A Preview

I guess all the little quilts for the World Federation Quilt Smackdown (a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative) are done and in Ami Simm's possession. Here is just a peak at what John has been working on.

John, Kate and I are all busy finishing up our little quilts for the IQA Silent Auction. John's and Kate's are wonderful and mine is going to be cute. Pictures to follow.

We have harvested some of our onions and they were tasty. I have started kohlrabi to plant where the onions come out, but I don't think John is going to have time to make me a deer screen this fall. When I come up with Plan B, I will do that instead.

Our next show is in Longmont, Colorado near the beautiful Colorado Rockies and the fall aspens. We have a lot of packing to do!

Brooke

Fish Tales

Our family (John's cousins) reunion is history. We think there were 33 people there on Saturday, coming and going, eating, visiting and all that. This is a fascinating group of people; you could find someone interesting to visit with at every turn.

Kate and Kevin brought up gemstone gravel and we searched for gems; out on the deck in the sunshine - that was good, and the metal detector found bits from the railroad that used to go to the gold mine up the canyon. We had a campfire and smores Saturday night and John's cousins sang. Why does the smoke follow you no matter where you move? There was an after dark horseshoe tournament, somewhat disrupted by a bat.

Well, fishing is always a big part of a get together in Red Lodge. Here are John and our nephew, Jason, with the grand nieces' "Barbie" fishing poles. The girls had gotten distracted by a frog, I believe, so John and Jason kept casting. I don't know if the poles make a happy sound when you cast, but for some reason, there is a flashy light in the handles. They did catch some fish, but not the frog.

Brooke

Hand Work

The Battle of the Appliance Installation is over. Everyone survived - except the old 1970s gold dishwasher. It is in bits and waiting for the recycler. It leaked, that's bad. The new dishwasher is very, very quiet, shhh.

John had time to work on his World Quilt Federation Smackdown quilt - all the machine piecing is done and there was a little hand piecing in the center. We'll get a picture up soon.

The reunion is fast approaching. Yesterday, we planned menus. Food, a high priority, right?

Brooke

A Texan Visits

We got cleaned up enough to have company and who would be more fun that Libby Lehman! Libby was teaching at the Bernina store in Billings Friday and Saturday and came up for dinner and stayed Saturday night. We had time for a quick drive up the Beartooth Highway to "Vista Point" which is about 10,000' and shows off a pretty extreme drop down into the Rock Creek Valley. It was a little chilly up there - one tourist, who was in shorts, asked me if she should just wait around until the snow fell and ski down.

Countdown is now in progress for John's family reunion, weekend after next. Things are pretty clean and fluffed etc. But the new dishwasher, which I am pretty sure we are going to need, is too tall for it's hole. John will fix it, one way or the other.

Stay tuned for an update from John on the World Federation Quilt Smackdown, or whatever it is called.

Brooke

Okay, That's Done...

Oh my gosh, the tile project is done! John laid the partial tiles around the edges on Friday and Saturday. Our son, Bridger, cut all the partial tiles on our new and trusty, noisy tile saw. John's sisters, Joan and Peggy, came up and helped us grout on Sunday and then I sealed the grout on Monday.

There was a slight interlude while we waited for the plumber to come fix the pipe John broke when he tried to reset the toilet by himself. A big flood of water hit the new tile when that happened!

So, the refrigerator is out of the living room, the washer and dryer are out of my bedroom, the toilet is out of the bathtub. The dining room table is still on the front porch, waiting to be reassembled with padded feet to protect the new tile.

We are sort of done with home improvement for a while. Quilting is better; you don't have to crawl around with kneepads or carry dozens of buckets of water in and out when you quilt!

Brooke

Smackdown Continued

Here is the start of what John calls the Best ever, Best money making, Best World Quilt Federation Smackdown quilt for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative fundraiser. That is a long tongue tier! The little quilt is 17" across right now.

Details on how you can bid on the quilts Hollis, John, Becky and Sue are working on will come from Ami Simms from the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

Hope you are staying cool, wherever you are!

Brooke

Progress Report

We had help with the tiling project his weekend. Our son spent the day cutting tile for the narrow places along the edges. John finished taking up the old vinyl tile and linoleum and has all but about 6 of the full size tile laid. We are hopping here and there to miss the freshly laid tiles, quite amusing.

The refrigerator is in the living room. The dining room table is on the front porch. The washer and dryer are in my bedroom. The toilet is in the bathtub. I will be glad to have everything done and all the appliances back in their traditional locations.

The camera memory card seems to have given out on me so no photos this time, maybe later this week.

John took some time out from marathon tiling to work on his project for "the World Federation Quilt Smackdown", a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative. So, if you think you have seen a little Feathered Sun, wait until you see this. I'm not kidding, it is little. I will try to get a picture with the other camera this week.

John says "It is fabulous, Everybody ought to just give up. Surrender!" Do Hollis, Becky or Sue have anything to say to that??

Brooke