Twiddletails is having a teenie giveaway

Just head over to twiddletails and post a comment under her "just because" post to be entered in her giveaway. Till next time.....

I'm baaack!

Sorry it's been such a long time since I posted. Spring is a very busy time for us here at The River House. We got the garden in, mostly. Still waiting for our tobacco plants to come. Seems the grower down in Tennessee has had lots of rain and then frost so we're not expecting our plants until mid month. Which for us here in Northeast Indiana means, we'll probably not get much in the way of harvest. I told DH we would have to build us a greenhouse around them come October. But the tomatoes are in, the peppers are in, beans, cukes, squash, onions, and pumpkins are all up. I picked strawberries today and had them for breakfast. All the flower gardens are planted and have started blooming and the chickens have started going broody. Dear Hubby has also been busy fixing up some rain barrels for me. We drove to Lima OH to get the barrels and he's been busy building a stand for them. Once done, I will be able to attach a hose to them or set a bucket under a spout. Can't wait till they're finished. They each will hold 55 gallons of water and later this summer when the weather turns dry they will come in pretty handy. I haven't had a lot of time to sew, but did get the second half of the Lone Star put on. I'm floating the star and now all it needs are the borders and off to the quilter it will go. Also got a couple of sets of 9 patches done that I'm doing for a quilt along that crazymomquilts is doing. I also managed to get a schlep bag finished. Got the pattern here . I bought some oriental FQs to make another one. The one shown here is quilted. The next one I make won't be. Just the thing for shop hops, don't you think? Speaking of which, if you live in NE Indiana there is one coming up this month in and around Shipshewana, June 26 and 27, nine shops total and all in beautiful Amish country. If you smell burning plastic around that time, don't fret, it's just my credit card overheating from over use! Well, guess that's it for now. Time to go out to the coop and gather eggs. I promise not to be so lax in posting now that things have settled down. Till next time.....

Just a quick note

Just wanted to brag on my SW Engineer son, Josh, for making me the Air Force Mom pic over on my sidebar. Great job, kiddo, I love it!

Busy, busy time

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms and grandmas out there! My wonderful Air Force son, Peter sent me these beautiful flowers for Mother's Day. And then in yesterday's mail I got two cards from him and from the Utah grands, Paris and Annalynn. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family! I hope all you mom's out there have a wonderful day today.

Now that spring is officially here with warm weather and rain, things have been really busy around here! We have planted over 50 trees, several bushes, some flowers and have tilled up a new garden area. We already have a veggie garden but we want to plant ornamental corn, sunflowers and tobacco this year and I didn't want that in with my veggies. We have the new area tilled and post holes dug for the fence, just need to get it fenced in--need to keep out those pesky groundhogs--and get it planted. As for the veggie garden, the strawberries are blooming and I'll be picking rhubarb today. Several varieties of tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, onions, melons, zuchs and cukes will be going in soon. And I'm going to try my hand at butternut squash this year. I have a wonderful butternut squash soup recipe I got from a friend. Butternut Squash Soup

It is supposed to get pretty chilly the next couple of nights so thought I'd wait till it warms up just a tad bit more before setting out the plants.

I've also been renovating and clearing out the flower beds. We have a lot on shade on our property so I'm slowly starting several different shade gardens. I have one full of hostas, astilbes and ferns and one with lots and lots of columbine. I plan on posting pics as I go along. This year I bought about a dozen different perennials to replace some that were lost over the winter and to add to the garden.

We have had a couple of rainy days which meant I got to stay inside and sew! These are the 9 patches I've been working on for the one a day quilt along that

Crazy Mom Quilts is doing. I'm doing them all in pinks and purples. I have a ton of FQs in those colors.

And I've been working on DDIL Andrea's Lone Star quilt. Here's half of the star done. I'm using Jo Parrot's book, "Template Free Stars" and so far it's been pretty easy.

I have the other half completed just need to sew the halves together and do the inset squares and triangles. That's going to be the nerve wracking part. I had a friend who did a very small 8 pointed star and when she added the set in squares and triangles her whole top bowed up in the middle. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that doesn't happen here. A queen sized quilt bowed in the middle would NOT be a pretty sight!

That's pretty much what I've been up to this week.

Till next time......

