Five or Six Documentaries Later...

and I'm done! Whew...that was some serious hand sewing, made so much easier because I plopped myself down in front of the television, after Googling "best documentaries on Netflix", and went to town. Beginning with The Overnighters, the film follows a Lutheran pastor who helps many of the men who went to North Dakota for work and found a housing shortage they did not anticipate. More moral questions than is immediately evident. Seriously good with a surprise ending. Life, a BBC nature program was next on my agenda, and did not disappoint.

As you know when watching Netflix, once you've watched one thing, they suggest others. I've found oftentimes this leads me in the right direction. Three episodes of Wild Alaska were fantastic, making me want to go there all the more while we are living on the West coast. Divided into seasons, and I mean actual seasons, it was tremendous. You know what? There was still more binding to sew! Bruce was on his way home from Dallas, and after spending an hour and a half chatting with Matt via Facetime from London, I figured I might ought to head out to the kitchen as I was all out of the leftovers that kept me going while he was traveling. By the time I'd watched one episode of South Pacific, another BBC production, I was finally finished.  Sewing and learning is a winning combination!

During my chat with Matt I asked him if he wanted to have a look at the pool. He declined, but I happen to know that Tom's Mum reads this blog and welcomes any super sunny photographs I include.

This one is for you Jane, in sometimes dreary England. The back door is no longer open as the temperature has risen to the high 80's, and even I was hot in the house.

A quilt is never completely finished in my book until it is washed and dried, particularly when using old fabrics, that although don't look a bit old, were musty when I was ironing it. I love a good crinkle.

One morning while I was till in the midst of the now called the "Rosemary" quilt, in honor of the woman who once owned the fabric, I rode my bike over to see "my" eagles. You know, the ones that only a few know about. Unlike the eaglets at Greenwood, this pair is not yet flying, but they are branching. Look closely and you will see Mom on the middle left branches, keeping her eye on the proceedings.

The fragrance of Magnolia blooms is filling the air...

And, look who got a haircut!!

He's looking a little old like his Mommy and Daddy. One more haircut from Tom, or as he is called, Shiny Paws, before we leave. I do so hope we won't have a hard time finding a groomer in Vancouver.

The other day when Pam came over, she gave me all sorts of gardening tips, as well as pulled some of my weeds, something she cannot resist! I now know how to deadhead the Snap Dragons, thanks to her.

They are doing a good job blooming now; can't wait to see what they do now that they have had their own proper grooming.

Speaking of Pam's gardening prowess, hers is made even more charming with this purple wall! Bonus butterfly my friends.

I'd actually been on my way to her house yesterday morning after a stop at the lake lot. For those who have not seen my darling bicycle before, here it is.

The lake was seriously low, as are most of them in town, which you will soon see. Anyway, after checking out our lake, I rode over to Pam's neighborhood, and was searching for the owls, when an old acquaintance stopped me and we began chatting during which time I realized my front tire was flat. As in all the way flat. Walking the bicycle home, I tidied myself up, and drove over to Retro City Bicycles on Ivanhoe for a new tube. Well, I did leave out the part where Bruce first checked it and eventually took the tire off. Rosemary rode along, and because I was half way there, I decided to go for it.

And what was I going for, pray tell? I'd saved the Lilly Pulitzer bag from my Christmas goodies, so, carrying Rosemary in that, I walked into the store on Park Avenue and spoke to a young woman. I have an unusual request....may I photograph this quilt in the store? Barely looking at it, she said fine. Perfect! I pulled it out of the bag, and before you know it, another older worker woman as well as two customers were oohing and aahing over it, asking me how much I would charge to make one for them? Quickly dispelling that kind of talk, I told them I was giving it away for the Jeremiah Project at our church. From their reaction, perhaps Ann can market it there when the time comes.

I did learn that some of the prints are some of the very oldest in the Lilly line, so that was interesting. Should you not know a thing about the Lilly story, click on the link above.

And now I am on to something else that I'll show you next week...

In the meantime, this morning, after learning from Candy about some Wood Duck babies on Lake Davis, while Bruce went to the gym, I went bird watching. The lake was as still as could be, with all the new green reflected like a mirror.

I only wish I didn't have that little branch in the foreground, but you take what you can get.

Not only are there Wood Duck babies, the Mallards have a brood as well. Adorable!

Walking around the lake, sometimes I walked right along the shore which normally is a bunch of feet higher. How's that for being technical? I'm not a huge squirrel lover, maybe a little more so now that they have quit hanging on my bird feeders, but this little guy looked kind of cute backlit from the rising sun.

Holy Cow....here they are...all thirteen of them...

When our rainfall is normal, all of this is covered by water. They would just run up on shore for a moment, running back out into the water the next. According to Candy they are less than a week old.

Wasn't that fun? Why, yes it was, except for one tiny thing.

Mrs. Peck should have been home, drinking her tea, eating breakfast, and doing what ever else needed doing because, rather than those things, she was out and about. And what is the problem with that, you ask? Driving home, I was at the corner of Ferncreek and Pershing, in other words, seriously close to home, when I saw an estate sale sign that triggered my brain back to reality. Two days earlier I told Pam I could not go to an estate sale because I was getting my teeth cleaned at 9. Guess what, my watch told me it was 8:49 AM!!! Good thing the dentist office is close! Calling me back to the room, I was chatting with Eileen, our hygenist, while looking out the glass doors noticing the adjacent wooded lot had been completely cleared of all life forms. Well, that can't be true, as I now know after watching all those nature documentaries, but you get the picture.

It was then that I spotted this advertisement featuring our sister CAROL!

What a shocker, and now Eileen has a good story to tell, doesn't she? By the way, you may remember Carol had the Whipple procedure last year, and while most of the time since, she's been remarkably well, there has been a bit of a set back in the past few weeks. Fortunately, she is back on the road to recovery. And no, my teeth are nothing like hers. That smile!!

I'm heading into the kitchen now as I need to prepare a cold appetizer to bring to a get together tonight with mostly folks we don't know. In other words, it is a church thing. Wish us luck!

your's truly,

Gail