There will be blooms in my garden....

If the rain doesn't drown them out, I will soon have a blooming garden. Look at what has bloomed so far... see how tall those flowers are? I just love them! Hope your garden is blessing you with some beautiful blooms too! =)

He's Swimming!

The sun FINALLY came out this afternoon. I was on the phone with a customer when all of a suddden I hear GP Yelling,"I'm over here!" and I practically jumped out of my skin and ran to find out who he was talking to and why he was talking to someone when he was supposed to be in the living room. Well, I'll have you know that he was yelling at ME and letting me know that he had stripped off his clothes,found his gear and was swimming in the freezing pool! LOL!So I did what any mom would do, I ran inside and got the camera to take a pic. I took the first one of the garden and then I took the one above. By then he had figured out I was taking his pic and he comes over to investigate..."why are you taking pictures?" and I told him, "because Gene Paul is a really good swimmer!" and he just splashed away! LOL!

He's so funny in his swimming gear...the snorkel was not in use today. hahaha!

That Tree is going to be the Death of ME!

Remember how the tree branch fell on the pool guy a few weeks ago? I had to shell out $100 just to clear it out of the yard and have the pool cleaned? HA! Look what I found yesterday morning. UGH! I think I have a little black rain cloud hovering over the Ash Tree! Gino took one look at it and said, "I think it wants to go". I want to shake it and see if anything else will fall before I call the Tree guys again and fork over the $$$. That tree is going to be the death of me! ARGH!

Bunny Sighting at the Dallas Quilt Show!

I figured that maybe I should post this picture of my last Bunny Hill Designs Baltimore Bunny Sighting. It was at the Dallas Quilt Show, in TX! March'09. I tell you, it's like hitting the jackpot when I find them, too much fun. It's the simple things that make me happy, LOL!

OOPS! Almost forgot this one...

While cruising the vendors at the VTQF I stumbled upon a quilt I have had on my "To Do" list forever. Fall Friends by Cozy Quarters. I just love this quilt! Anyway, it was there, in "person" and I tell you, this is just one of the blocks that I saw that made my heart go pitter-patter...isn't it gorgeous???? The reason it has never been even close to jumping on my table is that it has a gazillion log cabin blocks, and you all know how I just "LOVE" piecing... but who knows, I might have to break down and "go there", yes... to the "Piecing Zone!" hahaha!

VTQF, Done!

Last one! This is the quilt that I chose as my "Viewer's Choice" favorite. It's a simple country quilt, in a fancy Baltimore Album layout. Or that's how I interpreted it.... I think this one would look good in my house too, LOL!

And that's all folks... time to get to work!

Hope your day is full of Sunshine and Wonder. B=)

VTQF, almost done...

Did you know I am a Bunny Hill Bunny? Well, yes Iam! I'm a Bunny Hill groupie and even belong to one of her "fan clubs", LOL! The only thing is, I have never made Anne Sutton's hallmark/trademark quilt, Baltimore Bunnies, and probably never will... but I've gotten over that fact and now I just make a point of showing my "loyalty" to the ladies who have slaved for hours upon hours at this little wonder by documenting my "sightings" as we call them.

Here is my VTQF Bunny Hill sighting!

Are you a Bunny Hill fan? You too can be a groupie... email me for more info.

VTQF, continued....

Look at the size of his baby! Again, not a fancy-schmancy quilt but I only pose with the ones I like, LOL! This one that made me think of TSandy, the biggest Buggy Barn Fan I know!

OMG! That reminds me, I have something to send her...oh, she's going to have to show you herself, I can't post a pic of the surprise I bought for her at the festival~, hello!?

VT Quilt Festival, continued

I still haven't figured out how to fix the images so they open for detailed view hence, I am just adding new posts to avoid "mucking" with them as T says, LOL!

