For the second baby-to-be, it’s another boy. And the parents are fond of going to the cottage, so I thought fun woodland theme would be appropriate.

I dug in the stash and came up with some leftovers from another quilt. Since they were leftovers, I had to get creative, but Burton and I managed to come up with a layout that worked.

Nothing fancy – just four patch within a four patch, and a few borders. It’s simple, but the fabrics make it really fun.

I’ve got some flannel that, while not from the same line, is pretty close in theme and colours.

It’s going to be just perfect for the back. Now I just have to make one more top, and I’ll schedule a weekend with Mom to get them all quilted.

Not long after we moved in here, I noticed something about our little town.

You know how when you walk around a subdivision, there’s usually only a few house styles. People change things up with landscaping and window dressing and such, but you can tell the houses are all the same.

Well, I always assumed it was a relatively modern thing (like 1940s on) but our house was built in 1907, and yet… I see it all over this town.

Over time, people had built additions, built porches, changed colours, added bricks, changed windows, etc., but if you look closely, you can see the original basic house. Just a tall box with two skinny windows on the upper floor, one on the bottom, beside a door. Some have done the changes really well, others rather slapdash.

The pictures above aren’t even remotely all of them. There are dozens throughout the town. Though some you have to look hard to recognize them. Ours is one such.

They didn’t just add on half a house oddly to the side (the lack of and upper window on the left REALLY bothers Dave), but they they completely changed the windows. They put a much bigger window in the lower level, and then changed the upper to one large, horizontal windows.

On the inside, if the light is just right, I can see the outline of where the two windows used to be in the bedroom.

And though our house is over 100 years old… it seems the trend of building the same is even older. Across the street from us is a lovely little brick house the owner told us was built in the 1880s.

And yet it has “twins” all over town too. There aren’t as many, and though some are a little more changed than others.

I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

I finally feel like I made some real progress on my sewing kitty.

I finished the top half, with the exception of some background beige. With the machine head complete, it feels like it’s really coming together now. Now I get to work my way towards completing the cute fluffy cat that’s so much like my own.

August has rolled in like a hot, fiery dragon. The weekend was horribly hot and humid. Dave and I had plans to check out a nearby car show and swap meet. But after a week of gardening and moving furniture, we both agreed we weren’t up to walking around in the sun and heat, regardless of the promise of pretty cars to look at.

So instead, I stayed inside with Burton.

The poor floofy boy, of all the cats, the heat is the hardest on him. Not only does he have extra floof, but it’s black, so he just can’t take the sun like the other two. While Rupert is content to cook out in the catio, Burton can usually be found sprawled up on the bed, in front of the air conditioner.

Of course, when I opened up the studio doro, he was happy to join me there. The last couple of Blockhead blocks weren’t our cup of tea, so we decided to replace them with a couple more cat blocks.

Because… you can never have enough cats.

Especially in a cat-themed sampler quilt! We’ve now got 20 blocks, and I’m thinking 30 will be an ideal number. So now we wait (inside, out of the heat!) to see what new block come up this week.

While there were lots of little things to do this week, we did have one big task. It involved renting a trailer and heading down to Grandma’s house.

When she gave us the dining table all those years ago, she also promised us a pair of pine hutches that matched it. Now, with the house going up for sale this month, it was time to go down and get them, along with a few other things.

There was also an engine block to get (the orginal from Dave’s Charger) so Dad joined us with his truck. and between us we brought home not one, not two, but three hutches, a dresser, a couple of display cabinets.

Seeing them here now, makes me so glad we bought this house, because there is more than enough room in the dining room for them and the table. I can’t wait until we can finish the walls and floors and really show them off properly.

The third hutch…

Is apparently going to house some of Dave’s models. We’re not 100% sure on where it will go yet, but I’m thinking it will look pretty good in the living room with our other “antiques”.

And you may recall that Dave and I were planning on refinishing my old French Provincial style dressers. Now there is no need. Grandma had a bigger set (albiet in natural wood, not white) that were also in better shape. We were only able to fit the biggest one in, and will go back for the other in a couple of weeks.

Burton and spent the next day emptying mine, moving things around getting the new dresser all set up.

Dave had to help me put the mirror on, as it was too heavy, and Burton was no help (you can see how hard he works in the mirror’s reflection). But I think it looks just great.

And speaking of cats and no help…. Look what Burton made me do…

Five days in and I broke Austere August on grocery day. (Grocery stores should not be allowed to sell anything but food!!!)

But… seriously. How could I walk by that and NOT buy it??? It was $20 for the mat, so tried to make up for it and forgo the $20 I usually spend on lottery tickets at grocery day. Now I will be positively miserly for the rest of the month! I swear!

I can’t say it’s been a very restful vacation. Right from the start it’s been pretty much go go go.

One of the first things I did was tackle the last corner of the yard. It was a low spot, and the plan was to take the soil we removed from behind the shed to fill it. But there was a bunch of junk, including a long run of chicken wire that was half buried in the dirt. That had to be removed before anything was filled. But then of course, life gets in the way, and the next thing you know… that corner was looking like this.

Happily, it didn’t take very long to get it looking like this.

Hopefully, this fall, that fence will be moved to the other side of the maple tree, bringing the side yard into the backyard, but for now, at least, the area is tidy. I put some grass seed down where I filled in the low spot. And then I put some of the new plants I had bought (in July) down the side.

I think it will look quite nice once the grass fills in. Here’s a closer look some of the flowers there.

Green Twister Coneflower, Mellow Yellow Coneflower, Globe Thistle, and Mexican Hat. The latter is a native plant too. I had it at the townhouse years ago, but I decided to move it and it didn’t like that. I’m happy to have it again, as it’s very unique.

