Tomorrow I RETREAT! But first....

I've been waiting and waiting, counting the days, and now it is just a matter of hours before I pack up my PT Cruiser and head west to a four day quilt retreat! Not that I'm looking forward to it or anything!!!! (Yes, the happy dance is happening).

This morning while Freckles was:

(He did try to take the blanket with him outside before the sun warmed up things today - LOL)

... and DH was:

The horses next door were:

... I was in the kitchen baking some treats to take along to the RETREAT (did I mention I was going on a RETREAT tomorrow?). Some of the ingredients that went into them were:

You know with all of that good stuff they have to be wonderful!  First I made a batch of Kahlua Fudge Brownies - I'd show a picture but it keeps crashing my wireless. So you can just imagine a Dark Chocolate gooey brownie with added dark chocolate chunks and macadamia nuts. (Drooling yet?)

Then it was time for some Dark Chocolate Almond Biscotti. Oh my.....

On top of all this goodness I learned today that my good Blogging friend Bille Bee @ http://billiebeesblog.blogspot.com/ won Jenny of Elefantz's giveaway the other day (http://www.elefantz.com/), and because she signed up through my posting of the giveaway on my Facebook post I win too. WooHoo!   The cutest fabrics and buttons will be coming my way from Down Under.

I think something special for Bailey is going to be made from these. Aren't they fun?

Today Mom was to go to the Fair. Although the air quality is improving the Care Facility checked with a physician who suggested it would be wise to not take the residents to the Fair with the smoky air. The nice thing about dementia is that they won't remember they were to be going. I'd rather they played it safe, as they are doing, than to risk the health of those who are already dealing with health issues.

We are praying for the fires to be put out. They are still under 50% contained, so a long way to go yet.
Our prayers are also for Adam and Jenna who are both, individually, dealing with some health issues.
Lori is needing prayer in working with her SD23 and challenges she has.
Lou Ann is recovering from foot surgery.
Joana's DS has a very difficult class of students that is making teaching a challenge.
Mom's house is to close Friday.... after 3 extensions and 5 weeks after the original closing date. Praying nothing hinders it from finally closing.
We're still waiting for a job for DH, hoping it will happen before winter weather sets in and we have to face a move in less than desirable moving conditions.

In the meantime we are so thankful for this home God provided for us our here in the country. We are very blessed.

Fall Swap

My Love of Art Quilts group just finished a Fall Swap. It was great fun. We sent our partner a square of fabric that she had to use to make a fall themed 12"x12" quilt. She also had to add a poem and then sent it back to us. The last of the mini quilts was completed today and the Smilebox updated to include them all.  Ally hosted this swap and did a GREAT job.

While catching up on blogs I follow I found this great looking recipe over at Painted Quilt : http://thepaintedquilt.blogspot.com/2012/09/autumns-bounty.html   May be a great way to use the tomatoes I was given a few days ago.

The "zoo" next door grew to four horses last night, to go along with all the rabbits and dogs and cockatoo and who knows what else. Keeps us entertained!

Around our house

I've been (slowly) getting the weeds cut back and the yard halfway in shape here. DH hasn't taken a picture of me (yet) on the mower, but I've been using it to cut the grass and start taming the yard again. I do LIKE it - so fun to drive.

Between applying for jobs, DH is working on painting on the inside of the house. He is so much better at the fine detail painting than I am... although I have improved over the years, but hey, let the man paint!

A couple of days ago our neighbor blessed us with a bag of tree ripened nectarines and a bag of tomatoes. I found this recipe online and today made up a batch.

Oh my, did it ever fill the air with a spicy, fruity, wonderful smell -- especially since the air has been so filled with the smell of smoke the last several days from all the fires in the region. This was a much nicer scent!

I got 4.5 pints from the fruit and I can't wait to try it out on a pork loin roast.... oooh, I'm salivating just thinking about it.

We're also enjoying watching the neighbors to the east move in. We're still trying to figure out how many humans and how many and what animals will be there. Today two horses appeared. Hope they put up a corral of some kind. For now they wander all over, just like the dogs.  They appear to all be well cared for and the people have been quiet (as opposed to loud and rowdy). Freckles has made friends with the large dog and likes barking at the horses... wanting them to come to the fence to "play".

It's another hot week here, thankfully the smoke in the air has lessened, even though the air quality is still really bad.

