My Summer Dresses

Simplicity 3678 - I made this dress in May and thought I would love it. But really, I think it looks like a maternity dress so it has been regulated as a bathing suit cover-up for running into the store on my way home from the beach.

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My son took this photo of me yesterday on our beach walk. I am wearing Simplicity 2927, my surprise favorite summer dress.

I didn't really like this dress when I made it, and I will be the first to admit - it is a bit goofy with those pockets and all. But on a hot day - this is the very first thing I reach for. It is so cool and comfy, uncomplicated, never has to be ironed and being a thick poly - you don't need a slip. I mean, what isn't to love. And my son just loves it that this dress has pockets for sea treasures such as crab legs and sea glass and the such.

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Here's a photo of my son with 2 handfulls of bones he picked up on the beach. These bones were far to precious to trust Momma with, so my pockets were spared, LOL.

Me, with real shoes on... a sight not often seen. With the heat, my feet and fingers are all swollen and I could barely squeeze my feet into these shoe for this "dress photo". My wedding rings I have moved to a necklace so they don't have to be cut off my fingers later and also so I don't lose them. I almost always wear sneakers no matter what I am wearing but will wear Reef sandals on the beach. I will always sacrifice fashion in favor of comfort!

I'm telling you - the A-frame dress with big pockets is going to become my new Momma uniform! Really! Those 1950's housewives really did know what they were doing and had the house dress perfected down to a fine science. Let me tell you - t-shirts are hot in the heat. Give me a dress any hot day! I just have to get around to making some more.
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Did I mention that we don't have a/c? And yeah, I live in Canada and yeah, we were wearing fleece jackets 2 weeks ago, but it is hot now. And I do know what hot is because I went to high school in Florida. And believe it or not - my high school did NOT have a/c. It stunk really badly in Biology lab let me tell you - the formaldehyde mixed with high humidity heat. Ewww. But that is all in the past - they have abandoned the highschool and built a new super deluxe one.

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Quilt progress - rows all sewn together with those dark purple pieces. Currently measures 49.5" X 57.5" - next step is borders.

Sweater Progress (for my son) - front, back and 1 sleeve completely done! I have cast on the 2nd sleeve and have maybe the 1st 10 rows done!

Yogurt Making Success!

I've always wanted to make yogurt, but just wasn't interested in buying one of those yogurt makers - they don't make much yogurt and it would just be another kitchen gadget in my space. And what if you lose one of those special jars that only fits that machine? I don't really like kitchen gadgets that are only good for one thing - unless I use it constantly (like my apple corer).

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But the other day I was browsing around the internet about yogurt making and came across this site: www.makeyourownyogurt.com

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It didn't look too hard. I mean really, I jotted down a few notes to bring into the kitchen with me ... something like: double boiler 185 degrees - stir alot, cold water bath 110 degrees - stir some, add 3 TBS yogurt - stir and put on heating pad for 7 hours. Fridge overnight. But do check out the link because the step by step instructions/photos are really helpful!

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In prep, I went to the grocery store and bought a container of plain yogurt that clearly stated live cultures on the label (I used a generic store brand) and the hardware store for the cheapest heating pad they had plus a thermometer I could clip to the pan. I went through my pans and double checked that one would fit into the other to make a double boiler and measured out 1/2 a gallon of water into the pan just to make sure everything would fit. And I washed up an empty container for the finished yogurt.

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Everything was very easy - the hardest part might have been remembering to move the pan off the heating pad and transferring everything to the fridge after 7 hours.

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This morning I enjoyed DELICIOUS home-made yogurt - I added 1 TBS of wheat germ and a bit of honey. Yummmmm. When I go to the store today I will pick up some fresh fruit for my next serving. I think I am going to have to make this more than 1X a week. And the savings... 1/2 gallon of yogurt cost the same price of 1/2 gallon of milk after you have your basic supplies (which you probably already have anyway).

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Just in case my ultra-healthy yogurt didn't turn out - I also made a back-up... 2 pans of cinnamon rolls. OK - well, I sold 1 pan fresh out of the oven (I had a customer waiting on a batch) and 3 more were eaten before I thought to snap a photo, but I did make 2 pans.

