Dreamy



This is where I would like to be today. Oh how dreamy!!! The summer is still in full swing here although summer is the time of year when I feel least inspired to create. The mixture of heat, sun, easily bored kids, and mosquito's are not a very appealing combination for me. I thrive in the cooler months when I can wear sweaters and jeans, head outdoors and breathe in crisp, cool air, and get inspired by the colors of the changing seasons. I love when the sun goes down at 6pm and we settle in as a family in front of the fire and play games or make forts.

With this said, I finally did pull my sewing machine out of summer hibernation this week to sew a few more aprons for the shop and finish up the fair entries due in a couple of weeks.

This weekend we'll make our annual pilgrimage to the homeland (aka go to Columbus Ohio for the Ohio State Fair). Although we live in Kentucky now, nothing comes close to the Ohio State Fair and it is definitely worth the drive to go!

Things I Am Loving Right Now


These Pillows


This Picture



This Tee Shirt



This Bag


This Hair Cut

A baby quilt





A couple of months ago my friend Jen had her second baby boy. She and her family are missionaries in Papua New Guinea so we rarely (once every 5 years or so) get to see them. This past spring they were home for the birth of Sammy K and we were able to spend a few hours catching up.



After Sammy K was born, I made this quilt for him. It is a quilt minus any batting in the middle. The temperatures on the coast in PNG are very hot and making a thick quilt just isn't practical.



Anyhow, I went more "themed" than I usually do with quilts. They have lived in Hawaii and now live on the ocean overseas. Needless to say, they love the ocean! I decided to make the quilt kind of like an abstract ocean scene~sun, water, and sand.
(I find taking pictures of quilts is near impossible and oh-so-frustrating!~sorry for the lack of good pictures of this)



I have 2 fairly large quilting projects I need/want to start on soon. Both are gifts and both will take a fair amount of ingenuity and time. I can't wait!

Poppy's Store





I thought I'd post a couple of photos we took recently up in the holler where Mike's family has lived for generations. It is deep in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, tucked away between mountains where the creek runs through. A few miles back is Mike's great grandfathers store. It isn't a running store nowdays but it still stands right off the road. We peeked inside our last time there and saw Mike's dads old bee hive equipment, old jars, baskets, and shelves.

A day in the yard...

We spent the first part of this long holiday weekend out in our yard working on the chicken coop (or chicken house as Ezra calls it). Its slow going, but it seems every project we take on is somewhat slow moving.

The kids love getting in on the building projects ~which is part of the slowing up process (but welcomed).


The chickens are growing and have been spending longer and longer periods of time out in the yard exploring. They love to stay together~no renegades in that bunch! Today they spent a good 5 or 6 hours just wandering around doing what little chicks do.

Summer Pies



I made 2 pies this week for the annual Pie Tasting and Ice Cream Social downtown. I have never been one for pie making~ tart making is more my thing :)
Nonetheless, I made a peach pie and a strawberry rhubarb pie. It was my first attempt at lattice crust which wasn't nearly as hard as I had envisioned it being.
The weather has been incredibly amazing this week. Low 70's and no humidity. This means lots of time outdoors, letting the chicks get used to the yard, playing lots of tennis, and gardening.