I made it to Georgia!  A long day Friday, trying to get the house (and me) ready to be gone for a week, and then flying out.  I flew out of Redding at 3:55 p.m., and got to Atlanta at 6:15 a.m.  I got more sleep than I thought I would in the flight, and then I picked up a rental car and drove an hours plus to Margene’s.  Luckily we took a nice walk in her neighborhood when I got in to stretch my legs a bit, and she has a lot of hills!

Margene said “Hi!”

We sat out that night around the fire pit (Jordan built a fire, but it was 90 degrees….we did not need a fire!) and chatted.  The fire pit is in the lower yard of her place.

Jorden grilled humongous steaks and Margene made fabulous sides for dinner.

 

I made some pincushions, gifts for Ronna and Margene, too cute!

 

Kayaking was beautiful on the lake yesterday. It was 100 degrees when we got off the lake, cooler than in town, but already still hot.  Another day over 110 - I saw 112 on my phone app.  Whew!  I spent longer at the lake than I meant to, so I did NOT get all the things done on my to-do list, so I'm running behind today.  Good thing it's Cindy M that's watching Alli for me this next week, she's familiar with Alli, her routine, the house, etc.  AJ will be here to help as well, so if I don't get something done, it will be fine....I hope!

 

Ripley was on guard while I was working in the yard....

And I'm on vacation - leaving, on a jet plane...well, tomorrow at least.  Today is a morning kayak with Cindy M, house and yard prep work (laundry, shopping, packing, etc.) and tomorrow I take off for Georgia and Kentucky!  A weekend visit with Margene and then up to Ronna's for the week - including a trip to the Mammoth Caves - and then back down to Georgia, flying back out of Atlanta on Sunday.  It's been a whirlwind to get all the pieces together - round the clock care for Alli, rescheduling my flights (United cancelled half of my trip home, not sure how they thought I could keep just the flight from LAX to Redding.....that's a bit of a walk from Atlanta), etc.  It will be worth it though!

My first big tomato from the garden!  The cherry tomatoes have been producing, but the big tomatoes are just now getting ripe - just in time for me to go on vacation!

 

This weekend, due to the heat, I did more sewing than normal (and much less house/yardwork). After I finished the blocks for the Garden Party quilt, I didn't feel like starting the next step, so made more chicken pincushions.  I changed up things for each one, and found the options I like the best - the large green one is my favorite for the tail, and the blue on is my favorite for the size.  I think I'll have to re-home a flock of chicken pincushions - they are too cute and quick to make....plus they double as handwarmers in the winter - filled with rice, just toss in the microwave for a bit....

 

We made it to 117 degrees yesterday - a bit lower than the previous 120, but at that temp, it's hard to tell a difference!  Again, I took care of the outside stuff (garden, chickens, koi pond, etc.) early in the morning and stayed inside most of the day.  I finished up the blocks for the "Garden Party" quilt. Here they are up on the design board. I now have two quilt top blocks done, ready to be sewn together.....

 

My phone registered 120 degrees yesterday, but the "official" temp for Redding was 119 - breaking the all-time record of 118.  Lucky us!  It's still going to be hot today - forecast to be 119 again.  The forecast doesn't have us dropping below 110 (as a high) until next Sunday, when we're back to our normal - 105 degrees.

So what do you do when it's an oven outside?  You quilt, and find a cute little chicken pincushion pattern.  This was my prototype, and needs some refinement, but it's pretty cute as-is.  (The beak is a bit large and the tail a bit small, not sure I like the beads used for the eyes, etc.)  It was a nice break from quilting - I have most of the blocks done for the Summer Block Party.  Since we are hot again today, that will probably be my project for the day...

How do you know when the cucumbers are ready to eat?  Ask Luna - she seems to be getting to them the night before I plan on picking them - which does not make me happy!  I went out to water the garden, and found my cucumber on the ground with teeth marks...

 

Pat and Debbie came over yesterday for a BBQ (Pixie and Don called out sick) and we celebrated Pat's 80'th birthday.  Debbie made a beautiful (and delicious!) cake.  The highest I saw the temp go was 112 - and that's when I was grilling burgers.  We have a estimated high of 117 today....

 

Happy Fourth of July!  We're having a family BBQ this afternoon - we will all be inside because the temps are estimated to be 113 today.  It's to the point that it's almost too hot to even go in the pool!!!

Jessie is still enjoying her cat tunnel....

 

The baby quilt is finished!  Quilted with a label!  I do love this pattern - both to sew and to quilt.  I tried a new technique for free-hand quilting of the hearts on the side - definitely needs practice - but it holds promise.  This is destined for a co-supervisor I work with.  She's due in October, so I'm ahead of the game for once!

 

And the new sit/stand desk is set up and in service!  Here's my old setup - a standard Costco table with my Cutie frame and Allegro machine.

And my helper while I was putting the desk together.  

The new desk!

I managed to put it all together by myself - up to the final step.  I had to go get dinner started, planning on finishing it after dinner, and AJ wandered through and offered to finish it....all that was left was to mount the motor and plug all the electronic in.  AJ suggested double-sided sticky tape to mount the motor instead of drilling holes for the screws, so he was done in a couple of minutes.

I'm using the desk for cutting fabric as well as quilting, so will keep the Cutie frame and sewing machine off the desktop until needed.  I love the height adjustment!  It's so much less painful to cut my fabric when I can move the table top higher!  I didn't have a lot of time to sew after I got the table set up, so am really looking forward to using it more!