured the melon patch on the way home last night (8:00pm) ... I could see seedlings ... it was "drive by" tour ... as in drive by and look out the open window.  yes.

 today .... a couple of projects and then my tush will be planted in the chair in front of the sewing machine.   it.will.happen.  

TGIF .....

M

I am an

 amoeba -- chop me up, split me apart and sent me twelve directions at once.  I'd love to say I excelled at every direction, but alas, I'm sliding downhill fast.

.... I'm not really sure what day it is.  (Not good).
.... Union negotiations are odd events.
.... Landscapers have arrived and well, treasures have been found
.... I think it's going to rain, yet again.

  tomorrow's another chaotic day.

Diva

           

there is a Santa Claus after all....

yes, I believe that is a watermelon seedling....

 

it has a long way to go

to become these -- a really long way to go.  September will be watermelon season!

 

 

'tis the season!

things are blooming

What was I thinking....

 

I had an ebay shopping experience this afternoon.  No sue what I was thinking.  Time will tell, it might just be the greatest $10 investment ever.  Silk, lined, my size.

 

hummmm

 

another rainy day in the Valley

tomato's ready to be planted....too cold, too wet, humm

 

 lilac ... purple (old fashioned)

 

 

miniature Iris -- deep purple ... there are some at the office ... bring shovel and container if you want some ...

 

enough rhubarb to feed and entire county

 

house on wheels -- getting ready to head north -- waiting for European Massey Ferguson to arrive first (see Sunday's post)

 

 

"Whitey" ... wanting either to get in or get more food.  Deck cat #2,  Edgar, Whitey, Baby Red & Golden Eyes -- at various times during the day hang out on the back deck. 

 

Whitey will not be getting in.  Their chow dish is on the deck step ... they've never ever spent time in the cat house, instead live in the woods ... but return daily for food.  Black Harry seems to be fighting with them constantly ...

 

Drove up to the patch and walked around last night.  Nothing happening -- animal tracks and a few sprouting weeds.  Cool weather brings on a whole different weed species ... oh joy, more weeds.

 

Sorry, I'm bored so I played with the fonts and the layout ... my inner decorating/design diva comes out when I'm bored.

 

 

 

tractor update.....

  Generally in the babbling of life -- I hear only what I need to hear (or so I think).  There has been a bit of "where is my tractor babbling the last 2 months"

  So Friday I find out that the TRACTOR is in Baltimore on trailer waiting to be shipped.
  As in Maryland, as in --- it was built in FRANCE, and just got off the BOAT.

  Holy crap -- evidently Massey Ferguson doesn't make little red tractors in Jackson Minnesota -- they're made some where in FRANCE.  No wonder it's taken 3 months and it's still not HERE.

  I'd love to post a picture -- but I do not know what elder #1 actually purchased.  Purchased in Judson, Minnesota, via Baltimore, via the Atlantic Ocean, from FRANCE.  Who'd a thought. 

finally, a finish

a giant pillow ... 6 x 6 grid of charms ... bleached denim envelope back -- just about sent me over the edge.  couldn't get the dang thing to square up for nothing.   simple grid quilting. 

 

finished ripping and quilting on the previous project.

 

Haven't been to the garden for 4 days....maybe, just maybe something is up ... but I doubt it.  Too cold and too wet.

 

 

   

eeks

  I made it thru the whole day at the office yesterday ... not that I actually finished anything.

  Did a drive-by at the melon patch.  Nothing, I mean nothing is up...need some sun and some heat!

  Went home to the sewing machine ... stitched down the leaves and basted the wall hanging and proceeded to start the free motion quilting.  It looked awful.  Out came the ripper -- lots of ripping happening.  Not done ripping.

   Need to make a decision on how to proceed. 

M

illness be damned

I picked up a quilting leaflet/booklet at Joann Fabrics recently for $2 and it had some cool patterns in it.....so last night I dripped, blew and coughed my way thru piecing this background and cutting out the leaves. 

Mr Tom Turkey strutting his stuff trying to impress his lady friend. 

 



double crud

   so now I'm hacking.  'tis good to be me.  Never did make it to the couch. 

   8 phone calls to find a replacement for my shift at the food shelf this afternoon.  hmmm.  Thank you Christina!  I owe her a treat. 

   Raining yet again. 

crud

  I managed to escape the great flu out break this winter.

  I think I have it now.  The dripping nose has led to nastier things.  Shoot me I'd probably feel better.  I actually went home and slept for 2 hours yesterday ..... they woke me up to feed me.

  The busyness of today is probably going to be couch surfing.  No meetings (missing 3 -- no business after-hours -- no trip to Kato) me, the remote and the couch. 


