I did it!  I finished my quilt top last night!  I'm very proud of it, and once again, it was a learning experience - which means it isn't perfect, but I learned a lot!  It is so much better than the first one!  This time, most of my points match - what a shock!  I did have an issue last night - sheer stupidity.  I ran out of material for the last boarder strip.  I looked and looked, and found some scraps that I pieced together to get the final strip.  After everything was finished and pressed, I cleaned up, and found a piece that was hiding - I wasn't out of material at all!  Go figure.  Oh well, it's done.  I had to piece together a couple of pieces already because I misread how to cut my strips already.  What's one more?

While Mom was in town last weekend, we enjoyed a visit from a very large bee.  He was huge!  He was also so covered in pollen from my day lilies by the time he was done that he looked almost all orange.

Indy enjoying the top of the curio cabinet - I haven't put much back on top yet.  Now I'm afraid to!

Mom and I also went for walk out in the back field area, and found a beautiful heron.

I also finally finished a doily!  I started this back in March, and just now finished it.

What wonderful weather we are having.  Last Sunday, it was 105 degrees, and on Thursday, the high was around 75, and it rained.  Yesterday was a balmy 80 degrees or so - I didn't check the official temp, but it was nice!  Mom, Alli and I ran all over town shopping.  We did my normal grocery shopping, and then we hit Penney's for Mom.  She found her towels and ordered shoes (they didn't have her size in stock) and then we headed home.  I put the groceries away, and started potatoes for potato salad for dinner.  While they were cooling, we ran down to the outlets.  Alli was so good about all the shopping.  She sat in the dressing room very patiently for me while I tried on several dresses at Dress Barn.  I came home with two new dresses for a total of $32.00!!!  Nice!  One is missing a button, so I will have to replace all of the button on it (so they match) but the dress was still a steal!  On the way home, we stopped and got some strawberries (and had to go to two different strawberry beds - the first one was already closed!) and I made shortcake and whipped cream to go with the hamburgers, fries and strawberries for dinner.  Yum!  I even got my last bit of fabric cut for my quilt - all in all - a good (but busy) day - not to mention that Mom beat me in cribbage before dinner - I think she cheats!

And now, for the rest of the story!  After Mom had shown me her blue jay nest, we wandered outside and talked for a while, looking at Mom's yard, and then Dave came by, holding a cat.  A very unhappy cat.  A cat that really, really, really wanted down.  Dave took George (named for Curious George) inside and closed the door, leaving him inside.  Unusual - what happened???  Dave had gone back out by the nest, and found George with one of the babies under a bush.  He made George drop the bird, and took George inside, and was headed back to find the baby and put it back in the nest.  It became a bird hunt in the bush!

Mom caught the baby!

Dave put it back in the nest.  (Dave sure looks a lot like my Dad in this picture!!)

Not long after, Dave went back out, and ALL the birds were out of the nest.  We never did see or hear them in the bushes or trees, but Momma and Papa Jay were still hanging around, so they had them hidden somewhere.

Here is another "new" piece of furniture.  It's final destination is the guest house, where it will replace one decrepit bookcase there, and also hold the small TV that is there.  The problem is, I still can't get it in the guest house.  I spent most of Monday (a day off for me) moving 'stuff' back into the house and reorganizing my house.  I still have a lot of "stuff" in my way in the guest house to clean out.

I did have help (again) with my boxes while moving things back into the house.  I usually have some sort of help around here, especially if it involves a box!

I made it to Susanville with 10 minutes to spare before Mom left for Chapter yesterday.  Unfortunately, Alli needed to eat her lunch in that 10 minutes.  Mom and Dave left without us, and we caught up later.  I didn't even change into my formal before we left.  I helped Dave set up the Chapter room and THEN got dressed.   It worked out fine, but I cut it a bit close leaving to go to Susanville - always pushing the envelope of time.  I did get some of my "Saturday" chores done before I left, so now I only have my "Sunday" chores to do when I get home.

After the meeting yesterday, Mom took me out to back to show me the scrub jay nest she and Dave had found.  There were two babies in the next still - and they weren't very little.  The momma and pappa jay were pretty good about us being out there, but when George the cat followed us out, they had a fit.

The floor is finished, now to get the house put back together.  I got a couple of rooms put together last night, but the main room is the dining room - and the decisions - of what to put back in, and what to leave out.  The collections can certainly use some thinning out.  I did some thinning as I was packing, but - more is needed.  That may happen on Monday, as I am off to Susanville today, and I have Monday off.  So far, I LOVE the new flooring.

The padding came in Tuesday morning, and the guys made a valiant effort to get three days worth of work done in two days.  They got the living room, dining room and Alli's room done.  They still need to finish the hallway, but they got a lot done!  It looks so wonderful!  

Before and after pictures:

I don't have 'before' pictures of Alli's room, but I have 'after' pictures!

The hallway - partially completed:

Picot making good use of the empty cupboards and bookshelves:

I got Alli's room partially put back together.  I'm thinking there are a lot of things that came out that won't go back in - in many of the rooms!  Time to de-clutter!

Still no new floor.  The padding didn't come in (and they knew about it, but didn't call us!) and it may not be in tomorrow either.  Bummer!  The house looks like we got robbed.  Everything is out of the bookcases and curio cabinets, the electronics have been moved out - the place is bare!  We had to bring Alli's TV back in tonight so she had something to watch.  I did have help packing yesterday though.  Picot was VERY helpful - really!  I don't know how I could have packed a singe box without her checking it out to make sure it was okay.

