Tuesday's Truth

Change is good, unless it's only something you keep in your pocket or in a jar on a shelf.

Tuesday's Truth

Sometimes you just have to sit down, shut up, and enjoy whats right in front of your face.



Friday Winners

Phewwwww.

Swim season is finally over.

You have no ideas how nice it was to take my time

leaving my meeting,

getting to visit with collegues

and wrap up loose ends for the week without the rush of

meeting the practice bus of having to plan on coming

back into work after hours.

Ahhhhhh.

So.

A winner is needed.

Someone has to win this fabulous pattern of Kristy's.

With the handy-dandy help of Mr. Random Number generator

The winner of either a PDF or paper version of

Kristy's INDEX quilt pattern is.....

Miss Nancy!!

I'll pass on your email to Kristy and she will be contacting you soon

to let you know how to collect your prize.

Be sure to share your version of INDEX with all of us!

Tuesday's Truth

Sometimes when you think you need everything to fall just exactly in place to be perfect,

you are wrong.

Sometimes it's perfect when things don't happen like they are supposed to.

Index quilt Blog hop and Giveaway

So, as you have been able to tell from the lack of posting

the past few months, I've been a bit busy.

And not necessarily in a having fun, doing what I love, relaxing way.

Swim season and IEP's and lesson planning and other detritus of life

really put a dent in doing things I enjoy.

Until last weekend, it had been MONTHS since I read a book for pleasure.

In the midst of all this stress, I jumped at the opportunity to

test a quilt pattern for my friend Kristy.

I figured, technically, it was work, not pleasure,

so I could squeeze out some time for it.

GAWD, I'm glad I did!!

 It turned out to be just the stress relief I needed.

Kristy sent me a copy of her pattern to test,

 saying "just do one or two blocks".

So I dutifully did.

And then made a few more because I liked the way it looked

and thought, here's a great baby quilt!

And then made a few more, thinking, here's a great picnic quilt.

And then made a few more,

because, really, I wanted a big 'ol lap quilt

(seriously, who's taking a picnic now that it's almost winter?).

So here's what mine ended up looking like

I love Kristy's quilt in that wonderful jelly roll assortment of colors,
but I really like the simplicity of my two tone.
Just so's ya know,
this ain't no Ohio State University quilt.
It just so happens that red Painter's Canvas and Kona Coal
look really good together.

So, how do you get your hot little hands on this fabulous pattern you ask?
Simple!
Head on over to Kristy's etsy shop and purchase either the PDF or the paper copy.
OR,
leave a comment for me about your favorite stress reliever.
Cuz' I'm giving away to one lucky person a PDF copy of the
Index quilt pattern!!
How awesome is that!

Hop along on the blog hop and check out how the other pattern testers
did with this great pattern (they're also giving away a copy of the pattern)
Here's the schedule:

Sunday 10/28 -- Kristy

Monday 10/29   -- Annie ,  Andi

Tuesday 10/30 -- Shelly,  Nancy

Wednesday 10/31 -- Halloween (BOO!)

Thursday 11/1 -- Beth,  Jess

Friday 11/2 -- Sara ,  Jacey

Remember, all you have to do is leave me a comment
and you are entered to win.
I will pick a random winner Friday 11/2.
I can't wait to see what the other gals in the hop post!

Index Quilt Hop and Giveaway

Holy cow, you know you've made it in the blogging world

when you are invited to participate

in a blog hop!

And it gets even sweeter when there's something

to give away!

My super talented friend Kristy has published another awesome quilt pattern

and is releasing it TODAY!

I was lucky enough to be one of her pattern testers

and let me just tell you, I {LOVE}this pattern.

You can check out more great pics of this fabulous quilt and

see what Kristy has to say about her pattern here

and then go to her etsy shop to purchase the pattern in PDF or paper form.

OR

you can follow the blog hop and enter to win a free PDF of the pattern.

