sail boat quilt started and other stuff

Sewing...
I had been planning to make a baby girl quilt...just in case...but it turns out that I will be making another baby boy quilt.

For a while now, I've been thinking I'd like to use some fabric from my stash with an anchor print, and what could be better than a nautical themed quilt for a boy?
I sketched up a possible layout, including some blocks made from pieced sailboats.

Piecing the sail boats was more difficult than I expected, so I finally paid $1.50 to download a paper pieced sailboat block pattern online.

It's been awhile since I've done any paper piecing so there was a lot of sweating and swearing and seam ripping as I got the hang of it again.

It's gotten a little easier now that I've completed five of the boats.    I'll probably make about four or five more, and then make some simple blocks to alternate with them in the quilt, using the fabrics in the photo below.

Outdoor project....

I think we found a solution to our screen porch door problem.  

We have replaced the original doors twice already. No matter how nice the doors are when we hang them, they end up sagging and coming apart at the corners. We have tried reinforcing with "L" brackets and turnbuckles with no luck.

Then I saw this one day on Amazon's Lightning Deals and thought it might be worth a try.

Lonnie was skeptical at first, but after using it for a few days he told me to go ahead and order another for the other door.

It was quick and easy to put up...but I am going to add a few more nails/tacks for extra hold around the edges.

You just part the magnetized middle strip with your arm, walk through and the magnets snap it closed behind you.

It will make it a lot easier to get in the porch with a tray of plates, drinks, and food for the grill, too.

Those baby squirrels are getting bigger and exploring every square inch of the yard.

"I'm the king of the world"

In the kitchen...

One Sunday, the Sasquatch brought over something interesting for us to try...these unusual drinks from Jamaica.  One peanut flavor and one vanilla.

Both were rich and creamy, but the peanut was the best...a taste kind of like that "Mary Jane" chewy peanut candy.

Fun to try something unusual and different!  These were marked down in price. He's hoping they will go on "clearance" and he will buy more.

And....

In the early 1900's, my Dad's grandfather opened a saloon on Market Street in Louisville.  He was a great believer in advertising and had a variety of give-away items made up to promote his business...mugs, match cases, watch fobs, miniature jugs and so forth.  

There are a few of these items still in the family.

Earlier this week, Chopper and the Sasquatch made a stop at one of those antique/junk malls and came across one of the old advertising mugs for sale. The price was right at $3.

They emailed me a photo...

It's weird because they had mentioned the possibility of finding one as they walked in the store!  Pretty exciting for them to come across something with their great-great grandfather's picture embossed on it!  

Other family members have found them on ebay and at flea markets too. I've never found one myself, but I was given one by my parents.

What would George Deckmann, saloon owner, think about his descendants buying back his give-away promotional items?

Here he is in a photo taken behind the bar at his establishment...

And another - at a different time and with a mustache. ..

One more...

Nice that he made the effort to have these photos taken. Not many are fortunate enough to have photos of ancestors from that time period.

Chopper liked these old photos so well, he had copies framed and they're hanging in his dining room.

What would his great-great- grandfather think of that?