Rain and Other Good Things

After four months it finally rained. A nice steady deep soaking ground rain. 

Yes, the shingles aren`t looking their best. I don`t get on the roof anymore. I`m planning on a metal roof next spring. 

 Two evenings later, an early evening rain left behind this gorgeous double rainbow. Not the greatest picture but you get the idea. That`s my yard.

I can`t leave Sam out of my post. He rescued me from the depression after my husband`s death. Sam is in my bedroom / sewing room just after he was caught pillaging my scrap stash. He doesn`t eat or chew, just drops fabric around the house and goes back for more. He`s a Lab / Shepard, eight months old.

What have I been up to? I joined a blog hop. It is  another great Hop created by Madame Samm at Sew We Quilt.  Please click the link in the sidebar for more information. Three finished projects to be presented in September. One project must be created using Riley Blake Gingham Fabric. Riley Blake is considering eliminating their gingham line, so we will be showcasing the gingham in one of our projects.  The Hops motivate me, get me moving, generate incentive which is just what I need.

Thank you for visiting,
Cathy

Christmas Sewing

Happy to say I`m sewing again. I try to do an hour a morning after the treadmill. Beautiful weather, a little crispy in the morning. Perfect Fall desert weather.

I started a few scrappy little projects for gifts like these little mug rugs. The lion and wiseman prints were won in a Giveaway last year. The green fabric to right is Debbie Mumm.

More of the Christmas fabric I won including the gingerbread print.

This is a nine patch block for a scrappy table runner.

I am busy cleaning up flower beds, grooming dogs and getting ready for Thanksgiving. My son and daughter in law will cook the turkey while his dad I make dressing and pies. It`s going to be a great holiday! I am blessed to have this beautiful family. Friends from Iowa have been visiting . It`s been a great month.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cathy

Giveaway Wins and A Blog Hop.

Come On Rain!

This is a look at the lake (Lake Mead) a few days ago. Storm clouds produced a few scattered showers.  No rain at my house but a downpour a half mile down the road. Baked two pound cakes and a tray of dog biscuits this morning. Too hot and humid but things have to get done. The dogs circled the stove as the biscuits baked and are now circling the table where the biscuits cool. One dog is quite tall and can clean up the table in a second! It`s a reminder of our Great Dane, Sinbad Samson, who nabbed  an Easter Ham from the stove top and ate well.

I finished my HO HO HO Blog Hop project. It`s a secret.

And-I won two Giveaways!

Thearica at  PigTales and Quilts had a super Giveaway to celebrate her daughter`s birthday. She made a beautiful Tammy Bag including a change purse and a sweet drawstring bag holding tasty mints. Her pictures are nicer than those I took. This bag will hold an unbelievable amount of items. I use mine to keep my shopping organized. You can buy the Tammy Project Bag Pattern HERE

I won a $20.00 Fabric Worm Gift Certificate as part of Clover and Violet`s ongoing Season By Hand Series. This was pretty darn exciting for me. Wow, fabric money! I chose this custom fabric bundle. I am fond of old travel trailers so I adore Michael Miller`s Travelin` Thru fabric. The rest of the bundle are perfect blends.

I will shop at Fabric Worm again. It`s an easy to navigate site with lots of great fabric and superb customer service.


Finally had rain yesterday. More lightening than rain, but a drizzle is better than nothing.  Temperatures are cooler too.

I`m hoping the fires in California subside very soon. Too much tragedy in the West this summer. And there`s a lot of summer left. I hear this one was man caused. I like long jail time for arsonists. Firefighter`s, families and wildlife are at risk. Yep, long jail time in a hideous prison.

That`s about it. Thank you for visiting.
Cathy

A Houseplant Question

Sunday Morning! Beautiful day and beautiful moon last night. I`m starting today`s post with a houseplant identity question.

It`s just been re-potted and as you can see looked a bit sad yesterday. Today it looks a lot better. I`m hoping my readers can tell me what it is and how to take care of it.  I thought it was a vine, but not so sure now.

Wonderful things are happening in blogland. Madame Samm has a new blog hop coming the end of July. I am so happy to be participating! This Hop Is Full.

                              

Summer will be getting hotter, 115 in Phoenix next week. The fire danger is extreme in much of our state and across the west. I pray for those suffering with fires elsewhere.  Quail, rabbits, birds, snakes and lizards visit every day for water. The coyote are here first thing in the morning, late afternoon and evenings. This is typical for summer. I`m hoping the monsoons bring us rain.

Thank you for visiting. I appreciate it.

Cathy

On My Design Wall

It`s really my design desk.  I do have a design wall, a piece of flannel, it works great but my large dog took a liking to it as well and carried it off to his bed. No damage to the blocks. I`m looking for an out of reach place to put it back up. 

Star Blocks

These blocks are part of the quilt for my DIL. I have more to show but so far the light is not the greatest and it`s too windy outside for pictures. My favorite is the sunflower block and the butterfly block  next to it.  The fabrics are part of a huge stash of remnants  a neighbor gave me a few weeks back. The star on the left bottom is a Walmart fat quarter another friend bought to me. Not the greatest quality but I like the bright colors.