Here's the hop schedule:

Sunday 10/28 -- Kristy (That's today!)

Monday 10/29   -- Annie (wahoo, that's me!) ,  Andi

Tuesday 10/30 -- Shelly,  Nancy

Wednesday 10/31 -- Halloween (trick or treat, don't smell my feet!)

Thursday 11/1 -- Beth,  Jess

Friday 11/2 -- Sara ,  Jacey

Come on back here tomorrow,

I'm lucky hop spot number one!

I can't wait to show you the results of my first pattern testing.



A bit of Autumn randomness

Hey there.

Remember me?

I've been a bit busy since August.

So busy that I haven't had much time to do the things I enjoy the most.

That included reading and quilting and updating this blog.

But now I'm back with concerted effort.

I'm in the habit of taking my little point and shoot camera everywhere.

Here's a bit of what I've seen recently:

This is the maple tree in my front yard.

I came home one Sunday after running errands

and there were people taking pictures of it.

Random People.

Weird.

But if you got up close to the tree, you could see that it glowed.

Yep, this tree is so beautiful in its color it actually

glows.

Hands down my favorite tree in the fall.

Anywhere.

This is a cat.

A fat cat.

A morbidly obese cat. See its tiny head?

This is NOT my cat.

This is the pasta aisle at my favorite Italian grocery in Ohio.

Yes, it really is as long as a standard grocery aisle.

And yes, it really only has pasta in it.

Pasta made in the USA, pasta made in Italy.

Every pasta shape man could ever dream up making.

One aisle over is olive oils and vinagers.

Yep, another whole aisle dedicated to wonderful ingredients you can only dream about.

Sigh. 

This is my beacon for Ohio. I love this barn.

Closer to home, the city was being optimistic.

Not a man (working or not) around.

I love the sign maker with a sense of humor.

Went to the farm to get fresh eggs this morning and I was greeted by

a couple of does taking a nap in the sun.

Seems like a great idea.



Tuesday's Truth

Sometimes, when you least expect it and when you need it most, people come through. Have faith that it will happen.

Five things I love about Autumn

1. I love the smell of Autumn. There's something about the autumn air; its crisper, with the hint of wood smoke and frost, and give it time, a tease of snow to come. The only seasonal smell that is as pungent is blooming lilacs in the spring, and that's only when you are near them. Autumn can be smelled EVERYWHERE!

2. I love the taste of Autumn. Its when we start baking apple pies, and maccaroni and cheese from scratch, and tomato soup and grilled grilled cheese. And bread, yeasty warm bread. Fresh out of the oven (or in this case, rising). After a long hot summer when you didn't want to even look at an oven, all we want to do now is have something baking or simmering or roasting.

3. I love the feel of Autumn. Sweaters and jeans in the day, piles of quilts in the evenings. 'Nuff said.
(pictures of new quilt to come soon)

4. I love the sound of Autumn. Rustling leaves, honking migrating geese, childern jumping into piles of leaves. Neighbors chatting over the fence while tidying up the yard.

5. I love the sights of Autumn. All those fall festivals (how many Octoberfests can one metropolitan city have??), blue skies, fog on the river in the morning, clearer skies at night to see the stars. And those leaves, those beautiful changing leaves.

Just gotta love Autumn.

Tuesday'sTruth

Autumn is just Monther Nature putting on a splash of makeup and a spangly new dress for the last hurrah of the year. Thank goodness for spangly new dresses!

Tuesday's Truth

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. And who wants to do what everyone is doing anyway?

A little bit of this and that

Its been a busy few weeks.

Too busy.

So here's a little taste of what I've been up to.

Work. Nothing makes a teacher's heart warm like data!!

Wow, I must be sick.

A fab sunset from the deck.

Now that is something to admire.

A nice hike, 7 or so miles. It only looked like it would rain the whole time.

I ordered these great metal findings and made a few key chains.

