ah, the life of a Diva

a synopsis of yesterday ...

1.  shower and head to office  (forgot to feed the chickens and the cats)

2.  start the de-forestation of the flower beds -- 2 pick-up truck loads to the compost pile.  Mind you -- it was only 1 1/2 of the beds.

3.  take shower and attend meeting -- wouldn't want the assorted attendee's to faint from the aroma wafting off of me. 

4.  grocery store at 5:00pm  I must have been nuts.

5.  into the patch to spray for deer ... spraying the smelly stuff ... and yes, the sprayer nozzle had issues ... and it was a bit warm and ...

6.  get everything cleaned up and put away

7.  and shower #3 on the day ... wth.  3 complete changes of clothes, 3 showers ... but


flower beds look good
6 rows of melons and the cantaloupe smell unattractive. 
chickens and cats got fed -- late, and they all lived thru it.
5 bags of trash got dumped ...

I'm on a roll peeps... can't wait to see what happens today ....


 

sunflower Sunday

yowser

  So last night I was planning out the clothes for the week (ya, I'm that anal) and plotting the wardrobe against the meeting calendar (see previous comment) ... and realized.

  Something has happened every single day in July.  No wonder I'm tired and extremely cranky --- I've been complaining whining about not getting my project pile done -- there is a reason.  So far next week (as in the first week in August) looks mostly empty. 

  Seriously every freeking day in July had a meeting, a client meeting, a family event .... a deadline .... 

  So here I sit typing and whining about it.

  Argh.

  I added new quilts to the "50 quilts in 2015" page I'd link to it if I know how (more whining) ... I finished a spot of binding Friday night.

  Saturday was dedicated to the patch ... finished spraying out a bit of weed control (emptied the tank) and sprayed out a bit of deer control .... then I pounded in 12 T posts for the scarecrows .... they are "dressed" and in service.   There is pictures over on Facebook ... find the Watermelon Diva page. 

  Sunday was lake day --

M
'

Nick's Birthday!

waving the flag at President Bush and the motorcade (a pretty big deal here in hooterville)

birthday bash ... evidently white t shirts and denim shorts were the norm

at the NASCAR race

serenading us at the farmers market 

that only happened once

serving up root beer floats at the Relay for Life 

fishing with the Grandparents

fishhouse parade

goose hunting -- digging pits/blinds

at the cabin ... 

it's been a fast 21 years ... 

DONE!!!!

All week long -- in my spare  time I've been binding crib / toddler / throws .... I started out with 11, yes, 11 to bind.  All of the crib/toddlers are DONE. 

 Before tonight's binge.

and I washed these two and add to the stack ... there are two more in the washing machine and shortly headed for the clothes dryer ..

Linking up with Crazy Mom and Finish It Up Friday! 

I took an ATV ride to get the kinks out of my neck ...

  

the sunflowers are blooming -- at least the ones not ate off.

a green "envy" zinnia ... and some weeds.

and every trip to the patch includes a pit stop to visit the girls 

eggs to follow ..

Since last nights deluge (2 1/2") there are no fresh deer tracks in the patch.  Keeping my fingers crossed because I know the buggers are sniffing around the edges.

Have a safe weekend -- it's going to be hot and sticky 

dress diva

yes, this diva is wearing a dress today. 
Millie's funeral -- if the schedule allows -- I'm dressed for it.


So -- spent a fast hour spraying the "repels all" in the watermelon section of the patch.  $26.99 and 3 1/2 gallons later ... lets hope it works ... will need to re-apply at least once a week .... other measures will be installed over the weekend.