Mom has had a good week. They discontinued one of her meds and it is really making a positive difference for her. Next week they are taking her to the Fair. How fun.

Head over to Jenny of Elefantz here: http://www.elefantz.com/2012/09/my-bumper-garden-issue-plus-gumboot.html for a great giveaway....

My Trillium How To Smilebox

 My internet is not always "strong" enough to download Smileboxes I make.  Hooray, this afternoon it had a good amount of power so I was able to download my Scrapbook of how I made my Twisted Twirly Trillium for this month's 12x12 Alpha-Dorable 12's challenge.

To watch the Smilebox, please click on this:   Twisted Twirly Trillium Smilebox

And now the weekend...

We've been enjoying some gorgeous sunsets the last few nights, although the reason for them is not so good. There are some wildfires in our part of the state. Even though we aren't that close to the fires, the smoke from them has blown into our area. Hoping they get contained soon, especially those that are threatening homes.

Freckles was trying to be patient as he waited for DH to get home from his week out of town. He was so excited to see him pull into the driveway. 

DH had a great trip and got to see all of our kids and of course Miss Bailey, but he, too, was glad to be home. Thought I'd make him a treat tonight. YUM -- fresh peach cobbler.

No news on the job front for DH yet. It will happen, in God's time. My preference is that we can get resettled before winter sets in. We'll see.

What a week!

Last Thursday DH headed out of town for a week away for a job interview, business, and seeing our kids. He'll be getting back home tomorrow.  As the saying goes... "while the cat's away, the mice will play".  Well, this mouse got to play a lot.  Yes, I did work around the place too, but the playing was so much fun.  I got all of the things I had on my list to accomplish done and then some.  Last night I finished the quilting on a UFO I started 6 or so years ago. It wasn't even a big project, but sometimes they get put away, forgotten about or ignored for one reason or another.  Today I will be putting on the binding! WooHoo.  It is a wall hanging that I really like. I'm so glad it is almost done now and that I will be able to hang it up and enjoy it (once we settle down somewhere. LOL).

It was a great project for using some fat quarters I had.

Another great accomplishment this week was getting the lawn mowed here. It hadn't been touched all summer. Thankfully I had a riding mower to (learn to) use to get down the weeds and tall grass. It looks so much better now.

A couple of weeks ago I made a batch of cherry vinegar from some of the fresh cherries from our valley. This morning, after keeping it in a cool/dark area for two weeks I can bring it out and strain it.  It is smelling mighty fine. Should be a wonderful addition on a green salad.

Had a good visit with Mom yesterday. She was awake and chatty. So often she is very sleepy when I go to see her, it was nice catching her on a day where she was more awake.  Her mind continues to deteriorate. Yesterday was one of those bad memory days. She had no idea that DH and I lived here, nor that we had cared for her and Dad for several years. She also had no idea that she lived in this town. Fortunately it does not agitate her, she seems to take it in stride.  Who knows what will be remembered the next time. Each visit is a new adventure, but I love her and am so glad I can see her as often as I do. I don't know how long God will keep her on this earth, but I want to get as much time with her as I can.

Now to scrubbing the bathroom and getting the laundry done. Maybe even make some brownies to have when DH gets home tomorrow.

While the wind blows outside...

One of the projects I've been working on in my private retreat, while DH is out of town, is my September 12x12 for the Alpha-Dorable 12s.  I chose the letter T and created a Twisted Twirly Trillium.  The flower and the leaves move independently of each other, like a pinwheel blowing in the wind.

I have 24 of these pumpkins to get ready for the quilt retreat at the end of the month. Yesterday I did all the blanket stitching around them, so they are now set to go.

Last night I made these little zippered pouches. They were so easy and fast and I am definitely going to make more of these for gifts. They are really fun.

It has been great having so much focused time to work on projects and get caught up as well as getting projects ready to take to the quilt retreat the end of the month.  

After cleaning up my sewing room this morning and vacuuming and dusting I headed outside to do some more work around the yard.. Got all the grasses and weeds away from butting up against the house, raked up and hauled to the ever growing pile out behind the barn.

Saturday night God called Joyce's husband home. He went quietly with Joyce and their oldest son by his side. He will be missed, but all are rejoicing he is no longer suffering and filled with disease. Heaven is a better place with his wonderful voice joining the choir there.

Now I'm relaxing to the DVD The Whales of August.  Such a good story.

