We found a patch of wild strawberries:

Took some pictures by an old, abandoned cabin (this is one of my brothers and his pretty family):

Stopped in Idaho City for lunch and visited this crazy place:

Here's what I've done so far. Made some cupcakes for a mini-shower for my sister, with the help from two sisters-in-law:

Filmed my brother playing a new song in the bathtub. The flashes are me, taking pictures. I get to be a guest on his podcast later this weekend.

UPDATE: Okay, Cary took his video off YouTube, so I'll have to load it myself, but I'm headed for the mountains this morning. I'll re-post it when I get back! In the meantime, enjoy a cute puppy!

I'm getting ready to go visit family on Thursday, so this will be quick. I decided that my laptop needed a sleeve for my travels, so I can stick it in my new little rolling carry-on, rather than lugging it around in the abnormally heavy laptop case that I usually use. I was inspired by one of my favorite Japanese Patchwork books to do a little collage-y kind of thing on linen.

I added a layer of batting and quilted it, now I just have to fold it in half and sew it up. Of course I'll share when it's all done. I picked some flowers this morning, and the lavender was positively buzzing with bees!

I also finished up the little kimono for the baby that arrived today! That story is for my sister to share, and I hope to see pictures soon.

We got a new dog this weekend. His name is Winston. We traded in the old model for the sleek newly re-designed model.

Okay, we don’t actually have three dogs, Winston just got a haircut. Look at that skinny little tail! He’s still recovering from the trauma, but I think he feels a lot better. I know he’s not as hot as he was before with all that fur, because he slept next to me almost the whole night. I think he might even be a little chilly. The poor little guy had so many stickers from the weeds in our yard stuck in his belly, and he was starting to get some mats in his fur that I couldn’t comb through. I think I spent hours this past week pulling out the stickers and trying to brush out the knots. I finally had to admit defeat, and take him in for a shave. Bear didn’t recognize him when we first got out of the car last night. I think he’s still not too sure who the strange new dog is.

I decided to take a break from the garden this weekend, since I’m currently frustrated by the two (out of four) dead tomato plants, two dead peppers and two dead zucchini plants. I mean, come on, anyone can grow zucchini, they’re practically weeds. Apparently I can’t grow them. I’m not sure what is going on. Something has been digging around in my raised bed, and the dead plants look as if they’ve been sprayed with something. They’re not even next to each other. It’s too weird. I am taking measures, however, to try and protect everything else. I bought some rue and coleus, which are repellent to cats, and I’ve got some garlic to plant, which should repel gophers and other rodents. I’m not giving up, although my dreams of canning tomatoes and making zucchini pickles may have to wait until next Summer.

In happier news, I got a little treat in the mail last week! Miss Cara Lou made me a cup cozy, and appropriately, it says “All Mine”, so that means I don’t have to share, right? Do you see that Mr. HeyLucy?! He always thinks my food is better than his and wants to try it out. Here it is being modeled by a lovely cup of peppermint tea:

Since I boycotted the garden this weekend I did some knitting and sewing instead. There’s a new niece arriving soon, and I may not have a quilt ready right when she arrives, but I did manage to get some  booties done. They’re obnoxiously bright, but I like them anyway. I just used some leftover cotton yarn I had laying around.

And I’m nearly finished with the kimono from Weekend Sewing. I’ll show you the whole thing when it’s done. It’s a quick little project, just like the booties, so I highly recommend either or both if you need a special baby gift in a hurry.

I've been a little stressed out lately. Not from any one thing, just little things here and there. The grey, grey weather is not helping, and now there's something digging in my garden and I've lost some plants (again!). I feel a little discouraged. So the best thing to do in this situation is focus on the positive, right? So I'm that's what I'm trying to do.

Sometimes when I gather eggs from the coop there will be a soft little feather attached. It's a nice little bonus.

I moved the bees to their new hive last weekend, they seem to have settled in nicely. Here they are coming home in the evening, after a hard day's work. I was surprised to see them still up, I took this photo at about 7:30 p.m. and there was a steady stream of bees returning.

It was a fun little adventure to move them. The new hive is just about a foot over from where they were, so I don't think I messed their orientation up too much. I set it up and then opened the old hive and moved them over one frame at a time, keeping the order and direction all the same. I saw Queen Maria for the first time in a few weeks. She does still have her green dot, so I'm not sure how I've missed her until now. There are definitely more bees in the hive.That smudgy paint is going to bug me for a long time, I should have fixed it.

One more cheery, stress-reducing, good thing: Luna bars come in a new flavor-white chocolate macadamia nut. Holy Cow they are good. Luna bars are my 3:00 p.m., I want something sweet and crunchy, right now snack. They're better for you than cookies, and they do the trick for me.

I am experimenting with the power of video. Here's one for all the Winston fans.

What I really want to do now is learn to edit and add music and other fun effects.