The Beach Alford Style

In July we went to Gulf Shores, Alabama with Kieth's family. Here are a few pictures of the trip.

Getting Attacked by Mr. Rooster

We always get the eggs in the evening as they lay all day. But yesterday morning I decided to go check their water and food. I went in all was well and then I decided to take a picture or two and Mr. Rooster did not like that. He started pacing in front of me and digging and pecking really hard at the ground like 2 inches away form my toes. I had flip flops on like I always do and he peck my foot really really hard. It hurt and my foot was feeling weird for a minute. But, Mr Rooster kept on pacing in front of me. Know I was trapped or at least feeling that way. Keith was not home so I was in the coop, nobody to save me or distract the rooster so I could escape. I was feeling a little scared and then something distracted him and he walked about two feet from me I had enough time to take a few steps towards the door and he came running at me. I kicked him but not that hard because other chickens were around and I didn't want to hurt them and then after he got himself back on his two legs he came at me again and I kicked him again and ran out the door. He then attacked the coop door but thankfully I was on the other side.

Playing Catch Up

Today I hope to play catch up and get everyone up to speed with us this summer.

So get your reading glasses on.

Please, How Do I Stop?

I am so over booked, scheduled, obligated what ever you want to call it. I always do this to myself and can never seem to stop. Between now and Friday afternoon I have to:

• Get my eyebrows waxed
• Make a baby quilt (about 3hrs), wash, wrap and deliver it
• Fold and put away close to 12 loads of clothes
• Pack
• Finish all cutting for my Uncle Randy's quilt for my trip
• Have my bangs and maybe hair cut
• Go to Auburn to buy a bike rack (I will save $50 bucks by driving the extra 45 minutes)
• Wash car and clean it out
• Organize getting the house feed

and I am sure I am missing something.

Please someone tell me how to be okay with having nothing to do. I seem to have to have every second and it is starting to seem like milli-second filled.

Some Extra Pictures for Fun

My Garden This Week

We went to the beach for 4 days and I came home to 3 cucumbers. As of today they are about 3 inches long. Yippee!! My lemon cucumber plant has 20+ flowers and it is growing taller each day but no cucumbers yet. It is triple the size of my regular cucumber plants.

I think that 2 of my tomato plants are infected. They looked a little shriveled before we left but since we have returned some of the leaves have brown spots on them but this is what I don’t understand is that when we left there was no tomatoes now it has golf ball sized tomatoes. So I am wondering if I should pull it out before it spreads or keep it to get more tomatoes. I guess I got to do some research to see what the problem is.
(DOUBLE CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE BETTER)


My red potatoes have flowered and now I am just waiting on them to die back so I can harvest them about 2 weeks after that happens. These potatoes are called Red Cloud and have red insides. So get ready for red mashed potatoes or potato salad.

The lettuce is ready to be picked for a final time and the radishes and carrots are done as well. In their place I have and will be planting watermelon and cantaloupes. The lettuce was very good and handy when I only needed a small amount like for taco’s or a quick sandwich. It will defiantly be planted this fall and in the future. I would say that I planted too much lettuce for our family and next year will scale it down. That way I will have more room for the things I can preserve like cucumbers and tomatoes. Well, as in other post my carrots and radishes didn’t do GREAT so nothing to brag on.

My pumpkins seem to be doing good. I have two vines growing and have had a lot of flowers over the past month and last night I noticed new leaves growing. I am not sure what is going on as you know I am new to this but I am just going to sit back and see if I get pumpkins.

The Quilt Is Almost Done

I am so excited; my first quilt is almost done.

Last night after cutting the fabric for the sashing and stones I laid out all the squares, stones and sashing to figure out how I wanted the squares laid out. I just love it and am proud of my color choices but it could not look this good without the help of Lain Stowe at Sew Much Fun.

I like the layout a lot and didn’t want to mix it up so I would pick up a square and a piece of sashing and sew those together and then come back to the living room and get the next and so on. I was on my last row of squares and when I walked back into the living room my cat was sitting in the spot where the square I was just sewing was suppose to be.

Then I took two squares to sew together and went back to get the third and she was sitting in both squares spot. This happened over the course of an hour as I was easily side tracked last night. But it was so funny and very cute that she knew not to get on the fabric. I guess she learned that she was not suppose to be on the fabric by watching me use the lint roller the other night to get her hair of my squares. I love my kitty cat.

I have one square that is a Snail’s Trail and it should measure 12” x 12”. Let’s just say that every side is not straight and is wavy almost. The seams should be ¼ “and a lot of times you could fix the problem by just making the seam smaller or bigger. But this squares is so uneven that I should have remade it but I didn’t have enough fabric and I went to Joanne’s yesterday and didn’t notice the pattern so I some how managed to make it look okay. I can’t wait to see how that one deformed square affects the whole quilt. This is my first quilt so I can’t beat myself up to bad I guess.

I took the fabric today to have my label made so I can complete the back and take it to Sew Much Fun for the quilting process. I can’t wait to post the completed quilt pictures. Check back you never know when it will be done.


Happy Quilting!!!

9 Ways To Stay Happy From...

There's a couple named Bill and Marie DeCaro who live in Springfield, Pennsylvania and they've been married for 80 years. That makes them the world's SECOND-LONGEST MARRIED COUPLE.

Marie is 99 years old, Bill turned 100 in March, and their 80th wedding anniversary is June 20th. They got married in Philadelphia in 1929 . . . lost their money in the Great Depression . . . travelled the Vaudeville circuit . . . and danced in theaters during the silent movie era.

--Here are NINE tips from the DeCaros about how to make your relationship last:

1.) FORGIVENESS: Bill says the relationship has lasted so long because Marie, quote, "never gets mad at anything. If we have a little dispute . . . which we have . . . in about 5 minutes she'll come over, or I'll do the same thing to her. Forget the disputes!"
2.) CUDDLE: Bill says that when Marie can't get to sleep, quote, "I turn around, put my hands on her stomach, and she falls asleep."
3.) BE INDEPENDENT: Marie says she likes a man who's an independent thinker . . . so according to her, quote, "Don't just gobble everything that I say . . . you got a head of your own . . . use your own head." (???)
4.) DON'T OVER-SPEND: Marie says, quote: "Where do couples go wrong? They spend too much money."
5.) TALK A LOT
6.) LOVE A LOT
7.) LAUGH A LOT
8.) EXERCISES A LITTLE
9.) HAVE A LITTLE FUN

I See a Quilt in the future!

Here they are...my first 11 quilt squares. I still need to make one Twin Sister square and I will be ready to learn how to do stashing and the borders.

Getting the Feet Ready for the Beach

The other night I was trying to finish my sewing and Keith came in the guest bedroom to talk to me. I kept on sewing and my back was to him. When I took a quick break and turned around he was scrubbing his feet with my sanding block from Lowe's that I bought to use on the compost bin. Here is his supplies... and in the process of getting those babies beach ready...