Helping Hands!

A week or so ago I related the story of how a crazy windstorm took out one of our porch blinds.

I don’t think I even got photos of it as son Jeff had already done the job of picking up all of the wood slats that had fallen to the ground below the porch when the string (and zip ties!) holding the old blinds together gave way.

I have no idea how old those old wooden roll up blinds were – they were there when we bought the house, 7 years ago now.

Wood and string are things that nature definitely takes a toll on, especially with our extreme weather patterns here in the mountains.

So with the breaking of one blind – a big decision was made. It was time to replace them.

Wood slatted blinds were not even an option unless we wanted to special order at great expense.

Instead – we went for these fabric ones that are opaque – yet dark enough to stop the sun from glaring in the late afternoon.

We have a blind like this in front of our porch slider off the dining area at home. There, the morning sun from the west will blind anyone trying to eat breakfast in the winter when the trees are without leaves.

This time, we bought three 10 ft blinds to cover the back porch.

It has to be making a dent in the shirt strings. It just has to…..doesn’t it? Or is this like Rumpelstiltskin spinning straw into gold? Or some goose that keeps laying golden eggs?

Whatever it is…the simplicity of string blocks at this time of my life is helping me to keep moving forward with my sanity somewhat intact.

And for those who asked….yes, I know it’s been almost 3 weeks since I had that ultrasound on the barnacle growing beneath the surface near my scapula. It feels like someone just put a grape in there.

I contacted my provider about lack of report and they said they hadn’t heard anything back yet either, so they are notifying the imaging department to nudge the results along.

So I still wait. Me and my grape. At this point I think I’m going to have to give it a name.

It makes me think of this favorite scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding: (Hysterical!)

One of my favorite movies of all time – if you haven’t seen it, you need to.

Maybe my grape is my “twin?”?????

Today – in come the June Quiltvillians with all of their stuff, their laughter, their creativity and I know we have a marvelous week ahead.

There are just a few finishing touches to do at the inn and we’ll be ready for them by this afternoon.

How is your own week shaping up? Here it is Wednesday – with Monday being a holiday, these week already feels short sheeted and half over.

Just a reminder –

The PDF pattern for Summer Picnic is currently 25% off in the Quiltville Store through this coming Saturday 5/31/25. No coupon needed.

Stars For The Win!

Stars and Scraps were meant for each other! Create this stunning star quilt in scrappy plaids from recycled shirts or with your own stash yardage. Piecing options, full color photos and graphics and many tips for easy piecing pleasure included.

Quilt Size: 72’’ X 72’’