And So It Grows...

Last year was the first year for the perennial garden just outside my sewing room. Some of you might who've been reading along for awhile might remember that we made stepping stones to place in the garden while it was being laid out and that four of them were personalized for the grandchildren. Here's Gregory a year ago with a side-by-side shot from the same spot today for comparison; things are beginning to fill in nicely. 

This snapshot is from the back side, looking toward the side porch which enters into my sewing room.

This view is from the walkway that leads onto that side porch, another view. I don't remember when I've enjoyed another pastime more (when I'm not sewing); working in the garden is such special and looked-forward-to time.

These are Easter Lilies planted from our church service a year ago, I have two other groupings of these too, elsewhere in the same garden; I cannot believe how they've spread and multiplied~ Alleluia!

Not only is this spot a treat for us, but it's become a haven for birds and butterflies too. 

I find that I simply cannot watch the news anymore. The garden has become my spot for cultivating peace and beauty, for communing with nature; there's no labeling, divisive language or attacks. This has become my sanctuary: serenaded by birdsong and buzzing insects I find peace here. Where do you go for your peace of heart and mind?

"For the Lord comforts Zion; 

he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden,

    her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her,

  thanksgiving and the voice of song." - Isaiah 51:3

Life is Good!

Week At A Glance

I had all sorts of good intentions to keep up with this blog. Really. But, then, life has a way of interfering. It's okay, it's all good! And so, a random post detailing the week at a glance. Our two youngest grandchildren have returned from Florida, their precious little family is reunited once again. They're all staying here until their major home renovation becomes a habitable home once again. It won't be long now. This was the scene in their kitchen yesterday:


And, I hear that as of today they now have running water and functional bathrooms again -- progress all around! In the meantime, we're all adapting to extended-family living just fine. Lynnleigh loved her new sundress, as you can see in this photo, she and her doll are both enjoying them. She discovered her personalized stepping stone in the garden, I believe that she was thrilled!

The new perennial garden has begun to show more color as it becomes established. Lynnleigh is my constant companion out there this week, usually asking as soon as breakfast is over if we need to go outside and deadhead the flowers. She is an eager helper and learner; she knows the names of all the flowers and plants and keeps an eye on the bird feeders, too-- reminding me when they need refilling. 

Speaking of the garden: Lynnleigh placed the little copper "windmill" right beside this low birdbath yesterday, she thought that it would be perfect placement so that the birds could have a "bath and a blow dry!"😉

I've baked a few tomato pies this week; using up generous tomato donations from friends, which just so happen to make a delicious summertime lunch! The recipe follows here:

Cada's Commemorative Tomato Pie

1- 9" pie shell, unbaked

3-4 large tomatoes, sliced (I let mine sit on paper towels to "dry" for about 30 minutes)

salt and pepper to taste

sweet fresh basil

chives

2 or 3 green onions, chopped

1 C. mayonnaise

1 C. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Fill pie shell with sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle w/salt and pepper, basil and chives and green onions. Mix mayonnaise and cheese, spread evenly over the tomatoes. Bake @ 350 for 35 mins. Serves: 6 

We had a few visitors from the Capital City who enjoyed some cousin time and discovered their own special garden stepping stones while they were here! 

I did manage to get this fella (Penguin Party by Elizabeth Hartman, pattern here) pieced this week. This will be a quilted pillow for our oldest grandson whose favorite animal is the penguin; Mason will turn ELEVEN in a little over a week-- how is that even possible? 

I had to run a few errands yesterday. This is a common sight in the back seat these days.  

And a finish-- albeit a small one, but sweet nonetheless; a porch quilt for the summer: from Kim Schaefer's "Calendar Quilts".

Thanks to all who entered the drawing for the "By Wisdom" patterns; 

there's still time if you would like to leave a comment, click here-- a winner will be chosen on Monday.

Life is Good! 

Catching Up!

Summer is zipping by at the speed of light! We traveled last evening to the Capital City to watch these two swim at that same speed, they're crazy fast! Naturally we're biased, they are our grandchildren after all, but we continue to be delighted to see their competitive spirits balanced out with good manners and excellent sportsmanship at their swim meets. These two are definitely water babies through and through.

Indulge me as I ramble from here, this catch-up post is necessary to get me where I need to be for upcoming sewing and quilty posts. Now for total randomness:

This is a recent photograph of the kitchen in our son's home; he and his family have temporarily been displaced (to Chez Goodneedle!) while their home goes through a major renovation. They are making good progress and the daily changes are astonishing! Our two youngest grandchildren are currently visiting their other grandparents; for now it's just Kyle and Leigh Anna living here with their two dogs.

Speaking of their two dogs; their vet makes house calls in a BIG way! Last week Leigh Anna called her as their female dog, Hallie, had a bad case of "happy tail" that simply refused to heal. It was a constant source of bleeding that they had dealt with on and off for the better part of a year. She would smack her tail on something (anything) and injure it, then it would bleed and she would wag her tail... over and over, you get the picture. The decision was made to dock her tail. The vet came out and did the surgery, parked right there at the end of our driveway! Hallie has done extremely well over the past week recovering and getting used to wagging a stump instead of her long tail. I find this whole mobile vet concept to be brilliant!

Mr. Goodneedle can't eat red tomatoes, (but he loves them) the less acidic yellow tomatoes are his delight. We have friends from church who keep him in good supply! There's a few red ones for me!

The bluebirds are at it again! We've had a second nesting this summer with five (just hatched!) new mouths to feed!

