My goal for September is to just get through it. Have enjoyed being with family even after receiving more bad news. No sewing but maybe a big utility quilt repair is in my future.........maybe next week when everyone is at work/school. I bought some FQ yesterday and thought I'd just raw edge sew hearts or whatever over the places...seems to be the easiest I can think of for hand sewing. It has been used, that's for sure.....and that's what I want. I hope everyone's lives have settled down a bit and things are looking a bit better. How about some Homespun fun to help us smile........ http://www.jubileehomespun.com/pumpkin-coasters-quilted-homespun.html .......sorry, for some reason, this link doesn't work. correct one in message below Bev's post.

Whew...between packing and other arrangements , I almost forgot to pull the winner...shame!!! But a winner we have..... CONGRATULATIONS CHRISTINE in MN!!! I will get these beautiful blocks in the mail to you on my return...sorry I could not make that happen today, or take a photo... just too crazy. btw: I’ll be in Taos, NM, then on to Hawaii-30th wedding anniversary trip...wohoo!

Lisa--so amazed you did it, and so proud of you for doing it! And am so thrilled it was good for you. I've had two other friends who did it, as well. Very rewarding for both, just to know. One of the friends and her family bonded and see each other. Wasn't as good an experience for the other, but she was grateful that she knew about it all, finally. The deer incident affected me more than I thought it would. First, the reality of it and how to handle it. How sad it was to see this creature in such distress. And how problematic it seemed to wonder about the appropriate way to deal with it. It's like we live in the country, with all the critters around us; and yet we live in the country with neighbors very near to us, save for the forest directly across the front of our immediate property and behind our immediate property. GDW felt strange, walking across the street and shooting the poor thing in view of whoever might be driving by or outside. I felt a little freaked when I went out to help him load her into the truck, and two vehicles drove by about that time. I don't think they saw the deer, who was in a bit of a ditch right next to the road, but I felt kind of like a criminal. Had push come to shove, we'd have felt fine about our actions had we been asked to explain. I suggested we call the game wardens, but GDW said the chances of them being able to come right out were slim; so that's when we loaded her into the truck to go to the burn pile. As it stands now, she is still in back of the truck; we will unload her tomorrow nearby, with the nice game warden's blessing. He said I might be surprised to know how many calls they get like ours. And he told me to thank my husband for him, in choosing to put her out of her suffering. And here was poor Garry, with one eye swollen shut! He waves it off, and any of the rest of us might, too. But he is definity hampered temporarily. Now if he was going to be like that from now on, he'd get used to it. We've been laughing about it today; I found myself thinking, "Let's see; if I lose an eye, which one would I prefer to lose. Definitely my left one." hahaha I've been loving binge-watching Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown series, connecting with people all around the world through food. I had only caught 2-3 of the shows when I had TV. Liked them, but not the way I do now. Eileen, it's your fault. How little I knew about Singapore! And now I know a LOT about that supercity/super country. (AND my new favorite, Asian foods and learning to fix them!) And it sort of lit me on fire with how little I know of other cultures. I won't be doing any traveling (not any more than necessary now), but I will travel through books and excellent documentaries. I am absolutely blown away by these journeys of Bourdain's, and the care and attention that team took, to present important and worthy shows that illustrate societies around the world and our commonality. And the sadness many of the countries have gone through, might even be going through now, and the buoyancy and resiliency of the people. And how he manages to bond/communicate with them in these episodes, and also to introduce the rest of us to these people all around the world, a bit of their history, and the common love of food. Great show, glad I finally am watching it all. And so with this great Asian way of cooking, it has ignited and changed to some extent, the way I want to grow veggies. I see a lot more greens in the future. Sigh. I hate salad. BUT when I watch or read about Asian cooking, greens look good and fun! LOL Thanks, Eileen. It's a little late to be planting some of what I want to, but have gone out on a limb with a few. But will be putting in a few more greens tomorrow. I got my garlic order in to SESE before they ran out; I got my coral honeysuckle order into Almost Eden (I had it in the cart and just remembered yesterday that I hadn't punched "Order.") So did that. And you guys know how it goes. Couldn't order JUST one thing, so also ordered some rainbow-kinda colored echinacea--a couple of them. That was because my present grown-from-seed ones have done so splendidly. I was so so ticked off today pulling Bermuda out of the front shop bed and the back Bermuda bed. I hate Bermuda. I'd rather have mud or dirt in our "lawn," or crabgrass, than Bermuda. YES, it's fairly easy to get out with my Hori Hori, but it's every brutal inch or two, and in the front bed today, some of it was 10 inches down. Thing is with those two beds, I didn't properly prep them in the first place and work to get it all out. Hmm. On the other hand, the soil is so much better now and deep enough, and loose enough, that it's easier to get out. So. I guess it's okay. My concern is the established plants. I may end up having to take them all out, just to get all the Bermuda. I hate Bermuda. Will sign off. Life is fragile, we must remember to appreciate every single day, even Bermuda grass days. Maybe especially Bermuda grass days. We're dealing with it, we're fixing it, inch by slow inch! And so far, I'm digging it up faster than it can grow . Diligence will produce victory.

