there is a hole in my...watering can

Remember that old children's song... "There's a Hole in My Bucket, Dear Liza" ?
No?  Here it is... click here to hear it.

I kept thinking of that song every time I used my watering can.  Holes had rusted through the bottom and I was watering my feet more than the plants.

The can was old when I got it.  Previous owners had left it at the Sasquatch's house and he didn't want it, so gave it to me.

 Can you see the small holes with light coming through at the bottom?

At first I tought I'd order a new one off Amazon - but I was shocked when I saw the prices on the metal watering cans. I had no idea they were so expensive. I didn't want a plastic one so I decided to try to fix my old can

In the song I mentioned above, for some reason they intend to fix the hole in the bucket with straw!

I have always wondered how that would make a good repair...but then, the male character in the song does seem to be a bit of a dim bulb.

Silicone seemed like a more promising way to stop up the holes - so that's what I used.

I spread a generous amount over the holes inside and out (using a piece of mulch as a disposable tool).

It worked ! No leaks!

Maybe I will put one of those super deluxe watering cans on my wish list...in case someone wants to buy me something.   Sheesh! I'd probably dry it off and bring it in the house each time I would use it.

plant rescue

I don't shop at Meijers very often, but they carry a brand of pizza sauce we really like, so I stop in there to stock up on that occasionally.

This time I decided to take a quick look in  their garden center too - to see if they had anything interesting.

Well, besides all the pretty and healthy plants, they had a rack of half dead ones in a back corner, with greatly reduced prices.

I couldn't just leave them there looking so pitiful, could I?  No, I had to rescue a few.

I picked up an azalea, a hydrangea, two peonies and two bleeding hearts.

Also, I bought four Golden Vicary Privets for a privacy hedge.  These weren't on the discount rack but they were a store promo and a good price.

A couple of days later I was ready to plant and walked all over the property trying to figure out where I had left the wheelbarrow.  I was starting to blame my husband...thinking he had done something with it...when I finally saw it here...

I have been walking right past it every time I go between the house and the Jeep!

I guess the plants were camouflaging it.

a good find at Goodwill

  I am always so glad the Goodwill stores are available to take my unneeded and unwanted items, but I hardly ever go inside to shop...I am afraid I will load up on other people's cast off goods!

But one day I had some idle time while I was waiting for my big comforter to go through a wash cycle at the coin laundry (needed a super size machine) and I thought I would take a look around the nearby Goodwill store.

A bit of everything in there! A lot to look at.  I came across a shelf with some folded fabric and dug around through it. Hmmm, mostly upholstry fabric and yards of old polyester double knit.

Then I noticed a crumpled, cloudy looking plastic bag with some bright fabric inside.  I looked at it from all angles and could see a couple of quilt blocks inside too.
 I thought maybe there would be enough fabric there to put together a small donation quilt.
At the price of $2.99 that would be a good deal all around.

When I got home and emptied it out of that creepy looking bag, there was more than I thought!

There were two finshed quilt blocks and a lot of fabric strips.

Someone had a project planned and started...and maybe decided they didn't like it and wanted to ditch it and move on.

My first thought was that I'd figure out that block pattern and make more of those for a quilt...but then I decided...I really like those fabric strips and I don't want to use them in blocks like that.

Maybe not even for a donation quilt.

I'm not so nice after all now, am I?

Well, maybe I can do both.  Keep some and use some.  We shall see.

Now I am not going to be able to pass by a Goodwill store without being tempted to stop in and check for fabric. Sheesh!

my big nine patch quilt finished

I finished this a couple of weeks ago but I've just now got around to taking it outside for a photo session.

It measures about 78" x 92". 

All of the nine patches are cut from my small scraps and scraps that my quilting friends have given me.  I like working with the small pieces...but I had to buy the yellow and dark blue yardage to tie everything together.

I am happy with the way it looks.  Especially the way some of the little nine patches stand out more because they are made from darker or brighter fabrics.

I had someone in mind when I started sewing this quilt but I lost confidence about halfway through and switched to making a different quilt for that person.

It is machine pieced and quilted.

There are 168 nine patches in this quilt.  I first intended to make it larger, so there's a bunch of nine patch blocks left over that I'll be using in another quilt.  

The backing fabric is rows and rows of daisies.

I'm not sure what I will do with this one. It's too big for a couch snuggle quilt and not big enough for our king size bed.

Nah, I won't be using it as a tablecloth...

For now, I'll just put it away in the closet.

This is the second project I have finished since I vowed to finish all my unfinished projects!

quite a storm!

We had one of those big thunderstorms that can do a lot of damage to trees that are fully leafed out with all their new spring foliage.

Really strong winds and rain slamming down in sheets.  It was scary to even look outside while it was going on.

Trees bending over farther than you would ever think they could without breaking. Leaves and twigs flying everywhere.

Then it was over and time to go outside and look at the damage.

Messy, but nothing big was down in the back yard.  The pool caught a lot of debris.

But out front by the driveway, a trunk section split off my Heptacodium, I think it will recover.

And a medium sized branch torn off a very old Redbud too.

Back toward the field several smallish branches from the Sassafras lying around everywhere.

No major losses but there will need to be a clean up before time to mow again.

I didn't read much on the news about the storm. It must have been worse in some areas than in others. 

And we did need the rain.