The last set of blocks are done for the Mystery quilt - ready for the big reveal on Wednesday.  This should be a fun quilt to put together - the blocks are a lot of fun to rearrange - below are the same blocks in two different arrangements - we'll have to wait and see what the designer had in mind, and if I see something I like better.

I also worked on my Lady Liberty quilt and now have to go back and get more fabric.  Since it's a "block a month", the pattern came with Block 2 on one side of the paged and Block 3 on the other.  I didn't realize I hadn't turned the page.....duh!  I now have a duplicate of the 2nd block - not what I wanted or needed. The worst part, I didn't even realize it until I put it up with the other blocks for a photo. Best laid plans! 

 

My "side quilt" is growing!  I make a block between other quilts - just whenever I fell like it.  I have all the white background fabric and book fabrics cut out, so I just have to cut the cat out and put one together.  I'm liking the different colored cats. 

The garden is growing!  I have cucumber, zucchini and beans coming up!  We have 2+inches of rain forecast for this week, which will give them a good soaking, and hopefully will not wash them away!

Jessie followed me to the bathroom the other day, and noticed the second hand on the clock.  She spent a few minutes trying to figure how to catch it. 

 

Here are some of the blocks for the latest Mystery Quilt, the Mystery Five-0 Luau quilt.  I should have the "final reveal" next week, so will see what the quilt looks like when the blocks go together. 

 The RBD Challenge quilt is coming along - around the half-way point for blocks.   

And how NOT to put your quilt block together.....eventually (after ripping out the seam and resewing) this became the bottom right block in the set above.

 

'Tis the season - I walked out this weekend, and the pool is covered in pollen.  The poor skimmer was chugging along,doing it's best though.  The cars are green, the driveway is green, everything is green!

 

The garden is in!  This is the earliest I've ever put in the garden.  I'm taking a chance that the heat dome doesn't disappear under a cold front, but it doesn't look like it will.  I got everything in - tomatoes, peppers (thought I could use some bell pepper plants) beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and eggplants.  I'm ready!

 

The babies got their first outside day on Saturday.  We were a balmy 80+ degrees and no wind, so they got to play on the patio.  I even found a couple of sticks to put in their cage for roosts. They are still too young to be outside at night, but with our heat wave, they can stay out during the day. They should be fully feathered in a couple of weeks, so will be able to go into the chicken pen close to the big girls, assuming we are done with winter (I know, never assume - I just have a feeling that this is going to be one of those years that we skip spring and go from winter to summer).

 

Cindy and I went out to the gun range this week for a little target practice.  My last trip out I had issues with the slide on my gun, so I was testing my fix (or rather, Willy's fix - he took a look at it for me) and it was working fine, thank goodness.  I was even doing decent at hitting the target!  We were leaving as the sun was setting.

Yes, another mystery quilt is under way.  This is the fabric for the Luau Mystery Five-O quilt.  It will be interesting to see what it looks like when it's done.  I love the fabrics. 

The chicks are a month old (we bought them on February 20th, and they were a couple of days old then....) and are definitely in the teen-age phase.  They are covered in half adult feathers and half down, growing like weeds, and eating everything in sight.  I've moved them into a bigger cage and they can start going outside during the day.   

I set up my quilting frame with practice fabric, and have played with it a bit (along with Cindy M and her mother-in-law, who was wondering if she could quilt her own quilts).  When not it use though, it is a wonderful kitty hammock.

 

A quick last look at some spring-time flowers before they wither away in the heat.  We have a forecast of 86 here today - a bit high for March. 

 

Done!  I got all the garden soil moved into the beds - whew!  I finished up before 9:00 on Sunday morning - while it was still cool, and in time for my normal Costco run with Alli. 

 

I took a break from my "weekend project"and finished up last week's block or the RBD Challenge.  I'm loving the different blocks - fun to make! 

I did get some dirt moved into my garden beds yesterday, just not as much as I should have - time and temperature caught up with me.  (Alli wanted lunch and it was almost 80 degrees!).  We are up for another 80 degree day, so hopefully I'll get moving this morning and get 'er done before it's too hot.  I sent pictures to AJ with the caption "Wish you were here".  (He is quite happy that he is in Denver, thank you very much!)  Besides the soil to move, I added two bags of mushroom loam into each bed, mixing with the old soil before I added the new soil. 

I dug out the ramp for the back of the shed to get the wheelbarrow high enough I can dump it - an extra pair of hands would have been handy, but I made it work!

My weekend project - or at least part of it: 

I had a yard of garden soil delivered this week, and I need to get a 1/4 yard of fertilizer tomorrow.  I just ran out of time this week to do it, since I need to pick that up myself.  My trailer will haul a 1/4 yard, but a full yard is too much for it.  Then both need to go into my garden beds.  Did I mention that AJ is gone this weekend?  I need to work on my planning a bit better so he's here to help me!

If you ever wonder about my typos in my posts, I have a good excuse.... it's hard to type when someone is napping on your wrist.

Another quilt finished!  And this one found a home already!  Jeff said he'd take it off my hands for me, lol.  Seriously, I am running out of room to store my quilts, so it's time to downsize a bit. 

The babies are growing up!  A few of the chicks are beginning to get their "real" feathers in, loosing their down.  Soon they will be in the scrawny, awkward teen phase, not a good look for anyone.  They've more than doubled in size - not fitting in my hand anymore.  They are still cute though! 

 

 

We moved them to a bigger container - they didn't fit will in the first one anymore.  They'll outgrow this one soon too.

Here you can see the different feathers coming in - this one will be a light brown hen, based on the feathers coming in now.

Impulse buy!!  I was walking through Walmart yesterday and they had the cutest plush chicken!  It just had to follow me home! 

 

AJ started a new hobby a while back - Warhammer, which is a strategy game played with figurines.  Part of the rules are that the figures have to be painted with at least three colors in order to use them.  His painting skills make me envious!  (They are sitting on 1 inch squares, just to give you a size reference.   Check out all the details!)

We visited the Warhammer store in Tokyo, and Pat and I tried to visit the store in Phoenix.  The Phoenix store was closed for lunch when we stopped by, but I had a nice chat with the guys hanging around out front.  (Mandatory closure for lunch - the guys just hung out for half an hour and then went back in.)  AJ is off next weekend to Denver for a tournament, so Alli and I will be on our own.  Girl time!

New project!  I started a new table topper for Spring!  This is just the base of it - it gets a boarder added, but I think it's pretty cute!  Now, should I have been working on one of my other projects, like putting the binding on one of my quilts, or working on the quail quilt???  Nah....I needed something new. 

 

march 1st is my anniversary date for work - 30 years in the same building!  Multiple jobs, desks/offices, and bank names, but still in the same building.  It's hard to believe it's been that long!  Linsay and Cheng decorated my office, brought in lunch, and my boss (who organized the whole thing from Roseburg) sent me flowers as well.