Here and There....blogging

I stumbled across an old friend's blog today and she wrote that she started her blog as a 'someday' gift to her grandchildren.  It made me start to think about my own grandparents and how wonderful it would have been if they had left a blog behind....a little piece of their daily lives, what made them happy, what made them sad, what the weather was like, and what their house looked like through the years, etc.  I had been thinking about closing my blog, as obviously, I have not been blogging very much lately.  But after I thought about her reason for blogging and having had a personal scare last week with a breast biopsy, it made me think about my own grandchildren, and what a cool thing to be able to leave behind my blog for them.  (breast biopsy was negative, thank you Lord!)  Having said that, my blog will still be the same random blog it has always been, but I will work hard to keep it up to date, and to leave behind a little piece of me for my grandchildren.

Avery and Aunt April

Of course, this little guy has my heart!  Aunt April loves him, too.  Yesterday she was at my house, waiting for him and his family to come over for dinner.  At one point, she looked out the window and said "I wish they would come on!  I'm ready to play with Avery!"  ;-)

I went to my favorite thrift stores today, something I had not done in awhile.  I picked up a couple of books and this sweet little sampler.  At first glance, I thought the sampler had been made from a stamped design.

But upon further inspection, I decided it was done by counted cross stitch and other embroidery designs.  I don't know what I'll do with it, but it only cost me $1.  I think the box underneath the little girl was supposed to hold a little girl's name.  I wonder why it was never finished?

I got this sweet little bag for $1 , too.  I'm not even sure what its intended use would be, but I thought it was too cute not to buy.  The colors are not very good in the photo, but if you click on the photo, you can see more detail.  I love the cherry fabric and ric rac trim.

More randomness:  Do you have, or know anyone who has a dachshund?  We have two of them and have discovered they can tear up almost ANY dog toy!  This little girl loves to chase balls, but she can't resist chewing them up either.  I'm always on the hunt for 'tough' balls for her.  Remember the magic 8 balls?  The ones that tell your fortune?  Well, I found this one for $1 over a month ago at a thrift store.  Sweet Pea loves it, she has tooth marks all over it, but so far hasn't figured out how to chew it up!!  She literally spends hours rolling this ball around the yard with her nose.  Too cute!!

This is our garden this year!  We built a raised bed near the back door, as the deer and other critters feasted on our bigger garden last year,  located down by the creek.  It's a little crowded in here, but we have been eating plenty of squash and a few cucumbers from it so far.  My neighbors have a really nice, really large garden next door.  They called today to tell us they would be leaving Friday for the beach for a week and wanted to know if we wanted to 'have' their garden while they are gone?  Why, yes! Yes, we do!  My son is gardening and canning vegetables this year and he is going to come over and help me pick vegetables.  He will take most of it home with him.  Thank you, neighbors!!

This is our new favorite place to sit in the evenings, especially when we have guests over.  This area is just outside our fenced area for the dogs and it is a nicely shaded area.  Last night it was cool, and I actually had to grab a jacket while sitting out here.  It's great for our guests and our dogs... the dogs can play outside in their area, see the guests, but not jump on them while they are visiting.  These little plastic Adirondack chairs are inexpensive and very comfy.  I want to buy at least three more soon.

And for the end of this totally random blog entry, I leave you "Avery".... Grandma's heart.  He enjoys playing with this little raisin book.  Each page has one photo that is decorated with raisins and he gets to copy the pic. by adding his own raisins on the other picture.  He is pretty good at it, but he loves raisins, and eats them as fast as he decorates!  So much fun!

Chandler's Quilt

Baby Chandler is due to make his arrival almost any day now.  (due date July 15) Mommy is ready to deliver, daddy is on standby, big brother has been prepared the best we know how, and Grandma finished baby's quilt last night.

I was able to use some of the same fabric that I used to make big brother Avery's quilt.  I hope Avery notices.  ;-))  I ordered the "I Spy" blocks f rom Amy Smart from her Etsy shop.  I added a few of my own fabrics to make sure we had a doggy or two in there.

I need to trim the loose threads and embroider his name on the back.  Hopefully I'll get started on that tonight during tv time.  Come on Baby Chandler...we are ready to meet you!