Breakfast at the Squash House

Here at the Squash House we're having the heat wave that most of the West Coast is experiencing.  As a result, Mr. Squash and I have been getting up much earlier than usual so we can putter in the yard, pick berries and veggies and run our errands before it gets to hot to do anything!

I shot this video while eating breakfast outside this morning.  If you crank up your volume you can not only hear the birds chirping, but maybe even Mr. Squash crunching his cereal!  It was absolutely perfect and still this morning with the sun still down low in the sky!

 Before noon I baked a new recipe called Peachberry Buckle that I got from the King Arthur Blog.  You can find it here.  I hope it tastes as good as it smells! 

Gracie May is now having a nice nap!

When We Sleep, Mom Sews!

Hi Everyone!  Sasha and Gracie May here.  We thought we'd snooze together on top of Dad's printer and give mom a chance to sew without us stealing pins and knocking over scissors.  We think it's a lot of fun, but Mom gets after us all the time and spoils our fun!

 She had a very productive couple of hours and finished two of her Kathy Schmitz BOM's.  We actually don't know what BOM means.  We thought it might stand for Barrel of Meow's but Mom says that isn't quite right.

 There seem to be lots of birds in these blocks.  Funny thing, though, they don't make any noise or flap their wings, they just sit there and look pretty!  We heard somewhere that they're good eating. Mom says this is the June block.

 This is the July block.  Very patriotic, and I swear neither of us has ever seen a bird carry a flag!  How cool is that!  We wonder if birds, er, flags taste any good?

Mom hung both blocks above Dad's fairy garden.  I (Sasha) love to explore the fairy garden.  Every so often something new pops up like that cute little elf in the background who doesn't speak or move and that funny little snail character that I tried to eat once but didn't like the taste at all!  The two weird faces in the middle scare me right now.

You're probably getting tired of seeing us so much, but we just had to show you what happened when Gracie woke up from her nap first while Mom was sewing!

Love at Last!

It's been an interesting couple of weeks since my last post!  We've been doing a lot of work in the garden as well as having the house painted between rainstorms!  Crazy weather for our part of the country.  Our painter has had many delays, but we're slowly making progress.

I haven't had much time for sewing (except for one Supreme sewing project I won't be revealing for a while yet) but have been spending a lot of time with Mr. Squash refereeing Sasha and Gracie May. I'm happy to say there is no more need to referee!  They're now buddies!  In fact, Sasha has taken on the role of "Sister-Mommy" to Gracie May.   

I shot this video yesterday.  They had just gotten a new bed big enough for the two of them.  About an hour after the bed arrived we were so happy to see them both in it!  Pardon the shakiness at the beginning -- I was trying not to disturb them!

I did manage to finish another of my Kathy Schmitz BOM's.  There are two more finished stitcheries that need their borders applied.  I'll show them to you just as soon as I get them done.

With all the rain we've had the garden isn't going anywhere fast, but we do manage to get a cereal bowl full of blueberries every day or so from our nine plants!  I fear the slug population just might increase exponentially if the rain doesn't stop soon!

Has anyone else been having trouble posting comments from your daily Bloglovin' feed?  Some blogs that I follow I can post comments, but for others I need to get out of Bloglovin' and actually go to the blog in order  to post a comment.  If anyone has a solution for this issue, I'd love to hear it!

Bloglovin Claim My Blog

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I thought I was all set up on Bloglovin' but apparently after reading Jeanna and Kaaren's post, I need to "claim my blog".  For someone who is used to doing things the way I want to do them, I am reluctant to take this as gospel (nothing against either of you, Jeanna or Kaaren - wink), but I also want this to work!  So, I'm crossing my fingers (and Gracie and Sasha have their paws crossed) that this works!  Wish me luck!

If you want to continue to be updated on new posts of mine, simply either click the link above, or click the box on my sidebar.  Thanks so much and thanks to Jeanna and Kaaren!

Cat Herding 101

I saw a friend at the gym today who asked me if we had been out of town.  I said, no, why do you ask?  She said because I hadn't posted anything for a while!  True, I haven't.  Mostly because I find myself exhausted after herding the "girls" all day!  Mind you, exhausted in a good way, but along with all my other daily chores, it has used up a good chunk of time this past week or so.  Thought I'd better post an update!

 Yesterday morning Mr. Squash and Gracie May were at their usual morning spot.  Mr. Squash has his coffee and reads the papers online while Gracie sits on top of his printer either snoozing or watching out the window.

 She likes this spot so much that Mr. Squash thought it would be a good place for her blankie!  The two of them have become best buddies which warms my heart!

 On the Sasha front, they aren't quite best buddies yet, but are slowly getting there.  Here is Sasha snoozing in her basket.  Gracie May is thinking maybe she can sneak up on her.

 "If I go around behind the vintage bobbins, she won't know I'm coming."

 "She still doesn't know I'm here."

"Dang!  I'm getting the evil eye from Sasha!"

This goes on all day long.  Occasionally they chase each other around the house and will play fairly close at times.  Other times Sasha can be heard growling or seen giving Gracie May a good swipe!  The other day Gracie May was on a kitchen table chair and Sasha was below - she managed to give Sasha a good, first swipe! Way to go, Gracie May!  Each day gets just a little better and they both keep us busy and entertained!

 This is Sasha's favorite thing to do - wander around the patio in the sunshine!  

The house is being painted outside this week, so she's stuck inside watching for the UPS man.

Did you notice a new button at the top of my sidebar?  I have been encouraging a very nice gal, Jeanna, to start a blog for some time now.  Well, she finally took the plunge!  I love the name she chose for her blog - Slammin' the Screen Door!  Do go say hi if you have a moment!

Fun and Games....well, maybe

It's been an interesting few days here at the Squash House!  Thanks to all of you who have shown such an interest in our new little kitten and also offered help and suggestions!  Sasha had felt very threatened by tiny Gracie May Slick, but today brings some small and good changes!  Although, I must say I'm not sure about waking up with a furry little ball chasing her tail on my head!

Don't you just love Gracie's markings?  We think she'll have short hair, but Sophie looked like this as a kitten and grew a beautiful, long coat.  Time will tell.  Here she is after an exhaustive session with some of her toys!

Oh, my - a paper bag!  She played for a long time with it....

...while the Sentinel watched from the hallway...ready to pounce!

This morning I thought I would play with Sasha and her favorite stick.  Look who decided to join in on the action!

I had to set the stick down to take this photo.  They were actually being somewhat nice to each other - taking turns playing.  Gracie's foster mother said once Sasha realizes Gracie isn't a threat to her, they should be pals in no time.  Sasha's growls and posturing have been reduced greatly, so we're feeling pretty good about it!

The garden is looking so wonderful - each day a few more things blooms!

Check out the three carnations!  Hard to believe that they were in 4" pots two years ago when I planted them!  They're now at least 5 feet in circumference - each!

I'll leave you today with this view.  The Japanese willow got a big haircut over the weekend, but it won't be long before it looks just like this again!