Life at Cedar Ridge

Well we are ready for winter.

2 new exterior doors, 3 new vent stack collars

 replacing the ones the squirrels chewed off.

all garden pots in the garage or turned over.

leaves and pine needles picked up. 

Irrigation blown out. water pumps drained.

Takes a lot in the Midwest to prepare for winter

Winter is my quiet place. 

I tried to make a fleece jacket.

Big fail. Made me look bigger than big.

So Saturday my daughter and grand daughter

came over. I filled 2 large black leaf bags

with all the fleece plus any thing plaid

( did I mention it was the plaid fleece)

winter fabric in the bags. Plus 6 containers

of yarn. My frozen hands make knitting and

crochet impossible now.

Sunday morning my son in law sent me a photo

of Kathy and Liz surrounded with the containers

planning what to do with the yarn and fabric.

Made my heart smile.

Wired

All my time is taken up with helping my husband

keep up the gardens.

This beautiful wire is mow tomato cages.

I have been remiss my friends.

 Spring gardening has been keeping me busy and

I have not blogged much lately.

I find that it takes me longer and uses up my

energy so I am done in by 4 pm.

 We are almost finished outside,

Just the containers to fill and I wait until after

Mothers day to see what plants I get before I

finish that job.

I did buy a flat of petunias for fillers.

 Gardening and doctor appointments.

The bane of my existence.

What was I thinking signing up for QSDS 2015.

I will need to work hard to finish up enough 

work for my August show.

At least I made the sketches and prep the batting.

Now to work today and tomorrow on quilts.

Saturday I need to make 4 pies for Sunday.

That is unless there is a cancellation at the dentist

than I will need to get a tooth pulled.

Another day in my life.

Hot Hot and Hotter.

It feels more like August than June.

A perfect excuse to stay in the studio

and let the weeds grow in the heat.

We are going to fulfill something on our bucket list.

We rented a house on a lake for a month next year.

The kids and their kids can visit us.

Someone to take Grandpa fishing.

Something to look forward to next year.

I will take my sewing machine, camera and watercolors.

Sew, Paint and take lots of photos for

future art quilts.

I love the north wooods  having spent my

childhood going to this lake for 2 weeks

every summer. Taking our family there until I was 45.

Will be nice to get acquainted with the place again.

Yesterday 6 crows came and cleaned the

corn and sunflower seeds off of the driveway.

They also cleaned out most of a row of sweet

corn in the garden that my husband planted.

new procedure plant and cover with chicken wire.

The deer mowed off half of the tomatoes.

My husband put a fence around the garden yesterday.

The joys of the country.

Wordless Wednesday

Weathered Wood

I just love the look of old wood.

The original homestead is west of our garden.

Lots of great weathered old wood.

Bill picked 15 melons out of his garden today.

I went around the neighborhood to share the bounty.

I think we have harvested at least 50 melons so far.

Cantaloupe will finish this week

Than the watermelons will start.

They should last through mid September.

That will leave the potatoes to dig in October.

Summer is going too too fast.

But our pantry will be full of goodness.

I finally went to the studio and started

a new art quilt of a road bordered with oak trees.

Felt good to touch the fabric again.

Homemade low sodium Tomato Juice.

It take this to get 5 quarts of juice.

Plus a morning of work.

A nap after lunch and no studio time.

In the middle of winter it all seems worth it.

Just not right now.

Only 45 more to go.

That equals 8 days of no studio.

Keep telling self it is going to be good.

Must remember that August is harvest

and not complain.

The weather is simply great now

Something to be thankful for.

Thankful my DH helps with the juice.

Plus the house smells great with

a batch of green pepper soup simmering away.

Time out for a fabric check.

With the garden keeping me out of my studio

I had to take time to reconnect with fabric yesterday.

I played around with these colors

and made a mess but

it felt good. 

   

Love the color combination but I was rusty

around fabric after 2 weeks away.

Got my SAQA Journal and

got inspired again.

Loved Trisha Hassler's work.

That is so me.

I must finish the tomato's

 fast so I can reconnect.

OR maybe just go and buy

3 cases of Red Gold tomato juice.

I could get back in the studio faster.

Cedar Ridge Art

I was able to finish 3 of the 4 canvases.

My idea of Lake Michigan.

                            The butterflies are busy the heat doesn't bother them.                                     

Nor the bees.

I will be glad when this heat abates.

I am off to pick the beans in my daughters garden.

Early

To avoid the heat.

Than into the cool studio to paint.

Knee high by the 4th of July.

Indiana knows corn.

Indiana grows good gardens.

I think we are at thigh high already.

The countryside looks so pretty in green. 

                         My husbands garden is lush in the heat of summer.
                         His 99 tomato plants will fill more than 100 jars.

                Five rows of potatoes.
                We will have lots of spuds for winter meals.
                We cook for shut ins.
                That is I cook-he delivers.

                            Sweet corn of different ages for the freezer.
                            Corn and scalloped potatoes is one of our
                            favorite meals to deliver to our friends.

 

                No Indiana summer would be complete without
                                             muskmelons.

                                 Than my favorite. Watermelon.
                                  End of August or  early September.
                                 As one of 6 kids we raised 45 acres
                                 of melons every summer. Weeded
                                 Picked and sold them to pay for our
                                  school tuition.
                                 Smart father also kept us very busy.

Purple is the color.

Up or down. What do you think?

I had some time to waste

I had some scraps laying around.

I wanted to practice finishing  the edge.

A new art quilt is born. 

                   

I love the color purple.

Whether is is silk or flowers.

                          It has been raining since 8 pm last night.
                          At least I don't have to water the flowers.
        

Southern Indiana Garden

This beautiful garden is in southern Indiana.

The owner retired from business and took 45 acres

and created the most beautiful gardens.

He shares it with the public.

I took my grand daughter Holly with me for a  June get away.

In exchange for her putting up with my garden tour.
She got to go to the Louisville Zoo.
Her fav spot was the reptile house.
I hate snakes  and it turns out she loves them.