Just another try at quilting - with a little help from my friends....they were playing with each other under my sewing machine, which by the way, blocks my machine from moving "effortlessly" over the quilt!  I did get the quilting done, but there are places where it isn't pretty....not all the cats' fault, but they sure didn't help!!

Cindy M and I went out with the kayaks Thursday after she got off work (I was on vacation this week!!!).  With the weird weather we are having this year, we called the trip short - thunderclouds building up, lots of wind, only 75 degrees, etc.  I don't want to be on the water in a thunderstorm!  We did do some exploring on shore, and some curious geese came over to see us.  Really, they came over to see if we had any food for them.....

 

They are still just too cute....

 

Summer flowers....

 

My first "harvest" from the garden....

 

AJ and I took the kayaks out yesterday - the first time this year.  I don't think I made it out at all last year!  Having Alli in a day-program has really made it easier for me to get out a bit.  Monday was Juneteenth, and the bank was closed, but Alli's program was still open, so I could drop her off and head up to the lake!  When we planned this, it was in the mid 90's....but yesterday had a high of 75, and was windy....not at all the same!  Just a bit chilly, and a bit rough on the water.  It took a lot longer to get back to the dock that it did going out.  Most of these pictures were taken close to the boat launch - if I stopped to take pictures anywhere else, I ended up being blown backwards.

I dug into my UFO's and found I had 3/4 of a baby quilt done, and since I was in need of another baby quilt, I finished it!  The top photo is one way I was looking at putting it together, and the bottom is how I finished it.  I like the staggered look better.  I have it half quilted now as well.  It goes pretty fast if you have most of it done already! 

 

More rose pictures....

 

I realized last weekend that I needed more baby quilts, and soon!  So....I made a quick run to Joanne's and picked up a couple of jelly rolls - pre-cut strips of fabric that come already color coordinated.  In this case, I picked up one multi-colored jelly roll, and one white jelly roll, and put them together Sunday morning for a new quilt.  I'm not convinced it is a baby quilt though, so am back to the drawing board for that project.  I really like how this turned out - I just not keen on it for a baby quilt.  Maybe a toddler quilt??

 

 I have (almost) ripe tomatoes!!  

The quilt is all put together, now just waiting on the backing fabric to come in (special order - it looks like chicken wire...)

 

The dragonflies are out in full force this year - as are the frogs and mosquitoes - I loved the rain, but so did the bugs!

 

Memorial Weekend, I tacked my bubbler fountain.  It started out that I was just going to clean the filter, but when I got started, I cleaned the moss/algae off of it, brought in more rock, etc.  Unfortunately for me, I took my shower before I started the project.....

The before - water barely bubbling, you can see the pool edge....

Dug out the rock to find the filter....

The filter was full of roots and dirt.  This is just the cover over the filter, and you can see all the roots.

All put back together, with new rocks added.

And I was spattered with gunk from cleaning off the moss/algae....

Even my face!  (Yuck!!!)

And it's up and running again!

The chickens are getting big!!!  Still no official name - just like the koi, they are "One, Two and Three" (the koi are One thru Six now) as we count them to make sure they are still there, but they are also Eeny, Meeny and Miny (and there's no Mo'), depending on the day.

 

One more shot of the Peace roses - my favorite of the roses.

 

My water lilies are blooming!  We are also down one koi.....not naming names, Luna!!  I think the koi were spawning - they were crazy jumping in the pond and the water was frothy and bubbly....and either one jumped out of the pond onto the lawn, or the dogs managed to grab one, but the results were the same - one koi gone.  Since I still have 6 koi, I'm not replacing it - which is a good thing.  The koi the size of mine cost $400 at Sunset Koi!!!  The dogs owe me big time!  I also invested in "shock collars" for them and set up a boundary by the pond.