I have fallen heir to this treasure. When I was in Jr. High we sold these door to door as a fundraiser. Do you remember when zip codes were first introduced? I do. Zip codes and area codes; according to this directory, were introduced in 1963. There was a grace period as they came in to existence (I can't recall how long) but I remember, too, the threat of returned mail if the zip code wasn't included. This well-worn booklet is one that was worth its weight in gold back in the day, I remember consulting it all the time. No home could be without one; we sold many, many copies! 

One last photo to close out. We had our small quilt group meeting last week at a member's home. This is the view from her sewing room. We had a garden tour before we adjourned inside, isn't it lovely? I seriously doubt that I could stay indoors with this just outside the window; even to sew!

Life is Good!

All About Family - Cornfields and Collages

We've been on the road; a quick, and sad, trip to western Illinois to say good-bye to my husband's favorite cousin who lost her battle with both kidney disease and cancer a week ago. Thanks to one and all who prayed for her; she is now at peace in her heavenly home. As heartbroken as we were it was wonderful, as always, to reconnect with family that we haven't seen for far too long. I love this picture of my husband and Kathy from twenty-five years ago. They always had fun together. Our trip out and back was uneventful, thank goodness; there were storms all around us both coming and going! 

We saw a lot of empty cornfields and farmland that remains, frustratingly for the farmers, too wet to plant. 

Back at home: work continues at home on my new perennial garden. There's very little that's blooming yet, I hope to update this picture with one full of color very soon! 

The babies are getting ready to fledge, I would guess in the next couple of days. Yesterday I checked inside the nesting box but didn't take a picture. The box opens from the side and the babies are so big now, and so crammed inside there, that I was fearful if I opened it wide enough to take a photo they would topple out! They are distinctive now in their markings, fully feathered and NOISY!

Speaking of babies growing-- these are just a sampling from a photo shoot of our son's family a few weeks ago. I think each and every shot is wonderful, the photographer captured their personalities perfectly. Our son and daughter-in-law just celebrated their eleventh wedding anniversary, so hard to believe! Although their babies like to frequently test their own wings, these little ones are content to stay at home for at least a few years longer. Sigh. 😍

Life is Good!

Things With Leaves and Feathers

They're calling my name; these things with leaves and feathers enticingly beckon me outdoors for long periods of time. I am continuing to work on getting the perennials planted and arranged according to my plan. I have had a few mis-steps along the way, due to poor drainage in the back corner of the garden space I have been forced to move the Russian Sage to a drier location and revamp my original garden idea. I have planted Cardinal Flower in its place, apparently they will thrive with wet feet; I am keeping my fingers crossed. I have loads of Easter Lilies sprouting from where I planted four or five over the last two years.

Cardinal Flower, White Mountain Leucanthemum and Munstead Lavender. 

Half of the perennial garden with Easter Lilies from this year, along with Garden Phlox, to be set in. I hope to share many more photos as the summer progresses and this garden takes shape and fills with color. 

The other half of the garden, the shadier section. See that Bluebird house on the far right?

Yes, there are now SIX eggs! We'll have a bluebird population explosion!

 Mama Bluebird, always keeping vigil.  

And proud Papa!

All of this is occurring just outside my Studio windows, no wonder I can't get anything else done; with distractions like these it isn't easy to stay indoors!

Life is Good!

This and That

 I am attempting to document here, with better regularity, what's going on in and around Chez Goodneedle. Seems like everything takes me longer than it used to. Is that just me?

Little Bit participated her first "real art show" (her words) this past weekend. Her art work was selected to represent her grade level at the county-wide art show of all the elementary schools. She was very excited to show off her work and introduce us to her art teacher. She held our hands as we took our time and looked at all the entries, school after school. She proclaimed during this process that she was "getting lots of ideas"! Since the time that she has been old enough to hold a crayon she has devoted her time to creating art! All that practice has paid off, and she has one good looking penguin snow globe to prove it!

Speaking of Lynnleigh, I did a little monogramming for her his this week. She *might* just be going to the happiest place on earth, but I can't really say. I have been sworn to secrecy. 🙊

With the weather tuning nicer every day (although we did have snow flurries on Tuesday!), our attention has turned outdoors. I have been gardening and planting up flower pots for the porches. My SIL gave me the BEST pair of gardening gloves ever. These are them, they are called "Nitrile Touch", and from a quick internet search it appears that they're available everywhere. I love mine! They're machine washable too!

One not-so-great thing about being outside the last few days is this %*!@#$!! logging procedure going on just beyond the pasture adjacent to our property (see the trucks and equipment on the horizon). Everything possible, within the law, has been done to prevent this from happening. The owner of the land, who apparently inherited it from his parents, lives in Washington DC and sold the logging rights for eight acres. These loggers have a contract to get as much as they can off the land by the end of May. It breaks my heart and crushes my spirit to see and hear it; they're clear-cutting everything in their path. These loggers are akin to telemarketers when it comes to jobs that drive me insane, they make no one happy except their own wallets. 😒 Certainly I realize that everyone has to make a living, and that wood has to come from somewhere. Still; when I think of the devastation left behind when they move out, the damage and the habitat displacement that is occurring, I could cry.

Despite the ridiculous cacophony behind them, we have attracted a colorful couple to our new garden space. 

Quilting continues within that theme; I must admit to enjoying bluebirds in the birdhouse more than sparrows; but, as scripture states... even the sparrow!

I am only planting a very few flowers on the patio this year as we have big plans for a construction project in the way of a screened-in porch covering this space. Hopefully there will be lots more to report on that, but as of today we still don't have a start-date with our contractor. 

However you choose to spend these gorgeous early days of spring, enjoy! 

Life is Good!