Non-Gardening News!

I'm teaching a class about making a t-shirt quilt with all those teenage shirts you just can't bear to get rid of, because you are a hoarder of memories, just like me.

Here's the skinny: July 16 and July 18, at MADE Studios on burgeoning Cherokee Street. You'll need a lot of shirts if you want all images on the quilt. Questions? Leave 'em in the comments here.

In other news, I went to Pennsylvania for a week and when I came back, discovered my green and purple zinnias had succumbed to the 100-degree heat and that my back yard had turned into the Amazon. I have pulled a wheelbarrow full of weeds and am almost done.

On the plus side, I had a ridiculous amount of fun in PA with my cousin, my brother and his girlfriend. I kicked it old school and drank until the sun came up on the 20th, then went to church still a little drunk. Obviously, God has a sense of humor, and knows that I'm good people, because he did not strike me or my equally-drunk cousin dead.  We're the ones in the middle, wishing it was 20 degrees cooler and that we had had more than 2 hours of sleep the night before. That's my mommy on the right with her cute short bob. Mine will be that short next week!

My grandfather turned 98 on June 1, so we had a big surprise party for him. I wasn't sure if surprising a 98-year-old man was a good idea, but he enjoyed himself and even managed to blow out the candles on his cake. No, we did not get 98 candles, but did put a lot on there in the shape of a 9 and an 8.

Things I am glad for today:
1. the 2 pairs of goldfinches that have set up shop among my sunflowers.

2. the gorgeous weather we've had. It hurts to stay inside and sew. I want to lay in the grass all day, reading and drinking Earl Grey iced tea.

3. my husband cleaned our basement last Sunday. According to him, it was a sleeveless t-shirt kinda job, and he said there were not a lot of spiders down there. He even managed to recycle the box our television came in......2 years ago. It's now second-life-ing it as a path in my garden.

4. I am glad that my friends who are going through rough patches right now are brave enough to reach out for help and to talk about it. I'm a very private person and prefer to wallow/suffer by myself in my sewing room. I admire them, and please send good vibes to E. and A.!