Thursday, April 9, 2026

Like Thursdays # 499 Do you like Spring?

 

welcome to this week's list of likes starting with a beautiful nature scene in Colorado

let's go for a walk shall we?

Alfie:  might as well, my toy is taking up all the bed

I spy with my little eye the first tulips! early this year of course

a poodle puppy with his Daddy

shadow's capture the trees in bud already

looks like a leftover "egg skin" from easter

sun's out and it's already hot in Colorado
alfie took us to see some more housing development...

Better stay in the shade the mama!

50 shades of brown here...

Listening to another Hanna Swenson mystery on audio book and reading another Museum mystery on E Book (By Connolly) 

Our conversation starter this week is:

Do you like Spring? Why?  what makes you feel Spring has sprung around your house? 

I have too many spring allergies to like it, plus it is the harbinger of hot misrable weather, neighbors hired pesticide sprayers that give me occular migraines (I can't see for hours) etc.  There are few/random flowers here to enjoy too. Sorry for the less stellar review to those of you who like Spring. 

I know it's spring when the flies and wasps come back out. This year I put on the new summer patio tablecloth already


A video of Alfie playing in the first sprinkler of Spring

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KNKho2Mpq30

Alfie: I like my toy to sleep with me, truth is I don't know what to do with a toy, I never really had one

thankful for a good report from DH's medical test

for a little "Class" today... just say it in French:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeAfI7GxUQQ&list=RDOeAfI7GxUQQ&start_radio=1

Please visit these wonderful folks to see why they like (or not) Spring and other likes. Let me know if you'd like to join us and I'll add in your link!


Grammajudyb.blogspot.com

https://brianshomeblog.com/  

http://itsasmalltownlife.blogspot.com/   

http://goodrandomfun.blogspot.com

https://llbinourbackyard.blogspot.com/ 

https://frenchethereal.net/



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Thursday, April 2, 2026

I Like Thursday # 498 Easter chocolate

 

Welcome to this week's list of likes starting with this inflatable Easter bunny who frightened my puppy

OMDog  Mama is it alive??  (Mama: no honey, want to sniff it?) 

Alfie:  Uh no, let's just quietly keep walking.... 
while keeping an eye on it to see if it's following us! 

Critter noticing
this week Alfie noted a yard squirrel chowing down on the honeydew shells we put under the tree

His first time racing toward a critter, and the squirrel went up the tree, looked down and chittered at Alfie for quite a while. Alfie stood like a statue looking up and would have for hours if we hadn't called him in., 

He is getting good at responding when I say, Alfie baby, come ! 


He and I saw this beauty on one of our walks.... Alfie looked for a while, watched then calmly walked by....

suddenly Spring sprung here. We never had winter or Fall, but it's been pretty hot and everything seems to be flowering! I love flowers, not allergies but... 

love pink blossoms!


yes to colorful sunsets on evening walks
and calm poodle puppies with long legs too long for his big bed! 
Another first this week, Alfie chewed up a paper towel roll center.... 
I like a quiet morning activity, don't you?

luckily he like my other poodles, spits out the cardboard!

Conversation Starter this week:
Do you make anything special for Easter dinner? Do you use special recipes or tableware? Do you order chocolate bunnies to give out or keep? Do you bite the ears off first? What about hot cross buns or other special cookies? share your recipe? 

we don't have a special dinner but I love chocolate. Unfortunately American Chocolate is full of addititves... I tried making peanut butter eggs once, worked out but a lot of work. This year I plan to try these
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jprCErtwrzg
I also plan to follow my saved recipe for hot cross buns. I have made them several times and they are so good, fluffy, slightly sweet from castor sugar, and special.  As a little girl I did bite the ears off chocolate bunnies, liked malted milk ball eggs best,  had a new pez dispenser in my basket,  and wore a new dress with crinolines to church. Easter egg hunts were my favorite thing to do though! 

DH had to have a medical test and we are both relieved the test is over tho we await results

I finished my stay at home round robin, LINK HERE
Dragonflies on the pond
Looking forward to this year's Sketchbook Revival lessons starting April 11  

gotta go now, see you soon Love, Alfie ( almost 22 months old)
Alfie: I liked treeing that squirrel, tearing up paper, eating enough food 3 times a day) sleeping when I want to even while snoopervising the sewing room, playing in the sprinkler and how cool if feels after grooming excess hair away. I get treats for coming when Mama calls, and I go to her, and for lying down when she says to. 
I just love it here, and that there are no other dogs to bite me, I get to sleep in mama's room, I get to take time to enjoy all the birds on the field here. 


Please visit these folk to see what they liked this week, let me know if I can add your link of likes


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Tuesday, March 31, 2026

SAHRR finish !!! DRAGONFLIES ON THE POND


"Dragonflies on the pond"  42" X 42" 
I had to make a big push to get this finished for the parade of SAHRR quilts at 

just last week it was in three sections ready to quilt that way, and just getting to that point was a big task for me... all the decisions and final design choices, making it all come together after months of following prompts....