I Have The Time

In tourism, Saturday is always a crazy, busy day. Or at least you hope it is. This Saturday was no exception. But, I still made the time to bring my son to the beach. We only could stay 1 1/2 hours, but we will take what we can get. It was a hot day and he just wasn't interested in his little back patio kiddie pool. Can you blame him - the beach is always way more fun. In the photo above, he has discovered a beat up lobster trap that washed up on the beach.
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I packed our favorite beach beverage - pink Crystal Light. It is the only "junk" drink he is allowed and we only drink it at the beach. Our beach treat.

I have the time. Maybe I didn't really have the time but in 20 years I don't want to be asking myself why I didn't make the time. So I made the time. Yes, it did make things a BIT more hectic for me on the other end... but I had 1 1/2 hours of pure bliss on the beach with my son. By the looks of the empty beach... on a hot summer day... maybe other people should try to have the time too?
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Is there something you've been meaning to do? Make the time!

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Edited to add... there were at least 100 million other things that I "had" to do today, but my son really wanted to go to the beach and was so good waiting for me. Believe it or not, I still got done what had to be done AND we had some fun time for us too!

Diagonal Set

I've decided to go with a diagonal set for these blocks - that will save me from having to make more! They are laid out on the back of a pink quilt because I want to make this new top the same size as the one underneath. My lazy way of measuring. The finished quilt underneath is 63X75 and I like that size. Maybe, just maybe I will be able to get the rows pinned together today so I can get this up off my floor.
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Speaking of floors... I hate my commercial kitchen floor. Whoever puts white flooring down in a commercial kitchen? I don't know, but it was here when I bought the place and here it still is. Down the road I will replace it with industrial tiles in blue/gray. In the meantime - trying to make it look clean is a constant battle. Just 2 days ago I scrubbed it with industrial strength bleach (who knew bleach came in different strengths?). Still dingy white/gray. Well, today I tried out a new industrial cleaning product that costs $$$. But lookie there at the results from just 1 tile...

A few photos of my next door neighbor's beautiful flower garden.

Those Poor Sheep

Mid-August. Just wanted to put up a quick post about how important it is to protect your eyes in the sun. Important too in the winter with the glare off the snow. Funny thing - my husband read some sort of article about mountain sheep going blind in Chili due to the thinning of the ozone layer and sun exposure. Wow. I Googled the story and it turns out that the sheep had eye infections that caused blindness - totally unrelated to sun exposure, but somehow the story got linked with that - and well, that is how these urban legends come about anyway, right? But still, it is a good reminder to stop and think and put on your sunglasses!

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As adults, many of us have transition lenses that get darker outside. Not so for kids. I have always purchased my son very good quality UV blocking sun glasses. At the age of 6 - he has now outgrown most child size glasses and is too small for other glasses. I found the perfect solution at a sporting goods store. He now has runners sunglasses - the non-slip type. They really stay on his face and he likes wearing them. No, he isn't wearing them to look cool - he is wearing them to protect his eyes from the sun. How many of you slathered on the baby oil and laid out in the sun for hours? We know better now! Let us all not regret not buying our kids sunglasses down the road. A $20-30 investment is well worth healthy eyes! The other thing my son always wears is a sun shirt outside. You can buy matching swimsuit/shirt sets, but the shirts are also available separately. What a great idea! They are nice and cool, quick drying, and protect the neck, back and tummy from sunburns.

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One night I dreamed about those sheep of the urban legend - all wearing sunglasses up on the mountain top. I think they were knitting, but I can't exactly remember. Funny dream!

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A little bit about my crazy August so far:

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I am beyond busy right now and at night when I fall into bed I actually have to stop and think and wonder - was the morning really only just "this" morning or was it further away than that.