M

Thank God it's Monday

  I'm trying to stay positive about Monday!   (note the keyword is positive).

  Prior to the planting binge on Saturday night .. the scrap booking diva's and I had a garage sale.  We didn't have much so therefore didn't make much $$$.  But it forced me to clean. 

   In addition, the City/County sponsored an electronics recycling event.  Where I dumped off dead scanners, typewriter, fax machines and an old hp computer.  It gets even better....

   There was also a toxic waste collection ... so every old opened can of paint got dumped off too !!!!

    And no, I did not win the powerball, alas I'm working.


Diva

whew ... almost done ...

footprints in the sand.  yep.  all is planted except the butternut squash.  I misread the package and thought it was buttercup not butternut.  and Dr. Dirks tells me bifocals are not necessary.  need to chat with him again.  soon.

 

I ran out of row marker flags ... so I improvised and used my whirly gigs ... works....

 

 

I cut it pretty closed on the seed order.  I am lucky, not good when it comes to planning.  The patch is one row larger than last year so it ate up most of my seeds.

 



 

Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't have "smell"  too bad, the apple blossoms are thick and delightful ... a feast for the eyes and the nose. 

 



the season of

PLANTING ..... puts a smile on my face. 

   I got home from the office and elder #2 informed me #1 had tilled and marked the melon patch for me this afternoon.  So, I hit the trail and started to plant.  Planting makes me smile.  The birds were chirping -- the pheasants calling, the neighbors dogs barking .... yep, country life is great!

 

38 rows of watermelons got planted in just under 90 minutes.  I try to be organized and several weeks ago sorted my seed by maturity dates and gridded out the patch on a spreadsheet.  So by planting time -- it's just plant. 

 

hoe a hill

drop in the seed

cover it up

stomp on it

move to the next hill

 

repeat for 6 hills a row and 38 rows.

 

 

one must plant in style.  I grabbed my 31 bag to hold the seed, the clipboard, the grid and all the other necessities.  Works well.  Notice how clean new Bessie is?  Won't last long.

 



 

I scored a fabulous freebie today at the grocery store.  They are in the middle of nasty remodel and there was a cart of these off to the side.  "Bag holders" ... I've coveted one for eons for my market booth.  Some nice young man GAVE it to me.  I owe him a treat.  $58 of groceries and one free bag holder .... and then I forgot the bread for the egg bake.  damn. I'll need to go back. 

 

 

Happy Diva .... 

night time on the prairie

 one of the barn cats -- hanging out in the back yard .... I think this is "cat house red" ... I didn't name him .... he's very timid but a great hunter -- and laying low under the bird feeders.

 

corn is up.

 

 

Wednesday was a productive day ... haircut (thanks Lori), moved documents and pictures to new desktop computer at home -- iTunes didn't move so well -- still working on that one.  finished my book, Storyteller (Jodi Picoult), laundry, and took a walk and this is the scenery ... nothing beats the beauty of spring.  Or the sounds of spring -- birds chirp louder and happier (even the pheasants and turkeys) -- no coyotes on the trek.

 

Will have to wait and see what tonight brings. 

Happy Thursday

Diva

pool

 

the scrapping divas and I need a pool for summer water aerobics -- the high school pool closes for the summer (maintenance) .. I found this one at Shopko for a mere $225 ...

 

somehow this wouldn't fit all of us and there would be no kick boarding or lap swimming ... or milk jug work outs in the deep end. 

 

summer water aerobics is at the outdoor pool over the lunch hour and it just doesn't fit into our schedule.  translation:  I'm NOT exercising in the great outdoors in the middle of a public park, while oodles of kids wait to get in for open swim. 

 

I know  ---   quit whining --

Planting to begin shortly.

 

 

a bit of time with the camera/iphone

the pictures above were from my trek to the neighborhood garden center ....

 there seems to be a lot of "winter kill" on the pines and evergreens this year ... tough looking stand of pines at the neighobors ... just to the upper left of dead center is their new shed ... it's dark brown and really blends in with the landscape.

 

the old field road at the top of the hill.  generations of travel .... 

Babies!!!  Mama and the babes ... rolly polly little kittens.  Hissers and spitters, they're getting used to people now.  Dad moved them out of a chicken nesting box to "box" .... they were to pudgy for a nesting box.

 



spring cleaning

    Mother's Day and spring cleaning ... an odd combination.   Spring closet cleaning.   3 garbage bags of trash, 1 bag for the thrift shop and 3 large tubs for the garage sale (all marked and ready).  I was tired by the end of the project. 

     I am a clothes hoarder.  I have too much.  I need no more.  Shoes too.   And you all thought I had a fabric obsession.  

