Archive | June 2014

Let the good times roll…

In a few hours the first of our 4th of July guests will arrive. For the past 10 years all of our kids and other various friends and family have been joining us here to celebrate the Fourth of July. This year we will total 15 for the weekend and 20 or so for the actual Fourth of July celebration.

We went to the market yesterday and will make 2 more trips before next weekend is over. It is a wonderful family reunion every summer. We will spend time on the beach, in the pool, and around the fire pit in the backyard. We will play games and tease each other and reminisce about visits to the emergency room during past visits. It seems that there is always one trip to the ER for some sort of injury, usually it is nothing life threatening but on one occasion it was an almost ruptured appendix – Elizabeth.

The lounge chairs are out, the inflatable rafts are blown up, the flower pots are planted and the yard is looking beautiful. The menus are still being tweaked to satisfy even the pickiest eater, and I am getting excited. This is a tradition that I started to make memories. I wanted our children and grandchildren to always have the happy and fun memories of coming to Maine in the summer.

Last night we started the first fire in the new fire pit. It was a very relaxing way to end the week and a great way to get into a vacation frame of mind. For Chuck and me it will be a “stay-cation” but to be honest there is really no where we would rather be than here surrounded by family and friends.

If you are traveling this weekend stay safe and have a wonderful trip. If you are enjoying a “stay-cation” have a great time.

Be Kind….
Faith

The windows are open….

Jun16

and after the damp cold spring and long snowy winter that is a wonderful thing. It will require practically daily dusting to remove the pollen that is coming in with the fresh air from all of the surfaces in the house but it is worth it. Summer officially starts in 5 days but in my mind as soon as I can leave the windows open summer is here. I love this time of year – well, lets be honest I love every time of year. I love all of the seasons for different reasons but that is a topic for another day. Today is about how everything looks bright and fresh and happy outside right now. I love the poppies and the irises, I love that the peonies will be blooming shortly. I love the blue skies and the big puffy clouds.

This past Sunday was fathers day. I had a nice phone conversation with my father. Chuck got 5 very nice phone calls from the “kids”. It was a sunny day and the weather was beautiful. We had a nice quite day.

I have gotten a lot done the past few days. I am working on a new quilt – it will be a gift but I am pretty sure the recipient will not see is here. I got the pattern from the Missouri Star Quilting website. If you are looking for a new pattern you might want to check out this website – there are a lot of fun easy patterns. This is a picture of the blocks on my design wall – this is not the final layout just a peak at the finished blocks. I will move these around a lot before I decide on the finished quilt. It is so much easier to use a design wall than it is to crawl around on the floor.

I have also been spinning again. I purchased some wonderful fiber from Weston Hill Farm – www.westonhillfarm.com – but I haven’t really started to spin that yet. It is so beautiful that I want to practice some more before I spin it. I have been spinning some fiber that I purchased at the Common Ground Fair last September. It is such a relaxing craft. I really enjoy it and I will have lots of wonderful yarn to knit when we hit the next season that I love.

I also finished a penny rug this week. I have it sitting on top of my Treadle Sewing machine. I will probably not leave it there forever because the sun will fade it too much, but I like it there for now.

I am hoping that the weather stays nice so that my veggie garden does well. We are trying something new this year. We have black poly with straw over it covering the garden this year. Our hope is that this will cut down on weeds, hold the heat in the ground for the plants and help everything grow a little faster and bigger. I will let you know how it works.

Garden and Pool

the garden

I hope you have a nice day and that you are able to enjoy the sunshine.

Be Kind…

Faith

A few long weeks…

Jun5

So the weather here in Maine has been good and bad this spring. My allergies have been horrible and to top it off I picked up some sort of virus that has had me feeling pretty lousy these past few weeks. It has been a chilly, damp rainy spring here along the coast of Maine.

If you notice the date on the thermometer it is May 28th. 45 degrees on May 28th, that is crazy!

This is a picture of some of the flower parts that have since been appliquéd onto the raffle quilt. I have done my part, now another member is doing the long arm quilting, she will then pass it to yet another member who will put the binding on. It is wonderful when we have a group of quilters working together.

This is a picture of my favorite pincushion. I have had it for over 20 years, it is wool roving that has been rolled together. I love the colors and the size and shape.

Last weekend I used my new FreshTech canner. I made strawberry rhubarb jam and strawberry jam. It was very easy to make with my new canner and it didn’t heat up my kitchen and it was done very quickly.

Our pool was opened today – they worked amidst the rain drops. It needs to clear up before we can vacuum it but the fact that it is open means summer must be on it’s way.

It looks more like pond than a pool but once the water clears it will be crystal clear and Gracie (our chocolate lab) will be swimming long before any people do.

This little fellow was watching the pool opening. The pool cover had been protecting one of his little holes and now that the cover is off the entrance to his home is no longer hidden. I don’t think he was very happy. Oh well he can move out anytime – that would be fine with me.

So now I will get back to some of my other projects – I have a long list of quilts to make.

Be Kind….
Faith

quiltingonthecove

A peek at my life. My quilting, my cooking and a look at the beautiful place that I live!

Archive | June 2014

Let the good times roll…

The windows are open….

A few long weeks…