Happy Birthday Stacy!

A little golden bird told me that today is Stacy's special day, so go on over and wish her a Happy Birthday!

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The Neverending Dress and Other Tales of Woe

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I finally finished that dress for the OnlyChild. At times, it felt like I was never going to get it done! It had buttons and a zipper and darts and a pleat in the back and a collar. And it was supposed to be an easy pattern. Ha! I say phooey on that!

But it's done... and in plenty of time for her to wear it to school on the first day. (Now watch her decide to wear something else.)

We still need to get her a little white belt. I just tied a ribbon around the waist for the photos.

I wouldn't have picked purple poppies on a white background, but then I'm not 17. She likes it, and that's all that matters.

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Mr. P and I went to the garden this morning to find that it had been raided! Oh no! The thieves dug up half a row of carrots. That doesn't bother me nearly as much as the fact that they left the little carrots just lying on the ground. They were all rubbery and inedible from being out in the sun. I guess even thieves are fussy about what they eat... and these poor little carrots weren't quite ready to be harvested yet. Sigh.

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I'm off to see a play tonight, "The Seven Lives of Louis Riel", with my friend Sandi and the OnlyChild. It will be a nice evening out, I'm sure! Hope your Saturday is happy too!

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Where, oh where, did August go?

I can't believe it's over... August, I mean. I'm so, so sad!

I was trying to figure out where it all went so I made a calendar and added in all the days where I had something happening. The blank spaces are probably the days I slaved over 1) my final paper 2) writing learning guides or 3) the sewing machine (which can hardly be considered 'slaving'). Or maybe I just lost that day in a haze of nothing. Who knows...? What I do know is that the beginning of school is only days away and I am so NOT ready to go back to work.

Yeah, yeah... I'm getting no sympathy from all of you. Teachers have it so easy, eh?

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That's so twisted!

Look at what the OnlyChild dug out of the garden the other day...

Isn't that hilarious? Three carrots caught in an embrace.

I didn't bother to thin the row and this is the result. They're delicious, even when they're all twisted!

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Summer Captured in a Jar

I spent a few hours yesterday making Peach Salsa. It's a favourite in my family and the jars are closely guarded. I have been known to give away the odd sample to people I either really like or am trying to impress (haha), but it's very rare.

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Want to make your own? Here's the recipe, given to me about 10 years ago by a good friend, who obviously didn't have problems with sharing.

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Peach Salsa

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6 cups prepared peaches (about 12 medium)

1 & 1/4 cups chopped red onion

4 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped (with most of the seeds removed)

1 red pepper, chopped

1/2 cup loosely packed, finely chopped cilantro

1/2 cup white vinegar

2 tbsp liquid honey

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 & 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

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Blanche, peel, pit and chop peaches. Combine all ingredients in large pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 5 minutes. Ladle salsa into sterilized jars, leaving about 1/4 inch room at top. Wipe jar rims and put on sterilized lids. Place jars in canner with boiling water and boil for 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner and cool for 24 hours.

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Notes:

• This makes 3-4 jars
• I usually double or triple this recipe and this year ended up with 13 jars of various sizes
• You can boil your jars or put them in the oven at 200 degrees - just put them on a cookie sheet and leave them in there while you prepare the salsa
• Boil the lids and rounds for 5 minutes to sterilize them
• Remember, the 'pop' is a sign of success because it means your jars sealed correctly
• This will keep for about a year, unrefrigerated - beyond that, I don't know because we never have any left after a year
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Just wanted to add:

Heather at Trends and Traditions is having a giveaway that you won't want to miss. She's giving away TWO beautiful quilts. It's definitely worth your time to go over and visit her!!!

Sewing, sewing, in my sewing room...

My poor, fried brain is having trouble following the instructions while making this for the OnlyChild...
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There's just one part I'm confused about and will have to let it 'stew' in my brain for a while before I figure it out.
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So, I moved onto this... .



The Bunny Hill August BOM. I had it put together a few days ago and just got around to sewing it yesterday afternoon. Love it ~ there's those cupcakes again. They're everywhere!
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I also finished the Seasons of the Heart August BOM about a week ago but wanted to wait until both were done before I posted it. The apples are cute but, really, with our northern growing season, there aren't too many varieties of apples that are ready in August so I probably could have saved this theme until September. Oh well, there will be another great block next month.


And then Mr. P and I went to see a movie last night.
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Public Enemies was playing at the cheap threatre. We've wanted to see this since it was released but our plans always seemed to get pre-empted by something else. It was such a good movie. I love Johnny Depp and Mr. P loves gangster-type movies, so we were both happy!
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Lots to do this weekend. I'm going to give that school work another crack and hope I can make some progress on it. I'm also going to make Peach Salsa today. It's so yummy!

Have a great Saturday!
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Regena's Giveaway

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Regena at Quilt and Quilt Things is having a 100th post giveaway.

You (or I) could win all the items in the above picture, including the sweet quilt!

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She'll be picking the winner on August 28, so head on over and say hello.

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