It was in three sections to make quilting on my small machine doable... sky section,  Dragonfly section was largest at 30" by 42" , and waterlillies along the bottom

after completely quilting each section I needed to join them to the center leaving backing free to cover the seams 
I used a long hoarded garden scene for the large center section, a blue water for this one, and a cloudy sky fabric for backing the top section. 

oops took the photo  of my sky join upside down, to show how it looks after joining quilted rows

oh but I had some fantastic fabrics in my dragonfly collection, fussy cut them, actually used them and so happy I did. One of those sky fabrics is photo realistic with golden highlights. A row print fussy cut to get dragonflies in one section. 

a closer look at an art deco design for quilting behind the dragonflies... 



There were 6 prompts to include... the lilly is fussy cut out of a batik, fused to each other and a rawedged leaf gathered and shaped with quilting, lots of metallic sparkly threads on the petals, and it was two prompts, "two color" and the leaf shapes I can't remember. The 9 patches were following another prompt, the little pinwheel came from a "parts dept" scrappy bin. 

added this in at the end...
I actually love the water lilies and might need to make a quilt showcasing them 

All the while my patient snoopervisor stayed with me steadfastly

Alfie is not quite 2, so patient and calm, and is my companion. We've had him 6 weeks and it's like he was always here.... 

I appreciate the organizers of this event so much... each year I feel I learn so much and make a favorite quilt... I have loved this quilt  and am so glad to use the MODA free pattern for Dragonflies 




Alfie says thanks for visiting
but it's time to walk the mommy.... see you later


Find all the SAHRR finishes here
https://kathleenmcmusing.com/2026/03/2026-sahrr-the-parade/

linking to some of these: 

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Thursday, March 26, 2026

I Like Thursday # 497 do you still eat kid's cereal for breakfast?

 

welcome to this week's list of likes... starting with a black and white photo I took of my porch

I liked sitting on the porch after work, drinking cherry juice with a splash of amaretto...
and having a sweet puppy again to join us

We set up a small sprinkler because it's dry and hot (90's in the sun) in Colorado in March... and I took a video of  Alfie (previously known as Dewi) who had never in all his 21 months see a sprinkler
I haven't figured out how to put it on the blog yet, but will by next week. 

I couldn't stop laughing at his antics but suffice it  to say he was in Heaven playing... 

reading two books, next in my hanna swenson mysteries on audio, and Sheila Connolly same book on ebook

watching Emily in Paris, Summer house, Baking championship, survivor on TV

working so hard to overcome pain in order to finish a challenge (stay at home round robin) but losing the battle. 

I like sleeping through the night it just doesn't happen much anymore

Love my walks but they have become slow since my new walking partner stops at every tree trunk to sniff and or water it
all snow melted now, no snow left in dry hot Colorado in our usually snowiest month

I need to just leave the dog behind now, to resume my own exercise but it's hard to leave him. 

 

 I made a fabric bowl for one challenge, post here



 conversation starter this week: 

 
what was your favorite breakfast cereal as a kid. Would you eat it now? 

  


 cocoa puffs, hand down, chocolate for breakfast? And Cap'n Crunch   Now, no... I found out as a young adult I had food allergies, and corn is hidden in a lot of foods in America. Corn syrup mostly and I now work hard to stay away from allergens in any form. I got a book from the library long ago that listed the way certain foods are hidden and know what to stay away from

 I grew up in a family who thought breakfast must be fried eggs, toast with jelly, and more. I dieted through high school, (weight watchers) and had to learn to be hungry a lot... 

In junior high "Instant Breakfast" was popular... I loved the flavor but it didn't stick with a person all the way to a school lunch time

my fave breakfast was home made french fries as a little girl! Those I might still eat! 

Alfie: Mama! I know the answer.... I still like cherios any time of day, get out the box and teach me a new word ! 

poodle ears as he runs away!
please visit these fine folks and if you did an I Like post let me know to add in your link

 

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Saturday, March 21, 2026

Sewing this week: challenge met, another on it's way, and one that didn't quite pan out

 

well, that scrap goes back 26 years!!!
another busy week of sewing, cooking, translating life to our rescue puppy 

ALFIE!  Choosing a name post HERE

smile! 

The prompt for Project Quilting was something like, "hand held" so my first thought was to make a purse handle/ lanyard of red scrap geese which I did and LOVE. I trimmed it to 2" straightening the edge but then decided to go in a different direction

a 3 foot long geese piece

holds a lot of supplies

and make a pentagon EPP bowl with Spring colored scraps! Some embroidered French knots, a flower applique... post HERE

then with the help of my little snoopervisor Alfie, I moved on to designing the layout of my dragonfly quilt for SAHRR challenge. I think I'm happy with this layout and will design some nice borders... in a right hurry! Despite all the daily (Life is SO daily) challenges

I do love this quilt and hate to hurry through the process just to continue to be part of the group

(Had to take time out this week, for two migraines that stole my vision, and a trip to chiro) along with cooking, baking, poodle training

Mama, don't forget my art, and BTW my bowl is empty

Beautiful job Alfie! 

handwork in the evenings as I watch TV... red scrap/Valentine spiral hexie

on the walk, some red...



And in honor of Rainbow Scrap Challenge... rainbow of cows video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1f9b7sX_XY&list=RDZ1f9b7sX_XY&start_radio=1

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/


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