While I manage to post an I Like Thursday post weekly the last time I did a regular post was over a month ago. I shared some blocks from a Quarantine Mystery and a BOM from the LQS that fnished last year.
The BOM from the LQS is called Kaleidoscope. I finished it and went to lay it out on the floor, I was too lazy to try to hang it up.
Do you know how hard it is to get a picture with fur babies around?
Sigh! Let's try one more time.
Finally a pic with out a dog on the quilt.
The Quarantine Mystery Quilt was done by Gail Grassel of River's Edge Antiques and Quilts.
Block 1
Block 2
Block 3
Block 4
Block 5
Block 6
Block 7
Block 8
Block 9
Block 10
My finished top!
I took the picture and realized that a block was wrong. Didn't take too long to take it apart and fix that block so it is right now.
While working on this I have been working on my alternating blocks for my Tuesday sewing group BOM.
Once I am done with those I will sash and cornerstone all the blocks. I think I have 6 more alternate blocks to make.
I always say if I finish something I get to start something new. But it also means I need to grab a UFO and start working on it. Oh the choices. I think I may grab the Seeing Stars quilt
Welcome to my 110th installment of I Like Thursday. I am kind of wondering where my week went. Wednesdays seem to always be so crazy busy I have a hard time finding the time to sit and write a post.
Monday was my day off. I wanted to work outside, we had torrential rains, to the point where there are several inches of water sitting on the ground. I am thankful that I am far enough from the river and lake to avoid all the flooding that is occurring, and I feel bad for the people in Midland, Michigan where a couple of dams have been breached and they are experiencing extreme flooding.
What was amazing though is after these rains it is like the world exploded in color.
These are my lilacs from left to right, they are a light lavender, a dark purple, a medium purple, then white, and there is a rogue purple growing up in the middle of the white. These bushes are over 100 years old.
The flowers are gorgeous and the scent is heavenly.
The chives are all budded up.
Last week my pear trees in my orchard were full of white blossoms. All that remain are a few after the rain and wind.
But I think I may have some fruit this year.
The apple trees are loaded with blossoms too.
Apple blossoms are so lovely.
I have a prairie fire crab apple which I love the color, but the showstopper is when it blooms.
Jeff and I actually bought this tree together so to see it thrive brings me great happiness.
My flowering almond was bursting with blossoms this year, unfortunately I didn't get a photograph of it.
The little patch of wild strawberries is riotous with blossoms.
My chickens have been laying lots of eggs. I thought this speckled one was interesting.
A girlfriend is looking to downsize from a huge home in Wyandotte to a small apartment, she doesn't want all the yard work, and home maintenance anymore. She knows I love rocks and she brought me her Petostsky Stone.
I had a rough week with losses of a friend and a family member. Hazel is a cousin I am related to on my father's side of the family. I wrote about visiting here in 2018 in my post Waiting. A month or so ago she became ill, and ended up in the hospital with pneumonia caused by aspiration. Hazel just didn't respond to the antibiotics and the decision to put her into hospice was made last week. May 16th, she passed away.
The friend was a man that was very dear to Jeff. He was Jeff's spiritual mentor and good friend, sharing his faith. Uncle Mick passed away on May 16th also. Granted both of these people were fortunate to live many years, but in losing them I felt like I lost some connections to my father, and to Jeff. Remember I said Monday we had torrential rains? I was ironing watching the rain pour down when I heard a thump on the window in front of me. I looked up and a cardinal was there, hanging on the screen. By the time I got my phone and tried to focus he had flew up to the tree.
The cardinal and a female, I am going to assume they are a mated pair, have taken up residence in my field. They say a cardinal is a sign of angels watching over and protecting you, but also providing inspiration.
With the COVID virus at work we are required to wear a face mask at all times. Unfortunately we have some people that refuse. Which means that a couple of us have been pushed outside of our comfort zone. Like learning how to decorate cakes.
This was my practice cake I made at home, learning how to do roses. I was told that I do pretty well, I just need more practice.
I spied this towel at work the other day in a weird spot.
Isn't this a great sentiment?
The kittens are getting big, they are one month old today. Since they were getting close to being able to escape from their box the kids decided maybe a pool would be a better container. I get a kick out of them wrestling.
A friend sent me this video and I just had to share.
Finally my books for the week are The Chocolate Snowman Murders byJoAnna Carl this is the 8th
installment in The Chocoholic Mystery which takes place in on the west coast of Michigan in the fictional resort town of Warner Pier.
Prologue to Murder is the 2nd installment of the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery by Lauren Elliot featuring Addie Grayborne in the fictional town of Grayborne Harbor, Massachusetts.
Now head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color and check out the other I Like Thursday posts.
We have had some cold days, but I loved a short walk around my yard. Since I let my chickens free range I was worried if I would have any flowers left.
Leconium Gigantum also known as a giant snowdrop. I love the little green dots at the edge of the petals.
I had a couple of purple tulips bloom.
The Lamium is blooming already. I need to figure out how to keep the chickens out of my flower beds so that it can have a chance to spread.
The bleeding heart that I planted last year returned. I hope it takes off and gets larger. I had transplanted one I found under a bush when I first moved in years ago. It did alright but the past couple of years it struggled, and I think finally died.
I saw this bag of M & M's at the store. Made me smile.
The kittens are now 3 weeks old. One has a slight eye infection so she gets an eye wash a couple of times a day. I was told her name is Tangiers.
