Alaska

A trip that we have always wanted to make was a summer cruise to Alaska.  We decided to do it instead of a party to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.  The best part was we also took our children and their spouses.

The weather for the entire trip was picture perfect and we were told over and over again from the locals how we "nailed" the weather.

We decided to start in Seward, AK and cruise down to Vancouver, Canada.  It was just a dream come true.

I was amazed at the sounds heard while visiting the Hubbard Glacier - the largest in North America.  The sounds of thunder as sections calved, or broke away, and the popping of the ice in the water was something that I never imagined.

We did white water rafting below the Mendenhall Glacier in 33* water.

We saw whales and "rafts" of otters.

There was the historic rail through the Klondike White Pass trail, crab fests and off roading.

There were colorful villages to be seen.

Most of all it was a trip full of laughs and memories with all of our children.  We have been so blessed.

Gridster Bee Blocks

For the month of June, I was the queen bee our Gridster Bee.  It was such fun to see blocks arriving in the mail all month.  Having them all assembled together, I can now show you my finished top.

This was a free block from Wombat Quilts.  In finishing it, I created a border that completed the stars.  My beemates were incredible in that each member made not one, but two blocks each.  The quilt came together so quickly with the additional blocks.

We are now creating blocks for our August queen.  These were such fun to make and I love her block choice.

Another Try

I am excited about posting this new post because I have made some changes in my settings and am eager to see if it has worked.  I created a g-mail account and have heard from several people that they are now receiving my blog comments.  I hope that means that I will also be receiving blog comments.  Fingers crossed here.

My sister who lives in Alaska and I have been working on a secret project for our other sister's special birthday.  It was given to her last evening so I can now show what we have done.  We made her a Temperature quilt using the temperatures, year and location of her birth.  My sister sewed the first six months and I did the last six.  Amazingly, when she sent me her section to add to mine, they fit together perfectly.

The back of the quilt is an incredible wine bottle print and so much fun to read.  The back includes the label and the temperature key.  

The past week found us in the Sierras for our annual fishing trip.  The lakes and streams were so full this year after all of the rains.  Of course, with all of the snow this year, spring blooms are just now happening.  Ski season is still open in Mammoth.  It really was gorgeous.

Our daughter's family has been watching a cocoon for the last few weeks and today their wait paid off.  The little ones were able to watch the whole process.  She sent me the video and I am amazed at how quickly it happened.  Nature is incredible!

July!

June is now only a memory.  July has arrived.  I didn't get one post done in the entire month.  I have contemplated giving up my blog with the changes Blogger made.  I enjoy blogging and I really love the rapport between bloggers.  Many "friends" have followed me for years, and I them.  Without getting notice in my inbox of incoming comments, it has become so time consuming to reply to them.  Maria has sent me e-mails with all sorts of hints for settings, etc.  Nothing I seem to do will change the situation.  I can only see comments if I sign in to my account and may times I cannot retrieve an e-mail address to reply.  I just do not feel it is right to not reply to all of the kind comments that I receive.  Thus, Blogger has been a thorn in my side when life is busy.

I haven't accomplished a lot of sewing for the month.  I have one near finish that I will show when I get done, but my fun quilting this month was receiving the blocks from my bee mates.  June was my month to be queen bee and it was great to see exciting mail arrive along with all the adds.  The block that I selected for my month was a freebie found HERE.  I made out a master plan and mailed it to my beemates.  Although I only expected one block from each, every person did TWO blocks!  Our Gridster Bee has been an amazing group of gals.  My blocks finish at 12" so the quilt went together quickly.  This is where I was earlier this week.

July means there is a new queen and these are her blocks.  I love all the scrappy goodness.

The beginning of June was for family celebrations.  Our children took us out for a day of surprises, end with a lovely dinner for our 50th anniversary.

The same weekend we celebrated the wedding of our eldest granddaughter.   This is a phot of our son and his family.