My Private Retreat

Today is day 2 (actually 2 1/2 as Thursday was a half day) of my private at home, all by myself except for the dog, retreat.  DH is out of town for a week. I'm using my time, mostly, to do a bunch of things in my sewing/quilting/computing room.  In just a few weeks I get to go to a quilt retreat (I'm sooooo excited about that) so I am working on preparing projects for that.  

I'm going to make Miss Bailey a doll quilt that will match the baby quilt I made her when she was born. 

I have enough fabrics left over to make a miniature size of the same pattern.

We're doing a block exchange and so I need to make 24 pumpkin blocks -- got a good start on them. Just four more to put onto background fabric (need to buy a bit more of that) and then blanket stitch around them all. That will be part of next week's projects to tackle.

Yesterday I started working on my September 12x12 for the Alpha-Dorable 12's. This month's letters are S/T. I'm using the 'T' for a Twirly Trillium. Need a few gadgets to make it work as I'm envisioning, but am loving how it is coming along. Here's a teaser from it.

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Later in the day...

Well, between the internet crashing on me all morning and my trip into town, it is now about 3 hours later and I'm home again.

Mom was sleeping today. I managed to wake her up for about a minute or so. It was nice to see her, even briefly.  I got some fabrics and other things I wanted/needed from storage and then found the rest of what I needed at JoAnn Fabrics.  Last stop was picking up our mail, which goes to my sisters house.  

Foremost in my thoughts and prayers is my friend Joyce and her husband and son.  Her DH, Dennis, is in his final days here on earth. Joyce is caring for him at home until God calls him home. Even though they have been grieving for some time as they have watched him deteriorate, it will still be hard when that time comes. They just celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary.

Thinking also of Morgan as she battles problems with her lungs. At least the new med seems to be helping some. That's a praise.

Through the Lens

This morning I grabbed my camera and just started walking around, taking pictures of anything that inspired me. It didn't take long as there is so much around me that draws me to my camera, both inside our house and just outside the door.

The textures and designs all around me show me the beauty of God's creation, not only His handiwork, but also the gifts/talents he has given his children to create. Beauty is all around, in the big as well as in the tiny. We have but to open our eyes, our own lens, to our surroundings, to slow down our fast paced life and take in what is all around us.

This is the day the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it.

What's out there?

Freckles is enjoying having his stool right by the window. He loves looking out and checking what's going on in "his" yard. When a rabbit dares enter the yard he's off the stool and headed to the back door... after all, that's what Beagles do, although if he ever caught up with one I don't think he'd know what to do with it.

DH and I took a walk along our road last night, enjoying our country neighborhood:

This is the farm where we hear the donkeys braying -- Hee Haw

There's a fruit/orchard shipping yard just down the road

Some of the orchard trees we can see from our road, filled with apples

Heading into town today for groceries, a haircut, seeing Mom, picking up our mail and some items from storage.

Blues

This week's color has been blue.  The sky has been a gorgeous blue all week long, with daytime temps in the 80's and cooling down to the 40's at night.  Around all the mouldings in the house is blue tape, waiting for another coat of paint to be put on.  Even in my sewing room I saw blue as the two projects I did were mainly with blues.  The one thing that was not blue, however, was my mood.  It was and continues to be sunny!

My great niece Madelynn will be turning 5 in just a few weeks. She is having a 'BRAVE' party (the movie) and so I just "had" to find some fabric with that theme. The princess in BRAVE is Merida. After searching fabric sites, Etsy and eBay I found a really great deal (eBay) on this fabric. Of course it had to be embellished, after all Merida is a princess.  I think she will enjoy her apron.

With the cleaning and packing and moving and setting up house I was not sure I could keep on track with my monthly Alpha-Dorable 12x12, but with just a day to go in the month I got it finished. I titled it 'R&R', as that is just what I feel I need after this last month, and what better place to get it than at the beach....

... rest and relaxation.  The photo is one I took several years ago at Gleneden Beach in Oregon. It was where my Aqua Nut group would go twice a year for our beach getaways. Whether I can go there in person or if I just escape there in my thoughts, this picture takes me to that place.

This weekend DH is working on a project he has to do for a potential job... one that sounds really interesting to him and would take us closer to where our kids are. Sounds like a win/win.  He has an interview next Friday with them, so prayers are greatly appreciated.