I think I got a bit carried away,

but they will make great gifts for friends and family at some point.

I've been baking a bit of bread, but forgot to snap pics before I sliced and toasted it up.

Trust me, it was yummy!

I am also wrapping up a project in the sewing room.

I tested a pattern for a friend and am just waiting on the go ahead to show you.

I promise there will be fun for all when I get to show you.

I, er...um..., still need to quilt it,

But I CAN'T wait to show you!!!

Until then,

I'm just dreaming of chasing windmills.

Tuesday's Truth

Some say you should spread the drama in your life around to keep the doses to a minimum. Sometimes you just don't get to choose.  Go with the flow, it will all even out eventually.

So what's that all about? I got all of my swim team drama done in one day, yesterday. One of my boys was horsing around on the wet deck and went down, spraining his wrist and chipping a bone (claims he, but the doc says he can be back in the pool in 5 days). Another of my poor misguided boys thought stealing a wallet and cell phone was a good idea, like that would improve our chances of winning?? His mother is still letting him think about it in jail today. Nothing like getting pretty silver bracelets and a cruiser ride at the end of a meet!

I have met my quota for drama for the year, its someone else's turn now. Any volunteers?

Its Done!!!

I have finally finished my new black and white quilt,

except hand-sewing the binding, but I couldn't wait to show you.

 I'm really REALLY excited.

But first....

a bit of show and tell.

Unless your name is Carrie and are having a baby this winter

and you won't tell us boy or girl.

Which made me have to make not one but two

baby quilts.

One for a girl and one for a boy.

No, you don't get them both unless you have a boy AND a girl.

So turn off your computer Carrie, and keep guessing

what baby's quilt will look like.

Just like we will keep guessing boy or girl.

Here's the girl quilt:

I think this was a Moda or a Benartex charm pack.

Check out my fancy scalloped edges.

While doing the scallops was not too terribly difficult,

sewing the binding was not a walk in the park.

Bias Bias Bias!!!!

No pic of the back, its just plain yellow.

And here's the boy quilt:

This was made from squares I cut from that fab Kona Modern Fabric

I won at the Kansas City Modern Meet Up back in May.

I added some Kona solids and a few grey prints to round it out.

Lots of fun to make, and super easy!

Here's the back:

Ok. Just took a look at my pictures of my new monster sized quilt

and I am very disappointed.

The lighting is terrible.

I will try to take more-better photos later this week.

But here she is,

Single Girl Interrupted:

I have wanted to make a Single Girl quilt for a while.

I have several MARRIED friends who have made this quilt.

Just didn't seem right that

the SINGLE girl didn't have one of these.

It's iterrupted because that's what life sometimes does,

interrupt.

So as a decidedly single girl, after an interruption of a marraige,

I needed a quilt that represented this aspect of my life.

And I quite like it.

A close up of the quilting:

What you can't see in the big photo is that there are three lines of big circles

coming down the quilt, two kinda close to each other and

the third set to the side.

I used some circle templates to draw the big circles right onto the quilt,

but to do all those gazillions of little circles

 I just kept repeating the mantra

"quarters, nickles, and pennies"

to keep the size of the little buggers the way I wanted them.

So how long did it take to quilt this monster (roughly105x105) you ask?

Well, I started yesterday at 9am, took a long dinner break, quit at 11:30pm,

and finished up with another 2 hours today.

But it was worth it.

I like my Single Girl. Interrupted.

Any suggestions on how/where to take better photos of this quilt?

Hodge poge

Issac is here in St Louis, don't know who put out the welcome mat.

On the positive side, things are greening up around here again.

The sky has been amazing with the changing

clouds and multiple storm fronts.

Unfortunately I haven't been carrying my camera,

and besides, grey skies sometimes aren't too photogenic.

I finally got my first paycheck of the year

so I'll go treat myself to a new purse thats big enough for my camera

and maybe I'll have more photos to share. 