Jennifer and Nancy, Well, I started the new week's thread right after I said that I would, submitted it, and it disappeared. The last time this happened, it showed up after about 24 hours (why? I wonder?) and only after I typed a whole new replacement thread. So, then we had two for that week, though everyone mostly kept posting on the second one. This time, I thought I'd wait and see if it shows up today before I type a replacement one. Let's just keep chatting here for the rest of today to see if it pops up. These weird glitches are driving me crazy. I hate spending all the time to type something only to have it disappear for a half-day up to two days before it reappears. Jennifer, I hope your foot is healing and that Peggy is doing better. Nancy, Wait a minute, woman! I think you're better off just staying in Oklahoma and learning to live without Heavenly Blue MGs than to move back to Minneapolis for the summers which would separate you from GDW. Who would get custody of Tiny Dude? Would he live in OK most of the year and then travel to Minneapolis with you for the summers? Would he be able to sleep at night if he was missing Garry? Would he need counseling to help him adjust to the changes in his young life? Poor kitty. His world would be torn apart, all because of Heavenly Blue MGs. lol. While I think Heavenly Blue MGs are delightful flowers while in bloom, I could live without them. Kitty lived such a long and wonderful life. I think we are fortunate indeed when we have an animal companion who is able to be a part of our lives for so very long. Tuxedo cats are the best---our beloved Emmitt Smith was a tuxedo cat, and he really was Emmitt Smith II, replacing a previous Emmitt Smith we had when we lived in Ft Worth, who also was a tuxedo cat. I just love how tuxedo cats always look like they are dressed up in their formal best with someplace to go---even if they are only going out to the garden to sleep in their favorite sunny or shady place, or maybe to chase butterflies. Daff sounds like she was so special and so happy to be rescued and loved. I know that you must miss her. Perhaps she is Tiny Dude's guardian angel. We have had cats like Tom before who do experience great anxiety over many things---I think it is just their nature and we do have to work with them so they can relax a bit and become a bit more comfortable. Mostly I just leave them alone and let them be, though it can be a trial to get such a cat to the vet, or to get them to allow someone else to feed the if we are out of town or whatever. I agree that each cat is unique and special like snowflakes. Well, snowflakes with claws. Tim went outside and mowed the yard late yesterday. Nobody (meaning me, I guess) went outside and helped him by using the string trimmer to cut down the tall grass and weeds that the mower couldn't reach. I really should have done that, but I was tired and took a nap instead. A couple of days ago a friend of ours posted a photo of a timber rattler that she and her 4 year old son almost stepped on when leaving a friend's house. It was scary how close that snake was to them, and reminded me that this is the time of the year that we really need to be careful here. Having that snake photo in my mind might have played a role in my choosing a nap instead of helping with the yard work. I did go out later and fill up the Mr. Turtle sandbox that we use to provide water for the deer. Then I made a big puddle that Augustus would have been proud to wade in, so that the birds and bunnies would have a source of drinking water and bathing water. It is so dry again, although at least it still looks nice and green. It is just that the ponds and creeks remain low, since that 1.5" of rainfall we got a couple of weeks ago is long gone, the mud is gone, the soil is dry again......(sigh). I'd love to have more rain again sometime soon but that doesn't seem real likely as our year-long dry pattern seems to be continuing. We're getting mixed signals from the El Nino that is supposed to be developing for Winter 2018 and that is starting to concern me. I was counting on a rainy winter to leave the garden soil in better shape for next Spring and now I'm not so sure we'll get the El Nino or the plentiful rain it normally brings us here. On the other hand, as much as we need rain, I sure don't want to get half a year's worth in 2-4 days like some parts of North Carolina have received over the weekend from Hurricane Florence. The flooding there is so horrendous, and I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be there surrounded by rapidly rising water. I think I'd rather have a hot, dry, half-dead garden than a flooded one. We're supposed to be back in the 90s beginning today, though we already did hit the 90s on Friday or Saturday, or maybe both, so it isn't like the 90s have been totally gone. I think we're losing more of our cloud cover now, if yesterday is an indication of what this week will be like, and we'll be back to our usual warm and sunny September conditions. I'll be glad when we make it to October, which usually is when our real cool-down occurs here. Actually, last year the long run of temps in the 90s finally broke about 5 or 6 days before the end of September so we began to cool down a bit earlier. I also feel like I'm not adjusting to the shortening daylength very well. It keeps catching me by surprise that sunrise is occurring later and later while sunset is occurring earlier. I don't know why---it happens every year. I suppose that I'm not quite as ready to let go of the sunshine as the heat. Some people are even more ready for autumn weather than I am. When we were out shopping and running errands on Saturday (high temp maxed out at 90 and heat index at 99 so it isn't like it was a cool, mild day), I saw a young lady in probably her 20s who was wearing black leggings, black boots and a black-and-red buffalo plaid checked shirt that had long sleeves and looked like it was made of flannel. She must have been in the mood for autumn weather (I can relate) and chose to dress for the weather she wanted instead of the actual weather we had. We were down in Denton and I was thinking that maybe she was a college student who was new to the area and was used to having autumn actually feel like autumn. I bet she was feeling pretty warm in that outfit. Sadly we cannot force the cooler weather to show up here until it is good and ready. I love boot weather and flannel shirt weather but that sort of weather isn't here yet. I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival. The only thing new in our yard and garden appears to be a bunch of mushrooms or toadstools that popped up after the rain, and now they're already drying up in the heat. I'm starting to see a few hints of wild goldenrod blooming here and there, though I haven't seen any on our property. We have some---but it is apparently too drought-stunted to bloom. The ones I am seeing in bloom on property near us are not tall like they normally would be, but at least they are blooming. I noticed last night that the loud drone of locusts, crickets and grasshoppers is greatly reduced over what it was 2 or 3 weeks ago. The quieter evening was nice, but mosquitoes are out in force here now. Have a great day everyone. Dawn