When you’ve spend over half a day cleaning your house because you have a quilt class to teach the following day.  This is when you have to decide love them or kill them?  You will notice baby dog isn’t innocent.  His head is just barely in picture on the right.  He’s smart enough to run when the front door opens.   And they wonder why they have to stay gated in the play room when I’m not home.

I will be starting a new monthly quilt group at my house this Saturday.  We’ve had to put it off so long for one reason or another but we’re finally starting and I’ll post pictures of what the ladies are going to learn.

 

In case the sod, umbrella and mulch wasn’t enough, Robert also got my custom birdhouse put up.  Yes that’s a jeep with an actual mud hole on the house.  It was custom made by a friend.

He also replaced my toilet while I was gone and since the garbage men won’t pick up a toilet, we made it a garden.  Now I tell people look for the house with toilet in the front yard.

Wow talk about being blessed.   Robert and I went to Lowe’s Sunday to see if any chance we could get decent sod and try and fix where dogs have eaten my grass.   Left so much black dirt the pups just stay dirty all the time and muddy when it rains.   We found a bunch of veggie plants for Robert but no sod.  He went back Monday and they had a new load so he was able to get enough in the jeep to do half the yard.     He added new layer of black much, chairs and it looks awesome.  The cushions arrive tomorrow now that we have a container to store them in.  Can’t wait to get another load and finish up the yard.

Hard to believe he got 40 pieces of sod and 5 – 50# bags of mulch in the jeep.

I cannot believe how relaxing it was to go spend time with family and not have a schedule we had to follow.  Just chilling and doing something if we felt like it.   The drive home was brutal.  I decided not to stop over and now I realize exactly how long 15 hours is.  3 stops for potty and gas and I was home.  Tired but excited to see my pups and family.

While I was gone Robert put up my screened umbrella so the cats don’t tear up the hot tub cover and mosquito’s don’t eat you alive if you sit outside.  Soon as I went outside to look at it was shocked to see that my friend Tony and his son built me a deck outside the back door.  It looks awesome and really makes the backyard a lot more user friendly.

He even used the leftover to build a table/bench and added bamboo fence across the front to match the rest of my fence.

 

 

Aunt Bonnie was so kind and not only made us a lunch, but toted it all over to Uncle Clinton’s so we could have lunch together.   My grandmother used to talk about certain people and her phrase was “they’re good people”.  That’s Bonnie, she’s good people and she’s my people now.   Hope she isn’t mad I posted a picture of her not smiling.

Later that day she took us to Blenko glass and showed us her collection.  What beautiful items and now, thanks to her, I have a start of a collection.   The first picture is Jill, Clinton and Bonnie and the 2nd is the beautiful Blenko bowl she bought me while we were there.   It’s front and center in my living room.   Even has it’s own display table.

 

 

I’m using my lunch break to update my blog while I’ve been gone and didn’t realize how much happened.  Guess I’ll have a lot of posts in one day.   While I was there my sister Jill was very nice and did my nails for me.  She needs to do this as a profession.  They looked better than when I go to the salon.   I just love this OPI color.    Thank you Jill.

 

What a long drive.  I thought it was mostly West Virginia on my last drive but I realized it takes forever to driver thru South Carolina and most of the way is 55 and 60 mph.   But I arrived and was so excited to see Jill and Mark.  They are just such awesome people.

I will admit that the new Comfort Inn was very nice but the bed was like sleeping on a rock and I usually like firm beds.   They were short rooms so gave me a king suite for the same price as a queen room. Excluding the idiot that took her 8 week old pup in the hotel hot tub and pool, it was a nice hotel.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take a picture of this quilt finished but I have the center done in this picture.  I can’t believe I finished it but only because I stopped over at a hotel on my drive to Ohio.  Checked in, showered and then got this finished to deliver when I arrived.   The background outside the star was a pretty beige.   I hope Melaine’s sister loved her birthday present.

 

I know as Christians we are supposed to help people when we can, but at some point is it ok to say no?   I don’t mind helping people in general but when someone always seems to need a place to stay for a while it just invades my life.  My home is supposed to be where I come for peace of mind, solace, etc. but instead it’s complaining about the dogs, telling me how they know more about everything, how I need to do this or that all over again.  I find I let myself be bullied in my own home because I hate listening to yelling and complaining.  It causes me so much stress.   I’m back to I’d rather work late than go home to my pups.    I’ve got to learn the word NO.