Thanks for sharing the pics, Jeanne, looks like you had a great time! Love the hat! Can't believe that little Hosta !

Sharon, hopefully it will be nice when Flat gets to you, don't expect much in the way of enthusiasm from him tho; his visit to Michigan has been a bummer so far. Altho Mandy did have a Welcome sign out for him, kind of!

Annie, to answer your question: I did a basic, generic type plan, ie, twenty blocks in a 4x5 pattern, 4 border colors for each girl. I'll arrange the colors as I go, hopefully it will work out all right. Don't know if I'll do sashing or not. Its going to be a sampler, which means all types of blocks. That's the fun part! I finished their Birds in the Air and the Ohio Star blocks today. I'm hoping to finish by Christmas. Sure hope my enthusiasm for this project lasts!

Have a nice Sunday, All!
Shirley!

Okay, Annie, having said all that, I need to tell you that I sat here this morning and "reconfigured" the whole thing!

Twenty blocks for 2 quilts, hand pieced, hand quilted is not a game plan that ensures anything being done by Christmas! Lots of pressure and stress there!

12 hand pieced blocks for each quilt with 3" sashing and a 3" border is infinitely more do-able, plus the 3" sashing allows for the hand quilting. AND!! I've got 4 blocks done for each which means I'm a quarter of the way done!! AND!! with great joy and much relief, the Lone Star block has fallen by the wayside!

Sorry for taking over the thread, but you can't imagine the relief I feel at resolving this!

I'll be posting the May FOTESS Swap tonight or tomorrow morning!

Off to finish cleaning the house and check out the gardens!
Shirley!

Shirley, amazing, the time involved!!!! Quilting, a true labor of LOVE!!! Looking forward to MAY FOTESS!!

A Fairy Garden, I might just have to work on making one or two of them, CHARMING!! What are the fairy gardens planted in?

Happy Sunday! Enjoy!

Annie

Hi ladies! I just got caught up on this thread. Lots to catch up on!

All the quilt pics are fantastic! I just love them. Southern Shirley & Jeanne, hope you both enjoyed the plant & garden shows.

Sharon, I once took the dog & both cats to the vet all together. Call me crazy, but it went just fine. I think they kept each other distracted.

Heidi, great maps! If you end up having a late frost, you can flip buckets or pots over your veggie plants and they will probably make it. I had to do that trick this spring.

Michigan Shirley, stay strong on the quilts! You're a very crafty lady. You can do it! BTW, the white penstemon plants I got from you a few years back are about to bust out in bloom. Can't wait!

I'm thinking Flat McGregor might be making some unscheduled stops and not posting pictures for us.

He left Texas last Tuesday with good intentions of sticking to his itinerary, but who knows.

Farmer Flat McGregor came visiting yesterday afternoon to Woodhaven, MIchigan. I knew exactly when he arrived because Cash(the dog) barked and barked at the door to let me know since Flat could not reach the doorbell.

Sadly Flat arrived on a day I was not feeling well, I was home sick from work. So he decided to help take care of me.
{{gwi:1265300}}

This morning I was feeling just a little better and to be a good hostess I gave Flat a quick tour of the gardens and then sent him on his way. Even though it was still in the high 40's this morning, he thought it was a little warmer than the other gardens he had visited in Michigan.

Here he is with the Pulmonaria Mrs. Moon, he liked the polka dotted leaved.
{{gwi:1265301}}

He liked my blooming white trillium and the hosta and Jack in the Pulpit just emerging.
{{gwi:1265302}}

Here he is discussing my shade garden with Cash. They were looking at a very small hellebore plant that sadly is in Cash's shadow.
{{gwi:1265303}}

His last stop was the Pink Charm Daffodils and the Fritillaria meleagris (checkered lily). The picture is a little out of focus, but hey, I'm a sick woman. LOL
{{gwi:1265305}}

After our morning garden stroll, we decided he should be off since I still am not a 100% and needed to take a nap.
Sharon

Sharon, I know you don't feel well...but....the above is to darn funny!!!

Take care!!

Annie

Heidi, beautiful tulips and phlox! Glad Flat made it out your way!

Anne, glad you enjoyed it. LOL

Nice to see that Flat made it to some more homes. The maps are getting interesting!

Heidi, your flowering bulbs are simply gorgeous!

Sharon, sorry you were sick. It definitely looks like Spring has arrived in your garden. Cash is a beautiful dog. What kind is he? I'm guessing maybe a Sheltie?