I'm saving for a really nice camera so the quality of my photos can improve too.

Our first swim meet was yesterday and it got off to a bang.

Or a blow.

Hmm.

The meet was delayed due to tornado sirens sending everyone to the locker rooms for shelter.

But I consider the meet to be a raging success as the boys

took the second place medal for the

400 Breaststroke relay.

I'm SOOOOOO proud of them!!!!

We haven't won a medal in this meet in several years, so it feels especially good.

My friend Nancy made this keychain for me.

LOVE IT!!!

I need to find out where she got the metal end so I can make one for my school keys.

I still have that black and white quilt pinned on the machine,

just waiting for me to devote some time to quilting it.

I promise when its done I will take good pics and show you all.

In the mean time I'm enjoying a lazy Saturday after a week filled with

14 and 16 hour days.

Tuesday's Truth

If you gut the wilderness with roads, or lace it up with safety railings, you no longer permit the hard worker to achieve more than the lazy one. You even out the challenge, and everybody gets more or less the same thing for the experience (Paul Schullery). 

Is that what we really want out of life?

Tuesday's Truth

When hiking in bear country its important to make sure your hiking companion is slower than you and carries the food in their pack. Just sayin'.

Sunday, Sunday

Ahhhhh.

Such a relaxing weekend.

The weather was great, low 80's with lowish humidity.

The phone was quiet and the neighbors were too.

The mowers started (thanks Doug!) and lawn is mowed (at least the front).

Laundry is clean and smelling fresh, clean sheets and towels to start the week.

Spent a good part of the weekend working on a me project.

Remember my post on the black and whites I cut out?

Well, I have an almost finished top, just need to add a border to make it big enough

(they always want to be bigger).

Here's a sneak peak:

Ya'll didn't expect a full unveiling just yet did ya?

Hopefully the week won't be too busy and I'll have the energy to put on the borders

and get this sucker on the machine.

I'm really excited to use some of my newfound knowledge from Angela Walters

 to quilt this bad girl.

 Its not entirely what you might think, can't wait to get it quilted and show you.

After the fiasco with the blue thread on my Stepping Stones quilt

(I still have all the black and whites cut to make another, just don' know if I'll do it)

 I am already thinking light grey or white thread.

With so much focus on black and white this weekend

dinner tonight HAD to be bright.

Like ORANGE bright.

Bought these beauties at the local farm (not market, but FARM)

and had to do something with them tonight.

Toss with onions and peppers from the farm,

a bit of olive oil and my own fresh rosemary from the porch.

YUMMMMMM.

Dinner was a bit monochromatic in the orange sense

with orange beats (sweet as candy) and chicken and all those peppers and tomatoes and such,

but oh so tasty.

Check me out, more veggies than proteins.

Yes, I'm a healthy gal!

Here's to a good week for me and you!

Tuesday's Truth... on Wednesday

When you work hard and are good at your job you will be rewarded .... with more work.

School is back in session and the swim team is back in the pool. A guarenteed 12 hour day until November 2. Gee, 12 hours sounds nice right now as I haven't been home for dinner before 7:30 yet. All that wonderful learning I did this weekend with Angela Walters will have to wait to be put to use, I need to plan my Beowulf unit for readers on the 3rd grade level. Nothing like taking an Olde English epic poem and translating it to low level inner city!

I survived and came away smarter!

Its time for another round of

True Confessions (dun dun DUM).

I have never taken a quilting class.

EVER.

I didn't understand the allure of them,

AND I'M A TEACHER!!!

Sometimes, I am so stupid.

I went to my first ever, pay money to get in, taught by a talented quilter, class.

I have to admit, I don't know what the HELL was wrong with me!

So, a friend mentioned she was going to a class taught by Angela Walters.

Yep, THE Angela Walters, quilting goddess.

You know, the cute, can't be older than 22, talent coming out of her

sunshine-y hair, with one amazing book in print

(if you can find it, seems the next print release is already sold out)

called Free-Motion Quilting



And another NEW book coming out this fall (and book three already in the works, squeal!).

