Everyday Things

I've been steadily working on my Sunbonnet Sue quilt. After much obsessing, I am quilting it as quickly and simply as possible - stitch in the ditch around everything, nothing fancy for now. I want to be able to SEE the quilting marks my great-grandmother put in the top, not cover them up with more stitching. My mother gave me the facts that this quilt was pieced in 1947-1950, one was done for my mother, and a Sunbonnet Sam one was made for her cousin.

We are starting to think gardening at our house, both of the vegetable and flower varieties. Last summer, Todd put in a water garden for me as a Mother's Day present. I love it. They are so simple to put in - he used the skidloader to dig out the hole, we ordered a starter kit off of ebay, put the liners in, filled it with water and voila - a POND. He even made me the neatest "boardwalk" as we put it in the yard where there was a pretty steep hill so you can sit there and watch the fish play. Of course, we buy 6 fish total, and the greenhouse assures us they won't reproduce, and even if they do, the bigger ones will eat the young - NOT!! We had 13 babies alive and kicking as of the end of October - if they make it through the winter we will have fish everywhere. So this is leading to the discusssion this winter that we need another pond for the fish overflow.

Isn't my husband the greatest? Tyler and him spent one Sunday morning hauling rocks. All in all, they started Friday night, and we finished it up Sunday right after lunch with the mulch.

I will admit, water gardens are just as easy to care for as my regular flower beds, and in some cases, even easier (no weeding involved!!).

More flower pictures:

I don't have any pictures of my rather large garden . . . .weed patch . . . .veggies, but we are planning to be a little more organized this year. We are thinking what we want to plant, what we will actually use, and what we want to try. Apple trees and peach trees may make the cut this year - with 20 acres, we certainly have space for a few!!