Visitors!

Carol here ~

Dan did not get any stitching done last night as Erin, Evan and Parker arrived to spend the night. The quilting loft is now a bunk room. Both murphy beds and one blow up bed in use.

We haven’t seen the boys all summer ~ I think Parker has grown at least a foot! Of course, that is an exaggeration but he sure has shot up and is now about as tall as Evan.

Swimming in the rain happened and then games of Uno, Rummikub and Yahtzee ~ a fun evening.

Rona 16 and Plants

Dan here, Wednesday AM, good morning. As many of you know I am not a morning person but here goes. 

Have had some cooler and wetter weather which meant some sewing time. Daughter Erin was coming to stay overnight Monday so floor needed to be cleaned up so the Murphy bed could be used. 

So, a good portion of Sunday evening and most of the day on Monday was spent getting the top of Rona 16, or as I am calling it, Fairy Stars, off the floor. I managed to get the top pieced with the exception of the borders. Framing border will be 1-1/2” finished and possibly a 4-1/2” piano key border to finish it off. If any of you remember back that far (I started this one in mid-April) it was to use up the piano key border pieces that were left over from the last quilt top. Hopefully they work for this one. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here from the fire pit Thursday evening. 

Carol has gone to bed, the neighbors have mostly gone elsewhere for the night and quiet prevails. The wildlife is pretty quiet this time of year during the evening. Though to be honest, were I not typing this I would have my headset on with the noice cancellation on high, listening to a book. You hear the book and not much else. Technologically peaceful, if that can be something that is real.

This and That

Carol here ~

Not much happening here so far this week, kinda quiet. It will be nice to get rid of this gloomy doomy weather pattern and have some clear, sunny days.

We had a lovely canoe ride the other night ~ not a ripple on the pond.

My girls and I had a great time at the baby shower last week, got to see relatives we haven’t seen since before Covid. The shower was outside, we got sprinkled on a couple of times but it was plenty warm so we didn’t mind. Baby boy Neaton is due in September.

Me, Vanessa, Erin
Photo by Lori

I have PT this morning, am finally feeling that it is making a difference. I no longer have any limitations on my back but am still wary ~ guess it will be a while before I feel confident that I won’t hurt myself again.

After PT I am meeting Erin at the blueberry field. She has an appointment in Portland and will head there after. I’m not sure how long I will last but should be able to do a bit of picking.

I had another good report at my oncology appointment yesterday. My myeloma markers continue to decrease and my red and white blood counts are stable. I am also now receiving one of my injections every other week instead of every week.  Progress.....

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here. Sunday night, no fire, although it has stopped raining, at least for now, I decided it was too chilly and wet. In the studio tonight. I actually sewed a while during the rain this morning and will sew once this is written. Real heavy rain all morning but at least no wind. Stopped raining after lunch so off Carol and I went for our short walk together, then I continued for the rest of my five mile walk. Dark and dreary day, I even made soup for supper because it seemed like a good idea to warm up.

Daughter Erin and I went blueberry picking on Friday. While there are many more green ones than ripe ones at this point, it did not take long to pick more than we needed. 

A Bit of Stitchin'

Carol here ~

Happy Friday!

I have been doing a bit of stitching. I sewed the binding on Dan’s door quilt and have been puttering on the hand stitching here and there. Almost done, down to the last side. We have been using it without the binding done, it seems to work as he had planned.

I also made a drawstring bag to use as a gift holder. The pattern is called Travelin’ Totes by Atkinson Designs. The pattern has several sizes of bags, it has been one of our favorites for many years. I looked online so I could include a link for it but could not find it anywhere. Hmmmm.

Projects

Dan here, coming to you from in front of the fire Tuesday evening. Quiet around here now, there was several young adults next door most of the day. They left around dark. They were well behaved. 

I have been quite busy of late. On Monday I erected the windbreak for the grill. I managed to get the three posts set and the short stockade fence attached. I remembered that woodworking projects are much like quilting projects. Just like when I design and build a quilt, I often get almost complete and see a different idea I think would have worked better. Were I to build the fence again I would make a couple minor changes, but hopefully it will perform as I intended. When it is windy I could not grill because I could not control the temperature inside the grill. Time will see if it works better now. Looks nice anyway. 

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here, Sunday evening by the fire. Almost need to call this Dan’s Ramblings by the Fire. 

Carol tired and in bed early. Just lit the fire and am sitting facing the pond which is clear as glass. It is a very calm, cloudy, warm summer evening. No sounds but the ringing in my ears. Tonights ring sounds like the peepers in the spring. Probably why I don’t hear the peepers in the spring until they are quite loud.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here, Thursday evening from the quilt studio. I am busy assembling the parts and pieces needed for the blocks needed to finish the current project “Fairy Stars”.  Many 1”x 2” Split Rect units, 2-1/2" square triangle units, and a whole slew of sashing strips with their ends popped off and replacements added then trimmed. Many steps, many blocks, equals many scraps used in the process. 

Saw this on my walk on the other day

I have no idea what it is. Anyone else know? It was a pretty flower, probably a little smaller than a dime. Plant is about 8”- 12” tall.

More Summer Fun!

Carol here ~

Dan’s flower boxes of SunPatiens along the front retaining wall are finally filling in and showing off. Look how beautiful they are!

Yesterday, Vanessa and Jakob came over along with Vanessa’s sister-in-law Amy, her two kiddos Lincoln and Marin and mother-in-law Candy. It was a swimmingly good day for them to be here. Jakob just got new googles like Lincoln’s and Marin’s. He is a bit hesitant about trying new things and had never really “gone under” before. It was so cute ~ Marin was instructing him on how to use the googles and by the end of the day he was going completely under water.

Dan's Ramblings

Dan here, Happy Independence Day weekend. Hope you are having a safe holiday weekend, for many the official kickoff of summer. A rather cold weekend here at the pond.

When it wasn’t raining, the cooler temperatures made walking a lot more comfortable than last week. But hey, it’s summer, warm weather will return. I am not by the fire this Sunday evening. While it is not raining anymore, everything is wet and it is quite chilly out still. There are fireworks being set off in several locations around the ponds in the area. Here is my view from up in the quilt studio.

Summer Fun

Carol here ~

A whole lot of this has been happening the last few days….

Vanessa, Kailey and Jakob came for a visit on Monday. It was HOT! My sister, Terri, is on vacation so her two girls, Kelsi and Joelle, and her grands, Annie and Alex were also here. We also have cousins renting the camp next door. The kids (big and small) were in the water all day!