Part of my retirement plan is to take Ripley for a walk daily, if possible, now that I don't have to take her right after work/before her helper leaves (a tight window and super hot in the summer!)  Cindy M and I met up at Turtle Bay this week for a 2-mile walk.  

We spotted a couple of deer in the meadow (they moved a bit before I got a picture - originally all I could see were two sets of ears - too cute!) 

Ripley is a fan of the walks, but Luna isn't up to that far of a walk, so AJ or I take her for a shorter jaunt around the neighborhood.  She had an "episode" on Wednesday night - possibly a seizure??  Not sure, but she seem mostly recovery, but it's getting harder for her to get up, take long walks, etc.  Getting old sucks - my puppies should live forever!

I don't often see the bridge from this angle.

AJ made me another quilting tool with his 3D printer!  This is a thread cutter, designed to cut thread when you are chain piecing.  He printed three pieces, and I put a rotary blade between the circles, and it sits in the third piece - the stand.  Then, I can cut the thread quickly between the pieces.  Working on the Falling Leaves quilt gave it a workout - since the block are all the same, I pieced 4 blocks at a time (all I had pins for) so at new point, I had a very long line of pieces all "chained" together. I put a (very bad) video in to show it.

 

Falling Leaves is taking shape.  I have all the blocks done now, so it is waiting its turn to get put together.  First I need to finish the two quilts that are quilted, waiting for binding (the Surf's Up and the 2026 RBD Challenge quilt).

My retirement present from the bank was a wind chime, which replaces the one I just took down when I cleaned up the patio for my birthday/retirement party!   It may not stay up for long, depending on how windy it gets, but I think it sounds pretty nice (so far...). 

 

Karen found a new hobby for me, now that I'm retired.  Her daughter raises bees, and she gifted me a beginner guide to raising bees book and some honey!  I think I'll pass on raising the bees, but the honey looks fantastic!

 

We had a visitor the other day - they sure look like they come from another planet.... 

 

 It’s official - I just turned in my laptop and keys. I’m officially retired!

It's that time of year - I pulled out most of the garden.  I still have the pepper plants and one zucchini plant left. 

 

I replanted and put the mums that I got as decorations from my birthday party out on the front porch.  Looking fall-ish!!  Now if only the weather would feel fall-ish.  

The latest mini-mystery quilting project...Pot O'Luck - the mini-mysteries are small projects and have the pattern released an hour apart so you can complete it in a day.  I, on the other hand, did not complete it in a day, but I did get it done, 

The fabric: 

Clue #1

Clue #2 

0

Clue #3 

 

The Reveal! Putting it all together, adding a couple of borders, and it's a cute table runner - ready to quilt!  (Which means it's in the pile of things ready to quilt.  Good thing I'm retiring soon - my backlog is growing!)

You turn your back for one minute..... 

I needed something out of my quilt cupboard and while I got what I wanted and turned to close it again, Jessie had jumped in and made herself at home....

I had an issue quilting the Surf's Up quilt - my machine wouldn't move more than a few inches left or right..... 

After moving the road blocks, I got the main quilt quilted, now I "just" need to quilt the borders.  They should be fairly quick to quilt, I just have to make up my mind how I want to quilt them.  I also got the RBD 2026 Challenge quilt quilted last week - it "just" needs the binding added.

When everyone was here for my birthday/retirement party, I was lamenting that my water hyacinths hadn't bloomed all summer.  Even though they provide good shade for the fish, I was hoping they would also bloom.  So what happens?  They bloom a couple of days later....

The new UV filter is still doing it's job, too!