There just aren't enough blogposts about donkeys...

Here's my attempt to do something about this interweb crisis. Allow me to introduce Ozark and Isabelle:

They live on my uncle and aunt's farm in Nova Scotia. We've just returned from our family summer vacation in the Maritimes, so prepare for photo posts over the next little while. It is pretty tough to take a bad photo in the Maritimes...it is such a scenic part of our country!  Okay, so donkeys.

Ozark is still getting used to his new stable-mate Izzy (witness ears back in top photo). Both of these cuties are rescue animals that now get to live a lovely life in a gorgeous barn and pasture, along with Bailey the horse (photo below). My aunt Karen is such a compassionate animal-lover and she's taking very good care of these donkeys.  She recently lost her first rescue donkey Owen and everyone was very sad and missing Owen and his hilarious personality terribly. A farrier alerted her to Izzy, who was suffering terrible neglect. Luckily, Izzy recently got to come live at her new home and she's settling in just fine.

Look at that face!!! She's a character like no other. Karen's been trying to find out what kind of donkey grows hair like a llama.  Apparently there is a very rare breed of long-haired donkey, but a large rescue centre in Ontario thinks it unlikely that Izzy is that kind of donkey, just because they are indeed so rare.

She likes to fill up her hair-do with dust.

Ozark seems mystified and rather embarrassed for her.

They both loved the love, though. I think Ozark's ears are back just to maintain his reputation. He really does seem like a sweet fella.  We had such a nice visit - it was my first time seeing the farm since they'd moved there. D was all smiles because she got to ride around the pasture on Karen's horse Bailey.

I took a zillion photos because a farm is too good a photographic location to pass up!  I rode and had my own horse all through high school.  I miss being around horses regularly.

The chickens get to free range all day and bring themselves inside every evening.

This is the neighbour's old barn next door.

After our visit we drove to a well-known lobster supper spot in Hall's Harbour for dinner. The tide was high when we arrived, but dropped about 6' during the 2 hours we were there!

Here's B with our dinner. You choose your lobsters from the tank in the gift shop, then walk them outside to the boil shack where they are prepared for you.  D couldn't quite reconcile the tank to pot scenario, so she chose to eat lobster mac & cheese instead.

I never imagined writing a post about donkeys with a side of lobster, but there you have it. More Maritime goodness to come. I hope you are enjoying your summer.

The weather was hot, the beer was cold...

My skin has turned a golden brown, my shins are covered in an itchy red rash and I spent two days this week doing laundry. Yes, we are back from camping.

Washington Pass lookout - spectacular!

Last week we ventured south to Bellingham, then east over the Washington Pass to find ourselves in Winthrop. A refurbished gold mining town that is picture perfect for a western movie set, or a Harley convention. There were tons of riders in the valley and parked in town, strolling in the 100 degree heat in their leather vests, chaps, beards and bandannas. You've got to give those guys & gals credit for commitment to the brand!

Ten families from our elementary school joined together and camped at Pearrygin Lake, a state park on a perfectly-sized little lake nestled in the grassland hills a few miles above the town. It was just my husband, daughter, her circus friend and I (our son is learning the ropes of construction with his uncle back east for 5 weeks).  We scored a great site; shady, right on the water and complete with nesting ducks who were sure to invite us to their breakfast party at 5:00 a.m. each morning.

The days were filled with lots of activities including water sport fun; as one of the dads rented a little Sea-Do speed boat to pull the kids on tubes and a wakeboard.  Everyone in our very large group had a bicycle of some kind. There were the downhillers and cross-country riders seeking single track flowy trails through the grasslands and ponderosa pine forest, a few road riders (myself included) looking for quiet valley roads to tour, and kids who just had fun ripping around the campground.

Our group of four departed one morning in search of inner tubes at the Winthrop Motors gas station - we'd heard it would be great fun spending a couple of hours floating down the Methow River that runs through town east to Twisp. We handed over our $20 each (and were assured our tubes would be purchased back for $5 if we returned them in PERFECT condition).  I don't have any photos of this adventure (no waterproof camera), but suffice it to say we had a ball for an hour and a half, froze our asses (literally. Like, completely numb in 5 minutes and remained that way for the following 85, which came in handy for the one or two times we bumped over the smooth river rocks), screamed a little in the rapidy parts, laughed a lot, held hands and hoped we wouldn't miss our landing place downstream.  This was a very 'local' experience, made even more so by the humourous advice we got while trying to figure out how to make the river float happen. At the gas station, the attendant told us "don't land at the KOA campground, they don't like it if you're not actually camping there. Instead, go further and park your car on the side of the road where the big pile of dirt used to be". Uhm, ok.  B left us girls at the starting place (the big red barn in town) and drove down the highway in search of the phantom pile of dirt beyond the KOA campground. Having no luck, he asked someone at the campground where to leave the car and they said "just keep driving down the highway until you get the place where the big pile of dirt used to be."  Seriously?  In the end, it all worked out and the lovely local Jennifer picked up my hitch-hiking husband and drove him right back to us at the starting point.

