First Hummingbird of the Season ~

We heard the familiar sounds of Spring this morning when this little guy showed up buzzing around outside our windows. I quickly filled our feeders and hung them outside, and in a matter of minutes, he was gulping down the juice! Hummingbirds are such a big part of our summer entertainment. They are a joy to watch and add magic to my garden.

With the signs of Spring buzzing outside, and the temperature at 70 degrees, we all went to work in the yard. The ditches are opened on May 1st, so we have lots of clearing and clipping to do before then. Jordyn had an absolute blast running around outside! She was splashing in the river...chasing Mason, the neighbors dog...and kicking around in the leaf piles. It was wonderful to see her laughing and having such a good time. I just know summer is going to be a blast! Hope you are all having a wonderful day!

P.S. Only a few more days to sign up for my 200th post giveaway!

200th Post Giveaway...on my 201st post! :)

Well, here it is...as promised...or a few days late, but still, here it is...my first giveaway for my 200th post! Jordyn wanted to show off the goodies for the photo...she looks pretty happy for a girl with chicken pox. Anyways, i purchased these items about 2 years ago, and they've never been used...brand new. They are really cool, but i guess i decided that they weren't really for me...too complicated, and i like things simple :) I thought they deserved a better home...where they will be used and enjoyed. Included in the giveaway...the quilt book Doubledipity by Sara Nephew, the Super 60 acrylic template (that is used in the book), and the triangle pattern (also used in the book) and included with the pattern Northern Lights Quilt. Anyways, if you are interested in winning this giveaway, please leave me a comment on this post and i will check back in a week to draw a winner.
On another quilt note, i received my I-spy fabrics from a swap on about.com. 80 fun fabrics to include in my next I-spy quilt...cant wait to sort thru them all!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend...and thank you for all the kind words and tips for my daughters chicken pox!

200th Post....Hurrah!

So apparently books werent the only things that jordyn checked out at the library a few weeks ago...thats right, my kid has chicken pox! I must admit, im glad she is getting it out of the way now...chicken pox on an adult can be very nasty. Of course, she had the shot, but i guess it didnt take :) Having the shot did make her case rather mild though...just the ones you see on her back...several on the backs of her knees...some on the neck and groin, but thats about it. It could have been a lot worse. So if anyone wants to get it over with...bring your kid on over to play :) (im reminded of a certain south park episode) hehehehe
Also, i wanted to share the extent of jordyns infatuation with Nightmare Before Christmas...check out her drawing of Jack Skellington.....

I was also planning to post my give-away for my 200th post, but as its late, im tired, and havent photographed it yet, youll just have to check back tomorrow on my 201st post for the info :)
Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!

Hawk Rescue ~

Back in January, we rescued a bat...well today we rescued something a little bigger...a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Isnt he cool (at least, i think its a he). He isnt very big, so i wasnt sure if it was a raptor at first...but then he turned to look at me with the amber eye(it was missing the other one), and i knew it had to be a hawk of some kind. It was at the resort next door, so i told them about it and they called the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in town. They told us if we caught it in a box, then they would send someone up to get it. Well, while i held its gaze, my friend Joan snuck up on it from behind and placed the box on him, and presto...hawk in a box!

So now this injured little guy is on his way down the canyon to see if they can fix him to go back into the wild. If you arent familiar with the raptor rescue program, you should check it out...its very cool! I stole this t-shirt image from their site, i hope they dont mind...but since i included a link, i dont think they will :)

On another note, this is my 199th post, and im planning something fun to giveaway for my 200th post...so check back soon!
cheers ~
Update: The hawk is hanging in there, but it turns out it wasnt a coopers hawk, but a sharp-shinned hawk, so ive corrected my post. The hawk is hanging in there, but suffered a severe head injury, so they arent sure if he's going to make it or not. Ill keep you posted!

