An Update and Some Tid Bits

The day after I posted about the robins nest I went out to check on it. Now there is only 1 egg in the nest. And I haven't seen a bird sitting in the nest since then. So I don't know if the cats got the eggs or what happened. I will continue to keep an eye on the one egg and the nest. I hope we get at least one little bird.
Last weekend we visited my sister-in-law at her home in Frankenmuth (about a 2 hour drive from here). The lilacs were all in bloom as were several other flowers. We enjoyed spending Saturday night with her. Sunday afternoon we headed to Lansing (another 2 hour drive further south) as I had a meeting there on Monday. We got to Lansing, got checked into our hotel room and decided to do a little shopping. Well, wouldn't you know I spotted a Quilt Show sign. So we decided to follow the signs. We arrived at the Quilt Show at 3:40 and it closed at 4:00 o'clock. We decided to make a quick run through the show. In the parking lot was a VW that was covered with a quilt using all bug fabric. I had planned to get a picture when we came out of the show but of course is was gone. We did a speed walk through the quilts and saw some beautiful quilt and some ideas for future projects. It was great to see a couple of vendor friends that I met through the Thunder Bay Resort retreats. The show featured 48 vendors and it looked like they had some beautiful items for sale. It was probably a good thing we didn't have a lot of time. We did manage to go to a Quilt Shop in Frankenmuth and one in Lansing. And of course I did spend a little bit of money.

A Pleasant Surprise

We don't use our front door real often. Earlier today I opened the front door to get some fresh air into the house. Imagine my surprise when I saw a robins nest on our deck and the four beautiful blue eggs inside. I had no idea we had some busy birds creating a temporary home on our deck. They are using the ledge where the flower boxes go, we took them off last fall and haven't got them put back up yet. We have a lot of neighborhood cats here. I appreciate their efforts in keeping the mouse population down in the neighborhood. But I am worried that they will find the eggs and the baby birds. That happened to one of our neighbors last year and he wasn't very happy. I will do my best to "guard" the nest when I can.

A Great Day of Mushroom Picking

Steve and his brother had a very successful day of morel mushroom picking on Saturday. This is a very small portion of what Steve brought home. Sometimes we dry the mushrooms and sometimes we pre-cook them and freeze them. Steve decided that this time he would pre-cook and freeze the mushrooms. He did all of it by himself and even cleaned up the kitchen when he was done. Am I a lucky girl, or what?

Northern Michigan is not for sissies

Today was our Little League opening day. The morning started with a parade of all of the players and coaches. The parade was led by a group of VFW members carrying flags. And of course in a small town a fire truck and an ambulance is always involved in the parade. As I posted earlier it was raining this morning and it just so happened that it has rained all day long. I spent 3 hours at the ball park watching two of our grandsons play baseball. London played his first ever T-Ball game and did a great job. Cameryn played baseball and got a couple of nice hits and also pitched for an inning. The rain didn't seem to hamper any of the kids spirits. Umbrellas, carharts, hats, hoodies and gloves seemed to be the attire of the day. When I got in my car to come home I noticed that the temperature on my car's dash said 49 degrees. No wonder I felt chilled to the bone. This was one of the most colorful umbrellas I saw. And the playground equipment was too wet for the kids to enjoy today.

When I got home I changed my clothes and tried to put a little curl in my hair after wearing my hoodie all morning and then headed to a bridal shower for a nephew's fiance. The shower was very nice and I feel I went from one extreme (carharts and hoodies) to the other (beautiful bridesmaids all dressed up). All in all it was a fun day despite the rain. And it is a good thing Steve got the lawn mowed last night. Once the rain stops and we get a little sunshine it will be time to mow again.

Rain, rain, go away!

I know we need the rain but couldn't Mother Nature hold off till later this evening? Today is the big Little League opener here in Hillman. The kids participate in a parade, then the ball games begin. London has his first T-Ball game and Cameryn plays kid pitch baseball. I really hope the weather straightens up so the kids can have their special Little League day. After the games I have a bridal shower to attend. Then maybe a little sewing time will be the next thing on the agenda. Steve got our lawn mowed last night and it looks great. He got up early this morning to go mushroom hunting. He definitely has more drive and will power than I do. I am not an early morning person and especially when it is raining. I enjoy mushroom hunting but I do get a little creeped out in the woods. I like to keep an eye on the road and/or the vehicle. I have heard too many stories about people getting lost in the woods. In fact, about three weeks ago the fire department was called out to help find two people who were lost in the woods. They had a cell phone that was on it's last amount of battery power. The firefighters found them just before dark, thankfully. But that does make me a bit nervous. Steve is a logger and spends 5 days a week in the woods and he also has an excellent sense of direction. And hopefully he will have a successful mushroom hunt today. Fresh morels sound great today!

Life gets a bit crazy at times. I know all of you know that too. Unfortunately my blogging gets shoved to the bottom of the pile when there just doesn't seem to be enough time to do everything. I really enjoy blogging but sometimes it just can't be helped. I had a wonderful time at my retreat last week. It seemed like I did more laughing and visiting than I did sewing but sometimes we just need to do that. I machine appliqued 6 more of my blocks of the month and finished the May banner of the month. I also finsihed the binding on this log cabin quilt. It is part of a series for a group I joined at Delphine's Quilt Shop in Gaylord. Prairie Women's Sewing Circle meets every other month and today was our third meeting. We have home work between meetings and the log cabin quilt was our most recent homework. I really enjoyed making it and have plans to make another one, perhaps bigger next time. I hand quilted this quilt too. It was fun to see the other quilts today. Our next assignment is titled At Mama's Knee and is supposed to be 17 inches square. I am anxious to get it started but it will have to wait for a little while.

On another note spring has finally sprung here in northern Michigan. It is so nice to see green grass and trees budding. The daffodils and tulips are in full bloom and I even saw a few trilliums out today. Little League season starts on Saturday and we have 2 grandsons playing this year so this Nana and Papa will be spending lots of time at the ball park during the next couple of months. We are so glad that we can enjoy the kids activities.

Packed for Quilt Camp

I am leaving for our Guild's spring quilt camp in a few minutes. Hopefully everything that I will need is packed. In fact, Steve is loading the car as I am typing. I have 2 sewing machines, one for myself and one for my niece Lana. And I have two sleeping bags, one for myself and one for my sister Connie. When I can I like to take my own chair as it is very comfy for all of those wonderful hours of sewing. I also love my sewing machine table. My plan is to machine quilt and bind my May Banner of the Month, do some more machine applique on the Blocks of the Month and I threw in a bag of 2 inch squares that I am randomly sewing into 4 patches. I will report on my progress when I return. A big thank you to my husband for his understanding, love and support. And fortunately for me I have a part-time job and I can name my own hours. As of right now my next retreat won't be until November.