Anyway, that friend mentioned that you couldn't get into the class unless you knew someone in the quilt guild that was bringing Angela here. 

Hmmmmmm.

Just so happens I knew such a person, and got my self on the class roster.

SOOOO glad I did.

Angela was really personable and down to earth

and brought all sorts of quilts to show.

Then she spent time drawing out some of her favorite stitches and taking questions.

She also spent time REALLY showing us how its done on the machine.

 Amazing.

So I am no longer a class virgin. I got one under my belt and will likely go again.

I learned a lot and can't wait to put some of it to use in my quilts.

Really, you should check out Angela's blog, Quilting is My Therapy,

Lots of great advice and beautiful quilts to look at for ideas.

First full week of school and swim team, too.

Cross your fingers I survive that as well!

Still here

I haven't fallen into deep space, a septic tank, or can't get up.

School is back in session.

Which means I'm back to the 12-15 hour dog days of August.

Getting ready for teaching equals really long hours

and swim season doesn't start until Monday!

I did manage to sew up a little somethum' somethum' for myself.

 My old school bag had an unfortunate demise in Mother Nature's attempt
at turning my building into a swimming pool.
Needless to say, it had to go in the dumpster.

 So here's my new one, a Zakka Style pattern

using Essex Linen in Natural and a yummy print I picked up in June in Paso Robles

at Birch Fabrics, aka Fabricworm (can't remember what line it is, other than beautiful).

Pockets galore, with a great black and white lining.

See Floyd the cat checking it out? He only wishes he could use such a bag.

Its cooling off for a bit in steamy St Lou, house is open and the canned air is off!

Should be clear nights to watch the Persiod Meteor shower this weekend.

Only thing better would be to watch it in South Dakota or Wyoming.

If you see a shooting star, make a wish for me.

Balsamic Peaches and Cherries

One of the things I like best about summer

(ok, my favorite thing next to summer vacation)

is farmers markets and all the goodness I can create from the spoils of my visits.

St Louis has a ridiculous number of farmers markets,

so many that if I went to two different markets every week

 I still would not make it to all of them.

Today I headed west to check out the Lake St Louis Farmers Market.

It used to be closer, in O'Fallon at the ballpark, but moved

(this year, last year? I'm not sure).

So much fun to see old friends Farmer Gene and Lindaand their great meats, eggs,

 and yellow tomatoes,

and Farmer Bill and his amazing cherry tomatoes

(black and yellow, got the black this week, very meaty!)

and to chat bread with him (he makes a good foccacia) and the other bakers.

New friends today, chatted up a farming couple about their orange beets,

I suspect they will have grilled beets on the table tonight

after I shared that particular yummy prep idea.

The best part?

It was raining!!!!!

Boy do we need some more of that.

So I got home and was inspired to do something with my Calhoun County peaches

and this is what I came up with:

Balsamic Peaches and Cherries.

Super easy to make:

Combine a half pound of pitted and halved cherries with

2 Tbsp of sugar and

2 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar

in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

While that is getting happy (stir occasionally while it boils, 5 minutes)

slice up a pound of peaches and put in a bowl.

After the cherries, sugar, and balsamic vinegar boil for 5 minutes

pour over the peachs and combine.

Then jar it up!

Because you are not really "canning" this, it will last in the fridge for about 3-5 days.

But really, it will be gone in less than two.

Soooo good over oatmeal in the morning and ice cream any time of day!

Enjoy!

Tuesday's Truth

Watch the Olympics.

Its good for the soul to see all those talented athletes.

A Beautiful Sunday

Woke up to the glorious sound of raindrops on the roof.

Almost didn't recognize the sound,

seems like we haven't had that wet stuff falling out of the sky for months.

Its certainly not going to put a dent in the drought

but, wow, it sure is nice.

