And They're Gone!

My sweetie was my hero today.  Remember the apple tree and the shrub I mentioned in a previous post?  They are no more!  I happened to wander into the dining room this afternoon and looked out the window to see this:

The tree was very old, scraggly, and produced five wormy apples a year. It was a pain to mow around, and had no redeeming qualities.

He hauled most of the debris to the recycling center (we gave the big pieces to our neighbor who has a smoker), and later when I went to admire my new view, I saw this just below me:

Oh boy!! He was going to take out the world's ugliest shrub, too!! (Note the area to the left of the front bumper--that's where the apple tree had been--didn't he do a great job?)

And here's the final result of the shrub removal:

The stump and roots are gone and you'd never know that shrub had been there just an hour before. Our yard looks so neat and tidy now--I love it!! And Dan? He's having a nice warm soak in the tub as I type. :-)

Love that man!

A Quick Check-in

I should be dusting, but I'm taking a quick break.  (Everyone in my family knows how much I hate to dust so it's not surprising I'm taking a break!)  After I dust, I need to vacuum, and I readily admit, I'm not that fond of vacuuming, either.  But hey, I'm a great straightener!!  My house always looks neat, it's just not necessarily, um, spotless.

Yesterday Dan did a lot of work on the yard, and I was even lured out to do a little.  What a beautiful day!  The pruners were out, and pruning is one thing I really enjoy doing, so I whacked away at some of the trees and had a great time.  I'd probably be ruthless with a chain saw, but somehow I don't think I'm going to try one.  I did mention to Dan that an old apple tree and a shrub were good candidates for his skills, however.

Meanwhile, in the sewing room I just finished quilting another Yellow Brick Road lap quilt and I'm reading to start binding it.  I so enjoyed the one I made for baby Grant that I decided to make another, just for fun.  I've had the fat quarters for ages, and I actually found some fabric at the shop that would work for the borders.  (Note to self:  when picking up fat quarters for a quilt, think about the borders!  It's not easy to find something to match six years down the road!!)

I should be able to finish it this week and I'll post a picture of the whole quilt when I'm done.

And now, back to work. Niece Kirsten booked a room for tonight here at the resort as she has a wedding to attend this evening. I'd better get busy so she doesn't think her aunt is a complete slacker.

Did I Say Spring?

I slept in this morning.  Until 8:30, and it's a good thing I did, because I didn't see it snow which would have been quite disheartening.  Oh, it was wet when I got up, but it was pouring by then.  The rain has stopped now, and even a little sun is out, so I was able to capture this picture of the mountain sporting its new coating.

I'm reminded of 2008 when the last time it snowed was the Monday after school got out--June 10th. We got up to discover over an inch of snow that day, and all we could do was laugh. Imagine: the first day of summer vacation and it snowed!! Global warming doesn't seem to be much of a reality around here.

Meanwhile, as Kathy pointed out in her comment, my original post on spring did indeed return. How strange! The way things are looking, it'll be a while before I barbecue again, so I'm going to need to look at that picture every now and then.

Missing Post!

I was just reading about a Blogger crash and thought I'd check my blog.  Sure enough, the post I did night before last is gone! 

While it was not a brilliant piece of writing, it did have a great picture of my barbecued chicken, first of the season, and a picture of a quilt I quilted for a group of kindergartners.  I'll wait awhile and see if it shows back up before I try to recreate it. 

Could It Be Spring?!?

Today an amazing thing happened:  it was sunny and it was warm.  We finally had a spring-like day and it was truly wonderful!  We've had no snow for over a week, I had some windows open a few inches, and I barbecued!!

The chicken tasted so good, and I made a pasta salad with a vinaigrette dressing and a tossed green salad. I love barbecue season. When you clear the table, that's all there is--the stove is clean and so are the counters if you made the salads earlier.

On the sewing front, all I've done recently is to quilt a top a local group of kindergartners made. A friend of mine goes into the classroom and helps the little ones make their blocks, then she joins them into a top. I quilted one for them last year and was happy to do it again this year. The class will now decide upon a worthy recipient and give it away.

It's an alphabet quilt--pretty cute, huh?

I've been working quite a bit at the quilt shop due to one regular's broken leg and the knee replacement surgery of another's husband. I've enjoyed it, but I think my run is over for now and I'm looking forward to getting back into my sewing room.

UPDATE:  After I wrote the above, I was enjoying hearing the sounds of the neighbor's lawnmower and thinking of balmy summer evenings with the smell of new mown grass in the cooling air.  Ahhh, spring and summer.  Now (10:45) it's blowing and beginning to rain, and according to Weather.com, it will remain like this for awhile.    Goodbye spring--you were certainly short!

Shoes

(Yes, I know, after weeks of no posts, here I am for the second day in a row!! Go figure...)

For those of you who know me well, it will come as no surprise that shoes are sort of an obsession with me.  I can wear jeans every day of the month (and yes, I wear jeans to church), but I must have cute shoes.  As I get older, finding comfortable cute shoes has become somewhat of a challenge, but I persevere! 

Recently I got a catalog in the mail from a company unfamiliar to me.  It was for clothes, but had some shoes, too.  I must tell you that I judge the quality of the clothes in a catalog by the quality of the shoes also offered.  As I turned the pages, a pair of shoes leaped off the page at me.  Cute!!  Cute, cute, cute!!  And I was familiar the the brand, Rieker, and know them to be quality.  But alas, the shoes were not inexpensive. 

I showed the picture to Dan and he told me to order them.  But the price...  So, intrepid internet shopper that I am, I began my search for the same shoes for less money.  I found them on Zappos for $15 less and free shipping.  Score!!  I ordered the Tuesday before Easter in the evening, and Zappos sent me an email on Wednesday upgrading me to two-day delivery, again for no charge.  On Friday morning, the UPS man arrived and delivered my package.  I tried them on, and I've been in shoe heaven ever since.  Cute?  Check!  Comfy?  Check!  My left knee had been bothering me and it's returned to normal. Double check!

And a closeup:

Dan once gave me a coaster that says, "If the shoe fits, buy it in every color!" In this case, I have. They only come in this color. I may have to buy another pair anyway. (If only they came in faded red or faded navy!!)

Back Again!

I know. I've been very "missing". Do you ever have those times when you just don't have any thing to say? That's been me. The weather has been crazy. Rain and snow. Snow you say? Yes, it snowed again today. Spring seems to be missing this year, too. I've been busy: cooking, baking, and doing all the usual chores at home; working at the shop; making meals for more families of new babies; attending a new Bible study; helping with the Seder at church again this year. I've even pieced another quilt top. Just haven't felt wordy. Or even computery. But I think I'm back.

Amazingly, we had lovely weather last Sunday for Easter. We had a full table for our usual "picnic" (in quotes because as usual, we ate indoors) with family members totaling eleven and ages from eighty-eight to three months. In addition to two of Bruder Bear's offspring, Kirsten and JR, we had a cousin of theirs (sister-in-law Karen's niece, Emma) which made it perfect for having a kickball game after dinner to keep Cameron and Keaton from being totally bored. A good time was had by all and I think the score was tied.

Here's a picture of Great Papa with his newest great-grandson, Daniel:

And one of Gigi, who adores babies, snuggling him:

And finally, one of our "cool little dude" (Mom's glasses courtesy of one of his big brothers) ready to head for home after a great day. (It's hard work being the star!)

And now I'm off to watch a recap of the royal wedding, and a little later, Blue Bloods with the irresistible Tom Selleck. :-)  And thanks, faithful readers, for sticking with me!