Pumpkin patch update!

We're having really weird weather here on the Oregon coast, so the sun peaked out & we ran out to check on the garden. As you can see the big pumpkin is now starting to turn color...
This pumpkin is almost all yellow now...still a little green & believe it will darken up.
This pumpkin is also yellowing up nicely...the other little pumpkin didn't make it. We found it decimated on the vine :-(
But just look at this lovely zucchini we found & picked...Michelle will be making zucchini bread for sure now!

Then at the back of the garden, we found this little pumpkin! Yeah, we are back up to 4!
And check out the Crook Neck Squash! We have a bunch of this coming on...as well as more zucchini that's little babies right now.
Oh, look at the lone little pepper we found trying so hard.
Don't you just love a pot full of Pinks?! I sure do. Shortly after these pictures were taken it started raining, then some wind, and now the sun is trying to peak out again. Well, like we always say on the Oregon coast "Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes."

My afternoon teaparty

For a surprise Michelle got me a table & chairs. They are perfect for an outdoors teaparty, so I invited my good friends Mr. & Mrs. Sylvanian and my cousin Petal the Koala over for tea.
It was beautiful & sunny out on the patio. The perfect way to break in my new tea & table set. Everyone had a lovely time, even Petal! Petal desperately wants to be a flower, so occassionally she can be a little morose, so this was a lovely change of pace for her. Doesn't the teaset look lovely sparkling in the sun like this?!
Mrs. Sylvanian always has the best new recipes & gossip. I really don't care for cooking or baking, but it's fun to listen to someone talk about something they have a lot of interest in. Mr. Sylvanian had a fine time talking gardening w/Petal. Did you know that tea is also a good fertilizer for the garden? Of course some of the "tea" recipes they were talking about weren't good for bears just flowers.

My quilt and pillow are done

Check it out! Michelle found a piece of "cheater" quilt while she was cleaning up her mess in the living room...she promptly stopped cleaning & made my quilt and my pillow. Now my bed looks great! I like the cheater quilt top even better than Michelle's idea of sewing pieces of material together, because now I have pink in it & did you see how many of the squares have flowers?! The pillow matches the quilt & was made from some left over squares. I love my bed now.

Visiting the neighbors

Since my basket is done & I'm pretty much moved in, I decide to go introduce myself to my new neighbors. I knock on the door...
Inside the Hug I'm greeted by several bears even smaller than myself. There's also a small donkey and a pink bunny. The pink bear, pink bunny, little brown bear, and the orange & brown panda bear seem familiar some how.
The donkey is very affectionate. The pink bunny sits up looking surprised. The pink bear jumps out of bed & yells "Look, it's our sister Ashleigh!" I'm shocked! A closer look & I recognize my long lost chenille half sister Patchy. The pink bunny is my sister Candy!
The little brown bear is my brother Buster and the panda bear is my other brother Buttons! While technically they are littlier than me, I'm younger than they are & they moved out on their own. Bears, and bunnies for that matter, aren't great at writing letters and generally don't have phones, so I haven't seen them for a long time. I guess we won't have to worry about keeping in touch now, since I live just next door. Their roommates, the brown bear wearing overalls, the white bear, and the donkey tell me that I can come for a visit anytime I want. The Hug is very cozy, but the furniture is their scale & I seem awfully big in it. But I'm very happy to have found some of my family.

Wow! Check out how my bed turned out!

Cleaned & polished, new sheets, and wow what a difference! Michelle is going to work on my quilt, but it won't be finished today. In the meantime I now have a comfy place to rest at night that's all my own. Michelle just did these today. We had a really busy weekend. Friday night was the burnout contest in Winchester Bay. Gregg usually enters, but didn't have time to get a car ready this year so we just watched. It was still a lot of fun. Then Saturday night was the Cool Coastal Nights cruise, also in Winchester Bay. We cruised in the black & gold 1965 Hertz Rent-a-Racer Shelby Mustang replica. It's Gregg's toy & a lot of fun to drive around in. Sunday we spent the day pulling Ivy & Morning Glory vines down off the fences, pulling blackberry briers wherever we found them & pulling every Dandelion that could be found in the lawn. It started out sunny & hot, by the time we were done in the afternoon it looked like rain...It rained during the birthday party that Riley went to that evening. Today, we're just kinda taking it easy & doing some stuff around the house, which is why Michelle decided to work on my bed.

My Bed Has Arrived-Yeah?

Well, my bed arrived today...it's not exactly what I was expecting. It's old for one thing. Michelle says "it's vintage". Whatever. Michelle says we'll spend a little time cleaning it up & putting new sheets on mattress, finish making bedding to go on it, etc & it will be exactly what I was wanting. I'm not convinced. I mean the wood is sort of pretty, but I wanted white w/pink roses-you know kinda girly. Michelle says we'll clean & polish up the wood, green sheets w/matching green quilt & I'll just love it. Let's just say that I'm leaving that open until I see the finished product.

My tea set arrived, new sweater & afghan

My tea set arrived in the mail today! Yeah me! It's very dainty & pretty. The very nice seller also included a set of 4 drinking glasses, so I'm all set to entertain. Michelle made me a red sweater yesterday. It started out as vaguely Asian in style, but that didn't work out so she ripped it out & started over. Now, it's a back to school theme w/primary colors. She also made me an afghan out of pink terry cloth yarn. It'll be fabulous on my new bed when it arrives.

