Look Out, Little Hummers!

This praying mantis was very serious about having a hummingbird for breakfast!  I got him off the feeder and threw him WAY out into the grass.  He was very persistent and managed to find his way back across the grass, up the retaining wall, onto the deck railing, and then back to the feeder.

We played this game four times on Friday.  I did research and yes, they DO catch and eat hummingbirds.  And NO they do NOT spit in your eye…  that is a myth.

When I woke up Saturday morning, there he was again, perched on the hummingbird feeder.  It is sad to report that he is no long with us… a casualty of my mother-bird instincts to protect the beautiful hummers I have managed to coax to my feeders.  When I had to choose between a bug or a bird, it was an easy choice.  May he RIP and may my hummers continue to store energy for their long migration, which should start soon. 

The lake is beautiful and smooth this morning, and my kayak is calling my name, but I am plugging my ears and singing the LA-LA-LA  song because I must go quilt today.  A super-busy week is ahead of me with church revival services Wednesday through Sunday so I will be zooming around and not working much the remainder of the week… but it will be so wonderful!

Psalm 145:1-4 (NKJV)
¹ A Praise of David. I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
³ Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.
⁴ One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.

Have a wonderful first-week-in-October!  And yes, we are finally getting a little more leaf coloration showing up… love that!

KAT

Welcome, FALL!

This morning the thermometer read 55 degrees… welcome FALL!  I have been looking forward to the morning when I could drink coffee and eat breakfast on the deck without mosquitoes and sweating… and today was the day. 

It is a joy to worship and meditate on God’s Word outside when there is a crispness to the air.  We don’t have much fall color happening yet but the temperature assures me it is indeed coming.

And what did I eat out on my deck?  Malt-O-Meal with craisins and banana… yummy.  The 3 cats tried to help themselves because it has been awhile since I breakfasted on the deck… clearly they have forgotten the “rules”… they get the left-overs only.  They did enjoy licking the remains.

And yes, I have QUILTY content today!  This quilt was fun and easy… it just looks difficult.  The pattern is Disappearing Pinwheel 3 from the Missouri Star Quilt Co.  They furnish lots of free tutorials on their site, so check them out.   I found the tutorial for this one here, on YouTube rather than their web site.

The fabrics are from my Kaffe Fassett collection.  I have no idea who this quilt is for, but when the need arises I will have one ready.

Happy FALL, y’all!  Now I am off to finish housework, do some customer quilts, and prepare for Sunday.  Hugs to you all!

Psalm 91:2 (NKJV)
² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust."

KAT

Seriously?!

 

Seriously, has it been almost a year since my last post?  Time has flown, and since I am officially another year older today I can truthfully ask, “Where have the days gone?”

So much has changed, and yet so much remains the same.  Pardon me while I wax philosophically for a while…

Changes… into the new house on the lake, which we both dearly love.  The guest-house-now-turned-quilt-studio has gone from dark tan and maroon paint to light lilac with darker trim, and soon to have a neat little wallpaper border.  Necessary things are stowed away and unpacked with only a few boxes remaining stashed in closets.  I have settled into routines that fill my day and help me to accomplish what needs to be done.

Same… quilting continues, only a small amount of time spent knitting right now, our three cats and PJ the dog love it here and adjusted well to the move, there seems to be a shortage of hours to do what needs and wants to be done (I bet it is the same in YOUR world, too!).

But perhaps the biggest change of all is… I am entering the ministry.  At the age of 58 I have clearly heard the Call of the Lord to give Him more of myself.  I have known since I was young there was a call upon my life, but it has taken these many years to get to the place where the path was plainly revealed.  I have applied and been accepted into ministry training through the Foursquare Church.  This involves lots of study time on theology, church history, and practical ministry application.  At the end of the journey is a 3-hour interview and of course I am so intimidated by all of this… the teacher in me thinks I must know EVERYTHING before I can even schedule the interview, and the more I study the more I realize that is not practical.  If He has brought me to this place then He will faithfully give me the words to say, but it is difficult to relax and rest in this promise.  Control… relinquishing control is hard for me.  Planning…preparing… years of teaching have settled my dependence of pre-planning and having all my ducks in a row, so to speak.  But He says to rest in Him, so I will.  I don’t know exactly where this path will lead, but know with certainty it is where my God wants me at this time.

