{ When Summer starts wearing me down }

I love Summer.  There, I have said and I want to be sure that you all understand where I stand.

The problem is that Summer seems to always be a time where I find myself quite busy, it's like I'm trying to cram as much fun as possible into 3 months, before the new school year kicks off.

I don't know about you all, but there comes a point where I start getting a little overwhelmed, a little summered out and that is usually when I force myself to step back and do something that I find calming.

Enter sewing.....

I've often talked about what sewing means to me..... a connection to my grandmother who I love dearly. She taught me everything I know about sewing machines, and sergers and invisible hems and alterations and dress making.

Now, I haven't really applied all those things I've learned, as I don't always have my sewing machine at hand. It would be nice to one day have my own sewing/craft room where I can leave the machine up and ready to go.

Hurtling it back and forth from my closet upstairs to the kitchen downstairs, gets quite frustrating.

But when summer starts getting me down, and I feel like I need to ground myself and do something quiet and calm, I turn to things like gardening and sewing and book reading.

The other day I came across my fabric stash, it was still in a box, and some of the fabric I had completely forgot I even had. I used to buy it when it was on sale, still back in Arizona, and just saved it for a future project.

These greens, browns and blues looked just right for what I had in mind.

A quilt.

So, after housework was done, the laundry washed and the floors swept, I pulled the sewing machine down, set it up on my kitchen table and got to work.

I spent 3 hours just sitting, the machine purring away, the fabric slowly being paired up and formed into panels while enjoying a cup of hot green tea.  That is my newest obsession and something I have at least 3 times a day.

While I sewed, I had my laptop nearby turned to a radio station in Portugal.  It is called M80 and all they play are oldies from the 80's, which I love.

I sang along to Billy Idol's "White Wedding", Poison's "You and I", Erasure "A Little Respect" and so many other hits from my childhood.  Oh the memories.

Isn't it funny how a certain song can take you right back to a moment in time, a certain age, something you were wearing, a place you were at, thoughts you were having?

After 3 hours, I got everything put away because dinner needed to be started.  I am making a simple Jambalaya with some smoked turkey sausage.  Simple and yummy!

I'm sure I'll sew more tomorrow.

I just had to show you my new picnic basket.  I have never had one but it was something I always wanted.

There was a knock at the door yesterday while we were eating dinner, and hubby came in with a big box.  It was from my dear friend Heather.

This is my birthday present.  I can't even tell you how touched I was.  Heather is that kind of friend that you make and no matter what happens or how far apart you may be, she is always there when you need her.  I love her and I do miss her terribly.

I am so in love with this basket, it is beautiful and I can't wait to use it. Of course my favorite part of the basket has to be the lid with the scripture.

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. - John 1:16

Just beautiful!!!

I am  extremely blessed with the friends that I have, near or far, in which they love me for who I am and constantly and often remind me that I am loved, and appreciated and that I mean something to them. 

In this day and age where everyone seems to be about hurting others, being rude and insulting and demeaning....it means the world to me to know and feel that I'm surrounded by lovely Christian women who hold the same values that I do.  So blessed!!!