What would summer be without preserving?  The apricots, nectarines, peaches and plums have produced a massive crop this year.  I have been lucky to have these two delightful helpers to assist with canning.  We have done it together for so many years and I am sure they could do it without any guidance, but we so enjoy our canning days together.  One day we just baked without canning.  Their favorite was a Nectarine Vanilla Bean Scone.

We've also spent many hours at baseball fields and equestrian cross country meets.

There was also Father's Day and a well deserved celebration for the six great fathers in our family.

Finally there was July 4th.  We had around 80 people this year for the festivities - lots of great food and laughs.  I didn't get many pictures so I hope others have some to share.

The Arrival of June

How can it be?  The midpoint of the year is just around the corner.  I guess it's time to start Christmas shopping.

Before May slips away, however, we celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary!  It seems like only yesterday that we were walking down the aisle, saying our "I do's" and starting our new life together.  I'd do it all again in a moment.  It has been a fabulous fifty years.

Now, fifty years later, our eldest granddaughter will be walking down the aisle and starting her new life as a wife.  It has been a busy few weeks of preparation for it.  I've altered three bridesmaid dresses, made the veil and the flower girl dress, all fun and creative sewing.

June is my month as the bee queen in our Gridster Bee.  The block I have chosen is called Star String and is found at Wombat Quilts.  My first blocks arrived from Nancy (IG @patchworkbreeze).  From the looks of these, this is going to be such a fun month.

More non quilting sewing included making a linen stole for a dear priest friend of ours who is celebrating his Silver Jubilee next week.  I wanted to use the metallic threads in the embroidery machine, but I know how difficult they can be, especially at high speeds.  I used the Superior metallic threads and I had NO problem at all with them.  I have used them in quilting with great success too. If you haven't used them before, I highly recommend them.

I actually made it reversible so he can use it when he celebrates his Golden Jubilee.  The front side is in silver and the back is in gold.  It has been a standing joke between us so I am sure he will get a chuckle when he sees it.

I did manage to finish the last three blocks for the BlooM SAL.  Hopefully, I will have time to get the sashing sewn in place and get them all sewn together soon.

The month of May has been so unseasonably cold for us, but some of the spring growth continues in the garden.  The epiphylliums are blooming and are always showstoppers.

A pineapple has set in the pineapple garden too.  This plant is about three years old now.  I start my plants by using the tops of the pineapples that we eat.

Momma tortoise laid her eggs despite the cold weather.

A final picture...….I was at our daughter's home watching the little ones earlier this week.  This little guy had no fear of the vacuum and loved to have the girls use it on him.

Playing Blog Catch-up

It seems like all I do is play catchup on my blog these days.  The intention is good, but then I get going on another project and that intention goes out with the wind.

We've had a great May so far with lots of celebrations.  We combined quite a few with Mother's Day when the kids and grandchildren were here.  Now we are into the graduations and spring school concerts before the year is finished for all the school aged children.  It's hard to believe another year is done for them.

Much of my time has been spend redoing several of the gardens in the yard lately.  They were overgrown and in need of some attention.  The roses are just finishing their first big bloom of the year and it's time to deadhead and fertilize them.  They have been spectacular this year.

We have areas of the yard with some easy care geraniums growing.  I especially like this one's color that was started from a plant growing at the home of a friend of mine.   Thanks Joan!

There has not been a lot of sewing to show for my past few weeks.  I did manage to finish a few more flowers for our BlooM SAL.  I don't have the borders on these yet as I want to see what colors are needed in the full layout.  I think I have three flowers left to construct.

To see more BlooM blocks be sure to pop over to Cheryll's blog and see what others are sewing.

May was the month for our next hanging towel swap.  Irene's kitchen in is turquoise and brown so I did her towel in those colors and added a turquoise patriotic one for her to use for Memorial Day.

I've been working on finishing up a bridal veil and altering bridesmaid dresses for the upcoming wedding of our oldest granddaughter.  Next up is the flower girl dress.  The young couple graduated last weekend.

My last few weeks have revolved around repairman.  It has been one thing after another to the point where I hesitate to touch anything for fear it, too, will break.  You know it's bad when the dogs are so familiar with the plumber that they run up to greet him when they see him arrive!