One kid was super excited (Kate) and the other was nervous (Jane).  Both came home in a good mood, but hungry and tired.  Homework, cookies, bike rides, dinner, crazy eights, reading and then bed.  A good first day.

 

Today

 

Last year

 

Two years ago.

Time sure does fly.

A few days ago, I suspected that our tomatoes were suffering from late blight.  I did a little research, but wasn't convinced until I saw the first rotting fruits.  At that point, I knew for sure.  I got up this morning, had a cup of coffee and then went outside to pull my tomato plants.  It was sad - I may have actually cried a little bit.  I harvested all the green tomatoes uneffected by the disease.  The rotting fruits and every part of all seven plants were closed up in large, plastic garbage bags to contain the blight.

The green tomatoes fill two large pyrex bowls and the better part of a shopping bag.  It would be a terrible shame to waste all this food.  I am hoping that some of them will ripen on my windowsills.   We will certainly fry some of them and I hope to find some recipes for pickled green tomatoes (like tomolives) or maybe even a green tomato relish.  If you have any tried and true recipes, would you email me (hillroad at bellsouth dot net) or comment with a link?  I'd appreciate that.

Also, if you are growing tomatoes in your garden this year, take a minute to educate yourself about late blight.  There was a great op-ed piece in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago and this video will show and tell you more.  Many farms and gardens have been effected by late blight this summer  - even Martha Stewart's tomatoes got it.  Left untreated, late blight will spread to other gardens and farms as it is an airborne disease.  Taking care of the problem is being a good and conscientious neighbor.  As much as it hurt me to lose our tomatoes, I know that pulling them was the best thing to do.

We won't be able to plant tomatoes or potatoes (it affects them both) in the same soil for a number of years.  I'm still researching, but I think there is a good chance we can plant some fall crops there now and other vegetables in the spring.  That's the silver lining for me.   That and the fact that I really wanted a third raised bed for next year.  If Fatty wants tomatoes, it looks like I'll get it.

While looking for a birthday gift among the craft kits at Target, I saw Crayola fabric markers.  The wheels started turning so we picked up a box of those in addition to a bead kit for Jane's friend.  When we got home, I pulled out a couple of plain canvas totes and set the girls up for some craft time.  I instructed them to draw a sketch of their idea on plain paper before they started drawing on the tote.  An hour later, Jane had produced the cutest bag for her friend Kathleen and Kate had a new tote of her own.  I heat set the markers by putting the bags in the dryer on high for 30 minutes.  The whole project was fun for the girls and kept them occupied for a good chunk of time which was good for me.  We wrapped the bead kit in the tote bag for the cutest, reusable wrapping.  You bet we will be doing this again.

Our babysitter, Liz, has been watching the girls since she was in 7thgrade.  She has been my number one, go-to sitter for six years and sheis leaving for college next week.  I get a little teary thinking aboutit - I actually did cry at her graduation party.  The four of us aregoing to miss her, but she is headed off on to her newest adventure andwe couldn't be happier for her.

 

I finished Liz's quilt on Tuesday night and washed it yesterday.  I am really happy with how it turned out  - in fact, it may be among my favorites.  Blue is Liz's favorite color and I wanted it to play a strong role in her quilt.  I also wanted the design to be something simple and fresh, young and vibrant just like the girl who is receiving it.  I started with a few sets of Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party fat quarters.  I cut 30 separate fat quarters in to rectangles measuring 13" x 15.5" (my fabric was pre-washed).  I arranged them in a grid and sewed them together.  This took me a few hours on a Saturday afternoon in late May.

 

For the back, I used two pieces of a turquoise solid that I joined using a patchwork strip.  The patchwork rectangles were from the scraps of the original fat quarters.  The back still wasn't long enough so I added another strip.  I told you all what happened with the batting.  Once I had a piece that was big enough, it was time for the quilting.

For the quilting, I chose a blue thread that is slightly darker thanthe aqua that is on the back.  I'd call it a French blue.  It took me avery long time to decide how to quilt this.  I contemplated manydifferent options until I settled on the wavy horizontal lines.  I usedmy walking foot and started sewing the lines free motion - well, asfree motion as you can with a walking foot.  They were very fun to sew and I love how they look.  For the binding I chose ayellow polka dot (not sure who makes it, sorry) because I reallythought the quilt needed a good pop of color.  I think it works well.

After washing and drying, the quilt measures 60" x 88".  Now it's time for us to wrap this quilt up and deliver it to Liz.  And then we have to say good-bye.  Pass the tissues.  I'm going to need them.

I made these coasters out of scraps I bought from Lotta Jansdotter.  The backs are white scraps from my stash.  The batting is from the quilt fiasco.  Because the machine is set up and everything was on hand, it took me about 30 minutes to whip these up.  I wrapped them up with a little ribbon and included a jar of tomatoes from our garden - a small gesture for a friend.

This weekend I got to everything on my list except the quilt binding and the hand sewing.  Not bad.  I made the binding today and it'll go on tomorrow.  Hopefully, I will finish it on Wednesday.

We did go to the farmers market as a family.  After I had bought two huge cinnamon rolls for the girls, I picked up some roma tomatoes, yellow squash, french red fingerling potatoes, pork chops, bison steaks and zinnias.  Later in the morning, we embarked on a family adventure to Madison, Indiana.  On the way there, we picked up some peaches and blueberries.  Once there, we walked around town and shopped.  It was a fantastic day.  Fatty and I know how to shop well together - I blitz through antique stores and he lolly-gags.  He's always calling after me, to show me the good stuff I missed. We came home with a lot of treasures.  LOTS.  And that isn't even the best part.  The best part is........

wait.....

THE GIRLS CAN ANTIQUE FOR HOURS!

This, in and of itself, was worth the trip.  These young ladies lasted all day through two large antique malls plus a few stores here and there.  Fatty gave them each $5 at our last stop.  They shopped and shopped, trying to find THE PERFECT THING.  And in one of the last booths we entered, there were tons of vintage, handmade doll clothes in a basket for $1 to $2 an outfit.  I helped them go through and decide which would fit the dolls they had at home and for a couple of bucks, they each took home a treasure.

The way I look at it, we all came home winners.

And, I get to thrift and antique a little more often.

Sweet.

I am so happy that it is Friday.  This weekend I plan to:

- finish quilting Liz's gift and add the binding too.
- eat food from our garden.
- visit the farmers market.
- go for a run, maybe two.
- take a drive in the country.
- sew by hand.
- finish a book and then start another one.
- take a nap.
- enjoy my family.

What's on your agenda for the next few days?

 

 

The rains came.  Crazy rains - 6 inches in one hour.  There is flooding in different neighborhoods of our city.  Lots of damage to homes and cars.  We had some leaking, but it was pretty minor.  I got it all cleaned up and then spent the rest of the day cleaning and puttering.  I worked on the quilt and on my hand sewing project too.  The girls organized the DVD cabinet and then watched a movie.  We cooked dinner and Fatty came home from an overnight trip.  I worked on some camera straps and stayed up too late watching bad reality TV.

Today I slept in.  And feel like having another quiet day at home.  The girls have other ideas in mind.  Roller skating or bowling, they say.  I'll probably give in.  They start school two weeks from today and I really want to savor what's left of their summer break.  There will be plenty of time for quiet days soon enough.

Happy Wednesday.