Almost September

Oh, my gosh, tomorrow is September 1!

This past weekend we went camping with our sons and their families at Big Lava Lake in Central Oregon. There were such lovely views of the mountains, and it was a very relaxed, enjoyable time. One son has a bed for us in their trailer, so it works out great for us.

I never did post about our trip to Seattle with our DGDs. We had a lovely time and they were well behaved. We went up in the Space Needle and then they went on quite a few rides at the Seattle Center. They also went to a park and to the Children's Museum, so had a full couple days. Aubrey (9) is on the left, and Tylee (7) is on the right.

Quilting-wise, I have been so frustrated with my Juki, which I only use for the actual machine quilting process. Thankfully, there is a store that sells and services machines just a couple milse from home. First there were serious tension problems and problems with skipped stitches. They got the tension f ixed, but the skipped stitches have been a nightmare. It will skip a half-inch or so, and connect for one stitch or a few, and skip again. Finally, they are ordering a part, and I sure hope it takes care of the problem. It has been more than frustrating. Having the quilting issues does mean that I have been pretty successful in getting some piecing done, so that is a plus, I guess.

Today's ramblings

Oh, my, where does the time go?

We have gone and watched our oldest grandson's football practice a couple times. He is quite a good little player, and yes, I'm prejudiced, but he really is. He also is playing "fall ball," which is baseball, and he has a game Sunday.

I can't believe how fast the summer is going. The kids will be back in school before we know it, and boo hoo, we have picked the last of our blueberries. We enjoy them for a couple months in the summer, and then presto, summer is nearly gone, and it's back to berries from the freezer. However, there are still fresh peaches, so that's a huge plus! Gravenstein apples will be at the farmer's market probably this week, and I want to buy a box and make applesauce in my crockpot. Yum-yum!

Next week we will take our two granddaughters to Seattle for a couple days. They are beside themselves with excitement. I hope the trip lives up to their expectations. Seattle is such a pretty city, right on the Puget Sound.

The beautiful days have made it a joy to get out and walk for a while. We have a much harder time pushing ourselves in the winter, when we have so much rain, and it's cold. Maybe we just look for excuses to stay hunkered down inside, do you suppose?

My Juki is in the hospital hopefully getting its tension issues and skipping stitch issues resolved. I certainly have found plenty to do in the interim. I put together my guild row quilt, and I am making the braids for my second French Braid. I want to have both French Braids ready to give to our two sons and daughters-in-law for Christmas, or if I can't wait, sooner. I THINK I can do it!

Darling granddaughters

Well, I said I would post pics of my cutie-pie DGDs all dressed up and made up at Tylee's birthday part at the tea house on Saturday. Tylee is the one with the crown, and Aubrey is the other little girl. Tylee just turned seven and Aubrey had her ninth birthday a month ago. They just looked so cute and had such a good time.

The first thing they do is pick out shoes, dress, jewelry, etc. and get dressed. Then comes hair, makeup and nails. After that they take pics and then have the tea party and the gifts. It is all so cute, and the little girls just love it.

What fun!

I started this post earlier and did something dumb, and lost it, so I will try again and hope to avoid whatever it was I did.

Yesterday was a day pretty much filled with the four grandchildren being here. We had a very large fort constructed in our living room, with quilts, chairs toys, the couch, etc. I do wish I had taken a picture, as it was quite impressive. Each of the kids had their own "room," which involved, of course, quite a bit of crawling to get to. And then, of course, they each had to have an assortment of toys in their "room," so we had quite an assortment of stuff spread all over. All too soon, the kids will be too old for things like this, so we need to enjoy it while it lasts.

Today is our darling Tylee's seventh birthday. There was a birthday party at a tea house near here for her and her little girlfriends today. They dress up in dress up clothes and shoes that are there, and then have their hair, nails and makeup done. They looked so cute. Then they have "tea," which consists of lemonade and little snacks suitable to their age group. (No cucumber sandwiches there!!) I will plan to post a picture another time of Tylee and her cousin Aubrey there, all dressed up. Before we know it, they will be doing their own hair and makeup. Time goes so fast.

We're nearing the end of our blueberries in our back yard. We have four bushes and have enjoyed a very good crop this year. We will go back to frozen berries when the home grown ones are gone.

I think Dick and I will go to the beach Monday or Tuesday and spend a night there. It's about two hours from home, and the weather should be just wonderful. We have some friends staying there all week, so we'll spend a little time with them and walk and walk and eat and eat, and just relax a bit. The Oregon coast is just drop-dead gorgeous, so if you ever get a chance to see it, you should take advantage of the opportunity.