BUGGY BARN OUTDOOR QUILT SHOW 2013

One of my favorite quilt shops is just a short drive from my front door.  The Buggy Barn in Reardan, Washington.  It's a must see for any quilter.  They have a large variety of fabrics, samples and patterns. The Buggy Barn also designs fabric for Henry Glass Fabrics.  

Once a year, the Buggy Barn hosts an outdoor quilt show. This year it took place on August 24th & 25th, and I thought I would share a few of my photos from this year's extravaganza. Unfortunately, a big rain storm was in the forecast for Saturday evening, so they limited the amount of quilts on display. I wasn't disappointed, as there was still much to see!  

One corner from inside their main shop.

In order to handle the volume of customers, they set up a "temporary" shop to sell patterns, various bolts of fabric, quilt kits, and wool.

I was there on Sunday morning right after they opened and before the charter buses started arriving.  They also had several vendors set up in their large barn with various hand crafted goods for sale.

Even if you are unable to experience this unique quilt show, 

you can always take part in the action

by checking out their website (www.buggybarnquilts.com)

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

I've been enjoying these hot summer days!  Absolutely, no complaints.  And...

thanks to my neighbor, Jill, I've been "pool sitting" while she is away on vacation.  What more can a girl ask for during these dog days of summer?

ANOTHER PAST TIME

This year I was able to plant a garden!  

I love growing vegetables.  Besides quilting, its one of my favorite past times. 

While I planted the garden a little late this year, I believe the plants are coming along just fine, except the green beans and zucchini. I was able to harvest my first head of cabbage this past weekend, and my husband and I enjoyed a Chicken Cabbage Salad for Sunday's dinner.

                                                                                   





It won't be long before the tomatoes and peppers

 will be large enough and ripe enough to pick.

I don't know if the green beans will  have time to produce,

as I noticed some little creature has been nibbling on the new green foliage.

I originally planted 24 seeds, and it looks like only 10 have survived.

We will just have to see how much they produce.

Red & green cabbage and starts of celery

Romaine lettuce

The first zucchini blossom that survived and wasn't eaten by ??

And, my mint seems to be thriving with its new flowering companions. 

Hmm?  I think I just might make myself a Mojito and enjoy my harvest!

SPRING HAS DEFINITELY SPRUNG

The weather here in the Inland Northwest has been absolutely fantastic!!  No complaints here!  We have been unseasonably warm, and our average temperatures have been in the 80's (normally we're in the 60's).

My husband has already been outside prepping and manicuring the yard for the upcoming summer months.  The weather normally dictates when I plant my vegetable garden, and I usually wait until close to Memorial Day weekend to plant the tender plants.  However, since Mother Nature has provided us with this fabulous sunshine, I think I will venture out this weekend, dig in the dirt, and sow my seeds!

Even our apple tree is full of blossoms --- and if the bees get busy, we might get a load of apples this year!  Oh, I can already taste the apple pie ~~

SAYING GOODBYE TO SUMMER

The weather here in the Northwest has been fabulous!  Absolutely no complaints!  Very little rain and plenty of sunshine.  I guess the downside of this great weather is that we have had our share of wildfires. (Thank you to all our firefighters for your service!)

Anyways, we choose to take the trailer out for a grand farewell to summer.  We headed back to Steamboat Rock State campground (and yes, that is where I broke my leg in May).

We arrived late on Thursday, as we wanted to get a prime camping spot before every Tom, Dick and Harry showed up for the weekend. Since my hubby had to work on Friday, he dropped me off (along with my daughter's 4 lb. Chiuwawa, Krawl, for protection!).  We had to fend for ourselves for 24 hours!  No problem, except for a lack of REM sleep that night because Krawl heard every sound possible and thought he would protect me with his evil growl.

We made it through our solo evening and woke up to Wild Kingdom right outside out window.

 We saw plenty of rabbits, pheasants and turkeys.

And, a large herd of mule deer.

My sister and her family joined us for a long weekend of rest and relaxation, and Cooper easily found ways to keep himself entertained.

Like I said, the only downside of our great summer was all the wildfires that were blaring throughout our state which meant a statewide burning ban.  No campfires!  Jack came to the rescue and brought his own "campfire".  Hey, it was better than nothing!

All in all, we had a fantastic camping trip.  Lots of relaxation! 

and pretty, pretty scenery.

It was a great way to say goodbye to a terrific summer!

WEEDS DONE GONE!!

Now that the cast and crutches are gone, and I am utilizing a walking boot, I was finally able to venture outside and do some weeding!  I decided to tackle the weeds in my raised vegetable beds.

 Two hours later, I was pleased with the results.

I did find a little hidden treasure nestled within the jungle of weeds.

A few small self-starter tomato plants that I decided to keep, as it was already producing fruit, or should I say, vegetable?

Hum mm, I believe there is still time to plant some seeds for a fall harvest!  I better get busy.

GARDEN OF WEEDS

The down side of breaking one's leg is not being able to tend to one's love: Vegetable Gardening

No vegetables this year, just weeds! 

CAMPING: Our style!!

Our style of camping is probably considered upscale. Mind you, I have done my fare share of sleeping under the stars, squatting behind a tree, and cooking on an open fire.  In fact, I was a Girl Scout leader for years, and I still utilize several different camping methods that I learned from Girl Scouts even while camping in luxury.

We camped a lot when our kids were little. My children still say that their favorite family vacations were camping. Camping is a great way to create fun and long lasting memories.

While we are no longer sleeping in tents, we are still creating many great memories: "our" style!  

Over the 4th of July, my husband and I went camping for a week at the Oregon coast.  We met up with some good friends, and spent our time at Jesse Honeyman State Park in Florence, Oregon. A "must see and do" for any camping enthusiast.

                                     

Jesse Honeyman State Park is situated half way up the Oregon coast and three miles south of Florence on scenic Highway 101.  It is the second largest overnight camping park in the state. There are two miles of sand dunes between the park and the ocean and there are two natural freshwater lakes within the park.  Within hours of our arrival, we were unloading the ATV's and exploring the dunes and beach.

Kim & Selby even took their vintage "3 wheeler" out for ride

While I normally rode as a passenger (as my foot was still in a cast),

  I did venture out solo when we were on the beach.

I was surprised by all the debris from the tsunami in Japan last year that had washed up on shore each night .

Don't worry, we made sure we had plenty of rest,

lots of food, 

good times, and

GREAT MEMORIES!!