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Thankfully, my son is enjoying day camp (for the most part) so has happy summer days filled with trips to the pool, beach, library, crafts, etc. Last week they even had a big camp-out sleep-over at the local campground. He has never slept away from home and really wanted me to be there (plus he has had an awful chest cold which usually needs a middle of the night cough syrup dose) so this is what we did... I picked him up from camp a bit early and we went to the campground and set up our little tent on the group site with the other big tents. At 8pm I dropped him off for the planned activities with his camp, raced home and worked some more and then went back at 10 pm to be with him. While I was gone, they roasted hotdogs over the campfire and played tag, etc. Just as I got there they were lining ALL (many, many kids and mostly without parents) the kids up and handing out glowsticks. Then we all walked to the beach (easy to keep track of our group with those glowsticks) and we were treated to the most amazing fire works display! How fun. Then we walked back to the site and had s'mores. My son made me the most yummiest one ever! Bed time was late and I was one happy camper to crawl into the sleeping bag! For very EARLY breakfast the kids had grilled cheese and fried eggs over the campfire. After breaking down the tents the kids went back to camp and had a pizza party since they obviously didn't bring lunch from home that day. The entire thing was really well organized! Except my camera battery was dead, dead, dead. So, sorry - no photos.

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No photos of the great Rotary festival we had either. We watched the parade, went to the magic show, watched the fireworks and went to the chicken bar-b-que. There were also several other events, including concerts that we didn't get to, but we did what we could and enjoyed that much anyway.

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And somewhere along the way my son and I also went to a very yummy Strawberry tea (next tea is a Blueberry tea). Plus I attended a very nice Christian (non-denominational) women's gala luncheon. The meal was wonderful - chicken/cheese/bacon wraps, potato/egg salad and overnight vegetable salad and dessert. Plus some inspirational entertainment and nice visiting. I was driving the car to drop some other people off at the door and I had given someone else my money for my ticket and when that person went to pay for me, someone else paid my ticket! She said she wanted to bless me with a ticket. How special is that? It was all very beautiful and I really liked it. All squeezed in between a very crazy and busy work schedule.

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July was so cold and rainy that I never did get any annuals in, but here are some shots of some perennials - all planted by my son over the past few years - I think boys/dirt/gardening is a perfect mix!

July Was a Blur

How can it be August already? Seems like summer still hasn't arrived in my part of the woods - almost every day has been cold, overcast, foggy, drizzly. But, my summer schedule is busy and I have long days, often on my feet for 12 hours or more at a time. Fortunately my son is very happy at day camp and goes Monday-Friday from 9-5. Still, the two of us find the time to enjoy the beautiful scenery around us. This is a photo of a herring weir down the street from one of our evening walks.

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Sewing wise - July was the month of curtains - I made curtains for 2 bedrooms (plus I did 1 bedroom in June), 1 bathroom and the laundry room. Phew. I've shown photos of all in previous posts, except for 1 bedroom... maybe sometime in August I will get a photo taken? But let's face it, curtains aren't as exciting as quilts so I am not really super motivated to go take a photo of that 1 curtain! I did finish a small baby quilt in July too.

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One thing that made July a bit easier for me... FINALLY, after 2 years of not having my own kitchen sink and counters - my own kitchen is usable! Not that I've been without a kitchen - I have a commercial kitchen, but it is inconvenient seeing how it isn't exactly in my house. It is so nice to have my own kitchen up at the house! Just basic - but certainly an improvement! My birthday was in May and I was adamant that all I wanted was a kitchen sink (which also meant jacking up the kitchen floor about 2 1/2" and adding the cabinets. My house is very uneven! The house was creaking and groaning away while being jacked up and finally the process had to stop or else none of my closet doors would open anymore. If you look very closely at the photo you might see how uneven the kick part of cabinet is, but the counter top itself is level and that is what counts. I have fabric to make curtains for the bottom shelves.

Moving right along into August... Current Projects: I am working on my son's school sweater - progress is being made. I've got the front and back now done and have cast on the 1st sleeve! Here's a photo from before the front was done.

I need 20 more string blocks to get this quilt up to the size I want, plus a narrow inner border of dark purple and a wider outer border of pink. Or maybe I will set the blocks on point as I like that look too. I finally decided to make it smaller than originally planned. I laid the blocks down on one of my favorite quilts for size fit - as I will make it this size. It is a good size for picnics, the beach, back of the car, travel, etc. I'm not sure the exact size, but it fits on the top of my queen bed minus the pillow area without an overhang.
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And, I've still got to find that missing row for my star quilt and fix the one incorrect segment.


I've got to cut out some new PJ's and pants for my ever growing son too. *
I figure if I get 1-2 of those things done, along with my daily schedule, I will be doing very well!