Spring Time Tea Party

What beautiful weather we had this weekend! Abundant sunshine and warm temperatures were all that was needed to push spring into overdrive - the grass glowing bright green, blossoms popping out everywhere, tulips, creeping phlox, violets, all flowering - the humming birds and gold finches returned - Spring in its Glory!

So with spring in its full throws it was time for tea on the front porch - what a pleasant way to spend the afternoon - Mom and neices, Carly and Caitie, came to visit, we enjoyed tea, or soda, and cookies on the porch and an enjoyable time was had by all.

BBQ Anyone??

Meet Sprinkles and Banana, and of course, Tasha the CowDog!! Sprinkles is a 2 1/2 month old Black Angus Heifer, she belongs to our neighbor, and thinks she is a dog!! Banana is a 3 1/2 month old Holstein Steer, he belongs to us, and does not have an identity issue. Both will reside in our field for the next year or so, and then...... Well, you know, when they return to us they will be wrapped in freezer paper and will then reside in the freezer in the basement - ah, such is the fate of cattle - but mmmmm can't you just taste a nice, juicy, banana burger!!!

Do You Like To Knit???

If you like to knit, you might be interested in this project: HAP - Handmade Afghan Project - http://www.rectangle6x9.org/ collects donations of knitted 6x9 inch rectangles, they provide directions on the site. Rectangles should be knitted out of redheart acycrilic yarn, the cheapy stuff at Walmart, and once you have a stash you mail them off to HAP, they have put together parties and all of the donated rectangles are put together into afghans, then given to wounded soldiers recuperating in military hospitals. Check out the pictures on the HAP website of the beautiful, cheerful, afghans!!!
If you are interested in knitting, or crocheting, rectangles just email the HAP lady, her email address is on the home page of the website. One note, I found that I had to use size 7 needles to get the right size rectangle, not size 8 as noted on the site, I must be a "loose" knitter ;)

This is such a portable project, the rectangles take less than 2 hours to knit, it is a simple pattern, and easy to take with you to work on as you have a spare ten minutes here or there.

Your sister in Christ,

Martine

Spring Time

From Two Tramps in Mud Time by Robert Frost

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You're one month on in the middle of May.

But if you so much as dare to speak,

A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,

A wind comes off a frozen peak,

And you're two month back in the middle of March.

Cookie Press Creations

About a month ago I found this fun little gadget at an estate sale, a 16 piece cookie pastry press, for the bargain basement price of $2.50, and figured that it would provide some entertainment on a rainy, dreary afternoon. Well today the weather fit the bill perfectly for experimenting with the cookie press, and I think for a first try the cookies turned out quite nicely.

Another fun project

A quilt for the new grand daughter of a good friend, this is a simple quilt, 45" x 45", finished block size 5 inches. It was fun to pick out fabrics for a "girl" quilt!

Ben has a new hobby

Ben sold his video game system and used some of the proceeds to purchase a uni-cycle. He is a shy uni-cycler - I am not allowed to take his picture while he is practicing - maybe once he has mastered his new skill I can get a picture :)

The Frugal Quilt

This was a fun project. After purchasing a denim Disney jumper from the thrift store for $2.50, and deciding it was not me, I wondered what I could do with it. I cut off the 14 buttons and put them away for a future project. I then cut the jumper into 5 1/2" squares, making sure that the embroidery of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet were included in two of the squares. I had some left over white flannel which I used to make the contrasting blocks, and when I ran out of white I used a little bit of left over yellow flannel. I had to purchase batting, and 2 yards of flannel for the back of the quilt. The finished block size is 5 inches, making the quilt 45" x 45". My grandson Henry enjoys snuggling in this quilt.

YUM YUM

Emily had a cooking project to do for school, so while I sat on the sofa quilting, Emily made dinner. On the menu, no bake chocolate cookies, BBQ ribs, scallop potatoes, corn, and seven layer salad!! After dinner everyone pitched in to clean up, even little Henry!!