Think I'll have a lazy morning listening to the drizzle,

maybe knead up some marble rye dough,

work on my quilt some more.

Enjoy the surprises your Sunday brings you.

Tuesday's Truth

Sometimes you just have to take a risk,

otherwise how will you know?

Nursing Cover

Spent a good bit of time this past weekend with a friend who just had a baby.

Lots of family and friends around made nursing a bit ummm..

awkward.

So I hopped online and visited Jamie over at Sunflower Seeds

and lo abnd behold she had a link to

this tutorial for a nursing cover.

Perrr-fect!

Hanging out inside today, its going to be 108!

Gotta protect my poor scalp

got a bit sunburned at the ball game Sunday

(Go Cards! Swept the Cubbies!!!)

By a bit I mean I already have blisters that are oozing.

I will not be using the hair dryer for a while.

Lesson learned, wear a hat!

Stay Cool!!!

Tuesday's Truth

Sometimes you need a challenge to kick you in the butt to get you jump started onto the

next great thing.

And then you just have to let go of the fear and stress and do it.

The rewards will overwhelm you.

Grillin' up some Bread

So the heat wave continues and whats a gal with a hankering for fresh bread to do?

Go to the grocery?

Blasphemy!

Go to the bakery?

While we have St Louis Bread Co (Panera to the rest of the country)

just down the street, and their bread is yummy

(in a commercially, chain store, tastes the same here as in Ohio, California, and South Dakota

((not that I ate there on any of my various vacations, 'cuz I didn't))

 baked kinda way),

Ummmm.... in a word,

 NO.

Its too durn hot to turn on the oven

(its almost too hot to put on clothes!),

but sometimes you just gotta have some 

fresh, flavorful, open crumb, warm deliciousness

that is homemade bread.

I contemplated trying to bake bread right on the driveway,

kinda like the old 'its so hot fry an egg' trick.

But then I looked out on the deck and through the waves of heat

shimmering up off the (in desperate need of a new stain) deck

and lo', there stood the grill

in its shinning armour,

looking like third degree burns might result from touching its surface.

Hmmmmmmm.

I could do this.

Grill/bake bread.

So I did, to delightfully wonderfully yeasty goodness.

And I did post about it.

Sort of.

But not enough, because people started emailing me:

You have to teach us.

OK.

I started with my favorite go to, so easy a child can make it,

 dough recipe from King Arthur Flour Company.

It's a no knead recipe that I just mix up in my dough bucket and let sit in the

fridge until I can't stand it any longer and HAVE to have bread.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to let it sit for more than a few days.

It's that good.

Seriously, if you think you are intimidated by bread, dough, or kneading,

USE THIS RECIPE!

Intimidation no more!

I grabbed about a grapefruit sized handful (around a pound of dough)

and shaped it into a baguette.

The secret to beautiful baguettes is gently flattening out the dough in to a rough rectangle

and letter folding it (like a piece of paper), pinching it closed along the fold,

and putting it down to rise with the fold down.

You do NOT have to have the fancy pants pan I do.

In fact, most of the time I just bake on a parchement lined cookie sheet.

I digress.

Let the dough rise for 45-60 minutes.

Vaccum the house, fold laundry, clean the sinks...

Who am I kidding??? Kick back and watch trash TV!

During the last 15-20 minutes of the rising time, light the grill.

Now I just have a gas grill, but this works with charcoal too.

Preheat the grill to about 500-550 degrees

(translation, all burners on high!).

Brush the bread dough with a smidge of olive oil for color (really, just a smidge!!).

Turn the burners on low that will be directly under your bread (don't want to scorch the bread)

and if you have room, add an old pan or pot that you can add water to for steam.

Open the grill and lay in the dough, add a cup of water and

SHUT THE GRILL!

Your temperature will have cooled some with the lid open,

but should come back up to around 450-500.

Just don't open the grill for the next 25-30 minutes.