    And Saturday night, I bought more -- clothes, not fabric.   Then the pattern/picture in the quilt magazine was so cool I had to buy more fabric yesterday.  Yep, an obsession.

   Gotta work on those obsessions.

   I found a pool for us swimming divas ... only $300 ... should create quite the ripple when we're doing our 20 minute workout ... no kick boarding or floating allowed (way to small for that) ....  he he he .... just kidding.

    Happy Monday

A finish!

hung on the pergola ... kind of like the shadows from the morning sun.

Bali Pop Jelly Roll in "coffee" ... originally bought to make a tote bag -- the cover the clothesline and sew the rows together tote bag -- but I never got the hang of covering the clothesline. 

no shadows

the back is pretty wild looking too.  i quilted in the ditch with every strip, then i flipped it over and used the "vines" as row markers and quilted the "vines" ... easy peasy!

 

ready to wash and ship out to the newest baby ....

 

Happy Mother's Day ....

 

M

 

 

my I introduce

Dr. Heidi Conrad !!!!

 

 

so yesterday cousin Heidi --- was "hooded" in her graduation ceremony at the University of North Texas ... we are so proud of her.  As a toddler the only word Dr. Conrad ever spoke was "why" -- in fact we used to refer to her as Heidi Why .... must have been a reason eh!  

 

I borrowed these pictures from her facebook page -- and I learned via facebook -- she even got a job yesterday.  Fabulous!  Jean and I were able to watch the ceremony via a live webstream ... dang that was cool.  The new HUGE monitor at the office was well worth it!

 

Congratulations Heidi -- you done good!!!!

 

 

 



finally friday ....

  whew .. the 3 week nightmare from hell is just about over.  I haven't been home at night for eons. 

  2 weeks of 3x per week water aerobics (done for the season) ... we had extra sessions to make up for our snow day cancellations. 

  meeeeetings.....and family events took up the rest of the nights.  I even worked last Sunday night.

  major project #2 is done and mailed off .. 150 page estate tax return.  insert grin.  it's done.  it's signed.  it's mailed.

  I'll be picking up my tasty pizza before supper -- baking it and hibernating at the sewing machine tonight! 

M

no, I'm not getting another cat

 

things we DO NOT  miss about NICK

1. It is safe to scan without having stuff attacked.
2. Ditto faxing
3. The ringer on the fax can be left to ring -- no silencing.
4. Hair, no hair.
5. Litter Box .....
6. see #5
7. see #5
8. see #5
9. see #5
10. No more overpriced all natural ingredient kitty chow
11. No hefting the bags of litter to the basement
12. No unwanted aroma's
13. No neck licking ... he liked to lick
14. The toilet seat can be closed.
15. No wet toilet seat from him falling in.
16. Yogurt is now safe to eat in the building.
17. It is okay to take trash to the garage -- he won't escape.
18. The plastic window kits are safe from claws
19. No sitting/walking/pouncing on the computer keyboards.
20. No farting (yes, cats fart)
21. No growling at the neighborhood rabbits
22. No mouse (real rodent) bodies on my chair.
23. No clawing of the furniture (hello, new leather chairs)
24. No attacking the area rugs ...
25. No nibbling on the plants
26. No flipping dirt out of the plants
27. No flipping water out of the toilet
28. No kitty chows on the floor
29. No more litter/food runs to Mankato

  
        and no more chatting about him ....

the 5th Season has arrived

   CONSTRUCTION ....

   noisy, dirty, smelly, noisy ... traffic issues ... evidently now that our 2nd day of spring has arrived so has the sidewalk crew -- they're working up the street ... down the street (on the next block) .. 

   feet are tired this morning.   many trips from the front of the church to the kitchen to stir the cooking hot dish.  brought leftovers for lunch. 

   while waiting for morning laundry I started quilting on the latest project.  I'm the straight line quilter so don't expect any swirls.

M

so, we did it

   pulled off funeral hotdish for 150.   touch and go for a couple of minutes, didn't think the last batch was going to be done on time.

   many thanks to the kitchen crew at FLC, cousin Gayle for stirring while we were at the service, Swede for getting the roasters to the table without dropping them!

M

Sunday on Daisy Lane

 the patch "acreage" awaits me ... pretty wet looking yet

north view .. and the neighbors barn

 the equipment has been sitting for a week .. to wet to go ...

 

 the big green one ...

 the planter ... folds up to roll down the road a bit better

 

 2" pre-cut mini charm packs ... oh so much fun

 

yep, they become even smaller pieces.

 

We started our cooking event this morning -- funeral hot dish for 150 ... did one batch and got the ingredients for the others ready.  pretty darn tasty ..