This pic is of a really cute Xmas Quilt I saw and thought would look so nice in my house... No fancy piecing or applique, just a sweet country quilt that made my heart happy. =)

Vermont Quilt Festival

I went to the Vermont Quilt Festival with Joanna last weekend, not THIS past weekend but the one before. I just now retrieved the camera from the car and before I started my week I wanted to post the pics.
Above is the cutest Art Quilt of the show (IMHO< LOL!) yes, it is a little farm scene with tiny little quilts and little pumpkins. It was soooo detailed. It was wonderful. Of course I can't take a good picture for the life of me but this was Joanna's attempt at capturing the magic of this quilt and my happiness at finding it. This was at the very, very, very end of the show when they were kicking us out of the exhibit! I think they turned off the lights when we left, LOL!

It's Raining, Again!

And all I can say is ,"OH, C'MON!"

One can dream....

If you weigh more than 100 lb and are older than 12 you must know that those ladders that come with your "over the counter, not breaking into the retirement plan" pools are just one more reason not to get into the cold water. Well, I'll have you know that my DH does NOT mind getting in the icy water with GP and they are a sight to behold.

They are so funny, those two in there blasting each other with their Super Soaker water guns. Did I mention that they wear "protective" gear?OMG! If DH knew I was disclosing this he'd have my head, LOL! But they do...BOTH of them, in our little pool they wear masks and tag each other under water.

I tell you , it's fun to watch (from the airconditioned kitchen, through the window...far away from the soaker's stream!) LOL!

Well, all this fun seemed very unlikely to be a part of this Summer (all weather issues aside) since DH was hospitalized and dx with Lymphoedema last Winter.

As soon as it started warming up (so to speak... maybe I should say "thawing", since 60 is not really warm but it sure beats 20!), I thought of how hard it was going to be for DH to get in the pool. Just the thought of him going up that rickety ladder was worrying me. And then when the pool guys came to clean the pool, it just occurred to me; he needs STEPS! OMG! I can't believe I hadn't thought of it. So I searched and searched for some steps that wouldn't cost more than the pool and look what I found:Of course he doesn't know that I ordered these, he thinks I ordered a "sturdy" ladder, but these will be soooo much better than a ladder. They even have an extra step for "slightly disabled" swimmers. Again, if he read this, he'd have my head. But I'm so excited I needed to share. I wish someone would have told me you don't need a humungus pool to add steps; and that you need not take a second mortgage on your house to buy them either. With a little research and LOTS of patience, you can find them for a reasonable price.

I hope they're easy to assemble so I can enlist GP and surprise him with them in the pool next weekend (not that he'll be swimming in the rain, but it's the thought that counts!). I bet he'll be so happy he'll go out and buy me a new Weber...like this one:

Unless he reads my blog and then I'm in the doghouse, LOL!

Better he doesn't find out about the blog "thing"!

I'll keep you posted on my Secret Project, and on my new Weber...

One can dream.... ahhhhh.....B=)

It's NOT looking good for the Holiday Weekend!

Call me crazy but I think the 4th of July is the Official "Get off your BUTT and snap into Summer mode" day. If you don't have the Summer spirit by the 4th, it's all downhill from there.

So, I have cleaned the pool,

hired a crew to clear the backyardand loaded up on bug spray.Now mind you, I am STILL dealing with the flood issues, still some debris in the yard for the insurance guy but I am a woman on a mission.
I will NOT let the Spring flood ruin my Summer.

But tell me if this is not a deal breaker; it's rained, stormed or been otherwise too cold to even think of getting into the pool and now, check out my extended forecast:
Wednesday
Jul 01
Showers
High 74°F
Low 60°F
Precip 40
Thursday
Jul 02
Scattered T-Storms
High 76°F
Low 60°F
Precip 40 %
Friday
Jul 03
Scattered T-Storms
High 80°F
Low 61°F
Precip 60 %
Saturday
Jul 04
Scattered T-Storms
High 79°F
Low 60°F
Precip 60 %

HELLO! Will someone tell me when the heck I'm going to get a break here? Did I mention we haven't used the pool ONCE this Summer??? Just checking. Now PLMK if you want my address, I do like cheese with my whine, so you are welcome to send me some. LOL!

