When your dog takes her bath into her own hands

 We had a lot of rain yesterday, which was the aftermath of the latest storm. The forecast said we should expect buckets of rain the entire day. Well, it was a bizarre day, to say the least. It poured, then the sun came out and dried everything up—OK—maybe just the sidewalks. Then it poured again, then the sun came out. I managed to walk the dogs and my afternoon walk with no rain! 

Now, I get that we had nothing compared to those when it was a real storm, but it was a very bizarre weather day. DH flew home from New York last night, and he said it was like being on a roller coaster. There was loads of turbulence as they literally dodged the thunderclouds. I'm glad it was him and not me. 

It wasn't the day you wanted to park far away from the gym, so I got wet on the way to the car. But it was a "warm" wet, so it wasn't a big deal. 

A long walk in the rain without an umbrella

Speaking of wetness, Murphy adores the pond, while Lexi keeps a wide birth and couldn't care less about it. I love throwing Murphy's ball into that low bush behind the pond and letting her search for it. It can sometimes keep her occupied for 15 minutes, as she puzzles where it is and then how to get it. To my knowledge, she has never fallen in the pond. But she sometimes gets so excited that she slips. She does this on the stairs as well (going up), and I'm getting worried that she's going to really hurt herself. 

By the way, after she found the ball, she was soaking wet because those branches were wet. 

MOM -- I've got this!!

This tree branch was so heavy with water that it appeared to be falling onto the table. The gardener is coming next week so he can deal with it then. I don't want to trim it, but if some branches aren't removed, it will fall, which would be bad.  

The water-logged tree branch

I was busy working in the house, and I could hear Lexi giving off her "hot on the heels of something" yips. Oh NO!!! There's a rabbit under the gazebo AGAIN! and the two of them are bound and determined they will get it. Lexi is under the deck trying to flush it out, and Murphy is digging on the outside. YES -- think about that one for a minute. Digging - rain - yep - you've got mud! 

I ran into the house to get my camera. Remember when we didn't have easy-access cameras and would just scold? Now we watch first and enjoy, then we can scold!! Oh boy—she was a huge mess and must have heard me. 

Mom -- I need a bath - are you prepared to give me one? 

The next thing I knew, she cozied up to the pond and slipped her front paws into the water. Then she moved further and further into the pond. 

MOM -- no worries, I can have a bath in the pond! 

It happened so fast that I didn't have time to switch to video. But yep—her hind legs are still on the stones, for the moment! 

Mom - the water is excellent! 

She went entirely into the pond and grabbed some mouthfuls of water because chasing rabbits is a hot, dirty job. 

There is a ledge in the pond at that point, so she didn't get her back wet, but she had a bit of fun messing around and then got out and immediately ran back to the gazebo. She didn't even have time to shake herself off. Oh, Murphy!!!! I posted the video on Facebook. I should try and post it here. What a goof. 

Lexi was better (different fur) but was still dirty and seemed quite happy about it. 

Mom -- all is good. We didn't get the rabbit - YET!

Oh, Lexi -- what a naughty girl!!!

MOM - it's just dirt!

Thankfully, the cleaning lady is coming today, not yesterday, as planned. The floors are a mess. I tried to wipe the girls down as best I could, but seriously—they were two mud pits!!! But I love them! 

MOM -- it's so cool to play in the mud! 

We must install a dog wash if we ever renovate the laundry room. The floors will be wet, but at least they will be clean and wet, not muddy and wet!

I got two articles sent out yesterday and am working on the third, so I'm a little behind, but I'm still on target. But I struggled with my computer - well, how things work. I finally got Google back as my default browser. What a hassle, and WHY does it keep changing? I honestly think that sometimes we open a website, and it's "rigged" to use a particular browser, which resets the default. I have a hard enough time finding that command, so I know it's not me changing it by accident. 

And then my grammar checker got all muddled up, and it was a hassle trying to get it back to where it was supposed to be. I shut the computer completely down—not restarting it, but completely shutting it down—and the grammar checking was back in place when it booted up. Why? Why does that happen? It drives me crazy. 

Last night, I tackled this pile of fleece while I watched another episode of The Quilt Show. 

Fleece scraps to deal with

Before I could do that, I had to tidy up some stuff that had accumulated on the cutting table. All of this had a home, so within five minutes, it was gone. Things aren't quite as tidy as I would like them in Studio B, but I'm in work mode at the moment, and as soon as I'm done with the blog posts, I'll regroup and get everything back to normal! 

Things on the cutting table that needed to be put away

I'm cutting 6½" squares, which are going into this tub. 

The tub of cut squares

I have some oddball pieces, which I'm not sure what to do with at the moment. I might cut smaller squares from them, or I might join the pieces together and then cut 6½" squares. I'm not sure yet. 

Scraps from the cutting

I managed to get about half of the cutting done, so that was good. This will take less time than those green scraps!

This is what's left to cut

While tidying up some stuff in the office, I found this quote, and it's perfect for where I am! I never want to go back! 

Quote of the day

I also used my crappy cutting mat for the fleece and look at the mess. I'll clean it up once I'm done. And that's another project from Mount Projects! 

A mess on the cutting mat

Do not call me an enabler! I'm working on organizing my classes for the fall and limiting the number of new projects to TWO. A good portion of what I'm teaching are techniques, tips, and tricks to get you working on your UFOs. But we need to have some fun. This is a quick preview of one of the patterns for the fall. It's called Spice Market by Wendy Williams. 

Spice Market pattern

I ordered the pattern from Hyggeligt.ca. The shipping was free, and look at that pretty packaging!! 

The shipping package

You'll sign up for this class with me, but I must organize the dates and cost. I need to get my writing out of the way to focus on stuff for the fall. I aim to have all the classes/lectures/demos listed on my blog by the end of July, so stay tuned for that. 

While cleaning, I happened upon a page I ripped from a magazine - McCall's Quilting/Quilt Quilts - May 2002. This is in the letter from the editor (Beth Hayes). 

These are words of advice for beginning quilters:

1. Take a hands-on beginning class at a local shop

2. Master your ¼" seam

3. Begin with 12" blocks

4. Hook up with experienced quilters

5. Buy 100% cotton fabric

6. For a first project, start with something small and simple

7. Buy a really good ruler

8. Learn to do it correctly from the start. Take a class or learn from a professional. If you start right, you can't go wrong. 

My favorite is number 8! Even more experienced quilters could use this, especially with the "new" techniques today, which don't make sense. There are better, faster, and more logical ways to do things! But people reach out and grasp any straws, hoping it'll help them. My goal with my tips and tricks demos is to make life easier for you. Let me know if you have any problem areas you'd like me to cover, and I'll see how I can work them into the lectures. 

Some of the events are in-person, but many are online. 

On that note, I'm out of here!! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!