Happy Moment #53: Prepping For the Quilt Show

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single (or a few) photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary, happy moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments too.

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

~Omar Khayyam

Plant Markers

I'm getting more and more excited about "hands in the dirt" season which is right around the corner!  So, I bet you're wondering why I'm showing you a bucket full of dusty tile? 

Well, aside from the fact that the Mister redid a floor... I found these leftover pieces to be the perfect material to make plant markers with!  Who's with me?

I took the pieces of tile, cleaned them off, and then drew on them with colorful sharpie markers.

And look how they turned out!!

So, I went to it and planted a few things.  Tomato's, peppermint, basil, stevia, bell peppers, and hot peppers.

I'll be putting pea seeds in this weekend.

Loving how the markers are bright and colorful and stand out!

I'll also start my spinach shortly. 

And three cheers for carrots!!  The dogs especially like helping me harvest carrots!!  Not much beats eating veggies straight from the garden.

Let's hear it for hands in the dirt!!  Are you starting your garden?

Happy Birthday Sammy!

Yes, it was Sammy's birthday Friday!  She got to start her morning with a special birthday cookie and yes, she even shared one with Katie!

Being one year old seems to agree with her!  She was all smiles all weekend long!  She must have known that all the fuss was for her.

She even took time to stop and smell the tulips!  And just look at those eyelashes!!

Katie enjoyed the plentiful sunshine and high spot on the rock to watch the neighborhood go by.

While Katie was on the rock, Sammy is a pup that is always by my side.  My shadow.  My companion.  My partner in crime who is always guilty of something.  Here I was putting my veggie garden in and she was on the other side of the fence sticking her paws under the fence and trying to help me dig.  My buddy!

And sure, she's a quirky dog.  I mean, isn't every dog a weird in their own special way?

- So, Sam rips apart a freshly made bed and get under the covers.  Normal right? 
- She has been know to put her head on my shoulder while we are in the car.  That's not too weird. 
- She moos at you if she wants something.  Every dog has a way of asking for things, right?
- She gets in the shower and leaves tracks of muddy paws everywhere.  How else would she keep her feet clean?
- She is the quickest hole digger in the east.  I have a few holes to patch in the yard.  Maybe she is trying to help me weed the yard?
- She has no idea that weekends are meant for sleeping in and constantly wakes up too early.  I have found so much extra time in the week for projects and reading books.
- She'll bark in your face just to hear how loud she can be.  We've all done that once or twice, right?
- She makes goofy faces in the mirror and has a stare down with the "other dog."  Hey, that other dog better watch out what house they think they're in.

Yup, I would officially say that I wouldn't change a thing about this pup.  She's everything this family needed and probably all sorts of things we didn't know we needed.  We're finding a wonderful sort of balance!

And my oh my, Katie and Sammy are the best of friends.  That was my primary reason for adding a second dog and although the two of them have their moments, they really do love each other!  And I am just so happy that I get to see their friendship blossom over time. 

Happy Birthday Sammy, you turned the big 0-1 and I am so happy you picked our family share to your life with!

And get ready... someone else that's furry and blond is turning a whopping five a week from today.

Happy Moment #52: Guess Who's Turning One Today?

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single (or a few) photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary, happy moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments too.

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

~Omar Khayyam

Wednesday Work in Progress {Bottled Rainbows}

I'm finally getting back to my sewing machine.  And I thought it would be nice to ease in with a project that has been a waiting for me  for a long long time.  I would like to reintroduce you to the Bottled Rainbows quilt along sponsored by Stitched in Color.

Am I the only one who hasn't finished this one yet?  Come on... I know there must be others, right?

Well, either way.  It's back and I'm madly in love with the project again.  Here is the deep tangerine block.  I love spending time with the scraps, figuring out where I want everything, pinning them, and then sewing them down.

There was a lovely day this past weekend that I spent outside in the sunshine working with my scraps.  Darn near heaven!!

The girls thought it was divine too!  Here is Katie snoozing.

Sammy slept a wink here and there, but spent most of her time chasing ants and bugs and in general trying to devise a way to get her paws on my scraps.

Isn't that fox just adorable?

Once in awhile something interesting stirred the pups to move around. 

But I melted when I saw where Katie decided to rest her head.  Awww!!!

These two can be the best quilting buddies ever sometimes.  What more could a girl want besides sunshine, pups, and fabric?

Here is the lavender block.  I didn't have as many scraps that perfectly matched this color, but I decided that wasn't going to hold me back.  I think that was what stopped me the last time. 

