Homecoming Queen 2023

Miss Chloe started first grade last week. She is my dear granddaughter #4. She is the first granddaughter that I was priviledged to witness her birth.

I predict she will be Homecoming Queen of her high school class when she graduates in 2023.

'Maters & Critters

It's that time of the year when tomatoes are in great supply. I love tomato sandwiches. We eat tomatoes three times a day when they are coming off the vine. In January, I'll be wishing I had one.

We have competition for the ripe tomatoes.

This little chipmunk is in a Have-A-Heart trap. We have chipmunks running up and down the tomato vines. We can stand at the bedroom window and watch them eating the 'maters. So, dear husband purchased a Have-A-Heart trap. When we catch one, we take him down to the Recreation Area on the Chattahoochee River and set him free. Some days, we make three trips. Biscuit loves to go on the ride to the river.

The porch

We had rain blow through last night and earlier this evening. It cooled the air off and made a nice evening for sitting on the porch.

I found this sign at a local shop and it explains how we feel about our porch better than we ever could.

Biscuit (aka Queenie) owns the porch. It is her domain and she rules all the critters of the kingdom.

It's hot!

Seems like that is the theme for the entire US this summer. I believe we, in metro Atlanta, are coming up on our 60th day of 90 degree weather this summer.

This is my best friend...

Although it is hot, Joe and I like to sit on the porch in the evenings. It would be unbearable without the fan. We live in a friendly neighborhood, so we talk to our neighbors across the backyard fence. The neighbors all have small children and we are Geema and Papa Joe to them. I am looking forward to Fall and the cooler temperatures.

Christmas in July

I suppose there are people who actually do start on their Christmas sewing in July. I belong to a Yahoo Group which has an alert on the 25th of each month to encourage you to work on your Christmas projects once a month. Maybe next year...

I went to a Christmas in July show at Tiny Stitches this morning. The staff was in full costume, from Halloween to Christmas. The projects were inspiring. I had my eye on a couple things but remembered that 1) my sewing room is in a mess and unusable, and 2) anything I buy will have to be moved to the studio when it is completed. So, restraint kicked in (yes, it does happen) and I only bought a couple pieces to audition for Cooper's quilt (more about Cooper later).

Practice & Patience

One thing that I know about myself is that I don't have a lot of patience. It is a virtue that I constantly work to develop. Before I spent so many years in the Corporate world, I think I used to be more patient than I am now. I used to write letters and now I get impatient with the slow pace and want to type everything.

I spent three days last week learning long-arm quilting techniques. My key take-away is that I need to develop more patience.

I think my long-arm quilter (Ethel) is so fast that I should be able to quilt in no time. What I realized last week is that I have a lot of practice in front of me before I am proficient. The practice designs are pretty good for two days on the machine, but I want to be able to do it now!

Retirement Life

Sunday will mark my third month of retirement. I can't believe a quarter of a year has passed since I left work. My dream was to create a quilt room and buy a long arm quilter. Well, the later dream has been realized and the former dream is under construction.

The exterior is almost finished -- gutters, porch and a filling in the foundation are remaining. The electrical, HVAC, and plumbing rough-in are complete and sheetrocking will begin tomorrow. Another three weeks and the long-arm quilter can come to her new home. In the meantime, I need to think of a name for her...