Diet and Exercise

Since October I've been working really hard to lose weight. I developed "runner's knee" last summer and the amazing thing is a runner I am not! Unless of course you count running between the ironing board and my sewing machine. Uh, there's about a foot of space between them. Anyway, I went to the doctor, he prescribed meds, sent me to PT and I was to use a cane. PT did wonders and my wonderful therapist didn't even suggest I lose weight to help the knee. But everyone knows the more weight you carry the harder it is on the joints so I started dieting. I am a Weight Watchers alumni (became a life time member back in the late 80's) but as you've probably guessed by now, I sort of fell off the eat right wagon. But I did go back to what I had learned in WW, and that meant writing everything down, counting and measuring. I also started exercising. My routine now consists of yoga and walking. I do two different yoga programs. One is Kurt Johnsen's Yoga for Life on the Veria channel and the other one is Deni Preston's Total Body Workout on the BYU channel. I have been doing yoga for about a year and a half now and love it! Not only for a firmer and more limber body but I also needed to improve my balance. Don't want to be one of the those little old ladies who fall and break a hip. Both programs are great and focus on different things depending on the day. On the days I don't yoga I walk using one of Leslie Sansone's programs. We can get them on demand through FIT tv for free. Right now I'm doing her Heart Association's Start Walking 3 mile program. I get too bored just out walking around the neighborhood. Leslie keeps things interesting and although I've seen the show a lot of times I never get bored with her. So anyway, since October I've lost 50 pounds! I got out clothes for this summer I hadn't been able to get into for ever. And I also have noticed when I grocery shop I am now shopping the outer fringes of the store. Lots of fresh fruits and veggies and very little processed foods. I'm also experimenting with new things I've never tried before. And with that said here's a great no bake granola bar recipe using agave syrup (something new I discovered). NO BAKE GRANOLA BARS 2 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal 2 cups uncooked quick oats 1/2 cup yellow raisins 1/2 cup brown sugar substitute 1/2 cup agave syrup 1/2 cup peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp cinnamon In large bowl mix cereal, oats and raisins. Bring brown sugar substitute and agave to a boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over ceral mixture, stir till coated. Press into a 13x9 inch pan and cool. Cut into 16 bars. 140 cal. each. till next time.....

Saying goodbye to a dear friend

I have had the good luck to be a member of a quilt group made up by some very wonderful ladies. We call ourselves the Rowdy Bunch. We have several "long distance" Rowdies those who have moved away but are still members of our group. Our motto is "Once a Rowdy you're always a Rowdy!" Well, now we're losing one more. And this post is to say goodbye to Jeanie. She and hubby Clifford will be leaving for Tuscaloosa, Alabama this week. Jeanie, I wish we had found you sooner. You have become a wonderful friend and you will leave a big hole in our little group. You gave us ideas, things to talk about, and laughs. You taught us all about your bubble and I have to admit sometimes I have tried it and it works! You fit into the group just like you were meant to be there. We will miss you terribly. Please keep in touch with us or you might end up with the whole Rowdy clan on your doorstep! You know how much we love road trips! Take care dear lady. Till next time....

Thar's moles in them thar hills!

As I've mentioned before we live out in the country on a river. Which means we get a lot of critters that pass through, fly around or take up residence. Right now we've got moles, voles, gophers or some sort of other subterranean creature that is creating a virtual subway in our yard. Every day you can see me out there heel toeing it around the yard as I step on the upraised tunnels not only packing the ground back down to where it belongs but hoping to squash the little varmit that is digging it up. So far, no luck. I am being outsmarted by a creature that doesn't even see the light of day. If we still had cats perhaps they would catch them and Zudi the maltese is pretty worthless as a mole chaser, although she sure can send the chickens running! I saw this thing on the internet (don't you just love the internet? It's like having the library at your service 24/7) that is called the Rodenator. It is a propane/oxygen thingy and you stick this wand down in the tunnel, ignite and wham! the gopher or other subterranean creature is blown up! Well, not really blown up, supposedly the concussive force of the explosion kills the little critter. Ok, I guess I was right the first time, they're blown up. That seems a little excessive to me. I keep thinking that perhaps this mole is really just helping us out by aerating our yard and all it asks in return is a few nibbles off my plant's roots. I guess I'll just keep doing my little heel toe dance on the mounds and hope it gets tired of having to reopen them and move on. Till next time....

Zudi the maltese has picked a winner for the charm squares

Zudi the maltese has picked a winner for Thimbleberries Timeless Grace charm pack. I put all the names on pieces of paper and let her pick one. After chasing her around for about 15 minutes trying to get the paper away from her it turns out the winner is.....Bopeep who has the blog Quilting Granny. You can see it here. Congratulations Bo! Send me your snail mail address and I'll get it sent out to you. Till next time.....

It may be spring in Indiana but it's still winter in Minnesota!

Here in NE Indiana spring has finally arrived! I thought I'd share a couple photos of some of the things that are making their appearance in our yard. This is called a trout lilly. It is growing all over at the back of our house along the river bank. They seem to like it moist with lots of organic matter. And along the bank we have tons of hardwood trees so there are lots of maple, oak and hickory leaves. We just let them lay which means we have no grass back there, but the trout lillies seem to love it.

Here's a little Jack in the Pulpit that I have planted in one of the many shade gardens we have. Lots of trees means lots of shade. He hasn't bloomed yet but he will soon. He really seems to like the spot he's in. When I first got him he was just one lonely little plant and now he's a nice mound!

We are so lucky to have flowers popping up, birds building nests and grass that needs mowing. My poor sister, Wendy and her family in Minnesota are still suffering from the winter doldrums. She sent me this picture of a strange ice "creature" that has latched onto their truck tire! I think that if you live up there where the winters can be so harsh, you have to be a very strong person. I don't know if I could do it.

Till next time.......

A de-stash giveaway for Granny Day

This site has lots to look at and you can enter for a giveaway. Just post a comment about a color and how it makes you feel. Like right now, I feel like the color yellow, like the daffodils that are blooming. http://turningturning.com/giveaway-granny-day-2009/ till next time...