Cupcake Art Quilt, Almost Done!

I'm finishing up the little cupcake quilt I committed to for my last Swap Bot swap. Now this has been a long journey since I received my own little Art Quilt and suffered "stage fright". After much deliberation I concluded that I had lost my way and that it really wasn't about how fancy I could make the quilt but about how much care I take in doing the best job I can. Sooooo, I asked Joanna for a pattern she had drawn out for some gorgeous cupcake blocks she has framed and displayed in her kitchen and went about finding some yummy flannels and wonderful threads and I am happy to report that I am almost done. I'm so excited! No, I cannot share my quilt yet, but see how I've been hand quilting it? AND, I even made a pieced border that took me hours, hahaha....I'm such a crappy "piecer", it's a wonder I just don't give up the piecing thing all together, but I refuse to be uphanded by the little squares that if not kept in check, would drive me to drink! LOL!!! More Pics to follow soon. Stay tuned for the great reveal, LOL!

Web Graphics, Almost Done!

I heard back from the Web Graphic Designer, Eleasa, and my webset almost ready! Woo-HOO! Here's my new logo! I can't wait to have the rest of the goodies to finally open the new website. Did I mention the New website is NAKED?! OOPs! Can't have poeple over if your naked...unless you're having the kind of parties that I don't go to, LOL! Anyway, I just wanted to share.=)

Birthday Initials Are The Best!

Why the picture shows us a purple quilt, well, I guess it's just one of life's mysteries...this quilt is NOT purple! But I took five pictures and they all came out the same color so I'm just going with it, hahaha. Look this is the right color, but you can't see all the quilting so the close up is so you can see the quilting, ignore the colors!

Well, this is a little initial quilt that Joanna made for me on my Birthday, no not FOR my birthday, but yes, ON my Birthday! It has the cutest little punpkins as you can see and it is quilted to read Pumpkins on all four sides.

So the story here is that Joanna makes Initial blocks for every ocassion under the sun. And I was going to call her and give her grief because it was my Birthday; and ahem! I think it's MY TURN to get a little initial, LOL! The thing was, I got all caught up in calling her to harass her into baking me a cake (great minds do think alike, she was "on it" before I started giving her grief!), that I just forgot to give her grief about the initial so when she presented the gift, I just could not stop laughing, the woman is psychic. She had a good laugh too, seeing how she was baking the cake while I was telling her that she had to tell her husband to stop at the supermarket to buy some ice cream to serve up with the cake that she surely should be baking instead of hanging out on the computer, LOL!

She did bake a cake...and it was soooo good. It was a box cake, just like TSandy used to make...but she made the frosting herself, it was delicious. Oh, and Roland did buy the Ice Cream too. How sweet was that? Oh, it was just too perfect!

Thanks for all your hard work Joanna, you made my day extra special!

Pillow Swap

You know me, I just have to have me some swapping action or I think I'm dead, LOL! I am in a pillow swap (Bunny Hill Designs Yahoo group) and this is the wonderful pillow that Carol made for me. I left it at the top to see if T's suggestion that the "mucking" with the pics might be the cause of my new "never opening to larger size" problem. It's gorgeous, she made it a Fall pillow because we have been swaping for quite some tme and she knows I love pumpkins...and it arrived on Friday, just before my Birthday, hello! I'm such a lucky girl...a 44 year old girl, LOL!
OMG! I just checked and it does open...thanks T for the tip! Woo-HOO! Oh great, now you can see a freakin thread I seemed to have picked up when I put the pillow on the table for a quick picture, duh! Trust me, that's not a loose thread from the pillow, that's just thread from the table. I'm such a goofball!

Let the Fun Begin!

