Really Random Thursday, 9/15/22

 The weather has turned blessedly cooler this week! When I sit outside in the morning with my first cup of coffee, I actually have to wear a light jacket. Finally...

I could write a long post about all the sewing I've been doing, and I will try to catch up on that shortly. Other than that, not a lot happened in the last week.

Last Friday, we had donuts with grandkids at their elementary school, a once-a-year event that is always fun. There is always a photographer who takes (usually awful) photos and the kids were adamant that we not stand in line for that. So after we had our Krispy Kreme donut, we just chose a wall and took our own photos.

Ruby and Amelia's grandparents were out of town, so Jason's brother, Mike, stood in as Grandpa.

Christa's mother, Debbie, was able to attend as well.

We did a little refresh in our main bathroom. I still need to complete a couple more details, but I'm really happy with the new look.

And that's all, folks...

Really Random Thursday, 9/8/22

 It's been a hot minute since I wrote a really random post. But by hot, I mean sizzling.

Tuesday, the weather app on my phone kept waffling between predicted 114, then 115, then 116, then 114...back and forth. But really, at that temperature, one or two degrees doesn't really matter. Mark picked Levi up from water polo practice and had him take this screen shot of the outside temperature.

We are now in a cooling trend: 108 today, and down to a chilly 92 on Saturday. Might have to get out my sweatshirt. Ha!

Haha.

We celebrated Mark's birthday a couple of weeks ago. Aaron smoked some tri-tip (pretty much a California cut of meat that is oh so good) and we sampled different ice cream sandwiches for dessert. The whole family knows how much Mark detests confetti.  So of course the kids all had confetti poppers to shower him with confetti.

Aaron said it was worth all the clean-up...

Mark has been doing a lot of deferred maintenance at our church. He stopped by on Saturday and noticed this branch had fallen down in the courtyard. 

He called Gabe to see if he wanted to help clean it up and earn a little money as well. Without hesitation he said yes. 

That kid worked like crazy. Mark did all the sawing, and Gabe dragged all the branches to a space behind the church. It was 1 p.m. and it was hot. Did I mention how hot it has been around here?? He never complained one time. And then he donated the money he had earned back to the church because he thought it would be a cool thing to "pay the church for cleaning up." Love that kid so much. 

Levi got his braces off this week. Wowsers!

Haha. True...

Books I read in August:

It was a good month for reading. I enjoyed each of these very much. My favorite by far was Remarkably Bright Creatures (thanks for the recommendation, @madebyabrunnette!). Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting was a charming book and a nice change from some of the intense psychological thrillers of the month. 

A few more thoughts to take you into the weekend.

Quilts by the Water: Best Sellers, Pacific Grove, California

 When Kate Basti came out with her Tall Tales block, I had the idea of  combining some of my favorite fabrics with their corresponding selvages. The selvage became the spine of the book, and in a couple of  instances part of the cover.

It was such a fun quilt to make. 

I had a fat quarter bundle of bright texty print by Allison Glass that worked perfectly for the sashing. The print was small and subtle, but just right for a quilt containing book blocks.

For the backing I had this fun print that looks like library cards.

Mark and I took the quilt to one of our favorite places on the coast, Pacific Grove, at a time in the year when the ice plants were in full bloom.

It was a windy day, but Mark never complains about holding a quilt.

Quilt: Best Sellers

Designed by: Block design by Kate Basti

Date Completed: 2020

Size: 48" x 62"

Quilted by: Darby Myers