And then....

Geek that I am, I take my bread's temperature to check for doneness'

somewhere between 205 and 210 degrees.

You don't have to join my geek club, just test for doneness like a watermelon.

Thump the bottom of the bread with your finger.

If it sounds kinds hollow, it's likely done.

 The bread will bake faster the thinner the baguettes are.

One of the most critical steps is after you take the bread off the grill

(or out of the oven).

Do NOT cut into your bread for at least an hour.

Its still doing its thing inside, and if you cut into it now

all you'll have is hot gummy gooey not quite baked dough.

STEP AWAY FROM THE BREAD!

After it cools, you can of course reheat it in the oven for that warm bread at the table

goodness.

And I warn you, this bread will not last long in the house.

In fact, one of these two loave have magically disappeared into my belly already,

and I baked it yesterday.

Good think I like to hike and my hiking buddy doesn't mind a punishing pace!

If that wasn't enough info to get you feeling confident about putting bread on the grill to bake,

check out Jeff Hertzberg's youTube video.

He's a great resource for bread on the grill

and his recipes in all of his books are really easy.

Happy Baking! 

 

Color Magic

True confession.

I am terrified to pick paint colors.

Really!

I may be able to put together quilts with great color sense,

but when it comes to decorating my walls with color

I am paralyzed with fear.

So whats a gal to do?

Dig in her stash with the help of a dear art teacher friend!

I am happy to report that (while I cannot move without my aching muscles protesting)

I now have a Kona Ash great room, foyer, and hallway!

At Home Depot the color is called Gentle Rain

But its Kona Ash!

And it looks great. The magic is that the color changes every minute with 

the changing lighting and looks different on every wall.

This morning it looks like two shades of barely there gray,

last night it looked a bit purple-ly and dark gray,

and at one point yesterday it looked slate blueish and light-ish blue.

(Hmm, is light-ish a word?)

I'd take a picture, but I'm sure you all have a bit of Kona Ash in your stash

(tee hee, that rhymes!)

and I don't know if I can lift the camera anyway.

I did all the painting in three days

(because I started with painting the bathroom moss green on Sunday)

including painting the cathedral ceiling all by my lonesome.

I also changed out the electrical outlets and wall switches,

not just the covers, but the outlets themselves.

Yep, amateur electrician I am.

For now I've rinsed out the brushes and put up the rollers,

but... my bedroom could use some freshening up.

I've pulled out a hunk of Etchings by Studio e fabrics,

its got some lovely slate blue in it....

 

Tuesday's Truth

True patience allows us to live fully in the moment and to be content to be where we are while we wait.

Saturday Stroll

The best thing about Saturdays in the summer

are the Farmer's Markets.

I have to say I sometimes feel a bit greedy with all the choices here.

On any given Saturday there are close to 40 different markets to choose from

within a 40 mile radius.

Today I thought I would check out one of the larger ones in the city,

Tower Grove Market.

A true outdoor market in a huge, beautiful city park.

These flowers still bloomed in the heat, however should have been twice or thrice the size

so said the lovely farmer lady.

Tomatoes are IN! Everyone's booth was filled to the brim with

these lovies, so many varieties of heirlooms

it is difficult to pick!

Looking for the pot of gold under these bundles of rainbow swiss chard.

Such vibrant purple!

I purchased a few containers of these beauties

SOOO sweet and tasty!

I stopped at another market on the way home to pick up just harvested corn and cukes.

I'm thinking of a snazzy Greek salad for dinner!

To go with my salad I baked some bread.

Yup, its 108 degrees and I baked fresh bread.

On the grill!

Turned out pretty good; here I am checking the internal temp to make sure its baked enough.

I'm not completely happy with the coloring of the bread,

its a little on the light side,

need to figure out something there.

The good news is that a cold front is moving in and it will top out

around 97 degrees tomorrow.

What are some of your favorite ways to keep cool in the summer?