welcome to this week's list of likes... starting with the blue skies of colorado
but less a like but something to discuss are our brown dry brittle lands. We are under strict watering rules and neighbors now ask, does your yard look as bad as ours?
(the only acceptable answer is "YEP" )
we spent weeks around 100F but the last few days have been merely in the 90's F.
Alfie always wants to go for another walk but the sidewalks and street are so hot. We ordered him some doggie crocs so we'll let you know how they are.
some yarrow in the community garden... I see a dog like a spaniel looking back over it's right shoulder do you see it?
red hot pokers in yellow in our neighbor's yard... she zeroscaped so no mowing for her now!
passed by this unusual sight (we live in a golfing neighborhood) and I started laughing at a hole in one limb
(Alfie peed on the trunk)
After 10 drops of rain, this sight was so gorgeous one night
Fine Dining:
I had some scrambled eggs with mushrooms left over, and some boiled potatoes, so I made a really yummy lunch for us this week.
The potatoes became sort of hash sauteed with minced onion + bell peppers
the eggs went into a quesadilla... if you melt butter in a hot pan, put in a tortilla with fillings, the tortilla crisps up...
this time I used leftover turkey bacon crumbled and cheddar cheese with the eggs.
It was so good!
and quick to make really. I had cut up the citrus on Monday making ambrosia a la my family
grapefruit and orange sections, coconut, cherries, pineapple chunks with banana slices
we had that for a sweet finish.... I love it when the stores have food to buy here
speaking of that, my four cucumber seeds are leafing out and I have one (!!!) tiny half inch cucumber on one... hope it makes it!
reading on audio book
A family of Native Americans tells their story which is very intriguing. Sad to hear the way people used to be so prejudiced against them... have you noticed when one group treats another badly (like taking their lands and livelihoods ) they then run them down to further punish them. I think it comes from the bully feeling a teensy bit guilty so they act like the group deserved it?
disgusting really
Mama all them 25 dogs in my first house bullied me too....SO glad we all found each other!
Mama: well, you are our boy now and you are adorable! Now we need to make sure you stop vomiting in the morning from stomach acid. Do you like me giving you a cup of kibble before bed to help with that?
Alfie, sure do! I also like that miniature golden doodle I met this week. You and his mama talked a long time and he was cute but seemed afraid of me, can you believe it? I never hurt a fly! Still I looked my cutest and hope he plays the next time we meet.
our conversation starter this week... feel free to use it with your spouse or children too
vivid memory of a family vacation you'll always remember... when you were young? or after you grew up, either. What made it stand out and memorable? People, place, activity, etc
When I was 5 my mother, aunt and uncle, another aunt, the woman who watched me, and I went cross country from Florida to LA, California!
I got my first barbie on my birthday that trip, got to see so much country including the painted desert, and Disney World at the end! We even went to Mexico. Our AC went out while crossing the desert with all those fat people squeezed in one sedan!
Regular family vacations included going to local beaches, or to our mountain getaway in Maggie Valley NC. I loved both. At the beach I fondly remember blow up floatie rings, eating sandwiches with sand in them! the scent of coppertone lotion. At the mountains, I had so much freedom and hiked a lot, picked blackberries by the side of the road, went to dances, auctions, amusement areas... and it was cooler than Florida which I loved.
I took a vacation to Europe as a young adult, my friend worked there as a nurse on base but lived on the economy in Frankfurt. I had a Eurail pass and went all over Several countries by myself and it was just wonderful.
the beloved blue green (aqua to teal) from rainbow scrap challenge has made hot July more lovely
I got my hexi spiral ready to stitch and just love these colors
love the prints and colors!
I have been busy going through batik scraps, unused for years. I pulled out those easy to cut to squares in sizes 2.5" 3" and 3.5" and those joined all the other colors I cut out of other fabrics. I have many in each size to use in future projects
this changes a long held practice of keeping all batiks separately but which led to not using them often
All my fabrics and scraps have been washed in hot water and detergent, then sorted and kept by type or color. This is usually workable for me.
