Ummmmmmm.....

Nothing overly exciting to say really.  After four trips to the car hospital it is nice to be able say Red is back on the road.   We had all the brakes done and the rear wheels kept locking up.  A rather unpleasant sensation.  First one side, then the other.  I'm not sure they ever really figured out what exactly was going wrong but they kept re-replacing parts and working on it until they and we were satisfied.  We drove it all weekend with our fingers crossed, but Red appears to be fully cured.

The weather has been rainy off and on.  Not sure if everyone enjoys it, but I do.

And also clear and sunny.  The days are a tiny bit cooler this week.  Too hot for me still, but August is marching on and I'm looking forward to autumn.  :-)

The backyard is still a wasteland but the crabgrass and weeds seem to love it.

One day last week while I was on Pooper Scooper patrol I was amazed to find five tomato plants growing all in a nice row in a patch of crabgrass.  I have no idea where they came from.  Birds I suppose, though I'm not sure how they managed to come up in such a nice straight evenly spaced row!  So we bought some tomato cages and The Tramp built a simple frame to go around them.

Add some soil, mulch and fertilizer, and hope for the best.  There are already tomatoes forming.  Who knows what kind!  I guess they are Wait and See tomatoes.  :-)

My nod to backyard gardening this summer has been pots on the deck.  Nice and colorful though they are starting to get leggy and weird, and the less hardy have given up the ghost.  Another sign of summer being Long Enough Already.

In the nice cool sewing room I've been working on this and that.  I have this t-shirt quilt to finish tomorrow.

Bonnie Hunter recently shared the idea of using Scotch Reusable Strips as a seam guide.  I found Scotch Restickable Strips at Staples, which I'm assuming are basically the same thing.  I've used one layer and topped it with part of a plastic card as Bonnie suggests here.

I measured my 1/4" and stuck it down.  It's easily removable and you can wash the strip when it looses it's stickiness (like those washable lint rollers) and it's a good as new.

It works great!  I could also stack them double high but as I mostly use my walking foot for the t-shirt quilts I need to keep it low as to not interfere with the foot.  The Bernina is in the shop and I look forward to trying this method when it comes home......and the old Singers too.  :-)

There was some puppy love this evening.  :-)  Ngaire doesn't usually lay still for this but tonight seemed relaxed and happy to be cuddled.

The camera is out and Ivy's giving her, "me too?" look.  And check it out!  Freshly brushed dog and freshly vacuumed carpet.  Too bad I'll have to do it all over again tomorrow.  It's just like dishes and laundry.  Hmmmmm.  Good thing I like you Ivy.  ;-)