Raindrops keep falling on my head.......

It's been rather rainy lately.  There was quite a deluge a couple of days ago.  The pond level rose very quickly but it didn't overflow this time.

Dog TV on a rainy day.

Ivy and Maisy are essentially the same sized dog, but Maisy is somewhat vertically challenged and can only just see over the windowsill.

She rests her chin for comfort.  :-)

Birds always seem to flock to the feeder during rain storms.  I had trouble getting any good pictures through the raindrops on the window.

I need to sit quietly for hummingbird pictures on a sunny day!

Upstairs, I'm continuing to work on the four memory quilts.  I've got about half of the churn dash blocks put together.  This was requested to be more pink, blue and grey.

And I've been auditioning some of the rail fence strips so I can get a feel for how it's going to look.  This one is supposed to to be more green.  I'm sure I'll have to clear the design wall to sort this one out properly.

Yesterday, as many other Sandbox days, I go downstairs periodically to grab a drink.  Charlie is usually upstairs with me, hanging out on his play stand.  When we go out of sight for a few minutes he chirps in a particular way to let us know he doesn't like being left behind, and I generally talk back to him to stay in contact.  As I stuck my head in the refrigerator I heard him calling in the usual way but this time it sounded too close!  I rushed to the bottom of the stairs and yep, there he was.  Surrounded by dogs....very cautious dogs.  :-)

This squeaky toy bites!

Sleepy

After a short cooler spell we are back to summer weather.  I am so ready for summer to be over.  The mosquitoes have been horrendous so I dash between house and car and haven't been taking time to enjoy the gardens and pond.  The heron seems to be quite happy though.

This afternoon I suited up in long pants and insect repellent and went out to scoop in the backyard.   So where did the mosquito get me?  On my thumb.  I can' t win!  I stopped during my rounds to take a look at the volunteer tomato plants....and looky what I found.   A cherry tomato for each of us!  :-)  The plants are growing like mad so I suspect we'll be having many more.

Speaking of things red, we've had yet another go-around with Red's brakes.  (Sigh.)  The car felt like it was dragging and my gas mileage had gone to pot.  The garage patiently took it all apart and put it back together again and I think we can finally call it fixed.  Once again Red can coast along nicely and the gas mileage has improved greatly.  Yay!  I'm sure the mechanics are as thrilled as I am.  

I'm told Stardust has a really good time with washable markers.  I guess it makes bath time just that much more fun.  :-)

I wish it were so easy to sort out the Sandbox.  Yeesh!  That precarious pile of fabrics and the two bins on the right are for the "secret" project back there on the design wall.  (Thank goodness you can't see under the table!)

We have all the stuff to do with the little houses crowded by the Bernina too.  Oops.  Ignore the plate with blueberry scone crumbs.  :-)

(Hmmmmm.  What is the black???  Oh yes!  It's the lycra.  The underarms of my bathing suit suddenly started rubbing me raw so I bought the smallest bit of bathing suit lycra JoAnn's would sell me and hand sewed strips over the rough stitching on the armholes.  It's better, but what I really need is a new bathing suit with a different cut....darn it.)

The cutting table is no better.  I have four memory quilts (for the same client) going at the same time so there are multiple piles of clothing in the process of being cut up.  The quilts are a churn dash, a rail fence, a square in a square, and a wonky triangle thing, each in a different color way.  The gold on the left is a charity quilt I quilted for Mom and forgot to deliver to her this morning.  Sorry Mom!  Goodness, there are at least six rulers lurking under there along with scissors, marking implements and rotary cutter, the bolt of interfacing about to fall on the floor, and the pink box with the wool applique BOM too.  Sheesh.  And the brightly colored fleece?  We won't even go there.....

The ironing area isn't safe either.  I've got the clothing spread around in four piles but much of it is shared between several or all of the quilts.  The best way to handle it seems to be just jump in with the first one and go from there.  At least there's plenty to work with!

Both The Tramp and I got up this morning at 5:00 and discovered we'd both been laying awake for at least an hour.  Who knows why.  So I think it's time to go to bed.

Stars!

No stars visible here tonight though.  It's pouring!

There are however, stars in the sewing room.  I finished the Temecula Quilt Co. Summer Sew Along blocks this evening.  They called for eight but I felt the need for nine so I made an extra.  I don't care for the setting they showed on the blog and I'm thinking about what I'd like to do with the blocks.  Maybe on point? With setting squares and triangles?  We'll see.  No reason to rush.

And the Star of the Day in New Zealand.  Happy Father's Day!!  What a great photo.  :-)

Lately

A call from New Zealand has reminded me that I do post pictures here once in a while.  ;-)  So.

For his birthday, MD surprised Poyla with some wonderful photos of his precious Stardust.  She dragged skateboards, helmets, record albums and all kinds of stuff to a studio for the photo shoot.  Clearly Stardust enjoyed herself!

 I've finished up month one of this wool applique BOM and started on the second month block.

T-shirt quilts have been steadily going out the door.

This quilt is two-sided.  It's all concert t-shirts with guitar fabric in the border.

I've finished over 30 more little houses.  Here are just a few.

We also went with friends to see Meat Loaf at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC).   After a nice dinner at Mellow Mushroom (they have a gluten-free menu!), we strolled back through the American Tobacco campus.

Lots of falling water.

And enjoyed some of the North Carolina Cow Parade.  The Tramp blends right in with this one don't you think?  :-)

There were roars from the crowd at the Durham Bulls stadium close by.

And inside we really did get to see Meat Loaf.  The man certainly puts a huge amount of energy into his performances.  Sadly the sound was badly mixed and we could hardly hear the singers.  But he can't possibly keep up this kind of performing forever so we were glad of the chance to see him live.

 So that's it for today.