I Had Visitors

 It has been a crazy few weeks around here. Well, maybe not crazy, but busy and certainly not my normal routine.

Our county fair was the week of July 13. My son and his dog, Pokie, and rabbit, Patches, were here.

Pokie likes me. He laid next to me in my chair and followed me around the house. I expect that is mostly because he thought he might get a treat from me. We discovered he likes carrots, apples (peeled), and ice cubes. All of which are ok for dogs to have.

It was only supposed to be for the week of the fair, but it ended up being longer. Son's house was getting a new floor in the kitchen and utility room. The utility room houses the furnace, water heater, washer, and dryer. Everything needed to be removed from those rooms except the furnace. On Monday, the 12th, I went to Son's house early. The plumber was scheduled to come that morning to remove the water heater and disconnect the kitchen sink. Son and I were able to get the other appliances disconnected and moved to other rooms. The plumber didn't show up until after 1:00. I wasn't surprised, but I was disappointed. It didn't really matter though, except this meant the water to the house was turned off. We had to wait for Son's buddy to get off work and come to help remove the kitchen counter, sink, and cabinets. While waiting we took a house key to the flooring company so they could get started on Tuesday without us being there. 

As is normal, several small snafus delayed the project and ended up taking two weeks. But the plumber and the floor installer both did a great job and we are happy with the results.

The floor installer recommended a drain pan under the water heater to contain and drain a leak should that occur.

A small built-in cabinet was removed to the left of the fridge. The wall will be repaired before we paint.

Son plans to refinish the hand-me-down kitchen table and the chairs will be replaced in time.

Now we wait for the kitchen cabinets to be built and installed which will probably be late September, early October, we hope. That gives us time to get the walls patched and painted. 

There are still a lot of things that Son would like to happen with this house, but for now, we are grateful for a new floor that isn't a tire-catching hazard for him.

While Son was here I was still able to take a day trip with my quilting friends to see the Endangered Species: Animals and Plants in Fabric Perspectives that was on display in a local county. The display was spread out at four area forest preserves. More information can be found here. Here are a couple of photos from the exhibit.

I didn't take photos of every quilt, but I did take quite a few. I will post more in another post. These quilts are 24" x 24". I found the workmanship and creativity to be just amazing. 

Now I need to get my sewing room turned guest room back in order

Stay safe and well.

Happy quilting!

Design Wall July 6

 To see what other quilters are up to go to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend. It was a quiet one for us; always is. Husband is an 'early to bed, early to rise' kind of guy. During the summer heat, it is better for him to get outside as early as possible while it is still reasonably cool. Because he works hard in the heat he is tired and usually in bed before dark. I could hear fireworks several times over the weekend and probably could have seen some of them had I stepped outside. But I didn't want to deal with the bugs so I stayed in.

I have worked on my fair projects and finished the last ones on Friday.

Two bags. 

Two cards. The sunflower is counted cross-stitch with some beading with a cute bee button. The thanks card is small squares leftover from a quilt that stitched together, then fused to the front of the card.

For the Old Window Frame category, I used an old barn window. I attached copies of photos of the women in my life who influenced my love of needlework along with their various needlework items and favorite recipes to a piece of fabric that I glued to the back of the window frame. These are my mother, grandmothers, great aunt MIL and aunt. My mother is the only one of these wonderful women who is still living. 

Around my yard - 

There are at least two tiny cucumbers.

Only two cucumber seeds sprouted.

Onion blooming. In the background, you can see proof that I really have been doing some yardwork - my little rolling cart that holds gloves, pruners, trowel. And, the rolling bin that I put the weeds in as I pull them out. It never seems to end.

Another shot of the onion.

My gardening buddy this morning.

I worked in the yard until the mosquitoes drove me in. I will spend the afternoon piecing some 2-1/2 squares together and watching quilting and sewing shows on PBS. 

Stay safe and well. Happy quilting!