Bear Lake

Here is a picture out of the window where I have been spending the majority of my summer. I LOVE this place, not only for its beauty but the memories it holds. It is where my dad grew up and I spent a majority of my childhood. We used to go and help my grandpa bring in the hay and with the cattle almost every single Saturday in the Summer months. I stayed at my grandparents home every Summer as well for eight weeks or so to pick raspberries for money. I earned enough to pay my school fines and buy clothes for school. A lot of good memories in the berry patch. I picked them from the time I was twelve years old until I was sixteen years old. I used to only dream about picking berries! I couldn't even eat one for a few years after that experience. My Grandpa owned a place called Red Hill. He is gone now, but I sure do have a plethora of great memories with him. If I could, I would spend all of my Summer days here.

Crazy canning season!

I bought TEN Nanking cherry trees at a bare root sale a couple of summers ago. I planted them in my garden far too close to each other....thinking I would move them as they grew. They didn't ever get moved and they grew like weeds! This is the first year I have had fruit on them. They were loaded! I noticed them while trying to catch up on the enormous amount of weeds that seem to plan to grow as fast as they can while I am away. My kids and I picked them last night. I juiced them and sealed the juice for another not-so-busy day (yeah right, who am I kidding). I plan on making jelly with the juice. I have never attempted Nanking cherry jelly and am way excited to see how it turns out! They are teeny tiny cherries but they aren't so sour to make you pucker when you eat one. The pits take up most of the cherry so I am sure I won't be trying to pit them to make a pie. Isn't it a pretty color!

T-shirt Quilt!

I am in the process of making T-shirt quilts for my three boys. I used their old shirts and ironed a fusible interfacing onto the back of them. I had a glass shop cut me the size of square that I wanted out of Plexiglas. I cut them out and sewed a border between them. It was fun and will be a great memory for them. My cousin wants to make one for her daughter and she mentioned that she might use T-shirts for both sides. I am still contemplating that one. I do have to admit that I began this process years ago...and just like all my projects, it was neglected for quite some time. However, I did start this process long before the Twilight series was ever even a dream in the author's mind. In other words, I did not get the idea from the T-shirt quilt given to Bella by her mother in the movie. Just because the top is done, doesn't mean that it will be quilted and finished for another year or even more. As long as I keep plugging away, I feel okay about procrastination. :)