I Like Thursday #209

 It is Thursday so it is time for m209th I Like Post.  Every week a group of bloggers share a post of things that they have discovered that they like/love.  LeeAnna at Not Afraid of Color is our host and encourager.

I have had a few days off, some scheduled, and some due to a death in the family.  While it is near impossible to afford to fly/drive to the west coast, I have been staying close to home, cleaning, packing, reading, trying to get my steps in, and working on getting my head in the right space.  Bobbin and I have been walking the property line when it isn't too hot.  We have spotted a family of geese on the neighbor's pond.

Fed mulberries to the chickens. I have a lot of volunteer mulberry trees and they are loaded this year with fruit.

And after 10 years I finally had cherries on my teeny tiny tree.  

 I have been allowing Bobbin to walk with me off leash, which can be a challenge even after all the training she has had.  She has done wonderful, and has really enjoyed all the running.  Five circuits of the property is 10,000 steps, some days walking outside has been near impossible especially when it is 80 degrees at 7 am.  I usually have Bobbin tuckered out completely by 3 pm.

I have slowly been packing, starting with the kitchen.  Things I don't use often have been boxed, and labeled.  I have this crazy idea color code dots for the boxes that are going to be stored.  One color for the kitchen, one color for bathroom, one color for sewing, etc.  That way you look at the box and you know which room it goes to so if you are looking for something.

I kept out 4 cookbooks, these are the ones I use the most, and all the rest were packed.  I discovered I had 4 binders, and a huge pile of recipes I would never make, a huge pile I wanted to try, and a huge pile I have tried and liked.  I bought some A5 paper and have been printing out recipes I like on it for my little recipe binder.  

I finally got a little gumption to do some sewing, at least the Moda Blockheads 4 blocks.

BH 4 Block 12 9 inch block

BH 4 Block 12 4.5 Inch Block

BH 4 Block 12 Friendship Star

BH 4 Block 13 4.5 inch block

BH 4 Block 13 9 inch block

BH 4 Block 13 Evening Delight

BH 4 Block 14 Alternate Sharply Dressed

BH 4 Block 14 4.5 inch block Bird on a Branch

OK so block 14 is supposed to be an applique bird, I decided to do a chicken with a pile of feed.  I need to stitch it down.  

I have been doing a lot of reading.  

Nine Women, One Dress by Jane Rosen was recommended and I just happened to be able to snag it from the library.  I will admit to spending a whole day reading this book, and not doing much else.  

Teatime for the Firefly by Shona Patel.  Another book that I read every free moment I could find.  The book tells the story of the tea plantations from the view of Layla a native woman in India right before the ending of British rule. 

The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding by Lydia Kang a WWII espionage story taking place in New York. 

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin.  Another book set during WWII in London. 

Thanks for stopping by, head over to LeeAnna's to check out the other I Like Thursday posts.