Aaaaahgk ...

I just took a giant tumble out in the yard. I was headed out to photograph my big, fat carrot and was busy musing about what kind of silliness I could post about it. I never noticed that the willow tree dropped a big ol' branch in the path, and went flying ass over teacups in a flash when I stumbled over it. The carrot went soaring, as did the camera. I now look like I've been drinking silver -- my leg has turned a gruesome shade of blue -- how do bruises form that fast?

Anyway ... about the carrot. It has a few extra "bumps" on it that, if your squint your eyes and let your imagination run wild (like I often do), give it a "face" like something you'd see on The Muppets. One of the bumps got broken in the tumble, but see? Couldn't they be eyes? And that other little appendage, a tongue or something? And the little root ... that could be a ...

I was also thinking it is such a chubby carrot that it would be enough for a small meal ... which got me remembering something out of Don Quixote ... where he and his little sidekick are about starved, and trying to figure out what they're going to eat when there is seemingly no food to be had. One of them (I think it was Sancho) said he had an onion.

Being completely enthralled with food as I am, that just absolutely made me howl when I read it. An ONION?!? What kind of a meal is THAT?!? Oh ... I just love that book, and think I may have to re-read it this winter. It just cracked me up the first time.

"OF THE SECOND SET OF COUNSELS DON QUIXOTE GAVE SANCHO PANZA  ... 'Eat not garlic nor onions, lest they find out thy boorish origin by the smell ...' "

-- from Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

I've gotta go work on a quilt.

Quotable Quotes ...

You know how you read something you find especially amusing, or apropos to something going on in your life, or just plain clever? I see those things all the time -- in a book, on a T-shirt, bumper sticker, or whatever. Then I store them away in my brain for future use. After a while, I forget all about them. So here are my two current favs, given now only because I will forget to mention them when the appropriate time comes along.

"Face your problems, don't Facebook them." -- on a T-shirt worn by a guy at the county fair.

"Trust in the Lord, but row away from the rocks." -- now I can't even remember where I saw that one, but it's a keeper!

I used to carry a little notebook around in my purse to jot such gems down, along with all sorts of useful information I felt a need to gather. I had a whole slew of adages I was collecting to help me wend my way through my then-new country lifestyle. I still have the notebook in my dresser drawer. Some of the pages are stuck together, the result of a prank played on me at work by my BIL 30+ years ago, when Green Slime was a fun new toy on the market.

That's a story for another day. For now, suffice it to say it's a wonder the man lived to tell it.

P.S.: I bought a new little notebook today. When you see me, tell me your favorite quote (or email it to me) and help me fill it up with good ones.

Hey, Baby ...

Can I give you a lift?

(A friend sent me photos of some odd-looking tomatoes from her garden last week, so of course I have to jump on board with my silly tomato with a "nose.")

A quilt guild I belong to is having a show next weekend in Athens. We will have approx 300 member quilts (including a couple of mine!), a display of Marilyn Belford's incredible portrait quilts, a Civil War quild display by Betty Neff (antique and repro), the new Hoffman Challenge exhibit (40 quilts), and a bed turning of antique quilts with modern counterparts. I hope you can come see the show! Click the link for more info: http://www.emqg.org/2012show.html

Oh, yeah ... I'm bad. Uh-huh!

A lot like her grandma ...

This one may have the pretty looks of her maternal grandmother, but she certainly got some of her genes from Daddy's side of the pool! She's a busy gal, and has a variety of interests. She'd much rather be out doing chores than sitting on the couch watching television.

Last year she started a quilt using fabric choices very similar to my own. This year, she wanted to finish it up in time to put it in the quilt show, and waited till summer was almost over. Just like me, she works better under pressure of a deadline!

She's a little short on one end, so had to have some help loading the quilt onto the machine. And we decided a chair to stand on would be a good idea.

First, she chose her pattern and learned how to load it into the comuter.

Time to position the machine just right ...

... and measure carefully for the next row.

Happily, the quilting got done without a hitch and is now ready for the binding lesson. 
She started another quilt this summer and has accumulated a "stash" of purple, blue and turqoise fabrics and threads for it. She made sure to set it all aside and tell me they were for her work in progress so I wouldn't get into it.

Oh, and when I have time, she and her little sister would like to learn to knit.

"The best inheritance a (grand)parent can give to his children is a few minutes of their time each day." -- unknown

They were here and now they're gone ...

The hummingbirds. Years ago I made a note of when the hummers arrive in Spring – it’s May 2 most years. But I’ve never remembered to watch for their departure date. It seems they left after they topped off their tanks Sunday morning, which was September 2. I saw them that day, and have not seen any since.


The grandkids. They spent a lot of time with us here this summer, but they, too headed back to school and so we had to say good-bye to them on Sunday as well. The youngest was excited to get back to school. The oldest: not so much. The other two wouldn’t admit it, but I think they’re glad to go back.

The quilts. Tina C is an accomplished quilter in our area. I had three of her quilts here and finished them up. She came and got them this week, so now they, too, are gone. BTW: We saw one of Tina’s quilts with a “Grand Award” ribbon at the county fair. Good job, Tina!

Now if only I could get the fruit flies to follow the trend. They are just lovin’ the huge tomato harvest. I'm tempted to get those old-fashioned sticky fly-catchers that hang down from a thumbtack on the ceiling -- they're driving me nuts! I'm processing those 'maters as fast as I can, but apparently not fast enough to foil those little creeps.