End of the Month Catch All

It's hard to imagine that May has already come to an end.  Where do the days go?    Since it is the end of the month it is time to account for my finishes.   I really don't have a lot to show for the month after two trips, watching grandchildren for a week, five birthdays, two graduations and daily living here.  Sheesh....

The first finish is a Schnibble from last year.  I can't remember the name of it, but I love the colors in this one.  They are so easy on the eye.  I am so glad to have this one finished.

Since a lot of my sewing was hand sewing as we were traveling, I managed to also finish this sweet little purse.  I had won the kit from Deonn sometime last year too.  It is so tiny and will be perfect for a small treasure such as jewelry. 

I am linking these finishes up with A Lovely Year of Finishes and Thearica's To Do List.

My goal for June will be to quilt my jelly roll quilt.  I am looking forward to getting it finished and enjoying it.

Last weekend we took a nice road trip to Wyoming.  There is one road that DH and I love to travel - Highway 89.  The scenery is so gorgeous as you travel up the state of Utah.  The towns were celebrating Memorial Day in the cemeteries and each one was more beautiful than the last.  The flag and tree lined towns were just stunningly gorgeous.

We continued up Hwy. 189 and came across a most unusual sight in the town of Heber City.  We noticed buzzards - many buzzards - circling about in the air.  I am SO NOT a fan of buzzards!!!!  When we came to the center of town there appeared to be a buzzard party going on at the town hall.  Yikes!  They filled the trees and were literally clinging to the side of the building. 

I had a couple of nice wins that arrived while I was away.  These were both from the Sew Mama Sew hop.  The lovely cushion cover came from Chris.  Her work is so beautiful and you should check out her blog to see more of it. 

The bags of scraps are from Kim (sorry that I cannot find her blog).  These are chock full of wonderful fabrics that I can use in my scrap blocks for the Japanese x and + bee that I am participating in. 

Speaking of the bee......May is my queen month and look at the fun blocks I have received so far.

So May comes to a close.  Tomorrow we celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary and I have no idea where the years have gone.  I'm sure we still look the same ;-)

To close off for today I will leave you with a picture of our DIL who just graduated from nursing school.  She had gotten her B.A. in business after high school, but decided a few years ago to return for her nursing degree.  I know her college experience this time was a bit different with a husband and five children - one born in her last year of the program, but we are terribly proud of her.  Best of all, I got to pin her nursing pin on her at the Pinning ceremony.  She will make an amazing nurse.

The Week in Review

Has summer finally arrived for all of those in the northern hemisphere?  We are still waiting for the heat to hit here, but I am enjoying the longer days.  I am much more motivated with the additional hours of sunlight, but get into a slump when June 21st rolls around and I know that the days are starting to shorten for us.  I will continue to enjoy the warmer summer evenings in the weeks ahead.

The week started off with the celebration of Father's Day around here.  We all had a terrific time, but I regret that I did not get more photos.  Does everyone else get so busy entertaining that they forget to grab the camera?  The weather was lovely for eating dinner outside. 



# 3 son with Gipe.  Gipe is a family pet who is constantly on someones shirt for the ride.  This little guy is unbelievably tame.  I think he needs to be in commercials for dry skin!!!


The strawberries are getting towards the end so it was a good time to make jam.  Our daughter came over on Tuesday and we put up six batches of jam.  It is so yummy.

DH and I took a short road trip to Wyoming this week as well.  We both love getting in the car and hitting the back roads, using the Interstates only when necessary for time crunches.  One of our favorite states to drive through has always been Utah.  I love the red rocks, their spectacular canyons and the numerous streams and rivers.  Someday I would love to try the fly fishing that we always see as we drive. 




A lavender farm that we passed along the way.


The morning we left Wyoming it was 28* (at 4:30 a.m.).  We drove straight through that day passing through Las Vegas with temps at 110*+ and arriving home to 68*.  The fluctuations in temperatures are amazing.  The many hours in the car provided me time to work on some cross stitch.  It doesn't look like much yet since I have just begun, but I will share it with you as I progress on it. 

I have to share a picture of the freeway in Las Vegas.  They have been working on it for years and I think it is probably some of the most beautiful designs in roads that I have ever seen.  Unfortunately, the cars kept getting in my way as I was trying to snap pictures, but they have the most spectacular displays of large iron sculptures - wild mustangs, big horn sheep, tortoises, etc.  They are all set in a very desert landscape with rocks and cacti.  One doesn't even mind being in a traffic jam because there is so much to see.

Our quail families have emerged with their babies in tow this week.  The parents are so good.  Unfortunately, they have demolished the cantaloupe and one new corn patch. 

There are two families here - one set of babies is a bit bigger than the other.

One of our yellow orioles here for the summer.  I believe it is a Hooded Oriole.

I've had a bit of time to work on catching up with my Takes 2 blocks this week.  I am still way behind, but I am getting there.

This week I want to make a table topper that I saw with some patriotic fabrics that I won from Inchworm  Fabric's giveaway last week.  They arrived this week and they are just perfect.  Hopefully, I can show it to you in my next post - all finished.