A little bit of this and a little bit of that!

Warning:  Picture-filled, wordy blog ahead...proceed with caution!

Sunshine on my shoulders....blah, blah, blah!

I said I wouldn't complain about the hot weather after being stuck in the house so much because of the snow during the winter....BUT I LIED!  I'm going to complain and gripe and whine 'cause it's unbelievably hot here!  I have Weather Bug on my computer which shows the temperatures located at Eva Elementary school...it's 9:40 am and the temp is 94* with a heat index of....drumroll, please....109*!  So...now I have cabin fever because of the heat instead of snow!

Don't you wish you could jump in here?

                                  

No...you'd hate it because it's like bathwater!

                                                     

And I took this picture at 9:40 am!  You can imagine what it will be like this afternoon!

I have so much work that needs to be done outside...the bushes need to be trimmed (badly!), dead plants that need to be disposed of (lots of them...they burned up in the heat!), grass needs to be mowed (or will soon!), and I haven't been able to finish staining and painting the porch...the paint and stain can't be applied in temps over 95* or if the wood gets wet, you have to wait 48 hours to apply anything  (we've had a few...very few!...pop up thunderstorms that stopped the staining.)

The only things I can be grateful to the heat for is that because I've had to stay inside,  I've done lots of cleaning and quilting!

Yesterday, I cleaned the carpets and rearranged the living room...it's a little "cockeyed" 'cause everything is on an angle!   But I like it...it's a change!

                                           

                                    

                                                       TV still works, Sweetie!

                                      

Now...if you've gotten this far, more power to you...you're a more loyal reader than I could ever hope for!

Are you up for a few more pictures?  Well, if not, this is the time to skip to the bottom of the page.

Too late!

Besides cleaning, I mentioned I'd been quilting.  I have two finished and two started!  (And I was camera happy this morning...so be patient with me!  Also, I seem to have a shadow on my camera card...guess I've got to get a new one!)

                                         

                                           

This is one I'm working on with the same colors...different pattern!  (I like to mix things up, lol!)

                                           

The "ugly" quilt that I said I'd post pictures of when I finished...it's not as ugly as before...but not my favorite:

                                           

                                             

And finally:

                                               

This one is still a " flimsy" (quilt top), because I haven't decided if it needs another border or two.

I'm finished!  (I heard that collective *sigh of relief*!)

Thanks for bearing with me through all the pictures, I probably should have divided this into two postings, but you know me....feast or famine!

***Just a little side note - It's now 99* with a 115* heat index!***

"I'm melting, I'm melting....!"

Later,

Debbie

1+1='s

 

                                   

                                                    Dark clouds = More Rain!

 

                                     

                                              Baby birds = Poop on my porch!

 

                                         

                                                         Cute dirty feet = Groomer!

 

                                           

                                                           Puppy on a quilt = Sweet!

                                    

                                           

                                                           A lot of binding = A big quilt!

 

Later,

Debbie

So busy, but so busted!

Yeah, I'm busted.   Same ol' excuse...busy, busy, busy!

Doing what?  Well, the deck has been needing stain since we've moved in and...since I'm the one here the task is left up to me.  And...it a really big job.  The deck goes around 3 sides of the house with a railing and 5...yes, you heard it here first...five sets of steps, as well as lattice beneath the deck!  So, of course I'm not through...heck, I just started!  But here's a preview:

                                 Before

                            And before...

Now:

                                         After

                                      And after,

 

STOP...CUT!   I hated this, so....

                             Now, I have this:

What was I thinking?  White railings look so much less industrial.  I love the gray for the floor, but the doors, the trim and columns are all white, so it just made sense.

Also, what you didn't see was that I had to clean all the deck and the ceilings where the porch is covered...that took a lot of time!  More than I had previously thought it would take and after the cleaning, I had to let the porch dry 48 hours before I could start.  (Just sayin'!)

And to let you all know that Debbie is not "all work and no play":

I'm working on a red, white and blue quilt...Happy Belated 4th!  I've been wanting one with these colors, but not really a patriotic quilt or one that stands up and salutes...do you know what I mean?  I just like the colors and the prints...okay?

So...now you know where I've been and what I've been up to.  Any questions?  No?  Well then...

Later,

Debbie

AUSTIN...

                                                  

                        

                            Hmmm...betcha though I'd forgotten, huh?

 

Later,

'Aunt' Debbie

Did you guess?

Didja?  Did you know what kind of flower bud I was waiting on to open?

This is what the bushes looked like yesterday:

                             

Today:

                               

Up close:

                                              

Hint...on a placemat:

                                  

It's a dinner plate hibiscus!

 

Later,

Debbie

Blackberry and Mulberry and Peach!

Been busy for a few days...can't seem to keep up with all the mowing.  I've been on the tractor for about 3 hours every day...can't stand much more than that!  The heat is terrible, so I go out about 4:30 or 5 pm and stay until 8.  By then, my clothes are drenched with sweat and the grasshoppers have had their way with me!

During the days, I've spent most of the time making and canning jelly

                   

            Blackberry/Mulberry    Peach     Mulberry  

                  

                                           57 jars... plus

I've already given about 12 jars away.  And, I'm still picking blackberries every other day.  The blackberries are ripening at about 2 cups every two days. 

I did take a day off and went to McCalla to visit 'Bama Girl and while I was there, I saw this precious little thing:

                        

                                           Meet Teddy!...aka Bob!

                

                             Ignore the berry stained fingernails!

                                      

Most of my flowers are doing bad in the heat...these are the only one that's thriving. 

And these:

                                        

And these:

                                  

Do you know what they are?  I'll show pictures as soon as they bloom.

Lots of cleaning up to do from the jelly making, so...

Later,

Debbie

Happy Father's Day

To some of the best ones I know:

                

                                     My husband, David!

 

                           

                                      My brother, Danny!

                                                  

                             

                                     My brother, Dennis!

                              

                        

                                My brother-in-law, Woody!

 

Hope everyone is having a great one!

Later,

Debbie