Saturday, July 18, 2026

Creatively speaking, this week...

 

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? 


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Thursday, July 16, 2026

I Like Thursday# 514 books, clouds, picnic food and a poodle

 

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



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! 



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Saturday, July 11, 2026

Creative time this week adding to new blocks, finishing a flimsy, and finishing a needlebook

 

I've been working on two quilts this week. My watercolor summer piece which is now bordered and ready to quilt, and my new block, goody goody gumdrops which is addictive and a fun way to use scraps

While I've been going through my scraps for components for that block, I've been pulling out pieces that are square or able to be turned into small squares for my growing collection

usually I keep scraps by color no matter size or shape,

this is the aqua scrap bin plus yardage from my stash
but I decided it could be really useful to keep 2.5"   3"   3.5"  squares together by size and I have kept 2" squares together to make water color quilts for years. 

I decided to put larger watercolor style fabrics around for a border without a spacer...

and in the quilting I'll couch down a satin cream piping between center and border... 
It's so pretty and delicate! How will I quilt it? 

bunny butterfly  fairy

big flower, birdhouses 

I am loving it ! I think a soft backing of nature print  maybe concentric lines?  sweeping long lines? 


for now my obsession with the GGG  blocks continues. 
It's amazing how many pretty scraps I'm finding. I do not start with 5" squares like the pattern. 

I start with a piece at least 2.5" from which I cut a 5" piece, and two 1.5 X 2.5" pieces, for the outside

and use one of my newly cut 2.5" squares for the centers of the blocks. 
right now I'm focusing on Aqua/turquoise,  pink, blue, lime as colors to pull from for this.. 
it's hard to leave off in the evenings, "JUST ONE MORE"  my snoopervisor has fallen asleep despite the thunderstorm going on outside
When I left last night I had 89 blocks done,, and two more cut and waiting to start again the next day


I betcha I will rearrange them before sewing together! Aren't they a bright happy set of colors? 

I finished hand stitching my needlebook from last week, and machine sewed it into a usable form
those are mermaid arms from one of my "sea" quilts, and I thought to bead it but... it's good 
the insides all scraps!
no painting except for painting videos. 
Creativity used in baking and cooking this week. I'll leave you with one of our pretty skies

it's about 100F here in the sun...too hot for me! On one slightly cooler morning we made fresh cherry scones... so good. And a ruby red watermelon was summer delish but didn't last cut up in the fridge this time... we are enjoying fruit this summer
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Thursday, July 9, 2026

I Like Thursday # 513 summer heat, flowers, potato salad and a poodle

 

welcome to this week's list of likes starting with neighbors who have day lilies ! 

walks with my friend Alfie

come ON mama!! It's not getting any cooler out there! 

shadows from the intense sun, high temps, and altitude
I like wearing dresses in the summer (with shorts under them
flowers sneaking out a fence


hey why'd you stop alfie? 
oh, a tasty tiny appetizer sized bunny!! they are all over right now

oh my gosh skies are so beautiful here

I'd stop for my chocolate chip/ pecan/oatmeal cookies  (from Gasparilla cookbook from Tampa)
we used to drop them from spoons, now a cookie scoop is faster! 

I'd stop for flamingos...

yet another gorgeous sky
the temps are already 100 in the sun here.  I moved here to avoid hot weather. 

love this series, reading this one now on audio



what kind of potato salad is your favorite to make? 

I LOVE potato salad. I've been making a sort of Greek version for years, 
boiled cubed potatoes
Mayo + yogurt
lemon juice + grated lemon rind
oregano, salt pepper, 
bit of minced onion and bell peppers
spoon of cider vinegar
chill

I am allergic to eggs so none of those, and I like the kind of salad the Greek restaurant used to put in a big greek salad so we either have this as a lunch side, 
or when I make a BIG lettuce salad I include  potato salad, Kalamata olives, tomatoes, cukes, and a pepper! 

I tend to boil a lot of potatoes at once, and turn some into twice baked potatoes, some into salad, some into cubes to fry crispy at breakfast, etc.

I made scones again, this time with fresh cherries (I had to cut out the stone) and they are so good

I'm sewing on:
pattern source goody goody gumdrops by villa rosa

It's already twice this size and so much fun 

We survived

Survived a week of fireworks done by our stupid neighbors.... with  tranquilizers for Alfie. He has survived enough leaving him shell shocked, so the horrible boom boom boom is traumatic for him. We got some CBD/hemp chews to try for lesser issues in the future. 

He hides, and then gets diarrhea and vomiting when stressed. 

Aflie says

okay, my turn! I'm Alfie, I'm just turned 2, and I've been here with my pawrents for 5 months almost. I love them, and eating regularly, and going for walks to see people and dogs and especially, bunnies! 
One time this week there were 4 in one yard! One time we saw a fox! 

Mama doesn't seem to know a walk is for sniffing. 
she nearly never sniffs, and fusses if I stop to sniff for too long, how about your mamas? 

we walked up to ask neighbors about their nervous dog, and for the first time Alfie waked up between us, not cowering behind us! SO HAPPY!

Video

still laughing

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/doS__1YbhvY


even my dress, kind of older, is HEMP


please visit these folk to see what they liked and what kind of potato salad they make


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