Goodbye, June

How amazing that this year is half over. And I still can't decide whether it's "Twenty Ten" or "Two Thousand Ten." :-)

The boxers are all done. Ryan's three were put in the mail on Monday and hopefully he'll have them by tomorrow. I was able to make them longer as requested.



Dan is done with his busiest month and we're officially on vacation now. He got some work done in the yard today, and I spent some time with Cameron and Keaton this afternoon. Tomorrow Ann and I are going out to lunch together and Papa Dan will be in charge of the boys. We'll have to see if yard work or fun is on the agenda for them. :-)

While I was watching the boys this afternoon, the subject of cherries came up, so I drove them over to our house to check out our cherry trees. Looks like we'll have a bumper crop of Bings in a few weeks. The boys love to pit them, so Ann and I have decided to take advantage of their work and dry some this year in addition to freezing. A friend of hers has a dehydrator she's never used, so we're going to appropritate, er um, borrow it from her.

Anyway, after returning the boys to their home and to Ann, I came home and decided that with the new crop just around the corner, I'd better be using up more of the cherries in our freezer, so I made Cherry Crisp using a recipe from Cooking Light from two years ago. I've made it quite a few times now, and it's delicious. I've made it with freshly pitted cherries and frozen ones, and the recipe works fine with both. I have lessened the cornstarch to three tablespoons, and probably use closer to 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. If you use frozen cherries, be sure to thaw them or increase the baking time to about an hour.

I have some projects in mind that I hope to begin soon. I did finally swap out my winter clothes and shoes for summer ones yesterday. As I was shuffling between closets, I realized it's only three months until October, when I'll need to do it all over again! What crazy weather.

We have no big plans for the Fourth of July weekend. Our church is having a picnic Sunday afternoon in the park and that should be fun. Other than that, I think we'll just enjoy some quiet time at home. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

And Suddenly, It's Summer!

Things are still moving along in Jammy Grammy's workshop, with the last boxers almost done. But the big news is, it's warm!!! After weeks and weeks of 40+ degree weather and rain, rain, rain, it's actually warm today. I have the windows open, and when I made a trip to town, I had to turn on the air conditioning in the Explorer. Mighty strange.

So here are a few pictures of our yard. My friend Kathy commented on her blog about wanting to get some old time roses for her farm yard, and mentioned she'd never seen orange ones. Ours are almost done blooming, but you can see a few in amongst the yellow ones.




The pot below is one of two we have on either side of the garage door. Another sits on our deck outside the dining room. It was too cold to have them out until last weekend!


And here's our front porch, ready for the 4th of July. My poor banner is years old and fading fast, but I still love it.


And now I'm heading back to my sewing room to work on Ryan's boxers. I ran out of thread, so I had to go get some more. I wound up spending a fun hour trying on sandals at a local store and stopping by the grocery store to pick up a few things. When I got back home, I read Kathy's blog, and ended up writing this. Boy, talk about distracted!! Oh, and I didn't buy any sandals although I was sorely tempted!!

Greetings from Jammy Grammy's Workshop!

Moby and I are busily making this summer's boxers for my (not so) little men. Ann and I hit the fabric shop a week and a half ago to pick out some fabric. So many choices, but these boys are growing up. We looked longingly at many cute but too childish fabrics and then moved on. We hit upon sports and outdoors fabric, along with a cute monkey print for Cameron and Keaton as she often calls her boys her "little monkeys."

I have three completed with the fourth half done. As I noted in a previous blog, these are so cute: droopy backsides, numerous flat-felled seams, fly fronts, and stitched-in elastic. I'm certain the first pair I made took me six hours. Now, after many years, I can make a pair in about an hour and a half, but the first pair each summer still goes in fits and starts until I get back in the groove. When I have these nine finished, my total will be forty-five since I first started in 2002.

Here are a few pictures from the workshop:


And the second pair of monkey boxers in process:


And fabric and pattern for more:


One of these days they'll be too big for Grammy Jammies, so I'm enjoying every moment of sewing these. Lots of blessings in every seam.

Sweet

I've finished the baby quilt and it's so sweet, I just want to look at it all day long. I had scraps to work with, and used them to make nine-patch blocks measuring six inches, finished. The green dot fabric for sashing was from my stash, and the pink corner stones were every last inch of pink check from the star block-of-the-month quilt. The pink border was fabric I found at the bottom of a pile; apparently I had bought the end of a bolt, probably for some future baby quilt, and amazingly enough it was the same pink as in the quilt.

I have no idea who this quilt is for, but I sure had a good time putting it together. It's hanging over the railing in the entryway and it's making me smile. Pink, green and yellow. It's like a sweet spring day.


And now this Grammy is off to begin the first of nine pairs of boxers for certain little men to wear as summer jammies.

Sixty-two Years and Counting

On June 9, 1948, my mom and dad were married in a small ceremony in the home of friends. Dad was raised in the small town where they still live, and my mom was raised in a large town a state away. They were introduced by a mutual friend who just knew they should meet. They have weathered many years together. They are determined people, and my brother and I have been blessed to have them for parents.


Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad. Thank you for your love and commitment to each other and to your family.

We Have Sunshine!!

Oh, the sunshine is wonderful!! After weeks of rain and cold, getting up to sunshine and blue sky (albeit with lots of fluffy white clouds) was a treat. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! I can hear some one's lawnmower and the sound of the wind chimes Matt made us several years ago. Perfect.

I've been busy planning a wedding shower I'm hosting for Briana at our house next week, working on a baby quilt made of leftover fabrics (I feel very virtuous about this quilt and it's been fun to "make do"), sorting out kitchen cupboards (I may never have to shop again), and doing laundry (the excitement never ends here).

Last Monday was grandson Ryan's eleventh birthday and today is Cameron's tenth. Where does the time go? Keaton was eight in February, so my little men are not so little any more. Papa Dan is in Coeur d'Alene again, so we will catch up with Cameron on the weekend to celebrate with him.

Hope your day is going well. I'm off to do a few chores and then I'm heading to my sewing room to put the last two borders on that baby quilt and maybe load it on the HQ and get started quilting.

An Experimental Project

 

I am still enjoying playing with my 830, and the other day after I embroidered the feathers on the table runner, I decided to try something with the mega hoop. I had purchased a design collection, Initial Style, some time ago and decided it was time to give it a whirl. I'm so pleased with how it turned out! All the way through I was thinking, "It's just an experiment, it'll be okay to toss it," but you know, I like it so well, I may make another to use as a gift. The apple fabric, found in my stash, is perfect with the colors.

I just finished stitching down the binding, and now I'm off to get some dinner on the table. Happy Memorial Day weekend to you all. I'm thankful for our country and the men who have defended it for us through the years.