Fabric, fabric....more fabric?!?

The goal of last week's garage sale was to clean out my sewing room. You read about the good news last week.  What I neglected was the bad news:  I never made it into my sewing room!  You see, I really have had some sort of 'addiction' problem with fabric.  I am happy to say, however, I believe that particular addition is over!  I've been cutting, ironing, folding and stacking even more fabric the past week with the intention of having another garage sale aimed directly at quilters. Today, I believe, I touched the last piece of fabric that needed tending to. There's a lot of fabric!

You'll notice polenta on this week's menu.  I'm not really a fan, but I told Mr. Hinkelgruber I'd try it.  (He gave me chicken and dumplings last week (and they were positively superb!), so the least I can do is approach this new dish with an open mind.)

Oh, yeah, and I got into my sewing room!

I learned something about myself today....

I've never had a garage sale before and I've never been one who frequented them...I always figured I didn't have the patience to organize one and I certainly find no pleasure in pawing through other people's stuff (read:  junk).  Today I learned why I've never had one before:  I don't like people touching my stuff (and until it's sold - it's still my stuff!) and many of them make very snide comments.  But today, I participated for the first time in our neighborhood's garage sale.  People are interesting creatures.  You can give them the deal of a lifetime, and many will still ask, "Will you go lower?  Are you going to mark things down at the end of the day?"  That said, I did have a fun time and might even consider doing it again (I made over $400!) since I know what to do differently next time.

Oh, and food wise - did you notice chicken and dumplings?  One of the few meals my mother could actually cook well and, as a result, one of my favorite foods.  I can hardly wait!

Let's all sing like the birdies sing....

How long, do you suppose, does it take the neighborhood birds to find the bird feeders?  Last weekend Mr. Hinkelgruber and I bought a new bird feeder, cleaned the old one and filled them both.  So far, no tweeters. On the other hand, it takes exactly 17 seconds for wee little neighbor kids to learn about freshly baked cookies and find them!  

We bought a new barbeque grill for Mr. Hinkelgruber for Father's Day - can hardly wait to break it in!

Ice Cream!

It's going to be 80 degrees and we're making ice cream for the first time this year!

Oh, by the way - the deck is open, the flags are flying and the flowers may finally begin to grow.

I told you I'd complain...

It's Memorial Day Weekend.  And, the temperature is predicted in the low 60's.  There's snow predicted in the mountains.   It's supposed to be the beginning of summer.  (Oh, yeah, someone told me, it's also opening weekend of Rose Festival! Doesn't help...it's still too cold to be the last weekend of May!)

Oh, well...In an attempt to make lemonade from lemons, this just means I'll continue baking.

It's your back side I'll broaden!  Pray for sunshine and warmer weather.

Summertime, the living is easy!

You know the only thing better than two warm, sunny days in a row? Three warm, sunny days in a row!

The deck has been open all three days, the back door wide open.  (Gizmo has been very confused - what?  I can go in and out as I please? Really?!?)  I'll be complaining in a couple of days, I'm sure, that the rain has returned, but not today.

Mr. Hinkelgruber seems to have found a volume of recipes he had not previously seen and this week's menu reflects it.  But, one of my all-time favorites:  Pasta with garlic and eggs is on the menu for Friday.  If my mom had known about that dish, Fridays in a Catholic household would have been much more bearable!

I got nothin'!

I am completely uninspired this week, so you're on your own.