So, in the hopes of finishing this quilt up over the next month or so, I pushed through and decided that as long as it complimented ... it would be used.  And I love it!

I also never really appreciated the portability of being able to pick, cut, and place fabrics away from my sewing machine.  And then later sew everything down.

Here are the four I have completed and sewn.  Although, somebody (no naming names.... rhymes with Whammy) thought it would be funny to run and slide through my squares.  Puppies!!

Here is a more proper picture of the four. 

I have the lavender one nearly sewn down and I am starting in on fuchsia after that.  I am still trying to come up with the name of this quilt, but am just enjoying this project again ... and that's what quilting is all about, right?

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 5
New Projects: 0

Finished Projects: 2 (The Lake and Sunrise -- finished pictures coming soon!)

Total WiP's: 3

Raised Veggie Garden Open for Business!

It's finished!!  The new raised veggie garden with hand built natural stone retaining wall.  Squee!

I couldn't be happier with my new dream veggie garden!  It's big with over 164 square feet of gardening goodness.  And there is even a new supply of dirt/manure mix which should make plants very happy. 

Oh, and how about the stone stepping path?  Isn't it marvelous?  It also helps me divide the space in half creating natural planting rows and squares/

I think the new wall does wonders for the front of our house too!  As much as I like brick... I think the stone makes more sense for our forest-y area.

And yes, I couldn't resist putting the first plants in the garden.  The first two are jalapeno plants!  I will be adding lettuce, spinach, green beans, peas, and probably a few others this coming weekend. 

Can't wait to get my hands in the dirt!!

How about a quick look at a few of the tulips that we are enjoying right now?

Having these brilliant colors around is really making me smile!  I also think I need to make a note to add purple tulips in the fall.  I seem to have a lot of red and orange. 

Lastly, a small story... I pass this tree at least ten times a day.  I mean seriously I have probably be staring at this tree every day for nearly 3 years.  And I'm not sure I ever really noticed this awesome knot on it. 

It's about the size of a bowl -- big!  And has lovely textures and shapes.  I think I feel it inspiring a quilt.  Don't you just love when you have a moment that you finally see something for the first time? 

Previous posts about the rock wall project:

The Rock Wall is Nearly Done

The Rocks are Multiplying
Veggie Garden Retaining Wall

Mail Call {Giftie for Katie and Sammy}

Katie and Sammy won a doggy toy from Augie and Ti!!  Pretty darn exciting for them to get mail with their names of the box.  It even made our mail lady smile and laugh.  Love when something unexpected like that brings cheer!! 

If you have never been over to see Augie and Ti, then you are in for a real treat.  I laugh so hard over their dress up and silly antics!!  And yes, they are both golden retrievers so you can imagine why we are a bit partial!  Be sure to go say hi and prepare to laugh!

In the box, was the cutest stuffed donkey.  Think Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.  The pups also got really fancy dog treats (in the package next to the toy) and a mini calendar and sticker I claimed for myself :)

Once they stopped jumping up and down I presented them with the donkey.  And I still laugh every time on how they share their toys with each other.  I can't count anymore how many times I will catch them both happily playing with the same toy.  This was no exception.

They both hold the toy in their mouth and off they go.  And if one of the dogs drops the toy... then the other dog stops and holds still until the other dog grabs it again.  So darn cute!

And yes, there is some jumping.  Notice Sammy has her arms around Katie's neck and yet Katie still hasn't let go.

They played and played!  I can see donkey becoming a regular favorite in the cycle of toys they play with together. 

And just like this sticker from the package... we all want to send our own "licks of love" to Augie and Ti for such a fun giveaway!! 

And you know goldie licks are 90% slobber!  Enjoy!

Happy Bits {number one}

I think this is a fitting title for all those little random bits of happiness that I capture on the camera.  Sometimes the pictures tell a story, but lately I'm noticing that I am using photography to reflect on those little bits of happiness that are in each day.

Just looking through these brings me calmness!  Let's see what made me smile through the week.

Newly made spotted binding.

Sammy.  Also, newly nicknamed Sam-urai!

Doesn't she look like she is in so much trouble here?

Moving my sewing table into the sunny window.

Putting binding on the The Lake piece.

Spending gobs of time outside and watching how quickly Katie closers her eyes in a sunny spot.

Taking notice of all the bulbs that are blooming.  And I just can't get enough of rich colors!!

And Katie's big infectious smile!! 

Ahhhh... see, happier, more balanced and ready for more!