One of her sisters is obviously an aspiring model.
Isn't she just too adorable?
I had a bookcase that was sitting still in a box and finally decided what I would do with it. The middle boy came over, and I am so freaking impressed with him. He managed to put it completely together, with power tools in about 15 minutes. I asked him if he needed the instructions....in true male fashion, nah I got this, it is a basic build. He did it and didn't make one mistake.
Into the sewing room to hold some kits, and my hoard of Bonnie and Camille fabrics which I have been using in 2 separate quilts.
Have you been wearing a face mask? Work provides them, and I have one I made, and some others in the making. Ever wonder if wearing a face mask may become the new fashion? One to match your moods? Anyway, the downside to a mask, especially for me at work, because I am in and out of freezers, and the dish room which is hot and humid, my glasses are constantly fogged up. Jeff used to swear by a wax called Zooke. I found the one he had stashed, um it was empty. So I ordered some from Amazon, but I was not going to receive it until June. I read somewhere that shaving cream would work.
You take the shaving cream, wipe it on your lenses, and rub it in using a microfiber clothe. I will say it takes a wee bit of work, but it helped greatly and I spent one day almost 5 hours in the freezer restacking pallets to pull our product out.
The Zooke's arrived. It is actually used by divers to keep their face masks clear.
I tried it. Worked too, but has about the same effectiveness as the shaving cream. The shaving cream is much cheaper though.
Finally my books of the week are by Molly MacRae.
Plaid and Plagiarism. Janet Marsh, her daughter Natalie (Tally), Christine, and Summer have purchased Yon Bonnie Books. A bookshop, tea room, and bed and breakfast, the 4 women have left their lives in America to live their "what if". I will say that the book made me laugh quite often. I am currently reading the 2nd installment titled Scones and Scoundrels.
Thank you LeeAnna for encouraging us to find things we like, and share them with others. Now head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color to check out the other I Like posts.
The rhubarb is coming up. In fact it is already going to seed!
The Canadians are displaying their families.
See the 2 geese? There are a bunch of babies in between them.
The field that I am allowing to go back to natural habitat is full of these trees with these blossoms. I looked them up and I think they may be what are called Callery Pear trees----which is also known as a Bradford Pear. I guess they are a very invasive species and looking at my lot, I would say yep. I found an interesting article on NPR about them. Callery Pear
While the weather may be warming up it still gets pretty cold at night. I recently purchased a Pendleton Wool blanket, the pattern is called Chief Joseph, for my bed.
The color is called slate. Bobbin and I like the warmth it provides.
During this time I have been trying to support small business. Some local, but some not so local. Goldbelly per Wikipedia --Goldbelly is a curated online marketplace for regional and
artisanal foods crafted by local food purveyors throughout the United
States. Goldbelly's staff curates products from restaurants, bakeries,
delis, etc. to feature on the site and facilitates shipping across all
50 states.
I decided to treat myself and so I ordered Lobster Rolls from McLoon's Lobster Shack.
They send you the ingredients with instructions and you put it together. All I can say is that it was awesome! A nice treat.
I received a text the other day from my oldest daughter. Made me giggle, because she lives in Oregon. "Mom you got a package sitting on your front porch."
I was outside, walked around to the front of the house, and sure enough there was a package. In it was my Mother's Day gift.
Nice travel mug.
I have been trying to get up enough oomph to sew a little every day. I am actually on clue 10 of the Quarantine Mystery quilt from River's Edge. I will share more of that later. I have been using my stash of Bonnie and Camille Fabrics, all different lines. As I was cutting the other day I looked down at this selvage and it made me smile.
The kittens are getting big. The oldest boy loves babies and has been known to sneak down to my house and into the garage so he can sit and hold the babies.
The little light gray one is his favorite. Oh and we have a whole herd of girl kittens! Just rolling my eyes. For sure no one leaves the garage until we are all spayed!
A few I Likes ago I was mentioning that I liked this sponge thing that helped pick up cat hair. Roseanne told me about silicone dish scrubbers and that they work well too. So I bought a package.
This is awesome. I will say it works better than the cat hair sponge. I used it to clean my design wall and as you can see there are no threads left, except the spot where I didn't go over with the scrubby. Thank you Rosanne!
Finally my books for the week. I have a wide range.
Murder int he Manor by Fiona Grace. Lacey Doyle returns to Wilfordshire, England after her recent divorce. England held such fine memories for her of her family during a childhood vacation. The story takes a while to get going, but once it does I enjoyed the setting, and the characters.
Plague by C.C. Humphreys, I know a little off putting considering our current circumstances. But a very interesting tale of war, murder, love, religion, the royals, and the plague. I really enjoyed this book.
Finally I am currently reading Death by Jack-o'-Lantern by Alexis Morgan. This is the 2nd book in the Abby McCree Mysteries.
Abby just doesn't know how to say "no" when cornered to head up different committees through her new hometown of Snowberry Creek, Washington. When Ronald Minter turns up dead in his corn maze, Abby's tenant Tripp Blackston ends up in jail for hindering prosecution. The police want to question Tripp's friend Kevin Montgomery, a homeless vet who lives in the nearby National Forest, but Tripp doesn't want to turn his friend in who claims to have seen the enemy infiltrating the area.
Now head over to LeeAnna's at Not Afraid of Color to check out the other I Like Thursday posts.