So there you have it… my BIG REVEAL.  Needless to say, time for blogging is even less than before, but I can’t get much WORSE than I have been for the last year, can I?  LOL!  I really am going to make attempts to be regular at this, but I think you will all understand the focus of my blog will probably change to some degree.  Yes, there will still be quilting and knitting, but also more of the spiritual journey I am on.

Psalm 27:8 (NKJV)
⁸ When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."

Dreaming of fall in the mountains…

KAT

We’re Moving!

Moving to our dream house in a wonderful location, closer to family.  That is just one of the reasons my Blog has suffered neglect.  Hopefully after the relocation is complete I can get back to the routine of posting.

Look out Zwolle, here we come!  That is the town where I was born and raised.  I will be within 10 minutes of my Mom and Dad.  I will be closer to all my family and many of my friends.  And of course the fact that we will be on Toledo Bend does not hurt my feelings at all.

 

Can’t you just envision us roaming about in our kayaks out there?  Bass boat ready to jump in and go at a moment’s notice.  Crappie fishing off the dock. 

And did I mention the QUILT STUDIO?  What was once a “guest house” will contain all of my quilting things (I hope) so I will no longer be working throughout the whole house.

Soon… scheduled to close Oct. 7th.  Now, to get back to sorting, cleaning, packing.  Big changes coming!

Blessing to you all!

KAT

Today…. and Tomorrow

Today…

Today I am planning, gathering, organizing, gathering some more, loading the car in between rain showers (for which we are very thankful!).

Tomorrow…

Very early tomorrow, I will pick up my best bud and we will head to Cold Spring, TX.  Yes, it is THAT time of year again… RED BARN RETREAT!!

So please pardon my blogging absence (Like I haven’t been absent WAYYYY too much this year?) and know that when I return I will share the fun with you.

And when I return I will explain the picture you see above, because this will play a major part in my main project for retreat.  Now how’s THAT for a teaser?

Have a wonderful week.  Wish you could all come with us!

KAT

Congrats, Jenn & Brad!

 

The décor.  The ceremony was performed by my pastor and friend, Paula.

The kiss…

The maid of honor, my Katie Bug…

 

Relief!  We did it!

What every bride should wear with a formal wedding dress… pink  Converse tennis shoes!

 

The wedding cake… to be saved for the first anniversary…

The guests had 3 flavors of cupcakes….  The cake tower was Jenn’s idea and I love how it turned out.

 

The families…

Now, perhaps life can settle down a bit around here…

or maybe not.

Have a wonderful week!

KAT

Almost Ready…

The wedding cake is made and decorated (only 1 small tier, thankfully).

The 3 flavors of cupcakes are baked, iced, and decorated.

Serving dishes have been washed, labeled, and packed to take.

Filling for cucumber sandwiches is made.

Condiments and trimmings for sandwiches are ready to go.

Now if the decorating fairies would just show up tonight and get that finished…

Tomorrow morning I will head out early to deliver cake, cupcakes, and finish set-up and decorating for the outdoor wedding.  I am concerned the new blouse I bought to wear is going to be extremely hot in the predicted 96 degree weather, but it won’t be the first time I have sweated…however, this time I will have an audience.  But then, THEY will be sweating too!

Tomorrow will be so busy, and then I plan on just crashing for several days.  I even think I will boycott the kitchen and let DH throw a few meals on the table.  We’ll see how that works out.

Now, off to bed for an early and very long day tomorrow.

KAT

Dashing off…

I’m dashing out the door right now to begin decorating for daughter’s wedding.  Please pardon the brevity of this post but I am sure you all understand.  Next week, life will be somewhat normal (or as close to normal as it gets around here) and I promise to retrieve photos from the camera and give you a REAL update.

Kathy B. says just snippits are fine, so here you go…

I FINISHED the Farmer’s Wife quilt and it is absolutely stunning, if I do say so myself.  Pics later.

I am almost done with 2 pairs of socks… Pics later.

I have finished another Basket Whip Cowl… pics later.

This week will be swamped with the making of wedding cake and cupcakes… pics later.

You get the drift!  I’ll give a full report from the wedding and try to catch you up on things happening here… later.

Hugs to all!  I am hoping the tulle fairies really help us out with the decorating… I’ve never been really good with those kinds of things!

Kat