In honor of the new floor, I took Koori in and had her bathed and her nails trimmed (so she didn't scratch the new floor with her nails).  She looks marvelous!  Her nails actually look normal now (AJ calls her "eagle talon" for a reason!)  When we dropped her off at her appointment, AJ and Jasper came in with me, and we walked the new (to us) extension of the river trail.  We took off from Dana Drive and walked to the bridge over the river. We walked down the trail there and played a bit in the river.  There were a couple pf people down there with a couple of dogs that weren't on leads, so we didn't stay too long.  As it was, the dogs followed us back up the trail, and AJ had to go take them back to their owners.  The river was beautiful!

It's here!  The flooring is here!  It is now 'acclimatizing' to the house, and they will start installing it tomorrow!  I have the living room packed up (except for a few plants - I have to move the couch out to get to the big ones!) and will start on the dining room today.  Yesterday was easy to pack .  Today may be a bit harder.  

I finished up a project for one of my Yahoo! groups, and went to take a picture of it - obviously, I needed help, right?

Good thing he's cute!

The blackberries are blooming!  Just think, in two months, these flowers will be lovely, juicy, sweet blackberries.  Yum!  The dogs and I went for a walk this morning before it got too hot.  It was so pretty out in the back field.  The sun was shining, the birds were singing their little hearts out, it was still nice and cool.  Lovely!  The only sounds out there were the birds and the dogs.  So relaxing.  

There isn't much water left in Clover Creek.  The dogs waded in and got a drink, but no splashing and playing any more.  They did have fun chasing all sorts of scents, so it was still worth the trip for them.

One of the birds that were entertaining me on my walk.

I finished a quick little project, and I think I will do a few more like it.  It is a wine glass flip-flop/coaster.  I think I'll make several up in different colors, and it will help keep who's glass is who's  straight.  Fun!

I've been experimenting with Allison's hair.  Now that some of the layers have grown out, I can braid it (good thing - it's much cooler that way, and neater!)  I found a cute little side braid that captures the hair from the front and pulls it back into either a pony or a braid.  Too cute!  

Here are the afghan, booties and rattle I finished.  The afghan in the diagonal box pattern - such a easy afghan.  The booties on the left are flip-flops, and the ones on the right are sandals.  

Here is a close up of the flip-flops.

I also made a little lamb rattle - complete with jingle bells inside.  I've made the pattern before, but I think this was my most successful face on one.

My flooring is scheduled to be delivered on Friday, with the install on the following Monday (and Tuesday and Wednesday).  I can hardly wait!  Next weekend is reserved for emptying out the bookcases and curio cabinets so they can be moved.  The installers are going to move the furniture, but they (rightfully) want all the fragile stuff out first.  It will be a good time to go through what is in them and winnow out the junk.  Good in theory, we'll see how it goes in practice.

Deep breath...hold it......let it out slowly.....it's the weekend.  Relax.  No time tables.  Nowhere to be at a certain time.  No schedules.  :)  A nice free weekend - what a luxury.  Not that I don't have lists of things to do, they just don't have to be done by a certain time.  I still woke up at 4:30.  Allison still got up at 5:30.  But, we didn't have to jump head first into the day.

I finished up a baby present "package" last night - an afghan, a rattle and two pairs of baby booties.  I hope to get pictures of it today.  I'm a bit later than I wanted to be - it is for a co-worker, and she has already left work on maternity leave.  I am ahead in at least the baby hasn't come yet!!  I think that is the last of my UFO's for other people.  Now they are all projects I started for me!  I need to go through my projects and see what I do have started and see what I will actually finish, and what can just be recycled into a new project.

AJ has a house-sitting job this week.  A friend and family are going to Tahoe for the week, and he will be babysitting the house, two dogs, and, it sounds like, he get to be a midwife for some fish.  Meredith is worried that may happen while they are gone.  Could be an interesting job!  We've never had baby fish, so it will be a new experience for him.  He has me stocking up on his favorite foods for the week - corn dogs, cup-a-soups, cokes, Cheetos, Lucky Charms, and ice cream.  I think he is planning on coming home for dinners, so we will see him throughout the week.

It has been over 100 degrees the last two days, and we are forest for mid 60's by Monday, with rain.  Not that I'm complaining (too much) about the cooler weather, but really?  Rain?  A 40 degree drop in the temps is just odd for summertime in Redding.  Oh well, at least it didn't rain at all the graduations (like last year!).  Dallas graduated Thursday night, so he is now college bound.  It will be odd not having my 'second son' here all the time.

Summer is here!  Heat of 102 yesterday, and Alli's last day of school!  We celebrated by going swimming last night before dinner.  The water is still cool, and felt so nice with the heat!  Alli finally got into swimming - she played in the pool for about 15 minutes.  The last few times she's gone in, she's just stayed for a couple of minutes. Maybe because it was so hot???

Alli was up at 5:15 this morning - no sleeping in for her!  She has a week off, and then starts summer school.  She won't have to get up quite so early for summer school - the bus should be here around 7:00 - 7:15, rather than 6:30.  Since I don't have to fix her breakfast or lunch until school starts again (daycare feeds her both, and she would eat two breakfasts if I made one for her), it will be a mini-vacation for me too!