It's finally warming up in NH and with the new and improved forecast my collection of "Adventures in Parenting" gets larger. This year we have been to Canobie Lake TWICE already, yes, once a month from now until they close in the Fall is the norm. But it's not always the same thing. The new year had brought about a new sense of adventure in my little Prince. Look at this!

Yes, that little orange dot is GP as he drives ALONE along the Canobie 500 track (OK, so there is a park official traveling in the cart behind him... just in case he panics, stops or needs assistance along the track which is out of sight from the Finish Line). You can see his "tail" in the pic below... Oh, GP takes his driving very seriously, LOL!

I'm so proud of him for trying this new ride. I was teasing him telling him he had to make sure he wasn't "speeding", and he was just laughing!!!

By the third time he was just zooming right along!

Yes, that's another one of his Posse in the back car...gotta love this park! If you or anyone you know has a child with Special Needs...please be sure to tell them that Canobie Lake is without a doubt, one of the best places to take them. The staff is just awesome there. Oh, and I don't have any affiliation with them. I just go there often...and there is a reason, the staff!

Hope your next trip to the park is as much fun as ours was...B=)

Haunted Village,Done!

Look at what I made this weekend. A brand new pattern from Pumpkin Berries Stitchery, Haunted Village. It is the cutest pumpkin ever!

It's all flannel applique, except for the ghosts that are wool. The background, backing and binding are all flat cottons. Hand dyed buttons by Hillcreek Designs complete the look... the picture doesn't do it justice, it is REALLY cute! I'll have kits available at the Pumpkin Patch later on in the week ...it's a great weekend prooject. I just love it!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yes, It's my birthday and I'll celebrate if I want to! I just turned 44 years old thirty minutes ago, woo-HOO! I'm so blessed, I can't believe I've lived this long...don't laugh...I used to think 42 was my cutoff date; I don't know why, it just was...and my husband wont let me live it down either. Well, I'm thinking I feel just spiffy so I think I'm safe to celebrate my second "extra" year, LOL!

I think I'll go see UP! today. And watch the pool guys as they clean the pool that I intend to waddle in as soon as it hits 90 degrees (well, if they show up, that is. Good help is REALLY hard to find in NH!). Aside from that there will be no Homeschool in the Mercado household today, we are playing hookey, big time! Hee-hee.
Now, I'll share my presents, which I already received yesterday. My sisters sent me ...drumroll please... an IPOD! Ok, so I'll confess that my first thought was "OH, I need to wait until GP gets home so he can "hook me up!" but little did I know that they had in fact realized that I needed a little extra help and the little Ipod was all set to go. It is LOADED with audiobooks to listen to while I do my crafting. How great is that? All I had to do was plug in the headphones and turn it on...and I was all set.


Now, my husband is not one to be outdone so when he saw what the girls had sent me he went out and bought me this....
So now my little Ipod sits in a throne of her own. Oh, isn't she the cutest thing???Oh, and she is Orange, of course! These women spoil me , what can I say??? Thank you ladies, I positively LOVE, LOVE,LOVE my little pumpkin. GP says it's named Pumpkin Patch and not Ipod because when you turn it on, it reads Pumpkin Patch. How'd they do that? I'll never know.
Oh, wait. GP wants to know when I'm going to add music to it and I told him that Mom's Ipod is for stories only. Then he asks me "but when the stories are all done, THEN you add music?" and I tell him, "No, when I listen to all the stories I pack it up and send it to T-Sandy who will erase the old stories and put in new ones" and Gino started laughing so hard I thought he was going to pass out. Oh, that's my husband. I guess he wasn't expecting that one...HMMM. Maybe he thought that I actually knew how to do something other than plug in the headphones? Hello! while he was playing with electronics I was teaching myself some crafting skills, duh! Men!

Anyway...hope your day is full of fun today. Take the day off, celebrate...after all, it is My Birthday, woo-hoo!