Post #3 for Today : Truly Snowed In!

okay...so we clean up the awning mess, decide to take the Toyota four wheeler out for a spin around the property to check things out, and discover this giant tree blocking our driveway! So far, we've lost about 4 trees...but this one is totally in the way. Apparently the pager went off while i was out too...two cars in the river...but thankfully it was lower canyon, so i didnt have take the ambulance out in this crap! I think its beer thirty! Have a great night!

Doh!

So as im sitting here uploading photos, and looking outside at the snow, it occurs to me that we are getting quite an accumulation of snow on our awning, and perhaps i should get out there and beat the snow off of it. And as im gazing out at this lovely Spring storm the entire awning collapsed! Doh....

We had to shovel our car out to see what kind of damage we received...

Some minor body damage...frustrating, but at least lucky that the windshields didnt break!

Also, some minor damage to the taillight. Well, it could have been worse...so i guess we cant complain too much.

Jordyn seemed to be enjoying the snow while we were outside...until she got cold, that is! Hope you enjoyed our little snowstorm update! cheers~

Spring is in the....oops...nevermind!

Over a foot of snow, and still falling! I know i havent posted Easter pics yet, but i had to share these shots of our house and yard this morning! Enjoy! Hope you are enjoying a lovely Spring day wherever you are :)

First Trip to the Library ~

We finally made it to storytime yesterday...Jordyns first trip to a library. We arrived early to let her become familiar with her surroundings before the onslaught of kids arrived. She really liked all the toys, books, puzzles and goodies...and i was rather impressed myself!

After storytime, each kid got to decorate a basket for the Easter egg hunt...and here is Jordyn with her rather festive bag!
She was ready before most of the other kids, and kept sneaking into the main part of the library to scope out where all the eggs were.

She hit her quota almost immediately...sneaking around the library earlier certainly helped!

But she had fun running up and down the aisles...oops...here's one. I had a great time too...and found several books for her as well as me!

As soon as we got home she had to check out her loot. All in all, i think it was a little bit of sensory overload for her...soooo much to see and do...but i know she loved it!

That evening we decorated our own Easter eggs...glitter and all! What fun! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! Cheers~

For all designers...enjoy!

for more fun, go to...http://www.whattheduck.net/!

What did you do today?

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

New Fabric to Brighten the Black Bear

Well, this is what i woke up to this morning...

An icy day indeed!
Thankfully a colorful package arrived from Hancock's of Paducah, which helped to brighten my day! Ive been anxious to receive the lovely new Michael Miller Fairy fabric inspired by Cicely Barkers artwork...however, it seemed to be back ordered forever. Well, today it arrived!

I ordered several fairy panels to use in crazy quilts, as well as this geisha panel.

I thought it would make a nice center piece for these blocks i swapped on about.com a few years ago. The pattern was designed by Kate, and it was the very first swap i participated in, so id like to see them in a quilt soon.

And...because you can never have too many pair of pajama pants, and because i like to wear them as regular pants...i ordered this fun pattern as well. It also comes with a pattern for a pillow case, and a cute bag.

Its snowing...again! Time for playdoh!

April Fools...no, it actually is snowing again! ugh! Thankfully Jordyn and i went out exploring before it started to get too wet.

She cant seem to get enough icicles...she loves eating them. I gave it a try and thought they tasted like dirt...but i couldnt convince her otherwise, so she munched away on them.

She enjoyed sliding, swinging, climbing, and playing in the dirt...oops...thats not dirt...thats sheep poo! doh! Yes, they look just like brown jelly beans :)

She likes to pretend she's serving food out of her little house...if you drop by, she'll fix you a hot dog and a drink.

When it started to snow, we headed inside for warmth and playdoh fun. A dress and jewelry were required. (note the plastic ring she hung on her lobe like an earring...pretty clever! All in all...a lovely afternoon!
Sorry i dont have any crafts to show...i finished two more of Ellies February BOM, but they are the same as the one i already posted...i also finished a logo design for our fire department, but im waiting for approval...and im working on a gift, that i cant show photos of....but i promise to post pictures soon! Thanks for visiting :)