It's the hap-happiest season of all!

Monday again.  The laundry hamper over-floweth, again, but the weekend that was was a good one.  We met some new people while out on a walk.

 

Being children of the 70's, Hubby and I got out the Frisbee for a little backyard fun.  Larkin was intrigued.

 

She didn't quite work out how to catch it in flight, but she did manage to pick it up and bring it back.

Once the lure of snacks were added to the equation.

 

 It wasn't all fun in the sun.  Quality time with my sewing machine lead to finishing Churn Dashes, #5 in the Fat Quarter Project.

 

I wonder what our dear Fearless Leader has in mind for project #6?

Winner!  Winner!  Winner!  I was the big winner last night!

Our very clever and talented Fearless Leader continues to inspire the little band of merry quilters I sew with every week by offering little quilts she has made as incentive to keep us on task with the Fat Quarter Project.  Last night a drawing was held for piecing the Red Cross 9 Patch quilt  . . .  and I WON!  I'm still smiling.
So now we are on to the next quilt in The Project - a churn dash quilt.

The blocks are pretty fun to put together.  This batch will have the most scrapped together backgrounds.  But I'm going to need to do a little more shopping.  The fabric I originally picked for the setting blocks is just not making me sing anymore  . . . at least not for this quilt.  I'm going to wait until all the blocks are pieced before I make my choice.  It feels like the blocks are going to tell me what they need rather than me choosing something I really love for this one.
Last week was Hubby's 6-month 'surgiversary' when we had a celebratory lunch and talked a lot about the condition that lead to the surgery, his recovery, changes we've made in our lifestyle and how even though he didn't feel bad before the surgery - he now knows that he in fact feels much better.
Yesterday marked his 6-month 'dischargiversary' from the hospital which caused me to do a little reflecting on how the changes we've made have affected me.  I didn't have a condition, I didn't think I felt bad but now I, too, feel much better.  Who would've thunk it? 
Today I even went for a walk for NO REASON other than to go for a walk!  What in the world is going on here?

I had been thinking of a new route that would avoid squirrels and the influx of tourists while still allowing Larkin and I to walk at the beach during the summer months.  (Hubby walks on his lunch hour during the week, leaving Larkin and me to our own devices)  But today is Larkin's camp day and normally a day off walking for me.  Then all of a sudden, I just felt the urge to go anyway!  What is that all about?  I cannot remember the last time that I voluntarily went walking when I wasn't carrying a leash (and some poop bags).
Looks like I'm a winner here, too.  Now back back to those quilt blocks.  I want to be sure that I can get my name in the next drawing.

Helpers are always welcome, even when you didn't know you needed one.

 

 I just have final borders to stitch onto the Turnstile top.  I spread it out on the floor  to double check that all the blocks are oriented correctly  . . . . just in case.  Then I went to make the bed.  When I got back I found Larkin holding the top down.  What if a rogue breeze blew through and carried the top away? 

UPDATE

 

 Look what we came in the mail from our cable company. *rotflmao* 

Do you ever have one of those *ah ha* moments?  Last month when I was writing checks to pay bills, I noticed that our cable bill went up - for the second consecutive month.  What's up with that?  There are seemingly ceaseless commercials about what good deals they have for all sorts of plans.  Just give 'em a call to set it up and they will even give you a $200 Visa gift card!  So I called to see what I could do for my own pocketbook.
An hour and a half later, after speaking to multiple representatives in multiple departments, I came to learn that we did not qualify for any of the aforementioned offers for two reasons:  One - we are already customers, therefore cannot receive the Visa gift card.  Two - we cannot sign up for a better plan because we are currently in a 'Price Rate Lock' situation.  For those of you wishing for clarity, this means that the cable company is free to raise our rate on a frequent and regular basis; however, we cannot change to a plan that would benefit us or our budget.
Apparently we 'signed' a two year contract when we set up our account, though there is no physical evidence of this signing.  Are you as frustrated as I was?  The good news is that TODAY marks two years from when we moved into this home.  And cable bills are paid a month in advance.  So last weekend, Hubby disconnected the HD boxes, the dvr and gathered up the remote controls and headed to our local cable office.  As much as I wanted (and I REALLY WANTED) to just leave the company entirely, we do still receive our high speed Internet service from them as well as 'basic cable' which is the networks and about a half dozen other channels.
So far the hardest adjustment has been finding out what time it is.  I am so used to just looking at the digital readout on the cable boxes.  Now instead of just mindlessly turning on the TV, we have been taking an extra, after dinner walk, we listen to the radio, and I'm getting a nice mix of music on Pandora Radio.

We picked up some comfy outdoor seating to enjoy the evenings al fresco.

I've unearthed the hexagon stars.  They are easily transported in and outdoors for hand quilting and not so hot or bulky as to be bothersome to work on as summer approaches.  Seems like one way or another I am bound to finally get this quilt finished.  At least I hope so!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mom and Me and the Best Apricot Tree - EVER!