FYI -- a quick note to all of those from across the pond. Manchester United played in Houston recently - they beat our team. I'm sure that doesn't surprise you!

A friend and I took four of the new squares to 3 local fabric shops and auditioned fabric for my new quilt. Found something I liked -- the most expensive, of course, but it will do well, I think -- not solid but so subtle that it reads solid. I will use it for sashing and border.

Still thinking about the star placement. I envision God throwing a hand full of red stars onto my quilt top. Ranging in size from smallest (top left) to largest (bottom right) I see the stars as scattered. Sigh -- I just wish I was a little more artistic. I see what I want in my mind but I can't always make that appear on paper or fabric. Is there a USB that can be plugged in one ear to record what my brain is thinking, then that info can be transferred to my computer -- EQ5, perhaps?

What a busy week -- enrolled granddaughter in a creative arts camp at our church. She arrives at 7:30 (dropped off by her Mom) and we leave for camp at 8:30 -- it is a 20 - 25 min drive.
I go back and get her when camp is over at noon. She seems to be having a really great time -- at least until today. First of all she fell out of a swing -- then she got an upset stomach. We had to pick her up from day care and she promptly came home and threw up all over the upstairs. I was shampooing carpet when my guests arrived! My oldest brother and his wife are here for a brief stay. Fortunately, I had most of our dinner prepared (love crock pots!) so I was able to finish the meal in a timely manner. It was good and we are enjoying the visit with them.

I took a picture of the quilt squares I made last weekend. I'll share it in the next couple of days.
I'm hoping to go and purchase the fabric I need tomorrow -- then I'll cut the sashing and get it sewn. I also have to cut some red stars but I have what I need for that. The exact pattern is still evolving -- at least as far as the use of the stars is concerned. I have to decide whether or not to make them all the same size or to start with smaller stars at the top of the quilt and gradually make them grow larger as they near the bottom.

Bedtime -- Goodnight all!

Stormy Weather

Today it hailed, rained, blew, thundered, and lightening flashed all over the place. Back yard is a pond again! Sweetie was out on the Harley -- he came home like a drowned rat!

HOWEVER, I got all but one load of laundry done and sewed and squared 22 blocks for a new quilt. Productive day.

Took two grandchildren to the Aquarium Restaurant today. This is an amusement venue in downtown Houston. Besides a restaurant there is an amusement park with rides and a train, and also an underground exhibit featuring fish tanks, exhibits of snakes and spiders, and a white tiger. The pictures below were taken through the glass of the fish tanks using whatever lighting the tanks had -- the bluish color is the result of the water, lighting and the glass.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

Last night I was playing with my laptop and some pictures I'd taken and...suddenly, a tiny light came on and there I was, on the screen. My computer has a camera! I didn't know!! The picture above is one I snapped of myself using a matt that came with the program. Now, if I can just find it again, no telling what I can do with it!!

Day Lillies

One flower I always enjoyed in the south is the Day Lilly. Once I moved here I made sure I added some to my flower garden. Here are two that have bloomed lately. There is another blooming but it was sprinkling when I found it and then it poured, so I'll have to take the picture another time.

Fun Days

The past two days have been fun -- yesterday I had lunch with two friends. One teaches school and we only manage one lunch a year -- this has become a tradition. While we were sitting there talking we saw a woman we all knew and we invited her to join us. She is back in the states for a visit with her children/grandchildren and to see a doctor or two. She currently lives in Saudi Arabia where she is an Educational Diagnostician. It was really interesting hearing about her life there -- different from Texas, for sure!

Today Sweetie and I went to work out at Nifty After Fifty and then stayed for the Jeopardy Pot Luck Luncheon. I took Squash Dressing and it was yummy, if I do say so myself! Also, I won the Jeopardy game. My prize was a Nifty After Fifty towel. I love trivia games!
One of the Personal Trainers brought a Trifle -- chocolate cake, light Cool Whip, chocolate pudding (lite, I hope), and fresh strawberries. It was really good!

Tomorrow we will pick up a grandson from Hobby Airport. He will be here for a week and we are looking forward to seeing him. We did see him during our long trip, but it wasn't long enough. I'm thinking we will go to Galveston while he is here. Sweetie and I haven't been there in ages!

Churches along the way.

Old churches interest me -- the first picture was taken in Ft. Stockton, TX, the town where I graduated from high school. The second picture is in Pflugerville, TX, about a mile from where my Mom lives.

Just playing...

I've been playing with my new camera -- when I was still active with my SLR OM-1 Olympus cameras my favorite lens was the macro. I could focus down to 18 inches. The picture below was taken with my new camera -- I went out to water the plants on my front porch and saw these little fungi growing in the pot with my asparagus fern. I took it using macro features on my new camera. I was very pleased with the result -- the individual plant is only about 1 inch tall and the caps are 1" or less across.
The bottom picture is my backyard one day when it was still raining. It had drained the day before and then filled back up when the rain started again.

