HOT HOT HOT and MUGGY MUGGY MUGGY

HEY!!! MY first chance to actually SIT DOWN at the computer since last Friday...sorry everyone, but life definitely took back over these past few days....

So....bare with me...

First, on Friday, I got my first complete July finish.
Dizzy's binding was sewn on. It still awaits a label, but I'm considering it DONE :0)

On Saturday, I was out in the woods with the boys helping...getting in the way....photographing their bonding time with each other and some manly tools. Together, we cut, split, stacked five loads of wood.

And of course the girls were super happy to see Mom and Dad after two weeks of being with Aunt Jenny and G'ma. We loaded them up on the 'pug' (a glorified 2-seater 'car' that pivots in the middle and has a dump bucket on the back) and headed back to the woods to pick some wild raspberries. We had enough to make a batch of jam {{jam that showed up on the table for Sunday morning breakfast---YUM!!!}}

On a crafty note---no quilting for me since Friday, BUT I found some new inspiration when loading things back into my new sewing room. I NEVER dreamed I would have learned to crochet, and I don't know why I was inspired like I was by this book {{it's not like it's the first time I've looked at it}}. Anyway, on the way up to the farm, we swung into Walmart so I could pick up a size J hook. Then, MIL and I attempted some crochet stitches according to the pictures in the book........needless to say the pics were hard to follow. I couldn't tell where the stitches were, blah, blah, blah. SO, after ripping out 3-strips worth of stitches more than 5 times, I finally said, ENOUGH!!!! Then I waited until getting back home and watched some Youtube 'how-to' videos----SUCCESS! So far, I have used 1 yard of fabric and have a "rug" about 12" in diameter. I don't know how big I'll make this, but it's a good way to use up that BLAH, QUESTIONABLE-QUALITY fabric.

I've been running my volleyball camp for the past two mornings with a decent turn-out. The gym has been HOT HOT HOT with the mugginess bearing down on us. Yesterday after camp, DH asked me to join him in staining a deck---HOT HOT HOT....

and, TODAY, the HOT HOT HOT and MUGGY MUGGY MUGGY didn't deter DH, myself, Nikki (pictured), her brother and dad from gathering together on the softball field to have an afternoon of hitting and chasing down balls! ;0) With sweat pooling in places hidden from view, we spent two hours practicing our batting. Nikki, who is also a recently former student of mine, and I play softball Monday nights. Last night was the first night of tournaments, where we proceeded to advance to the second level (next week) with a 10-1 victory. But we talked about getting together to practice some batting, so.....we made a day of it.

Once we got home, it wasn't time to rest (and THANKFULLLLLY we have AC on a day like today!!!) because I had a couple bucket fulls of cucumbers that needed to be dealt with. SO....a couple of hours and 9 pint jars filled with bread-n-butter pickles later, I am FINALLLLY putting up my feet.

So....there ya have it....
Hopefully tomorrow will be a "me" day after camp.