Introducing the new addition to the family

The family got a new kitten on Sunday. She was mostly feral, and had never been in a house before. After four days she is starting to feel more comfortable. Here she is in her playcube this morning. Her name is Tatiana, but everyone calls her Tottie. She is about 3 months old and is really quite a character. She is not afraid of the Dachsunds at all & tries to get Gracie Lou to play with her, but Gracie is not quite sure what to make of her yet.

The things you find when you change purses

Michelle's purse has absolutely no organization, so today while school supply shopping she found what she thinks is the perfect purse, big, organized, lots of pockets. I'm not convinced, so I check it out.
In the meantime, Michelle dumps out her purse so that she can start putting stuff in the new purse, saving out receipts that need to be saved, and throwing away the garbage. What a mess!
Hey, what's this? I've heard something else moving around in the purse when I travel, but I've never found out what it was.
AAAAHHHH! It's an Evil Purse Monkey & it's escaped the safety bubble!
I chase after it as it cartwheels away. Evil Purse Monkeys don't run, crawl, or scamper. They always cartwheel. No one is quite sure why, but it must be an evolutionary survival thing. It's really hard to catch a cartwheeling monkey that is for sure.

Captured at last & put back in the safety bubble. Never under estimate an Evil Purse Monkey. He is now safely stashed back in the purse & the household is again free to go about their everday business.

Yarn Store Prizes

Michelle & I made the trek to the yarn store in Lakeside today to cash in her gift certificate prize. She bought the pink yarn, the yellow yarn and a size E bamboo crochet hook. The rest of the patterns & stuff the owner threw in. It's a really nice little store and the owner is very friendly. I'm hoping my bed &/or china set come today. The basket in the picture is my basket, hopefully soon to be home.

Riley's Big Weekend

This Saturday was Riley's birthday, her 9th. It was also the big JR Dragster Blowout at the racetrack. Riley won it all on Saturday! It was a big win, as there was more than just her & the boy she usually runs. First round she took out the 2007 JR Dragster regional winner! Well, Nicole got a red light, but still! Riley won $20. Saturday night was her birthday party, so we took William home w/us from the track & then spent the rest of the afternoon getting stuff ready for the party. Riley had her party at Mingus Park. The picture above is her cake. She got a lot of presents & everyone had fun.

Today there were even more kids present for the final day of races and everyone had a lot fun, and then during the lunch break it started storming:thunder, lightning, and rain, lots of rain. So they had to call the race & reschedule it for the 14th of September. Hopefully, Riley will do well that weekend also.

...And my tea set

Yeah, we won the tea set last night!

My bed will be on it's way soon!

We won the bed!! Very exciting! Michelle has promised to make me an afghan, and will try to make a quilt!

My basket!

Michelle bought me my own basket! It is lined w/cloth and will be my "room" with the advantage of being portable. I have a pretty little round box to keep my things in, like clothes and the tea set we're looking for. We're also looking for a bed, possibly found one, just keep your fingers crossed that we don't get outbid. Pictures will be taken when it's done...I hate construction mess and don't want to share that with anyone.

Check out what's growing in the garden

Michelle came in from outside carrying the zucchini. I was curious about what else was out there, so talked Michelle into another trip to the garden. Besides the zucchini, she also has pumpkins! They're still baby pumpkins right now, but they should be ready by Halloween! This is the first year she's actually gotten the pumpkins this far, usually they are at this stage at Halloween & then die because the weather turns. She started them two months early in the house & then moved them outside as soon as it was warm enough. She currently has three, but a couple more are starting to come on. The zucchini will most likely be made into bread...she made two loaves yesterday & already one of them is gone. There's also still crookneck squash, tomatoes, and all kinds of herbs out there. There were radishes and lettuce, but they're already done for the year. We've got apples on the tree out front too, they should be ready in a couple of weeks & then there will be apple butter & apple sauce!

Adopted:1977 Thomas Dam Grandpa troll doll

While at Goodwill today we found this charming old gent. He was looking for a new home, and the price, while a little steep, was not out of line. He has wonderful manners and great stories to tell. He's also very grateful to have someplace to rest his weary old bones. We drag raced earlier today. Riley's friend Alicia came with us today and a wonderful time was had by all. I'm currently trying to expand my wardrobe. We've been searching eBay for a kimono, but so far have not been able to find one in my size. Michelle has some wonderful oriental inspired material, but alas very little sewing ability, so we're checking among her friends for someone who might be willing to attempt a tiny kimono.

Trip to Sunset Beach

Today we went out to the beach for the photo shoot for the little green Mermaid for the ThreadBears challenge. Sunset Beach is a really lovely spot, but it was pretty windy today. Had a heck of a time getting a picture w/out the mermaid being blown off the rock. A nephew of Michelle's was also having a birthday party, his 15th. Teenage boys are a totally different species & should probably be contained in zoos until they become adult men. There was a lot of chasing around & wrestling, and lets not forget the silly string. The cake was good though & the sea air is quite bracing.