I will win this battle.
M
 

Road Warrior

Monday:  work / garden
Tuesday:  meeting/meeting/New Ulm meeting
Wednesday:  work/Nicollet meeting
Thursday:  work/funeral/Girls Gone Wild at El Agave
Friday: NewUlm meeting/client pit stop/work

and in between I'm getting the normal stuff done. 

some freeking deer had the nerve to take a bite out of a melon -- spied that last night on the drive thru ... hopefully home early enough tonight to get out the deer spray ...

also need to start hammering in the fence posts and other related deer prevention tactics. 


go go go
 

maintenance mode

so the patch is in "maintenance mode" ... too many vines to till, to many vines to spray for weeds ... it's bug and critter control mode.  I still walk it every night -- faithfully ... sometimes early mornings  I grab the camera and wander ....

patience

peaceful

lively

bind, bind, bind

 

I went out to the lake last night -- with a tote bag of sewing.  It was hot, really hot -- no breeze and well, a steamy Minnesota summer day.  There is two window a/c units in the cabin but after being shut up all week .... I didn't even attempt to turn them on.

 

So, I sewed.  Got the binding made and sewed on this one .... and then did the bindings on 3 others ...

I had Season 5 of Downton Abbey in the dvd player !!!

 

 

same prints only different binding and backing -- finished it up this morning.

 

 

and another one .... the middle print is sneakers.

 

and they are dancing on the line ... (for photography purposes ... I had washed and dried them already)

 

and the backs ... it was a breezy morning....post thunderstorm and rain

 

 

and the last one ...leftovers from my "pure" project of several years ago.

peeps, that's 5 crib quilts in 3 days -- DONE.  Most of them are being donated for a benefit -- a client with colon cancer ... they are having a benefit/silent auction in a couple of weeks.

 

He's doing well -- lots of changes and challenges ...

 

 

 

Finally, a quilt finish!

 

Lately I'm in assembly line production mode when I quilt --

piece, piece, piece

quilt, quilt, quilt

bind, bind, bind

it's bad -- there are 11 crib/throw quilts in the "to be bound" stack

argh. 

 



 

I took every big scrap out of the bin and cut strips (what else) and zipped 'em together -- this one is quilted with wavy lines on the long arm -- I'm auditioning/learning/attempting/botching new stitch patterns on the long arm with these cribbies.

 

Bessie, the long arm, is old and non-computerized ... it's doing a fine job of turning me into a doodler.

 

and here's the back -- a bold (mainly orange) floral I picked up at Hancock on 7/4 for $2.99 a yard!!!!!  Yep, took the whole bolt.

 

Love my new flag arrangement, don't love the weeds in the flower bed behind it -- they were to be chopped out this week but the hot humid weather has kept me indoors.

 

Linking up with Crazy Mom when she sets up the Finish it Up Friday Linky Party!

 

Have a great weekend -- be smart, stay cool!

 

 

Wednesday Night on the Prairie (picture heavy)

it's a ....

feather ruffling kind of day ... it's okay to stir the pot and ruffle some feathers ...


and last night -- I almost had feathers stuck to me .... round a the corner in the patch and young pheasant didn't want to move --- Katie, Brandon, Ana & Greta released 25 young pheasants last week ... and the buggers are hanging around the yard -- and patch .... hopefully, they will grow and multiply.


I spy ---

    squash, pumpkins and WATERMELONS in the patch ... spent an hour spraying for "bugs" last night .... it's Marie vs. the squash vine borer and I'm going to win.    


back to work ...

M
 

summer on the prairie

So, peeps, the prairie (or my version of the prairie) comes alive in late June / early July ... the rains have kept us green, although we could use a shower ... sooner rather than later.

I had a productive Monday .... worked until 4 .... came home and toured the patch, ate supper and hit the sewing room.  2 throw pillows have new covers (to match the others) and 3 crib quilts were loaded and quilted on the long arm.  It was sewing well and I just kept on sewing.  I have 3 left in my stash of tops to finish, so, I pulled backing fabric from the store stash and will work on them tomorrow -- time and weather permitting. 

And no Mrs. P --- ebay won't get my second copy of Downton Abbey -- it'll make a great Christmas gift for someone .... !!!!!