Annie, I know the base for one of the fairy gardens is hypertufa (hope I spelled it right) formed by shaping it in a basket. I didn't pay enough attention to tell you what the other is. She also had something in a cork container - said you can find those at the pet store for "critters" to crawl in or on. I'll have to look into that. It looked like it was planted in a log - a really a fun look!

We haven't gotten rain for quite awhile and now it's going up into the 90's and very sunny. The plants here won't stay happy for long. We are trying to water a good bit, but standing there with the hose for long periods of time gets pretty boring, especially when you are hot, too!

I don't think I am being very successful with my worms. I check today and only saw 2 and they seemed pretty lethargic. Hopefully just the hot weather. I keep them in the garage right now so they don't get any direct sun on the container. Sure need to read more on how to care for them. All I remember the instructors saying is how easy this is! :-)

Jeanne

Heidi, is that your retaining wall garden? The pic with the street in the background? It is beautiful, whatever the garden is!

Sharon, sorry to hear you aren't feeling well, glad Flat #1 could help out! Cash looks like a great dog, able to get along with Flat, which I couldn't manage to do! I don't think my pulmonaria is ever going to be that big.

Jeanne, good luck with the worms, what kind did you get?
I've heard that red worms are good for composting, don't know if that's a fact or not.

Hey, off to check in on the other swap, and then bedtime!
Shirley!

Yes, that is my retaining wall (from the back side). Those are my tulips I found on clearance in March. My husband took pity on me and it was warm enough to dig in the dirt and we quick planted them. About 1/3 of them were already there.
It's so good Flat has some healthcare experience. The picture of Pepto was priceless.
Is that a Sheltie? Parts of my family had Shelties for years. Lovely dogs.
Heidi

Heidi and Jeanne, Cash is a Border Collie. Seems like a lot of people are unaware that Borders can be tri-colored. But he is a rescue dog, so we are not sure he is 100% Border Collie. But he sure looks and acts like one. LOL
I'm sure he is not the highest energy dog, but he is up there. We sure do love him though.

Heidi, you got those tulips in March of this year? Wow, they are beautiful! Instant gratification!

Jeanne, I've never done the worm thing. I hope you have good luck.
I know my Dad had a 'boat' (easiest way to describe it) of night crawlers. He used them when he fished and supplied some of his friends with their worms. We used to put our scraps out in the 'boat'. LOL especially the coffee grounds.
sharon

I have not stopped by in a while and had fun catching up on the antics of the old McGregors. They sure has been having fun. I love seeing the pictures of everyone's gardens. You have all done a fantastic job.

Weather has been really nice here lately. Just enough rain. Thursday was a little too hot but I can't complain.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's day tomorrow.

Margo

I had a visitor arrive from Michigan!! FF McGregor got here just in time to help us clean up Rockin L Acres and take a load of trash to the dump. He seemed happy to be able to be outdoors again. Today we are heading for the mountains where we will be teaching him how to tell the difference between a true morel and a false morel. I'll post pictures later. He wanted me to let you know that he was thinking about his Mother today along with everyone else.

Peggy, glad to hear that Flat Farmer McGregor made it to Washington. He certainly has some traveling miles under his belt!

I hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day. My husband is busy cooking. He does a great job on his "specialties" so it will all be yummy! I had hoped for some rain this weekend and it has been a bit cloudier than usual, but no luck yet. I'm already tired of dragging around the hoses. When it's in the 90s, we have to water at least once a day.

Oh, I was not very good at vermicomposting.. all of my worms died. I think it might have been the hot weather showing up all at once. Maybe I'ill try again towards fall.

Jeanne

I really did mail Flat MacG #2 a week ago, May 7. I can't imagine where he is. I'm getting very stressed out. I lost the receipt with the tracking number. I'm so sorry. I joke about the USPS and I get upset with them a lot. Holy potatoes! I hope they haven't lost him.
Heidi

Heidi, not sure where you mailed to, but I was beginning to think the same thing when I mailed to you. I mailed on Tuesday and I believe you received the next Tuesday.
The rates go up and the delivery time gets slower.

Peggy, I keep coming back to these posts, hoping for a tutorial in "how to tell the difference between a true morel and a false morel" I know I could look it up on line, but hay, it means so much more when Flat is in the pictures! LOL

I'm glad to hear that Flat has a mother and he appreciates her. :o)

Heidi, we believe you .... Darn Post Office!