With that done, it was time to tackle another part of the yard. It’s a part I’d already started on, but hadn’t been able to finish, and was looking a little shabby.

This is the area I’ve been referring to as Willow Grove. My idea is to build the yard into several garden “rooms” – each unique little garden spaces. Because this one has my three pussywillow bushes along the shed, I named it Willow Grove. It’s no where near “complete”, but after cleaning out the weeds and putting down some mulch, it’s looking a lot more like the idea I had in my mind.

There’s a lilac bush on either end of the bench and once they grow they will create a more enclosed feeling. But even now, it’s a nice little spot to stop and rest and watch the birds… or the squirrels.

Some more of the flowers I got from the nursery went in this corner as as well.

A “green-eyed” Susan, some yellow Yarrow, and some pinkish Chrysanthemum.

And last.. while this is a small thing, it’s one that will make my life a little easier

I tidied up my potting bench and moved it below the clothesline. Here it can do double duty and give me a spot to set my basket as I hang out laundry. It’s in need of a coat of paint, so when we get some cooler weather, I’ll paint it our signature dark green and it will fit right in with the rest of the yard.

Last week, Bridget of the Ravell’d Sleave posted about her newest furry family member Alfie, and how well he’s fit in with the other cats.

And it got me thinking about my boys. Introducing a new cat to a home is always a tricky business. I’ve always been rather lucky in that respect. After a day or two of hissing and general attitude, things settled down and we had no more problems.

That is until this Ginger Mister sauntered in.

At first, it wasn’t a problem . When I adopted him, there was only Peno. She took about a week to tolerate him, and he was really good with our old senior girl. He mostly just wanted to snuggle up with her when she slept, and she decided she could live with that.

Then I brought Burton home. After some hissing and a few swats, Rupert realized he had someone who he could chase around, and he liked that quite a bit. But Burton was a kitten, so I think that made things easier for him.

But then a few months later, Relic started showing up in the backyard. And a few months after that, Dave was letting him in the house. And Rupert was not down with that. Maybe it was that Relic was a full grown cat (and three times Rupert’s size), and maybe because Relic had been “invading” Rupert’s territory (the backyard) for months before we took him in. Whatever it was, Relic was the enemy. And it wasn’t Relic’s fault.

Rupert would sneak attack Relic any chance he got. And it took a full year before Rupert finally accepted his presence and settled down. And even then, there would still be sneak attacks.

It wasn’t until last year that they really started being friends – actually playing with each other. And now… it seems like every time I turn around, this is what I see.

Cats are weird!

It seems there’s a bit of a baby boom happening in my circle. There are three babies due in the next few months. So I’ve got to get sewing. Happily, I have a well-stocked stash so I don’t have to break Austere August.

On the weekend, Burton and I threw together a top for the first of the babies.

This quilt is meant for the soon-to-be little brother of the little cutie I made the swan princess quilt for. I had a charm pack called Little Ducklings, and it was soft grey, blue, and yellow – it seemed like the perfect compliment to big sister’s pink and grey swans.

We grabbed some nice deep teal (which isn’t quite as dark at the pictures seem, and some delicate blue/beige heart yardage, and threw together and Oh My Stars top.

I’ve said this before, but it’s a great pattern that goes together so quickly.

Now I’ve got two more tops to make, then I can plan a trip to Mom’s to get them quilted and into the mail.

One of the things I love about this town, is that the mechanic is walking distance away. With both of us driving rather old vehicles (me an ’08 Ford, Dave an ’04 Buick), we’ve quickly made good friends with the team at the shop. And it’s nice that after I drop Dory off, I can easily walk home.

Dave also loves the fact that they work on REALLY old cars. (A few days after the Charger came home, she went right over there so they could do a brake upgrade). In fact, they also restore them, and sell them at their car lot just down the street.

So the other day, I decided to take my walk over there to get some pictures for you all.

Not only do they have my absolute FAVOURITE classic…. a Ford Galaxie Convertible…

But they also have an old Ford Truck.

It doesn’t matter what year, or what colour. I love old Ford trucks.

If I ever win the lottery, one of the first things I will do is march right over there and buy both these beauties.

And if there’s any money left over, I might just grab this Packard, and the Mustang II.

And don’t tell Dave, but I’d probably buy this z28 Camaro too.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Trans Ams, Firebirds, and Camaros… the first two he agrees with, but he always turns his nose up at the Camaro.

Of course, I haven’t won the lottery, so I have to just look and enjoy. And it looks like there will be more beauties to come, as there are several other vehicles on the lot, awaiting their glow up.

I’m especially looking forward to seeing the restoration of those two Thunderbirds (another favourite!)

I may have been a little too busy this weekend. By the time the evenings rolled around, I was too tired to do much cross stitching.

I added a little more black work on the machine head, but that’s it. I’m going to make up for it this week though. Hopefully by next tiny needle Tuesday, I’ll have the whole upper portion complete!

P.S. After yesterday’s post, a few of you mentioned that you didn’t know what a chip wagon was. I apolgize. It’s been so much a part of my upbringing that I had no idea it was a Canadian thing (and apparently more of and Eastern Canadian thing than a Western one too!). Chip wagon fries were a HUGE treat when we were kids. And there used to be a lot more Chip Wagons around too. And unless they are serving fresh cut fries, they are not a real chip wagon (then they are just a food truck).

I found this cool article from several years back that explains our fascination. If you haven’t had chip wagon fries, and find yourself in Canada, I whole heatedly recommend find a chip wagon!