Rain + sewing = FUN

It was a beautiful day today...till a bit ago. It clouded up, and has started to rain. Liquid beauty. I think we need it...some of the creeks around here are so low...low enough to walk across without getting your feet wet.
The Bubbie got me up early....even after playing with him last night. I got up, got my shower; Roger was up before I was done. I fixed a bit of breakfast, spent a little time checking out some of the blogs, doing email, then headed to the basement. Above you will see some of my rulers...they are thick acrylic rulers for cutting against with a rotary cutter which is laying below my scissors in the photo below.
I first repaired a shirt of Rogers...one he had only worn a few times till a seam pulled loose. Up in the shoulder seam. Well, it is dark green and black flannel...I have tried numerous times to see to take the stitches out. Finally, I just stuck the raw edge back under and sewed it enough to hold it in place a bit...then I used some fusible web, got a scrap piece of dark fabric and fused over the seam and sewed it down. That stitching is noticeable, but not bad...and for everyday, who cares.
Next I started fiddling with these crumb blocks again...it is time consuming but satisfying at the same time...I use up scraps that I would not use up for anything else. And when I am done, I will have enough for some kind of quilt...
I had a couple of the ones above started so finished them, came up and we fixed lunch. Then I have been back down there sewing and made two more. Decided I wanted some fresh pictures so came up to get the camera and noticed that the rain had actually started.
I forget how many of the blocks are here...I have just been messing with them in odd moments here and there. When I want to sew a line but don't feel like really getting into a big project. Or when I am too tired to think. These are almost foolproof....

I think I am headed down in a minute to get the binding made for my older daughter's quilt...I have not started the quilting of it yet but thinking after this next weekend that I will get started on it...I want to do it when I haven't got anything planned that is going to take me away from it for days at time...and I love having the binding already made when I finish quilting...that way I can get right on to one of my favorite parts.

Some people hate doing the binding, but I love it. I really pretty much like everything about quilting except the pin basting the layers together. And even with it, I don't mind smaller quilts too bad.

Clinton County Courthouse, Frankfort, Indiana

I have been meaning to post these photos of the Clinton County Courthouse....it is located in Frankfort, Indiana and was built in 1882-1884 and was designed by George W. Bunting. I would say job well done!
I only managed to capture a couple of details as we passed through. At least we were going slow.
It makes me want to go back and be there after business hours and to have time to walk around and take more photos. This courthouse is another beauty.
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On the home front, we have been quite busy....doing a job or two that needed to be done here at home. Roger replaced a toilet...nothing was broken or anything like that...we just wanted one of the tall ones. Our bathroom is quite small so talk about a job! It is so hard to work when you don't have room. I am so thankful that he can do about anything. I kind of wanted to do it now before we got any older...I knew someday we would probably really want/require one. So just decided to do it while we had the time and was able.

And today I have hung three loads of laundry out and have most of it put away. Just have to bring in the towels and fold and put them way. I feel like I have run a race the number of times I have been up and down the steps. The first load went off balance two or three times before it was finished...I had rinsed it twice and cannot remember if it stopped on the last cycle or not.

Bubbie has been in high form...we are going to have to get out a toy or I am going to have to take time to play hide and seek with him after while. He has been after me off and on all day...tackling my sandals, nipping me, reaching to grab me as I pass....and he just has a look that you know he is wanting to get into something but he is so rough the other cats don't like to play with him. So it is left to us to entertain him sometimes.

Also, I have really avoided feeding hummingbirds because of the cats, but I keep seeing them looking till they almost make me feel guilty. I guess I could rig one up high enough till the cats could not jump and get them. But the season is about over so might wait until next year.

That is it from my corner of the world...I need to go get those towels in and then I might settle down and either read or sew....

View from the strip pits...

I took a chance and ran out to the strip pits this evening...I really left it too late to go. By the time I got out there the sun was low behind clouds and the lighting was low. However, my trusted Rav4 and I crawled along at a snail's pace, trying to see something of interest. A car met us not long after we entered the area, and whether due to them, or due to my timing I did not see much at all. Not much was moving...not even birds.

There are areas out there that are bigger than your average mud puddle, but cannot be classified as a pond. They are almost completely dry, so nothing moving in them.

The one above is definitely a strip pit, but I don't think it is too deep because I see moss over a big portion of it if looking from the right angle.

When I got to this view point, I had to take a picture...it was trying to work up to a storm and had that weird cast of light. There was lightning in the distance, and if I had not left my sewing machine plugged in, as well as my netbook....I would probably have stayed out there a while. I have always wanted to be out there during a storm.

Anyway, click on the picture above...it will get bigger and it is such a peaceful view to look at.
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Roger spent a big portion of the day spreading some gravel we had delivered the other day. I had some laundry on the line, which I always throw in the dryer for just a few minutes. In that was a pair of old work shorts of Rogers that had a pocket with a hole in it. I spent time replacing it this afternoon...I had replaced the other one a year or so ago.

I am not quite sure how much sense that made...they are CHEAP shorts from Walmart...so not worth much considering their age. But we fooled around and waited too long to buy any new ones for him...his size was no longer available when we began looking a while back.

This, and some comments a friend made about buying candles and house decorations led me to think about how each of us are. I very seldom buy house decorations...the kind for the individual seasons....with the exception of Christmas. I like the others...I do not know why I don't buy for them. I love walking into her house and seeing what she has set out. It gives a home such a welcoming feel.

I have bought my share of candles...and still buy a few along. I love candles....always have and always will. I don't feel guilty about it.

I don't know if any other women do this, but I used to feel guilty for spending money for things I wanted...and even some things I needed. I have no idea why I was that way. I can remember buying a can opener and feeling guilty and knowing how stupid I was. That was when I was very young and first married.

And no, the guilt didn't develop after I was married, it was there before. A lot of women have tons of clothes and shoes....I have never been one for that. I like to have a few things I like real well, and as long as I have three or four pair of jeans and maybe a pair of khakis, I am good to go. Now, if I didn't have a problem with one of my feet, I might have a garage full of shoes by now....cause I always did love shoes and purses.

I no longer feel guilty spending money on things I want...well, not much anyway. If I feel guilty about anything, it is the amount of fabric I have. But I don't feel guilty for long.