A Wonder Filled Weekend!

So this weekend was a busy one, where I felt like I had no creative time at all, which would normally leave me feeling a little grumpy. But it was filled with wonderful moments- the kind that make life worth living!

On Saturday I went out to work in the garden and there were Monarch butterflies everywhere!  Turns out they were stopping by to feed on the goldenrod- a weed I have in abundance out in parts of the field. 
I took a video, which I hope you can see here.  It's not great quality, but you can tell how many of them were fluttering around. 




Then yesterday morning, this sight greeted me when I went out on the screen porch to open the windows.  I have waited for years to see this cactus blossom.  It has gotten dozens of buds, but they have always dried up and dropped off before blooming. 

I suspect it is a close cousin to my other night blooming cactus, which is white.  But as the bud grew, I could tell it would be more pink.

The best part is this one lasts more than one night!  It was still there this morning!

I'm working so hard to get the gardens cleaned up before the gardening season ends, hoping to avoid the mess I found last spring.  I know there will be weeds in the spring, since they don't die, and some grow under the snow!  But by cleaning up as much as possible, I can hope the first garden bloom won't be a dandelion!

The flowers are getting leggy and tired, but there is still beauty to be found!


















To cap off the weekend, I saw a bald eagle near the swampy area a few miles from my house yesterday.  It is still such a thrill to see one in real life!

I am grateful for all of the moments that make me stop and realize what a gift it is to be getting older, even with all the aches and uncertainty!

I finished something?!!

So, I started this post a week ago!  I swear, I just don't know where my days go anymore!

This was the view on the hill as I drove to work this (Last Tuesday) morning.  Oddly enough, it looked a lot like this again today!  It's one of my favorite parts of the drive because I can see in all directions and enjoy the moon setting over the farms, glorious sunrises, mist rising out of the corn field, the cows walking out the their pasture....  (The Mennonite farmers still pasture their cows)
It's a nice way to start the day.

As the title of the post says, I managed to finish something last week!  I pieced this quilt at least 10 years ago as a teaching sample for a class- probably more like 15 years!  The pattern is from French Braid Quilts, by Jane Hardy Miller


So when I heard my niece was having a baby girl, I already had a head start on a gift for her!  My sewing machine and I had a disagreement so it wasn't ready for the shower, but she will have it in time for baby Brooklyn's arrival in October!













The theme for the shower was "woodland boho"- which I had never heard of, but if you google it, there's a lot of stuff!  So I made a sweet baby bunny label for it. Obviously the pins have since been removed!









Now that cooler weather is coming, I need to finish the quilt for my bed, aka the beast.  My machine apparently does not like sewing straight line free motion.  So I went back to the walking foot, but am using the bungees and clamps to make turning it easier.  More work, but less aggravation in the long run.  I hope.

I'm working feverishly in the garden to keep up with the weeds before I have to give it up for the year.  I am more than ready to have my sewing time back, but am also determined not to find the same mess I did in the gardens this past spring.  I'm pleased with the progress I made on some of the overly enthusiastic perennials as well.  It's always a work in progress!

I read an article about activism yesterday and the fact that social media has made us all feel like we're being active, when in fact we are not.  I'm guilty of it myself.  I donate to causes, I sign petitions, but otherwise I am not terribly active.  And I admit part of it is because I'm not willing to upset my husband by my political activism, and part of it is that none of the events are near my home.  Driving an hour, parking issues, weather, and the time involved....  It doesn't mean I don't care.  It just means I, like most people, have become overwhelmed by it, and a little complacent.  So maybe I'll write a few letters to a few people again, as I was doing a couple of years ago.  Or make some phone calls.  I'll do what I can.  It's all any of us can do!  Just do something!

I am grateful for:
A surprise visit from the grandkids yesterday!
Enjoying a process without thinking of the end result.
My husband is not a picky eater.
My kittens all purring when I go in to the "nursery"
Hugs