6/1/18

House Anniversary

The first day of June is our house anniversary. The Three Cats Ranch was established on June 1, 2002. The original three cats of the ranch have all crossed over the rainbow bridge now, but there is still plenty of mischief from the two new cat residents. As for the humans, we're 16 years older, a little achier, but still just as happy to be here as the day we moved in. And this year they'll be paving the main road. You can't beat that.

As I've mentioned, this is our family weekend get-together. We've rented a floating home over in Oregon City, about an hour away, and we'll be spending the weekend there with Matthew, Erik, and Mae. Yesterday I made a lasagna for dinner tonight and tied up a few loose sewing ends (pun not intended, but it works). This morning I was up early to form my bread boules, and I'll be baking these babies off in a few hours. Aren't they cute?


They're sitting on the counter downstairs doing their final rise. I like this particular loaf because the dough is a little drier than the others I've worked with, which means I can get a prettier score on them. I'm going to try for a fancy wheat design when the time comes.

My slow stitching was even slower than usual yesterday, meaning I spent more time at it than I intended. I filled my hoop.


And then moved it to the next position.


And there was such a tiny bit left to do that I decided to sit and finish it up. Here it is...Block 3 of 9, called "Your Friendship has Planted..."


Here are the three I have so far.


And I know I'll want some stitching to take along this weekend. It seems a good time to stitch the names for the next row of the Shop Hop quilt. For the next row, I'll include these shops.


And there they are...ready for stitching.


Also, it was time to bottle up the chive blossom vinegar. My yield was one large and one small bottle.


Mae uses hers up each year, and I usually don't. I'll give the big bottle to her this weekend.

When that was all finished, I did a little more work on the flamingos. The top section is sewn together now. I'll need to leave the freezer paper attached to the back until it's all finished, and so it's a little bit rumpled.


About that time, an army of cats descended on me.



Hellllooooo. There's a purroblem with our treat bowls.


Smitty...a little back-up, if you don't mind.


Seems to me you're doing just fine on your own, Sadie. I'll just wait here and carry on with my yawning.


When those two were taken care of, I got back to work. These quilts have a way of taking over my life once I get going on them. I was able to get started on the right side of the next section. Before I walked away from it, I decided to put up the background pieces between the two birds, and this is where I left it.


It was hard to walk away, and now I won't get another chance to work on it until Monday or Tuesday.

When I came upstairs to write this post, Sadie was snoozing on the couch. They tolerate us for a few hours each morning until it's time to open the door.


They'll be staying home for the weekend, but Matthew will be in and out. He'll be spending his days moving into his new place and joining us in the evenings. Erik also has to work tomorrow. It's good we chose a venue close to home this year.

As I mentioned, I'm signing off for the weekend, and there's much left to do today. But before I go, it's time to set a goal for June's OMG.


It's going to be a busy month, what with our family get-together and a camping trip planned for later in the month. I decided to go with the sure thing...meaning, I made a commitment to myself to do this during the month of June. Everything else will fall by the wayside so that I can complete a new pawtrait.

While we were traveling, my good friend Sher requested a pawtrait of her daughter's cat, Todd. Here's Todd.


A handsome fellow, no? So, once I get started on a pawtrait, I can usually have it finished in a few days. For June, my goal is to complete Todd's pawtrait.

Enjoy your first weekend of June, my friends. Summer's coming. I'll be back here on Tuesday morning.

12 comments:

Barbara said...

A woman cannot live by bread alone. She must also have cats.

Cathy Smith said...

Have fun! Try not to get into too much trouble this weekend! Hehehe!!!

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

Oh--I am going to miss you--but do want you to have a fun and relaxing week end with family and good food!! (ps--those kitties want me to tell you that they will really miss you too--but be sure and fill their catnip bowl for them first!!)
enjoy, di

crazy quilter said...

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!

WoolenSails said...

I saw your houseboat on facebook, that looks like so much fun. I hope you have fun with the family and I am sure you will be working more on your wonderful projects.

Debbie

Patty said...

I don't know what a pawtrait is..... Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and good luck with your project.

Kate said...

I really like how the flamingos are coming together. I've really liked all three of your photos to fabric projects and would love to try one. I'll probably never make it to the northwest for a class with Ann. I checked out some of her patterns though. I was wondering if working my way through one of her patterns would be a reasonable place to jump off and try one on my own. What do you think?

Californianativedaughter said...

You're fortunate to be able to leave that bread around without cats sampling it. Our two older cats, orange tabby, Ben, and little black alarm clock, Tabitha, have passed that stage, Thank God. But our new black toddler with a tuxedo has enough curiosity for the both of them. When I arrived home yesterday after seeing my granddaughter, the right side of my dresser had been "cleaned" and all the contents on the floor. It's because of Joshua that when I want to keep food out, brownies, bread, etc., I either have to cover them securely or stash them in the oven, microwave, steam oven or the warming drawer. Early in the morning, around 5 AM, he's the one chasing the others up and down the hall, so my sleep patterns have changed lately so that I'm awake earlier. Today, before it get warm, I have a chance to doing weeding before I can come back in and catch up on my sewing.
Rosemary

Susan said...

Happy House Anniversary. Your garden embroidery blocks are looking good and so is the bread dough. Looking forward to Todd's pawtrait. I tried searching your blog to find the first one you did as I was trying to remember what book you used or who you took the class from, but I couldn't find it. Maybe you can put a link to it when you start Todd's pawtrait.

quiltzyx said...

The bee in your friendship garden stitchery is a big 'un! I think he'd be squishing the flowers! lol

The chive blossom vinegar is so pretty!

Todd is a handsome guy - looking forward to seeing his finished pawtrait!

Brown Family said...

I hope you have has a great family weekend!

Diane Wild said...

I moved inside my new home on your anniversary. So, we share that as well. The move went well. My family came through for me big time. Just got internet today. Love the flamingos.