Batiks cause sinus trouble when pressed if not thoroughly scoured. You know that scent they have?
now I am mixing them in more, they make me happy with their color intensity and pattern
this was made from tiny scraps of regular printed fabrics...
scraps from making my GGG squares that filled the design wall and the next rows are still on the sewing table ready when there's room
compare the jewel tones and watercolor like batiks in the piece I sewed this week on the bottom to
prints of regular prints at top,
All are so pretty
this is an audition of borders for the 14" X 20" new work
then I ran across this little scrap and it will become inspiration for future works... the pattern, the colors and the relative amounts of each color to each other.... inspiration comes from many sources!
the extra GGG blocks ( on the right below) will make it 15 rows by 12 across.... with borders maybe large enough to cover a human for a nap
otherwise I have less flashy work to do this week. The watercolor quilt needs borders and quilting.
the two tiny scrap pieces also need to be finished into "flimsies" and then maybe tote bags or book covers for notebooks, or or or....
a close up of one of our patio chairs for the end of blue green month... but I will continue to work on my projects of blue green because they sooth my soul at a time when it is in need of soothing
if you need me (or my snoopervisor) we'll be in the studio!
Alfie the grateful poodle
I still love crochet and this seems like a great method!
recipe centercutcook and they are fragrant, moist, and just the right sweetness
Also made Thumbprint cookies again, made with almond flour, and seedless raspberry jelly (no pic)
my fave Peanut butter cookie recipe.... just right...
my potted cucumber set blossom, so the vege will hopefully soon
love the way tendrils sprout to hold on for safety in our winds
we managed a bit of porch time despite the near 100F temps this week
mama, it's hot but I like being out
shadow shot on a walk this week
I took a photo through a latice and like the distance on it!
Reading ebooks and listening to audio books while in the studio
watching Big Brother... great summer entertainment... anyone else want to discuss strategy?
Our conversation starter this week
did you or do you keep a diary? what kind of things did you put in
yours? ever have a summer crush or vation romance?
I started about 6th grade with a traditional child's diary, with a tiny key. I wrote daily telling what happened, who I had a crush on, what I did, how school went. I remember loving the process, and hiding the diary since my mother was a snoop.
I romanticized life, so yes summer crushes happened.
I often spent a month with my sister's family, and when she lived in Washington Indiana I fell for her neighbor's son, who was older than I was by a year. He was 14 and soooooo handsome. Our two families often hung out in evenings, the kids played and chased lighting bugs. We rode bikes together and talked and I pretended he was my boyfriend.
I met a guy at beach week after high school graduation, and we had a summer romance but he wanted more than I was prepared for then. Still....
so many crushes over the dam, summer flings.
I fell for a guy I met while staying with my friend's family at their beach place... he was tall and skinny, I had such a crush on him, he juggled, and worked at the newspaper office, and it lasted the summer.
"see you in september"
shadow shot on a walk this week
please visit these folks to see what they like in a picnic basket, and share here with me!
if you ever want to do an I Like Post to include, let me know to add in your link!
it's been so hot, it's hard to do much of anything...
oh there are people who say, but that's in the sun....
well, we don't really have shade here so that's how hot it is on our walks. We drag thru morning walks, and I'm in too much spinal pain by the evenings now to go much more than a mile after dark.
Almost too hot to sew as my creativity nook is over the hot garage. Did I tell you we moved here to evade heat? We had about 3 years in the beginning with nicer colder weather but now it's hot all year.
on to what we were able to do... no beading, no painting, no embroidery but I was obsessed with...
making GGG blocks with my scraps, and enjoyed sorting through my scrap bins seeing them in this new way. I am focusing on Aqua/turquoise, purple, lime, fuchia colors
there are about 140 blocks done
don't get too excited, when they are sewn together this center would be about 40" X 56" so I continued
as I sorted, to prep more blocks
then..., all the bits I cut off were improv sewn into
groups and strips, then the groups sewn together. I LOVE it. Not sure what it will become or how large
but very few little scraps went back in the color bins
it's so satisfying to see color/pattern next to another... growing faster than my cucumbers
it's similar to my big quilt in percentage of colors too
my snoopervisor has been pleased with my progress,
or at least with my happiness in these colors... all he knows is this is where we go every day for him to nap
I realized I need to do a mundane but necessary task of sewing on a replacement button
this lovely shirt has been mine for approx 40 years.... still beautiful on and brilliant color. Made by an independent clothing designer (in Florida ) called Ooo La La
so the heat continues to increase my inflammation and pain, our AC can't fight the temps, promised relief in form of 80's this week, are now dashed in favor of near 100's. A creative person still needs to make things AM I Right?
welcome to this week's list of likes... starting with our puppy Alfie wanting to go up to another dog
These three belong to a neighbor we see out walking, 3 rescues, this short one on the side is always happy and wagging.... so Alfie thought it would be good as a calm meeting
but
turns out she likes us from a distance only....