Jeanne, sorry to hear about the worms. Better luck next time.

sharon

Good morning, everyone! It's supposed to be in the 70s with fairly low humidity today so it really will be a "good" morning. I do not like the 90s! (Plus, I can watch the Preakness on TV later. Great day!)

Here is a picture from our recent trip to see granddaughter, Miranda. She is now 2 1/2 months old and this is a three generation picture: Miranda, her mother, and me. My goodness they grow fast!

Don't worry about the post office being so slow on moving Flat McGregor from place to place. I know everyone is sending and we can't control the post office. The last person to receive Flat #1 and Flat #2 will be checking with me before sending them back to SC so if Flat #1 or Flat #2 needs to travel to one or two more homes, it's okay.

Yes, we are all in suspense about ture moral and false morel. Love everyone's posts!

Jeanne

Jeanne, she is beautiful! What a darling baby! Your daughter and you don't look too bad either! Thanks for sharing!
Shirley!

This hot looking guy named Flat Farmer McGregor was on my doorstep this morning. Poor thing, he slept out their all night. He said he banged on the door...and banged on the door...no answer! He is getting some quality "SHUTEYE" right now..............

I must run....will post some pics later!

Annie

Here is Flat Farmer McGregor upon arrival. He was a bit "washed out" from his long journey to Washington State. We had a lot for him to do but for some reason I am only able to upload one picture at a time so I will be back soon to share additional information about his time with us.

After a trip to the Farm and Garden Store, Flat Farmer McGregor got busy and helped us plant the cabbages. It was still too cold to plant the peppers and tomatoes, though.

We had some time to show Flat Farmer McGregor around the Wenas Valley, too. Here is a how he looked after we got a load together to take to the dump. He said that our facilities are a lot bigger than what he has back home and the view of the valley is very pretty this time of year.

On Mothers Day we took a ride to the hills. Flat Farmer McGregor was impressed with the National Forest, Meadow flowers and hikes in the woods looking for morel mushrooms. Sorry to say but we didn't find any. It may be a bit early yet. Flat Farmer McGregor was able to watch my Daughter train her Search and Rescue Pup (In Training). It was interesting to see how they have two people in different locations call Eli to each of them....back and forth. He isn't able to see the second caller because they are hiding from him so he has to "seek" them out by voice location. This picture shows the area below where the pup was being trained. Flat Farmer rested the following day and was ready to be on the road again. He was looking forward to his future adventures.

Hey Sharon and the rest of the FOTESS folks who are interested in a bit of botany..... In our forested area we are able to head up to the mountains and forage for Morel Mushrooms. Before we go we like to review the differences between True and False Morels. True morels have its skirt or cap attached to the stem as one continuous structure. In false morels the cap is attached at the top of the mushroom stem. We have had many years of experience in searching for morels. We always cut through each mushroom to make sure we are only going to eat true morels. Here is a link to an article that has pictures and further explains the differences between true and false morels. http://northcascadesbasecamp.blogspot.com/2011/05/morels-are-up-in-methow-valley.html

Peggy, Flat told me of his wonderful visit with you in WA. We are still chuckling about your planting cabbage last week and we pulled ours out a month ago.

Well, as I mentioned earlier today, I found Flat Farmer McGregor on my front porch this morning. He claims he banged...banged...banged on the door on Saturday and no one answered. He was not a happy camper when I found him. In fact, I would say he was a bit "COOL " to me. Men can be pouters!

This post was edited by canyonwind on Mon, May 19, 14 at 0:40

I then showed him inside the house. Still cool to me, he hit the recliner for some quality shuteye. I even gave him a pillow to lay his tired head. I do have a pic but I will move on.........

He woke up. I offered him a drink.....wine, beer, soda, a martini, scotch, bourban, water...He saw I had some Blackberry Brandy. That is what the man wanted and that is what the man got. I told him it was home made from our very own Blackberries. He took his glass and ventured out to one of the birhouses. Flat likes birds!

Flat said he would like to "refresh". He asked if he could take a dip in the pool. Sure Flat, my pool is your pool, I said! He actually did a flip on his way in to the water.

Flat removed his bod from the pool, picked up his glass of Blackberry Brandy and said, "I feel like a NEW MAN". He heard some bees buzzing around and away he went. He was amazed at how the bees loved Thai Basil. He was sniffing the basil and I told him he better be careful...bees have a sting!!!!

Flat removed his bod from the pool, picked up his glass of Blackberry Brandy and said, "I feel like a NEW MAN". He heard some bees buzzing around and away he went. He was amazed at how the bees loved Thai Basil. He was sniffing the basil and I told him he better be careful...bees have a sting!!!!