Hooray -- I have a new camera! I bought a Nikon Coolpix 100 -- it seemed to be something that I would enjoy using -- has 10.3 megapixels and a 26X zoom, is lightweight and easy to use. My old camera, an early digital point and shoot, had only 4 megapixels and a 3X zoom (I think) This one should be some different. So far I've only been able to use it inside since it is STILL raining at my house!

I took a couple of shots of some fabric that I'm working with. While we had V on Monday, we (V and I) worked on washing some of the fabric that was given to me. I especially liked the fabric shown below. Our Bunkhouse camper is burgundy colored and we use dark green as an accent color. I like the fabric on the right -- I plan to make myself a bag to take to the showers when we are camping. I will use the solid green on the inside.


The fabric on the left is something that I really like but don't know just what I'm going to do with it yet. Any suggestions? Perhaps a backing on a quilt?

V started on a project using the same block (pineapple) that she learned when we had the God's Girls quilting class last week. She picked these fabrics to make a gift for a family member who likes cats. She has finished doing "stitch in a ditch" around the cats -- when she starts out she has big stitches but the more she does, the smaller her stitches become. When she comes on Saturday we will fold the binding and she will sew that down. Then the project will be finished. After that she wants to make a bag. So far I am having her do hand stitching but may introduce her to the machine this summer.

Notes from our trip...

During our long trip we spent a couple of days near Old Mesilla, NM. Because we have lived in this part of the country we take the adobe buildings as normal. However, I'm sure there are some people who haven't seen this building material so I thought I'd share a bit with you.
The building below shows an unfinished wall -- adobe bricks visible. Adobe is a building material used in places where there isn't much rain. The bricks are made of a clay/soil mixture with straw or grass mixed in. They are formed in molds and then dried in the sun. They can be homemade or can be purchased. After they are dry they make a strong brick that can be used just like baked bricks -- however, it can begin to melt if exposed to rain over a long period of time. Adobe walls may be as much as 12 - 24 inches thick. The thick clay walls form a natural insulation and they are cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Usually the outside of the building is plastered over the bricks to keep they from melting. The melting process doesn't happen overnight and the building below has probably been there for a loooong time!



The building on the left is the US Post Office in Mesilla -- it has been plastered as has the house on the right.

The gate show above is known as Josefina's Gate or Josefina's Old Gate. I've heard it is 400 years old but the website says that it dates back to the early 1900's. The gate is part of an old house that is now an Inn and Restaurant. If you go to www.josefinasoldgate.com

you can see pictures of this place. It will show some of the other building features common in this area. We love visiting NM because we love the adobe styles of building.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

We had a great sermon this morning from a visiting speaker -- he talked about Freedom, what it was and what it cost. Lots of patriotic music, including a tribute to all the U.S. Armed Forces -- some music/video features also, including one that focused on the Christian background of our Founding Fathers. Made me swell with pride.

I AM UNASHAMEDLY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN!

In the later afternoon we joined a group of friends at FBC-Katy for a fun evening. Good food, fellowship, and a great choir and orchestra presentation -- Teresa R. sang a solo and she has a great voice! Who knew!! Thanks, Frank and Teresa, for inviting us!

It is pouring rain this morning. Poor Gracie is about to pop -- she hasn't been out since last night (and it was raining then) and she hates going out in the rain! Just the thought that I was going to put her out this morning had her shaking. The back yard is standing water and more rain is expected. Oh, well, the ground will be soft enough to put in some more drains in back.
The north side doesn't stand water because it has a drain. Now we need to run a new ditch from the south side to join the north side or just put in a new south side drain. Either way, we need to do something.

My Sweetie bought me a new addition for our front porch. It is really nice and I love the sound of the water. Today it is full of rain water -- it has rained off and on all day, compliments of Hurricane Alex.

Another Flag

After 9/11 my husband put up a flag on a pole beside our driveway. We got many favorable comments on it. Seemed like everyone liked it. Someone liked it enough that they took it in 2008. Flag, pole, and all! My Sweetie was so ticked!!

Well, he finally got over his mad and has put up another flag. I'm hoping that this one will stay for a long, long time. (Oh, yes, the day he put up the big new flag and pole he also attached a small flag to our mailbox post. It barely lasted overnight -- someone stole it! This is crazy!!)

Passing It On

Like I said yesterday, the King's Quilters held a two day class to teach quilting to some young girls. I took pictures the first day but by the second day my camera died and I didn't get any pictures of the finished items. I'm posting some of the first day pictures here.

I believe some of the girls will show up on the 19th for our regular session. They were quite excited about what they were learning.