Alfie had apparently decided the 5 month adoption anniversary is for meeting dogs so he went up politely to a little doodle, touched gently, she was age 4 and with her dad and brother in a stroller.
She lost all control however, when meeting Alfie. (patsy cline's song Crazy played in the background)
Alfie didn't let it bother him as she wanted to play like a wild thing, and he knew leashes were in the way. The father apologized saying she's wild, but I was glad Alfie accepted it.
We passed two labs we see frequently next and one of them is even wilder. Alfie looked the other way and growled softly as we passed by just so there was no chance of her getting a sneak attack.
plenty of time to test the waters later. We just groomed Alfie this weekend and he looks great!
Took the Mama three tries at shaving him however, he has thick hair like cotton
The temps are nearly 100 F and the sun intense, so after washing and brushing, I was able to cut half his hair away and he's so soft and pretty!
saw this interesting shadow and thought it was 3 mailboxes
but just two and a post
this neighbor has grapevines that return yearly
I like the way they look on the white fence
I also like the bug holes in the leaves making leaf lace
Apparently Alfie's toys might be worthy of play now that he's been here 5 months
he played and squeaked the dragon for about 20 minutes!
He squeaked and tossed the dragon a long time, then suddenly dropped it in favor of the benebone.
we call this brushing his teeth! lol He like all animals has opinions and thoughts. In fact this week he actually watched TV with us one night.
Alfie: Mama! of course I have opinions! That's why I tease you by going to the top of the stairs and looking down at you! And race you to the bottom sometimes, other times if you stop I stop, as many times as it takes to get down!
We decided to break his food into 6 meals to keep the stomach acid from causing vomit, so far so good but he stops to sniff the food bag every time he passes our table.
I'm excited Big Brother has returned on TV.
Sewing on a scrap project the center blocks may be almost done... since it's much larger now!
I like the colors Aqua/ lime/fuchia/purple so that's my scrap focus
Reading on E-book
clever, engaging, funny, new author to me
I like that dh got the garage door window repaired after trying himself... the professional came out, put in new glass and promptly broke it too! Re ordered, another workman came out, I had doubts because he was young but despite taking 3 times the time to install it, managed to get it in place. Yea!
I do not like the neighbors who drive loud cars and park under my bedroom window instead of on their side of the street.... haven't had a full night sleep since they moved in.
Our conversation starter this week: (Feel free to use these for chatting with your spouse, children etc)
what do you think makes a good picnic lunch? sit on the ground or picnic
tables?
I remember attending concerts where you sat on the ground with a picnic... so nice, to snack, listen to live music, and lie down looking up at the sky. As adults we would bring take out like sandwiches cut into strips, chicken, deviled eggs, cookies, or gourmet take out treats. Always wine too.
For bigger parties a picnic table is nice, if it can be cleaned and given a wipe off cloth. Many a church social was enjoyed this way, sometimes with a dedicated food table, pot luck. Always a lot of casseroles, snacky finger foods, desserts. The big container full of ice and soft drinks, a large jug of iced tea or lemonade unless it was a reunion picnic...
Cole dining alfresco with us on a trip
there might be beer there alongside iced tea and sodas!
I liked to bring a veggie display with dips on ice. I grew up in Florida to extended families in the South so always homemade rolls, and desserts, weird desserts made with jello, lots of bar cookies and recipes exchanged.
of course eating while at the beach was a lesson in blowing sand in your bites!
I like eating at outside tables... like at festivals and fairs. I love sharing tables with strangers and getting to know them while eating our own food. We often brought a cooler on our own summer getaways as a married couple with a dog.... we'd see a particularly pretty vista in the mountains or lakefronts as we drove along, and stopped on a whim to eat whatever we had.
this is a whimsical post I wrote about Cole -dilocks and the three chairs
welcome to this week's list of likes... starting with the blue skies of colorado 
