This and That for March

 February was a very interesting month of weather for us.  We broke all kinds of cold temperatures and low snow levels.  I am hoping March is a bit kinder to us.  I've been having to cover all of my tender plants each night and it is getting rather old at this point.  We have, however, added inches more rain to help fill up our lakes and streams - all good and welcomed.  We've enjoyed rain, rainbows, hail and snow.  The groundhog was apparently right about six more weeks of winter.  

All the cold temperatures have made me want to stay in the kitchen and turn up the heat.  The Meyer lemons ripen at this time of the year so processing them was necessary.  Lemon curd and preserved lemons are always favorites around here.  Of course, sourdough bread also heats up the kitchen and is great with warm soups.  

A bit of sewing has also been completed.  Our great grandson loves to help his mommy cook, but was in need of an apron.  Doughnuts on one side and vehicles on the other seemed like a good idea for a little guy.

Project Quilting 14.5 prompt for this week was Sew Not a Square.  In the hopes that spring is on the way here, I created a quilted puzzle piece. Instead of sunshine, I added clouds and rain. 

I've been sewing lots of HSTs for my Harrisonburg Quilt Quiltalong (#harrisonburgquiltalong) hosted by Wendy Sheppard.  Harrisonburg is such a gorgeous pattern and it's not too late to join in on it.  I love these blocks.  

When Wendy had her Crockpot Weekend Sewalong, I was selected a winner of a layer cake from P&B fabrics.  It is a beautiful selection of red, black and white fabrics.  I think it will make a gorgeous Christmas quilt.  

 For Valentine's Day, my husband gave me tulips growing in water.  They have lasted so long, but I finally had to call them officially expired today.  I loved seeing  them in the kitchen and will miss them.  I hope the bulbs will bloom again next year.

I hope that March will consider leaving like a lamb.  I am excited about the time change coming up soon.  How about you?  

Life is Good

First of all, thank you for all the kind comments you left. I had to chuckle at Dawn's comment because it is exactly what I had said to my husband. It was a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day." We used to read that book to our children and have always used those words in describing difficult days. The days since have been delightful.


I received a package in the mail from my aunt who is cleaning out cupboards in anticipation of moving. She found four china mugs that belonged to my grandmother. Since my grandmother had given me her china, she sent the mugs along to me. I remember my grandmother using these mugs as we enjoyed our wonderful visits. I can still see her rubbing the top of the handle with her thumb as we chatted. My grandmother LOVED her coffee from before sun up to well past sun down. She also ONLY drank her coffee out of a "real china" cup. A chunky mug would not do. Needless to say, I am thrilled to have them.


Notice the gold rubbed off the top of the handle?

Treasured!

DH and I drove to Las Vegas to see the desert in bloom and to catch "The Jersey Boys" again. The music is so fabulous. We happened to end up with tickets to their third year anniversary in Las Vegas so they had a special cake presentation after the show. That was exciting.


The birthday candles kept relighting.

The desert in bloom is always such a pretty sight. I really wanted to see some of the hot pink blooms from last years trip, but they were sadly not in bloom at this time. There were some bright pink ones, but the thorns on those were amazing.




The small town of Kelso is along the way and we stopped to eat our picnic lunch there. I can imagine the town in it's prime, but the train station, post office and jail are about all that is left. I am not sure that I would like to be locked up in this jail during the summer heat.




The train depot.

They did cover the bars as you can read here.

Still not too inviting.

I doubt that it is still in use.

Life has been busy with family fun things, but I have had a chance to get a little sewing in. My mom has a gal who helps her in the mornings and she loves an old apron that my mom has. The apron is really old and ratty looking after all of these years so I brought it home and made a pattern from it. Susie will now have a new one.



Nice and clean for the moment.

I finished another one of my PhD projects. I really like the way this one turned out and I am glad it is finally finished. Three down and only one more to go before the end of June.


Modern Siggy Swap blocks.

This panel quilt was made for the youngest grandson. It is suppose to have another two borders, but it was getting way too big for its purpose so I stopped after the road border was applied. I figured he could play with little cars on it too.

It is still pretty big.

Lastly, I haven't yet shown the latest of my Civil War blocks. The latest ones seem to be going together a bit easier. The measurements are a bit more accurate. I still need to do this weeks before the new one comes out tomorrow.



Blocks 16-19.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend ahead.   I'll be busy with a little canning as the first peaches are ready.  There is nothing that says summer more than a bite of a fresh peach.  YUM.



S-U-M-M-E-R

I apologize for no links and lack of spellcheck, but Blogger is not allowing me to use any part of the toolbar.  Is anyone else having the same problem?  Maybe it is just me.