Flowers are blooming in the garden!

The month of June brings flowers, flowers, flowers into my garden. There are a couple that have never bloomed before. It seems that it takes a couple of seasons for most plants to bloom. This year I've got Flander's poppies that are all over my side yard (which need very little water to bloom apparently), Oriental poppies ( I love their pale pink color), and orange lilies. Also, my rose bushes have also bloomed prodigiously despite the attack of aphids in late spring.

And for a daily dose of cuteness . . . .

There are a couple of blogs out there that will satisfy anyone's need for a big fix of "CUTE"! One is call Cute Overload. Here are a couple of pictures that makes me want to get another dog (preferably a tiny little Chihuahua puppy that I can dress in little sweaters!) Now, if only I could convince my husband!

Vintage style pot holder

Here's my first attempt at a potholder. I didn't use a pattern - I just cut out two cotton fabric squares. I made one larger than the other so that I could overlap for binding. I also cut out a matching square of batting. Next time, I will use a thicker batting. This potholder was made with lightweight cotton batting and it is just too thin. I might even double up the thicker batting next time. Before embroidering the design, I first quilted the entire potholder, then folded over the edge for a binding. On the front of the potholder, I transferred a design using an iron-on pattern from a company called Aunt Martha's. This company makes reproduction vintage transfers that are very easy to use. I then stitched over the lines, making sure that my needle didn't go all the way through to the back of the potholder. At the end and the beginning of each thread, I buried the ends in the batting of the potholder, thus hiding them. My next project is a matching tea cozy made with coordinating fabrics and a small Scottie embroidered design. These will be donated to a silent auction benefiting the Nevada Society of Scottish Clans.

Miss Marple returns Sunday on PBS. Set your watches!

Tomorrow night the Miss Marple series returns with "Sleeping Murder". It is post-WWII Britain and the wiley elder sleuth continues to solve crimes even before the police detectives on the case have a clue. I love Agatha Christie and these are well done renditions. Fortunately, they are on late so I can sit in the quiet after everyone has gone to bed and enjoy!
By the way, if you enjoy British mysteries, I recommend books by Elizabeth George and P.D. James. Two more great lady mystery writers. You can just lose yourself in their books.

Interesting and yummy childhood recipes

Here are some great food recipes from my childhood.

• Tuna jello salad mold (See picture and recipe above) Although this sounds awful, it is great! I can sit down and eat about half of this in an afternoon (nothing to brag about!) My mom also makes a sauce for this consisting of lemon juice, sugar and mayonnaise. You could make this with low fat mayo and use Splenda to convince yourself that you are eating something healthy. This recipe comes from a 1973 Jello cookbook that my mom had - now I own. It has everything you every wanted to make with jello in it.
• Fluffernutter sandwiches You take two slices of white bread (preferably Wonder bread, or any other kind of white bread that you can roll into dough balls to store in your pocket to eat for later) and spread peanut butter on one side and Kraft marshmallow cream on the other. Squish together and enjoy!
• Banana, peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches (I think Elvis liked these) I personally can't stand them, but my mom always made them for my lunch.
• Fruit "salads" with marshmallows, nuts, Jello, and whipped cream My grandmother made Waldorf salad every holiday, and it is wonderful in all its green fluffy goodness! By the way, why were these called "salads"? Maybe another way to convince one that one is eating "healthy". Canned fruit does has some vitamins.

Pillow is complete!

Finally, I've finished the pillow I have been working on for the last month or so. I started with a design of my own. I appliqued the moon, hills, and some of the stars onto the fabric, then I embroidered around the applique and added some more decorative embroidery. The top says "Every child begins the world again", but since I used a light green thread, it is difficult to see on the purple background. Next time I will use a darker thread.
I started to hand quilt the top (with border), but I lost patience and decided to do the rest by machine. As you can tell, my quilting and sewing is not "perfect" and it probably never will be. Like my cooking, I go for the "hand made" look. Therefore, I do not have to try to do it perfectly and exhaust my limited patience in the meantime (and thus give up before I finish!)
I have no idea what I will do with this pillow. I might put it in my son's room, but I think it would just get lost in the mess! I might try to do a craft show this fall and see what I can sell. Maybe the pillow will be one of my items. I find that I really don't make many things that I would actually use. Generally, I just like the process of making them. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.