We woke up to rain last weekend. Such a welcome sound after a dry summer. We had plenty of beautiful days to sit outside and enjoy our new home base, but everyone was hoping for rain...lots of rain with no lightning and we got it for a couple of days! Yes! Now we just need about a month or two more of this gentle rain.
We started adding a few things to our site. I bought some half barrels after receiving plants from our neighbors. Wasn't that sweet of them? I had planned on waiting next year since we were getting a late start and planned to leave the area in a few months. I have to say, it was nice to have something green among all that grey gravel. Dan bought the long container and filled it with catnip and grass. Of course, leave it to a cat to bypass their greens for the forbidden flowers!😺😺😺 Oh and no worries, they can nibble on Impatiens. I just prefer they didn't.
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| Max approves |
We spent most of this summer just enjoying our site on top of the hill, visiting the local restaurants, setting up the coach's winter maintenance, and shopping online. Oh man! You don't know how much I missed ordering things online. It is hard to figure out how to get those items delivered when we are traveling. It is so nice to have our own site number for deliveries to our door and a mailbox at the park office.
At the beginning of July, we thought we were in for a summer of record-breaking heatwaves and smoke-filled days.
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| One of the smoke-filled mornings |
We had our share of hot days, but for the most part, it wasn't that bad. Most of our nights were cool enough to open windows with fans to keep the coach comfortable. We plan to add shade to our site with an awning on the shed for next summer and maybe the following year - a gazebo. It will be nice to have more shaded sitting areas.
We did most of our walks in the morning. One of the leaseholders is a National Forest Ranger retiree. He shared his talent with the park by adding a one-mile trail through the woods for walkers and mountain bike riders. He did a wonderful job and we took full advantage on hot days to walk the tree-covered trail. At the end of the trail, there's a grass-filled meadow surrounded by blackberry bushes. A lot of breakfast with cereal covered with sweet blackberries. Yum!
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| A view of our site from the trail. |
We are almost done with our medical appointments. We are waiting for the last vet's appointment for the cats to get their teeth cleaned before we head south. Overall, their new Vet thought all three cats were looking great for their age. In October, she will take bloodwork to make sure there are no hidden problems. We did find out that Dusty is developing cataracts.
And poor Hitch might be toothless after his teeth-cleaning. Apparently, his gums are looking swollen, but that hasn't slowed down his constant eating.
Max doesn't need his teeth cleaned, but he is showing his age with his stiff arthritic walk, loss of weight, and now we know with this second opinion that he has a heart murmur. I'm not looking forward to hearing about the results of his bloodwork in October.
Getting old hasn't slowed down the cats though. Max still helps with quilting and he still has a strong opinion that I need to take frequent kitty-cuddle breaks from my projects.
I forgot all about these finished blocks. They must have sat in the bottom of the drawer for about 8 years(?). It was time to get this one done.
Hitch has taken his self-appointed supervisor job very seriously.
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| Stop taking my picture.... |
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| and finish pinning the quilt |
With the help of the cats or lack of....I managed to finish three tops and have two more that are pinned and ready to be quilted.
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| Monster Mash |
This scrappy quilt took too many years to finish and yet I would not mind making another one since it does use up my scraps in a very colorful way.
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| Wonky Log Cabin |
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| Fancy Sue |
I have a couple of tops that I would like to add some applique designs. I'm soaking some fabrics in clean water after washing them. Makes for a colorful photo.
So, back to getting a few more quilts done.
Happy Quilting!