Later that afternoon we were told that the local outfitter wasn't running river float tours because the water was too high. Oops.

There are some things you just don't see in the city...

I'm pretty sure we're all in for returning next year. The road riding and mountain biking were fantastic (I managed one fun trail ride on a borrowed full-suspension bike and that's where the rash comes in - my legs are covered in tiny welts from riding through the dry grasses and shrubbery).  Despite the fact that it was over 100 F each day, the lake cooled us off, ice was plentiful in our coolers and there was a lovely old willow to shade our group at the beach.

I hope we can get reservations during a full moon next summer. Camping under this super-moon, in warm and dry conditions with no tent fly required was truly dreamy.

Sandy sculptures

If you've still got beach-worthy weather in your neck of the woods (and you Aussies will be back to it soon enough!), you may want to try your hand at making some wall-art!

You need Plaster of Paris, fresh water, a bucket and stir stick/spoon, wire coat hanger and wire-cutters and shells or pebbles for decorations if you like. The key to success is compacted beach sand (the stuff just below the high tide mark...not saturated, but not dry, either). With our massive summer tides, we had no shortage of perfect sand!

Simply dig out a mould (you want at least 2" depth...we made our "B" a little too thin and it took much care to get it home in one piece!). A popular shape with kids is a starfish. Cut a section of coat hanger and bend it into a loop. Push the bend into the sand 1/2 way down the edge of your mould at the top of your shape. You want the two 'arms' of the loop to be imbedded in the plaster of paris. My husband also lays bits of wire into the plaster if a shape is particularly delicate, like our letter "B", to give it extra strength - just imagine crafty re-bar.

Give them at least an hour to dry in the sun (and guard them against frisbee players and kite flyers from running into them!). With a shovel, dig under the sculptures and gently free them from the sand. As the sandy side dries, most of the sand will brush off, leaving a only a thin layer.

You can experiment with digging different levels to give your sculpture more dimension, like with bird's wing and beak. Don't you just love the long skinny birdie legs?

I'm sorry I don't have any process photos. I intended to take some, but was busy swimming, embroidering and magazine reading while B did this craft with the kids.

If you're without plaster of paris, never fear. You can always make a mermaid with decorations at hand. This beauty was sculpted by D and her Aunt (usually referred to here as my SIL). These two massive guys (below) were built on the same beach a couple of years ago by B and his friend, with the help of about 10 kids.

So, my holiday posting has come to an end. The kids start school in two more sleeps (I'll try to keep my cheering quiet). We've had a wonderful summer together, but everyone is ready to get back to the routine, friends and activities. And Mom has a stack of UFO's to work on, two exciting courses and two retreats coming right up!

A Little Modesty....puh leeze!

Home from our ultimate chillax on Hornby Island. For the first time in 8 years we stayed a full two weeks and can I just say: I could have stayed on for a third with no questions asked!

Considering the dismal weather lead-up to our vacation, we completely lucked out and had 13 out of 14 beach days. We are all golden and smiling. On that one windy, grey day my family took the kites out to take advantage of low tide (maximum beach for running around) and I stayed home with Agatha. We had a nice time together.

Agatha (gifted to me last year by my SIL, this machine was bought new by my MIL with some of her wedding money in the 50's)

I managed to piece the top of a sewing machine cover I'm making for my secret partner in the For The Love of Solids Swap on flickr. I thought I'd take a few fun photos in the orchard of our rented holiday house. The homeowner is a sculptor and this reclining nude luxuriates in the dappled shade of the apple trees.

Her outstretched arm was just crying out for a quilt to drape over, don't you think?

My fellow swappers thought the photos were quite fun. With the carefully draped quilt top, the flickr censors didn't come after me, either. Phew. Some of you will recognize the layout as the machine cover pattern in Malka's book Fresh Sewing. Berene and I used this same design for our Kona Solids challenge quilt for the VMQG in the spring. I used about 2/3 of a Kona solids charm pack and navy sashing for this one. Although I'm not really into obvious rainbows, my partner likes them and I am really happy with the transition of colours diagonally across the piece. Darnitall if I'm not out of navy for binding. I'm thinking it's really the only colour that will work here....what are your thoughts?