Whoops....sorry two posts with Flat checking out the bees.

Moving on, he wanted to check out some Citrus. Flat says he loves lemonaide!

And Flat loves Hollyhocks and Brugmansias. I told him I was having trouble with my Brugs. My buddy gave me some pointers!! Thanks Flat!

By now Flat is feeling no pain. He is on his third glass of Brandy.

And of course, Flat enjoying a homebrew with the canines. Yes, Flat gave them a few sips!!

The Flats are sure going through some adventures of great fun. I am jealous.
Annie, lovely dogs and gardens. I would love a pool like that to take a daily dip in. We have our pond but just not the same. It is so weird to see your gardens in full bloom and ours just beginning to really get foliage. With the daffs and tulips done, the gardens are mostly green right now.
Margo

Wonderful photos Peggy and Annie!
Peggy, of all places to take Flat, I think the dump was the most imaginative!!! Being a man, I'm sure he loved it!

My sister and her husband go morel hunting with a friend of theirs each year. The friend is the one who really knows what he is looking for. My sister says she just likes the walk in the woods. LOL

Annie, I'm so glad you gave Flat a drink. LOL I'm sure he needed one by then.
I had been thinking of giving him one
when he came to visit, but well, drinks are on the back burner when your not well.
Loved the pics of your yard and pool!
Sharon

Oh, and I love the picture of Flat with your 2 gorgeous birthday bingo word fetching dogs. LOL
sharon

So sorry not to have posted sooner. I had an outpatient procedure on Monday and got a pain shot in my back. I am not too pleased with the results yet. They say if it's going to help it will work within a few days so I don't know if this is going to help at all. I guess I shouldn't give up hope yet... For some reason it made me very tired. I almost never take a nap and took naps for several afternoons after the shot.

Love the new pictures of Flat! Such creative poses. He certainly has had the trip of a lifetime. I promise to look over the names carefully this weekend and try to make sure everyone has been visited.

Have a safe weekend! We are not up to much. It's my wedding anniversary on Mon. (41 years) so I suspect we will go out to eat that day. The middle of the day is already quite hot, so cooking on the grill is not sounding like a good idea. It's going to be a long summer of watering plants.

Oh, I planted spaghetti squash this year - never had before - and those vines are really traveling! They might be in a neighboring state soon! I wonder if they will produce anything for me. All I've been able to pick so far are some peas - and the pea vines are about done in. They don't like this heat.

Jeanne

Jeanne, you will love having the spaghetti squash on hand. I planted it last year and after the vines died down and I brought the remaining squash in, they lasted a long time. Loved it in place of the noodles in my spaghetti. Unfortunately, I have one of the hubbies who won't even try it. I know he would like it if he did. He drives me crazy but of course, it leaves more for me.

Are both flats still traveling? I wonder what each of them are up to this Memorial day weekend. If they are in this part of the country, they will love the weather.

Have a great weekend everyone. Margo

Annie, love all the pictures. Beautiful yard/gardens.

I may have missed it in reading through the lists, but I don't think Christine (vegpatch) has received a visit from Flat Farmer McGregor yet. Has he been mailed to her by anyone? If not, I'll ask one of the ladies who still has him visiting to send him along.

I've been sort of a "dud" on keeping up with this, Funny how back pain can make your brain quit functioning. So sorry to be so slow in trying to keep up with this.

Jeanne

Jeanne, hope you are feeling a little better with your back ...

I mailed Flat McG to vegpatch on May 7. I have since tried to contact her by GW email and regular email with no success. On a Rate & Review GW Forum she said her hard drive crashed in April and she got an intestinal bug. She was catching up on trades. Last posting on this Forum was April 29.

I hope your back is better. I know most people can't understand what living with pain is like. You get a medal just for getting up every day and doing what you do without complaint!

Heidi in Nebraska

Heidi,
Thanks so much for letting me know that vegpath has computer issues. I will decide she received a visit from Flat unless I hear otherwise.... and so our swap is done!

Annie, I think you have the other version of Flat. If you want to mail him back to me, that's fine. Otherwise, no problem either. He would likely spend time in my desk drawer if he returns, but don't tell him that. With all the fun he had in CA, he may want to stay there!

We are having a few cooler days and rain and sometimes thunderstorms that drift through. Wonderful as far as I'm concerned. I wish all summer could be like this!

I'm going to try to post the June swap this evening. Watch for it later today or tomorrow.

Jeanne