I sew for one or two hours a day. So much going on here with pets and winterizing the house. I am hoping for a mild winter. In the desert you never know. Last night we were in the mid 30`s, I`ll be moving and covering tomato plants today. Soon as I finish this post I`m going for my walk. Very cold wind earlier.  In two weeks my son will learn if they have to redo the hardware in his broken back. A second surgery is a lot more intensive. I`ve prayed about it and know he`s in God`s hands.

Time for me to step away from the computer. I wish you all a wonderful day!

My son at work when he was Battalion Chief for BLM in Yuma. That`s him in the bed of the truck.

Cathy

Where I`ve Been

I hope you are staying cool and comfortable. We`ve been working the claim early in the day to beat  the desert heat. It`s been over 110 several days and humid. Humid makes it miserable. Then a week ago my modem met it`s demise thanks to a lightening strike near the house. It was plugged into a surge protector, but that did little good. The surge protector is fine, go figure. My computer was unplugged from the outlet and was damaged when the surge passed through the ethernet cord. . No damage to the phone line or box. Can`t understand that. My backup computer had all the files deleted some time ago so I had to reload Windows, put in new drivers and I added extra memory.  I am able to get my files from the old hard drive. It`s taken time to do all the updates and downloads but it is finally done. My son was a great help researching the parts I needed to get set up again.

I am getting ready for the Dots On Dots Blog Hop. The link is in the sidebar with all the information. I expect there will be lots of beautiful blocks to see.

I must start supper and then feed the dogs and cats. The coyote is outside waiting for watermelon. I don`t feed him but Hubby throws the rinds over the fence for the rabbits. Mr coyote is faster. Thank you for stopping by,

Cathy

Arizona Pictures and a little chat

Coconino Plateau, Yavapai County Arizona. Dormant volcano in background.

Grand Canyon South Rim. Bright Angel Trail.

A September Sunset

Thought I`d start today`s post with a few pretty Arizona pictures. I hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend. Memorial Day here in the States to honor our military deceased. We stayed home, away from tourist traffic. I`ve been sewing quilt blocks and will show you pictures during the Red, White, Blue Blog Hop which starts 1 July. My day to display my creations is 10 July. It`s been fun.

 The weather has been very hot,114 in Yuma at my son`s home, finally cooling today.  I`m ready for cooler weather and maybe rain. My dogs are shedding like crazy. My yard looks like it`s covered in snow after I brush them. The birds love all that hair for their nests. That`s all for today!

 Thank you for stopping by,
Cathy

A Thrifted Quilt

Hello everyone! Thank you for visiting!

My topic today is a thrifted quilt. The first place I go in a thrift store is the quilt and blanket racks. I almost always find a nice little homemade, used quilt. I hang them for display but most often toss them across a table or a chair. These little quilts are my favorite chair cover. The one in the picture below is 40 inches wide and 60 inches long. Easy to wash 100 percent cotton. It is not a "perfect" quilt. Not every stitch is precise and there is one small stain. What matters to me is the heart that designed and sewed this cutie. No matter. I shop this way for aprons too. Homemade with a history.

Thrifted Quilt 3/2012

The last picture is our home and the wildflowers growing against the rock wall that lines our driveway. My son built the wall when he was a teenager. There`s at least 1,000 rocks in that project. The bright green bush is Creosote, the yellow flowers are desert marigolds. Not much of a variety of flowers this year. Our hard to see house is surrounded by Joshua trees. They make nice shade. I`d like to add a room but that would mean cutting a tree or two. Not going to do it.

Home Sweet Home. Creosote Bush and Desert Marigolds.

Rain and wind today. I am happy with the cooler temperatures. I hope the snow is finished on the east coast so you folks can warm up. Take care.
Cathy

My New Vintage Tupperware

Hello! It`s been windy and cold and I`ve had an earache and sinus congestion the last couple of days. So I`ve been slowed down a bit. However I had a nice surprise this morning. The husband went to the neighbor`s and brought back many, many pieces of vintage Tupperware. Now that was enough to get me out of bed! The picture shows everything still in boxes. When I get it sorted and clean I will take more pictures. There is also a quilt made from knit fabrics, first one of those I`ve had. It is sturdy and nicely done. And please notice the tan and red box laying on top. It is a nearly full box of Tite Locker Wrap, as in freezer wrap, with the International Harvester logo. It looks to be about 50 years old. They call it Glassine Kraft Laminated. It`s in great shape.

Vintage Tupperware and Quilt

The fog creeping across Garnet Mountain at yesterday`s dawn.

The crest of Pearce Ferry Road as the fog glided towards Lake Mead. This is the road to the Skywalk turn-off.

Thank you for visiting. I appreciate it. Going to make homemade pizza crust and homemade sauce now.
Cathy

A Crochet Hat and the usual chat!

Hello! I crocheted this hat for my daughter in law a few days ago. Only took a few hours with tea breaks every now and then. I`m not too happy with the acrylic yarn so I`ve decide to crochet another using a softer yarn, maybe alpaca. I thought I got rid of that yellow cast in the picture! Sorry.

Very cold here. So cold our water pump froze. We had the foresight to fill two stockpots with drinking water and filled water bottles for the toilets. We wrapped the pump in more insulation and kept a light on in the pump house. That did the trick the last two nights. It would be nice to reach 50 degrees today.

I`m trying to make all my Christmas gifts this year. Produce bags and shopping bags sewn in bright fabrics are part of the plan. And candles for candle loving friends.

Thank you for visiting and stay warm!
Cathy