I'm off to the shop to retrieve my Pfaff so I can get this all quilted up for my partner. I've totally missed the international deadline (tomorrow) so will have to drive over the border next week and get my package into the USPS for 'domestic' delivery!

Calm

Just me, Jack, Dallas and Mark.

Some Kona solids.

A doe and her twin fawns in the orchard outside my window.

And Agatha.

All because this came in last evening.

Tomorrow I start my day with a 90-minute massage.

*Sigh*......I could get used to this island life.

Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun

Good news for all those worried about the west coast ice age. Summer arrived on the weekend and we couldn't be happier! We had a great family weekend visiting our friends just south of Portland (that dreamy kind of weekend where kids get along, grown ups get along and the livin' is easy!). We just loved Lake Oswego and all it had to offer for a long weekend; lake swimming & grilling dinner on the shore, hilly walks through wooded neighbourhoods, farmer's market, fabulous local coffee (Peet's...yummm) and quiet evenings chillin' on the back deck.

Perky sunflowers at the Farmer's Market

Fresh dill, anyone?

Swimming easement, Lake Oswego, OR

There was time for fabric, too! The Pine Needle had a great selection of Marcia Derse prints (which thanks to Michelle I am apparently collecting now) as well as a few other goodies I could not resist. I am even more motivated by Amy's newest design in the latest issue of Fat Quarterly...have you seen it yet? Simply gorgeous and a fun piecing challenge, to boot. If you are not yet a subscriber to Fat Quarterly, what's the holdup? Best few bucks you'll spend on quilting inspiration all year, I promise.

I also picked up some other bits and pieces, just for fun.

On Monica's suggestion, I managed to veer off the I-5 and into Bolt for a fabric fix on our way south. This shop is in the greatest neighbourhood - we loved it! While my family ordered lunch at the brew pub down the block, I managed to find a few yards of fabric and assorted trims to take home. Then, I got a little giddy when Elizabeth herself strolled in and couldn't contain myself from an impromtu introduction (sorry, no photo, I'm not that well trained in stalker procedure).

A great time was had by all.....until we hit the border line up returning home.

Yup, we really were a 1/2 mile from the gates and we'd already been sitting there for half an hour....90 minutes was our total wait time. Longest ever border crossing, and a reminder of why we rarely travel on long weekends!

Take Me Away!

The kids are off to camp. That means the parents get to play, too! We're off to lake country for 5 days of cycling, relaxing on the beach, reading.....and possibly a bit of sewing. I promised myself I wouldn't turn our week away into a quilting retreat, but it will be tricky, because we're headed here (thank you, thank you Sandi). Where I am pre-programmed to sew. I'm only bringing Agatha and one ongoing project. And my favourite shop en route is closed Sundays, so won't even be tempted as we drive by later today.

I may try to check in via iPhone, but the laptop's staying home on it's desk, right where it should be when we're on holiday.

Back soon friends....

What DIDN'T stay in Vegas

I love salivating over everyone else's fabric acquisitions, so thought I'd share what I bought here last week while B and I were in Las Vegas. I couldn't help it...he was busy at a conference. What's a quilting wife to do? Why, shop for fabric and have lunch with a sweet friend, of course! Plus Prada, Gucci and Tiffany just aren't in my price range. But cotton at $10/yard? Bingo!

Some orange FQ's for an orange quilt sometime in my future, a Bliss charm pack, adorable measuring twill tape

I feel rather late to the Early Bird by Cosmo Cricket party, but hey, better late than never, right? These will make great thread catchers for my Guild's November sewing room sale.

Quiltique sells bolt ends called 'hunks and chunks' at 25% off. I had to have these 3m!!

Someone's gotta keep those homefires burning. Ha!

Finally, some AMH Drawing Room home-dec weight. Yum. Can't wait to make some Buttercup bags with it. You can see one of my other ones in the photo below, made with Marimekko fabric.

I also did some damage at Target and brought the kids some fun t-shirts and other Christmas gift items home. Oh, and this guy came home with me, too (we left that other couple wandering the palazzo outside the Venetian)....

So, now it's back to the machine, finishing up a baby quilt commission, then it's on to Christmas gifts. Did you all see this incredible FREE online mag of holiday crafts? It's amazing! I especially love the wreath on page 110 and the yo-yo and embroidery sampler mini-trees. Check it out.