A Puppy At Rest...

...tends to stay at rest.  But my husband in motion...

...tends to stay in motion!  The above is Pepper's Puppy Palace.  My husband designed and is building it.  Susie used some of our leftover deck stain to spruce up the outside.  It is nearly ready for occupancy.  Our little love muffin did fine outside last night in a plastic storage box turned on its side with her purple towel and plaid blankie.  It was cold out there...about 40 degrees!  Good thing she has a thick fur coat.  She is eating and drinking well, and generally fitting in very nicely.  She even was quiet and went to sleep last night after only a few minutes of whimpering.  It was her first night solo, so I consider that pretty good!  She is well taken care of, too.

The dust motes in the pic are really sawdust motes.  We have a covering on the garage windows for privacy.  Difficult to get a good pic looking towards them at this time of day.

~Joan

Machine Quilting Finished on Texas Braid

Just took my Texas Braid off the quilt frame, and it looks great!  Earlier this evening, I sewed the binding strips end-to-end, and Rachel agreed to iron them for me (for a price, hee hee). 

So tomorrow I will trim this down and sew the binding on to the front.  I hope to have it on our bed within the week.  BP (before puppy) I probably could have hoped for a couple days of hand stitching time for the binding, but who knows now?  Pepper might be a hindrance to my quilting...only time will tell.

~Joan

The Unthinkable...The Unexpected...The PUPPY!!

Anyone who knows me very well at all would probably fall out of their chair reading this if it was unknown to them aforehand...we are getting a puppy.  Wes and Susie are building her a house and setting up a play area for her in the back yard.  How did this happen to me?  Well, we named her, then we became attached.  Her name is Pepper.  Here she is with two of my favorite people.

She is adorable...and she is ours.  Welcome to the family, Pepper.  Pepper Parker, the first Parker barker.  She is staying at her grandma's until we get her new home ready here. 

~Joan

{704} It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a WALLYBALL!!

My 18-year-old son has been working at the Y for a few months.  He has gotten groups together several times to play wallyball.  I remember it being so fun when I was young (er).  I took my 3 youngest children to the Y this afternoon for some instruction and practice on the basics.

I think the practice really helped.  By the time we were finished, they could all serve quite consistently and had a lot more confidence about being more aggressive and getting behind the ball for a good return.

Such sweet children...

Arms post-practice...looks and feels like sunburn!

They are so sweet.

{703} Spring Has Sprung

Not much text today.  These are pictures from my yard/house.

This last one is local, but unfortunately not in my yard.  For some info on the largest wisteria vine known, click here. 

Another post to follow...about wallyball.